Category: Views & Ramblings

1. When is the snow going to stop?

   Posted on 12:44pm Monday 21st Jan 2013

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   I accept it is pretty, I know that the children love it and I suspect many people quite like the idea of having a "snow day" but after being house bound since Thursday, I am beginning to get cabin fever. So when is the snow going to stop?

   The weather reports say that we aren't going to get much more and its just the freezing temperatures that are keeping it from melting but as I love out of the window, I can see a light flurry of snow falling. I don't deny that it looks beautiful and much more picturesque than bare trees and miserable rain but after a few days of the snow and ice, I have had enough now.

   I am not the biggest fan of the school run and was secretly delighted to receive the school closure notice, so there was no alarm and no mad rush in the morning but its still cold! I hate to think what my heating bill is going to be like as the fire has been on constantly and I love being snuggled up with my little family indoors but we all need a bit of fresh air, so we wrapped up yesterday and braved the elements.

   Here is the results of our outing ....

    

   So the snowman has been built, the obligatory photos taken and the children warned about eating yellow snow (one of my Dad's favourite jokes), so all thats left to ask is; when is the snow going to stop?

   Tell me I am not alone here!

2. Making life easier with Wi-Fi

   Posted on 9:18pm Wednesday 16th Jan 2013

   

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   Do you remember a time before the internet? Before we could access emails, apps, our bank acocunt and essentially our lives on our computers, tablets and phones?

   The Internet has become an integral part of every day life and as such it can also be a useful tool when it comes to giving a helping hand to busy mums. Parents can keep their children easily entertained by things on the Internet, I challenge you to find any child who is not amused by the Talking Tom Cat app! What’s more as many places offer free Wi-Fi these days you can ensure your kids always have something to keep them occupied when out and about.

   For example, you may be going out with your friend for coffee (or tea in my case) and you take your child or children with you. There is no doubt (and anyone with children will verify) that they will undoubtedly get bored by just sitting around in a coffee shop. If you own a tablet or smartphone then this can help to keep them amused or entertain them whilst you enjoy your coffee. You simply need to login to the free Wi-Fi service offered and your child will have access to online games, films, on-demand television and many other things.

   For obvious reasons, you should make sure that there are sufficient parental controls on the connection so that your child does not end up accessing unsuitable content on the net though. 

   I particularly like the educational apps that look like games to children but are actually engaging their brains and learning as they play.  Free Wifi is great because it can be used as an educational aid to your child. There are many so websites that can help your child with learning or help them to complete difficult homework tasks so not only can you entertain the children with the Internet, you can also boost their academic knowledge and further their education.

   I personally prefer to reward my daughters good behavior by providing her with access to suitable online games and other fun content, not necessarily allowing it as an every day priviledge. Many services allow you to impose restrictions on when children can access the internet using their computers or other devices and this means you can control when their able to use the service – enabling you to use the internet as a reward for good behaviour or academic performance, which works for me.

   Its amazing how it seems like only a moment in time since I was a child (well maybe a little more than a moment) but watching my children use technology with ease, goes to show how quickly time moves on.

    

   Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but as a user of BT Wi-Fi, we would personally recommend it regardless.

3. I am not looking forward to the school run!

   Posted on 4:21pm Sunday 6th Jan 2013

   I remember a time when I couldn't wait for my daughter to reach the next milestone, whether it be sitting, walking, talking and ultimately learning! So you would think that I would welcome her going to school? Right?

   Wrong!

   I love having her at home, I love not having the mad panic in the morning over what she is wearing, whether it is a tights or socks day, whether she wants to wear a dress or a skirt and obviously how she wants her hair! We generally put uniform out each evening (I say generally as lets be honest, I am not always that organised) but I believe children should be given choices as this definately enables them to make decisions and develop their own personalities and style, unfortunately for me, my eldest seems to have developed a sense of style that escapes me and a stubborn personality to boot!

   Getting dressed with a toddler is a challenge, getting a "wannabe" teenager dressed seems to border on being a japanese endurance test.

   I remember "debates" (I use this term lightly) with my own mum over what I was wearing but I was most definately a teenager or is that my fanciful memory of my childhood? I knew as a teenager that there was no way my mum would let me out of the house in certain outfits, so I didn't even try and push it. I am not sure if that comes down to the respect I had for my parents or the fact that I am quite placid and not particularly confrontational. 

   Anyone that meets my eldest instantly says that she looks like me and in lots of ways we are so similar and I always thought our characteristics were similar too. I am obviously going to say that it "can't" be my genes to blame!

   So all in all, I am not particularly looking forward to the school run this week and once the outfit debate has been settled, don't get me started on being stuck behind a tractor on the way!!

4. My favourite posts of 2012

   Posted on 8:30pm Sunday 30th Dec 2012

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   Inspired by Mummy Never Sleeps  who created her top ten posts from the year, I thought it was a fantastic chance to go through some old posts and show some love again to my favourites.

   I know this is a little self indulgent but in the absence of chocolate, this is my guilty pleasure this evening! So here we go ....

   One of my most honest and intimate posts was The End of an Era and ironically it ended up being one of the most popular. Maybe I should always speak direct from my heart?

   I loved the Olympics and this is what inspired this post. When sharing it on social media, it also caused a real conflict of opinion, so What makes Britain Great?

   I am very proud that both of my girls love the water and this is the start of their story : Learning a Life Skill

   I was horrified and astounded when my youngest bit me and this post poked at my smug mummy conscience! What do you do when your child bites you?

   Am I a pushy parent? I never thought I was "that" parent but I think we all have a little bit of it inside us.

   I have really enjoyed going through my old posts and whilst it has been extremely gratuitous, reminding myself of our journey this year has made me smile. Hope you did too?

   Goodbye 2012, its been a blast!