A Blog About a Bloke-Living with WHS

This year I will be blogging on May 1st about Disabilism. For those who want to join in, go to the link here: http://blobolobolob.blogspot.com/2011/04/blogging-against-disablism-day-will-be.html Tweet

Because I haven't posted many photos for a while, I am going to make this post fairly photo heavy. I have decided to re-neg somewhat on my no-photo-posting rule. If I start getting stupid messages and spam again, I will just delete them. The kids had a great easter. Lot's of eggs for their egg hunt, but more importantly, they got books, PJ's and a dressing gown. Plus E. Bunny left behind some of his...erm...tail fluff...so that gave them something to be excited about. We then went out to David's parents house and took all the cousins fishing. Ryley especially enjoyed the long walk through the old diggers holes. Me? Not so much due to the fact that I was carrying him! Bloody good workout though! I have also included some pictures of the kids new cubby house. It has been nicknamed the 'Taj Mahal' because it is so big. We got it given to us. Yes that's right. For free. It is hard to explain how incredibly lucky we feel that someone out there thought ...

I write a post every year about what the Good Friday Appeal means to us. And this year will be no different. As regular followers of the blog know, we spend a lot of time down at the Children's. It is very much a second home to us. Ryley is a fairly well recognised child down there, which is not neccessarily a good thing! The thing that I tend to always write about is how fantastic the medical practitioners are down there. The nursing staff are mostly exceptional. Without our team, Ryley wouldn't be where he is today. I appreciate that it is impossible to donate to everything. But even $1 will help make a difference to fund more equipment and research so that the hospital can continue to save lives and improve the quality of life of those with complex medical issues and disabilities. It is also a pretty good place to socialise (!!) Nearly everytime I am down there I am catching up with friends over coffee. The place is just comfortable. There is often so much pain, sic...

Thank you to everyone who offered their support and comments about my previous post. It really helped me sit back and analyse the behaviour as opposed to just getting frustrated. Here is what I came up with: Ryley wants to wear underpants like Braeden Ryley doesn't want to be changed on the floor Ryley hasn't always finished his toileting when I am ready to dress him Ryley knows that despite him being in a vulnerable position, he holds an incredible amount of power over me because he can kick me and move his body in such a way that I find it difficult to hold him. He likes to assert himself and have the control. The solutions? Change Ryley on the spare bed. He happily climbs up and lays down for me. Once I remove his nappy, take him into the toilet and sit him down. He currently only sits for about 2 seconds, but it's a start. I have looked in to using pull ups, but they are not practical at the moment due to the cost. I have an appointment coming up soon with the ...

Next time you wonder why I need to exercise and keep fit, ask yourself if YOU could wrestle a 24kg kid 6 or 7 times a day just to change his dirty nappy. If I don't keep fit, I can't do the basic things I need to do for my 9 year old child. Have you ever tried to change a child who locks his body or kicks you with all his strength in your face or chest? It is not easy. It leaves me trying to catch my breath. I can't yell at him. He pretends he doesn't understand if I tell him to stop. So tell me. What is the solution? I have tried distraction. I have tried getting him to help me. I have tried giving him something in his hands. I have tried my timeout method. For those who have an adult with a disability who is still in nappies/diapers and is able to kick you, how do you manage it?

Braeden. He is such a sweet kid. Tonight, whilst in the bath, David and I hid and listened to the conversation. It went like this: B: "I like it when you say Mum Mum Ma Ryley" R: "Mum Mum Ma" (giggles between both) B: "I know what it means Ryley" R: (smiles) "Mum Mum Ma" B: "It means you love Mum" (more giggles and both of them chorusing together Mum Mum Ma") Ok. Yes. There were tears from me.

Another blogging break. Without warning. My world is chaos at the moment. I desperately need a personal assistant. Or just someone to do everything for me. Because right now, I feel like I simply can.not coordinate another thing. I have to when I am at work. Because. Well. I get paid to do that. But in terms of everything else... So, I am taking a little break from blogging. I have several blog posts that are almost finished so they will go up at some stage over the next week or so. Unfortunately when life gets in the way, the blogging is the first thing I have to step away from. Tweet

After the week I have had, I think it is time to lighten up the blog with some funny, witty, fluffy posts. I probably won't be able to deliver on the funny or witty. But the fluffy I will give a red hot go. Our backyard is currently being overtaken by zucchini's. We have three different types: Dark Green, Green and light green (you didn't think I would actually know their real names did you?). At first, the giant zucchini's were great. I would pick a small one to use with tea every night. Letting the two big ones grow until they were big enough for me to stuff. But then, something happened. There was rain, there was sun, there was neglect. And then there was too many zucchini's to eat ourselves. We have given plenty away already. But there are still more! So. Seeing as all the cool blogs have giveaways, I am having one too. You don't even have to enter and hope desperately that you are going to win. All you have to do is reply to this post and BAM!...