Precious Moments

Having been away for a couple of weeks, I am now needing to hit the floor running…only, I’ve been relaxing for ten days and done very little apart from look after Charlotte. I have discovered I rather like doing nothing and would like to extend my holiday to another few weeks…

Unfortunately, that is not an option, darn it!

The big news this week is that Lillie finished her Foundation Diploma in Visual Communications. We are so proud. Everything was handed in on Thursday and to celebrate we had some fajitas and ice cream sundaes and we all watched (minus Thomas and Ads) You’ve Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. A blast from my past! Gary and I also bought her a couple of Art Therapy books that she’d asked for. Lillie wants to be an art therapist with traumatised children. She has been accepted onto a Graphic Design degree at the uni she is at now and is itching to start this new stage in her life:

I had to include the photo below, because it is what greeted me as I came out of my bedroom on Saturday. Some one sitting and reading the Financial Times is such a rare occurrence in our house. Ads needs only a pipe and a rug on his lap and he’d be all set!

I had to take a photo of my girls sitting there doing their school work in their hats. I literally cannot drag the hat off Abigail. It is like an extra appendage. Attached. We do have a rule in our house about not wearing hats indoors but enforcing it has become nearby impossible. I take it off and within ten minutes, she’s slipped it back on again. And because she always has a hat on I don’t notice!

Charlotte has done well this week, but being back home and needing to fill in medical forms GALORE has meant her illness has flared up again. It is definitely linked to her medical stuff and the anxiety surrounding it. She has had so many bad experiences with the medical professions over the past five years, I think anything medical sets her stress levels soaring which causes her symptoms to return.

For the last five months or so the doctors and therapists have been fantastic. But it may be a case of too little, too late. That said, we are beginning to understand that there is a psychological element to FND and she is doing so incredibly well at suppressing the tic/seizure feeling when it comes. Professor Edwards (her neurologist who specialises in FND) said he could see she was determined enough to overcome her FND, and I’m sure he is right. If anyone can do it, Charlotte can. She does not have an easy road ahead but she is so strong minded, with a will of steel, I am sure she will do whatever she puts her mind to.

School work has been done as normal and it has felt good to get back into a routine, although we’re not quite there yet.

The girls did a photo shoot for my ‘Gas Mask’ post, some practical work for their insect science, which included designing an insect trap and doing a tally chart insect hunt in the garden:

They have also done some work on the battle of Marne, using our paper mache map, and making some models of the first ever aeroplanes used in warfare:

And I’ve included some photos of some special moments too. Clockwise is Becs doing devotions in her pjs, preparing lunch for everyone to sit down to, and Harvey and Rufus snuggled up together. The bottom line is Abs making some scones, jam and cream for her Level Two in Cooking:

I was chatting to the girls over the week, joking that I was planning to start a YouTube channel called ‘Clueless with Claire’ to document all my gardening efforts. They were very encouraging (there were squeals!) and whilst I doubt I will EVER actually have any kind of YouTube channel, I am planning on a new series of posts about my gardening called… yep, you guessed, ‘Clueless with Claire’!

Have a great weekend everybody!