tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17196339364566366512024-03-04T00:25:35.524+00:00The Lazy Girl's Guide to LifeThe social media goings on of a family of four from the UK, and the opinionated Mum who writes it all down. Blogging since 2006 Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.comBlogger592125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-71927465174770783332015-05-06T13:31:00.001+01:002015-05-06T13:31:15.981+01:00THE LAZY GIRL HAS MOVED TO LAZYGIRLUK.WORDPRESS.COMYes, I know, its goodbye to Blogger and it's clunky interface and not very web friendly layouts, and hello to wordpress.<br />
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You can still find my opinions on life and everything else over on the new site at<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://lazygirluk.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://lazygirluk.wordpress.com</a></span></div>
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I will keep this one open for a while but if you follow, do so over at the new site. All the old posts are there and look out for some new ones.</div>
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Good bye Blogspot. Its been epic :)</div>
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Love </div>
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<a href="http://twitter.com/TheLazyGirlBlog" target="_blank">@TheLazyGirlBlog</a> </div>
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Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-59707563299174304992015-04-22T14:46:00.001+01:002015-04-22T14:46:32.607+01:00Dear Mini: With These Teddies, You Are Taking the Piss.This is kind of a post for Mini, but as I'm kind like that, I thought I'd share it with you all readers. Think of it as a support group for parent's afflicted with bears as I am.<br />
<br />
No, these are not my bears, they are Mini's bears. There are fecking loads of the buggers. Or to be specific, its not just teddy bears. We have Hello Kitty. We have Beanie Bears. We have soft bodied dolls.<br />
<br />
She has also stolen my childhood bear, Mrs Ted. As well as the three Mothers Day bears she has picked, supposedly for me, but which were pinched within five minutes of being handed over.<br />
<br />
It takes me 20 minutes to remove and replace said Bed Bears (as this is just the bears etc on there, I'm not even sure how many are in the toy box under her bed, along with various variations of Barbie, Monster High and Bratz). If I fail to put them back in their "section" (I kid you not), she knows and moans at you whilst removing them to put them back.<br />
<br />
Yes, they have categories and sections.<br />
<br />
We have the Hello Kitty section. The Cat section. The Teddy White Family (not a section and sounding like a minor furry version of the mafia).<br />
<br />
The one that makes me laugh the most is a recent variation. She got around £10 in birthday money, and a few days after, we popped into one of our local second hand shops. It was there that she spotted something she has coveted, and pleaded for, for months.<br />
<br />
A Baby Oleg from Compare the Meerkat.<br />
<br />
At one point, when we didn't have transport, she tried to explain why it was perfectly reasonable for me to make up a car to purchase Insurance for simply so she could get a Baby Oleg. She saw no reason why this was completely ridiculous.<br />
<br />
Seeing a brand spanking new one, in its box for £4 when she had £10 of her own made her jump up and down with glee.<br />
<br />
However, this has started the newest "section" down to Oleg's cot/box. The "Under ones" section.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLcTmlTBMTdSMK8iJ0y0qfXxDaFVFSFlUZNqesLNAzST42F0y6U_hwD6LWxLLbPicOWOCelV5TwXtI_xtBTXva9arwys6Y4B2zl7RIb9jCniAxHPCcNdv6Zbj2P73VAiX8PMNjPxvPggo/s1600/InstagramCapture_75ab4951-57f5-493a-8ee9-14f9740d74bf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDLcTmlTBMTdSMK8iJ0y0qfXxDaFVFSFlUZNqesLNAzST42F0y6U_hwD6LWxLLbPicOWOCelV5TwXtI_xtBTXva9arwys6Y4B2zl7RIb9jCniAxHPCcNdv6Zbj2P73VAiX8PMNjPxvPggo/s1600/InstagramCapture_75ab4951-57f5-493a-8ee9-14f9740d74bf.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a small selection of the bears.......</td></tr>
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<br />
Included with Oleg is a George Pig, a Me to You Bear with her initial, amongst other little bears. They must stay in their box and they go every where with her indoors. <br />
<br />
I know later I will get told off as I changed her bedding. And I accidentally managed to knock the buggers out the box and I have no idea what bears go in bar Oleg and George.<br />
<br />
So, despite me putting clean bedding on, that is new One Direction set, and I've put all the books back on the shelf that Littlest knocked off, she will not notice that, she will notice the bears being in the wrong place.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
How long does this bear nonsense last? The only bears I had on my bed were the aforementioned Mrs Ted (a mothercare bear given to me a day after my birth in 1982), an orange bear I think I was given by a cousin and have no idea what happened to, and Roland Rat.<br />
<br />
Littlest is just as mad about dogs.<br />
<br />
Save me from the scourge of bears.<br />
<br />
One more bear and neither child will fit in their bloody beds, and if they think they're pitching up in mine, they can take their bears and sleep in the shed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF7sl7a59AFjDM-vUQBzHmF6OBtZN9wjU7UvZLD7h9wtdOaiDZkWkksUcW4Qpnc9xE1mNz7BmCpw9SKij6CKAbAUUVHhthYOeBNQMv717z6brg0WL9b7lSGB2jijlPl59tcD94cVURrvb/s1600/InstagramCapture_78c16bc6-32ab-4cc4-86e2-867c89f8485f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWF7sl7a59AFjDM-vUQBzHmF6OBtZN9wjU7UvZLD7h9wtdOaiDZkWkksUcW4Qpnc9xE1mNz7BmCpw9SKij6CKAbAUUVHhthYOeBNQMv717z6brg0WL9b7lSGB2jijlPl59tcD94cVURrvb/s1600/InstagramCapture_78c16bc6-32ab-4cc4-86e2-867c89f8485f.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are all the ones she wanted to take to her Aunts for ONE NIGHT!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMi0s2m9QW6bCUxqNNXdBEY5ca33OIttzr5RNRErYEdvIiVCeIxVx0nrZighw3mWkC-NtcIleoiKnDVYKzbjlsolxw_JCzwvsJv7BiLWHsPo8qx9-RdZjISp8NKph0nUDJDbQ0YtmN1lNz/s1600/WP_20150212_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMi0s2m9QW6bCUxqNNXdBEY5ca33OIttzr5RNRErYEdvIiVCeIxVx0nrZighw3mWkC-NtcIleoiKnDVYKzbjlsolxw_JCzwvsJv7BiLWHsPo8qx9-RdZjISp8NKph0nUDJDbQ0YtmN1lNz/s1600/WP_20150212_005.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Littlest and his Dog collection. Ridiculous</td></tr>
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I think I may need to slyly lose some of the furry critters, especially as Boot Fair season is upon us and will no doubt bring in another influx.<br />
<br />
No more bears. Just no. Or dogs. Or Hello Kittys. Enough children!<br />
<br />
(Looks shiftily at the enormous pile of records I bought in the last two days and denies all knowledge of hoarding responsibility).Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-89756558758626369892015-04-15T11:19:00.000+01:002015-04-15T11:19:26.143+01:00Is It Just Me: Who Thinks Actually Those Who Knock People with Mental Health Issues Should Wear Wrist Bands?......You know, so we can throw shade on the idiots when we see them come by?<br />
<br />
A story in the <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/calls-for-conservative-parliamentary-candidate-chamali-fernando-to-stand-for-saying-mentally-ill-people-could-wear-wristbands-10176267.html" target="_blank">Independent </a> today proves once again just how out of touch the Tories really are with potential voters. Despite increases in the amount of people aged 15-34 suffering from Mental Health Issues, one of their Parliamentary Candidates has voiced that those with Mental Health Issues- any and all- should be made to wear a wrist band.<br />
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Yes, you read that right. Wrist bands. For something you can't be blamed for.<br />
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Chamali Fernando is now facing calls to resign or be sacked- and quite right too.<br />
<br />
It is already hard enough for those with these issues to access help, and to come forward and admit there is an issue. I should know, as I've suffered depression in the past and, as a result of being too scared to admit I was struggling, suffered a Nervous Breakdown after Littlest was born.<br />
<br />
According to this abhorrent waste of air, wearing colour coded wrist bands would help Police better identify those suffering. She says this as a seemingly intelligent Barrister.<br />
<br />
Does she not realise the full ramifications of this? Firstly, straight away, you wear a wrist band and sadly we live in a country that has prejudice fuckwits in it who already make life hell for your race, your sex, and your size, not to mention your orientation.<br />
<br />
You could end up losing your job as no doubt employers wont want to employ someone who may need time off if they relapse.<br />
<br />
As for the Police, not to be rude, but no doubt if you have a crime committed and there is someone with a wrist band on marking them out, they are immediately going to heap blame regardless of whether the wearer is responsible.<br />
<br />
The most worrying effect is whether those who are yet to be diagnosed will go and get help at all for fear of wearing a wrist band. Then, those who really are a risk- to themselves or to others if untreated- will have that potential risk more likely.<br />
<br />
There is already enough stigma around depression and similar illnesses. Why make people wear a band to mark them out for scorn? I fail to see what it will achieve for the wearer?<br />
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The thing that makes me sick is there are plenty of groups who I would prefer to be marked out for my safety. How about paedophiles wearing a wrist band to warn me if they happen to be in my area? Or rapists?<br />
<br />
Suffering a mental health issue is not a crime. Its not a weakness. Its a bloody awful illness that not one sufferer would wish on themselves or anyone else.<br />
<br />
How about putting more effort into de-stigmatizing mental health problems? I'm sure that's a vote winner, right there.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-14620766053577039312015-04-07T13:36:00.000+01:002015-04-07T13:36:26.870+01:00Dear Mini. No, I Am Not Embarrassing (Yet)As I said in the last post, its my darling daughter's birthday on Friday and her party Saturday. It seems we should be OK with attendees now as we have around 25 kids coming to dance, stuff their faces with food and generally have a good time (well, that's the idea anyway).<br />
<br />
With that in mind, I'm baking up a storm in the kitchen, trying to make sure everything is completely allergy OK for Littlest (after all, you don't want to have to call 999 in the middle of a kids party).<br />
<br />
I was doing just that for the last hour, aided and abetted by my MP3 player.<br />
<br />
At which point, Mini, never shy of telling us what she thinks, caught me in the kitchen dancing to Taylor Swift. Which is only on my MP3 player for walks home with her in the first place. In my defence its a nice sunny day, all is good so I do tend to sing along to anything that happens to pop up on it when my hands are covered in biscuit batter and I can't skip the song.<br />
<br />
If looks could kill, readers, I would be pushing up daisies and my biscuits would be handed round as a teary eyed last hurrah at my wake.<br />
<br />
Back in the day (when she was under 6), she would love coming in the kitchen and dancing and singing with me. Not anymore.<br />
<br />
According to her strict law, if I dare dance, sing, or horror of horrors (as I did suggest it) twerk, she will never speak to me again, and her name, even worse, will be "mud" at school (I kid you not, her words, not mine).<br />
<br />
She flounced out the kitchen and grabbed her iPod to no doubt diva strop up in her room.<br />
<br />
Surely, fellow parents, the whole "my parents are so embarrassing" thing is not really meant to rear its ugly "yes you can pay for and organise my party at great cost but please fade into the background pronto" head until she turns 13? Not 8!<br />
<br />
Nope, not in our house.<br />
<br />
It was the same at the disco, which I stayed at as there were quite a few lovely Mums from school helping out and actually, for a school disco the DJ played some top tunes at the Junior part.<br />
<br />
I got death stares, all night. Despite one of the year 6 girls telling her "your Mum can really dance, how cool", I think Mini would have much preferred me to bugger off home and stay there in my slippers.<br />
<br />
I'm only 33. I don't even feel like I'm in my 30s (I actually have good excuse for that as I'm constantly asked if I am travelling with a student bus pass). So frankly, I don't consider myself in the OAP, embarrassing parent bracket quite yet.<br />
<br />
I think I shall just hide at the party and dance in the corner. Behind a curtain. Quietly.<br />
<br />
How about you guys? Do you get told you're embarrassing? How old is your child?<br />
<br />
:) Enjoy the sunshine :)Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-5789375617865085862015-04-03T14:27:00.000+01:002015-04-03T14:27:37.116+01:00Organising Parties: Pre-Kids and After Can you believe it, Mini is 8 next Friday. Eight! Where did the time go?<br />
<br />
(Although, to be fair, sometimes she acts far older than 8. I have to remind myself that she is so young still).<br />
<br />
Thus, after much <strike>moaning by Mini</strike> discussion by us parents, we decided to have our first party for a birthday since her 5th one.<br />
<br />
Its taken three<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/524633_10150718750604487_1692101523_n.jpg?oh=b3f609b060928903368e84c930cd9162&oe=55B41D96" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://scontent-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/524633_10150718750604487_1692101523_n.jpg?oh=b3f609b060928903368e84c930cd9162&oe=55B41D96" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the last party. No those aren't very big 5 year olds at the front. </td></tr>
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years to get over that one. The mess, the screaming masses of kids running around and the cost- blimey the cost alone could have paid for a small weekend mini break away from the Brats. Which was frankly what we would have liked to have done directly after said party but no such luck.<br />
<br />
However, being that she's still relatively new, we thought that to aid her in the fitting in process we'd throw a kick ass disco and up her cool points. Or at least give me an excuse to go baking mad in the kitchen for the first week of the Easter holidays.<br />
<br />
Invites went out at the end of last week, and I did expect a few yays and a few nays quite swiftly as I put my email and mobile number on them and a request for a response. After all, an email costs nothing, and, as with the old school, when we swapped numbers we'd immediately add said Mum or Dad to Whatsapp.<br />
<br />
No such luck. We did get a few no answers as some folk (it would appear half of Earley) go away to far flung haunts the minute anyone cracks out the Easter Decorations. We have had a couple of yes votes, mainly though from Littlest's little contingent of friends we've allowed him to invite so he doesn't get too pissed off by the no doubt questionable music that Mini has personally chosen.<br />
<br />
So now I'm kind of twiddling my thumbs, not quite knowing how many party bags we need, or how much food. I was going to collar some of the yet to answer lot yesterday but, alas, both the pair of them had succumbed to plague like symptoms so were confined to the sofa.<br />
<br />
In desperation, I even group emailed all the rest of the Brownies that she had not had enough invites for to at least up the numbers. Responses thus far? Two. One yes, one no.<br />
<br />
It makes me remember that organising a party pre kids was so much more easy and fun.<br />
<br />
Before kids, you needed some crisps, perhaps some chicken nibbles from a very cheap box from Iceland, at the most a bit of a pasta salad.<br />
<br />
Now, you have cupcakes with obligatory cupcake toppers. Ours are sadly and unforeseeably out of date now being that they feature the original line up of One Direction before Zayn buggered off to go in a, erm, another direction shall we say. If it wasn't bad enough that him leaving made Mini bawl her eyes out (he was her fave that week), they cost me a bloody fiver for 10.<br />
<br />
Then you have to make sure as not to offend anyone with certain food groups they don't eat, or poison those with a genuine allergy, like Littlest.<br />
<br />
Back in the heady no kids days, the main ingredient of a party, a barbecue or just a Saturday night was a good amount of alcoholic beverages. No one cared what type, if it said Vodka, Lager or Wine, so long as it didn't feature Tesco Value stripes, it was all good.<br />
<br />
Now its sugar free, organic, no fizzy, no added shite stuff. Preferably with bits of fruit in it. When I was a kid, no one cared how radioactive it looked, but now they do and folk prefer their kids to keep their teeth intact for as long as possible.<br />
<br />
Then there is music. Pre-kids tunes were tunes, the bassier and throbbing the better. Turn it up loud, turn off the lights, Bobs ya Uncle. Party.<br />
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Now I have to spend 5 hours going through every single rubbish song that my daughter has liked since age 6. Swearing in music and sexual references are a complete no no. Which you'd think would mean spinning a Pop Party album as they're meant for kids.<br />
<br />
Hell no.<br />
<br />
It was a good job I checked owing to the amount of use of the words "sex", "fuck" and "shit" amongst others and variations of those that were peppered on these albums. Sesame Street words of the day these were not. One record started with the rallying cry of "Fuck you Muthafucka" shouted at top volume. Lovely.<br />
<br />
No one wants to be <i>that</i> Mum who allowed the offspring of other Mums to come home swearing like a docker after their do. So even though the music is enough to bring me (and Littlest) out in a rash, it wont lead to children learning new vocab.<br />
<br />
Then we have the hall hire, the disco hire (although we do luckily know a very nice mobile DJ so we do cheat a little on that one) the outfits and the party bags.<br />
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The bloody party bags. We didn't have those bastards at parties before Brats. Can you imagine leaving a party as a young, child free adult and being given a party bag (or tat bag as I like to call them).<br />
<br />
No such luck with this day and age.<br />
<br />
Its not difficult to find stuff to shove in the buggers, in fact God bless Amazon and Job Lots on eBay for saving me cash. Its the stuffing the buggers afterwards. Its a military operation of checking for anything sharp, anything inappropriate, and do you put sweets in or not? If so, how many and what do you do about allergies and religious food no nos?<br />
<br />
See, its a mental minefield.<br />
<br />
I can already feel new wrinkles and grey hairs sprouting with every day that passes before this sodding party. And its not even here yet.<br />
<br />
I'm off to make 50 soft baps, and find more music.<br />
<br />
I'll let you know how it all goes down.....<br />
<br />
Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-9827547850075627852015-03-23T09:41:00.000+00:002015-03-23T09:41:17.965+00:00Dear NHS: Get Your Priorities Straight!I'm not going to lie. I've had more than my fair share of rubbish treatment from the NHS. I'm not an "NHS basher" far from it, and thank my lucky stars I live in a country where I don't have to pay for most of my treatments. <br />
<br />
Just recently though, more and more stories have been popping up in the press regards the use of money, which to the NHS is precious, for vanity surgeries.<br />
<br />
Take the shocking admission just this weekend of the at least £330,000 the NHS paid out for laser tattoo removal. <br />
<br />
I have a tat which I kind of regret now I'm old enough to know better, but I'm wise enough to know that I should not have been hasty to have it done and that it's my own fault and no one forced me. Hence, if I did go down the route of having it removed, which costs thousands, I should quite rightly foot the bill myself.<br />
<br />
Tattoos are becoming more and more popular, with people seeming to go all out to ink their selves until you can barely view actual skin. Not to mention the rafts of people who have a relationship for 5 minutes and get a tattoo as an ode to their significant other only to split up within weeks.<br />
<br />
So, why should the NHS pay for these mistakes? Simple answer, they shouldn't.<br />
<br />
In fact, anyone having a tattoo should be made to sign a form saying that, should they regret said tattoo, its their legal and financial responsibility to pay to have it removed.<br />
<br />
We then hear that a patient who the NHS failed, Ashya King, has now had his Proton Beam therapy in Prague, and is making a great recovery.<br />
<br />
Why should children like Ashya have to go abroad for decent levels of care and treatment? Yet other's can fancy a boob job (eg Josie Vile Gibson) or regret a Tattoo and the NHS can't wait to step in and pay out?<br />
<br />
Ashya's parent's went through hell, were arrested and accused of neglect for taking the best option, remortgaging their home, and running away. They now look justified as Ashya would have no doubt been significantly effected for life had they not, or worse. <br />
<br />
I have had to beg and plead with the NHS before now to help us with Littlest. He is 6 and a half and we still, still, do not have a definite diagnosis of his problems. We are pretty much left to fend for ourselves. Then you have the absolutely amazing Young family from my native Kent who are forced to fund raise and scrape as many pounds together to raise £500,000 to send their daughter Ruby to America for life saving treatment.<br />
<br />
How do gastric bands, tattoo removal and boob jobs compare to improving and saving the lives of young children? We have postcode lotteries for IVF and cancer drugs, hospital waiting lists that are an embarrassment, yet we can fund idiots who mess up their own bodies and laugh that the NHS will see them right?<br />
<br />
Its a national disgrace.<br />
<br />
The NHS should seriously get its priorities straight, and stop wasting money on those who don't deserve it.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-41480071648104674102015-03-18T15:58:00.000+00:002015-03-18T15:58:15.865+00:00Is It Just Me: That Wants to See An End to Mum Shaming Over Breastfeeding........And no, not just in the "I breastfed so I am better than you" sense of the word.<br />
<br />
I will remind any tits that I have done both- one breastfed child for one whole year (Mini) and one not a hope down to being very premature (Littlest). Again, I can see both sides.<br />
<br />
This morning, the press has been full of two breastfeeding related stories.<br />
<br />
Firstly, Facebook, who for some time now has played some very double standards over boobie pics which they deemed acceptable (very nice, often tan, impressive norks) and one's it will be shocked by and thus ban you for (breastfeeding norks and those post-cancer).<br />
<br />
We have all shouted at them for a long time. At least with the likes of Instagram, all boobies, bouncy nice ones or one with babies attached have been an outright no.<br />
<br />
So, finally Facebook have realised that all tits, for the titillation of teenage boys or those used to empower are all good actually. And of course, if you are going to have one's which are there just to perve over, bikini'd or otherwise, you are going to get grief should baby feeding offend you.<br />
<br />
Hurrah!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm7kzGR4Vfkp08m25ZOP-zEA32dgIkkzxjJc_5ml7KQ8ubOfaQhyoUep_pbiOqE9A3kHf1jzQOGauKp1umag3I-GzLVhaZV0_Wa-aNBA6-68_07ygOdVF2AZmm-9ztdz_OvP8Okp6yq3l/s1600/ID-100297641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRm7kzGR4Vfkp08m25ZOP-zEA32dgIkkzxjJc_5ml7KQ8ubOfaQhyoUep_pbiOqE9A3kHf1jzQOGauKp1umag3I-GzLVhaZV0_Wa-aNBA6-68_07ygOdVF2AZmm-9ztdz_OvP8Okp6yq3l/s1600/ID-100297641.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gratuitous Norks :)*</td></tr>
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<br />
I loved breastfeeding, and I do feel its time it was celebrated for those who do it. Not of course to shove down the throats of those who choose not to, but it's a natural thing and its free and lovely.<br />
<br />
Its tiring, of course, and when they get teeth, well, I think that has scarred me mentally and physically for life (at one point I felt I could put a ring through the marks Mini and her sharp little gnashers caused), but its not dirty and rude, and you certainly shouldn't be made to feel like you have to feed in a loo or be cast out of a shop for feeding your wee one.<br />
<br />
Then we have story number two which always comes up and always makes me shake my fist.<br />
<br />
Some boffins have decided that, after coming back to a set of children who were breastfed or otherwise 30 years ago, they have proof that the longer breastfeeding occurs then the more likely your child is to go on to get a good job and grades (and apparently, no doubt although not voiced, then join Mensa and be less likely to wear a tracksuit and go on Jezza Kyle).<br />
<br />
For gawds sake.<br />
<br />
Yes, whilst the people you happened to test oh wise boffins, have ended up with careers etc, there are other factors which aren't mentioned. Did they come from upper class backgrounds? Did they go to private school? Were they in a supportive and well off enough to send them through higher education family?<br />
<br />
I was breastfed. I didn't go to Uni. I did OK at school but I went to a comprehensive and no doubt there were those who were brighter than me.<br />
<br />
Mini was breastfed and she's about in the middle for her peers. She does really well at reading and writing, but she gets a little intimidated by maths (like me. Nature I feel).<br />
<br />
Littlest wasn't breastfed and despite having time off for illness that you'd think would put him at a disadvantage, he's doing exceptionally well and is above average on most subjects.<br />
<br />
There is enough pressure on new parent's, especially Mum's to be superhuman. I was made to feel like a failure by a Nurse at Littlest's SCBU for failing to breastfeed. They never gave me medication which would have helped (which I've since found out about but knew nothing about at the time). At a time when I already felt like shit for in my view "failing" to protect him and birth him at the regular 40 weeks, being made to feel like a double failure didn't help my confidence.<br />
<br />
If you breastfeed, great stuff, no matter if you do it once and give up, if you do it for a few months, or a year. If you can't down to health or jobs or any other reasons, then there's no reason why these bloody boffins should make you feel like crap and like your little cherub will fail at life as you've failed to nurse.<br />
<br />
I say, dear Boffins, how about concentrate on something worthwhile like curing diseases rather than kicking Mums for no good reason with so called "studies".<br />
<br />
Kids are kids. Bring them up right, and they will thrive.<br />
<br />
Now let's have an end to this stupid debate.<br />
<br />
<strong style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: 'Noto Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">*Image courtesy of stockimages at <a href="http://freedigitalphotos.net/">FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></strong>Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-17555078472574455092015-01-30T12:46:00.000+00:002015-01-30T12:46:00.984+00:00Is It Just Me: Wondering What The Fuss Is About Kim Sears Swearing?If you've <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2932805/You-deserve-couple-slaps-Kim-Sears-suffers-vile-online-backlash-response-X-rated-courtside-outburst-supporting-fianc-e-Andy-Murray.html" target="_blank">missed the headlines</a>, the lovely fiancee of Andy Murray, Kim Sears was caught by the swing of a camera, swearing at his opponent during a heated match.<br />
<br />
So what? I actually think the headlines this morning should be "Young, Attractive Woman Swears on camera".<br />
<br />
Seriously, have we got to the point of being back in a 1950s society where the women should be indoors, doing nothing more taxing than a bit of sewing and cooking her hubbies dinner?<br />
<br />
Is it wrong to swear in the heat of a moment, as with Kim? No one is exactly sure of what she did say, but she did drop the f bomb at least twice.<br />
<br />
She's now facing a massive backlash, with people suggesting she should be banned from the crowd to even suggesting she needs a slap off her other half (oh yes, lets really push the boat out, a woman swears so lets solve it with a bit of domestic violence. Of course).<br />
<br />
I say good for her. Why is it still fine to moan about us woman saying words that men say all the time and no one bats an eyelid?<br />
<br />
I love a good curse in the right surroundings, in fact, there's nothing better for when you've stood on the third piece of Lego of a morning to make the pain go away than shouting curses at said Lego.<br />
<br />
In times of stress, I have been known to go to a quiet spot away from other folk and shout the F word very loud. You can keep your Valium, to me, shouting out an obscenity works for me every time.<br />
<br />
Maybe its down to her being posh? Or what's expected of a Wag? I'd rather someone with spirit to match her intended than a dead behind the eyes piece of fluff who is there on looks alone.<br />
<br />
Andy himself is a typical Scotsman in that he is direct, and not shy of telling you how he feels, swearing and all. So why should Kim be any different?<br />
<br />
I say, good for Kim, you tell them girl!<br />
<br />
After all, she was only showing support.<br />
<br />
Fuck 'em.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-23137519437904654842015-01-19T16:30:00.000+00:002015-01-19T16:30:30.902+00:00Is It Just Me: Who Thinks Yes, You Should be Invoiced If You Miss a Party ....With no good reason.<br />
<br />
I couldn't help but be quite surprised at the backlash the family involved in <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2916379/Five-year-old-misses-friend-s-birthday-bash-INVOICED-15-95.html" target="_blank">this story</a> have received. If you've not seen it yet, what happened was that a child was invited to a party at a ski run. He then didn't go- not down to illness, but because he decided to go to his Gran's instead.<br />
<br />
Which is fine.<br />
<br />
Except instead of being entirely normal about it, and phoning the party's hosts, they didn't bother. In fact, they made no attempt to contact them. Thus, they received an invoice for the amount their child;s ticket cost.<br />
<br />
Quite right to!<br />
<br />
Anyone who has organised a kids party will know how stressful it is. It takes months to organise even if you just do a small shindig in the garden. There's food to consider (and allergies/dietary requirements), party bags, bouncy castles the whole nine yards.<br />
<br />
The invites are the biggest stress and parent's of the invitees don't help. First off, you have to hand them out via teachers so as those not invited don't get upset (and if you don't adopt this method, you are, frankly, mean). Then, you have to wait for the yays and nays. If you get 3 invites back you are lucky. So, you then try and track down Mums and Dads to check whether their child can come.<br />
<br />
On the day, the stress doesn't end until the last party bag is handed out and the mess is tidied. As usual, there are always kids who turn up who said no or never answered (in other words, their parent's realise you can be a free babysitter for 2 hours of a Saturday evening and dump their kids last minute), and one's who said yes and then never show up, never phone, nothing.<br />
<br />
Its rude!<br />
<br />
In the case of Mini's party, our Gerbils died of Face Paint poisoning after being fed a set.<br />
<br />
So, yes, when someone doesn't show, doesn't call, it is annoying. Of course, if you have organised an outside party, as with this family, you still have to cough up the cash should people not show up. Hence the invites in the first place.<br />
<br />
I don't buy the stories from the supposedly shocked parent's that they couldn't tell the hosts. For starters, they say that the Dad forgot he was taking their daughter to Grans for the day, but yet the boy's mother surely could have taken him? Then you have the "didn't know the phone number- well, that's what Facebook is for isn't it?<br />
<br />
They then said that the Mother tried to find the hosts parent in the playground but missed her. Surely then, a note could've and should've been past to the teacher to go in the book bag? Clearly they knew in advance the boy wasn't going.<br />
<br />
It sounds to me that they just didn't bother.<br />
<br />
That they then got a sealed envelope in the book bag- which the boy would not have been party to hence why he'd be upset- well, tough!<br />
<br />
Why should the family pay for their bad manners?<br />
<br />
Yes, its a bit far to suggest going to a small claims court, but it's also a bit far going to the press to complain!<br />
<br />
Apparently, lazy Mum has suddenly remembered that Facebook exists and messaged the, well within her rights, Mum. Perhaps she should've done that before messing the party hosts around!<br />
<br />
If you book to take part, you have to pay. Simple.<br />
<br />
Next time, show some manners and show up!<br />
<br />
What's your take? Have you had costly no shows or do you think its part of parenting paying out? Let me know in the comments :)<br />
<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-53446582718375142202015-01-08T16:32:00.000+00:002015-01-08T16:32:37.545+00:00#JeSuisCharlie- Freedom of Speech and the Fear of Saying What You Feel in 2015As longterm readers and friends know, I don't tend to not voice an opinion, no matter how much shit I know it will generate if not held publicly and widespread by the majority.<br />
<br />
I'm not just talking about blogging issues. I've given my views on politics, why I think Medway was bound to vote UKIP down to being a town populated by people told what to think by The Sun. I have voiced negativity about the behavior of the McCanns and how they were wrong to go away from their children for a drink.<br />
<br />
I did touch on issues surrounding ISIS, in the respect that I don't believe those who disappear over to fight with these Extremists should automatically and unquestionably be allowed to decide to return the second they miss their iPods and meals in Nandos. I made my feelings known on the Paedophile shame in Rotherham last year too.<br />
<br />
However many times I have sparked debate, or disagreed with others, I have always without question called on my right to opinion. To freedom of speech and expression.<br />
<br />
The horrifying, and so very needless deaths in Paris at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo go against everything the majority of us hold dear. The ability to make light of an ever more bloody situation brought on by religion. The ability to say what we feel via the medium of witty art.<br />
<br />
They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but as more and more cases of extremism against social commentators, both threats and actions, occur, one is left with the fear that, should my posts, or posts of friends, or other media people offend someone in a supposedly peaceful religion according to their religious texts, do we too run the risk of freedom of speech equaling death?<br />
<br />
I am proud that the people of France peacefully took to the streets with flags, holding pens aloft. No doubt though this will antagonise certain very mentally unbalanced people further.<br />
<br />
I personally hate the idea of a world where a joke will end with violence. Fear of reprisal meaning art and opinion, the ability to spark debate, goes underground and hidden.<br />
<br />
What do we do next? How do we claw back our freedom in a peaceful way, and can we? Do our Politicians have the answer? I fear this is doubtful, and that there is no longterm answer let alone a solution to bring about peace in all religions and races.<br />
<br />
Let's hope the light of debate, of art, and commentary never goes out for good, and long may freedom of speech and disagreement reign true.<br />
<br />
Je Suis Charlie<br />
<br />
La plume est plus puissante que l'ep<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: inherit; font-weight: lighter; line-height: 36px; white-space: pre-wrap;">ée</span><br />
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Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-34343503043895200382014-12-15T13:03:00.000+00:002014-12-15T13:03:11.124+00:00Christmas Songs- Please Stop Folking Them up.When we think of Christmas time (and it's OK, I've been out on the razz with the Year 3 Mums for Christmas so now its not too early to mention it anymore), we think of <strike>large quantities of gin </strike> fun, laughter and cheesy tunes.<br />
<br />
I have lots of Now and self made CDs full of the likes of Slade, Wizzard and even, badly enough East 17. All of them either crack you up with the opportunity to sing along or with the cringing of your youth where you wanted a furry hooded puffa jacket like Tony Mortimers (for shame).<br />
<br />
What you don't want is the kind of song that leaves you crying into your mulled wine.<br />
<br />
So, why,why the Simon Cowell, have we suddenly decided to put a folk edge on some of the top tunes we all know and love?<br />
<br />
It was bad enough when The Power of Love, one of the most epic love songs ever was given some wishy washy, nondescript "remix" by Gabrielle Aplin. I can do a very good impression of her version, especially after a few glasses of Pinot Grigio. Think (if you are old enough to remember it) of when Vic Reeves used to do his "jazz" version of a song and you're halfway there.<br />
<br />
Then we have the abomination of Bieber stealing Mariah's songs. Eugh. Even worse than his peroxide do. Mini has the Bieber's Christmas CD and I may or may not have hidden it behind her chest of draws.<br />
<br />
Now, we have the folk do over of Stay Another Day. Shudders.<br />
<br />
I loved East 17 in my mid teens. They sang very rude songs (as my parent's found out when it was my turn to play my new CD album of their's called Steam. I was banned from playing it in earshot of anyone else ever again). They wore baggy dungarees. They had a cute dog.<br />
<br />
When they followed the usual boy band route to Christmas Number 1 (back in the days before the X Factor ruined it for everyone with the predictability of the winners song reaching the top spot) with the, truly heartfelt Stay Another Day, us fans waved our arms in the air along to Top of the Pops (we weren't old enough for lighters but we so would have used them if we'd been old enough).<br />
<br />
But now Chvrches (who? Am I wrong but surely churches is spelt with a U?) have, supposedly cleverly done a new version on live lounge. Its shit. It has taken all the depth out of the song. And its hard to suggest that a song by someone else who are copying East 17, lacks depth. After all, one thing East 17 were not was Deep (apart from their top ten hit of the same name).<br />
<br />
Please. Put down the back catalogue, and let us enjoy our traditional cheese and sing a long greats. Please stop remaking them. We need cheese for when someone inevitably has a few too many and sings at the Office party. You can't do that to a crap folk version.<br />
<br />
Take your hands off our traditional songs and let us eat, drink and dance to silly lyrics. They make you smile. They make us happy (unless you are Elder, who is not a fan of most cheese Christmas or otherwise).<br />
<br />
The only song not allowed to be jolly at Christmas is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqwqknq7nuI" target="_blank"> I Believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake</a>, and thats OK, cos its the drunk at Christmas version of House of the Rising Sun.<br />
<br />
Leave the damn songs alone and be miserable and wishy washy elsewhere.<br />
<br />
<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-63677120969870473342014-12-10T12:30:00.001+00:002014-12-10T12:30:28.097+00:00Parent's Need Love Too: Look After Yourself This WinterI am writing this post as this week made me realise how rubbish I am at looking after my own health.<br />
<br />
As a parent, you often put your own needs second to the kids, the house, the shopping and everything else. Christmas makes it worse as you're busy getting all the presents in.<br />
<br />
In our house, we also have Littlest's health to keep an eye on as winter is when he is at his most vulnerable and often needs steroids to make him feel a little more human.<br />
<br />
As usual, as soon as the end of the summer came along and the weather became more changeable, I started to get an annoying cough. I get these most times of the year when its chilly, and I just put up with it, save for the odd bottle of cough syrup.<br />
<br />
Last year, it took months for my cough to go, and this year has been just as long, but more worryingly, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I also had no other flu or viral symptoms.<br />
<br />
In the end, after Mums at the new school commented how long I'd had my cough and how ill I sounded, looking concerned, I made a GP appointment.<br />
<br />
My problem is I have never had a good relationship with a GP, I usually feel fobbed off, or worse, feel like they feel I'm a time waster (this was down to one GP who, everytime I would go to see him, he would dismiss me with the argument I over worry things down to having had-not continued to have- depression when Littlest was born). So I avoid going where possible.<br />
<br />
I am really pleased though that the new surgery are friendly and treat me with respect. They listen, and they don't expect you to fit into an allotted time for treatment.<br />
<br />
It also turns out that I didn't have a simple cough. I have actual asthma.<br />
<br />
I've probably had it for quite a while in fact, and I need to take inhalers.<br />
To be fair, it seemed pretty obvious when the GP told me, as the clues were there and I should have picked them up- after all I've looked after Littlest's own lung issues for years!<br />
<br />
It does make me peeved a little as I',m probably the healthiest I've been for ages. I have been walking everywhere, I've been eating less and I've dropped from a size 18 to a size 12/14. I've not been following a faddy diet, I have still been eating chocolate and other things that diets tell you to cut out, just eating less and being sensible.<br />
<br />
Its good that I now know as it was getting bloody scary walking and feeling like I was close to collapse.<br />
<br />
With that in mind, parent's, carers, make sure you look after your own health this winter, its not being selfish, its being sensible, as if you get really ill you wont be able to look after anyone!<br />
<br />
Putting yourself first is fine!Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-32135819938983359182014-12-02T14:26:00.000+00:002014-12-02T15:47:52.726+00:00Professionalism Versus Product-Why Constructive Criticism Is Important for a Review BlogI am writing this after <a href="http://www.rocknrollerbaby.co.uk/icandy-raspberry/" target="_blank">a particularly shocking bit of blogger/PR relations</a> over a very expensive buggy being, well, a bit shite.<br />
<br />
I have reviewed for a number of years now, through times when I had to turn down products down to the sheer weight, to the leaner times, and back around again. One thing that I feel has always kept me in good stats is my honesty.<br />
<br />
Whether I have bought something, or been lucky enough to be sent it, I do always do my best to really give a 360 viewpoint of a product, however expensive it is. Otherwise, how will your readers know what they are getting?<br />
<br />
My tagline has always been "testing the good, bad and overpriced so you don't have to", and I stick by it to this day.<br />
<br />
Sadly, I have come in for some criticism from my fellow bloggers and reviewers, and have, on occasion, had a curt response from brands and their reps too. To my mind, I don't let it fuss me, as the good brands, those who actually want their business to survive, will welcome constructive reviews and will use them to their advantage.<br />
<br />
I don't believe I've ever done a bitchy or unprofessional post as I've always tried to weigh up the good and bad points of a product or service, however bad it may have been. If something is utterly great, I will still mention the price or availability or boredom factor.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, not all reviewers are the same as me. Some will put the chance of what many mistakenly call a freebie over being honest. All I feel this is achieving is setting an unwelcome precedent for the honest amongst us, to be glowing about everything we ever review. It also means some-not all- brands and their PR folk tend to expect that, if you are sent something, you will be so overwhelmed with their generosity to pick you and yours that you can only bow and scrape and give it top marks no matter what.<br />
<br />
The reason I say "mistakenly" call something a freebie, is because when you think of it, when the majority of us actually take time to put a review together, testing items, researching prices, and links, as well as taking pictures or filming vlogs (I do all of this on Family Panel), it all takes time. That time equates to the cost of the item sent, so great if an item is over £40, not great if you've been sent a game worth a fiver. Not only that, even if a product may retail for £500 (as is the case with Buggy Gate), yet their actual cost to <i>produce</i> is a lot less.<br />
<br />
Other traditional media outlets, such as <i>Which?</i> do all the above, with a team of staff, all getting paid rather well. They have professional photographers, they have heavy hitting sites and tweet feeds, all run by different people, and they have very fancy tools to put these articles together.<br />
<br />
We do it alone- or with their help of our kids!<br />
<br />
I do think some-again not all but some- forget this.<br />
<br />
Transparency should always win out over the mighty idea of products and parties, but sadly, with bloggers who are honest being called unprofessional and PRs demanding products back (even ones reviewed prior to a negative review of a separate product), what hope is there for actual professionalism and constructive reviews?<br />
<br />
It seems some brands believe the might of owning a product and being sent it for "free" means they want a good review no matter what. And if that's really all they do want, why send a product at all, when you can canvass as many bloggers as you like for £50 each to write or post a pre-written sponsored post?<br />
<br />
Let's hope this doesn't set us on a dodgy road to blogs filled with mindless fluff and little intelligent feedback.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-65631486912027989652014-11-24T18:45:00.000+00:002014-11-24T18:45:02.207+00:00Affording Christmas: How Brighthouse Makes It Easy to Fall into DebtChristmas is a few weeks away now, and, as a parent, I've started to look at my budget for presents for the brats.<br />
<br />
It seems now more than ever, despite the credit crisis still effecting lots of families, toys and tech is ever increasing in price. Most toys now start at £15, with some reaching well over £100. If you have older children who want the latest games console, for example, the latest XBox One, you wont have much change left from £370.<br />
<br />
So, whilst the majority of us will think about how we'd love to buy everything our little cherubs write on their list, most will take a small selection and buy what we can afford.<br />
<br />
For others, they find another way- the pay day loan or Brighthouse.<br />
<br />
I decided to test Brighthouse after hearing some horror stories from friends who have been taken in by their glitzy adverts.<br />
<br />
Brighthouse is the largest rent-to-own company in the UK with 270 shops in High Streets from South to North. They offer their "customers" the chance to own those "must have items" like iPhones and TVs, and rather than saving up for these luxuries, they can take them away almost straight off for a relatively small amount.<br />
<br />
Sounds easy? The adverts certainly make it sound very simple.<br />
<br />
They use normal looking mum characters who, for example, have had their pesky and much used washing machine go bang, and then show them happily putting their feet up after Brighthouse solves their issue- they even watch a big, pricey TV with their cuppa courtesy of Brighthouse, of course.<br />
<br />
Its almost like Brighthouse paint itself as a modern day Fairy Godmother. However, when I saw this advert, I wondered why the Mum wouldn't simply claim from her home insurance, or use a laundrette. She could even have advertised on Freecycle, or bought a good second hand model for under £50 from eBay or Gumtree.<br />
<br />
Sadly, for every person who feels like me that these ads are too good to be true, there are those who are taken in.<br />
<br />
So, just how easy is it to become a Brighthouse customer?<br />
<br />
I picked a random product- a laptop- from their site, and in under 1 minute I was offered it. All they asked for was my address, phone number and email address, along with my marital status (all very easy to fake as they only ask for proof of your bank details to be brought into store).<br />
<br />
If I had of decided to proceed, for £17 a week I could have had a top of the range Samsung model.<br />
<br />
£17 a week doesn't sound like much really. And when you consider you would need to walk into a regular retailer with between £250 and £300 for the same Samsung model, that's not going to be possible for everyone, especially at Christmas.<br />
<br />
However, when you read further, and yes, Brighthouse does make the full pay back clear on the site (although its a scroll down the page and its not clear right at the top what the interest is, in fact it makes more effort to tell you the spec and its £17 a week) you will pay 94.7% APR over the time you owe them money.<br />
<br />
If you pay this loan off within 104 weeks (that's assuming you don't fall behind), you will pay a staggering £1,768 for a laptop.<br />
<br />
That's an extra £1,468.<br />
<br />
Not surprisingly, I wasn't in the market for that kind of mark up. No laptop is worth paying that much for (in fact, I think that was about the price of the first home PC my dad bought on Windows 95 in the mid 90s).<br />
<br />
I had no intention of continuing with them. If I want a new laptop, I am much happier keeping an eye out for a bargain on second hand sites (my current laptop cost me a mere £20).<br />
<br />
However, Brighthouse had my phone number and email address- part of the process to see whether they will take you on as a customer (and their owner, Caversham Finance promises they are a "responsible lender"). Once they have this, <i>they will not leave you alone</i>.<br />
<br />
Since Thursday of last week, when I decided to investigate how easy it was to gain Brighthouse Customer status, I have been phoned <i><b>73 times on my mobile, from 8.30am until 9pm. </b></i><br />
<br />
I have been bombarded with calls from the local store to me, telling me they are happy to sign me up for whichever "must have" my heart desires. They have left voicemails to this effect. All I need to do, they say, is bring in my bank details and I can walk out with a range of items!<br />
<br />
As for my inbox, well, its the same story. Despite clicking "unsubscribe"on the first email I got, I have had several "are you sure?" type emails.<br />
<br />
Even if you decide that, actually, its not a luxury item or must have enough for you to be ripped off, Brighthouse just does not leave you alone.<br />
<br />
It can be tough being a parent in financially difficult times, and, to my mind, Brighthouse makes it their business to sign you up by playing on the need for ever more impressive consumer goods.<br />
<br />
Saying that a top of the range mobile phone or laptop is a "must have" for instance. Since when? <br />
<br />
They seem to really play on the heart strings of the less well off.<br />
<br />
Brighthouse should be avoided, but sadly, it's obvious that many will be taken in and no doubt will still be paying for this Christmas for many more Christmases to come.<br />
<br />
Yes, in an ideal world we'd all love to give the family every top item they would wish for. But, in the longer term, Christmas is about family, about being with your loved ones and enjoying yourself, and no amount of debt is going to change that. Once there are presents under the tree, the younger kids will be happy that Santa has come, whether they have a sensible amount spent on them or not.<br />
<br />
It doesn't hurt children to say no, nor does it hurt to want an iPhone but to settle for a second hand lesser model that works. Giving it, whatever the price, is never a good lesson to teach your children, but Brighthouse would disagree if it means ever more customers lining their pockets.<br />
<br />
The only people who gain from Brighthouse is the fat cats that own it.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-19315526721944386342014-11-20T09:44:00.000+00:002014-11-20T09:44:35.269+00:00Rochester, Reckless, and Why There's No Doubt Medway Will Vote UKIPI was born in the Medway towns, went to school there, and remained there until just after Mini was born.<br />
<br />
I still take an interest in the town as quite a number of mates still live there, so info gets filtered back.<br />
<br />
Just recently though, my former hometown has been all over the major newspapers and the TV too. Due to an election no less.<br />
<br />
After the local Tory councillor, Mark Reckless, defected to UKIP, an election was called.<br />
<br />
Now, I've met Mark Reckless. I've met a fair few of the councillors in the Medway towns down to my being <strike>an epic nerd</strike> a part of the first Youth Parliament in the town in my late teens. At that time, Labour was the choice of my local voters, even though the man they voted for was useless, and barely ever turned up to Westminster.<br />
<br />
(How do I know this? Well, when I was in 6th form, we went to Westminster and the guide asked who our local MP was. On looking to see if he was in the House at the time, it turned out that actually, the Party Whips would be having a word with him as he hadn't been there for months).<br />
<br />
Just as with Reckless being part of the Conservatives, now, he has jumped to the newest most popular party for the gormless who see one party promise in the manifesto and jump on it.<br />
<br />
The problem with Medway- and they are by no means alone in this in the country, no doubt Slough will be next as they are quite similar- the town doesn't vote because they have the full picture of what their vote will mean for a certain party.<br />
<br />
No.<br />
<br />
They read the Sun, or newspapers like it, who tell them who to vote for, going on one simple part of the parties big load of promises, and they dutifully go and do just that.<br />
<br />
UKIP will win in Medway, just as it will in many other formerly prosperous towns. They will win down to the fact UKIP shout about how every person who has ever moved here in the last 30 years have killed your country. Whilst whispering how it will remove the NHS, maternity pay, and all but make the disabled who claim benefit wear an orange jumpsuit and brand their foreheads whilst asking everyone else to throw eggs at them for being "dirty scroungers".<br />
<br />
UKIP will win because the majority of chav stereotypes in their fake Burberry knock offs have now become so used to voting for people on TV, they use the same method of voting for there councillors, and I'm that surprised they don't just have Dermot O'Leary on Meridian, asking people to phone in who they want to see win instead of asking them to go to the voting booth.<br />
<br />
Instead of Peter Dickinson saying "Its time to face the MUSIC!" they could change it to "Its time to face the VOTERS!".<br />
<br />
Yes, immigration is an issue. But its the fact that all the parties over years have been lax. If you lived in a war torn country, and you found out you could slip in unnoticed, you'd do it.<br />
<br />
Leaving Europe is a given, unless it starts working for us, but UKIP are by far not the only party suggesting we leave.<br />
<br />
Who would I rather vote for?<br />
<br />
Ed Milliband. Whether or not folk see him as not very good looking, bumbling and uncharismatic, he actually talks a good manifesto which works for everyone, not just the rich.<br />
<br />
I hate that it looks more and more like UKIP will triumph, and, its clear to many that UKIP and the Tories joining ranks will mean abject poverty for many average people in this country whilst the rich just get richer,<br />
<br />
Its time we stopped looking at one part of a party, and actually became informed. Elsewise its the ConDems style all over again.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-64387961476901843892014-11-17T10:10:00.000+00:002014-11-17T10:10:44.155+00:00Can Blogging Ever Bring Happiness Or Are We Too Hard to Please?Blogging, its a funny old hobby.<br />
<br />
When I started in 2006, before twitter was even around, when MySpace ruled the internet, it was just a place to write and air your views, whatever these were.<br />
<br />
It was very much like an old school diary but online where, if you chose, people could get a window into your life. Of course, you could lock other's out and keep it private, but I never saw the point of that- surely it was just simpler to write it on Wordpad?<br />
<br />
I used to enjoy blogging a lot, if there was something on my mind, or a problem or a thought I wanted to share, I switched on my net, got it down on the page and pressed post. I have, and still have had, lots of support at hard times and at good times too.<br />
<br />
As with anything though, blogging has become something massive. As Emma Freud told us at her keynote at Britmums Live earlier on in the year, we are the "new media" and journo's are keeping an eye on us.<br />
<br />
We can break stories quicker than traditional print media can- that's why most newspapers are now online too. My local newspapers are among a group owned by Trinity Mirror which are about to close their paper edition in favor of going digital instead.<br />
<br />
The issue is, as time has gone on, blogging has ceased to be simply a case of writing down your thoughts and posting them. Now, there is (self imposed in most cases) pressure to get those stats up sky high, to enter and be nominated in a host of awards. To make every list. To get a higher Moz Rank and Domain Authority and to employ the services of designers to keep your blog looking fresh. In most cases, blogs have ceased to look like blogs. They look like ad filled sites akin to major retailers and magazines.<br />
<br />
That's no bad thing, but it certainly hits at the self esteem if you allow it.<br />
<br />
And sadly, more and more, it doesn't matter what you do, helping other bloggers, making links for other's via Facebook Communities and the like, nothing can please anyone.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.familypanelreviews.co.uk/" target="_blank">Family Panel</a> is fast approaching it's 5th birthday, and back at the start I used to offer guest post review slots if a product I was asked to try didn't suit my family. I used to do this on <a href="http://twitter.com/TheLazyGirlBlog" target="_blank">twitter</a> as a "first shout gets it" thing, which worked well. Until it got to the point in 2012 where I stopped as I was sick of the sulking that happened if someone got in too late. I got trolled so many times afterwards I just thought, well sod it. I didn't need the grief!<br />
<br />
It seems that, now, something as simple as posting, without being paid, review and ad opps can cause all out drama and grief for the poor soul who simply wants to help out others in between housework and jobs. And don't even consider mentioning something fun, or your whole reason for breathing will be brought into question until you wonder why you bother.<br />
<br />
As women- and yes, it is us girls responsible- we fail to stand with each other. We would rather bemoan everything that goes on, and question anyone who does better than you do.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCU8tGOKaw-xUYhqiDs73cQE6YXTQzR1eAuym-QUT0SmhTuNOdamPPpOClgwreXyzDhcOAi2ktwMIs5he5uoONjUk5xoIznNH8iL1kQO0gSqNih5wYN-1HUdyrKB_vqLZh_DYBxqLUuad/s1600/women.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxCU8tGOKaw-xUYhqiDs73cQE6YXTQzR1eAuym-QUT0SmhTuNOdamPPpOClgwreXyzDhcOAi2ktwMIs5he5uoONjUk5xoIznNH8iL1kQO0gSqNih5wYN-1HUdyrKB_vqLZh_DYBxqLUuad/s1600/women.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
There will always be the one's everyone tags as being a bit of a cow, who further themselves by belittling everyone else publicly. But we do give them ammo when the very Facebook communities they slate and eyebrow raise and which can run happily and encourage blog help and support, turn into viper nests of resentment, anger, and feelings of "why do I bother?" from the admins.<br />
<br />
It can be so different. Yes, its competitive, but a sense of healthy and friendly competition is actually good and can spur you on to do better yourself or to learn from others you admire. Support, not negativity for the sake of it.<br />
<br />
It feels we are in danger of losing sight of the fact we can help each other out, we can look like a slick, happy community. We are also in danger of losing touch with some of our best and most helpful members forever as they become sick of the bitching and back biting and infighting.<br />
<br />
Its also worth remembering that a number of SEO's and PRs are also bloggers and members of groups online too, so they see who is and isn't playing fair and behaving nicely.<br />
<br />
We have reached an interesting cross roads with traditional blogging, where you either keep your blog as it is and write, or link up with vlogging and others forms of expression as well. It is hard for us old timers enough without having to referee yet another pointless and unnecessary spat.<br />
<br />
Blogging can make you happy. It can do so much to improve your day from the usual boring round of chores and nappies and loneliness in some cases.<br />
<br />
But, if you do need to rant, do it over the right things, and think before you bitch.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-11018010063104082882014-11-14T13:48:00.000+00:002014-11-14T13:48:41.482+00:00Thinking of Donating? Here's a Child Who Really Needs Your Pounds #RubyLauraAs many readers know, I'm from Kent originally, and do try and keep up with my original home and people in it who I've been to school with.<br />
<br />
One of them is Anita.<br />
<br />
Anita is pretty cool in that he rest of us lazy so and so's don't really need to keep the home fires burning as she pretty much still chats to everyone we all grew up with, and onwards to people in the outer reaches too.<br />
<br />
Anita recently invited me to join a group which I want to share with you on a day which is fitting, being Children In Need this evening.<br />
<br />
Ruby Laura is two, the daughter of a mate of Anita's. She is a gorgeous little thing, loves dolls, loves dressing up, and is always ready with a smile.<br />
<br />
Just after her birthday, Ruby Laura became unwell. Very unwell. She went off her food, she lost weight and, as a result, a large lump became obvious in her tummy.<br />
<br />
After being rushed to hospital, Ruby Laura was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer- Neuroblastoma, at Stage 4. Worse, it had spread.<br />
<br />
There is no Stage 5.<br />
<br />
Her wonderful, amazing parent's have decided to set up a fund, rather than sitting around wondering what to do next. They have linked up with the NCCA to try and raise £500,000.<br />
<br />
They hope they can send Ruby Laura to the US, where there is more treatment available than our NHS can offer. They also want to help other children suffering with the illness.<br />
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<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/8936_290721127802309_1941969586458136749_n.jpg?oh=3585615b07c1b995acaaad367cfaff1f&oe=54EABF0C&__gda__=1423078357_20d4febda14ec0f4069eb0bec9040ed8" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/8936_290721127802309_1941969586458136749_n.jpg?oh=3585615b07c1b995acaaad367cfaff1f&oe=54EABF0C&__gda__=1423078357_20d4febda14ec0f4069eb0bec9040ed8" width="540" /></a><br />
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In three weeks, these amazing people and their friends have raised £40,000 through cake sales, raffles and a Drum and Base night. But they desperately want to raise the full £500,000 and beyond.<br />
<br />
You can find out more about Ruby Laura and her family on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Ruby-Laura-Smash-Cancer/289637144577374" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, you can also donate at <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/RubyYoungJourney/" target="_blank">https://www.justgiving.com/RubyYoungJourney/</a> or you can text <b>RLYJ88 </b>and your amount between £1-£10 to <b>70070</b>.<br />
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Every little it helps :)Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-91801041929820189172014-11-12T13:26:00.000+00:002014-11-12T13:26:40.190+00:00Is It Just Me: Thinking Calvin Klein is Just The Tip of the Iceberg?Body Image.<br />
<br />
We all have our own body image. Some of you may feel sexy, sassy, and not give a hoot about the slightest wobbly bit. Some may dread the very idea of communal changing rooms or bikinis. Most of you will have an opinion on your own body, and celeb bodies or even your mates.<br />
<br />
However, Calvin Klein is the latest big name to incur the wrath of folks everywhere by announcing they have a "plus size" model in their latest campaign.<br />
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So, if you are yet to see this plus size woman, what size would imagine she is? A 16? A 14? Even a 20?<br />
<br />
You'd be wrong.<br />
<br />
Calvin Klein and his sexy pants thinks that plus size is- wait for it- a size 10.<br />
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Yes I will let you digest that (along with the biscuit I hope you are eating as you read this, I do love the idea of my readers and a packet of Hob Knobs).<br />
<br />
Far and apart from anything else, the model called Myla is seriously gorgeous!<br />
<br />
It would make me concerned that the fashion pack would look at my currently size 14 self and faint. Or call me "super size". Or worse, Jumbo Size.<br />
<br />
Of course, I would them smack them in the mouth.<br />
<br />
Yes this "size 10 is suddenly flabby and not good enough for the likes of Vogue" is annoying to me as a 32 year old, slightly war wounded by childbirth self.<br />
<br />
But the issue here is simple. Its not about someone like me who thinks its terrible, but doesn't allow herself to eat a lettuce leaf until I reach size 0.<br />
<br />
No, its about the vulnerable amongst us, from teens onwards, girls and boys, who will see this beautiful, perfectly in proportion girl and think, well, if she's fat, I must be a beast. And then they go and stop eating, and as a result, stop being healthy.<br />
<br />
Calvin Klein is far from the only one's fat shaming by giving an idea of a figure which is neither achievable or healthy. Topshop recently provoked outrage with their anorexic dummies with legs the size of lolly sticks.<br />
<br />
You also had bitchy journo's remark on Kendall Jenner's suitability as a catwalk model as she allegedly had cellulite and wasn't a size 0. They fail to mention she is a confident, beautiful girl who gives a healthy view of body image to teens a similar age. No, her bottom was an actual bottom, she was not flat from neck to toe.<br />
<br />
For goodness sake!<br />
<br />
Lets have some positive reinforcement of normal, healthy folk.<br />
<br />
Not just for days when people like me are having a shitty day and don't fancy looking in the mirror, but for those who beat themselves up about every little calorie.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-81291061047376046352014-11-10T12:58:00.001+00:002014-11-10T12:58:09.975+00:00And Then The House Was Silent Once More..And all the children went back to school.<br />
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YES!<br />
<br />
Littlest has finally left the building, well between the usual school hours most kids his age would be out the house anyway.<br />
<br />
Thank Goodness.<br />
<br />
Seriously, before I get any mean trolls suggest I'm not very nice saying that about my son, I love him dearly, I do a lot for the child and I don't begrudge it in anyway. I'm his Mum, and I always will do anything for him.<br />
<br />
However, from the perspective of needing space from each other, and finding Home Ed a very hard slog to get used to, I am happy he is back at school were he should be.<br />
<br />
From his point of view too, moving house was hard for him and Mini too, but for Mini, who straight away went into a school, and Brownies, and afterschool clubs, it was very difficult for Littlest to be stuck at home all day and hard for him to settle and make friends to replace the old ones.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/997088_10152823062949487_4918606492192096925_n.jpg?oh=374db9bd89f7b1305df6532ee94fc209&oe=54D3029F&__gda__=1427951382_b1571ed3ba4a28943603c21097dcb405" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/997088_10152823062949487_4918606492192096925_n.jpg?oh=374db9bd89f7b1305df6532ee94fc209&oe=54D3029F&__gda__=1427951382_b1571ed3ba4a28943603c21097dcb405" width="320" /></a>I am glad I stuck to my guns and got him into the same school as his sister as I feel if we'd sent him to the not very good catchment school, he wouldn't have been a priority for them to move.<br />
<br />
He popped in and met his new class and teacher (who is a joy after the last one the kids had), and bless them, they were as excited to meet him as he was to meet them. They'd even made him a card to welcome him.<br />
<br />
He has gone in today, a little nervous but mostly happy to be back at proper school.<br />
<br />
The Home Ed cupboard has shut for business. I don't advise anyone to not have a try at Home Ed, but it can be different depending on the child. It can also be hard to get them used to something when they are used to a school environment.<br />
<br />
For us, it just didn't suit.<br />
<br />
Its very strange having no children in the house. I went off to the town centre earlier to search out school blue shirts (£20 from John Lewis for 4 as no supermarket has any left now- ouch) and kept thinking I'd left him behind.<br />
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It shall be lovely to get back to blogging and baking and I can finally sort out where everything needs to go in the new house too.<br />
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Happy at last. All as we should be.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-84825873280332152732014-10-30T10:30:00.000+00:002014-10-30T11:03:02.438+00:00Ambassadors Are They Spoiling Us? Well, No Actually. As a blogger who has been reviewing and the like since 2009 (in fact January marks the 5th anniversary of Family Panel's launch, which is crazy), I've been part of lots of different schemes and brand link ups.<br />
<br />
Some have been great, others, not so much.<br />
<br />
In the beginning when brands and PRs first started to engage with the very small amount of us there were back then, we all learned how it could work together. It was easy back then to say what we liked and what we didn't like, how often we expected to engage with a brand and its programme and likewise PR's and Brands could tell us what they wanted to see in return.<br />
<br />
Now, Ambassador programmes are everywhere, run by brands and, in some cases, third party groups who have sprung up offering blogger engagement and signing up as many bloggers as they can find to bump up their virtual address book.<br />
<br />
In this third party and Brand race to sign up interested bloggers though, we have, all of us, created an issue with the quality of engagement and the ability to be mutually beneficial. This has left some feeling programmes are no longer for them, and are run from a one sided viewpoint weighing heavily towards only the Brands benefit.<br />
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I'm not going to name and shame here, and anyone reading this who blogs and reviews probably has a good idea of who they feel offer worthwhile engagement and who to avoid.<br />
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Blogger groups from Facebook and beyond offer the ideal place for writers to vent- and vent they do with gusto, telling each other who not to be bothered with and who is the most coveted to become involved with if your name gets passed to them.<br />
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Of course, what works for the vast amount of bloggers may not work for others.<br />
On venting about one such third party group, I received a mixed response, with just as many agreeing with me as disagreeing.<br />
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Its true that as with anything in life, what works well for some will be a complete waste of time for others. Third Party Ambassador programmes are great for new bloggers or for bloggers just getting started in brand engagement. To more established bloggers, more used to doing things for themselves and not waiting in line to be contacted, they can be nothing more than a click through ad nuisance which takes up blog space which could be sold off for a real advert.<br />
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That's another problem with certain programmes. The "I'm a Member" badge.<br />
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Some programmes only ask you nicely to display the badge, but don't count you out for not. Others make it part of your sign up to display the badge and wont put you forward for opportunities if you refuse.<br />
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Which is fine, but what happens if you display this badge, offering an advert that you endorse this site (and which could normally be sold for Affiliate or direct marketing) and then receive nothing in return?<br />
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The same group I vented about asks that bloggers involved display the badge. Yet despite doing so for a year plus, I have not actually received anything in return for space which could have earned me actual cash. In fact, the first I knew the programme had actually started was during a chat about the wait for anything to happen with another blogger!<br />
<br />
It turns out this third party, who made massive promises and who wanted me to join as they felt my being involved as a well known blogger would be great and persuade others to join too, have had days out, parties and adverts running through other blogs for months, not to mention reviews and brand engagement.<br />
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What have I had? One email. Nothing else.<br />
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What its worth remembering with third party groups is that the more of us that sign up, the better they look. It can be lucrative for those who are happy to set up a cheap website, and pretty easy to make cash doing so. The more of us they get to sign up, which is as simple as sending out a #BloggerRequest on Twitter for free, the better the return when it's time to contact brands who will pay to let someone take out the hassle of blogger engagement. Who wants to spend hours scouring the net for bloggers, rake through dead sites, or input lots of web addresses into a Page Rank checker when they can pay these third parties to do it for them (who, in turn, have already gained this info for free from the blogger on them signing up).<br />
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On contacting the Third Party to ask what gives, and why I have not got so much as a tweet from them, did they apologise or offer to look into it? You'd think after the email I got from them asking me to get involved with them they would bend over backwards right?<br />
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Nope. They blamed me, saying my blog obviously wasn't quality enough for their clients and my stats are clearly rubbish.<br />
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It was pretty much a standard email too- saying I needed to bring my Page Rank up from low (mine is 3, which is pretty much great for a blog, and the average for bloggers who covert a decent number).<br />
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To me, I laughed and ditched the badge. But if it's not bad enough to swallow up as many bloggers as they can find, when they fail to come good on their promise to work with us all in equal measure they blame the blogger! And to some newer bloggers, this can, of course, make them wonder why they bother.<br />
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With many schemes, even those not run by a third party, many feel they grow tired of seeing the same old faces working with the brand and being lavished with gifts as promised to all and grow disillusioned.<br />
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So, why do some programmes find it so hard to work with bloggers fairly? Have they got too big? And what would you like to see to bring them back to a fair for all, small scheme?<br />
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What programmes work for you and which don't? Or do you refuse to work with any at all? Let me know in the comments.<br />
<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-41170757938675439892014-10-29T08:44:00.000+00:002014-10-29T08:50:17.177+00:00Is It Just Me: Thinking the 50,000 Missing Immigrants Could Be Found Easily by the Parking Fine Enforcement Posse?If you've just woken up, this is the latest round in "inept Immigration teams against sneaky would be immigrants" reported in the papers.<br />
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Apparently, if it's not enough there is already a backlog from 2007 onwards of at least 300,000 cases waiting to be dealt with, they have somehow, "lost" or "misplaced" 50,000 others who were turned down and scheduled to leave.<br />
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Now, 50 would be careless. 5,000 would be shockingly poor. But 50,000? How the bloody hell do you manage that? And how do we sort that out now? Bar ending up with UKIP no doubt just bumping off anyone who looks a little bit foreign whilst Mike Reid sings his Calypso in the background.<br />
<br />
That, obviously, is not the solution. Unless you are Nick Griffin. So what do we do? How do we find these people without costing the taxpayers (you know, us who are actually British and have to pay for these monumental fuck ups?) huge amounts of cash, which no doubt will end with Smugron declaring there was nothing that could be done and they can now stay, like last time? <br />
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I think, readers, I have a cheap solution. One which is already in force in this country and filled with the type of rabid ner' do wells who enjoy making people who are in anyway wrong in their eyes life miserable.<br />
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I give you, the humble, much maligned, Parking Fine Enforcement teams found in every local council building from here to Scotland and back again.<br />
<br />
These types, along with their friends from the TV License Enforcement posse, will leave no stone unturned in their pursuit of your cash, should you stay in a parking spot for two minutes longer than you've paid for. They will send letters, they will take you to court, they would, no doubt, if they could, hang you by your ankles and shake your pockets out of every last penny in the name of government protocol.<br />
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They are primed and ready, so why not give them the task of cleaning up where other's have failed?<br />
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They will shop their own Grannies if it means doing the will of the Prime Minister.<br />
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I say, let them put down their parking fine paperwork, and give them the files of these snide firm, they are bound to find them in at least 2 hours, and then the Immigration process they went through can be completed without fear of them running off again due to the fear of these lot after them with their rules and rubber stamps, as well as driving them insane with rhetoric.<br />
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If you can think of a better way, I'd love to hear it, and no doubt, so would the Tories! <br />
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All jokes aside, if we can't even trust a department tasked with looking after the countries interests, how can we go about monitoring the kind of undesirables who want to create chaos via terrorism, or keep track of possible sources of Ebola?<br />
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50,000 people can't simply disappear, they must be earning a living and paying to live somewhere?<br />
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Lets hope the Government does actually fulfill one election promise, before we can't move for people in a country already bursting at the seams.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-65392560416983886422014-10-14T16:21:00.001+01:002014-10-14T16:21:54.602+01:00Don't Mention the C Word (Yet)Why people?<br />
<br />
Why is my sodding Facebook feed and my supermarket walk filled with the dreaded Christmas already?<br />
<br />
I swear if the supermarkets get any earlier, we'll get the run up to Christmas type adverts from January 1st onwards.<br />
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I say dreaded about Christmas, but I do enjoy it, I just enjoy it from <i>the correct time in December.</i><br />
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I don't even start thinking about presents until mid November. Yes I know there will be those of you who have already done all their shopping, and had it wrapped, and their cards written, probably since July. That isn't what Christmas is about.<br />
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Christmas wouldn't be fun in our house if I hadn't left it up until the last minute every year since records began. The only year I was ahead was last year, and it felt weird having everything sorted so early on (by early on I mean mid October).<br />
<br />
It should be a law in this country that, until after firework night (another custom hijacked so now you get 3 months of fireworks rather than one night as it should be), no shop is allowed to display anything containing the words "tis the season" or " ho ho ho", or hang anything remotely tinsel related, anywhere.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUD1ej-fTPV0t1cDZpqFpMetzqG9mK0ogl9SMphZDWEqx_4xDZOcy6h2N1AD6MriS0yoymfOKcMxUOrQpG4sjM3XVU5QaHF37SZtKtPdek2Y18Dsth6oHTdOU4nzYNCsWu3tLV6EzOfvk/s1600/christmas.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWUD1ej-fTPV0t1cDZpqFpMetzqG9mK0ogl9SMphZDWEqx_4xDZOcy6h2N1AD6MriS0yoymfOKcMxUOrQpG4sjM3XVU5QaHF37SZtKtPdek2Y18Dsth6oHTdOU4nzYNCsWu3tLV6EzOfvk/s1600/christmas.png" height="280" width="320" /></a>As soon as Mini brought home an Operation Christmas Child leaflet from school, she came home and stuck her Christmas list to the fridge. It brought me out in a rash. That and my purse hid in trepidation. I don't think she quite got that the child she was meant to sort out for Christmas was many countries away, not in her house.<br />
<br />
Every advert break is met with choruses of "I want that" about every multi-coloured plastic tat that the toy companies chose to display. And you just know that, if you do give in and buy a selection of the tat, by Boxing Day most will be chucked in the toy box, and the choruses of "I want that" will begin all over again.<br />
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I don't mind planning the food, I don't even mind the hit my bank account takes.<br />
<br />
But please, lets be sensible, and celebrate Christmas when it should be celebrated.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-63603399894718736662014-10-08T09:13:00.001+01:002014-10-08T09:13:48.824+01:00Look Out! There are Kids in the Kitchen with Betta Living Way back at the start of the summer, the Brats were intrigued by a big red box which turned up at our home.<br />
<br />
Inside, was a challenge set by <a href="http://www.bettaliving.co.uk/" target="_blank">Betta Living Kitchens</a> to entertain those most picky of kids without spending hundreds of pounds in the holidays.<br />
<br />
They put together a list of 20 fun things to do throughout the house and garden, everything from rainy day cooking kits and crafts to sunny day planting activities and games, and asked us to have a go at some of the ideas for ourselves.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RU-KqVCi604M0l_527VZCm36W9NPHGEgsfk57UDNCbc1M5C7jGhKzHj3ykhyHk_RImpfsC2rFo5r-CjP7L0uQ-3cWLM1sWmhX4uvGJpAncWo8CzL8_b_ptCsv1icTQ9RdIWKIL0oCXYd/s1600/WP_20140712_021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RU-KqVCi604M0l_527VZCm36W9NPHGEgsfk57UDNCbc1M5C7jGhKzHj3ykhyHk_RImpfsC2rFo5r-CjP7L0uQ-3cWLM1sWmhX4uvGJpAncWo8CzL8_b_ptCsv1icTQ9RdIWKIL0oCXYd/s1600/WP_20140712_021.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a><br />
One thing the kids absolutely loved were the Muppets<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQlEOpJ5Z23J7hzmdZ_XnSM8p5VBGpSE9A600f8pvXWke2ezeiA4X2Kk1LJn9wlgKq6TIMtM2dgAvQ7M_RWPccGUW_EnUh2BeqVzRAnxo9kMT2Zirgq7eAy89D6c0xFhGKlihUQodzmAn/s1600/WP_20140712_020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQlEOpJ5Z23J7hzmdZ_XnSM8p5VBGpSE9A600f8pvXWke2ezeiA4X2Kk1LJn9wlgKq6TIMtM2dgAvQ7M_RWPccGUW_EnUh2BeqVzRAnxo9kMT2Zirgq7eAy89D6c0xFhGKlihUQodzmAn/s1600/WP_20140712_020.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a> face masks, Mini loves The Muppets and immediately decided to twin Miss Piggy with various items from her dressing up box. Littlest decided to show off his Kermit mask to our neighbour's child, which set off quite the fashion show.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MxtPOgY_bQMCBdOWUK9ljHO32iDtd3mivj8kfnAF3tPJZQTNS2fnE4HA6ph5BpHoyKNz-gEiOIrZM8mMRFUNlKWTJwylKKhqXwoWkHeY-x3JTNkmetbTYGxZ6kLRn88Ia286CZwdQb-u/s1600/kitchenkids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MxtPOgY_bQMCBdOWUK9ljHO32iDtd3mivj8kfnAF3tPJZQTNS2fnE4HA6ph5BpHoyKNz-gEiOIrZM8mMRFUNlKWTJwylKKhqXwoWkHeY-x3JTNkmetbTYGxZ6kLRn88Ia286CZwdQb-u/s1600/kitchenkids.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a>The great thing about the activities is they are simple, and pretty easy to set up. So, if you want to get on with some housework and entertain the kids at the same time, it was nice to open the backdoor and give the children a set of kid friendly ten pin bowls which kept them amused for hours. After the housework was taken care of, it was great fun getting into the kitchen and helping the children to learn how dough works to make pizza (as well as getting to eat something you've made afterwards), as well as reigniting a love of making and sticking with felt animals and shapes.<br />
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Littlest, being a fan of noise, thoroughly enjoyed using wooden spoons to create a noisy racket with pots and pans (otherwise described by him as "being like David Bowie and drumming and singing loud"), and Mini liked the quiet enjoyment of decorating paper dolls in bright colours.<br />
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It can be easy to spend lots of money on the children at any given time of the year, rather than looking back to my own childhood which was spent making and gluing and acting out games in the garden and beyond. I recall many happy days with a book which had a whole heap of ideas called "101 Fun Things for Kids" which included a whole chapter of ideas to send SAEs to different people like the RSPB and be sent a load of things to colour in and birds to spot- all for the price of two stamps. Of course, its now easier and cheaper to do as we can use their websites for the much the same thing!<br />
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I was impressed with how simple and cheap the activities were and how they engaged the children for hours- rather than hearing them loaf around watching TV and asking for the occasional sweetie, they were laughing and joking and in many cases, learning new skills too.<br />
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I would definitely recommend a return to old school ways of putting the fun back into weekends without breaking into your savings!<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*We received a box of goodies to try out from Betta Living to compile this post*</span></i><br />
<br />Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-70737845392477756822014-10-07T09:04:00.000+01:002014-10-07T09:04:24.838+01:00#Sweepyface, Twitter and the "Blurred Line" Between Trolling and Freedom of Speech Online On this blog, I have often said that freedom of speech and opinion is one of my most important beliefs in society. Something that should be promoted and protected.<br />
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Being able to form an opinion of your own- even if its completely opposite to what everyone around you thinks- is something I promote with my children and always will. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking "argument for arguments sake". I'm of the opinion that if you feel you can justify having an opposing opinion, then you have every right to voice it, and spark debate through it.<br />
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The problem is, modern etiquette. Social media, encompassing blogs, Vlogs, Twitter, and the rest, however big or small, are read only devices. I have fallen foul of this on several occasions. By design I'm sarcastic, but sarcasm can be taken completely the wrong way when tone is absent down to it being on a screen.<br />
<br />
In the last few days, the tag of Troll has very much come front and centre and whether having an opinion, and tweeting it, constitutes freedom to voice an opinion over being a troll. If you simply tweet <i>about</i> a person or situation, but not @ them in this tweet (or, in the case of Sweepyface, tweet opinions about someone who does not use Twitter), does this still make you a troll?<br />
<br />
To my mind, a Troll is the kind of person who threatens to hurt someone in a violent way, such as what Stella Creasey experienced last year. Or someone who I have encountered who just goes all out to cause utter distress directly to the person they decide they don't like (or even to go as far as to cause me personal issues by pretending they are me on forums I was never a member of). These people don't bother me very much anymore as most are snide enough to be abusive, but not so brave as to put their name to it.<br />
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However, with Sweepyface, I feel strongly that the tag of "Troll" is being used as the situation she was voicing an opinion of is one that many people online have an opinion of but which is felt it cannot be voiced.<br />
<br />
I have always maintained in my own social circles that I believe that, whilst the McCann's never foresaw what happened to their daughter, they were negligent and lax to have left her. I am aware that most people will be shocked at my voicing this. But I can't help thinking that, had they have been from a council estate and claiming benefits, they would have been vilified and arrested for neglect. Instead, they are posh, well to do, Doctor and wife, so we all use soothing voices.<br />
<br />
I don't believe they "deserved" what happened. I don't believe that they don't probably beat themselves up about it day in and out. But, fundamentally, the person I feel sorry for in this instance is Maddie. Pure and simple.<br />
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I'm not one for tweeting that as its the "opinion that dares not speak its name". However, Sweepyface- along with quite a number of others- did.<br />
<br />
Did she deserve, before a Police Officer even came to her home, or any legal action was taken, to be doorstepped by a Sky News Journo? No. She didn't.<br />
<br />
Sky acted in an appalling manner when they did that, and surely, if there had of been a Police Investigation into her Tweets, and subsequent case against her, it was detrimental to any case for them to taken that action. And why just Sweepyface? Why not doorstep a few of the apparent hundreds of people online who use the #Mccann hashtag and forums full of conspiracy theories to voice a negative opinion of the parents?<br />
<br />
Now, a woman is dead.<br />
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And yet, still agencies refer to her as a troll.<br />
<br />
It leaves an unwelcome taste in my mouth.<br />
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There is an ever increasing blurred line between freedom of speech and troll behavior.<br />
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Clearly, as times change and more and more is spoken about online, there needs to be very strong guidelines about what constitutes bullying or offensive use of social media.<br />
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Or Sweepyface will be the start of a dark period for social media and and its place in the voicing of opinions.Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1719633936456636651.post-59522868615125288002014-10-03T12:26:00.000+01:002014-10-03T12:26:36.907+01:00...And Next I Decided, Actually, Let's Fight BackWe've now somewhat, only just, settled into life as a half home Ed half usual school family. Its been very hard at times to get Littlest to adapt to working at home or, in the local park, or library.<br />
<br />
The biggest hurdle we have come across is the size of our little house, which I was previously ecstatic about, is now creating dilemmas we could not have forseen.<br />
<br />
Like my lovely through lounge diner.<br />
<br />
It's light, airy, easy to keep tidy, and cosy warm. What it isn't, however, is separated from the rest of the house. Thus, its not a happy situation as of course a small room on its own would be much better as it could be turned over to home schooling. All we have is the through lounge and a big cupboard, which was previously going to house the overspill of Elder and my records (omg, Amazon for records, what new heaven is this? I love it) and the Decks. Its now the "School Cupboard" as Mini has christened it.<br />
<br />
I kept thinking about the appeal though. Surely, surely there was a loop hole? Surely there was some way to show that it wasn't fair, that they had already made their mind up other than the shockingly small amount of time it took for us to get a full three page write up with the decision on it?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhAqCp3GorATg8Wke3-u9RukUxfJCf3VdKkil_lSoAnjRZSZtQ8qYinwLcHaj6dHGjN3xX_5A7g0ImB9BdmttJHw8FK0rEQHn01Ue2G5GRPS8uLLgqZrYVIXI5-jP-uB3wn0D15nPeNTv/s1600/InstagramCapture_2210a854-3e8d-4b2a-8e73-2afa36daa7b1_jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhAqCp3GorATg8Wke3-u9RukUxfJCf3VdKkil_lSoAnjRZSZtQ8qYinwLcHaj6dHGjN3xX_5A7g0ImB9BdmttJHw8FK0rEQHn01Ue2G5GRPS8uLLgqZrYVIXI5-jP-uB3wn0D15nPeNTv/s1600/InstagramCapture_2210a854-3e8d-4b2a-8e73-2afa36daa7b1_jpg.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Music Lesson-with a twist</td></tr>
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<br />
I googled the Appeal Code I had used before about timescales. Maybe it could shed light on something or anything I may have missed?<br />
<br />
It did.<br />
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There, in black and white, on their own Appeal Code page on the Diocese website, it said that, should new information be submitted by any party without first being seen prior to the hearing, the hearing should be closed and rearranged.<br />
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Yet, the Head did indeed use new information, from 3 different bodies in the appeal hearing, which she simply waved in the air n the form of paper with emails allegedly on it, without anyone seeing them beforehand.<br />
<br />
I have since asked, several times, to see these emails, as we contacted those who she quoted, and found she was hardly honest about what they told her. Surprise surprise, we never have gotten to see them. Nor have the appeal authority.<br />
<br />
No one adjourned the hearing. No one mentioned she had broken the rules. In fact, on looking through the code, there were at least three sections where they have broken the rules.<br />
<br />
So, I thought, fuck it, I'll contact them at the Diocese, see what they have to say.<br />
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Basically, in Orgasms for Jesus language, they told me to naff off.<br />
<br />
How polite.<br />
<br />
They told me to go tell it to the Ombudsman. So I am going to. In fact, I collated all the facts, all the information, and put it to the Ombudsman.<br />
<br />
Yes, they may say there's little to do now. They may suggest a rehearing. But I hope that no matter what the outcome, the Diocese, and their attitude towards non Church members daring to want both kids at the same school is dealt with.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG26BitWL58OjbqRJu-_AU2On-eeJnVr-2LPuIFtmkB0JH3BrUEkZ1hIea_JmcdlYkh0_jbEdUkTetpf3kkA12Yfx8Figzm6FNgUSHGTOMwy7LE3u-9qDTKyPKRCpgiR9mXZW3an9fp64p/s1600/InstagramCapture_7421ef87-f233-426a-a276-71524f7cb599_jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG26BitWL58OjbqRJu-_AU2On-eeJnVr-2LPuIFtmkB0JH3BrUEkZ1hIea_JmcdlYkh0_jbEdUkTetpf3kkA12Yfx8Figzm6FNgUSHGTOMwy7LE3u-9qDTKyPKRCpgiR9mXZW3an9fp64p/s1600/InstagramCapture_7421ef87-f233-426a-a276-71524f7cb599_jpg.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finding things for our Autumn project</td></tr>
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I have no great issue Home Educating Littlest, of course I don't. The problem is its no fun for Littlest, he has made only one friend since we moved, he misses Mini all day and he would rather be in school. Its not something we decided to do as a family, we felt pushed to. And Mini is dreadfully jealous of her bro being at home with Mummy all day, something she'd love to do as she seems to think he sits around, does one worksheet and then watches TV or plays in the park the rest of the time.<br />
<br />
Fingers crossed this all gets sorted out soon.<br />
Clairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17225577462194501357noreply@blogger.com0