The time has come....

to update the blog.
I received a lovely email from a good friend today and her kindness has warmed the soul! I don't even want to think about how long it has been since I have posted on here properly but then the last few months have been a complete blur.
David has settled in fairly well into the routine of going to school. He has had fewer days of procrastination and only a couple of point blank refusals, so I guess you could say it is going well. But then compared to his previous attempts, that wouldn't be difficult!!!!
He has made lots of friends, had a school photograph taken, took part in the school play despite having to wear an exceptionally tall chef hat which he felt very silly wearing (we all thought he looked rather cool, a little like Linguini from Ratatouille!!) and is now doing an after school cooking club. Yesterday they made scones!!! Funny how it is seen by school as such an amazing thing to do for the children, yet here it is a normal part of life!!! The teachers really are doing their best to make it as less stressful for him as possible and no pressure is being put on him. It cannot be easy for him to cope in a situation where reading and writing is of paramount importance yet not be able to do either. They are obviously assessing him on that score and putting together some kind of plan of action.
In an attempt to perhaps make the whole school attendance thing feel normal, Will has started going too. This was a very difficult decision to make and only time will tell if it is the right one. He has been going 2 weeks. The first week was extremely difficult as he was not happy being left despite enjoying the time he was spending there. Ring any bells? Sound familiar?
But then we started to take him in slightly earlier than the other children and settling him down with a book before the other children came in to the classroom. It is a very small class, only 22 which is Reception. Year 1 and 2 combined. The teacher has two teenage sons and the Teaching assistant has a son of Will's age too, so from my point of view it couldn't be a better opportunity!
So this past week he has been looking forward to going and has stayed for 3 afternoons, before succumbing to a sickness bug yesterday and now seems to have a cold!!!
Oh the joys of school!!!!
So it is all change here. Again. Nothing seems to stay the same for more than a few months here. It is hard to keep up and any thoughts of any kind of routine or 'normal' habits is impossible.
It is all I can do to keep things going without too many casualties along the way!!!!

Christmas was very enjoyable and we spent lots of time playing with Lego and doing puzzles.There weren't too many handmade gifts this year with the exception of the ones we made for relatives and posted just in the nick of time. Soaps,lip balm, biscuits and hand painted wooden tree decorations, this year.
I had a bit of a run on the sewing machine before christmas. It started with David needing some chef trousers for the school play...I had an old cot sheet in the loft that was blue and white checks which was just the thing!! I used some pyjama bottoms as a rough pattern ( I laid them on top of the folded material and cut around them allowing an inch for a seam allowance!!!!) and adjusted the length when David got home from school. They were a great fit and he now uses them as pyjama bottoms! I also ran up a couple of aprons for the boys from some old tea towels. David had one that tied around his waist and Will had one that hooked over hid head too.



Then I made some bags from some material that granny sent up from Cornwall a while ago. They were all one offs as far as size and shape went, but I was fairly pleased with them.



This led on to a felt crown for Will that was from some off cuts of felt that Tom had salvaged from Cubs I think. It made it quite a long drawn out job, but it was free!!
And then, I finally got round to making some christmas bunting from some material I had bought a while ago. I used it for jam jar covers a few years ago and it was perfect for the job with a few plain ones in between the christmas patterns.
I did manage finally to knit Rob his pair of socks...he got one wrapped up for his birthday but the second one was a few days belated!!!


Tom was 16 on the 23rd Dec and we all went bowling and to Pizza Hut (at his request) to celebrate. Kim came too and survived the excess of testosterone quite well I think!!! LOL Pizza Hut with that lot is quite an expeience, I can tell you! It's that darn Ice Cream factory that does it!!!!
It was really good to get out for his birthday because he does not find it easy having it so close to christmas. People tend to forget that a birthday is more important than christmas and tend to either lump the two together or forget it entirely. We bought Tom a Zippo lighter (not to encourage him to smoke!!!) for his birthday and I had it engraved, so that hopefully he will always remeber at least one birthday in his life as extra special.
Kim was also over for New Years, which made a nice change. We have never really 'done' New Years as a family,(and I'm not totally sure we made much fuss about it this year either!!!) so it was good to perhaps try something different. I just wish our living room was bigger!!!

So, with a New Year in mind, I do not doubt that this year will be any more normal or less boring than any other. There will be just as many challenges and changes as this year, but as I look ahead I can say that this year I am not frightened of meeting them head on. I have well and truly kicked the Black Dog (not literally you understand! I would never kick our little Annie!) and can say that I have been depression free for a year. Now to grow in strength and never end up back there again.

So here is to 2011. Happy New Year everyone!