Family Diary Updates - April/May 2022

Family Diary

I love writing these little family diary updates. I guess you could say it’s like my journal but online. It will be always there to look back over. I find writing very therapeutic. It’s funny because at school I disliked English and now all I do is write and of course read for my career! At the start, of the year I got one of those 5 year memory books to fill in. I was really good at keeping to it for a few months. Then I just forget to write in it each day! So I will probably keep writing up these monthly/twice-monthly family diary updates.

Contents hide

1 Dottie’s Autism and School Journey

2 What’s Going On In L’s Life!

3 Things We’ve Looked At and Tried

3.1 Find It!

3.2 The Great British Porridge Co.

4 Books I Read In May

4.1 Read The Reviews Here:

5 Books I Read In April

5.1 Read The Reviews Here:

Dottie’s Autism and School Journey

We have now filled in the forms for school for Dottie. It wasn’t as straightforward when we did them a couple of years back for L. This time we had to include all the specialists that are involved in Dottie’s life. I’m still trying to get used to the whole autism thing. A couple of days ago I wrote about how to prepare an autistic child for school. I’m now finding it fascinating to write about autism and I want to write more about it in the future and how the parenting struggles are real for even the day to day things!

We have been to see a paediatrician for an assessment, it was a cancellation appointment that came through thankfully. We had been on the waitlist since November 2021 and were expecting another 5 months’ wait! They have referred us to the Autism assessment department which has a 12 month waitlist, to audiology for a hearing check, and to have her blood tested as she likes to eat mud. They also offered us a genetic blood test to see if she has a chromosome disorder. This can present with the same characteristics as autism. We should get the results of that quicker than an autism assessment appointment! After half term, we are meeting with the nursery, reception teacher and the child development department to plan her transition to school. After months of being in limbo about everything, things are finally moving in the right direction for her.

What’s Going On In L’s Life!

L is loving school, she is signed up for 3 school clubs now with her friends and is enjoying life to the max! She has two parties to go to at the weekend! and another two upcoming in June. Her social life is far better than mine! I can’t believe she will be in year 2 in September, and with Dottie, in reception, I will have 5 days a week to work on my blogs. As much as I love my girls at home with me, the baby/toddler years are behind us now and I’m looking forward to stepping my websites up a gear. I’ve had so much planned for them for a few years now, but I’ve always been time short. So September will see me having 6 hours a day, 5 days a week to get my head down and move forward with my goals. I’m hoping I will work less in the evenings as well!

Over half term this week we took L for her first swimming lessons. We got her an intensive 5-day course to get her water confidence started. She absolutely loves it!

This is L on her new scooter we got to review in May from LIFERYDER. You can read our review here.

Things We’ve Looked At and Tried

Find It!

We were sent some gorgeous books from a series called Find It! to look at. The books are designed to foster a love of learning and exploring the world through having fun – each book contains 25 things for children to find in the world around them, plus amazing facts and puzzles and games. For every 3 books completed, a parent or guardian can send off for a FREE Find it! Super Spotter badge.

They are perfect for taking on holiday or exploring your garden at home and suitable for ages 5-7 years. We are going to take Find It at the Beach on our next beach trip! Not forgetting the Find It on a Car Journey when we go on holiday!

The Great British Porridge Co.

I love porridge in the mornings, it’s easy to make and these pots are quick if you are on the go. The Great British Porridge Co. produces 60g instant porridge pots and pouches that are easy to prep on the go – you just add boiling water, leave to stand for one minute and stir! Enjoy a range of flavours including Caffe Latte, Blueberry & Banana, Red Berry & Pumpkin Seed, Classic Chocolate and Strawberry & Peanut Butter for a high fibre, 100% natural and protein-packed breakfast on the go.

I found them rich in flavour, not too sweet and kept me full until lunch! My favourite is classic chocolate!

Available to buy from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and online at https://thegreatbritishporridgeco.co.uk/

Books I Read In May

I’ve read lots in the past couple of months. It’s a part of my “self-care” routine as it’s my relaxing time. Here are the books, with my reviews under the images. They are all wonderful sets of books to read.