Knowing that the children really don't cope with busy, choatic, loud party scenarios when they are anxious we always have a celebration at home that allows them to still experience the "New Year thing". So we set them challenge activity bags, or envelopes, a bit similar to our advent thing, but this time purely about the … Continue reading NYE 2017
Christmas day this year was kept relatively small - it had to be, we were going away and had to fit everything in our boot. It meant that we were literally left with stuff from Santa and our stockings. Everything else given before we came away was opened ahead of time. Anything else had to … Continue reading Christmas Day 2017
For advent, we try to take the focus away from it being so much about "ooooo people are going to give me stuff" and add messages of family, charity and special time. So to combat that, alongside a chocolate calendar, the children get a challenge and activity calendar. Each day they get a little envelope … Continue reading Advent
Knowing that it gets busy and there's a lot of ground to cover, and that Caitlin would require lots of help in terms of mobility... we booked Monday-Thursday, term time in the autumn-winter season. It'd be quieter, we'd be in no rush and as long as we did everything we wanted to once, we'd be … Continue reading Disneyland Paris
So.... the weekend came. We were heading to Kent. Why add Kent to our trip to Disneyland? Well the children had been asking loads about Mumma and Daddy and our pasts: where we went to school, college, university; what we liked as children; what we wanted to be when we grew up; which houses we … Continue reading A weekend in Kent
As mentioned in a previous post (A birthday treasure hunt) my birthday is sandwiched in between Logan and Caitlin's birthday. Last year was a "big" birthday for me, and I had been clinging on to that being a spectacular occassion where I could be selfish and let my hair down and just do "me" for … Continue reading What about my birthday? What about me?
ARGH... we thought we had it, we really did... But despite being involved in the planning and prep, despite having it said to him over and over... because the Birthday Treasure Hunt was held on Caitlin's birthday weekend, Logan has gotten it into his head that it was her party and he's not allowed one. … Continue reading Confusion: Logan and birthdays
Birthdays. Celebrations. Adopted Children. Family Time. Stress. They've had a few birthdays with us previously, each with a different approach to celebration and each with the same end result... extremely anxious children, emotional behaviour and low self esteem. Don't get me wrong, from an outsider's perspective, the celebrtations they have had have been a huge … Continue reading A birthday treasure hunt
Caitlin was at craft club at our Gym. She fell over, and bumped her head. They checked her over and saw she was ok, physcially, but they aren't aware of the mental implications. Caitlin withdraws in times of anxious-ness, so instead of crying and showing she's hurt or worried, instead of saying she needed to … Continue reading Triggers: small and misread
Nanna and Grandad had booked a caravan just outside of Saundersfoot, well, I say "booked a caravan" I actually mean, arranged to stay in a friend's caravan. I will not link the place here, because frankly it was horrific; it was a wet week, but it was less damp outside of the caravan. Anyhow, we … Continue reading Gate crashing!
A Pleasant Chaos 