I have experienced 27 months of pregnancy. Some good, a fair amount pretty rubbish actually. With pregnancy comes a lot of choices. You first of all (quite rightly in my opinion) get to choose whether to stay pregnant. You decide on how you plan to give birth, what kind of pain relief you might like (top tip: all of it) and you get to decide on a whole host of other things along the way. Some of it is important, some not so much. Nobody really talks about the umbilical cord though.

In all of those 27 months though not one medical professional ever mentioned umbilical cords and stem cell research. There wasn’t even a pamphlet anywhere as far as I can remember. 

It was introduced to me by another Mum. One who was in the same Facebook due in group because we happened to be due to give birth at the same time – incidentally if you are pregnant and reading this, and you haven’t already, go and search on facebook for your own due in group. It’s a great way to find a tribe and trust me during those 3am feeds you will want your tribe. She happened to mention in passing that she intended to donate her umbilical cord for research. 

About Stem Cell Collection

I had no idea but there are companies you can use who bank the cord blood from your babies umbilical cord for potential use later if needed. Considering that this is a non invasive procedure and could have monumental benefits I wonder why it isn’t something which is talked about more readily?

Cord blood contains precious stem cells which can be used as approved therapy for over 80 serious illnesses such as blood disorders, cancers and metabolic conditions. Additionally, cord blood stem cells could hold great promise in the field of regenerative medicine.  Regenerative therapies often use a patient’s own stem cells and cord blood often provides the perfect source.  

Netmums and Smart Cells have teamed up to create this informative video for anyone wanting to find out more. 

This is a collaborative post. All opinions remain my own.

Day 3 of Blogtober is about cars. I have been able to drive for 13 years but I know pitifully little about cars. So I will talk about what I do know. 

I have owned 4 cars. An old renault clio, a C3 which I chose because it looked cute but which repeatedly died on me, a Vauxhall Zafira which was kindly written off by another driver on a roundabout last November and then this. A Hyundai Matrix. If you think it looks like an old man’s car, you would be quite right

The old man’s car

My children have spent more time in this car than I have. In fact, the day I got it Col and Bess jumped into the back and having opened their secret hiding place, they proceeded to pull out a little plastic horse, a pack of pencils, a few shells and some other assorted oddments. A small handful of memories.

This car used to belong to my Grandpop. He loved to drive, he and my Nan would often have Col and Bess to stay and take them off to the beach or woods for lots of playtime. Even when we moved 150 miles away my Nan and Grandpop would drive in this to meet us at the beginning of the school holidays so they could whisk Col and Bess away for the duration of the half term. As soon as the children caught sight of this car they would get so excited to see their Great Grandparents. To them this car meant adventure.

That was quite a few years ago now. My Nan has since passed away (fuck you cancer) and then last November I was involved in an accident (decided in my favour by the insurers) which resulted in my previous car being written off. 

The shakes

Around the same time it had become apparent that the Parkinsons my Grandpop was suffering with was getting worse. A lot worse. It’s strange and scary to see someone you love be affected by ageing and all that comes with it. Especially when they have to deal with a condition like Parkinson’s too. I think most people know about the involuntary shakes associated with the disease but not about the other stuff. It really robs a person of who they are. Mentally and physically.

The day after I told him my car had been written off, my Grandpop called to tell me that he made the decision to give back his driving license. He said it quite matter of factly (as is his way) but I could hear how difficult and brave a decision this must have been for him. He wanted me to have his car. An offer I was not expecting.

I felt so conflicted about the offer. Of course I was incredibly grateful but also sad. Sad that we had to accept that things were changing. The Grandpop who would turn up and get stuck into some gardening or fix some DIY catastrophe was not going to be around anymore. 

I of course accepted 

So now his car is mine. It has been nearly a year since he signed it over but quite honestly I don’t think it will ever really feel like it’s anything other than Grandpops car. I am ok with that. It maybe isn’t the prettiest car in the world but it has something which not a lot of cars have. It has love ground into the carpets (along with god knows what else) and it has a place in the story of our little family.

ps. My foot still hurts, fingers crossed it’s better tomorrow! 

A few days ago my daughter was walking home from school when a rock tucked to side of the path caught her eye.

It was a medium sized rock which had been painted with a figure and the words BE HAPPY on one side. On the other side it said LOVE ON THE ROCKS PETERBOROUGH. KEEP OR REHIDE.

We had to find out what was going on so I of course opened social media and there was indeed a page created on Facebook called Love On The Rocks Peterborough. 

What Is It?

The rocks were a project which began in America 6 months after the tragic deaths of 2 little girls named Abigail and Anna who were hit by a car outside their home. They and their family had completed a project for their parents wedding where they had decorated rocks to give to guests and some for guests to write messages on for them to gift back to the family. You can learn more about that here

The idea is that the rocks are painted and hidden in public places for strangers to find. When you find a painted rock you can take a photo and then choose to either keep it or re hide for someone else to find.

Can I Join In? 

Yes! The more the merrier. I think it is a great way to spend family time together and all you need is some large stones, some paint and a little time. 

How Can I Decorate My Rocks?

The beauty of this project is that you are limited only by your imagination. I would probably recommend keeping your design family friendly because there are a lot of children hunting for the rocks but aside from that, there are no limits!

You can check out this Pinterest board for some great ideas and don’t forget to add your local facebook group name to the back so that photos can be shared!

You don’t need to buy expensive paints, any cheap acrylic or even nail varnish will do. If you want to protect your painting you can buy a clear varnish from a DIY store. I would recommend the use of a sharpie for any finer detail. 

Why Am I Taking Part? 

I really love the idea of this project. As well as being good exercise, something we can do together and a great way to use up our old craft supplies I like the sentiment. Each stone is painted with care and will bring happiness to a stranger. You don’t really benefit from it personally other than knowing that you have sent a smile out into the world. I like the message that sends and I think anything which might add to a sense of community in 2017 has got to be a good thing!

If anyone wants me this weekend I will be mostly painting rocks! 

This is what you have been headed towards since school began

Since you donned your first pair of shiny black shoes and trotted off through the doors beginning your school career it has all been about you getting these results. A piece of paper showing the world what you can do if you apply yourself.

I will never need to know that

The problem with education is that it is (for the most part) wasted on the young. Of course we all know that teenagers already know everything they need to to succeed in life. Probably. Will you write BOOBS on a calculator more often than needing to know how to use long division. Also probably. Will you apply your knowledge of how to make an erupting volcano in any other setting than 1 homework project for your child. Unlikely.

Problem is though that if you didn’t recognise that the point of learning this stuff was to pass a test then maybe you didn’t apply yourself and are now looking at a piece of paper showing 1’s, 2’s and the odd E if you are lucky. Don’t fret.

You are more than your grade

Of course you wanted better for yourself. I am sure your family did too. Those 1’s and 2’s do not show that you are passionate about things in your life outside of school though or your sense of humour and willingness to get the job done. You can blame your results on all kinds of things if you want to but when all’s said and done, they are YOUR results. The results of whatever effort you did or did not put in. It’s ok to feel badly about them – it’s also Ok to accept that this is a blip in the great scheme of things.

YOU CAN’T CHANGE THE PAST BUT YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR GRADE

You now have a choice. Carry on as you have been or you can take this as a learning curve and do something else. If you have received a grade of lower than 4 in Maths or English you will have to re sit those exams. You will be given a year of lessons alongside your full time college course to help you to improve your grade when you retake the exam so you have a chance. My advice would be to grab it with both hands!

If you never fail, how can you measure success?

The thing about GCSEs is that I am now 35 and it has been many years since my results mattered. Some people aren’t academic by their nature but education works best when it lights a fire rather than filling a bucket.

You should find something you enjoy and do it. If you are a practical sort of a person then find something vocational. Want to see the world? Why not study travel and work in another country. Some – maybe even most things – cannot be learned in a classroom. So go and find what makes you smile.

Its been a while

Its not just me. Hear what other bloggers have to say below and comment! I would love to hear how you did and what you want to do next!

Katie: I left school with no GCSEs. I’m now self-employed, earning more money than most people I know and super happy, confident and comfortable with how my life is panning out.

Abi: I got pretty good GCSE results, and wasn’t disappointed or surprised with any of them (although, the geek in me would think I can always do better!) I went on to do A Levels, which is what I wanted to do, and now have a good job with a good wage, even though it’s not my “dream job”. I think the fact I was so academic at school stopped me doing something creative that I loved, such as writing for a living. So whilst I earn a good wage, and I’ve no doubt that my good grades play a role in that, I also think they probably squashed my creativity a little in the strive to continually “perform well”.

Vikki: I did reasonably well in my GCSE’s , but certainly not as well as I could have done. My results did enable me to do everything I wanted to but they certainly wouldn’t have been make or break – there are so many options and alternatives available to young people now. My advice to the young ones would be to always do your best – to make yourself proud. And to not panic if your results aren’t what you hoped – you will be just fine – look at all your options

Alana: I did better than I thought I would, but as my teachers expected. I went on to do AS Levels, but made the mistake of choosing subjects I thought I should do, rather than what I really wanted to. I ended up with an AS Level in Business Studies after a year of hating the subject, and dropped Human Biology for English Literature, which I loved.
I’d advise to do what you enjoy – there’s no sense in taking subjects you think are important or useful if you don’t like them … it’ll only end up being harder work!

Lynette: I didn’t care about my GCSEs and gave my future no thought. I did okay in the exams, especially considering I didn’t do any revision. At the time I had no end vision, no goals and I do think that is quite a negative thing. It didn’t really harm me, I went to the Open University in my mid-twenties.and now I own my own business. I do think that it did hold me back, but there are always different roads to travel

Pete: Don’t worry about how all your friends did, just concentrate on your own results. My GCSE results weren’t too bad. But I felt a little down when nearly all of my school friends received straight A’s and A*’s. If the grades are good enough for what you want to do, then well done!

Kate:  Family of 3 – me 10 0-Levels nearly all As and Bs – skint, my brother – average grades – travelled the world as singer and teacher , other brother only managed 1 o-level in woodwork and became a multi-millionnaire. Some of us develop in different ways at different times. That’s OK and there are more ways to be rich than career success and the funds that come with it