#1347 Saturday 17 September

Its really strange that for years we have been battling to curb Kaylia's food intake ..... now within a few months we find that we are worried about her not eating!! What a change.   I much prefer the new problem!

Tonight we all went to Cold Rock (icecream) for a treat after tea. When we arrived, we joked with Kaylia it would be ok for her to stay in the car if she wanted to. Its good to have that level of communication with her.

During tea I opened a bottle of my homebrew ginger beer ..... It went everywhere!!!!

#1346 Friday 16 September

She was very tired last night .... but happy.  She'd had an excursion day at school ... followed by time with Joe & Ellie.   Of course J+E are young and capable of lots of tickles ..... so Kaylia took advantage of that and I think it made her even more tired.  She went straight to sleep at 7pm.

Kaylia accepted J+E straight off ..... she has a way of showing this .... she "claims" the person.  I think it's going to be good.

#1345 Wednesday 14 September

Its afternoon ..... Kaylia is "in the zone" ..... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.  Many of you will know her stimming drone.

It's such a pleasant time that it would be easy  to feel guilty!

#1344 Tuesday 13 September

Naomi's home!   As Kaylia and I were preparing for school this morning I said "What's happening today?". "MUMMY!!"

..... and then this evening we had Joe and Ellie here for tea .... we all got on well and they will join us on Thursday to be the new aupairs.  They're from UK.  Joe has a sports degree and Ellie an art degree.

#1343 Monday 12 September

Kaylia was very happy to be at school again.  It's so good to see how happy all her class is together.  We .... Kaylia and I ..... arrived first and I watched as the other kids turned up and greeted each other...... they were clearly very caring to each other.   It's a really positive pleasant atmosphere.... such a good place for Kaylia to be!

Naomi comes home tomorrow.  Now that! Will be good!

#1342 Sunday 11 September

 2nd edition!   The previous post was written early today while Kaylia was still asleep.  Since then we've risen..... I've had breakfast .... but not Kaylia.  Her appetite has gone down to the point that we have to insist that she has something .... we try to make it a nutritious snacks.   Then it was "Car!"..... 

I'd put on the calendar that we would visit Maxine today ....so Kaylia was hot to trot.   But when we got there, she didn't want to visit .... Just wanted to drive!     So we drove. ..... Up to Wundowie (about 60kms east of Perth) where Maxine, Peter and I lived 60 years ago.

This is the house we lived in.  It was built while we were there.

In the picture to the right, the window with the sunshade over it was the bedroom that Peter and I shared.










This is all that's left of the dairy where we learned how good milk is .... fresh from the cow!

              .... and this used to be the road to town! 


               It's just about reclaimed by nature now.

4pm We got home from our travels at about 2pm ..... and since then I have half finished the task of replacing the toilet pan and cistern in the upstairs bathroom .....

..... at the same time as cleaning up the disappointing mess left by the recently departed aupairs ..... loads of washing just left for me to do ..... The side room has been left in a filthy state .... no cleaning done at at all.  I think we have had worse departures in the 24 aupairs over the years ... but not by much!  I think that considering that it was not a rushed departure,  a new record has been set.

#1341 Sunday 11 September

This is an extract from another blog ....... It was about parenting in general but it's especially relevant for parents of an auty one.  That blog spoke of a marriage breakdown rate of 33% ...... but for us in the auty world, it's a rate of 85%!!

So.....
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Here are some tips you can implement every day:

Schedule in 10 minutes every night as an appointment in your phone to talk and reconnect

Make some form of intimate contact every day, whether it's hugging, holding hands or caressing

Save up for a date night once a month

Write each other small notes of gratitude daily thanking each other for their hard work.

Listen to one another and speak using positive language, without casting blame.

Engage in activities you used to enjoy before children. This might be cooking together or watching your favourite movies once the kids are in bed.

It's never too late to start making small investments in your relationship that will reap large rewards for you as a couple and your family as a whole.
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See what I mean?   This person says "You should put your partner before your children.".   This concept is so hard .....   but so right.  

For us, one of the most important things we can do for Kaylia is to successfully survive the autism experience.