Take Each Day By Day

So at some point during the last few months I thought it would be a great idea to get my hernia repaired. Four days before Christmas. Now that I am in pain and can barely move, I'm thinking- dumbass!! But I know long term this was the right move. I needed to get it fixed and I'll be right again soon. It's difficult to move and not tighten my stomach muscles. I'm terrified of pulling my stitches which I don't think I can do but I'm still scared. As time goes on I'll be stronger- I hope! My little one is chomping at the bit for Christmas. He's so excited we only have one day to go. Trying to make things extra special around here seeing as I can't move far! I'm thinking ice cream, movies and lots of snuggles!  Hoping you all have an amazing Christmas and holiday period. Take care and rest up!! 

I'm sitting in a cafe, sipping my coffee, waiting for my pasta having a mummy moment! I'm enjoying the quiet, the time to my self and mostly not having to tell someone to sit down!! I thinks it's important and we say it time and time again, to have a moment! School is hectic this time of year- reports, celebration assembly, graduation and this crazy notion I develop that sleep is for the weak and I can do it all! Throw in my son's birthday, family visits, Christmas parties and general chaos and life feels very stretched at times. On top of everything I'm having a much needed hernia operation done at the end of the month and I'm petrified!  So I'm going to enjoy this moment- I hope you find one to enjoy too! 

Such a slacker!! I really need to get my head in the game with blogging! I have so many great ideas and poof! Off they go!! I need a dictaphone that types for me! Super lazy but convenient. Basically today is a PT day and then off to see a new psychologist for my little ASDer. Looking forward to training- I'm thinking of doing a two week detox. Can you detox and still drinking coffee? I'm mean a mocha?? 😳 Hubby is keen to join in, the medication he is on has made him gain weight and very careful eating still hasn't really helped. But he will feel better  so he's happy to cleanse the inside. I have a few friends who have struggled with weight loss when they do go medication for anxiety or depression. If this is you please see your doctor. It's a terrible cycle, you are depressed and your weight doesn't help but the meds don't help your weight! Seeing a new psych today for my little baby boy. Hopefully she works out. We loved our other doctor but s...

Beyond excited to be going on a real family holiday today!!  Can't wait to just relax and have fun with the family. Plan to really be much better at blog writing when I get back!! 

I have really been struggling over the last few days as I have become overwhelmed by mundane and simple tasks. My anxiety has crept up on me like a dentist appointment you make and then wish you hadn't and I haven't been in a good frame of mind.  Everyone suffers when I get like this,  most of all my little ASDer who has no idea his endless questions are driving me to the brink. If I hear him comment one more time he wants something else to eat (after consuming half the pantry) I might just walk out. Especially as the yelling and losing it doesn't make me feel any better.  So I'm human at the end of the day and need to remind myself of a few things:  1) My child will love me even if I yell. 2) It is essential to learn to ask for help- I can't do it all myself and nobody expects me too!  3)You can break a few rules when you need to- take away, letting them have their toys, not brushing teeth. Sometimes it's not about the fight but showing compromise ...

I recently hosted a Tupperware party for a friend who is starting up her business. In my obsession to be a better mum and wife I went slightly overboard and bought lots of things that I hope will make me all round better in the kitchen. I love my new purchases and hopefully will encourage some healthy eating!! I'm a goose... I know! 

What a beautiful, peaceful place to stop at!! Super lucky!! 

After a few weeks of  the hectic chaos surrounding Easter and assessment tasks, the incredibly scary notion that my only child is starting school next year seemingly sprung it's self upon me.  NOTE: not really I did have serval reminder messages and discussions with friends about our school of choice - but my inability to look at the calendar made it seem like it sprung upon me!  So off to orientation night my husband and I go! I have been fairly confident in my choice of "BIG" school for my son and am hopping that this confidence is not misplaced - especially as a mother of a charming ASDer, I am potentially worried about the disaster school could be for the next 13 years. As a teacher I had a small idea of what I wanted to achieve on the night and was successful in cornering (!) the Learning Support Unit to have a chat about what was needed in order to ensure the best outcome at transitioning my...

Ended last week with a few really big days. Pretty exhausting after a week of work and day care! I dragged my darling child for a catch up lunch in Sydney- we spent nearly five hours in the car driving! The next day I hosted a last minute Tupperware party to help a friend out who is starting up her business. Then a sun spent afternoon watching cricket. My poor darling had his play room trashed, I didn't take enough toys to cricket, plus he had to share his iPad and  I kept smothering him in sunscreen. Saturday night we had one exhausted, cranky and frankly over it 4 year old.  Sunday was spent putting out spot fires as he was done! Lesson learnt- it's difficult to drag Nuero- typical kids around without consequences- even more so with my little ASDer.  I prepped him better for today and will keep working at it. Life lessons!! 

I love bags- handbags, leather bags, overnight bags, I even love shopping for suitcases! Whilst I was studying for my teaching degree I worked at a handbag shop and was in heaven! And slightly broke...  I  was very spoilt this week with a new #dkny bag that is very different to the soft slouchy leather bags I go for. It is structured, hard leather and very classy! I love it!  This also got me thinking about the bag dilemmas I have a school- I love taking a handbag (where else am I going to get the chance to get them out??) I need to take a bag that holds my laptop and books and I have a cooler lunch bag.  Three bags!!  I'm of ficially the bag lady!!  I know I could solve this with backpack or a larger handbag computer combined (my collegue has a # forevernew one and it is to die for!) but I kind of don't want to. I love mixing my handbags up so I feel like I need a better laptop/ lunch bag solution! I'm off to #kmart this morning to see what I can...

My husband and I met at Bathurst university and enjoy visiting whenever we get the chance- esp as my brother lives there now. We enjoyed a great day at the races and a nice dinner out. I rarely drop the 'a' (autism) word to try and get certain service but I really needed my little one to eat something else besides chicken nuggets and chips. Kings Hotel in Bathurst were amazing! They customized their vegetable and salad side plates to suit my son's tastes and the servings were huge!! So for $6 he got a very healthy and exactly to his liking dinner. It's great to receive above and beyond service. Till the next time!! 

I have recently been to a string of birthday parties for my son and even though I don't know anyone I'm a firm believer it's not about me it's about him and the birthday boy or girl.  So even though I was a Nancy nobody and suffered mild panic attacks I pick myself up and go. Luckily they are at public play centers so I found myself ok to sit with a coffee and phone and wait for conversation to come my way.  Boy was I glad I took my gem as it turned out he was the only kid from his class at one party and one of three at the other two. Not that the birthday kid was fussed as they were surrounded by family and running wild with my son but it was still disappointing to see the lack of effort put in from other mums of day care friends. After some friendly conversation towards the end I was profusely thanked and told that we were the only ones who RSVP. So not only were there limited numbers but the poor party planners were left in a bind still not sure how many were...

When you meet my son for the first time, his quirky oddball personality doesn’t immediately shine through. Instead you find yourself talking to a very verbal, slightly focused and very knowledgeable four year old, and will often comment on just how much he knows . We are lucky that if we have to ride the ASD train that we have a very high functioning, mild case, as I know it can be harder for some families. Not that we are completely challenge free. However, because of his ASD intellect and the fact that he is quite verbal (I might be inclined to say chatter box if I wasn’t so against the usage of this phrase) people often question his diagnosis. He doesn’t present to people what they expect Autistic to be, so how did we know and what made us question his behaviour? I thought I would compile a few of the flags we had with my little gem, in case you were wondering what to look out for yourself. I am by no means an expert and can only relate to my own experiences. Please r...

Beautiful skies to inspire and calm us!! 

I love taking photos and sharing some beautiful, hopefully inspiring images with you!  Taken with an iPhone. 

True to my word- teachers are on their feet all day so you should look after them! Any for any gents out there I have just spent the last 40 minutes talking to a lovely elderly gentleman who has beautiful feet because he looks after them! 

So like most teachers that are out there, I like to whinge that it is nearly the end of the school holidays. Instead of feeling like the glass is half full and realising I have one whole week of freedom left  -  I look at the to do list. The things I promised myself to do over the summer break to make my life easier, better and a more efficient teacher. Thus far it is list 10 - me 0. So as now that I feel that the fun in the sun is over, I look at a week of getting by butt into gear. If you are like me and staring at at a barrel of never ending things to do for school, maybe we need to shake up that line of thinking. It's not the work that needs to get ready but us, because if we look and feel good, then surely we are better for it! 1) Book a hair appointment - you know you will have no time in the next few weeks, so get it over and done with now. If you have time book a mani and pedi as well and possibly an eyebrow wax. My school has a high turn around of the student...

So I am having a proper anxiety attack today - I have come home after two years and realised that my mother who has been by herself for nearly all of the year whilst my father renovates their new house, is two steps away from appearing in hoarders. In fact if their house was not a seven bedroom, three storey house I think she would be on hoarders.  I am typing this post to stop from having a fight with my mother about it, as my husband is begging me not to start anything. I am torn between wanting to get a garage bag and start tossing things out, to wanting to go home and start throwing things out or having a shower. I have already lied down and cried and now I am just sitting still and staring, trying not to get upset at the piles of rubbish everywhere. It's not that she has disgusting leftover rubbish, it's more just junk - VCR tapes, stuffed toys, cards, photo frames and multiple office supplies.  Every corner is filled to waist level of junk. We had a friend come with ...

Been enjoying getting creative in the kitchen lately! Being on school holidays I feel like I have a bit more time to experiment with things! My little ASDer is loving it in a " my mum's a dork" kind of way!

I  was having a conversation with a friend who is pregnant with their second child and she commented that she really hopes they get a sleeper this time. Thinking I was being helpful I suggested that second time round you are more relaxed so things tend to fall into place, this of course did not go over well as I realise I was suggesting that they were stressed first time round. Several comments later it made me think about the different approaches parents take with sleep and sleep training and the different opinions about various methods. So as a mum who went to sleep rehab with my darling son and worked very hard to get him into a sleep routine, I am not going to add to the many varying sleep styles and methods you could attempt, but I did want to suggest 5 mottos to live by when trying to find something that works for you!  1. Never give up... It took me 5 weeks to create a sleep routine for my little gem. It was hard work, constant and tiring. My husband was great help...

A quick explanation for the succession of blogs and slightly outdated information. I did have another blog/ website with wix.com but for over three days I could not edit or add anything new. It was probably me doing something wrong, but it was frustrating and I couldn’t find anything useful to help. So I jumped ship so to speak – but I was really happy with what I started with so I transferred it over. Happy to be here and hope that this works better that my last venture! xo

So as with everyone on the planet, it has been a time of reflection, meditation and many talks of expectations. One could reflect on the year that has been and make promises and plans to do better but I have never been one to buy into resolutions as I feel like it is another thing that I am setting myself up to fail. I will however look at the miles stones that have come my way this year. There was my little gem being officially diagnosed with ASD. We have been lucky to receive the support that we need to help us move forward with his diagnosis and had the slight comfort that it wasn’t us as parents that was contributing to the negative and frustrating behaviour running rife in our house. It was devastating of course as no one wants to hear that their child is not neurotypical and that there are challenges a head. We have our dark days and I can see more and more the impact that this will have on his life but I pray as the talk of being tolerant and accepting is tossed around ...