Aidan is a Star! Indeed it's true - I just watched him on TV!

Last week Johanne (Aidan's music therapist) phoned to ask if he could be filmed for a news report the next day.  Short notice because it was being done in response to proposed funding cutbacks of the Success by 6 program in our province.  Of course, I said yes - with one regret that I didn't have time to get my hair cut (vanity, thy name is Carol) .

Anyhow, just before filming, the station discovered that the funding would not be cut after all.  Great news, but now they needed to change "the story."  It became a general piece about the benefits of music therapy.

Aidan was a star, indeed he was. He was not shy in front of the camera, he played the instruments with gusto, he cheered, giggled, clapped, and had fun.  I was so proud of him.

Johanne said something beautiful in the interview (I'll try to paraphrase):  "we are trying to get the gap between the typical child and the child with challenges as small as possible to make it easier when they start kindergarten."  I love Johanne - I have never met such a genuinely positive person in my life.  Is it selfish of me to think of Aidan's music therapy as "OUR" music therapy?  I hope not because I think I get as much out of it as he does. 

Another Obsession, Another Blog

Something in me doesn't like to mix my eclectic interests in this blog; 3 Little Billy Goats is my blog about life with my three boys, with a great sprinkling about my youngest billy goat and Down syndrome. 

I like my boys, so I like to write about them.  I was inspired to start a family blog after reading Becca`s about her life with Sammi, and Michelle`s about her life with Kayla.  Then my blog reading snowballed and I started to follow Amber`s, Bethany`s, and Sarah`s.  My blog list grew from there.  Anyway, what was I starting to talk about....oh yes, my tendency to NOT want to write about myself in their space as much.  Hence, the numerous blogs I've started. 

• The "writing" blog:  Writes 4 Cookies
• The "technology in education" blog:  Tea for Web 2.0 
• Dewey the Dog Blog about a puppet`s travels from Manitoba to British Columbia.
• And, (phew), Baby Board Books, which was the first blog I created.  It was for my Library School assignment.

My latest interest has been in painting...so I started Another Kick at the [Paint] Can.  While my lads definitely come into the painting picture:

 I still feel a need to have a dedicated blog to record my journey with paint brush.  Sort of like Virginia Woolf`s A Room of One`s Own, except that my room is a virtual one.    I'm not sure what that says about me, but there it is.  The truth about my blogging compulsion.

And yes, I understand that this post has not been ``all about the lads.``  I embrace irony.

My Favourite Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! 

As usual, the lads were very excited about St. Patrick's Day...you may remember last year the leprechaun paid us a visit and MADE us make his favourite Irish Stew and Soda Bread for lunch before he would disclose the clues to find the treasure (naughty leprechaun, mom was very tired!).

This year we were undecided about how to prepare for the leprechaun.  Should I have stewing beef on hand?  Flour in the pantry?  Should we make leprechaun traps, or a leprechaun house?

In the end, we decided that we wanted to be friendly, so no traps were set.  Instead, we made a little sailboat (for West Coast leprechauns) and put a white flag on it to show we meant no harm.  We left it outside next to the little yew tree. 

You won't believe it, but he came in the middle of the night - took the boat for a little sail, used our coats, had a bath in our tub to warm up after the chilly evening adventure, then left us a treasure of thanks beside the cheddar in the fridge.  He was indeed a friendly West Coast leprechaun.  

Enjoy the photos :O)

Anecdotes

Just wanted to share these anecdotes that made me giggle:

Liam had the toy stethescope, and was listening for Kieran's heartbeat. His eyes got big and he shouted, "I can't hear your heart, Kieran, I think that means you must be dead!" All I could think of was, 'work on your bedside manner, kiddo!'

I took the boys to see Alvin and the Chipmunks today - it was Aidan's first movie - he was so excited he clapped (with GREAT FORCE) through most of it!

Yesterday I took them to the ocean for our 14 Days of Drawing Challenge. The scenery was exquisite - there were 12 sailboats in the bay, driftwood logs piled into a tipi shape, great cloud formations, flowering trees....and what did Liam draw? McDonalds. Mind you, it did have a fire escape... Kieran gave him high praise. When I looked to see what Kieran had drawn....it was an opera singer. Go figure.

More on painting

I guess I get a little obsessed with things.  I've been working on two more paintings of the Owl and the Pussycat.  This time with a purpose:  baby gifts for a friend and a colleague.

This one I started first and finished last:



What I liked about this painting: 

• the piggy wearing a sailor suit (a happy accident - the way I initially painted it, there was a sloppy bit that looked a little like the tie on the sailor's shirt).
• the islands in the background.  Originally I'd painted a lighthouse at the left, but felt it was too much, especially so close to the owl.
• The pussycat is drinking tea from a china cup. 

What I did not like:

• the owl - I could not decide whether he should be a snowy or a great horned owl.  I've been struggling with him the most.  I debated about a pair of spectacles, but refrained. His head was too big initially so I had to rework it.  I know the owl could  be better, but for now - I give up.

This second painting is different in that it is done on stretched canvas as opposed to canvas board.  I've only painted one miniature on stretched canvas, so this was a fairly new venture.

What I liked about this version:
• the boat worked out quite well.
• I didn't have to struggle with the owl.
• the water has a different shade of blue that I thought worked out well.
• the clouds were fun to create.

I also loved the depth of the sides allowing me to extend the scenes to the sides:

That's it for now.  I know the photographs aren't the best, but they serve a purpose anyhow, I suppose.
The boys are waking - have to go be a mom . . .

I made the pledge, did you?

Putting the Child First

I'm wondering if anyone has seen a poster about inclusive language with regards to putting the child first (before a disability).  I want to post one in the staffroom at the school Aidan will attend in a year and a half.  The kindergarten teacher recently said to me, "I had a Down's student once, he was very stubborn."  My spidey senses went all haywire, and I want to let the staff know that language is important... :o)

Also, last night I attended my first ever Down Syndrome Society AGM and joined the Board.  I want to help in areas of education and advocacy, and the child-first inclusive-language angle was the first thing I thought of.