542 + 438 Weeks

I only have one photo from this week!  This is so not like me.  I think it is because we have mostly been inside because of the rain.  So much rain!  And so much more to come.  We are being overrun by cane toads.  Actually cane toadlets, hundreds of them.  Last night Arley and I went out with a flashlight and found two large cane toads in our yard.  During the day we have seen at least a hundred babies.  They are poisonous to Bella so we will have to do something about them.  In the meantime, Arley is loving his 'toad hunts'.

We have had a few stressful days this week.  The kids' grand dad Pop bought them a new computer each for Christmas (early, but we were desperate!), and Arley was SO excited, but then we found out our modem also wasn't working properly, so there has been a lot of drama.  I spent a few hours on to Telstra dealing with it to no avail, so last night I emailed the CEO of Telstra, and low and behold, I got a call today and they are sending out a new modem which should arrive tomorrow.  This will help us out so much.  The kids' faulty computers have been the source of a whole lot of stress for the past nine months or so, and now I feel a huge weight lifted, and the kids are SO happy.  And so am I, so thanks Pop :)

Yesterday I took the kids to a rock climbing centre.  They were so excited to go.  I should have vetted it first, because it was way too hard and stressful for Arley.  He had a mini meltdown there, but the owner was very good about it.  Carmie liked it a lot (she loves rock climbing and bouldering!), but we couldn't stay long.  When we were leaving, I told the owner she would be back with her dad, and Arley turned to him and said, "And I'm never coming back again."  Nothing like autistic honesty! :(

The kids started their tennis lessons on Friday of last week.  It was very early and I received quite a bit of groaning and complaining from Arley (Carmie was fine, of course!), but we made it there on time, and the kids loved it.  They both were surprised that it was over so soon, so we are switching from half hour to 45 minute lessons from now on.  Tennis is going to be rained out tomorrow, but I'm a lot less scared of the early hour now.

The kids both had their mentor sessions, and they went really well.  Arley was a little unfocused and hard to engage, but he was really chatty.  We are finding his new dose of Ritalin makes him so talkative, and very honest too.  Carmie had her session today and she built a lego robot.  We had our family therapy on Wednesday morning and it was a disaster...so stressful.  Carmie went mute, and Arley kept sighing and saying how bored he was, and talking over Carmie because of Carmie's trouble speaking.  Then he started yelling at her because of her bare feet.  Then Carmie started crying.  Arley refused to sit in front of the camera (it was a zoom session).  You get the picture...so fun!  Not!

We have a week of rain ahead of us, so wish us luck with our cane toad infestation! 

A cane toadlet as big as my thumbnail

541 + 437 Weeks

We didn't get up to too much this week.  We had a lovely-ish beach day with Nicky, Lexi and Felix on Tuesday.  It was beautiful there, and really great until we had a bit of melted and spilt ice-cream drama, Arley started yelling at an already upset Carmie and Carmie had a melt down and ran away.  Yep, I couldn't find her, and I had a very harrowing five to ten minutes.  Deep down I knew she was fine, but still I couldn't stop the blind panic.  A woman who works at the Surf Club started helping me search, and she went to make an announcement in the club when she found Carmie right outside it.  Carmie had walked down to the car, discovered it locked and then was just hanging out until she got calm.  Which is fine, except that I didn't know where she was!  Ugh, I hate that feeling.  I got a horrible stress headache which lasted most of the afternoon.

Yesterday we had plans to meet up with Nicky again at the rock climbing centre, but Carmie didn't sleep well the night before, so we had to cancel.  Poor Carms didn't sleep well last night either.  She was awake from midnight to 4am.  Her new paed has her on some medicine which was originally knocking her out and making her groggy, but for the last three nights it hasn't been working.  I think she has the doctors a little stumped.

Jeffrey had today off work, so we took the kids to the Buderim waterfall, which is only 10 minutes from our house.  It was lovely down there, and good to get into nature.  Arley can only last so long in environments like that, so we explored a little and then came back home.  It was pretty noisy there because of the waterfall, and it was getting hot, two things which set Arley off.

Both kids had their mentors come this week and that went well.  Arley's paediatrician has put him on a higher dose of Ritalin, and today was his second day.  He is very very chatty on it!  And lately Arley has been asking to go out in the mornings, because he needs to 'bust time'.  I don't let him on screens before 1pm, so he has discovered that going out makes time go faster.  This is a big win for us.

I have found an equine centre for the kids.  It has a wait list though, so she is going to try to get them in over the school holidays and then slot them in next year.  I also have signed us up for tennis lessons again, at 7:30 on Friday monrings.  This is SO early for us!  Arley was pretty mad.  Our first lesson is tomorrow.  Send me positive vibes, somehow I have to get the kids out the door by 7:10am.  Oh my god, what have I done!

It's Movember...

540 + 436 Weeks

It is so hot and muggy right now!  The kids went for a swim this morning while I splashed around a bit.  The pool thermometer says 28 degrees, but it doesn't feel that warm to me.  I know thunderstorms are coming becauase Bella is hiding under my desk right now as I type.

The weather has been pretty rainy this week, so we didn't get out much.  We made a spontaneous trip to Caloundra on Monday in between rain showers.  Jeff had gone there to take photos, and called me to bring the kids down because it ws so beuautiful there.  We did a bit of swimming and then I took the kids out for ice cream before it started pouring again.

The kids and I all got our hair cut too, which was so necessary in this heat!  They used to get donuts after hair cuts, but now they have decided their treat will be bubble tea.  Arley needs a treat afterwards because he hates getting his hair cut so much.  Our hair dresser kindly makes sure her salon is empty for us because Arley gets very cross.  Luckily she is very understanding!

Both kids had their Launchpod sessions with their mentors this week.  They went really well.  I feel like we have many advantages for the kids up here that we never had in Ulladulla.  There are a few other services that we plan to try next year too, and I am trying to line up tennis and horse riding for the near future.

I had a solo chat with our family therapy psychologist this week.  She gave me some good ideas for us to work on.  She thinks both kids are incredibly smart, and that Arley's troubles are from the way his autism is presenting at the moment.  She said he is obviously a very sweet and engaging little guy.  This is really nice to hear, because she often sees a different side of him.  She has also lined up a different therapist who works with girls on the spectrum to work with Carmie, just so that Carmie has someone to chat to.  Arley is in a bit of a mode of controlling Carmie, and there's not much we can do about it but actively ignore it and redirect, so it will be good for Carmie to have someone to talk to.  That will be starting in a week and a half.

It's been a pretty chill week.  Hoping the next week will be just as smooth!

538 + 434 Weeks & 539 + 560 Weeks

So, I guess I forgot to actually post this last week!  Here is post #1, followed by post #2...

Time is definitely getting faster with every week.  Jeffrey had a four day weekend this week, so we had a lot of family time.  It was hot, so we went in the pool, played darts on the patio, had some drinks, watched a movie with the kids…I think this is how our summer weekends are going to play out.  Pretty chill.

The kids have had an up and down week.  Arley is on his third trial of Ritalin.  He’s not eating much, which is a bit of a worry, and he seems a little temperamental.  This also could be because his computer is in the shop getting worked on, so he is at a bit of a loss of what to do with himself.  He is desperate to learn coding, so we have been doing it together, but I only have so much time to give to him, so he has been getting upset.  He thinks he will fail without me.  I can’t seem to get it through his head that I am no computer whiz!

Carmie had a week of terrible insomnia.  She slept badly five nights out of six, and then the night before last she fell asleep at 5am and slept to 8am.  Three hours sleep.  She was an absolute mess.  Luckily she crashed last night and finally slept.  She had her first Launchpod session today with a woman called Holly, who will be her new mentor.  Carmie loved it.  And it gave me time to do coding with Arley.

We took the kids to a new park nearby on Tuesday. It’s a pretty cool park, and they loved it.  I’m not sure how much we’ll be able to go there while the weather is hot.  It’s getting hotter and hotter.  When I get up in the morning I am straight into shorts and t-shirt, feeling the heat.  Summer might be a killer!

Arley had a play date with his new friend Chase on Wednesday.  We left Carmie at home because she was so unwell due to her insomnia.  Arley and Chase had a good play, but it was so short.  We went to the neighbourhood park, and 45 minutes in, Arley had to pee, but there were no toilets there, so we had to leave.  The good news is the boys got along very well and I can see them becoming good friends.

I don’t have much more to report.  We are waiting on Carmie’s NDIS funds to come through so we can book the kids into more therapies like equine therapy.  Carmie really misses riding.  Arley is happier staying home, but I won’t let him :)

Now for post #2!

It has been a good week, with a few ups and downs, but we've handled it well.  Arley's computer has been in the shop getting fixed for almost two weeks, so things have been more difficult than usual, but it came back today and it is working and he is happier!  I am too, because he had taken over my computer, which is why I forgot to post last week...

We had a successful beach day with the kids' friends.  Arley was worried to take his shoes off at first, but as soon as he got there and saw Carmie and Lexi running down to the water, he took off, flinging his shoes over his shoulder.  He swam in the ocean for a good hour, which is such a relief!  Beach days are back!  This is such good news.  Of course since then, the weather cooled right down so we haven't been back.

Halloween was on Sunday and the kids got dressed up.  We were running a little late so we didn't have as much time to put into costumes as we normally do.  The kids had fun anyway, and got lots of loot.  Afterwards we went out to dinner to a pizza/pasta place (gluten free menu!), and it was good, except Jeff got a bit cross at Arley because Arley wouldn't stop eating his candy before dinner.

I took the kids back to the new park we found.  We had a good play, and Carmie and I also played some baseball.  Today we had a play date with the kids' new friend Chase, at our neighbourhood park.  The kids had a really good time, and I'm so glad Arley has a friend nearby.

Family therapy this week was a disaster.  Arley was stressing out and wouldn't participate, and Carmie was mad at me so was being difficult.  The kids get a break next week while I meet with the therapist alone, which is good because I think we have a lot to talk about!

Some good news is that Carmie's NDIS funding just came through yesterday, which means we can start our equine therapy.  Carmie had Launchpod today too, and she loved it.  We are so lucky to have this support.  Can't wait to get the kids back on horses!