I have an email to write!

supermarket gingerbread train                                        

LEGO monster train

We went shopping tonight, you know just the essentials - milk and bread, but those shopping giants are clever. Right there at the front door on a huge table, with big "Special $4" signs were the gingerbread Ghost Train kits.

You might recall my previous post about baking and the gingerbread Christmas Train that started it all.

Callum could not go past this stand.  In fact, I was able to go back outside and get a trolley while he stood there, lovingly holding the box and examining every detail. "Please Mummy can we get the Lego Monster Train?" We don't celebrate Halloween in our house, so I was happy that he wanted to make the LEGO train. It does look similar.

"We have to wait until it is dark Mummy, it's the scary night." Nothing gets past this kid. We have settled that we will make it tomorrow, when we have more time. We have read through all the instructions and are pretty impressed that this kit comes with a tray to help keep the gingerbread pieces in the right position. Something that the Christmas train kit did not.

I have an email to send to the Create a Treat company. They don't even have this train on their website in the Halloween section (it wasn't in Valentine, Christmas, Easter or Frosted Cookies either!). We know about the Christmas train, but I need to let them know, that for the train obsessed Junior Master Chef, we need a train to cover all the special days.

They could just have a plain train and we could decorate it ourselves for each holiday. January - Australia Day, February - Valentine's Day, March - St Patrick's Day, April - Easter, September - birthday, October - Monster Lego, December - Christmas!

I could become their best customer!

What a cutie!

What wonderful friends I have who have been so supportive (and a little outraged as well) about my last post.

When we return from Kindy our first stop is always the Library station. I love that he loves books. We usually read a few then select one to borrow. (That might be the next staff complaint - usually the students are limited to a set number of books they can borrow, Callum borrows lots of books, far more than the specified limit) He found a penguin one straight away "How did that get there?" at the top of his lungs - he returned it at his library lesson this week. Then he read a dinosaur book, he couldn't borrow that one - too scary. He settled on a train book - surprise, surprise.

We then moved on to the DP's office where little man put on quite a performance. He happily chortled away about trains, when a friend told him that her brother drives a train he replied with "I don't believe it!" (It really is hard to convey the way he says these things in printed word - just know it was cute)

He had already had his marshmallows (weekly treat) and had also scored a lolly ring. When he was offered another sweet treat, he replied " I think I had enough." He enjoyed looking through the treats to see what was available, but didn't want anymore.

He asked to look at trains on the computer. He happily stood and watched (little arms moving like the chugging of big engine wheels) and then happily sat and watched in the chair when it was offered to him.

He then sat in my lap, happily announcing "Mummy I love you."

He is such a cutie!!

Building Resilience

What a week for building resilience my little one has had!  I think he has handled it really well.

First - he can't go into the staffroom at work anymore. He loved going in there to sit at the table and have his afternoon tea. He also visited one of the Deputy Principals and got a tasty treat. Such is teaching, I do not finish work when the kids go home. I still have work to do, so Callum often comes to my room while I work, then on our way out to various therapy appointments, we would stop and have a quick afternoon snack in the staffroom (it's where the fridge is, I don't have one in my room).
He would also go to the ladies toilet with me before we left.

Someone at work complained, so now he is not allowed in there. I can understand that it is a teacher's space, but it wasn't crowded and I certainly didn't do it when social gatherings were being held. I wasn't ready to send him off to the toilets on his own (he'd have to use the older kids toilet and I'm not ready for the teasing and comments about the weird boy who acts like a train. I'm sure there would be a complaint if I went into the boy's toilet with him, and if he went into the girls toilet.)

So he has had to wait outside the staffroom. He did get teary and upset, but it didn't last long. Luckily the Deputy Principal is very understanding and she came outside to him.

His second resilience lesson was on the weekend. We went away for the weekend, our sole purpose really was to go on a steam train. Callum has a very clever daddy who decided that we would go into the town where the steam train was, to check that we knew where we were going the following morning. We went to the local information centre, who informed us, that the steam train was not currently operating on account that they hadn't completed the necessary government paperwork on time. (We did ring a fortnight earlier to check that it was still on, yes we always run was the reply!) Imagine if we had shown up Sunday morning, complete in our train engineer costume that we had packed?? Endless questions about why the train was broken, but other than that, he handled it very well. "We can come back another time, when it's not broken."

The third lesson was his show and share on Monday. He has daycare and school on Monday. Callum thought he had his show and share (a pamphlet of the steam train from the weekend that we were supposed to go on) at daycare but we couldn't find it. He thought someone had stolen it. Some little tears but then after talking with him, and reminding him that it might be at school, that he could check the next day, he was happy.

They don't seem like big things, and not that Callum has huge meltdowns, but they pretty important to him. Learning to regulate his emotions and calm himself quickly are important skills that he needs to develop. I'm so proud of how he has handled himself this last week - especially the second one!! :)

Maybe I do have patience afterall

Yesterday I went to seminar on transitioning to Prep for ASD students. It was being presented by two ladies whom I have come to know well (they made a joke about me being a frequent flyer and requested if they have a loyalty card! :)

I was reminded that you can never rush a person with ASD. (One of the ladies favourite sayings, reminding us parents that organisation is key.) I thought I had followed all Callum's rituals for the morning and so was trying to move him out the door and off to Kindy.

Just as I got to the front door, Callum told me that he wanted to read his book to me. This is an A3 book that he made at his ECDP class of nursery rhymes. "Sure honey, that would be great." So he promptly sang all the nursery rhymes in his book - all 5 of them, complete with velcro parts that have to be acted out. (Imagine 5 speckled frogs that all have to take their turn jumping off the log.)

When he got to the end, he returned to the front cover and named all the pictures. He stopped at one delightful picture of a woman (imagine Mary Poppins) holding a gardening fork. "What's that song Mummy?"  "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary."  "That's not in the book, the picture has to come off!"

Luckily I was able to persuade him that the picture could stay and we were able to leave the house. I must remember to hide that book tonight. :)

PEOPLE NEED TO BE EDUCATED

People need to be educated about Autism! I'm able to ignore the people who express concern that their child will catch it from Callum. (Frankly you have more chance of catching
Ebola than you do Autism!)  I've often thought about purchasing the t-shirts I see advertised - "Keep staring you might cure my son's Autism, then we can work on your social skills." Or my personal favourite "My child doesn't look Autistic and you don't look ignorant, yet here we are." But that wouldn't be fair to Callum.

But I'm yet to be able to ignore people who think that they can make comments about my child, whom they have never met, other than their less than 1min observation of him. We were shopping in Target today. After many views on YouTube, we finally have Power Trains in the stores. To say Callum was pretty excited would be an understatement. He wasn't being naughty, he wasn't running around ripping things off the shelf or lying on the floor screaming (as some little shoppers were). What he was doing, was excitedly telling his dad what each packet contained - engine, caboose, hopper car, tanker car, tracks. Yes he was loud, and he was running back and forth from the display to his dad. 

One lady felt the need to make a comment. Isn't it funny how the comment isn't said directly to you, but really loud within your vicinity, then when you challenge them, oh no it wasn't about your child. Said to her own children, something along the lines of  "He is being naughty isn't he, yelling and not walking nicely like you." (I am getting better at forgetting exactly what they say, because I need my brain cells to remember so much more!) Hey, one child was strapped to your chest, another was in the trolley and one was actually walking. Callum wasn't hurting anyone, he wasn't damaging property. He was just loud and fast.

It's all relative. Some people might think the kids in the interactive display, throwing the stuff that's supposed to be snow and singing "Let It Go" at the top of their lungs are being naughty, some others might think they are just being kids. Mine was just being a kid, as he knows how.

Time well spent

This is the culprit who started it all! Last year near Christmas, Callum spotted this gingerbread kit in the supermarket. It's a train, enough said. This was the first time I had ever attempted such a thing, but was a beautiful thing for Callum. He dressed up in his Junior Masterchef outfit (complete with chef hat - looks very cute). He stuck on most of the lollies and certainly enjoyed demolishing the train.

Fast forward to this year and little man started Kindy. I set myself the goal of baking some treat for his lunch box. This has begun a lovely ritual for Callum and I each Sunday afternoon.  Early in the week we search for cupcake decorating ideas on Google images.  Callum selects what he wants and when we go shopping we get the necessary ingredients.

We do cookies or cupcakes (so far).  We have done a lot of train cupcakes - some with train chocolate molds, some with licorice trains.  I've had a lot of fun figuring out/researching how to do some of the things required (teddies in a blanket, spider webs, teddies at the beach to name a few).

What has been most enjoyable is the growth I've seen in Callum.  When we first began baking, he had to leave the room when I switched on the mix master, the noise was too much.  Now he actually turns on the mix master himself.  He has learned how to crack an egg, measure ingredients, is great with a rolling pin and using cookie cutters.  His icing work still needs practice, but hey, he has only just turned 5. (I five now, I'm not four anymore) he has been telling everyone. 

This week we had koalas (besides the 3rd batch of train cupcakes I've had to make for our 3rd fifth birthday party (we are celebrating with our Kindy friends. The joy of having child whose birthday is the middle week of the holidays. We did Daycare cupcakes before his birthday, then there was the actual day and now we are doing Kindy.)

Many people have commented that I must have a lot of spare time. I don't, but the development I have seen in my little man over the year makes this time well spent. 

I could be a dentist

So apparently I could be a dentist. Thanks to an episode of Peppa Pig (the one where George has his 1st visit to the dentist) we are now having to role play going to the dentist to clean our teeth. I have to go through an imaginary group of people in the waiting room (the couch).Then I have to call for Callum, to which he replies "yipee". I then have to ask him to enter my office. I have to pump up the chair (weeee) and ask him to open wide while I use an imaginary mirror to check his teeth. Then the teeth cleaning begins - bottom, top and front. Afterwards we have to gargle and spit and the visit finishes with a "see you next time". It's a fun way to get the teeth clean unless there is a huge crowd in the waiting room (some 10 people ahead of Callum this morning!) :)

What time do you call this then??

Friday is garbage collection day. Today is Friday. Every Friday Callum MUST watch the garbage bins being emptied, it has become his Friday morning routine. We are not allowed to go to Daycare until he has seen the truck/s. Today is the 2 bin day - rubbish and recycling. The rubbish truck came at the normal time - sometime before 7am. Usually the recycling truck follows a short time after. Usually we are leaving for Daycare/work by about 7.15am. Today the recycling truck has only just arrived at 9am! This is OK while I'm on holidays, but I'm back at work in two weeks - work starts at 8:20am. Let's hope today was a one off. I don't like the idea of starting my weekends with a meltdown because the truck didn't get here on time :(

It's the little things

Last night Callum decided that he would ride his bikes in the driveway. By ride, I mean actually pedal. Callum has always enjoyed bikes but would never use the pedals. He was always happy to push along with his feet, this has served him well, even on the big taxi bike at Daycare, lugging another child around. But he decided that he would pedal. First the trike and then his bike that he got for his birthday. I asked him if he wanted to go out onto the road as there was more room to ride than just the driveway. Yes please was the response, so we got his helmet and his sandals ready, got to the open gate and no - tomorrow he would go. I waited a while incase he was processing it all and would change his mind (does often happen like that). A car went speeding down the street and that was the end of that, he would go tomorrow. So first thing this morning, he was off! I had to use the play of I needed him to help me get dressed so he wouldn't be off out the gate before I had a chance to get somewhat respectable. Next time I have to wear my sneakers! He went full throttle down the hill (I thought he would be cautious, silly me). For someone who hasn't been riding long he is very good at it. We went along until we found a footpath, at which I was happy to let him go full throttle. He stopped at the first playground, had a play and then got back on his bike and off he went. I didn't realise they had completed so much more of the footpath (there is a new housing estate behind where we live) since we were last at that playground. In fact, there is another playground further along. So Callum kept riding until he got to that one. And yet the path kept going. We finally were able to stop where some inconsiderate builder (in Callum's eyes, Mum was thankful) had parked across the footpath. Callum ws tired and wanted to walk, there were a lot of hills on that footpath, so I ended up walking the bike most of the way. He did however get on the bike so he could ride through a puddle and send a photo to Daddy. He wasn't happy with the first go, so we had to do it again :) It's such a little thing, but it was so much fun to watch him confidently riding, all the conversations we were having about noises he could hear, asking what things were as he spotted them, pretending he was a train engine and I was in the carriage behind him. I wish these professionals who assess Callum and say that he doesn't have imaginative play or storytelling language would accept a home video - then I wouldn't look like a lunatic making it up trying to make her son sound better than their testing shows :(

Safety Message overload

Happy New Year everyone! What a quiet night we had - Callum in bed by 7:30pm and the fireworks did not wake him. We have been out jumping on his new trampoline that he got for Christmas. It's 15ft and a great improvment on his first one. The first trampoline was a Christmas gift when Callum was one. It wasn't recommended for his age (and neither is the new one just quietly) but he had definitely outgrown it. Callum couldn't even lay across it. He is loving the space on this tramp and is becoming very confident with jumping which is fabulous to watch. The safety message for the tramp however is in overkill mode. It is A4 size and has a list of recommendations such as "no bouncing on your head" and "not to be used with alcohol or drugs". There are two on the mat, one on the padding, one on the door and one on every leg of the tramp - there are 6 of them. Every couple of minutes we have to stop and go and read these important messages. Then Callum procedes to bounce his head on the mat. Thank goodness he is happy to just read the one on the mat and I don't have to keep getting in and out to read all the ones on the legs. Callum may be tall and need a 15ft trampoline for space, but I need a step ladder to get in there!