Sunday, December 26, 2010

Tom Giving Kisses

This is Grace at the State Championships Carnival!


Legsy and I at U2!!! Another highlight of my year.

U2!!!!! I had the best night out

Grace in her new Ski Biscuit on Boxing Day. Too much fun was had by all.

Tom at Moore River.

Caitlin in the Ski Biscuit! How happy is she????

Caitlin and I ski biscuiting. She did not stop giggling the whole time we were out. Legs drove the boat very nervously but it was so worth it. She LOVED every minute of it.

Grace

Monday, December 13, 2010

Tom

Some pictures!

Thought it was about time I got some more pictures up! This is Grace with her winnings at her swimming carnival a couple of weeks ago,. She was the most excited girl EVER to have won a medal and it took three days for it to come off her neck 

 This is Caitlin enjoying a picnic. Shis is happy as always and very excited about Christmas just around the corner
 Tom helping us with the Christmas Tree!!! It was a night a will treasure forever. All three kids were gorgeous!
Tom loves to run around outside in his walker. He loves chasing the dogs!!!!
 Mr Blue Eyes!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Another Crazy Week

Well, things are certainly getting silly as we head towards the silly season for our family.

Grace swam on the weekend and did a super job. She did a PB in her butterfly by 3 seconds which she was pretty pleased about.

This weekend she is swimming in two meets, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Hopefully she will do really well on Saturday as she will finally be swimming against 8 year olds instead of the older kids. We will see how she goes, there are so many good swimmers out there!!!!

Caitlin is cruising along. WE are getting very frustrated as we have been waiting on a new head rest and head switch for a while now and we were promised it would be sorted before the end of the year, however, surprise, surprise........ I have just found out even if it arrives before Xmas, we can't get a booking in the workshop to have it all fitted so at the very earliest, it's going to happen next year, just in time to interfere with her going back to school!! I would love to scream right now, but I just don't know who to scream at anymore. The system is a joke and I'm OVER IT!!!!!!

Tom is due to have his immunisation tomorrow. Poor little fella. Hope he is as brave this time as he was last time!!!! Hope I'm as brave as well.

I have meetings tomorrow and Thursday and then hopefully Tom and I can have a quieter Friday but somehow, I don't know that that will happen. Things just seem to keep popping up.

Legs is busy trying to get his units of work for next year done at the moment. Thank goodness his reports are finished!. Legs is going for his skippers ticket on Saturday with my Dad and my Brother. Wish him luck cos he thinks he is going to need it.

I will let you know how he goes next week.

I'm getting off this computer now as I have all of my night time chores to do still. See ya!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Go Grace!

A big weekend coming up, particularly for Miss Grace.

The weekend is starting off tonight with a game of indoor soccer for Grace and her friends. They are having a mixed season, winning some and losing some. Then we are off to Mum and Dad's with Ant, Beve and Paya where we are having a games night and sleep over. I'm sure there will be a couple of very sore heads in the morning! It should be a great night and one that we are really looking forward to.

Tomorrow starts early with Tball. Grace is supposed to be there by 7.30am. We are lucky to get there by the start of the game some weeks. I can't understand why it has to be soooooooo early. Then she has State Championships training in the afternoon.

The really BIG day is on Sunday for her. She is swimming in a meet at Challenge Stadium. This is a big meet with over 600 competitors so I'm told. She is swimming up a year level as there isn't any races for kids her age so she won't do very well but it will be great experience for her as I'm told this is a pretty scary meet to participate in. Hopefully this year will make next year not quite so scary for her.

The meet starts at 8am and finishes at 4pm, a massive day for us all. She has been chosen to swim in a relay which is fantastic, a bit of a feather in her cap and something she will really enjoy I think!

Well, it's time to go and pick the girls up from school. Caitlin has had some Singapore exchange students with them today so she was very excited! Tom has finally fallen asleep, just in time for me to wake him up - it's always the way.

I'll put some more photo's up soon
Sam

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Some Christening Photos





Finally I have got my backside into gear and put some photo's of Toms Christening up. We had him Christened on the 1st of Oct 2010 at The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Scarborough where Paul and I got married and we had Grace Christened too. Tom has two of the most beautiful people I know ( Rob and Clare )as his God Parents and he has now got two God Brothers ( Shane and Michael ). What a lucky boy!!!!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Busy, Busy, Busy

This is going to be a short and sweet post as I am completely running on empty and need to get to bed.

Life has been fun, hectic, exciting and tiring all at once.

All of our visitors have left us now which has left us all feeling a bit flat. Their departure was followed straight away by our next ABR clinic. The clinic ran really well and we are starting to see some exciting changes in Caitlin. She has begun to use her right arm to support herself when you push her over to her side. It is still weak but she now has the ability to get her arm out and away from her body rather than tuck it in and under and she can take some of her weight through it. This is a big step in the right direction!!! Unfortunately the left arm is not there yet but we will continue to work on it. She is also sitting a lot better on her pelvis now. Such small gains with so much still to work on but we will happily take whatever we can.

I can't believe that Caitlin is going to hit the double figures this weekend. She will be ten on Sunday. I have been trying to work out what she wants to do but so far, she wants to do everything I am offering. It looks like we are going to the pool for a swim, meeting Nan, Grumps, Ant, Beve and Paya for a picnic and then going out for dinner. I think we might need to refine this a little bit. I love the fact that she can let us know what she wants, she is so clever!

Grace is flat out as usual. Mum and Dad took the girls camping on the weekend in the caravan and they both had a ball. Grace made a park full of new friends and Mum and Dad only saw her at meal times. She came home completely exhausted.

Tom is doing the backward caterpillar and he is getting up on all fours but he hasn't figured out how to go forward yet - it won't be long though. He is sitting up by himself for short periods of time but he gets quite frustrated because he wants to move around. He is really showing his personality now and he still melts my heart every day.

Legs is busy at work and is starting to think about what to do with his long service next year .............

Well, that's it for now. I will put up some photos when I can find five minutes so you can see how much Tom has grown.

By for now

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Fun, fun, fun

Well, most of the family have come and gone now and while we are missing them desperately, we have some fantastic memories of our time together.

The kids had a ball. We did lots of fun things together and they were flat out the whole time.

We took all of the kids to Adventure World and we got to throw Caitlin down the water slides again!!! I had forgotten how fast those slides went and Caitlin took a dunk at the end. It threw her for a bit but she recovered and dared to go again!

We also got Tom Christened. He was the star of the show for sure. He was such a good boy and smiled the whole way through it.

Legs had his party and it ended about 4.30am with a dance and sing a long in the backyard!!!! It was a great night and one that I know he really enjoyed. It's always so special to have all of the the people that matter and that you care about in the one room, it's just hard to spend time with all of them at the same time!

Grace has been down South with Jack, Fran and Saraid. We have spoken to her every night and she is having the best time. Such special time for her to have Jack, Fran and Saraid all to herself and no doubt is being spoilt rotten...... We have defiantly missed her bubbly noise around the house but it has been really nice to cuddle my husband on the couch in peace by 7.30pm.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Holidays are supposed to be a time of excitement and relaxing. We have the first bit under control, the excitement is building in our household until we are all nearly at bursting point!!!!

Our family arrive from the eastern states on Wednesday. My house will be transformed into the party house as we attempt to squeeze 18 of us into it. The shower roster might be an interesting one, either that or we all just put lots of extra deodorant on.

The relaxing part is far from coming. The last few days have been spent with party preparations for Leg's 40th and getting the house ready for the hordes. I will relax when the holidays are over I think!

While all of this is going on, I also have to remember that there is an ABR clinic just around the corner and I am responsible for organising it. Luckily for me, I got most of it done straight after the last clinic, knowing that this was going to be a mad time for me but as always, there are little bits that just have to be done at the last minute.

We did Caitlin's video tonight. I'm unsure how I am feeling about it. I know there have been changes and so many of them in the past, but I'm just not sure I can see much. Have we hit the wall and got as much out of ABR as we are going to get?????
I hope not but as she is getting bigger and stronger and harder to handle, it is hard to see the positives. But then I have to remind myself that the surgeon was really happy with her and doesn't want to see her for another 2 years - most families I know that see the surgeon, walk away with a date for surgery. ABR has to be partially responsible, if not completely responsible for this.

I guess I will have a better idea after I get to talk to Sarah and Jenson and tell them how I'm feeling. Maybe it's just because it is such a long slow process and I'm getting a bit sick of it all. Time for a break maybe???

Can't wait till I write my next post as the family will be here and I will be on cloud nine ( and probably very stinky ). Until then.........

Monday, September 13, 2010

Caitlin and her Catherine Centre Teacher Mrs Burton

Many people have come into our lives with Caitlin but not many of them are as inmportant, compassionate and dedicated to our princess as her teachers. This is Caitlin at her First Holy Communion with her teacher Mrs Burton. Mrs Burton is not only an amazing teacher, she is someone I would call a friend who not only cares for Caitlin, but for me as well. She is there to fight the fight with me and to share in all the little milestones that are so huge in our lives.

Caitlin loves Mrs Burton and therefore, loves going to school every day. How blessed are we!!!!

Catilin did so well at Communion and she really enjoyed the whole process. She was so excited in the lead up to it that I think when the big day finally arrived, she was exhausted.

We are so very proud of you Caitlin, you are a star and we love you dearly.

Happy Holy Communion to you my girl!!!!!!

Monday, September 6, 2010

EXCITED!!!!!

This week is turning out to be one of the best we've had since Tom was born.........

To start with, my Mother and Father in Law are arriving from the East tomorrow. They are coming over to help us celebrate Caitlin's First Holy Communion and then Leg's birthday.

Caitlin makes her First Holy Communion this Sunday and she is very excited about it. We have the dress and the shoes all ready to go and she looks beautiful in them - so grown up!!! She is carrying one of the gifts to the alter. She will be carrying the flowers on her lap while one of the girls from her class pushes her. Her Dad is going to take her up for Communion and help Father get the timing right with placing the Host in her mouth, otherwise he could lose a finger or two. What a spectacle that would be.

Grace is entering in her first Australian Qualifying Swim meet session this Friday night. She is a long way off getting her Australian qualifying time but that is what she is working towards and doing a bloody good job at it if you ask me. I couldn't even do 1 metre of butterfly, let alone 50!!!! We are very proud of her and hoping she does well and enjoys the whole experience.

But the best news we have had this week came yesterday after a trip to Princess Margaret Hospital. We were there to see the Neurologist - an appointment for years I hated going to because it was always bad news. Yesterday, however, we got the news that her last EEG was all normal and because she has been seizure free for 3 years, we can start the process of getting her off her medication. For years all we heard was bad news so it is so exciting and refreshing to get some positive things coming our way!!! We think she is a real rock star and we are so proud of her.

We also saw the orthopaedic surgeon last week and he is super happy with all of her bone structure and doesn't want to see us for 2 years unless something goes pear shaped in the mean time. Way to go ABR I say!!!! Thank God we found it and thank God I have the most amazing husband that is willing to put in the hundreds of hours to get these results!! We are a great team and we are reaping the benefits of it.

The good times don't stop there because after Kath and BJ arrive, we then have the rest of Paul's family arriving to party with us for Leg's 40th. It is all too exciting for us......... and we are loving it!!!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Giggling Tom

Giggling Tom!
August 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The last couple of weeks have been full of excitement for the girls, especially Caitlin.

We spent the weekend out in the bush, off road following some very brave, but very stupid friends who did the Avon Descent. It was Tom's first experience of the Avon and while he slept through a lot of it, he loved being out in the fresh air. Caitlin of course loved the bumps and crashes that 4WD in her chair causes and Grace, well, she was just Grace and loved it all!

The girls also had dress up day for book week which is always the bane of my life, but a huge highlight for them. Caitlin wanted to go as a clown and Grace went as Eleanor from the book The Day my Bum Went Psycho!!! Tom even got into the spirit and wore a Winnie the Pooh outfit. The girls paraded across the stage and the smile on Caitlin's face was priceless. These are such special memories, I have to try and remember them for always.

Caitlin is busy practising for her First Holy Communion and last night we had a Parent and Student information evening. Caitlin was THE most excited person there. She was so vocal throughout the whole night and we had such a special time together, just the two of us, which seems like a rare thing these days!

We are also trialing a new head switch and head support system, in conjunction with a PODD book for communication and she is really thrilled with this. It's taken us so long, and as with everything, a long, hard fight where Mum ended up bursting into tears and throwing a patty at the therapists but we seem to be making some progress now. Thank God for her teachers and her school that gave me 110% support and also went in to bat for us. We are so lucky to have them.

This system now means that we are working on Caitin having her own voice and can innitiate conversation for herself rather than only being able to respond to what we ask her. This has to be the highlight of the year for Caitlin so far. It's such a huge thing to think that we might finally be able to really get to know our beautiful, intelligent and funny little girl. She may not feel so isolated now, however, I am a bit scared about what she might tell me in the future when she gets going with it all!!!!!!

Ben Cousins is about to be on TV and I really want to watch the second half so I will leave it there for now and write again soon

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Not a whole heap to report this week. Life is busy but it's all good.

Winter is nearly over and Caitlin has remained flu free so far but I am touching every piece of wood I can find right now.

Tom is smiling, giggling and so alert. He is sleeping through the night, having a feed at 9.30pm and then not another one until 6.30am the following morning. He does wriggle around and sometimes has a bit of a squawk at about 4am but it is so short that we don't have to go to him, he just puts himself back to sleep.

Caitlin is doing some amazing communicating with her head switch. She is so clever and loving the little bit of independence it does give her. She loves to be a bit cheeky with it sometimes. Its so exciting to see that there is a way for us to hear her, however, I am a bit scared what she might tell me when she finally gets a communication system that gives her a voice.

Legs is now officially OLD. He turned 40 on the 4th!!!! We had a small gathering on the weekend of his birthday just to mark the occasion but the big party is happening in Oct. We are waiting until then so his family can fly over from Victoria to celebrate with him. I'm not sure who is more excited, Legs or Grace who is hanging out to spend some time with her cousins.

Grace is still flat out with all of her sport. There isn't a day when she doesn't have something on. She dotes over Tom and is still the most amazing help for us.

Me, I'm just the most content person getting around. I have my two beautiful girls who amaze me all the time and then there is my little man who just makes my heart melt. I am so lucky to have him and I am truly treasuring my time with him. To top it all off, I have the best, most loving and supportive husband. What do I have to complain about .........absolutely nothing!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Some Weeks just suck!!!!

Well, this week has not had a good start for us.

Our family has suffered a devastating blow. My beautiful aunt and uncle were killed in a horrible accident and my cousin was injured and has a huge mountain to climb.

I have such fantastic memories of both my Aunty and Uncle. I remember my Aunties amazing cooking and going mud crabbing with my Uncle. I remember driving in their green jeep that had no roof and thinking it was the coolest car ever and I remember them coming to watch me play tball and freezing their back sides off when everyone else was hot!!! I remember my uncle taking me to the most northern part of Australia and showing me a cave that had bats in it!!!! It's very unfair and my heart is truly aching for my cousins, especially the one who was in the car.

This week has made me realise how much I love my family and how I need to make more of an effort with the extended family that I have around me. Family is so important and should be treasured, not taken for granted.

I have three beautiful children, the most loving and supportive husband, amazing parents, an awesome brother and the most delightful in laws and their families - how blessed am I !!!!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Holidays are over.....
















Well, the holiday have finished and the girls are Legs are back to school today. I love having them home and miss them when they go back to school but it is nice to get back into my own routine and catch up with friends for coffee!!!!!
We had a pretty quiet holidays by our standards. The first week was Legs and Caitlin in Singapore and the second week was pottering around home, learning the new abr exercises a lovely day spent at Hillaries with my Mum and niece at the Marine Discovery Centre and then a picnic at Brigadoon with my brother and his family.
Caitlin went to the Recreation Studio again on Sunday and they had a picnic, did some cooking ( Zucchini and choc chip cookies!!!!!) and they made a mask. She had a great time and seems to be really enjoying her time there.
Grace decided the weather wasn't cold enough to keep her out of the freezing water at Brigadoon and Tom really enjoyed the bush walk in his baby bjorn with his Dad.
All in all, the holidays were a success and now we are just counting down until the next lot!!!!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

We All Survived!
















Last week, Legs and Caitlin went on a trip to Singapore without Grace, Tom and I.


They had a ball and got to spend some quality time working with Leonid which Legs found fantastic and was very relieved to find out from Leonid that his technique was OK - a horrible thought to think you are putting in all these hours and your technique sucks!
I had the week at home with Grace and Tom. I found it really hard putting Legs and Caitlin on the plane and think I cried all that day. I missed them terribly but after day one,I settled into a routine with the two kids and we ended up having a nice time together. I took them both to Aqua to see the sharks. Tom slept through the whole thing but Grace really enjoyed it. I think she just enjoyed having my attention all to herself.

Legs and Caitlin went to Singapore with Leg's sister Mic and they had a ball by all accounts. I was very jealous of the two of them, and especially of Legs getting to spend such quality time with Mic. They went on the Singapore Eye which I was very relieved they did without me cos I have no desire to do that EVER !!!! I would totally freak out. They also visited China Town and had a couple of swims in the pool. The best part was the positive report they got from Leonid though, it is always great to hear that things are heading in the right direction. I wish I had been able to hear it all though as sometimes it hard to see the changes when they are so subtle and so slow to come. We have such a long way to go and I just hope we can sustain the motivation to keep going for however long it takes. That's why getting the positive feedback is so valuable as it motivates you to keep going and keep getting the positive changes.

Only a couple of days left of school holidays and then we return to normal life. I Love school holidays so will be sad to see them end and everyone return back to school. Its so nice to have them home.

Have added a couple of photos of Tom. They are ones that Mum took when he was first born so they are about 7 weeks old now but I think they are very cute and worth sharing.










Monday, July 5, 2010

My Babes!










Just some photo's I thought I would share of my beautiful family.
I love ALL of them very, very much





Wednesday, June 30, 2010

School Holidays are Fast Approaching!!

Only two more days to go before Legs and the girls are on holidays and we are all hanging out for that.

It's been a really long term this term and particularly for our family with the ups and downs that went along with it. Life is never boring for us and we love it when it's all smooth sailing. This term Caitlin had Pneumonia and was sick for a very long time and then we had the birth of Tom so it has been a pretty turbulent ride, but we have weathered the storm and come out with smiles on our faces ( especially when we look into Tom's tiny little face! )

We are all really excited for Saturday to come because my sister in law is flying in for the day and we will get to spend some special time with her an introduce her to Tom. She is coming over to help Legs take Caitlin to Singapore. They will be gone for four days and I'm really wishing we were all going with them. Never mind, we will all definitely go next year and show Tom all the sights and sounds that we have come to know and love. As for the rest of the school holidays, we don't have many plans. Grace is doing a netball clinic for one day and of course there will still be swimming to run her backwards and forwards too and she has a couple of sleepover and play dates organised. Caitlin will be going to the Recreation camps run by the Centre for CP and we will probably do the trip to the zoo but other than that, just spending time as a family will be perfect.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Mr Tom.....

Well, tomorrow, Tom turns 1 month old. I can't believe how much he has grown already.

We had a rough week last week with him suffering with colic but after a bit of research on the Internet, I found a chiro in the USA who taught me some stretches and baby massage to do with him to release the wind and within 24 hours there was an amazing improvement.

He is now back to being the beautiful, content little man that we all love so dearly.

Life is starting to beat to a regular rhythm for us again. The girls are happy ( busy as always ) and Legs has got all his reports done and is counting down his time until holidays.

Tom is doing really well at night and I am counting down the time until I can drive again. Being stuck at home is starting to drive me a bit bonkers!

Grace is still swimming three nights a week, doing netball and playing soccer. She got a beautiful report and has been asked to join the Sparks class next term which is a huge honour for her and we are very proud of her. I think she would prefer to be doing the Sparks Art program but it is such an achievement to be chosen for Sparks that I hope she enjoys it and gets a lot out of it.

Caitlin is still doing ABR and is just back to being the delightful soul we all know her to be. We are looking at getting her into a recreation program on the weekends but are yet to start that.

Tom is really looking around now and is such a sticky beak when there are people around.

I still can't believe he is here and so perfect!!!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Long Weekend











What a way to spend the long weekend! We took the girls and Tom to Moore River for the day and we did a bit of fishing. The only person to catch anything was Grace. She managed to catch 2 small brim while we all watched on.
Tom was a good boy and slept the whole time we were fishing and Caitlin enjoyed winding in the line. She especially enjoyed her time fishing with Grumps.
The weather was beautiful and all of us enjoyed getting out of the house and taking Tom on his first big adventure. It won't be long until he is fishing too!!!!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Tom - 2 weeks









Here is my beautiful boy. He is such a good baby most of the time and lets me get some sleep at night. I am so in love with him, as are the girls and Legs...... there are plenty of fun times ahead.






Saturday, June 5, 2010

So Happy!!

Well, my baby boy has been home for a week today and we are all SOOOOOOOO happy.

Caitlin is back to herself. She is sleeping, eating and back to good health. She has got very used to us dropping everything and running to her at the first sign of discontent, therefore, she is being a bit demanding but compared to where we've come from, that is a HUGE improvement and something we can work on. After being a bit apprehensive of Tom she is now very excited and loves to have a cuddle and laugh at all the strange little noises he makes. I think she was a bit worried to start with about the fact that we would pop him on her lap and she felt very vulnerable about having him there, I think she felt powerless to stop him falling off her lap. Since we have come home, we have taken it a bit more slowly and reassured her the whole time that we have him and it has made the world of difference to her. It just goes to show how clever she is and how much she thinks about these things. Sometimes we just don't give her enough credit or stop to think about how these things that we take for granted, may effect her!!!

Grace is just the proudest big sister. She is constantly wanting to cuddle him and help out with his care. She loves it when he comes to school and she can show him off to her friends. We were worried that she might feel a bit of resentment or jealousy towards him, but that is definitely not the case. She is a special little girl and one I am very proud of!!!

Paul and I just keep staring at Tom and are continually amazed at the fact that we were able to make something that is so beautiful and so perfect. I know we are biased, but he is one good looking rooster!!!!
Legs is back at work this week so it will be interesting to see how we all go. I wish he had more time off work as I have really enjoyed having him around and watching him glow with pride every time he looks at Tom. I am possible going to go stir crazy as I am unable to drive and therefore housebound but I will do my best to be patient and I will just enjoy my time with Tom.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Tom Lenaghan







The wait is finally over. We have finally met our beautifully little boy Tom Brian Lenaghan.
Tom was born on Wednesday the 26th at 1.19pm by emergency C section. I did go into labour on my own this time, it started about 8.30pm on Tuesday but after labouring away all night and half of the next day, we weren't progressing very quickly and then Tom decided to drop his heart rate to 40 beats......... panic set in and we were rushed into theatre with the nurse yelling, we have 4 minutes to get this baby out!!! I was in panic mode and praying that everything would turn out OK. Thank God it did and we have been blessed with the most handsome little man I have ever seen.
We are so lucky as he is eating beautifully and we are getting some sleep at night.
The girls are besotted with him. Grace has stepped up to the plate and is just being the best daughter and sister we could ask of. She is helping out with the housework, entertaining Caitlin when we can't quite get there and giving Tom as many cuddles as she can fit in.
Caitlin was a bit hesitant at first with Tom, but now, when we put him on her lap, she giggles her head off and is really enjoying him being around.
I am the happiest Mum in the world right now and Paul has not stopped smiling about the fact that he has a son.
Until next time........