370 + 266 Weeks

Where has this week gone?  It totally wizzed by.  On Friday we started in-home OT visits for Arley, as he still has a long way to go on emotional regulation.  I found the OT's visit really helpful, and I know that so much of it comes down to me being calm in moments of crisis.  Arley's next few days were really good.  We had some house inspections, so the kids went to their grandparents' place on Saturday, followed by a trip to the park.  On Sunday Jeffrey and I took the kids and Bella for an exploration of Collers Beach.  For the first time ever, Carmie didn't complain about coming to the beach!  She always loves it there, but always always complains about going first!  The weather has been getting a little warmer (but some days have been horribly windy).  It does make for some lovely exploring days.

On Tuesday Arley had a doozy of a day.  He lost his computer to the garage for an indefinite time.  He punched me just one too many times :(  There was nothing we could do to snap him out of his funk, which started the moment he woke up, and ended when he fell asleep that night.  We tried all of the things the OT suggested, and most of them just kept him at bay until the next outburst.  Luckily this was just for one day though, as he woke up on Wednesday in a much cheerier mood.

Arley completed a reward chart this week, and for his prize he chose to get ice-cream, but the deal was that he was allowed to get any flavour he wanted.  They both chose fairy floss ice-cream.  I can't even begin to think of all of the additives and junk that was in it.  This was on Monday.  We have a fairly good idea that this is what set him off on Tuesday.  Next time I am going to clearly specify what the prizes for his reward charts can be, because we don't want to go through that again!

Carmie is loving her drama class on Mondays, as well as her Scouts.  She spent today at the beach with her homeschool friends while I took Arley to a playgroup that has started up. I don't get to spend as much one on one time with her as I would like, as Arley is always with me, but I am working on it.

I'm hoping that next week slows down a little so that I can actually enjoy this time that is flying by!

369 + 265 Weeks

Well, Arley was very shouty this week.  I have been listening to old therapy sessions form last year in lieu of starting sessions up again.  I have also been listening to podcasts and reading books to help.  It seems as though when I don't do this, things spiral out of control, so I'm getting on top of it again.  I have been painting a lot, but also getting in some good family time.  Arley joins me in the studio a lot.  Sometimes he reads quietly and I forget he is there, other times he chats to me incessantly.

On Saturday we invited Carmie's friend Ness over for a tea party and a craft day.  Arley was a tough cookie, because he has known Ness since he was two, but doesn't quite fit in or know how to play so that the girls are happy.  It turned out to be such hard work, it feels like we should never do home play dates again!  But of course, we will.  In fact, just yesterday we picked Hannah up from school and had her here with the kids until it was time to take the girls to Scouts.

We decided to go discover Granite Falls this weekend.  It was beautiful, but a little disappointing because we couldn't actually touch the waterfall.  For one, it was dry!  And for two, we could only figure out how to get to the lookout, and not to any paths that could take us closer.  It was a nice walk though, not too long for the kids, which is good, because we are trying to build up their hiking stamina, and if the walks are too long, they complain!  Baby steps!  After our family trip to Granite Falls, we took the kids to Mollymook park for a play, and then out for ice-cream.  Yes, we had to bribe them to go hiking.

The kids and I got to the neighbourhood park for a play, and we have started exercising.  They go for long scoots while I walk.  It is so necessary, and I find them so much calmer and more focused when we do it.  I have banned Carmie from reading today, as I really need her to do other things with her time.  It sounds so silly to ban a child from reading, but since we went to the library three days ago, she has read ten books.  She is insatiable!

 Arley is all dressed up for the tea party :)

 The walk to Granite Falls

368 + 264 Weeks

It's been a busy week - we had another open house on Saturday.  The kids stayed at their grandparents' the night before so Jeffrey and I could get the house ready.  We aren't doing it again, we don't think these open houses are worth it!  The kids were a nightmare when we picked them up, from too much television watching.  Both kids lost the plot at the beach afterwards, and Arley was a mess until late that night.  Too much screen time is way too damaging :(.  On Sunday the kids and I decided we were going to attempt to scoot into town (I walked).  We all desperately needed some exercise, so I tempted them with these iceblocks they can eat.  They scooted all the way in, and when we got there, the cafe was closed!  I was fully expecting Arley to have a meltdown, but he handled it really well.  We ended up going to buy ice-cream instead - their first ice-cream in about nine months I think.  They weren't allowed to get any that had horrible food colouring in it, so they both chose vanilla, and they were so happy!  That's not to say we will scoot into town again, as Arely thought it was all too exhausting.  He made me carry his scooter all the way home.  It was all uphill, so not as fun as I had thought!

On Monday the kids had one last play with their schooled neighbour friends.  It was a long afternoon play, and now the kids are missing them so much.  On Tuesday all the school kids went back to school after their winter break, so when Jeff got home from work, we went for a picnic lunch to the Bommie, the beach in Ulladulla.  It was such a lovely warm winter day, and we had the place to ourselves.  It is so amazingly beautiful down there, and the kids love it because there are so many little rock ledges to climb on, and we even discovered a proper cave.  It was tons of fun exploring, and exactly what we needed.

Wednesday is my work day, and the kids spent the day with their dad.  He took them to the park at Narrawallee to fly paper airplanes and have a play.  Arley has a really hard time separating from me, and found it very difficult to decide whether he should stay with me and be bored in the studio, or go have fun at the park with Dad and Carmie.  Today Arley started this program called the School Readiness program, which is essentially for kids on the spectrum to get ready to go to school.  I have him signed up for it not because he is going off to school, but to try to get him separating from me in small increments.  It's not the same when he goes to my parents' house - he needs separation in unfamiliar environments, to try to build up his confidence level.  I'm not sure about the program.  It has everything in it that I dislike about school (which is why we are homeschooling in the first place). They were also treating the kids like they were three years old, and having Arley find his name by telling him to find the letter A in it.  They didn't bother to find out what level the kids were at.  Arley didn't love it either.  I think I need to find another outlet where he can separate from me but in a nicer environment.

Carmie is a doll, except for her resistance to wearing winter clothes.  She would much rather wear summer clothes and insist that we accomodate her by having the heaters on all day!  It's been driving us crazy.  Apart from this, she has been lovely, as always.  She is starting drama class on Monday of next week, and is looking forward to her other activities starting.  She went to Scouts again on Wednesday, and still loves it :)

Satisfied ice-cream bellies

 Heading to the Bommie