678 + 574 Weeks

Well, it's been a tough week!  I'm a day late with the blog, and I still don't feel in the right headspace to write. But I shall persist!

Firstly, it was the kids' birthday on Tuesday.  They wanted a day at home doing whatever they wanted.  Easy!  Lolo and Dida came over in the morning for presents and cake. And then it was a chill day at home, spoiling the kids.  They loved their presents - it seems like we got them all right!  Carmie got a new phone (thanks Pop!) and Arley got a new iPad (thanks again Pop!).  Arley got new computer headphones and a web cam, Carmie got D&D dice and books.  Carmie also asked for makeup - scary, she is a true teenager now!  Their birthday was a lovely day.

The rest of the week has been difficult.  Well, at least the last two days have been.  On Wednesday we started implementing the new 'earn-your-screen-time token system'.  We expected Arley to be upset, and he was, but we handled it well.  That was on Wednesday morning.  He then made it through the whole day without much drama.  Our behaviour specialist came over on Thursday for a meeting, and Jeff and I told him how well it was going.  Literally an hour after he left, Arley hadn't earned any tokens for his screen time, and all hell broke loose.  The poor bugger went into full meltdown, ripping the token charts off the wall, hurling things across the floor, screaming so so loud it hurt my ears.  We managed to calm him down, but the same thing happened today.  It is awful when he melts down.  I managed to calm him down by making him a slushy, and Jeff was helping to soothe him, which is such a help.  Arley actually turns to Jeff for calming now, which he has never done before, and it helps so much.  Poor Arley, his whole world has been shaken up.  Carmie hasn't noticed as much because she is out of the house a lot, so it's not nearly as difficult for her.  We have made the system as easy as possible, with lots of activities for Arley to choose from to earn screens, but he is really struggling.  I think it is more the loss of control that is affecting him.  I feel like I have been put through the wringer.  I bet he feels worse.

It's been school holidays, so some activities have been cancelled.  Carmie had breakfast out one day with our support worker Savannah, and she has also been to her social groups.  Arley has barely left the house, which suits him just fine.  We managed to get him outside for a family game of Finska, and Arley and I actually won, which is a rare happening! I didn't get to my figure drawing this week because it fell on the kids' birthday, and I've barely done any art either.  I think it will be a while until my time is my own again, as most of my time is now spent trying to sort Arley out!  Deep breaths!!