The security of a bedtime routine

Routines.  They keep our home ticking over. We've been following the same routines to get ourselves out the door ready for school for years.  Whenever there was a change needed, we've given time for the routine to change, notice of it happening and sometimes, we even did trial runs.  And it's exactly the same for getting the kids to bed.

Making a tiny bit of time mummy's

I was reading an interesting post from Lucy at Home about how, as a mum, it's easy to be the bottom priority in the family.  I love my children and they are the world to me, but it can seem like there isn't a second to rest.  There are things I simply feel I must do.  I must get to their various appointments, make sure they are safe, teach them how they can function in a world not built for them. Perhaps having kids with additional needs has highlighted just how much support they need.

WonderfulWednesday: oktosay via @heads_together

This week's wonderful Wednesday share was found on Heads Together through their twitter feed. It's a fantastic video staring some members of the Royal Family chatting about the normalcy of mental health and how talking about it helps.

Siblings, lies and untruths

"That's a lie."

"No, it's not."

I can not even hazard a guess at how many times I've heard this exchange in our house over the last few weeks. Part of this is due to Anthony, our eight year old autistic son who has never told me a lie in his life.  Never.  And he also has difficulty in understanding when someone is lying, and someone is playing or joking around.

To our little star

We can't see a lot of the sky from where we are particularly.  However, our eldest loves looking out at the night.  The night tends to be more quiet which he likes.  He also sees light differently. 

He is perfect.. and he has a disability

A friend of mine went to a museum not long ago and had the following conversation when she got the the ticket desk.  I think it tells some interesting truths.

WonderfulWednesday: Celebrating the runner via @brightvibes_com

This week's wonderful Wednesday share came via Bright Vibes and was a video from autismrunners.com. Alex and Jamie are autistic and completely dependent, needing 24 hour supervision. They can be very challenging, and at times, have extremely severe behaviours. But this isn't how I found out about these twin brothers. I was just watching a marathon clip.

Do you have Magic Fairy Wings?

Jane just loves dressing up and role play. Put a foil pencil in her hand and she is a magical fairy or a prince with a sword.   A pirate hat makes her pink beard(!?), pirate of the rainbow seas and when she flips it around she's an astronaut in a rocket and 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..... she's blasted off the back of the sofa and landed on cushion moon. But it's not that easy for all my kids.

MadeUpMilestones: Finally holding my daughter by @TrishaKatkin

This month's #madeupmilestones is a little different. Sensory Processing Disorder is complex. The term itself encompasses so many various types of people. From the ones that like to be hugged, to the ones that run away at every cost, SPD affect everyone differently. While some love the smell of dirty laundry, others begin to gag.

Here Trisha answers our three questions; who has achieved their #madeupmilestone, when and where did the #madeupmilestone happen, and the fab part... what happened, as she tells us about her glorious and wonderful eldest daughter, who is Tactile Defensive.