April 8th, 2012
Easter Sunday.
The girls are up bright and early on Easter Sunday with the similar jitters to the ones they get at Christmas. Melody loved searching for eggs and Ginny loved eating them. I'm very sore today from the day out and lifting Melody more than I should have yesterday but she was very under the weather. Today after we watch some of the Easter specials we'll paint eggs, make chocolate nests and watch Hop while our roast cooks for tea.
Melody liked painting our boiled eggs and Ginny liked having a couple. Neither child was very interested in melting the chocolate for our nests but they both found sitting the eggs onto the nests entertaining, theyre eyes were huge and focused. Neither were very impressed with having o put them into the fridge to settle but they enjoyed having one each after lunch. Melody likes getting dressed up with her sister and has been telling me how beautiful they both look today. Not that she's conceited or anything ;)
The girls zonked out watching Hop while I got out roast into the oven to to slow cook for a few hours and Melody kept saying "silly bunny" while Ginny just giggled away. It entertained them far more than I wouldve imagined for a film that's not completely animated. Melody is still not very well but her fevers have been manageable. Ginny has been enjoying her new fabrics plenty. Everytime I tidy them up because I think she's finished with them, I turn around and she's back in them.
Ginny skyped her dada matt and his parents before dinner. She ate brilliantly as usual and enjoyed two chocolate nests for dessert before bath and bedtime. Ginny went to sleep brilliantly but Melody was not feeling very well and woke periodically throughout the night. She ended up in our room but still struggled with sleep. I'm glad she enjoyed her Easter despite feeling so poorly. She told me I was the best mummy ever and that she loved painting eggs, eating chocolate nests and her egg hunt. It means so much more when Melody tells me things like this becasue I have never had Ginny be able to.
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
2012 asd log: entry 7
April 7th, 2012
I'm very tired this morning. Had trouble sleeping because the girls have jumbled up my sleep cycles in the last couple of weeks. Both girls sleep in past 8am on this Saturday morning which is rather unusual for them. Melody tells me they don't want milk w their cereal they want apple juice which Ginny seems to confirm pushing away the bottle of milk. Dry cereal, a cup of apple juice and bagels with cream cheese are what they munch on. When Ginny finishes hers she's after Melody's. Melody gets upset at first but then we discuss sharing and she tosses dry cereal to her sister saying "catch" brfoe getting out of her table and sitting next to her sister to share. Eating and sharing food is always a great way for them to interact.
Ginny doesnt accept much interation from peers but will make an acception if food is involved. When well the child can not be filled! Melody is still rather grumpy and it's grey out but I would like to get to the Saturday market in St Albans to get some fabric and bits and bobs for a sensory box for Ginny. I'll have to check the weather forcast before making a decision cause I don't want to end up soaked with two grumpy kids in the next city over.
I take the girls upstairs to get changed and ginny comes downstairs while I finish up Melody. When I come down I find her fingerpainting herself and the kitchen counters with buttery spread :/ It's going to be one of those days!! I get her cleaned up and we head out to the closest bus stop to start our journey...we miss our bus by a hair and have to wait a half hour for the next only to have a complete ass of a driver tell us we'll need to fold up our chair. Ginny can walk but for travel and long journeys she uses a mclaren elite, a special needs pushchair that qualifies as a wheelchair. I told him it was a wheelchair and the ignorant sod says " i still don't have room for it" this is though there are two signs clearly stating that the wheelchair bay should be given up for wheelchair users! Luckily the passengers weren't jerks, cleared the bay and told me not to worry about it.
Once we arrived to St Albans i still wanted to kick the drivers head in but gave him my very American "have a nice day" and jumped off with a smile. We started our search for sensory items for the sensory tent we want to make Ginny like the one she has at school and had loads of luck. Picked up various swatches of fabrics, and random items the school keeps in hers. All in all she seems very pleased and when we get home we'll see if there were any types I'll need to get more of if she favours them. Stopped at subway for lunch, Ginny had two bowls of meatballs, a packet of crisps and a chocolate chip cookie while Mels barely tried a bit of her cereal bar. She's been feeling very unwell today so we headed back home with our goodies.
Ginny was very pleased with her new bits and bobs and played with them as soon as we got in for ages. Buy of a lifetime I'm telling ya! It allowed me to put the laundry away in peace and the clean up afterwards was as easy as popping in all into a basket til we sort out a tent!! Melody has been floppy all afternoon, I think Ginny wanted to comfort her cause she went and sat with her when I put cars on to sort out dinner. It was very sweet. Melody still didnt eat so Ginny ate her dinner and than half of her sister's. She's the slightest child in the world but she could have finished Melody's dinner too, her pediatrician says she is such an active child that she needs the extra fuel to run. Her OT was worried that because of her sensory issues her body may not be registering that she's full when she is.
Daddy arrived as Ginny was finishing up her dinner and got the girls to bed after he had his own. I sat and had a lovely stress out over everything under the sun. There's always soooo much to worry about and it seems to pile up until it's unbearable. We still haven't sorted a house and the estate agent hasnt heard from the landlord on the last property we put an offer on in over a week. It all seemed like it would go smoothly at first like it always does but then something happens. This time that something was meetings with an architect because the adjustments on the landlord's new build may not be ready on time so the landlord is unsure of when he'll be able to move in...It doesn't help that in two weeks I'll have all my documents handed over to the UKBA and won't see them until they finished.
I was hoping to just pay extra and have it all sorted in person but you can't make an appt with an enquiry office until you've passed your citizenship exam, and as soon as I did that I tried to book one and they were completely booked up at all 7 of the enquiry offices scattered across the UK from then until weeks after my visa expired!! We seriously would've made a trip anywhere but no joy. Just our luck. we're having it checked at a checking service so still payig a bit more but it doesn't in anyway speed up the process. It just gives you the piece of mind that you've sent off everything needed. Something like 90% of applications are processed within 6months. It could always be much sooner but being practical you should imagine 6 months of being without papers.
As if I needed any more stress. Without papers I won't be able to sort out a property and the littlest lady is due in 3months. To say the least I'd like to just crawl into a hole and dissapear. Don't have that option once you have kids though, you have to appear strong. You have to get up every morning and make sure they feel safe, happy and cared for. You've got to be able to smile in the morning like you weren't crying the night before. Some days this is so much harder to do than others and I've got that feeling that tomorrow will be one of those days. Easter Sunday. That means tonight I've got to tidy up the entire house and set up the girls hunt for the morning. In the morning that means waking up early and helping the girls with their search for eggs and later on that means making chocolate nests, decorating eggs and slow cooking our easter tea. It will be fun, for the kids I hope at least, and they girls will look lovely in their Easter dresses.
I'm very tired this morning. Had trouble sleeping because the girls have jumbled up my sleep cycles in the last couple of weeks. Both girls sleep in past 8am on this Saturday morning which is rather unusual for them. Melody tells me they don't want milk w their cereal they want apple juice which Ginny seems to confirm pushing away the bottle of milk. Dry cereal, a cup of apple juice and bagels with cream cheese are what they munch on. When Ginny finishes hers she's after Melody's. Melody gets upset at first but then we discuss sharing and she tosses dry cereal to her sister saying "catch" brfoe getting out of her table and sitting next to her sister to share. Eating and sharing food is always a great way for them to interact.
Ginny doesnt accept much interation from peers but will make an acception if food is involved. When well the child can not be filled! Melody is still rather grumpy and it's grey out but I would like to get to the Saturday market in St Albans to get some fabric and bits and bobs for a sensory box for Ginny. I'll have to check the weather forcast before making a decision cause I don't want to end up soaked with two grumpy kids in the next city over.
I take the girls upstairs to get changed and ginny comes downstairs while I finish up Melody. When I come down I find her fingerpainting herself and the kitchen counters with buttery spread :/ It's going to be one of those days!! I get her cleaned up and we head out to the closest bus stop to start our journey...we miss our bus by a hair and have to wait a half hour for the next only to have a complete ass of a driver tell us we'll need to fold up our chair. Ginny can walk but for travel and long journeys she uses a mclaren elite, a special needs pushchair that qualifies as a wheelchair. I told him it was a wheelchair and the ignorant sod says " i still don't have room for it" this is though there are two signs clearly stating that the wheelchair bay should be given up for wheelchair users! Luckily the passengers weren't jerks, cleared the bay and told me not to worry about it.
Once we arrived to St Albans i still wanted to kick the drivers head in but gave him my very American "have a nice day" and jumped off with a smile. We started our search for sensory items for the sensory tent we want to make Ginny like the one she has at school and had loads of luck. Picked up various swatches of fabrics, and random items the school keeps in hers. All in all she seems very pleased and when we get home we'll see if there were any types I'll need to get more of if she favours them. Stopped at subway for lunch, Ginny had two bowls of meatballs, a packet of crisps and a chocolate chip cookie while Mels barely tried a bit of her cereal bar. She's been feeling very unwell today so we headed back home with our goodies.
Ginny was very pleased with her new bits and bobs and played with them as soon as we got in for ages. Buy of a lifetime I'm telling ya! It allowed me to put the laundry away in peace and the clean up afterwards was as easy as popping in all into a basket til we sort out a tent!! Melody has been floppy all afternoon, I think Ginny wanted to comfort her cause she went and sat with her when I put cars on to sort out dinner. It was very sweet. Melody still didnt eat so Ginny ate her dinner and than half of her sister's. She's the slightest child in the world but she could have finished Melody's dinner too, her pediatrician says she is such an active child that she needs the extra fuel to run. Her OT was worried that because of her sensory issues her body may not be registering that she's full when she is.
Daddy arrived as Ginny was finishing up her dinner and got the girls to bed after he had his own. I sat and had a lovely stress out over everything under the sun. There's always soooo much to worry about and it seems to pile up until it's unbearable. We still haven't sorted a house and the estate agent hasnt heard from the landlord on the last property we put an offer on in over a week. It all seemed like it would go smoothly at first like it always does but then something happens. This time that something was meetings with an architect because the adjustments on the landlord's new build may not be ready on time so the landlord is unsure of when he'll be able to move in...It doesn't help that in two weeks I'll have all my documents handed over to the UKBA and won't see them until they finished.
I was hoping to just pay extra and have it all sorted in person but you can't make an appt with an enquiry office until you've passed your citizenship exam, and as soon as I did that I tried to book one and they were completely booked up at all 7 of the enquiry offices scattered across the UK from then until weeks after my visa expired!! We seriously would've made a trip anywhere but no joy. Just our luck. we're having it checked at a checking service so still payig a bit more but it doesn't in anyway speed up the process. It just gives you the piece of mind that you've sent off everything needed. Something like 90% of applications are processed within 6months. It could always be much sooner but being practical you should imagine 6 months of being without papers.
As if I needed any more stress. Without papers I won't be able to sort out a property and the littlest lady is due in 3months. To say the least I'd like to just crawl into a hole and dissapear. Don't have that option once you have kids though, you have to appear strong. You have to get up every morning and make sure they feel safe, happy and cared for. You've got to be able to smile in the morning like you weren't crying the night before. Some days this is so much harder to do than others and I've got that feeling that tomorrow will be one of those days. Easter Sunday. That means tonight I've got to tidy up the entire house and set up the girls hunt for the morning. In the morning that means waking up early and helping the girls with their search for eggs and later on that means making chocolate nests, decorating eggs and slow cooking our easter tea. It will be fun, for the kids I hope at least, and they girls will look lovely in their Easter dresses.
2012 asd log: entry 6
April 6th, 2012
Melody was up most of the night complaining about having a sore belly still. We probably didn't hear Ginny waking because Melody had us exhausted but Ginny also must have got up very quietly. Melody heard her crying in their room and went up to see "why Ginny cry mummy" while I was taking clothes off the airer for the airing cupboard. Ginny came downstairs this Friday morning with no pj trousers or a nappy on. She must have taken them both off and thrown them off her bunk. She had been crying because she wet herself and was woken by the fact.
I cleaned her up and peeled off all her bedding and protective covers off her matress and put them to wash. When I came back out of the garage Ginny had found the butcher's bacon and was sat on the floor of the kitchen with it. I had forgotten we had any but ginny obviously knows it's much nicer than the regular bacon from the shops and she also obviously wanted her favourite breakfast food, bacon and eggs. "Lets dance" came on nick jr while I was finishing up feeding Ginny her bacon and eggs and Melody insited that I get the girls' "famango"(flamnco, lol) dresses from their holiday in Spain last year to wear so they could dance. I paused the tv and once Ginny had eaten her last bite I went up and got their dresses.
Ginny isn't really fussed by things like dressing up to match something so it's nice that she has her little sister around to encourage her to take part in these types of imaginitive play. We hear that at school she enjoys dressing up and it's probably all thanks to Melody and her constant insistance that her sister takes part in her fun. It's nice to watch the girls dressed up prancing around the living room. We won't be able to go out anywhere until all of Ginny's bedding has been washed and hung up to dry and that will take a few hours as our machine is rather small and there are so many layers to Ginny's bed to keep her from tearing them all off when she's in a mood.
Before long Ginny is ready for a snack and and tells me the only way she knows how, scaring the crap out of me by climbing up into her high chair and balancing uptop. It still nearly gives me a heart attack everytime come from one room to another and find her like this even though I know she has amazing balance and she's been doing this type of thing her entire life. Ginny was 8months old the first time I found her sat in the top shelf of a bookcase. It is lovely and sunny out but minus zero so hopefullythe day will have warmed up by the time the laundry is all hung up to dry and we're good to go.
After her snack Ginny enjoys playing with my hotwater bottle. Melody is definately unwell and has now wrapped herself in a blanket and is saying "I'm poorly mummy" :/ I feel like the kids just can not catch a break but I imagine all mums feel this way. If it's not one it's the other. One gets better and the next comes out in something. The weather does not help. It's 20degrees and then -1, not cool. By the time lunch rolls around Melody is completely refusing food so Ginny eats both their pizzas. If Ginny is well you can count on her to eat everything that's put in front of her. Melody is always stubborn.
I went to the loo for a wee after taking Ginny's plate and utensils to the dishwasher and came back into the room to find it a complete mess. I can tell Melody is properly unwell when she doesnt holler "mummy look what Ginny doing" she's a very bossy and my little helper so her indifference is a clear sign. Poor little lady. I suppose I'll let them stay in and watch Jake's all aboard easterrrr instead of dragging them out for a walk. I've now got the living room to retidy anyways. It can never be cleaned up as fast as Ginny can destroy it that's for sure!
Ginny came upstairs with me to put away clothing from the airing cupboard as I didn't want to come back to another Ginnyhurricane. We watched a couple of stories on Ginny's storio on the sofa and than watched Dora's pirate adventure, one of Ginny's favorites on tv. I ran upstairs to start the tub just before the video finished then bribed the girls upstairs with a sweetie each. Normally bathtime comes after dinner but I'm babysitting for a friend this evening bath then dinner it will be. Both Girls love bubbles so our bath probably had more bubbles in it than water but the little ladies came out squeaky clean and content. I dressed them for bed and plated their hair as usual. Daddy got home just as we were about to come down.
Ginny had spinach and ricotta canalloni for tea and Melody didn't eat a bite of her own and James and I shared a pizza. I was dropped off at a friend's and the girls were good from what I heard for daddy. I got in from a well deserved night out and everyone was fast asleep in their own beds. Both Girls slept through the night on Good Friday.
Melody was up most of the night complaining about having a sore belly still. We probably didn't hear Ginny waking because Melody had us exhausted but Ginny also must have got up very quietly. Melody heard her crying in their room and went up to see "why Ginny cry mummy" while I was taking clothes off the airer for the airing cupboard. Ginny came downstairs this Friday morning with no pj trousers or a nappy on. She must have taken them both off and thrown them off her bunk. She had been crying because she wet herself and was woken by the fact.
I cleaned her up and peeled off all her bedding and protective covers off her matress and put them to wash. When I came back out of the garage Ginny had found the butcher's bacon and was sat on the floor of the kitchen with it. I had forgotten we had any but ginny obviously knows it's much nicer than the regular bacon from the shops and she also obviously wanted her favourite breakfast food, bacon and eggs. "Lets dance" came on nick jr while I was finishing up feeding Ginny her bacon and eggs and Melody insited that I get the girls' "famango"(flamnco, lol) dresses from their holiday in Spain last year to wear so they could dance. I paused the tv and once Ginny had eaten her last bite I went up and got their dresses.
Ginny isn't really fussed by things like dressing up to match something so it's nice that she has her little sister around to encourage her to take part in these types of imaginitive play. We hear that at school she enjoys dressing up and it's probably all thanks to Melody and her constant insistance that her sister takes part in her fun. It's nice to watch the girls dressed up prancing around the living room. We won't be able to go out anywhere until all of Ginny's bedding has been washed and hung up to dry and that will take a few hours as our machine is rather small and there are so many layers to Ginny's bed to keep her from tearing them all off when she's in a mood.
Before long Ginny is ready for a snack and and tells me the only way she knows how, scaring the crap out of me by climbing up into her high chair and balancing uptop. It still nearly gives me a heart attack everytime come from one room to another and find her like this even though I know she has amazing balance and she's been doing this type of thing her entire life. Ginny was 8months old the first time I found her sat in the top shelf of a bookcase. It is lovely and sunny out but minus zero so hopefullythe day will have warmed up by the time the laundry is all hung up to dry and we're good to go.
After her snack Ginny enjoys playing with my hotwater bottle. Melody is definately unwell and has now wrapped herself in a blanket and is saying "I'm poorly mummy" :/ I feel like the kids just can not catch a break but I imagine all mums feel this way. If it's not one it's the other. One gets better and the next comes out in something. The weather does not help. It's 20degrees and then -1, not cool. By the time lunch rolls around Melody is completely refusing food so Ginny eats both their pizzas. If Ginny is well you can count on her to eat everything that's put in front of her. Melody is always stubborn.
I went to the loo for a wee after taking Ginny's plate and utensils to the dishwasher and came back into the room to find it a complete mess. I can tell Melody is properly unwell when she doesnt holler "mummy look what Ginny doing" she's a very bossy and my little helper so her indifference is a clear sign. Poor little lady. I suppose I'll let them stay in and watch Jake's all aboard easterrrr instead of dragging them out for a walk. I've now got the living room to retidy anyways. It can never be cleaned up as fast as Ginny can destroy it that's for sure!
Ginny came upstairs with me to put away clothing from the airing cupboard as I didn't want to come back to another Ginnyhurricane. We watched a couple of stories on Ginny's storio on the sofa and than watched Dora's pirate adventure, one of Ginny's favorites on tv. I ran upstairs to start the tub just before the video finished then bribed the girls upstairs with a sweetie each. Normally bathtime comes after dinner but I'm babysitting for a friend this evening bath then dinner it will be. Both Girls love bubbles so our bath probably had more bubbles in it than water but the little ladies came out squeaky clean and content. I dressed them for bed and plated their hair as usual. Daddy got home just as we were about to come down.
Ginny had spinach and ricotta canalloni for tea and Melody didn't eat a bite of her own and James and I shared a pizza. I was dropped off at a friend's and the girls were good from what I heard for daddy. I got in from a well deserved night out and everyone was fast asleep in their own beds. Both Girls slept through the night on Good Friday.
2012 asd log: entry 5
April 5th, 2012
Ginny has slept brilliantly but Melody must be coming down with something, she's been waking wingeing alll night so we've slept horribly. It's horrible and grey out today so we're going to take the girls out to toys r us for a run around. The girls had a bowl of cereal and pancakes for breakfast which always makes them happy. I washed another load of washing, put the clothes off the airer into the airing cupboard, put away the dishes and reloaded the dishwaher while James watched the girls downstairs. Ginny came up to get dressed and ready first.
She's always a bit weary of early morning changes, we imagine that getting out of your nice warm pjs into cool clothes freaks her out a bit but of course we have no idea of knowing for sure. The earlier the dressing, the more upset she is by it so school days are the most difficult, she will kick and scream and throw herself about to try to stop you from dressing her. Today was not as early on in the morning so a milder reaction but she was still pretty upset. Afterwards Melody who was still a bit cranky was dressed with the bribery of heading to the toy store and we went and sat in the car to wait for daddy.
Once shoes and coats are on Ginny can not wait inside for too long. It massively stresses her out because shoes and coat on surely mean it's time to go. The longer you take, the more stressful the situation so I try to get her out of the house as soon as. On school days Ginny will also get massively stressed if her taxi arrives late to take her to school. Time and changes can be very difficult for people affected by Ginny's condition. Once in the car Ginny is happy as she knows she will be going somewhere soon.
On the drive Ginny gets her arm out of her seat belt, I say her name and give her a look and she salides it back in because she knows she shouldn't do that but doesn't understand why not. Like most of what mommy insists upon it all just seems like an annoyance. She gets excited as we get near because she recognizes the lot and knows where we are going. Unfortunately after just walking around for a short while Ginny begins to scream, strop and throw herself around so I have to put her in the shopping cart. She is super worked up and goes on like this for about 15-20 minutes before she spots what she wants popping out of my bag and reaches for it.
On this Thursday poor little Ginny was thirsty but did not have a way of telling us until she could reach for her cup to let us know. After her drink she was right as rain. She liked looking a a dora bedtime dolly, the water/sandpits, wendy houses and slides. Melody loved the Disney Princess isle, dress up section and baby dolls. Both girls really enjoyed sitting and playing in all the display cars. Toys r us is great because the kids can be entertained there for ages. Of all the toys, books, etc Ginny chose a large bag of sweets while melody chose a small snow white figurine to play along in the cinderella set she got for Christmas.
When we got home I put lunch on and got to putting away the clothes from the airing cupboard, hung the washing on the airer, then plated up the girls lunch. James was feeling a bit under the weather so after watching the girls for me and having his lunch he went up to bed for a rest. Melody and I did puzzles and Ginny played with her tangle, then we watched some curious george before checking up on daddy and getting our boots and coats back on to go to the grocery store and get a couple of things we needed.
By the time we got back from doing our shopping it was time to make dinner. Ginny ate very well but Melody is definitely not very well and does not want to eat a thing. Today daddy gets the girls off to bed and I wonder who daddy is, surely he is not my husband, anyway this allows me to get the kitchen tidied and start up the dishwasher. We watch a movie together before heading up to do some reading but throughout our movie we hear Melody waking and crying so we know we're in for a difficult night. Melody ends up in our bed as we don't want her to wake her sister in the night.
Ginny has slept brilliantly but Melody must be coming down with something, she's been waking wingeing alll night so we've slept horribly. It's horrible and grey out today so we're going to take the girls out to toys r us for a run around. The girls had a bowl of cereal and pancakes for breakfast which always makes them happy. I washed another load of washing, put the clothes off the airer into the airing cupboard, put away the dishes and reloaded the dishwaher while James watched the girls downstairs. Ginny came up to get dressed and ready first.
She's always a bit weary of early morning changes, we imagine that getting out of your nice warm pjs into cool clothes freaks her out a bit but of course we have no idea of knowing for sure. The earlier the dressing, the more upset she is by it so school days are the most difficult, she will kick and scream and throw herself about to try to stop you from dressing her. Today was not as early on in the morning so a milder reaction but she was still pretty upset. Afterwards Melody who was still a bit cranky was dressed with the bribery of heading to the toy store and we went and sat in the car to wait for daddy.
Once shoes and coats are on Ginny can not wait inside for too long. It massively stresses her out because shoes and coat on surely mean it's time to go. The longer you take, the more stressful the situation so I try to get her out of the house as soon as. On school days Ginny will also get massively stressed if her taxi arrives late to take her to school. Time and changes can be very difficult for people affected by Ginny's condition. Once in the car Ginny is happy as she knows she will be going somewhere soon.
On the drive Ginny gets her arm out of her seat belt, I say her name and give her a look and she salides it back in because she knows she shouldn't do that but doesn't understand why not. Like most of what mommy insists upon it all just seems like an annoyance. She gets excited as we get near because she recognizes the lot and knows where we are going. Unfortunately after just walking around for a short while Ginny begins to scream, strop and throw herself around so I have to put her in the shopping cart. She is super worked up and goes on like this for about 15-20 minutes before she spots what she wants popping out of my bag and reaches for it.
On this Thursday poor little Ginny was thirsty but did not have a way of telling us until she could reach for her cup to let us know. After her drink she was right as rain. She liked looking a a dora bedtime dolly, the water/sandpits, wendy houses and slides. Melody loved the Disney Princess isle, dress up section and baby dolls. Both girls really enjoyed sitting and playing in all the display cars. Toys r us is great because the kids can be entertained there for ages. Of all the toys, books, etc Ginny chose a large bag of sweets while melody chose a small snow white figurine to play along in the cinderella set she got for Christmas.
When we got home I put lunch on and got to putting away the clothes from the airing cupboard, hung the washing on the airer, then plated up the girls lunch. James was feeling a bit under the weather so after watching the girls for me and having his lunch he went up to bed for a rest. Melody and I did puzzles and Ginny played with her tangle, then we watched some curious george before checking up on daddy and getting our boots and coats back on to go to the grocery store and get a couple of things we needed.
By the time we got back from doing our shopping it was time to make dinner. Ginny ate very well but Melody is definitely not very well and does not want to eat a thing. Today daddy gets the girls off to bed and I wonder who daddy is, surely he is not my husband, anyway this allows me to get the kitchen tidied and start up the dishwasher. We watch a movie together before heading up to do some reading but throughout our movie we hear Melody waking and crying so we know we're in for a difficult night. Melody ends up in our bed as we don't want her to wake her sister in the night.
2012 asd log: entry 4
April 4th, 2012
James has actually been brilliant this morning and I’ll give praise where praise is due. Though, he may not have been thrilled with my deciding he would be getting up with the girlies for his two days off as I'll have them all of next week with no break, he still got up and let me be this morning. By let me be I mean I’ve managed to lay in bed whilst he shouts up a million times asking what to do and where things are all though these things haven’t changed since the last time I made it clear I needed a break. I was up this morning feeling achy but being able to just lay around a couple of extra hours even if I wasnt sleeping was great. I popped into a nice bath and Ginny joined me half way through after her breakfast. Ginny loves to splash and play with bubbles but did not want to stay in as long as she normally does today.
She was quite grumpy whilst being dressed as well and as it turns out her two bowls of cereal hadn't hit the spot so we went downstairs and while I made her some bacon and pancakes she mucnched on a few digestives and some juice. James fed Ginny and I made some sandwiches to pack up for our lunch with some yoghurts and crisps. By the time we were all ready to leave the house it was early afternoon so we decided tohead to Woodside Animal Farm.
Ginny liked playing on the swings while Melody fed the chickens at the start of our trip. She wasn't very interested by the llamas or donkeys but giggled at the squirrell monkeys. Both girls loved the electric tractors and played along the track with daddy. Ginny was very upset to have to leave the track but enjoyed sitting on the old big tractors with daddy and Melody. We went to have a look at some more animals and by the time we reached the ringed tail lemurs Ginny was refusing to walk. There's nothing wrong with Ginny's legs, she was just being difficult, she jumped out of the pushchair once she laid her eyes on the bouncy castle and had a good jump around for a half hour before moving on to the trampolines.
We met Harvey the Bunny who gave the girls some Easter sweets and Melody had her face painted. Next we went to meet some baby goats that were just an hour old before taking a rest in the softplay area and having our sandwiches. Ginny is brilliant at exploring play areas and ate happily when ready. We saved our tractor ride for last which took us around the farm one last time. The girls always enjoy this part of our trip, afterwards we went into the petshop and farmstore and then headed home. With two hours to bedtime we decided to watch some tv and then have our tea.
Ginny has a bit of an upset belly but this is quite normal. Many children/adults on the spectrum have gut problems and if Ginny is not constipated then she has loose bowels. This evening she's a bit grumpy about it but not too distressed. Now it's time for bedtime so James is getting the girls to bed so I have to tidy up the downstairs, sort the dishes and vaccum. The girls should go to bed easily as they've had a long and active day out. This Wednesday was a pretty good day, when we've finished our chores I'll probably just have some paracetamol, a hot waterbottle and curl up with a book while James plays some call of duty, his favourite way to pass his evenings if he’s home and not at the pub.
2012 asd log: entry 3
April 3rd, 2012
Tuesday morning and the girls are back to their early wake up calls. Morning comes and it's breakfast, vaccuming, putting away laundry, dishes and a change of clothes. Neither of the girls have fevers today but they are both tantruming about this that and the other. Melody is a strong willed child and having an autistic sister doesn't make it any easier to show her the way big girls are meant to behave. It's not yet 11 and I know today is going to be a challenging day. When you're pregnant, recently out of hospital having chosen to go home and be with your kids, warned to take things easy and not do any heavy lifting it's not exactly easy to listen to the doctor's orders with a 3 and 5yr old throwing themselves about.
Just trying to will Ginny off of the counter she's stood on rumaging through the snack cupboard is probably more than I should do, just as lifting mels off the doorway to close the door and adjust the safety latch to contain Ginny probably is. Melody settles first and I set her up with some colouring pages and markers, Ginny has to come upstairs with me while I tidy up the rooms to ensure she doesn't damage her sister's art supplies. She enjoys jumping on the beds while and after I make them just like any other child a giggles as she undoes the work I've done.
Both girls join me in the kitchen to make our sandwiches for lunch. They have different tastes so I make what they like accordingly and we go eat our lunch together. I missed a marker when I put away Melody's art supplies and Ginny chews it to a pulp whilst I refill their drinks. My fault, I should've been more careful. After lunch I hope we'll get out into the garden as taking the girls for a walk on my own is not a good idea when they're in a mood and could throw themselves about at any minute. Normally I'd just deal with it but I've got baby to think of I'm far too early in my pregnancy to have to go back to the hospital. They might not give me the option to go back home if I do have any further complications and who would look after the girls if that happened?
Unfortunately it's cold out today and the girls are not keen on the garden. Can't say I blame them, with the heat on I hadnt realized the chill and it must have come as a shock after the lovely week of weather we've had. We play getting wrapped up in our easter blanket w our stuffed rabbit and chick toys and both girls giggle. Melody says" silly mummy you too big" and Ginny grabs my face smiling. This will probably be the best part of my day and as usual it couldn't last long enough. We roll around some more and play "tickle" and I blow rasberries on their bellies and necks then I pretend to eat the girls' toes and they smile away as if it's the best fun they've ever had.
Once I've tired I can tell they want a snack so snack time it is and then some more vacumming. Melody really wanted to watch Tinkerbell while I made dinner so that's what we put on. Ginny wanted to play in her room so I let her go up there with her room door open. James came home and as I plated dinner I hear "CANEY GINNY'S TREASHED THE ROOM", toys and books were everywhere, the beds were undone and even the coverings had been pulled off of the nursing chair I sit in to read their bedtime stories. So much for tidying, it's so much worse than before I had.
After dinner Ginny ran back upstairs and decided she would like to eat the wooden rings from her curtain as dessert. When James brought her down and closed her bedroom door we entered world war three. She screamed the house down as if we were the worst parents in the universe but after sorting for bed she went down surprisingly easily. Both girls happily listened to daddy's bedtime story and song and went to sleep.
Tomorrow and Thursday are James' days off so we will make the most of them. Next week James will be using his days off to fly for a charter line in Europe so I'll be on my own. I have brilliant friends though and we've made plans and travel arrangements so I can still take the girls out somewhere special on their Wednesday Thursday.
2012 asd log: entry 2
April 2nd, 2012
Ginny is definitely feeling much better and though I'm glad to see better I know it means I'm in for a tiring day. She decided 10am would be a good time to peel herself out of bed and came down in a grump and pulled her sippie cup of the drainer and pulled at the cupboard under the stairs to tell me she wanted cereal. Though Ginny can not speak and has not yet become comfortable with picture exchange despit two years of her school pushing it she can get her point across about certain things she wants pretty well.
Ginny only feels the need for us if she can not get something herself so locks on cupboards with foods she like mean I avoid finding her sat on the floor with a box of cereal emptied on her lap like I had before the locks. Ginny still requires a sippie cup because she tends to launch her cup when she's had enough, be it after completing her cup or just taking a swig. When you pour her drink in the mornings she will pass you her cup's lid or try to place it over the cup herself as she is quite anxious to have her drink as soon as possible in the mornings. Though her ways may seem incredibly primitive and annoying to a neurotypical individual these are very clear and encouraged forms of communication and not anticipating her needs and having what she wants ready for her encourages her to make the effort to communicate her needs.
As you can imagine an unlided beaker would be another huge mess but we do try to encourage it when we can sit with her. Ginny has also become much better with putting her cup down in the last few months, she used to feel the need to throw it full force behind her wherever she was without thinking of whether it could hurt someone or break. Through lots of hard work at school and encouragement at home she has really really improved with this. She can many times successfully drink unassisted from a normal cup without making a mess as long as an adult is nearby paying full attention to her. We give her a straw if we know that our attention can not be full on to lessen the chances of a big accident.
Ginny is an oppertunist and will use any unattended second to get something she wants that she shouldn't have and her amazing memory means that may be somthing I put away a couple of weeks or a month ago that she's been given a split second to get to being left in the same room where it was hidden prior. Now that Ginny was feeling better I knew that I could expect to find her up to something she shouldnt be doing as she wasn't going to spending an abundance of time curled up under a cover on the sofa.
I put finding Nemo on after breakfast to try and get sometime to empty the dishwasher and put the dishes from breakfast in before getting a load of laundry into the washing machine and getting last night's washing off the airer. Though doing all these things should only take about 15-20minutes, I have to keep popping into the living room to check on Ginny every few minutes and I move the airer there so I can take the washing down and be in the same room as her. However in the minute it takes me to walk the clothes upstairs and put the clothes off the airer into the airing cupboard, Ginny has gotten the pack of glue sticks she say me store the month before after her sister's birthday party and eaten half a stick!
To say the least this is incredibly frustrating. Firstly she's eaten half a stick of glue! Secondly she's rumaged through a drawer and pulled anything out that was in her way to get what she wants so colouring paper, pencils and loads of other things are now scattered all over the place, and lastly I put something that I know she tends to want somewhere accessable so that was a fail on my end big time. Glue sticks should be locked in the office with erasers, markers, playdough and other supplies Ginny feels the need to ingest dispite the fact that they are not food products.
I tell Ginny off in hopes that one day the concept of "Ginny gluesticks are not for eating or going in your mouth at all" will sink in and to show Melody that she is not the only one reprimanded in the household. Afterwards I wash what glue I can off her and tidy up the mess she made. Then I can take her upstairs to get her dressed. I may need to dress Ginny still but she does help, putting her arms and legs through clothing and handing me her feet for socks and shoes.
As Im still unsure of whether Ginny is 100% or not our best bet is to stay in. Ginny doesn't play with conventional toys very often so she sticks to her chewie (a toy made for children with special needs who feel the need to chew/mouth objects for sensory stimulation),a string of christmas decorating beads, a sock, a water bottle half frozen with water, and a light up ladybird that make music for the day. They only keep her attention for minutes at a time but she goes back to them when she wants them and allow me to vaccum the downstairs so we can play a game of roll around and tickle. Melody is very good with joining in but not always so good with respecting her sister's space.
I have to be careful to not overexcite Ginny when we play, I forgot about that today and Ginny nipped at me. Luckily I reacted quickly and she got mostly a mouthful of my sleeve and didnt break my skin. There have been many times when I haven't been so lucky and ended up with a Ginny bean hanging off my arm by her teeth. Ginny isn't a violent child but if she is very upset or overexcited she may take a bite at you.
After lunch the day had warmed up a bit and we played in the garden for a while. Ginny has to be watched at all times in the garden. She was still 4 when she first got over our 6ft fence and escaped into the neighbours garden. Before the age of three she developed a taste for lavander, rocks and dirt so we have to make sure she doesn't fill up on these things. The lavander I dont mind so much but the dirt and rocks I do. In the last year Ginny has also developed an affinity for brick. Because of her incessant need to mouth and chew objects Ginny's teeth have been filed down tiny. We're trying our best to get her out of the habbit of shoving brick and rock into her mouth at an oppertunity because besdies the fact that she shouldn't be eating these things we do not want her to damage her next set of teeth when they come around.
When we came in for some telly so I could make dinner and Ginny had a massive meltdown. She threw herself on the floor screaming and started pinching at me, incredibly upset about something she couldn't tell me, then out of the corner of her eye she spotted her sippie cup, got up off the floor and tried to drink from it although it was empty. She then launched it and shreiked frustrated more than ever. I picked up her cup and filled it as she whimpered behind me and tried to use the full cup to lure her back into the living room but she didnt want to budge she was stairing at a cabinet so I knew a snack must be in there that she was after. After multiple screams and stomps because it seemed mommy was not as clairvoyant as she'd hoped I finally placed my hand on a packet of digestive biscuits and she calmed down.
I set Ginny up with some digestives and a drink and she sat happily watching Cars2 with her sister while I started dinner. It took about 30-40mins to get dinner started and set it up in the oven for another 40mins so I had to check on her a few times before I'd finished. On the first check she was ripping up artwork her sister had made at school, on the next she had broken one of her sister's happyland playset horses by chewing off his face. One of the things that get to me the most about Ginny's autism is the way is seems she just has to damage her sister's things. It can be overwheming at times when I know it was something Melody was very proud of craftwise or a favorite toy. It's just not fair to Melody that Ginny's destructive nature results in her posessions being destroyed. I try to replace the things I can but of course this isn't always possible.
After I popped Dinner in the oven I vaccumed again as Ginny always makes quite a bit of a mess with whatever snack she's given. I got Melody's workbook out and we worked on that a bit and did some colouring. I can't leave Melody with her art supplies unattended when Ginny is home or they will be trashed. There is no possibly, Ginny will find a way and trash them. Granddad got home and forgot to lock the office back up as he often does so Ginny climbed up onto his desk, stood on her tippie toes and got her sister's playdough off the topshelf over the desk and ran into the conservatory to try to eat it in a corner.
Luckily it was a container she had already crushed broken in the past so the playdough was put into a plastic bag before being put back into the container to prevent it drying out so it took a few extra seconds to break into and I think we got to her before she managed to get much out. As a rule in our house, if things seem too calm, still or quiet, run and check on Ginny cause she is most likely up to no good. I put the playdough back and locked the office back up and checked Ginnys mouth for any playdough. Then I set the table while Melody played with Nanny in the conservatory and Ginny stropped a bit about me spoiling her fun.
When James got home, we sat at the the table and had dinner as usual. Ginny ate very well and had a popsicle from a batch Melody and I had made from fresh fruit juice earlier on as dessert and then we went up for her bedtime bath. Ginny's evening routine is made up of dinner at the table, a bath with her sister, her sleep meds which have to be administered before she is put into bed, hair and teeth brushing, jimjams, bedtime story, songs and bed. Except for the medication Melody's routine is pretty much the same as we put them to bed for the same time and they share a bedroom. Both girls went to bed great and we didn't hear a peep out of Ginny throughout the night.
Last night James was home so we did bedtime together because he had some work to get done and I wasn’t going to argue with that. I read whilst the girls had a play in the tub before they were ready to come out. It wasn't a bad day but it's just the start of the half term and sooner than later Ginny will be fed up of school being off so the real fun will begin. James and I watched a movie before bed.We met when Ginny was a year old so we have never had any time to be a child-free couple. I would have loved to have had some time to just be a couple with James instead of a parent but that's not the way things went. Maybe things wouldn’t be so difficult. Maybe they just wouldn’t be.
We do try to take a few days away from the kids for our own sanity as it has been recommended to us by the professionals who deal with Ginny. As Ginny and I are American and James is not biologically or adoptively Ginny's "father" we are not yet entiteled to statutory assitance from the government and do not receive respite services or benifits to help us contribute the extra expenses we have for Ginny. I'm just glad Ginny is allowed placement at a special school but bureaucratic bs we have to deal with is ridiculous. We are constantly told about all the help we should have provided for our family because of need but that we are not allowed access to because of our status.
If James were a member of another EU memberstate we would not have all of these hoops to jump through but as he's British and we've live in Britain we must. It doesn't matter that we have lived together for over 4years and have a child together with another on the way, we still have to spend loads of time and money making the UKBA happy proving that we are a legitimate couple. Just another stress we don't need but hey who cares. At the end of April the 2nd, Autism Awareness Day, even though I am bone tired I am happy to have my little family and greatful for all of my friends who have shown us their support.
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