Do one good thing

I do feel very lucky. I am not fantastically wealthy but I have a comfortable home and enough money to buy all the things I need. I have a supportive husband and great kids making me proud. We all enjoy good health. Such things as having clean water, food, sanitation and cleanliness are taken totally for granted. But how different life would be if access to clean water wasn't as simple as turning on a tap.... if providing food for the family wasn't as simple as a trip to the supermarket... if there was no flushable toilet.

So many people on this planet live with exactly that situation.

This year, I bought the Comic Relief merchandise and made my donation by text to 'do my bit' for people in desperate need in Africa - then promptly forgot all about them. It isn't that I don't care - who wouldn't be moved by the sight of sick, malnourished babies hanging onto life by the thinnest of threads? It's more a case of my own life getting in the way and the poignant images that we were bombarded with for the duration of the appeal quickly becoming remote and detached from reality. If I stop and think about it, I wish there was more I could do but what difference can an ordinary mum like me make?

Of course I can make a difference.  A tiny, imperceptible difference - but if enough people do the same, that quickly becomes a significant, life changing difference. And it is SO EASY thanks to the non-profit organisation Global Ethics and their One range of everyday premium products available in supermarkets.

The one range includes water, toilet tissue and hand wash and 100% of the profits from the sales of these products is used to fund a "like for like" project in Africa (for example the profits from sales of hand wash and toilet tissue will be used to fund hygiene and sanitation projects)

I love the idea that by choosing One water for my kids' lunch boxes when I am doing my weekly shop, I am not only supporting the funding of clean water projects where they are needed, I am also sharing my values. I want my children to be grateful for the things they have and care about the plight of those less fortunate. I want them to be aware and to know that they can make a difference. I want them to care.

I was pleased to be sent a selection of One products to try out.

I am already a big fan of their water. The toilet tissue and anti-bacterial hand wash are of an equally high quality. I certainly don't feel as though I will be making any compromises when I choose One over my usual brand and I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I am doing something good, for someone else, somewhere else.

As their tag line goes, do one good thing.

For more information about One products and the good work being done as a result of ordinary people like me choosing to buy them, visit:

onedifference.org/facebook

Firefly Toothbrush - Review

There was a beautiful young mum on One Born Every Minute this week with the worst teeth.
http://lifebegins.channel4.com/birth/the-process/pain-control/epidural/suzanne-gives-birth-to-baby-daniel/

It makes you appreciate the importance of good dental hygiene.

My little girl has a full set of baby teeth - tiny and white. She loves to brush them and knows that this forms part of her bedtime and morning routine.

The important thing now is for us to make sure that her brushing is effective.

Expert opinion suggests that two minutes is the optimum time for brushing, one minute each on the upper and lower sets.

Firefly is America's number one bestselling children's toothbrush and they are now available in the UK. They come in a range of familiar Character designs which are instantly appealing but the most interesting feature is the Light Up Technology. At the press of the button, the toothbrush will light up and flash for 1 minute. The child must brush for the duration of the flashing for the upper teeth and again for the lower teeth.

As well as making teeth brushing fun, Firefly ensures that children know how long to brush for thus promoting good dental hygiene habits.

I was sent a Firefly Hello Kitty toothbrush to try with my little girl. This is how we got on.

Obviously some parental supervision is still necessary to monitor technique but the Firefly timer will definitely be beneficial in terms of getting her to brush for the required length of time and my little one does love her flashing Hello Kitty toothbrush.

The Firefly range is available from Lloyds Pharmacy, Argos and other leading independent stockists  priced £1.49 - £2.49.

Find Firefly on Facebook

One Born Every Minute

One Born Every Minute is one of my few 'must watch' TV shows. There are some truly inspirational women and others that are just funny until the moment that the baby is handed to them and then suddenly, all the fuss they had been making is forgotten as they become totally lost in the moment of meeting their newborn for the first time. I will invariably feel the prickling of tears and if I happen to be holding one of my own babies, I will hug them a little tighter remembering the special day when they came into the world. I also feel a tiny stab of sadness that I will never again experience first hand that most incredible of journeys.

With five girls of my own (two of them in their twenties), I think it is a given that it is only a matter of time before one of them finds themself with child and has to prepare for that moment when the inevitable happens - labour and birth. I have been wondering what advice I can give them when that day comes and this is it:

Your body is about to do something amazing. Even as it is happening it is hard to visualise exactly what is going on. You have to trust that your body knows what it is doing even if your mind struggles to comprehend.


There is much to fear.  Will you make a fool of yourself? Will you cope with the pain? Will you know what to do? Will the baby be OK?


You must put your fear to one side.


Find a happy place in your mind where you can allow your body to work it's miracle. Feel the joyous hurt and know that tissues are stretching and accommodating and making possible.

Although this seems to last for an unendurable eternity, it is only a tiny moment in time. It will end and when it does, you will be changed forever in ways you never imagined. You will be a mother.

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