#640 Saturday 14 July

During these holidays her evening and morning routines have adjusted .... she is sleeping late and staying up late.  She is enjoying the evening routine .... after tea she watches a bit of ABC4Kids, then we make popcorn .... then she snuggles on the couch with us  ... while we get to watch some grown-up TV!
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Last night  I missed the midnight loo run ... I was sleeping too well.  I woke at 2am but it was too late .... wet bed again.  I remember having the same problems when I was her age ... so we just have to persevere.
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One week till the next Bali trip .... in some ways it would be better not to go .... bookings are slow and so cash is short.  Even though the airfare was booked and paid for 6 months ago, the trip will still cost something .... so I'll look for ways to conserve money.
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Kaylia is in the middle of therapy at this minute .... but her mind is set on "SCOOTER!!" ....  The timer is set so she can see how long it is till she can have scooter time. 



The timer on the phone is such a life-saver!

It's good that she is getting the scooter exercise .... her weight continues to be too high .... but the trends are good. 

The daily percentage increase (blue dashed line) is hovering round zero and the average percentage increase (red solid line) is trending down. 
She still needs the Risperdal  ...... which is the cause of the weight problem ..... but eventually she won't need the medication and her weight will return to a healthy level.

#639 Friday 13 July

Black Friday! Kaylia didn't think so! She's had a good day. In the morning it was Bunnings playground .... then shops ... then Woodbridge Park. This park has an excellent cycle path along the river and this was good for Kaylia practicing the scooter. She's keen but her balance isn't there yet. After lunch she had therapy! Great. Then more scooter ... and a car ride to Mundaring to finish the day. Now we're watching ABC4Kids and eating popcorn ... then it will be bedtime routine.
For a longtime Kaylia had ignored normal TV in favour of DVDs ..... lately, TV has returned to her awareness .... so we get to watch some too. Kaylia quite likes "Spicks and Specks".
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The first week of the holidays is almost over .... then it will be a week and a bit till Kat departs to join Emirates. We will then have two weeks with out an aupair ..... AJ will arrive on 16 August.
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Funny story from this morning at Bunnings ..... I had been talking to the canteen attendant and we were both bemoaning the impact of "policy" on daily life .... apparently the rubbish bin in the shop area is not allowed to have the word 'Rubbish' on it ... and there must only be one bin at one side of the shop .... patrons sitting the other side of the shop must carry their rubbish over to the other side!
Then .... after Kaylia had been playing quite a while (with several other kids) .... someone noticed a small wet patch! Horror! (Not Kaylia this time ... Phew!). But soon after, a Bunnings person rushes up.... all the kids out.... BIG yellow sign with red letters (about 3m x 2m) is put up ...... DANGER.



Who knows what wording would have been appropriate!

Sanity would seem to suggest a mop and a bucket with a bit of hot water should be used .... instead we get a wholesale evacuation and panic. It's a strange world these days.

#638 Thursday 12 July

Busy day!  It's tax time and I spent the morning preparing the data for sending to the tax agent.  It's a complex process .... now I await the outcome .... and work toward gathering funds for the quarterly tax due.
Kaylia was up late again ... then it was down to the Midland office.  No clients there today so she was able to spend time playing with the toys.  She loves being there.  In the afternoon Kat took her into Sci-Tech ... hopefully to interest her in the night sky display ... the bright lights should be good for her.  But .... no .... the dreaded crying babies struck again and the planned visit had to abort.  (It's getting to be a familiar tale!)
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After tea it was off in the car .... did we tell you that Kaylia always wants to go in the car? Mind you, I'm not complaining!


There are times when I simply don't have the energy to cope with her ... but it doesn't take much effort to hop in the car and drive for half an hour .... just round the streets nearby.  It's amazing just how long you can drive without covering the same ground twice .... yet all within a 5 km radius.

#637 Wednesday 11 July

Slept in  .... bliss.  Hopefully Kaylia is re-charging her batteries with the late rising .... she needs it.
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After breakfast I thought a trip to her favourite playground in Fremantle would be good .... we arrived ...... walked over to the playground ... screaming babies everywhere!  Kaylia dived under my arm and it was ... ABORT ... ABORT ... back to the car and back to Midland.  The crying is a huge problem.
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Evening
Kaylia is firing on all cylinders tonight ... the verbal repartee going on is amazing and gratifying. Kaylia is clearly excited to be 'sparring' with Naomi.

#636 Tuesday 10 July

The plan today for the morning (I do morning duty and Kat does the afternoon) .... is some time in the 'little office' followed by a trip down to the Garvey Park .... if its not raining .... to try some more scooter time. After that it will be back to Midland Gate .... Two Buck shop! and a wander. That should just about fill the morning.
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I found out late last night just why she'd been miserable yesterday. I found a Lovan tablet on the floor in the kitchen! She had clearly dropped it when taking her medications at breakfast. A short dose of Lovan in the morning would have messed up her day .... big time! I'll have to watch that in future. It also emphasizes the need to constantly monitor her anxiety levels and react accordingly. If she had been given a top up early afternoon, she would have coped much better.
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Later
During the morning we called into Officeworks to buy some stuff ... it seemed as though all the mums decided to be there with their kids and crying babies .... poor Kaylia ... we had to wait on the other side of the store till there were no crying babies in the checkout queue.  The babies really bother her .... the relief on her face (when we moved away) was very clear.
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In our wanders at Midland Gate she found a packet of 6 huge marbles .... when I was her age I would have died to have them!  These were even bigger than the 'tom-bowlers' that I used to lust for.  Games of marbles were a big thing then ... very serious!  We would spend ages making sure that the marble circle was a smooth as possible.

#635 Monday 9 July

I hate it when she's like this. She's had a good morning followed by a reasonable afternoon .... and now she is Miserable! Crying and whinging. She can't tell us what is bothering her .... we have to use the "shotgun solution" .... everything that we can think of .... and hope that one of them is the right thing.
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This morning Kaylia and went to get Red Rooster .... From Northam! (I don't like the stuff but K loves it.). The trip was a good time filler on the first day of the dreaded school holidays.
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While in Northam I toured a few of the old haunts ....




The boys hostel .... in a sad state of disrepair. The building has huge potential but it has been badly neglected.




The high school .... and the tech drawing rooms that were one of my enjoyable places




This is the house where Maxine and I first boarded after leaving the hostel




Avonvale primary .... I taught there in 1973, 74 and 75 and this was my classroom ..... No TV in those days!




After this we saw a skate park ....




Few kids around .... so it was a good time to let K try it out. She is always fascinated when she sees the big kids on their scooters and boards.

#634 Sunday 8 July

How's this!!




We're at the Midland office and Kaylia has delighted in removing the contents of the toy storage cupboard .... she has arranged them all in lines along the corridor! She can do this on the weekend when no one is about.

This morning we tried a diversion to get her out of the movie routine .... The Chocolate Factory. It worked.