On The Catwalk

This week I shook my little tush on the catwalk (showing my age with that one) and I had a ball.  I was asked if I'd like to help with a fundraising fashion show for the Ballon Community Centre and as my sister and some friends were taking part, I thought it would be fun. I’ve made an agreement with myself to say yes to things that push my comfort zone and sashaying up and down in front of a room full of people definitely would not have been something that would have come easily to me in the past. I’ve been so busy lately that I barely had a chance to think about it, let alone get stressed but as the start time approached in Mount Wolseley, the nerves did start to kick in and there were some initial butterflies but once I got out on stage, I enjoyed every second of it.

It would be hard not to enjoy wearing beautiful clothes from some of Carlow’s finest shops. My outfits came from Erre Esse and Savana Boutiques and being styled by them was great fun - again pushing the boundaries and thinking outside the box. I love clothes so being able to play dress up without the price tag, was an added bonus for me. The very talented Clare of Angelz Hair Salon in Ballon and equally talented makeup artist Emma Maher and her friends, gave very generously of their time to make sure that we were stage ready. Faith Amond did a wonderful job presenting the night with her unrivaled glamorous flare and the dancers from The Dance Republic were beautiful to watch.

The lads and ladies of Ballon GFC did a super job transferring their skills from the pitch to the stage, with models of all ages taking part. Ballon is such a vibrant village, with a super community spirit and the night was really well supported by the local community. The Community Centre or Ballon Hall as it’s called, has always been at the heart of that spirit. As a child, I spent so much time there, doing everything from athletics, Irish dancing, variety group, scouts, speech and drama, to teenage discos.

I’m sure I even had a smooch or two around the back! And now it forms part of my children’s and husbands lives too. The hall is licensed to hold up to 500 people and as well as being home to a huge variety of sporting and fitness classes, it is also available for hire for parties, dances, fares etc and hopefully the fashion show will have generated lots of money to help with the upkeep of such a wonderful local resource.

I’m really glad I took part. Once upon a time I would have cared what I looked like and I would have cared what other people thought I looked like. These days I only care that life is short and I’m determined to fill mine with as many fun, new experiences as possible.

Choosing A Family Car

My childless self owned an Audi A3, which I'm pretty sure wasn't full of junk. However, once children arrived, it became apparent that lifting a car seat in and out of a three door car wasn't the wisest thing to be doing with chronic back issues and so I updated to my first estate. And I'm not going to lie, it made me itchy. At the time my husband commented that we should probably buy a people carrier, seeing as I always wanted more children but I refused to test drive one. I think I simply equated a people carrier with middle age and like Dylan Thomas I was not going gently into that dark night! So I raged (in a conformist, middle aged way) and we bought an estate. And then we had three children and three car seats didn't fit. And picking friends up for play dates or carrying extra passengers became impossible and I realised that I was an idiot and suddenly a people carrier seemed like a brainwave. So we had a rejig. My husband inherited my car and sold his prized sporty, 2 litre petrol Mercedes, which could probably have serviced the national debt of a small country and I got my people carrier.

But not before doing lots of research. I read review after review. Safety features, design features, affordability, milage, boot space. We toured garages and I test drove lots of cars but kept coming back to the Peugeot 5008. It had all the space we needed without the feeling of being a huge car. It felt good to drive, got really great reviews and it looked OK. The absolute deciding factor for me was the five star rating the car received from the Euro NCAP. The European New Car Assessment Programme is a car safety performance assessment programme, founded by the UK Department for Transport and backed by several European governments and the EU.

They created the five-star safety rating system, determined from a series of vehicle tests, representing real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users. There's a really great website, enabling you to search all makes and models, giving a quick synopsis and a more detailed safety report to download. Our budget didn't extend to a new car so we sourced a UK car, which tend to have higher specifications for better value. My husband set off on a trains, planes and automobiles adventure. He flew to Liverpool, took an hours train journey, picked up the car, drove to Holyhead and took the ferry home. Even with paying the vehicle registration tax, we managed to save a couple of thousand euro. But the best part was, the children's seats magically came with Kinder Eggs!

4 of us moved into our shiny new car and it quickly became an extension of our home. Sadly, it even more quickly lost its shine, aided in part by a mildly traumatic trapping in a car wash but that's possibly a story for another day!

Mini Musicians

Usually when I’m at The Baby Room, I’m working but Monday’s are special because I’m off and I get to enjoy family time and do the things I love to do for me. So, this morning it was Mini Musicians for Ruairi and myself and tonight, I’ll join Ciara’s wonderful Pilates class for a post weekend stretch and strengthen. We first went to Mini Musicians class when Ruairi was about 10 months old and he absolutely loved it. We’d come through a difficult time with feeding problems and Clara’s classes were such a fun way for us to connect and leave the stress and worry of difficulties outside. Ruairi seems to love music, he loves listening to me sing and he belts out a fine rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle so I knew he’d love being back at classes.

Mini Musicians is founded by Carlow native and mum of one (soon to be two) Clara Hutchinson. Clara is not only an incredibly talented musician, with a wealth of experience as a performer, facilitator and teacher but she is also a really lovely person. Her passion for music shines through in all she does. Clara studied Music and Early Childhood Education before completing a Master’s in Music Therapy. As a mum, Clara says that she realised early in her daughter’s life how innate music is in children, how quickly they respond to musical babble and natural rhythms and how being attuned to their natural musical abilities can strengthen attachment and create a bond that will last a lifetime. Children learn so much through musical play and as a facilitator, Clara says she gets so much joy watching the bond develop and grow between parents and their children in classes. Classes also give parents a repertoire of songs and games to use at home, which can become a huge part of daily family routines.

Clara has recently been joined by the equally talented and enthusiastic Marie Glynn. From Kilkenny, Marie has a Master’s Degree in Music Therapy and is herself a performer. Mini Musicians run classes for three age groups. Their Babbling Baby class is for babies from birth to 1 year. This class is centred around strengthening the bond between caregivers and their little ones, and introducing babies to the magical world of music. Talented Toddlers (one of whom I’m the proud owner of) is for toddlers from 1 to 2.5 years. This class is fun and engaging. It is designed to allow children to explore sounds and instruments, learn songs and games, and develop skills needed for language development and social interaction. Moving Maestros is for children aged 2.5 to 4 years. This class is designed to introduce concepts of pitch and rhythm and develop musicality. The programme is developed in conjunction with Ceol Ireland, who provide comprehensive curriculum-based music programmes.

From helping to build neural networks involved in social-emotional development to the development of language, reasoning, creative thinking and both gross and fine motor skills, early exposure to music has many and varied benefits. To find out more visit them on Facebook or at their website www.minimusiciansireland.com

Love Carlow

When I opened an email in late September to alert me to the fact that The Baby Room had been nominated for “Carlow’s Best Start Up / Emerging Business Award” in the County Carlow Chamber Business Awards, after only a month in business, I was blown away.  My first thought was to ring my husband and ask whether he had nominated me. His response was “No, did you nominate yourself?”.

I had no expectations of the night really, other than dusting off the high heels and having some fun time out with said husband.  Things have been so chaotic with opening a new business that we are like ships in the night so it was a great opportunity to have some catch up time together.  The Visual is always such a lovely venue for a gathering.  The food by Lennon’s is to die for and washed down with Walsh’s Whiskey, the night was off to a great start.  Being new to business in Carlow, it was a great opportunity to mingle, chat and connect with other business owners.

John Purcell, Chief Executive of KCLR and chairman of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland did an excellent job as compere, keeping the evening light, entertaining and flowing.  Watching the night unfold, seeing not only business owners, but also their staff and those giving their time to the community sector, honoured for their commitment and dedication was really very special.  Carlow might be a small county but we have an incredible array of diverse businesses, both emerging and well established, as well as a tireless volunteer sector.  The Carlow Community Award went to Eist Cancer Support Centre for the remarkable work they do.  And at a time when the county has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, it was particularly poignant for The Darkness Into Light Walk to receive the Spirit of Carlow Award.  I think anyone who has taken part in the candle lit vigil can attest to what a triumph of the human spirit the event is.

It was an absolute pleasure to watch Anthony Dooley receive a lifetime achievement award.  He spoke so passionately about his work and what the support of his family has meant to him over the years.  He is a shining example of the sheer grit that business requires.

Sean O’Brien was honoured with a well-deserved Carlow ambassador award and spoke about his pride in the county.
The fabulous duo of Lesley & Phil at Fusion Fitness were the exceptionally well deserved winners of our Emerging Business category.  I hear nothing but high praise for the work that they do and can only hope to learn from their dedication as I grow my own business.

The night was a huge success and a real credit to the Carlow Chamber of Commerce. Founded in 1947, the Chamber works for the interest of local business and for the development of the local and regional economy. There are currently over 300 businesses involved and many more who are benefiting from the very successful Love Carlow campaign.

Keeping Children Safe Online

The internet is a fantastic resource, both for learning and for entertainment but as my children get older and technology becomes more a part of their daily lives, I can’t help but be concerned about the things that they are potentially exposed to.  I know myself the kinds of search results Google can throw up and not being overly technically savvy myself, I’m always grateful that my husband is incredibly switched on in this department and protective parental controls are in full force in our house.

The National Cyber Security Alliance offer some really great advice on ways parents can navigate the internet safely with children.

Remain positively engaged: Pay attention to the online environments children use. Browse with them. Appreciate their interests and try to react constructively when they encounter inappropriate material.

Keep a clean machine: Protect all family computers with a security suite (anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall) that is set to update automatically.

Know the protection features of the websites and software your children use: All major Internet service providers have tools to help you manage young children’s online experience (e.g., selecting approved websites, monitoring the amount of time they spend online, or limiting the people who can contact them) and may have other security features, such as pop-up blockers. But remember that your home isn't the only place they can go online.

Review privacy settings: Look at the privacy settings available on social networking sites, phones, and other social tools children use. Decide together which settings provide the appropriate amount of protection for each child.

Teach critical thinking: Help your children identify safe, credible Web sites and other digital content, and be cautious about clicking on, downloading, posting, and uploading content.

Explain the implications: Help your children understand the public nature of the Internet and its risks as well as benefits. Be sure they know that any digital information they share, such as emails, photos, or videos, can easily be copied and pasted elsewhere, and is almost impossible to take back. Things that could damage their reputation, friendships, or future prospects should not be shared electronically.

Empower your children to handle issues: Your children may encounter online bullying, unwanted contact, or hurtful comments. Work with them on strategies for when problems arise, such as talking to a trusted adult, not retaliating, blocking the person.

Be aware of all the ways people connect to the Internet: Young people have many options to connect to the Internet beyond a home computer - Phones, tablets, gaming systems and even TV’s. Be aware of all the ways and devices (including what they do at friend’s houses) your children are using and be sure they know how to use them safely and responsibly.

Consider separate accounts on your computer: Most operating systems allow you to create a different account for each user. Separate accounts can lessen the chance that your child might accidentally access, modify or change settings. You can set up certain privileges for each account.

Know who to contact if you believe your child is in danger.  You can file a complaint with the website, ISP or mobile phone company.  Look for the “report abuse” button or contact customer care.  Follow up with the Guards is also an option.