CTV Morning Live

Tommy and Melanie had an interview with Henry Burris ( Red Blacks Quarteback)
 on CTV Morning Live.

Tommy was soooooo excited to meet Burris!

Melanie was all smiles during the interview.

We bumped into Sophie Gregoire Trudeau backstage. 

                              She recognized Tommy from We Day!

                                Squeak!

 UNITED WAY

 WALL OF INSPIRATION

Tommy's name has been added to the 

Wall of Inspiration 

Jean Pigott Place 

 City Hall

Ottawa

Congrats Tommy

Keep up the great work

SQUEAK!

Girl Guides

Tommy and Melanie are running workshops

 for the Girl Guides.

Melanie loved it so much!

We hope the Girls Guides did too!

Hand drum circle, dancing and rat races

so much fun

SQUEAK

For more information visit

 www.2petrats.com

click on

 Drum Circles

Parade Marshalls

Tommy and Melanie were the 

Parade Marshalls

for Dickinson Day in Manotick.

Thank You.

It was all soooooooo special.

Melanie smiled for many days after :)

Squeak!

    Rat Cemetery

We bought new flowers for
 the rat cemetery.

Yukon also gets a pinwheel !
He raced in every province across Canada. What a great rat!

... goodbyes are never easy...

squeak!

Orillia

Presentations in Orillia are always so special.

We get to hang out with Abby and Ridley.

Abby also has CdLS.

Abby and Melanie love to stare at each other for hours:)

It was our last presentation for this school year.

sniff...sniff

Melanie's rat won the final race!

SQUEAK!

Photo taken by Mehreen Shahid  - The Packet & Times

Algonquin College

Tommy, Melanie, the 2 pet rats and 9 other students from St. Mark's were invited to Algonquin College for a presentation, a rat race and a demonstration of the hand drum circle.

It was amazing !!!!! Standing ovation !!!!!!!!!!

The drum circle lead by Tommy started at St. Mark during lunchtime for students with disabilities and without. The group has been practicing together once a month. They are continuously creating new ideas. They now have some dancing and singing during the drum circle. Wow!

United Way Award

What a surprise! Tommy received a Community Building Award. Dylan Black was the award presenter from Boom 99.7

Tommy's name will be inscribed on the Wall of Inspiration located in Jean Pigott Hall at Ottawa City Hall. The Wall of Inspiration is a visible reminder to residents and visitors of the enduring commitment that these individuals and organizations have made to Ottawa.

Way to go Tommy and Melanie!!!!! Way to go Drum Circle Group...you were  really great...BCNU  soon...squeak!

Person of The Year Award 2015

Tommy was chosen as the Manotick Messenger's Person of the Year. What a very special honour! The ceremony took place at the Legion. Tommy and Melanie got to sit at the head table for dinner. They loved it! It was so special!

We'd like to thank our sponsors for their dedicated support and continuous generosity. 

" This whole project grew because of you! Thank you so much! Thank you for this incredible opportunity to make a small difference in this big country. Thank you for never giving up on us and supporting us right across Canada. Thank you for supporting the drum circle. Our special need students and families are loving it so much. Thank you for all you do and just being you"

Some of sponsors have struggles and difficult chapters of their own and still find time to help us! What amazing people with tremendously big hearts...We wish everyone courage, strength, love and acceptance.

Tommy and Melanie hope to continue doing presentations and hope to grow their hand drum circle. Tommy and Melanie have done over 70 presentations,  have distributed over 10,000 books and have purchased over 35 hand drums.  Tommy lead his first drum circle back in November and has many more booked in the new year.

Link to article: CLICK HERE
Thank you again for all your support!

SQUEAK!

THANK YOU

WE DAY 

SQUEAK !

                       WE DAY

Tommy and Melanie have been invited to SPEAK at The Canadian Tire Center for WE DAY on November 10th !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So crazy - so exciting - so nervous !!!!!!!!!!
16,0000 people attending and millions of people watching !!!!!!!!

SQUEAK!

Special Invitation

Tommy and Melanie were invited to meet the
 Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.
What an incredible experience!
Thank You Pierre Poillievre (our MP) for making it happen!
SQUEAK!

NTV  NFLD  NEWS

Tommy and Melanie's interview in Newfoundland.

Link:  https://vimeo.com/133696058

SQUEAK!

All 10 Provinces

Melanie and Tommy have completed their tour across Canada!

What a fantastic finale at

Janeway Children's Hospital in NFLD.

We met 2 other CdLS families, made new friends, did a presentation, and raffled some books and dolls.

Read Julie Brocklehurst's blog.

http://www.throughthetulips.ca/2015/06/two-pet-rats-and-one-syndrome.html

Media coverage including TV, radio and newspaper articles will be posted on our website soon.

Congrats Tommy and Melanie. 

Squeak.

 All Across Canada

We have presentations booked in PEI, NFLD, and Nova Scotia in June 2015....taking the show EAST.
Melanie and Tommy will have done presentations and distributed books in all 10 provinces.
SQUEAK!

If you are interested in having a presentation booked at your school, please contact us: 2petrats@gmail.com

Canada or USA - we'll drive almost anywhere!

Tommy really wants to go to Yukon...squeak!

                     The End

The tour is over.
We are back home.

We'll miss the sunrises.
We'll miss the sunsets.
We'll miss the laughing.
We'll miss our CdLS friends.
We'll miss the beast.
But most of all, we'll miss John 'cause he has to go back to work.

Special thanks to all our sponsors and donors.
Big thanks to Brian and Brenda.
Big thanks to my bro.

One in a lifetime trip! It was perfect.
Thank you very much xoxoxoxoxox

     Book Signing in Costa Mesa, California

Our presentation was cancelled in British Columbia. The teachers were on strike...too bad! We left 200 books and 10 sets of dolls for the school board and libraries.

The drive down the coast of California was breath taking...the view was unbelievable. I was petrified the beast  might fall off  the cliff...the craziest 19 miles ever driven!

We made it to Costa Mesa, California on time...and in one piece. The CdLS USA conference was very informative, exciting and very well organized. 138 families attended. 3 Canadian families. We always learn something new and important about Melanie. This year, we're hoping to help Melanie cope with her anxieties and selective mutism. Melanie also attended a seminar - the youth panel. I think she really enjoyed hearing  about her peers and their successes. The theme was  " You can do it...don't let doctors, specialists and your parents tell you that you  can't". On our way back home, someone had to sit with a stranger on the plane. Melanie volunteered. I looked at her as if to say, you can't sit by yourself...she looked at me and said, " I can do it !!!!!!!!!"

 The next conference is in Florida 2016. We hope that every Canadian family has a chance to attend one of these conferences.

 The top of the world

We drove from the extremely flat prairies of Saskatchewan to reach the Rockies in Alberta.

We took the gondola up Sulphur Mountain.

Melanie usually needs helps climbing stairs.

She was so determined to reach the peak.

One step after another, refusing any help and not even holding the handrail.

Melanie reached the summit, an elevation of over 7,000 feet.

Squeak!

 Rats take Regina by storm

CTV and CBC showed up for coverage...very exciting!

We were then cabbed to CBC radio studio for a quick interview and cabbed back to the school.

Drove 9 hours to Strathmore for more muddy camping. Rain, rain rain and more rain. Thunder storms everyday since we left. We bought rain coats and rain pants...hoping it would chase the rain away...

On our drive to Calgary, we  heard our interview on  CBC radio...squeak!                                                    

Kids at Work in Regina

Melanie is figuring out which coins go in which slots.









Tommy is spreading the word at the campground.

           
                                                   Presentation in Winnipeg

We had our first presentation today in Winnipeg. A little boy with CdLS will be attending this school next year. What a great introduction to a new syndrome! The students were wild, screaming with excitement.Tommy has decided to start a competition among provinces.

Which province will be the loudest to scream - 

If you see someone different smile and say hi  

Winnipeg was really really loud, they might be difficult to beat.