These are the things that bring tears to my eyes. OK so just about everything brings tears to my eyes. It has been a very emotional month, we have had the school assessment and also the centre assessment.

At this time for me there is nothing worse than seeing my child struggle with things we take so much for granted. I have also been bought to tears by seeing his joy exuberance and excitement at getting a letter from grandma or Evangeline, how he interacts with his brother and his friends and how much he loved his birthday party.

I feel like I have been on a see saw; tears of happiness one minute and tears from the constant heartache I try to keep at bay but don't always manage the next.

On the day of his birthday he appeared beside my bed, bent down and whispered "Happy Birthday Mummy" and gave me a kiss.

I don't do humidity well, I look all wet and sheeny and feel like I am wearing clothes straight out of the washing machine!

So thankfully on Saturday on the way home from Alec's party Michael ran into kmart and lay-by'd me a split system reverse cycle air con for the scraproom... what a guy!

other things to say but have decided to :let it go

My life plan for this week!

Now this is a party!
we had his party today at landsdale Farm, 30 children a dozen or so adults some terrified ducks and an amazing lot of fun. it is 3pm now and Michael and I are exhausted, we just finished unwrapping presents here at home and Alec and Riley are playing with them and Michael is flaked out somewhere.

Just an amazing venue everyone loved it. Lis was photographer and she emailed me this one... another 400 to look at tomorrow!!

• I haven't done a page for 10 days, I'm worried I will forget how to.

• I haven't taken a decent photo in months, that is why I have asked Lissy to be official photographer at Alec's party tomorrow.

• I am hoping we sell the lounge at the garage sale Sunday then I can start decorating my scraproom next week!

• All I have left to do for the party is decorate the cake.

• And maybe make a few more lolly bags as I think we are up to 26 confirmed kiddies!

• I'm waiting for the washing machine to finish so i can hang out the washing.

• Andrew has hung the doors on the scraproom!!

• The gyprock man will be here in an hour to do the walls!!

• The washing machine has finished

which is a good thing, I need someone to make me do things, I just run out of steam sometimes and lose all drive. I get tired of running the house, I want guidelines, I want a deadline... you must have the kitchen tidy by such and such time, make that bed, pick up those clothes, because lets face it you are wasting your time expecting anything from a 3 and 5 year old. They do sometimes amaze me, other times I just throw my arms up and walk away, I mean how to do you force a child who is curled in a ball telling you they are just exhausted and couldn't possibly pick up their toys right now.

All you can do is laugh, and pick it up yourself. I haven't exactly been on strike I have been on avoidance.

So I was on the phone to Lis last night and I was bemoaning the chaos of my house, she told me to get off the phone, put a load on and fold the washing.. and I did, ok make that we, I had Michael help me fold the washing, so in the last 12 hours 5 loads of washing has been done, only 6 to go!

I'm think we need to upgrade from a 4kg machine!

Off to get a #5 cake tin, an acrylic block, visit Lis then come home and tidy the kitchen, as Lis and I are off to the movies tonight.. yayyyyyyyyyyy

Last year we raised $1937, these are some of the things the Early Intervention Centre was able to buy and a letter from Tasha Alach, the Clinical Manager.

Tasha is so full of enthusiasm and love for these kids, she is the one that amazes me, I am hoping to raise $4000 this year, it isn't money for research it is money that will be used to help the children TODAY!

I can't stress to you enough how important it is to reach these children when they are little, today Alec speaks, socialises, goes to mainstream school (with an aide) goes to parties, has friends. Two years ago life was very different for us, nothing will ever be "normal" but it isn't about normal it is about teaching life skills, helping them fit in our alien world and things we take for granted to these children. We will never be able to repay the Autism Association EI centre what we owe them for the wonderful things they have done for us in helping Alec.

Here is a letter from Tasha, I am humbled by the wonderful ladies that gave so freely at the crop day, this is what you have done for us.

Congratulations to Tara, who got the closest to 12,000 and a consolation prize to Melinda. Thanks girls email me your details so I can get your goodies out to you.

I was doing so well, I dragged out all my unfinished pages and finished them, did a double page and page plan for the retreat in Hyden and then I hit a brick wall, I so hate that. I have a Buzz and Bloom project to finish by Friday, luckily I am having a week at home, I wont really have to do anything for Alec's party until Thursday as we are just having a sausage sizzle at Landsdale Farm, he is so excited. Last night he told me he wants a number 5 cake with a race track and lots of cars and Lighting McQueen on it. I can't believe my baby is going to be 5 years old!

A couple of layouts and a little prize give away!

Today if you leave a comment and send me a screen shot (email link is to your right) showing the counter at or close to 12000 you will get the little Heidi prize you see in the picture below. Why 12,000? well I completely missed 10,000 going by last week didn't I .

How exciting! work has started on the scraproom, all the frame is done and they will be back next week to do the gyprock then we can start painting, I'm getting them to make shelves for the huge alcove/space we have in there so it will fit my albums and paper holders.


Here is the pergola! very happy, now we just need to take up some lawn and demolish the seat thing and brick pave.

Alec is having an extended 'episode' it started last night at shopping, he was so over stimulated he was whooping, spinning in circles, running, squealing and jumping. It was quiet literally like he was high, he was high as a kite, but you see he is almost unmanageable in this state (and no he isn't on any medication). This morning he was agitated and non responsive, non responsive in the way he can be when you can yell and he still doesn't acknowledge you, he was talking 100 miles an hour.

I figured a walk to school would help as exercise and activity helps them lose some of that manic obsessive behaviour. We get there and there is assembly, I almost cried, but his teacher and his aide Helen are fantastic, they shooed me out and said go we can do this, I am so thankful for this school and these people. Unfortunately this is a manifestation of an incident at school when a boy was mean to Alec, it had such a huge impact on him as he has no way to deal with it.

So that was the start to my day, in other news the pergola is done and the carpenter is here closing in my lounge so it will be my scrap room!!! yayyyyyyyyyy Now to stop acquiring and start producing!

I'm off to clean up some things for the garage sale tomorrow, hopefully I will cheer up as the day progresses, thanks for listening, I hope you day started better than mine did!

yesterday I spent the day with Lis and Sharon, Lis and I drove up to Sharon's house in Bullsbrook, a nice drive and just a stunning view, we chatted and ate brownies and as you do we then made a b-line to the nearest scrapbook shop which just happens to be called The Scrapbook Shop in Ellenbrook, Lis and I met Jo and Jen and shopped!

We then trotted across the road to Oscar's restaurant for lunch. It was nice, peaceful, and we chatted away between mouthfuls but just that nice comfortable relaxed feeling. Here we all are at Sharon's


Today the pergola man comes, yayyyyyyyyyyyy I just ran out and did before pics, apart from that I am chained to the washing machine today, it has become a little out of hand!

hmmm cross at blogger, instead of publishing my code so you can copy it blogger turns it into the images and links themselves..

so..

If you can help out and put a button on your blog or website feel free to email me at autismcrop@gmail.com and I will send you the code

Therapy day today, picking Alec up for his 12:30 session and we are going to a behaviour management talk. He has been better this week, settled into school really well but, there is always a but, so many concepts Alec doesn't understand, the biggest being cause and effect, so say he hits Riley and for punishment we take away Thomas the tank engine for 10 minutes, he has no idea why we are taking Thomas away. He knows it is wrong to hit Riley but doesn't understand why he is being punished, we cleaned his room Sunday he wanted to go to the beach, we said he needed to help or he couldn't go, he didn't help but didn't understand why he couldn't go even when we explained it.

He will learn these things but it wont be through experience like Riley will, it is almost like rote learning, they memorise the rules basically. Our society is such a confusing place for them.

I'm loving you girls!

I have had lots of contact from people and shops that have seen my autism crop button on this blog or other blogs, if you can help spread the message here is the code for the buttons, simply copy and paste it into your templates in the sidebar. Thank you for your help we appreciate it so much.

You would have thought that by now I would have thought up a better name wouldn't you, but I have never been very good at titles and names... so to the point!!

It is official, we have set the date for the 2007 Autism Crop! June 23rd at the North Beach baptist Church.

So what do I want from you? I want supplies, old scrapping magazines and books,tools, anything I can sell or raffle.

The favourite from last year was this big meat tray of SB supplies I did, it was a great deal, there was $250 worth of product on the tray and the tray almost raised $300 on its own! So even if you have 1 packet of anything or 40 packs and would like to donate please email me at autismcrop@gmail.com and I will give you my postal address.

If you are interested in tickets also email me, fliers will be ready for circulation in a few weeks but don't worry I will be reminding you about it every week from now until the crop!

They were so thrilled with what they were able to buy with the money we raised for the Early Intervention Centre last year, like any outfit they have an operating budget and that is for the bare necessities, so anything extra we can give them will make such a difference to the children.

This is Alec's last year at EI, the funds raised will be for equipment for the 2008 children, but this is something I can do to give back and to help others at the centre as our family have been helped. EI (early intervention) is the most important thing for children with autism and this centre has done amazing things with Alec, so please if you can, lend a Helping Hand

I am having fun being on the Buzz and Bloom DT, I finished my biggy today! I spent 4 days on this, I'm really happy with it.. it is called Coffee Lover and you can find it HERE at Buzz and Bloom

Sneak peek -

Jumping up and down clapping! lol, ok I'm not really it is too hot!!!

sick sick sick of hot, over it, done with it, it's stifling my creativity!

So would you look at that, love that colour, love the texture on the top. If I can get it finished tomorrow and written up I will get it loaded at Buzz and Bloom

After wipeing out Lis' blog in one easy click last night I spent my evening re-coding it and checking code.. want to know something... I loved it, such a familiar enviornment checking code line by line and all those netscape/IE work arounds you need to do, such fun!

So anyway today I did a few banners for Lis, these may not stay, I picked the one with the frame and loaded it to her blog, which do you like best?.

NO SCRAPPING!!

so for the last 6 months my name and that of Lis Cassey have been used to promote a retreat, Di from Scrapbooking to Di for in Balcatta asked us to be involved, we worked last year in the shop and doing classes. So today I get a call telling me my services are no longer required for the retreat. The reason is I no longer work at the store so I shouldn't be involved, the new girls should be doing it, Lis was also asked to vacate her spot.

Fair enough but what about the work I did for the shop last year? that obviously accounts for nothing or the fact that my name was used to promote the retreat.

I had an arguemnet with a friend about this today and that I regret, but I still think it isn't the way you should deal with people, she thought it was a reasonable request. This year is for my children, I chose not to work in the shop or give classes because I need to spend my time with them, not doing classes. Originally I was just taking December through February off but I realised I didn't want to end up in the state I did at the end of last year, worn out and exhausted.

My biggest regret is I wont get to spend any time with my friend Justine Quinlivan who is working for another store that is involved in the retreat, I was so excited when I heard Juzzie was coming!

We live and learn and now some of the guilt I felt at not being able to do classes has been expunged by Di's actions. Lis and I will persevere... at the end of march we will be at a retreat in Hyden teaching along with Sharon Manning! I see a fun road trip coming my way!

I was asked by kell at Scrap Needs to be a guest design team member for February. I chose the Bohemia and kaleidoscope range from My Minds Eye. I so love the frames and coasters in Kaleidoscope and the paper quality was just gorgeous as were the colours. I've never been one for cutting things out but I loved the patterns on this paper. Another fantastic thing is they do amazing boy colours, it is so hard to find boy colours this gorgeous!

So thank you Kell! I loved being a part of Scrap needs and the newsletter.

It was a foul day, so hot, on our way to Lis' house I sent her a text message asking if the airconditioner was on! This was what awaited me!!

We set Michael to making coffee so we could face the scrap room, Lis and ben are moving soon and Lis' room has never been big enough for everything so I volenteered to boss her around for the day to sort things out and bring my own personal barista to keep us in fresh coffee all day.
We did a great job! it looks so good now. You can see the floor and Lis has tons of room to work on and you can see the top of her desk

I love these challenges Ali Edwards puts out in her AEzine. I usually do them because they either get me thinking about something or actually doing something. Like yesterday when it arrived in my in box, by the time I had finished reading I was pulling out my fun stuff and photographing it.