Oh My! Coffee Shop – 12/01/16

Posted on January 13, 2016 by katese11

ohmy8

I like to think that I am totally in tune with my readers. Like when it’s January and everyone is still pursuing their New Year’s diet, I write a post about Chingford’s Biggest Chocolate Brownie. But you know what else January is? It’s dark  and rainy and miserable and sometimes you just need a big brownie in a cosy cafe. Which is why we ended up at Oh My! in Chingford yesterday. Reuben, Eva and I all had a touch of the January Blues and I’d long heard of this happy place in Chingford Mount that served cake and had toys to play with. Could this be the place we were looking for?:

ohmy10

It was, and you can see Reuben here making the informed decision to head towards the cake rather than towards the “No Cake”. There’s a boy who’s in no need of a January diet. No, really.  There’s no fat at all on that boy and he pushes my Jewish Mother instinct into overdrive. Cake it was then.

ohmy9

We found a comfy squishy sofa and ordered some brownies and coffee. The kids went to play with the toys at the back along with a couple of others. I was shocked to turn round and see Reuben manhandling a much smaller child than him as the toddler tried to grab at the toys. So, naturally I told him to let go of him RIGHT NOW, at which point Reuben looked up from the toys he was quietly playing with in the corner. Turns out that a) there’s more than one child in Chingford with a dinosaur hat and b) the hat is the only way I can identify my first born. Parenting win.

ohmy4

Clearly, active parenting was not working out well for me, so I sat down and had my coffee instead. And, of course, a giant, giant chocolate orange brownie. I was halfway through before I remembered to take a photo, so I’m not sure this really sums up the scale of it:

ohmy3

But it was huge, glittery, warm and – as Reuben described it – “Double Triple Yum”. For those who aren’t mathmatically inclined, I make that 6xYum. Which is very yummy indeed. Apparently it was also gluten-free, so that’ s virtually virtuous, right?

ohmy2

As ever, we paid a visit or two to the toilets while we were there and I was happy to find reading material all over the walls, in the style of the Rabbit Hole. I was trying to work out what all the books were and think I saw some “Famous Five”, “101 Dalmatians” and something along the “Mallory Towers”/”St Claire’s”  kinda line. Am I right?

ohmy5

We’d gone to the cafe after school and it closed at 5, so we didn’t have very long there (plus Eva was entering her inevitable 5pm meltdown) but it was a good way to shake off the winter blues for a little while. After all, as one of the table signs said “It is a good day to have a good day”. And what makes a kinda poor-to-average day a good one better than a giant brownie? Double. Triple. Yum.

ohmy7

Posted in Cake and the finest wines known to humanity (eating out) | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sponsored Post – Should You Put a Limit on Little Ones’ Tablet Time?

Posted on January 13, 2016 by katese11

screen time 1

This is a sponsored guest post by Michael Peggs. The views do not necessarily reflect LWAT’s own.

There’s no doubt that tablets have made life as a parent much easier at times. Give the youngster a tablet on a long car ride and you’ll rarely hear a peep from them. Toss them the device while you’re doing chores in the same room and see endless questions drop 5000%. Of course with this beneficial technology comes a slippery slope to tackle – specifically, how much tablet time is too much? Here are some things to remember when it comes to determining whether or not to limit screen time for the kids.

Lead by Example

According to eMarketer, UK adults spent an average of 2 hours, 26 minutes each day with mobile devices in 2015, up 27 minutes from 2014 and an almost fivefold increase from 2011, when that figure stood at just 31 minutes. Remember, children take cues from their parents. If they see you staring at your screen, they are likely to mimic that behavior. “Imitation is vital to the development of abilities ranging from language to social skills,” explains Lisa Nalven, M.D., a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at the Valley Center for Child Development, in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Your kids will imitate you. Use it as an example for good!

 

Balance Is Key

A new TLF Panel survey conducted on behalf of kids clothing retailer Vertbaudet.co.uk found that four in five parents believe technology and gadgets are good for kids, aiding in their development.  Like everything else, balance is key. For every hour spent looking at a fantasy football or reality TV show website, there should be at least an hour of physical activity. You might also consider using the 20-20-20 Rule. Every 20 minutes or so, make your children take 20 seconds to look at something that’s 20 feet away. Suggest going a step further and walking to that object, thus incorporating physical activity multiples times each hour.

Finding balance and not spending too much consecutive time on the tablet is the healthiest rule for kids – even if it takes parental controls.

 

Tablets Are a Learning Tool, Too

It should be noted that tablets can be a very effective educational tool and not just a device to watch other people play Minecraft. According to an article in Gizmodo, 47% of teachers strongly agreed, and an additional 44% somewhat agreed, that students need digital literacy courses to be successful academically and beyond. Family reunion games and educational apps have been show to stimulate the brain in and outside the classroom, but once again balance is key. Even if a child is playing with school apps, actual human interaction helps to develop the social skills only teachable in the “real world.”

 

Create a ‘Tablet Time’

All parents understand the benefits of a routine and the importance of scheduling. Each day, set aside an hour for Tablet Time. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, children over the age of 2 should be limited to 1 to 2 hours of total screen time. It could be why mommy or daddy are making supper, doing laundry, winding down for the night, etc. but cordoning only certain sections of the day for tablet use will make the kids appreciate it better.

 

Michael Peggs is the founder of content marketing agency and SEO agency Marccx Media, where they specialize in SEO and Content Marketing. Before Marcxx, Peggs worked at Google in business development, forming digital media and advertising partnerships. He is also a blogger and podcaster, hosting the iTunes Top 10 New & Noteworthy podcast You University – The Personal Branding Podcast.

Posted in Facts! And facts are important! | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Ashes to Ashes, Funk to Funky

Posted on January 11, 2016 by katese11

Bowie1

It’s unusual for me to write about the death of a celebrity but I’m going to make an exception. Because today we didn’t just lose one celebrity, we lost several. The Thin White Duke, Aladdin Sane, Ziggy Stardust…with Bowie, so they all go. We were mourning the loss of someone who didn’t just write and sing some songs – he changed the way a generation felt about itself. And the generation after that. And the one after that.

We were about 25 years too late for glamrock. Of course, we were aware of Bowie because of “Labyrinth” and because our favourite bands talked about him all the time, but we weren’t there in 1972. It wasn’t until the late 90s that I started to actually listen to his music, and it was the night before a school trip to Berlin (appropriately enough) that I heard “Life On Mars”. And then I couldn’t stop listening to that glorious swooping…when I had to leave for Germany and didn’t have it on a tape to listen to, I felt almost bereft. But then I got into a conversation on the coach about Bowie with two people who I would soon become best friends with. It’s an exaggeration to say his music brought us together but the shared love of him didn’t hurt.

That was 1998. Later that year, the film “Velvet Goldmine” came out, which presented a fictitious version of Bowie, known as Brian Slade/Maxwell Demon. We all went to the cinema in full glamrock attire and fell in love with the whole stardusty scene. The next year, we hosted a glamrock party, which turned out to be That One Party You Shouldn’t Have Thrown. There may still be parents in that Hampshire crescent who have never forgiven us for it, and I don’t blame them. When you’re walking away the next morning saying “The fire was the least of our worries”, you know there’s something wrong. But look how cool Nathan looked:

Bowie2

It so happened that our sixth-form college at the time was embracing of all the freak, creeps and glitterkids but even that was due to Bowie’s legacy. If he had never put his arm around Mick Ronson on Top of the Pops, would teenagers  in the late 90s be happy to be openly bisexual at college? He paved the way for us to be whatever we wanted to be and to do it with style. If we could sparkle, he could land tonight.

I’m so far from alone in feeling his loss. His influence was everywhere – from the classic episode of “Flight of the Conchords” to his own appearance in “Extras”. My brother and I had a long-running argument about whether David Bowie did a prologue to “The Snowman” (he did) and “The Young Ones” taught me Bowie lyrics as soon as I could talk. Yet, he still seemed an enigma – something hard to define, and someone hard to fully understand. He truly seemed to be from another planet. Did he really just sing about “making love with his eagle”? (No) Or a “Leopard Messiah”? (No) Did he actually fall to Earth? (Possibly)

We’ll miss you Bowie, all of us. Even Eva seemed to be channelling a glamrock vibe this morning as she adorned herself with glitter and clasped her hands in prayer. And as for Roo, he visited the immortal Bowie phonebox when he was just three months old. Not that you can tell it’s him from this photo, but believe me it is.

Photo0258

Bowie was a man who was never afraid of a few Ch-ch-ch-changes and I’m sure he’s taking this latest one in his elegant stride. But the world will be more monochrome without him. To steal from Bunny’sMum: Goodbye Spaceboy.

Posted in Facts! And facts are important! | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Baby Regrets, 6 Years On

Posted on January 5, 2016 by katese11

tiny roo1

This evening, because I know how to party really hard, I’ve been clearing through the inbox of the babyledweaning.com Facebook page, of which I am a mostly absent admin. I’ve been steadily ignoring the messages building up there for months but tonight, with Nathan out, chocolate on hand and a solid 2 hours of “Don’t Tell the Bride” on TV, I decided to tackle it. Sweep out the cobwebs for the New Year.

It’s hard going but rewarding. Hard going because every message from an insecure first-time mum (and it is always mums) send me right back to being that mum, weaning my baby for the first time and having no idea whether I was going to make or break him with this head of raw broccoli I’d dumped on his highchair tray. I learnt as I went along – eventually, I even started cooking the broccoli – and I have no regrets about doing BLW at all. He still eats broccoli, as it happens, and has even been known to exclaim “Yum, broccoli!” as I put it into the basket in Tesco. Shortly before pestering me for some kind of Marvel-branded firearm. Public parenting points are easy come, easy go.

But it got me thinking about so much more than weaning. I started thinking about that whole first year with Roo and the things I regret about it. Because it was never perfect – he was never perfect and I was not even in the same room as perfection – and there’s so much I regret.

I regret constantly comparing him to other babies. Worrying about his size and how small he was. I regret not using my common sense and telling myself that a baby born out of the blue at 37 weeks would clearly be smaller than one that had had five extra weeks of gestating. I regret going to the Health Visitor so often and weighing him, tying myself up in anxious knots whenever we sat in that waiting room.

I regret obsessing about the way he was feeding and snapping at Nathan every time he suggested giving him a bottle of formula. I regret never hitting on that negative correlation between stress and milk production and even though I knew in my head that I needed to relax, not being able to do so. I regret not invoking that 37-week-get-out-clause again, logicking to myself that his arrival had been a shock to both our systems and that’s probably why my body wasn’t quite ready to feed him yet. I regret not forgiving myself for those first few stressful days once we were home and feeding was actually going fine so I had no real need to obsess over it. Yup, I regret that.

I regret just not appreciating him more.

I regret all the hours I wasted trying to get him to settle on his own when he clearly just wanted to be with me. I regret letting myself be spooked by childless friends and cautious medical professionals, all telling me of the evils of co-sleeping when really, if I’d done it properly from the start it would have been perfectly safe. Definitely safer than being so damn tired that  you fall asleep standing up with the baby, or on a sofa in the middle of the night.

But these regrets pass. You get to have a second child and correct the mistakes you made. The second child who arrives late, alert and ready to feed. The child who sticks to her 25th percentile even though you only weigh her once in a blue moon. The child who co-sleeps peacefully with you and lets you feel somewhere close to human again. The child who now strives to wreck all these precious baby memories by being a stroppy, melodramatic 3 year old who’ll only leave the house in a full length princess dress and a rucksack full of plastic tat.

Because once you’re through the baby phase, these great markers of parenting success – sleeping and feeding – start to fade. That baby boy is in Year 2 now and I don’t remember the last time his teacher asked me whether he sleeps through the night. (That’s a lie – I do remember it. It was a year ago when he told his teacher that he couldn’t do his literacy because “I didn’t sleep at all last night”. It was, sorry Mother, complete bollocks and his teacher recognised it as such)

Y’see they’re at school now and they have a million criteria to be measured against. They both have literacy targets (yes, even the 3-year-old) and numeracy targets and gross motor skills and reading challenges and songs to learn and stories to concoct and sports to show literally no talent at…the success matrix is now so dense and complicated that you just have to step back and concede that they’re generally OK, even if their dinner-eating skills are still “emerging” and their remembering-to-flush skills are “not yet mastered”. When yor child is just a tiny baby, all you have to measure them on is how well they sleep and how well they feed. If, like Roo, they’re not doing well on either measure, it’s easy to feel like you’ve failed.

True fact. I thought I’d failed parenting in the first 48 hours. But he still appears to be alive and he’s learnt to play X Box so, yknow, he’s thriving.

Not to say don’t be anxious about your child because that’s like trying not to think about elephants but just try and hold things lightly. Try not to have regrets. But if you do, be assured that they’ll seem a lot smaller in half a decade’s time.

tiny roo2

Posted in Rants | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Dear Father Christmas – 23/12/15

Posted on December 23, 2015 by katese11

santa

After some unseasonable warmth and some depressing drizzle,  the weather has finally rallied and produced the kinda cold blue skies that you want just before Christmas. Well,  not that cold.  But blue! Perfect for offsetting the Oxford St Christmas lights:

sant12

We were in Soho to see a rather magical Christmas play at Soho Theatre but more on that later.  First,  a wander down Carnaby Street where there were, as ever,  wonders to behold.  Like these giant chocolate coins in the window of Liberty:

sant10

And London’s campest Christmas decorations:

sant9 sant7

Purple and sparkly! Which meant,  naturally, that Eva and I both loved them. Reuben was more interested in the giant plug of Ganton Street:

sant6

All this was very sparkly window dressing to the main event – the morning show of “Dear Father Christmas“, an interactive Christmas play for 3-6 year olds. I have a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old so it seemed the perfect audience to try the show out on. It’s staged in the intimate space of Soho Upstairs and the kids sit on cushions on the floor:

sant11

 

As a wall of clocks showed the time all over the world, ticking towards 10:30 in Soho, an elf skipped around the room, chatting to the children and finding out what they wanted for Christmas. Another actor slumbered on the desk, despite Roo’s best efforts to wake him. We were in Santa’s postroom at the North Pole and Ella the Elf was our host for the next hour or so.

Now, my kids have certain expectations of theatre shows and one of the most important is audience participation. Luckily there was plenty of that. Reuben was the first to be called up to help, deftly extracting an advent calendar from under the hand of the sleeping man (Mr Tick-Tock, the clock-stopper). There was shouting, there was singing, there even was a ukelele as Ella and Mr Tick-Tock recruited the children to be elves and help to save Christmas. Us adults at the back had to be giants.

sant1

The story was simple – Santa was depressed because his polar bear friend had gone missing and the child-elves had to help any way they could. They started by sorting a pile of letters by colour into giant boxes around the room. Roo said that was his favourite bit and he was very fast at it. That was true – he was fast, but he may have grazed a few toddlers on his way. If that was your toddler, I do apologise.

Eva said she had two favourite bits – when Reuben went up to get the advent calendar and when the polar bear came back. Because yes, spoilers ahoy, the polar bear came back and there was a happy ending. I only tell you this because 45 minutes in, Eva was asking to go home because she was sad. Santa was unhappy, the elf was unhappy and Eva had what we might term “empathy overload”. As soon as the polar bear turned up though, all was fine with the world again.

Over-identifying aside, it was a jolly lovely show and a brilliant Christmas treat for my kids. It was pacey so they never got bored, the actors interacted well with the audience and the kids really felt involved. Reuben likes to feel involved. The songs were pretty, the changes of costume impressive and there was no chance to get restless – when they weren’t spotting polar bears, they were making paperchains or doing the SohoHoHoHoHoedown. The show is on for a limited period – it finishes on 2nd Jan – so if you’re in London over Christmas, I’d recommend getting down to Soho and catching a little of the North Pole magic.

sant5

Incidentally, Soho was nice and peaceful today, in a weird kind of pre-Christmas lull. We wandered about a bit afterwards and found this lovely owl-themed display in Accessorize, on the corner of Oxford Street and Soho Street:

sant2

If this sounds all far too idyllic then I’ll let you believe that it was. You don’t need to know about the disappointing visit to the shoe shop or the place Reuben insisted on going for lunch. But you do need to know that the Central Line is finally stopping at Tottenham Court Road again and we got to try out the new entrance:

sant3

 

This is a new mosaic, but fear not – the Eduardo Paolozzi ones are still down there on the way to the platforms. Roo, as ever, was overwhelmed with excitement:

sant4

I’ll leave it there, except to say a Very Merry Christmas to you all. See you in 2016!

sant8

 

Posted in Reviewing the Situation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sutton House’s Surreal Santa’s Grotto – 05/12/15

Posted on December 6, 2015 by katese11

sutt2

I like to think my kids have a certain amount of balance in their lives. I’ll give you an example – here’s the lunch Eva and I had yesterday:

sutt22

Vegan vegetable soup, hand-prepared by small children and cooked over a fire in a forest. Accompanied by freshly made bread, also prepared by children and also cooked over the fire. That was yesterday.

Today?

sutt1

Happy Meals in Hackney.

There were various reasons why we were hanging out in Hackney but they’d be tedious to go into, so let’s just say we were meeting two of Eva’s godparents, Ellie and Wiley, for a McDonalds and a stately home.

Hold up, a stately home? In Hackney? I was surprised too. When I first found out about Sutton House a few days back, I assumed it was somewhere distant and leafy. Sutton, maybe. But no, it’s just opposite Homerton Hospital. How have I never noticed this place before?

sutt9

This weekend they’re holding a Christmas event, billed as a Surreal Santa’s Grotto. Entry to the house is free for kids and a pound for adults and seeing Santa will cost you £3 per child. Pretty reasonable, really. Along the way there’s mulled wine, craft stalls and even some history.

We opted for the history bit first, given that Roo is totally into history at the moment. But turns out he’s only interested in the period around 1666, specifically in the area around Pudding Lane. He has a song about it. So we went into the Tudor cellar and Roo expressed some concerns about the floor crumbling because it was so old. We went back upstairs again. There we met some lovely ladies with some musical instruments and a puppet called Mr Otter. He was a friendly and inquisitive otter…some might say over-friendly (“Touch my fur!”). The entertainers were there to promote a production of the Snow Queen they’re doing in the house from 19th-23rd Dec. It’s an interactive theatre piece and sounds like a lot of fun.

sutt23

Having stroked Mr Otter at his command, we went in search of Santa and found him in the double decker caravan in the garden. How does a double decker caravan work? Well, that’s a good question:

sutt13

Just like that. We needed to register the kids in order to go into the grotto, so we followed Betty the Elf to the cinema room where we put them on the list and spent the few minutes’ waiting time slumped on giant cushions, watching Frozen.

sutt24

It was going to be hard to move them out of there but Santa’s quite a big incentive. Their names were called and we were off to the surreal grotto…

sutt3

 

It was pretty ornate as caravans go. I especially liked the fireplace:
sutt4

Santa chatted to them for a bit and was asked some awkward questions (“If you know where I live, why don’t you tell me now”) but luckily not by my kids. They each got a present and then it was out to play in the nearby play bus

sutt5

Where we all got a chance to be the driver:

sutt11 sutt10

There was also giant Connect 4 in the bus and some other play equipment. Outside, there was a pile of tyres filled with sand that you could lose an Eva in:

sutt16

Can you see her? Can ya?

At this point, we were feeling slightly chilly so it was appropriate that Frozen was the only thing that would get the kids back inside. They watched happily with a cup of popcorn until Eva got kicked in the eye by a toddler. So then we went upstairs, to the story tent where a book played a spooky rendition of “Jingle Bells” on repeat. It really gave the room an authentic Gothic Horror feel, especially as there were some flowy white dresses for Eva to try on:

sutt21

I think they looked better on Ellie, just because she really, really suited the Victorian Maid look:

sutt17

We also nipped up to the attic, which had housed squatters in the 1980s. They’d decided to preserve the squat, which was a touch surreal in the middle of a historical house. It’s not your typical National Trust property:

sutt18

But then lest we forget, we were still in Hackney and not in the middle of the countryside somewhere. Look, honestly, it’a London out there.

sutt15

It was 4 o clock and the kids were getting weary so we started to head home, skimming the craft stalls as we did. But what a quirky gem to find a few minutes’ walk from Hackney Central! The Christmas Fair is on again tomorrow (Sunday 6th) so go and see Santa while you can but if not, go and visit another time. It’s a bizarre place but lots of fun.

sutt12

 

Posted in Creating precious childhood memories or something (days out) | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Christmas Family Theatre Preview

Posted on November 19, 2015 by katese11

funz

I went to Costa today and  I swear to you, it was Christmas in there. They had a Christmas tree, Eva was eating gingerbread Santas and I sang along to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”. So don’t tell me it’s November.

In that spirit, I’d like to let you know about some lovely festive shows that are on in London over the next few weeks. And one slightly disturbing festive show. Yes, the good folks of “Funz and Gamez” have been allowed back into Soho and near children, despite the anarchy of last year’s show. If you enjoy wild games shows with depressed Uncles belching at your kids, you’ll love this. It’s on at the Soho Theatre from Sat 19 – Wed 23 Dec at 2pm & 4pm. Tickets and more information here.

Also on at the Soho Theatre is the very Christmassy “Dear Father Christmas” which sees Santa trying to sort out muddled presents, find a polar bear and save Christmas! It’s only on for a limited period – 22nd Dec to 2nd Jan – so book your tickets quickly! It’s suitable for 3-6 year olds and you can find out more here.

santa

Another big hitter for the 3 year old market is that queen of preschool TV…Peppa Pig! She’s back in the West End this Christmas, with “Peppa Pig’s Surprise” opening at the Duke of York’s Theatre from 18th Dec – 17th Jan. This production has all-new, life size puppets…have  a wee look here:

peppa

 

Eva was thrilled by the show last year and was still talking about it months later so it’s well worth it. She was 2 and a half at the time and definitely old enough to appreciate it. Catchy songs too…

For the older kids, there are some fab options too. “The Railway Children“, which I watched and sobbed through in the summer, has extended its run to 10th April. With a real steam train and a script that sticks faithfully to the book, it’s a classic and entertaining tale. Bring tissues.

rc3

Also good for older kids is the stage production of “Elf“, the beloved Will Ferrell Christmas film that brought “cotton-headed ninnymoggins” into our everyday venacular. It’s opened at the Dominion Theatre already and runs till 2nd Jan. The age rating is 4+ but with a run time of 2.5 hours, I’d probably be wary of taking a young 4 year old. Of course, the Christmas magic may well keep them quiet and entertained!

elf

Not strictly a Christmas show but intriguing nonetheless is “Snow White and the Seven Superheroes” which is on at the Millfield Theatre, Enfield from 7th-17th January. If there was ever a show that catered for my princess obsessed girl and my superhero obsessed boy, this’d be it, right? I know almost nothing about it so am hoping it’s not an “adult” show (Snow White does seem a bit skimpily dressed on the poster). I’ll report back.

While we’re on the subject of adult humour, let’s not forget that classic Christmas tradition – the panto. There are loads all over London, but I’m going to feature Hackney Empire’s “Jack and the Beanstalk“. Not just because it’s reputed to be one of London’s best pantos but also because it stars Clive Rowe, patron of the Walthamstow Acoustic Massive. I backing sang for him over the summer, so we’re practically bandmates dontcha know? True story  – the evidence is here. There’s also evidence of my ridiculous singing face, so enjoy that.

Finally, there’s lovely whimsical-sounding fun at the Unicorn Theatre, who are putting on two kids’ shows this Christmas – “The Snow Child” and “Once Upon a Christmas”. Both are suitable for around the 3-year-old market so I may attempt to take Eva to one. I’ve never yet made it to the Unicorn but have heard great things about their interactive shows and “Once Upon a Christmas” promises to be another treat.

Is that enough Christmas theatre for you yet? If not, fear not…I’ll be updating this as I hear of more. But start booking now…these will sell out fast!

 

Posted in Creating precious childhood memories or something (days out) | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Family Travel Show – 31/10/15

Posted on October 31, 2015 by katese11

fts14

 

This afternoon I experienced a little bit of deja-vu. Sitting on a bus on Kensington High Street, wrangling some giant balloon creations….weren’t we doing this last week? Why, yes we were but the run up was very different. Last week, we were considering yoghurt makers. This week, it’s holidays. We were scoping out the Family Travel Show at the Olympia Conference Centre.

Travel is all about discovery and adventure. And the first thing we discovered were the Green Park station toilets. We didn’t actually use them but I was pleased to find out where they were, after many failed attempts. As you come through the ticket barriers there’s a corridor directly opposite you that leads there but it’s hard to spot with all the people exiting left and right in front of you. Press on through the crowd and you’ll find the sign. You’re welcome.

If your ambitions stretch slightly further than a Piccadilly pee, then you’ll find lots of inspiration at the Family Travel Show. The first stall we came to was hosted by Carnival Holidays, who run fab, child-friendly cruises in the Med, the Caribbean and around America. They had a whole heap of inflatables for the kids to play with, including some palm trees and they took some Polaroids of us to take away:

fts16

They have a bit of a Dr Seuss theme to their ships and so had a guy dressed as the Cat in the Hat to entertain the children. Pity Reuben shouted “You’re not the Cat in the Hat” at him, repeatedly. Once again, Cat, I apologise.

The next people we chatted to – after leaving our things in the free cloakroom – were from the whimsical world of Efteling, a fairy tale theme park in the Netherlands. It was described as “more Hans Christian Anderson than Disney” but I was assured it wasn’t the ultra-dark side of HCA. More the talking trees, flying pots and pans side. Two stalls, two holidays I wanted to go on. Oh dear, am I a chronically easy sell?

fts9

Probably yes, because I fell in love with the next holiday option too – Martinhal Resorts in the Algarve. We went to the presentation in the theatre later on and learnt about all the things you could do there – the beaches, the kids’ clubs, the watersports – and gosh darn, I wanted to go. The villas looked amazing and they even offer a babysitting service so you can go out child-free in the evening. Tempting, huh?

fts8

Talking of child-free time, there was a complementary creche at the show, courtesy of Esprit Ski so we dumped the kids there for 2 hours and went off to explore on our own. First up was that Martinhal and then we wandered around and talked to some more companies, including luxury family travel operator Tots Too and the intriguing sightseeing/volunteering facilitators Hands Ups Holidays. And also Dogs Trust, who sympathised with me about the death of my sponsordog Spike a decade ago. I was touched but to be honest, I got over it at the time. I didn’t sign up to sponsor another one though.

What I did sign up to was buying some fudge. Yum Yum Tree Fudge were giving out free samples and while I can’t tell you what tree fudge is, I can tell you it was indeed Yum Yum. We deliberated for a long time before choosing a bag of peaches and cream. It was amazing.

Just time for another talk before picking the kids up out of their club. This was all about the beautiful country of Sri Lanka. I learnt a lot and it certainly looks like an amazing destination but, given that we’ve yet to leave Britain with both kids, it seems a tad ambitious for us. It’s still devloping as a tourist destination so I’m not sure it would have the chicken nuggets and CBeebies that my children seem to require. One day, maybe…

We picked the kids up and told them we’d spotted a balloon modeller back at the Martinhall stand. They obviously hadn’t had enough of balloon modelling last week as they stood in quiet awe and watched a speedy Mexican fashioning cars, superheroes and flowers out of balloons.

fts6

So fast his hands are a blur! I’m not even exaggerating! When it came to Roo’s turn, he requested a magni-pack to go on his back. I had no idea what that was, but the guy seemed to interpret pretty well, and produced not only a backpack with magnets on but also a sword and a shield. Reuben was very happy. Here, he’s striking a hero pose:

fts5

Eva requested something she’d seen on someone else – a fishing backpack with dangling fish in front of her face. While she was getting that made, Roo and I went off to do the reactions test at the Super Skills Experience stand. He made it onto the Top Gear-style leaderboard, on the basis that everyone made it onto the leaderboard. I think he was joint bottom with a girl called Sophie…co-ordination really doesn’t run in our family. We also tried out the slackline at the Family Adventure Holiday stall and he did try it across with only the two adults supporting his entire body weight and keeping him balanced. See that lack of co-ordination thing again.

A favourite spot over the day had been the National Geographic Explorer’s Corner. They had a dressing up box there, where Eva had unearthed a full Ariel costume, and an underwater tent to play in:

fts7

She later added a few more flower garlands, a swim ring and an inflatable fish to that outfit, as well as her fishing rod balloon. Then ran off giggling. Roo, meanwhile, was enjoying the photo frame and his new balloon-arsenal:

fts15

Roo passed up the chance to get his face painted for free, but Eva was convinced by the promise of something flowery:

fts13

I *think* this was courtesy of Wanderlust Magazine but I might be wrong. Either way, check out how very adorable she was once it was finished:

 

fts11

It was time to take this whole circus home. I panicked a little as I couldn’t find our cloakroom tickets but when we got back to the cloakroom, the lady had them at the desk for us. Apparently I’d dropped them a few moments after she’d given them to us and a cleaner had handed them back in. Doh!

We had all our stuff back and, with all the brochures and freebies we’d got during the day (pens! bags! sweeties!), it was an awful lot of stuff.  Both kids insisted on wearing their balloon creations all the way home:

fts3

 

fts12

 

Easier than it sounds when that involves a bus, two tubes and a train. And they were big creations. I’m happy to say we got back with them mostly intact though, just in time to finish this post the same way as yesterday’s post – with a sunset at Walthamstow Central. Awww…

fts1

 

Disclaimer: I received free tickets to the Family Travel Show for review purposes. All opinions remain honest and my own.

 

 

Posted in Creating precious childhood memories or something (days out) | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Shard – 30/10/15

Posted on October 30, 2015 by katese11

sha8

Of late, Reuben has acquired a new interest to go with all the other obsessions. He’s into London Landmarks. Is it because his mother’s a London blogger and has dragged him around the capital on blogging jaunts for six years now? Is it because he was born opposite Big Ben and was wandering down the Southbank as soon as he could toddle?

Nope. None of that. It’s cause he’s doing it as his topic at school. In fact, he refused to believe he’d ever been to a London landmark unless it was on a school trip. He told us all about The Shard as if it was something we’d never have had heard of if it wasn’t for him and his topic book. I had to show him this photo to prove him wrong:

SAMSUNG

This photo was taken the same month I started the blog – proof, if it were needed, that I actually had a toddler when I  choose this ever-so-specific blog title. You’ll note that The Shard in the background isn’t finished at this point – Roo’s childminder was near Borough Market, so he and Nathan used to walk past the the building site daily and see how it grew. So, it’s kind of appropriate that – thanks to the Year 2 curriculum – it’s now his favourite London landmark again. It feels like we’ve cycled round somehow.

For half term, The Shard was doing a “Kids Go Free” offer, which is a substantial saving considering 4-16 year-olds cost £24.95 if you turn up on the day. You can pay less if you book 24 hours in advance and the same with the adult tickets (£25.95 as opposed to £30.95) but I didn’t know we were going 24 hours in advance, so was stung for the full £30.95 at the door. I was a little surprised by the price – if it hadn’t been kids go free, it would cost us £87 to go as a family. That’s more than entry to Paultons Park and that’s got Peppa Pig World. The Shard was going to have to be pretty impressive to justify that kinda price.

sha13

I should probably point out that we weren’t going as a family, although many people made that mistake through the day. I was with H’sDada and H and it entertained us to see how many people thought Eva and H were twins. They’re the same age and they do look a bit similar so I can see why people kept asking us. It did confused Roo somewhat to be told to hug his Daddy during the obligatory pre-ascent photoshoot.

Ah yes, the photoshoot. Another way The Shard is keen to take your money. Like a theme park, your photo is taken on the way in and then you can buy it on the way out, with the whole “family” superimposed on a background of your choice – the view by day, the view by dusk, the view by night. We were still feeling a little wallet-sore after the entrance fee, so skipped out on that one.

It did give a real day-out feel to the entrance hall though, along with the airport security that made us feel a bit like we were on holiday. They had x-ray machines and everything. At one point H’sDada almost got wrestled to the floor for the sake of a 20p in his pocket. I only exaggerate slightly.

Once we’d cleared security, the ascent was fairly swift. It was one life to Floor 33, then another to Floor 68. Within seconds we were 244m above sea level and I was feeling mildly sea sick. I may have mentioned before that I’m not overly fond of heights. But for £31, I was not about to turn around quickly. We were seeing this one through.

And seeing stuff was pretty much what we were going to do for the next hour or so. Lots of stuff, from high up.

sha12

Yeah, it wasn’t the best weather for looking at views but it was good to be indoors.

You really could see for miles though – as far as the Palaces of Crystal and Alexandra. Look, here’s where we used to live:

sha9

Gratifyingly for Roo, we could see a lot of London landmarks. All of them in fact. There was a telescope that you could use to zoom in on details so Reuben used it to look at St Paul’s Cathedral, another primary-approved landmark. He managed to see it almost as clearly as he could just by looking through the window.

sha11

 

The viewing platform is 360 degrees so you can see all the London compass points and see the crazy way the Thames never seems to pick a direction and stick to it. We saw a lot of bits of London.

sha10

It was impressive but not hugely different from the view from the London Eye. I preferred the Orbit but then we only paid a pound each to go up there, so I was probably in a generous mood. If you want something similar for absolutely nothing, then get yourself admitted to the North Wing of St Thomas’. The 10th floor has a great view.

Next, we went a few more floors up to the open air platform on Level 72. Now, Reuben wasn’t keen on that platform. It was windy and chilly and I think he was scared he’d fall off the edge. Let me reassure you that his fears, as ever, are unfounded. You can’t fall off the edge. But you do get the feeling of wind in your hair and how very high up you are and…you’re right Reuben. Let’s go back down.

sha7

What’s that? A loo with a view? Don’t mind if I do.

By now, it was 11am and we’d spent an hour wandering around at altitude. It was lunch time and the kids were demanding, variously, ham toasties, hot dogs, beans on toast and sausage sandwiches. All of which might be a tough call in trendy-foodie Borough. After a few false starts, we chanced upon Cafe Rossi. It looked tiny from the front but had a seating area at the back, which was big enough to fit five of us in. And it had beans on toast and everything else the kids were demanding. It was cheap, massive portions, fast service and totally unpretentious. Sure it was lacking in a few frills -maybe some dressing on my salad or butter on my potato would have been good – but it was a good value meal for people who’d spent a bit too much money that morning.

All of which is why we decided to follow it up with a slightly more prententious ice cream in Gelato 3BIS in Borough Market. The kids had the unadvertised “baby size” cones, which came with a Mickey Mouse wafer and cost around £2.90. I was being good and dairy-free and only had a lick of Eva’s (strawberry, delicious). There wasn’t much in the way of seating but we edged a few folks out and managed to sit together long enough to eat. And slobber a little at the sight of the gelato cakes in the freezer behind us.

After that, we temporarily parted ways with H and her Dada, with a plan to reassemble at our old Kennington haunt, the Tea House Theatre. We went a slightly roundabout way, which involved more walking than I’d remembered but along the way, we found this giant marble “Make a Wish” artwork:

sha6

 

Then it was time for a quick play in the park next to the Tea House before the last mission of the day – pumpkin carving. TeaHouseGrace had put out an appeal on Facebook for children to come and help pile a stack of 20 pumpkins and who were we to refuse the twin bribes of free snacks and free entertainment?

Naturally, the adults ended up doing all the work with only the vaguest supervision from the kids. Reuben drew his design on and I cut it out but I’m pretty sure “Eva’s” counts as all my own work:
sha4

After all, just because it’s Halloween that’s no reason to abandon H&S and give the children sharp implements, is it?

sha5

Ah, maybe it is. Once we’d carved pumpkins and drank tea and played some more in the park it was getting dark and we had a long way to go home. The tube was calling so naturally, we had some tube cake:

sha2

…and emerged 30 minutes later to a glorious sunset at Walthamstow Central which I have almost completely failed to capture:

sha1

All of which, I think, made for a pretty good day out. Reuben declared it to be the best day of the week, which is high praise indeed. I’m still not convinced that The Shard was worth the entry price but if it makes him happy, who am I to place a value on it?

(His mother, that’s who. Don’t imagine we’re going back in a hurry Reuben)

 

Posted in Creating precious childhood memories or something (days out) | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Cancer With a Toddler – Holly’s Story

Posted on October 26, 2015 by katese11
20141209_184049

Holly after shaving her head

Let me introduce you to Holly. She’s been on the blog before, putting us up one Christmas in Germany and hanging out with us in London but this post is a little different. It’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in honour of that, I’ve invited Holly to share her story with you all. It’s searingly honest and I feel privileged to be hosting it. I’ll let her begin in just a second but first, a little about the person Holly, as opposed to the cancer patient Holly. Because, naturally, she is much more than her diagnosis.

I’ve known Holly for a long time. I met Nathan 18 years and 4 days ago and it wasn’t long after we met that he introduced me to her. We became part of the HollyNicky gang that is still knocking about today, albeit a little greyer than we used to be and with a few add-ons. There were wild parties, which gradually became less wild and now we all have kids they’re pretty wild again but in a different kind of way. I asked Facebook what our friendship with Holly looked like and it came up with this answer:

hollykate

Now, only a handful of these thumbnails actually feature me and Holly, but fbook assures me we’re both in there if you zoom out. One of them is definitely just Reuben but I think Holly’s back might be  in it too if you look carefully. So that’s Holly – teacher, mother, army wife, Brown Owl, Janet Impersonator and most recently cancer patient.

The last one of those took me by surprise one evening last November. Nathan was out at an engagement party, I was painting the lounge and watching Children in Need. My phone buzzed with The Message, I read it and felt sick. I didn’t know what to think at all. A mouse scuttered past and I only half acknowledged it – I just stood, roller in hand, and felt like the world as we knew it was changing. If that’s how it felt for me, how could it possibly have felt for her? Well, read on as I finally hand over to the woman herself to tell us what happened then and what happened next.  

LWAT: Thanks for sharing your story with us.  You’ve had a bit of a rollercoaster year – tell us,  briefly, what’s happened.

Holly: Thank you for letting me share. The main reason I want to tell a bit of my story is to help anyone else out there who maybe is about to start theirs and to remind everyone of the importance of checking themselves, so they know what normal feels like and persevering when they know something isn’t right with their bodies. 

My story started in July when I found a lump in my right breast. However it took several visits to the local Breast Clinic before I was diagnosed with a Grade 3 invasive Breast Cancer on November 14th 2014. The tumour was approximately 8-10cm to the touch and on ultrasound 5cm.

Since then I have undergone 6 rounds of Chemotherapy, a Mastectomy with implant reconstruction, 30 sessions of Radiotherapy and am now on daily medication to reduce the risk of the cancer returning. The medication only works post-menopause so at 36 I have my ovaries shut down through an injection every 3 months.

So, give us an idea of what your life was like before the diagnosis. You were quite low risk for breast cancer, weren’t you?

Yes – before I was diagnosed it had never really occurred to me that I was at risk. I checked myself occasionally but not regularly. I suppose I was more aware of the changes in my breasts as I was feeding my nearly 1yr old son at the time, and had been feeding for the previous 3yrs as I had breastfed my eldest son too. Strangely, I have a dark raised scab like patch of skin on my left breast that I have always kept an eye on – if it was going to be anywhere I had always thought it would be there.

So when the doctors reassured my the increasing in size and pain lump I was experiencing was likely linked to breastfeeding I really didn’t think anything of it. In fact, if I am being honest,  I wouldn’t have kept returning to the clinic if it wasn’t getting so excruciatingly painful to touch. I would have trusted the professionals who told me it was likely to go away when I finished feeding. I know it sounds dramatic but that pain most likely saved my life.

Describe those first few days after you were diagnosed. Did you feel like you’d been hit by a train?

I really did. I have described the realisation of the significance of that phone call to many people as like a Japanese Bullet Train through my kitchen. If I had been holding a wine glass or anything else breakable it would have been a perfect Hollywood slow-motion-smash-to-the-floor moment. I was dishing up dinner at the time so thank goodness I had put down whatever dish I was carrying when the phone rang. Obviously they don’t actually tell you on the phone and we weren’t waiting for worrying results. So, I was blissfully ignorant until the nurse suggested I really should bring my husband with me to the appointment the next day. It was the day before my eldest 3rd Birthday and we had a massive joint party organised for the Sunday so life carried on as close to normal as we could muster, and so begun life with Breast Cancer as a mother to 2 small boys.

How did your life change as you underwent treatment, especially looking after two children at the same time?

Life has changed in so many ways it is difficult to pinpoint exactly and even harder to explain really.  I have had to come to terms with a number of changes in my body physically and my way of thinking. I have made choices that have, at times, had to be selfish and therefore put more expectation on others to do jobs I think I should be doing, which causes immense guilt.

The main example is making the decision to let other people look after your children because the side-effects stop you feeling safe or able to do so. I have had to accept that it’s my husband’s turn to look after all of us and that it is OK to ask for help. This means that I miss out on adventures as he takes them to the beach, or to a museum so that I can rest. We chose for our youngest to start nursery earlier than he would have done, and to increase his hours as I got more exhausted.

As a result of the surgery I am physically weaker on my right side – for the 6 weeks after surgery I couldn’t lift or carry either of my children without risk of damaging the healing process. I am also more fragile – I live with fear of lymphedema (basically a build up of excess lymphatic fluid in my arm) due to the fact I had 3 lymph nodes removed during my surgery. This means I am more fearful of playing with my children. I’m wary of taking them to the park in case one falls from a piece of equipment and in catching them I injure myself.  The drug that is hopefully keeping the cancer from returning gives menearly daily headaches,  which doesn’t help with my patience. As a result, the children suffer again as I struggle to cope with the noise and chaos of a house with 2 toddlers in it.

There have also been some specific changes I’ve had to make – the first major one being weaning both my children. We had 2 weeks between diagnosis and my Chemotherapy starting. Two weeks to wean a 12month old who was feeding approximately 4 times a day. Whilst still in shock at the news,  I had to find the gentlest way to end my 3 year-long breastfeeding journey.

My eldest was only feeding occasionally but at nearly 3 he was aware that something was going on, so we had to explain the why Mummy had stopped making milk. Thankfully we where given a fantastic book called ‘Mummy’s Lump’ which has been so helpful for all stages of my treatment. I was reassured by many people how well I had done, the benefits the boys had had etc; and those came from a place of love – it was the first in a line of times when you realise our language is just not up to the job and instead you have to take strength from the intention. Somebody cares about you enough to try and make you feel better.

Holly and Miles at Christmas, after 2 rounds of chemo

Holly and Miles at Christmas, after 2 rounds of chemo

Then there were the effects of the chemo – losing the hair on my head, legs, underarms, pubis, eyebrows, eyelashes and face and the crazy unpredictable journey that my appetite and taste buds went on . The steroids that ensured my body was strong enough for the Chemotherapy also meant that things I used to love became bland, tasteless and even caused nausea. I remember a dinner at my husband’s work a week after one round where every mouthful of the meal was like eating nails made of sawdust!

However I also ate and ate and ate, resulting in +1.5st weight gain. You start to not recognise yourself on the outside, you start to not love yourself on the outside and to think that those who do find you attractive couldn’t possibly. This puts a further pressure on your relationships and personal life. Not only was I no longer fulfilling the role of a mother I expected of myself but also the role of a wife.

What was the hardest point of your journey?

That’s really hard to say so I’ll split it up. Physically the hardest part was probably recovering from surgery. I was very lucky that I didn’t experience any issues – no infections etc –  that the drains I had to carry around for the first week came out cleanly and the sites healed well. I am proud of my body for healing so well, however it has definitely taken longer than the initial 6wks.

I remember the first time I tried to take a bath, which was going to be more a sponge bath as I couldn’t actually get the scar wet. It was so painful trying to lower myself in and as for getting out –  well, there was no way any weight was going through my right arm. I was so scared of slipping & falling – needless to say I didn’t get into the bath again for some time.

Mentally I think Chemotherapy was the hardest, I had 6 rounds and you know that the week following is going to bring any number and manner of side effects. You have to be mentally prepared for whatever reaction your body is going to through at you; nausea to vomiting; diarrhoea to intense insane constipation; neutropenia, to name just a few. I think this is why I choose to shave my head. I wanted to take control – to know exactly when it was going to happen and not to watch it in clumps on my pillow. I also wanted the children to see it happen on my terms, not to worry or be scared.

Emotionally the Radiotherapy. This is the bolts and braces (technically I didn’t have cancer by then as the surgery had removed the remaining 5% that Chemotherapy hadn’t eradicated). However for 30 days, I had to drive to the hospital and be irradiated. My skin (again thankfully only mildly) was burnt, my breast swollen, and every day I was reminded not only how far I had come and what my body had been put through, but also how far I still have to go. It was a stark reminder that I wasn’t going to walk out the door on August 7th and be able to forget this ever happened. 

Last day of radiotherapy

Last day of radiotherapy

What was actually helpful to you?  No one ever knows what to say to cancer patients…what kind of things  did people say that were supportive and what wasn’t?

Again, what has been the most helpful has varied throughout the different stages of my treatment. I have tried very hard to keep life as normal as possible, but to do this I have needed friends to carry on as normal too. To invite me to coffee, to message me with their problems, to forgive me when I forget to do something I promised.

This hasn’t always happened, and this is not their fault but no-one knows exactly what to say and people are scared. When it has happened I have been so humbled by the support people have shown the faith people have in my strength and this has helped me to get up many many mornings. Other people have believed in me even when I didn’t. For me, it meant so much when people told me how well I looked – if I could look strong on the outside, then I was beating the turmoil on the inside. Practical help with childcare logistics, home-cooked meals and trips to the pharmacy have been invaluable. Gifts in the post that say “I wish I could be there but I am thinking of you” have brought a smile to my face.

I am not sure I could pin point anything that wasn’t supportive – it is hard when people try to sympathise with you and compare their pain, tiredness, stress etc to yours. That is not because I think mine is worse, but it wasn’t entirely helpful to either of us.. It was hope, distraction, purpose and empathy that were helpful to me.

How are you feeling now?  What does the future hold in terms of treatment/prevention?

Now I am feeling very numb, in limbo I suppose. I finished active treatment in August and medically, it’s kind of like I fell off the conveyor belt. You want so hard to return to normal – as you get closer to that final treatment date, you get more and more excited about it all being over. However you can’t just wake up the next day, brush yourself off and click your fingers. There are still side effects, my body is still recoveringand it is still getting used to the changes forced upon it.

I have to take a medication called Anastrozole daily,  which lowers the amount of oestrogen in my body, therefore reducing the risk that the cancer will return. In order for this drug to work, I have an injection of a drug called Zoladex every 3 months to shut down my ovaries and  induce the menopause. I will be on this course of treatment for at least 5 years. This has led me to consider an oophorectomy (have my ovaries removed) in order to take away the need for the Zoladex .

I am also facing a future where I am going to be double guessing every little change. At the moment I am not fearful the Cancer will return (I am very much in the “what will be will be” frame of mind). I just have had enough of doctor’s appointments, of hospital visits, of arranging childcare, of the disruption that this has all brought – I am very frustrated by the impact on our lives and so am very short tempered when anything goes wrong!

3 weeks post-surgery

3 weeks post-surgery

How have you dealt with running a business through this whole thing?

I have been a Consultant with Pampered Chef for nearly 3 years. It is a good fit with our Army lifestyle, as I can pick up and move it wherever we go. I was diagnosed 1 year after my second boy was born so I had been back to work, building up bookings and a customer base for 8 months. I knew that with the uncertainty of the Chemotherapy and surgery, I wasn’t going to be able to deliver what I had hoped so I had to cancel shows and watch the previous months’ hard work just fade away.
However having the business has been something of a lifeline during this. I have had the unwavering support of my family and would never compare it to them, but to be able to be something other than Holly-who-has-cancer; to be someone who can help others – whether that be to find a recipe or to suggest suitable product to purchase –  all this has given me a good distraction and made me feel sane. I have been able to make some money, money that I have been able to use to treat myself without feeling guilty that it is coming out of the family budget. I have met some good friends too – some people who have help me up and have given me their time. Even though they have never met me personally, they have always been at the end of Facebook chat – happy to talk about what I suppose would be the equivalent of office gossip and politics.
Pampered Chef has announced some changes though – tell us more about that and how we can help you go out with a bang.
October has been an interesting month for me with Pampered Chef. We are all still a little bit in shock that the company is to cease trading in the UK at the end of the year – this initially hit me harder than I expected. I realised exactly how vital it had been for me during my treatment – I was scared I was going to lose friends and lose part of that normal future I was dreaming of.
However October is also the Help Whip Cancer campaign, in it’s 16th year,  and so far Pampered Chef have raised over £1.5million for Breast Cancer Research and Awareness programmes by donating £1 for special pink products sold plus a % (15-25) of sales from dedicated Fundraising Shows. It has been interesting promoting a campaign that is so obviously close and raw but at the same time trying to remain objective, to ensure that my customers are not making purchases out of sympathy for my situation but to support the concept as a whole and because they genuinely want or need the items they have chosen.
I have also noticed  a certain anger amongst other ladies living with a diagnosis,  towards the “pinkification” of Breast Cancer and the ethics behind making money from fundraising which has been quite upsetting. I don’t understand getting angry at people trying to help, trying to make a difference; yes, Pampered Chef is a profit-making business but consultants take a reduction in their commission as part of this initiative, so it really does help to raise money and it is pretty selfless.

Please support Holly and the Whip Cancer campaign here!

Finally, Holly – any advice  you’d like to give to LWAT readers, based on  your experience?
There are probably any number of clichés I could come up with here. I would guess that almost everyone who is diagnosed thinks it will never happen to them, so the main piece of advice I would give is to make sure that you know and recognise the symptoms because it can happen to you. Visit www.coppafeel.org and sign up to their monthly reminder to check yourself. Make sure that if you are worried you go to the doctor, that you keep going back until you are satisfied with the answer. For those who find themselves in the same situation, there is no one way to deal with it, no one way to react. However I would say take all the love and support you can, say yes to offers of help, say no when you can’t do something and enjoy the moments that you can enjoy – they will be so very precious.
20150203_173950

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 4 Comments