Trip to Shrewsbury, wind power, app coding and being grilled on politics over breakfast .

Today we set off early to Nanny and Grandads house. It's the first time I have attempted this drive for a while, as I was too tired when really poorly.

Once there we did some drawings and had walk round to the park, looking at the birds and plants as we bumbled along. Mum is not well at the moment and is under investigations for heart issues, so she tired easily. The Doctor has given her a telling off for not taking her medication and I could see how worried my Dad is, so I made time to talk it over with her. I know she is keeping a lot from me but between us we have persuaded her to persevere with the medications and I reassured her that it was good things had been picked up on early. I concerned me that she seems to be blaming herself for these issues, despite there being a history of stokes, angina , heart attacks in the family. Despite being in her mid 70's, she is finding it hard to accept that she needs to slow down a bit more. I helped her with lunch and we enjoyed a roast dinner.

Sam wanted to build a wind powered car and as it was a windy day, it seemed a good plan. We bought a kit whilst at Enginuity so got to work. Some of the small parts, particularly the gears were tricky to handle but Sam managed really well with some help.

As Owen had informed me earlier that he needed a 'personal day' , he decided to work on his own projects with friends online. He did join us for lunch and a chat but disappeared again until it was time for tea. Both boys went to jujitsu that evening as usual and despite some initial grumbling from Owen about leaving the house he enjoyed his session very much.

Next day Owen wanted to work on a new coding project from Bitsbox.com. It teaches the basics of app coding. In the past we have tried various coding lessons but they haven't grabbed the children's interest. Owen and I spent a happy time trying out the various projects and he was soon adapting the coding to customise his own apps. It was an impressive learning activity and you know it's a winner by how much laughing goes on. Sam came in to have a look at what we are doing, but is more hesitant to try the activity as yet, so he was happy to watch Owen for a while.

Owen and Sam are wanting more autonomy over their money these days and whilst I feel this is a good thing, there are certain issues I am concerned about. Mainly that they still loose things frequently and will become very distressed about it. This is one of the sides of ASD that is perplexing. Owen is very good at working out his money from a maths point of view, however he can go into places, buy what he needs, then just give the rest of his change ( no matter how large or small) to anyone..or leave it on the till. In his mind, he has what he wants , therefore has no further need for the rest of his money. It never occurs to him to save it. Sam is brilliant at saving but gets incredibly attached to certain notes and coins. He once had a £5 note he wanted to spend but expected it to be given back because he had formed an emotional attachment to it. He will also hide his money all over the house but forget where or why he hid it and get very upset when he can't remember . Usually the first thing we know about this, is him accusing us of taking his cash. It's tricky.

I noticed another parent had put a link on Facebook about GoHenry so decided to take them up on their 3 month free trial. It's aimed at 8-18 year olds and gives them a debit card, that the parents can top up as necessary. You can't overspend on it and you can tweak it to suit your child's needs. I ordered a card for each boy and we shall see how it goes. I know it annoys them when they have to wait for me to authorise online payments for them...this way they can do it safely with their own money and I have the peace of mind of being able to top the cards up for them as necessary. Should be interesting. I have yet to think of an acceptable system for them not to loose the cards..watch this space.

There were battles on the PC with each other and friends today. Owens kindle arrived, so I showed him how to use it and added some of his pocket money on there so he could order the books he wanted. Rudie Dudie was the first he added and he was very happy when I told him how long the battery life lasted. We then watched some Horrible Histories before tea time.

There were copious games of Pizza fractions, Owen read and read and read and read. Sam finished his latest Harry Potter book and decided he would like a kindle reader too. We played Frustration, did more coding..and more coding...and more coding..and I fear there will be burn out from coding.

We had the plumber round and managed to fit in my ECG at the hospital ..the children read whilst they waited and I grabbed some lunch on the way home.

Discussions over breakfast included but we're not exclusively about:

Joining the army and subscription.

Both world Wars, Afghanistan, some of the very many and often, dubious reasons why wars start.

The national debt, why you should never judge anyone buy their religion, skin colour or nationality. 

Why desperate people are risking death to reach Europe in unsafe boats and ' why some people really don't like Katie Hopkins and Peers Morgan'.

Just a normal breakfast debate....*blinks*

He next day we had a stoat in the garden...much excitement and reading about stoats followed. Sam and I then played Buy it Right and Cat in the Hat game whilst Owen played online with his friend. 

Blokey has finished work and we are pleased to have him home for the long weekend, especially as I haven't been well this last few days. Sadly, this means the three menfolk going to the cinema without me to see the new Marvel film. Which I was informed 'was the best one yet!'

Before coming home they visited Blokeys parents and then we all did I our own thing for the rest of the afternoon. Sam and Owen playing with friends online and just generally chilling out. As I was going out with friends, Blokey took the boys for a pizza after dropping me off. The children and him spent time playing and watching films together until it was time to collect me.

We all had a bit of a lie in the next morning, then Sam and Blokey decided to go swimming. Owen and I watched a BBC historical programme whilst enjoying a leisurely breakfast.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05p3077/story-of-britain

Nanny and Grandad are visiting London this week and texted to say they were on top of the Shard, so we looked it up and the view that they would see from up there.

Afterwards we took the boys to see some more of the Ironbridge Gorge. This week we visited the Tar Tunnels and the China Museum. After the tar tunnels we walked along the canal and visited the Boat pub and the landlady spent some time talking to the boys about the times it has flooded. We took a photo of the various markers up the wall, showing how high the water had risen over the years. As they were not doing food there she directed us back across the River Severn and we had a fantastic lunch at the Shakespeare. There was a lovely play area and the food was delicious ..none of us managed to eat it all, due to the humongous portions we were given. The walk back along the canal was much slower going back towards the China Museum.

We weren't sure if the children would enjoy the China museum, however they did, despite getting a bit tired after all the walking. We completed the Bear Hunt and spent quite a long time chatting to the lady doing a pottery demonstration. This led on to chats about alsorts of aspects of the workers lives in the pottery factory. 

We visited the Glass workshop and sales centre but with the very expensive glass for sale, both of us got very anxious about Sam and Owen's flappy hands and arms and didn't stay long in that bit. We didn't fancy paying £950 in breakages and there were some fantastic prices of glass in there.

As always the staff at every part of the museum were wonderfully helpful about answering the children's many, many questions. 

Robot wars and Pizza 20th April 2015

There has been renewed interest in the Home Ed Minecraft server this week. It's been rejigged and the new format really suits Owen's skill set. This enabled him to make two new friends and enjoy some collaborative work. It was lovely to see him working happily and getting along so well.

The weather has been great again so we hopped on our bikes and went for a ride. The children were having trouble adjusting to their new shoes but some Frisby and bubble therapy at the park helped overcome their anxiety.

Back home Owen designed some Minecraft outfits for his new friends and Sam worked on Scribblenauts. Later on the children had a great time at their jujitsu class.

Quite a bit of free play is happening and the children are getting more and more competent with their PC skills. We took another look at Winky Think and the boys enjoyed progressing through the levels. Owen decided he wanted to make Sam and his dinner so I helped him to organise that.

Our new BBQ arrived, so we made the most of the great weather and ate outside when Blokey got home.

Both boys decided they wanted to watch Horrible Histories , so spent some time looking at that. We looked at a new server based in the U.S. That their new Minecrafting buddies had told the children about, so I helped the boys register their details.

We went to see the SpongeBob movie and they laughed like drains all the way through.

The next day involved a lot of reading, more Winky Think and Scribblenauts and a new game called Pizza Fraction Bingo. The children were a little hesitant at first, due to the fact that the word 'Fraction' was on the box. However I showed them how it was played and we spent over an hour giggling and playing with it. 'Just one more game Mum!' ...so it was a hit. It still makes me sad that anything they construe as remotely ' learning based ' fills them with such anxiety, even when they are very capable and more confident these days.

Owen went off to read some more of his library book, so Sam and I played the Wildcraft game...we successfully made it back to Grandmas house with our huckleberries before night fall.

Then more Winky Think and MORE Pizza Fraction bingo. Owen chose some activities  from his book. One involved each person making a face, then adding another expression on until someone got the sequence wrong...very funny.

The other involved designing and drawing robots.

After lunch, As it was such a lovely day, we took ourselves outside and played 'what's the time Mr Wolf', before setting up our hand drawn Robot army for battle in the shade of the washing line. The boys then began to devise a more and more elaborate game with their drawings.

The rules were fairly fluid but resembled Top Trumps. Basically, you pitched your Robots against each other creating , as the whim took you and depending on what was drawn, super powers to beat your opponent.

Suitable super powers mentioned were many and varied but some of our particular favourites were:

Robot Dad....who gave you 'the frowning of a lifetime'

Stink Bot...who's 'fetid breath killed at 100 paces'

Psychic Bot...this one proved to be quite indestructible, as he could make his opposition do anything he wanted...including blowing themselves up, or doing his general bidding.

I have probably forgotten many, I was laughing that much at Sam and Owen's antics.

Off to the Wildwood today...lets gloss over the extra trip around Stafford town centre because I got in the wrong lane...I didn't panic..nothing to see here.

The children ( and I ) had fun catching up with friends and the exercise equipment was a big hit again. The weather stayed fine for us and we all had a great time . I do love our friends.

As the weather was a bit hit and miss we decided to go to Enginuity in Telford.

http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/our-attractions/enginuity/

It took a big of persuading to get Owen out of the house but once there he loved it. We all agreed it was absolutely brilliant and the children had a great time. We decided to buy the Ironbridge Museums yearly pass, in order to have access to all the attractions in the area throughout the year. The staff are so very helpful and friendly. Whilst there we had a look round the Iron Museum which was next door. I am sure the boys were more interested in this part due to all the Minecraft related references such as smelting, forges, anvils and all the ore samples to look at. Although the the statue of Abraham Derby creeped Sam out considerably.

The next day involved swimming, Horrible Histories, Minecraft, cycling and lots and lots of jobs for the adults to do.

April 13th 2015

Monday

Owen was asking about Howard Hughes at breakfast time, what an interesting, driven and complicated man he was. Owen said 'Do you think he had Aspergers?'

We baked some bread. Then followed Batman, Minecraft and me trying to explain knock , knock jokes with a horrendous migraine. There was much laughing, possibly for all the wrong reasons.

http://amomwithalessonplan.com/knock-knock-jokes-for-kids/

Sam and I started building a model castle out of bricks. You have to mix the cement etc...I thought this was fabulous. Confession time. I couldn't wait to get started and was secretly hoping I would be left to finish it too.

So there I am mixing and sorting 'my' bricks etc..then curiosity got the better of Sam and we did the first three levels together. He struggled with the smell and gritty texture of the mortar. So thankfully my inner builder wasn't completely shoved out of the way. I mixed and applied the mortar , he placed the bricks ( with copious hand wiping from the youngling).

Owen was very impressed with our progress and now fancies a go too. *darn*. Later he put in an hours work and finally I was left alone to channel my inner builder...not that they had left me much to do. I have another kit in the post. My keep it to myself bwah ha ha. After this the boys teamed up with a friend and enjoyed some Minecrafting online whilst I prepared tea. My cooking was accompanied by raucous laughter...I enjoyed this particular incidental music very much.

We were up bright and early the next day, the sun was shining and the children were up for a bike ride. We called at the post office and then on to the park. By chance we met another family and as we all hit it off, we had a great time playing. A quick play, turned into a couple of hours and eventually we cycled back home and the boy devoured a large lunch.

Afterwards Owen and I looked at the Adventure Time app and he showed me how to make a platform game. 

Later him and Sam studied their books and we did some maths. This bit was amusing..they wanted to do a maths program, one we previously gave up on because they were hating it. So I explained the previous issues but they still wanted to do it..20 mins in they were nearly in meltdowns of frustration and I saved all our sanity with a liberal application of humour. In a positive way, it made me realise how far we have come, we don't do too much stuff like this anymore and for very good reason.  We do real time, real life, living and learning, making it more well rounded and suited to the boys personal style...it's fun, it's and it makes them happy. Later they played with friends online, got themselves ready for bed and we all snuggled up with blankets for Dr Who.

In other good news this week, we finally got our car back on the road..we are all looking forward to getting out more and catching up with friends ..can't wait.

Oh transitions ...grrrr... I have been berated by the boys for the absence of the car and their need for the library and to see friends. So when asked to go to the library today I agreed immediately.

I expect the negotiations to start about the arrangements, so I am not surprised when the questions start pouring out the second the boys wake.

Sadly this causes starts meltdowns before and over breakfast. I can't say or do anything to help and experience tells me to back off..which I do. After an hour both the children are fed, watered and their meds done.

My shopping arrives and things are sufficiently calm to prepare the children to leave the house..it's going well. We get to the library where both decide they no longer want any books. I just acknowledge this and back off, looking at titles they may like without saying anything. I just lay them out on the floor. I would be lying if I said I wasn't grinding my teeth ever so slightly.

Then there is a flurry of activity and they choose some of the scattered books I have pulled off the shelves. Owen promptly buries his head in one of the books. There is no point in rushing him, so Sam and I go to check out his books in the meantime. Owen composes himself and gets his books to the counter with his card. The lovely ladies at the library have kept a book back for him and this cheers him up enough for me to ask if he minds me nipping next door to book a hair cut.

Both boys were really helpful and we get into the car without further stress for O and my hair appointment sorted out. I then struggle to get the car out of the parking spot..not because I have been boxed in..just because it's been so long since I drove and I need to get used to the car again. When I look in the mirror I see the frowny faces glaring at the back of my head. They are picking up on my embarrassment at my rusty parking skills. A cluster headache starts to stab the back of my eye in warning. Thankfully it's just a short drive home. On arriving home I feel anxious and tired, Owen and Sam head off to their respective corners and zone out. I head for the injections and some water.

I know that in another week or so they will readjust to going out. It's sad that even though they want to go out , they are finding it stressful to make the necessary transitions. We do so well these days but I am reminded that when life happens and we have to accommodate those annoying inconveniences , we have to ease the children back into things again and that we regress a little.

I could cry at how hard it is for them at times like this and I am frustrated. Not with the boys but with the dark shadow that clouds our view of the world. Those clouds blow away much quicker now and I am relieved that the boys find it easier to get back on track than they used to.

I had been following a Kickstarter project relating to coding. So showed it to Owen over breakfast to see if he was interested. There was a sample free to try before committing to buy.

Now although the boys are very interested in coding, we are yet to find something that suited their learning styles. So I was pleased when Owen got very excited using the sample BitsBox supplied. So much so he asked me to sign up for the monthly projects. Since both boys are not too interested in gaining stickers and cards I arranged to try the PDF version ..quicker and less costly on shipping too. It starts on the 20th and Owen is looking forward to receiving the email.

https://bitsbox.com/

After lunch we go off to the park to meet friends. It's much busier than normal, due to the school holidays, but the boys have a great time. They are very tired when we leave and it takes a good couple of hours for their speech and actions to calm down. A good day.

On Saturday we take the children to the Nature Reserve at Wolseley. We have a brilliant time wandering round and when the children started to tire, we called into the garden centre for lunch. Back home, after tea, we all cuddled up and watched Dr Who on Netflix.

Took some time to convince the boys this chap was real!

Sunday 

the children and Blokey went swimming, I baked our weekly bread rolls and a loaf and caught up in some chores. We had lunch and the children played together for a while, before doing their own things. Sam wanted to watch some Pokemon and Owen did a big build in the Home Ed Minecraft server with his friends. I painted some pictures and Blokey kindly hung them on the living room wall for me.

Blokey spotted a bargain PC on EBay and was lucky enough to win it for Sam..so they headed off to collect it. 

Easter Bank Holiday week 2015

Despite still being carless, we managed to hire a vehicle for the Easter Bank holiday and took the boys out . Swimming and trips to the park were in order and very much enjoyed by all. I am hoping to have news on our car repairs soon, which is good because we are getting a little stir crazy and missing our friends.

I am reading this very interesting book at the moment and joining a lot of dots. It underlines the need to let the children lead with their own learning strategies. I am working hard at curbing my need to organise them too much ....it's not easy for me but I can see they are becoming more independent , so that's helping my nerves.

We made this recycled racer, using elastic bands , a loo roll tube, a pencil and two old CD's. It took us a while to get it right but we managed after some adjustments.

The boys asked me to show them how to play Jacks...then told me I was rather rubbish at it. It's true I am, but once they had a go they realised its not that easy. We all need more practice!

Sam made this tortoise but we could not get the head to stay on...as he is reading Harry Potter he named his 'Definately Headless Nick'. Shortly after this pic Nick's head fell off again.

Sam made a slightly 3 D picture.

This one is Owen's , he found the 3D results 'disappointing ' . 

Our 'not really that impressive' 3D effect kit ;-)

Blokey was kind enough to hang the children's artwork up, whilst he was off work.

Owen asked me to help him with his tattoo .

We found that by repositioning our 

Tortoise's head, we finally got them to stay on....I think you will agree they look very happy.

We played with spinning tops, fans, whatever they are.....'spinning things'....

Building their Easter Eggs, proved to be more fun than eating them ;-)

We all enjoyed a day trip to Trentham gardens , exploring the hobbity houses, playing in the park and a family meal.

Whilst we were there Owen discovered some Minecraft books he would like. They were too expensive for him from the shop. After we got home , Owen and I researched best prices on the Internet and he was delighted to be able to buy all the books he wanted with his Easter Money from his Nan.

He has put them to good use already this week, trying out hints and tips on how to build and mine more successfully .

Sam enjoyed climbing with Blokey.

Owen joined in with some other children to do an obstacle race over the climbing equipment.

We enjoyed our meal outside in the sunshine, Sam shielded his eyes from the sun with his coat.

Back home we played Suspend.

Owen was happy with his finished egg.

Blokey and I used our time at home planting and painting in the garden. We also sorted out some clothes and items for the Hospice Shop whilst we had a car to take the stuff there. I also managed completely reorganise the craft/spare bedroom and get it much more tidy and workable. Phew!

We have also had visitors this week, old school friends of Blokeys on different days and Blokeys parents stopped by with goodies for the children and a natter.

There has been much playing of Terraria with friends this week. The boys decided to tried it whilst it was free one day and are now really enjoying finding their way round.

Blokey went back to work and throughout the week he trundled back and forth with more offerings for the garden. Two trees, bamboo, bedding plants and more compost. He took the boys to Jujitsu on Tuesday and came home with flowers for me. He does this most weeks now and I am deeply touched by his thoughtfulness.

There was also lots of reading, lots of maths ( money work) , strategy games, drawing, colouring and general active bustling. We made the most of the nice weather, played with the children off school in the street and rode our bikes to the park. The boys also enjoyed a kick about with some of the older children on the village green.

A good week.. * happy face*