Archive for May, 2007
Friday, May 18th, 2007
After (daftly) agreeing to a Doctor Who themed party by one of my children we actually came up with some good games.
If you ever wish to do the same then I am happy to pass on the following to you.
Emperor’s Dare (In this case relating to the Emperor Dalek)
For a few weeks before the party or event, save the inner cardboard tubes out of kitchen roll. You can decorate these if you like (we just used some tissue paper which was cheap and cheerful).
Get a large piece of cardboard (again maybe save some from an old box or from Christmas toys).
Make random holes throughout the cardboard large enough to be able to feed the cardboard tubes through, so that they will stick out more than two thirds at the front. If necessary sellotape them at the back.
In each of these write a ‘dare’ for the children to have to act out. These should obviously be suitable for their ages without offending or totally embarassing any of the children.
Examples:
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Shout out loud I am the prettiest girl in the world
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Tell the person on your right ‘you’re looking good’
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Tell a joke (if you don’t know one, use this one - what’s green and stands in a corner - a naughty frog!)
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Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in a mouse voice
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Pretend to be a frog and hop from one side of the room to the other
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Balance on one leg for 30 seconds
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Say the nursery rhyme Mary had a little lamb in a very posh voice
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Act like a rabbit and say “hey I’m bugs bunny, what’s up doc"
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Turn to the person on your left and say “I’m so very pleased to meet you” in an robot voice
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Stand up, put your arms out wide and say “I’m a tree, hug me”
Start with the Birthday person and let them choose first. Then get that child to nominate the next person and so on.
GUESS THE DOCTOR WHO ALIEN
The BBC website have some great pictures that you can download. All you need to do (providing you have a colour printer) is download the pictures, save them and print.
Tip: To save toner if you have a software package that will allow you to take out some of the background colour, reduce the image size and crop, then it may be worth your while to edit the pictures in this way.
We used a roll of cheap lining paper and cut a piece large enough to stick on 12 pictures with blu tack.
Don’t forget to write out labels with the characters names on as well.
There are two ways you can play this game. Either get the children in two groups to identify, from scratch, the names of the characters and see how many they get right. The group with the most right obviously win.
Or, give them the labels and again in two groups time them as to how quickly they can match the character label with the character picture.
Tip: To save any unfair advantage, while one group has their turn, don’t let the other group watch.
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Friday, May 18th, 2007
So where was I . . . . oh yes, so we now have a temporary accountant, which is better than none at all.
Friday was spent building a TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space in case you’ve ever wondered what it stands for) in our porch. Why, because if you’ve read my blog before you may recall I agreed to organising a Doctor Who themed party for my eldest son’s Birthday party.
I’d bought some cheap lining paper and duly spent Friday morning painting loads of paper blue. I then covered up all the windows in our mainly glass porch, added a few windows and the police notice and hey presto a TARDIS.
Okay so it was my interprepration of a TARDIS and I had comments ranging from "what’s with the blue porch" (my next door neighbour), to people who guessed it was a TARDIS (but only when they got up close).
I didn’t take any photos of it unfortunately or maybe fortunately, but my son loved it, so I didn’t care.
My son and I came up with some cracking games for it which I’ve put under articles if you’re ever interested in doing a Doctor Who party.
I have to say the party was great, the girls were much better than last year and overall the whole event went well. Even the weather was brilliant. In amongst the very wet weekend, somebody in the heavens was being kind to us and ensured that neither the party nor the rest of the day were wet.
I have to say though with all the preparation for this party, plus my son had some friends stay over and we had relatives visit the next day to say I was tired for work Monday was an ‘under exaggeration’. (New term there, not even sure if it’s in the dictionary!).
I’ve been carrying out a job that involves spreadsheets and over 900 records that need amending on the computer. During the afternoon I could feel my eyes going. As I face a window and there weren’t many people in I just closed my eyes for a couple of seconds.
Trouble is I must have gone out like a light in those milli seconds because the next thing I know my head is jerking upwards in that nodding dog kind of way. It happened a few times and each time I sneakily looked around in case anyone thought I was having some kind of seizure.
I pretended to be looking around and made a few movements in an exaggerated way so that it seemed normal! What was I thinking? There is nothing normal in your head lolling around while you’re at work now is there?
This has never happened before and thankfully no one seemed to notice. I did have to get up from my desk and walk away just to liven myself up.
You can tell how tired I was. When I was settling the children down for the night one of them asked for a cuddle, so I said "just 5 minutes then". Two hours later I woke up. Hey Ho!
And finally, the next morning we had a duck land in our garden. This seems to happen this time of year and previously we’ve had a pair of ducks waddle down our road looking for food.
Anyway I threw some bread out and took a photograph of him. But, as I didn’t know how to turn the flash off, he was entirely unimpressed with me trying to act like paparazzi that he flew off.
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Wednesday, May 16th, 2007
I’m sure like most people, the pictures of little Madeleine are haunting me. I really hope and want her to be found safe and sound.
On the BBC website tonight is a link for a fund that has been set up called Madeleine’s Fund Leaving No Stone Unturned, details of which are at www.findmadeleine.com. It’s opening Thursday 17th March for payments to be made through banks to help fund the search.
They also provide the details for people to pass on any information however small or seemingly insignificant.
From outside of the UK please contact Crimestoppers on 00 44 18 83 73 1336
If you’re phoning from within the UK contact 0800 555 111
Wishing Madeleine a safe return to her parents.
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Monday, May 14th, 2007
I don’t know where last week has gone, but it seems like months since I sat down at the computer. It’s been a bit full on in different ways, some stressful, some fun and most of it just tiring.
Where shall I start? How about the fun. I spent a wonderful evening on Tuesday in the company of my good friends. Five of us met up for a meal, cuddle and damn good laugh to celebrate a Birthday.
It’s so refreshing to be with people where you can say literally anything and feel comfortable with it. And that’s why I usually feel very relaxed after meeting up with them. No strained conversations, no wondering if I’ve stepped over the mark. Just good conversation, fun and putting the world to rights.
I must admit I was a little tired on the Wednesday at work. And I did think the tiredness had affected my ears when my manager, a woman, passed wind in front of me, out loud. There were four of us including our manager standing together and I did feel like shouting it wasn’t me while doing the secret finger pointing at her back.
Maybe it’s one of her tactics to do it near others, so no one really knows the truth. Hmmm . . . . good idea. Better than my going into the filing room, because you can be followed in and there’s no way of passing the buck, if you know what I mean.
Thursday bought with it some of the stress I mentioned. We had an appointment with the bank and despite being told that we could remortgage in order to sort a few things out, when we actually spoke to the mortgage department they said no. Apparently for personal loans, temping work can be taken into account as an income, but if it’s a mortgage it doesn’t.
The woman on the phone in the mortgage centre said the contract could come to an end at any point. But in this day and age there is no job security for anyone, so to me it’s a bit of a Dickensian attitude. Never mind, we were no worse off than when we walked in. It seemed like a good idea and because the woman in the bank had said we had enough income to remortgage, the outcome was a little disappointing.
It’s another case of call centre mentality, when one part of the business doesn’t know how the other part works.
Also, Thursday night, we met up with a potential new Accountant. He sounded nice enough on the phone and we had been told he was affable. We duly went round to his house and met his wife, who was lovely and with whom I chatted to quite easily. The woman needs a medal as she childminds for 20 children! Not all at once, obviously, but goodness how organised do you have to be to do that? I have trouble with three.
Anyway the first thing that struck me was how he reminded me of John Travolta. It was probably the black hair, 
white suit and disco ball in his hall!
Okay I am joking but not about the reminding me of John Travolta which my husband also agreed with. Anyway we found out about each others backgrounds and at the end of the evening we asked him if he wanted to think about taking us on as clients and he readily agreed to looking after us for the next year to see how it goes.
When he asked us if we wanted him to be his accountant, my husband and I looked at each other, stood up and sang "You’re the one that we want, you are the one for ooh ooh ooh sonny".
Sorry, couldn’t resist that one. :-) So that was one stress crossed off my list apart from having to actually sort last years accounts out now!
Part 2 later . . . . .
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Monday, May 7th, 2007
We seek feedback right from when we are young. It starts off with us finding out what our parents think of the pictures we draw, the stories we make up, how we look, dress etc. It continues into life when we start socialising and working and looking for affirmation from our peers. It’s all around us, it’s part of our daily life.
We probably don’t associate the word feedback with these activities. We’re not usually looking for criticism, constructive or otherwise, but this has to be part of the process, if we want honesty and openness from people.
If we are asked to carry out a task be it in the home or work environment we need to know that what we have done is right. This can normally be aided by having been given clear, concise goals or objectives and knowing what the outcome should be.
However, if we are the ones to provide the feedback there are techniques to soften how we do it. At the end of the day feedback is a way of letting others know how effective they have been in what they are trying to accomplish or how they are with others. It should provide an opportunity for learning but remember no matter how you give it, people can still react in a negative way.
There are plenty of articles you can read on feedback, the following are just a few tips for delivering feedback based on experience(s).
Deliver feedback in an encouraging manner
You may have heard of a feedback sandwich. Start off with a positive statement, deliver the critique (or negative feedback) you need in an encouraging manner and finish off with a positive.
For example: You may have asked someone to complete an article for you, but after reading it you feel you need to re-write most of it. You can’t just say this is rubbish. A nicer approach would be:
"Thanks for taking the time to do this article. I’ve had a read through it. I’m not sure it meets all the objectives of the article so I may have to tweak some of the information you have provided. . . . Thanks for getting it started for me."
A lesson here is to ensure you have thoroughly prepared that person for what you need.
State exactly what you are giving feedback on
You need to tell the person what it is you are giving feedback on ie a piece of work, their behaviour or dress standards etc. Be clear.
Be sensitive to the needs of the other person
If you know the person well or manage them, you should generally know how they like to be spoken to. Some need the softly, softly approach, others you can be a little more direct with.
Ensure that feedback focuses on behaviour that can be changed, rather than the personality of the person
Don’t be rude or insult the person you are giving feedback to. You should not attack the person’s personality for example saying “you really are stupid”. You need the feedback to have a positive effect. It could be that the person continually hands work in late. You need to focus on that and look at how this can be changed. Open questioning is a good way to do this, how, why, what type of questions.
Give feedback at an appropriate time and as near in time to the particular event as possible
If you have to deliver negative feedback, make sure you pick the most appropriate time. A word of advice don’t do it at the end of the day, especially if you know that person has had a fantastic day. You will bring them completely down. Of course if it’s positive feedback, then add it to their feeling of greatness!
If it’s behavioural feedback make sure you do it as close to when it happened or it will lose its power.
Ensure the feedback is well thought out and not impulsively given
Take time to think about how you need to give the feedback and what on. You need a clear head and not waffle.
Feedback must be of value to the person receiving it.
The end result of giving feedback is so that people can learn from it and still be motivated to carry out further tasks.
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Monday, May 7th, 2007
Every now and then a little gesture from someone can lift your spirits and hopes in fellow humans.
If you are a fan of gardening programmes you may have heard of Christine Walkden who fronts the show Christine’s Garden. It’s just finished but was on a Friday night on BBC 2 and I have to say it was a very down to earth, good natured gardening programme.
The children had discovered the programme while staying at their nans. My youngest son loved the programme and after the last series had finished I found Christine’s website so he could have a look at what she does.
He asked me if he could write her a letter, so under my supervision he sent her an email.
Imagine our delight and surprise to find that she wrote back with a very nice email answering all his questions. She also apologised for missing his Birthday as she had received over 2000 emails.
If it can take a programme like this for my son to to have an interest in gardening, then bring on more like it. And because of it she now has two more fans.
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Sunday, May 6th, 2007
I am sure most people will have heard about the abduction of little Madeleine in Portugal. It must be every parents nightmare.
Whilst I’m sure we all have our own thoughts on the situation the bottom line is, it’s a terrible and heartbreaking situation to have to endure and our hope is that they find her alive and well.
So why bring it up on the blog. Because of something that happened this afternoon when we decided to visit our local Toys R Us to buy our eldest son a bike for his Birthday.
As we pulled up into the car park we noticed someone had left a hand written note under the back windscreen wiper of a car already parked near us.
As we drove past the car to reverse into our spot I noticed the first part of the sentence read "Leaving a baby crying . .." I didn’t get to read the rest.
My intention was to sneak over and read the rest, but as we were getting out of our car and sorting our own children out safely, a woman and a girl about 12 were racing back to the car that had the note under the windscreen wiper, with their trolley.
My husband heard the girl say "oh no" when she read the note, but not knowing what was written on it, I can’t comment why she said oh no. They shoved their shopping in the car and drove off.
We hung back to watch the car leave the car park and to our horror realised that the note had, as we suspected, referred to the fact that while they had been in the store, they had left a young child in the car unattended!!!
It left us cold and quite frankly stunned. With the main story in the news being as it is, and to be honest even without that story, when will people realise they should never leave young children alone in such a potentially dangerous situation especially out of sight.
Should we have taken a note of the number plate? Should we have reported them? It happened all too quickly for us to make that decision especially when we were ensuring our own family were safe in a busy car park and we only glimpsed the young child in the car when they drove out past the store.
I can only hope that the fact that a note had already been written and left meant that somebody had taken details down and frightened them.
In this case, the child was lucky.
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Friday, May 4th, 2007
WWW.PINKCHAMPAGNEANDAPPLEJUICE.COM
Goodness me, this is the first chance I’ve had to get onto the blog.
We’ve had a week and a half. Our stress levels peaked a little this week, but thankfully NatWest proved themselves yesterday and spent 3 hours sorting some problems out for us. Well done to the lady we saw. It was obviously meant to be as she had had people cancelling their appointments who were due after us, which meant we didn’t have to rush.
My hormone levels are up and down again, if I’m not starting the menopause then I’m a monkey’s uncle. (please no comments!). I’ll have to try out the evening primrose that I’ve been recommended.
We’ve spent most of today at hospital for six monthly check ups that two of our children have to attend.
Finally, I’ve actually spoken to a potential accountant who sounds really nice on the phone and who we are going to talk to next week.
I’m being brief because the most exciting thing that is happening is at 3.00 this afternoon when the Pink Champagne site opens.
Please take a look, it’s well worth it.
WWW.PINKCHAMPAGNEANDAPPLEJUICE.COM
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