Welcome to Monday and what I've learned so far...

Angus at his specialist ELC, Daphne St, Prospect

Life has been so busy lately that this poor little blog has become pretty neglected. Life can be very inconvenient! It's taken me several months to navigate new routines -- and hang on to my sanity -- while speeding my way up a very steep learning curve.

Let me fill you in.

Last year my youngest, Angus, was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2, and early this year my daughter Tas, 4, was also diagnosed with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) -- Aspergers. Five years ago I was heavily pregnant with my first child, and (naiively) thought life was hectic and full then - with a fulltime high school teaching job and a new mortgage. I wonder what I might have thought or done differently,  if I'd known what was ahead? I'm afraid I was one of those girls who had a very romanticised and rosy image of motherhood - picture a slow, quiet life, with cookies baking in the oven, a little herb garden by the back door, endless time to craft and sew and renovate, and play with the children in the backyard.

Ha!

After battling a long and painful recovery after the first birth, a rather drawn-out period of post-natal depression, and loneliness as a new mum, financial struggles with two (interstate) step-children to support, the death of my dear Dad, family issues and living with a very challenging toddler and new baby, it's been a hard road. But the good thing is, I've come out the other side and there have been many blessings.

I've learned how to control my stress during the day when I'm in "fight or flight mode" so I'm not so worn out by the evening.
I've learned that I can be free in any situation by closing my eyes and praying (or meditating or just thinking happy thoughts and visualising a calm place).
I've learned to breathe.
I've learned that I can fit exercise into my routine.
I've learned that I don't need to comfort eat in the evening to relax.
I've learned that scrapbooking is the best hobby ever.
I've learned that I have very cute kids.
I've learned that I really dig photography.
I've learned that there are some AMAZING mums out there.
I've learned that it's a marathon not a sprint.
I've learned to not tolerate the intolerable.
I've learned that I have the same number of hours in the day as everyone else.
I've learned that I need 8 hours of sleep every night.
I've learned that strangers who look "creepy" or "weird" usually aren't. Just different. (It's a lingering stereotype. Society still wants to label people with learning disabilities / disorders negatively).
I've learned that I have to be the change that I want to see in the world.
I've learned that a surprising large number of people know next to nothing about autism.
I've learned that it is okay - necessary - to have time for myself several times every week.
I've learned how to be an ABA therapist / early childhood teacher / psychologist / speech therapist / legal advocate and occupational therapist for my children.
I've learned that I can limit our schedule to no more than one appointment a day and that it's ok to say NO.
I've learned that it's OK to keep the school holidays appointment-free.
I've learned that the slow cooker is the best kitchen appliance ever invented.

plus I have an amazing husband...but I already knew that! Have a great day...I plan to :-)

A weekend away with an art, craft and spiritual purpose

On a whim I decided to take myself away for a weekend of art journalling, and two new crafts to learn: crochet and jewellery making, with just my iPhone (via YouTube) to guide me.

I love that I packed this Sentinel straight out of the letterbox and the front cover says "art and soul - a weekend trip with a spiritual purpose." It was right alongside my new copy of Scrapbook Memories mag! Sometimes the universe sends us little signs to reassure us that we are where we are meant to be!

There's a lot to think about at home at the moment as the needs of our children Angus and Tas pretty much dominate everything. I went to a Mark le Messurier workshop yesterday to learn more about kids on the spectrum and help with parenting and schooling. That guy knows a lot about this area as a counsellor and parent of a girl with Aspergers.

I've bought two of his books which I hope to read and review soon.

Ok now's the part where I log off and get painting.

Happy thanksgiving!

Cha cha train

Ian led the kids around the lounge room doing a little cha cha train. Apparently it was Angus who started it. The photo is blurry but what a great moment captured. Not bad for a little boy who doesn't play with other kids (yet).

The Thomas-the-Tank-Engine cake adventure

After a 3am finish, I managed to complete a cute Thomas the Tank engine cake in time for Angus's 3rd birthday. It was worth it, because man, he loved that cake! You can find the tutorial here.

On Sunday Angus's Nan and Pa arrived with even more train presents! Now Angus is the proud owner of Thomas, Percy, Gordon, Harold and Wheezy the crane.

I am secretly chuffed that so many friends left lovely comments about the cake effort on Facebook. Thank you all, I loved each and every comment!

At our place

At our place life is busy. I find it harder than ever to find time for 'me' and scrap, even upload my daily photos to the computer. I have only blogged a handful of times since early August. Gulp! For me, the most important thing is taking my daily photos and printing them for my 365 project - a scrapbooking album with a week's worth of photos per double page spread - like Project Life, if you're familiar with that. The space I keep blank for adding journalling each week is staying blank, but I figure I can always go back and write in anything with the photos themselves to jog my memory! When there's more time...

At our place Angus is progressing in leaps and bounds. He is my daily dose of joy. On Mondays and Tuesdays he attends an ELC for children with autism, which he seems to love and which provides me with a few hours to upload photos, wash dishes and clothes, pay bills, check emails, and so on. It's a long drive there and back though, which is a big drawback. Two and a half hours in the car each day for me, and his day finishes at 2.30pm. But still worthwhile for that little bit of respite. The other five days of the week, including the weekend, Angus receives 'Systematic Behavioural Therapy' for three hours per day, most of which I do myself. Ian shares with me on Sunday and we have some awesome student therapists who help us out. It's a play based programme which Angus - and we - love and he is really starting to use words and play imaginatively. Exciting stuff!

At our place Tasmin has been attending four sessions of kindy a week, with some time at childcare to give me time and space to do Angus's therapy. If she's home, it's really really hard to close the door to the therapy room and leave Tasmin outside, even for 20 minutes. She has a radar for pens and markers and so the graffiti inside our house seems to be growing by the day! We've stopped for school holidays now but next term she will attend kindy on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and go to childcare an extra day, so Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays. She loves childcare and has a good friend there. So it's a positive all around. All rather costly though...

At our place our savings are gradually dropping. I inherited some money when my darling Dad passed away two years ago and we are having to use that money to pay for Angus's autism interventions. And using that money for everyday stuff, like kids' clothes, to be honest. I wonder when I will ever be back at work full-time given Angus's needs at the moment. I'm really unsure where he will go to school when the time comes - special school or mainstream? Unless and until he develops language, I'm going to be looking for a special school. And let's face it, here in Adelaide, there aren't many options. Compared to what families in Sydney and Melbourne could access, that is. My step-daughter turns 18 next year and it will be the last year we pay child-support. I hope this will help, as it's a substantial amount of money we pay each fortnight.

At our place Ian wakes up in three hours (3.30am) and will take his daughter Stephanie on a memorable trip-of-a-lifetime to Los Angeles. It's a trip that's been in the planning for more than ten years and they've both been looking forward to it. It's given us a great excuse to buy a new Canon Powershot Ixus point-and-shoot camera (which I'll be discreetly popping into my handbag on his return!!!). I'm hoping he remembers me at the duty free shopping area! Just kidding. I doubt they have scrapbooking shops there LOL!

At our place spring is in the air, and while winter lingers behind the grey clouds, and there's still some rain about, I'm already thinking about the summer months ahead. When I get a whiff of the freshly cut grass on those sunny days, oh I feel so happy! Ian has been getting outside the last two weekends, cutting the weeds (the ground looks remarkably like lawn!) and laying down mulch. Tasmin loves to go outside and join him, walking around in her Dorothy the Dinosaur gumboots and collecting found objects hidden in the bushes. Angus loves going out too, but if he's allowed on to the road he runs like mad. We live in a cul-de-sac which is mostly very quiet, but still, it's nervewracking. It's also very funny to watch Ian running past very quickly then realising he's off chasing Angus again.

At our place I'm planning ahead for the next two weeks with Ian away. My aunty Robin arrives in Adelaide on Sunday and while she's staying in a swap house, plans to have Tassie over for a night or two to give her a mini holiday. I hope that works out! It's going to be tricky managing the two children without Ian but at least Tassie will be in full time day care for the second week. Ah, a bit of breathing space!

Thank you to Ali and Flis  and Sharmaine for inspiring me with your open and honest posts and helping me realise that I've had something to say! And you know what? It's ok to say it!

Snails have families too - who knew?

On Friday I rescued some of Angus's trucks from the sandpit and decided to bring them in for a wash to use for independent play and playscripts, part of Angus's daily therapy (home based ABA). Turns out there were seven snails in the wheels of one of the trucks. I washed them out gently and they mooched around looking for one another in the sick, and huddled together for a big group hug before settling into their new home - back outside again.

The best camera is the one you have with you

I think it's so cute that Angus really likes Tassie's kindy - it's the same place he goes to for Playconnect (autism playgroup) so he feels comfy there. Funny thing is she's not so hot on it yet. I'm loving this pic of them painting together - they could be mistaken for siblings, LOl!

Angus and Gandy

I think this is the first time Angus and Gandy have really cuddled up since he was a baby. No doubt it's taken her a long time to get used to his 'quirkiness' - it's normally much easier for her to give in and let Tas have all the attention. So glad she tried a bit harder this time.

My gorgeous happy boy

This was Angia about a week ago, after returning home from Daphne St childcare (his specialist autism ELC for toddlers and preschoolers). He makes a run for the backyard when we arrive home so these days I just grab the camera and go with it. It's out of focus, but how's the joy on his sweet little face!

Gradually catching up on my photos from the month of August.

Monday - A busy week

MONDAY
Angie settles in really well at the new Early Learning Centre. We've noticed he's talking more since he started there.

The Weekend
Ian and I got away for a proper rest sans children on Saturday night to West Lakes Resort, an awesome venue for a getaway, and generously subsidised by Carer Support. I don't know that we could afford a carer for the children on our budget!

It was really restful...despite the orange bedspread ;@)

FRIDAY - Central Markets
It was fun to have lunch Asian-style at the city markets and buy fresh meat and fruit and veg - we only venture there once a year cos the crowds and noise are a bit much for us quiet types!!

THURSDAY - at last a sunny day

WEDNESDAY - the day has arrived
We hadn't expected to start Angus on the intensive ABA therapy until the end of the year but we were contacted when another family cancelled. We haven't met the program's founder, Dr Robyn Young, but she has an amazing reputation in the field of autism and early detection. Participating in the Flinders program, rather than privately, saves us precious dollars for Angus's future therapies.

TUESDAY
The house was clean and tidy by the time I picked up Angus from his ELC today...it's incredible to actually have time in the week to be able to do this now with both children at childcare on Tuesdays. Angus had a go on Tasmin's trikey, still clutching his precious trains in his left hand.

MONDAY
A chance to sit at the computer and catch up on my photo projects.

The Weekend
It was brilliant to take the children to the Railway Musuem on Saturday for a special Thomas the Tank day - happily it was sunny after many rainy days. Angus was so excited to see Thomas up close that he jumped and pointed repeatedly.

Sunday was one of those days where we didn't make it out of our pyjamas. Tasmin amused us with this funny line: "I am a robot" and stayed in character - as a robot - most of the day.

Monday - ipad2 and bubble beard girl

We picked up our new iPad2 today, after deciding it would be a good purchase to help Angus learn with the many autism apps around.

It turns out we all love it - I have easy access to the internet now and Tasmin likes playing different learning games on it. I'm expecting this will be a good behaviour management tool for her too. Bonus!

Ah yes the old bubble beard in the bath trick!

Wednesday - dark and rainy winter day

Journalling reads: This morning it was quite dark at 8am and very rainy - so we brought your mini tramp outside.
I was really chuffed about getting Tas to childcare at 7.45 this morning, which left Angus and I plenty of time together for play and speech, before OT, and I even played with my new art journal a bit.

Tuesday - new autism ELC

Angus really liked his new Early Learning Centre at Prospect today. I left him at 9am to get to my Monash program with Disability SA, picked up some great tips for behaviour management (which I'll share in another post) and made it back at 1pm to collect him. Angus was climbing into a little wheelbarrow when I returned for him, and he was so pleased to see me he lost his balance and bopped his head on the fence. It all worked out ok though! He starts next Monday and will attend for two days a week for now. He will do intensive therapy including Occupational Therapy, speech, social skills, gross and fine motor play and general cognitive skills. Lots of driving there and back for me. But it's SO GOOD to be on the right track with therapy now.

Wednesday

By the time we returned home from Occupational Therapy today Angus and I were so tired we both napped. What a wasted day! I've decided to make OT later in the day so we can have a more productive morning.

Thursday - the bubble effect

I've come to really appreciate these weird foggy mornings we get in the hills.

As Angie was keen to get outside and play after dropping Tas at kindy, I got out the bubbles and encouraged him to pop them, as the OT has suggested, to help build his upper strength. Can you tell he likes bubbles?

Wednesday

A week after I've returned home and the suitcase is still not put away.
8.30 - take Tasmin to childcare
9.00 - Angus haircut. Semi-successful. He and I covered in hair.
10.15 - Angus Occupational Therapy
11.30 - walk to cafe next door for coffee that fails to boost flagging energy levels
12.00 - cancel afternoon appointment with Disability OT consultant
1.00 - return home and put Angus down for nap, breaking my new anti-nap rule
1.30 - go to bed for my own nap.

FAIL! FAIL! FAIL!
That's how it feels most days - that I'm busy busy busy but not really getting anywhere are feeling TIRED tired tired.
5.30 - leave for work (teaching)

Monday

MONDAY
Ian and I met with the social worker at the Daphne St Specialist ELC for children with autism today. It was an amazing place, where staff therapists sat with children, working at tables one-on-one, or swinging them high on hammock swings. Angus will stop going to his regular childcare centre on Mondays and start instead at Daphne St two days a week. He will get speech therapy, Occupational Therapy, social skills and learn just like any other child his age. How wonderful.

When I returned home I played with the stencil function in Photoshop. I can't wait to make a stencil of my face for my art journal. If you want to try this, you simply open a photo in PSE, then Filter-Adjustments-Threshold and play with the settings to get the right effect.

Wednesday - OT

Isn't Billie beautiful in the morning light?


Angie did really really well at OT today. It really seems to bring out his speech. In the morning he'd said to me quite spontaneously, "Arms up!" while he was being dressed. His OT commented on how well he made eye contact ith her. Go Angie go!


I met up with my sister at the shops straight after OT so she could watch Angie for 10 minutes while I tried on bras. We celebrated with coffee chillers.

Tuesday - simplify

I've been playing around with stencil flowers and ink - I like the idea of having flowers on standby when scrapbooking mojo strikes.

Angie and I overdid it today. We were away all morning to participate in the Monash programme (developed to help parents and preschoolers with autism) with Angie in the creche. We returned home for a quick lunch before going out again in the afternoon for speech. When I got home, I realised that one of the Mums from the programme was right to only schedule in one thing a day. It's no wonder I never seem to have time for food shopping and all the other bits of life that are necessary.

How good was it to see this welcome face arrive home at 5pm!


From now on, slow down. Simplify.

Friday - pretty as a picture

I took Angie outside for a swing and was pleased to find he still fits! We went along to our Play Connect in the afternoon and had an interesting conversation with another parent, Sam, about how you can look up food additives on an iPhone app.

In the evening DH came home with a parcel containing little presents from Karissa in Melbourne. Tassie was thrilled to find a little scarf and hat - which she has barely taken off since - and little all-in-one sleepsuits for Angus. An Awesome present. There were even scrapbooking goodies for me. Yay for surprise presents in the mail!