647 + 543 Weeks

It has been a good week...until yesterday when Arley got sick.  I was a mean mum and didn't quite believe him, and made him do some schoolwork - right before he vomited for the first but not the last time.  Poor bugger put himself to bed at 3pm yesterday, skipped dinner, vomited, vomited again at 9pm, woke us for more at 11pm, 12:30am, woke again at 3am, then got into bed with us at 7am, when I discovered he had a fever.  He's been in bed for most of today and hasn't eaten or drunk anything but a few saltines and ice cubes since lunchtime yesterday.  He has not ever been sick like this, and it is making him scared.  He'll be alright, it's just really hard not being able to help him.  The rest of us are fine though, thankfully.  I cancelled Carmie's Dungeons and Dragons group today so I could stay with him, and just in case we are contagious.

On Friday last week Clint tried to take the kids trampolining, but it was all booked out, so he took them to the aquarium instead.  He was sending me messages about how well the kids were getting along, that they were actually entertaining each other.  It ended in a bit of a fight, but still, for the most part they had a great time.  

On Saturday, Jeff and I decided it was time to tackle the rat problem we were having.  A couple of months ago, I was sitting on our bed and there was this little rat outside the window, seemingly trying to get inside.  I realised that it wasn't a rat (being a rat aficionado!) and went to the kitchen to tell Jeff, and the creature had run around the house and was now trying to get in by the sliding door off our kitchen!  We went outside and it hopped away from us.  It was the cutest little thing.  I researched and discovered that it is an Australian marsupial called an antechinus.  Fast forward a couple of months, and we saw him again outside.  Then we started seeing little poos outside.  Then Lolo and Dida were looking after the kids one night and Lolo told us she saw all the rats outside, about six of them.  I thought there is nothing we can do because antechinus are protected here and you are not allowed to kill them, and we live right next to a large area of bushland (we frequently have bush turkeys, snakes, water dragons, blue tongue lizards and goannas in our backyard).  Arley and I started going outside every evening to find all the little antechinus creatures.  We found them living in our outside couch.  Then I realised they were eating my plants, but antechinus are carnivores...hmmmm.  These guys turned out to be rats, and we were infested with them!  We moved the outside couch, and OMG, the wee and poo that was around it.  It also smelled really bad.  It is a huge three-seater couch.  We decided Saturday was the day to break it apart and take it to the tip.  As we did it, 10 rats ran out, one after the other.  Now, I like rats.  But the stench that came from that couch as we broke it down and bagged it - OMG, I have never smelt anything so bad in my life.  I was gagging a retching the whole time.  It was disgusting!!!  I'm grossed out just thinking about it.  Jeff went down to Bunnings and bought a power washer and washed the patio and pool area, and I put out rat baits, even though I promised Arley that we wouldn't kill them.  I just have to.  The very next day, Jeff was in the kitchen and saw a little rat poking its nose out from underneath the cupboard.  A little later on I was telling the kids that we had a rat living with us inside, and I looked to my left, and there it was, just sitting out in the open in the kitchen.  Except, this wasn't a rat, but an antechinus!!  So now we have an antechinus living somewhere in our kitchen (yes, we are finding little poos), and we can't kill it.  We have to somehow trap it and get it out.  I don't know what this little carnivore is doing in a completely vegetarian kitchen!

On Sunday we went to a Christmas party put on by Autism Steps Treehouse.  Clint was putting on an obstacle course there.  The party was being held in a large field, and there were jumping castle water slides, a climbing tower, a giant slide, a drum circle, all kinds of activities, and a petting zoo.  The kids had a great time, with the petting zoo being the highlight.  Neither kids went on the water slides because Carmie forgot her swimmers and Arley didn't like the grass that was getting mixed in to the water.  We ended by having the kids climb the climbing wall.  Carmie rocked it as usual, but Alrey not so much.  He did better than last time in that he actually got harnessed up and attempted it, but when he couldn't do it, he got very cross and wanted to go home.  We were done by then anyway, so it was OK.

We've had a little drama this week as I've been trying to get the kids involved with creating their own schedule, and actually getting things done in the day, like schoolwork and exercise.  It's been hard going, but we are getting there!  Carmie had a massive meltdown, and Arley had two minor meltdowns, but Carmie has been on it today, so I think we are through the hard bit.  Arley will take some time though.

On Tuesday we had Taekwon Do, but Arley couldn't participate because he said his toe hurt and he insisted on using crutches to get around.  Afterwards we went to spend some time with Lolo.  We baked cupcakes but totally burnt them into hard, dry, little bricks.  So now I owe the kids cupcakes!

I think that's it for this week.  There was lots going on! :)

De-ratting!

Petting zoo fun

As high as Arley got

Out unicycling!

Our antechinus :)

646 + 542 Weeks

It has been a busy week, but a good one.  I kicked butt on my electric unicycle this weekend and Jeffrey said I was ready to hit the beach paths around Mooloolaba, where there are people everywhere.  We went down on Sunday afternoon, and it was so fun.  We only had one small incident where we were crossing a bridge and a dog on a lead got in our way.  We also ran into two men on electric unicycles and we stopped and had a chat with them - they had really big-daddy unicycles which have already gotten me and Jeff talking about upgrades.  Haha.  It is very fun!

On Sunday morning we attempted a family sports day, because my other nephew, Baz, and his girlfriend were in town.  They stayed with Lolo and Dida for a few days, and they all came down for a baseball session and a unicycle attempt in the park across the road.  Arley got upset because he wasn't hitting any balls, and so he took himself home.  Then Carmie was tired so she went home.  We adults were left in the park by ourselves, so Baz had a go unicycling, and was actually a fast learner!  Afterwards they came over for coffee, and it was a nice time.  Good to see Baz again after almost three years.  Arley was very upset with himself after Baz left, because Arley barely spoke to him :(

Last week Arley seemed to go really well with his new groups, and even went swimming a couple of times with them.  He was desperate to go on Saturdays too, because Carmie has a teen girls' session then, and he was jealous.  So I organised with the owner of the business for him to have a session at the same time, with the owner's son Kianni.  Fifteen minutes after the kids arrived (my friend dropped them off) I received a call from the owner saying Arley wanted to come home, that he was done.  Argh, I was so annoyed.  The groups are 25 minutes drive away, so I wasn't going to rush down there to pick him up, only to have to go pick Carmie up when they were done.  So I made him stay for a little while, and what followed was a series of very angry texts from Arley demanding that I pick him up, that I was so mean, no parent should ever be so mean to their kids...insert massive eye roll!!  I went to pick him up an hour early, then we went to a cafe to kill the last hour until Carmie was done.  Now Arley says he is never going back to the groups again.  So, he has gone to begging for four groups a week, to zero.  Could there be a bigger pain in the butt??!!  He even refused to go on Wednesday this week which was the session that we started just for him and his buddy Liam, which meant Liam was all alone.  When Arley says he's not doing something, there is very little we can do, because if we make him go, then everyone suffers!  His anxiety escalates and all is lost.  To give him a social outlet, my friend Andrea, Chayse's mum, will be taking Chayse and Arley out every Thursday afternoon.  He wasn't jazzed about going this week, but we coerced him, and he had a good time.  They went to Timezone and then rode the paddle boats at the mall, feeding the hundreds of fish chunks of bread.  That's right up Arley's alley, so it went well.

As for Carmie, she is doing really well.  I am notorious for taking her to appointments at the wrong time, and often the wrong day, and I did it again today.  I drove her down to Caloundra for her dungeons and dragons group, only to be reminded that it isn't on this week.  Carmie was ready to kill me.  Haha.  I made it up to her by taking her out for ice cream.  We ran in to her friend Sprinkle, so I bought Sprinkle ice cream too so she could join us.  It was really nice getting to know one of Carmie's friends.  Sprinkle is an awesome kid, and I'm glad Carmie has her as a friend.

We had an intake session with our new behaviour specialist this week.  I have high hopes for this guy.  He is bringing some new strategies and will be teaching us all to get on the same page, support workers included.  He said it will be a lot of work, the changes will be slow, and there will be a few meltdowns, but he thinks he can help the kids.  My fingers are crossed!

Also, the kids and I graded up in Taekwon Do on Tuesday!  Both kids are now green belts, and I am a blue belt.  The order is white, yellow, green, blue, red, black.  I am so proud of the kids.  Arley was definitely feeling the pressure on Tuesday, and acting up a bit, but we got him out of his funk and he kicked but.  Then Carmie totally kicked but.  We had to spar each other as part of our test, and I wasn't holding back, but Carmie did so well.  It's her turning kicks that are killer, she can kick at head-height!  We all did really well :)

And that's it for our week!

645 + 541 Weeks

I’m sitting at a cafe on the Esplanade in Caloundra with none other than Arley-Bear.  I just picked him up from a social group, and dropped Carmie off at her D&D group, so we have an hour to kill.  Arley did so well at his group today - they even managed to get him out of ‘the Nest’ and swimming at the beach, which meant he had to go change in the bathrooms, which is something I doubted would happen.  And I’ve just been told that one of the girls in the group has a crush on him!  I’m trying hard not to tease him because otherwise he might never go back!  Yesterday both kids went to their groups, Arley has another tomorrow morning, and now they are both going to groups on Saturday afternoon too. We now have a support worker doing a lot of the driving for us, so suddenly I have more free time than I’ve had in years, and I’m feeling a LOT less stressed!  It’s quite amazing.

The weather has been so hot and muggy this week.  On Tuesday after our Taekwon Do session (we are grading next week, by the way!), the kids and I went to see Lolo and we all went to Coolum Beach for a swim.  The water was really warm however it was rather choppy. The kids didn’t care, but Lolo was in a panic the whole time they were in the water. This was our first beach play this year, and I’m so relieved because the kids had a good time, and last summer I wasn’t able to get them to the beach at all. It was definitely a successful trip, despite all the sand stuck to Arley!  They always play well in the ocean and love jumping waves together, so it looks like it will be a fun summer :)

Carmie has had a good week.  She seems happy.  She is still drawing and animating a lot, but now she is also writing ‘fan fiction’ about the characters she has developed. It’s nice to see her being so creative. Makes this mummy proud!

I have been practising my unicycling and I’m almost ready to ride the pathways around the beaches where it’s more crowded.  I’m not scared of falling off and hurting myself, I’m scared of falling off and the unicycle spinning off and taking someone out!  Jeff and I have been riding around the empty university campus on the weekends so there is no danger of me injuring someone. I have a few bruises on top of bruises, but nothing I can't handle!

I don’t have much else to say except that Lolo and Dida are coming down tonight to look after the kids, so Jeffrey and I can go to a candlelight outdoor classical music concert.  We are really looking forward to it!

Me with my friend Nicky's baby, Evie.

Beach day

Sweet Bella

This is what happens when I try to get a good photo of Arley :(

644 + 540 Weeks

It has been a really good week.  On Friday morning we had a 'family sports day', and Lolo and Dida and Georgia and Zach came over for some fun at the park.  We did some archery and played some baseball, and then Georgia had a try of my unicycle. She did ok for her first go.  That night, after Carmie's social group, we had a family dinner at our place to say goodbye to my nephew Zach.  Georgia took him back home to Bowral on Saturday morning. We had a tostada night and finished off with a gluten and dairy free chocolate cheesecake, which was actually delicious despite how it sounds!

On Saturday morning I drove Arley down to Caloundra to try a new social group at the Nest.  He stayed for two of the four hours, but left because there was a boy there who we both thought was a girl, who was driving Arley crazy.  This boy, who was only 8, decided that Arley was his friend, and Arley does not do well with younger kids and has no tolerance for immaturity.  Luckily I was hanging around in a local cafe so Arley could leave when he wanted to. I was very proud of him trying it out.

Carmie went to her social group on Saturday and had a blast.  She is loving her groups.  They both went to their groups on Wednesday too, but Arley was supposed to be hanging with his buddy Liam, however the support worker took Liam to the park, and Arley hung out with the girls.  None of them seemed to mind, so it's all good.  Arley is having a great time there too, and wants to make more friends.  He told me this morning he wants to go to a social group every day!  This is such a turn-around, we can't quite believe it.  So, I've organised for Chayse to join a group with Arley on Friday mornings, and then Chayse's mum Andrea and I can share the driving.  Arley has also asked to try the Saturday morning group again, despite that kid. I think he’s finding his independence! I also asked him if he wanted to quit seeing Clint on Friday mornings but he asked to change him to another day, so right now Clint and Arley are off swimming somewhere and Carmie is at her D&D group. My babies are growing up!

On Tuesday morning we went to our Taekwon Do lesson (it went well and we’ll all be grading up soon), and then we drove up to Lolo and Dida’s to spend some time with them. Afterwards we popped in to horse riding to give them thank-you gifts, and Carmie wanted some time with Chilly, the horse she used to ride.  It was lovely but sad to be back there again. Carmie groomed Chilly, and silly Arley spent most of the time kicking the dirt complaining about how unfair it was that they couldn’t ride anymore. This from the kid I used to have to beg to get on a horse. As soon as you ask him to do something, it’s a no, but as soon as he isn’t allowed to do something, he’s all about it. 

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned Carmie’s animating that she’s been doing. Animation has been her special interest for a while now, and she spends a lot of every day drawing and animating on her ipad. She is getting really good.  She puts in so much effort. It takes her about 18 hours of work for a 5 second clip. Its huge!

I am finally competent enough on the unicycle to hit the streets, so on Sunday Jeffrey and I went to Sippy Downs, our old stomping ground, to unicycle around the lakes. It is so fun. A little scary still, and I can’t manouvre around people and obstacles very well, but I’m getting there!

No big dramas this week, which is very refreshing!

Georgia learning the unicycle:

https://youtube.com/shorts/QUA0CDn8ohM?feature=share

And me, showing how it's done!

https://youtu.be/oHau18GjnNY

643 + 539 Weeks

This week has flown by!  I'm not typing this as I sit by the water like I did last week.  That's because we cancelled Carmie's D&D social group today as my sister is in town for a few days.  Instead I took Arley mini-golfing with her and Zach and my parents.  Carmie stayed home with Jeffrey because she wasn't terribly well.  She gets really bad cramps, and today was one of those days.  Mini-golfing was really fun - we did 18 holes and I lost, but that's OK.  Arley got through 9 holes and was very calm, even though he was worried that it would take too long and he'd get upset.  He did really well.

Yesterday the kids' support worker Savannah picked them up as she does every Wednesday to take them to see Clint, and then on down to Caloundra to join their social groups.  It didn't quite go as planned, with Arley tormenting Carmie a little, then Carmie lashing out, then Arley retaliating...which lead to Carmie crying in the bathroom, Arley refusing to go into his group, and Savannah bringing both kids home.  I had a lunch with Mum and Georgia planned, so I took Carmie as well, as she was quite upset and I wanted to treat her to something special.  We went to my favourite restaurant here, and I ate such a big meal that I didn't need dinner that night!

It was Halloween on Tuesday.  Arley was quite excited for it, but Carmie was 'eh'.  She can't eat much of the candy anyway, and she's getting a little old for it.  Carmie wanted to go to a party at The Nest (which is what the location of their social groups is called), but Arley wanted to go trick or treating.  We thought we would compromise so we went to a well known "Halloween" street here, and then took the kids to the party afterwards, leaving 2 hours for Jeff and I to wander the boardwalk and go out to dinner.  We were stoked!  However, things didn't quite go to plan.  The Halloween street was very busy, so the people were only handing out one small candy each, so Arley only had about ten candies, and he was not happy.  We went off to the party and left the kids there.  Jeff and I took a walk on the Esplanade and then went to a Mexican restaurant we like.  I had just put in our order for food and drink when Tanya, the owner of the social group business, came and found us to tell us that Carmie was having sensory issues and was about to go into meltdown and wanted to go home.  So I went and collected the kids, brought them back to the restaurant, bought them hot chips and sodas, and then Jeff and I rushed through our dinner to get Carmie home.  When we got home, I then walked Arley through our neighbourhood in the dark, to get him more candy.  And then, finally, he was happy.

I met with an  new OT today.  She is starting up with the kids in two weeks.  She came over to meet us and I had a two hour appointment with her to discuss the kids' challenges.  I am hopeful but not optimistic that she can help - we have been through so many therapists.  We shall see!

That's it for this week.  At least I got a few photos!