Searching for Tinkerbell

On July 16, 2013 By rebelwithkindnessIn Uncategorised, Uncategorized4 Comments

Four and a half years ago I laid my beautiful 9 year old daughter to rest.

As we placed her ashes in a grave I promised that it would be one of the prettiest graves ever. That may sound silly but it’s the only thing I can do for her right now.

It’s a place for us really. A place where I can go to love upon her. Each week we place roses and flowers. Celebrating her life. Celebrating our love for a beautiful girlie.

When we laid Livvy’s stone we placed a Tinkerbell ornament upon her stone.

For many years Livvy’s nickname has been Tinkerbell.

It could have been because of her wild blonde hair.

Or it may have been because of the way she flitted off to Neverland with her seizures.

Whatever the reason it suited her to a tee, the mischievous little one.

So the ornament was perfect for her.

Unfortunately over the years the elements have left Tinkerbell looking worse for wear and I want to replace her with a new one.

The problem is I cannot find another one.

I have a saved searched on eBay for nearly a year. I’ve searched amazon and every site google has offered up and I’m at a lost.

So I am turning to you my friends across the Internet.

Please help me locate another Tinkerbell for Livvy’s grave.

Please keep an eye out at your local garden centres, online sites etc.

This is so important to me.

Thank you for reading this and helping me on my quest.

Tots 100 Blog Summit – Birmingham

On May 20, 2013 By rebelwithkindnessIn Uncategorised, Uncategorized1 Comment

Last week I attended my a blog summit in Birmingham. To be perfectly truthful I hadn’t a clue what to expect as I had never before attended one run by tots 100 and with the conference being free I wasn’t sure of the speakers or the experience that was going to be offer.

Now I don’t wish that to sound so snobby ( as I’m sure it does)but i can be rather cynical and believe in life you tend to get what you pay for.

Well I was so wrong, from the moment I found the venue I was surprised by the quality of the summit.

The venue itself was stunning and they had coffee on the go which anyone who knows me will relate when I say good coffee can make or break a day for me.

The agenda was packed with a variety of sessions that I was excited to attend. So many in fact that I was seriously wishing I could split myself in two.

The first session I attended was the Grill Section, this was a chance to grill more experienced bloggers. Chrissie from Mediocre Mum (I was super excited to meet Chrissie as we have been tweeting on twitter for a while)., Helen from Fuss Free Flavours, Ruth from Geek Mummy and Sally from Who’s the Mummy and Tots100 All were happy to answer questions on anything blog related. I asked about changing your blog voice,my blog is featuring less posts about my children because now as teenagers they require more discretion on my part. Spoilsports.

The advice I received was really helpful and I left the session with pages full of notes. A big thank you to the bloggers under the grill.

Also in this session to Sally from tots100 even gave us a run down on how the metrics work. I confess I still haven’t a clue but that’s down to my lacking brain not Sally’s explanation.

My 2nd session was on advanced SEO being run by Judith Lewis and I’m sure it was super informative to many but five minutes in my head was spinning so I escaped to grab a coffee and some pain killers and took some time out before lunch.

Ooh talking of lunch it was simply yummy. A great selection on offer.
I ate well that day. To quote Oliver Twist “more please sir”.

The third session I attended was run by Cathy from nurture store. It was all about getting the most out of Facebook. This was a really informative session and I’ve already been using some of the advice we were given.

My fourth and final chosen session was run by John Arnold on outdoor photography. It was really interesting and John is a great teacher as he makes it accessible for all at whatever level they are at. He also convinced me I needed a new lens for my DSLR, well that’s what I told the hubby.

After another break and more coffee the day came to an end with perhaps the most inspiring part of the whole event. A talk by Andy Cope the author of How to be Brilliant and other books including our family favourites The Spy Dog.

My youngest wasn’t at all impressed that I didn’t come home with a signed book from him. Of course my fault entirely I know I should learn to carry books around with me in case I meet her favourite writers. Lesson learned.

Anyway Andy brought home to me something that I had forgotten for a while. He told us that happiness is a choice. We have too remind ourselves each morning that each day is a gift and to live it happy. That we could be a lot worse, we could have toothache. There was off course a lot more to Andy’s talk including percentages and oranges but for me it really hit home.

As it reminded me of Livvy, and when learned of her condition and that we may not have forever. We had to make the decision to make each day count. To seize each day and live it to the best we could. To create those memories.

In summary Blog Summit was pretty awesome. I really encourage any new bloggers or older longer standing ones to check them out.

It was informative and at times hilarious. Well worth attending.

Personally I had a great day I got to meet some new friends and catch up with old ones.

I got to enjoy lovely coffee while listening to speakers that really knew their stuff.

I left happy and with a notebook packed full of ideas and helpful advice.

A really fanatic day and a big thank you to tots 100 for organising it.

So my only question is

When’s the next one???

An inspirational night

On April 29, 2013 By rebelwithkindnessIn Uncategorised, Uncategorized1 Comment

On Saturday I attended a spring ball
held at the Queens hotel in Leeds a beautiful and very regal hotel. With stunning architecture and incredible rooms.
The reason I attended this ball was to help raise funds for charities that I am passionate to support, Special kids in the UK being one of them.

Yet this ball was extra special as it honoured a beautiful little girl Lucy Mai.

Four years ago last november Dean and Annie and my husband and I faced the worst thing that could ever happen to a parent. The loss of a child. Within a week of each other we lost Livvy and they lost Lucy Mai.

Within a week our hearts were forever broken.

We began on the journey nobody ever wishes to start.

The year after our loss Dean and Alan invited Alan and I to the Lucy Mai’s Spring Ball. To join them as they raise funds in celebration of the life and the gift of Lucy Mai.

Now I can tell you that we didn’t attend due to money issues, child care etc but the truth is we didn’t have the strength.

You see to be part of the world of special needs when you have a child with disabilities is hard.

Yet to stay part of the world when your connection to it is lost is truly courageous.

And that is what Dean and Annie are , truly courageous.

So four years on we finally found the strength to attend.

We were there on Saturday raising funds in memory of Lucy Mai. A beautiful young girl who was a gift to her parents and to all that knew her.

We there to raise funds to support charities that are lifelines to parents with children with disabilities. Each in its own way giving strength to many on this hard journey.

I know that Dean and Annie would tell you that they don’t do this all alone. That they have an amazing team behind them and yes to that team I say thank you.

But to Dean and Annie I want to say this.

“I’m sure Lucy Mai is looking down on you both with such pride.

You are a amazing couple who have faced heartache with such grace and courage.

I think I write on behalf of many when I say thank you for all that you do.

But I write on a personal level when I say that you both rock and that you both are inspirational”

Saturday night was a memorable night in so many ways.

I’m praying the night raised lots of money.

I’m also praying Dean and Annie realise how truly amazing they are.

Not Acceptable

On March 20, 2013 By rebelwithkindnessIn Uncategorised, Uncategorized2 Comments

Over the last two days I’ve been attending a training course. While on this course we were chatting about what we class as acceptable behavior and I was very surprised by what people feel is acceptable.

Ignoring people

Verbal abusing people

Walking away without answering

All of the above was classed as acceptable.

Maybe I’m old fashioned but they are so not acceptable.

Now in the case of what my training was about children in care some of the above and much more are understandable.

But there is a big difference between understandable and acceptable.

Yet the truth is outside this training and here in the real world what is seen as acceptable is changing dramatically.

Take for example manners how many times have you stood in a queue saw a cashier serve someone and never hear the word thank you cross the customers lips.

In a restaurant when a waiter brings foods I have seen diners never even raise their heads let alone whisper a word of thanks.

How many emails have you received without the proper signing off. A regards or best wishes goes a long way.

Go into a school and listen to the way pupils verbally abuse teachers.

How or why did we get here?

Because we allowed it to become acceptable.

I know personally I’m going to try my hardest to use my manners at all times.

To make people’s day with a respectful thank you or I really appreciate your hard work.

I think it’s about time we started a revolution of manners.

Join me Vive la Revolution

Baker days – Review

On March 12, 2013 By rebelwithkindnessIn reviews, Uncategorised1 Comment

Cake it’s one of those things that can be eaten on all occasions.

We have wedding cakes

We have christening cakes

Birthday cakes, engagement cakes, new job cakes, new house cakes, graduation cakes and so on.

Cake is universal and pretty much needed at all times.

I mean a cake with a cup of tea can turn an afternoon into an occasion all by itself.

So when I was approached by Baker Days about reviewing one of their cakes I certainly wasn’t going to say no.

Also with mother day approaching I did have a valid excuse to spoil myself.

Baker Days offer a personalised home delivery service for cakes for all occasions or no occasion. You can chose from one of their gorgeous designs or create your own. Add a photo and message and you have created a beautiful personal gift. They have over 500 designs.

Cakes to say I love you

Cakes to say thank you

Congratulations, farewell and so many more.

I chose this beautiful Mother’s Day design.

So I have to be honest when the cake was delivered through my letterbox I wasn’t sure what to expect. Although the site does state it’s a petite letterbox cake with 3-4 servings I was still surprised by the size of it.

Yet although it was tiny I was struck by the beautiful detail and as you can see the design was even better in real life.

The girls though the cake was super cute and couldn’t wait for a taste. I nearly ended up with no photos of it as they had the carving knife out super quick.

We tried the Madeira cake which was just so yummy, soft and with a lovely taste.

I think Baker Days offers a great service and it’s a great idea to send as a gift for any occasion.

The website is so easy to use and you can even have your cake delivered the next day if you order before 2pm.

It’s well worth a try and its something different.

Thank you Lego Duplo

On June 29, 2011 By rebelwithkindnessIn Uncategorised, UncategorizedLeave a comment

After being at Cybermummy over the weekend I’ve been working on getting my 10-year-old to forgive me for what she called my deserting of her. I was finally back in her good
books this morning thanks to the great people at Lego Duplo.

On Saturday I entered a draw that was being run by the kind people at Lego Duplo and was lucky enough to win a runner-up prize. Well today the postman delivered that
said prize.

Yes I am forgiven, thank you Lego Duplo.

I have to say this gift has kept my daughter and foster child happily occupied for over
an hour. We have had houses built, schools and even a boat. I love the way Lego
Duplo allows my children’s imagination to flourish.

Brodie says “Thank you Lego duplo for my prize, I love playing with it. They are so fun and I can take them anywhere and also add them to my other sets.”