Up and grateful, please try to keep warm this season.🫶🫶

Although Christmas costs are scary, it’s not all doom and gloom. A local woman said an organisation she is affiliated with would like to buy me the groceries for my Christmas dinner. How thoughtful is that? I cried happy tears when she sent me a text yesterday.

Finally managed to get a break. I've had a week with no problems financially impacting me.

I was part of a performance-based project tonight called ‘Amplify’, a restorative storytelling at its best. I got a chance to tell a part of my story that I don’t normally share which is to with the injustices of court. I felt very empowered after it. I got to express my views and to campaign for change. I would love to get politicians involved and for my voice to be amplified even more. This is only the beginning.

Morning

Happy Thursday and God bless us with this day.

I viewed my new house and I am waiting for a date to move. This is a new beginning for me and my daughter who will have her first ever garden and she is nearly 8. Excited is an understatement. I will have to see how much my bills increase but I am willing to cut any further costs I can find with cheaper shops and planned meals for each day.

Got a happy birthday wishes from Millie, felt so great and happy reading from her, it meant alot to me.

I love you 🥰 all

To everyone with no support and you feel lonely please love yourself, and also chose yourself again and again and again 🫶🫶🫶🫶

The start of the school year has been very stressful. My son is in year 9 and already we've had many many sanctions isolations and an emergency meeting to make a plan. He has a complex EHCP and although he's currently on the wait list for assessments he's clearly ADHD and autistic like me.

It's so difficult because the school are bending over backwards to help him stay there but its such a struggle. Constantly living in fear of him being kicked out and having to face the fact that he has to be accommodated somewhere else.

Its given me the peace of mind that I made the right decision to homeschool my youngest this year. He was awarded DLA so we now have some incredible resources available to help him learn. He now attends a forest school on a Friday and a martial arts class on a Saturday to allow social interactions with peers in more natural environments. Without his DLA I wouldn't be able to provide this. We now have adapted reins to keep him close and safe in public places and honestly its allowed him more independence to explore the world while helping my anxiety of keeping him safe.

A major worry was the change in weather and my ability to keep him warm in winter as he's susceptible to chest infections and bronchiolitis as am I. However, with the additional benefits support of DLA and PIP I've been able to start to add more and more to the prepayment meters in preparation for the winter.

Life at the moment is calmer and I don't feel like I'm in constant survival mode. This in turn helps my mental health stay on the positive and also allows me to show up for my kids in meetings and advocate for them fully

Finally feel like I can breathe. Awarded PIP so can function and my youngest son has been awarded DLA so I can fully invest in him. I can provide him with everything to make his and my life liveable instead of simply surviving.

First thing I bought for myself was glasses so that I could see. First thing I got my son was specialist reins so I can access the community with him safely.

Life should get a little easier and bearable now.

Happy because my wee boy is settling in school