Dec 19 2013

The Nightmare Before Christmas - Hudl Christmas Cheer Competition

Posted on December 19, 2013 by admin

I love entering all the Tots100 blogger comps but I must admit, before today’s saga, I was stuck for inspiration on this one. They’ve got together with Tesco and are giving away an amazing prize package worth over £500 to celebrate the launch of Tescos new Hudl tablet. One lucky winner is set to bag all this!

All we had to do is share where we hide our Christmas pressies from our little people. Simple right? Having read through all the entries so far, I’ve been giggling at the lengths other mums go to to hide their Christmas loot. I’ve read about so many inventive hiding places ranging from behind the drawers of divan beds, to unused en suites, to caravans in the back garden. Yet, as Dexter is only 19 months-old and would struggle to pick me, let alone Father Christmas, out in an ID parade, I thought he was a little too young to warrant special hiding places this year. So instead I’ve spent the past few days racking my brains to come up with something lighthearted and witty for my entry instead.

It was wasted effort.

You see, today my gorgeous angelic 19 month old handed me a healthy dose of inspiration. He tore apart all his cousin’s presents that were sat in the lounge waiting to be wrapped.

When I was in kitchen unloading the washing machine, he obviously waddled over for closer inspection, decided the boxes were too irresistible not to open, and set to work chewing and pulling apart the contents. I’m literally now sat next to the debris totting up the damage and working out which ones will need to be replaced, and which can be salvaged with sellotape. Oh the joy.

So we now have a remote-controlled car with a bent antenna and the battery cover ripped off, a make-your-own handbag set minus the beads (some of which are now no doubt sat in my sons belly waiting for his next bowel movement), a rag-doll that has had her hair dipped in the remnants of a Petit Filous I hadn’t got around to binning from elevenses, and a bumper set of Mr Men books with the front covers torn off, and more besides. Total value, £75. Time taken to wreak such mass destruction, 4 minutes.

Just some of Dexter’s handiwork…

It wouldn’t matter if these were presents for adults - I’d probably just wrap them up in their current state and they’d find it hilarious. But these are presents for his cousins (aged 2-6) who just won’t understand their gifts have been pre-loved and salivated on by Dexter. What’s more, as it’s a struggle to get the family together in one place in the thick of Christmas, we’re exchanging gifts on Saturday! This leaves me with no time at all to retrace my steps and re-buy things online. It’ll have to a dash down Tesco and gift bags cobbled together from bits and bobs in the toy aisle.

Poor Dexter. It really is my own fault for not placing them out of his reach. Nevertheless my clueless 19 month-old got an ear-bashing from me. Given he’s currently riddled with tonsillitis and has been really ill these past few days, I feel hopelessly guilty. As I wrestled his new bounty from his grip he must have thought he was being unduly punished. Given I had to follow-up this telling-off with another 5ml dose of foul-tasting penicillin, he’s probably feeling hugely unloved and confused.

I’m no longer angry. I’m sat in a corner in the lounge with my trusty laptop checking out the toys section of Tesco Direct. With the year we’ve had, this barely registers on the disaster-scale. I must admit though, I’m now desperate to see the rear-end of 2013. Bring on April when we get to meet the new baby, and we officially become a family of four. Then, and only then, will I get a true taste of what stress feels like. You can read all about my steady decline into breakdown territory then. For now, I’m going to place all my trust in Tesco, rouse my sleepy little guy from his lunchtime nap and show him that mummy’s not a rottweiler.

It’s impossible to stay mad at this little guy for long!

So a word of advice to my fellow mummy’s out there, your child is never too young to ignore colourful boxes and parcels. These present-seeking machines are just lulling you into a false sense of security. They will strike when your back is turned, and they will claim every present as their own. If this means personalising the presents with bite compressions, graffiti, or ripping into cellophane packets and hiding the contents in the sofa, they will achieve it with record-breaking finesse. Trust me, it’s an expensive lesson to learn.

This post is an entry into the Hudl Christmas cheer competition - arguably minus the cheer!

Dec 19 2013

Ian Watkins Gets 35 Years. Is that it????

Posted on December 19, 2013 by admin

Now I’m not the lynch mob type - I’ve written before about how the media should hold back on naming and shaming people prior to sentencing, and I stand by that wholeheartedly. But the guilt of Ian Watkins was never in doubt. This wasn’t one persons word against another, there was exhaustive video and written evidence, and the admissions of some of the people involved. He even admitted some of the charges in court under the (quite frankly) outrageous guise of wanting to spare his victim’s families from hearing evidence.

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There is no doubt in anybody’s mind that this man is vile. I don’t care how many psychologists will argue that pedophilia is a mental compulsion, it isn’t, and this wouldn’t excuse Watkins’ behaviour even it it were. Watkins’ brand of child abuse plumped new depths of depravity. This man tried to have penetrative sex with an 11 month baby - several times.

He acted out his fantasies on the truly innocent and vulnerable. Babies who have no voice, no concept of the world around them, and no means of fighting back. Who knows what lasting physical and emotional damage these children will carry with them into adulthood. It’s perverse, morally reprehensible and heinous.

In my eyes, acts of violence or cruelty to children are often more tragic than the murder of an adult. There can be no justification and the story is entirely one-sided - that child hasn’t had enough time to create a back-story worthy of some act of retribution. Ian Watkins, and others like him, act purely out of selfish self-gratification with no care whatsoever for their victims.

When I first read about this case I was physically sick. I didn’t manage to get through the entire article as I felt too appalled. It was simply too much to take in and too graphic. This isn’t because I’m a mother, it’s because I’m a human being. As a true-crime reader, I’ve read some seriously sensational things in my time, but nothing came close to how I felt reading those articles. And these were in our national newspapers for anyone to see.

Today, this man has been sentenced to 29 years behind bars, with a further 6 out on license. But he will be eligible for parole after serving two thirds of the prison term - that’s just 19.5 years. At his time of release he’d be just 56, his victims barely out of their teens. He’ll have plenty more years ahead of him to continue destroying young lives. It certainly makes you wonder just how much worse a case would have to be in order to qualify for a more severe sentence.

Okay, it’s very unlikely he’ll ever walk our streets again - if he doesn’t kill himself when he dries out and the full realisation of his crimes hit home, he’ll be murdered in jail. But this is surely not the point.

The whole case is likely to draw comparisons to that of Baby P’s, whose mother is somehow now out of prison after serving just 4 years. Although his was a child abuse case on a different scale altogether, let us not forget that the Watkins case involves mothers too. Mothers who willingly handed their children over to Watkins to be abused. These women were sentenced to just 14 and 17 years - but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear they’re released after serving far less in just a few years time. Justice Royce also delivered a damning indictment to one of the women during his summing up - that she did not regard her child as a human being. I don’t care how young and impressionable these women were at the time of the crime. They haven’t simply mislaid their moral compasses, they can’t have ever had them to begin with. One of the women even carried out sex acts on her own child over webcam! This doesn’t make her complicit, it makes her AS deplorable as Watkins himself..

Watkins chose to take illegal substances, and these “mothers” chose to favour their idol over their own children, They failed to show even the most simple and natural of instincts when it comes to defenseless children. This points to something seriously worrying and complicated festering in the underbelly of celebrity culture. All those found guilty in this case need intense psychiatric support but should also be behind bars forever more. It is simply incomprehensible to have these people pass us by in ASDA or sit next to us on a bus in several years time.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I think our justice system does not go far enough.

Dec 18 2013

Extra Special Ways for Your Kids to See Santa This Christmas (Guest Post)

Posted on December 18, 2013 by admin

Your kids will only stay young for so long, so why not make the most of it? Every year when Christmas gets close there’s only one thing on their mind – Santa deciding how good they’ve been and whether their good behaviour has earned them some lovely new toys. It’s a great tradition to take your kids to see a Santa in a grotto somewhere before the big day rolls around, but there are so many options. Everywhere from your local high street to garden centres seem to have a grotto complete with elves and reindeer these days, but where are the most magical places to take your kids to see the big jolly man this year? This list will fill you in on places where the extra effort has been made to make sure your childrens’ faces light up and they get a Father Christmas experience they’ll never forget.

Harrods

The whole of the high-end department store sparkles with Christmas cheer throughout December, but for the young ones there’s only one must-see attraction despite the fantastic sights all around. They’ll get to meet Santa in a magic library setting and will come away with a special Harrods book to remember their time by, as well as a badge and Christmas chocolate. The Grotto here has been a huge success in past years and tickets will disappear quickly. There’s a tailored visit for under 4’s available Monday-Friday, 10am-11.30am, so whatever your child’s age, take a look at the great value rooms in London, grab yourself a ticket and get set to see their little face light up.

Image: Harrods

Kew

In the enchanted forest of Kew, Surrey, Santa awaits in a magical enclosure that will really help you get away from the rush of the city. Perhaps because of the remote location, you won’t even need to book for this visit and you can take your kids along on a whim to see the magic woods that host a very special Santa’s Grotto. It’s free, as is entry to the stunning Kew Gardens, so take a trip down to see this beautiful scenery in a wintery setting.

Chill Factore

In Manchester, the indoor skiing destination Chill Factore is putting on a very special Santa’s grotto experience for children of all ages to enjoy. You can enjoy snow play, tubing, ice sliding and sledging before or after your visit, where your children will receive a gift from Santa himself. There are photo opportunities to help your children remember this special and fun-packed visit, which will make great gifts for all your family.

There’s a wealth of places to go and let your kids be enchanted by the jolly man who makes Christmas so magical for little ones across the world and the effort put in by some of these is commendable. These are just some of the best on offer, but no matter where you take your kids this Christmas, you’ll be making memories to cherish for a lifetime.

Guest post in association with Travelodge