'Mummy, can I have those cars?'
'What cars?'
'The ones in the box.'
'No.'
'But they're only the little ones.'
'No.'
'But they are ok to play with.'
'No.'
'But they're not the precious ones.'
'No.'
'But Mummy, please, I won't break them.'
'No.'
'I only want to...'
'No.'
'You're so unfair.'
Later that day...
'Daddy, can I have the little Red Bull cars.'
'No.'
'But they're not the ones on stands, they're only in boxes.'
'No.'
'Pleeeeeeassseee Daddy.'
'Alright then, but if you break them...'
Meanwhile, Mum is downstairs with supersonic hearing.
'I SAID NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'
'Mum says no.'
'You're both so mean. You're the worst parents ever.' Stomp, stomp, stomp.
Yeah... Til tomorrow x
Autism Angel
Friday, 15 May 2015
Thursday, 14 May 2015
13th May - Lord Long Legs
So I posted an article on my page earlier about the American family who got kicked off a flight with their daughter who has ASD. I have since seen various comments and blogs which have written about this story. The way in which the facts have been distorted and incorrect meanings inferred from the mother's original Facebook post, has astounded me. I don't usually have my hackles raised as much as I have reading some of the comments that have been written in reply to the story. Basically the daughter has been called a spoiled brat and the mother all the names under the sun for threatening to unleash her daughter who would scratch the entire cabin full of passengers if she didn't get what she wanted. Bonkers!
I, however, know that the people who write these obnoxious, ignorant comments don't want to understand the reality of autism and don't want to be educated and we could all talk until we are blue in the face trying to make them see that what happened to this family, could easily happen to any of us who travel with ASD kids. If the original post and the article I have attached is read properly, you can read for yourselves what actually happened.
We have flown many times with the boys since they were both very young. There is not, I suspect, one single parent who travels with a child with ASD without a survival back-pack and without preparing for every eventuality we can foresee. We have been very lucky on a recent trip to and from the UK with the help and assistance we were given by the cabin crew on Etihad Airways. We were flying in an emergency on our outbound flight and even if I had wanted to (which I wouldn't have, because the hassle sometimes is not worth it) alert them that we needed special assistance, we had no time. There are some eventualities us parents cannot prepare for but you can be damn sure, we do our best.
This mother, from what I read, had tried to be prepared for her flight with her daughter. This mother knew her daughter reacted without food and only ate hot food so she tried to feed her at the airport. The daughter wouldn't eat what she was offered and this is not the result of her being a brat. There was something in the airport food that turned her off and when that happens there is no point trying to force it down. I get this. Long Legs without food would make the Incredible Hulk look like a Teletubbie. Long Legs has a great appetite, as everyone who knows him will attest. So when I give him something and he says 'nup, can't eat it', I know he genuinely cannot eat it for reasons best known to himself. I also know Daddy is getting leftovers for lunch the next day.
Again, this mother prepared for her daughter needing food and carried a back-pack of snacks and again, the daughter didn't want them. Something in her sensory system said she needed hot food and that was all there was to it. Again, I get that. The Short One has a thing for hot food, even going so far as to put an apple that had come out of the fridge into the microwave to warm it up! He will only eat raw vegetables so this can be interesting if I don't leave them out to 'warm up' to room temperature at least. I read a comment that the mother should carry a thermos with hot food in, if this is what her daughter requires and the mother knows it. Good in theory, I will grant you. But as anyone who flies knows, they are very strict about how much liquid you can carry on a plane, to the point that they tip out babies formula if they feel the need.
On our return flight back to Australia, we had decided to use some phenergan as Long Legs does not sleep and when he does not sleep he is very fidgety without his concerta. We have flown with him a few years ago on our way back from France when he was not medicated. Wasn't pretty. The poor man sitting next to him had Long Legs whack him gently with his knee pretty much all the way to Dubai. He was incredibly patient but inside was probably screaming at him to stop. He could have moved, I will point out, there was room. Long Legs had just come off of the medicine he took to help him sleep and had only just started on ritalin. I had no intention of drugging my son up for 26 hours on ritalin so we learned that in the absence of his meds, he has to be asleep!
Thus on our recent flight, once he had taken a phenergan, he was out cold. He slept for hours and hours through several meal services and even though my husband had grabbed out the snacks which he could eat later. We always fly with a back-pack full of snacks too but can they sustain and feed a child in place of a proper meal? I don't think so. If Long Legs does not eat, he becomes very agitated. This mother knew her daughter needed to eat otherwise she would become agitated and would start scratching herself and her parents. At no point in her post have I read that she said her daughter would scratch other passengers.
She had used up plan a, plan b and plan c and now she needed help because she knew what would happen. Had Long Legs not eaten, the seat would have rocked back and forth in agitation and there would not have been a thing we could have done. My husband very kindly asked a passing attendant if there was anything for him to eat. Just as this mother had done when she knew her daughter needed food. Now granted, Long Legs would probably have eaten the cardboard container his child's meal came in at this point. This young girl couldn't eat what was offered to her, but again, she was not being a brat. The needs of all kids with ASD are different.
We watched in amazement as a First Class tray appeared; pastries, a fruit platter, cheese, biscuits, and proper cutlery! Then he was asked if he would like a drink and requested a cappuccino. The attendant said ok. I snorted my 'I don't think so' snort. I passed out cold (2 phenergan for me) and I woke up to find more First Class meal trays (he was starving) and was told he had had more than one cappuccino. Blonde hair and a winning smile will get you everywhere with a flight attendant it would seem. I'm surprised they didn't just upgrade him whilst we were sparko!
Again, we didn't specifically ask for First Class food , we just asked for some food, but if they had said, 'we don't have any he will have to wait until the next meal service', I can assure you, we would have been asking for the Captains lunch-box! This poor mother was simply doing the same thing, chasing down every option so her daughter could eat. She was not being a Prima Donna demanding First Class food because that is all her daughter would eat. Her daughter just needed food.
Meanwhile, if you see a mother making her sons run up and down the travelators at an airport, it will probably be me making my boys get some exercise before our connecting flight. Being prepared for them being contained in a small space for several hours. I work with what I can. Til tomorrow x
http://happyplace.someecards.com/autism/you-wont-believe-why-this-autistic-girl-and-her-parents-were-kicked-off-an-airplane/
I, however, know that the people who write these obnoxious, ignorant comments don't want to understand the reality of autism and don't want to be educated and we could all talk until we are blue in the face trying to make them see that what happened to this family, could easily happen to any of us who travel with ASD kids. If the original post and the article I have attached is read properly, you can read for yourselves what actually happened.
We have flown many times with the boys since they were both very young. There is not, I suspect, one single parent who travels with a child with ASD without a survival back-pack and without preparing for every eventuality we can foresee. We have been very lucky on a recent trip to and from the UK with the help and assistance we were given by the cabin crew on Etihad Airways. We were flying in an emergency on our outbound flight and even if I had wanted to (which I wouldn't have, because the hassle sometimes is not worth it) alert them that we needed special assistance, we had no time. There are some eventualities us parents cannot prepare for but you can be damn sure, we do our best.
This mother, from what I read, had tried to be prepared for her flight with her daughter. This mother knew her daughter reacted without food and only ate hot food so she tried to feed her at the airport. The daughter wouldn't eat what she was offered and this is not the result of her being a brat. There was something in the airport food that turned her off and when that happens there is no point trying to force it down. I get this. Long Legs without food would make the Incredible Hulk look like a Teletubbie. Long Legs has a great appetite, as everyone who knows him will attest. So when I give him something and he says 'nup, can't eat it', I know he genuinely cannot eat it for reasons best known to himself. I also know Daddy is getting leftovers for lunch the next day.
Again, this mother prepared for her daughter needing food and carried a back-pack of snacks and again, the daughter didn't want them. Something in her sensory system said she needed hot food and that was all there was to it. Again, I get that. The Short One has a thing for hot food, even going so far as to put an apple that had come out of the fridge into the microwave to warm it up! He will only eat raw vegetables so this can be interesting if I don't leave them out to 'warm up' to room temperature at least. I read a comment that the mother should carry a thermos with hot food in, if this is what her daughter requires and the mother knows it. Good in theory, I will grant you. But as anyone who flies knows, they are very strict about how much liquid you can carry on a plane, to the point that they tip out babies formula if they feel the need.
On our return flight back to Australia, we had decided to use some phenergan as Long Legs does not sleep and when he does not sleep he is very fidgety without his concerta. We have flown with him a few years ago on our way back from France when he was not medicated. Wasn't pretty. The poor man sitting next to him had Long Legs whack him gently with his knee pretty much all the way to Dubai. He was incredibly patient but inside was probably screaming at him to stop. He could have moved, I will point out, there was room. Long Legs had just come off of the medicine he took to help him sleep and had only just started on ritalin. I had no intention of drugging my son up for 26 hours on ritalin so we learned that in the absence of his meds, he has to be asleep!
Thus on our recent flight, once he had taken a phenergan, he was out cold. He slept for hours and hours through several meal services and even though my husband had grabbed out the snacks which he could eat later. We always fly with a back-pack full of snacks too but can they sustain and feed a child in place of a proper meal? I don't think so. If Long Legs does not eat, he becomes very agitated. This mother knew her daughter needed to eat otherwise she would become agitated and would start scratching herself and her parents. At no point in her post have I read that she said her daughter would scratch other passengers.
She had used up plan a, plan b and plan c and now she needed help because she knew what would happen. Had Long Legs not eaten, the seat would have rocked back and forth in agitation and there would not have been a thing we could have done. My husband very kindly asked a passing attendant if there was anything for him to eat. Just as this mother had done when she knew her daughter needed food. Now granted, Long Legs would probably have eaten the cardboard container his child's meal came in at this point. This young girl couldn't eat what was offered to her, but again, she was not being a brat. The needs of all kids with ASD are different.
We watched in amazement as a First Class tray appeared; pastries, a fruit platter, cheese, biscuits, and proper cutlery! Then he was asked if he would like a drink and requested a cappuccino. The attendant said ok. I snorted my 'I don't think so' snort. I passed out cold (2 phenergan for me) and I woke up to find more First Class meal trays (he was starving) and was told he had had more than one cappuccino. Blonde hair and a winning smile will get you everywhere with a flight attendant it would seem. I'm surprised they didn't just upgrade him whilst we were sparko!
Again, we didn't specifically ask for First Class food , we just asked for some food, but if they had said, 'we don't have any he will have to wait until the next meal service', I can assure you, we would have been asking for the Captains lunch-box! This poor mother was simply doing the same thing, chasing down every option so her daughter could eat. She was not being a Prima Donna demanding First Class food because that is all her daughter would eat. Her daughter just needed food.
Meanwhile, if you see a mother making her sons run up and down the travelators at an airport, it will probably be me making my boys get some exercise before our connecting flight. Being prepared for them being contained in a small space for several hours. I work with what I can. Til tomorrow x
http://happyplace.someecards.com/autism/you-wont-believe-why-this-autistic-girl-and-her-parents-were-kicked-off-an-airplane/
12th May - Empowerment Begins
Today I helped a family, the first one I've helped who I have never met before, on the road to getting their son an ASD assessment and possibly a diagnosis. It was pretty clear to me, given the characteristics the mum described, that there was enough there to warrant a full assessment. In the past she has been told he cannot be ASD because he uses eye-contact. A speech pathologist's observation was that he didn't have ASD because he had good language, although she noted that he talked excessively fast. A paediatrician said his motor clumsiness was due to a ligament disorder only. Another paediatrician said there was nothing to warrant a full investigation.
Thankfully, this boy's new special education teacher is a Uni pal/fellow parent friend of mine and being good at her job and knowing what she's doing, she sent this family my way to put them on the right track. They have a good GP who organised the speech and OT observations and who has tried to help them. They have since seen another paediatrician, my boys' paediatrician whom we've been seeing for nearly 6 years and we love. He couldn't understand that if the GP has questioned the possibility of ASD, why hasn't he been assessed. Unfortunately, he was seeing the boy for another issue and the family didn't know enough to ask him for help.
Naturally, I have told them to go back and see him once all the various assessments I have sent them for, get done. These are full assessments, not just observations. But my point about all of this is that, professionals, even those who work in the field of ASD, sometimes talk plop! I heard about another psychologist who refused to diagnose a child with ASD because they were too social! My boys are very social. Are they very good at it? No! They try, bless them, but they don't always get it right. And that is the essential quality of ASD. A child may try to communicate or socialise and may do it a lot. But if they can't do it well, then you have reason to be concerned. And the thought that a child only has ASD if they don't use eye-contact belongs in the ground with the fossil spouting such rubbish.
This young boy I saw, eyed me up and down, very wary of me. His Mum was trying to get him to come to me so I could check him out and I told her not to fret, he'd come over in his own time. When he did, it wasn't to talk to me but to show his Mum the books he wanted to borrow from the library we were in. I used a trick I've learned off Tony Attwood when he's bumped into Long Legs on various occasions. That is to see what the child is looking at and engage with them on it. This boy had books on Star Wars and war ships and I took on a member of Hi-5's persona and with over the top animation said Wow! Later on he came up behind me and handed me a crumpled up piece of paper which had his name and age on it. He finished the session off by telling his Mum 'can you hurry up and stop talking because she's (that's me!) annoying me now, she talks too much!' We were in the middle of a library. I didn't care. I still had his little note and I was feeling the love. Til tomorrow x
Thankfully, this boy's new special education teacher is a Uni pal/fellow parent friend of mine and being good at her job and knowing what she's doing, she sent this family my way to put them on the right track. They have a good GP who organised the speech and OT observations and who has tried to help them. They have since seen another paediatrician, my boys' paediatrician whom we've been seeing for nearly 6 years and we love. He couldn't understand that if the GP has questioned the possibility of ASD, why hasn't he been assessed. Unfortunately, he was seeing the boy for another issue and the family didn't know enough to ask him for help.
Naturally, I have told them to go back and see him once all the various assessments I have sent them for, get done. These are full assessments, not just observations. But my point about all of this is that, professionals, even those who work in the field of ASD, sometimes talk plop! I heard about another psychologist who refused to diagnose a child with ASD because they were too social! My boys are very social. Are they very good at it? No! They try, bless them, but they don't always get it right. And that is the essential quality of ASD. A child may try to communicate or socialise and may do it a lot. But if they can't do it well, then you have reason to be concerned. And the thought that a child only has ASD if they don't use eye-contact belongs in the ground with the fossil spouting such rubbish.
This young boy I saw, eyed me up and down, very wary of me. His Mum was trying to get him to come to me so I could check him out and I told her not to fret, he'd come over in his own time. When he did, it wasn't to talk to me but to show his Mum the books he wanted to borrow from the library we were in. I used a trick I've learned off Tony Attwood when he's bumped into Long Legs on various occasions. That is to see what the child is looking at and engage with them on it. This boy had books on Star Wars and war ships and I took on a member of Hi-5's persona and with over the top animation said Wow! Later on he came up behind me and handed me a crumpled up piece of paper which had his name and age on it. He finished the session off by telling his Mum 'can you hurry up and stop talking because she's (that's me!) annoying me now, she talks too much!' We were in the middle of a library. I didn't care. I still had his little note and I was feeling the love. Til tomorrow x
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
11th May - Working Girl
My boys had looks of pure horror on their faces this morning. They asked if they could have the day off because they were 'ill'! I said no. That wasn't the cause of the look of horror. This was due to the fact I said no...because I have to work! Work? Where? Do you have a job? Who's going to pick us up? What if you are late and can't get us from school? And so the Spanish inquisition went on. Can you imagine their faces if I told them that technically I was doing two jobs.
They were both joyful when they walked in the front door, both asking me how work was and did I have a good day? Then they looked at my pile of paperwork and were agog. The Short One has since informed me that he doesn't want me to have a job. I asked him why did he think I had gone back to university? He replied that he thought I had just done it to learn, not get a job! Despite me telling him lots of Mums work he has declared that he doesn't want me to work because he doesn't want me to busy when I should be with him.
I happened to mention that I was actually going to get paid for some of the work I do. They soon changed their faces from horror to raised eyebrows of expectation! I can already feel my money burning holes in their pockets! Til tomorrow x
They were both joyful when they walked in the front door, both asking me how work was and did I have a good day? Then they looked at my pile of paperwork and were agog. The Short One has since informed me that he doesn't want me to have a job. I asked him why did he think I had gone back to university? He replied that he thought I had just done it to learn, not get a job! Despite me telling him lots of Mums work he has declared that he doesn't want me to work because he doesn't want me to busy when I should be with him.
I happened to mention that I was actually going to get paid for some of the work I do. They soon changed their faces from horror to raised eyebrows of expectation! I can already feel my money burning holes in their pockets! Til tomorrow x
Monday, 11 May 2015
10th May - Happy Mother's Day!
Today was Mother's Day here in Australia which kicked off in spectacular style with Long Legs shouting down the X-Box at his friend whilst they played a racing car game at 6.30am! I, at this point, had forgotten what day it was but thankfully the husband hadn't and up he jumped. I slept a couple of hours longer until Long Legs came down and shook my bed. I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be asleep. He made a pretend fart noise. Eyes were tight. He made some other kind of noises and then gave up and left.
I heard the husband ask if he'd come down to Mummy and woken her up and heard his shocked reply of 'noooooooooo' with a tone of 'as if I would do such a thing Daddy'! The Short One appeared shortly after, I opened one eye, looked at him, looked at the clock and decided to give up this pretending to be asleep business. I was prepared to let the fun begin. I am yet to be the type of mother who has her children make her breakfast in bed by their own hands so I take what they can give me! I actually can't wait for the day I get cold, burnt toast and a milky, cold cup of coffee.
The Short One had insisted on writing a list of things I would like, which were then given to me with a few surprises and he was effusive with love on a card. I knew I'd be able to cash in on the 'Mother's Day chips' with him and asked for some more milk for my coffee which I was having in bed. Long Legs drew me a picture which I'll take as a sign of his love and then he cleared off back to his X-Box!
I did later insist on Long Legs making me a fried egg for brunch. He asked a couple of weeks ago if he could cook himself egg on toast. After my initial knee-jerk reaction - you near hot flames - are you kidding me!? I decided yes, ok. About time you learned to cook something so if I drop dead tonight I know you will at least not starve and can live on egg on toast for the rest of your life. So today I tried to plant the seed of what he can do for his mother as a future treat.
I did, however, rather foolishly during a discussion about the whole point of Mother's Day (after being asked to do things for them that they are quite capable of doing for themselves at the best of times, never mind on a day when they should be doing things for me) suggest ways in which they could do things for me. The Short One burst into tears because he'd asked to make me toast and Daddy had said no. Husband does not remember this event occurring. I said, it's ok you can make me some another day. To which he replied, no, I could only do it today, it's only a special day once. Fair enough. Note to husband, next year get Long Legs to make me an egg and get the Short One to make the toast!
I also insisted that I did not have a solo trip to the cinema again, after my husband suggested such a thing, when I said The Sound Of Music was showing as a special 50th anniversary Mother's Day screening. Nope, I said, you are all coming with me! This was perhaps not such a wise move after all. This is a long film, something you don't perhaps notice at home when children can eat when they want and move about. However, when there are lots of quiet, serious moments and your children insist on eating the whole way through the film, you tend to get a bit stressed at the sound of crunching and packet rustling and chair rocking. The husband tried on his shades just before the film started 'just in case the lights got too bright'. I'm very proud of him as he only in fact missed about 5 minutes when the lights 'got too bright'.
Having a birthday so close to Mother's Day is that the husband gets a bit worn out with all the pampering. I had to run my own bath tonight and I don't think he'd even noticed as he was too busy watching the F1 on TV. But at least this is it now. My two special days of the year goneski. Now we can get back to normal :) Til tomorrow x
I heard the husband ask if he'd come down to Mummy and woken her up and heard his shocked reply of 'noooooooooo' with a tone of 'as if I would do such a thing Daddy'! The Short One appeared shortly after, I opened one eye, looked at him, looked at the clock and decided to give up this pretending to be asleep business. I was prepared to let the fun begin. I am yet to be the type of mother who has her children make her breakfast in bed by their own hands so I take what they can give me! I actually can't wait for the day I get cold, burnt toast and a milky, cold cup of coffee.
The Short One had insisted on writing a list of things I would like, which were then given to me with a few surprises and he was effusive with love on a card. I knew I'd be able to cash in on the 'Mother's Day chips' with him and asked for some more milk for my coffee which I was having in bed. Long Legs drew me a picture which I'll take as a sign of his love and then he cleared off back to his X-Box!
I did later insist on Long Legs making me a fried egg for brunch. He asked a couple of weeks ago if he could cook himself egg on toast. After my initial knee-jerk reaction - you near hot flames - are you kidding me!? I decided yes, ok. About time you learned to cook something so if I drop dead tonight I know you will at least not starve and can live on egg on toast for the rest of your life. So today I tried to plant the seed of what he can do for his mother as a future treat.
I did, however, rather foolishly during a discussion about the whole point of Mother's Day (after being asked to do things for them that they are quite capable of doing for themselves at the best of times, never mind on a day when they should be doing things for me) suggest ways in which they could do things for me. The Short One burst into tears because he'd asked to make me toast and Daddy had said no. Husband does not remember this event occurring. I said, it's ok you can make me some another day. To which he replied, no, I could only do it today, it's only a special day once. Fair enough. Note to husband, next year get Long Legs to make me an egg and get the Short One to make the toast!
I also insisted that I did not have a solo trip to the cinema again, after my husband suggested such a thing, when I said The Sound Of Music was showing as a special 50th anniversary Mother's Day screening. Nope, I said, you are all coming with me! This was perhaps not such a wise move after all. This is a long film, something you don't perhaps notice at home when children can eat when they want and move about. However, when there are lots of quiet, serious moments and your children insist on eating the whole way through the film, you tend to get a bit stressed at the sound of crunching and packet rustling and chair rocking. The husband tried on his shades just before the film started 'just in case the lights got too bright'. I'm very proud of him as he only in fact missed about 5 minutes when the lights 'got too bright'.
Having a birthday so close to Mother's Day is that the husband gets a bit worn out with all the pampering. I had to run my own bath tonight and I don't think he'd even noticed as he was too busy watching the F1 on TV. But at least this is it now. My two special days of the year goneski. Now we can get back to normal :) Til tomorrow x
9th May - Post Birthday Blues
So the problem for me with trying to celebrate your birthday like a grown up - i.e. stay up past usual bedtime, eat and drink too much and expecting children to go to bed quietly so you can watch a film from start to finish, is that it ends in tears. Every year on my birthday, Long Legs plays up something chronic. He is not a child who reacts to changes in routine as much as he did when he was a toddler but my husband's attempts to lavish attention on me are just too much for him. I'm hoping for any future love interest of his, that I can subtlety indoctrine into him the fuss and attention us girls love and deserve!
The Short One had his moments too, just to ensure he wasn't left out. Husband ran me a beautiful, candle-lit, oil infused bath which the Short One insisted he got into with me. He practically screamed that he had to get in with me. But first he had to blow out the candles because he was scared of the dark. Then, despite me telling him bath was filled with oils, he insisted he would be fine, only to remark that he 'didn't think it would as slippy as I said'.
Husband meanwhile is also running around making me a curry, with home-made bread (his speciality) and I am slowly losing the will to live, never mind celebrate my birthday! I had gone to the cinema earlier that day on my own (I just presumed all my friends would be working only for several of them to tell me off for not inviting them), anyhow, I felt like a bit of a sad-sack being at the cinema on my own. But at the moment when a child invades your bath, blows out your candles and your other child is heard screaming because he resisting going to his bedroom, you tend to remember those moments of being alone rather fondly. Off topic, I went to see Pitch Perfect 2 and the rival vocal group were called Das Sound Machine - or DSM for short - wasn't meant as a joke but us ASD parents get it?!
So we soldiered on, we ended up eating late, my husband kept trying to fill my glass with bubbles only to find it still full - a child sharing your bath tends to take the moment away. We put on a film only for one child or other to keep coming upstairs for something. Finally, we attempted to put them to sleep so we could watch this blasted film and something sounding like a bomb going off kept occurring, it was just Long Legs letting his feelings be known that he was not impressed that Daddy was trying to give me special attention. I kept my cool and kept going in to him and tried very patiently to get him to see sense. Eventually he did.
However, this morning, with an early OT appointment for the Short One which I have said I will take him to, I am extremely tired and am not feeling like somebody who was given a special, relaxing birthday evening. Tomorrow we get to enjoy all this fun over again when theoretically I get a special day for Mother's Day! Can't wait... Til tomorrow x
ps OT costs going in the yearly total!
The Short One had his moments too, just to ensure he wasn't left out. Husband ran me a beautiful, candle-lit, oil infused bath which the Short One insisted he got into with me. He practically screamed that he had to get in with me. But first he had to blow out the candles because he was scared of the dark. Then, despite me telling him bath was filled with oils, he insisted he would be fine, only to remark that he 'didn't think it would as slippy as I said'.
Husband meanwhile is also running around making me a curry, with home-made bread (his speciality) and I am slowly losing the will to live, never mind celebrate my birthday! I had gone to the cinema earlier that day on my own (I just presumed all my friends would be working only for several of them to tell me off for not inviting them), anyhow, I felt like a bit of a sad-sack being at the cinema on my own. But at the moment when a child invades your bath, blows out your candles and your other child is heard screaming because he resisting going to his bedroom, you tend to remember those moments of being alone rather fondly. Off topic, I went to see Pitch Perfect 2 and the rival vocal group were called Das Sound Machine - or DSM for short - wasn't meant as a joke but us ASD parents get it?!
So we soldiered on, we ended up eating late, my husband kept trying to fill my glass with bubbles only to find it still full - a child sharing your bath tends to take the moment away. We put on a film only for one child or other to keep coming upstairs for something. Finally, we attempted to put them to sleep so we could watch this blasted film and something sounding like a bomb going off kept occurring, it was just Long Legs letting his feelings be known that he was not impressed that Daddy was trying to give me special attention. I kept my cool and kept going in to him and tried very patiently to get him to see sense. Eventually he did.
However, this morning, with an early OT appointment for the Short One which I have said I will take him to, I am extremely tired and am not feeling like somebody who was given a special, relaxing birthday evening. Tomorrow we get to enjoy all this fun over again when theoretically I get a special day for Mother's Day! Can't wait... Til tomorrow x
ps OT costs going in the yearly total!
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