Latest finds...

My hubby with shovel in hand, went metal detecting with my eldest :) Just on our 8 acres... It's amazing the things he finds...

He's having so much fun with it and tomorrow we are off to the Gold Coast for him to try his luck on the beach!!! People tend to lose allot of things there, so he's hoping he will find something :) He's soooo looking forward to it.

I can't wait to see him in action. Love the way he's lined up his latest find in a straight line... That's so him...

Cheers

Something to read/watch...

Very interesting stuff... Really enjoyed it!

Cheers

Caught out...

No, not really hehe...

My eldest has an aversion to wearing shoes. He always has. His feet get hot very quickly, even in winter. He also doesn't like things on his feet. For years and years he used to only be barefoot and walking on the tippy toes... He has learnt over a long time that in school, it is not appropriate or safe to not wear shoes and socks...

An afternoon couple of weeks ago, he was enjoying a rewards afternoon :) They had made their own pizzas. My eldest brought along a base that we had made for him at home and then decorated it with failsafe food. He thought it was Awesome! They then got to watch a movie as well. He asked his lovely teacher if he could take his shoes off. She said yes and he got comfy in the beanbags... Very comfy :)

Was lovely to walk into school and hear his laugh as he was enjoying the movie :) Love and appreciate the support he gets at Warwick SHS. Wouldn't want him anywhere else!

Cheers

Figit for your Digit...

I got these when Tim was still at Autism Queensland... They are brilliant... The Occupational Therapist working there at the time put me onto them... So glad she did :)

Push up and down onto your fingers and it relieves pressure points. It is very calming... I use it too. Great to play around with. They are also great to use for joint pain as it relieves stress and tight joints too :)

I found them on a Occupational Therapy sites many years ago... Must see if I can find it again. I reckon the girls at work would love these ;)

Cheers Damaris

What was he thinking...

My precious boy...

This photo was taken at my Mum's Birthday Party... I really love this shot... There Tim is lying in the grass looking at something... Wonder what he is thinking? I often wonder that... He is so stressed at the moment with school that he has even had six warts come out on his legs. They are just little at the moment but I know that if he doesn't have down time soon they will get bigger. Warts are the last tell tale sign that he is getting beyond being able to cope...

This weekend he is on holidays then for two whole weeks. He can't wait... He is going to Blue Care for six nights which he has never done before. It was supposed to be for four only but someone cancelled so we were offered another two nights... He is going to have a fantastic time. On the agenda are going to the movies, a car rally, the gym and swimming, fishing, seeing the Toowoomba Carnival of flowers, picnics... you name it he is doing it. And I am glad... He needs to get away from focusing on school.

He needs a break so badly and I am glad that he will get it... Oh how I worry about him that he is coping OK on the inside... If only I could help more... Wanted him to go to Disability Action Week Dance on Friday night in Warwick but he won't be in it. Shame I would have loved to have gone with him but he is not interested being around more people that are disabled. I can understand when he is so easily frustrated by them at school... Am very thankful that the break is coming up. :)

Cheers Damaris

Timothy's latest favourite Chook...

Timothy with Midget...

The smaller the better he reckons. :)

This is his latest girl :) She is the smallest of the purebred Pit Game Hens that we were given last year by Michael from Killarney.

I love to watch him interact with the chooks, especially in the morning and late in the afternoon. He talks to them. He has conversations with them. He expresses himself so well. He loves having the little job of letting them out in the morning. Joshua and him also shut them in at night together. Strength in numbers, especially in the dark... hehe

He will open up the overflow from the tanks so that water dribbles out for them to drink and tell them a whole big story or all about his day. He communicates with them just like you and I might. Not something that he does easily with humans. I am so glad that we worked out early what made him tick to an extent so that we could help him with his lack of communication.

Having animals around has been so good for him and in turn good for the rest of the family. Would not have it any other way. Mind you I would love to barter some away... About 10 less should do it :) Might have to take them to the Pig n Calf as we have the ones in the incubator coming in another two weeks. Wonder how many darling babies we will get out of them? Time will tell... Not that I want to wait but apparently nature needs to do its thing... Like grow them in their shells... All good things come to those who wait. So they say. lol

Please let me introduce you to Midget :) Timothy loves them more when they are smaller. The smaller the better he reckons. :)

Cheers Damaris

First day of school for 2011...

Joshua and Timothy...

Have to have the silly shot...

Uno was played...

My pile of books waiting for me...

Well the boys are at school... Over the weekend, Timothy kept on insisting that school only started back on Thursday. I told him different each time... He was not happy to go back. He was really struggling with it. The bell noise annoys him as it is so loud. The kids annoy him... He even asked if he could stay home this year...

This morning he was up bright and early just after 6am and presented himself to me completely dressed and ready to go... He had his breakfast and then went back to bed. Normal routine. :) When it was about 15 minutes to go before he would have to leave, I started talking to him about what lay ahead to prepare him a little. He knows he won't be changing subjects like last year. He said he looked forward to doing Ag Studies. I mentioned that I was looking forward to finding out what he would be doing in Manual Arts and that maybe he would be apart of a band or orchestra this year in Music... Just light hearted but something for him to think about... He was very happy to leave in the end. He was busting to tell people about his new pet, Bud... He actually ran and skipped down the driveway. :) Was wonderful to see :)

Joshua also presented himself just after Timothy, fully dressed with bed made (as usual :)) and ready to go... Now Timothy leaves at 7am as he has the bus to catch. Joshua can't leave till after 8am as he isn't supposed to get to school before 8:15am. So once Timothy left this morning we played a round of pool... He had five balls to pocket, me only two and he still whipped the pants off me. :)

Then he played a heap of Uno with me. I love that game. We take 14 cards each in our version so it lasts a bit longer seeing it is only two of us playing. Has been a while since we have played that game. :) Chess tomorrow I reckon. :)

I must admit there are a few things very, very different this year. All of last year Timothy wore his yellow hat with Cunningham written on it. It is the house that he is in at school. Today he said that he wasn't wearing it anymore as he was the one and he didn't want to stand out in the crowd... Now that it growing up... Amazing, he has never said anything like that before... This year is also Joshua's last year at Primary school. He is in Grade 7... The other thing was that for the first time he didn't want me to come to school for the first day. He wanted to ride to school as normal... Felt strange... But also shows just how much he has grown up in the last year. He longer hangs off me giving me lots of hugs and kisses... Though I still always get the one when he leaves. Yep my boys are growing up :) Which is a good thing I know but a little sad on the other hand as well... As parents we really need to enjoy our kids while we can because it really does go ever so fast...

Everyone has gone now... Russell is at work for another week and the housework was done by 8:45am. Clothes have been hung on the line and dinner has been organised. Love to monthly menu plan... makes things so much easier.

Oh the Serenity. Oh the Quiet... I am loving today already :)

So after finishing here I am off to have some Me Time... Reading, with coffee off course... something that I have not done really for the whole holidays... And am missing it...

Cheers Damaris

Timothy's stay at Blue Care...

Timothy feeding the birds at Queen Mary Falls. :)

This week Timothy has spent four nights at Cooinda in Warwick... Boy do they do an excellent job there. I so appreciate this place as I know that I would not be able to get this sort of service if we still lived in Springfield... It just isn't there. There is just too a high a demand for it and not enough beds, so to speak... This house has three clients a night and carers that take shifts during the night. He has matured over the time that he has spent there and is really good with the rules. If he knows them he is fine... As long as he knows them... This time again he was a very good boy and is always welcome back...

They did some excursions... Allora Pool, Queen Mary Falls, Killarney, Bush Walking and WIRAC (swimming at Warwick Public Pool). He even came home with the pictures above so prove he had a good time... Some show and tell :)

He said he had a great time... And Joshua and I can say that we had a great time as well. Lazy days, no stress, no fuss, no timetable and no stringent schedule to stick too. It was pure heaven. :)

And also must mention that without Commonwealth Respite these little breaks that we get 3 or 4 times a year would not be possible without them. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

Saw someone today that had not seen me since before the holidays and he couldn't believe just how relaxed I was. Radiant, he called it :) Yes, this break has been wonderful...

Joshua was busting to get to him though. He had missed him terribly in the end. Never the first couple of days but by the fourth you know they are hankering for each other...

Timothy called out "Home, sweet home" as we drove up the driveway... We had missed him and he had missed us. Made the reunion all the better. :)

They are now happily playing on RuneScape. They love playing that computer game online together... :)

Am optimistic the peace will last a while... One can hope anyway lol.

Cheers Damaris

If only Timothy would read the sign...

He tries soooo hard... Poor darling...

Found this on Joshua's door just a minute ago... Had to share... Now, I realise that this is directed at Timothy as he does this without thinking... He is in his own little world. Joshua realises that he is very visual and has tried, once again...

If only he actually read the sign... and get the hint... Lol

Cheers Damaris

What a treasure...

A creation from my darling Joshua...

Joshua was playing with his Mighty Beanz collection yesterday morning and look what he came up with all by himself... Can you make it out???

It says: D and R = Love, meaning "Damaris and Russell = Love"...

How cute is my boy??? Yes, very :)

We have been having a really relaxing time just the two of us... Timothy should be off to Tempin' Bowling in Toowoomba with Bluecare today so again he will have an awesome day. This is really good as he had such a hard time going there and getting used to it all in the first place. As he is verbal it was very hard for him to connect with others that are not. Now he loves it and Bluecare try their very best to ensure that he is teamed up with another person that fits more to him. They try hard with all their clients and I can't thank them enough for our little break... Four nights... It has been bliss...

Russell is home tonight to enjoy the last night with us and we will make sure it is a lovely one. Tomorrow Joshua and I are off to Ipswich Hospital to see the ENT one last time and hopefully get the all clear. Though there have been some dodgy nose incidents of late... Still hoping and praying that this is the one that closes his file after 9 long years...

So all in all this holiday with just Joshua has really brought out his warm side... He has had a great time spending most of it with me and including me really well in his little world. I think that having No Technology Day on Mondays and Low Electricity Day on a Wednesday has really helped that. One game he insisted on each night too has been the game we play where we both think of someone we know and have to take turns saying nice things about them... He loves that game and so do I...

Cheers Damaris

Boys being boys...

Dylan and Joshua playing pool and pulling faces...

Earlier this week I did a kid swap with a friend... I got Dylan and Margaret got Timothy for two nights... I love doing these as Timothy just adores Margaret and gets along with her boy James, sooo well. Dylan and Joshua also get a chance to catch up and play together. Something that both kids don't normally get much of a chance to do. Both their siblings have disabilities...

I must admit I felt really bad as I had forgotten Timothy's Mediation so he was with Margaret for two days without anything... But apparently he was really well behaved. He is growing up that's for sure. :) He had a wonderful time there as always and was sad to see me arrive to swap kids back... Lucky for him I got a coffee before we left so he was not so pushed to get out the door. :)

Joshua and Dylan played at the creek and I also took them to see Toy Story 3. We all had a ball. It was fun. I had made dinner earlier in the day as the movie was on at 4:45pm so we only got home just after 7pm.

Both nights the boys were good with going to bed as well and slept all night. They got along really well this time which I am happy about too... I can see though that they are very different... It is really starting to show. They are both 11, with two days separating them but they are certainly very individual, which off course is a very good thing...

One thing that they did love doing also is playing pool... Boy did Joshua get flogged. hehe
I was going to challenge them both as I am soooo good at it myself. (Not) but ended up running out of time. Never mind, there is always next time...

Cheers Damaris

It's nice to be home...

Stared at this set of doors allot over the last two days...

We have just spent the last two days in Brisbane... At the Mater Hospital to be exact. Timothy had testing to do... First it was the Speech Language Pathologist and then the Occupational Therapist. That was Tuesday... Then yesterday we had a three hour appointment with the Psychologist.

All specialists tried as hard as they could to fit us in so that we could do as many appointments as possible in the shortest amount of time. Boy, I really appreciated that. Yesterdays Therapist Tania was not even supposed to have been working there that day so am really, really thankful to her. :)

We now have to wait for a round the table conference on Timothy so that they can then offer any advice and help for home as well as school. Will be good to see with what strategies they come up with... Hope there is something new that we can all try to ensure life is as easy for him as possible.

Overnight we ended up staying with Russell at his mum's as she is house sitting for her daughter at the moment... Was nice to be there with him during the week. Felt very strange as his mum was not there... Joshua scored well as he got to have two days off school. Couldn't leave him on his own for two days. hehe He was not really impressed though as he loves school and it is the last week before a big break, you know... Timothy did so well during all of the testing. He was truly exhausted by the end of it and was happy to see the back of the hospital as well... Now to wait for the results...

Today is just a 'shut the door and keep the world out' sort of a day. I am off to get some more sleep as have not had much in the last couple of days. A very good friend also passed away on Monday so am feeling very tender at the moment...

Glad to be home, that's for sure. :)

Cheers Damaris

One of his passions...

This arrangement is supposed to be a spaceship...

Coins in their currencies...

Timothy loves to collect coins... He has always, all his life, loved getting coins out of my wallet, or anyone else's... and lining them up... At one stage in Preschool we had to ensure that teachers and teacher aides locked away their handbags as he loved finding the coins and putting them into piles and lining them up. No not to steal. He has not a clue of that concept but just to play with them, touch them and to make an as long a straight line of coins as possible.

To this day he still does this. Now that he is in High School he has taken up picking up coins with a vengeance. Whenever he is at school you can bet that he will come home with coins. He has found 24 one day. 18 coins another day. It is amazing, as he has his head down most of the time it truly amazes me what he can find. This doesn't just include coins either, could be an unusual looking bottle top or trinkets of some sort. As long as it is shiny...

So yesterday he decided to add them all up and put them in piles. With pocket money he ended up with over $50. Amazing that this is mostly from coins that the kids at school drop and he picks them up. He was called a scab allot of the time for the first few months but that seems to have stopped now. He used to get really upset when others said it but in the end he realised that if he doesn't pick it up, someone else will. So he might as well. hehe

He loves the shiny ones the best off course and at the moment is into collecting as many New Zealand coins as he can. He loves the Kiwi especially... :)

Cheers Damaris

Miracles do happen...

Timothy's first knot, EVER. :)

This morning Timothy was attempting to help Joshua rekindle the fire... Joshua wanted him to make knots in large pieces of newspaper as that way it lasts longer in the fire... Well the problem with that is that Timothy doesn't know how to tie knots. I know nearly 13 1/2 and still can't do it. It's an Aspy thing. Trust me. :)

Anyway this morning, Joshua got him settled enough so that he could show him how to do it... And what do you know he did it. :) I am such a proud mum right now I must say. My youngest taught the oldest how to tie a knot. From the picture you can probably tell that it was not a good one but it is there. Yes it is clumsy but again, it is there... Hopefully he might tie his own shoes soon... That would be nice... Have not had any shoes with laces for years as it caused too much grief but things are looking up. :) :)

Am so proud of my little one for having the patience first thing in the morning and for my big one for taking such a huge step. Woooohoooooo

Cheers Damaris

Retreat time...

The en suite I accidentally scored. hehe

Mother of a TV

Lovely Kitchen...

The view from my private balcony...

Beautiful details...

Toowoomba at night...

Have just come back from a three day, two night retreat in Toowoomba. We ended up staying in the Hotel across from the Town Hall... We were in two Penthouses and I loved accidentally getting one room with an en suite... I was half unpacked before realising it was even there. hehe

For me it was not so much a retreat as we didn't really have allot of down time. I tried Bowen Therapy for the first time and was really happy to find that even after just 15 minutes of manipulation that I was able to sleep the last two nights without pain for two hours before falling asleep. The patella is very worn behind my left knee so have allot of pain when I first try to fall asleep... Last night I slept like a baby. First night, not so much... The noise, sirens, lights all got to me. I love my country quiet that is for sure... The sessions on reflection were nice and it was wonderful to see how far people had come from their P.A.T.H. and family plans from when they did them to now. I loved re reading mine. :)

This was the retreat to finalise things for the 2 year Pilot Project that I have been on. It was for the Family Collective which is apart of Carers Queensland and was funded by Disability Services. I must say in allot of ways it will be sad to not see everyone anymore on a monthly basis... On the other hand, I am rather exhausted right now and am glad it is over for now.

There are a few that I will continue to stay in contact with but am not interested in going to Toowoomba once a month or even once every couple of months just for this. I have gained allot of knowledge from some very knowledgeable people within the group and was glad that I was able to learn about new disabilities at the same time. Most of the families were associated with Asperger's Syndrome but there were others as well.

Now it is time for a new Family Collective that will be run for three years this time. I wish them all luck and hope they get out of it the good bits that I got out of ours. :)

Cheers Damaris

A new month... new challenges...

New month, new challenges...

Today is the first of the month... of June. :) Where on earth has this year gone to I wonder...

All week and most of last we have had overcast and wet days here... Not much to write about as most of it is spent indoors or I have been busy being out. Last week was a nightmare, this week is not much better. Tomorrow is my only day at home and even then after picking up Timothy from the bus I have to go to Brisbane for an appointment. Timothy is having a mole frozen off... It is on his leg and will be a pain. I can tell. He loves wearing his long pants so hopefully will be able to adequately wrap it up.

Thursday I am off for three days and two nights... I am off to Toowoomba for the Carer's Qld Family Collective Respite getaway. Lots of loose ends to tie up and at this retreat we also decide as a group whether we keep meeting even though funding will have ceased. Will be a good time to get even closer to the families that we have spent nearly two years with on a monthly basis.

Today was a very rewarding day. I went to the monthly ASD Parent Support Meeting in Warwick and we had a guest with us today. She is working in the Education Department and is the person you seek out when you have trouble dealing with things at school. Very lovely lady and had spoken to her on one other occasion before. Glad I don't need to yak in her ear but good to know her face all the same. :) Quite a few parents were able to have their worries heard and will be followed up on which is so good to hear. Was a fantastic meeting. :)

Last night I made up a long list of things that I need to still declutter and this list will be my main challenge this month. I will be working through them as I need the clutter gone out of my house and life. Started this morning and gave a huge bag of wooden plain and painted blocks to a friend who has two littlies that will appreciate them. They are always playing with them when they visit so could not think of a better home for them to go to.

Best start on my list, after making dinner that is. :)

Cheers Damaris

Loot here one day, gone the next...

Love our candles...

Timothy loved this shop. It was in Warwick for a while and I loved to visit in there. There were always lovely little trinkets to get. Especially for Timothy. If I was out shopping and could not find him, I always knew to look in there and he would be there alright. He loved to see what they had changed in the shop from the last time that he had visited... Strange for a boy that hates change.

He also loved feeling the silky pillows. They were the best... Well this shop has closed. It closed about a month ago now and he still misses it. At the end of their huge sale that they were having I got a whole box of candles which is a nice memory. Problem is they are nearly all gone. They never last as long as I want them to. :) We use them most nights during the week and I don't use my night light really anymore. Only to chase a mozzie... I always use candles these days... So much more peaceful I find.

When we went to the beach during the holidays we did go to Pacific Fair as I mentioned before. Well while there we visited their Loot store and it was huge. Allot bigger than what we ever had and you should have seen Timothy. He was in heaven. He went back to it three times. He loved seeing all that stuff again... Allot of things had been bought there over the two and a bit years that it was in Warwick (with us living here too...)

But we will always have the memories... Or just go to another Loot. There is one in Toowoomba I hear... :)

Cheers Damaris

Timothy shines at the Warwick Show...

Timothy waiting for his number to be called. (21)

Timothy (second sheet from right) judging sheep...

No not literally... :) Last Friday and Saturday, Timothy was apart of the Warwick SHS team for the Sheep Pavilion. He had an absolute ball.

Friday he had to judge good and bad points of four Ewes. He had two minutes to look over, touch etc four girls and then put them in order of favourite to least favourite. No he didn't get any ribbons but then again he was the only one that had his first go and there were 52 students all up... We ended up leaving at just before 9pm and got home rather late. Straight to bed for both of us.

He had a ball doing it thought, did I say that already??? I was very proud of him and tried to suss out for him what he would have to do in advance. One thing about Aspy kids, they don't like to have things just thrown at them. New situations freaks them out, Timothy anyway. So when I got there I asked as many people as possible what would be happening. Then I would relay that to Timothy in a really simply termed way for him so that he could understand. Most of the time though he just wanted to touch and play with the sheep. He was in heaven. He loves the animals so much.

Saturday morning was an early start. I got him up at 5:15am and we were gone by 5:30am. Got to the showgrounds at 6am and were let in for free which was lovely. He got to the Cattle Pavilion as that was were they were having breakfast as a whole team. He could have had breakfast at home but then he would have missed that whole team experience and I wanted him to have that as much as possible. Breakfast was not quite ready when we got there so instead he started filling up buckets with feed for the cattle for Ms Cox, his Agricultural teacher. He was happy to be left and knew he could as a teacher what he should be doing next.

He lead sheep that morning, twice. They didn't do what he wanted. He had no previous experience but gave it a go. He was sad that he didn't have the experience as others that were in Year 9 got ribbons and he didn't. They were ribbons for the sheep though not the handlers. Was hard for him to understand that one as he couldn't see that.

I picked him up at 1pm as previously agreed. The lady at the gate again let me in without having to pay as I was only there to just pick up Timothy and there I met a boy that was seasoned... :) He had dirty jeans, from working hard and a huge smile on his face. He was very tired as he had not sat down all morning and was definitely ready to go home.

Once home I made sure he quickly had a shower as trust me, he stank... all those lovely animal smells. Oh what a weekend it has been for him. His teachers all thought he did great and even some of the kids were very encouraging... I hope he can keep going to Ag as he really loves it. At the SHS they only do it for one term though in Year 8, not that I have told him that yet... That will come. Tomorrow maybe. Must do it before he gets his new timetable or he will freak out. Don't want that...

Cheers Damaris

Timothy's Room is done...

Displaying a small amount of his gems, rocks and minerals...

Must have lots of pillows... lol

Wow, how clean is that???

I have been doing his room for a while now. Little by little... Only problem is that there was so much dust in there that I kept giving up. Russell was kind enough last weekend to get all the stuff out of his room and off the floor so that I could slowly keep going. But with a more steady 'have a go' attitude. Well it worked and the end result has been fantastic.

I love his room and Timothy does as well. He keeps commenting on how beautiful it is. I am glad as an Asperger's boy it was very, very hard for him to let me in there in the first place. He wanted everything the way it was for the last six months but that just was not happening anymore. On the other hand I am glad that I did take my time in the end as he saw the little progress that I would make each day and get used to it that way, in his own way.

The last two days have had the most dramatic changes and I am glad that he has responded to the changes as well as he did. He is growing up, my boy...

I am also very proud of him for listening to me about where things go and what he needs to do in order for the room to stay in the condition that he now loves. He also loves to spend time in there now which is nice to see. :)

I am sooooo determined not to let it get the other way again. I think also that he is as well as he could see the huge difference it made. It was also great to go through the whole room, from top to bottom and redo it as though he had just moved in. Was very refreshing to do. Charity is also very happy with me. :)

Cheers Damaris

Archery update...

Joshua doing his stuff, before the real target was completed...

Both the boys and Russell have really taken to the sport. They are off again this morning to go for more practice and lessons. They are enjoying it and finding it very rewarding. Timothy is turning out to be a little less interested then the other two though. Don't know what to do about that one. He was soooooo anxious to get his gear and now that he has it he is only interested for a little while and then just comes back inside. Annoying really.

Russell threatened to sell his gear this morning as he had asked if he HAD to go to Warwick with them to do Archery. He is wanting to be on the computer. I realise this is his safety zone but I need him outta there as well as I am redoing his room at the moment and don't need him under my feet. So what to do... Russell and Joshua are enjoying it immensely but Timothy is very 'whatever' about it. I know another trait of AS but is annoying all the same. We will see in time I guess and worst comes to worst we can just sell his stuff... So fickle. If only I could get into that head of his and find out what he is really thinking. So hard to get him to explain why he reacts certain ways. But is getting better all the same too which is good to see...

Cheers Damaris