Well - what can I say, I had planned to write a helpful article with helpful advice on travelling with a baby.
I'm sure I still have some helpful hints, but at the end of the day our little boy was a perfect little jetsetter!
We had all the little details thought out, food and diaper supplies, some favourite toys and as it was a night flight we had a story book. Whilst it meant some uncomfortable positions for us to sit in we held our little one who probably on and off slept for 5 of the 7 plus hours of flying.
About 20 minutes before take off and before making our descent we gave him 1ml of baby tylenol, which may or may not have helped! On the way down I kept his soother in his mouth (normally only part of his bedtime routine) and the sucking action may have also helped - as we both felt the pressure in our ears.
We were lucky that he was great and bore the journey very well. I sadly do not have any advice on how to hold a baby and eat plane food - so many attractive little plastic dishes for a baby to play with!
By the power of a few cat naps during the first day we were able to keep his body clock roughly on track which made settling down at our destination so much easier!
All I can say is we were lucky, we can only hope for an equally manageable journey home, watch this space!
Breadwinner and Breadmaker
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Wonderful Charlie Doherty
I read an article about an amazing little boy Charlie Doherty who at the tender age of 4, after seeing news coverage of the boxing day Tsunami - decided he no longer wanted birthday or Christmas presents but wanted instead the money to go to Charity.
Seven years later he is still doing this and also doing separate fundraising which he does to support Mary's Meals which provides "school feeding projects in communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from gaining an education." For just 1.5p they can feed a child for a day!
In 2008 Charlie's fundraising achievements earned him more recognition and a nomination for Britain's kindest kid award.
His more recent fundraising efforts are creating lots of media awareness. I made a donation yesterday, whilst I am pleased to see his funds have gone up sine then, it is only by less than £400 - which given the notoriety I am surprised it isn't more. But all of it is just fantastic for a boy who is still only 11.
What if he inspired ten more, twenty more, a hundred more boys and girls to be as selfless and relentless as he is!
Go for it Charlie - I hope you reach your current target!
Seven years later he is still doing this and also doing separate fundraising which he does to support Mary's Meals which provides "school feeding projects in communities where poverty and hunger prevent children from gaining an education." For just 1.5p they can feed a child for a day!
In 2008 Charlie's fundraising achievements earned him more recognition and a nomination for Britain's kindest kid award.
His more recent fundraising efforts are creating lots of media awareness. I made a donation yesterday, whilst I am pleased to see his funds have gone up sine then, it is only by less than £400 - which given the notoriety I am surprised it isn't more. But all of it is just fantastic for a boy who is still only 11.
What if he inspired ten more, twenty more, a hundred more boys and girls to be as selfless and relentless as he is!
Go for it Charlie - I hope you reach your current target!
Overcoming limiting beliefs - part two
so this turned into a 2 parter, but that wasn't the original plan, well here it is part two:
I hope you enjoyed the video clip of the first 20 minutes of the secret! It can either be a life changing film, or not - that's down to you. There are so many more routes to source similar information. One good way is to google the people from the film, or contact us and we will gladly point you in the right direction!
So back to overcoming limiting beliefs, the main underlying issues are a lack of self-confidence, not knowing about the law of attraction (see film the secret), poor time management or poor goal setting. Note goal setting – they need to be feasible, achievable and measurable – I find putting a time limit as part of my goal is key, then to try and break it down into workable ‘chunks’. For example if you set a goal – to learn a language, go on to define it:
I wish to learn Italian – to a conversational level, by the end of the year. In the first three months I wish to be able to introduce myself, ask directions and order food. In the next three months, be able to tell the time, use phrases and sentences…. At the end of the year I wish to take a holiday to Italy and feel comfortable in day to day situations in shops, restaurants etc.
To overcome your negative beliefs you first need to figure out what they are exactly – the best way is by writing them down. It’s harder to face when they are written down, but you can get surprising results when you do. These beliefs are not true and you can change the beliefs that you have about yourself – honestly!
Look at your list and now try and create empowering beliefs, start with the things that you are proud of or feel you do well then, change your limiting beliefs into positive ones. Try to only use positive language – your mind does not recognise the word not.
As an example of this concept - if you are holding onto the thought ‘I do not want to be late for work’ the not effectively gets lost and so ‘I want to always be on time/ early for work’ is the mindset you need and how you need to approach this task.
To then actually replace how you think about yourself takes time, think of it as an ongoing project. For me I felt a difference inside of two weeks, but really saw and recognised a difference in 2 – 3 months. Spend a little time on this every day.
Whilst you don’t have to put post it’s on the mirrors and doors in your house with positive messages – it is a very low cost, low tech and if you feel comfortable with it, effective way to go. Something I have done and loved doing (I cannot remember where I read/ heard this so cannot correctly share the credit) – every time you go through a door frame – lift yourself a little higher. What I mean is – start with a door frame in your house at a time where you won’t be disturbed, take a deep breathe, let go of all negative thoughts, think positive, calming ones. Hold your head up high, think about strong body posture and then mentally stretch yourself another ½” taller. In your minds eye every time you pass through a door remember posture, hold head up high and think positively. I hope I have done this concept justice here as I say I really like this.
Consider downloading some power affirmations, I did this and then put them on my ipod which I listened to every night – even just ten minutes a night would be a fantastic investment, I’m a light sleeper and found it very hard to sleep so I would probably be listening to 50 minutes worth a day. To spend an hour a day on a creating a new life/ new mindset is an excellent use of time!
Whilst you should make an effort to hold these positive thoughts and take time to work on your beliefs, don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day – that defeats the purpose, just get back on track. There are some wonderful empowering videos on you tube and here are a few for you, once you look at one – other links are offered for others, choose those that work for you download them and watch them over whenever you feel the need. They are brief and so you can even use headphones at work in your lunch break (if your company rules permit.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irxDtMwGwh8
I watch this when someone has got me very angry and I need to turn my anger around (as it only eats up the person holding the emotion!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4zWBHFCmXM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrvC6bezy7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia5nAojCFGM&feature=fvw
Spend time on holding positive thoughts and emotions every day - about yourself and the world around you. Even just put on a favourite piece of music when the world is getting you down, see how it makes you feel.. hold onto that, try to expand on it.
Use what works for you - meditations, affirmations, yoga, release techniques, etc or.
Start paying attention to positive events, don't focus on the negative ones – there is positive experiences from every situation, you need to look for the lesson, the opportunity.
Don't expect the miracles happen overnight, this is the best quest you can go on!
Try to spend time around positive people, try to either cut loose, or at least in the short term - avoid the negative people, or at least those who make you feel bad about yourself. "What if they are family?" This is the hardest part. It depends on the relationship you have with them, personally if you can just avoid them until your mindset is 'stronger' then do so, or you could consider explaining I am choosing to focus on the happy, positive side of life and is this conversation is not going that way - I am going to excuse myself from it. Also you could try passing on your skills, things you've learnt to keep a positive mindset. I did this with the key ‘negative ninny’ in my life, it worked for 2 weeks and was lovely. Then well they chose to go back down the negative path. Not a problem, but I'm not going that way and I maintained my work on my own mindset and did not let it divert me from my chosen course.
Limiting beliefs can stem from childhood events, or just from day to day actions and self doubt, don’t dwell on why you have them, just on how you wish to be, to feel without them and strive for it.
I’ve tried to keep this short and have so much more to say on this and this will link to an upcoming article on Fibromyalgia. However I am not diverting away from my core 21st Century mum topics, this is something that affects everyone and we should all be free from our negative emotions and beliefs in order to be the best we can be, the best parent, partner, brother, sister, employee, friend, neighbour and so on.
Hopefully this has been of benefit. :)
I hope you enjoyed the video clip of the first 20 minutes of the secret! It can either be a life changing film, or not - that's down to you. There are so many more routes to source similar information. One good way is to google the people from the film, or contact us and we will gladly point you in the right direction!
So back to overcoming limiting beliefs, the main underlying issues are a lack of self-confidence, not knowing about the law of attraction (see film the secret), poor time management or poor goal setting. Note goal setting – they need to be feasible, achievable and measurable – I find putting a time limit as part of my goal is key, then to try and break it down into workable ‘chunks’. For example if you set a goal – to learn a language, go on to define it:
I wish to learn Italian – to a conversational level, by the end of the year. In the first three months I wish to be able to introduce myself, ask directions and order food. In the next three months, be able to tell the time, use phrases and sentences…. At the end of the year I wish to take a holiday to Italy and feel comfortable in day to day situations in shops, restaurants etc.
To overcome your negative beliefs you first need to figure out what they are exactly – the best way is by writing them down. It’s harder to face when they are written down, but you can get surprising results when you do. These beliefs are not true and you can change the beliefs that you have about yourself – honestly!
Look at your list and now try and create empowering beliefs, start with the things that you are proud of or feel you do well then, change your limiting beliefs into positive ones. Try to only use positive language – your mind does not recognise the word not.
As an example of this concept - if you are holding onto the thought ‘I do not want to be late for work’ the not effectively gets lost and so ‘I want to always be on time/ early for work’ is the mindset you need and how you need to approach this task.
To then actually replace how you think about yourself takes time, think of it as an ongoing project. For me I felt a difference inside of two weeks, but really saw and recognised a difference in 2 – 3 months. Spend a little time on this every day.
Whilst you don’t have to put post it’s on the mirrors and doors in your house with positive messages – it is a very low cost, low tech and if you feel comfortable with it, effective way to go. Something I have done and loved doing (I cannot remember where I read/ heard this so cannot correctly share the credit) – every time you go through a door frame – lift yourself a little higher. What I mean is – start with a door frame in your house at a time where you won’t be disturbed, take a deep breathe, let go of all negative thoughts, think positive, calming ones. Hold your head up high, think about strong body posture and then mentally stretch yourself another ½” taller. In your minds eye every time you pass through a door remember posture, hold head up high and think positively. I hope I have done this concept justice here as I say I really like this.
Consider downloading some power affirmations, I did this and then put them on my ipod which I listened to every night – even just ten minutes a night would be a fantastic investment, I’m a light sleeper and found it very hard to sleep so I would probably be listening to 50 minutes worth a day. To spend an hour a day on a creating a new life/ new mindset is an excellent use of time!
Whilst you should make an effort to hold these positive thoughts and take time to work on your beliefs, don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day – that defeats the purpose, just get back on track. There are some wonderful empowering videos on you tube and here are a few for you, once you look at one – other links are offered for others, choose those that work for you download them and watch them over whenever you feel the need. They are brief and so you can even use headphones at work in your lunch break (if your company rules permit.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irxDtMwGwh8
I watch this when someone has got me very angry and I need to turn my anger around (as it only eats up the person holding the emotion!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4zWBHFCmXM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrvC6bezy7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia5nAojCFGM&feature=fvw
Spend time on holding positive thoughts and emotions every day - about yourself and the world around you. Even just put on a favourite piece of music when the world is getting you down, see how it makes you feel.. hold onto that, try to expand on it.
Use what works for you - meditations, affirmations, yoga, release techniques, etc or.
Start paying attention to positive events, don't focus on the negative ones – there is positive experiences from every situation, you need to look for the lesson, the opportunity.
Don't expect the miracles happen overnight, this is the best quest you can go on!
Try to spend time around positive people, try to either cut loose, or at least in the short term - avoid the negative people, or at least those who make you feel bad about yourself. "What if they are family?" This is the hardest part. It depends on the relationship you have with them, personally if you can just avoid them until your mindset is 'stronger' then do so, or you could consider explaining I am choosing to focus on the happy, positive side of life and is this conversation is not going that way - I am going to excuse myself from it. Also you could try passing on your skills, things you've learnt to keep a positive mindset. I did this with the key ‘negative ninny’ in my life, it worked for 2 weeks and was lovely. Then well they chose to go back down the negative path. Not a problem, but I'm not going that way and I maintained my work on my own mindset and did not let it divert me from my chosen course.
Limiting beliefs can stem from childhood events, or just from day to day actions and self doubt, don’t dwell on why you have them, just on how you wish to be, to feel without them and strive for it.
I’ve tried to keep this short and have so much more to say on this and this will link to an upcoming article on Fibromyalgia. However I am not diverting away from my core 21st Century mum topics, this is something that affects everyone and we should all be free from our negative emotions and beliefs in order to be the best we can be, the best parent, partner, brother, sister, employee, friend, neighbour and so on.
Hopefully this has been of benefit. :)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Overcoming limiting beliefs - part one
Reading a friends ezine recently I was reminded of the (negative) power of limiting beliefs. She had set the mindset that she would not be able to have a 3rd child as travelling between the family home in California and relatives in Canada was hard enough with 2 kids, when her husband was working, to do so with 3 would be impossible, whilst thinking this recently at the airport she ran into a mom with 3 kids who's husband worked for the airline and her kids were used to flying and were perfectly fine.
It's amazing what we tell ourselves and therefore believe!
There are those who are given the diagnosis of something like Lou Gehrig's /
ALS Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and who refuse to accept it's fate and instead as with the very famous Stephen Hawking (who has lived with it for over 40 years) go on – believing that they can!
Whilst perhaps not everything is just as simple as mindset - it can play a massive part in it! People getting lost in the wilderness - some don't survive 24 hours others can be found weeks later... did mindset play a part, did the belief they would survive assist their survival - I say yes.
I will give a personal example of where I was a) able to overcome a hurdle with my mindset and b) where it didn't 'work'.
Firstly I had suffered with arthritic pains in my joints starting with my knees when I was 15 - reaching it's worst they day I tried on my wedding dress and my hip joint caused me such excruciating pain - I wanted to cry! Anyway I finally pushed my doctor and after some time ended up receiving the correct diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. There are those who don't believe in it and I understand that, I have every intention of writing a full article on this in the near future, however - in short, with some reiki some positive affirmations playing on my ipod every night and a general change in mindset (I believed I did not have to live with pain and well I didn't!)
So fast forward to when I fell pregnant - I was self employed and knew how important not suffering morning sickness would be to my ability to function and get my work done. I downloaded something to my ipod that was supposed to help overcome/ prevent suffering of morning sickness. Whilst I honestly think I believed it should work and maybe I picked the wrong thing, or maybe it was just my path - but boy was I sick, the WHOLE way through my pregnancy!!
I’d like to give just one more example, this is another positive outcome of really applying your thoughts and actions towards your positive desires. I had a great sales career - it was something I fell into and turned out to be good at and enjoy (although I was never keen on office politics and I could not suck up to the bosses to save my life!) anyway... I always wondered what I would be able to do after becoming a mom - for years this sat at the back of my mind. I'd want to work and well I like sales!
So when I met my now husband and was in a great job (again apart from the darn politics!) I wondered then what was possible. In the back of my mind I thought - what if you could be freelance - just like a freelance writer, but who has ever heard of a freelance sales person?! Right, me either!
I didn't even know it existed, but I wanted to do it, even just for a year - to see if it were possible and something I could do later in life when needed. Well a year later, right about when I was bored at work (12 months into any sales cycle, all targets exceeded, hmmmppff nothing's new!..) I was about to go away on holiday and was not looking forward to coming back to work afterwards and through a friend of a friend I'd heard about a Scottish magazine dying to get a decent sales person, so keen were they, they were considering someone who could work remotely, on a freelance basis. Ta dah! Now the down side of this opportunity was that it was to be commission only. I'd worked hard and saved well, so I knew I could cover the bills for nearly four months and so took the plunge!
Well fast forward (yes I am fast forwarding lots!) through some lean months - that magazine did not work out, but that's another story, also another client went belly up and owed me a months earnings, but anyway. I started making enough money to scrape by, then over time the quality of contracts that I got offered improved, word of mouth kicked in and then I found a client that I have now worked with for almost four years - just one day a week, working as his entire sales team! Now here I am working around my son, from home and still loving it, I get to work on new projects - which keeps things fresh and I can schedule my life around work.
But coming back to the objective - to overcome the beliefs that limit us, restrict our potential, make us fall short of living the life we want to live - I'd like to provide some help. Firstly please don't go quitting your jobs on a whim, research, plan, save and most of all HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, if you plan a career overhaul!
Having continued on from here and seen how lengthy what this short pep talk has become - I'm going to have to turn this into a ‘two parter’, can you bear with me? Come back in a day for part two? I hope so - it will be worth it.
Before I go here is a clip from a movie that I discovered when I made a very positive decision to work on my thoughts - The Secret. I frequently send this clip to anyone I think needs a cheer up!
I hope it's the best 20 minutes you've invested in your life, even if you've watched it before, go on do it again. It peps me up every time I watch it!
It's amazing what we tell ourselves and therefore believe!
There are those who are given the diagnosis of something like Lou Gehrig's /
ALS Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and who refuse to accept it's fate and instead as with the very famous Stephen Hawking (who has lived with it for over 40 years) go on – believing that they can!
Whilst perhaps not everything is just as simple as mindset - it can play a massive part in it! People getting lost in the wilderness - some don't survive 24 hours others can be found weeks later... did mindset play a part, did the belief they would survive assist their survival - I say yes.
I will give a personal example of where I was a) able to overcome a hurdle with my mindset and b) where it didn't 'work'.
Firstly I had suffered with arthritic pains in my joints starting with my knees when I was 15 - reaching it's worst they day I tried on my wedding dress and my hip joint caused me such excruciating pain - I wanted to cry! Anyway I finally pushed my doctor and after some time ended up receiving the correct diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. There are those who don't believe in it and I understand that, I have every intention of writing a full article on this in the near future, however - in short, with some reiki some positive affirmations playing on my ipod every night and a general change in mindset (I believed I did not have to live with pain and well I didn't!)
So fast forward to when I fell pregnant - I was self employed and knew how important not suffering morning sickness would be to my ability to function and get my work done. I downloaded something to my ipod that was supposed to help overcome/ prevent suffering of morning sickness. Whilst I honestly think I believed it should work and maybe I picked the wrong thing, or maybe it was just my path - but boy was I sick, the WHOLE way through my pregnancy!!
I’d like to give just one more example, this is another positive outcome of really applying your thoughts and actions towards your positive desires. I had a great sales career - it was something I fell into and turned out to be good at and enjoy (although I was never keen on office politics and I could not suck up to the bosses to save my life!) anyway... I always wondered what I would be able to do after becoming a mom - for years this sat at the back of my mind. I'd want to work and well I like sales!
So when I met my now husband and was in a great job (again apart from the darn politics!) I wondered then what was possible. In the back of my mind I thought - what if you could be freelance - just like a freelance writer, but who has ever heard of a freelance sales person?! Right, me either!
I didn't even know it existed, but I wanted to do it, even just for a year - to see if it were possible and something I could do later in life when needed. Well a year later, right about when I was bored at work (12 months into any sales cycle, all targets exceeded, hmmmppff nothing's new!..) I was about to go away on holiday and was not looking forward to coming back to work afterwards and through a friend of a friend I'd heard about a Scottish magazine dying to get a decent sales person, so keen were they, they were considering someone who could work remotely, on a freelance basis. Ta dah! Now the down side of this opportunity was that it was to be commission only. I'd worked hard and saved well, so I knew I could cover the bills for nearly four months and so took the plunge!
Well fast forward (yes I am fast forwarding lots!) through some lean months - that magazine did not work out, but that's another story, also another client went belly up and owed me a months earnings, but anyway. I started making enough money to scrape by, then over time the quality of contracts that I got offered improved, word of mouth kicked in and then I found a client that I have now worked with for almost four years - just one day a week, working as his entire sales team! Now here I am working around my son, from home and still loving it, I get to work on new projects - which keeps things fresh and I can schedule my life around work.
But coming back to the objective - to overcome the beliefs that limit us, restrict our potential, make us fall short of living the life we want to live - I'd like to provide some help. Firstly please don't go quitting your jobs on a whim, research, plan, save and most of all HIT THE GROUND RUNNING, if you plan a career overhaul!
Having continued on from here and seen how lengthy what this short pep talk has become - I'm going to have to turn this into a ‘two parter’, can you bear with me? Come back in a day for part two? I hope so - it will be worth it.
Before I go here is a clip from a movie that I discovered when I made a very positive decision to work on my thoughts - The Secret. I frequently send this clip to anyone I think needs a cheer up!
I hope it's the best 20 minutes you've invested in your life, even if you've watched it before, go on do it again. It peps me up every time I watch it!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Recharge yourself
It is one of the hardest things I find to do - take time to recharge my batteries, but when I do it is oh so great.
Before I became a mom (mum to the Brits - I have to put this in for my sister) I still struggled to make 'me time' - or at least in the way most people see it... slow down to recharge etc.
I did once join a yoga class and when it came time to renew for the next semester the instructor asked me "did you think yoga is the right activity for you?" Once I got over the embarrassment of the situation - I realised she made a good point, whilst I enjoyed the hour quietly and gently going through the stretches and poses - I would always arrive at the class with about 60- 90 seconds before it was due to start and once the lights came on at the end I would spring up like a newborn gazelle and be racing out the door to start work on the to do list that had popped into my head whilst in the peace of the class room! (I later took up tai chi - a bit more me, but I still only ever made it to the class with 60 or so seconds to spare, but at least I wasn't disrupting the peaceful buzz in that room!)
Anyway fast forward I am a work from home mom with a constant to do list - I don't begrudge the daily laundering of cloth diapers, the making of my every meal for my son, teaching him sign language (as a pre-verbal communication skill), using elimination communication (early potty training more to come on this), plus some a bit of daily spoken French - to help his language skills, as well as normal play dates, attending local baby workshops, baby play time with blocks, rings and all good things!
But every now and then you can get to saturation point, sometime literally as well as figuratively - I'm thinking of post Christmas with sickness and tummy bugs, but anyway! Yesterday I just needed some mommy free time, so after my wee one went to bed and his dad and I had eatendinner and despite the falling snow outside I pressed on and went to the movies and saw Little Fockers - good movie, good to get out for a bit of me time.
Today is a new day and I am invigorated for having had the break, which is good as tonight I start 'the packing' for our upcoming trip!
Before I became a mom (mum to the Brits - I have to put this in for my sister) I still struggled to make 'me time' - or at least in the way most people see it... slow down to recharge etc.
I did once join a yoga class and when it came time to renew for the next semester the instructor asked me "did you think yoga is the right activity for you?" Once I got over the embarrassment of the situation - I realised she made a good point, whilst I enjoyed the hour quietly and gently going through the stretches and poses - I would always arrive at the class with about 60- 90 seconds before it was due to start and once the lights came on at the end I would spring up like a newborn gazelle and be racing out the door to start work on the to do list that had popped into my head whilst in the peace of the class room! (I later took up tai chi - a bit more me, but I still only ever made it to the class with 60 or so seconds to spare, but at least I wasn't disrupting the peaceful buzz in that room!)
Anyway fast forward I am a work from home mom with a constant to do list - I don't begrudge the daily laundering of cloth diapers, the making of my every meal for my son, teaching him sign language (as a pre-verbal communication skill), using elimination communication (early potty training more to come on this), plus some a bit of daily spoken French - to help his language skills, as well as normal play dates, attending local baby workshops, baby play time with blocks, rings and all good things!
But every now and then you can get to saturation point, sometime literally as well as figuratively - I'm thinking of post Christmas with sickness and tummy bugs, but anyway! Yesterday I just needed some mommy free time, so after my wee one went to bed and his dad and I had eatendinner and despite the falling snow outside I pressed on and went to the movies and saw Little Fockers - good movie, good to get out for a bit of me time.
Today is a new day and I am invigorated for having had the break, which is good as tonight I start 'the packing' for our upcoming trip!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The importance of will writing
No one likes thing of the worst (even those who dwell on such things don't enjoy it) but should the worst happen... who would you want raising your kids?
Is that something you've even thought of?
Ahead of our upcoming transatlantic trip, we have very clear ideas as to who we want to care for our boy should something happen to us both, but writing them out clearly and legally binging is important!
If you don't clearly outline your wishes it can be left to a court to decide. Here are some easy to follow guidelines, if you wish to write your own will. Should you have complex wishes, or just that you have the budget and want the peace of mind - then go see a lawyer to get your will written. If not:
1. Use a clear headline, along the lines of: LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
2. Your declaration - write your full name (include a maiden name or previous names if appropriate), address, state that you are of legal age and sound mind and it is your last will and testament and that you are revoking all previously made wills and codicils. You are not under duress or undue influence to make this will.
3. Name an executor - usually it would be a remaining spouse or main beneficiary of the estate as executor.
4. If you have any minor children - you need to name a guardian for them, or risk a court appointed one! (Consider as we did, providing a chain of guardian's for example should Executor A be unable or unwilling at the time of the will reading, then I name Executor B.)
5. Provide your beneficiaries details and be clear if you are naming Joe Bloggs, then say spouse, business partner... whatever it may be, but don't be ambiguous.
6. Note your assets - be clear what you wish to go to whom, otherwise it goes to the estate to then be divided, so if you have a valuable car that you wish to leave to cousin Jimmy - detail this here.
7. Bequests - if you wish to make a particular bequest (perhaps to charity) it can be covered by something like "Not including the articles listed above, I bequeath the remainder of my assets to ..."
8. Detail the type of funeral you would like to have, some people feel very strongly as to a burial or a cremation - this is the place to outline your wishes and you can be as detailed as you wish.
9. Sign your will in the presence of witnesses, as they will be witnessing that you are indeed the signatory of the will. Include the date and place of the signing and sign every page of the will, to ensure that it can be proved that no one has made any changes and it is the original document.
10. Your Witnesses - they must provide their full names, addresses and signatures and a declaration that they witnessed your signature, that they are legal adults and of sound mind and they consider you of sound mind, adult age and under no duress or undue influence to sign your will. Include the date and place of their signing.
11. Number the paragraphs again this can prove that no one has made any changes to it and it is the original document, with no pages missing.
Now you have written your will to the best of your ability, you need to store it safely - your best options are either with your solicitor or your bank. You can keep your copy somewhere safe at home, but write on it the original is stored at 'x'. Be aware if you move out of the area, to move it to your local bank or solicitor, to prevent it being difficult for your executors to find.
What was important to us was to make sure we had adequate life insurance in place too and to do so before writing our wills and to detail how that money was to be allocated. (Free online forms and information.)
Whilst we hope to live to a ripe old age and see our grandchildren grow, should the worst happen (god forbid) we at least know our wishes should be carried out and our son provided for and looked after.
All we have to do now is let our families know our wishes. Whilst it can cause rifts, a 'public' awareness of your wishes in your lifetime would go a very long way to preventing squabbles and surprises at a difficult time for those left behind.
On a more cheerful note we are really looking forward to making this trip and showing off our lovely son to family and friends.
Is that something you've even thought of?
Ahead of our upcoming transatlantic trip, we have very clear ideas as to who we want to care for our boy should something happen to us both, but writing them out clearly and legally binging is important!
If you don't clearly outline your wishes it can be left to a court to decide. Here are some easy to follow guidelines, if you wish to write your own will. Should you have complex wishes, or just that you have the budget and want the peace of mind - then go see a lawyer to get your will written. If not:
1. Use a clear headline, along the lines of: LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
2. Your declaration - write your full name (include a maiden name or previous names if appropriate), address, state that you are of legal age and sound mind and it is your last will and testament and that you are revoking all previously made wills and codicils. You are not under duress or undue influence to make this will.
3. Name an executor - usually it would be a remaining spouse or main beneficiary of the estate as executor.
4. If you have any minor children - you need to name a guardian for them, or risk a court appointed one! (Consider as we did, providing a chain of guardian's for example should Executor A be unable or unwilling at the time of the will reading, then I name Executor B.)
5. Provide your beneficiaries details and be clear if you are naming Joe Bloggs, then say spouse, business partner... whatever it may be, but don't be ambiguous.
6. Note your assets - be clear what you wish to go to whom, otherwise it goes to the estate to then be divided, so if you have a valuable car that you wish to leave to cousin Jimmy - detail this here.
7. Bequests - if you wish to make a particular bequest (perhaps to charity) it can be covered by something like "Not including the articles listed above, I bequeath the remainder of my assets to ..."
8. Detail the type of funeral you would like to have, some people feel very strongly as to a burial or a cremation - this is the place to outline your wishes and you can be as detailed as you wish.
9. Sign your will in the presence of witnesses, as they will be witnessing that you are indeed the signatory of the will. Include the date and place of the signing and sign every page of the will, to ensure that it can be proved that no one has made any changes and it is the original document.
10. Your Witnesses - they must provide their full names, addresses and signatures and a declaration that they witnessed your signature, that they are legal adults and of sound mind and they consider you of sound mind, adult age and under no duress or undue influence to sign your will. Include the date and place of their signing.
11. Number the paragraphs again this can prove that no one has made any changes to it and it is the original document, with no pages missing.
Now you have written your will to the best of your ability, you need to store it safely - your best options are either with your solicitor or your bank. You can keep your copy somewhere safe at home, but write on it the original is stored at 'x'. Be aware if you move out of the area, to move it to your local bank or solicitor, to prevent it being difficult for your executors to find.
What was important to us was to make sure we had adequate life insurance in place too and to do so before writing our wills and to detail how that money was to be allocated. (Free online forms and information.)
Whilst we hope to live to a ripe old age and see our grandchildren grow, should the worst happen (god forbid) we at least know our wishes should be carried out and our son provided for and looked after.
All we have to do now is let our families know our wishes. Whilst it can cause rifts, a 'public' awareness of your wishes in your lifetime would go a very long way to preventing squabbles and surprises at a difficult time for those left behind.
On a more cheerful note we are really looking forward to making this trip and showing off our lovely son to family and friends.
Friday, January 14, 2011
10 slow cooker recipes / crock pot
I saw these recipes on twitter recently and thought of you. I look forward to trying these.
Having lots to do in my day, but still wanting to produce nutritious, home cooked meals quickly (especially if it can be made in a big batch and some saved and frozen) means that I LOVE MY SLOW COOKER!
Whilst the one down side is I can be browning meat, de-boning carcasses at 7am is a bit stomach churning, another upside is you can buy cheaper meat cuts (the sort that may need de-boning!)
I make stews, chilli, bean bonanzas (yeah I don't have a name for many of my dishes, but my husband likes to ask what's for dinner and is fed up of my "dinner on a plate" reply - so making up a new name works well!
A slow cooker is so indispensable in my home and nothing beats a busy morning of work, followed by an afternoon of mothering and errands to come back into the house to the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen, knowing dinner is there and ready and as a parent the benefit is, if your baby's bedtime is elusive you can 'shift eat', but neither of you has to eat cold food! All parents will understand how great that is! Well I saw these wonderful winter warmer recipes and felt I had to share them! Enjoy!
(and for anyone foxed by my term slow cooker - read crock pot!)
Having lots to do in my day, but still wanting to produce nutritious, home cooked meals quickly (especially if it can be made in a big batch and some saved and frozen) means that I LOVE MY SLOW COOKER!
Whilst the one down side is I can be browning meat, de-boning carcasses at 7am is a bit stomach churning, another upside is you can buy cheaper meat cuts (the sort that may need de-boning!)
I make stews, chilli, bean bonanzas (yeah I don't have a name for many of my dishes, but my husband likes to ask what's for dinner and is fed up of my "dinner on a plate" reply - so making up a new name works well!
A slow cooker is so indispensable in my home and nothing beats a busy morning of work, followed by an afternoon of mothering and errands to come back into the house to the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen, knowing dinner is there and ready and as a parent the benefit is, if your baby's bedtime is elusive you can 'shift eat', but neither of you has to eat cold food! All parents will understand how great that is! Well I saw these wonderful winter warmer recipes and felt I had to share them! Enjoy!
(and for anyone foxed by my term slow cooker - read crock pot!)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Save yourself from Brain Freeze!!
I don't mean the sort you get from drinking a nice ice drink!
I read this article and with the cold cold weather being experienced by many - it's good to take heed!
As mentioned in a previous post I have emergency supplies in the car, to get us through for a while, which is a start.
This article, based on recent tragic events in snowy conditions in Canada, looks at Hypothermia - how try to avoid, spot the signs that you or someone has it and what you can do.
Other pearls from me that we hear all too often, but many shrug off, don't travel if you don't have to, check the weather before you set off, include provisions in your car, even on short journeys. Last month an elderly couple in Scotland took a short trip, very unprepared and ended up stuck for 17 hours for what should have been a 40 minute journey.
Wrap up and take care everyone!
I read this article and with the cold cold weather being experienced by many - it's good to take heed!
As mentioned in a previous post I have emergency supplies in the car, to get us through for a while, which is a start.
This article, based on recent tragic events in snowy conditions in Canada, looks at Hypothermia - how try to avoid, spot the signs that you or someone has it and what you can do.
Other pearls from me that we hear all too often, but many shrug off, don't travel if you don't have to, check the weather before you set off, include provisions in your car, even on short journeys. Last month an elderly couple in Scotland took a short trip, very unprepared and ended up stuck for 17 hours for what should have been a 40 minute journey.
Wrap up and take care everyone!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Lovely day for a toboggan ride!
We've just had a wonderful family time in our beautiful, snow covered back yard!
Putting our little boy, all bundled up in his snowsuit, in his toboggan - bought very cheaply from a local family who no longer needed it.
Both of us took it in turns to pull him around different 'circuits' in the garden, much to his delight. With a photo shoot to boot!
We came in and he had nap time and woke up to fresh snow fall covering our earlier tracks, right snow angels later (yes I know he is too little, but I can help him!)
Enjoy the white stuff to all others who have it!
Putting our little boy, all bundled up in his snowsuit, in his toboggan - bought very cheaply from a local family who no longer needed it.
Both of us took it in turns to pull him around different 'circuits' in the garden, much to his delight. With a photo shoot to boot!
We came in and he had nap time and woke up to fresh snow fall covering our earlier tracks, right snow angels later (yes I know he is too little, but I can help him!)
Enjoy the white stuff to all others who have it!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year!
I'd like to be writing about having had a relaxing quiet Christmas. Christmas and Boxing day were great - they were spent with family with hussle and bussle and all things that the festive season should be about.
But then my little boy got a tummy bug that has been off and on again and is now fighting off a cold. Luckily we had planned a quiet festive break so have not had to cancel too many plans or trek all over the place with a poorly baby.
Which is lucky for me as there is not an item in my wardrobe, that was not on the receiving end of my little one's throw up!
Despite this - I look back at 2010 with happy memories and I am looking forward to 2011 - I think it is going to be great and I look forward to really driving things forward as 21st Century Mum!
But then my little boy got a tummy bug that has been off and on again and is now fighting off a cold. Luckily we had planned a quiet festive break so have not had to cancel too many plans or trek all over the place with a poorly baby.
Which is lucky for me as there is not an item in my wardrobe, that was not on the receiving end of my little one's throw up!
Despite this - I look back at 2010 with happy memories and I am looking forward to 2011 - I think it is going to be great and I look forward to really driving things forward as 21st Century Mum!
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