SO if you have ever been through what we have, then Calpol want to hear from you. Whatever event your little one missed out on – it could’ve been a family trip to the zoo, their best friend’s swimming party or their 6th birthday party – CALPOL® want to hear about it. So ‘enter’ to enter their story into their Second Chance Saturday competition.
A couple of weeks ago I made my way to our nearest (well over an hour away, as yes I live in the middle of nowhere) store to have my initial consultation with the Optical Express Team. Before I tell you more about my consultant, let me tell you I am short sighted and have worn either glasses or contact lenses since I was 20 years old. I had considered Laser surgery in the past and often do every time I take the boys swimming.
I was given an appointment at Optical Express and advised that my consultant would take anything from an hour to two hours and that I would have to have drops put in my eyes, which meant that I would be unable to drive for the rest of the day and might find it harder to focus too. MadDad came with me, but rather than come in to the consultation he took the boys away to keep them occupied.
Initially I had a chat with one of the team and we talked through what happened during surgery and I watched a short (7 minute) video about Optical Express and the surgery types they offered. I then had a couple of tests including the “pressure test” were a puff of air is blown into each pupil and also a focus test just like I get when I go to the opticians.
I was then transferred to another room to have an optical technician go through an eye test with me. If you have had a test at an optician then it is very similar and very though. It was during this point that I had the drops put in my eyes. Now Mini had already told me that this was a little like having vinegar put in your eyes and will sting and boy he was right. I also had a yellow dye popped in my eyes. This was the most uncomfortable part, but the sting was very short and it didn’t last at all. I then discussed if I was eligible for surgery what type I would need and asked if I had any questions.
To be honest I had lots of questions and the technician answered them all as fully as he could.
And that was my consultation over. I was not pressured in to making a decision there and them and told them that I would go home and make my decision.
Once I was at home, I decided to ring my friend and optician and ask her advice. After talking to her, I had more questions, but the team at Optical Express were excellent and rang me back with the answers and put my mind at rest.
So I am going to have Lasik Wavefront surgery to correct my vision and yes I am a little anxious, but more than that I am very excited.
So when Mini asked if he could have the watercolours out to paint and started painting concentric circles in squares, I decided to sit down and we had a fab discussion.
Wassily Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) was a Russian-French painter. His style of painting originally belonged to expressionism, and is sometimes included in symbolism. Kandinsky was one of the artists who gave shape to the abstract art in the early twentieth century.
Kandinsky was inspired by music. So whilst mini was painting I popped on Vivaldi’s four seasons. We talked about the fact Kandinsky thought that each colour has its own language and expression. Kandinsky tried to convert musical compositions into paintings. He heard colours in music and he saw music in colours. Mini told me that black must be sad music.
We also talked about the fact that paintings do not have to be of things or people and can be looked at in lots of different ways. I loved the fact that it is something that MIni could easily mimic and didn’t feel that there was a right or wrong.
Tips for making it cheaper:
Think of things are preloved rather than second hand
Do not give gifts in boxes and then children have no idea if they are new or not
Talk about giving to children less lucky as themselves and sort though toys before Christmas
Make gifts, rather than buying them
Set realistic expectations
Father Christmas is always listening, just because you do not get all on your list doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen it, it just means he said no to some of them!
The Mothers Union wants to ban letters to Father Christmas Read More »
Mini is obsessed with planes and tanks and was very respectful when we went to The Imperial War Museum at Duxford, especially when chatting to a retired serviceman about things on his birthday.
How do you talk to your children about Remembrance Day? It is hard to balance the memories without scaring them.
We love sunshine and getting out and about and unfortunately this Autumn has not been as crisp and bright as we had hoped, but we haven’t let this stop us making the most of our weekends together as a family. Both boys play Junior football, so sunday mornings are usually taken up with a match, but the rest of the weekend we make sure that we have something planned that we can do as a family.
Our recent weekends have included:
A trip to a local Rugby match
Family Bowling
A trip to The National Railway Museum
A trip to Dalby Forest
Car washing
We were sent some great items from Bonprix to test out and the image above shows the boys in their new favorite cardigans. They are fleece lined and so soft and they have a zip in addition to the lovely paddington bear style fastening and are £14.99 each. MadDad and I
Natwest are relaunching their iconic piggy banks of the 1980s. I always looked at those piggy banks and wanted them, but I was forced to bank at the local bank! We were asked by Natwest to design our own piggy’s to help publicise the competition #pigsbykids
This is a delightful book which gives you a simple craft for every day of the year themed by weeks. The crafts are all achievable fun and many can be made with things that will already be in your stash. With weeks such as star week, Bear week and mittens week, I was hooked and so were the boys. The book is fantastic for novice crafters or perfect for a teen looking to craft. Yes some of the crafts are simple, but I am a big fan of simple crafts. Most weeks induce a cake topper and garland.
