Category: Views & Ramblings

1. How to find the positive in every day.

   Posted on 3:11pm Monday 13th Mar 2017

   “Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” This is a really famous quote from Helen Keller and I am a big fan of her mindset. Helen Keller, left blind and mute after an illness at the age of nineteen months, proves that attitude, and a refusal to accept life in "the shadows" can change challenges into inspiring achievement.

   

   It is well known that I gave birth to my youngest daughter at home, on the sofa, by using hypnnobirthing techniques and a positive mindset but not everyone is able to do that. We had so many people say "what if this happened" or "what if that happened" but I never once chose to dwell on the potential negative elements of our birth choice and always strive to find the positive in every situation.

   So how can you stay positive all of the time? It is sometimes just about the little things. Here are our 5 top tips.

   1. Share positive vibes with someone else as what you send out you tend to get back from the world and the people in it. I have a friend who openly says she comes round to my house for a cuppa and a dose of positivity, so it does work.

   2 . In the words of Helen Keller, "keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows", embrace natural light and allow more light into your home. A dark room can bring a mood down, so adding aVELUX to a room can improve the natural lighting and uplift your mood. 

   3. Learn to accept criticsm for your own personal development, rather than taking it as a negative. (this one is easier said than done).

   4. Start your day in a good way. Prepare what you can the evening before as if you start your day rushing around then your stress levels can increase and this lets negative thoughts in.

   5. Accentuate the Positive. Do you remember that scene in The Jungle Book where Baloo breaks into a song about staying positive?

   You’ve got to accentuate the positive
   Eliminate the negative
   And latch on to the affirmative
   Don’t mess with Mister In-Between

   He was a wise old bear!

   Life will continue to present us with negative situations because well, that is life. It is up to you as to how you choose to react to them.

   What are your top tips for keeping your face to the sun?

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2. Why do we give things up for Lent?

   Posted on 11:08am Monday 6th Mar 2017

   My friend and I were discussing giving things up in March the other day and she was telling me that she was doing "DECHOX". DECHOX is a nationwide sponsored challenge to give up chocolate for March and raise money for life saving heart research, which is obviously a great charity to support. However, I simply replied that I was giving up chocolate for Lent and she asked why, so I thought that there must be so many people that say they are giving up things for Lent, without actually realising why we are doing it. 

   There is so much more to the religious celebration than ditching chocolate or other bad habits before Easter, but what exactly is Lent? After you have eaten your Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, the 40 day fasting period (not including Sundays) before Easter. The 40 days of Lent are meant to represent the time that Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness ahead of his ministry.   

   

   The season of Lent does not include Sundays but most believers will still stick to a humble lifestyle on Sundays during Lent.

   This year, Lent begins on Wednesday March 1 and ends of Saturday April 15, one day before Easter Sunday. It is worth noting that the dates are dictated by the lunar calendar and change every year.

   In the end, everyone makes their own choices regarding their faith but Lent is a chance for people to follow Jesus’ example and give up vices in a bid to grow closer to God as Easter approaches.

   Have you given up anything for Lent, Dechox or any other reason this month?

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3. Why writing a will is important for your children

   Posted on 3:17pm Thursday 23rd Feb 2017

   I was watching one of the those daytime TV programmes the other day (whilst taking a well deserved break from the laptop of course) and the subject of what happens to your children when you are gone was being debated. Although death is a part and parcel of life, it's not often talked about around the coffee table. As inevitable as getting out of bed in the morning, the question remains as to why we’re always planning what we’re having for dinner tonight instead of planning for what’s happening to the things we care about the most once we’re gone.

   

   Taking the time to write a will, clearly defining your wishes is one of the most important things you can do, especially for your children. Wills aren’t just there as written expressions of how you want the family home, or assets divided up, but they also clearly define your intentions for who will look after your children in the event of your death. Writing a will is a decision that many of us find difficult but a will provides clarity for whom you are leaving responsible for your children’s well being, defining the person, or people, who will be guiding them into the future in your absence. 

   

   A lack of planning now can result in even more distress and anxiety for your loved ones at a time when you’ll be unable to help. So make the time to write your will today, safeguarding and protecting your children for tomorrow. 

   Katie Price was a panelist on the daytime TV show I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post and much like her, I need to sort my will out to safeguard my girls futures ..... although I suspect my will may be a little less complex than hers!

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4. The 5 Reasons To Love School Uniform

   Posted on 11:51am Tuesday 14th Feb 2017

   I was standing at the school gates today with some of the other mums and we were chatting about the school uniform and how despite carefully looking after it since September, it is starting to look a little tired. Thankfully Easter is not too far away and we can bring out the summer uniform which is much lighter (and takes much less effort to get ready as it is non iron).

   

   My eldest daughter cannot wait to get out of her uniform immediately after school but after being asked to look at this by 4imprint, we found that there are reasons to love school uniform. Here are our Top 5 Reasons To Love School Uniform.

   1. Everyone is the same and it creates a feeling of equality. It doesn't matter who has the best trainers or clothing, in school everyone looks the same.

   2. Apparently wearing school uniform helps with attendance (who knew).

   3. Reduces the cost of buying clothing for school and having to replace it regularly with the latest trends.

   4. Own clothes days are then extra special

   5. Most uniform shops now offer "non-iron" options! (Time saving for mums and dads)

   

   Thankfully most UK schools have a school uniform policy but when our children leave school many of them will have jobs that require certain clothes and uniform. In addition you then have celebrites that wear printed t-shirts  to support their charitable causes, so uniforms never really leave us after we leave school.

   So whilst I do love my children wearing uniform, it doesn't define them as a person but a "non-iron" uniform certainly makes for a happier mum on a Sunday afternoon!

   Collaborative post.

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