477 + 373 Weeks

 We have settled in more this week, set up our patio with some sun shades and plants, started using our ‘workroom’, and played some games like we used to.  We didn’t make any special trips anywhere except for a visit to the library, we just had some home days after the kids’ overwhelming week last week. 

We went to the homeschool tennis that happens every Friday. Arley loved it (surprisingly!) but Carmie was so sad!  There were so many kids there (more than 20 - apparently there are 55 homeschooling families signed up for tennis alone - so many homeschoolers!!). They were broken into two groups, and in Carmie and Arley’s group there were twelve kids, which was too overwhelming for Carmie.  She said she felt lonely because no one was talking to her, and she missed her old tennis lessons and her old coach.  She was even crying out on the court, poor thing.  She cheered up right afterwards when we went to the mall to buy new sneakers, and she said she would try again, so we are going back tomorrow.  We also are starting horse riding again tomorrow, which we are so excited about!

The kids went to Alithia for three days this week.  On Tuesday they came back all smiles.  On Wednesday when I went to pick them up, I was told that Arley was quite standoffish for most of the day.  Apparently one of the boys who he thought he was quite friendly with wouldn’t let him play, and told him to go away and shoved him.  This made me super sad for him.  It is hard enough for him to make friends, and his self esteem is so low.  He went back today, but fell asleep in the car on the way there.  He told me he was cold last night and didn’t sleep well.  I left him there, but luckily I stayed up in Bellingen to do some work in the library, because two hours later I got a call from the mentor at Alithia saying she held off as long as she could, but could I come get Arley because he is just so sad.  He perked up as soon as I got there. I took him out to lunch while Carmie stayed a bit longer at Alithia.  I feel bad for Arley.  He wants to play with the older kids, because mentally and academically he is right there with them, but they think he is just a little kid.  The younger kids seem to be too young for him, even when they are the same age (and it doesn’t help that they are all girls) so he hasn’t really found someone to hang out with.  He just needs one person to gel with, and he will be right as rain, but it hasn’t happened yet.  I think I will stay with him there next week to give him a bit of emotional support.  I want him to love it.  However, if it doesn’t work out, we aren’t too phased, as there are so many homeschoolers around here that I’m sure finding friends in the long run won’t be a problem.  He must have been really tired, because he fell asleep again on the way home, and when we got home, he was so out cold that it took me minutes to wake him up.  I was actually shaking him and got quite scared.  He is fine though.

Arley had a bad night last night too.  He definitely is more stressed than usual, which is understandable.  He was really mean to Carmie, and got into a big fight with me.  He got pretty nasty, and it went on for a good long while, but afterwards he was sobbing, he was so remorseful.  He has had such a great run, but he always ebbs and flows - I think he is at a little bit of a low right now, but he’ll pull through.

Carmie is doing great.  She loves Alithia.  She has made a few friends, she loves bush club, and Thursdays are drama days, which is right up her ally.  We have been having competitions at night to see who can ‘become king’ by winning three matches of the game Gobblet Gobblers in a row.  The first night, she was easy to beat.  Last night we were 50/50.  Tonight she totally kicked my butt!  I’d better watch out!

The kids and I also had our hair cut this week, which was also stressful for Arley, because he is so used to getting his hair cut but my friend Nikki who understands him.  He did it, because I bribed him with a donut, but it was hard!

Jeffrey took a course this week and passed an exam to get his forklift license.  It was not too easy to get (we thought it would be a breeze), but he passed with flying colours.  We’re hoping this helps him get a job in the hopefully near future!

Despite the lows from this week, we are still overwhelmingly happy to be here!  I have found a great grocer where I can get amazing fruit and veggies, we have about a million new places to explore, the weather is fantastic, even though it was slightly cooler this week, and this house is starting to feel a bit more like home.  The kids are missing their Lolo and Dida terribly, but they will be here for a visit in a few weeks, so that is cheering them up.

476 + 372 Weeks

 I can't believe another week has gone by already.  We have been really enjoying Coffs some days, and other days we have spent at home unpacking and organising.  All of our paintings are hung, and we have about an hour left of organising to do in the garage, and then we are done.  We have donated a lot of stuff to charity, things that don't fit and that we have been living without since we moved here.  We purged so much before we left, I can't believe how much stuff we have gotten rid of since moving here.  It is amazing how much you can accumulate without realising it, and how little you need so many of your possessions!

The weather has been incredible, so hot one day that the kids decided they wanted to try the Sawtell sea pool.  We went out there, and as beautiful as it was, the water was too cold.  But the kids were determined to go swimming, so we took them to an indoor pool for a swim, which reminded us all of old times.  We are really looking forward to going to the sea pool in the summer - Sawtell is amazingly beautiful!

We also took the kids to the Dolphin Marine Conservation Centre, and they loved it.  We saw the turtles that have been rescued and are on their way to being released, we saw beautiful dolphins, penguins, and we had a close-up encounter with a sea lion.  It was all really interesting.  Afterwards we went to Sawtell for morning tea, and it was a great way to spend a morning!

One morning we went back to the park and cafe at Sapphire Beach, because the kids love it there.  It has a great park with a zip line and a tall climbing tower, and good coffee and ice cream at the cafe.  Win win!

The kids spent two days at Alithia this week.  Next week we are hoping to extend it to three.  Arley is not as sold as Carmie is on it, but I think that is only because he suffers some anxiety whenever he leaves the house.  He would much rather stay home all day every day.  However, he did come back smiling on both days.  The kids are still asking us to pick them up a little early, but the hours are totally flexible there, so it's all good.  On Wednesday Arley fell in the creek and spent the day all wet (as did three other kids), but he didn't seem to mind.  They played in the bush, they did drama, a Spanish lesson, they made 'fossils' out of dough, drew, played games...how could they not love it?

Arley has been really great.  Jeffrey and I keep talking about how well he has taken this whole transition.  We were expecting rages and tantrums, but we've just had a few minor battles here and there.  Part of the reason is that we are giving him two hours of computer time every day.  We have withheld Minecraft and Roblox from him for so long, because they used to make him utterly crazy, but now they seem to give him an anchor point in his day and he is satisfied.  He knows that every afternoon he gets to have his computer time, and he is a happy boy these days.  I wish he would look forward to other things too, but it is what it is.  He is in control of that little world, and there is no anxiety there, so he loves it.

Carmie is as sweet as ever.  She was very nervous about Alithia this week, but she has come back both days so happy.  She spends a lot of time still with her head in a book, and just tonight she has asked for our copy of Lord of the Flies to read.  I'm not sure if it's appropriate for a nine year old, but it is the second time she has asked, so I told her to come talk to me about it when she has questions.  

Tomorrow we are going to meet some other homeschoolers at their weekly tennis session.  We were supposed to do this last week, but Carmie slipped and fell in the bathroom and banged up her knee really badly and couldn't walk properly for a few days.  So typical!

I am really relieved that the house is coming together.  I have run back and forth to K-Mart so many times to get odds and ends!  Luckily it is only five minutes away, as opposed to 45 minutes away like it used to be.  We have also bought a new lounge suite, coffee table and tv stand.  We have to wait another three weeks or more for it to arrive, except we got three pieces of the lounge suite today (it is a five piece modular).  So, that part of the house looks a bit like a college dormitory, and we can't wait for the rest of our furniture to arrive.  That will be when we are finally all done!

Sawtell

Our new 'workroom'

At the park at Sapphire Beach (note her winter clothing!  Haha)

That's Arley way at the top.  He proceeded to jump up and down so all of the kids had to get off because it was shaking so much :(

Sapphire Beach

At the Dolphin Marine Conservation Centre

475 + 371 Weeks

It has been a busy week!  First off, we are staying put in this house.  We did look at one more, but it just wasn’t good, not worth the effort of moving.  So, we are settling in, and it feels good.  We are still unpacking, but almost done.  We have lost the stand for our big tv, so we are stuck watching the little tv.  We have searched through every box in the garage, but it looks like we are actually going to have to unpack all of them. Of all the things to lose!

The great news is that the kids have started at the Alithia Learning Centre.  On Wednesday Jeffrey and I took the kids up there to meet the mentors and some of the kids, and we spent a few hours there so Carmie and Arley could join in with their activities.  It was great.  Carmie and Arley were a little unsure of themselves at first, but soon enough the mentors took all of the kids down into the bush for ‘bush club’, and the kids loved it.  The kids there have been building down in the bush, making a pretend cafe, a fairy garden, a suspension bridge over the creek, a fort, all with wood, hammer and nails, sheets, rope and other found materials.  Carmie and Arley had a blast.  We left around 11 to find somewhere in Bellingen to eat lunch, with the kids begging to start at Alithia the very next day.  So the next day I took them up for their first full day.  They were very nervous, and I had to stay for a while to help them settle in.  I also had to promise them that we’d pick them up early, which we did.  Jeffrey and I were there at 1:45 to get them, and they had big smiles on their faces, and they had had a great day.  We have decided the kids will be going to Alithia on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and then Fridays will be set aside for tennis with other Coffs homeschool kids, as well as horse riding.  Yes, we have found a place for the kids to start riding again.  It was a mission, let me tell you!  But I have just spoken to the instructor this evening, and he sounds great.  The kids will be starting in two weeks, and it can’t come soon enough.

We got Bella out to the dog beach again this week, and it was beautiful.  I also took the kids out for ice cream one morning and then for a play in a park we kept passing by.  It’s a great park, with so much different equipment in one place.  They loved it.  We also got to the mall a couple of times, and the kids and I made a giant maze for the rats, out of cardboard boxes.  It took most of a morning and was hard work, but it was fun to see the ratties trying to make their way to the treasure at the end.  It took them a while, but they both got there eventually.

I can’t wait until all of our unpacking is finished and we can make this house a home.  The kids seem far more settled here now.  They received letters from their friends Delphi and Jasper, and it just made their day.  They got down to business and started writing them back and drawing them pictures, and they are very excited to have pen pals.  I can’t get the kids to write for anything, but give them a good reason and they are all over it.

By the way, the weather here is amazing!  It doesn’t feel like winter at all!