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Well, today was a day that initially felt very disappointing. As a family, we have been receiving lovely donations of clothes, art, bric-a-brac, etc., to sell and raise money to buy sensory supplies for a couple of local schools.

After a 5am start, a torrent of rain and barely any sales we travelled home heavy hearted.

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However, we soon realised that the little amount raised today (£20) will have a hugely significant impact on those we are helping.

We used the money to buy two boxes of fidget toys that will be winging their way to Christchurch Junior school. These boxes are used, one per class, and are FANTASTIC tools to calm children who may be having a meltdown, feeling overly anxious or who just learn better while ‘fidgeting’. Being a fidgeter myself, I know how invaluable these little things can be!

I will never again feel disappointed if things haven’t gone precisely the way I had hoped. Today has proven to be a valuable lesson for both myself and our beautiful daughter, who by the way, didn’t moan once 😊

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What an unbelievably awesome week it has been. 🙂 It’s my first week of standing alone and being a full time non profit and I LOVE IT!!!!

This week I have worked across 3 schools, handed over 6 Chromebooks to 6 super grateful students. Eaten lunch in the forest, terrified myself as I drove over an unexpected cattle grid, learned to negotiate my way round acreage of playground ( no joke) and met some truly wonderful people.

Having that scary first cup of coffee in a new staffroom and working with people that I had barely even spoken to was a real leap out of my comfort zone. I must say however, that everyone has been so kind, supportive and just wonderful.

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Tomorrow I end my week supporting the lovely staff at the Priory and hopefully catching up with the kids that I must admit, I have REALLY missed .

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One week down…a gazillion to go 🙂

Please click on the below link to sign this important petition. Lets get EVERY child the education they deserve!

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/612259?fbclid=IwAR1-0WAs6qCeviyKvWGA1LZCZHNoRSHhfxkgg7WR-WxVkdzT-bhoJoMol-Y

As most families will testify, holidays are so important! Couple that with the fact that our family life is often bonkers and any time we have to rest is rare, wowsers we needed this!

With the thought of flying or spending hours driving being too much for Arch, a local-ish holiday always seems to suit us well.

So, after an (almost) 3 year wait, we finally managed to get a mini break to Centerparcs at Longleat – yay!! 😎

We have visited this Centerparcs village a few times in the past and adore it because it is so perfect for Archie’s needs! If he is happy then we, as a family, are all happy!

The accommodation is always clean and tidy and, depending on the style you choose, all have a very similar layout (essential for someone with ASD).

The restaurants are all family friendly and fully understanding of Archie’s “no food touching” requests! They even dished up a meal on his dividing plate that we brought with us!

The fresh air and the opportunity to reconnect as a family was just what we needed and we would highly recommend Centerparcs as a wonderful family place to ‘holiday’… particularly if you are restricted in you destination choices as we are at the moment.

The pool is FANTASTIC! 🌊🌊🌊

With a swirly rapid slide (that even non swimmers can manage) it’s fun for all the family! There is also a wonderful area for the smaller kids with lots of mini slides, water guns. There is also the option to rent a cabana for some private space during your 3 hour slot at the pool.

We all really enjoyed all of the fun activities that we took part in and can’t recommend Centerparcs enough as a great destination for a fun-filled, energetic (but still restful) family holiday.

Please visit the ‘Access for All‘ section of the Centerparcs website for lots more details.

I know, I know!!! As a parent /carer, people saying this to me often led me to feeling more than a little frustrated!!! I remember thinking “I can’t even go to the loo in piece, how can I possibly find time for myself?”

Over time ( 15 years of being a parent) I have come to realise that “finding time for you” doesn’t actually mean the same to us as carers as it does for guardians of the neurotypical. There is no spa day or hen weekend. There are no romantic meals out for my hubby and I or sneaky child-free trips to London. This realisation , although it took a little while to grieve over, has freed us from the pressures of social norms.

Time for me can be watching a movie with the kids after school… even though the sink is full and the laundry is literally everywhere! Or perhaps painting something that fits my current mood. A lot of the time they are complete and utter failures, certainly not pieces I would be willing to share, but the process has cleared my head and given me space.

For our marriage, a firm bed time for the kids has saved us. We are not perfect, they are often up way too late watching yet another youtube life hack thingy 😉 but they know that we need to be left alone to just be adults. I am literally only talking about the hours between 9 and 11 BUT THAT 2 HOURS IS EVERYTHING!!!

Don’t worry about everyone else’s routine. Most people have NO IDEA about how testing being a full time carer can be. Let them do them and YOU DO YOU.

Oh and if all else fails… wine 😉

We have had some super exciting news today. In the next couple of weeks the Christchurch Library in Dorset will hold the Awesome Archie series for all children to enjoy! It’s so AWESOME to know that every child in the county will be able to access our stories free of charge 🙂 We have also informed them of our free downloadable colouring pages for them to use too. Feel free to check them out on a blog on our home page.

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Well, today has been a day that we never really ever believed we would get to.

Like a lot of children with ASD, food has always been a very complex issue for Arch. He has always had to be reviewed by the hospital, regularly being measured, weighed and having his blood pressure closely monitored. Most visits have been tough, with lots of support but strong advise and tips to keep pushing Arch to eat. Today, he has weighed in at the perfect weight for his height! FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! He has managed to gain 11 pounds since his last visit and is now officially average!!!

Archie is hugely insulted by being called average 😉

This amazing change has undoubtedly been a result of Archie moving schools to a specialist setting. He has truly never loved life more and is finally comfortable . He has lots of friends who also have ASD and support staff that just get it!!!

Never give up hope, it took 13 years but we did it!!!

THANKYOU so, so much to EVERYONE who has donated to the Awesome Archie team to help improve the horrendous crisis in our Local food banks. Just one week ago , the shelves were looking very bare, your kindness will surely have helped to bulk their stock significantly!

The Priory school community, members of the Boscombe Salvation army band and friends family and neighbours have all chipped in to support this awesome cause.

WE ARE SO THANKFUL!