Thursday 15th March

Our day started with Mr CM arriving at 8am. D is normally really pleased to see him and he’ll always come straight in the house calling her & T’s names. I’m “Net” – which is quite cute  D was more concerned that he might eat her breakfast than anything else this morning.

School runs went well, albeit very very foggy. I was really concerned with D’s school trip. Where they were going is really remote but off a busy road and… well, I phoned up to check they’d got there okay.

She came out at the end of the school day really tired, but really happy. They were back at school in time to watch another class do their “Gingerbread man” production. Things like that she would have missed in mainstream, she was too scared to ever go in the hall – too noisy, too many people, unfamiliar surroundings etc.

D was going to have to walk home today – full buggy – and luckily the ice-cream van was parked near school – no queue, perfect. Buying her an ice-cream cone served two purposes 1. She concentrated on that so didn’t get upset by people around her and 2. It took her the whole ten minute walk to eat it so no moans about walking. (Hubbie was picking up T in case you’re thinking what about him). The ice-cream man very kindly gave Mr CM and Mr O both free cones with a tiny bit of ice-cream in them too, bless him.

D joined in with the boys for a while on the trampoline once we were back but soon got upset by their games – stomp, stomp, fists clenched, shout shout, strop.

Both Mr CM and Mr O were gone by 530pm so we have had a bit of family time but Hubbie has now got my flu, so he’s suffering.

Tonight’s bath was accompanied by four plastic strawberries

She’s gone to sleep tired but happy. In case you missed my blog post “I’m taking off the Oxygen mask..” please have a read, it’s about encouraging time for yourself as a special needs parent, something we don’t have much off.

Comments/RTs as ever welcomed. I don’t have Mr CM tomorrow, just Mr O and my 2, so I’m hoping for a tiny bit of me time at some point Jx 

I’m putting on my Oxygen Mask this year…

I don’t know if you are already aware of the “Oxygen Mask Project” and the hashtag #yearoftheoxygenmask?

If not, let me elaborate a bit. It’s a project being run to encourage us all to take a little bit of time out for ourselves, or doing something for ourselves.

Parenting a special needs child is exhausting, I can sometimes spend a whole day running from one thing to other, never actually achieving a great deal but getting through it because the school runs have to be done, the routines need to be kept to and once your children are in bed, that’s when you start thinking about what else needs to be done, and so it goes on.

I’ve had flu this week and I spent the weekend on the sofa, either snuggled up under covers or throwing them off because I was hot or cold and then because Hubbie had to be at work Sunday and football coaching Saturday, it was still me doing the chores, the cooking and everything else albeit at a much slower pace.

It makes you think about just how much of your day is taken up caring for others.

I’ve put on my “oxygen mask” this week and I’m thinking of ways I can take more time for me, or at least enhance the free time that I currently have.

I made time to have a haircut today – nothing radical – but it was “me” time and instead of looking in the mirror and chopping my fringe myself, I let someone else do it.

One of my resolves this year is to stop the childminding from July, this will be a natural end then as one child will leave to start Reception in September – his mother is a school teacher so she has the summer holidays off. I need to think about either something I can do from home during school hours or find a suitable job. Suggestions for the home element would be welcomed please.

I need to make more time for reading – books, blog posts, those weekly magazines that end up at the side of the bed. You can immerse yourself into a well written book and whether you come out of it feeling happy or sad at the end, it’s that time that you’ve taken for you. Reading is so relaxing, I’m so glad my children all enjoy it.

I need to take up those coffee offers when they come in, otherwise they’ll stop.
But at the same time…
I removed a negative element from my life yesterday. The comments, the voicemails dictating what I should not blog about finally got to me. No more.

Little things but they are going to enhance my life and keep me on track.

Comments/RTs as ever welcomed, thanks for reading J x 😘