If I had three wishes

Three whole wishes.....1, 2, 3......un, deux, trois!!

It's really hard to decide, do I go with the World Peace type wishes, or do I go with the super selfish I'd-like-to-be-rich wishes??

Seeing as this is only hypothetical, I'll go with some of each:

1. World Peace - I wish we could live in a world where everyone accepted everyone else; racism, homophobia and prejudice was completely wiped out. There would be no violence, no fights for power, children were raised to love, not to hate.

2. All deadly diseases could be cured - HIV, Aids, Cancer, Heart disease....all cured!! No more suffering. No more watching your loved ones battle to keep their health. Medical advances are made every day, but I'd still like to give it that helping hand.

3. Never have to worry about my finances every again - I'm not talking about being a billionnaire, I couldn't spend that money if I tried, I'm the sort of person who instead of purchasing a dress for £150, would want at least 3-4 dresses for the same amount. I'd like to be in the position that I would never have to worry about paying bills, feeding myself and my children, clothing us all, maybe even throw in an annual holiday in the sun. It's very selfish I know, but they are my wishes!!

I'm linking up with 'The Prompt', so hop on over and see how others would make their wishes, or even link up a post of your own and share it with us.

Saturday is caption day

This photo was taken nearly a year ago, but I recently found it when viewing an old camera card and laughed at the faces pulled.

I would love to hear your captions.

Word of the Week

Education is very important, whether that is gained through Public School, Private School, Private Tutoring or Home Schooling, a good education is the most powerful tool we can give our children.

I'm forever drumming into my children to get their heads down and learn, if they're not sure how to do something, or don't quite understand what the teacher has just taught them, then it's always best to put their hand up and say so.

Every Friday, homework is handed out and each of my children know that when they come home, they cannot start their weekend until all of the homework is complete. They huff and puff and complain, but change their tune as soon as it's finished and they can enjoy the rest of the weekend and weekday evenings, without the Thursday homework deadline hanging over their heads.

This week was also School Report Week, I love reading their reports and the praise they receive from their teachers.

Damian always struggles with his school work, he's very intelligent, but his willingness to learn depends on the subject matter and whether or not it interests him. But give him a subject he is interested in and he will learn absolutely everything there is to know. He's currently being assessed on the Autistic Spectrum, so this could explain a lot. I will dedicate a post on this when I find the right words to explain the situation.

Erin, on the other hand, excels at everything she turns her hand too and no surprises, her school report was glowing. The grade 1 is outstanding.

I really don't mean to sound big headed, but she reminds me so much of myself at that age. She always asks me to write out maths sums for her to do, she loves reading as much as I do and she questions everything! Take today for example, she asked why a man was sitting on the floor in dirty clothes, I explained that he was homeless and didn't have a home to go to. This started a barrage of questions: Did he get cold? Why didn't he have a home? Where was his Mum and Dad? Where would he sleep if it was raining?

I thought this was a great opportunity to teach her about homelessness and how easily it can happen to anyone, I told her about shelters and food banks and homelessness happens to children too and that it's very important that we donate to these causes if we can. She was quite upset to hear that some children don't have homes of their own, so this may be an opportunity for some random acts of kindness!

I'm linking up with Jocelyn over at The Reading Residence, so why not pop over and share your Word of the Week.

Donating to Cancer Research

 As soon as you hear the word Cancer, you immediately think of death.

Although medical advances have been vastly improved and survival rates are on the up, the word 'Cancer' is still strong enough to instil a lot of fear in many people.

You can read all about the survival rates of Cancer here. But more needs to be done to beat this disease for good and that's why donating to Cancer Research is so important.

Over on Facebook, a campaign was started to share a #nomakeupselfie to raise awareness and to hopefully raise some much needed funds. No one knew how much this would take off until it went viral yesterday and has now raised over £1 million pounds. Source.

We all know somebody who has been affected by Cancer, so please please donate so we can kick Cancer's ass!!

Here's my donation.

You can donate online here. Alternatively, you can donate £3 by texting BEAT to 70099.

 

Review: Weekend Box

Just recently we were given the opportunity to review The Weekend Box.

Now, I'm sure by now, you'll have realised that Erin loves all things crafts, so to be asked to review a craft box was pretty much a no-brainer.

For those that would like more information about The Weekend Box, you can do so here.

The gist of the box is, there are 4 activities which come under the following categories:

Something to Cook
Something to Make
Something to Explore and
Something Green

The activities are aimed at children between the ages of 3-8.

As soon as the box arrived, Erin tore into it. She loved the bright colours and the little creatures.

The first activity we tried was Something Green.

Each activity came with its own instruction card.

It was definitely a good craft and game to play for St Patrick's Day.

The next craft was Something to Make.

There was some yellow paint provided but Erin wanted her birdie to be red. She really enjoyed this activity as she was able to do most of it herself, with very little input from me.

Most of the items needed to complete each activity is included, if not, it will mention on the instructions what you need to provide. I was very impressed with the quality of the box, it didn't look cheap and nasty with all the crafts thrown in as an afterthought, it was well thought out, with cheerful illustrations and good quality materials.

I would definitely recommend this box to anyone thinking of something similar.

If you'd like to try a Weekend Box, all my lovely readers have been offered a no obligation promotional code, which will give you your first box completely free (including delivery).

Your unique promo code is LAURA49 and can be redeemed at www.weekendboxclub.com

Word of the Week

Further to my previous post about 'Acceptance', this week is all about change.

Now that I'm making an almighty effort to accept myself for how I am, I've been making a few tweaks here and there.

First of all, I had most of my hair cut off, it was very long, but seeing as my hair is naturally curly, the weight of it was pulling the curls out. My hair is now shoulder length and the curls much more pronounced.

One side looks longer than the other, but that's because I have my head turned to one side (I've also had another inch or so taken of the length since this pic was taken).

Another change is to always look my best, this is for no other reason than how it makes me feel...For example, if I go out wearing a pair of baggy jeans and a shapeless top with my hair tied up and no make-up on, I don't feel very good about myself, I try to blend into the background, yet if like today I put on a pair of leggings with a dusky pink lace tunic-style dress and my new brogue heels, with my hair down and a touch of make-up, I feel much more confident, like 'Hey, look at me, don't I look great?'. Confidence is a great thing.

Not the best lighting for a selfie, but you get the idea.

It's little baby steps, but they are all in the right direction. 

Erin's Art & Crafts - Mini Creations

Saying that Erin loves Arts & Crafts is a huge understatement, she's forever drawing pictures, colouring in, making people or butterflies out of cardboard toilet rolls.

GL over at kidglloves has introduced a Mini Creations Link Up Party which is a fantastic opportunity for all of our children to showcase their Arts & Crafts.

This week Erin has made a windmill which came as part of her monthly rainy day box.

She also used some of her bug stickers to decorate the sails in the hopes it would attract some real bugs.

Then we put it out in the garden, she's very pleased with how it all turned out.

If you want to show off your own child's Arts & Crafts, why not pop over to kidglloves and join in.