Mikko is 3

Actually 3 and a couple of weeks but I hadn't got around to posting about his birthday. Plus it was pretty low-key so not really much to report.

We had a beach picnic and swim the day before and then during the week we had cake with Grandma and Grandpa.

3 years has flown by so fast and he is such a treasure

gettin' out and doing it

we get out and about a lot really as I love to walk. Big excursions with 3 under 5 are a mission though but also totally fun.
The other day I took the boys to MOTAT. When going out to places I always take the double buggy. It is such a lifesaver and definately one of my essential baby items. Mikko tends to take off sometimes so having somwhere I can strap him in and somewhere he can rest is so handy.

The boys are so into trains so it was really good to continue their learning on the topic.

kids rooms and our new pool!

I love looking at photo's of other people's kids rooms. Kids stuff is so bright and fun and cheerful.
Last year  Kasper's nursery was featured on babybites and this year it's Mikko's turn

It's actually the same room but Mikko has had a lot of trouble sleeping through the night and just before we got his diagnosis we swapped all the boys around so that Mikko could have his own room. It's worked really well and he is sleeping through most nights now :)

We got a pool!!!!
well, we got a paddle pool anyway ;)

domestic goddess

Last night I made my own laundry detergent. It was fun and really easy. I don't know how great it is yet as I have to use up my last lot of bought stuff first.

This is the recipe:
Laundry detergent


½ bar Sunlight soap, grated
1.5 litres of water
½ cup washing soda
50 g borax
1 litre hot water

1. Place soap in a saucepan with the first quantity of water and heat on low until soap is dissolved.
2. Stir in washing soda and borax. Stir for a few minutes until thickened and remove from heat.
3. Add 1 litre of hot water to a bucket.
4. Add soap mixture and mix well.
5. Fill bucket with another 5 litres of hot water and mix well.
6. Pour into old milk bottles or other containers and set aside for 24 hours or until mixture thickens. Use ½ cup of mixture per load. It is easy to squeeze from the bottles as it is quite gluggy.

7.  Add a drop or two of eucalyptus oil to each bottle

I felt like a domestic goddess after making this....

......

until I flooded the kitchen about 5 minutes later.

play day

Friday. Play day.

Thomas is really big in our house. Finn talks about him most of the day and all three boys spend a lot of the day playing trains. At 3pm they are also allowed to watch a Thomas DVD (sometimes at 2pm if Mummy is tired!).

It's so cool to see them all playing together. Finn calls Kasper "The Monster of Sodor" for his ability to destroy the track in seconds.



...and the detox continues.....

Mikko is now taking Chlorella from http://www.lifestream.co.nz/ . It's a natural way to rid your body of heavy metal toxins. I'll be honest with you - it tastes bleurk! In order to get Mikko to drink it (it comes in powder form) I have to mix it in with his soy milk and a hefty dose of Nesquik. Thems' the breaks I guess. I also got a probiotic with added digestive enzyme from the lifestream collection.

Another thing we are doing to detox is evening baths with Epsom salts. Actually it was our first one tonight. We LOVE bath time :)

detoxifying

We are trying to 'detoxify' out home. Mikko's liver function is a little low which is typical of ASD kids. His body just doesn't break down toxins all that well. So we are trying to eliminate toxins in our home as well as artificial colouring and preservatives from his diet. It's a work in progress but all these things do seem to be helping. Yesterday at preschool one of Mikko's teachers commented how much happier and more settled he is this term despite having had 6 weeks holiday - really great feedback :)