344 + 240 Weeks

It's been such a busy week this week!  We had our Saturday night beach dinner, and it was so lovely that we did it again on Sunday night!  After the dinner we always take a walk or explore the rock pools, and on Sunday, Carmie led the way and just kept going and going.  The kids loved exploring unchartered territory, and we were out until it grew dark.  That was the first night of Arley's bedtime changing from 7:30 to 8:30 (I am shooting for 8pm, but it hasn't happened yet).  Jeffrey has been trying to teach the kids to skip rocks, but neither has been successful yet, and they have a long way to go!

On Monday I took the kids to the pool so they could have a swim with Arley's bestie Jemma after her lesson.  We stayed long after Jemma was gone, because I don't think that Carmie is happier than when she is in the water, and Arley was finally brave enough to swim in the pool by himself without his floaty vest.  He was great, and I'm super proud of him learning to swim, as it has been a long time coming!

On Monday afternoon the kids started gymnastics.  Carmie used to go when she was younger, but we stopped going because Arley would cry and cause such a scene when we'd drop her off, as he was always too young to join in.  Now that he is old enough, we gave it another shot.  He was way too nervous at first, and was really worried because he thought they were going to make him take his socks off (he still has sensory problems with his feet).  I had to join in and felt quite silly being the only mum on the mat, but it didn't take long for him to let go of my hand and fit in.  At one point they were lining his group up to do 'sausage rolls' on the mat, and I just thought there was no way this was going to happen, as at OT last week, that was one of the things that Jenna his OT was asking him to do, and he flat out refused.  He sausage rolled all over the mat (after he was shown how to lie and given a push), and I got all teary watching him!  Carmie told me later that some girls were being mean and asking why he did everything differently, and she told them that he has autism, which actually shut them up.  She was totally taking care of him, and it was so nice to see.

On Tuesday we all went to Mollymook beach in the afternoon.  Jeffrey had the afternoon off, so the kids were psyched to play in the water with him.  It is so lovely to have the beach back to ourselves!  It was the most beautiful day, and we didn't want to come home again.  Sometimes it is like pulling teeth to get the kids to the beach, but then they NEVER want to leave.

On Wednesday we had a home day, at Carmie's request.  The kids and I did some tie dying, and they loved it.  Arley had been begging me for so long, and I had been putting it off thinking it would be so messy and he was too young.  Well, it was messy, but so worth it because both kids were really into it.  We are waiting for our shirts to dry and then we'll wash and dry them and make the dye permanent.  I think the kids are hooked.  That afternoon we picked up the kids' friend Hannah for a play after school.  The kids adore Hannah, and Carmie and her play so well together.  Our house is definitely rowdier with her around, but it's so nice to hear them playing.  Next week Carmie and Hannah are going to be starting Sea Scouts together, which is great, as Carmie really needs some semi-structured group socialising.

Today we met up with our homeschool crew at Narrawallee Inlet for a swim, picnic and day in the sun.  It was lovely, really nice to be able to get together with other mums and have a good chat while the kids played.  Arley didn't leave my side much, and was a little challenging, but it is nothing that they haven't seen before, and it was a fun day.

So, I am pooped!  

Saturday night beach dinner

 Carmie selfie :)

 Explorers

 Mollymook beach

 Tie dying

 Narrawallee Inlet

 Tie dye results!

 Cutie pies having iPad time together

 Making scrambled eggs

343 + 239

It's been another one of those weeks where I just can't seem to catch up!  Firstly, all the school kids went back to school, so the beaches, parks and town are ours again!!  The weather was ridiculously hot, and now it is ridiculously cold (for summer).  The kids and I have been inseparable - lots of outside time, lots of inside play, drawing, painting, crafting, and movie watching.  Carmie started her swimming lessons up again, and Arley starts tomorrow.  We spent the most beautiful morning at a nearby beach that we have only been to once before (yes, we have that many beaches here - this one is literally only 5 minutes drive away).  It was such an amazing morning - the water was so lovely, and the kids had so much fun.  We drew in the sand (that was our lesson for the day :) ), and Arley spontaneously wrote the word 'love' in the sand, and also learned how to write the word 'Mum', with a love heart.

Arley went to his OT on Wednesday, and she noticed that when he lies down on his back he still gets really tense, and he refuses to roll over onto his tummy, so something is still going on with his vertigo or whatever the problem was when he was a baby.  He also has a bit of trouble crossing his midline, so we still have a few things to work on.  He has been rather volatile this week too, lots of shouting, but his aggression only lasts for a few minutes at a time, which is so much better than what we were dealing with before.  We also started an assessment for Carmie, because she is really clumsy and always hurting herself, and she seems to have a really short attention span, and she has some social anxiety.  I'm just hoping to get her a bit of help in all of those areas.  It's going to make our busy weeks even busier.

I am still spending hours every day in the kitchen.  Carmie is really detesting my morning smoothie at the moment, so I have to figure out some better smoothie concoctions.  Arley has been eating new foods this week out of the blue.  One day he asked for a banana, when he has literally refused every single offer of banana for his entire life.  He started eating nuts, and tonight he ate every bite of dinner.  So, that's a plus.

Today we had a play date with a friend of mine and her son, another little boy with SPD, possible autism.  It was interesting to see the kids react to each other - they had such big ups and downs of playing well and then antagonising each other.

On Tuesday I took the kids down to Batemans Bay, to go to the play centre Zippity Doo.  They love it there, but we seriously chose the wrong day to go.  Arley had been waiting for the school kids to go back all holidays, so their first day back, I took the kids to Zippity Doo, not realising that only some of the kids in Batemans Bay went back to school.  The play centre was filled with a group of kids from vacation care, and they were so awful!!  So much screaming and fighting and bullying and nastiness!  I was the only mother there, and I was like a bulldog protecting my pups!  Those kids were so mean and unkind, and as awful as the morning was, Carmie and Arley had fun, and I walked away completely reinforced with the knowledge that my two kids are really lovely little guys :)

 At Rennies Beach

 At Zippity Doo