We all love a bit of pampering and a trip to the spa may sometimes be at the top of the list. However, in austere times, it may slip to the bottom of your to-do list. This doesn’t have to be the case though, as you can bag some great bargains on your beauty treatments. […]
How Do You Know When It’s Time to Accept Family Support?
How do you know when it’s time to accept family support? It’s a question asked often on forums and to friends over coffee, but rarely is it a question answered in an easy to manage way. Often prevention is better than cure, and early intervention theorists have long suggested that getting help before major problems arise is a sure fire way to ensure children don’t have to go through the same negative emotions and problems that their parents suffered before them.
You can take oneplusone.org.uk advice and get clued up on the options available now, to prevent problems later.
Help For Separation
Family breakdowns are one of the toughest things to have to deal with, but one thing to keep in mind is that for both partners, the emphasis should be on ensuring the children suffer as little as possible. Maintaining good relationships between you and your ex may not be practical, but there are counselling sessions you can arrange through your local authority to work out ways to reach more amicable terms, and places you can go for advice on how to deal with sharing child-minding responsibilities and reaching decisions on what to tell your children.
Support with Special Needs
The main thing to remember if you’re dealing with special needs children is that there is no shame in asking for support. Trying to work it all out on your own will probably lead to bigger problems and breakdowns from stress. The introduction of the new Children and Families bill, announced recently in the Queens speech should help make the process of getting help easier and more readily available for families struggling. The assessment process for children will be sped up, better budgets for parents with special needs children and better guidance available from your local authority.
Support for Children
If you find managing the relationships with your children difficult, or their behaviour leaves you despairing then don’t feel alone, there are plenty of measures to take and support you can benefit from with organizations like Action for Children who run children’s centres, and also advice on dealing with anger management issues experienced by children on websites like OnePlusOne.
Financial Support
Financial management is essential to keeping the balance in families, so make sure money issues aren’t causing you more stress than necessary by speaking to your bank about repayment options on loans, or getting advice from oneplusone.co.uk and government advice websites which offer support and guidance on debt, budgeting and everything in-between.
The big thing to take away from this is to never suffer in silence. If you find yourself struggling with care of children, finances or separation there are provisions available to offer support in all manner of ways. Social services is something people tend to fear as a last ditch method before break down of the family, but it should be seen as a support network designed to prevent break downs and stress. There are also new legislations being introduced by the current government to offer better support to those with special needs children.
So don’t leave it too late to ask for help.
How Do You Know When It’s Time to Accept Family Support? Read More »
As part of the Tefal innovation panel I was asked if I would take the fresh week pledge to commit to giving up processed food from Monday 13 May – Sunday 19 May 2013 in favour of fresh, unprocessed food. For me this is a bit of a no brainer as I cook from scratch most days.
Since getting cancer I have been wary of processed foods. I know that not everything processed is bad, but I make the effort to give myself and my family the best food I can and for me this means cooking from scratch.
As a perk of being a Tefal Innovator they sent me a Fresh Express and a riverford food box this week, so kick starting my menu planning for next week. So I am going to share with you my menu for this week and see if you would be willing to take the pledge. If you do there is a chance that you too could win a Fresh Express and a Vegetable Box.
Bank holiday Monday
Homemade pancakes and fruit
Salad Sandwiches with homemade bread
BBQ with Fish, fennel, salad and homemade flatbreads
Tuesday
Scrambled egg with chopped tomato
The boys are back at school so school lunch for them.
Lentil bolognese (diced peppers, onions, passata, herbs)
Wednesday
Dippy eggs
Spelt pizza bases with lentil sauce topping and vegetables, served with salad
Thursday
Banana Muffins
Chickpea daah and homemade naan bread
Friday
Fruit and yogurt
Boys are at a party, but me and MadDad will be having homemade fish and chips
Saturday
Pancakes with fruit and yogurt
Poached eggs with smoked haddock
Sunday
Breakfast Muffins
Roast Chicken with yorkshire puddings and vegetables
Homemade roast vegetables soup and homemade bread
Their website now contains honest and hopefully unbiased reviews from actual customers.
In order to encourage people to submit a review they have teamed up with Reevoo to provide independently verified customer reviews. Reviews are never edited and the bad are shown along with the good. If a review is from a dealer or retailer Reevoo make it clear and reviews are transparent and only from verified purchasers. Reviews are not edited or altered. You can even ask existing owners questions about any of Kia’s cars.
Kia are helping to simplify the car buying process, making it easier for car seekers to find the best Kia vehicle for them. So whether you are in search of a new car or already a proud Kia owner, head to Kia’s website and check out the Kia reviews!
This is one of the reasons that Kia were named Car Manufacturer of the Year 2012 by Which?, the UK’s leading consumer association.
I also really like the fact that Kia offer a free 7 year (100000 mile) warranty too.
How to plan the perfect family holiday
If the idea of planning a family trip fills you with dread, never fear! Sun, sea and sand don’t have to mean snapping, shouting and sulking. There are plenty of ways to keep things simple while making sure everybody gets what they want. Here are a few tips for planning an enjoyable break…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rueful/6671265895/
Include everyone
Planning a family holiday can get really complicated really fast, and it can be tempting to make all of the decisions yourself to avoid any conflict. However, it’s a good idea to include your kids in the planning process if you want to avoid sulks or squabbles later – leaving you free to enjoy an afternoon or two to yourself!
Have each member of the family choose one thing they’d like to do during the holiday and make it clear that everyone else will join in. You may have a few clashes, but this way everybody gets to do what they like.
Pick the right spot
If just the two of you were going away together to celebrate your personal success story, you’d pick somewhere wonderfully romantic – but for the family holiday you need to pick somewhere everyone can enjoy themselves.
A luxurious hotel that isn’t big on kids’ facilities will never work for a family break. Neither will a remote camping holiday if you have a gadget-loving partner! Try to pick somewhere that incorporates everybody’s interests – a seaside resort with a nearby town, or a city with the countryside within easy reach.
Even though it’s a family break, there’s no reason why you can’t pick something you and your partner will enjoy together. Why not return to the place where you first met? Or perhaps you found each other through online dating after finding a shared passion for Spain. Pick somewhere that means something to you both.
Of course, there will need to be plenty to do for the whole family. You might not be up for constant activity, but your kids will! An active holiday will keep them interested and give them lots of great memories. Look into what’s on offer in each place before you book.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/holiday-extras/6841547545/
Keep it simple
While kids love to try new activities, they will be less thrilled about being moved around a lot on their break. Pick one destination and stick to it for the whole holiday if you can. Your kids may get worn out and irritable with lots of changing venues – they’ll like a place they can explore and get to know.
Practicalities
First things first: don’t share a room with your kids! Rain might keep you cooped up indoors or your son might decide to wake you up at five in the morning because he’s bored. If you share your room with more people than your partner and a baby or toddler, it’ll never be a proper break.
Most hotels offer rooms with interconnecting doors, which is the ideal way to keep an eye on your kids while getting some privacy for yourself. The key to enjoying a family break is not to over-organise once you’re there – make sure you have some relaxation time for yourself!
Maxi and Mini have both loved this play set and we have had hours of fun challenging each other with our own cup competitions. It is great as it packs up relatively small and is easy to play. Mini has had hours of fun just role playing with the characters and I have proven that I can beat both the boys at football! This is a great gift for any football made boy or girl and a really great value gift.
Wappy Dog (£25)
Wappy Dog is a game for the Nintendo DS and it has been a huge hit with Mini. Our Wappy Dog is called Ninja, which is a much better name, as I keep calling it yappy dog! So what is it. Well it is an interactive game with its own character dog. You feed it, pet, it, look after it, but you also play games with it. For a family without a dog it is great as it doesn’t cost anything once bought and it doesn’t need feeding with real food or taking for walks in the dark weather! Mini specifically loves playing rock, paper, scissors and fruit catch with his Wappy Dog.
Angry Birds Trilogy for Nintendo DS (£37)
Angry birds are taking over the world or so it seems. This is the perfect game for maxi, who has loved it. It is such a simple concept but captures his imagination and he just loves it as will many children of his age. Oh and Maddad has been know to play on it when he is in bed! It has Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio, it didn’t take long for Maxi and MadDad to be hooked on the straightforward yet satisfying game lay that defines Angry Birds. There are 19 episodes, each with an exclusive new level that will keep you interested and ready for more.
LEGO Darth Vader and Storm Trouper Torches (£15 each)
What is it about boys and torches? These have been a MASSIVE hit in The Mad House. They are ingenious and for two Star Wars and LEGO mad boys these are great presents. They have been left on a lot and we are still on our original set of batteries after 4 weeks, but you do have to buy your own as they do not come with them. Darth Vader’s light saber is removable and also lights up perfect for role play with evil Jedi teddies!
On the Wish List
This year the boys have also asked for the following for Christmas:
Guinness book of Records 2013
Skylander Giants for Wii
New Bikes (20 inch as both of them has grown so much)
Jaffa Cakes – Mini!
I used to think I was a crap mum. I used to feel that my family would be better off without me. I do not say these things for people to counter with “no you aren’t” or “no you weren’t”. The fact is that I really did feel this way and I truly thought that MadDad and the boys would be better off without me. I suffered with Post Natal Depression, I bullied myself, catastrophised everything and was filled with terrible anxiety. I couldn’t separate rational and irrational thoughts. I received fantastic treatment including cognitive behavioral therapy over five years ago now and it changed the person that I was and helped make me the mum and person I am now .
I was reading Kate’s post earlier in the week about how scared parenting made her feel and it brought all those feelings back to me, but rather than let them take over me, I remembered that I am parenting in an imperfect world and my imperfect parenting skills are just preparing y boys for the road which they will travel. This is one of the biggest things that CBT gave me, it helped be put things into perspective and process them. I am not a perfect mum, but I am the best mum the boys could hope for, I am their mum and I love them with all my heart and every fibre of my being.
I have two quotes that help me navigate the waters of perfection, for as soon as I realised that I didn’t need to be the perfect mother, that it was OK to give shop bought food and not beat myself up about formula feeding and ensured that if I was happy so would the boys be, things started to come together for us all.
“There is no one way to be the perfect Mother, but there are millions of ways to be a good one!” – Jill Churchill
“Being Happy doesn’t mean everything’s perfect, It means that you have decided to look beyond the imperfections” – Gerard Way
So on those days when I am screaming like a fishwife at my boys or wondering how to find the words to tell them about challenges that life may through at them, I hope that I can remember that it is OK to be an imperfect parent in an imperfect world and give myself a break, for this parenting lark is the hardest, unceasing, but most rewarding job I have ever done or will ever do.
I may have told you in the past that my brother and sister in law run a sports and social club (which is kind of like a workingman’s club) in the North East of England. The club is in a very deprived area and recently the local steel works closed, who in the past has sponsored
Ormsby Hall, a place I have visited in my youth, but not since, but we took the boys on an Easter egg hunt there, which was fantastic. They had to find all the clues in the Hall gardens. Mini and Maxi had so much fun and I got very muddy in the process, but it
