568 + 464 Weeks

Besides quite a few appointments, we didn't do much this week.  The weather has been rainy and cold, and Arley came down with a cold, then Carmie got it, and then Jeff.  Miraculously, I have stayed cold-free, which is a small miracle because usually I come down with things first and then am still sick once everyone else has recovered.  We had to cancel all mentor appointments this week, but Arley still went to his social skills group.  We also got to the library and to the mall, and today the rain stopped so the kids and I got outside and played hopscotch. Not a terribly exciting week! 

So we've had a lot of appointments this week.  I started seeing a dietician for Arley, and we have a plan going forward to improve his eating.  Basically I have to get 5-6 small meals into him a day, but they can be anything he wants to eat, so long as its 5-6 times a day.  He can eat ice cream or cakes if he wants all day.  She is trying to get him to find a love of food again, and to trigger his body into feeling hungry for three meals and three snacks. Once we get him eating more calories, then we are going to work on food chaining and getting his food to be more nutritious.  She has also put him on supplements.  This is all a relief to me, his eating has been very worrying.

I have just come back from taking Carmie to a developmental physio, and next month she will be seeing the physio once a week.  She has an uneven back (the physio thinks it's muscular rather than scoliosis), and low muscle tone, she fatigues easily and she can't sit upright for long periods, and she is hypermobile.  I knew there had to be a reason she can't sit at the table properly, but to see her back so crooked was a bit of a shock.

We are in the process of getting the kids a bunch of reports done with their various therapists, because we need more NDIS funding.  It has been a monumental effort coordinating this, and very eye-opening to see the reports and what the therapists have to say.  I'm trying to keep my spirits up, but we have a lot of work to do.  The only way is up!

567 + 463 Weeks

Ugh…My internet is still shot!  The kids’ was shot for two days, but now theirs is back, but not on my computer or iPad or phone, or Jeff’s.  Someone was booked in to come out tomorrow to fix it, but I’ve since received an SMS saying they’ve resolved the issue and no one is coming.  The issue is not resolved, and I’m pulling my hair out.

I am also still locked out of my business Instagram account, and I’ve pretty much lost all hope of getting it back.  It feels like a lost cause. 

I’ve finished with all the paperwork and school work that I had to do for the kids’ homeschool registration, but I can’t send it off to them, because of the internet…

And today Arley’s OT told me that he is the most challenging child on her caseload.

So, I guess you can all tell how I’m feeling!

It has been raining for most of the week.  I got the kids out yesterday to see their mentor Clint on Chambers Island.  That went great for Carmie, not so great for Arley.  Carmie did some inverted tree climbing which apparently is really difficult.  Arley spent the whole time walking around and trying to steal Clint’s hat.  Arley has not been very cooperative with his support workers this week.  He just kept telling them that he’s bored or anxious or tired, and kept taking himself to bed with his iPad.  He is not eating during the day, but then spends the night eating snacks, and it’s doing my head in.  His OT has gotten him on the waitlist for a specialist dietician, so we are hoping to get in with her next week.

Carmie is doing well.  She’s a good egg, as Clint called her this week.  She is developing a clever sense of humour, and she is pretty fun to be around.  Carmie and I made sushi together yesterday.  It’s become her favourite food, and our sushi turned out great.  I made some miso soup to go with it.  Arley refused to try any, of course!

Wish me luck for the week ahead.  Things just have to get better!

566 + 462 Weeks

So, we are back in the middle of torrential rains again, pretty much trapped in the house.  The internet has been out on our Mac products, but thank goodness the kids’ new computers are getting a stronger signal from the modem, or I think we would all be completely crazy right now.  

Something crappy happened to me this week.  My Instagram business account got hacked.  The person was posting all kinds of Bitcoin nonsense and trying to scam my almost 12000 followers.  I freaked out for a few hours, trying so hard to log back in, but couldn’t.  In the end I managed to get a hold of Instagram security and they shut it down, and they are supposedly going to get my account back to me, but it will be a week tomorrow so sadly I’m starting to lose hope.  If you look my business up on IG it’s just gone, and that is our main source of advertising.  So, keep your fingers crossed.  I don’t have it in me to build it up again, at least not right now.

So, I’ve been kind of stressed this week!  The kids had their mentors come over on Monday and all was well.  Their support workers came over on Tuesday, and that was pretty good too, even though they were unable to go out because of the rain.  Four hours is a little long for Arley to stay at home and play with someone - he gets exhausted from it and needs plenty of breaks.

On Friday Arley went to his other support worker’s place to meet up wth another little boy for a play.  When I dropped Arley off, Rob told me he was planning on taking them kayaking to Bribie Island.  Arley said he wasn’t going because he hates kayaking.  I told him he would get a treat if he went and had fun, and Rob told him he would just be sitting in the front of his kayak while the other little boy had a separate kayak.  I left, and off they went.  When he had to put on a life jacket, apparently he said to Rob, “Why do I have to wear this clown suit?!”  LOL.  They got over there fine and Arley had a great time, even though he refused to smile for the photos.  On the way home though, Arley and Rob’s kayak got a hole in it and they sunk!  They had to swim the last 10 - 12 meters in to shore, fully clothed.  OMG.  Rob said that Arley was totally calm about it the whole time.  He walked back to Rob’s house soaking wet and sandy, and he refused a towel.  Rob was to drive Arley home, so they had to wait until the other mother arrived.  She was ten minutes late, and that’s when Arley lost the plot.  He was shouting and angry, and then Rob had to drive him home all wet.  When they got home, Arley stormed off into the bathroom for a shower, and told me he’s never going kayaking with Rob again.  I hate to laugh, but it is just so funny!  Such bad luck.  Rob said to me, “I’ve worked with many kids over the years, but your son…he’s going to break me!”  Yep.  That’s Arley.

Carmie has had a couple of nights of bad sleep this week, and I’m praying that her insomnia doesn’t return.  She’s been happy and in good spirits.  She has kicked butt through all the school work I’ve had to get her to do for our homeschool registration.  She hasn’t been happy about it, but she’s done well.  Arley has been less than compliant though, so wish me luck for the week ahead!

No photos of Carmie this week :(

565 + 461 Weeks

I completely forgot about my blog yesterday.  I've only been posting every Thursday for ten and a half years...

It has been such a busy week, I am very overwhelmed.  Normally I can juggle everything just fine, but the QLD home educating unit has contacted me to ask for work samples and our plan for the year ahead, for both kids.  I knew this was coming, but I am completely unprepared for it!  We are scrambling to do school work and I have to figure out plans for each subject for both kids.  I have done this for five years, but this one has sent me around the bend.  This is the price I pay for homeschooling!

The kids have had a good week.  We have found a tactic that works for Arley.  Every day that he doesn't shout or be rude he gets an iPad dinner, and it is actually working!  He still loses the plot, but when he starts, saying "iPad dinner" is enough for him to get control of himself.  I just hope it continues long enough for him to make good habits.  Yesterday Carmie was messing around and accidentally hurt him, and she got scared because he screamed at her.  I thought he was chasing her into her room to hurt her back (he is very big on 'revenge' and he has always retaliated, always), but instead he ran into his room to calm down.  This is a first!!

Jack and Abbey, the kids support workers, came on Tuesday and managed to get both kids out of the house for a play at the park, some bubble tea and then a trip to the supermarket, and I got time alone for the first time in ten months!  OMG, I instantly felt a weight lifted.  It lasted over an hour, and the thought that I might get this every Tuesday is such a relief!

Carmie is doing well.  She is sleeping great, except for one night when she only got a few hours, but that is because before bed Jeffrey read the kids the book The Giving Tree, and poor Carmie!  Before the book even finished she was crying, and by the end she was inconsolable!  She started hyperventilating and couldn't stop crying.  It was awful.  I knew she'd be sad, but didn't expect that reaction.  Jeff was crying too, and Arley was looking at them like they were crazy!  Haha.  And Carmie didn't fall asleep until 2:30am :(

I'm taking a deep breath before I get stuck back into this homeschool paperwork.