Week 8 Day 1 Couch to 5k; Manly Beach

A rocky start to the day.  T2 has a 'thing' about water and I left him for literally 60 seconds and he flooded the bathroom.  If it was another 60 seconds water would have been running down the stairs.  Then when we got him to clean it up and he knew he did the wrong thing he ran down stairs and broke a tea cup.  This was all before 6.30am! After a big clean-up I headed out for my run. It involved 5 minutes walking and 28 minutes running.  I felt really good.

After that T1 and I went to the shops and whipped up another batch of rocky road for teachers/therapists etc.  Then our last school visit before the big first day of school.  The twins met their teacher for next year.  Its all really exciting (and terrifying)!

Then it was the last swimming lesson for the year.  All year I've sat with the same two mums at swimming.  We kind of clicked and throughout the year we've all had injuries, sicknesses and talked about the ups and downs of motherhood.  I never mentioned the twins' autism but mentioned that T2 needed support and the implication was there.  They never asked questions or treated me or my sons as pariahs.  They just accepted us.  One of the mum's is moving away and we'll probably never see each other again.  Its funny that we only officially introduced ourselves today though.  We know all the kids names and our work history etc etc.  I'll really miss them.

More Rocky Road!

Picture perfect day at Manly

So gorgeous at Manly this afternoon

In the late arvo today I took off to my mum's to help her look after some Japanese students she is hosting.  She told me they were difficult, and didn't seem to want to be there - I was a little nervous.  Then I thought - "wait, I look after two kids with autism 24/7 - how hard can these girls be?"  And really, it was a piece of cake!  We went to Manly and it was a gorgeous, gorgeous afternoon.  The girls wanted to build sandcastles and I've just realised that I was overenthusiastic about digging gigantic sand holes and my back is now KILLING me - bring on the neurofen!.  After about an hour of sandcastle and hole digging I suggested a swim.  The water was great and I took a board in and one of the girls managed to catch a couple of waves.  I actually caught one too - I'd forgotten how FUN it is to boogey board!  We were in the water for at least an hour.  Then we went for a walk and I tried to get them to talk about themselves.  They were quite sweet really and tomorrow we're taking them to the zoo while the twins are at preschool. I could have done with a rest day - but never mind.  The zoo is pretty a cool place and I can never say no to my mum.

OT; no run again; and kids growing up-or not

The bad news is I didn't run today.  The good news is I had an amazing sleep - no security alarms, no kids waking me up at 3am and deciding to stay awake.  But tomorrow I am determined to get started on Week 8 of Couch to 5k...I'm so close to the end.  I stupidly dropped an enormous pepper grinder on the top of my foot which is hurting but I don't think it will affect my running.

T2 had his last occupational therapy (OT) session for the year.  He was a bit distracted but made a gorgeous Christmas tree.  We LOVE our OT and drive 40 minutes across Sydney every week to see her.  She gave both boys a cute Christmas decoration and even gave ME a present.  She is so sweet.  She made the most beautiful smelling candle (some people are so clever!). I'm saving it for a special Christmas night bath.

T2 got the snowmen

T1 got these cute reindeer

I got this beautiful candle

T2 made this - cutting, scrunching and gluing

My eldest went off to a Year 5/6 dinner tonight.  Next year it will be him graduating primary school.  He looked so grown up in his new outfit.  He really is gorgeous (I'm not biased!)  I saw the next 7 years flash by, dreading when he will be an official adult - I want the time to slow down.  Then I think of the twins, particularly T2, and have the opposite reaction.  What if they aren't 'all grown up' at 18?  T2 has so much potential but I'm sure no-one could accurately tell me what he is going to be like at 18.  I HATE the damn uncertainty about the twins' future.  I know T1 is going to be 'ok', I just wish I could be more sure of T2.  I WANT that crystal ball!

Week 7 Bonus Run; Fruitcake and peanut-free Rocky-Road

Last night my neighbour's security alarm went off at 3am so I overslept a little and decided to do today's run in the arvo.  Basically I just did a repeat of the 5 minute walk and 25 minute run.  After two days of rest my legs felt pretty fresh and I got through the run relatively easily.  Tomorrow I start Week 8, which involves 28 minutes of running.  The end of this program is in sight!

This morning my mother-in-law cooked our Christmas fruitcake.  If you want to make this fruitcake for Christmas you'll have to wait until next year, as the fruit has been stewing for a month!  Today was the day to mix the flour, butter and eggs in and cook for 3 hours.  Then she wrapped it in a tea towel and the cake needs to be wrapped for 12 hours.  My mother-in-law told me today she remembers her great aunt wrapping the cake.  I can't wait to eat some of this cake.  I'm a fruitcake and pudding kind of girl, whereas my husband is a pavlova kind of guy.  Too bad- more for me :-)!

can't wait to sample this

wrapped up for 12 hours

the next day I was allowed  taster -not the size of that slice.  It was amazing!

Later I found a recipe for rocky road (here) which T1 helped me to make for gifts for therapists, swimming teachers and preschool teachers. I added almonds instead of peanuts and jelly snakes instead of Turkish Delight. The family liked it and so did I but I thought there were a few too many marshmallows.  My husband told me a beautiful gesture, that one of the senior members of his staff pulled him aside at work today and said how he knows its been a tough time and gave him $50 (which my husband tried to give back!!).  This gesture brought tears to my eyes.  Its not the money, just the kindness and the thought.  This guy is on the rocky road list - EVERY year!

4 blocks of milk Lindt and 1 block of dark Lindt - yum

T1 was keen to help

We put in jelly snakes instead of Turkish Delight

yummo!

Tonight I'm feeling pretty good after battling a mild headache all day (I wonder if the mega B12 dose helped?).  Although I withdrew from anatomy this semester I craftily downloaded every lecture for the course so that I'll be super ready for Semester 1 next year.  So I'm going to listen to a lecture on blood and read.

Do you have an awesome recipe for Rocky Road?  If so please share, I want to try a few different recipes.

Cricket Party; No run today

Yesterday was my eldest's birthday party.  A group of ten 11 & 12 year-olds descended.  We whisked them off to our local indoor cricket centre where they had a great time doing drills, skills and different games of indoor cricket.  After a couple of hours they returned to our home for lunch where they ate EVERYTHING!  There was alot of food and they made short work of it.  Most of the boys had beautiful manners and were a pleasure to take out.  Then we had the cake, which was (of course!) a cricket cake and then we drove the boys home.  My son had a fabulous time and we were all left completely exhausted after a weekend of cooking and preparing for the big day.

They ate 3 trays of this, 3 trays of sausage rolls, 2 trays of mini pizzas, chips, lollies, cake.......

A hurried shot of the cake - the hungry masses were waiting (excuse the sponge!)

Party preparations; Playdate and T1 to play on the SCG!

What a day!  Exhausting but so rewarding.  I woke up hoping it would rain so that I didn't have to get up and coach cricket.  Don't get me wrong, once I'm there I love it.  But the last two weeks T1 has been a little...well....difficult.  Today he was wonderful AND the coordinator asked if I wanted my son to play cricket during the lunch break at the 5th Ashes test at the Sydney Cricket Ground....uuummm...YES PLEASE!!!  I told T1 before cricket that I really needed him to be a good helper today and that if he was I would buy him some McDondalds cookies (you know those ones in the little boxes?).  I also lavished on the praise all throughout the hour.  He was great.  He played the shot of the day during continuous cricket. The ball sailed over the kids' heads.  It was an amazing shot for a six year old.

Later on my mother-in-law and I cooked sausage rolls, mini pizzas and made my eldest son's birthday cake for his party tomorrow.  Then when the twins went to sleep we made lolly bags (well boxes, actually).

keeping the twins from eating them was a challenge :-)

Yummy chocolate cake

With turf and pitch laid.  We ran out of choccie sticks so its back to the shops in the morning

Making lolly bags was so fun - these babies are bursting at the seams!

Then, because I like to double...actually triple book things...my eldest had a mate over to play (or 'hang out' at this age).  My husband took them to the cricket nets, they swam, played table tennis and FIFA and were not an ounce of trouble.  The friend had a younger sibling about the twins age.  At pickup he and T1 played really nicely for about 45 minutes.  I was really impressed at how T1 took turns, shared and how they made up games.  I'm thinking that T1 is ready for regular playmates himself.

Finally,  my husband and eldest are now having a good old time at the Bon Jovi concert.  I hope they love it.  It should be an amazing concert.

Oh my aching feet.  Oh, and no, I didn't run today!

Week 7 Couch to 5k Complete and Big Decisions

Yesterday and today  I did day 2 and 3 of Week 7 of the program.  So it was 5 minutes walking and then 25 minutes of running.  I will try and do a bonus run over the next few days.  I think my body's coping pretty well, only getting a little stiff in the legs.

Its been a really tough couple of days but thankfully I'm feeling good about everything on this beautiful Friday arvo.  Yesterday was another story.... Wednesday night T2 didn't sleep very well and woke up at 3am.  The next day his shadow emailed saying he had one of the worst mornings at preschool ever.  When I arrived to pick him up in the afternoon he was curled up in a corner sound asleep.  He looked like such an angel, poor thing.  When I woke him up he became hysterical, so I cancelled his afternoon ABA session and he eventually calmed down.  The same day I found out that the university I am doing my course through isn't offering my practical until the end of next year.  This was really disappointing because I was wanting to get a job while I study next year.  As most of you with kids with ASD know money can be tight and my degree won't be worth much without practical experience.

Last night was late night shopping so I thought I'd finish doing my Christmas shopping.  I rang my husband to check in - and he was at the hospital with my eldest!  The table tennis table had fallen on his leg.  We were all quite worried as my son is very serious about his cricket and the injury was very close to his knee.  Thankfully it appears to be mainly bad bruising.

my poor baby :-(

I also met my mum for dinner and the most ENORMOUS burger!  Earlier in the day I popped into a local cafe with my mother-in-law and shared a yummy brownie.

yum!

I couldn't work out how to eat this monster!

Thankfully T2 slept really welllast night, had a beautiful day at preschool and a great ABA session this arvo.  I decided to put off my anatomy subject and do a tafe course over summer so I can work while I complete my degree.  This was a big decision and hopefully I'll be able to do anatomy 1st semester next year.

So T2 is back to his usual self, my eldest's leg is not as bad as it might have been and I've now worked out a way to get some work while I study. And Christmas pressies are just about done! After a couple of stressful days its great to end on a good note.  Now, if I could just eradicate this nagging headache!  Have a great Friday arvo.

Week 7 Day 1 of Couch to 5k: clinic meeting

I slept in this morning, so went for my run at about 3.30pm this arvo...and it was hot hot hot!  My weather app said it was 26 degrees celsius (79 degrees F), but I'm SURE it was lying, it felt MUCH hotter.  The sun was beating down on my head and it was really tough.  On the home straight I ran into three ducks waddling on the path. So cute!  When I got home I did my strengthening exercises and it was straight into the pool - ahh...it felt so good after a hot run.  Tomorrow I'm going to do my run early!

three little ducks went out one day.....

This morning was T2's clinic meeting.  When a child with ASD is doing an ABA program, the therapy team have regular meetings to discuss progress and any problems.  Usually these meetings are every 4 weeks or monthly. Today's main topic of conversation was T2's inconsistent behaviour- either behaving perfectly or really horribly.  So my incredible behaviour analyst (BCBA) devised a new strategy where my son chooses what tasks/questions he does and in what order.  After a set certain number of tasks he decides what he wants to play or do.  As he completes each task he crosses it off the master list.  So I typed up the master list and my junior therapist gave it a go this arvo and it worked a treat!  Hopefully it will keep working well.  He seems to have a real need to know when things are happening and have input into how the session is structured.  Eventually the aim is to fade out the detail and have a list of topics rather than every task or question.

My son's master list - notice the wh qus and occupations :-)

I keep my clinic notes in a pretty notebook - otherwise they'd get lost

Then it was off to the boys' swimming lesson.  They were the only two in their class today and the teacher really tried to work on their strokes and technique. The boys were terrific and the teacher is very patient.

After the twins went to sleep, my husband, eldest and I watched Jack Reacher, which we recorded from Foxtel.  I really enjoyed it, even though my son and I had to look away a few times.  Love the baddie in that movie, I think I've seen him on the BBC, he is really BAD :-)