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!

Niagara Falls

So the next day we went to Niagara Falls, it was out of season, and rather BRISK i'd say, but there were no queues.... quite a long walk for someone in a walker, but Oatie REFUSED to go in his wheels! The staff were all pleasant and it was all wheelchair friendly aboard the Maid of the Mist.

The last time I went on it was when I was 12/13 I think? It was my 4th Visit to the Falls as we used to visit my mums elder sister in Toronto every year or so when I was little. SO it was nice to take my kidlets on and see their faces and wonder if mine was like theirs in total AWE of something so natural and raw power and beauty.

Oatie on the Maid of the Mist... other people wanted to borrow it as we were all not very steady on our feet! He stood up for the entire thing.

The only thing is that if you're in a wheelchair it would be very hard to get up to the top deck to see anything... so you'd have to be lifted up the stairs... Luckily Oatie is not that big.... yet!

Another boat company is taking on the falls boat ride next year, i wonder if it will be more wheelchair accessible?

We have a photo of him smiling but I think it's on my husbands phone... I couldn't see when I took this photo from all the mist!

After the Boat Ride...

We then went to Boston Pizza... DO NOT GO! unless you want to spend 2 hours in there and be charged $3.15 for one soda! The service was rubbish... the only good thing was that the kids meals were good value... but $20 for a spag bol....??? hmmm! Both the Chinese and the Indian in the heart of Niagara were better value and more filling than the Boston Pizza and the service at the other two was brilliant! After Boston Pizza we headed for the Skylon...

Tomorrow I will tell you about the Skylon!!!

ROL...MMR.. ABR... an abbreviated day LOL!

Today Oatie had his 1 year old MMR Vaccine at the age of 4 3/4... yep.. I couldn't stomach him having it to be honest..   It's a shame that we don't live in a more higher vaccinated popluation... but I've still never got why they don't offer the single vaccines but just charge you extra for the nurse&room time?

You do that for travel vaccines? as it's deemed a luxury... why not others?

So far he seems to be fine, polished off 2 lunches, snack and a mighty dinner...

Then it got me wondering as I am really anti the MMR (as is my husband) but I was vaccinated as a child and I got Mumps and German measles and chicken pox (not together but within a year or two of each other)

But it got me thinking, as I am ANTI the MMR, and say I was PRO MMR, and he got vaccinated at 1... we didn't get Oatie's diagnosis till he was 2.5 so just think we might have wondered whether it attributed to his CP?

No I'm still not pro MMR...  Well I will keep you posted of his after MMR Vaccine...

Other than that, we had a normalish day I skated for an hour with a friend and swam a km, Oatie's dad and Oatie were doing "guy stuff" and then my daughter went straight from school (half day) to a friends for a playdate... so I went and had a quick coffee with another mum who's kid goes to the same school and then we both went and picked up from school.  I then got in Oatie's ABR while my older two went skating and now everyone is tuck up in bed well all 4 cats and 3 kidlets.

My husband is out grocery shopping and about to bring back our weekly treat!

Costco did take it back, I was with Oatie (he was in his stroller) and I didn't actually use the words I gestured more what happened... (I didn't realise Oatie had been listening during our walk with my friend) as then he just cut the crap and got to the point,.... he looked up from his nintendo DS and said with total Clarity....

"My mum's boobs were out!..." in a matter of fact tone... looked down again and carried on playing.

I was a bit taken back at his frankness....and I don't embarrass easily, but I'm sure my cheeks coloured a bit...at that point the lady immediately asked for my card and put the credit on my card.

Anyway... then after we decided to pick up some fruit from Costco when I saw another lady admiring the same costume... so we went over and I went to warn her.... when Oatie again, matter of factly said the same thing... and she said "thank you" to Oatie and he with a straight face said "you're welcome".

After he came home and told the older two and well they were all in hysterics...

If you want to borrow Oatie to return items, just let me know!

Have a great weekend if we're not about x

Beaver Camp Watch out!!! Take 2

Oatie did something cool today, look he's standing and holding his ipad, while steering his car racing game!

Oatie Standing holding his ipad

Well we had a usual Saturday, Older two had figure skating with a special surprise.  The coach who took my older two for their first experience ice skating ever, her daughter who was training to be a coach (she was a teenager) came to watch them today!  The Coaches daughter is at University and using her coaching to support herself so for a few weeks she is coaching on the other ice surface so in between another venue where she does lessons for the city in the morning the pm session is at our kids location, she came to watch them skate.  I have to say I was a bit choked, she is only 20, and she's teaching little guys how to skate, and for her other job she is respite care for a family with 3 special needs children twice a week.  Like WOW what a fine and lovely person.  (I know she is getting paid, but I saw her last week teaching and well when she taught mine 3 years ago, that she is just that type of person and it isn't about money for her.)  Her mum, is just the same... my little guy he was 6 at the time and at a skating seminar and my son was a bit shy/reserved and she was there for one of her own skaters a higher level skaters on opposite ice sessions to my son, and instead of taking her skates off and having a cup of tea.. she saw my son and asked if he wouldn't mind if she skated with him during the seminar and coached him for free and wouldn't have it any other way.  So all in all, she had her skates on for 6 hours that day.  This same woman supported Oatie's ice walker on the ice at our rec centre and when I showed her some photos of Oatie skating last week she was all choked up.


Just when you encounter unpleasantness over and over in your day to day life, to have people like that in your life, restores you faith in humanity... what a lovely family and we're really lucky to have them in our life.  I've noticed that whether you enjoy ice skating can often come from your first experience on the ice and this lady gave ours a positive one and now they have a sport/skill they can enjoy for life.


For my eldest, he came away relatively unscathed from being a premature 32weeker... but his gait and gross motor skills were his weakness, he reminded me of Maggie from the Simpsons...  I did put him in Ballet since he was two as I used to have pidgeon feet and my mum put me in ballet to correct my posture...Figure skating has been almost therapeutic for him, he is still awkward on land, like today he fell up the stairs and grazed his elbow... but on the ice he's solid and fluid and at home.  When he was 2 our doctor was concerned about his gait etc... and you can imagine what the conversation was like... well, just through ballet and figure skating he's a different kid, he's amazing he's working on his axel.


My little girl is at Beaver Scout Camp with her dad tonight.  Enjoying the company of another girl beaver, so tomorrow I'm doing the insane get your kid on the ice for the crack of dawn, but I'm taking Oatie along too.  I did swap our volunteer duties (playing music etc) so I can just sit there with Oatie... so hopefully I'll survive!

Winter LOL!  At least it's warm today, only -4oC  Not bad for a camp!

I posted this on Saturday night, but it appears on the web, but not in the sidebar... and then when you go to edit it online... it's BLANK! eh?

Jumping Thursday...

Today we got a really good session of ABR in, I was really pleased!  I ran 5 miles with my friend and had a skating lesson while my kids were having theirs... and I did a botched job of a Salchow but I did it and I have to say, I LOVE ice skating and I have two little coaches who skate past and give me some tips and show me how it's really done... lol!  I used to be really scared when I first started but since Oatie started to skate and I saw his sheer Bravery and sheer determination, I'm not scared anymore,... if someone who can't walk more than 30feet on land on the best day, is going to put some knifes on the feet and get on the slippery stuff, surely I can leave the air for a second or two!!!  I was jumping for an hour... (how on earth does my 8&6 year old do it for 2 hours?!?!?) they must have buns of steel!  They had a go at ice dancing today and went splat lol! but they got up and kept going.  Children are amazing they truly are!


My daughter was jumping for joy when she has a PD day (teacher training) on Tuesday as my other two get to come and See Oatie in his Ice Skating lesson.  Oatie is going to get spoiled rotten, they'll be putting on his harness and taking of his skate guards and fighting to dry his ice skates... they absolutely ADORE their baby brother and I'm really happy as they could have become indifferent to him, instead of being ashamed of him they burst with pride with his achievements... (and then they fight lol!)


Well I'm going to go and try some Scotch with honey on the rocks...

Had a Much Better Day...

Oatie at Story time with his story cape!

Today we had a much better day, I had a morning adult skate which is always great fun.  Then a friend came over for a coffee and Oatie wanted to get down off his bench (the cheeky monkey), but we did get one hour of ABR in.  Oatie really wanted to be social and got really excited showing her all his things and telling her all about everything as it was the first time she'd been over for a coffee, he enjoyed playing host, he even offered her a drink!  The choice he gave her was "Tea, Coffee or Juice... or you can share my juice, I'll share with you" I know what a sweetie, he's such a happy beautiful soul.  Although we've been friends for years, but we usually chat during the week while our kids skate on the benches and (funny enough...she is also my skating instructor and for this Sessions Oatie's Skating instructor too.)

Then my mother in law (super lady, I love her to bits) phoned and we haven't chatted for AGES so that was lovely too. 

I have put the episode yesterday behind me.   I suppose it's funny when you know you've grown up.  10-20 years ago I would have fought tooth and nail to get the person to see that they had incorrect facts and were wrong.  But Now, particularly since Oatie, I can't be bothered to argue back with someone who I can't have a rational debate etc. with and I'm happy to walk away from the conflict, as nothing you do or say will make any difference instead they just get worse!  The problem is that they want to keep at it and I don't see the point of arguing with people who demonstrate a lack of logical reasoning, I don't mind a good old fashioned healthy debate, but there is no point doing that with people who don't and refuse to see the facts as facts and get all steamed up about nothing or get the wrong end of the stick and then go on the war path.  The problem is, when you walk away from the conflict, it seems that they don't like it and keep on going! 

I remember this quote from one of my dad's desk calendars the paper ones which have a proverb or saying of the day under the date...from when I was a teen... funny enough he used to say it to me when I was a kid “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” by Mark Twain.

Life is way too short for all that and I can't be done with all that negative energy, what a waste of energy and for those who carry around grudges for years, how pointless is that?  What a total waste!  I actually almost pity them for being like that.

I, like Oatie, is fascinated with the Sun, I like warm, positive vibrant energy, I can't bear grudges, I never have and I don't think I ever will.

Oatie loves the Sun, he says sunshine is beautiful and I couldn't agree more.

To finish our nice day, we had a lovely pasta meal that had a slow cooked sauce and for pudding we home-made coconut milk ice cream with chocolate sauce on top.

Jan So far! ABR - Skating - Swimming and the government?

Well 2012 is going swimmingly well so far.

Well I'm not sure where I got to but I did have a nice lady come and tell us (government help) what they Can't do for us.  She was lovely... but as ABR isn't medically recognised they can't help pay towards transport or accommodation or anything.

Oatie can have some remedial help, but it's hours of being shown how to help him with his speech or whatever?  (OK I'm a bit puzzled at that bit). so once again, I'm the one doing it all with an onlooker???

Either way, we're unlikely to find someone as our province is anti alternatives... so they probably won't help anyway.  As ABR will contradict the therapists beliefs and hence they won't want to come over?


Well they will contribute towards clothes... maybe?  We do get some babysitting allowance... which is nice...

So all in all, not much help with anything really for our lifestyle... it's ok for those who are fully integrated with the medical professions viewpoint...I guess....

The last thing I fancy doing is going out. I don't mind once in a while, but I'd rather collapse snuggled on the sofa.

What I would like help with... maybe someone else help Oatie with an activity... or.... I would LOVE someone just to run through the house with a vacuum cleaner!!  Now that would be pure pleasure!!! That's what would be help!

Anyway we've picked up his Fall Kindergarten enrolment form. We've also started to save up for buying a bi-ski for him.  I still can't get over all the politics with borrowing one!


Last week for example, I was a bit late for my run before I skated so I ran up and down the stairs after 15 minutes of that, I felt like I had run a good few miles...  Can Oatie do something simple like that to get his heart pumping?  No!  The best I can find is Swimming at our leisure centre and skating and in time it will be Skiing too.  Our pool has reduced the swimming session times for "the Oaties!" great Huh!  They've knocked off an hour... then next year it will be another hour till it become a once a week event!

Did you know that Kidsport will only help WALKING kids!  (of course if you can't walk, you don't have a cardio vascular system did you know!!!)  gosh that makes me so cross.

Did you know that the special olympics is only for intellectual disability!  If you can't walk you can go and get stuffed too!  Where as.... CADS (canadian association for disabled skiiers encompasses both physically and intellecutally diverse people) as does the para olympics... they not only help people with limb loss, or paralysis.. but Cerebral Palsy and intellectual disabilities too!

I'm sorry but I have to say that unfair, why is the 'Special Olympics' excluding other amazing athletes out there just because they can't walk!  What happens in the scenario that you have a child with intellectual and physical disability?  I have emailed the Special olympics contact person several times posing this question with zero reply!  I guess you just get blocked out then!!!  What happens if you have mild CP and say you could walk... the para's don't have speed skating yet or figure skating as a recognised event... but the Special's do... or vice versa?

Why can't anyone who wants to do sport or exercise just be able to do it... why is there red tape and all this other stuff in the way... like you can walk so you get 'x' and you can't so you go that way... why can't everyone (all sports charities/groups) just work together and just get the whole community active rather than labouring on about who can and can't do what!

Aside from all of that, Oatie has been Swimming and Skating and thoroughly enjoying it.  We've been doing good ABR hours.

On a comical note, I've just used a "work out app" with upbeat music and reprogrammed it... to get the kids into bed, instead of rep interval airhorn... it comes up with the the airhorn... with the next stage(s) of getting ready for bed.  I even put story time interval in it.... in it and a two minute bedroom tidy and get their clothes out for tomorrow... it was super!!  Highly recommend it!  it's called UltraTimer in the app store! worth every cent!

The Best Christmas Holiday ever

WOW! What a brilliant 3 weeks! We've had the best Christmas Holidays EVER! It was 3 weeks but 3 brilliant weeks!

School finished just before Christmas, so that was nice as it gave me more time to get things organised. I shook off the Flu just before Christmas.

With the illness we went to visit Santa a bit later than we planned so it was about 4 days before Christmas day so that was nice.

Then we did some Christmas Baking, we made a cake for a friend as a gift for pudding on Christmas day. We were planning on having Christmas just ourselves but one of my best friends Oatie is best friends with her dog. My eldest is 6 months younger than her eldest and same for my middle and Oatie....

So we went there for Christmas day, we had the best day, we were with my friends family and it was really lovely and Christmassy.

Then on boxing day we cooked up our Christmas dinner.

The Gingerbread house that we made, it was delicious as it was homemade, and so much fun, we went to Bulk Barn and stocked up on candy (chocolate) to decorate it with.

Oatie playing with one of his new DS games.....

My eldest's cat. She loved Christmas, she "rearranged" the tree over and over and in the end took a sitting vigil in the tree and lay on the last remaining branch as I put the tree away....

During the week before New Years my older two had 2 play dates, so that was really nice and we entertained a few times with our super friends and their kiddlets for dinner which was really nice.

Then we had a great new years too. We had a special dinner and movies with the kids, they went to bed and then we stayed up to the early hours watching a movie with a bottle of wine which was nice. It was the Adjustment Bureau and well i was surprised as the director pulled it off well.

The kids built dens, played games, went for an ice skate, just played and we had so much fun.

I cooked for our upcoming ski trip as I've decided to start to save up for an adaptive ski for Oatie. The Bi-Ski is $3000US. So what we did was pick a self catering hotel-condo.

Then a few days after New Years I picked my parents up from the airport and then last weekend we left for our Family Ski trip. It's the first time I have skiied really since my daughter was born. The last time I skiied with my parents we didn't have any kids.

My dad has a milestone birthday in 2012 so I thought what a better way of celebrating it than doing what we all love.... SKI!

So we all did fit in to my Dodge Grand Caravan.... It was unbelieveable... but my dad even squashed Oatie's wheels in the car too! We had 6 pairs of skis and poles... 6 ski boots, Breakfast and Dinners for 7 for 5 days... Oatie's wheels, and all of us and it's a 7 seater.... and a SLED too! My husband did relent and buy a ski rack for the ski's...

Santa's Elf Workshop

I'm not sure what's going on with Blogger! but some of my scheduled posts didn't post... and some that did post didn't update in the column like my previous post..Charity is the faliure of governments globally... .Well overall Oatie had a ball, a few of the ladies who were running it are my friends and Oatie's dad took him for the first hour while I joined them for the second hour (I was ice skating with blocked ears... very interesting experience ) it involved a lot of arhhhhhghghghhhghghghg!

Well in the past my older two have both been and loved it, and they could go unattended as they were both potty trained.  If you're not potty trained then you can't participate in ANYTHING as a preschooler regardless of your age or reason.  So we had to accompany him, not that we minded it was quite exciting to share it with him.

I don't know, sometime you get this really off feeling from other people, like vibes WHY is Oatie at the workshop?  Or some of the helpers were just watching Oatie (trying to be discrete) when I felt the staring I automatically looked and then they'd look away... kind of intrigued what he would get from the experience.

A person (was a friend) I knew from 2 years back her younger child was there who's about 1 year younger than Oatie and well that was a bit awkward too, not sure if it was pity or avoidance or what...

I think the thing I felt from most of the parents when they came to pick their kids up (the people I didn't know) was that they saw Oatie and they felt FEAR!  Like OMG my child is in a room with "him" for 2 hours.

Well this one was from a few days before Christmas Eve that never got published...

Charity is the faliure of governments globally...

Well I was thinking about Charity how some countries have more of a certain type of Charity to support some causes than others and how some Charities are "means tested" and the type of people who GIVE to Charities too.


Well I was chatting to someone how I came about donating my hair (they hadn't seen me since the Summer) and well I was saying how you sometimes feel that you've "exhausted your group of people who sponsor you"... like how many times can you ask the same people to sponsor you for a run/swim/cycle to raise money for charity?


We wanted to go on a vacation, a family vacation and ski... the problem was that the equipment came from a charity and they couldn't let it leave the mountain. (well that's fair enough)... so it looked like we'd have to pay $3000 to buy one of our own.  Well then you think of how many other people who are non walkers who must ski, do they all have one in their garage... looking on a classifieds site... and seeing some for sale sadly not Oatie's size......  Ski shops rent "normal" ski equipment but no one except charities rent the BiSki's....


As it happens our nice instructor who is key in the charity that rents the biSkis found one that we could rent, he's such a lovely guy.... we have to go to another province... but we can go and ski as a family....


So I thought about setting up a charity, thinking well if it could raise money for a pool of the special sports equipment then people could hire and go and spend time with their family together rather than the non walking person not being involved and not paying $3000 to do so.  I fundriase all the time and I know a bunch of people who do the same.... But then I looked there are just simply thousands and thousands of charities out there.... and you think WHY?  even on just giving.com they were trying to promote the charities that people have never heard of... and you think well that charity was a plea for someone elses cause...


Well I could be wrong but I am sure it's the same sort of person who gives to Charity.  Why are there charities in the first place?  Apart from helping those who are less fortunate than yourselves... why is that money needed?  Why is it 'necessary' to have Charities?


If you think of how many thousands of pounds/dollars you have raised personally during your life as in individual and then multiply that by all the people who you know do the same or those who regularly put their hand in their pocket to give......


Or we had a situation in England where there was one Cancer hospice and it was for adults, and there was due to be a childrens's respite hospice within 3 miles... and basically the established hospice fought tooth and nail and almost sabotage so the children's hospice never left the ground.  Their reasoning was that if there were 2 hospices then the CHARITABLE DONATIONS WOULD BE HALVED!


So you have Charity Vs Charity wars too...


Or when only 20% of your £1 for example actually makes it to the people in need... so the rest is absorbed in overheads.


On a separate angle, we don't get any help whatsoever towards Oatie... the health care plan deems his treatment (which has made him go from a sack of potatoes to being able to stand freely in space and kick a ball) to adaptive gear for SPORT all considered a luxury... so he can be a PERSON rather than a "labelled disability, sit in a wheelchair and end of story".... you even have to pay for your disabled parking badge.  Anything and everything for Oatie is considered a "Luxury" so nothing is covered, not even Diapers!hhmmmmm?  The Diapers is a battle to commence...


I am sure that people might consider SPORTS for a non walking person to be a Luxury, but forgive me if I am mistaken, but  whether you have able legs or not, you still have a heart and lungs (not to mention feelings) and surely benefit from exercise as are people who can walk.... not to mention the emotional benefit of exercising, making friends etc etc...  But NO! it's a LUXURY!


Anything that will enable someone like Oatie to have a vague chance of leading an independent life or having a degree of normalcy  it is all called a LUXURY!  But hey, I think they'd under the medical insurance plan chop his tendons in his body in a heartbeat... and spend thousand and thousands of dollars on that...


A service dog... well that comes from a Charity.... a little bit of money towards an adaptive bike... well that comes from a charity...  The skiing that we did, the loan of the equipment... well that came from a Charity...  The Skating that Oatie we bought his equipment but its run by a  non-profit organisation..... even speech devices a lot are considered LUXURY so you have to stump up a lot of the cost.



EVEN Kidsport that is a Charity state that they bring sports to those kids who can't normally do them... well it looks like that is for WALKING kids only... and is means tested. 


Well we get means tested before taking into the cost of his clothes, diapers, equipment, treatment etc etc etc...




Anything that give him his humanity back... all comes from those with humanity (people like you, I...) from Charities...


Why is there so many Charities? Charity is like the hidden tax that people give from their heart...governments seem to DEPEND on it..... it seems to be the 'sandwich' between insivility and civility....globally....


Well I think that because there is the vast number of charities out there is a signs of  failure of Governments who all like their fat-cat pay cheques, and are bureaucrats paper shufflers who are powerhungry for power rather having the vested interest of the people who live in their country and make constantly short term plans till the next election rather than a long term vision that encompasses all areas of society. 



Rant over...and out.

Miserable gits...

Why are people just so blatantly miserable!  like seriously... they see someone like one of our special folk, who is willing to break the boundaries and defy "medical professionals predictions" and are some of the happiest people I know... ... and THEN their (Oatie for e.g) JOY draws out........this group of Bar-humbug people who I would like to group together and put them on "miserable mountain"

• Their nose it out of joint because you are under 90 and they use a disabled parking badge as do we...... (they are busy taking down your plate number) or shout this isn't "toddler parking!!!" or "you shouldn't park here" my favourite line is.... "hey! lets have a walking race!!!" that makes them RUN lol!
• You're in the pool with non special needs children of the same age...
• Ohhh don't go near "him" (Oatie) you might catch it... Catch WHAT?!!!! - Happiness?
• Ohh yes Happiness is an ILLNESS/DISEASE indeed!
•  Parent and tot Skating...  (suits us as Oatie needs me to skate with him)
• The other parents who are determined that their kid who can't even stand up on the ice (non physically challenged) is going to the NHL and this group lesson... which is parented class as the kids attending aren't "ready" to be brave to go without an adult with them... is SOOOOOOOOOOOOooo going to the NHL... and the fact that Oatie is there is a thorn in their side... Well GO and GET A LIFE MATEY!

Do you have any fun anecdotes with idiots?

Oh, and last bit of my rant... Skiing on Tuesday, and this woman about my age said... "I WISH I had one of those to sit in, and be pushed around and take it easy... he's so LUCKY!"

(Well Yes, Oatie was fortunate to have a Bi-Ski experience) I wouldn't call him having CP Lucky...and being unable to ski like 99% of the other skiers that day on their feet Lucky either... . and I'm sure that if it was possible he'd trade places with that woman wishing to "him" in a heartbeat.

Ice, Ice and More Ice... lol!

Laced up...

Oatie's PreSchool retirement is going well!  On Monday he has his skating lesson and insanely... I took him Swimming afterwards!  I know... I know!

Well considering we arrive about 45 minutes before he's due to go out to his lesson to put his skates on.  His skate are great... they open almost to the toe, just because of the spascisity in his feet, It takes about 10-15 minutes to put the skate on his more spastic foot and about 6-10 minutes on his not so spastic right foot.  I have to say that I am getting better at putting them on and this time after I took his skates off his feet felt like mine and he said "ahhhhh Nice Feet!"  before they became stiffer again... Did I mention the changing rooms are downstairs? so there is the bumping of his stroller down the stairs with his frame with mine and his skate bags?  Then the 20-25 minutes to put skates on Oatie... his harness is really easy to put on so maybe 5 mins and then I put my skates on and navigating the doors etc... so we do fill the 45 minutes arrival right till we step out.  My friend giggles as the lesson is 30 minutes and We spend 45 to get ready for it.

About to catch the Beach Ball... look at his Smile!

Anyhow... after that... we step out and Oatie is being a pickle... he doesn't want to stand around and sing preschool songs... (I couldn't agree more....) but when he shouted out NO Rudolf Pokey Hokey at the top of his lungs and NO!  I WANT SKATE NOT STAND HERE, not Rudolph's Hoof! !!! (they make a Christmas Hokey Pokey version about Rudolph putting his Right Hoof in etc), I was lost for words I was in agreement but he was a tad rude and then I was trying NOT to laugh at Rudolph Pokey Hokey as just how he said it was comical.and the extra detail of the Hoof... (he didn't have detail in his speech a while back so I was also smiling at his language development albeit a bit rude but honest at the same time).

Then he had his distaste of going around the pilons...(Cones) and literally stuck his pic in.  Now he can Steer too.. So I'm now encountering a new era with him.  Totally fascinating as well obviously he's his own person and has his own ideas and thoughts most of which he didn't have the ability to converse or convey... but now he's beginning to and it's really intriguing when you think you know someone and then they either back it up with words or contradict what you thought they might like or do... like Oatie.

Oatie Caught it!

Then there is the uncharted territory with Oatie for example at Skating on Monday.... and I... I his Mum and his majority caregiver....and now his physical aide... have the new dynamic of which role.  Like Rudeness I will always take him up on it, which ever hat I'm wearing... He might have a point but he can convey it in a more polite manner.  But his resistance of the pilons....   I had to take a step back and think well... if he was like my older two, if they resisted they'd either sit down or protest.  Here I have a hand through his harness and he can't sit down or protest like they did.  So I said that your teacher would like you to go through the pilons, do you understand and he said yes.  Then I said that I am here as your method to skate, to be your facilitator your aide,... as your mum I would like you to go through the pilons (none of the other kids wanted to go through the pilons either and sat on the ice...).  I said that you can now steer well enough to decide where you want to go... so if you choose not to go through the pilons your teacher will have a word with you and there might be consequences such as not getting a sticker for weaving through the pilons... do you understand? he said yes... so he just pootled off (me in tow) in the other direction by which his instructor came over and said no pilons not pilon sticker... so Oatie Huffed and turned his ice walker and weaved through he pilons and went and claimed his sticker.  It was an odd changed in balance of our relationship but I had to remind myself that if he could stand up on his own I wouldn't be out there with him, he would be him boundary testing,,,.  Obviously I wouldn't let him go off into a path of danger... but I felt he had asserted his "me" and wanted to test the boundaries like any other 4 year old.

I did say that if he worked hard in class, then we'd go for a swim after... so he did, he waited his turn, and did great.  He did cry when he dropped the pilons when it was time to clear up... he almost passed them to his instructor after carrying them 10feet and then dropped them 6inches shy of her hand.... which made him cry.  So after I explained that the pure fact that he wanted to tidy up and it didn't matter that he dropped them... the very fact he had a go was just amazing and I said just as amazing as his older brother landing his big fast jump... and Oatie just said ok and smiled.  I told Oatie he was too hard on himself... and he should be proud of how far he's come on his skates.  All this extra interaction with Oatie is all NEW...

Post Skating Snack... pulling a funny face for the camera...

Swimming was nice after, I do encourage him to develop his swimming kick and arm pulls as I really think he has the capacity to swim unaided one day.... or with a boyancy aide but without me holding him up.  He usually likes these plastic boats but when we couldn't find them instead of crying he found a ball instead to play with in the pool.....

After lunch we did 2hours of ABR before taking my older two skating.  At the moment Oatie cries if we're out of the house and he's hungry so I've been saying that he just needs to say Food or Hungry instead of howling and not using his words and we don't know what's wrong.  So he walks along the bench snuggled his head on my arm and said "Snack Mummy?" and blinked his cute eyelashes at me - another change another difference.

I have to say that after taking him skating and swimming and doing his bench taking the older two skating and doing all the normal chores I was looking forward to my bed later on in the day !!! but he does love his swimming and skating.

Our ABR has been going well... apart from the ski days we've been getting in 2-3 hours Monday-Friday.  At the weekend we've had Xmas parties to go to...

Today Tuessday, my older two had a ice dance test which they both passed, I was relieved as they both worked so hard, i've never seen either of them practice as much or as hard as they did for this one... so not passing would have been a bigger blow than if you don't practice as much isn't it.

We got in 3 hours of ABR which was good...



.

Oatie on Skis.... first Bi-Ski experience

I know! It's quite the Winter for our Oatie.... he's now sit skiing too!

Here is Oatie's dad on his very first time trying to use the Bi-Ski with Oatie...

Oaties Instructor and my daughter with Oatie... and yes Oatie did have a wipeout with his dad...

Oaties Dad with our instructor leading

This is what I will be doing tomorrow... Skiing yeah

Oatie in his Sit Ski called "Scooby"

On Sunday, we took Oatie Ice Skating

Another magical day, my older two had already skated for 1.45 minutes at 7am... and re put their skating gear on to take out Oatie.  My eldest was amazing, he cruised at almost standstill backwards to encourage Oatie and out of the boys we don't know who was smiling the most... 

Who would have though that he would be skating on his feet.  If you asked me back in March 2010 I would have thought it unlikely...

Anyway I did find his sqeaky hamburger!!! so he will get to use it after all :)

Puss in boots

The Day After Competition, we took the kids to see Puss in Boots... but first my eldest wanted to go and cheer on some of his friends who were also competing but in a different event....  My daughter is very fond of this one guy as she saw him land his first axel... and she spontaneously started cheering jumping up and down... and since then, he comes to see ours compete if he can and we him.

Well it was lovely, as their friend was warming up and didn't know we came out to see him skate and he skated past the glass saw my older two and his face just beamed... it was just so sweet...


Then we went 1km up the road to the Cinema and suprised Oatie with his hugest current Idol... his Idol is.... non other than Puss in boots from the Shrek film.  He watches Shrek 2 just to see the cat!  Oaties eyes lit up when he saw the poster and through out the entire 1.5 hours, his face was of Awe and wonderment it was just MAGIC to see his cute little face just Beaming...

Skating weekend! Toe Pics R Us LOL!

This was the first competition of the season, so new programmes for both my older two and new outfits too!

Oatie's Brother is skating to Coldplays' Viva la Vida and my daughter to the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.

Well I have to say that I am one proud mum.  Oatie clapped and cheered them on.  Neither of my older two placed.  My daughter skated up a category and well like my eldest often skating against kids 2 years older than them.

My son had an interesting time.... they misplayed his music, as soon as he almost got to his starting postion so he was off his game before even starting... they started his music instantly and his routine is action packed FAST... and near the end they cut his music off and stuck it back in the middle and then 10seconds before his time allowed they just pressed Stop!  So he missed of one of his best moves as he didn't know what was going on the poor love.  Anyway he's such a good sport, he was like "Oh Well!"

Both of them went and congratulated the kids on the podium... and well we had a great day...

Oatie's Sister

Oh No, my last weeks post disappeared in Blogworld!

I just went to update my blog when I realised that my last weeks one of the skating comp has gone.  Well I do use Blogger+ app on my iphone and on my ipad and occasionally I type on my desktop!  and somewhere between syncing all of them, it's gone!

November ABR Comparison photos are here!

ABR is truly AMAZING!

Parent and Tot

Parent and tot Skate (don't look at his helmet lol!)

On Monday! we did our first parent and tot skating.  We went for a trial run at family skate yesterday but for the first time in 3+ years the Sunday skate times have changed for the season.  However it was a nice drill for this morning.

I persuaded Oatie's dad to come to the first session just in case I was "Dangerous on my skates" for Oatie.  (there wasn't much persuasion on my part.... he was dying to come... he was great. I had to do all the carrying and lacing and putting the harness on myself... as that way I could see how I would fare next week by myself) but had Oatie's daddy for a lovely backup support.... As the first session in the USA was a blurr...  What became apparent was that Oatie and I need to practise putting his skates on at home during the week... as we were going to be late for our session so his dad put his helmet on while I put my skates on... it was a classic ROL(Roar of laughter) as.... it wasn't till the end of the session that we all realised that his helmet was on BACKWARDS!!!! but it did fit better I have to say! ROL!!!! (I'm just so glad it wasn't me who did that! lol!)

Well Oatie's dad deemed me SAFE.... I even went under the toddler height arch ways a few times.... (I got cheers from the stands).

We only had 3 ignorant BURKE'S.  One Father was Scowling at us... for being on in the parent and tot session... (WELL obviously as he believes that his son is going to be in the NHL, and Oatie is encroaching on is son's GROUP lesson where this kid stands up for all of one second and then takes a huge thunk).   Maybe a tad mean for me to say... well maybe....

Or this other mother who was scowling too at us in the class...  (little do they know that the instructors are my friends since we moved and they are delighted that they get to teach Oatie too)  Or was it the other blue badged vehicle Huffing at us believing that we just ABUSED our blue badge status in the parking lot!  Man I really detest that!  The Eye Rolling or them taking my plate.  Well my standard line is.... LETS HAVE A WALKING CONTEST AND SEE WHO WINS!!!?!

Yes these other blue badge people (who Eye roll and huff and take my licence plate) seem to all, be able to  get in and out of a "NORMAL" car, no adaptations, and can walk as fast as I can....

Maybe its because Oatie and I had a brilliant time on the East Coast.... where people in Toronto/Montreal Area couldn't do enough to help us and Buffalo U.S.A too... and coming back to our area.... is a culture shock!

Well Oatie was so very impressive on his skates... I have to say that I have Oatie in total Awe.... (Yes my eldest learning his Axel at 8.5 is amazing or my 6.5 year old her lutz...., but Oatie is just as amazing to me.  He's fearless, and a skating warrior... he won't rest he just wants to skate skate and skate!).  My husband said he couldn't tell who was beaming more on the ice... Me or Oatie...!

My eldest has a new job that he likes,... he gets the sharpening stone and takes off the burrs of Oaties blades from Oaties new Ice adventures! 

After all of that and our trip last week... I'm ready for a HUGE nap!