Imagination

Looks just like a box doesn’t it?

But add a pillow case tied to a coat hanger and the inside of the kitchen roll and you have a boat with which to sail the seven seas.

We even had fish

I love imagination – it’s great.

The playroom.

A rapidly untidied playroom - hopefully rapidly tidied!

After two weeks away with his Dad and spending a lovely time in Wales with Nanna and Bapa J has returned home happy, healthy and lively. Oh how I have missed him - now he is back I feel complete again.

While J has been away we have had a spot of "Changing Rooms" and the spare room (full of junk and unloved) is now freshly painted and carpeted with a sofa bed, J's toys, and a rug with printed roads. J loves it - it's been done to try and give a distinct difference and feel between a room for play and a room for sleep. It's also been done to mark the fact that J is no longer a baby or small child but a big boy approaching 8 who is going into the juniors. As such it felt only right to give him a bigger boys room - he is delighted and the road rug promptly became a city with a police station and a zoo. The police station saw some use as driver after driver was stopped for speeding and thrown unceremoniously into the cells! I have made a mental note to steer J clear from a career in law enforcement for all our sakes.

Within two hours of J arriving home there were sweet wrappers in places there should not have been and sticky fingers everywhere. Oh well - getting organized in his absence was nice and housework can wait until we've finished playing.

I found the poem below several years ago and it sums me up perfectly.

I hope that my child, looking back on today

Will remember a mother who had time to play;

Because children grow up while you're not looking,

There are years ahead for cleaning and cooking.

So, quiet now cobwebs, dust go to sleep.

I'm playing with my child, and children don't keep.

 
Perfect.

The "Police State" City

Random thoughts................

A few weeks ago I was informed that an application for Disability Living Allowance for J had been successful and with this came some back pay.  With J away in Wales until next week (I am missing him sooooooo much) I have been doing a spot of "Changing Rooms" using the back pay. I am fortunate enough to have a spare room here and am hoping to create a play room for J in order to make a distinct difference in feel from a room to play and a room to sleep. At the same time I am looking at sensory lighting and relaxing colour for J's bedroom in order to make this a room to really relax and settle to sleep in. I am under no illusions that J will actually stay in bed because J is not like that but at least if the toys are out of the room it will curtail his activities somewhat. So the spare room has been painted and a carpet goes down on Wednesday after which I will offer the carpet fitters and extra £20 if they will help me get the heavy and bulky sofa bed up the stairs so that J's play room can have it's own little sofa.

We also have a new Hamster named Bramble who is tame and utterly gorgeous as you can see.

Bramble came from a lady near Colchester who is hamster mad and who breeds and homes very tame hamsters.

Drusilla my very naughty Tortie cat thinks Bramble is just delightful and spends many an evening sitting hopefully by the cage. Once the evening is over though Drusilla is unceremoniously evicted from the living room where the cage is and the door to the room is firmly shut. I am under no illusions about my cat.............




An application I made for re-housing has already been processed by Basildon Council. As they are still working on the applications for last November this is fabulous. My application has been processed because the form I completed regarding J was seen and assessed by the medical officer who has agreed we need rehousing on medical grounds and that J needs a garden. Having said that though there is a dearth of social housing and my priority banding means that it is likely I will be housed sometime in the next 7-10 years if I am lucky. However, the property we currently live in is coming down within the next five years (unless the coalition Govt decides otherwise) so we'll be re-housed then anyway. In the meantime J will have to continue being very active indoors or there is a park opposite. As J cannot be outside unsupervised this means I would have be with him - one reason why a garden with a tampoline he could go mad on would be great.

Finally and most importantly I had a phone call from the special educational needs team last week to tell me that J's case had been to their panel and that from September they will be assessing him for a Statement of Special Educational Need. I am over the moon about this as it will give J a guarenteed plan of support to help him access the curriculum in school. J's school has always been very good with their support but a Statement would ensure they receive the money needed to employ somebody specifically to be with J in school on a one to one basis. Brilliant!

So J - I am missing you and can't wait to have you home again. I know you are having fun with Daddy, Nanna and Bapa and am so glad you are enjoying yourself. I am looking forward to a cuddle with my darling boy but not looking forward to the first occasion when he loses his temper and stomps up the stairs.