551 + 447 Weeks

Well, it's been one of those tougher weeks again.  The kids have been having a hard time -  Carmie because Arley has been so antagonistic, and Arley because his new meds haven't fully kicked in yet.  He has been quite volatile, and has had a couple of really big eruptions.  He has been on his new meds for two weeks today, and we can up his dosage tomorrow.  It's a bit of a worry, because the dose he will go to is quite a large one for such a little guy.  I just have to hope our paediatrician knows what he's doing!  Arley's ADHD seems to be more prominent too, which is kind of doing all of our heads in!  He can't walk past Carmie without poking, butt-slapping, burping or ruffling her hair, and he can't sit at the table for a meal, he is pretty much eating while standing up and bouncing.

We got out for an outing on Tuesday.  It was a lovely day, so we went to a place called La Balsa.  We had never been there before.  It's a large park on the water, right on an inlet.  It was really lovely there.  Arley went hunting for fish again, and Carmie and I got to hang out with each other.  It was a short outing but good to get out all the same.

The kids had their therapies and mentor sessions again this week.  Arley actually willingly talked to his psychologist this morning, which is a big plus.  Tomorrow Carmie is going to a group called The Gathering, which is a group of girls that do arts and crafts together, centred around a theme.  She is very excited, and we're hoping she makes some new friends.  Next week the kids are starting a program which is a one on one outdoor mentoring session for autistic kids, and we have high hopes.  There is so much on offer to help the kids here, I'm so grateful to have moved.

Carmie is suddenly going through a growth spurt.  She is up to my nose now!  Her legs are pretty much the same length as mine.  She has become interested in cooking, and has learned to make herself buckwheat pancakes for breakfast, and she airfries potatoes for herself most lunches.  Now if only I could get Arley into the kitchen!

Oh, and one more thing.  Arley FINALLY lost his first tooth naturally this week!  The adult tooth is already growing up behind it and has been for a while.  Carmie hung on to her wobbly teeth for dear life, but thank goodness Arley had the sense to wobble it until it fell out.

Not much else to report!  Wish us luck with Arley's meds....

550 + 446 Weeks

We had three beach days this week - feels just like the old days!  On Saturday Jeffrey and I took the kids to Dicky Beach.  We were all set to ride the waves on our new boogie boards.  What we weren't expecting was giant swell and turbulent waves.  It meant that boogie boarding was out, but that didn't stop the kids from swimming and paddling.  It's funny, because Arley used to LOVE the beach back in Mollymook.  Then we moved to Coffs Harbour, and even in the tamest, flattest 'surf' he was too scared to go into the water.  Now that he is braving the ocean again, he could not have cared less that the waves were huge and crashing all around him.  He was the first one in and the last one out.  Carmie had fun playing with her dad and being thrown into the waves.  It was a beach day of no drama, which is a small miracle.

On Tuesday I took the kids to meet up with Lexi at Cotton Tree Beach, which is this lovely inlet area and great for swimming - no waves.  We hadn't seen Lexi and Nicky for a while, but the kids had no problems connecting again.  Carmie and Lexi played and Arley spent two hours with a fishing net trying to catch fish.  Carmie spent two hours underwater, she is such a fish.  And I had a good catch up with Nicky.  Arley loved the beach so much he begged to go back the next day, so after our work and chores were done on Wednesday, we went back with Jeffrey.  Arley spent the whole time trying to catch fish again.  He and Carmie were getting in each other's way 'accidentally' so we had to separate them a bit, but all in all, it was another outing with no drama.  Three in one week is amazing for us.

On Monday both kids had their mentors over, and that went well.  Alrey is currently on day 7 of his new med Zoloft, and so far, so good, he has had no side effects.  It hasn't fully started working yet - we need a few more weeks for it to properly kick in.  Carmie has only had a couple of days of insomnia, including one really bad 4 hour night.  I can track her sleep now because she wears an Apple Watch to bed, so I have a pretty accurate recording.  Her deep sleep is terrible most nights, even when she does get enough hours of sleep.  It's no wonder she feels crappy so much.

Arley had his first session alone with his psychologist today.  It's the same woman we were working with last year in our family therapy.  His session was only 15 minutes, and it seemed to go pretty well.  He'll be meeting with her every week, so fingers crossed.  The last psychologist couldn't see him anymore due to 'extreme defiance'.  That's my boy.

So, it's been a much better week this week, hoping this run continues!

549 + 445

We made it through another week with just a little drama.  Once again we didn't go out much - the weather has been horrible!  I have one photo of Carmie and that is it. I took it on Wednesday at a homeschool meet we went to.  It was on Chambers Island, which is a small island off the river in Maroochydore.  The island was pretty cool with some awesome climbing trees and some mangroves to explore.  The river was very brown though from all the rain we've had, so not very appetising to swim in.  The other kids did, but not my two.  I met a couple of nice parents, but the kids didn't do much socialising.  It's really hard because the kids that know each other all go off in a group, and Carmie and Arley have a hard time joining in.  I think these large meet ups aren't really for us!  Carmie read her book most of the time, and Arley was whittling sticks.  At least we left the house though, and explored a new place.

We have been bribing the kids all week with tv dinner nights.  They have to be kind to each other all day and they earn dinner in front of the tv.  It has actually been working out really well (and Jeff and I get to chill and watch a show too)...except for today.  Carmie had another night of insomnia last night, and Arley has been off his Prozac for three days and this morning started on Zoloft.  The Zoloft is supposed to take two weeks before it begins to take effect, and up to six weeks for full dose.  So, we pretty much have a very emotional Carmie and a rather volatile Arley, which is not a good combination.

I don't have much else to report, and I'm hoping that next week I have more photos and more adventures to talk about :)

548 + 444 Weeks

It's been another tough week, but the good news is, it seems to be getting better - I think?  I don't want to count my chickens...

Arley has been having a tough time, as I've mentioned before.  It came to a head this week in a couple of monumental meltdowns that came out of nowhere.  They were really bad and very upsetting for us all.  It has been a very challenging time.  I emailed his paediatrician but got a response back saying they are all out of the office until the 10th.  Not knowing what else to do, I've put him back on his Prozac.  He is having a few side effects - sleeplessness, a few headaches, and a weird feeling in his body, but his meltdowns have stopped.  He is still very angry very fast, but he has been able to hold it together for the past few days, so there is more harmony in our household.  He and Carmie have been fighting a lot, but over the past few days they have been trying harder not to (bribery with a tv dinner helps!).

Our New Year's Eve was very chill.  We went to a park in Buderim to watch the fireworks from a distance.  We didn't realise how far away we'd be, so it was a little disappointing.  We couldn't handle the crowds of the fireworks this year, so we kept it really low-key.

The weather has been kind of crap, with only two days of sunshine, and it was still windy.  We made it to the beach to see Nicky, Lexi and Felix, but the tide was too high and turbulent, we couldn't even go on the sand.  We sat for a bit and the kids played for a bit, and then I took the kids to get ice cream and we went home.  Carmie and I later went to the mall to get her some new swimming costumes, because she has suddenly grown out of hers.  I had to buy her size 12!!  She's definitely had a growth spurt and is very tall and lanky now.

Today I took the kids to the library.  We got trapped in there because the rain became so torrential, and Arley was not happy.  No fun.  Carmie couldn't have cared, books are her happy place.

Other than this, we haven't been out.  The kids' mentor came over and they each had a great session.  The kids' support worker was supposed to come over today and tomorrow, but he can't because of Covid.  Also my brother Sting has Covid, but he's doing ok, just feels crappy.

On top of this, we have no photos from this week, so I just took a snap of the kids right now.  I can't believe Arley stopped growling at me long enough to get a photo of him.  Carmie was cracking herself up posing, so she was easy.  Anyway, fingers crossed for a better week next week!