My Neglected Funky Sprogs and a Teensy Weensy Bit of Sewing!

So here we are, with only a week and a half to go until the end of the school summer holidays and my two sprogs, Dominic and Kaira have been fantastic if somewhat neglected in the attention department so this entry is for them...not that they can read it but it makes me feel better!

What can I tell you about my sprogs? Dominic is 6 and has the cheekiest grin in the world, he also has the most amazing memory, describing things from when he was two in amazing detail and remembering everything in day to day life...right now it can be annoying but I think once I use my skills to utilise this talent (like for shopping I need) it won't annoy me so much! When Dominic was 3 we found out he had something called Selective Mutism...the simplest way (for me personally) to describe it to someone I first meet is to say imagine asking a person with a phobia of heights to do a bungee jump, that's what it's like for Dominic to speak in front of people.

Fortunately, we caught it early (thanks to my friend Jemma in NZ), my doctor had never heard of it but that wasn't going to stop me fighting to get it recognised, I wrote to magazines, passed on leaflets to my doctor and Dominic's teachers from the SMIRA website. I also set up Selective Mutism New Zealand on facebook which, even after moving back to the UK, has provided us with a huge amount of support.

We have taught Dominic the skills to cope with his fear of  talking in public and he has taken what we have taught him and literally run with it. He has moments of completely reverting but they are fewer and shorter lived. If you see the pictures of him modelling for me on my website (or look to your right for the DaWanda shop pictures) you will see that he wears sunglasses, he thinks that no one can see him when he has them on!

The most useful thing about having a 6 year old son is that he is fabulous at choosing boys fabrics for me, namely Michael Miller's Skate Park in Black (above), and it looks fantastic...he's also picked out a number of other fabrics for me and in return I have made him a tooth fairy cushion.

I am quite impressed with myself! Now up until this point I have discouraged the ritual morning wiggling session that I am forced to witness every morning, now I am positively encouraging it!!!

Now Kaira is 3 and was born in  New Zealand (Dominic became Dom the Pom, she became Kiwi Kaira), although bizarrely her name originates from Denmark. Long Suffering Husband wanted Keira but I refused to name our daughter after someone he quite fancies!

Kaira does not have Selective Mutism...in fact Kaira is the polar opposite to her brother. She is confident, articulate, kind and puts up with me constantly trying out new designs on her...so basically the patience of a saint! She continually watches me sew, and when I get frustrated  (something that happens more than I would care to admit!) she tells me that I am doing a great job. She brings out the best in her brother, and adores him to the point that she plunges into depression when he is at school and only recovers from the depths of her despair by Barbie, The Fairy Secret, every day...for those not in the know this is a film that lasts for one and a half hours...yes you did read that right!

Kaira is also extremely good at mimicking...this concerns me because I find myself listening to my phrases and watching my mannerisms to an alarming degree. Even more alarming is that it takes me a few minutes to work out where the phrase has come from, or the rolling of the eyes, or the look.  At which point I stare at her horrified!

Really though it should be LSH who is more horrified, now he has two of us doing 'the look'!