School runs, 'sweenies' and secondary school!

Every month I complain of how busy life is and reassure myself that the following month won't be quite so crazy. That it will be quieter, less rushed, more time to relax. But it never seems to work out that way.

Bedtimes are getting later just to get the essential chores done. I don't mean things like cleaning or vaccuuming. I mean real essentials like making sure there are clean plates, and clean clothes and food on the table.

The kids are struggling to sleep in the heat so their bedtimes become more stressful leaving us even less time to get on with everything that needs doing.

And juggling the 3 of them can be stressful in itself - on Monday morning thinking I had the morning off school run as Richard took D in, quite literally at the same time, I received a text saying D had forgotten his guitar, Miss T's pre-school phoned on the landline to say someone there had chickenpox (which she needs to avoid due to being on Methotexate) and J's school phoned to say he had forgotten his lunch (he hadn't - he was going to his new school for lunch so didn't need it with him that day). So much for a morning off!

Today's post is just a little round up of this very busy week we've had and for the kids to know how proud I am of them right now.

D recently had music concert at school where he played guitar. He's only been learning less than a year but seems to be coming on leaps and bounds. I didn't make it to the concert but Richard tells me he was beaming on stage - so happy and relaxed. I love hearing him practice at home too whereas at one stage when he first started to learn it was painful listening to him play.

Miss T is doing remarkably well considering everything that is going on in her little body. She has surprised us all by staying so well whilst on the Methotrexate considering her immune system is suppressed on it.

We went up for a Great Ormond Street appointment last week and they were really pleased with her progress too. They've put her back on naproxen again as we had gradually weaned her off it but she is still in a lot of pain at times and still has a lot of swelling in the left foot so the doctor is hoping that a further month on naproxen alongside the MTX should help.

And J has had some brilliant secondary school settling in sessions. I'm still in disbelief that my little boy is big enough for secondary school and a further shock is just how amazing his turnaround has been concerning school life.

If you'd asked any of his teachers at the beginning of his primary school years where they thought J would be by the end of primary school, I would be willing to bet that not one of them would have predicted this. They'd basically given up on him, written him off as naughty, knocked his confidence until he hit rock bottom.

It took 3 years of home school and then a further year and a half at a really amazing school where they understood him. He has done so well. Whereas at one stage phonecalls from the school would be for me to go and pick him up because he wasn't coping, now the phonecalls are to tell me how exceptionally wel he is doing and how he is a role model to the other children.

Because he's in the right environment for him, it means he can also now fulfil his academic potential which we have always known to be huge.

He flew through his 11plus exams and is off to one of the best secondary schools in the country. Somewhere where the ASD kids are not just put up with and tolerated, or seen as a nuisance to be accomodated. No - this place values their ASD kids so much as they recognise that it is often these children who develop exceptional talents in their areas of interest and make breakthroughs that can literally change the world in their chosen fields.

So we are really hopeful that it is the right place for J. The early indications are positive based on how much he has enjoyed his transition sessions. We are so proud of him for everything he has done over the past few years to get to where he is now.

And finally a #funee from Miss T to end on. This happened when we had water play out one day in this hot weather:

Miss T: I want to wear my sweeny
Me: Sweeny?
Miss T: Yes Sweeny.
Me (remembering that she sometimes makes up words when she can't remember the exact word - like the parachute / sharon fruit day): Do you mean bikini?
Miss T: Yes bikini

Hot enough for water play - yay!

A photo posted by Rebecca Beesley (@rebeccabeesley) on Jun 5, 2015 at 7:58am PDT