#857 Friday 8 March

Yesterday was busy and I didn't get a chance to write. Brynn arrived safely and after an introduction to home we went off to school ..... and Kaylia turned on her usual welcome. She doesn't say anything of course but she manages to make new people feel welcome with her little hugs and hand holding. When Brynn met her I prompted Brynn to say "Awesome" .... Kaylia's face lit up and she came back with it too! It's the password.

Brynn crashed with jet lag before tea .... we'll probably see her sometime today.

Today Kaylia has a school excursion to Whiteman Park .... she loves these as it involves a swim in the wading pool.

#856 Wednesday 6 March

Something strange is happening .... Kaylia is reluctant to go to school!  For a year now she has loved going to school and I had to restrain her from running to class!  Now she doesn't want to leave home .... and when we get to school she won't get out of the car ... and then she dawdles along kicking stones .... anything to delay class.

Apparently one of the other children in the class has a behaviour of frequently screaming .... I have seen it and it is bad!  The teachers find it hard to cope with and clearly Kaylia doesn't like it either.

We'll have to find a solution.

#855 Tuesday 5 March

Yesterday Kaylia and I went to visit Aunty Max at her office in the city .... the office is in a research facility with lots of doctors. Since it was a quiet day and they're nice people, we were able to persuade one of them to 'play' at being doctor for Kaylia. She loved it ..... she was up on the examination table in a flash and the stethoscope was soundly employed! She even got to keep the stethoscope for a while .... it's an excellent dingle-dangle. She's becoming more insistent about things she wants to do .... and when her desires are not possible, it can cause problems. If the adult can ride it out without it adding to their own stress, it's ok and Kaylia will eventually subside .... but when it adds to the carer's own stress levels it creates a feedback loop with the stress levels ramping up and up .... and then you get into anxiety attack situation for Kaylia. It's not good.
When you can successfully ride it out, it's quite funny to watch Kaylia ..... she's like a balloon full of air .... it all comes out in a rush then just runs out of puff!

This was in the morning..... on the way home we stopped off at a roadside stall for more melons, grapes and cherry tomatoes. Kaylia loves the tomatoes ... she ate two punnets of them during the trip home.
At home it was time for more 'hose'! This can keep her happy for an hour or more. The hose is just a bit more than a trickle so not much water is consumed .... and it runs off into the garden anyway.

Then Bunnings (a new dingle-dangle) and office for some play time.... then home for tea..... followed by her evening drive before bed.

You can see that keeping her occupied during the day is a demanding, full-time job! Without it her stress builds and anxiety hits. One day in the dim future, she will be able to manage herself .... but till then, we must do it for her.

Today .... back to 'gool'.

#854 Monday 4 March

A bloggable moment! Last night Zoe was using the "foot spa" .... a small foot bath with built in heater and vibrator. Kaylia was intrigued and wanted to share.
In her mind it was a small bath ... so she strips off and tries to sit IN the foot spa on top of Zoe's feet! No no Kaylia .... not like that! ...... so ... knickers on and sit on the lap and foot on top of foot ... Yes!

All was well ..... till Kaylia .... who is never reticent about farting ..... lets out a huge smelly one. Zoe - who is pinned in place - has died ... while Kaylia continues in the foot spa .... oblivious!

#853 Sunday 3 March

(Another wet one at 5am)

A Magic Moment from yesterday ..... Kaylia and Zoe playing together on the lounge .... rolling around .... both laughing their heads off. It would have spoiled the moment to have tried to capture it on video ..... but it was truly a memory to keep.

Today? Zoe took Kaylia to a movie .... an experiment to see if she could last through the whole movie.
The "nagging control" method is still working .... Zoe showed yesterday that the method can also be used for other things!
.... and Kaylia showed that she knows how to cheat ..... when I wasn't watching she crossed off two circles instead of one!

Evening.... Naomi has been painting the room ready for Brynn's arrival .... Zoe was helping .... and I was keeping Lil Miss occupied. We went for a long drive .... to Wundowie we I lived when I was Kaylia's age. I drive past the school where I started my 12 years of terror.
And past the remains of the smelter .... the photo here is of the blast furnaces. When I was a child these were a thing of wonder with sparks and flames streaming out .... carriages of ore being lifted to to top and poured in. Now it is in ruin.