Broken arms and operations - the 2nd week of summer holidays! ! ! ! ! !

So it is the 2nd week of the school holidays and I decide that my son (who is 12) needs to come off his XBox for a bit and get some fresh air and exercise. With 2 dogs needing to burn off some excess energy and a 8 yr old daughter wanting to go on a bike ride I had the bright idea of taking them all the field at the top of my street!
It was about 3pm on Tuesday and the sun was shining and all 4 of them were having fun..... until my son fell off his bike! As a mum you can tell with the pitch and tone of their cry that they are in pain so without thinking I set off into a sprint to see what was up with him!
Holding his arm gingerly he said "Mum Ive broken my arm!!"

As you can see from the photo it really did look like he had done some damage! It was banana shaped!!! 

So we took him to the local Accident department where he was seen very quickly. An xray did confirm that it was broken but the break was bad with the bones not aligning! He had a plaster cast put on and then another xray which told us that unfortunately he needed an operation to realign the bones so they healed right! 

The hospital we were in did not have an orthopaedic team so we ended up travelling to Pinderfields hospital- children's ward. With his operation first on the list for the following morning we brought him home so he could rest here and have some nice food - I am firm in my belief that you feel better in your own surroundings! It was a bad night for both of us though - I didn't get a wink of sleep and he only managed a hour at the most! He was in so much pain!! 

By 7am Wednesday morning we were back in the children's ward and he was booked in for his surgery. I went down with him for his general and found it so difficult to see him so vulnerable and in pain - but thankfully all went well and he didn't need a pin putting in. By 1pm we were at MacDonalds drive through buying him his happy meal to take home! 

Settled on the sofa his shock finally set in and he was sick a lot - he still couldn't sleep much because he couldn't get comfy but he looked a little bit better than the day before! 

Now it is 2 days later and although he is fed up - he doesn't hurt and can almost manage to get back on his Xbox!! 

We have some more appointments at the clinic to see that it is healing right but hopefully things will go ok!!! 

I consider myself lucky because this is the 1st time in my 12 years of being a mum we have had to go to casualty with a childhood accident! The hospitals were amazing but even better my little girl is being fantastic and so helpful. Even though it is horrible he has gone through this it is nice to see how close we are as a family and supportive when times get tricky! 

Royal Baby Ramblings - viewpoints on the whole excitement from me and my daughter!!

Whilst watching all the coverage of the Cambridge's birth and the following celebrations I got called a Royalist! I would not say I was a Royalist exactly but as a history lover I think anything to do with the Royals will be talked about for years to come so I like to make sure I am aware of it and keeping an eye on current affairs! 

I did fully get caught up in the hype of watching the Lindo wing door on a live webcam even though I knew that the likelihood of seeing something was slim. I got so engrossed I even missed out on about 4 days worth of entering competitions! (Even the many comps that were about the Royal birth!!) Yesterday when I was waiting for the new family to emerge I even delayed making food for the kids so I didnt miss anything! So yeah perhaps you could say I have Royalist tendancies! 

But I never saw any significant Royal Births before and I do admire Will and Kate so much for their obvious love for one another so think they will do a fantastic job of combining royal duties with making happy memories. 

Watching the coverage was a first for me having been to young for Wills and Harry's - but to me this was even better because my kids watched it too we get to share the memory together. Now in years to come me and my little girl can say "Yeah we watched Cambridge Junior on the telly for his 1st royal wave!!" 

My daughter wrote some of her thoughts about it all down, so I thought I would include them on here to preserve them....

(From the mouth of an 8 year old girl.......)

"I think the Royal Baby will be a King full of courage and keep to the law. When I watched the News I thought he was so cute and I thought that Will and Kate will make good parents. I also think he will be clever when he is king! His mum and dad will look after him very well and the Queen will also love him."

It would be nice now if the family could have some time out from all the media intrusion, although I think William will ensure that they do! They should be able to go about things like walking in the park and meeting up with family without the fear of Paparazzi following them everywhere! But I probably have this view because of what happened to Princess Diana - you can't help but think of her at this emotional time. She would be so proud of how her two boys are handling themselves in this modern world! 

COMPETITION LINK - £30 Amazon Voucher - Attachment Mummy Blog!

Attachment mummy has reached her blogaversary and to celebrate with her many monthly readers she is running an INTERNATIONAL giveaway. 

I have been following this blog for a while now and really enjoy all the posts and updates. 

Attachment Mummy   is a really interesting and informative read.

Click on the link above to check out her posts and perhaps enter into the competition too? It is a rafflecopter form with multiple entries! 

Good luck 

I can't wait for the pitter patter of 4 small paws......

Just a quick post today because I wanted to introduce the adorable, cuddly, amazingly lovable pooch who will soon be the 6th member of my family.

His name is Budd - which is short for Buddy if you ask my little girl, or short for Buddha if you ask me!!! 

He will be five week old on tuesday and is a little chunk!! 

Im sure in a couple of months I will be writing to complain about chewed shoes and wet cold puddles in the middle of the night.... but right now I can't wait to see what fun and mischief he will bring!!!! 

My early Mother's day treats!

When I picked my little girl up from school she came out with her hands behind her back and a furtive sort of look on her face. It was cute because she was the only one in her class to be hiding her creations, all her classmates had them in full view - so I had some sort of idea what delights awaited me. 

She is as impatient as me and could not wait to show me my card - which I love. She picked my favourite colour and did her writing so neat! 

Such a simple yet beautiful card and one I can display for a long time! 

But that wasn't all - she had also been baking. 

I am a major chocoholic and she has made some choc truffles with her class and she told  that whilst making them she sneaked to the loo to lick some chocolate mixture off her hands. I asked "Why in the toilet?" and she very cleverly replied "Cos Max got told off for eating it off his hands and I didn't want to get into trouble!" 

I love these little conversations we have that reveal some of her quirks but as a 'responsible'mum I did advise that perhaps the loo wasn't the best place to be testing the mixture! 

But I am so pleased with her and really happy with the effort she has shown - despite needing the loo break!! 

And she says there are still loads of surprises to come yet .... 

(I know the photos are not the best - I am blaming my phone! But I get to upgrade in a couple of weeks - so the photos should be a lot better!! 

The Great Spring Clean 2013

In all the time we have lived in this house I have not given it a proper spring clean. In my mind a spring clean involves a deep clean and vacuum of all rooms, a massive de-clutter and organisation of household items and 'junk/treasured possessions' - all done in the same time period.

I don't want it to seem like I haven't cleaned at all - I have done all the above - in all the rooms - but not in the same weekend / weekly period.

I officially can not live with it any more though. Yes I have been recovering from my operation and so has the other half. But all the books, cds, dvds, games, teddies, clothes and ornaments are making me feel like I am drowning in crap!!

Slowly but surely I am de-cluttering - the other day I did music magpie to reduce some of my cds and jeans. Then yesterday I sold some old, unwanted and broken jewellery. I've donated some books to the local library and I've stockpiled items for a car boot.

But today I have bitten the bullet and made a somewhat small start to my huge, ginormous list!! It might take a while - but I will just work my way through it and tick them off. After all an organised tidy house leads to an organised tidy mind?

The worst / strangest view out of my window ever.

www.wooden-blinds-direct.co.uk  Are currently running a bloggers competition to try and find the worst view from a window. 

Well as soon as I read about this it took me back to 2009 when I looked out of my window and there was a runaway bus!! 

Well ok... it was a stolen bus - but it was driving erratically and crashing into parked cars causing a lot of damage. 

Me and my family were minding our business when we heard all these screeching noises coming from outside  when we stood up to take a look a bus was swerving all over the road irregardless of parked cars and pedestrians. It was one of those moments when we all looked at each as if we couldn't see believe what we were seeing. After the initial shock when we deemed it safe we ventured out to investigate - all along the street front doors were opening and other families were stepping out shaking their heads in disbelief. There was the distinctive scent of burning rubber and thick obnoxious black tyre marks running parallel all the way up the road. Those few people who had not parked on their drives were examining their vehicles to check for damage and all neighbours chatted together to gather what we knew about this incident.

Now buses do not run on our street and the people who had seen the driver could see that he was not wearing the local bus company's uniform so we gathered that something was off with the whole scenario. Eventually it came through the local grapevine that the bus had been stolen by someone with a grudge and in total had caused over £250000 worth of damage. Not just on our street but the entire 30 miles the driver had travelled had seen some form of destruction. 

It was definitely a window view that I won't forget about in a hurry!

To read about it in our local paper click here...  

If you feel you have a story about a view you have observed then head over to Wooden Blinds Direct. See what it involves and drop an entry in yourselves. You could win a Kindle Fire!! 

The perfect Mother's Day outfit from Next!

My mum always get invited to go out with the in-laws but refuses because she says she feels like a poor relation. She has been registered disabled for many years, physically unable to work and living in constant daily pain. So in my opinion she deserves a posh slap up meal and evening out as much as her (not-very-nice) in-laws. (It is my step family - who coincidently do not like me neither because I was a teenage mum)

The Style Rawr!'s blogger competition gives me an opportunity to dress my Mum up albeit virtually - using www.next.co.uk I have selected what I believe to be perfect frock !!!

First is the Lipsy strapless embellished dress. 
The Lipsy Dress

At the reasonable price of £65 .The neutral colour would suit Mum and varied skirt layers would boost her confident . (She feels like most dresses fit wrong because she is short !!! )

Grey Metallic thread scarf. £12
Scarf with metallic thread

This is contrasting colour and would provide cover up and added warmth because March is not always a spring month weather wise. The metallic thread running through adds to the glam factor. 

Silver swirly Embellished clutch bag £30!
A fab and stylish bag

This matches the scarf perfectly and would hold her phone and purse and other essentials (mascara, perfume sample, eyeliner etc...) really well. 

Nude Jewelled Pointed Court Shoes £48  Glitzy shoes!

Back to the Nude colour scheme now but still with a bit of added bling. 

Mum loves her heels (which goes back to the short thing!) and this style is 

her favourite. As long as I have known her wardrobe has been filled with pointed court shoes and stilletos. 

Alan Hannah Spray Drop Earrings  £16

Gorgeous earrings

These are pretty and sparkly- need I say more? She also really likes flowers and I like the fact that pearl type gems are typically 'Mumsy' yet these aren't! 

Alan Hannah Spray Necklace  £38

Matching necklace

This matches the earrings and I love how unusual it is. I think this is definetely a statement piece. 

Santuary Spa Youth Boosting Facial in a Box £16
A special treat

This is just an extra treat because she deserves it! If she was having a meal out then she should feel pampered before she goes!! 

I must admit my 8 year old daughter has helped me select a lot of these items and I do think grandma would be pleased with her choices. 

If you want to create the perfect Next Outfit for your mum then check out the post on The Style Rawr! You could be a lucky winner! 

Frustration and a gum shield!

So after another trip to the ENT hospital about my ears I am no clearer on how long this problem of mine is going to last! 

It was an early appointment but we dropped our daughter off at school and hurried there, this time they could do a hearing test- the drops had thankfully cleared my ears enough. So I sat there with the super sexy rubber headphones and got increasingly worried that I could not hear half as many beeps as I should! This means my hearing is even worse! Which I knew anyway! 

So we dutifully waited to see the specialist, it was one I had seen before so I was reassured that he would listen to me and my concerns and hopefully he would sympathise with my problem! Which he did - he understood exactly how frustrating and debilitating it has been having this leaky infection for over 2 months now. But there is not a lot he can do - he suctioned my left ear out (yuck) which helped increase hearing levels in that ear. Reassured me that contrary to what the Doctor said last time the T-Tube they fitted in my ear IS still there. He then examined the right ear - which is the one that gives me the most pain and worry. Apparently it is an healthy ear and the pain is coming from my jaw and not my ear. So now I am to spend 2 weeks on Ibuprofen to reduce any inflammation and buy a gum shield to wear at night, with the hope of it stopping me grinding my teeth. I also have to stop smoking!! (I know I need to stop smoking - its easier said than done!!!!!) I got given more drops to try and reduce the bit of infection residing in my left ear and another appointment for 3 weeks to see if these simple steps have helped with the pain! 

If the infection does not go then it could mean having the T Tube removed which brings me back to an inverted eardrum! 

I am just left frustrated and annoyed! I feel like the pain is definitely in my ear and not the jaw, but maybe I will be proved wrong?! 

I've been told the smoking will mean I never fully get rid of the infection - but the cynic in me believes that Doctors advise you to stop smoking as a matter of course no matter what the illness or problem! 

But I am going to follow advice and buy a gum shield, take regular anti-inflammatories and try to reduce the smoking. We will see in 3 weeks what the next step is! 

I am not bothered I need hearing aids - that I have learnt to live with! However I do not want to spend my whole life with gunk leaking out of my ears on a regular basis. 

RANT - The current meat scandal!

I have been writing on here for many weeks now and still have not really had a rant... which is what the blog is named for. So I've made the decision to voice my opinions on the meat scandal that is in the UK headlines at the moment. 

I understand this might offend some people and for that I apologise but I feel like I want to make a note of this topic for reference in later years. (Look at me planning on years worth of writing this blog!! - haha

Without going on too much about the facts - which can be found on most British news sites - it has come to light that Horse meat has been sold in many products within the food market. I have two main issues with this; 

INCORRECT FOOD LABELLING - I am a meat eater, my children eat meat too and I believe animals can be breed for meat and food purposes. However I do think that all food should be labelled with the exact product that it contains. Personally I have tried several of the more 'unusual' meats like Ostrich and Kangaroo- so I would not be adverse to trying Horse. But I do want to know what I am eating and in turn feeding my children. 

THE USE OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS IN THE FOOD CHAIN - If Horse has been introduced to the general food chain and the meat is not regulated then there is the risk of ingesting chemicals which are dangerous to us. Again because I am feeding children this is a huge worry to me as I imagine it is to many other parents? 

I am not here to try and challenge the government and I am not (totally) anti-government but I do believe that the root of all this scandal lies at their hands. Slowly over the past few years the economy has worsened and normal working families are struggling to provide healthy meals for their kids. Parents are even going without meals to make sure that their kids have enough food. I am sure more mums and dads would love to be able to afford a weekly trip to a proper butcher with controlled meat products but it is simply too expensive to afford the best meat all the time. Therefore cheaper products are bought and it is these inferior ones that are the main issue. 

Thankfully when I do purchase ready made burgers I do only buy the better brands, but what about the families that can only afford the 8 for a £1 variety? I can only imagine their worry, and it doesn't exactly install us with hope when the Big Boss managers of these stores admit they wouldn't even eat their own products. 

The more that comes to light in the news about the economy and how messed up the countries finances are it is becoming more apparent that there is a 'Rich / Poor' divide again and the gap is widening between the two.  The government officials do not seem worried that their children will potentially be affected by the meat scandal but then again I can't see them shopping at cheaper budget supermarkets when they can afford organic and the best products.

I can't see much changing in the short run, but I do hope that it does not come to light about ill effects in people because they have ingested inferior products. Unfortunately it may take something like that for the politicians to sit up and realise not all of us are privileged enough to shop in 'proper' places. And not all of us are educated enough to be able to provide a cheap but balanced and healthy diet for our children. Reporters on day time TV can see it, the general public can see it but our representatives in Westminster seem to be blind to the problem. 

I would be interested in seeing what other 'normal' people think to this current news topic..... 

Update - negative (Depression and ear problems!)

It has been a few days since I have written anything on here, I have got a few draft posts ready to finish and then publish but nothing new has gone up in ages.

I've had a bad time lately, battling with my depression and my ears, but it is a catch 22 situation because my ears have been so bad it has increased the fed up and down emotions I am going through. A couple of days ago the gunkyness stopped in my right ear, however the pain from the pressure build up started. I keep hoping for the leaking to start so I can get rid of this intense and annoying pain but no joy. I have put off going to the GP though, mainly because I have a hospital appointment on Tuesday with the surgeon who operated on my ears. I am partly dreading this because I think they will end up suctioning all the crap out of my ears but at the same time I need this constant problem to stop so I am 100% fit for work, when I eventually find work.  Needless to say my hearing is up and down with this, some days I feel as if i am under water and everything is muffled even when I have my aids in. When I have not got them in I live in a world where only the noisiest sounds are heard.

My depression hasn't just been made worse by my ears though, as a family at the moment we are struggling financially. I know a lot of families are in the same boat so I am trying not to complain too much but through the week my other half was served his notice at work on the grounds of ill health. It was not unexpected and he has 7 weeks to be redeployed in suitable non manual work but still it increases the pressures our family are going through.

I am constantly looking for work which is emotionally draining, I know I have not worked for so long and I am not ideal for telephone work or work in a noisy environment but even places like Asda and Lidl do not seem to look at my CV properly. I have a lot of qualifications but they are academic and maybe this is working against me? Who knows? I do know however that I will be persistent  I do not just need work for the financial reasons but mentally I need to be more than a mum who sits at home tidying up, entering competitions and cooking meals.

Finally - there is no joy on the laptop front yet. We got a new motherboard from the USA but it doesn't seem to work and money has totally run out now! I am currently using the oldest and loudest laptop we have. It sounds like an hairdryer and keeps over heating and closing down so a tad annoying. I am grateful that I have got something that I can use to write and enter competitions but the sooner I have a fully working less temperamental machine the better!!

January - the month I turned 30. (An overview)

Well although I am a day late the month of January is now over. Like many others I do generally feel fed up and skint in the month following Christmas. But having always had a birthday at the end of the month I do have something to look forward to which helps me through the 'down' days.

This blog has been running over a month now and I am so surprised and pleased to have now had over 500 people viewing it. I am still learning a lot about blogging, including the etiquette etc... But I don't think I have offended anyone yet!!

I know I write a lot of competition posts with a lot of links for you guys to enter the comps, I post lots because I enter a lot. But because I don't want to be predominantly a competition blog I am trying not to post too many. Perhaps when I finally find a job I won't post the comps but write more about lifestyle and family things? Who knows....? The aim of this blog was not to focus on one thing alone so because of that I am trying to vary it.

So my January was hard, financially and emotionally. My laptop broke leaving us with 3 broken laptops in the house. I've had no call back from the thousands of jobs I am applying for. Sick pay has been brought into force for my husband so incoming money reduced to a worrying figure. My son has been upset because still no sign or contact from his biological father. Both me and hubby still suffering from the operations we had in November last year. This ear infection has been going on for over 2 months and I have had loads of different antibiotics to try and get rid of it. Thank fully the children seem to have escaped illness (touch wood)  so it could have been worse!

I am trying to stick to the list of goals that I wrote on here - I'm looking for work on a daily basis, slowly de-cluttering the house, I am logging on weekly to see if there are new council houses for us. Each day I am trying to achieve something positive, but there are days when even the littlest task seems too hard, the delights of living with depression I guess?

All in all though I am pleased with myself, I have had more good days than bad and am actively trying to change and better my life rather than sit and mope like I did last year!

Birthdays, Broken Laptops and Lost hearing aids!!

Well today is my 30th birthday. I was one of those people at 12 who thought that 30 was ancient - now i'm there myself I still feel like I am young. And I guess I am - but a lot of times I feel old and tired. 

I've got no huge plans to celebrate, I had a lie in this morning and woke to find cards and gifts off my children and hubby. My mum visited and had a coffee - and told me her dog having puppies so we could be getting a new doggy in a couple of months!!! The remainder of the day is going to be spent on the sofa entering competitions and watching mindless kids TV. Perfect!! My hubby cooking a Sunday dinner so that will be fabtastic too!!

The worst thing happened to me this week and my Dell laptop (2years old) bit the dust! We had just bought a new battery and the motherboard went. This is the 2nd laptop I have killed in the past 3 years - although the 1st one died from a large latte been poured over it. Been super super skint - a new one isnt an option so hubby is hell bent on repairing one of them in the cheapest way possible. Until then I am using my cheap and slow android tablet and his tiny web book. Which are more than adequate - but I am used to my laptop and do miss it. Im also one of the most impatient people ever and always want something yesterday. 

So until I do get my own machine working my posts will be sporadic. And will probably not include photos because I don't want to clog his memory with all my pics. 

I've also lost my left hearing aid - which is a nightmare! I've got a kidney infection and still got a bad ear infection so am on strong antibiotics and painkillers- this seems to have given me a forgetful brain - because my hearing aid has vanished!! Turned the whole house upside down and even been in the bin (with yellow marigolds on!) but still no joy!! Hopefully I can be fitted for some more soon because I don't know how I will cope with any future job interviews with lopsided hearing!!! I'm laughing about it - because it has just been one of those weeks! Hopefully next week less things will go wrong????

Snow Fun !!

7am this morning when I looked out! 

After waiting several days for a decent amount of snow we woke up this morning to a text from my son's school telling us it was closed. We went downstairs and opened the curtains to see a white over!! I love seeing the white blanket which covers everything.

Mr Cool Bear!! 

cola bear

It did mean though that I could put off the snow man building no longer. Me being me though wasn't happy with just making a run of the mile carrot nosed man. I wanted something a little different - originally I wanted to do a Skull - the goth in me escaping again!! But that idea was not a popular one - so it was bears!

My son was not up for getting cold again - especially not when he had his warm room and Xbox to keep him amused - but his little sister and I got snuggled up and set off building. He watched and provided commentary from his cosy room above us!!

We are very pleased at the results and the funniest thing is every time we let the dog out she stops and stares at them like she is wondering what the 2 strange things are stood in 'her' garden. Keep expecting her to begin barking at them!

the snow bear family

 My daughter built the little snow bear herself with a little help from dad. She thought that the big bear was lonely so it needed a fruitshoot friend so she grabbed the sledge and started building. We recycled most bits e.g eye's nose's and accessories. 

'To Do Lists!' that multiply.

Why is it that on a weekend my 'To Do list' gets longer and longer? I seem to cross one job off with my left hand whilst adding a new chore I've just found with my right.  (In fact cos I am so picky about my lists and hate to have lots of crossings out I write about 3 new neat ones in the duration of the day!)

Take for example this weekend - I am doing usual family jobs like getting the kids to clean their rooms and do their homework - but some how as I am going round 'reminding' everyone what they need to do my eyes discover new jobs that need to be done. (It may be worth mentioning that whilst I use the verb 'reminding' the family say 'nagging'.)

I feel so bossy every weekend - but in my opinion there is nothing worse than getting to a Monday morning and rushing around and discovering homework not all done, shoes not polished, crumpled up school letters in the corners of bags etc...

So why not do it over the full weekend and not leave it until Sunday? Well that's the annoying thing - I do try to spread it out so it's not so intense on the one day. But with Brownie outings and clubs and parties and this weekends sledging fun - it isn't so easy to get them settled down to the table in front of their books.

Which means every weekend my lists will be redone - I consider it a good Sunday if it gets to 9 o'clock at night and the kids are tucked up in bed and I am smuggled in my P.Js watching all the historical TV. (Call the midwife, Mr Selfridge, Ripper Street are on remind tonight and I can't wait!)

REVIEW: Cadbury's egg + spoon!

I am a sucker for new product's and a big fan of Cadbury's.So when I saw this small purple egg box in Co-op I needed to try this yummy chocolate. Unfortunately the £3.99 price put me off a bit.Then the next week during my Iceland shop I saw the yummy chocolate again for £2

The big kid in me was SO excited to sample this new novelty yummy treat and my kids shared my enthusiasm.

It consists of 4 small foil wrapped eggs and 2 mini purple spoons.The idea is once you have eaten the top of the egg you get a mini spoon and eat the chocolate moose filling inside.Like a chocolate boiled egg almost!!! I shared them with my family and my daughter smashed the top of her egg with her spoon!  Both kids loved them, they thought the chocolate mousse inside was so creamy. I saw 2 flavours, the chocolate one I bought and another one with creamy mousse inside. Been a die hard chocoholic I opted for the chocolate one and I did tend to agree with the children because it was a lovely creamy and sweet mousse.

All in all for a novelty treat this is another good idea from Cadburys, however I personally couldn't eat all four myself so it was lovely to share them. With Easter only a few months away I am definitely considering buying some more (as gifts). I am a big believer that food and snacks should be fun and memorable. Its the fun things that are creating memories for them as they get older and fun shouldn't just apply to days out and games.

REVIEW - giftsonline4u.com

www.giftsonline4u.com

This website is one that I wish that I had found five weeks ago when I was rushing around like a headless chicken trying to find all the Christmas presents. Not only is the choice of products amazing 

but there is the option to personalise and engrave the majority of the gifts. Which in my opinion turns a special present into a unique and heartfelt one. 

Engraved Fingerprint trinket box

The range of gifts is very extensive, I do believe I could find almost everyone in my family a gift personal to them. There are alcohol related gifts like personalised bottles and glasses, Soft toys, bags, Mugs, Trinket boxes, Stationary and gifts for football fans. In fact for the sport mad man there are a wide range of gifts varying from Formula one to Fishing and Golf. Sporting Gifts

Personalised England Scoreboard in a frame. 

Another section of this website which I thought was worth mentioning was the wedding range. For those special people invited to play a special role in the bridal party (bridesmaids, mother of the bride, best men etc...) there are a selection of gifts that be be personalised as a unique reminder of the memorable day. These are affordable and can be made unique with photos and text in some cases.  Wedding Gifts

Wedding Guest Album

The layout, links and photographs are set out in a way that ensures even novice internet shoppers 

can navigate without confusion. This makes my customer experience that much more pleasant and judging by previous customers comments I am not the only one who thinks this website is worth a visit. 

Even though I have missed the boat for Christmas 2012 there are going to be many other opportunities for me to shop here, Valentines day is not long away and then mothers day... the list goes on. Better add to it to the favourites on my browser - I won't be stuck for presents anymore! 

    

The first week of the year!

Seen as I am trying to keep a record of my (ordinary life) I thought some weeks that I would try to do an update.

The 1st part of the week was mainly child centred - getting the routine back for school runs and early mornings. However I did apply for some jobs and enter lots of comps, read lots of books and learnt a new skill.

It wasn't my intention to learn a new skill - but my sons hair was becoming unmanageable  He was beginning to resemble cousin It from the Addams family. Been short of funds I decided I would once again attempt to cut his hair myself. In all honesty I have tried before and not one of those bowl style cuts from yesteryear, but it always went a bit pear shaped  Then I had an idea - why not watch a couple of videos on YouTube  So i did - the result was a resounding success. He likes it. I like it - and better still now you can see his lovely blue eyes. I did have some drama whilst doing it though as my daughter who watched the clips too also thought she should be able to have a go at chopping her brothers hair. When she realised I wasn't going to let her loose with the scissors she threw a tantrum like only a stroppy 8 year old can. She still isn't happy about it days later but she understands why her being an hairdresser wasn't an option. (Would she let her 11 yr old brother loose on her long locks?)

On another note there has been a bit of drama on the street too. Next door there was a minor chip-pan fire and the lovely guy who lives there had to be admitted to hospital for smoke inhalation. Thankfully there was no major damage to the house and the fire brigade didn't need to be involved but it definitely served one of those moments where you count your blessings.

The other incident happened today when the 83yr old living in a bungalow across the road fell face first on his return from the shop. Again he was lucky to the extent that no serious head injuries happened - however he had to spend all afternoon at the local A&E for his badly cut hands to be cleaned out and all the gravel removed. There were several of us who helped him until his son arrived and not only could we not believe his age once he had told us we also couldn't believe the amount of blood caused by hand injuries. The worse part is he loves playing piano and the keyboard and now until he has healed he will struggle to do this. We had never spoken to this elderly man previous to this, he hadn't lived their long. But now I know we will be more aware of him as we go about our day to day business.

Right last bit - TV i am loving at the moment includes BBC's The Ripper Street and Mr Selfridge on ITV, I am determined to not get into the hype of Celebrity big brother though!! haha

More about my deafness / hard of hearing ness!

I have had hearing problems now since I was about 8 years old. First it was typical glue ear which I had Gromits fitted for. But it has never improved  and when I was about 14 I was told I needed hearing aids at this stage in my life I struggled with them and ended up wearing them for about 10 mins.
From that point I coped - not very well but I have basic lip reading skills and alongside that I can hear sounds so I use a lot of guesswork using sounds and lip movements combined. But a couple of years ago I began to suffer chronic ear infections, which consist not just of pain /throbbing /popping eardrums but I get gunky discharge / pus leaking from my ears. After a couple of these horrible and gross ear infections my other half and the kids had noticed I was struggling more with day to day noises and communication. So it was back to my local ENT department.

Originally they said I needed hearing aids and gave no explanation as to why my ears kept hurting and producing this disgusting gunk. So I gave into the idea of been 28 years old and relying on hearing aids to communicate. I didn't give in that easy though, I didn't get the full benefit because I only wore them when I wanted / needed to. I should have been wearing them full stop. Several more infections later I was getting mad at not getting any explanation as to why I was gunky and sore, so I went back to the hospital again. It was decided I needed stronger hearing aids - which meant they were even more visible on the ear. The only good side (as I believed then) was the fact I could chose the colours! I decided to go for a silvery black aid and glittery moulds. (The photo doesn't show the proper glitteryness of them!)

Slowly over the past couple of years I have become more accustomed to wearing them and even make the odd joke about them - mainly how i can lower the volume when the kids get noisy or take them out when in an argument. And now I am at the stage where I panic when I have to cope without them, it is such a struggle and for this reason my batteries are my best friend. I have spare packs of batteries everywhere in case I hear the dreading warning beep in my ear.

I still haven't got much further with the ENT dept - I had a scan which did show some moderate disease in my left ear canal, so on the 26th November 2012 I underwent a minor op to have a T-tube put in. This is like a gromit but more permanent and bigger. I would like to say this has helped but since the operation I have had nothing but pain and gunk. So its back to the drawing board with docs and hospital appointments. Watch this space.....

Just to clarify -
I am not properly deaf - the correct term for me is Hard of Hearing (HOH). There are 6.6% of the population between the ages of 6-60 who have a hearing loss. (RNID website) So I am not alone in my predicament. And I would be really interested in meeting other people in my age group who suffer like me - especially those with families. I should really look for support groups in my area and online... (I can sense another post coming on this in the near future.)