I don't usually set Resolutions but if I did, this would be the one that I would aim for.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Merry Christmas from Oatie
I don't usually set Resolutions but if I did, this would be the one that I would aim for.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Why can't I just be a Mum for a day... rather than a radical?
Why can't people who have handicapped children who are in wheels, just be able to pick up their kids just like everyone else?
Why can't people who are handicapped mentally or physically just enjoy Disneyland or other "magical" places like everyone else? Why did a few moronic corrupt people ruin the was magical experience and just add to the plate of the disabled parents life?
Why, can't every day be like the Saturday we just had? Our local CP association had their xmas bash and it was awesome, the dance-floor was filled with wheelchairs, walkers, canes and people holding the hands of their beloved with CP. The place was buzzing! and there was food and crafts and a photo booth and EVEN Santa came! No one made excuses for their child dribbling or rocking or jerking or anything as we all understand the other families without even having to say a word. Everyone could just relax and it was magic for me.
Just today, (we did have a snow storm at the beginning of the week),... and then when my husband took the kids in on the day the school board said it was open as usual, the "path" that the school board said that they put in just for us (total lie, the principal the Winter before we joined broke her ankle outside the school) so they put a path for HER temporary wheelchair!!! not for my son as this man from the school board was quoted saying in the paper.
Then! Then! the ramp wasn't even shovelled and the principle then had the audacity to imply that the kids should have been at home... when they sent an email saying school open as usual!!?!?!?!
Anyway that was all 2-3 days ago... today, I couldn't park anywhere, everywhere had 1-2 feet of snow like a wall... any able bodied person wouldn't even notice it as you'd just naturally step over it! can you get a wheelchair through that? no! can you lift a wheelchair over that? no! I was then 20 minutes late waiting and waiting for any space that looked like I could haul a stroller and then a wheelchair over... I can't use the field as that's covered in snow and so in the end I just went to get the kids and worry about getting the wheelchair back to my car afterwards... My friend's mom who cracked her skull outside the school one winter from lack of snow and ice management/removal... her husband offered to help lift the wheelchair (hes older than MY dad) and I was like, really really sweet of you but no...(so I'm about to burst into tears as I've just tried to walk into school to pick up my kids and can't) and now I have the people who need help themselves wanting to help me... as he'd just recovered from shingles and still not all better. I don't know from where, but a man about my age appeared and... was my wheelchair ANGEL! he lifted Oatie with me over the 2 foot wall of snow and the stroller too! A stranger, whom I've never met, I hugged... I can't believe a stranger was prepared to help me and Bashed him with the wheelchair when I slipped... helped me and our own children's school doesn't give a dime.
The school board won't return my calls, the principle on the phone was like what do you want me to do about it... she won't even verbally take a stand behind oatie, or push for the school board to do anything... nothing.. she doesn't care either. I now feel that that they want Oatie and his wheelchair to @-off... that is what I'm feeling.
I've met nicer people who were very angry with me.... ( when I worked at the airport and told them that the airline had overbooked their flight so they couldn't go on their dream vacation as they had planned and saved for 3 years for...)
So that's that. My kids principle has totally disgusted me, I can't believe that she was in a wheelchair for a month or so and can be so cold... and that she is a mother of multiple kids and doesn't even care that one of her pupils, can't even get in or out of the school... she doesn't even care. Why aren't people like this SACKED!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Smudging, Axel and arghghghgh
Oatie, was seen by his brother and sister today, screaming at his aid... screaming at her.. (I don't like the aid, it's the one who should be sacked....) but Oatie doesnt know i don't like her as I never have to interact with her and all i say to her ever is bonjour... So I know it's not from me...
So, I dropped my older two off at Skating, and I put him to bed early today, as I'm sure that when he's tired he gets less tolerant, I know that I get less tolerant when I'm tired...
And.... I missed my eldest's Axel... he's been trying to land the darn thing for 2.5 YEARS!!! lol! My friend said that he only landed it because I wasn't there. lol!
One of my friends is tutoring Oatie in English and Maths for an hour a week which he's enjoying....
Well I'm going to make some cookies for a celebratory pudding for when my Karate Kid (with an axel) gets back!
Oh and today I smudged where my cat died.... I really think that there is something in smudging...
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Skate, Swim and Ski...
All of Oatie's activities are kicking in now... Oatie is swimming twice a week with his dad at lunch and then I'm his skating aid on Saturdays' where he is in Mainstream learn to skate programme and then after Christmas he ski's once a week in an 8 week programme!
Oatie has been doing great with his learning this year, but the school is failing him at present. He can get all his sums right etc and then mark his work as a ZERO just because of his penmanship isn't as good as a typical 6 year olds... its on par for the standard Doctor! lol!
One maths concept really annoyed me was him learning to count by two's from 0-10 he drew out the bounce by 2's and he forgot the 7 so it went 0,2,4,6,9,10 so he understood what was asked and the concept and yes I know the 9 should have been an 8... but, guess what mark he got? a big 0 ZERO! not a good try... some of his other sums have been marked incorrect when they were correct... and got a zero for that too! how is that helping him, how is that inspiring him to work hard? How is that good for anyone to build confidence!??!?
I'm annoyed to say the least!
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Mysterious Reading Wallet - won't be saving my pennies for Disney anymore!
The Baby is increasingly mobile, and whilst I'm not complaining after OATie!! it's a full hands on challenge at all times.
Yesterday we decided to read Oatie's school books at the rink, between the arena and the car park, the folder was presumed missing as when we got home, neither I, my eldest son, my husband or I could find it in the car.... not there all day, I checked in full sunlight this morning!!!
After school... TahDah!!! it was back in the trunk!?! I'm like how did it get here?
Well not complaining as now I don't have to replace $10 of books... just weird and i had people looking at the rec centre yesterday and just so weird.
Oh and Disney have introduced a fastpass style thing for disabled people if they go to disney because of a few people abused the system.... We were saving up to go, but now, I don't think I want to.
Some people who have a disabled person in their life say how rosy it is.... well it isn't and it sucks and every day is a huge physical and mental challenge! There I have said it... luckily my blog isn't popular to get the wrath that some peoples blogs have got for saying it.
I would have preferred that Oatie wasn't handicapped... and that right now he would be a smelly hockey player (he loves hockey) than being in a wheelchair. I am not an ice hockey fan... grass.field hockey is what I played and loved.
But life does generally suck, whether its the not being able to all jump out the car like other families, or not being able to get to certain places, or having to push the wheelchair on a 20-40 minute detour because the path hasn't been approved or obviously built yet... or not being able to queue like other families in the theme parks.
So, THANK YOU DISNEY, YOU ARE ON MY BOTTOM PLACES TO GO, it was the one place that someone who is handicapped could feel like magic... and now it's just a place of torture...
Our own local theme park still operate the old Disney Method. on occassion they will make you wait a cycle, but they don't make you have the indignity of being treated like scum.
Apparently there have been at the new Disney system, wheelchairs are now in the queue because that is now where they are sent... only to be pulled out because it's not wheelchair friendly, then to be sent to the front, to then be accused of queue jumping to then be thrust back at the back of the line.... WTF!?! NO THANK YOU DISNEY!
Thursday, October 24, 2013
presentation out the window! lol!
OK, well you know that I'm a neat freak.. and quite possibly related to Monica from friends.... well I'm over it!
I threw that plate firmly i the bin! gone, smashed to smithereens...
I do like it tidy and clean, but not immaculate anymore.... maybe I've grown... who knows...
I don't know if it was by coincidence, but after we smudged our house and cars and ourselves we have felt much better. The kids were really into the ceremony and they actually spontaneously said that they felt much better afterwards, like this angry feeling in different parts of the house and basement have gone! I never knew why they didn't like certain parts of the house... when we had pretty much finished the ceremony, they asked to go back to the basement and made me resmudge where a horrid house guest once stayed.... now they seem happier too...
I have to say I feel better as well, and since that day, I've been happy letting the housework go a bit more... in a nice way... like the laundry room was a tip.... but now I like hey-ho, it's all clean in there, so no worries.
The kids had a skating comp at the weekend, and my son and daughter were in hold, and anyway he took a huge fall for her, and he kept his head way up off the ice and well it was amazing really. I feel like our luck is changing... I didn't want to jinx it, but now for 2 weeks I'm like WOW!
The kids seem more content and Oatie has had way less nightmares?... coincidence?!?!
The house doesn't feel angry anymore when I walk in....
So I owe a huge thank to the my dear friends Phil and Sharon, who suggested we smudge our house.
And no, we're not doing anything really different at all as our weeks are fairly rigid with the kids activities etc... and we've had extra meetings after school and stuff but everyone seems to be taking life in their (excuse the pun) stride a bit more.
Oatie is doing amazingly in the CanSkate, I must get a photo for the blog.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The Press
Oatie had his photo taken for our local rag, to promote disabled people in the community, to improve access for all disabilities...
All was well until when I went to put my skates on the coach shouted at the photographer for walking on the ice... (not my fault), also highlighted that there isn't a waiver form for him to sign for the press to go on the ice....
Well anyway, the photographer got the photos that he wanted anyway,and I think my husband did good damage control.
We enjoyed our thanksgiving weekend, it was super and our baby turned 1!! yes 1!!!
There was something I wanted to blog about and now can't remember what it was.... when I remember I will blog about it lol!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Violation of a handicap parking spot
Today's excuse from a mother in a handicap bay, with no handicap person in the vehicle or collecting of a disabled passenger...
I pulled up, went to get Oatie out in his wheelchair, but first I got out my babies wheels.... and....
This other mother thought she would do the same... SO... there was no blue badge... no handicapped person in the vehicle... and so I plonked Oaties wheelchair right out side the drivers door!!! Voila!
Meanwhile I started to get Oatie and the baby out... She then wound down her window and I was like "can I help you????????" she was just looking at me and then saw the wheelchair,.. so you are collecting a disabled person from the rec centre????!???? Or do you have a disabled person in your vehicle?
Obviously the answer to both was.. NO! So I just looked her in the eye and blinked at her... she said
"I had to pull in here to pull out my hair tie..." I was like RIGHT!?!?!?!
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Do you know someone like this...
OMG,
Well basically there is this one woman who I have to encounter for years, basically lies, does whatever she can to push her kid ahead... stamps her feet, and if she doesn't get her own way she CRIES and her daughter CRIES and they cry all the time! She has done this for YEARS... every year end wrap up, her child gets an award.. EVERY SINGLE YEAR... there are some people who NEVER get one... NEVER! but her kid, each YEAR! She targets her jealous on each and every family that "threatens" her daughter being the best. If her daughter gets 3rd place she cries it's not GOLD!
This woman had been so malicious she sent rude emails about another parent, all because she is jealous of this other parents child. Then her daughter came last in an event and her daughter LIED about it saying she came somewhere else.
Anyway this whole drama unfolded, and I couldn't take the lying anymore, I was prepared to keep my mouth shut.. but then she came to DEFEND the lying.. and I was like ENOUGH is ENOUGH! So yes if you're wondering... she went off to do her sob story and (she vowed to report me) so I guess she did to the organisers... as someone else saw them consoling her...
Oatie has been really tired.., and no news on the therapeutic riding as the school board man hasn't replied... yet.
I'm really tired, I HATE stuff like that.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
We don't want special treatment, just the same level of dignity as others!
Well we have been invited to another meeting to help facilitate this path! Or Area CP govt relations lady will be there to give a mini presentation and support us.
Oatie starts his skating lessons next Saturday!
You would think negotiation for a WARM place that he can get to, to put on his skates would be a breeze, like how hard can it be to find a room, in a "fully inclusive" (they are still working on this point). hence my fight! to find a place for them to put on their skates?
The only room which is really suitable is the referee's room. Consider this, we have 3 ice sheets, one is curling, but the other 1.5 is hockey. We have another ice rink in town too which has large hockey matches at it and then there is one built 1km from our house which is going to be a Elite Hockey centre.
I am not saying I don't like hockey. BUT! when our guys are figure skating, we are on the ice or for the learn to skate programme.
So I am going to propose that this most accessible room be turned into a FLEX room, where by, the Hockey Ref's can use it, and then the MALE figure skaters can use it and so can people who are in wheelchairs.
I know that the argument will be that they (handicapped people can get changed in the swimming changing room). However, the LAZY non handicapped folk, don't put their shoes on the stacks of racks on at the rec centre on the way in to the swimming changing room. So you CAN'T get a wheelchair over them very easily! I have to say, I've taken a leaf out of my friend Phil's book.... I now ROLL OVER THE SHOES, as if they don't want them damaged, then bend down, pick them up and put then on the wrack which is another 3 second's worth of EFFORT!. If you can't be bothered to do something that takes 3 seconds then I can't be bothered to move them out of the way!
So I've been fighting for a changing room for handicapped people!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Success at the town...
Well, we had a great result from the town, we even had our area CP govt relations turn up to support Oatie! Oatie went looking super cute, and when he was asked by the Mayor off line if he had girl friends, Oatie blushed and said no... (all the girls in his class LOVE him!) so much so some of the other boys are jealous. The 6 year old girls LOVE mothering him!
So they basically said that they would look to putting me out of my misery with a dedicated path! Then the kids were all under the weather, Oatie hasn't been at school for a week now.
The off road wheelchair people got back to us which was great.
My friends dad had emergency heart surgery so that was a bit shocking. I found out I was lied to by a friend quite badly... that was interesting...
The disabled skating pilot is going well so far which is good.
Dreading some parts of the next few months... we are looking to sell our home (I hate hate hate selling houses, in the past it has gone wrong/badly) each time I suppose the last few weeks have been a rollercoaster, some ups, some huge downs, and we're just hanging on for the hell of it! Sometimes, I wish I could just let go and just fall off! (just like some of you).
Then trying to keep the balance of everyone and everything... I just now want to smudge our house so badly.
The thought of selling our house on top of everything else, just makes me feel defeated, to be quite honest, how am I to keep a home in immaculate order, with 4 kids, one's a baby, one's handicapped and my husband works really long hours and arhghgghghghghh. 5 cats, mine is peeing and pooping everywhere so the carpet now STINKS! We need to sell our house, for a whole multitude of reasons, the most being wanting or needing to rennovate it so Oatie can use wheels inside the house if he wants to. Having the extra money to do this... Having a main floor bedroom for him... a bathroom that he could use himself one day rather than mummy washing him as a teen... I would also like to return to "school" myself, I have done since i was 21... but I don't know what to study. I know I'd like a different direction, one that works around the kids and I don't have to do a downtown commute.
In-between that the kids principle seems ready to "snap", I don't know why, but she is really short this year,...
Oh and my cats dying, I've had her since I was a teenager and she is shrinking each week. She isn't in pain, but it's painful for me to watch her die. I've tried to tell her she doesn't have to hang on for me (we've been through everything together since I moved out of home).
Being ill with a fever last week really knocked the wind out of my sails. I could really do with 3 weeks, all inclusive, on a beach, with the family with no technology with us. (last year it was 2... but this year it's three). If we ever sell our house, that is one of the first things I might do.
and my dad's family is here this weekend, but they are all loaded and would expect me to wine and dine them... but with the upcoming cost of the latest wheelchair, so I can get Oatie to and from school. I'm like..... I'd like to see maybe one of them, his sisters and brother in law are travelling by road ... but a Tim Horton's is MY budget at a stretch! And no, you can't even say any of that to them, without a feud starting up and I mean a crazy feud... with politics and drama and all that.... with cherries on top, bells and whistles and my dad is so lovely but his family are really odd.
Oh and yes, I felt worse last week, when a really really lovely, but new coach, asked my son to lift my daughter on the ice and whilst my mouth was opening as they have never done on-ice lifts as I was told not until he is 12!!! his feet went out and yes his head glanced the ice. Worst nightmare having one brain damaged child, but trying to not wrap the others in cotton wool and let them pursue their passion and dreams... but yes I felt sick and he didn't have a head ache, or concussion or anything... not even a graze... but I felt sick... i felt really sick and well he is totally fine... I'm not sure that I have emotionally recovered from it yet.
Ok Rant over and out!
Friday, September 20, 2013
Life's a climb but the view is great - I like to hope it is...
Well, what happens in a usually week of a 10,8,6 and 0 year old... Mum falls ill with fever for 3 days only to have Oatie do the same... lol! My husband has been great, picking up the older two, doing the lunches and his normal job too!
On the day I was falling ill, I felt so rough pushing the wheelchair across the field, that I just felt drained! So I was so annoyed, I decided to email every single town councillor in our town.
I have been basically ignored for 28 months, they apparently at the town did something, and I was told that my plea in June was told to the rest of the council but the councillors who emailed back, hadn't heard of any mention of my plea??? Hmmm smelling a rat?
Well, we get a 5 minute audience with the town, after I created stink. To ask that a path be put between the kids school and the rec centre, so I can push Oatie or his aids can to gym class, swimming or skating. The Mayor doesn't see what's wrong with going the long way round, which in Winter can take from 10-40 minutes depending on how fabulous the snow removal people are, like they clear the road but dump it on the sidewalk.. or one school clears it and dumps it in front of our school!
On Foot you can get to the rec centre in one minute! if you go across the field (able bodied). So why would they think that I would think that taking 10-40 times longer would make me be filled with JOY? No it doesn't make me be filled with Joy at all!
It's wrong and just plain wrong! The town wants people to use "human powered transport" over car usage, so this fits right in with that!
So we are going to go to council or I should say my husband is, as he is much more concise than I am, he's also over 6ft! so a bit more menacing looking than me lol!
We have some letters of support from a mum who's a friend of mine, who's daughter was in the last paraolympics standing up for Oatie, and another friend of mine who is from down under who is also writing a letter in support.
One of my "friends" just didn't get it.... at all... at all, and fine, don't agree with me, I don't mind that, but to keep on going and going and going at me WHY and what the problem was, I just wanted to do as my good friend Phil says, WHACK her with the wheelchair. I kind of came to the conclusion that a Friend like that, who needs an enemy.
The ones who didn't write a support letter as I sent out a blanket thing saying if people wanted to then please do but don't feel obliged. I get it that people are busy and some people might feel uncomfortable going against the Mayor or whatever, or maybe some people believe that disabled access is fine as it is. I don't mind that, but the one who kept on going and going, URGH, no thank you!
This "friend" I have done so much for, and well anyway, whatever!
So I'm looking for an all terrain wheelchair and I think I might ask my ex fellow Scouter who's an engineer to help me build a Sledge kind of thing to pull the wheelchair...
Oatie might be in wheels, but I don't want to be confined by them and neither does he!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
urgh, overwhelmed and favours that backfire lol!
Well we had back to school. They have put the "allergic to the world" aide back with Oatie, her face looks like a wet weekend with -40oC blizzard on top! I'm not kidding, she reminds me of the "sad clown" kind of depressiveness. How can someone like that even enJOY kids? my older two said she's always grumpy and short too.
She won't let my older two even say hello to Oatie, she shouts and snaps at them. This same aide, takes away his own personal property book from when he gets off the bus and doesn't give it back to him so then he's sat there on his own, with no one to talk to on the bus and noting to do.
If you didn't know, disabled people on the bus get stuck up the front or back and there are no seats near them! JOY!
He spilt his fruit cup the other day and just left him in it, didn't change him, and there are swarms of angry wasps out at the moment, just yesterday I got my very first wasp sting in my life !
So, we are having a meeting tomorrow with all 3 people who help to look after him. The other two, we've never had a single problem with them, it's this one lady and now its likely that good two will think it's them, and it's not them at all, just this one lady!
They don't understand his handicap, and they asked me to do a presentation on Oatie, but when i asked for parameters such as who is it aimed for, kids, parents, teachers? I was told she has to ask the BOARD and that was that... nothing for an entire YEAR!
They keep on thinking the more he walks the better he will walk and we are like errrr NO!
Anyway....
Last Tuesday I felt really sick with feeling overwhelmed! I hate school starting up from all the BS (like above). Hauling the 5tonne (well it's not 5 tonne but to me if feels like it is) in and out the car....
Then on top of that, the mayor didn't put a 50 feet strip of concrete path in... so to push him from school to the rec centre is a tough job on the grass, i don't know what to do in the winter!!!!!!!! if I don't I have to push him 200m back to the car which in the snow takes 30minutes! then put everyone in the car which takes 10 minutes, drive for 28 seconds and get everyone back out again, another ten minutes. To travel the distance of a 2 minute walk for an able person! THANKS MAYOR! and yes he's up for re-election, but we can't vote yet! so I can't even vote against him!!!
Then I offered to help someone out which has totally backfired, they took the pee, to the nth degree and now I'm lumbered with something I didn't pick or choose and is 50 times the work! kind of abused our "friendship-goodwill gesture" I agreed to one thing one way and now it's totally different! So I can't even make it as they didn't buy enough material and I only offered to help as they said that they were HARD UP, we all know what that feels like so I said I would help them.... as it turns out, they are not hard up at all!
I had another one of those with a different something in the Summer too well it happened twice....!
YAH! lets go and take advantage of Oaties mum, she has so much SPARE time on her hands with her two eldest, Oatie with CP and a baby! TWICE!
So, after I get this latest advantage taking... I know it sounds hard, but I'm going to start to say NO! unless I'm in charge of something!
Rant over and out!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Banishing Herbs have arrived!
Kind of excited really, firstly I found a wheel extension for Oatie's current wheelchair which costs $600, but it converts your standard wheelchair to being like a Jogging stroller. So I'm looking into that. As the all terrain wheelchairs are really expensive! I would like to get out and about a lot more than we do. AND apparently this Wheel extension make getting over snow and ice a piece of cake!!! I NEED a piece of cake for Winter.
My eldest came back from the YMCA camp that he went on, he loved it so much he would like to go back next Summer!
I have started to take Oatie out more in his wheelchair these days as the baby will need to move into the stroller that we've been putting him into soon. And also when I need him to, Oatie can self propel. Maybe I've finally gotten used to Oatie being Handicapped lol! I don't know.
About to go swimming with the kids... catch you later
Oh and the Smudging herbs arrived!!!! YAY!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
I can't believe it's back to school in under 2 weeks
I can't believe that it is almost back to school time! It sucks! I was enjoying holidays and just got used to the carefree nature of it before, and now the thought of school bells, SNOW yes I said the S word... SNOW. Snow is a offensive word here as it sucks for people in wheelchairs!
Had I known Oatie was handicapped, I'm not sure I'd have picked a snowy province!
Well one thing we've decided is that ABR is the way to go forward with Oatie, in combination with Swimming. He has been happy and jolly and not in pain since we started our months swimming fest. Sorry for the lack of posts! But Oatie is now swimming lengths on his back, front and jumping in and everything all with his "konfidence" jacket that his grandparents bought for him last year!
I am trying to agree a time to take him out from school at lunch and take him to the "diversity" swim, (handicapped swim) across the field... however the field is usually filled with SNOW for 6 months of the year! which then makes the 500m distance seem like a journey to the moon!
Yes I am writing about the S word, on a day when it is one of the hottest of the year, nearly 30oc today! + that is +, yes we have a 80oC swing in temperature here, -40oc to +40oc!
My eldest is away at a YMCA camp this week, camping and canoeing and archery and all fun things, but I only let him go if he could swim and feel happy falling out his canoe... My elder daughter also learned to swim but there was no space available, so Instead she is going to dabble in synchro swimming in the fall to put her new swimming skills to the test.
URGH school starting up, more battles coming up... GROAN! No they haven't got back to me about the therapeutic riding, they don't even need to do anything apart from give me Oaties plan!
And my Smuding herbs should be arriving soon, I can't wait, my good friends (family) the Dzialo's suggested doing this ages ago and I couldn't find the herbs locally, and after bad luck after bad luck, I suddenly had the eureka of buying online, and when I did,... the shop that I chose is in the same city as us !!!! lol! I am going to smudge even my CAR!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Oatie has started his road to independent swimming
We have done our annual month quest of encouraging our kids to swim, all reluctant swimmers well the elder two are... Oatie loves the water but is ill after ill in the Winter.
We tried 6 weeks of back to back swimming lessons and additional swimming at the weekends, swimming 3 times a week for years....
Anyway in the end financial bribery has seemed to work!
My eldest can now swim 25m and Oatie can now swim with his boyancy jacket unaided!!! he used to grip our hands and not let go, but he can now swim around with the jacket on and he LOVES it!
Oatie's elder sister is a reluctant swimmer but his baby sister LOVES swimming too!
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Passed Kindergarten
Oatie passed Kindergarten... they wanted him to repeat it, but we refused and said no...so he passed it lol!
Well at the start of the year, he was 2 years behind everyone if not 3. Now he is just one year behind and so another good year, he hopefully should catch them up!
For the first time EVER he has friends... and real friends, people brought their kids from more than an hour away each way, to come to his party!!! He had 14 at his party and two more couldn't make it because of the flood!
OATIE has friends! real friends and they wanted to take his friends away by keeping him in K? NO WAY was that happening!
I told them, you can catch up in school, but you cannot buy true friendship! you just can't!
A Drawing of Oatie and his friend. Look Oatie's friend drew his walker, so cute.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Getting some sort of normality, whatever that is lol!
The Summer holidays are finally here! Finally! We were luckily that we were not flooded, however we have done food bank donations and the red cross let everyone down in my opinion, and so people collected food and articles for the flood victims ourselves and organised people with trailers to take the clothes to them.
According to the Red Cross, these people didn't need CLOTHES right now... however we found totally the opposite. Our friend who had the trailer was regularly asked by flood victims to rummage through the clothes to find something to wear for WORK. (according to the Red Cross) they didn't need clothes!
They needed clothes more than ever, as their homes are lying there valueless... lost all their possessions they've ever owned apart from the clothes on their back... they even lost their pets (if the pets couldn't swim).
Anyway after 2 weeks or more, finally the Red Cross came to "Help". They have taken over the rec centre and the Red Cross volunteers, have "private shower and sleeping facilities" and the flood victims are in a curling rink with no screens or privacy at all or darkness to sleep, what if they worked shifts!". When the evac centre (our rec centre) was run by volunteers just normal people in the community.... they didn't require private shower facilities... or private rooms...
My last beef about the red cross, when the community sorted out the flood victims, they took MONEY which could go anywhere in the world.... and local people wanted to help their neighbours etc.... and then how much of every dollar actually get to the intended recipient, there was a figure in the UK about 10-15 years ago it was 25p of every pound donated helped people.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Bureaucratic red tape...
Well, anyway she's very nice person, very approachable and totally into her job which is just so nice to see and it's actually genuine too, which is just fabulous.
I don't know if you remember my post about A government agency that does nothing... well this lady contacted them, to find out the outcome, as she was the lady who referred us, and guess what??? she's left two messages and they haven't returned her call in two weeks! The funniest bit, was when they said that they didn't endorse Apple products, this lady actually went to a seminar where one of this "team" stood up and gave 2 different demonstrations on apple products...
Well back to Oatie, she was amazed at the progress that he's made, from joining in in the class routine, to the whole reduction in the aggression in the room since the bullying stopped, his recital of the alphabet and his speech and well everything really including his walking.
I was also told how due to red tape and funding cuts, it was why we haven't seen her for ages, as her budget was already used up... but apart from having an aide (who is magic by the way, this man who's Oatie's aid is just first class, through and through and I have the highest respect for this man, he is just so nice to Oatie, and they have a special bond and everything he does with Oatie is fun, he make learning fun). They haven't really done anything else to help with his speech or his OT at school. Luckily his teachers/aide and my husband and I are all working as a team for Oatie which ultimately is going to be us to do that in the first place, I suppose I would have liked to see some "strategy" or plan on making sure that when he gets to kindergarten age, he'll have the skills to be in a mainstream classroom, which is still 18 months off, but the plan I think needs to be in place now. So I go back to the drawing board, speak to more people find out the low down and go from there, which usually starts at the Swimming pool funny enough....
So this nice lady, did bring her itouch and her ipad to see which worked better for Oatie and we both decided the ipad is the best device for him, so just waiting till Friday to place our order for his Ipad. He calls it his "Magic Book". He actually asked when could he use the magic book again, it helps!
Well I'm going for a nice cup of tea and chocolate cake.
Love Oatie's Mum
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Mallet - Hammer game at a fair...
Stuff the term "chicken and egg", I'm going for whac a mole!
Oatie and the review meetings!
Well My own life feels like I am a plate spinner... lol!
And then Oaties' life feels like Whac-a-mole...
You have the diagnosis... and then there is the forward and the backwards steps and then you press here and this pops up so you hammer that and then elsewhere pops up... and well it is just "Whac-a-mole".
I didn't even know what this was called in North America, I have an aliens version of it from the UK. I just remember loving playing it at fairs when I was a kid...
For example... Oatie was getting beautiful structure from his ABR therapy... but then became agoraphobic as we wheeled him everywhere so he did stay and not undo the hours of work... (by him mangling his body further).
However, with the Agoraphobia came missing out on his childhood of exploration as he couldn't go and see stuff for himself and had us wheel him where we wanted to go rather than his older sibs who would tug your hand to go and look at something.
So then came the walker,...the walker made me cry.... on the one hand, he started to LIVE and be a person rather than a kid with CP. He had choice and made decisions where to go and what to look at... HOWEVER (what made me cry) was how he is mangling his body in the walker...
So then came the exploration of the service dog... multi fold of the companionship, love, and balance aid from the dog (we are waiting for the dog it might be another year until we get the dog) but that will be way better than the walker!
With the walker, he matured enough to go to Kindergarten where he has the best friends in the class that anyone could ask for... everyone loves him in the class and he has genuine friendships... genuine-genuine... (not manufactured by parents).
So this year, he's done amazingly, he has closed a 2 year gap on his speech to one year... which is brilliant! (partly from him using the walker as he's been able to walk where his peers do and be involved in every aspect of the class too).
So today we have his "where to next... meeting". The speech lady on the phone said that she is happy for him to go to g1... but then at the meeting today they were wondering whether him repeating K all over again would be a good idea....
Both Oaties dad and I were like no! (the K teacher is actually the nicest teacher in the entire school and she is brilliant) so nothing against anything.
I said, that if it was the preschool class that he was in, then maybe (to get away from them would be worth it)... but he actually has a "family"in his class, they play and interact and LOVE him, and that to me is priceless... totally priceless.... you can have extra maths lessons and language lessons, but you can't buy genuine friendship! To us, that network of friends that he has around him at the moment are part of his support network! For him to see his old friends go up a year and him start all over again with building friendships would crush him. Also a lot of his current classes older siblings are in his siblings classes so it adds even more strength to his network... as their big brother or sisters are friends with his brother and sister.
Oatie as we know is very bright... and by holding him back would really kick his confidence... (the school saw a huge improvement in him this year and didn't want him to find grade 1 too hard), my point was at some point he will have to leave kindergarten and my eldest ended up repeating Kindergarten twice (because we moved country) and it switched him off from learning for years.... in the end I stuck him in pure French, (he could only speak English) in Grade 4... and for the first time ever Oatie's big brother has had to work. (his big brother gets like 100% in his PAT) tests.
So I said, if he didn't leave K, and just stayed there, then what happens next year and the year after and the year after... Sometimes you need to release the bird and let them soar! Oatie has me, his dad and his older two sibs to help him as well with his school work.
So we made the decision to let him leap to Grade 1 with the rest of his class. It will mean that he will have to do full days at school as that was their condition. So I agreed thinking that we might just re-arrange Oatie's day to fit in his ABR. But I would like their support back to get him to the swimming pool which is 400m from the school if that a few times a week and get him in the adaptive riding programme too.
I said that if a few times a week he could swim at lunch, it will get rid of the recess fatigue of being in his walker, it's relaxing for him, he gets CV workout too and I found it realigns his focus to learning.
With Oatie, Skiing, riding, swimming and skating, it will also help him to mature up too.
So, now I need to try and work everyones schedules out, so I can schedule in his ABR and full time school now for September!
So hence it's like Whac-a-mole, you push here and then that area of his life pops out and so you push that back in and well... that with the plate spinning....
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
stupid really...
I don't know why i expected any different... we went for Oatie's annual visit to the childrens' hospital and well even though we are lucky as he's an openminded consultant and keeps the door open for adaptive equipment and a point of call....
He went on about how Oatie will end up wheelchair bound without surgery and all this other usual medical stuff.... he said that he'd end up there he's seen it time and time again... (afterwards now I've calmed a little... It thought his only empirical data is surgery cases) so that consoled me a little that with surgery they've ended up in a wheelchair...
What' has caused Oatie to regress a bit and get "worse" is the flipping walker, but if you look back at my blog to the dilemma of the walker, Oatie was becoming exceptionally agoraphobic being in his chair.
The consultant said that Oatie will reach a stage where the wheelchair will take over over him choosing to walk and negative spiral that way.
We've minimised the walkers us to school only and at social gatherings... when he walks on his own he's alright...
AND... I haven't rolled him in one year now with his ABR... he gets is bench each night except when he's ill.... and I need to roll him.
I'm hoping that by rolling him he will get back to where he was and carry on his improvement.
I don't know why i came out flat from that, what was I thinking!!!! what was I expecting...!!! Silly ME! How could it have been different or better... (we are lucky he isn't an arrogant A@@e!
I suppose it was the guilt trip of not doing the surgery or the other stuff....
What I do know... maybe it was the kick up the butt that I needed to get rolling with Oatie again! maybe it's just what I need!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Oatie had a brilliant weekend
We all went to the kids BFF's house on Saturday and Oatie rode a horse for the very first time. It was a brilliant day!
My eldest turned 10! My baby tried her first roast and loved it...
Oatie climbed up a ladder and managed to go down their slide himself....
All in all it was a brilliant weekend!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Have you ever encountered a friend who then reveals their true colours as a bully? as an ADULT lol
URGH! people can really SUCK!
Oatie is great, in a few weeks he's going for his annual assessment at the hospital.
We are sad to miss the upcoming ABR traning... but C'est la vie! next time :)
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
One month on Paleo... and I've dropped 18lbs yay
It's awesome and I have got my short term memory back, and I can follow a recipe again and I have the energy to read the kids a bedtime story again and I LOVE it... I don't actually like eating meat at all... but if it means that I can roll Oatie and do all the things that I need to get done in a day... I will eat meat.... as long as it's "responsible" farming practices if you know what I mean.
My skin is great and my hair is too and I just feel GREAT!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Finally feeling able to get organised...
Today I finally got the babies passport done... had a moment of disorganisation when my friend the guarantor forgot to bring her passport the other day and then we both forgot that she didn't phone her number through.. so at the office they were like the form is great but!!! I was like arghghghg my friend is not home during the day much... nor is she one to carry a cell phone either! Howerever as Luck will have it... she was home and had her passport to hand!!!!! YAY!
So the babies passport is sent off :) and now I just need to send the Babies and Oaties off to Washington State for our other passports.... We have one dual citizen in the house and that is the baby!
When we got back I cleaned the inside of my car, which looks great and, the kids piano recital has been moved to the week after, after a double booking so we have a free weekend!!!! There is a disability expo tomorrow so might go to that other then that! I don't know what we are doing which is also FUN!
But gradually getting things back into a grove and looking forward to getting my rolling time back with Oatie very much so!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Oatie survived his first ever full day at school!
Oatie did his very first full day at school yesterday... He went on the bus and came home on the bus!
He's doing two full days a week as he was missing out on music and computers and some other crafts too.
He had the best day and couldn't wait to get back to school...
It was so nice to see him happy!
Monday, April 29, 2013
My Daughters 8th Birthday
My daughter dressed Oatie for her party and my eldest son did his hair and helped him around the house and danced with him at the disco we had in our basement.
We had a great day, best day in ages and yes today we got some more bad news! lol!
Monday, April 22, 2013
Birthday invite!
Apparently his sibs tell me he's a bit of a ladies man,... he's polite and always lets the ladies go first!
Now we are getting ready for my eldest daughters 8th Birthday!
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
still off school
I also just started to roll Oatie when he got Croup and still I can't roll him. His chest is just full...
The others didn't get it, the baby got it slightly... but I'm still feeding her so she was ok.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Oatie is Sick!
After he recovered, there was a fever and vomiting bug going around at school so we kept him at home as we felt that if he went in he would end up in hospital for sure... he doesn't have much spare meat on the lad... so we have to be careful.
Oatie has a healthy appetite but has the opposite problem that most of us do... he is lean, (not underweight) but lean lean.... and finds is HARD to put weight on!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
One thing after another
People say keep a positive attitude and things will work out.. well it doesn't and I think that is rubbish, I have a positive attitude and the moment that we get a glimpse of something good, another huge kick! every single time.
All I can think is that I must have dated the devil in my prevous life!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Wilma Here we come - paleo lifestyle
Well I've been struggling to get my ABR hours back in,... yes we have a 5 month old baby... but she's been going through the night since she was 2 weeks old...
And... Yes we have Oatie who has CP...
And... Yes we have 2 older kids...
And.... Yes we are trying to manage just my husband and myself... (there isn't any help for families like ours... financial or actual help.
And... the quest for the family balance still continues.. well I say it evolves so needs constant reassessment to maximise the balance... let the older two be healthy active people hopefully useful people one day... and Oatie reach his full potential as well not to mention our new little bundle of joy too.... and the 5 cats!!!
I have acquired the iRobot who vacuum's for me... but I need more...
Why I who was triathlete fit put on 70lb each pregnancy and even with our recent addition I put on that much weight and I swam over 176km with taking 14 weeks off during the pregnancy... still gained weight.
And then since the birth of Oatie, I've felt "toxic" and so fatigued... so... well I came across the whole detox the liver (no I'm not a drinker... ) which on about alkalinity of the body... so I started to drink some (ACV) Apple cider vinegar...
Just with that I felt so much better. And so I decided to go one step further of going on the Paleo Lifestyle... where you eat fruits vegetables and meat but not (grains or legumes or Dairy and processed foods). I've had enough of wearing my husband who is 6ft2's clothes!! like really had enough as I refuse to buy a larger wardrobe!
It's been 6 days and I've already lost 6lbs... I'm full and not hungry and eating as much as I like. I already feel more energised, I can THINK for the first time in AGES which to some might seem deadly who know me... but It's so peaceful to be able to think and to be able to remember something from the short term memory.... and it's still early days, but each day my memory improves that little bit more and I can now do mental arithmetic in my head again!!! I can follow a recipe again and well that is just huge.
My purpose was actually not feel carb loaded, bloated and lethargic so I might get even more out of my day and get my ABR hours back. I thought if my husband who is eating semi paleo (to keep me company:) if we survive, and feel good after say 6 weeks we might incorporate the kids into it. It's not a diet as in the conventional term of weight loss... more so eating as our ancestors ate. I'm not a huge fan of meat ROL (Roar of laughter!).... so it will be an interesting experience. Once I have got to a healthy BMI for myself I think I might go Semi Paleo.
I've felt stronger too, I swim once a week and in the same time I have got another 14 lengths in so now I'm up to a mile!
I might have been wrongfully diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease as it could have been my liver all along.... and it would explain why I put on the 70lb each time and how I had to do extreme amounts of exercise to get the weight off.
I have made the kids a few paleo puddings and one was with Coconut flour and apricots, like an apricot tart and they LOVED it. Tonight is peppermint fudge...
I was lucky that the school was 100% up to speed that coconut isn't a nut is a Fruit so it's a winner!
Kind of wished I started the 6 week leptin reset after Easter... however, I felt sick each morning I woke up for years now and now I wake up and my ankles aren't stiff don't hurt and my muscles don't hurt when I lie down at night...
I have to say and I wonder... I wonder if blood toxicity/leptin resistance didn't cause Oatie's CP... Well I will never know for sure. But I will keep you posted how the paleo thing is going over the next few weeks!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
1st Day of Spring was a blizzard lol...
The first day of Spring here was a blizzard. Laughable really! Still having issues with the other schools parents parking in the bus loop with buses in it with people and kids who can walk impeded!!! Meanwhile because they are so lazy! I could use a much stronger word of how I feel about them, I'm not able to park now where it's best for me to lift that huge hunk of metal in and out of our car without hurting each time. So yes... I am rather annoyed to put it mildly... not impressed at all.
Oatie managed to get his snowpants on himself the other day actually on the first day of Spring ironically enough.
I haven't ever worn real fur ever but I saw a propaganda video snuck out of China posted on FB of a fur factory which has made me feel sick for days, it was how they skinned the animals alive (Including peoples pets with collars on them still) and left them to die after being electrocuted... skinned and thrown in a heap to die. It was horrific and I look at our 5 furry cats and just hug them that bit more each day if that's possible.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Still hard to get our hours back
I haven't done at all well getting our hours back. The baby has been awesome she's slept through the night since she was 2 weeks old which is brilliant, I wouldn't trade that. However she had and has less naps during the day and fed more during the day which then ate into my ABR hour times.
So our rolling is still on the backburner for the moment.... I do feel bad but there is not much else I can do. Oatie needs to go to school too and our little addition won't be little forever.
Oatie is thriving in other ways, like he actually played with a toy... with a self made up story and side characters etc... He invented a game in the bath with his bath toys.....
He's made another leap at school with potty training... he's been helping me with the baby too.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Back on the ice
After being ill from a heavy cold, Oatie was back on his skates once again. His last session it this coming Sunday and he's very sad.
So will be taking him on the public skates which I am sure he will enjoy.
Oatie has changed in the last few weeks, he's really matured, walking more on his feet and actually holding conversations a lot more and happy to play by himself and his kitten more.
He is speaking more French too.
He's grown so much in height as well. I can't believe he will be 6 this year.
I haven't been getting my ABR hours in yet, I have yet to get in the groove of getting the hours in lol! it's hard to get them back in after having almost a year off.
Other than that everyone is good.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Fighting the Mayor... fighting politics...
Our Mayor! I dont' know what he does as he apparently doesn't have any ruling over anything in the town it seems.
I spend 30 minutes in snow fall to pick up Oatie and walk the 100m to the car. My friend who is a grandma of 2 girls at the school on in my elder sons class and one in Oaties... CRACKED HER SKULL and had severe concussion from slipping outside the school...
Where as our provincial premier... just gave 75 thousand dollars to another school for YET ANOTHER PLAYGROUND! I'm like WHAT!!!
Our kids don't even have their own gymnasium.. they have to walk to the local rec centre to go to the gym and then since writing the above my daughter fell on her back in a huge muddy slushy puddle on the path that the school has deemed "SAFE" path!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Family day - Week
This school doesn't have a whole week, so the week my parents were here we made that family week... as Family is important right!
So that was wonderful their visit but my parent have gone home now and we're all missing the heaps.
Oatie LOVED skiing with them and misses them so much.
It now feels more like Spring, I'm out in just a t-shirt and Oatie is excited to get back on his bike!
Oatie has been skiing in their ski training on the Fridays and has been ice skating with the special skaters on Sundays still.
I've started to get back into rolling Oatie in the afternoons too!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
St. Valentine Oatie
Today Oatie got St'Valentine cards from all the girls, apparently he's a huge favourite with the girls as he always charms them apparently and doesn't do "stupid boy stuff" as one girl put in her card to him, and can talk as much as them!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Life has been a huge blur
Life has been a huge blurr and I for the life of me don't know where the last few weeks have gone! Well I do... but then again I don't if that makes any sense!
My parents came over and we had the best visit EVER and it was wonderful! Oatie as a person has grown so much and is just so smart! I now might be talking out of context to my husband and Oatie is now at the age where he understands and and pipes in his two pence worth..
While my parents were here, the kids, husband and my parents skied together. I did ski one day as my dad and my husband took care of the little one in the ski lodge... and in between a run I fed her. With the weight gain that I acquire during pregnancy even my big ski boots didn't fit! It was agony.... lol!
I wore my husbands "clear the drive" snow pants and well it was funny but I did have fun skiing with my mum and dad and the kids.
I have hardly skied since we moved here and I think in the past 7 years I have skied 7 times. Where as I've encourage the 3 kids to ski lots as so much better to learn when you are little than when you're older and my husband to ski while I've looked after our new addition or the other ones which aren't skiing. All of that is really good as a result my husband has now been approved as the disable ski association helper and can ski with someone skiing behind them independently with Oatie.
Just yesterday Oatie's principle said how that Oatie couldn't go school skiing at they didn't have anyone qualified to ski with him and I said that this year my husband can't take a day off due to it clashing with a work commitment but next year he could ski with Oatie. His skiing has become so good that he could teach our new addition to ski on a ski harness:) so all is really good.
So with all of that aside,... I was just joking with my husband how (I used to go down double black without blinking an eye) and now I could do with a few lessons lol! and how I feel like I can't ski anymore (hence needing some lessons) When we skied in Kimberley last year, I had to mogul turn as my boots were too big, my feet decided to shrink that week... to my pre Oatie foot size lol!
I know that if I just skied for a few days it would probably come back lol! but it was just how I was chatting and Oatie piped in "Why can't you ski anymore?" so I said I wasn't saying I wasn't going to ski,... I just need some lessons, and then I asked Oatie if he would teach me to ski? to which he replied YES!
Oatie learned to lean on his bi ski this time and my husband rather than holding the handle managed to use the tethers (reins).
Well I have so much news..
Friday, January 25, 2013
friday again! Oatie is skiing tonight
Oatie is so excited he is skiing tonight with his dad, they have downhill ski training session it's way past Oatie's bed time but that doesn't stop Oatie.
he has his dinner before he skis, comes home and flakes out in bed.. but each friday night it's like magic to him. finishes the ski hill and wakes up in his bed!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Oatie skiing
Oatie started his downhill ski training and my husband has been learning to tether ski with Oatie. They have had so much fun and Oatie loved it.
Oatie has been doing really well with his reading and writing at school.
We have had a friends daughter stay with us for a week while her parents are away, and she has been a total pleasure to have. It was fun having 5 kids under 14 in the house!
Oatie is at home today as he has a cold and home is the best place for him...
Other than that... here is Oatie...
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The "R" Word...
Well today I went to go and collect Oatie from school with my little one and as we were walking past, there were these "kids" who were using the "R" word in a demeaning way as insults!!! Being hurled back and forth....Like seriously! I thought that was so last century!
Meanwhile there was another kid face down in the snow with two other kids pummelling this kid with their fists.... and all at the same time I was thankful that my kids didn't go to THAT school !!!!
There was an issue of a really close family member letting us down, still to painful to blog about... still in total shock...
Oh and Oatie kept him self clean and dry totally at school today:) with real real real pants on!!!