May the 4th be with you...

It's May the fourth - Star Wars Day!

Oh I do hope one of my children grow up to be like Sheldon.


Y Cate

blue is my favourite colour

I like to use the last day of the month to post about my hot-by-forty quest. Still on the quest but my scale is broken so no boring [but so exciting for me!] figures to broadcast.

April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day and different landmarks around the world were illuminated blue to heighten awareness.


A friend on fb designated the whole of April to awareness and has posted a clip, funny picture or just something blue everyday this month.

I can't watch this clip without crying.


And this quote makes me tear up a little too:

Doctors used to recommend institutions for people with Autism...now we're aiming for University.Early intensive behavioural intervention can help families achieve the best outcome for their child. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7t3daKTQMg

It is Autism Awareness Day everyday in our home. We experience joy, frustration, despair, impatience and love - like any other family.


Y Cate




Images
blue topaz ring

blossoms and sky

blue shoes

Blue Sydney Opera House

worth a thousand words

Just watched this amazing film clip: it’s hypnotising and made me stop the housework for a full 4 minutes. It's great photos of now and then, an awesome song too!

There are some blurry booby images, so avert the kiddies eyes if you are so inclined.

Made me think of my own childhood photos, most of which would need blurring too given I was very anti-clothes.

Wouldn’t it be great to take some photos like this with your siblings now? We all use photos for the standard dragging out and embarrassing kids at birthdays as they get older, some ‘scrappers’ use them to make amazing artwork. I love using kid’s photos to help them with worries and learning new skills. 

When kids start school, a great idea is to make a story out of their photos of the new things that have done in the past- first swim, day at kindy, poop in the potty! You can then create the story of how they faced new things in the past, how at first it was a little scary or worrying but soon it became natural.

I love this kind of visual work with kids, who are by nature visual learners. Carol Gray’s Social Stories TM(thegreycenter.org) are an extended form of this story telling, and are fantastic for children with anxiety, on the Autism Spectrum or any child who is struggling to learn a new skill. Photos of kids doing the activity work best, but If you don’t have a photo don’t let that stop you being a Social Story Teller. Download some pics on the web, or some of my best Social Stories have been spur-of-the moment stick men completed by the kids themselves. 

Now back to talking about siblings - have to link to food somehow! My sister and I used to love to cook together. We would pretend we had our own cooking show. I don't remember what we used to actually cook. But we remember the shows!

This recipe is one of our favourites, it's from the fabulous Edmonds Cookbook.

Recipe here: Afghan Biscuits

I make the icing without butter. Mainly because when we made it as kids we used up all the butter in the recipe! But I think it makes it even more delicious.

Holly Treechange