#birthday #familytime #EmoTheEmotionalElf

I had an amazing birthday weekend , My mum came to visit for a few day’s to help us celebrate it’s so nice spending quality time with family.

We started the celebrations on Thursday evening having a night out at the local pub Karaoke, my Niki came along with my Mum dad and Hayley. My hubby unfortunately couldn’t come with us as Jake was to young to join in at the pub so they stayed home together it is ok though because we all got to celebrate my actual birthday together at home.

I love the chance to get glammed up .

Mum and dad didn’t sing but me Hayley and Niki got up many times, Hayley and Niki were full of fun and energy and had me giggling all night.

Hayley and my parents arranged for a cake and for everyone to sing happy birthday, Hayley was so funny she was trying to keep it a surprise she doesn’t know this but i know her so well she gave it away with all her whispering with the bar staff.

She put the candles the wrong way round while i am growing older gracefully I am no where near 74 yet did make me laugh though.

It was a lovely night out together, There is something about getting up and sining at karaoke that doesn’t require you to be an extroverted person or even a great singer all though most down that pub are great. a chance to just sing your heart out without a care in the world,

I had the day off as holiday on my birthday, still did the morning school run and popped into mum and dad for a coffee, Hayley was waiting for me to open my pressies from them before she went off to day center, she got me a candle which she said i would like before i even opened it also a beautiful leather skirt and new poncho. My parents got me a new Sat Nav which really came in handy the day after my birthday when i went to a baby shower.

I didn’t open the gifts from hubby or kids and it was hard waiting till everyone arrived back from school and my mum dad Hayley and my niece Ellie came for a birthday dinner.

My hubby and Jake decorated and layed the pressies on the table while we were out the night before, when i woke up on my birthday morning they had scattered rose petals and lit the candles and put a photo of me on the table so sweet.

My hubby cooked the dinner and we were dancing to Songs from my birth year and a little bit of Elvis.

There is something really endearing about someone cooking for you and going the extra mile to make you smile,

It was the perfect day one i won’t forget.

Saturday morning i spent some time with Jake, The town has it’s Christmas Decorations up they look amazing.

Before i went to my beautiful niece Izzy’s Baby Shower

I am so excited to find out what the baby is going to be A girl to join all my other Neice’s and great Nieces or a Boy to build the numbers up I know what ever it is going to be love greatly by us all, so here is wishes for a speedy safe delivery.

The drive was quite and relaxing we played party games at the shower, pin the dummy on the baby, guess who would be the first , sniff the nappy that was funny and gross all at the same time, then there was tea and sandwiches and cake, I loved the little elephant picture where we all used our finger print to make it look like the elephant was holing a bunch of balloons what a lovely memory for to frame.

Family is just so important to me as the saying goes it isn’t what you have what you give but who you value the most and spending those precious moments together.

Sunday was defiantly a relax kind of day, to much excitement for one week.

Any way that’s my blog for today

Have a beautiful new week

Much love Faye xxx

#caring #emotions #family #learning #Elves

Good evening , Hope you are keeping well

Where to start this blog. Starting is always the hardest part I find I sit and think for ages before I actually get started on writing. That’s probably a good thing though I used to use note books and have a rough plan of what I want to write and in what sequence but I find it works for books not so well when you want to blog. My weekend started off with taking Niki and Hayley for booster Jabs they all ready had the winter flu jabs a couple of weeks ago we wanted a little break between the jabs. As a bonus I got my booster at the same time. The girls already had the Pfizer vaccines and I already had the Astra Zenica. But the boosters for us all were Pfizer. the girls only had a sore arm I however had a few more symptoms with this booster I felt pretty bad on Sunday Shaky and achy my arm felt like it had been punched by Mike Tyson. I feel better today though and it’s worth the pain especially in my line of work.

As it’s a personal blog it’s my own perspective of how me and my family deal with things, I am always going to be open and honest about our journey. so my weekend was me laying down under a nice warm blanket. I couldn’t even put the tv on for most of the day and just power napped. Sometimes your body tells you what it needs I am lucky though my hubby did the chores and made dinner which I am entirely grateful for, he just seems to know what I need and gets on with it. I also think i was tired from Fridays double shift it was fun packed and full of energy.

Me Tom and the Elves got up to mischief , singing playing , Tom was in and awesome mood very cheeky.

I got to meet Toms new Therapy puppy who is being trained to be Tom’s support dog he is so fluffy and Cute our Ellie named him Bayley.

It was wonderful to see Tom with the pup he was waving his arms like he normally does but the minute the pup sat on his knee he went so calm and just sat still , I think the dog was comfy too.

Toms old dog Buster passed away a while ago he was great with alerting to seizure activity or when Tom was unwell so will be interesting to see if this pup can develop those skills as it grows. It is actually quite fascinating to see the beneficial and therapeutic affect animals can have as assistant pets.

After all the fun with the Elves Tom settled quickly and slept all night, then it was on too spending time with Holly Hayley had already settled down early she was watching the football match.

Miss Holly she was very full of energy as she missed her football training, we burnt that energy off with a little pillow fight she is brutal with a pillow we have these mad hour of play very affective for getting out all that pent up energy especially before sleep plus it keeps her off the computer while I am with her. She wanted to play road blocks but she just can’t resist the made hour of jumping around. we then settle down for some goofy picture time I love this part making photo’s with her for her memory books.

The objective is to be as silly as possible and to laugh as much as you can. Laughter is good for your brain.

Last week the car decided it needed a new clutch my legs got good walking time, My dad helped with funds to get the repair till after Christmas and helped with the school runs, you know families really pull together in times of need. The car is up and running again hopefully it will last another year then I should be in a better position financially to change it. My car is one of my biggest out goings and is vital as a parent carer and for my work as a carer.

We have got Niki’s pain management appointments coming up and she is too see a Rheumatologist tomorrow she is having her hyper mobility looked at again, Now Niki is an adult and we are teaching her to ask questions about her diagnosis for herself this has all been about 7 months to get to this point from the first physio appointment at the doctors earlier in the year, she never spoke much at appointments before left me to do the talking, we found this year getting her to write what she wanted to ask at that appointment really helped break some barriers for her and while I still go to all her medical appointments I try to get her to talk for herself now. I am more of a support anxiety wise. So really it’s just her getting some answers to how she is feeling and what she can do to help herself and to make sure the diagnosis is right. What we can do for pain management and to strengthen her joints. How that can stop her from falling over in the long term. Getting a little stability for the physical problems which in turn will help with her sleep and mental health.

Niki’s UC judicial review and court case is still on going could last another year I hope it won’t take that long but wouldn’t be surprised if it did. There is always lots going on in our world lots of fun things and lots of not so fun things but we take each day as it comes, each day as a new day with new hope.

Christmas is fast approaching and for once I have not done anything yet to start things off and get plans in place but I am looking forward to the decorating ready for Christmas and all the warmth that brings.

We also lost my uncle John recently which was really sad he was a great man , he gave me some work experience when I was young first baby sitting his kids then with his cleaning firm gave me that starter job, he was a very funny man he always made me laugh. I feel sad for my aunty and his kids.

This Friday is going to be my birthday and my mum is coming for a visit we are going out Thursday night for karaoke to celebrate then on Friday I am going to have her my dad and Hayley over for dinner, It won’t be the same with out my josh being here but i shall see him at Christmas and spend time with him then. and Saturday I am out visiting family, so pretty busy week coming up.

We got these awesome photo’s come through of out Niki and they are simply stunning. we did not take them It was taken at the autism all stars event they have been so kind to Niki and it has been so good for her to be with other autistic adults.

Niki also sent this to me there is about 12 years difference between these photo’s of her she has always had her own style going on.

She is studying for her science GCSE at the moment and is due to do her exam in January. She is really engaged with the lessons and it’s nice to see some excitement towards her learning and the fact she is beginning to share that to.

That’s it for today.

Good Night Much love Faye xxx

#Caring #Birthday #Halloween #family #Emotions #EmoTheEmotionalElf

Hi, welcome to today’s Blog I wish to say a huge thank you for visiting whether you are a returning visitor or new to my blog you will probably notice that I am super-expressive and a bit of a visual person. That’s the great thing about personal blogs you have to stay true to your own way of doing things I have been blogging for over four years now and while this year they have been more gaps in my blog timeline I still really enjoy sharing our families and my book and work journey with you all. still having issues a bit with my computer but like my blog, it’s been over four years now since I got it four a gift for my birthday there wouldn’t have been a blog without it. It’s the one gift that has given me the freedom to write the freedom to connect with many families all over the world. The ability to share our journey to read other people’s journeys. What has been going on since my last blog lots really sold a few more books which is very uplifting, been working on the Court case, working, birthdays and the half-term holidays.

Going do this in the order of what happened.

My hubby Nik’s Birthday was on the 24th of October we had just the four of us and had a very quiet celebration it was lovely not to have to entertain for once and just be in each other’s company, We had a star trek binge-watch kind of day snuggled on the sofa, and a great little family dinner, our oldest son Josh couldn’t make it down this year but as usual, he phoned and spent hours on the phone with his dad, I love hearing them too chat about all kinds of things laughing and joking Debating all kinds of topics

We let the kids sleep in sat chatting till they woke up then they joined us for pressie opening and the cake lighting.

It was great to really just sit back and chill, we had a special dinner, Full roast beef and all the trimmings.

So the evening kind of ended with full bellies and a great night’s sleep.

Tom and Holly

My Niki and Hayley came with me to work this time it was just like old times except at Tom’s house Tom and Hollie’s mum and dad was out for the night and we got up to all kinds of crazy fun, Singing Playing games, We built a Fort which Holly and Niki slept in, it was a great fort too. Don’t worry though I cleaned up before Their mum and dad got back.

We had puppet shows Too.

We were having so much fun even the Dogs wanted to join in, Mika the black and white dog decided to sleep in the den with Niki and Holly, Tom he slept in his own room as he used his sleep system and he has his specialist bed. Hayley had a room to herself or so she thought got a bit of a surprise when Karma the dog got on the bed with her.

Tom was Super happy after his bath and massage he was ready to join in A little bit of playtime before I put him to bed told him a story, sang his favorite songs he went off to sleep pretty quick smiling.

Was such a great Nightshift.

Half term was great got to spend Quality time with the kids I changed my hours because Hayley wanted to stay and celebrate Halloween with us. You know it’s really all about that one on one quality time with each kid You can still do that with multiple kids on the same day. Also, the holidays are about catching up on sleep and preparations for the big Halloween evening.

We prepared a little each day

Spooky bowling.

Niki and I went Halloween shopping and stopped at Starbucks for some Yummy treats

Yep, we were Goofing around a lot too.

We have collected our Halloween things for over 27 years since we lived in our home.

To be honest, we weren’t sure if we would get any Trick or Treat Knocks this year but the children were amazing and there were over 70 kids who Came knocking throughout the evening all dressed up all absolutely polite respectful, and with the most delightful manners. Quite a few parents had got dressed up too. I think this year though kids needed that bit of fun and normality, Niki and Jake pretty much were all Overwhelmed too much sensory before the trick or treaters came so were relaxing in their rooms Hayley my hubby, and me were on candy duty. But that’s the good thing about being home when these special times come up they join in when they can and relax when they can’t.

We had a lovely sit-down meal before we had to do the jump up and down candy rush.

And the cleaning up that was my hubbies job, which reminds me I was the first one to get a scare in that morning made the hubby Jump I undid the hanging light with that has this heavy handle on to the last thread waited for him downstairs in the kitchen I heard the bang of it hitting the floor and the and him muttering because he jumped when he came downstairs and found me in huge fits of giggles he couldn’t help but join in.

The outfit Niki was Snow white she did want to go as Squid game but we could only get the mask not the whole outfit, the boys they didn’t dress up, Hayley well she had Mickey mouse Halloween clothes but also wanted to be a cat. mine I had to adapt a few times I couldn’t get the trousers I wanted and the skirt was a little much so went for a bodysuit and a Tutu. I was a mischievous devil. I am pretty mischievous all the time, the children loved it as I wasn’t too scary.

The Outfit was much better with the bodysuit a little more kid-friendly for the Sweet giving.

These to though I like the best my eyes kind of are alight with mischief . I do have a bit of an issue where I got healthy I kind of filled out in certain areas never had to worry about it before now I do a lot more I still think like a very skinny person.

That’s All for today

I wish you good night Sweet Dreams Much love Faye xxxx

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#DIY #Adaptions #organizing #storage #design #collections

Niki’s Room

Good evening , everyone hope your day was a great one today’s blog is all about the work we have all been doing to renovate my daughters room and make it work better for her, and to meet all her needs. I will start by saying Niki designed it herself and we stuck to most of what she wanted and asked her opinion on a few small changes we made just in terms of layout of the new furniture and she made an fantastic choice too Niki funded a lot of the work her self in the flooring and most of the new furniture and the rest we either up cycled or got for her we have created this fresh spacious calm environment we have added some great sensory things and also much needed added storage and a few little touches i will talk about later in the blog but first lets start with the 3d designs Niki created on her laptop not the real scale as she made it in her Simms game and they didn’t quite have the exact things that we used but it was a great visual template to work off and brought what she wanted to life for us to see her vision.

It was basically the desk and a few shelves we rearranged in the end because we wanted to maximize the floor space and not have any dead space areas which were not being used and just empty. We still have a few small things to do but its done and she is enjoying the space, even keeping it organized there is a place for everything, makes it easier for me to go in to do a quick clean while she is at college but actually she is starting to do more for herself now. her room was given a makeover in 2016 when she turned sixteen but she is now a young adult and her taste in things has changed.

Her room became more cluttered and less calm over time and it became increasingly a anxiety inducing thing and a point of disagreements, not really what you want for your kids the more cluttered it was the hard it was for her to start to make improvements it was frustrating for us all to be perfectly honest and overwhelming for her and it was not for want of trying to get in there to help her anxiety and depression didn’t help and lock down impacted that, because her sleep pattens were all messed up.

I had a bad habit of just cleaning it then she would get frustrated I moved things or she couldn’t find things I cant stand things being all over the floor and I remember her standing on a needle which had to be removed at A&E surprisingly I brought a sewing box for her creative outfits and Teddies she made but the needle was in the box she just trod on the sewing box which she left on the floor.

The room is 10 ft by !0ft and we actually seemed to have made it look bigger just by the layout and storage and also the colour scheme, she did have another colour choice before but we had patches on the wall for a while and she changed her mind by the time we did it. First we got rid of lots of things clothes paper work, things she wanted but didn’t want to get rid of were boxed up and put in the attic clothes are ready to give to charity when they begin taking clothes again. and the rest is bagged up ready for the tip. some things we recycled and refreshed and used in the room again

we had a few repair jobs to do and the old desk which was built when our oldest son had the room was finally being replaced with a free standing one that Niki choose and brought. another big change was the floor we have always had carpets in our house but with make up and arts and crafts they just get stained and collect so much dust no matter how much you Hoover. she choose the flooring and we went together to pick it up. A decent underlay and click and snap wood flooring in gray lifts the whole room easy to clean and given Niki’s eyesight issues when she drops things now it easy for her to find even if she hasn’t got her glasses on with out them everything is just a blur.

Our local B&Q decorating shop is where we got the flooring we purchased more than we needed and took surplus back for refund after we did the room so the initial amount of £250 for the flooring ended up being just £150 so the refund was quick and easy and the funds were back in her account a few days later. We already had the paint which we got a couple of months ago i had been collecting that a few bits each month.

First was the sanding of the wood preparing the walls removing and re-cutting the shelves where the old desk was and even using the wood from the old desk to make additional shelving painting a base coat of white and filling and preparing the ceiling. it was tough as we only had a certain amount of time the kids were out to do some of the messy jobs and had to have a room she could sleep in at the end of every day, we used to stay at dads house when work was being done on the house before but covid meant we couldn’t do that this time.

Even Emo got involved one Saturday I got to sit back for a moment after I came off a night shift I just passed tools that day my hubby did a lot of the work though with me helping when i wasn’t working or sorting the kids..

• Cheeky Elf up to mischief but always giving Mum and Dad a hand with things around the house , every one has to learn some independent skills even Elves
• The top coat of paint on the walls was baby pink we did three of the walls then left the last wall for Niki to do

She did a great job her dad was with her when she did it i already left for the night shift .

Niki gets tired easily and her hips and joins hurt her ,but she had her first pain management appointment on Friday which went really well more about that soon though maybe for another blog. We called in Grandad to help with the floor laying and actually it was an incredibly bonding and memorable experience for Niki and her grandad they worked together all day and grandad even taught her how to saw and lay flooring, moving the furniture out that day the floor was laid was the day I ended up with stitch in my arm carrying it into my room so her room was clear I cracked my elbow on the door frame, I don’t know why the funny bone was named that it didn’t make me laugh when I caught it.

They did an amazing job it took slightly longer than it would if Grandad had worked alone but he wanted to pass on some of his years of skills to Niki my dad was a carpenter and a decorator before he retired. Next was choosing furniture and Ikea was the place we went she had already looked on line but we had a mum and daughter day and went to pick up most of it and spent the day out together.