It's been a good and busy week. I am exhausted and would love a break, but that's not in the cards until my parents come up, which won't happen until the borders open...so, maybe never??
We made new friends this week. On Saturday I took the kids to a small autism family get together at a cat retreat cafe. The kids were very excited to go, because they love cats and are desperate for one as a pet. The family who organised it is lovely and the kids made friends with their son Flynn. We are going to their place for a play the weekend after next. It is great to find families in similar situations to our own, because very little needs to be explained when things go badly, so it takes the pressure off. And the cat retreat was great, except that the kids must have asked me a hundred times if they could adopt a cat.
We also went to an indoor rock climbing centre. The kids were really excited to go, but it didn't work out as planned. We thought it was a place where they would be harnessed and can climb the walls and then repel down. This place was actually a bouldering place, so there was no harness. We had to sit through a short demo, and as soon as the guy said if you fall, roll backwards and keep your arms tucked in, I knew Arley was out. The look on his face - he thought he was going to die. His anxiety sky-rocketed, and he pretty much fell apart. I got in a few short climbs before I took him out to run errands, leaving Carmie and Jeff having fun bouldering. Poor Arley's anxiety was so high that when we were out doing errands, he started clinging to me and started sobbing, saying he was convinced I was going to die in a car accident. He was beside himself. He only relaxed when we all got home. Carmie and Jeffrey had a great time though, and will be going back for sure.
On Tuesday Arley's mentor came over, and once again Arley had a blast. He spent two hours engaged, and got to fly a drone through hoops in our backyard. Our family therapy on Wednesday didn't go nearly as well, with Arley completely disengaged and Carmie overexcited. You win some, you lose some!
I took the kids to the Eumundi markets yesterday. The markets up there are amazing! But next time I will definitely be going without the kids. Carmie wanted to stop and touch anything colourful or shiny, and Arley wanted to go home as soon as we arrived. Carmie bought a glass hummingbird which she dropped and broke as soon as we got home. She was so upset. But the markets are great and I'm really looking forward to going back!
Today we made new friends. We went to an indoor playhouse and met up with an 8 year old boy who lives in our neighbourhood and has just started homeschooling. His name is Chase, and he and Arley got along really well, which is so good. I liked the mum too, so it's a win win!
We have had some really bad weather this week, a lot of rain, which is great for the garden but not so good for Jeff. He has had a few days off work, but today they bit the bullet and he had to work out in the pouring rain all day. He is going to train in climbing soon, so he is pretty happy with this new job.
The kids have been tough cookies this week. Arley has been super grumpy and rather dysregulated and angry, and Carmie has been quite emotional. Hoping that they both level out, because I am really tired!
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