family

Back in the land of the living!

- TracyB 2 Comments

Well almost anyway. After the last few weeks of activity my body definitely isn’t used to and crushing recuperation in between has seen me absent from my blog for a while.

I’m getting back to some level of normality, but only just!

It started with :

 

On set of the short film he’s been doing recently
Him and his ‘on screen’ sister!

This was a gruelling ( for me anyway!) four 12hr days with travelling on top. I really cannot explain how I managed to stay standing ( my lovely new walking stick came in very handy). I don’t think I have pushed my poor M.E body that hard for a very long time. When it was over I went to bed and lost almost 2 days in bed and the rest of the week sleeping while the boys were at school. However, he had 2 more auditions in London the next week and a day on location on Norfolk to finish the film!!

That meant another day spent in bed afterwards for me and very quickly my days were disappearing. I haven’t blogged or been on Twitter, I haven’t knitted for what seems like ages ( although I managed to do some whilst chaperoning my son. Even watching mindless TV would take it’s toll.

However, other things have been happening all be it around me:

YUM!

 

Like this great chocolate swiss roll that my eldest decided to make at the weekend!! It tasted just as good as it looks too, although I might have had to have several slices just to make sure.

Proud mummy moment!

We also found this, a copy of the paper my eldest was put in for his efforts to raise money for the London’s Air Ambulance. That’s him in the middle of the picture with the crew who got a call literally seconds afterwards and we got to watch them head off on an emergency call- fantastic!

Oh and of course the recent sunshine (most of which I have missed by being in bed) brought out the ‘Diva’ side of the cat…………………life is good, feed me more treats!!

However, the down side is I am sooo behind with everything, cleaning, ironing, cooking even to some extent. That’s without mentioning the blog. I have emails I haven’t responded to, posts that I need to write and networking to do.

So be warned, I have some great posts coming- an A-Z of me, a review that might interest those of you who value a restful nights sleep, a few of my knitting projects that I haven’t taken pics of yet!

I’M BACK…………

My New Family Addition!

- TracyB 10 Comments

I hereby welcome my newest family addition. This has been a long time coming as I had put it off for such a long time! Now however, the time is right. But I want to tell you it truly is a love/ hate relationship. Can we love something and hate it at the same time?? Well I think I do. I love what it enables me to do but hate it as it draws people that I do not know to stare look and therefore makes me uncomfortable.

So here’s my new addition……………………………what do you think?

My ankle pain has been so bad since before Christmas that I have ‘given in’ and bought a walking stick to help. I have to travel to London regularly with my youngest and his acting activities that it has become a necessity!! I refuse to use it all the time however, if I know I am going to be out for an extended period I will take it with me.

So I love it because it truly helps me when I am out walking but hate it at the same time as I see people look at the stick and look at me!!! What is it?? Never seen someone with a f**king walking stick before?? It does not mean I am mentally retarded or ‘care in the community’……………………………….it just means I need help to be on my feet for longer!!!

I feel as though I need a sign around my neck saying ‘I am normal you know- no need to treat me any differently’.

My health borough refuses to pay for any M.E treatment so I don’t have access to therapy groups, or OT’s or programmes to help me manage the condition better. I have to use what works for me- and this helps for those days I know I will be having to walk longer distances. I am always in pain especially in my ankles however I refuse to confine myself to bed or stay indoors and so this is seen as a solution to problem that I have to face.

 

Do you know of anyone who needs walking aids or help to get around who is frustrated with how they are viewed?

Journey 2- The Mysterious Island

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I was lucky enough to be invited to the screening of Journey 2 The Mysterious Island last weekend, we had seen the first film so generally had an idea what to expect.

However, when we arrived at the Vue in London we were taken by surprise as we were met by allsorts of snakes, spiders and lizards!! Not what you expect when you go to see a film!

Anyway, this had my youngest totally in his element. As both myself and my eldest wandered casually around eating the lovely croissants and drinking juice cocktails that had been supplied, my youngest went around trying to hold everything he could( this may have had something to do with the toys they were giving away to the kids who bravely held them)!

That's only a snippet of the lovely breakfast goodies!!

At one point a very nice lady politely asked me if I would like to try some snacks but as I looked at the plate it was true ‘Bush Tucker Trial’ stuff. I’m not kidding, she just laughed when I politely declined but asked to take a photo ( a true blogger me!).


I thought Ant & Dec were going to jump out and say I had to eat the lot!

Then it was time to go into the cinema. We got our 3D glasses at the ready and took our seats.

Now if I’m honest after seeing the first film ( that was a birthday treat if you don’t mind- funny how our birthdays always get taken over by the kids ideas!!) I wasn’t really expecting too much. However, I was pleasantly surprised. There was an element of comedy that was aimed both at the kids and the adults with a little obvious slapstick for the youngest of watchers too. The serious charm of Michael Caine as the grandfather was a great match against Dwayne Johnson ( who I expected to be slightly wooden but surprisingly wasn’t). The little one liners between them kept a great rivalry going. Watch out for Dwayne’s ‘pec’s’ talk………..hilarious.But Luis Guzman as Gabato played the comedy character you couldn’t help but like…….Bless him.

So premise of the story if you don’t know:

Sean gets crypted messages from a ‘mysterious island’, Hank ( stepdad) helps him uncover the code and accompanies him find the island. Gabato and his daughter help them get there by using their helicopter. Long story short…….they get there by default, find Sean’s long lost grandfather (Caine) and have to find a way off the island as it’s sinking!! Cue the Nautilus/ Atlantis slant.

Anyway, all in all a great film to take the kids too over the coming half term. Action, adventure and a splash of comedy makes for a kids film that even the parents may admit to enjoying for what it is.

The film has been rated as a PG and has a running time of 94mins

The 2 silhouettes are my boys trying to blend in with the poster!!

Declaration: I was given the free tickets to review this film, however all opinions are my own!

Sorry about the quality of the photos…..I stupidly forgot my camera and had to rely on my Blackberry!!!

Thank You to the lovely Emily at Think Jam for the chance to review Journey 2 The Mysterious Island.

Top tips for keeping warm – M.E Related

- TracyB 2 Comments

I have decided to  share my experiences of M.E with you in the hope of raising awareness for what seems an ‘invisible’ illness. Click here for more information.

As anyone with M.E will know we can still feel cold in the summer, let alone deal with winter temperatures.

I have put together some of my own tips that I use in order to keep warm without breaking the bank by having the heating on all the time!!

Top Tips:

1. Wheat heat pads are a great investment. They are relatively inexpensive to buy (but you can aways check in your local charity shops too). I have several of these and they only need heating in the microwave for around 1m 30 secs and you have instant heat!! They are also good for muscular aches and I use them to ease the pain in my ankles and neck but also as ‘instant heat’!!

2. The good old hot water bottle, it never fails. You don’t need to buy fancy or expensive either. At this time of year they can be found in abundance in the pound stores. I also have a mini one that is great to take with me on the school run as I can warm myself in the car before getting out into the cold to collect my son. Also, a cover is great and helps to keep the bottle warmer for longer…………..but don’t buy unnecessarily- use and old jumper that the kids have outgrown to cover it or make one if your ‘crafty’ enough.

3. Thermals- underclothes and socks. They are truly a worthwhile investment. Again these don’t have to cost much, I have seen leggings and long sleeve tops available in Primark- but sports shops are great for this too. Thermal or ‘heat’ socks I have in abundance and again can be found just in sports shops.

4. Thermal insoles for shoes/ boots. These I cannot do without and you need to invest in a decent set that will last. I have one set at the moment and I transfer them to whatever boots I am going to wear for that day……………….they truly make a difference.

5. Wrist Warmers! I have recently knitted myself a basic pair of these just for wearing indoors. My hands are always cold ( even in the summer) and when I am working on the computer they get absolutely frozen. Knitted wrist warmers either made or shop bought are a great way to keep hands and wrists warm whilst still being able to type, read a book, knit or whatever else you do!!

Hope some of these tips help. I have lots more to share and would love you to pass on to anyone you know who suffers with M.E/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or similar.

It would be great to have an online ‘help’ community that could share what works for them and therefore may help others.

 

Reading for kids -how important is it?

- TracyB 14 Comments

Reading for kids -how important is it?

reading for kids

 

I have a love of books and reading.

I don’t know where that came from as it’s hard to remember if as a child I was read to or not. However, as a teenager I definitely remember reading a lot( mainly Stephen King and the like!). Thankfully, that love of reading is still as strong today.

When both my boys were tiny it was part of the bedtime routine to have a story. When they started reading at school it was religiously done everyday.

All of that has paid off as now at the grand old ages of 11 and 13 years they are both avid readers in their own right. My youngest actually got a Kindle for his Christmas present.

However, I do know families where the kids are totally uninterested in reading and no matter what they have tried along the way, it hasn’t worked.

So does it matter whether you start early or not? Does it matter if the parents are avid readers?

Does it matter if you don’t have lots of books at home?

Top tips on how to get your children reading

Watch our video with Jeff Brazier where he gives his top tips on making story time fun

 

For some parents, a seemingly simple task like reading your children bedtime stories can send them into a nervous panic. But, it’s never too soon or too late to get your children reading and needn’t be a stressful experience. 

 

That’s why celebrity dad Jeff Brazier has joined forces with the National Literacy Trust today to launch a new campaign to try and help the four million children in Britain who don’t own a book to start reading.

 

Almost a fifth of children who don’t read say there are no books in their homes, which is why the National Literacy Trust is backing the campaign from  McDonald’s UK and Harper Collins for a new partnership to help get kids reading.

 

McDonald’s UK is to hand out around nine million popular children’s books with its Happy Meals, as part of a new partnership with publishing house Harper Collins. The promotion aims to get books into the hands of families and support mums and dads in reading with their children.

 

Watch our video with Jeff Brazier and Jack Sallabank from the National Literacy Trust where they give their top tips to get your children reading. From funny voices to involving your children with finger puppets, watch our video for Jeff’s great tips which is sure to be a success with any child.

So what strategies have you tried to get your children interested in books?

What age group where they when they started showing an interest?

Do you buy books or rely on your local library?

Parenting fail or just life as we know it?

- TracyB 10 Comments

Parenting fail or just life as we know it?

Recently I have been asking myself this question virtually everyday.

I have two boys, one aged 13 and the other is 11.

THEY DO NOT GET ON.

In essence they are very, very different personalities, which I think is great. They like different things but also like some similar things too. So why can’t they get along together?

I truly do not know.

Now, I don’t just mean a bit of sibling rivalry, or fighting one minute and then friends the next. NO they are never friends. EVER.

My youngest is a very loud and outgoing character. He has a lot of personality and loves to be centre of attention. My eldest is quieter, more mellow generally and tends to go with the flow, until it involves his brother.

But it is starting to affect the family dynamics.

A family day at home or out is just horrendous. We know it will end in tears, namely ours. It seems as a family we cannot simply enjoy time together, just chatting, laughing and having a joke. My eldest can get very stressed by the whole thing.

At the moment our family life is generally our boys taking themselves off to their separate rooms and shutting their doors to be away from each other.

As parents we try to be fair with their disputes. However, we have noticed more and more that it generally stems from our youngest. He makes fun of his older brother and although we all have jokes at each others expense, his delve into what we believe to be bullying.

Whenever my eldest says anything, and I mean anything, he will be sneered at, or laughed at or belittled as though what he says has no relevance.

We have approached our youngest and explained  how he is behaving.

What makes it worse is that our oldest has very mild Asperger traits ( not fully diagnosed, but noticeable). Again we have tried explaining this to our youngest and have used some books to show him how his brother thinks.

IT DIDN’T WORK. IN FACT IT MADE IT WORSE.

Now, I know you will all be thinking he must be attention seeking. However, he gets a lot more time devoted to him on a 1 to 1 basis because of his acting. I am always with him for auditions and shows. Everything tends to revolve around what he is doing, our Christmas this year was dominated by the fact he was acting in Panto everyday of the holidays.

So I need help. Where are we as parents going wrong?

I cannot see any other reason for it other than our total parent fail!

We try everything, we take things, such as, Ipods  and TV away. There have been times were we have stopped him  going to a party or to friends if he has been particularly bad. We also stand by our word and if we threaten something,  and we ALWAYS carry it through. So you would think he would get the message.

Our main concern is how he treats his brother.

SO I will ask again. Is it A  PARENTING FAIL, or just life as we know it?

Where do we go from here?

It’s quite depressing, for everyone apart from my youngest son.

Parenting fail or life as we know it

 

 

 

 

 

 

2012….I get my life back!

- TracyB 4 Comments

2012….I get my life back!

2012

Well, relatively speaking anyway.

My son has now finished his run in panto this season and my body is very, very thankful it is all over.

The last few days have been spent looking through all the presents again. Taking time to read through books and listen to CD’s and actually play with some of the games that the boys got.

The decorations have come down and have been put away until next Christmas, and the house has resumed it’s normal look and feel. It has been the boy’s last day off today before they return to school and Mr B returns to work. So tomorrow will be blissfully quiet for me.

I managed to enjoy a fabulously chilled Christmas day with the family and my Mum and brother who had come to stay.

That was until my cat made a quick escape past us and caught my mum on the face millimetres away from her eye. These events are not unusual in my house as a few years ago she came and fractured her pelvis trying to play tennis with the boys. Last year we were all ill with ‘Swine Flu’…..     I’m sure you are getting the picture now.

Anyway, the last panto show was on New Years Eve. After, we headed off to Bluewater for a nice meal and a cinema visit before returning home to see in the new year and let off our lanterns with 2012 wishes on.

I haven’t caught up on all my blog reading and Twitter following yet so haven’t seen all of your New Years resolutions. I’ve decided to learn new skills this year and get back to my knitting, something I really enjoyed doing many years ago. But also to learn how to crochet as it’s something I have never attempted.

I cannot go down the route of exercise and diet as my body is taking a long time to recover from the panto schedule. Conventional exercise for me is out of the question at the moment as I suffer with chronic pain and chronic illness.

I’d also like to do more reading as this is something I have neglected for some time. I’ve been given a copy of ‘We need to talk about Kevin’ as one of my Christmas gifts and I’m really looking forward to starting that.

So, that’s me back to normality, with a regular routine about to start from tomorrow.

A New Year.

A New Start.

A New Skill.

How has your New year been so far and what are your resolutions?

Christmas Dinner Disasters

- TracyB Leave a comment

Ever had one?

I must admit I’ve been lucky enough to have escaped my own Christmas dinner disasters as I have only been doing the dinner myself for the past few years. Fortunately while my boys were very young we always went to the in laws (no cooking required on my part……..result!).

However, there comes a time when the kids want to stay with their toys for the day and enjoy Christmas at home. This means all cooking required by me!!

Luckily for me my mum stays at Christmas so she cooks the turkey for me with years of experience under her belt……again a result!

However, after talking to a few people the stories started to come out. Things you can imagine and things you can’t.

*turkey doesn’t fit in the oven

*turkey not cooked properly

*cases of food poisoning

*oven breaks down while cooking the dinner

Or even in the style of Only Fools and Horses where the coffee gets mixed up with the gravy and they pour coffee all over their dinner, or the time Grandad left the giblets in the turkey!!

Top tips on how to avoid a Christmas dinner disaster


Let’s face it, Christmas dinner disasters are far from rare in most households. A poll just released shows a quarter of us have first-hand experience of something going badly wrong on the 25th December.

The most common mishaps are dry meat, turkey that is uncooked or hasn’t defrosted properly, people buying the wrong size bird and those that have simply left it so late that the shops have actually run out.

Cooking a feast of massive proportions for extended families of aunties, uncles, grandparents, and children is a task daunting enough to even make a top chef break into a cold sweat, so it’s no surprise  three quarters of the great British public suffer stress as a result of buying and preparing Christmas meat. 

But the survey commissioned by The Q Guild of Butchers to launch their ‘Meat Your Butcher Sessions’ found an overwhelming 95% of the nation has never asked for expert advice about cooking Christmas dinner whilst more than half of us just head blindly go to the supermarket, and pick meat off the shelf hoping for the best. That’s despite the fact that there is usually a butcher’s shop right round the corner, who can offer quality advice on choosing, preparing and cooking meat.

So how can a local butcher help to reduce stress, focus on value and give fresh advice for your festive feast? When should you have ordered your meat by? What’s the difference between a corn-fed turkey and a gold turkey? How much do you actually need to buy so that you don’t get stuck with masses of meat, or even worse don’t have enough to feed the family? And if you don’t even like turkey, what are the great Christmas meat alternatives?

CHECK OUT THE VIDEOS BELOW FOR THE BEST TIPS:

Advice on avoiding Christmas dinner disaster

 

I would love to hear your worst Christmas dinner disasters……………………….feel free to share!!

Remembering those who have fallen!

- TracyB 1 Comment

 

You may not know but I was a member of the Royal Air Force for almost 7 years. I joined up when I was 18yrs old and worked in the world of Air Traffic Control. It was during this time that I met my ‘now’ husband who also served 7 yrs too.

I would not have changed my time in the RAF. I had fun living away from home, meeting new people, working in the world of Air Traffic, and of course meeting my husband!

But I also value what I got personally from being in the ‘forces’. Discipline, a sense of pride in myself and my appearance in uniform, a feeling of belonging, meeting lifelong friends from all walks of life. But most of all I took away a respectful view of authority. Something that I feel is totally missing from today’s society. Whether you liked it or not you had ‘signed on the dotted line’ and therefore your ass was theirs ( so to speak!!). I learned very quickly that I had to do what I was told when I was told. In training it was to ‘break’ you in order to build you up to respect those in authority. Outside of training that would carry on but not to the same extent, only enough  to keep the day to day running of the station smooth and purposeful.

Today though, I believe that not only is there a total lack of respect from the up and coming generation ( not all of them obviously) towards society itself but even to those who fought for our country through 2 world wars, Northern Ireland, the Falklands conflict, the Gulf and now what is going on in Afghanistan etc.

It is becoming a regular occurrence on the news hearing another soldiers name, someone who was a husband, or a son, or a dad leaving children and family behind doing something that they believed in, hoping they were going to make a difference.

Each year now at the Remembrance parades our heroes numbers from the 1st and 2nd World Wars are dwindling as the years pass. But it is necessary to keep remembering those who gave their lives either many years ago or more recently. We must never forget that they have paid the ultimate price for their country

Maybe if a few of those in society who consistently offend and who generally sponge off society believing that they are owed a living rather than earning one, got off their arses and joined the forces, they could not only make something of themselves but earn the respect that they seem to demand for nothing at the moment!!

But don’t just remember the fallen just on the 11th November or Remembrance Sunday, remember them always. They gave their most precious thing for us to live in a ‘free’ society……………………………………….their lives!!

Don’t forget you can also follow Honour Our Forces on twitter too.

Children and their pets.

- TracyB 2 Comments

 

Kids care about their pets more than their siblings

I think this is definitely true in our household!! I have 2 boys who literally cannot breathe the same air ( I’m SO not joking). However, they both love our lovely cat Tilly more than anything. They are happy to feed her, let her in and out, brush her, give her treats and play with her. In fact I don’t really have to ask them to do any of it, apart from fill her food bowl!!

This is her the day she arrived at our house aged 12 weeks old!!

How could anyone resist her?? You would have to be heartless!!

This is her in her favourite sleeping place! But don’t be fooled by the cute face she has worked hard and now at the grand age of 1 1/2 yrs she has earned the title ‘Tilly the Terrorist’!! ( from the neighbours).

She has been spotted on my neighbours roof at the top of her chimney!! She terrorises next door’s cats from their own garden, and don’t even start me on the birds!!!

I’m sure you all have your own pet stories to tell, but surely you will agree well cared for pets aren’t pets at all but part of the family!!

Wilkinson Petcare found the following results after a survey about children and animals, and also provided Top Tips for Petcare below:

We’re often referred to as a nation of animal lovers and now a new study shows that our love of all things furry is firmly being passed on to our kids with a poll of children revealing they care more about their pets than they do about their brothers and sisters and their friends.

Over 70% of the children surveyed have a pet, with cats and dogs and goldfish the most likely animals to be found in British homes, but snakes, lizards, frogs and sheep are also getting pampered by their youthful in homes around the UK.

When asked what animal they would most like to have, dog’s were a clear winner, followed by followed by rabbits, hamsters and cats.

But it’s not just their own animals that British children care about with. Our fauna also looks to be in good hands for the future with over 90% of kids saying they are concerned about wildlife.

And their knowledge of what can be found in our backyards is also excellent with the majority saying they would recognise a robin, pigeon, blackbird, magpie, blue tit and a sparrow if they saw one frolicking outside.

Over 90% say they have visited a farm and more than 70% a wildlife sanctuary.

Nearly half of the 7-15 year olds surveyed by Wilkinson Petcare have helped an injured animal, while a quarter have fed a wild hedgehog.

 

Top Tips for Pet Care:

1.       Pay your pet attention. Pets need love and affection as much as people

2.       Exercise – The more exercise the better prevention of your pet becoming overweight

3.       Visit a vet regularly to maintain your pets health

4.       Get your pet Vaccinations. This will prevent them from catching any diseases that could affect their health.

5.       Give your pet a comfortable and spacious home/bed – This is where they will sleep and get the rest they need so it needs to be somewhere they want to go

6.       Go to a Vet to check you are feeding your pet the right food for them. I.e. the food you give your dog depends on the breed of the dog you have, so it is vital you check.

7.       Allow your pet to adapt to its new environment and dogs/cats/horses allow to interact with other animals at an early stage in order for them to know how to react in social situations properly.

8.       Watch your pets teeth, bad breath could mean digestive problems

9.       Give your pet toys, your pets need to have something to interest them as you cannot be there 24/7

10.   Clean and groom your pet regularly, this will maintain their health and help prevent catching disease

 

For more information visit : Website: http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/pets/icat/catdog/