Getting Our Covid Vaccine #FragileXSyndrome

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

Before the government decided young people could be made a priority for the vaccines, I had phoned my GP to ask if it were possible for Sir to have his, and also myself as his carer, mainly spurred on by the horrendous stories in the news at the time. I was told it would be a couple of weeks for him, and that they would take my details, though no promises could be made.

I was most surprised to receive two text messages the following day inviting us to make an appointment. The first available day was today – 2nd March. I’d been told that you needed to pick up a consent form on the day of your appointment. In order to try and minimise the stress all round I again phoned the GP and asked if these could be obtained in advance (this was Friday) the receptionist said she would print them off and I could collect them that day. I took a walk up a couple of hours later. I filled the forms in over the weekend.

We arrived at the center slightly early, there were parking marshals everywhere, showing you where to park, what to do and answering questions. We were advised to wait in the car with the hazard lights on until told to go in. As it happened the queue wasn’t very long so we basically joined it straight away. The admin people inside were very efficient, social distancing very well marked out. Sir was grumpy but not too unhappy!

He didn’t want to go into the main hall. It looked a little like a brightly lit theatre – he doesn’t like theatres – and staff were in full PPE. He turned round and walked out..

One of the helpers asked if we were okay, I enquired whether they had a side room we could go in, explaining Sir’s dislike of halls. Straight away he showed us through some doors to a quieter area and offered to do our jabs there. Sir’s was done without any fuss as was mine. The gentleman then showed us a back way out to avoid crowds coming in.

I cannot fault the organisation, the staff, the guy who gave us our jab, any of it. I am especially proud of Sir! I had been worried but thankfully it went swimmingly.

So, my advice would be:

Phone and see if you can collect your consent form(s) in advance

Take distractions with you – phone, food, hand held fan, whatever works and is small enough to carry.

If you have concerns about anything, tell the staff when you go in. Certainly the people I spoke too were very helpful.

Try to stay calm ( yes I know, easier said) you can have your meltdown, cry later. If you stay calm then your young person will too.

Don’t forget your mask!

Good luck and I hope all your young folks get their jabs very soon (and the older ones!)

February 2021

My potatoes arrived and they are currently chitting in the conservatory – as you do!

Under the propagator are the chillies, onions and some flower seeds. The onions were doing quite well, the chillies appear to have stalled and the flowers are yet to germinate. The potatoes are just starting to sprout.

Outside my tulip bulbs have survived snow, ice, freezing temps and rain. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago, they have grown bigger since.

We’ve had some lovely weather today so I’ve been out weeding my little border and sowing some flower seeds, a wildflower mix and some sunflowers. Used the garden kneeler I treated myself to. Opened up the greenhouse to let some fresh air in, there are pots with compost already in, I just need to decided what to plant in them. It’s supposed to be nice tomorrow too so I might make a start then. I also took fifteen minutes to sit outside with a cup of coffee.

Word of the Week 26/02/2021 Good News #WotW

Finally after so much doom and gloom, we’ve been having quite a bit of good news in our house.

It seems (at the moment anyway) that our Easter break will be going ahead! We were starting to wonder and I’d been looking at dates to rebook it to. Not all the facilities will be available, and there are restrictions but to be honest I don’t care. A change of four walls will be most welcome. If all I do is sit outside the accommodation, drink wine/gin and watch wildlife go by that’s fine with me!

Following the rightful outrage about Learning Disabled people and the way some have been treated during this pandemic, the to-ing and fro-ing about whether they should be made a priority for the vaccine, I made a phone call to our Doctor to see if Sir would be eligible. Good news! he is and so am I as his main carer so we are going on Tuesday to be jabbed! Not sure how he’ll take it and not entirely looking forward to it but I’m still pleased. We will be done before the schools open up which is good for both of us.

The schools reopen on 8th March and in our house that is good news. Both kids are desperate to go back and see their friends. Teaching at home has been an experience and I’ve sort of enjoyed it but I’m not a teacher! The flip side is all the Little Dears will be back at the school I work at! Help!!!

Madam’s good news is that she has a face to face Podiatry appointment – also on March 8th! she hasn’t seen anyone in more than a year and her insoles are split.

My last piece of good news is that the weather forecast for the weekend looks good! I intend to get out in the garden and start some planting!

Word of the Week 19/2/2021 Different #WotW

Like many we have been on half term so our week has been very different. There was no home school (hurrah!), no work for me, no need to take Covid tests at three day intervals (I really didn’t miss that) and Hubby took two days off.

The week started with us celebrating Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day, we basically used it as an excuse to eat lots of different delicious food hehehe. I did Sweet and Sour Pork on Friday, we had our steak night on Saturday and a very very nice M&S dine in for two (I had to buy it twice) on Sunday. It cost me £40 but worth every penny. We still have a bottle of wine left!

On Monday Hubby decided that it would be different to do a BBQ! the weather was good, I got a few bits in, burgers, sausages and chicken, served with salad and buns. He cooked it as a late lunch, obviously the nights aren’t quite light enough yet to cook outside. We really enjoyed it 🙂

Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday so that meant pancakes! I do realise this post has mostly been about food.. maybe that should have been my word! LOL!

Wednesday I took the kids shopping with me which was different for them as they haven’t left the house in weeks.

Yesterday I got out in the garden, did a bit of pruning, dug up a dead plant, I will put dahlias into the pot when they are big enough. That will be different as I’ve never grown them before.

Today it took several scenic routes to get to the supermarket.. many road closures by us at the moment.

And for my last different thing of the week (and yes it involves food!) I have ordered our Sunday dinner to be delivered from a local pub 😀 so no cooking for me! Sunday roast all round plus a couple of side dishes.. they even do dessert and nearly had me at Granny Apple Tart but I did not succumb!

I hope you enjoyed Half Term if you were off, have a lovely weekend x

Word of the Week 12th February 2021 Cold! #WotW

The mercury has barely left the end of our thermometers this week! Snow that flurried down a few days ago is still lingering. The wind has a proper bite to it. I’ve been going to work armed with a hat, scarf, gloves, layers to ward off the howling gale on the playground! The Little Dears don’t seem to feel it “Can I take my coat off Miss?” No! No you cannot!

My car hasn’t much liked the cold either. Long story short, frozen locks, doors not opening, doors not shutting culminating in not being able to exit the car on Aldi car park.. I did get out obviously, I clambered in a most unladylike fashion across the seats and out the passenger door. Thank you to the man who whilst because of social distancing felt unable to physically help me but did wind his window down to ask if I was okay, and commiserated because his car is the same make and he’d has the same trouble at 4.15 that morning. I’ve been out in the car since, it’s fine.

Now we are on half term. Home school is done and I’m off work. I hope this cold weather disappears! it would be nice to get out in the garden. My container plants and bulbs are covered in snow, it would be good to be able to see them!

Here’s to warmer weather, hope you all have a lovely half term if you are off.

Home School with Fragile X Update

Like most children, mine have yet to go to school this year, the latest date is March 8th, I shall just be happy to get as far as half term.

School have really got their stuff together this time round, before it was lessons uploaded to Classdojo, sharing the laptop and an awful lot of printer ink. Now we get a work pack sent home every week for Sir, every two-three weeks for Madam, containing everything needed to complete the work. Number lines, Teams passwords, stuff to make a bird feeder, dated maths and English work, all sorted into plastic slip folders labeled for that day, together with a timetable explaining what you need to do with each thing. Being a SEN school of course classes are smaller and this probably wouldn’t be possible with mainstream – though the school I work at has put together packs for those that want it.

They also introduced two Teams sessions, in the morning and the afternoon. Kids are encouraged to attend at least one of them. Teachers are available to discuss any problems they have with the work. Madam’s is especially useful. She is very comfortable in front of the camera and I get booted out of my own room whilst she’s on there! It means I have an hour where I can do Sir’s work with him or maybe catch up with housework. I’ve even been known to sneak out for essentials. Hubby is at home, I’m not leaving my children unattended.

Sir is not so keen on Teams, but each day I log on via my phone and encourage him to at least wave at his teacher. I’ve found that if I reverse the camera (so it faces him not me) and engage him in doing work or helping with the laundry, he gets less upset and will kind of interact rather than shoving me out of his room and shutting the door in my face.. His TA finds this very funny 😀 I know it’s part lessons part welfare check. I’ve read articles about parents upset at the fact schools are checking on them. They have to. You might be okay but some people aren’t. I’d rather they check on me along with everyone else thanks.

Some schools have a set timetable on how the work should be done. I don’t agree with that, school has to fit round home not the other way round. Fortunately our school isn’t doing that, so we fit lessons round everything else. We tend to plough through as much as we can in the morning and pick up after I’ve been to work. Sir does Friday’s work on Thursday so it’s all ready to be picked up. This is where the work packs really help, I can just sort the lessons for that day and get on with them. No fighting over laptops.

The school also do drama lessons and music therapy online. Both are great fun. Technically they are for Sir’s class but Madam has a standing invite to join in too.

We’ve had both parent’s evenings on Teams, which worked very well.

Make no mistake it’s been difficult and taken a long time to settle into the routine we have now. Certainly I would prefer my kids to be in school and it worries me how much time they’ve spent at home. It would be nice to think schools can reopen soon, especially if given the means to do so. I do roll my eyes at the media and celebs who clamoured for schools to shut are now shouting for them to reopen. It’s almost as if they’ve realised how hard it is when your child doesn’t have access to education, something that far too many parents with SEN kids were already aware of but no one really cared then. Funny how people suddenly find issues to be important when it affects them.

Anyway… I am very proud of both Sir and Madam for how they’ve handled this. They do get fed up and frustrated. They want to go back to school. They have good days and not so good days. For now I have a cupboard full of coffee and one week till half term!

Word of the Week 05/02/2021 Improved #WotW

This week did not get off to the best of starts – Monday was a long, drawn out process of a day. But the week improved as it went on.

I had Madam’s parent’s evening (on Teams of course) her maths has is much improved and she is much more confidant. It was a lovely report.

Sir wasn’t very well on Wednesday night, an upset stomach. I took the day off work yesterday and let him off his school work. Today he is back to bossing me about so he’s obviously improved!

The weather has improved today too 🙂

Word of the Week 29/1/2021 New Shoots #WotW

Despite the cold and the snow (wasn’t that fun!) you can’t stop nature, I’ve noticed some new shoots springing up in my pots this week.

Towards the end of last year I planted some tulip bulbs, never done those before. Well I must have done something right because I noticed little shoots in the containers. They’ve survived a dumping of snow 🙂

Earlier this month I planted onion and chilli seeds. The onions have shoots, the chillies are still asleep. I’m sure they will wake up soon enough.

I remembered to buy my daffodils, they were still in bud but are now beginning to flower.

The flowers I dumped onto my scratty piece of garden last year seem to have survived too – along with the weeds…

It will be February on Monday – imagine that! Spring is on the way and hopefully we can all start new shoots, putting this awful winter behind us.

Word of the Week 23/01/2021 Not Just Us #WotW

I wasn’t sure which word to pick for this week, I had a few in mind, none of them were flattering. So instead of post first and read everyone else’s after I decided to go the opposite way round. Turns out it’s not been the best week in the WotW world. Not just us then.

I don’t think I’ve stopped, if I’m not home schooling, in a teams meeting or scurrying out to the supermarket then I’m at work, trying to catch up with housework and answer the eternal question of “What’s for dinner?”

Added to the mix was my car’s MOT. It was due last July but got extended. It passed (thankfully) and I got two nice quiet walks to and from the garage. In a howling gale but still.

The kids are fed up, emotional, and generally grumpy, which to be fair although they are both teenagers that’s not like them. They leapt at the chance of a drive to my Mum’s yesterday to take her birthday presents – Happy Birthday Mum! anything to “get out of this prison” as Madam put it.

I’m fed up, emotional and generally grumpy too, though that’s not exactly unusual… just seems more so this week.

Today I’ve changed all the bed sheets, it’s always nice to have fresh linen. Had breakfast in bed too, it was snowing and I refused to entertain getting up.

I really should take some pictures so I can add them to the posts, brighten them up a bit!

February 2018

This is from two years ago. I keep meaning to pick up a bunch from the supermarket. Maybe this will remind me!

Hope next week is better.

Word of the Week 15/1/2021 Me Time #WotW

“How are you?” Sir’s teacher asked me during a teams session this week “no one ever asks about mum” I laughed and told her I’d be fine when my wine order arrived 😀

I’ve spent a lot of time mulling over how I can change my job, should I change my job, what do I do instead? Eventually I realised that leaving my job is really not a good idea at the moment. I’m here for the kids, it’s an hour or so a day, I’m a permanent member of staff, I get paid every month, I get paid for some school holidays, I get paid during lockdown, it’s near home.

But I wasn’t happy.

Which brought my second realisation. I can’t change work or lock down or home school or the other stresses, but I can change things I do. I can make time for me. No I’m not selling a book or a lifestyle and neither have I bought into one. I did read a few articles I noticed here and there but mostly it’s my own thinking.

One podcast I listened to said along the lines you can’t do everything every day but you can do once or twice a week. That struck a chord with me. Now I read once or twice (or three times if I’m lucky) I listen to a couple of podcasts – mostly gardening, a little meditation. I watch some TV, I’ve stopped trawling social media every spare minute I have. I’ve actually got more done. I’ve done house work, kept the washing up to date, done the food shop. Took Madam to the dentist – though we were nearly late.. I’m sleeping better too. I’m getting my pj’s on whilst Hubby is getting the kids to bed – Sir still has a bedtime routine. I started a journal last year and I make sure I get five minutes to write in it daily, even if I do nothing else.

I didn’t pick complicated things – mostly because anywhere complicated is shut! lol! but easy stuff. Things that don’t require expense or more importantly massive outlays of energy.

I’m aware I sound like a smart arse. I hate it when people start with “I’ve done this.. that.. the other” and I’ve barely managed coffee. However it’s been a bit of a revelation to me and I wanted to share. To put my thoughts on “paper”.

So light that candle, pick up that book/magazine/blog article, hide in the loo for five minutes, buy a houseplant or a herb for the kitchen window, have that coffee, take that bath, use the fancy bubble bath, have that glass of wine. Shut your eyes and just breathe.

Am I stress free? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No. Does all this help a little? Yes.