Findings of the Institute of Child Health study of more than 12,500 five-year-olds include:

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I read an article in this morning’s edition of the Daily Mail, which made me really angry.

The article was about two working mothers, close friends who work at the same firm. The two friends gave birth to their daughters around the same time, and decide to return to work part-time once their children had turned one years old. They agreed to job share and to watch each others child, while the other was at work, thus negating the need to pay for childcare.

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It may still only be September, but it’s a good time to start thinking about your Christmas cards. Come November or December, you’ll be far too busy to think about Christmas cards.

I would like to apologize for seemingly neglecting the Fine Feathered Nest blog over the summer months. This has been due, in part, to technical problems in early summer, when I was without my laptop for a while. I then went on holiday to sunny Florida and had the school holidays to keep me busy! Recently I [...]

I  would like to apologize for seemingly neglecting The Beauty Spot blog over the summer months.

This has been due, in part,  to technical problems in early summer, when I was without my laptop for a while.  I then went on holiday to sunny Florida and had the school holidays to keep me busy!  Recently I have been occupied with working on a new project – my brand new Mamma Kerr blog.

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Did you know that today is officially the first day of Autumn?  Those of you from Scotland might, like me, have believed that Autumn started a couple of weeks ago.  There’s been a chill in the air, the mornings and evenings have been darker and leaves have already started to go brown on the trees. [...]

I was delighted to discover that I’d lost 2.5 lbs on the second week of my diet, which means that I’ve lost 7 lbs in two weeks – that’s half a stone!

My class was absolutely mobbed on Thursday night!  It was queued out the door when I arrived sharply at 7pm for my weigh-in.  I asked a few of my fellow dieters in the queue, whether this was especially busy or not.  It was certainly the busiest I’ve seen it out of my three visits.  Everyone agreed that it was an exceptionally busy night. 

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There have been many changes at Barefoot Books over the Summer months, and during that period I was concentrating on other projects. However, in recent weeks I have started getting back into the the business and I am raring to go!!.. I am now proud to be an Ambassador of Barefoot Books, rather than a Stallholder.  You [...]

 I received an email from Jennifer Tankersley of ListPlanIt, this morning, notifying me that it was only 100 days until Christmas.  Does this observation fill you with panic, as it did to me this morning?

In the current economic climate, I’m sure I’m not the only one who is apprehensive about the cost of Christmas this year.  Whilst still looking forward to Christmas with my family and friends, I’ll certainly be having a more frugal Christmas this year.  My husband works in construction and things are still pretty quiet in that industry.  He is actually having to work down in England for the next couple of months, while his company tries to secure more contracts in Scotland.  This is not ideal, but it is certainly preferable to him being made redundant, so we can’t really complain.

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I was deeply saddened to hear that actor, Patrick Swayze, died yesterday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Like many women of my generation, I had a special affection for Patrick, after falling in love with him in the 1987 smash hit, Dirty Dancing (one of my all-time favourite films!), with his excellent portrayal of snake-hipped Johnny Castle and the line:

“Nobody puts Baby in the corner!”

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Today, thousands gathered in New York in a square near Ground Zero to pay tribute to the victim of the 9/11 terror attack on the eighth anniversary of the atrocities.

Rememberence ceremonies have been held all over the US, with moments of silence being observed at each of the three sites, where victims perished.

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Just a short post to update you on my first weigh-in at my slimming club. 

I gingerly mounted the scales last night and held my breath…

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Well, it’s been a week now, since I joined my local slimming club, and I’ve been following the diet meticulously. I think I’ve done okay, and it hasn’t been too difficult.

When I told Hubby I was joining a slimming club, his response was:
“You just need to cut down a bit and exercise more!”

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I was filled with nostalgia today when I realised that the Girl Guide Movement is celebrating its 100th Anniversary.  It made me feel quite old to recall that I was a member of the movement when they celebrated their 75th Anniversary!  I spent many happy years in the Girlguiding movement, from a Brownie at age seven to an Adult Guider aged 25.  

I can still recite my Promise:

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One of my pet peeves is seeing emails and forum posts typed entirely in capital letters. It is not only difficult to read, but also comes across as aggression and shouting.

I read an article on the BBC News website today, which opens up debate on whether or not one should leave the Caps Lock off, when typing email correspondence. The article reports that ProCare Health worker Vicki Walker from Auckland, was sacked for “spreading disharmony at work” by sending colleagues emails in capital letters. Some emails also contained “provocative” text in bold or red.

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I was intrigued by an article in todays Daily Mail, with the Headline:

“Mother with 18 children all with ‘J’ names is pregnant again – and is expecting grandchild… to be christened with letter ‘M’”

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When I came off the contraceptive pill several years ago, my doctor advised me to start taking Folic Acid straight away.  I heeded her advice, and took the supplement daily until I found out I was pregnant (several months later).  I then switched to pregnancy supplement, Pregnacare.  

At my 12-week scan I was delighted to discover that I was expecting twins!  My midwife prescribed Folic Acid and Iron tablets which, thanks to our wonderful NHS in the UK, I received free of charge throughout the rest of my pregnancy.  Thus, I no longer had to buy the  branded supplement, Pregnacare.

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