Thames Valley Mums Blog

Exams don't have to be stressful

2010-06-16T06:18:25+01:00

Childline sent us this viral video. With much of the country's youngsters getting ready for extensive testing, the message is a good one: Exams don't have to be stressful. Please pass it on!

This post was written by Susanna, a Thames Valley Mums Blog founding contributor. You can read more at her blog, A Modern Mother.

It's worth all 76 minutes...

2010-05-16T07:28:15+01:00

I'm known for being a bit behind in current events. I come by this honestly (my parents still don't have cable TV) but I'm sure it is made worse by the fact that my brain can only handle so many bits and bytes and mine is on overload with kid stuff.

So when my friend Charlene asked if I had heard about "The Last Lecture" I gave my usual blank look.

If you haven't heard about this, let me explain. Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon in the US. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007, he gave a moving "last lecture" on achieving your childhood dreams that was videotaped and widely distributed on You Tube. To date, the lecture has been viewed by more than 6 million people.

YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE TIME TO SEE THIS. It is worth all 76 minutes. It is a good reminder of what is important in life.

Note: Randy Pausch died in 2008.

This post was written by Susanna, a Thames Valley Mums founder. You can also find her at her blog, A Modern Mother.

Go on then, be a dinner lady

2010-05-05T07:34:51+01:00

I volunteer as a dinner lady at my daughters' school.

I did it out of sheer desperation. I had no idea what was going on at that hallowed institution – my daughter offers very little insight.

Before being a dinner lady, this is how our conversations would go as we made our way home:

Me: “how was school today, sweetie?”

Daughter: (looking around to see if any of her friends were still on the school premises; she spots one) “Hello Ella!”

Me: “how was school today, sweetie?”

Daughter: (looking around for more friends to say “hello” to on the playground, even though she has spent all day with them)

Me: “I asked how school was today. Did you learn anything new?”

Daughter: (eyes fixated on Ella) “Mummy, Ella has a new Polly Pocket. Can I have one?”

Me: (feeling some sense of achievement that she has acknowledged my presence) “You can pick one thing for Christmas, honey. What did you do at school today?”

Daughter: (blank look) “Nothing”.

Me: (decide to change tact) “What did you have for school dinners today?”

Daughter: (face lit up like a Christmas tree) Fajitas! I ate it all. Yummy, scrummy!

So I decided that if I wanted to find out anything about what goes on at school, I should just be there when she is the most receptive: when her tummy is rumbling.

Being a dinner lady is easy. It only takes an hour of your day, and at our school you can be on a rota to go as little or as often as you like.

I bet your school is looking for dinner ladies, they always are. Go on, give it a go, and find out what really happens at your child’s lunchtime.

And have our conversations on the way home changed? No, not really ;-)

This post was written by Susanna, a Thames Valley Mums founder. You can also find her at her blog, A Modern Mother.

Photo credit: alex serge

A visit to Nirvana Spa, Reading

2010-03-31T21:37:28+01:00

This week, the very lovely Mr. B. took me to Nirvana Spa to celebrate our wedding anniversary (he also bought me smellies while we were there – how good is he?). After a day at the spa, I was feeling just about as mellow as you can get. Let me tell you about it...

Nirvana Spa is a day spa in Berkshire just outside Reading, a short distance from the M4, Junction 10. For me, it is no more than a 15 minute drive away – temptingly close. This is not the first time I have been (oh, no!) but every time I go, I feel refreshed and relaxed. It's a sure fire way to chill me out.

I am told (by those who are not allergic) that it is normally an incredibly mellow experience. On this visit Mr. B. had a 'Floatation massage' where he received a gentle pressure-point massage as he was floating there in the water. He found it relaxing, but not as invigorating as a traditional massage.

The thing I appreciate most about Nirvana spa is that they have several generously sized pools. I love swimming and I love pootling in water. I can't get enough of it. There is a huge hydrotherapy pool with wonderfully warm water and jets of numerous different types. A fitness pool where you can get your lengths in and a members-only pool. The centre-piece of the whole spa is the fabulous 'Roman Room' with a pool suitable for general-purpose pootling; surrounded by palms and loungers it is a place where you can sit quietly with a cuppa and enjoy the vast selection of magazines and papers.

Nirvana spa's unique selling point is their 'Floatation' experience. Lie back, chill out and float about care-free in a darkened room. The first time I tried it, I remembered all too late that I was allergic to mineral products so the salty, mineral-heavy water irritated my skin. The experience is really not very relaxing when you are trying hard not to scratch and not to bump into other people in the darkness. I am told (by those who are not allergic) that it is normally an incredibly mellow experience. On this visit Mr. B. had a 'Floatation massage' where he received a gentle pressure-point massage as he was floating there in the water. He found it relaxing, but not as invigorating as a traditional massage.

In the afternoon most guests head for the Nirvana Room for a bit of chill-out time. Rows of ergonomically-shaped heated beds fill the room which is silent but for the gentle trickle of the water feature and the occasional snore from someone who has chilled out a little too much! In the past, I've always wondered why anyone would pay for a day at a spa only to go and fall asleep on a bed... but I must admit that this time I did drift off while reading my book. Oops. On a totally different theme, there is also a small gym that guests can use should they have the energy!

If you live within a sensible driving distance then I would definitely recommend Nirvana spa for a relaxing pampering day with no pressure on you to do 'healthy stuff' or 'active stuff'. It is a great way to stay mellow.

This post is by Jumbly Mummy a first-time mum to baby Lara and approaching motherhood the mellow way - PMA, positive mental attitude! She's also a self-confessed software geek and has recently returned back to work after maternity leave. Her blog is Mellow Mummy.

Photo credit

Coffee mornings and threadworms

2010-03-19T17:08:37+00:00

I love coffee mornings. Women get together and discuss all sorts of things that they wouldn’t dream of mentioning on the playground or at a dinner party.

This week the topics drifted from Sarah Palin (the UK is actually frightened) to Jerusalem artichokes (I had no idea!) to threadworms.

My ears perked up when the discussion turned to threadworms. It’s one of those topics people don’t often talk about in public, like flatulence, headlice, and sex.

It turns out that threadworms (knows as "pinworms" in the US) are quite common in the UK, and most of the mums at the coffee morning had dealt with them at one point.

Oh, my.

A couple of my daughters have been complaining lately of itching “down there” and I had put it down to, how shall I say this, a lack of understanding on how to use toilet paper properly.

Maybe they had threadworms. Horror.

So I got the low down over a latte (and the BBC Health site).

Threadworms are spread through poor hygiene (i.e., not washing your hands after using the loo).
The main symptom is itching around the anus or vulva.
The female threadworm comes out at night to lay eggs around the anus – which is what causes all the itching!
You can find out if your children have them them with a “torch test” (shine a torch in the affected area after they are asleep) or inspect a nappy or the loo. Neither of these tests appeal to me. You can also do a “celephane test” -- in the morning stick a piece of tape around the anus to see if it picks up any eggs, but you will need a microscope to see them!
You can get rid of them by getting an over-the-counter drug from the chemist. A single does of an anti-parasitic drug, such as Ovex, should be given to the whole family (make sure you read the precautions in the paperwork). This kills the worms, but not the eggs. If symptoms persists, see your doctor, you might have to take another dose two weeks later after the eggs have hatched.

So, there you go. All you ever wanted to know about threadworms. And more.

This post was written by Susanna, a Thames Valley Mums Blog founding contributor. You can read more at her blog, A Modern Mother.

Photo credit: jsotelo

Passing on Parenting Tips

2010-03-01T23:17:09+00:00

This week, one of my bestest pals in the whole wide world announced that he is going to become a Daddy later this year. After a few hours of squealing with excitement, giggling to myself (my colleagues were giving me funny looks by this point) and generally smiling from ear-to-ear, I stopped to think about what advice I could offer a couple just starting out on their pregnancy and parenting adventure.

I could tell them to take advantage of any free baby bits and pieces they may be offered over the next few months. I could recommend they fill their freezer with lots of home-cooked meals (sans onion) to help them survive the first few days. I could scare them with humiliating stories of mummy-dom. I have lots of tips and advice on Mummy, Baby and Daddy products to buy (or not). But I don't want to overwhelm them with information at such an early stage in proceedings.

Perhaps I'll just recommend they do what we did – draw up a list of “stuff you want to do while there's just the two of you”. There's a tendency to focus too much on the birth of your first baby and to forget that up until that point you have the freedom to do whatever takes your fancy (within reason – I don't think I'd recommend bungee jumping) but that once your baby comes along, there are things you can only do with a lot of planning and/or a lot of confidence. I'll tell them to make the most of the next wonderful few months and to do all the things that they've been planning on doing for a while. For us it was:-

go for a spa day
watch a film at the cinema
see a West End show
go for dinner at a very posh restaurant
go for dinner at your favourite restaurant (posh or not!)
go on holiday, somewhere quiet and grown-up
play computer games (that was Mr. B, not me)

I think, looking back, the only thing I'd add to that list is “read loads of books because you won't get another chance for a while”.

So, what piece of advice would you pass on to some new parents-to-be?

My 10 most surreal mummy moments

2010-02-24T10:52:13+00:00

1. Opening my empty purse to pay for something in a shop and suddenly remembering all my cards and money have been pushed down the side of the sofa

2. Taking 15 minutes to get the children and myself ready so we can walk 40 metres to the postbox to post a letter

3. Having to read two books to two children at the same time

4. Stripping off a baby who's had a huge nappy explosion while wearing my most glamorous outfit at a friend's wedding

5. Getting my course notes out at an evening class to discover I can hardly read them because they've been covered in red marker pen

6. Having to explain to a three year old what his willy is for

7. Finding unrecognisable mouldy food under the TV stand

8. Having to climb up a slide while 38 weeks pregnant to retrieve a toddler who's got stuck

9. Finding myself a becoming an expert on the different classes of steam engines built by the Great Western Railway

10. Holding my newborn babies for the first time and feeling full of love, relief and amazement that we created them

This has been written for the Carnival being held at Wives and Daughters where entrants can win tickets to the Ideal Home Show.

This post is written by Emily O, I'm a stay at home mum to three children under five. My blog is babyrambles.

Middle child syndrome - does it exist?

2010-01-24T20:20:16+00:00

By having three children I've created - argh! - a middle child. I've heard it's not very nice being in the middle. My sister is a middle child and I asked her recently what it's like. Her reply began with "I'm not bitter, but..." In summary she said that the eldest one gets attention and the youngest one gets attention and the middle one doesn't because they're... in the middle.

Surely if you have three children then there's always going to be one left out? A lot of the time this could be the youngest because they're not old enough to do the things the other siblings do. But maybe this is compensated by the youngest getting more attention because they're the 'baby' of the family. Maybe an odd number of children is never a good idea? Maybe you should always aim for an even number? Maybe we should have a fourth? (little chance of that I think, husband has been mentioning the 's' word).

In design you're meant to have an odd number of items, eg three vases on the mantlepiece, five plants in pots, and so on. You're not supposed to group things in even numbers. So from a design angle, having an odd number of children is aesthetically pleasing. I think I'm rambling here.

I worry about Fington feeling left out because Podge dominates the conversation and Little Girl dominates the immediate attention. If she's bawling her head off I see to her first because it's horrible to listen to. Podge and the Little Girl look similar too: they both have olive skin, dark eyes and really dark hair. Fington is blonde and fair with green eyes. Like a Viking.

I'm very conscious of Fington suffering from middle child syndrome (if it does exist). So I make a lot of effort not to let him feel overlooked. The three of them are individuals and I try to spend unique time with each of them. My sister thinks middle child syndrome can be avoided if you do this, she told me that if I'm aware of it now that's half the problem solved already. I'll do my best.

This post is written by Emily O, I'm a stay at home mum to three children under five. My blog is babyrambles.

Snow!

2010-01-10T09:02:25+00:00

I have pretty much everything I want. Lucky girl. So, the only thing I asked Santa for this year was a White Christmas. I figured thin thighs and a flat tum would be beyond his magical powers. Especially in my condition.

I didn't expect to get what I wished for.

It snowed a few days before Christmas. Proper thick snow that fell 6 inches deep and stayed put. For days.

Els got really excited then realised that snow is horribly cold and hard to play with when a) you only have woollen mittens not waterproof ones and b) there's only your mum to play with.

After a few days of being cooped up at home, our travel plans disrupted due to heavy snow and not enough grit and salt on the roads, we finally ventured out en famille on Winter Solstice. It was a consolation for not being able to get to Sarada's solstice party.
We had fun throwing snowballs in the dark, and then decided to head for our local pub.

I treated myself to a Snowball of the Advocaat variety, and we listened to the locals tell tales of abandoned Beemers and Mercs strewn across Henley. We later found out that John Lewis customers in High Wycombe ended up sleeping overnight in the bed department!

The white stuff was everywhere, and has only just melted. It may not have been a White Christmas as defined by the Met Office, but I definitely got the Christmas pressie I asked for.

This post was written by Anna Colette, a Thames Valley Mum of one with another on the way. You can read more at her blog, Part Mummy, Part Me.

Something to do on a snow day...

2010-01-06T08:08:20+00:00

First, check out the best of the British Mummy Bloggers Carnival, it's up over at A Modern Mother.

And while you are reading blogs, your kids can do this:

Paper Dali.

It's a great site that features FREE historical paper dolls. Choose from Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Biblical Times, American Revolution, King Arthur or the Wild West.

They were created by a home-schooling mother who loves history and doodling. When she couldn't find any colouring books to go with the era, she created her own.

So check it out, it will surely kill at least a half hour...

And if you get bored doing that ... make snow ice cream!

There are ten more tips for educational snow activities here.

This post was written by Susanna, a London Mums Blog founding contributor. You can read more at her blog, A Modern Mother.