It has actually been a good week, despite all the rain. We’ve had one day of good weather, and luckily that was Monday so we got to go to our Coffs homeschool meet. We all met at the sea pool in Sawtell, and it was a really good turnout. We met new parents and kids, and it was really fun. Carmie and Arley were quite reserved at first, and Arley was doing his normal “I’m bored, can we go home?” routine. I gave Carmie the mission to make friends with at least one new kid, and poor Carms, she tried so hard, but the first two girls (sisters) she asked to play both said no thank you! Carmie got so upset she went and lay down on her towel for ages and was too scared to try again. But a little later on she asked a boy to have a water fight with her and all the kids got involved, so it turned out alright. And the two girls ended up chatting with her after all. Even Arley joined in a little.
We haven’t done too much else because of the weather. On Saturday the kids and I had our hair cut. Arley gets very stressed getting his hair cut, so our hair dresser is going to start coming to our home to cut his hair, which is great. Yesterday we took the kids to the museum and it was really good. Arley carried on a bit, as to be expected, but it was interesting all the same. Afterwards we went down to the harbour and had lunch, and it was a nice little outing. Today the kids had horse riding in the mud (it has been so wet here!), and then swimming this afternoon. We’ve been keeping busy indoors. We’ve played games, made ice cream and even done some math and writing (!!).
Carmie had her ADOS assessment as part of her autism assessment on Tuesday. The ADOS is the standard test but it is geared towards boys, so the psychologist really has to think outside of the box. Next week I have more questions to fill out as part of the assessment, and then the psych will write up her report. She told me she is leaning towards a yes for autism.
Carmie’ s insomnia got a little better this week. She had a bad night last night, but other than that she has really improved. Thank goodness, because she was becoming really ill. It was such a relief to see her sleep again. She’s taking Catapres and melatonin to sleep, but we’ll try to ween her off at some point.
Arley has had a really good week. We set up a teepee in his room with cushions and a lamp and squeezy toys for when he gets angry, and he hasn’t had to use it. He loves it though, and so he reads and takes naps in it. Carmie got one too. I think this med combination is really working for him. In a few days we are upping his Intuniv to 3mg from 2mg, and I think it’s going to be even more beneficial. He still gets angry and can be rude, but he hasn’t exploded like he usually does. He had a very angry moment with Jeff tonight for ten minutes, and it got a little ugly, but it wasn't horrible. They tend to butt heads. It’s really nice not having to deal with explosive anger. His psychologist is working on his anxiety, so that helps. He goes back for another session on Tuesday.
We have a surprise for the kids. My mum is secretly flying up to Coffs tomorrow to stay with us for six days. The kids are going to be beside themselves. My bet is that Carmie bursts into tears. I’m looking forward to seeing the look on their faces! And me and Jeff will actually be able to go our for a date night. Can’t wait!
After our hair cuts
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