Author: Mum Scottish

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100 Posts of 100 Words for Save The Children

Save The Children #Healthworkers

 

 

  • After a tweet from Blue  Bear Wood , I have taken up the challenge that she sent me, to write a post of at least 100 words for Save The Children.
I don’t have a great healthcare story to tell, but I do agree with the support needed cross our globe.  In our modern world, some children in the UK suffer as much as some children do in Countries overseas.  That doesn’t mean that we should ignore either of them, and although it is more fashionable to support overseas causes, there are reasons that we all need to be seen to support them.

The vaccination programme what we take for granted in our country is one of the main reasons that our children thrive so much.    In our country, the problems arise from non vaccination choices by uninformed parents, but overseas, the choice in most cases, is simply not there.
  • On Tuesday 20th September, blogger Chris Mosler, will attend the UN General Assembly in New York with Liz Scarff  from Save the Children.
  • They intent to try and secure the support of our Prime Minister, David Cameron, to play his full part in solving the health worker crisis.
  • The target is 60,000 signatures on a petition by Tuesday.    As I write this, the petition stands at 41,946.    Can you help increase the total?
  • Sign the petition here:  sign the petition

The challenge set by @HelloItsGemma to see 100 posts of 100 words linked up by Tuesday.

Write your 100 words about a great health professional you have encountered in your life. Add a link to the petition and either link or add in some information from Save the Children about the #Healthworkers. Link up here

I pass this on to

@welshmumwales
@andie_u
@cazbattweets
@plasticrosaries
@kateab
@allabouttheboys
@superamazingmum

 

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Fabulous Food Find – HUGE Watermelon from Costco

Fabulous food find today was a HUGE – SEEDLESS watermelon from Costo in Aberdeen at £2.99.       Absolutely fabulous and the kids are hugely impressed with how much there is in the bowl after I sliced it all up to put it in the fridge for nibbles.

Watermelon works out at about 30 calories per 100g (according to my iphone diet calorie checker).    A whole kg worth of water melon would only set me back 300 calories.  Now that is a stomach filling prospect.

  

 

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Quick and Easy Chocolate Fudge

This is the easy recipe for chocolate fudge that I got off of a tin of Nestle Condensed milk.  I don’t usually do much in the way of  potted recipes and this one is VERY sweet, but I thought I would share the results of how it came out.

Ingredients

400g chocolate
397g tin condensed milk
25g butter
100g icing sugar
55g sugar strands / chopped nuts etc for decoration

Put chocolate, condensed milk and butter into a bowl and microwave until all melted.  Take out of micro at 10 – 20 second intervals and stir well until it is very smooth.

When nice and smooth, beat in sieved icing sugar (if you don’t sieve it, it will go into lumps).

I used little cake cases, but the recipe calls for a tray bake.  I got 40 little sweets in the cases.  When the mixture is in, sprinkle on the sugar strands or chopped nuts.

Put in fridge for about an hour.

Hey presto.

 

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Competition / Giveaway – Do you get travel sick? Sea Bands might help.

 

When the lovely people at Sea Bands got in touch and asked me to review and giveaway some sets of their products, I jumped at the chance as my eldest suffers quite badly from nausea and queasiness when he is in the car.

They arrived in a nice white padded envelope and my eldest quickly scanned through the pack to find a pair that he liked.   He found the camouflage green ones, and they were never to be let go as you can see.

They are actually quite cool as far as children are concerned, because they look like wrist sweat bands, so they gain kudos for being in fashion.  There is also the added bonus of not having to give him tablets which can make him feel sleepy.

My boy has been using them now for several weeks, and I am happy to say that he seems to be managing to go on car journeys without suffering.   The potential for journeys away has now left the realms of nervous worry for him, and that has to be a good thing.

The lovely Sea Band people have also given me 4 pairs of bands to give away.   I have two pairs of adult gray bands, one pair of childs pink camouflage, and one pair of blue camouflage.

Before I go into the competition, I’ll let you know a little about Sea Bands from their literature.

Travel sickness is the nausea, dizziness and vomiting that is triggered by the messages in the brain.  We may be sitting motionless in our seats, but our senses tell us that we are moving.  That means we may end us as nauseous.

To help with travel sickness – we can:

  • Sit at the front in cars and buses, and face the direction we are travelling in on trains
  • Breathe fresh air when possible and open windows
  • Don’t eat heavy meals before travelling
  • Keep children occupied with games and looking out the window

The Sea-Band is an elastic wrist band that can help.   Accupressure has been used in Chinese medicine for over 4000 years, and the Sea-Band applies pressure to an accupressure point on your wrist, by a small plastic stud on the inside of your wrist  at a point between the two central tendons which is known to prevent or relieve feelings of nausea.

It is a natural, effective and drug free way to help take away the worst feelings of nausea, and can be worn from a young age.

They have been trialled with children aged 2-15 and gained excellent results in a large number of cases.

They are suitable for

  • Adults
  • Children 3 years and above
  • Pregnant women
  • Hospital patients
They are
  • Drug free with no side effects
  • Clinically tested
  • Used by doctors and hospitals
  • Fast acting
  • Simple to use
  • Reusable and washable
  • Sold in 50+ countries
  • Packed with a small plastic case which makes them easy to keep.
Where to find Seabands

Sea-band Website and Shop
Sea-Band on Facebook
Sea-Band on Twitter

You don’t have to wait for long, as the competition for 4 pairs is starting  now, and will close on the 11th September.  I will announce the winner on the 12th.

COMPETITION / GIVEAWAY

To Enter – do the following, if you are not already.

  • Leave a comment below to confirm your entry with a way for me to contact you, ie twitter id.
  • Like my blog on facebook at the right side of this post.
  • Pop on over to the Sea- Band Facebook Page (using the link above) and like them.
  • Follow me on twitter and tweet the following:
    I entered a competition to win 4 pairs of Sea-Bands at  http://wp.me/p1aG8Y-C1 with @scottish_mum
Make sure you check back on the 12th to see if you have won.  Good luck everyone.  They are lovely wristbands.
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Bloggers Adoption Group on Brit Mums

 

 

Brit Mums have had a facelift.  Formerly known as British Mummy Bloggers, they have updated and extended the facilities they have on the get together site for those of us who live and breathe in the blogosphere.

I have set up a new group on Brit Mums for bloggers who have an interest in adoption, or would like to support those who are affected by the issues surrounding adoption.

There must be quite a few of us Adoptive mums (or dads) (or grown ups with their own children). Even those of you who have questions you always wanted to ask, or just if you want to give an adopter some support on the parenting front.  Everyone is welcome.

I suppose with 3 children, I am in the almost veteran category of adoptive parents, and it can be hard to talk about our issues among non adoptive parents.

Perhaps there isn’t a need for a group for us, but if there is a mum / or dad / or child out there who wants to talk about adoption in any form, I will be around, and hopefully there will be others who feel confident enough to put their hand up and join us for the occasional chat when they need it (or even when they don’t).

Anything adoption and blogging related is welcome.  At the moment, I am billy no mates in the new group, and I’d love a few of you to pop over and join me in saying hello, and perhaps opening up the area of parenthood that is often silent in the blogging world.

Join me by clicking on Brit Mums HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thai Style Crackers – Sweet Chilli Flavour from Asda 60g

Now these are just a little bit of heaven.  Quite spicy and like prawn crackers without the ickiness for me.    Although I absolutely love prawn cocktail flavoured Walkers crisps, I am not a fan of any brand prawn crackers.   They just seem too fishy for me.

I know, I know, I can hear you all laugh as me saying prawns taste a bit fishy to me.

These Sweet Chilli crackers are really spicy, and I am someone who is not usually into things that are too hot, and I do need a drink of water or juice beside me to eat these, but I really did enjoy them.

The best bit for me has to be that it is quite a big bag of crackers, and at 60g, it’s not too shoddy an amount to sit and actually eat.

Per 20g
Calories 82 – so that makes it a reasonable 246 calories for the WHOLE bag.

As a crisp addict, these are just perfect for me.

 

 

 

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Flood Alert Dramatics

A couple of weeks ago, with the van on a campsite, the threat of flood water in the van was getting higher. The kidlets had told each other scary stories, ranging from dying under tonnes of dirty water, to hearing screams coming from the direction of the river.

The water was very dangerous and the flood alert was in force for the area on the Monday. Local disabled residents were evacuated, and the caravan site was sitting smack bang in the middle of the flood plain. We took an early evening walk down to look at the raging river, and I couldn’t get close enough to get a good photograph of the river, and all roads in and out were closed.

We sneaked across the football field, as close as we dared and although we could spot the raging river, we didn’t dare go close enough to get a decent one, so the flooded children’s playpark is the best that I could do. The raging water was terrifying. It certainly opens your eyes to just how awesome the force of water actually is, and I am someone who spent much time in the middle of the north sea on oil rigs in her youth.

At night, we packed a couple of bags, and I had them sitting at the door of the van, just in case the river had a major flood. We were told that the “flood man” would let us all know if the river began to rise again. The rain seemed to thankfully be slightly easier that evening, and we hoped that the rain would stay lighter upriver so that it didn’t head down towards our precious van again. There were major floods here a few years ago, and lots of fears that it could be repeated.

I had my alarm set for every two hours so that I could keep an eye on the flood alerts, and check out the window to see how it is going. I intended to pop out to the bottom of the site a couple of times during the night to see if they were under water. I never got that far. Thankfully we were at the highest up point on the site, so in less danger than the vans and tents further down the site.

The kids thought it was an adventure, and we all slept in joggers so that we would be able to get out at short notice if the knock came at the door.

I didn’t sleep well at all that night, and littlest woke up about 6 times during the night in terror. He sleepwalks, although it is not as often as it used to be. In strange places, he always has to sleep close to an adult so we hear him on the move. Several times, he ended up sitting bolt upright, in absolute terror shouting “mum, why aren’t you saving me?”? I guess I can get the gist of the nightmare. He faced the door of the caravan and it was not very nice to see hs terror & knowing he was still in his nightmare with eyes wide open.

Thankfully, the danger passed, and with it the last of littlest night terrors.

 

 

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Whats in my bag 2011. (purse for you Americans I believe)

I have never managed to understand the designer bag craze.  I just don’t get it.  A bag is a bag, is a bag, is a bag, is a bag.  It’s for holding stuff in that won’t fit in your pockets, right?

Now don’t go ratting me out as some kind of slobbish, unorganised, ineffectual mother (ok, yes you’re right, I am).  My poor little bag sees very little TLC, and tends to suffer badly from the effects of rain, wind, sleet and occasionally snow in the lovely Scottish climate.   I do give it the occasional polish to bring up the nice leather that it used to be, and the last episode of TLC was the day before the Cybermummy Train Trip.

My current bag has been slung on my back for the last 3 years and was a fantastic (splutter)  £50.00 when new.  I only tend to have one day bag and one for using on special occasions at any given time, so I like them to last.  I have bought cheap synthetic ones in the past, but I’m lucky if they last me a couple of months.  You’d think they could make them so that they would be tougher wouldn’t you?  Then again, maybe I just spend too much time with my bag on my back.

Yes, my bag is a rather untrendy for my age, small, black leather rucksack.  I’ve been wearing this type of bag off and on for about 20 years.  The only time I don’t have one is when I can’t find a nice one when it comes time to replace a worn out trusty.  Then I have to resort to the dreaded over body bags.

I just can’t understand the pleasure or practicality of having to use an arm or a hand to hold up a bag.  Whats that for then?   How do you hold onto a child, or children, and a dog, or shopping when one hand is permanently tied up holding onto a bag for dear life?

I also know people who have bags that seem to have a never ending supply of things in them.   I have a friend whose bag is a revelation.  It doesn’t matter what eventuality she comes across, there is something in that tardis of a bag she carries to fix the problem.

You are allowed to laugh when you see what is in my disorganised little carry bag.  I am dreading looking actually as it is a couple of months now since I cleared it out.

Here goes:

House and Car Keys
Caravan Keys
Chewing Gum
Old Receipts (really bad habit I have of just throwing them in)
Ancient Purse (really could use a new one)
2 Pairs of Earphones
Wrist Strap
Paracetamol
Passport Photos for us all
Virgin Vie Tinted Moisturiser
Some Bloggers Business Cards
Two Pens
Bits of a Toy
Crayons
Tomato Ketchup
Oilatum Cream
Library Cards
Dog Poo Spare Plastic Bags

Yes, I am officially a slob.  No lippy (note to self – must rectify that one).

Yes, yes I know, my bag is in need of replacement.  This one might just last another winter before it bites the dust.  I need to keep an eye out for rucksack handbags from now on.

 

 

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Using kids photos without consent – cool, or not ?

On twitter today, I have been called names because I don’t think that its right to post photos of other people’s children online in recognisable photos on the public internet without asking their parents if its ok to do so.

It’s simple for me, but not for all.

I told what I think is a pretty innocent tweeter that I didn’t think it was cool to post. She had taken pictures of two children in a shop that she didn’t know, and who didn’t know they were being photographed, and posted the picture online to talk about how obese they were to raise awareness of a very real problem affecting many children nowadays.

I don’t think that is proper, but I can see how others might not think about it until someone else mentioned it.    I don’t think its enough justification for the two photographers who jumped on the tweets to start calling me names over it.

I’m not going to go into it all, but they were a couple of photographers that seem to think there are no consequences in this world, and don’t care about anyone elses feelings.   As far as they are concerned, they are going to take pictures of anyone, anywhere, and do whatever they want with them, including anybody’s kids that they take pictures of.  As far as they are concerned, people like me who would like to be asked before their kids pics were put on the internet are idiots.

Do all photographers think like that, or is it just the male kind?

In my view, the least anyone can do morally and ethically is to ask permission of parents of children that you are taking pictures of, if it is ok to use them in a public online place.   Many many people have valid reasons for NOT wanting recognisable pictures of their children posted online.  I don’t think it’s an unreasonable expectation to want to be asked  before for such an intrusion.

One told me that just because I “shat” out kids, I didn’t have the right to take the moral high ground.

The other told me that we shouldn’t go out in public if we don’t want to be photographed !!

Debate, right or wrong, what do you think?

UPDATE

For those asking to see the tweets/conversation.

My original tweet in response to seeing the pictures of two children and being talked about due to their size was to reply to the person who took them and say that I would delete them if I were her as posting pics of kids she had no permission to was not cool.

She was trying to show the potential dangers of chidren who are overweight in this world to highlight where adults are damaging their kids by leting them get overweight, but using very recognisable pictures of children she had taken in a supermarket.

I have a couple of tweets in my favourites, and I can’t for the life of me locate my favourites on the new twitter web.  I also have no idea how to lift conversations from twitter to post here, or I would have.

Two photographers who were not the ones who took the pictures decided to take it to a whole new level of discussion as they proceeded to call me all sorts for having an opinion that is not the same as theirs.  They were determined to nastily defend the right to use a picture in any way they see fit.

We can have differences of opinions and ideas, and if we don’t like what someone else has to say, we can challenge it.  Where it becomes not acceptable in my view is when people decide to get personal and call us names.

A nice photographer came on later and debated the issue, and apologised for the abuse I had received.  I did not give the two who were nasty any abuse back, rather I tried to discuss it with them, but they were not prepared to discuss, only to call names.

The original photographer who posted the pictures apologised for causing such offence and said she would remove them.

It seems to be that photography students might be being told the legal side which is that pictures in a public place are fair game, and that it is up to their own code of ethics and morality what they do with them.

I don’t know what the definition of public and private place is.

I am also glad of the support of the mum bloggers who have the same opinion as I do that random children should not be used for the sake of someone else’s idea of art.

To me, if they have to ignore the potential subjects feelings to portray what the photographer wants to, then there is something wrong with using or taking the picture.

That is my opinion, and I am open to discussing others opinions on the subject which seems to be a huge emotive debate.

Am I defender of those two children that I don’t know, yes, I guess in a way I am.  If someone did that to my children I would be furious, and I would hope that if anyone saw pictures of my children on the internet without consent, that someone would stand up for them.