Had a great Christmas

The 'F' word

The F=future always comes to mind particularly when it's the end of the year... For Oatie...

He's doing great at school and so you wonder how independent he might end up being....  Or how Dependent....

Making crackers

Today we are making crackers :)

Oatie is a Wii genius...

How you have a great Christmas!

Santa skate

Today I skated with Santa

Top of the class for spelling

I'm still one of the top in my class for spelling in both English and French!

Was given a bunch of Binoo Friendly flowers:)

I was so happy today, usually I frown if somone gives me flowers as I think of the money, and how that in a few days they will Die... and so anyway one of  my BFF's gave me a plastic bunch of flowers and to be quite honest it was the best bunch of flowers I've had in a very very long time!

Oatie and the temporary bus driver had a disagreement..., Oatie was trying to follow the rules by having his lap belt on on his wheelchair.  During the day we let him tuck it under the seat so he can get in and out with ease rather than a huge palaver to go to the washroom,,... anyway today his aide forgot and so he was being good by trying to get it out... the temp bus driver thought he was being naughty and when he got home he read Oatie the riot act...

Only after I mediated between the two of them realised that Oatie didn't tell the bus driver what he was doing and in future to tell the bus driver.... so they hi-fived it as a promise.  I can't wait for our usual bus driver to come back.... he's one of Oatie's best friends dads at school.

This saturday oatie is going to a paint your own pottery party!  He's so excited!

Fun party

Today we had fun at our local associations Christmas party

New bus is nice

The new school bus is nice, the restraints for the wheelchair are quick and easy for the driver:))

School is going great

Doing great at school!  And love my ABR night bench:)

Going to a family Halloween dance so excited!

We are going to a family Halloween dance this Friday I'm so excited!

Field trip to the forest

Today Oatie goes on a field trip to the forest, he's so excited!

Got locked in the elevator for twenty minutes

Today after skating, oatie and I got stuck / trapped in the handicapped elevator!  The new school bus arrived and it's so clean!  It has spaces for two wheelchair's on it...

Almost thanksgiving!

Snow, asthma and skating

Oatie started to skate today it was the start off the season!

Oaties asthma has greatly improved since our asthma clinic visit...

Oatie enjoyed world CP day today:)

Bus is missing!

Sat here waiting for the missing school bus...

The school bus company doesn't know where it is...

They just called and drove Oatie on a huge detour

So Oatie is home over an hour late!!  He would have been on the bus home for 2 hours!! Poor kid

Swiper our resident fox went looking for him...

The bully still wins at school

The school bully who now is the "victim" has gone way too far... It's ridiculous!

Oaties sister got humiliated at school for speaking out and reported the bully!

Yep! This bully physically punches people, never suspended never expelled... Its out of hands, the kids have list confidence in the school and feel helpless against the bully as  the bully comes out on top...!

Oaties brother is having surgery today

Today oaties brother is having surgery today... So I'm a bit worried... But I hope he will be ok:)

The new kitten

We have Darth cinders now at our house, she thinks my ABR bench is her bed!  So I often have a kitten on my legs!

My path is being built

The path that I went to town council is being built, which means I can get to the rec centre and gym class really easily soon! It is so exciting!

Flying at school

Oatie is flying at school, he's reading by himself... He's worrying more and having a great time at school... But now to fit ABR back in!

3 weeks until school starts

seems like forever for Summer and then it's gone in a blink of an eye!

Booked a Family camping experience a tiny bit like ooooh

I'm an avid camper and well I've never camped with a wheelchair before.... so I've taken the plunge and booked us a weekend away in a TENT! yes a TENT! with 4 kids including a wheelchair!!! OMG!!!!!

well, I've done it... booked and paid for it.... let's hope we survive!

Booked a fall sleepover

Today, I booked Oatie for a fall sleepover.... at the same residential camp he went to before....

It's over halloween so he's super excited!  Siblings could go, but I thought they would cramp his style and also they would feel responsible for him.... where he's bold enough to be fine on his own....

7th Birday for Oatie

Oatie was 7 today he had an angry bird pig cake for his actual birthday cake.  Oatie's party will be in September as all his friends are away for the Summer... we sent out a save the date....

Birthday Eve was wonderful

Oatie had a wonderful Birthday Eve....

We went to the Calgary tower and had a wonderful time... Oatie loves it there!  Cake 1 was eaten there....

last week of day camp and still off the wagon...oops

We still haven't got our balls rolling so to speak for our ABR.... :(

But he's had a great time at residential camp and day camp last week is this week.

I had a volunteer role that the person I took it over from just dumped everything undone.... so it's been a tough few months... we came back from holiday and been sorting out the mess rock solid.... so unfair.. and so surprising!

Residential Camp

Oatie has gone to an all inclusive (sounds like an exotic resort) for disabilities camp specialising in CP for the week.

It's his first time away from home and as his birthday is in a few days time, they overlooked his age....

He was amazing and won an award for being so gutsy and determined....  the house was so quiet without him.....

Week 2 of Camp is a success

Oatie is so glad to go to Day Camp and having a total blast.  His school wanted him to keep up his socialisation and for some of the camp he was with a few of his classmates when their options were the same so he enjoyed that too!

So thankful for such great friends!  These 16-18 year olds who stepped forward are amazing!

Day Camp

This Week Oatie has had his very first experience of Day Camps.

It was advertised as 'inclusive' but was more that they would consider inclusiveness but is still at the experimental stage.

I met with the organisers and they generously gave me 1.5 hours of their time, and I found out that for 4 years I have been lied to by our 'case worker'.

All those years of me/husband taking Oatie (husband leaving work and having to make up time) for diversity swim and not having a community aide was all because we were lied to....  I asked the question outright and was told no... It never made sense as you would think why put added strain on a special needs family.... so anyway he could have had a community aide all along....

So after meeting the camp organisers....I sent and email and within 2 hours... Oatie was approved for community aide so he could attend day camp.

The Challenge was then finding a 16+ year old to help him.... luckily we have some awesome friends and their kids stepped forward to be Oatie's aide for those weeks.

Inclusiveness with a but....

Why is it when some inclusiveness has a *but....?

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Happy Canada day from Oatie

Happy Canada day from Oatie

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I've passed grade 1!

Grade 2 here I come!

Oatie got a flying report...  He's been graded on stuff they said he wouldn't be graded on...  And can move up with his peers!

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Tolerance being treated like an animal

Having issues with dinnertime who insists on treating Oatie like an Animal! And he's forced to have to interact with this woman.... 
😑

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Baseball near miss

Oatie luckily wasn't in Mt car but he almost got a baseball in his skull...  As it came smashing at my car vehicle whilst driving...

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Go away Flu! Swiper please swipe it!

Yes, we've all come down with it, I battled on for an extra week before I finally came down with it.... (I was doing my good friend Phil's remedy of a good olde Scotch!!!) obviously I think I should have a bigger serving???


Oatie ASKED Swiper the fox to Swipe his illness away, He said Swiper Swipe NOSE... Swiper SWipe NOSE!!!


Anyway... Oatie missed his last skating lesson he was pretty devastated... the poor love, so we've promised to take him during the School holidays.


I have done something insane... I said to my parents that we would all fit for a 7 hour drive.... in a Dodge Grand Caravan.....

• A sled


• 6 pairs of skis and poles


• 7 pairs of Ski Boots


• A huge cool box....


• Ski Gear for 7 people... hmmmmm


• Clothes,etc....


• AND.... 7 People!!!


• 
  AND...............maybe Oatie's Wheels!!!!!!!

What was I thinking??? but saying that when we lived in England we drove to Disneyland Paris with a 0,2,4 year old... all the baby paraphania... clothes travel potty's slings, 2 pushchairs all in a smaller car....


Yes the kids will all be wedged in the 3rd Row! lol!lol!lol!  Maybe I'll just take my apple ear buds (ROL Roar of laughter!!!).... hang on a minute they WON'T FIT!!!


WHO said that all this stuff would fit in my car.... (I did!!!)  Well worst case scenario everyone can wear their ski jackets and snowpants and we turn the heating off inside the car??? ROL!!! ROL!!!


Well yesterday we did pop by Santa, and Oatie just LOVED it this year, he told me all about the candy cane that he, his brother and sister got.


Tomorrow Oatie is going to the ELF workshop, to learn to be an ELF, he couldn't go last year because he was ill so he's very excited about tomorrow.


7 people, plus ski gear in a Dodge Grand Caravan.... ROL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Hey we should take pictures of our car if we fit it all in and send it to them for an advert...


Just going downstairs to laugh some more!

Dangerous bus driver

Bus driver forgot to tether in the wheelchair!  Yes...  OMG!  Luckily oatie is OK!

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What is this!

Wondered in my yard...  I wonder what it is!  Yikes...  It didn't act like a dog....

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Nearly the end of the year... Wow its gone quick!

Has this year gone fast for you too?

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Back from holiday

Roar!

We got back from holiday, which was awesome by the way!  First vacation in many years!

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Oatie and his Canadian passport

Felt like our final part of becoming a citizen was today... applying for our Canadian Passport!

We've got our new ABR exercise videos, they are great as the training team now record them on an ipad so it's really easy to have a visual and the written notes to go home with.

So excited... I think when I finally see the Canadian passport, I will truly believe that we are dual citizens!

Back home

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We made it back home :) my shoulder managed to survive... (I should get Oatie to do some ABR on my shoulder!) lol!

Sorry guys, for not updating about the ice gala... the official video, wasn't very good, like it was dark, and at a weird angle and well, I'm waiting for my friend to come back from her holiday and she will send me her video of the ice gala! The Ice gala was amazing... and Oatie did himself proud, he even skated out to the finale himself!

Has anyone else found this, if you are a woman with a child in a wheelchair, do we have an invisible sign around our neck saying "Please rip me off???".

I stayed in the hotel that we usually stay in, only because it made my husband feel better that we were in familiar surroundings and one of our friend we were going to meet up with, knew where that hotel was and not far from their workplace.

Also, we had a not very nice time there and so the manager kindly offered to give us vouchers to compensate for the meals that we had last time that were not very good.

SO, until the day we check-ed out we had a nice stay... then as I went to check out, one of the women behind the desk wanted to CHARGE me for the "complimentary breakfast" vouchers that I received in goodwill! Not just one breakfast, she wanted to charge them ALL! I was like WTH???

Then after our session, I have no idea why but it took FOREVER to get back to the airport... the signs had changed and the gps played up and well anyway we did manage to fill up and return the car.... Which led to the next issue...

Woman travelling with child in wheelchair! When we arrived, we upgraded for a fullsize car... paid extra... so I wouldn't have hassle with his wheelchair! I get there and they try to give me the highest vehicle possible whereby I'd almost have to lift the wheelchair above shoulder height to get it in the CAR! I was like OMG! so I complained and I had to pay more but I got a mini van... so on the return, when there was more then the one person at the car rental desk, I complained and said that this was unfair! anyway, Oatie looked really cute and so they put the cost back to what it was... I then have to push Oatie a good distance with our luggage to the airport... "the car rental desk is a short walk from the airport so no shuttle is required" WELL! if you have someone in a wheelchair, you NEED a shuttle! Poor Oatie had to push himself all the way into the airport... because I got a duff luggage cart....

To get inside and the checkin desks for the airline we used had MOVED! to the other end as far as we could see!!! Then we got attacked by this birdy-hockey mascot who wouldn't get out of the way and Phil D's words came to me, RAM them!! RAM them!! well it was almost a Flat squashed chickenthing... as it stumbled and almost fell in the path of Oatie who was weaving around the birdthing... to finally get to the airline that we do like very much, who from that moment were fabulous!

Then the gate moved to the far end so he propelled himself to there.. and our flight went without a hitch apart from sitting next to one of the smelliest men EVER!!! fortunately after 20 minutes I couldn't smell him anymore!

Oatie presented his baby sister with a hello kitty cuddly toy and gave his big brother and sister the special Quebec Author books he found in the kids bookstore in Montreal!

Saturday I wasn't very well and today we are getting back to normal :))

Oatie is missing his companion today...

Today, Oatie is missing his companion...

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Today is our first day of training, :)

We are about to leave shortly for our first day of training:)

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Back at ABR HQ

We are back at ABR HQ! And we are very excited!

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Ice Show is tomorrow

Tomorrow is the ice show, and Oatie is very excited. He has a black base layer and he's wearing his elder brother's competition figureskating pants!

Ice Skating Show, here we come!!!

This weekend, Oatie is going to be in his very first Ice Skating show! He is so excited.

He is going out with his skating group! He is the only CP skater that our club has!

I'm his skating aid and I was a bit daunted a few weeks back about the prospect of face planting infront of my entire TOWN! but... if I face plant, I face plant, If JJ is brave enough to go out then I am!

We had a dress rehearsal yesterday and that was fun...:)

spring break in what feels the antartic! lol!

The kids are on a spring break, and it doesn't feel much like a break for the following reasons the kids are in a club ice show that was SO SO SO micromanaged that it's like amazing that it's even going ahead... me who is a super organised person, this makes me feel way out of my comfort zone...

Just the other day, I was meant to be handed costumes ready for sewing and instead get strips of pre cut fabric... and expected to magic out 40 outfits from it... and then we had the 15 fake fur animals that I was allergic too... that she, as if they were alive and moulting...

arghghghgh it's under two weeks to go and over half the club is at a competition this weekend and the person I was making it with got annoyed as she was the one who was doing the designing and cutting... so I enlisted another mum who has one child in junior high so she has a little more time then I do to help and is a sewing whizz and the other mum has taken offence.

On a different note, the kids have drawn Oatie's bedroom wall colour scheme plan for his new room.

Here it is...

Oatie's report card:)

Oh and Oatie got a stellar report card today, it was amazing! amazing!

His sibs did awesome too... 

Fighting the Ski Centre

Would you believe that the place that is the HQ of the Canadian association of disabled skiers, doesn't let disabled skiers ski with their academic schools lessons???

Well YES, it's true, the school principle sent 15 or so emails and had no luck... so anyway I found out that she didn't try THAT hard as she sent them to some "bod" who doesn't even have a name.

So today was the day, that Oatie's siblings were due to go skiing and they didn't want to go without him.

Would you also believe that it was a teaching day, and the school who arranged this excluding activity (even though Oatie is an acomplished skiier) didnt' make any provision for him to come to school and learn... they even sent his AID on the ski trip! like how WRONG is that????

It took a few emails for the principle to actually admit that he wouldn't learn anything today, and then we will get to the end of the year when... they might bring back lets hold him back a year!!! I hate that line... as it's such a negative view point.

Pneumonia - Pneumonia - Chicken POX scare - pneumonia!

URGH.... the young one got pneumonia... my husband just saw the signs and rushed her in and she was in and out urgent care with xray done and meds within 2 hours... we caught it really quickly so she won't have any real damage to her lungs luckily!

So the little one was not very well and within 48 hours Oatie went down with it too... and then I caught a cold and my husband got a chest infection... by some weird chance the older two escaped it all!  We do tend to segregate the family out for meal times like some eat in the dining room and others who are well eat in the breakfast room and that seems to stop everyone being sick.

We then found out that now in our province that anyone at any stage of chickenpox can just wonder about at school... anywhere...

So you might not hear from me for a bit.... I feel so rough and I'm sure the kids fell rougher.. :((

Citizens

Today we became Citizens... it was a very exciting day and it was great to share this with my parents who happened to be here on holiday at the time!

So now we are all dual citizens... it was a 6 year process but it's finally complete!  And We got 100% in our citizenship tests.

Family Day....

We had a great family day... it was really nice we played games and just hung out.  The local community banned electronic gadgets for the day so I had better go lol!

They have arrived!

My parents have arrived for a month and the kids and Oatie are looking forward to skiing and spending time with the Grand Parents and Oatie is very excited as he has a great bond with his Grand Parents.

Oatie is keeping up his swimming and his ice skating every Saturday.  Oatie will make his showcase debut in the Skating Gala in April.  He's very excited!

Grand Parents Arrival

Oatie has been ill and so he has missed some of his disabled skiing this season which is a shame.  However for next Winter we can all ski together as the young one will be old enough for daycare at the mountain!!

Oatie surprised me that he could read in English.... like we read together but he would usually parrot the words but the other day he started to read the baby a story:))

The Grandparents are arriving in the middle of Feb which is exciting for everyone.

Such a busy January! but good-ish if i could coin a new word...

Oatie has had a good January, so far he's not been ill... he's been referred to the Asthma clinic so when he is ill, he might recover faster...

He has a wealth of friends, which sometimes the school i feel want to hold him back, and I'm like no,.... as just the other day a few kids we know have been recently bullied and you think, the thought of not being bullied as so valuable that it's worth it's weight in gold.

Oatie has been making great strides in his skating and the past two fridays have been too warm, to ski... so he hasnt been going which is a shame.

We passed our citizenship test the other week which once we got the letter came around fast...

Oatie went to a friends party the other day and his big brother went as his aid... and he was good for his brother and yesterday, Oatie was very well behaved at his friends house we went over for supper.

He's been having his night ABR bench on for a good while now... Oatie's reluctance of having it back on was worried that he might wet himself.... but he seemed to have got over that fear.

One of my friends who was a early years teacher, tutors him for 1.5 hours a week in the basics and he really enjoys the 1-1 and seem to be excelling..

We have been doing flash cards with Oatie for a number of years on and off, depending on his interest level and he surprised me the other day by READING me a story!

His speech is coming on no end as I think the French helps the English and vice versa... I have to say that Oatie is fluent in French and English and i love how he tells me about his French day in English and is so smart too.

How Out of Control Is Illegal Handicapped Parking?

How Out of Control Is Illegal Handicapped Parking?  click this link to read the post from another blog







A Subject close to my heart... especially when we've had feet of snow, and these people who abuse the space see me struggling to push the wheelchair around and they still abuse it! !  !







I know it's not a right, for us to have a handicapped parking, but it makes life that bit easier and I really cherish the spaces.

House of cards

Life is like a house of cards...

A self portrait! lol!

One of our friends homes burnt down, luckily they are all fine. But each day I drive by it I think Sheesh!

Currently fighting our Council for improved 911 addressing. Now reported them to the leader of the opposition of our province... I was doing that before the fire, but now it's made it more of a daily reminder for me....

Also reporting our internet company to the equivalent of the monopolies and mergers commission... they buy up independents, and give us the most awful internet going, it's almost the same speed as dialup! ! !

We've had the flu go around our family... and a variety of disappointments and frustrations and arghghghghghghghg. Not to mention some of my family members have been on the receiving end of bullying from a woman who projects herself to the powers that be at one of the kids extracurric activities as "florence nightingale"... and her true personality is just plain UGLY.

Rant over and out...

Injury still recovering... bureaucrats and abuse of disabled parking

I'm still recovering from my shoulder injury, it happened about 2 years ago pushing Oatie around up hill in snow..

I was so desperate for the pain to go, that I even let the physio stick the muscle reset needles in my shoulder muscle like 20 times! It does feel much better but I was a bit silly over the break by not doing my exercises...

We have got Oatie back in the rhythm of having his ABR bench on at night, the only night we won't put it on him is Sundays... so he has one day of freedom where he can sneak downstairs and watch TV lol!

I finally got a reply from some bureaucrats after 3 months, they claimed that their reply to me must have got lost... but usually when that happens the sender or It's happened to me, where you forward the original email when you sent it to the person to kind of restore that it was lost in good faith...

And I was watching Emma, (Jane Austen) and well the wheelchair in that was just that a dining chair with carriage wheels on it. The design or function or the ergonomics of it really hasn't evolved.. much...

You would have thought in this day and age, that the "designers" would be making it you can lift it without injury... and make it easy to fold... etc.... They do it with strollers... why not wheelchairs?

And What I cannot Fathom, is that each province here is responsible for it's own "healthcare" and what i don't get in a province that is in snow for a good 6 months of the year... why do they give (government issued that you spend half on)... wheelchairs out that don't work in the snow! I'm like... makes no sense!

And my biggest peave is, the timbit hockey parents... they come to get their player, too lazy to park and walk... so they ABUSE THE DISABLED PARKING, I reported it ot the local police force and nothing has improved so far.

So there I am with the government issued piece of junk that is WAY overpriced! in hte snow... with the most snow fall from the beginning of the last Century.. and LUCKY to be able to park in the disabled parking spot, with a recovering shoulder injury... all because some people are just too lazy to walk.

When I'm not with Oatie, I would never ever DREAM of parking in the disabled spot... what's wrong with people!