November

I think November may have been the busiest month so far. We had a birthday, a dog surgery, migraines, two graduation ceremonies, an exhibition, a colour run, as well as the final day of school for the year. I am quite exhausted, but also quite excited by the prospect of entering the second phase of my project - the painting.

Images

Movies

Not as Scary as it looks_Day 305 of 365.JPG

“Not as scary as it looks”.Day 305 of 365. Last night, for Halloween, I convinced my family to have a night swim with the red pool lights on, wearing witches hats. I am not even sure why the lights can go red, but I have now decided that it is for this specific purpose. We floated around and watched the clouds passing over the moon. There was also a lot of splashing and wrestling and a lot of fun.

The best kind of doughnuts_Day 307 of 365.jpg

My son requested doughnuts as part of his special excursion lunch for tomorrow’s swimming carnival. For the first time, he is excited to go, and wants to stay all day to hang out with his friends ( in the past he would swim his event and then I have collected him early). When I went to pay for the doughnuts at the shops their barcode was missing. The attendant tried to get other staff to get another packet to scan, but when no one came in a timely fashion he said I could just have them. The best doughnuts are of course free doughnuts.

Bouning Out of OT_Still_Day 309 of 365.JPG

My son has been going to OT since he was 3, he is now 12. Today we were told that aside from a catch up to make sure everything was ok at the end of each school term, he no longer needed to come for monthly therapy sessions. He is currently thriving and we couldn’t be prouder. I know that there will be many more obstacles that crop up along the way, so knowing that we can have further appointments if necessary gives me that extra sense of security that I need. When we first started Occupational Therapy, Alby had very low muscle tone, a side effect of his prematurity, poor fine and gross motor skills and often walked on his toes. It was after a session at the local kindergym when he was jumping on his tippy toes on the trampoline that I decided we might need to further investigate his motor skills and booked our first OT appointment. The OT has a trampoline in her treatment room and over the years I have watched Alby bounce on that trampoline on many occasions. He started very poorly but over the years has just become so strong and confident in his body that he can perform complex routines of jumps really well. I decided to illustrate his departure from OT by showing him bouncing so high on that trampoline that he bounced out of frame and therefore out of therapy. I made the noises by flicking an elastic band. Another great day.

Dont become complacent_Still_Day 311 of 365.JPG

These dogs were drawn with 66 brushes in @procreate that I have never drawn with even though I use the program everyday. I made a second version of this animation with labels accompanying the brush styles as a future reference. Most of these brushes are amazing but I had never even bothered to try them, comfortable with what I know. Now that I understand their uses I will be sure to start incorporating them into my daily draws. Don’t be like me. Try all the brushes.

Lumpectomy_Day312 of 365.jpg

Lump and bump removal surgery for Penny today and she is doing ok. No nasty lumps but they were getting larger and needed to be gone. It is hard to see her all stitched up and harder still to think about how confused and stressed the whole process must make her feel. She is very sleepy now but tomorrow I begin the difficult task of keeping her calm and trying to explain why we can’t go on daily walks for a while.

Ipaditus_Movie Still_Day321 of 365.JPG

Today I had a physio visit for my right wrist that I have damaged holding my iPad whilst I draw. Apparently there are 8 little bones in your wrist and mine are “locked” rather than freely moving. Today I had a combination of dry needling ( kind of sort of but not really like acupuncture), with needles stuck into the wrist area, and the tens machine. I also have to sleep with a brace on my wrist. Remember to look out for yourselves and don't forget that ergonomics are important in your studio space.

Primary School gradiation_Day 328 of 365.jpg

Alby graduated from Primary School tonight and I couldn’t be more proud, he even got an award for consistently putting in effort. At big moments like this it is hard not to reflect on how far he has come from the tiny, anxious,shy, and worried little boy he was when he started prep. He has come so far thanks to our family efforts, the incredible teaching staff at his school, his therapy team and most importantly a heck of a lot of personal growth. Looking forward to the future and hoping for a smooth transition into secondary school.