September 2012 | Mum In The Madhouse

September 2012

Getting Glamorous at The Mad Blog Awards

ne of the wonderful parts of the Mad Blog Awards for me was seeing all the amazing bloggers dressed up in wonderful glamorous outfits. Not only did they look amazing, hopefully they all felt fantastic too. I helped organise the sponsored outfits for a lot of the attendee’s and it was fantastic seeing what outfits they had chosen.

On the day we also were lucky enough to have a fantastic team of Hairstylists from Regis and Make-up Artists from Arbonne to help the finalists make any finishing touches before the ceremony kicked off.

Picture Credit The Mad Blog Awards

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Capturing Family Moments with Panasonic

Take a look at the very short edited video and let me know what you think of the quality. I was really impressed at the footage taken in the reading room at The British Museum as the light was really poor and photographs without flash did not turn out, whereas the video camera took perfect pictures. The camera retails at £240 on Amazon and I really wish that Panasonic had given me one rather than just loaned it to me! So if you are reading this Clara, it got lost in the post, OK!

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Autumn Clothing Inspiration and Care

I adore Autumn. I love bringing out my thick tights to wear under my skirts and dresses and long sleeved t-shirts to add as an extra layer under them.

Just because the weather has changed doesn’t mean that you need to put your childrens summer clothes away either, especially as most children will have grown out of them by the time the weather changes for them to be able to wear them again. It is all about layers. So I thought I would supply you with some hints and tips for making those clothes last over the colder seasons.

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Fridge Bottom Curry with Heinz Five Beans

We are great lovers of Curry in The Mad House and even the boys love it too. Mostly I make one from scratch and you can find my Nice Easy Basic Curry recipe over at Frugalicious Food, butI am not adverse to using curry powder especially when I have less time and we have what has fondly become know as Fridge bottom curry. I have to admit that the inspiration for this curry comes from Chris at Thinly Spread and is based on her Baked Bean Curry.

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When lines cross

Sunday came and Mini apologised to all the parents for his behavior but this wasn’t enough for this parent who has stated that he is pulling his son from the team. This has been such a terrible experience for all of us. We have come very close to pulling both boys from their teams and moving them to another club. MadDad’s enthusiasm for the game has been shattered and we have all felt emotionally bruised by this judgement in to our parenting.

It was the first week back at school and Mini was tired. He is six years old, he had a tantrum. I am not trying to make excuses for Mini, but these things happen and nobody should be making judgement on our life without walking a mile in our shoes. The fact that this parent is so offended by his behaviour now makes me wonder just who has the issue here. I do hope that his son still plays as all the children seem to have a fab time and love playing.

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TV, computer games, internet, mobiles: are kids being exposed to too much technology?

There are also growing concerns over the type of content that children now have access to, with violent video games and inappropriate websites just a few clicks away, and the softening of television and film age ratings. Horror stories in the news have only heightened these concerns in recent years, leading some to believe that children should have their access to technology limited to just a few hours a day, giving them more time to spend outdoors or interacting with other children.

Whilst these concerns are all valid, it is important not to lose sight of the innate value of technology to today’s youth. The recent Olympic games are a prime example of the benefit of television to children, with 90% of the entire UK population having tuned in to watch at least 15 minutes of live coverage over its two week duration. The ability for children to find out more about and interact with positive role models such as the Olympic summer heroes is made possible by access to technology.

It has also been suggested that technology has revolutionised the way in which children learn, giving them access to innovative educational resources by way of newly developed apps, or by making revision fun with programs such as the BBC’s GCSE Bitesize series. The benefits of technology can also be seen in the development of children with educational difficulties, with websites and other resources available to help children with conditions from mild dyslexia to extreme autism.

Overall, the question of whether children are being exposed to too much technology remains extremely difficult to answer in a general sense. With parents able to limit the time spent in front of the television and monitor or restrict online activity, it is arguable that technology has become an invaluable educational and developmental resource for our young, allowing them to witness global events and take part in new experiences from their own homes.

Feel strongly about this topic or have an experience to share? Then please leave your comments below.

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