516 + 412 Weeks

It has been a super quick week.  Jeffrey got back from QLD on Friday, with all good reports.  The kids were excited to have him back, particularly Carmie who missed him terribly.  Jeff really enjoyed it up there.  He said there is definitely more traffic, and more people, but also much more to do too.  Beautiful beaches, lots of cafes and restaurants, great weather.  I’ve been chatting to the mothers in homeschool groups up there, and they are really active groups with many activities, so that makes me want to go.  We have our homeschooling review with the NSW Education Department on Monday, and I will be happy never to go through this process again.  The amount of work I have to get ready and the hoops I have to  jump through is awful.  The kids aren't terribly happy having to sit down and do worksheets either!  NSW is the strictest state, and it is no fun!

Saturday was rainy, and on Sunday Jeff took the kids to the zip line park up at Sapphire Beach.  Meanwhile, I had a two hour massage!  (Thanks Pop!).  Believe it or not, two hours went by so quickly.  I guess that means it was a good one! I feel much better for it and I think I need to treat myself with mini-massages more often.

Monday was a really busy day for me.  I had a paediatrician appointment with Arley, Carmie had a psychology appointment, and then I had to go to the psychologist for Arley’s appointment.  I came out of there quite deflated. Hopeful, because our psychologist is doing everything to help us and we have a plan, but deflated because it is always a really emotional experience. The bad news is that when I got home, Arley had the biggest meltdown ever, and got violent, so then I had to leave again.  I treated myself to a windy lunch at the beach and when I returned home he was crashed out asleep on his bed. His paed has taken him off his Intuniv medication, because it was making him SO sleepy and he’s not really eating.  Intuniv is an ADHD med for impulsivity.  I didn’t think we’d notice too much of a change but oh my goodness.  Monday night was fine, and Tuesday was OK too.  But then I guess the meds were mostly out of his system at that point.  He ddin’t sleep on Tuesday night.  Like, at all.  He made a bed on the floor next to me, twice.  He got into our bed.  He was up all night.  And so the next day I was waiting for the explosion.  But did it come?  No.  Instead, he was unbelievably hyperactive all day.  A true ADHD day.  Bouncing off the walls, climbing on the furniture, couldn’t keep his hands to himself.  OMG, it was exhausting.  He was doing all our heads in by nighttime.  And then he completely crashed at 9pm and slept for 11 hours.  Today he has been a little hyper but a little more in control too, so hoping he just gets easier and easier!  We have another paed appointment in the second week of June, and we might be starting Arley on a new med, depending on how the next few weeks go.  Just tonight at dinner Arley said he wants to go back on the med he just came off, because he feels he has so much energy and he can't control himself.  I'm going to have to get him to chanel it somehow!

Poor Carmie has had three nights of insomnia.  Two nights ago she got 5 hours sleep, and last night she got 6 hours sleep, all broken up.  She was a bit of a disaster at horse riding today.  She had a new teacher again, and she was so tired.  I thought it would be the best thing for her, to get some fresh air, activity and sunshine, but I'm not sure it was.  She is now saying she wants to stop horse riding until we move and find a new equine centre.  We'll see how she feels next week.

On Tuesday we met the kids' friends Will and Charlie at the park.  Arley had a moment and told me he wanted to go home, right after we arrived.  I sat and played some games with him until he settled in, and then he actually told me he wanted to go play with his friends, so he came around, which is a huge breakthrough.  He hasn't really had a change of heart like that before, so that is promising.  Carmie got in a good play while Arley was with me, so it actually worked out quite well.  It was a promising outing.

The kids are getting very excited about moving to QLD.  Jeff and I are going up at the end of next month for a few days while Mum and Geoff look after the kids, so we'll have a better idea of what's going on then.

Daddy's home!

Park play with Dad

Park play with friends

515 + 411 Weeks

 So, here's our news for this week.  For a little while now Jeffrey and I have been tossing up the idea of moving to Queensland, more specifically to Brisbane or the Gold Coast.  We love Coffs Harbour, but the house we are in is not suited for us, and there is an extreme rental crisis here and there is nowhere to move to.  The rental wait list is 12 months long.  Mum and Geoff and both of my brothers are looking at QLD at some point in the future, so we figured we'd look around before the kids got truly enmeshed here.  So, on Saturday I mentioned to Jeff that one of us should go up there to check it out, and it couldn't be me.  He didn't hesitate (go figure!) and he packed up our camping gear and left the next morning for Brisbane!  He spent three nights there, scoping out the city and the neighbourhoods during the day.  Then he travelled south and spent last night and will spend tonight at the Gold Coast.  He is loving it, although he claims he is missing us :)  We are leaning towards the Gold Coast because there is a really active homeschool group there, it is right on the beach, and there is a lot going on.  Yes it is really touristy, but we don't plan on living at Surfers Paradise.  Living in QLD would be great as far as homeschooling is concerned, as it is the most lax state in Australia and much easier for me as far as registration goes.  I'm actually really excited about venturing further north.  I think we will start looking for rentals in July.  Nothing is set in stone yet, but we are really liking the idea.

On Sunday I took the kids to a birthday party.  Their friends Will and Charlie have a little sister, and it was her birthday.  The kids were desperate to go because there was going to be a bonfire and they were going to roast (vegetarian) marshmallows.  It was very crowded, and everything was fine at first, until one of the kids knocked Arley out of this hammock, and he fell face first into the dirt.  He really hurt himself, and I ran and got him and carried him to the car.  He had a meltdown in the car.  He felt safe and I let him get it out.  He spent about an hour in the car and then when they got the fire going I managed to coerce him out, but he had a massive meltdown on the lawn and it was awful.  He did get to roast marshmallows after that, but he took it all out on me so I was very exhausted.  We left soon after.  The good news is that Carmie had a blast and was completely unaware of my struggles with her brother.

The kids and I have had a good week.  Arley has had one bad episode where he refused to come to dinner. Other than that, things have been pretty calm.  I think the dynamic is different without Jeffrey around, and Arley needs to vie for my attention less.  Carmie has been sick for three days this week, but was back to normal today.  We spent Monday through Wednesday having home days, and Carmie barely made it out of bed.  Today she was able to do her horse riding lesson.  Arley's not doing them at the moment, so we sat on our picnic blanket while we waited.  Two ponies came over and were nuzzling up to us, it was too cute.  They just would not stop because they could smell Arley's crackers.  So even though he didn't ride, he still got to pet some horses. 

I got both kids to swimming today and Arley complained of having a tummy ache at first, but I told him he had to get in anyway.  He did, and he had fun.  The teacher smartly changed things up, so hopefully we have cracked Arley's anxiety about swimming lessons.

I don't have much else to say about this week.  It's been pretty cruisey, which is a good thing.  I know it never lasts though, so I'm hanging on to my hat!

Saying goodbye to my brother Jay on Friday morning.

Arley has gotten really into digging holes and smashing rocks.  Good exercise at least!

Cupcake decorating

Playing with fire

This is what happens when you give Carmie a nutella bagel

At horse riding this morning

514 + 410 Weeks

We have had quite a good week.  My brother Jay has been staying with us since Tuesday.  He is leaving tomorrow, and the kids wish he was staying longer.  It has been great having him here.  We've been out to lunch twice, and last night we went out to dinner.  The kids have been great through all of it, even though Arley didn't want to go out for any of those meals.  Jay and Jeffrey played Monopoly with Carmie, and Jay schooled the kids in Halo on the X-Box.  It's great having family here.

Yesterday morning I took the kids to the trampoline place here to meet up with the Nambucca homeschool group.  After an hour Carmie was done and wanted to leave, but she waited patiently for another hour for her brother WHO DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE!  This is a miracle.  He had a blast, and it was so great to see him active and running around.  The two boys he was mostly playing with are both 12 years old, but he feels much more comfortable with kids that age.  It was good to see that smile back on his face.

On Friday night Arley had a massive meltdown, and it was really upsetting for all of us.  I had an appointment with his psychologist the next day, and she said we are all failing him, and has recommended we see the experts in the country.  I tried booking him in to Tony Attwood's clinic in Brisbane but they are booked out, but I got word today that we are going to be seen by a specialist in Sydney through video conference, so hopefully we will have some more help soon.  Arley is barely eating and he's not happy, and tired all the time.  We have a paediatrician appointment on Monday week, so hopefully we will get some help with his eating issues then too.

Carmie also started seeing the psychologist to help with any anxiety that she might have.  She loved the session and is looking forward to going back.  We came away with some strategies to help when our house is a madhouse, so I think it will really help her.

We had swimming lessons today. Arley was refusing to go in again, but his teacher made a deal with him that he only had to swim for ten minutes, so he did, and he was great.  Next week we're shooting for 15 minutes.  After her lesson, Carmie had a play in the pool with her Uncle Jay, and she did not want it to end.  She is an absolute fish, and when she has someone to play with, she is insatiable.

Another day the kids and I went scooting around near the jetty, used the outdoor exercise equipment and then went and got ice cream.  We are trying to keep the mornings screen-free, and Arley hates it!  Once he is out doing something, he is fine, but he thinks I am ruining his life by this new rule.  Carmie is stoked though.  I think it will benefit all of us.

It was Mother's Day on Sunday.  We didn't tell the kids.  Last year we didn't either, and it was the calmest Mother's Day I had ever had, so we did it again this year.  We did get out and take the kids to the aquarium, which was awesome.  Both kids loved it and Arley lasted a full 45 minutes before needing to leave, and we took that as a big win.  Carmie found out two days later that she had missed Mother's Day and she was quite upset.  Maybe next year we will let them know.  But then again, maybe not!

Waiting for our psychology appointment.

512/513 + 408/409 Weeks

So, I missed a blog post last week because we were on holiday back in Ulladulla, and I didn't have access to my iPad because the morning we left Arley's iPad broke and couldn't be fixed.  Such a bugger.  But we had a great time.  Jeffrey stayed home to look after Bella and the rats, and it was a long 8 days without him.  I have to say, I was slightly jealous of his peace and quiet, but it was nice to be back in our old stomping ground.  We stayed with my parents, and the kids were so excited to see Lolo and Dida again.  The plane trip went smoothly (Carmie was beyond excited).  I was sitting across the aisle from her, and upon landing there was quite a bit of turbulence, and Carmie shouted out, "Landing is so much fun!" to the whole plane.  After that we caught two trains and were picked up in Bowral by my sister.  We stayed there for a few hours, then drove Georgia's car to Ulladulla.

The kids managed to squeeze in three horse riding lessons with Milea.  It was great.  Horse riding has been pretty rough on Arley up here in Coffs, and I was worried that he had lost his skills, but the moment he was back on Rocky he was trotting around the arena like he owned the place.  It was so good to see the kids back up on their horses smiling and laughing again.  Good to see Milea too.  It almost made me want to move back!  We also had lots of play dates with the kids' old friends. It's like no time had passed.  Carmie was beside herself to catch up with her friends, and Arley got in some really good plays too, so it was great.  It was so good to catch up, and I got to see my friends too.  I went out to dinner, had tea with friends, felt like a real person again.  It was great to hang out with my parents and let my mother beat me at Scrabble.  We went to our old haunts, and the beaches there are just as beautiful as ever.  I do miss it, however I also know that we made the right choice by moving.  It was time.

After Ulladulla we drove back to my sister's in Bowral and spent a day and a night there before catching the trains back to Sydney.  Carmie played her first games of ping pong, and Arley is obsessed with Georgia's pets.  He just loves them.

So, we have been back for a few days and we have given the kids some home time to settle in.  We took them out for a little this afternoon, but Arley was really dysregulated and so it wasn't much fun.  Afterwards I had to rush them off to their swimming lesson, and Arley didn't improve.  He got in the water and cried the whole time.  His teacher and I agreed that he should stay in for the whole lesson, regardless of whether or not he was swimming, so we made him stay in.  We didn't want to set a precedent.  He cried and cried, and told me his knees hurt (who knows why?) and it was heartbreaking.  I almost caved at least three times, but he made it through the lesson (he just stood in the water though).  He is quite unsettled and I'm looking forward to getting into a routine with him again.

After swimming we saw a beautiful dog that had one brown eye and one blue eye.  The kids were petting it, and Carmie stood up and told me that having two different coloured eyes is called heterochromia.  I think there's nothing she doesn't know!

I am totally swamped with work and doing my best to catch up so I can get the kids back into a routine.  Vacations are great, but there is always a bit of stress before and after!

At Sapphire beach - one last play with Dad before leaving.

That's Jeff up there.  He said it's really high!

Seriously can't get this kid to smile.

On the plane.  Excited!

Arrived and first dinner at Lolo & Dida's

Back at Milea's!

Narrawallee park

Carmie and Willow

Me and Kylie

Up their favourite fig tree

Carmie and Delphi.  These two miss each other so much :(

Carmie, Delphi, Jasper and Arley

Running races on Collers Beach

Fossicking just like we used to

Awwww

Saying goodbye to Auntie Georgia

On the plane home