Good bye London...... Hello Auckland...

Well it seems that the Elephant we had has finally left the room. Yes we are finally going home, back to the land of the long white cloud, that’s New Zealand if you hadn’t of guessed. After 3 years of ranting, raving and the odd door slamming, all by me of course, the decision has been made and we leave in November.

So yes, I have finally got what I wanted. Am I jumping up and down with excitement? Hmmm, well not yet anyway and I am not sure when the excitement will kick in! After spending all of last week in limbo, not knowing what was happening and then being told all of a sudden we need to be out there for 21st November, well it has left me a bit shell shocked to be honest. Hence the lack of blogging last week, I just couldn't think about anything else! I had always envisaged that I would have months to pack up 10 ½ years of memories and possessions plus the boys, not 6 weeks. But hey ho, these things happen, just need to tell myself that 6 weeks is plenty of time and make sure I don’t sit back and procrastinate about everything that needs to be done.

So my biggest worry is that I have been looking thru rose tinted glassed for the last 3 years, that it is not going to live up to my expectations! That we are going to wrench the boys away from all they know and it’s going to be a disaster. I am just hoping that it is the best move for the family especially for the boys, otherwise it will be the worse decision I have ever pushed to be made, and that is saying something. I have no doubt that it will be tough for Mr P and me to settle back. Especially as we left as 30 something’s, wanting to travel and take on the world and going back as 40 something’s, tired and worn out with two little people to look after. Neither of us are from Auckland so new friends will need to be made by all of us, schools sorted for the boys, a whole new city to discover and find our way round. I will even have to eventually look for a job.

But that is all immaterial when I think that the boys will finally get to spend time with their grandparents, get to know their cousins, aunties and uncles. Get to know all the people that make up the extended families that they belong to.

It's has to be the right decision doesn't it??

For once I don’t mind being a number......

Did you know that half of the 8 million children who die each year are in Africa, yet Africa has only 3% of the world’s doctors, nurses and midwives?

Did you know that due to the severe drought in East Africa, that there is an estimated 750,000 children that are about to die?

Doctors, nurses and midwives are vital to saving children’s lives. But there's a massive shortfall of health workers in the world’s poorest countries. As ever, the poorest and most vulnerable are hardest hit.

Save the Children are aware of this and are campaigning to ensure that no children die because they can’t see a health worker. They need YOU to sign their latest petition, their target is 60,000.

They are calling on David Cameron to play his full part in solving the health worker crisis which is costing millions of children's lives. 60,000 it doesn’t sound a lot but they need it by Tuesday for when the world leaders meet at the UN in New York. Save the Children want them to commit to filling the massive shortfall in midwives, nurses and doctors in the poorest countries. So go on sign the petition, I was 41,946, and for once I don’t mind being a number!

To support this campaign two bloggers who attended the Save the Children Blogging conference on Saturday 17th September, helloitgemma and michelletwinmum are trying to get 100 bloggers linked up with a 100 word meme before Tuesday.

So this is what you need to do to help:

1. Sign the petition! Go on, if is the only thing you do it will count!
2. Join in Helloitsgemma and Michelletwinmum’s blogging challenge and link up with them your 100 words. Encourage signatures and make a dent in the 20,000 needed. Write 100 words about a great health professional you have met. Add a link to the petition and follow #Healthworkerscampaign on twitter for more info.
3. Link to a number of bloggers asking them to do the same.
4. Spread the news, Twitter, Facebook, Google plus, anything.

My 100 Words (okay its slightly more)

Just think how lucky we are in the UK?


Where we are so complacent at times that we take it for granted that we will have access to a doctor\midwife. So complacent that we feel the need to bitch about the care we get (for free), on how we had to wait an hour to see a GP or have to chase for an appointment.


Now stop and think for a minute of that mother who has walked days to try and find food for her children. Having to watch her child die because they never received any inoculations. Watching your mother, sister, aunt, friend die in childbirth as no midwife or doctor was there to help.


Yes, very lucky aren’t we!

I am going to pass this on to the following lovely bloggers, apologies if you have already been tagged with this.

Mymumdom
You're not from round here
Musings from a mum
this is me sarahmumof3
Chattybaby
Actually Mummy
Thoughts from a random woman

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday was created by Jay over at mocha beanie mummy

The A - Z of me......

I have been tagged in the latest meme going round, by the rather funny Actually Mummy.  This is where I get to answer questions about myself in the form of A-Z questions.  Now as a pretty private person this is my idea of hell BUT as I am also not one to let the side down, here goes.. 

ANORAK…Do you have a sad side? 

I am a bit of a technical geek, blame it on 20 years working in IT.  Plus I have a great love of anything Sci-fi.  Does building Lego count as being a bit sad?  Also I do love a good documentary on the telly?    

BODY…What physical attribute would you most like to change? 

I am actually pretty happy with my lot; it has done me well and is still looking okay after all it has gone thru.  But I do wish I wasn’t so fair, pale, white or blue as my sister calls me.  Would be nice to not have to get a tan out of a bottle at times..

CELEBRITY…Which one would you most like to date and why? 

Move over Brad Pitt and Jonny Depp and hellooo David Tennant.  I am not sure how a pasty skinny Scotsman has become my object of affection but he has.  There is just something about him perhaps it’s his cheeky grin or his dulcet Scottish voice.  He can whisper in my ear anytime.. 

DEBUT …Tell us about your first ever blog post. What made you start blogging? 

Funny enough my first post was about me and why I started to blog.  Which basically was because I was made redundant and Mr P thought it would be a good thing to do to keep the grey matter ticking along..

ERROR …What’s been your biggest regret?

I don’t think I have any regrets really other than some blokes that I wish I hadn’t bothered with. 

FUNNY – who’s making you laugh? 
Well that would have to be my two boys of course.

GRAND…If we gave you one right now what would you spend it on?

If I was working and you gave it to me, I would spend it on either a new handbag or a family weekend away.  But as I am not I would put it away for a rainy day, boring but sensible..

HOLIDAY… What’s your favourite destination?  

Without a doubt it would be Africa.  Mr P and I have been fortunate enough to do a bit of travelling and this was the best place by far.  I can’t wait until the boys are old enough so we can take them back.

IRRITATE… What’s your most annoying habit? 

I tend to drink too much, I don’t have an “off switch” according to Mr P..

JOKER…Whats your favourite joke {the one that makes you laugh everytime you hear it}? 

“You can have a lie in, in the morning”.  Yeah right!

KENNEL… Do you have any pets?

No, but have promised the boys a dog when we eventually head back to NZ.

LOVE…Are you single, married, engaged, living with a long term partner? 

Married, together 17 married 10...  A lifetime...

MEAL… Whats your ultimate starter, main and dessert?
Easy, scallops to start, perfectly cooked Lamb for main and then some sort of sticky or chocolate desert, followed of coursed by a nice coffee.  Wine, of course served thru out.. 

NOW…If you could be anywhere right now where would you be and who with? 

We would be back in NZ with our families.

OFF DUTY…What do you do in your spare time? 

Spare time, what’s that? 

PROUD MOMENTS …What are you most proud of?

Has to be the birth of my two big bouncing boys...

QUEASY …What turns your stomach? 

The cruelty that the human race can afflict on each other, sometimes it makes be ashamed to think that we all come from the same gene pool..

RELAX…How do you relax?  

With a nice glass of wine, preferably a sauvignon or pinot noir..

SONG…Whats your favourite song of all time? 

Ziggy Stardust, I had the words written on my bedroom wall as a teenager.  My mum wasn’t too impressed with that..

TIME …If you could go back in time and relive it again, when would you choose?  

My early twenties, when I was young and single, and having a blast.  However I would like to go back with my 40 year head so I can stop myself from making stupid mistakes...  (See E above)

UNKNOWN…Tell us something about yourself that no one else knows?

Now that would be telling... Something’s are not for telling..

VOCAL…. Who is your favourite artist?  

David Bowie

WORK….. What is your dream job, and are you doing it now?  

I was doing my dream job, managing an IT team, working in the media industry, able to wear jeans everyday..  That all I wanted, eventually it happened and then I got made redundant from it..

XRAY…Any broken bones?

Nothing broken yet, touch wood..

YIKES…What’s been your most embarrassing moment? 

Being hit by a car outside a very busy bus stop after work..  There were people everywhere.  Truly embarrassing, the car wasn’t going that fast so I was able to pick myself up and limp away rather quickly...

ZOO…. If you were an animal, which one would you be? 

It would be a lioness, lying about in the sun all day, others around to help with childcare and not having to worry about what to eat as someone else was feeding you.  Sounds like bliss don’t you think?

So now I am going to tag the following lovely bloggers, apologises if you have already been tag or if you don’t want to do it...

Maris World

MishMashMum

Manana Mama

Reluctant Housedad

It was created by the Real Housewife of Suffolk County, so you can find the blank template here...

Our Strange little Habits......

Me “Did you put on the dishwasher?”

Mr P “Yes I did, its finished so I’ve emptied it”

Me “Cool, did you put it all away”

Mr P “Yeah”

Me “Did you rotate the plates and stuff around?”

Mr P “Did I what?”

Me “You know, change it all around so the clean stuff goes to the bottom and...”

So went the conversation on Sunday with Mr P.  The last sentence of me, explaining the crockery rotation to him was met with a blank stare, and the following “Are you fucking serious?  You really need to get out more or better yet get a job”.

Now I didn’t think my little “thing” was that bad, not OCD or anything, it’s just the way it is.  Just like the way the washing has to be hung out, if Mr P hangs it out wrong, which is inevitable, then I will go out afterwards and re-peg it.  Now, before you all go “what a control freak...”  Check this out; Mr P has a rotation system for the towels so once they have been washed, folded and put away he sneaks in and re-sorts the cupboard to ensure the right towels are used next time.  Now I think that is way more weird than my crockery thing!

We all have them, don't we, these little idiosyncrasies?  The little things we do or say that seems perfectly normal to us but to those around us it’s a bit strange or weird.  Things like not drinking out of cans (that’s me again), alphabetising your CDs, the way you fold your clothes or ironing your pants. Yes really, ironing pants! Just ask Keith at Chronicles of Reluctant Housedad about it.  To a friend of ours who has his pantry alphabetised with all labels facing out.  Oh yes all the cans and jars nicely lined up, all in order, heaven help you if you misplace something or move things around for a joke.  It’s not a laughing matter apparently!

I even see this behaviour in our boys, they way they play with certain cars or trains, how they line them all up, the order they do things in.  All part of their growing personalities, and their own little idiosyncrasies.

So dear readers, what about yourselves?  Do you have any strange little habits that make your loved ones think you have lost the plot?  

Silent Sunday

Not for the Politicians......!!

I originally wrote this post last week, a full on rant about Nadine Dorries and her strangely “Pro-Life” and foolish legislation that she wanted to bring in. Okay, so today she has gone on the record in parliament to say that she is” Pro-Choice” but I am not totally convinced on that.

This is after all, the woman that in May this year, proposed a bill that required sex education in schools should include content promoting abstinence to girls aged 13 to 16. Even though the sex education that is already taught mentions the option of abstinence, the new bill would require active promotion of abstinence to girls only. Now, it has been 25 years since I was a teenager but from memory, boys were just as, if not more promiscuous as us girls. So the question needs to be asked why not this “active promotion” to boys?

She then followed this on a week later with ‘If a stronger ‘just say no’ message was given to children in school, there might be an impact on sex abuse, because a lot of girls, when sex abuse takes place don’t realise until later that was a wrong thing to do... I don’t think people realise that if we did empower this message into girls, imbued this message in school, we would probably have less sex abuse’. Hmm so what is she saying here? That the lack of awareness around abstinence among young girls is linked to rates of child sexual abuse and nothing to do with predatory, manipulating males? Do young boys not get abused?

Anyway I digress.

So today the majority of MPs saw sense and rejected by an over whelming majority the bid to change the law on abortion counselling. Which surely is good news for all women in Britian? What right does one individual in a position of power or in this case government have to tell us what we can and can’t do with our lives. Women should be awarded the choice to decide what is best for them and their families and not dictated to by someone else’s beliefs.  Thankfully in this country we are afforded that choice and I for one can see no reasons why it needs to be changed.

In effect what Dorries was saying was that the current organisations such as BPAS and Marie Stopes, had a financial interest into pushing women into having abortions. That they were not providing, “adequate care” for those seeking abortions. That independent counselling should be made available if the patient so wish it. That sounds all fine and you can think okay so what is the big deal about all this? Well the current abortion services are regulated and are kept to official guidelines. The counselling that is already provided, if a woman wants to take it up, is done by trained professionals independently of the clinics doctors. So the questions that need answering are who or what would these new “independent counsellors” be? How could they be able to provide any more help than what is already available? Would they be regulated and made to follow the same guidelines? Would they be able to help a woman who is indecisive about having an abortion to make the right decision for her without any moral or religious prejudice? Would all this cause additional delay and distress?

Abortion is and always will be an emotive and contentious subject. It is a private and personal matter and should remain so. It has no place in government nor should governments use it to gather party votes. You only need to look to the US to see how it is used as a political football.

Women should be able to have the choice to decide.  They after all are the ones that have to live with the decision they have made, some do so quite easily, some do not.

Exterminate, Exterminate! - 100WCGU

This week for 100WCGU the challenge is to write within a chosen genre of our choice, sci-fi, horror, romance etc. The prompt for this is “......Mary thought...”

“I need to get out of here” Mary thought.

From under the desk she could hear them moving between rooms, hearing their death rays firing.

Shaking with fear she peered out only to look one of them straight in the eye.

“Run” her inner voice screamed. Mary pushed past the creature as it was getting ready to aim.  Running down the corridor she knew the Dr would be able to save her.

As she turned the corner she saw him, called out to him.  Safe at last she thought.  But then close behind her she heard the terrifying word “Exterminate”!



For more great 100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups entries, head on over to The Heads Office.

Who’s hiding in your wardrobe......??

So I think I may have either made a bit of a bad judgment call or did some character building on Sunday evening.  In that I let Son no 1 watch Dr Who with me.  Not that watching Dr Who was the bad call, he loves it, I love it. It was more the episode, as it featured a little dolls house with creepy moon faced dollies running round turning anyone unfortunate enough to be sucked into the house into more, creepy moon faced dollies.  While watching it his little face was looking more and more worried, maybe even a wee bit scared.  He finally told me he didn’t want to watch anymore and went off to his room to play.  When it was time for stories at bedtime I was asked a few questions about the dollies and would he have any in his room.  After much reassurance he went off to sleep.  We had similar conversations throughout today about the dollies and how he would fight them off. 

Hmmm, bad move perhaps?  Character building I say.  I love scary movies and books, I grew up on them.  I remember as a child watching the “Sunday Night horror” where, funny enough, every Sunday night a horror movie was showed on the telly.  Usually the old Hammer horror films with the odd Hitchcock film thrown into the mix.  My sister and I used to scare each other stupid, leaping out of wardrobes, hiding underneath the beds, tapping on the windows.  Many a night I went to bed utterly petrified that something was hiding in the wardrobe.  So you can see how my love for this genre of film and books just grew and grew. 

Mr P is amazed at the amount of “crap” as he calls it, that I know about werewolves, vampires, Freddy Krueger, or who Jason or Michael Myers are.  In fact it is one of the many bones of contention in our household when it comes to what movie to watch.  I inevitable go for the horror or Sci-fi, another great love of mine, while he wants the nicer movie.  We generally meet somewhere in the middle with a Thriller.

I draw the line at a bloody Rom Com, the only Rom Com I want to see is one where Jennifer Aniston plays a zombie bride and it’s actually funny!  

Scary looking for a 5 yo aren't they??

Pictures courtesy of the BBC