WMW Prompts for 30 November:

1. So, did you get sucked into the excitement and drama of Black Friday? If so, what deals did you snag?? And for our international gal (that’s ME by the way!!  lol), has our shopping madness spread to your area?
2. Four day weekends are nice but the transition back to work can be challenging! How are you doing with the transition?

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS

Last Working Mommy Wednesday I bemoaned the fact that we do not celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK.  However, I am happy to say that your Black Friday Deals are actually starting to penetrate the UK market!  I spent most of last week watching Black Friday deals on Amazon in particular!  Unfortunately, most of the best deals were only available during my working hours, but I did manage to bag a funky brushed metal photo frame clock for half price!     The UK Apple website was also offering Black Friday deals!  However, much as I was tempted, I resisted the urge to bag some Apple products!

There are actually LOTS of sales on at the moment on the High Street and online here in the UK.  However, I’m not sure whether that has anything to do with the US Black Friday influence, or whether it’s to do with the bleak economic climate.  I suspect it has more to do with the latter!  People just don’t have the spare cash to go mad on Christmas shopping this year! 

FOUR DAY WEEKENDS _ TRANSITION BACK TO WORK

I might not have had a four-day weekend, but I’m having a four-day working week this week!  Today I was on strike, taking part in industrial action to protest about proposed changes to my Local Government Pension Scheme. I’m fighting to protect the pension that I’ve been paying into for 20+ years! I used to be guaranteed a lump sum, but now I’m not! I was led to believe I could retire after 40 years service in a full pension, but now they want me to work into my seventies!! They want me to contribute MORE every month, work LONGER and receive LESS when I retire!?! NO WAY!! It’s outrageous!  Here’s some background news on the public sector strikes.

The strikes meant that the schools were closed so, rather than joining a picket line, I spent the day at home with my girls.  We had a lovely lazy day at home, while the weather was miserable outside.

You can join in the Working Mommy Wednesday meme over at Occasional Boredom.

It’s Wednesday!  Hump Day – the mid-point of the working week!  What better way to celebrate being half-way to the weekend than participating in one of my favourite blog memes – Working Mommy Wednesday!!  This fun meme is hosted by the lovely Rachel over at Occasional Boredom.

Unfortunately, I was too busy last week to join in any of my favourite blog memes!  However, I would like to play catch-up and respond to last week’s WMW prompt, as well as this week’s… 

Prompt for November 9th:

• Share a cause you enjoy supporting.

This Friday the BBC hosts its annual Children In Need charity appeal. All round the country groups and individuals, celebrities and ordinary Joes will be raising money for the appeal.

“BBC Children in Need is the BBC’s UK corporate charity. Thanks to the support of the public, they are able to make a real difference to the lives of children all across the UK.  They provide grants to projects in the UK which focus on children and young people who are disadvantaged.” – BBC Website.

We are having a Cake Sale at our office, so tonight I will be baking a dozen vanilla cupcakes and a dozen chocolate cupcakes. I’ll decorate them tomorrow evening and then take them into the office to sell on Friday…

I’ll post some pics of my finished masterpieces later in the week… 

Prompts for November 16th:

1.  Are you excited about Thanksgiving?  What plans do you have?

And because I am from the UK (where, unfortunately, we do not celebrate Thanksgiving!), the lovely Rachel has assigned another WMW prompt, especially for me!  How delighted am I!?!  My very own WMW prompt!!! 

2.  Let’s talk about toys!  What toys are you excited to purchase for your little ones for Christmas?

My twin girls are now seven and a half so they don’t want (or need!) many toys this year!  We’ve bought the girls Acer netbooks for Christmas!  We’ve bought them each the same model in a different colour and they look pretty cool!!  I can’t wait to see their wee faces on Christmas morning!!  They’ll be over the moon!…  They love using my laptop at the moment, so it will be great for them to have a mini one each of their own!  It’ll come in really useful for their homework and class projects!…

Now we just need to get them some stocking fillers, which will include a few games for their Nintendo DSis and the Nintendo Wii, as well as a few books, CDs and DVDs.  I also intend to buy them a few board games such as the new cashcard version of Monopoly and my old favourite – Operation! 

I’m glad the girls are now at the age when their toys are less bulky and noisy!  We don’t have the room for much more toys in our household!

If you are looking for inspiration on toys to buy for your little ones this Christmas, then may I suggest you check out my friend’s blog – www.jamesspence.net – James is an official Toyologist for Toys R Us, and he has lots of fantastic toy reviews and giveaways on his site.

(Oh, and interestingly, re WMW prompt #1, although he lives in the UK, James’s wife, Tiffany, is American, and so they celebrate Thanksgiving!)

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends for next week!!…

You can join in the Working Mommy Wednesday meme over at Occasional Boredom.

1. How was your Halloween?
2. Show photos of autumn in your area.

It’s Working Mommy Wednesday! Today’s prompts are:

1. Does being a mom cause your co-workers to think of you as the “office mom”?
2. Children’s books can be, boring – have you found any that are fun to read over and over?

Have I found any fun children’s books which we can read over and over?

I sure have!!  In our house, we all love reading our huge collection of Barefoot Books together!

I joined Barefoot Books as an Ambassador in April 2008, and enjoy displaying and sharing the beautiful books at events, parties and fundraisers throughout Central Scotland.

My daughters have a whole cupboard full of beautiful Barefoot Books that they love to read alone or with Mummy. Some of the books also include an audio CD with stories, songs or rhymes! I like to give these beautiful books as gifts to friends and family, and my ‘special box’ (as the girls call it!) is a frequent source of inspiration for last-minute gifts for children’s parties!
Here’s a few of our favourites:

• The Gigantic Turnip
• The Parrot Tico Tango
• The Barefoot Book of Princesses
• Mama Panya’s Pancakes

Here’s some Halloween fun from Barefoot Books:

Read my WMW Part 1 post from earlier today: Working Mummy But Not Work Mum

Join in the WMW fun over with Rachel over at Occasional Boredom.

It’s Working Mommy Wednesday! Today’s prompts are:

1. Does being a mom cause your co-workers to think of you as the “office mom”?
2. Children’s books can be, boring – have you found any that are fun to read over and over?

Am I the Office Mum?

A couple of years ago, a sixteen year old boy came to work in our office as a Skillseeker (modern apprentice).  When he first arrived, I was suddenly struck with the realisation that I was old enough to be his mother, and it kinda freaked me out a little!!  What freaked me out even more was that I later found out that his mother is actually younger than me!!!  :O He sat in the desk opposite me, and I suppose I did take on the role of Office Mum and I couldn’t help but mother him!!  I advised him, checked up on him, stood up for him, chastised him, etc… all the things us mums do to our kids!

He is now 19 years old and he still works in the same organisation as me, but he now works in a different team.

Thankfully, I no longer feel like the Office Mum, as my current colleagues are all closer in age to me, and I am also no longer the only parent!!

I will answer the second WMW in a different post later… so come back soon and see my pick of children’s books!!…

WMW Prompt for October 12th:

How do you carve out personal time for yourself?

This is a little easier for me now that my office is only a 2 minute stroll from my house!  Some mornings I grab an extra 15 minutes Me Time in between the school run and going to work.

If the weather is nice, I might take a walk along the banks of the River Carron.  The proximity of the river to my house is one of my favourite things about where I live!  I really enjoy walking along the riverbank, listening to the rushing water and admiring my surroundings!  It lifts my soul!

If the weather is not so nice, I might just nip home for a quiet cup of coffee before heading to work.  It’s nice to just sit back and enjoy a few minutes peace and quiet!

My favourite part of working so close to home is to be able to pop home every day for lunch!  I really value my lunchbreaks now!  I use this opportunity to catch up with some television programmes that I have recorded on Sky+, such as my favourite soap, EastEnders, or my latest guilty pleasure, Cake Boss.

Join in the WMW meme over at Occasional Boredom.

Prompt for October 5th:

The last quarter of the year is full of amazing holidays. What is your favourite? Halloween, Thanksgiving, Talk Like a Pirate Day or Christmas?

• Halloween – Having my twin girls around allows me to enjoy Halloween almost as much as I did as a child. We don’t tend to go overboard with Halloween like my friends in the US, but in recent years us Brits have adopted a more Americanised approach to the occasion! There is certainly a lot more Halloween decorations on sale from early September onwards. As a Scot, Halloween reminds me of going out guising* and dooking* for apples.  However, my own girls are more familiar with the term, “Trick or treat?”  The girls are not dressing up in a scary costume this year.  They have opted to dress up as Arabian Princesses, using costumes from their dance recital earlier this year!

• Thanksgiving – We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Britain, but I wish we did. I have a couple of American friends over here, who celebrate Thanksgiving, as well as a lot of online friends from the US. Thanksgiving celebrations (particularly the food!) sounds awesome!  I think Society has become rather impatient, selfish and materialistic in recent years, so having a holiday set aside to stop and count our blessings and enjoy simple pleasures with our friends and family seems like a good idea to me.

• Talk Like a Pirate Day – Ha!   I don’t even know when this is? I thought this was just some random Internet meme on Facebook!!  LOL

• Christmas – Well, without a doubt, this is my favourite holiday!  It’s the only one that I have time off work for.  I love Christmas!  I love the food, the parties, the dressing up, Christmas Carols, nativity plays, visits to Santa, and spending time with family and friends.  I enjoy it even more since my girls came along!  I love seeing the magic of Christmas through their eyes!  This Christmas will be extra special too, because my sister has just had a lovely baby daughter!

*“In Scotland, Hallowe’en was traditionally associated with witches and bonfires. In the last few hundred years, bonfires have ceased to be part of the celebration of Hallowe’en – they are reserved for “Guy Fawkes” night on 5 November. But other pagan rituals have been perpetuated with traditions such as “dookin’ for apples” (removing an apple floating in a basin of water without using your hands, either spearing it with a fork held in your teeth or by biting it). Of course, apples were sacred to the Druids.” [Source: Rampant Scotland]

*“Dressing up and going “guising” is a tradition which has lasted to the present day. The original idea was to dress as spirits of the dead but options have widened over the years. When money was tight, dressing up in some old clothes from grandparents was all that was required. But witches (with broomsticks, cloaks and pointed black hats) have always been popular, with blackened faces harping back to the pagan days when the Druids may have smeared their faces with ash from their bonfires. Long before “trick or treat” children went round the houses and had to perform a poem or a song or tell jokes before receiving nuts, apples, sweets (candies). In recent years, concern about child safety has reduced the amount of “guising” and the children who do go out seem to think they should get something without having to do a “party piece”.” [Source: Rampant Scotland]

Join in this fun meme over at Occasional Boredom.

I haven’t participated in Working Mommy Wednesday for a few weeks. This fun meme for working mothers is now hosted by the lovely, Rachel M from Occasional Boredom.

What is the dress code like in your job?

 I work for local government in a behind-the-scenes support role.  Therefore, I’m happy to say that the dress code is pretty laid back.  Don’t get me wrong, you are still expected to dress ‘appropriately’.  Smart but casual attire seems to be the rule of thumb, with some people opting for the more casual end of the spectrum (i.e. jeans), and others preferring smarter clothes (i.e. skirt/trouser suits and blouses/shirts).

I like to dress quite smartly in skirts, smart trousers or even dresses.  However, I need to also dress for comfort.  I wear boots, training shoes or flat shoes and a hooded waterproof jacket because I walk to work after walking my children to school.  Also, I need to wear warm clothes because our office isn’t the warmest of places!  Therefore, I tend to wear jumpers or cardigans much of the time!

If I have meetings to attend, I try to make more of an effort to be smart.

You can join in the WMW meme over at Occasional Boredom.

Occasional boredom in an otherwise exciting life: Working Mommy Wednesday#links

It’s Working Mommy Wednesday and I am packing up my things for an office move. We’re not only moving office, but we’re also moving building! Our new office is literally a two-minute stroll from my house, so I’ll be able to go home for lunch every day!    We’re moving first thing tomorrow… Now it’s time for the WMW prompts:

#1. When did you start blogging and why? (Take it a step further and talk about why you continue blogging today, if that’s different from when you started.)

I discovered blogging in 2007, after becoming a party plan consultant. I had been trawling the Internet, looking for inspiration and advice re party plan businesses, and came across Kristie T’s home business blog (now Kristie Rimelle) via Webmomz. I also started following blogs by Internet gurus, Alice Seba, Nicole Dean, Crissy Herron, Darina Loakman, Denise Wakeman, Marie Ynami and Kelly McCausey. It was those bloggers who inspired me to start my own blog. My first blog was My Party Plan Blog, a spin-off of my Party Plan Consultant UK website, which I had set up as a resource for party plan consultants. Other themed blogs were to follow, linked to my home-based businesses.

Then in 2008 I began my mummy blog – Mamma Kerr, inspired by The Domestic Diva, Heather Batts. I am currently working on re-vamping all my websites and blogs. I am modernising my original Party Plan Consultant site and My Party Plan Blog, and hope to re-launch this towards the end of this year…

I am also re-vamping this Mamma  Kerr site, which will be the blog for my new parenting resource and community website that I am quietly working on just now. I hope to launch this next month or early September… Watch this space… :)

I wish I had more time to devote to my websites, as I really enjoy tinkering with them and writing content. However, I do have a corporate job, so my time is limited to weekends and evenings.

#2. What do people most often criticize about you?

• I can be untidy at times, which I blame on being VERY busy – doing too many things at the one time!
• I am opinionated. If something or someone annoys me, I speak out! Personally, I loathe people who do NOT have opinions. I prefer people with differing opinions to boring folk with no opinions on anything! I like a healthy debate on topical issues.



Join in the Working Mommy Wednesday fun over at Work Wife Mom Life!

#1. How important to you, as a working mom, is a schedule/routine for your kids?

Routines are essential not only to me, as a working mother, but also to my twin daughters who like a structured routine, as they then know what to expect.

Our morning routine goes a little something like this:

• 06:15 – Hubby gets up, showered and dressed.
• 06:45 – I get up, showered and dressed, while Hubby has breakfast.
• 07:15 – Hubby goes to work, and I catch up on a few household chores.
• 07:30 – I wake the girls.
• 07:45 – The girls get up, washed and dressed, while I prepare their breakfast and pack their lunches.
• 08:15 – The girls and I eat breakfast.
• 08:40 – I braid the girls’ hair.
• 08:45 – The girls and I walk to school /work.

Ha!  Who am I trying to kid!?!  That’s how it should be but, more often than not, this is what really happens:

• 06:15 – The alarm goes off for Hubby, but he ignores it.
• 06:20 – The alarm goes off again and Hubby grunts.
• 06:25 – The alarm goes off again and Hubby is gently nudged out of bed.
• 06:30 – Hubby gets up, showered and dressed.
• 06:45 – My alarm goes off and is immediately put on snooze. 
• 06:50 – My alarm goes off again, and is once more put on snooze.
• 06:55 – My alarm goes off again, and is switched off.  I check for messages on my BlackBerry.
• 07:05 – Hubby has breakfast and shouts, “Are you not up yet?”
• 07:10 – I get up, showered and dressed.
• 07:20 – Hubby goes to work.
• 07:30 – I wake the girls.
• 07:45 – The girls get up and then sit in the living room like a pair of zombies.
• 07:50 – I begin my half hour of continuous nagging (“Hurry up and get washed!”, “Hurry up and get dressed!”), while I prepare their breakfast and pack their lunches.
• 08:20 – The girls do anything bar eat their breakfast (e.g. they chit chat, they have a carry on, they have niggley fights, they play with the cat, etc…)
• 08:40 – I help the girls find random things (e.g. a missing shoe, a homework jotter, a reading book, a hairband).
• 08:45 – I scrape the girls’ hair into ponytails.
• 08:50 – We hurry out the door and into the car.

#2. Given the opportunity, which would you accept – a bigger salary and less benefits OR a smaller salary and top-notch benefits?

I suppose I have the latter at the moment.  I have a modest salary, but I am lucky enough to enjoy family friendly policies, such as flexible working hours, childcare vouchers and carer’s leave.  I would need to be paid considerably more to compensate for not having these benefits.  Furthermore, I cannot think of any other benefits that would entice me to voluntarily reduce my salary!!