Snowy Wednesday...

Yesterday Oatie's dad said how when the snow on our shed gets to one inch it will snow, and well it did!  I think our shed has to be kept secret or the weather people might be out of work as his theory has been proven over 2.5 years.... YES!!! We have been in our new country for 2.5 years yesterday.... how exciting, I think we're going to make a special meal and pudding to celebrate tonight.

Oatie and his brother had a nice bath together, his brother asked if he could wash him and Oatie confessed his brother only washed his tummy!  When Oatie's brother is at home, Oatie when not on his bench is his constant shadow. and being 4 years apart sometimes has his challenges for both boys.  Oatie's brother likes play in the bath with Oatie as it's a place where Oatie's impairment isn't paramount, so they can again just play and be kids with out all the physical limitations.

Oatie and I are about to commence on our ABR Bench session but the boys are hanging up Oatie's brother's clothes and I can hear Oatie, say Tidy up now in a menacing way to his brother and then laughing!

This holiday Oatie's brother and sister have decided to see if they can teach Oatie to read, he can pick out numbers and letters and occasionally without any pictorial cue knows what something says... which as you can't ask him and get a straight answer you wonder if he read it or if it was by chance.

One of my pet hates, is when people talk about Oatie or ask a question about him to ME instead of him,  right in front of him while he's awake and it would be an answer a child of that age would answer for themselves.  I just say, why don't you ask him yourself?I suppose the annoying bit is another time they have a question they do the whole bypass thing, like he's not a person and I really don't like that, OK his speech isn't a coherent as an average person, but he isn't an average person, I think he's extraordinarily intelligent but just trapped, and just as gifted as his brother or sister or if not more as he tries sooooo much harder than they do. 

The brotherly bond is deteriorating into a battle of wills and even though Oatie isn't articulating as well as his brother he's holding his own in their verbal argument, even if it's no no no no no which is annoying his brother to bits as he can't get a word in edge-ways and as he does Oatie laughs and goes back to no no no no....  I think it's time for Bench!

2:35 and it was great apart from...

Ha ha no it's not post 2:41! Today we did a 2:35 of Manual ABR, we watched Barbies Fashion Fairytale which Oaties sister got for Christmas. Oatie put me through Super Babies Dora the Explorer. I don't mind Super Spies Dora as Swiper is the main character. I like watching the TV show "Modern Family" and I loved the bit when Cam said if he watched Dora one more time he would SNAP. Whenever Oatie requests Dora, that always makes me chuckle.  We also did a quick whirl in Toys R Us, and Oatie picked out his very first non Duplo lego, yes.... it's is a plane and car and trailer set, which is his favourite type of toy.  I'm hoping that it won't frustrate him, like Oatie can't do it on his own, but hopefully he'll accept help from one of us... it was very sweet, he held the box in the stroller, at Ikea he gave it a kiss and put it in his car seat, on the way home he hugged it and at night he put it to bed the box still sealed on his car garage.  Today we bought Oatie's brother and sister REAL plates and glasses. They are really excited.... Mummy treated the family to Creationary, which is the lego version of pictionary.  Well Oatie can't use a pencil like his brother or sister can at that age but we thought he's quite apt a lego so that might be a game that we can play as a family.

Boxing Day

My hot wheels toy, its a toy I can enjoy, I put the car in the launcher and hit the top and off it goes.

Christmas Day

Today no bench apart from my Machine, here I'm playing with a toy from Santa with my big brother. I was excellent. I/we could play as equals no able/less able issue!

No bench but...

Ok we had the unhealthiest day ever, well we did have a wholesome breakfast followed by gingerbread house for Lunch, we did have cheese on toast for snack followed by a stack of 14 inch French crepes with yummy toppings. It was the first time Oatie ate crepes like that as the texture used to make him gag. We made some homemade mince pies for Santa. Tomorrow homemade English scones with Jam for breakfast. Followed by a traditional Christmas Dinner and Harrods Christmas Pud. Merry Christmas! Love Oatie xxx

Christmas Eve yummy

It's Christmas Eve and I'm getting things ready for tomorrow, hopefully I'll have time for bench.

Gingerbread house still in one piece

Ohhh that gingerbread house is staring at me! I think we're eating it tomorrow Oatie's brother make a banana bread all by himself, (apart from putting and taking out of the oven) Today we did 2:55 manual ABR ! We watched Dora and Shrek2. This afternoon Oat's dad put up 3 sets of curtains, our Dining room, oat's and his sisters room, the kids have blackout lining which really gives you lovely quality of sleep. It's taken us two years to get around to putting them up lol! I'm excited about the dining room, it's really made the room cosy, for our 3rd Christmas in North America. The little ones are about to watch the snowman, followed by bubble baths and into bed.

I have a willing volunteer, his brother said when he's old enough he'd like to help mom out with rolling Oatie, ahhh.

The Gingerbread is still standing

Today we're about to start our Manual ABR, Oatie, goes to the DVD rack and picks his bench entertainment.  The Gingerbread house is still standing, the problem is that it is YUMMY and addictive!  as Oatie's brother and I counted out our whole family in gingerbread people, make some trees and an angel, stepping stones etc, after they were baked but before the house assembly, we kind of had a few extra gingerbread people which we shared out and ate, unfortunately Oatie ate Oatie, Oatie ended up in the eating pile, so Oatie became a teddy bear.  Well!  we had to make sure sure the gingerbread was OK after all it was a new recipe.  We're switching to N.American recipes as our European ones don't as well here, the ingredients are different, different altitude and humidity, which is nice as we're applying our knowledge to a new experience or method... Where am I going with this, well baking a cake or making bread or cookies is a scientific experiment each and every time, and it could come out different each time you make it just to one uncontrollable or controllable variable, but it still tastes ok or sometimes better.  ABR to me is science, logical, sensible science, what I also like about it, is that you feel like you are actually doing SOMETHING to help your child, rather than being passive as just waiting for the "miracle".  The thing is, as the ABR administrator so to speak, sometimes you as a person have leg aches, or arm aches or don't feel 100%, but the thing that always rings clear (I remember the trainers saying about a 3rd party rolling your child at school, may not be as good as perfect technique ABR, but better than not at all) to me is that even if your technique isn't on par that day, it's better than not doing ABR at all, a bit like your cake.

Well my top tips for rolling for me, are, We inherited a lovely thick carpet and thick underlay in our den, which our bench sits on, I'm by a huge window, so I get beautiful scenery of our yard we're on an acreage, I have my i phone with ear buds so when you've seen Dora for the millionth time.... you can tune it out and.... I have my Sketcher shoes, they are the banana shaped soles on them, and so amazing for rolling in.  We do 90% of our ABR standing up, or where possible, mainly as a result of a previous back injury.  Keeping fit, I find the fitter I become the easier it is me for our Daily ABR marathon.

I think we might take Christmas day off, for sure, but Oatie misses his bench.  He's still having 10-14 hours at night on his machine too.