family life

Pit & Peak Of The Week #2

March 15, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 3 Comments

Oh there have been a hard few days this week, it seems very fitting to remind myself of one good and one not-so-marvellous aspect of the past seven days.

Pit:

Ears.

Anyone who really knows us will be only too aware of the terrible times that The Boy suffers at the hands of his ears. Ever since his second Winter, he has been at the peril of many an ear infection, the climax of it came last year when we visited the doctor seven times. We were referred to an ENT specialist who informed us he had glue ear in both ears with a 10% reduction in hearing in his left ear and 5% in his right. Luckily once April arrived, his ears cleared up and I knew he'd be fine until November. [Read more…]

Pit & Peak Of The Week #1

February 13, 2014 by TheBoyAndMe 5 Comments

When I was browsing through links in a Facebook group last week I came across a post by a blogger called Lets Talk Mommy, who identified one high and low of her previous week. This idea really appealed to me as it is so easy to let the week go by without acknowledging one really good thing that happened, no matter how small. Likewise, it's also important to identify a little struggle or moment which could have gone better. As Meera Syal said, "Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee!"

Pit:

Without a shadow of a doubt, the pit this week has got to be the news about my teeth I received on Monday. I've got dreadful teeth; anything that can go wrong, does go wrong. I suffer from panic and anxiety attacks from it and have no confidence in my regular dentist. 16 months ago I had a broken, upper molar removed. The extraction took 90 minutes of pulling to complete, and it transpired she left a root in. It took a year to have an appointment back in the hospital to discuss the corrective extraction, and I had to wait two months for the appointment to have that done. At the same time as we discussed how it would be corrected, I was referred to a different department for corrective root canal surgery on another tooth.

I went for the appointment on Monday, thinking it would be done then but it turned out to be another consultation where they basically presented me with the revelation that there is virtually no point in having the corrective surgery as there is no opposing tooth (it was the one extracted), the tooth itself is too fragile to be successful, and that having had root canal surgery fail twice this probably wouldn't work. Plus it would probably be six months until I'm seen for the appointment, then two-three months of treatments to do it, and then a crown later on.

So I basically need to have this one out as well. On top of the wisdom tooth I'm having out in April.

I feel horrendous about it. I feel like a pikey who hasn't cared for their teeth. I'm devastated that I need to lose yet another tooth, but I cannot bear another nine months of this constant discomfort in my mouth, let alone the abscess which is damaging my jaw bone.

Definitely a big pit this week.

Peak:

With the weather as it is in Great Britain this week, it's incredibly difficult to identify a peak when the whole family are stuck indoors looking longingly outside. On the weekend I could stand it no more and in a break in the rain we togged up and went to Barry Island.

The wind was insane, but not quite gail force so we proceeded with caution. The tide was incredibly low, and the beach has a wide expanse of sand with no-one else on it, to run around madly on.

Which is precisely what we did.

For twenty minutes we ran around playing tag, chasing each other, making sand angels and then walking backwards (to avoid the hail which descended quickly) along the beach to the slope leading back up to the promenade. Definitely the best moment of the week!

Barry Island

Pit & Peak Of The Week

"Change The Page": Do We Need Graphic Images On Newspapers' Front Pages?

June 18, 2013 by TheBoyAndMe 7 Comments

I don't approve of violent toys, I won't allow them in my house.

The Boy was given some Playmobil pirate toys for his 4th birthday and I removed the swords, guns and canons before they were passed to him.

Am I over-reacting? Some may think so and that boys will be boys, I disagree.

I read a recent post about how we should allow children (boys in particular) to play with guns and swords as it allows them to process what they've seen in real-life or on the television. Why would my son see these? I don't have non-children's television on around him (apart from The One Show occasionally) and actually he doesn't like any form of malevolence or bad behaviour and asks me to turn it over.

I especially don't have the news on when he's around, and in fact why would I want to watch it anyway? It is full of death and destruction, wars, violence or critical analyse of a celebrity. Hardly the world I want to show my son, not what I want him to grow up in.

I can control that, yet what I can't control is what he sees in a supermarket or newsagent. I can't control the bloody images of dictators hanging or mutilated in death. I can't control the tabloids showing a man with blood-drenched clothes and a machete in his hand who has just beheaded another human being. And I can't control the thought processes that are then inflicted on my child and the nightmares that he then suffers.

Why is is necessary to show such graphic images?

OneDad3Girls has created an e-petition to ask the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to force change. To stop Newspapers from being allowed to print graphic images that can easily be seen by young eyes. To protect our young.

Please sign it here, it takes 20 seconds.

(Guest-Post) Five Reasons To Get Life Insurance For Your Family

August 10, 2012 by TheBoyAndMe Leave a Comment

When we bought our first house we realised how important it was to take our the appropriate insurances. We were incredibly cautious and went, potentially, over the top. However, I'm glad that we did because now we have The Boy we haven't had to adjust any of our policies. In this guest-post, the various insurances that are important for families.

It's no great secret. We all know, no one likes to talk about life insurance. Most people don't even like to think about life insurance. It brings up thoughts of all the bad things that could happen, and really, no one likes to dwell on those.

However, while we may not like to talk about it, life insurance does offer protection. And once you have a family to consider, you will know all about the importance of protecting those around you. Responsibility has a whole new meaning once you have a family of your own, and unfortunately, taking responsibility means planning for the bad things that could happen.

If you are still undecided on the issue of life insurance, here a few things for you to think about.

Income Protection

Life insurance is not just one standard product. There are actually many different types of insurance that are placed within the life insurance category (click here for more information). One of those types is income protection insurance. Income protection insurance is designed to offer you financial assistance should you be unable to work due to illness or injury.

Offering monthly payments up to 75% of your income, this insurance can help with bills, the mortgage, car payments, school fees or whatever else comes up. You can decide how much you want the payments to be, how soon after illness or injury you want them to start, and how long you want them to carry on for. Bear in mind that payments that start sooner, and last longer will usually result in higher premiums.

Accident or Injury Protection

Accidental injury protection is a type of life insurance that is designed to offer a lump sum payout should you be involved in an accident. You can usually decide on the level of cover you need, and you'll usually find that more serious accidents result in higher payouts.

The payouts can come in handy if the accident means you cannot work for a while, or if you need to pay for specialist care or treatment. It can also help if you need to make modifications to your house or car because of the accident.

Adjusting Slowly

When you think about your family having to cope without you, you can't just think of the emotional side, you also need to think of the financial aspect as well. Whether you are a working parent or a stay-at-home mum, the work you do every day is valuable to your family.

Life insurance offers a lump sum payout should you become terminally ill or die. Again, you can choose the level of cover you need. It can help to cover any debts that you have accumulated, such as a mortgage, personal loans, car loans, student loans, credit cards or anything that your family may struggle to pay if you were not here. Taking the financial weight from your family, can help them adjust without have to worry about money.

Cover Funeral Expenses

It's unfortunate but true, funerals are expensive. It is also true that most funerals are not expected. This means family and friends often have to find large sums of money at short notice – on top of the emotional burden they are already facing. Getting funeral insurance can help to ease the financial stress of a funeral, by offering a quick lump sum payout to help take care of funeral costs.

Insurance for your Child

While you may not have considered getting life insurance for your children, there are many insurers that offer this service. Some insurers offer a free child cover rider (or add-on feature), which offers cover for your children as part of your own life insurance policy.

This can offer financial assistance if something were to happen to your child. It can help to cover loss of income, funeral expenses, and everyday living costs at a time when the last thing you want to think about is money.