Life is so hectic that I only get to blog if I stay up really late, way after everyone else is sleeping. But usually I am too tired to do that.

So here's a catch up blog post. Although I have so much to blog about that I can't possibly fit it all into one blog post!

So, spring has sprung and Rosie is loving the outdoors! All she wants to do is play outside in the garden. She can't comprehend that it is sometimes raining or too cold to go out. So she sits at the back door, banging at it and screaming. If someone does take her outside her little face lights up in delight. Fortunately for Rosie she has three big siblings who all adore her enough to take her out. Between the lot of us we bounce her on the huge trampoline, push her in Barneys old baby swing, take her for rides up the street in Barneys old push-along car, or play with her in the sandpit. Because she can't walk yet she actually grazes her little knees - through her trousers - from crawling across the patio. But she doesn't care because she just loves being outside.

She has had a bit of a dodgy hair cut - as you can see! Her fringe was always in her eyes, no matter how often we clipped it out of the way. So a cut was in order. But it is very hard to cut a wriggling baby's hair when they just won't sit still! It will look better when it grows a bit. Hehehe. At least she can see again!

Barney has been having a pretty good time of it lately - in comparison to how things have been. The medication is really working now and he doesn't get anywhere near as anxious as he had been. I keep reminding myself that the medicine is only a temporary measure, just to give him (and us) a break from the trauma. The last week he went into school without any tears at all. We are still doing the same routine of going in late, me staying with him in the staff room until he is calm enough etc. It is still taking him quite a while to get into class, but he goes when he is ready and he doesn't cry any more. Which is a hugely positive step in the right direction! I am so proud of him. But in the back of my mind I'm always dreading the inevitability of him coming off of the medication.

I am reading a book called 'Homeschooling The Child With Asperger Syndrome' at the moment. Marty and I have had a lot of discussions about it and we haven't yet come to any final decisions. I tried a little homeschooling weekend with Barney, without his knowledge. I basically let him learn about whatever he wanted to for the day, and he had the best time ever. He watched the new 'Wonders of the Solar System' BBC documentary, which is aimed at adults and not easy to understand. However he was transfixed by it! He went into school and told the entire class all about the planet Saturn; that its rings are made of ice, that it has its own moons etc. Then he spent an hour on youtube watching various movies about space. In the photo above he is watching a NASA documentary about the astronauts working on the space station. He decided that he needed a noticeboard in his bedroom because "I now study space Mummy and I need a notice board to put all my work on". We used some of his DLA money to buy a notice board and he's gotten busy filling it up with various space projects.

On Monday he had his first visit from F, the NHS Autism support lady (I totally have no idea what her official title is!) She spent almost two hours with him in our living room. He spent the entire two hours showing off. (As anyone who knows him can well imagine!!) She brought him a worry box, and a school/home schedule to follow each day. The idea of the worry box is that every time he has a worry, instead of coming to me in tears and panic he writes his worry down and posts it into the box. Then at the end of the day I empty the box, pick 5 worries to discuss and we set a timer to 10 minutes whilst we go over his worries. In theory it's a good idea; and it has worked for some of his smaller worries. But he has been hesitant to fill it with his darker concerns. The things that really tear him up when he's not on the medication. A few times he had come to me the way he does, panicking about death, or murder or whatever - but when I've reminded him to put it in his worry box he says no. On probing the matter it became obvious what the problem was. He doesn't want to have to be reminded of the sad worry later in the day. He said to me 'but if I put my worry about you dying into the box then we will have to talk about it again later and I will get all upset again'.

Barney and Marty as supposed to be going to England next week to visit family. Well, the idea of the trip isn't so much about visiting anyone. It's more to do with Barney having a practice run on a plane, and having some time with his Daddy. But whether on not he will get on the plane is anyone's guess! The tickets were dirt cheap, so it's no big loss if they can't go. Today I made him a book about the trip, as advised by every autism-person that I meet. He still keeps telling me that he might not be able to handle it. I hope he does as they would both have a great time together. Tarja is going away with her friend at the same time, so it will be only me and my first and last born at home. Here are a couple of pages from his book.