Hmmm Holiday time…

 

Holidays are a tricky thing in this family. Mainly for Madison! You see our weekly schedule gets completely mucked up and we need our schedule, I love our schedule, our routine that’s how we survive and stay sain at this house. Well most of the time. Schedules, routine and being organised these are key to the way we live.

 

It took Adam a long time to get in to the swing of it. He likes to be spontaneous as do I but with Madison, and Jaimee too, if the routine gets mucked up or there are last minute changes be prepared and be very scared to pay the consequences. It can throw us off balance in a big way.

 

So holidays, and I do like holidays, it gives the girls a very well earned break and they do need it and it also gives me one too. The thing is there is only so much time you can fill in the day without completely exhausting yourself and trying to get the kids to use up the majority of their brain power.

 

At the moment Adam is in Darwin for 10 days and Jaimee, the big red head has gone to have a sleepover at Auntie Beks house with the little red head, Scarlett. So it’s just me and my Madison girl.

Being the 1^st day of the Easter holidays, I thought Madison would sleep in as there was no school today, but I was wrong, she was up earlier than normal. On a school day I have to drag her out of bed with sleepy eyes and lots of mumbling or screeching “No school today”, “No school today”!! In she waltz’s to my bedroom at 5.00am with a very loud little TV asking “mummy you asleep” and then “ahhh there you are”.

 

It turns out that today I am playing the servant girl to the little princess who is making her tedious demands all day long, every 5 minutes it seems. I would just get started doing something and their will be a “mummy, mummy, mummy, mummy” until I answer or go to her. Most of the time she likes to hear herself repeating things over and over, other times it’s just about getting what she wants.

We started off ok, Madison had 3 long showers and then a bath in a very full to the top bath tub. All before lunch time! The bathroom did get flooded and bless her little heart she did try to mop up all the water using every single towel available in there. I was feeling good too about having all my washing clean, dry, folded and put away. One more extra load to do now, what’s a bit more washing anyway.

 

So there is a bit of drama that happens when we get out of the shower, bath, pool, ocean which ever of these wet places we are at. Getting dry is particularly tricksy. Especially the hair, she doesn’t want you to dry it for her, a sensory thing with her head, but then all hell breaks loose when the drips start to fall. So here is how the rest of our day went.

 

The computers not working! Crap, crap, crap.

Our modem is on its way out and every now and then the internet shuts down. This is the biggest thorn in my side, I tell ya! It takes me about 5 minutes to get it working again but there is no explaining this to Madison. She just let’s rip.

Meltdown with extras (scratching, banging the laptop, banging the little TV etc.) then lots of sorry mummy L

Where are you mummy!

Dog barking, Shut up Indy!! Madison would say.

Wanting a choc crème, Madison named the little bite size sweet William chocolates, chocolate crèmes; it is a Gluten and dairy free chocolate bar. Where are your manors, Madison!

Can’t find Angelina Ballerina in the favourites on her laptop, big yelling session! Finally I found it, thank god.

Where are you mummy!

More choc crème, where are your manors, “please mummy darling”

There was no spare plug hole near the laptop for the ds game to charge up, cracked it big time! She needs to have all of her gadgets going at the same time and charging.

The dog barking, Shut up INDY!!! Madison's words.

Where are you mummy!

Making me watch parts of Flushed away, holding my face with both hands at the tv to make sure I’m watching it.

Indy barking again, banging the laptop and chucking the mouse!

Weeing in a cup, not enough cup, too much wee! Damn more washing!

Another shower

More dripping hair

The TV I was watching was too loud, even though she was wearing headphone at the computer and had the little TV up to the highest volume. She wanted the big TV sound off.

I turned the TV off and went to the other TV in my bed room and this upset her more. A lot of tears, what will make me happy, I want my daddy. Not so much yelling this time and then sorry mummy and go away mummy. She is getting tired now, thank you very much!

More choc crème, where’s your manors, Pleaseeee mummy darling!

Then of course it bloody rains. For a kid that spends most of her time in water you’d think she would love the rain, not!

Most days I can cope really well and then there are random days that not even fairy floss can fix. I love fairy floss! After awhile the constant badgering can and will grate on your nerves till they are split at the ends. Today seems to be one of those extra long days….

 

Best thing I can do is just switch off, give myself a moment to breathe and have a cuppa tea. Or hide in the toilet for 5 minutes, what ever works! I know the day will eventually come to an end and tomorrow is another day. I do pray that tomorrow will be better than today. If it’s not, I know it can’t last forever and I will just take it as it comes.

So why do I do it, give in and become the servant girl? Because some times you just got to pick your battles! I don’t do it all the time, I just have to judge were she is at on the day and I do what I can to keep Madison from escalating in to full blown meltdowns. It can sometimes take a ½ a day, a day or even two days  to come down from a, we have reached critical point of no return meltdown. So avoiding those situations is how I play my cards.

A meltdown for Madison is when she feels she has lost control of a situation; sensory overload happens with visual, noise and touch and she has trouble making sense and processing what is happening around her. She will scream, cry, kick, punch things, hit, and scratch, bite, throw things, throw herself on the floor and self harm. These don’t all happen at the same time. It can get pretty intense.

People say it like a tantrum; I assure you there is a difference. To watch it happen if you didn’t know her, it probably would look like a tantrum or you may think she is having a really big mental and needs a good smack. I have actually had a person tell me that’s all she needs, is a good smack. Some people are just wankers! They can’t help it.

Being Autistic things are very different. Life is hard for her, she look like a typical little girl but she has so much more going on to deal with and she is misunderstood by many. Don’t worry though; Madison can still throw a good tantrum, we just know the difference.

Even though all of these not so nice things happen in the day and were not all butterflies and daisy moments. We move on pretty fast from the difficult moments. There are still times in between for laughs, cuddles and kisses with I love you’s. We are really fortunate and grateful that Madison is a cuddly kid, on her terms though. I must admit I am a bit in your face with the affection.

Madison is getting better with her self control when she has a meltdown. It depends on what is happening at the time and whether it is a major or minor one. We are so proud of her. The one thing that is the most heart breaking of all is that this little girl is very remorseful afterward. She knows that she has done the wrong thing but in the moment, sometimes the control is not there, yet! Madison will always say she is sorry and you can see by the look in her eyes and her face how upsetting it is for her as it is for me to watch my girl go through all of this.

It is an emotional rollercoaster but that seems to be how we roll. Madison has hit puberty so we are in for one heck of a bump ride, me thinks!

So bring on a new day I say and let see what that will bring, hopefully a bloody rainbow J

Oh, I forgot to say Happy Easter! Have a lovely holiday with family and friends.

 

Till next time

Steph

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