Hello all! Sorry I've not been on since before Christmas - so much to catch up on! We're well. Christmas and NY went surprisingly well. Kids only back at school today. Last week was trickier. DD was having trouble sleeping - saying she had a "big worry" but didn't know what it was, and not falling asleep until after 10pm and some days closer to midnight. Weirdly I think going back to school may have helped as we had a good day yesterday (inset day), and she was asleep by 9pm. I probably just need to get them up earlier in the holidays to keep more of a routine and tire them out more but I am SO not a morning person and sometimes I just want to be at home getting on with things I need to do, so probably don't wear them out enough. Need to just be less lazy!
We introduced them both to Minecraft which is a new obsession but really nice actually. I've been impressed how much they've played together on it (with a tablet each, so they can do their own thing). They've been building a zoo together and playing hide and seek even and all sorts! Quite a lot of arguments too obvs...
Welcome to the thread @CallHimMrRaider! It does sound like DS is probably masking. Don't feel guilty - it's so hard when everybody is exhausted and very hard to balance needs with siblings. I'm always glad DS is a younger sibling as actually he and DD have quite similar needs in a way and it means her need to be in control is easier to meet. I suspect she would struggle a lot more if she had an older sibling instead of a younger one. Your job sounds both amazing and frustrating: it must be so hard to know what you could achieve if you had the proper resources, but I hope you know we're all very grateful to you for doing what you can with the resources you're given.
@livpotter your roulade looked amazing! OH and I would very happily not bother with parents but it feels a bit awkward with other people's expectations if we do nothing, so we try to think of a couple of things we need/would like each and just ask each other for them. Having said that OH still hasn't decided exactly what he wants so he got socks and a multi-meter to open on the big day 
- exciting!
@dimples76 I'm so sorry about your Grandma - hope your Mum is doing OK now. 100 is a great age but it's never easy to say goodbye to anyone, even if they are ready to go. The stairs shove sounds scary but does sound like it was an impulsive reaction, not meant. It does put a lot on your plate re: safety though, I can see. The doorstep show with cousins sounded super-cute though!
@danni0509 glad DS had such a great first week back! DD has also never been star of the week and is a bit crushed every week. Although her class has nearly 20, so I try to explain that nearly half the kids also haven't been star of the week yet. I'm hoping they are doing it on rotation so they will get to her by Easter - if not I'm going to have to come up with another explanation or talk to school to understand how it works! We never had star of the week in DD's old school. I can't say I like it very much. Great that DS tried a mince pie too - it's lovely when they find something new they like. Sorry about your PIL's gift: your client's gift sounds lovely though - so thoughtful - DD would have loved those! We aren't so constrained I guess but I definitely do still miss some things from pre-kids. Just the lack of obligation and time to myself really - though I'm occasionally getting some now (which I used to tile a splashback for the utility room sink before Christmas - I know how to live!)
@openupmyeagereyes - so sorry about the new school delay. Are they going to send any activities or anything else to keep DS occupied, or are you just waiting for 2 weeks? I realise it's very late but if you don't mind cross-over somewhat "kid" books I really like the Matt Haig Christmas books. We did The Girl Who Saved Christmas last year with DD and DS and we all really enjoyed it! This year we've got Father Christmas and Me. Haven't actually done the first in the series yet (A Boy Called Christmas) but will have to get that next year. We've really enjoyed all the Matt Haig book's we've read. The Truth Pixie, To Be a Cat and Evie and the Animals are really good too. I think he does adult books too but have never tried those - but I'm willing to bet they'd be good.
@MagratLancre DD lost 4 teeth over the holidays! She' hasn't lost any so far so it's a new experience and she's very glad to have finally lost them and catch up a bit with her peers. She has a cute lisp and a new found method for eating chips . Sorry the publishing thing turned out to be a damp squib. Hope something better comes along. What kind of thing have you written?
@carriebradshawwithlessshoes it must be difficult balancing DS's disinterest in Christmas with DD's needs. Have you read about monotropism (Dinah Murray I think was the original proponent of the idea as a kind of partial theory of autism - I find it quite convincing but not complete)? Maybe he is just focused on people rather than things as you say (just shows how wrong the stereotypes can be!) A lot of his engagement seems around meeting sensory needs maybe with swimming and moving - but then that doesn't really explain the panto and enjoying family time so there must be something social/people related in there. There is a YouTuber called "Aspergers from the Inside" or something like that whose special interest is people and psychology - maybe DS will be something like that? Does he like books - you could try him on some of the old Desmond Morris books on people-watching? Or maybe something for his swimming, or stuff to play with in the Woods (a survival kit or binoculars or something like that)? Anyway, you've probably thought of all this and he's just disinterested in stuff so I will shut up now! DD completely loves being in the woods too. Luckily DS enjoys it too (again, him being younger is really helpful I think).
Sorry if I missed anyone else but Happy New Year to all!!