Have just seen on Twitter that an old favourite is having their 30th (?) anniversary UK tour. Does it make me feel OLD? Hell No! I am more excited than a tweenage 1D fan at this little bit of nostalgia. Thankfully, my days of queuing at the box office at the crack of dawn are well and truly over but I will be first on-line this Friday to buy tickets. Some of these bands I definitely wanted to see play LIVE. Some gigs were simply out of duty to friends and some, I seem to have completely wiped from my memory. Cast? REALLY? I never liked them and can't remember who did. Either we were on the guest list, thanks to my friend's dad who owned the local record shop, or the support band was much more interesting.
In 1997, I met my hubster and obviously had more to do with my time than hang out with local bands and collect ticket stubs. Nevertheless, we did see numerous tribute acts in the early days as well as Dame Burley Chassis (my guilty pleasure) at The Waterfront Hall, The Verve at Slane and various indie bands at Tennents Vital, Belsonic and the Odyssey Arena. We even announced to our closest friends that we had finally set a date at Radiohead. Such was the soundtrack of my misspent youth! Now my back may no longer stand the pressures of a mosh pit. My knees are wrecked. The 1989 T-shirt may no longer fit but I will be there with the friend who was with me the first time round singing our hearts out. Who Wants To Be The Disco King? All Hallow's Eve will soon be here and as with any festival celebration, I am a believer in "each to their own". We are not often harassed by Halloween Rhymers during the preceding weeks. Big Fireworks displays and crowds of people are currently a no-go area but Houdini can cope with a small scale Halloween, for one night only.
In spite of sensory issues and love of routine, all my boys do "the costume thing" together on 31st October, visiting approximately 6 of our neighbours' houses for their annual Trick or Treating. They don't mind seem to mind Houdini's attempts to enter their home! Some will even provide savoury snacks, as they know from previous years that he doesn't eat anything sweet or gooey. One particular couple actually look forward to seeing them, although I think it may well be the cuteness of the little one that does it (Not that I'm biased!). Thankfully, it will soon be over and things can return to relative normality until the countdown to Christmas! http://www.whereareyouchristmas.com/ More often than not my heart is in my mouth with the antics of our Houdini and the sooner I can find a Special Olympics gymnastics club in our locality, the better! Has anyone seen my son? Keep smiling! xx
At 6 years old, Houdini is still "in nappies". He is beginning to show some awareness after the event, if not before He will take a wet nappy off by himself and casually throw it across the floor shouting "Toilet. T-O-I-L-E-T. Toilet!" but despite regularly setting him on the toilet throughout the day, he is yet to actually perform. We have attended our local Paediatric Continence Clinic and toileting is now one of his school targets for the coming year. I am looking for visuals to help with this task. Hopefully, things will start to em, ... move in the right direction. Useful Social Stories, Visuals and Advice:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28743654/Poo-Goes-to-Pooland-1-1 http://www.icommunicatetherapy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Toilet-Story1.pdf http://www.continencevictoria.org.au/resources/children/ https://www.teacch.com/files/Toilet_Training_article_revised.pdf http://www.ctnsy.ca/CTN/media/Documents/atn_air-p_toilet_training.pdf http://www.livingwellwithautism.com/how_to_use_picture_cards_and_schedules/self_care_visual_helpers Huge thanks to Houdini's Disability Social Worker and Stanley Stein Charity who have organised and provided funding towards a shiny, brand new "McClaren Major Elite" buggy which is specially designed for children with additional needs. I am hopeful that this equipment will be a godsend to us and am looking forward to being able to better manage our future trips out without fear of him either refusing to walk or running away.
This particular one was ordered online through a company called Orchard Farm Ltd. in Devon who trade under a variety of names and are currently the most competitively priced at £239 incl. free p&p. (VAT free for children with disabilities) Their after-sales customer service is first rate too so definitely worth a look when John Lewis, Boots, Amazon etc. are currently looking £300 for the same item. http://www.pushchairs.co.uk/acatalog/info.html http://www.maclarenmajorelite.co.uk/ |
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