#783. Saturday 22December

Season Greetings to you all!
This post is my annual newsletter ... added to the blog to ensure that no one misses out! We were in Bali last Christmas and although the “Team Kalylee” blog has a full account, the usual summary of the year didn’t happen. So here goes!
The progress for Kaylia during 2012 has been quite remarkable! During the December/January period in Bali we hit upon the concept of administering small ‘top up’ doses of her anxiety medication as the need became evident. This tactic has made a huge difference to Kaylia and to our quality of life. Prior to this she was frequently suffering from anxiety and we suffered with her as we tried to cope with the behavior that resulted. Now? The anxious Kaylia is unusual now. It still happens but we’re more skilled at recognizing the signs and getting in early with the medication. As a result her general happiness has blossomed and her learning has greatly improved. During the year her use of language has grown amazingly ... to the point where an actual conversation with her is now possible. She is still quite lazy in this area and avoids speaking if she can get away with it .... But she can speak! As you can imagine, we can now get much more enjoyment from the interaction with her.
Kaylia has now finished Year 3 at school and goes into Year 4 at the South Ballajura Education Support Centre. She absolutely LOVES going to school! In the car on the way to school she is often jiggling with excitement. It a huge change from Years 1 and 2.
Fortunately this year has been a period of good health for us .... High stress but no major problems. My wrist operation during 2011 has meant freedom from the constant pain. I have restriction in movement and I need to be wary of knocking it ... but it’s a big improvement. The operation removed the offending bone from the wrist and fused the other bones together.
Family? We began 2012 with Kat Baker on board. Kat was our 11th aupair and she stayed with us till August. She has moved on to be a ‘hostie’ with Emirates Airline. AJ from Canada took over and will be with us till February 2013. In September we were delighted to welcome Zoe back with us. Zoe was our 9th aupair and she has returned to make a life in Australia. She is still battling to get permission for long term residence in Australia but once we jump that hurdle, we look forward to her being part of the family for quite a while!
Business? Our accountant tells us that the first two years of a new business are always a battle and this has proved accurate. Since we’ve started two new businesses in this period, we have decided that we were mad to do so! The stress levels during the years have been intolerable ... and continue so. The villa in Bali has “turned the corner” and it’s receiving very positive reviews from guests who stay there. The business in Midland is really humming ... and bursting the seams of the current site. We have many dedicated staff working with us to provide life-changing services for children. This is not saying that it is easy ... it’s not! The future with a reduced stress load will be wonderful! Especially when Naomi finishes her study. This takes 2 days per week.
Well .... that's what 2012 has meant for us .....
We hope your year has been just as good for you and that you have a satisfying Christmas!
Best Wishes from Ian, Naomi and Kaylia.

#782 Friday 21 December

The world is supposed to end today. Outside (at 6:30am) the birds are singing and the sun is shining ..... I think the prediction is wrong.

We've taken Kaylia off Risperdal during the school break .... this is the one that controls her stimmy behaviour and allows her to concentrate. It also makes her hungry. Without it we can see a different girl. She is much harder to engage .... much more stimmy .... and no where near as hungry. The big question is whether we can stand it! I think it makes her behave in ways that demand constant 'eye-ball' supervision .... much more than we've grown accustomed to.
We'll see. We have 42 days to observe and assess the effects.

The search for "Number 13" .... the new AJ .... has begun. AJ leaves on Feb 8 so we need to locate the right person. It's a bit more complex this time as the new person has to fit in with three adults .... Zoe as well. Not just Naomi and I. It's going to be an interesting selection process!

#782 Wednesday 19 December

Some of you may know of Kaylia's love of showers .... a shower is a very calming thing for her as well as being a routine.  A few of you will know of her delight in playing with the shampoo in the shower.  This is a very expensive 'interest' as she likes to empty the shampoo container!  She hasn't done this for a long time as I had impressed on her that it was 'naughty' to do that.  .... but today .... she struck again!  She emptied about $30 worth of shampoos down the drain and put the empty containers in the bin!
Needless to say she will have to be watched like a hawk again.

#781. Tuesday 18 December

I've just had an incredibly deflating experience ... we were in Big W shopping for Christmas presents for all the ankle biters .... when my gaze passed over a vision of ultimate tool shop desire! It was a small saw with two countra rotating blades... and the big price tag said $19!!!! My knees went weak and the room began to spin ... could it really be possible??

And then the balloon burst. The staff were restocking the shelves and I watched as the staff person proceeded to replace the price tag with one that read .... $249.  My hopes shattered as I came thumping back to earth ...... Misery

Ah well ... I was consoled by being able to purchase a really scary remote controll tarantula .... it's huge! One of the kids will love it.

#780 Sunday 16 December

We've been planning our strategies for the school holidays.  This is pretty important where Kaylia is involved as she needs have a clear idea of what is planned for her day.  When this isn't done she then 'nags' for whatever comes into her head .... and boy! ... does that become wearing!

Today she went swimming in the morning with Naomi, then in the afternoon I took her to Bunnings.  Today she didn't like the playground there ... too many kids!  So it was on to a different playground down by the river.  It has a good 'flying fox' and an excellent water play area.  This was very good on a warm afternoon and she didn't want to leave!

As I write, Kaylia has been looking over my shoulder at the computer screen 'background' .... it's a photo of her in a swimming pool in Ubud about two years ago. She likes going over the memories.