#1063 Wednesday 31 December 2014

New Years Eve

It's been a couple of days since the last entry in the blog ..... this would have to be the most relaxed holiday we've had in ages ..... Kaylia is so happy and chilled .... most of the time she is entertaining herself! This is a huge step .... till now she has relied on other people to keep herself occupied.   As a result Naomi and I are having a relaxing time reading and sleeping.

Yesterday we visited Aunty Maxine ... about 40 minutes drive away .... Kaylia was clearly wanting to be back at Yanchep!  

She loves the hammock .... it's strung up in a very shady spot out the front and catches all the breezes ..... Kaylia flops around in it for ages.

Evening 

Kaylia had a wobbly tooth tonight....




 I wibbled  and wobbled and pulled it out!


Then    ...... I swallowed the tooth!

(This was written by Kaylia)

#1062 Sunday 28 December

Wow .... 3 bars of reception on the phone! We're at the park again.  Kaylia chose park over the beach .... for some reason the house is in a mobile phone dead spot .... so when we go to the park and we can do email and blog.

Kaylia currently wants to climb .....

Later Ross & Raylene visited .... a bit strange to have them visiting their own house!

We're relaxing heaps .... Kaylia loves the hammock out the front .... so we gather round under the shady trees .... sitting in recliners.  If we were any more chilled, we'd have icicles dangling off!

#1061 Saturday 27 December

We spent yesterday relaxing ..... swim at the lagoon ..... followed by a BBQ ...... then more relaxing.   

...... and today?   Began with Kerrie departing early for a camping trip with mates ...... then it was playground (after a trip to the hardware) ..... then home to use the purchases to repair a broken chair.

Stana and Dennis arrived for lunch ..... bringing Jaris (dog) with them.  This resulted in hours of hilarious dominance behavior by Teddy .... with him being repeatedly "counted out".  Believe it or not, Teddy understands "1, 2, 3" and goes to his time out spot after 3.   This was followed by more playground time before a relaxing evening.

#1060 Friday 26 December

Our Christmas Day was relaxed and very pleasant..... we must stick to the routine so "present time" was delayed till the normal shower / breakfast routine had been completed.   The Kaylia had the task of distribution of gifts.  As is correct, her own pile was large!   And all day she was demolishing them .... literally!   Her method is to "love them to bits" .... once the first is in bits she starts on the next!  She gets great joy from this process and it usually takes her a day or so to work through the supply.

After present time, we headed down to the lagoon ..... freeing up the kitchen space so Naomi could have some cooking time free from distraction. This is her "fun time" and the result was magnificent!

After lunch it was relaxing time ..... till Kaylia's anxiety level got the better of her .... and we used a car ride to allow her to get back into calmness.

All in all it was a very good day.

#1059 Wednesday 24 December

Christmas Eve!

Kaylee and Kerrie and I are at Yanchep.... the advance crew setting up house ready for Naomi to arrive .... maybe in the next half hour.  There's a beautiful sea breeze blowing and Kaylia is now in her third hose session..... she's very happy.  But she didn't want to go to the beach .... she wants to wait for mummy to get here.

While waiting we decorated the Christmas tree .....

#1058 Tuesday 23 December

We go to Yanchep tomorrow! Phew!  Kaylia is still having trouble with the "Y" sound ..... it comes out as "Lanship".  This is funny considering she had so much trouble getting the "L" sound right.

Her love of presents is raging.... all the presents are in Naomi's office but yesterday Kaylia trotted out with one ..... and was miffed when she had to go and put it back.

She's getting really good with her computer skills ..... after tea last night she had disappeared.  I thought she'd gone upstairs and I went down to my office to close down for the day ..... and there she was watching a movie on the computer!  She's using the right-click on the mouse already.

Evening:

She had a "Giggling Gertie" attack this afternoon ..... she just couldn't stop.   It's so good to have a happy child.

#1057 Monday 22 December

3pm and she's had the morning at the lake ..... it's a perfect day for it.  After lunch she's been in the outside bath .... and she asked me to make an outside shower for her ..... so now she's in the bath with the shower ..... cold .... raining down on her.  No chance of heat stroke here!

She's very happy again.  The gastro that she's had for a couple of days was making her very upset.

#1056 Sunday 21 December

2 days to go .... Phew!   She can be very wearing at times.

1pm. We've been over to Aunty Moo's .... then back to Midland .... Subway for lunch .... then to the office so I could install a new modem.... then home.

Now she's in the bath outside .... with bubbles galore!

The revamp of the garden area is going well .... 2 ponds are in place and many rocks have been moved. The aim is to use the bath water to feed the ponds and garden.

#1055 Saturday 20 December

Poor thing.... after a trip to Rockingham she had a mild sunstroke and ended up vomiting .... she's not a happy chappy!

Evening 

She's been off colour all day .... and now we've heard that there's a gastro bug going round.  It makes sense.

I found a marvellous doo dad today .... a lithium battery pack the size of a small book .... that can start the car when it has a flat battery!  Since some people have left the car headlights on a few times, this will be a very handy item!

Kaylia has three days till we go to Yanchep..... and she's not letting us forget!

#1054 Thursday 18 December

Naomi and I went out last night .... Woo Hoo!  It was the staff Christmas function and 21 of us went to a Vietnamese restaurant in Guildford .... it was very good.  We arrived home about 9pm and usually Kaylia stays awake waiting for us when we go out .... but she was fast asleep!  Either she is growing up .... or she was feeling very secure with Kerrie.  Either way, it's good.  Since Mum & Dad were going out, Kaylia and Kerrie went to her favourite .... Nandos!

Today is her last day of school in Year 5 .... Year 6 next year!  She turns 11 next month.

#1053 Wednesday 17 December

Oops!  Time has flown past.

Teddy had his summer haircut yesterday .... doesn't he look good?

While we were waiting for the time to collect him, we went to the playground in Mt Helena ..... and Kaylia had a ball!  For some reason it just "hit the spot" for her and she was very happy.

Then it was home for tuna pasta .... Yum!

Kaylia is being introduced to another step on the road to independence..... she now walks from the car into the school grounds on her own! We watch from the car.  I think that she's pleased with herself.

This morning she goes to school dressed as Cindy-Lou from the Grinch ..... it's a school party.  She has her hair done in 3 plaits ..... and she keeps on touching them.  I think she likes it.

The nagging battle continues ..... she understands that she is wanting to just talk ..... but she's stuck in a rut of one word ..... rather than using a sentence.       Poor thing.   She knows she is doing the wrong thing and she will count herself out and march off to her room .... but she resists using a sentence.

#1052 Sunday 14 December

It's 6am and Kerrie is just leaving for a day trip to the Pinnacles with some friends. Teddy is upset because he's not going!

9pm. Kaylia's had a struggle to "keep it all together" today.   We learned from it that she is not over her aversion to little kids ..... and combine that with a break in her routine?  Wow!

This morning we did our routine of visiting Aunty Max's .... and Kaylia was in the middle of the usual bath ..... when 4 small cousins arrived to visit too!  Her anxiety levels went through the roof and we departed in a rush.   She never really recovered for the rest of the day and bedtime has been difficult too.

We live and learn.   It's such a pity that we can't enjoy normal family contact.

#1051 Saturday 13 December

Life is busy .... I've missed two days blog.   In some ways it's a measure of how well things are going with Kaylia.  She's very happy .... and the social story seems to have sunk in so that she's no longer nagging about the doctor.  If she does she will immediately begin counting herself out!   She says "Doctor ...... that's one"

I've made some changes to the outside waterplay area ...... The bath has been moved sideways so that we can get to the stairs ..... and I'm moving the ponds to the other side of the garden.  

Afternoon 

Kaylia's in the bath now ..... she loves having different water pressure from the hose .... she has it up ..... then down to a trickle ..... and she the uses the trickle as a dingle dangle!

Teddy has finally learned that from the balcony, he can walk out onto the shed roof ..... then it's a small jump to the ground .... and he's free! He's off next door now.  It's another job for me ..... to "Teddy-proof" the balcony.

#1050 Wednesday 10 December

Another funny moment ..... 

Kerrie was on a Skype call to her mum in the UK when she heard the sound of a kangaroo moving outside the room. She whispered to her mum "there's a roo outside .... I'll take the phone outside so you can see it."   So Kerrie crept outside and .... sho ' nuff ..... there's a roo with its eyes glowing in the light from the phone. Next moment there's a loud squeal all the way from UK ..... "I can see its eyes!!!"

...... and there's no roo anymore!

#1049 Tuesday 9 December

Today was school assembly at Kaylia's school.  Kaylia participated well. I have some photos and video that I'll add later.

We have been so fortunate with her school ..... it's a very caring, inclusive environment where children with disabilities can feel valued and important. Kaylia has been very happy there.     Such a contrast from the other school that Kaylia attended when she was in year one. 

Next year we have the task of finding her a high school ..... she will begin her high school years in 2016.

#1048 Monday 8 December

I've been researching designs for a trailer that I plan to build next year ...... and I came across the "tiny house" concept ..... the idea of building an extremely compact house on a movable frame.  Not so much a caravan as a house that can be moved.  Fascinating.   Kaylia would love it!

That's completely unrelated to the trailer I'm planning ..... this will be a purpose built transporter for the mini-tractor ..... so I will be able to move the tractor around as needed.

Evening 

Tonight we celebrated Kerrie's completion of her study course.   She's been working hard at it.  We went to the Hog's Breath Cafe ..... Kaylia loved it.

.... and we finished with a "rocky road sundae "

#1047 Sunday 7 December

We had a lesson in the management of Kaylia today.   We'd bought a cupboard for the new office and planned that while Naomi and Kaylia were at Mim's I would go off and collect the cupboard .... then return to Mim's.   When I got back I found that Kaylia was in a frantic mess .... high anxiety.   We hadn't considered that our plan was a change to her routine.  She couldn't cope with daddy going off and leaving her .... even though mummy was right there.

Afterward Kaylia .... in her own way .... was able to verbalise the problem and made me understand that the next time, she should go with me!  

#1046 Saturday 6 December

It's just after midnight ..... Kerrie and I have just got home .... Kerrie had gone out for the evening and the car broke down about 1 km from home.  It looks as if the alternator has died.  It did well to get her that far ..... it's a pity the battery couldn't have lasted about 1 minute longer and it would have got her all the way home!  Anyway .... well done Kerrie.   She handled the problem perfectly.   

In the morning I'll take a spare battery down so I can bring the car home.

#1045 Friday 5 December

Kerrie had a close encounter of the furry kind!  She was walking to her room .... the outside lights were off ..... she heard Thump - THump - THUmp - thump.

She thought "It's just the roo going down the side ..... no worries." ... thinking that it had gone ...... then she triggered the sensor light ...... and there  about 3 metres away stood "BIG BOB"!  Now Big Bob is a BIG ROO .... he must be around 2 metres tall .... so to have him suddenly in front of you would be quite a fright!

Evening 

Kaylia is having hose time before tea.  Chinese tonight ..... Yum!

She actually had a real trip to the doctor this afternoon .... we suspect a UTI may be the culprit for the behavior issues we've been having .... the challenge is to get a sample of wee to test!

It's interesting that she hasn't nagged all afternoon.

#1044 Thursday 4 December

Another funny moment ......  for those of you that don't know, after Kaylia was 'weaned' off wearing nappies (before school age ... so a loonng time ago) .... for years she was strongly upset that we wouldn't buy her nappies when we were shopping.  She'd grab them off the shelf and put them in the shopping trolley and put on quite a show.  Even now .... about 6 years later .... she still likes to go to the baby section of the supermarket and she stands and looks at the nappies.

Well ...... she's growing up now ..... and approaching puberty.  So .... she needs to be aware of what happens with menstrual periods.  This morning Naomi began a little lesson and showed her a 'sanitary pad' ...... "What's this Kaylia?" ...... "NAPPY!!!"  ......

She's clearly overjoyed that she's going to get nappies again!

.... speaking of which ...... we're wondering how she will handle the effect of her periods.  She seems to be almost oblivious to many sensory things about her body ..... what impact will her autism have on her experience of her periods?  The hormonal effect will probably make her behaviour issues more pronounced.  Time will tell .... fairly soon!

#1043 Tuesday 2 December

The "Dr Law" nagging is getting to be a real problem ..... Kerrie reports that she starts it as soon as she gets out of school..... I wish she had a screen that gave the error code to tell us just what the problem is.  

The hose time calms her down .... and the car is very reliable.....

#1042 Sunday 30 November

It's been a hard night .... K was very tired last night and she was putting on a performance as a result ..... we took her off to bed early and she settled by about 7:30 ..... but the loo routine was upset and so she wet the bed at 3am.  By 4am she was wide awake and spent some time downstairs. Now it's 6:30 and the day should start according to Kaylia! The timer is running......

Her iPad has a "giant timer" app .... it's very good for times like this and she will watch it count down go the next hour .... while we try to sleep.

It's 2pm .... what a day.  Kaylia's been constantly anxious all day.  The car time is the only respite we've had from the nagging about the doctor or about school.  She can be diverted to telling a story about them but the cycle seems to be endless.

At the moment she's in the outside bath with hose time.   So we have a little break.

4pm .... this has been really hard to take.  Naomi and I are both very tired .... and Kaylia is relentless.... we've resorted to "timing her out" .... it doesn't really correct the problem but it gives us a break for a few minutes.  We were racking our brains for some explanation of what is going on .... and realised that the full moon is coming !!!   .... Next Saturday .... at least we have an idea of what's going on 

Bedtime:  she calmed down eventually... and the evening is finishing on a good note.  I'm glad today is over.

#1041 Saturday 29 November

Yesterday was Kerrie's birthday and we all celebrated at Sizzler's.   As usual Kaylia came home on a "sugar high" and she was entertaining herself for a while at bedtime.  The sugar fix is from the icecream at Sizzlers .... it's in tiny little bowls and she usually has 3 servings ..... this is not much icecream but she thinks it's great!
Eventually she decided it was sleep time and came and called me upstairs.  As soon as I was in my correct spot she went straight off to sleep!  She has to have routine .... even to sleep.

Today she has speech therapy.  This is doing great things!  Kaylia now has the "L" sound nailed .... she can get it right reliably .... we now need to drill it to the point where she uses it correctly in everyday speech.

I had a beaut email from a friend this morning .... she reads this blog and among many other things she says .....
....."I know how you feel about the demise of your bobtail lizard.  We had a quite tame black skink (like the ones you have) living with us in the shed in Albany.  It would eat cherry tomatoes and pieces of fruit.  Come winter it holed up in a  piece of metal pipe out in the pile of “good stuff” you men folk seem to like to keep.  Ken (landlord) was making a back for his ute and started welding his piece of pipe.  There was a hell of a racket and scramble and out shot the poor skink.  Unfortunately it passed away from its burns."

I was also asked .... "Is she up to conversations yet.  How is the anxiety compared to a few years ago."  Yes .... she likes to have a 'conversation' ..... a very "Kaylee version" though.  It's mostly a set pattern involving what she likes to do and remember ..... but it satisfies her and she usually goes off to play after getting the attention she needs.  It's hard to tell that it's what she wants and if we don't pick on the cues, then it can build up into a problem.

I was re-reading a bit of the blog from June 2010 this morning .... we were at a hotel in Nusa Dua ..... and her behaviour issues then were much, much worse at that time compared with now  ...  on a scale of 10, that time was about 8 or 9 .... and now it feels like 0 to 1 in comparison.

What does Naomi do that calms her down??  Much of it is preventative .... don't allow a situation to develop in the first place .... be aware of how she will react to things that are happening ...... and then remind her of the things that she can do to manage her own anxiety .... breathing exercises, diverting her attention to things that relax her.  Stories and poems that she loves .... It constantly amazes me how she is calmed by the car ..... just sitting in the car is great ..... and going for a drive always helps her.

#1040 Thursday 27 November

Stormy weather .... thunderstorms..... just the way it's supposed to be!

This morning I've put the roof sheets on the shed extension that I've put together .... mostly from scrap.

It's a sign of the times that the 2 hours work it took has finished me for a while.   I'll sit in the comfy chair on the balcony and admire the result.

#1039 Tuesday 25 November

We've had a small, sad tragedy today ..... as many of you know we're very keen on our bobtail lizards here ..... one in particular has been moving round our yard for many years.  This afternoon he was run over in our carport.   We're all saddened ..... he's been buried under a rock cairn in the garden.

Kaylia is doing well with her efforts to conquer the "L" sound .... a game is used in which she gets a marble for each success.  The game was cut short when we saw blood over her hands ...... She knocks the marbles together and one broke and the sharp glass cut her fingers ..... so she gets another of her favourite things ..... Band aids!!

#1038 Monday 24 November

Today we had visit from Alison .... who used to be Kaylia's therapist..... and who has a 9 week old baby boy.   It was a special time and Kaylia really looked forward to it.  In her usual fashion Kaylia wanted Alison to herself and her solution was to ask that the baby have a sleep!  

#1037 Sunday 23 November

Kaylia's therapy concentrates on her speech at present ..... and "la la la" is the current sound.  This morning we discovered a new incentive ...... tickles!  She gets a tickle if she says la .... and misses out if she says ya.   She loves it!

Evening

Tonight she was having problems with her iPad..... the screen was showing "iView" but nothing worked.  It was because she was looking at a screenshot that she'd taken ..... when I got rid of the image and loaded the app .... it all worked fine.

There's something unspeakably profound in that story .... but I can't put it into words.

#1036 Thursday 20 November

Artwork from school ... it's the school emblem.

Yes tonight is "daddy pies" ... Kaylia loves pies so I hope she likes these!

#1035 Wednesday 19 November

We have just received some very good news ...... over the past couple of months, the new national disability scheme has been introduced in our area .... and it has looked as though the new rules would mean that parents could no longer use early intervention therapy  for their child.  This is the therapy that has made such a huge difference for Kaylia.
.... but we have been told today that the rules are being changed and early intervention therapy can continue!  Yay!

This afternoon I was working outside and saw Mr Lizard again .... he didn't appear to be very upset by me and just moved out of my way as I walked around.  He watched me for quite a while before moving off into his hiding spot in the shed.

He doesn't seem very large in this photo .... but he is really quite a big one.

#1034 Tuesday 18 November

As Kaylia was preparing for school this morning, we adults were discussing the current pressing issue .... which is ..... shredding her shoe laces!  She likes to shred them lengthwise to make dingle-dangles.

The fact that we can discuss this as a "problem" gives you some idea of just how good life feels at present!

The local swimming pool .... Bilgomen ..... has opened again after being closed for renovations.  Kaylia is very happy about that.  She likes to use the diving board to jump into the deep end!  Kerrie is not so happy as the water is cold!  It took a few hours for her toes to thaw.

Kaylia's a new night-time pattern continues ..... she herds Naomi and I upstairs to bed .... then goes back downstairs herself to play for a while!  We'll think about that one!  I don't mind because I'm ready to sleep at 8pm.

Bedtime

The day didn't turn out as expected ..... Naomi had chest pains while driving to work and we spent the day in hospital getting it checked out.  All is ok .... no heart problems .... She's working too hard and her body is telling her to slow down!

#1033 Sunday 16 November

Kaylia is REALLY looking forward to tomorrow..... Bilgomen swimming pool reopens for the summer .... and she can hardly wait.   They'll have fun at school .... She'll be talking about it all day.

Yesterday I had a profoundly "Ol codger" moment.  I had some timber to be painted and I got to work with a can of paint ..... after a while I thought "This is slow to dry".  After finishing I put the brush under the tap to clean it .... and the paint wouldn't dissolve!   Then I realised that is used enamel paint instead of acrylic..... and it hadn't even crossed my mind!   Oops!

#1032 Friday 14 November

It's good to be home .... even if it's cold. It was a notable trip as Kaylia was so good .... with a couple of exceptions which I won't go into!

Now .... It's good to be able to continue the "unprocessed" diet.  We are all agreed that it is having a good effect.

Bedtimes haven't changed much :-) .... she 'herds' us upstairs .... then goes  back downstairs to play for a bit!

#1031 Wednesday 12 November

We fly home again tomorrow.  It's been a very good trip for Kaylia.  She has been naughty a couple of times ..... very unusual for her .... but appropriate for a girl who is nearly 11.  Her reaction to being scolded is to giggle her head off..... not a good reaction for some situations.  We can handle it but it might be inappropriate for the school situation.

Naomi has had fun .... arranging for Ketut to paint the wall around the pool.  It looks great.

..... but after we had picked the colour, we found out that it's actually the colour worn by a widow in Bali!

#1030 Tuesday 11 November

Kaylia's having a good time but it's hard work keeping her sun exposure down .... I've set up a tarp over the pool and she understands "stay in the shade" ..... 

#1029 Sunday 9 November

It was a good night .... even with Naomi being in pain from her fall yesterday.  We'll take things quietly today.

The girls went off at 2am to drive up the mountain .... to be at the top at dawn. The day is overcast so Kerrie has the possibility of some spectacular shots.

Kaylia is wide awake at 6:30am and she's having a good time rolling around on top of us!

There was a very funny email this morning...... an application for a position at our centre (in Australia) ..... it went into full detail about their high qualifications ... doctorate etc ... then finished by saying that they would enjoy working in Vienna!!!! Clearly they weren't qualified in geography!

#1028 Saturday 8 November

At Peekaboo for play time.

Kaylia is very different this trip .... much more relaxed and laid back. She's still doing the same sort of things .... it's just that the sense of compulsion isn't there.  She's doing the things because she enjoys them.   

While at the villa, she loves spending time in the big bath tub we have in the outside bathroom ..... but the sun can be ferocious so I've put up a shade sail.  This task has uncovered a new mystery .... the sail has fittings to secure it and I brought D-shackles with me but not enough.  I thought to myself .... "no problem .... go to the hardware shop and get some more".   ..... but after a morning of looking I can't find any shakles.  Indeed there doesn't seem to be anything to join chain!  Chain can be bought .... but nothing to join it!  There's a Bahasa word for it but when you ask for it it is never available. Another example of the wacky world of Bali.

#1027 Friday 31 October

Well!..... the new diet seems to be having an effect!  School reported yesterday that Kaylia was "mean" to another child.  In one way, that's bad .... but in other ways it is really good!  .... normally Kaylia isn't aware of other kids to a level which allows her to be "mean" .... so this indicates that her social awareness is improving.  Being "mean" .... and trying out refusal .... No! .... these are normal developmental stages ..... and although these things usually happen at a much younger age, it's still very good to see them happening now.

The new diet is progressing.... it can be hard sometimes .... but tools like "The NutriBullet" and the "Fruit to Icecream" machine are making it more fun.

Kaylia was clearly very happy to have me home yesterday.  .... and I was glad to be home too!

#1026 Wednesday 29 October

Happy birthday Dad.

As I write, guys are working outside to clear away the debris from lopping branches off a tree which was overhanging the house and depositing vast quantities of leaf matter on the roof.


They worked quickly ... the tree is a very soft wood and thick branches were only taking a few chops with a small axe ... but they were quite high.

The guys were also able to chop out some roots that were wrecking the outside paving.  Ketut has relaid the paving .... it's much better.

#1025 Tuesday 28 October

Phew!  I'll sleep well tonight!  It's been a busy day with little jobs .... and the last job was hard work.  I'm getting too old for this and I find that I'm becoming quite happy to stand back and direct Ketut rather than doing it myself. 
This last job was swapping the beds between rooms 1 and 3.  The previous guests had broken the bed in room 3 on their first night .... then the a/cond had failed in room 1 ..... so they swapped the beds over.  But the rooms are different sizes and the beds need to be in their right room. 
So this afternoon we dismantled the beds and moved them.  While this was going on I made some reinforcing under each bed ..... so the bed won't break again!

#1024 Monday 27 October

After a good flight it was good to be back in the villa.  The state of the villa is not good.  Putu has not had time to clean up after the guests who had just left .... and there's quite a bit to clean up!  Once again it emphasizes the importance of my maintenance visits.

In recent days Kaylia has been really pestering hard about "Dr Law" (her GP) .... it has become a sign of anxiety for her.  She likes to talk about what the doctor does during visits ... but it's much more than that.  Naomi has arranged for Kaylia to actually visit Dr Law this afternoon .... so it will be very interesting to hear the story tonight.

Evening:  After a day of waiting and sorting, I'm now having tea at a place I've  looked at many times but this is the first time I've gone in.  After a day of eating little and drinking lots of water, I'm having a thoroughly Western meal .... steak!

Later:  What did Kaylia do at the doctors?  She marched in ...... pulled up her T-shirt ..... and said TUMMY!  I'm told that Dr Law has a GSOH and took it all in stride.

#1023 Friday 24 October

sho nuff ...... last night she had so much to drink that despite a precautionary loo trip, she still flooded the bed by 9:30pm!  Still, it is excellent for the constipationary battle.

She really is a delightful child .... she has some very annoying and worrying issues .... such as the anxiety ..... but despite all the problems, she's growing into a lovely person.  It reduces our concerns about the teenage years to come.

Afternoon:  She's come home in a bad anxiety attack again.  This has happened for a few days now .... something has changed to produce this.   Some serious thought is needed.

 

Kerrie has bought herself some serious climbing shoes .... Very strange shoes.

#1022 Thursday 23 October

Tonight she really enjoyed her tea ..... roast potatoes, sausages and carrots and sweet potato..... followed by water melon juice.   She was hull as a goog!  ..... then when we sit down for TV, she says .... Popcorn!

Where does she think it would fit?  (We said no).   Amazing child.

This afternoon she had a bad anxiety attack.  We couldn't work out why..... but Kerrie took her for a drive in the car .... and as soon as she got in the car, she calmed down! 

#1021 Wednesday 22 October

Yesterday I over-did things .... I've been working on a project to add a bit more shed space and I had completed the truss and posts ..... so I proceeded to erect them.  They are very heavy and I should have left it for another day.  .... but it's up now.  It will take me a while to recover!











Last night, "Dancing with the Stars" was on TV .... and Kaylia loves it!  She watches very closely and when she is impressed by their moves we can really see her response.

#1020 Tuesday 21 October

Poor Teddy ..... he's got a blocked exhaust pipe and he's getting bouts of hurts ..... so he's on a diet of all the doggie foods that have a laxative effect. 

Kaylia's new diet is going well ..... icecream has been replaced with fruit/icecream and she is liking it.  Today our "NutriBullet" arrived .... this will allow us to use more whole foods and avoid processed baddies.  The change in eating habits isn't too bad ..... it takes a bit of thinking and so can be hard at the end of the day when energy has got up and gone.

#1019 Monday 20 October

Kaylia's focus on "hose-time" has reached the stage where she is choosing the hose over going to the swimming pool.  I guess it's the stimming aspect of it.  That's hard to beat.

#1018 Sunday 19 October

Kaylia was trying out the "new" Pilates bench today...... she seemed to like it.  Kerrie tried it too.

We raised the head to the maximum height and it makes you work really hard.

#1017 Saturday 18 October

Happy birthday Naomi!  The plan is to have a celebratory "nosh up" at Alfred's Kitchen in Guildford ..... followed by tummies at the Junction Icecreamery.

The school commented yesterday ..... via Kerrie ..... "Whatever you're doing with Kaylia at the moment.... keep it up" They have noticed an improvement  in behaviour. This is more evidence that the change in diet is having a good effect.

Afternoon:  hose time..... at times it is very hard to imagine the path Kaylia's development will take.  Some of her behaviours are so far off centre that I wonder what will happen.  We can only keep caring for her as best we can.

Midnight:   The day changed plans .... the wild storms missed us but still meant that the weather was no good for eating outdoors.  So we changed to our favourite pizzas from Mundaring.  Kaylia was funny .... we relaxed and allowed her  to have a Fanta at 4pm.  At 8:30pm she was still high on it.  A session of playing with a torch under the blankets finally did the trick and put her to sleep.

#1016 Friday 17 October

Last night Kaylia, Kerrie and I went shopping ..... and Kaylia got the giggles!  Can you imagine walking round the aisles with a giggling gertie?  Fortunately the "checkout chick" was the parent of a very auty teenager .... and she was very understanding.

It was hole digging time for me yesterday ..... and concrete mixing .... preparing the footings for an extra roofed area at the side of the shed.

#1015 Wednesday 16 October

It's 4:30am ..... Kaylia's wet the bed and can't settle back to sleep ..... so I'm trying a slightly different strategy.   She's in her bed downstairs with instructions that it's sleep time.  We'll see what happens.

Evening:  the strategy worked quite well and she stayed in her bed for a while.

Her day at school was good .... as always! Then it was Whiteman Park afterward.

The re-vamped Pilates bench is now operational.  Instead of being at floor level, it's now at a comfortable sitting height and can be adjusted for angle .... so you're working against gravity when exercising.

#1014 Tuesday 14 October

Kaylia was so excited to be going back to school!  It's such a pleasure to see her like this.

As part of our program to reduce processed foods in our diet, we have bought a fruit "ice cream" maker .... It arrived today and we tried it tonight.

It's great!  With just fruit, it produces a really yummy creamy sorbet.  Delicious

#1013 Monday 13 October

Kaylia has been to the beach at Hillarys today .... the weather was good for it .... now she's in the bath after having hose-time.

Kerry and I were on the balcony and saw the large black lizard again.

By comparison with the door sill, it can be estimated that he's about 600mm long.  I think it's the same lizard which I included in the blog on 5th April 2012 and again on 3rd February 2013   ..... it was much smaller then.  So it would now be about 3 years old and it's probably adult size.

#1012 Sunday 12 October

Gee she's noisy!  While we adults try to watch TV in the evening,  Kaylia is usually bouncing round the room with a dingle-dangle ..... very happy and very noisy!  She likes to be where we are.

I'll try recording a bit of audio and put it in the blog so you can see what I mean.

Today is Sunday .... the routine is ..... pancakes .... Aunty Moo's ..... maybe Aunty Max's

Evening .... the routine was varied by a hospital visit. Naomi's father is in hospital so it was visiting time for Naomi while I took Kaylia off for a drive .... to Fremantle and back.  The home.  Then it was "hose time" and "shed time".  I'm just about finished an 'update' to my Pilates exercise bench.  I was taken by some benches being sold on Ebay and I worked out that rather than spending $$$$$ on one of those, I could use my current bench to create a "new improved model"  ..... I've used parts of a weights bench and made some new parts ..... the end result is a bench that is raised off the floor and which can be adjusted for angle.

#1011 Saturday 11 October

It's 5am and she's been awake for an hour.  She went down stairs for a while and is back .... she seems to be trying to sleep.

#1010 Thursday 9 October

Another change ..... In the past Kaylia's bedtime routine has been that we would all watch ABCforKids ..... and then when the adult program started she would insist that one of us went upstairs to bed with her ..... since I was usually asleep in my chair, that task fell to me.  Over the past few days she's begun going off to bed on her own ..... and I follow when I'm ready.  It's a much better routine.

We missed the red moon last night .... by the time the moon was visible above the tree line and the high valley edge,   the eclipse was over and it was a normal full moon.

 (So if there were any Triffids, we will survive!)

Bedtime

A funny thing happened tonight ..... we were clowning round with singing and I brought out a mouth organ .... Kaylia took it from me and began to blow .... and Teddy immediately began howling! I don't know whether the howling was a protest ... or if he was joining in .... but it was quite a moment.

#1009 Wednesday 8 October

I'm watching the little miss as she has hose time.   She's been talking a lot about "Doctor Who"..... I finally worked out that she's referring to our GP Dr Law ..... and she's not asking for the Doctor .... she just wants to talk about the things that Dr Law does!  She checks my heart .... she listens to my chest.

It's clear that much of Kaylia's nagging is actually her attempt to socialise.

#1008 Tuesday 7 October

It's 11:17pm .... I've just roused for my phone buzzing... to find that the sound was from Kaylia ....  not the phone!

#1007 Monday 7 October

It's post tea time ..... she wanted to watch her new Peppa Pig DVD ..... but then turned the TV off and went upstairs.  I went up a short time ago to check ..... and she was dancing on the bed and watching herself in the mirror!  She's having a great time!

During tea time something happened ... I forget what it was .... but she'd done something funny and we were all laughing  ... she could clearly understand the situation and she was joining in the laughter.   It was such a "normal" moment .... so good.   The improvements we're seeing are very good.  She is enjoying life even more now ..... over the past six months I have been talking about how good things are at present .... but now things seem to be getting even better.  It's great!




This afternoon I was able to grab an hour of shed time ....thanks Kerrie! ...... and I put the final assembly touches to the gantry crane that I've been building.  It's now operational.

The hoist is mounted under a "carriage" which rolls across the beam .... and the beam rolls  along channels attached to the roof trusses .... so it can lift an object anywhere within an area of about 9 square metres of the shed floor.

#1006 Saturday 4 October

It's been another day at  the office ..... while Kaylia sleeps in and then has a day of swimming.  Now .... evening ..... she is having a great time and I doubt that she will be going to bed anytime soon!  I think it's going to be a long night!

#1005 Friday 3 October

Up at 4am to go to the airport..... the aircon still isn't much chop and the room was slightly above comfortable last night.  It was cooler outside.

Once again there was no departure gate allocated for my flight.  I thought of writing a bit of feedback to the airport again ..... but the feedback booth had no paper or pens .... just rubbish on the counter!

Our favourite place .... Garuda Lounge .... appears to be in place again.  When the new terminal was opened, the lounge wasn't replaced .... a year later it is there ..... but sorry .... not open!

What a grumpy blog!  It'll be good to get home.









Home again
Kaylia (with Naomi and Kerrie) has been to the Royal Show.  She has been to the show before.... but it was very unsuccessfully because of the anxiety attacks.  She couldn't really enjoy it. 
And this time?  She had no anxiety ..... and she loved it! 
She had a ball .... literally!  There was a ride where she is inside an inflated ball (about 2m diameter) that was then floated in a large pool.  She LOVED it .... and she was very sneaky .... when the ride finished and she got out of the ball ..... she managed to sneak into the pool for a swim!!

Now we're home and she's in the bath.

#1004 Thursday 2 October

This time tomorrow I'll be eating breakfast at 10,000m .... on the home run ... Yay!  These trips are hard work.

This is the new kitchen sink ..... b&%^$ expensive but it was the only sink that would fit the hole.  It has a guarantee so we will be watching it closely.  The guys were working till 6:30 last night trying to seal the drain so it wouldn't leak inside the cupboard.

Now I'm waiting for two sets of guys to arrive .... the aircon man to hopefully fix the a/c properly   ( .... it was another hot night) .... and it must be fixed for the guests arriving on Saturday.

..... and waiting for the pest man to attend to the termite nest I found yesterday.



11:30 at Hardys .... I couldn't stand the waiting for people to arrive on Bali time ... so I retreated!  The aircon still isn't working so we now wait for the man to come back again.   ..... and waiting for the pest man too. .... waiting .... waiting

At Hardys I got some more DVDs for Kaylia .... she likes "Simpsons" at the moment .... so I rip them to MP4 and put them on her iPad.

12:30 Back at the villa.  The a/c man has been ..... the result is as I expected ..... when the guys replaced the a/c unit a month ago, they had put in a smaller capacity unit!  So this one is working ... but it just can't cool the room.  They are taking the old one to use parts to increase the capacity of the new one.  A bit dodgy but .... hey .... this is Bali!

#1003 Wednesday 1 October

After a night with no aircon I got my external client work done for the week ....  and then started on my next task .... the second pool tank cover.

This my "outside workshop ".... the rusted yellow thing is the steel cover that has to be replaced.

The guys come this afternoon to fit the new sink in the kitchen  .... it requires the granite bench top to be trimmed .... it's a small job but I don't have the tool for it .... nor the time to go and get one.  Ce la vie.



At 3pm, the kitchen guys are still coming .... Bali time.  The cover is finished and the guy from Wasser pumps has been to check the two old pumps.... one is scrap and the other is fixable.  The airconditioner man has not been yet ... grrr!

While searching round for plumbing isolating taps, I found a termite nest .... so the termite man has been called.  His previous work was guaranteed and he struck me as a reliable contractor so ......

A few simple house plumbing modifications are planned for next trip .... changes that will make it easier to maintain the pumps.

4pm .... the kitchen man is hard at work but still no A/cond .... wait! I hear a motorbike. Yes ... it's all happening now.   Earlier today I had a talk with Ketut (via Putu) about unsafe work habits .... he had taken the guard off the angle-grinder .... very dangerous!  Now I watch the kitchen man doing exactly the same thing!!

So much work is involved in keeping this place up to scratch for guests.

#1002 Tuesday 30 September

You'll possibly recall me talking of a new diet change that we had decided to try?  .... I mentioned it about a month ago.  It involves trying to reduce the amount of free glutamates in our food intake .... trying  to eat unprocessed food as far as practical.  As you can imagine this change is not something that can happen overnight .... we've been working toward the goal .... I'd guess we might be about 50 - 60% of the way.

The interesting thing is that I'm noticing small changes in Kaylia.   I feel as though the anxiety episodes have diminished .... and she seems to be more alert and aware.  She seems to be taking more notice of things we're saying.  At this stage it's pure hope .... just a feeling that something good is developing.

I was impressed by the theory surrounding this change.  If it doesn't work as hoped then it can't harm us .... and if it produces positive results, it will be great!

The weekend away was a great success.... it bodes well for the two weeks we will spend there at Christmas.

I'm now at the villa again... it's a quick trip to get some more maintenance done ..... the tasks are:

Replace the kitchen sink 

Construct the second of the two pool tank covers

Arrange a better maintence checklist with Putu

Evening

I'm at Hardys for tea and shopping ..... after a frustrating day.

I'd gone to Mitra10 .... through bad traffic .... got what I thought was the right sink and went home in worse traffic .... only to find that the sinless wrong!  Back I went to try again.

After getting to sleep around 2am this morning, I'm had it ... and the bedroom a/cond is kaput!!

#1001 Sunday 28 September

 Brrrr!  We've just come back from the beach .... freezing wind blowing..... rain every now and then.  A good time.   I'd forgotten how hard it is to walk along a beach.







After recovery time we headed for the National Park .... Kaylia has been there many times with Lara and Chris .... and she knew where to go.  As soon as we had parked the car she was off to this ..... ????? whatever it is.







Next it was off to the koalas.

.... and then Kaylia took us to the kiosk for an icecream.

#1000 Saturday 27 September

Gee this is a good spot!  Kaylia is so excited!  She's dancing round and stimming her head off.  We got to Yanchep at about 5:30 last night and went for a walk down the beach .... which is about 200 metres away.

Teddy is clearly enjoying himself!   After the walk it was time for a beaut lamb roast which Raylene had prepared .... then it was sorting  sleeping arrangements Kaylia would be happy with.  She settled quickly .... her day had been full of swimming.

Today has begun with rain .... more rain and wind is forecast .... and more tomorrow .... Brrrr!  I think we will do some exploring by car.

#999 Friday 26 September

I'm waiting for everyone to get home so we can head for Yanchep.  While waiting I started watching "The Railwayman" .... and I had to stop very quickly because of the reaction it produced .... and I wondered ... what it's like for a person who doesn't have PTSD to watch a film like that?

#998 Thursday 25 September

Time has snuck past me again .... it feels as though much has been happening.

Tomorrow we go off for a mini-holiday at Yanchep.  It's a long weekend and we will stay at Ross and Raylene's place.  Kaylia is very excited and is counting down the days.

#997 Monday 22 September

She's so strong! ..... and she has no awareness of other people around her ..... she doesn't think about whether her actions will cause pain to others.  My wrist has been healing nicely after the fall a month ago .... and then she goes and WHACK

 ..... it hurts again but I guess it will heal.  Most of the time I'm wary enough that I can safeguard my wrist from her .... but she got through my defenses this morning.

#996 Sunday 21 September

Another wet night .... Kaylia thinks that if she does the routine of sitting on the loo, that's sufficient ..... she often doesn't produce any wee and if we aren't listening closely, then she gets away with it!   ..... and a wet bed is the result.

#995 Saturday 20 September

I'm doing the office shift again this afternoon ..... Kaylia doesn't like it.  "Where's Daddy?"  It's nice to be wanted .... even if routine is most of it!

The quad bike is sold .... it couldn't tow the trailer up the hill from the shed to the road .... so it was sold with 4kms on the clock.  Now I'll start looking for something else that can handle the problems presented by our property.  I'm thinking of a small tractor.

#994 Friday 19 September

I've got a video clip of another part of last night's school do .... I'll add it when I remember how. (Remembering is becoming a problem!  50 years ago? .... clear as a bell.  5 minutes ago? ... what happened? .... Now how did I remember that?)
Kaylia is about 6th from the left.

After the show we went to Kaylia's favourite spot .... Nandos ..... for tea. She was so excited and happy.

Today

Swimming!  It's the time of the year when swimming is part of the school day.  She loves it.

#993 Thursday 18 September

This article is a bewdy! It's about how clutter around the house affects our moods.     I agree ..... and I like the hints and ideas in the article.

http://www.houselogic.com/blog/home-improvement/clutter-depression/?utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=topart&cid=pm_pn_outbrain_topart#.

Evening

Tonight we attended a school function .... the 20th anniversary of the school.  Kaylia was part of the show .... she is in the "Signing Club" 

and her group uses sign language for many of the songs being performed.

#992 Wednesday 17 September

Phew!  She sleep like a log last night .... and so did I.  I still get her up for a loo run in the middle of the night but she went straight back to sleep.

She has a big lump next to her left eyebrow from where she fell over at school yesterday .... of course it doesn't bother her.  Her lack of awareness of pain is amazing.  She does feel pain ... she is bothered by headaches and tummy aches .... but a pain that would normally produce a crying child just produces an "Ow!" reaction and then she carries on.

Naomi and I had a beaut Skype session with Zoe the other day ... Zoe is now living and working in San Francisco ... we were able to use Google to look at where she lives and where she works. 

#991 Tuesday 16 September

It's a conundrum .... do I let her sleep and wet the bed? ..... or wake her for a loo run and face to high risk of her being awake for hours after?   Tonight I woke her at 3am after she began the restless sleep that shows that she has bladder pressure ..... and after a big wee, she's now wide awake.  Two hours later she's having a merry time downstairs.  She genuinely tries to go back to sleep but it just doesn't work.   .... and in all this I'm not sleepy either .... I'm working hard to maximize the chance of her sleeping again.   In the past we've tried Melatonin ... but this seems to only work at the time that a sleep cycle will normally commence.   It doesn't work to encourage sleep in the middle of the night.

Evening:

I've had a good day in the shed .... doing what I enjoy .... turning scrap into "good stuff".   I'm building a rolling gantry hoist ... the only new parts are the wheels and the electric hoist .... 75% of it is from scrap.

#990 Monday 15 September

It's official .... I'm not addicted to Ebay.   It's now about 12 hours that the EBay site has been non-functional .... and I'm feeling quite ok!  How does this relate to Kaylia? Well ... in the middle of the night .... most nights ..... after getting up to take Kaylia to the loo, it's hard to get back to sleep.  So I usually end up on my iPhone ..... reading the news and searching eBay for any unusual gadjets .... and blogging!  So "Hi" to you at 4am!

Evening

I saw a very funny thing this afternoon .... a car window saying..... 

Climate warming = rising sea level = more fishing spots!  BRING IT ON!!

Kaylia went to the doctor today ... it was a very unsatisfying experience .... the doctor berated us for issues with her weight and fitness .... but showed no awareness of the issues we have to deal with .... or interest in understanding.  I think we need to look for a new GP.

#989 Saturday 13 September

It's a Kerrie day today .... I filling in at the office so Kaylia is with Kerrie till Naomi gets home.  Kaylia is probably in the bath!

#988 Friday 12 September

Kaylia's new shoes!  She grabbed them.

 Most auty kids don't like change ... but sometimes she just thrives on change ... especially when it involves cars or clothes!





She was going to go to the doctor this afternoon ... but I've had a call to say that the doctor is sick!  So the visit has been put off to Monday.  Fortunately we didn't tell her about the trip to the doctor this morning because she would have nagged all day!

#987 Thursday 11 September

Hats off for 9/11 memories.

Kerrie's crook today .... poor thing.  

We've found an exercise program aimed at kids like Kaylia .... it's at the uni and starts next term.

I've bolted the grinder stand to the floor and it's very good .... solid as!   I'm really enjoying the shed time at present.

#986 Wednesday 10 September

Phew .... we've survived the "super moon"!  Kaylia had a good swimming session after school with Kerrie ..... and she was very mellow as a result.  At bed time she just went straight off to sleep.

Most nights now are "accident free" with a dry bed.  This has been achieved by emptying the tank before sleep, at midnight and at 5am.  Sometimes she wakes herself .... but usually I have to rouse her out of a very deep sleep.  This can be quite difficult.

Evening:  she came home tired .... school reports that all the kids are difficult ... but Kaylia more than most!  She seems to be in the stage of "testing" .... which most kids do at 3 or 4 ..... she does it at 10.

I had a good shed day .... making a stand for my bench grinder.  

It's assembled from small pieces of scrap steel .... welded together into usable lengths

... and in there is a piece from the old Midland abattoir .... history!

#985 Monday 8 September

School today.  Kaylia has "nailed" the pronunciation .... she very carefully starts with the S and then the C sound ... then goes to the OOL sound.  She is making good progress in many areas .... now her parents just need to get the anxiety attacks fixed.  These are getting better and last for a shorter time ....

 It was quite a storm last night .. very heavy rain and strong winds.  Today is shaping up to be similar!

Evening:  Sometimes we are "gob smacked" by things that Kaylia says .... that show a much stronger language familiarity than we are expecting.   I made her something to eat and she very nicely said "Thankyou Daddy" as she took it.  I responded "That was good talking Kaylia!" ..... and she promptly came back with .... "Yeah"

#984 Sunday 7 September

During the day yesterday, Kaylia was highly stimmy ..... it was really hard to get through to her or to get any response ....Naomi reminded me later that the day was very windy and the stimming is common on windy days.

Today will be an Aunty Moo day .... but Kaylia was "nagging" so much that we gave her some time out. After a while, she decided to come out of her room .... she had sorted herself out .... and she was a different girl!  We are very happy that she is learning to self-manage her anxiety.

Evening:  it's been a good day ..... she really is a delight.  We go through some bad spells at times with the anxiety attacks .... and worry for her future is always with us .... but these are good times overall.

#983 Friday 5 September

Kaylia has school sports day today .... she's quite pleased about it.  She carefully enunciates the sounds .... She even gets her faction name perfectly .... "Badgingarra"!!   The only downside is that they want parent spectators ..... Oh Yuck!!! That means me!

We've just watched a "school flash mob" .... cool ..... Kaylia did her usual thing of standing in the midst of the dancing crowd watching everyone else.

Later:  we're on the way home .... via the city... and we're at a different Bunnings.  This one has some intriguing games in the playground .... Kaylia is working them out.

#982 Wednesday 3 September

Sheesh ...... it's 2am ..... she's been awake for about an hour and she's waking up even more.  It time for the iPad and headphones because she's not going to sleep .... and neither are we. The lunar chart says that we're a few days before the full moon so her lack of sleep is right on pattern.

 Take that! ..... all you lunar sceptics!

I remain convinced that there's a direct correlation between her behaviour and the lunar cycles.  There's no scientific explanation for it .... but it is too clear to say that it doesn't exist.

.... and there is too much anecdotal support to ignore it. 

Does anyone have any ideas?

Morning ..... She slept after a while .... and after awhile I was able to cease listening for signs that she was waking again .... and sleep myself.

At breakfast time this morning a "bloggable event" occurred ..... each morning someone does her hair and so far it has always been either plaits or ponytails or a pigtail.  This morning she wanted something different ..... "Hollywood Number One" ..... this is the top-of-the-head sort of pigtail made by her bending over so her hair is all hanging down ... then the band is put on. Naomi usually does this on Sundays .... but this morning she just stood up and bent over! Very funny.

#981 Tuesday 2 September

We recently had reason to purchase one of these for the centre .... and I thought that Kaylia would probably like it too .... and it would be interesting to see her reactions.  This is her "Tumbler"

(Photo later)

It was at this point that Kaylia dissolved into a bout of ????? .... it lasted a while and was very upsetting .... and didn't stop till Naomi came home.

#980 Sunday 31 August

(Happy Birthday Anne!)

Kaylia's had a good night.   She's developing a strange little bedtime ritual .... she comes upstairs .... seems to settle ... and then bounces out of bed, rounds downstairs, thumps and yells for about 2 minutes .... the races back upstairs and settles properly.   She's a funny munchkin at times.

3:30pm. She's in the middle of a bad time .... something seems to be hurting her .... maybe .... but she can't tell us ... and we can only make very broad guesses .... we feel terrible ... we want to make it better for her but nothing seems to work.  

..... hold that .... in desperation I tried Ibuprofen and she has quietened .... we're hold our breath.

While all this is going on, we can't do anything ourselves.

#979 Saturday 30 August

It's been a good night.  Kaylia was tired last night after lots of swimming ..... she took herself off to bed and slept.

Today Kerrie is taking her on the train..... and this is what they found in the city!

Cool eh?

Later:  we've had a lot of rain in the past day .... and this afternoon I noticed that a drainage system that I had built 10 years ago is actually flowing for the first time.

The past 10 years have been so dry that the drains have not been needed.

#978 Thursday 28 August

4:30am and it's another wet bed. I misread the signs .... and thought "I'll wait .... she's not restless enough."

I won't make that mistake again.

8pm. Naomi is home again and Kaylia is very happy.   Despite having her favorite person back she still had an anxiety attack this afternoon that required a lot of TLC to get her through.  She was asking about "HOLIDAY!!!" as usual .... and at one point, Naomi asked her "Which is best?  Holiday or Mummy?"  .... the answer..... "MUMMY!!!"

#977 Wednesday 27 August

It's 5am .... she's been up for a while.  It's been an unsettled night .... story time didn't happen because the wifi at the villa had failed   .... then there was a wet bed at 11pm ..... then, after a wee run at 4am, she hasn't settled again.  Ah well .....

10:30am  .... and she didn't settle again!  She was up and down till shower time .... she would come up and warm her ice cold legs against me .... then back downstairs again!  Needless to say neither of us slept much.  Once in the shower, she wanted a cold shower!!  Brrr!

Kerrie did her "ice bucket challenge" ..... Brrrr!  This challenge is raising funds for research into ALS .... and there's an interesting twist here .... I've been looking into the biochemistry of the effect of the levels of free glutamate in our diet .... and it impacts on ALS as well as autism .... and many other disorders.  There seems to be a real "trail to follow" in this.  There are many confirming incidental factors without any conflicts.  Stay posted.

We're all looking forward to Naomi's return tomorrow.





In the meantime ..... this is at Statham Quarry nearby in Boya ....

#976 Monday 25 August

Kaylia's had a good day at school .... and when she got home she wanted to know all about the 5 weeks till "holiday at Yanchep"!  She's in "hose/bath mode" at the moment.

Kerrie has been nominated for the ice-bucket challenge and plans to do it this afternoon!

#975 Sunday 24 August

We were expecting Kaylia to get annoyed again when Naomi went to the airport last night ..... but bribery works!  A visit to Red Rooster for tea and all is forgiven.  I don't know why she likes RR .... but it seems to be the ultimate in her mind.

Once we were home, it was the usual upstairs - downstairs routine before settling to sleep.

Today it will be Aunty Moo's and the usual routine.

3pm ..... back at home.  Neefi was at Mim's so it was the usual lively conversation.   We loaded the chairs onto the trailer and headed home .... after a detour to Maxine's.

Maxine has come across a research paper where a large number of autopsies of children at ages 2 to 20 were studied.  There were children with and without autism. 

The study showed that the brain selects the neural links it needs as the child grows and discards the un-needed links.  It was found that in normal children the links had dropped to 27% by an early age .... where in children with autism, the number of links only dropped to 57%!  This would explain the sensory overload aspects of autism.

Not that this really helps us .... but it points in a direction for future study.  Why the difference?

Then home.  The chairs are unloaded and installed.  One of the chairs needed repairs and I still haven't got it working properly.  Fortunately the "rocker" is fine.

Kaylia has been under the hose and is now in the bath.

Kerrie is sitting in the sun on the balcony .... in one of the chairs we've replaced!  I think that one of the chairs will become the "balcony chair".  I'm scavenging parts from the other .... so it will eventually be burnt.