An AGM Update

Last Monday night, the Dad and I trundled into town to attend the DS Dublin AGM. The flyer that came in the post a few weeks before mentioned speech and language, and we were hooked. Who does not want to hear about a way to provide your child with speech and language. We parked on Exchequer street, almost infront of the meeting location, very handy. It felt like it's been years since I've been out in town at night. This is as close to a night on the town it gets for us at the moment.
When we got to the meeting, with plenty of time to spare, we sat down with Noah's parents for a little chat before hand. Things kicked off after 8, the usual AGM stuff....
Then, the S&L proposal. DS Dublin have been putting in a lot of research into hiring a S&L therapist. Some of the other local branches have been able to get this up and running, Kerry, Limerick, Galway, to name but a few. All have done it their own way, but it has been done. The proposal is to follow the Kerry model, and it seems that they have been very helpful in giving advice.
Kerry have managed to hire a senior S&L therapist through additional membership and increased fundraising. Their therapist travels to three locations in Kerry once a week, and the famillies in that area then go to her/him. The courses run in 8 week blocks, with a 6 week break between. You atend a one on one session every two weeks. It cost €40 per session (as oposed to about €90 privatly). The fact that Kerry have been able to offer this has attracted more families to join their branch, thus brining in more money in membership and fundraising. This extra money pays for the therapisit's travel costs and it also pays for the three locations which are needed. DSI head office look after the payrole for the therapist. A senior therapist was hired at first to set everything up and put the systm in motion. Once this is done, a gradute can be hired at a much reduced cost to assist the senior therapist.
To me, this sounds fantastic. It can only be beneficial to all of us. However, aparently the membership of the Dublin branch only stands at 300. To me, for the size of this city, it sounds tiny. Where is everyone? Maybe because we are new to all this, we've been very enthusiastic about joing the branch. I mean, the talks that are organised, I think, are well worth the €20 joining fee. As far as I know, in the next few weeks, a questionaire will be sent out to all members asking if they feel that this would be a service they would like to avail of. There will be a sub-commitee set up to orgainse the logistics of the whole thing, and members will be asked to volunteer. I've voluenteered to help, even though we are lucky to have access to a S&L therapist now through our services provider, who knows what might happen in the future. It's better to have a back up of some kind. It seems that there is a lot of work involved in the set up, but once it is up and running, it runs itself.

And this leads me nicely to fundraising for this worthy cause. Last year, DS Dublin got 100 women to run/ jog/ walk the Women's Mini Marathon. They asked for 20 members to bring along 5 friends to make up the number. This year they are looking for 250!!!! So do it now, registeration is open....I'm signing up, hopefully, I'll get to do it, as long as the little fella isn't in the hospital with his heart..... So I'll be houding you all for a couple of euro a few weeks before the race. Would you like to sign up?

Can I do the Marathon on this?

And on a little personal note, a friend of mine is flying the coup, and moving to the sunny beaches of the Caymen Islands. Nice work if you can get it!!! Unfortunatly, due to a very important french relative (my god mother) flying in yesterday, we could not make it to her leaving party last night. So Lisa, have a great time, I am so jealous that you get to live under the sun for a few years...... We will all be over to invade your place for a holiday, I promise.....

Another Ticker Update

Last week Cathal went to see his cardiologist, and it looks like he should be all fixed up by June (fingers, toes, arms, legs crossed). We'll see, I am still not going to hold my breath just yet, and we'll be taking it with a pinch of salt when that date comes in. In the meantime, his dodgy pulmonary artery has grown again, from 5mm to 7mm.

More posts and updates to come.......soon.......I promise

Happy Valentine's Day

Now, I'm not the most romantic person around, actually, I'm a bit of a bah humbug when it comes to Valentine's Day (after all, you should make the effort every day), but now I have no excuse. So forget those overpriced roses and the dodgy marzipan chocolates, get out there and find a Windmill for a measly €2 on the 13th and 14th in aid of Heart Children Ireland.

My Little Boy

Yes, that's it, the little baby is gone, only to be replaced with a little boy. I started to notice this change last week with a trip to the hairdressers. While I was there I decided to ask the hairdressers advice on the best way to tackle my son's mullet. I know what you are thinking, surely we did not leave him almost 11 months in 1985, but he was born with a rat's tail, and it was starting to get a bit too long for comfort. She offered to trim it for me there and then, so now my little baby looks like a little boy. Don't worry, the front wasn't touched, it's still as long and silky as ever. But it has changed him, he's grown up some how. When the other staff realised he was getting sheared, they came bounding towards me....
"Is he getting his first hair cut?"
Yes
"Are you going to keep his hair?"
Emmmm.....am I? Is that what's done now, gosh, I don't want to look like a bad Mammy.....Of course I'm going to keep it.
So now I have a little plastic bag, somewhere in the bookcase (well I think that's where I left it) with a little bit of baby hair in it.

Recently we've come to realise that between the growth spurts, the teething, the crankiness and tiredness, there is a little personality, a real little person emerging. I have come to the conclusion that he's a bit mad, possibly a little hyper active and a little comedian. He's trying to be more active, still no crawling, but he is rolling, in one direction , down the centre of the sitting room. He hits everything and shakes it to see what it does. Wooden spoons are used as drumsticks, tiny stuffed cloth animals are used as teething rings. He is exploring everything and anything you give him (except food.....typical). I scour the house for something new to give him. At the moment his favourite things are the plastic insert of a biscuit packet, a string of beads, and a rubber spatula.

He is also discovering his voice, raspberries are the way forward in communication it seems. I can't leave a room without waving good bye to him or he starts shouting after me. Whining and pretend crying are being used as blackmail.

He's got a thing for the ladies too, he flirts while we do the weekly shop, beams at any woman who talks to him.
"Hello, will you be my new Mammy?"

Sleeping 12 hours at night time, and taking long afternoon naps is now a thing of the past, apparently sleeping is for girls!

I can barley remember the days when he was tiny, sleepy and placid. Now all he wants to do is bounce and wriggle in my arms, while simultaneously hanging out of my hair, pretending to be Tarzan (my head is not a jungle!).
How fast time passes. What new trait will tomorrow bring?




Health up date: Just like Noah, Cathal had his eye test recently, and he has been given the all clear. He can see!!! No "wobble" in his eyes, no cataracts, just a strong possibility that he is a little long sited, but nothing that needs a prescription just yet. Next eye test is this time next year. Keep yer eyes peeled.....