ManicMammy's Blog

Reviews, news, family, wine and me

Time to Terminate Tetanus

Posted on | September 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

Pampers and UNICEF have just launched this year’s “1 Pack =  1 Life-Saving Vaccine”  campaign. Its ultimate goal is the worldwide elimination of maternal and newborn tetanus.

During this October, November and December, for every pack of Pampers nappies with the “1 Pack = 1 Life-Saving Vaccine” logo, Pampers will fund UNICEF with 1 tetanus vaccine.This campaign has been running since 2006 and the really good news is that the end goal is achieveable, it is in sight.

Since 2006, the “1 pack = 1 life-saving vaccine” campaign has helped to protect 100 million women and their babies, with the help of parents across the globe. So far the campaign has reached 21 countries across two continents, with 14 of these countries now reaching completion of their maternal and newborn tetanus programmes.

As I’ve said previously, this is a no brainer for me. If you have nappy wearing kids, buy pampers for these 3 months. Stock up for future months!

If you have no need to buy nappies, you can still help this campaign. This year, the Pampers Big Kiss campaign is also running.  Grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, friends and more can click on the badge below. For each click, from a unique computer or phone, Pampers will donate a vaccine to UNICEF. No cost, no strings, easy peasy.

Pampers UNICEF Team 2

So g’wan.  Buy some Pampers nappies. Email, tweet, facebook  https://sn.im/pampers2 to friends and family and get them to click on it. Wouldn’t it be amazing in these depressing times to think that we could contribute to the annihilation of such a devastating disease for mothers and newborns?

Thanks a mil. This campaign was such a success last year, it would be brilliant to top it this year.

If you get a chance, check out Rosie’s blog. She documents her trip to Cameroon with UNICEF and relates much more eloquently than I could, the reality of living with the threat of tetanus and the work that UNICEF is doing.

Many thanks also to my fellow pampers team 2 bloggers. Check them out!

Hayley at SingleMummy.net, Hazel at ladyscribbles.wordpress.com, Eavan and Yvonne at irishmoms.com, Yuri at urbanvox.net.

If you’re a blogger and would like to help out, please add the badge to your blog using the following:

<a href=”https://sn.im/pampers2″><img src=”https://bit.ly/cxLfrU” width=”150″ height=”150″ alt=”Pampers UNICEF Team 2″ /></a>

Category: Events, Parenting
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Scrumptious scones

Posted on | September 29, 2010 | No Comments

I don’t often post recipes on this blog but I’m making an exception for this one. This week has seen 3 of children rebel as they are sick of sandwiches in their school lunchbox every day. Coincidentally last week my sister in law mentioned she had just eaten some delicious scones so I decided to give the recipe a go.

Et voila

Result. The kids loved them. Preparation was very easy. It was perfect for getting all the kids involved, each had their own job to do which made the whole process very fast. We didn’t have any mustard powder in the house so it was omitted in our version of the scones but would definitely add it to the next batch to see what flavour it adds.

Overall a vertible success.  Happy kids and a happy mammy ;-)

Cheddar and Sweetcorn Scones

Ingredients

  • 250gr drained sweetcorn kernels
  • 350gr self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp English mustard powder
  • ¼ tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 50gr cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • 175gr cheddar cheese, grated
  • 175 ml semi skimmed milk
  • ½ lemon, juiced.

Method

Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Mix flour, baking powder, mustard, paprika, salt and  thyme in a large bowl. Rub in butter until the mix looks like fine crumbs. Add the cheese and corn. Mix the milk and lemon juice, then stir into the bowl to make a dough.

Tip the dough onto a floured surface, knead a few times to smooth. Divide into 10-12 balls. Shape into a scone shape with your hands and place on a floured baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 mins or until the scones are risen, golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a rack.

Category: Parenting
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Free honours maths leaving cert grinds

Posted on | September 20, 2010 | No Comments

With the school year underway, Engineers Ireland has announced it is to offer maths grinds to higher-level Leaving Certificate Maths students from Saturday 25th of September until the Easter holidays.

These grinds shall be free of charge and shall take place each Saturday from 11am till 2pm in the Engineer Ireland offices in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

Tim Joyce, Chartered Engineer, who will be giving the grinds explained: “The grinds will focus on the real-life applicability of maths concepts with the pre-records giving students flexibility as time pressures build up ahead of the exams in June. Engineers have a good practical approach to things and have gained experience in using mathematics in their work.  This should allow us remove, at least some of, the barriers that many students have by helping them understand the real value and applicability of the methods they are now learning.  This may also allow them make the step from learning theory and methods to becoming adept at applying it to solve the problems presented in the exam.  As a consequence, working through questions from past Leaving Certificates must form a big part of our effort. The focus will be to provide value-added sessions for students.”

The grinds  shall be recorded and available for online viewing from the website for those unable to attend. I think this is a good idea. Any measure that can elevate students’ mathematical comprehension and problem solving abilities rather than dumbing down the syllabus is a step in the right direction in my opinion. The fact that the grinds are free is also, I’m sure, welcomed by the students’ parents.

Further information and register online here.

I look forward to hearing how they go. Is this an idea that should be taken up by other professional bodies?

UPDATE: Due to the popularity of the free maths grind session, it has been booked out. Therefore another session from 2pm to 4pm is now offered. Register here.

Category: Events, Parenting
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Family guy clip that made me smile

Posted on | September 19, 2010 | 1 Comment

Multiply this by 5, with a “Moma” which is what Fionn refers to me when he wants my attention and this could be our house somedays ;-)

Category: Parenting, Personal
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Running up that hill

Posted on | September 15, 2010 | 1 Comment

Saturday the 4th of September saw myself, my husband and a group of my siblings and pals take part in the Dingle half marathon.

It was an early start on a Saturday morning. Luckily the holiday home we had rented for the weekend was a stone’s throw away from the start line. We ambled down after kitting ourselves out in assorted running attire, fixing our race numbers to our tops and breakfasting on various porridge, granola, toast and yoghurt combinations.

The atmosphere on the quayside was brilliant. The sun was shining and the DJ played tunes to get us in the mood to run the miles ahead.

It was a most excellent day. We each ran at our own pace. The sun shone thoroughout the duration. The scenery around Slea head and along most of the race route was breathtaking. An absolutely stunning part of the country, it did the job of distracting me from my muscles as they began to ache. There were plenty of  water stations and they were well spaced out which was just as well as the hills took their toll. The locals were out in force along the route to encourage and cheer the runners on. There were pace setters for those who wanted to keep a steady race time or beat a personal best.

I loved it and I will be back to take part in next year’s one. Check it out here. There’s also a full marathon and ultra marathon on the same day for those who are much fitter and braver than I.

Category: Events, Personal, Reviews
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Superb SuperSea Summer Camp

Posted on | July 31, 2010 | No Comments

Oscar has just completed this summer camp and is raving about how good it was and how much he enjoyed it. It took place on Garrettstown beach. We were fortunate that the weather was relatively good this week and there were some waves. All equipment was supplied by the surf school. The children were kitted out with wetsuits, booties, boards etc.

So from  10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday himself and 15 other kids aged 8 to 12 years old had a blast on the beach. They had great fun learning to surf, kayaking, coasteering and cliff jumping. The instructors were excellent, I had no worries regarding Oscar’s safety. He was taught safety procedure, what to do if in trouble and good surfing rules and etiquette. After this camp he is now at the stage of being able to judge the waves and get up to standing on the surfboard.

It was an action packed week,  he was exhausted most evenings. He made some good friends and most importantly had a really fun time. There was a good mix of boys and girls participating in the camp. Would thoroughly recommend it. The SuperSea camp cost €150 which initially did seem expensive. But after seeing what he got out of the week, I reckon it was good value for money.

He is now talking about saving to buy his own wetsuit and surfboard as he intends to  continue surfing.

Category: Local, Parenting, Reviews
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Decisions, decisions.

Posted on | July 28, 2010 | No Comments

wine and painting color swathiness
Creative Commons License photo credit: emdot

An email from Dermot Nolan MW the other day prompted me to have another look at the WSET Diploma course to see whether or not I wanted to apply to do it. I really enjoyed completing the WSET advanced course and my wine knowledge increased immensely. But the diploma course is a massive jump in both money and time commitment.

Putting both those concerns to one side, I had a perusal through the course schedule to see what areas would be covered, what the coursework and exams entail.

Some of the sections really appeal to me. I would love to learn more about wine production, the light wines of the world, sparkling and fortified wines. But, if I’m to be honest, I have little interest in the whole sections on spirits or on the global business of alcoholic beverages. The coursework titles of  “The  “premiumisation” of white spirits ” and “Agents,  importers and distributors” don’t fill me with enthusiasm, alas.

I realise that WSET courses are tailored to those in the wine trade and therefore these sections and coursework assignments are relevant.  I could ofcourse research, buy the books and do whichever sections/regions I pleased on my own. But I must admit, I really like the camraderie, the social and “having dedicated time to learn” aspects of a taught course.

I guess what I’m looking for is an alternative course. Is there such a thing in Ireland? Or should I just bite the bullet and consider the WSET diploma even though its not perfect for me?

Category: Personal, Wine
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But how can they teach me to run faster? *

Posted on | July 27, 2010 | No Comments

The beginning of the school summer holidays saw my middle three children eager to do something energetic. Some of their pals were doing the Bandon Athletic Club Summer Camp so that’s the activity they selected.

It was held in the Bandon Grammar school grounds which was great as in addition to outdoor running track and facilities, there was access to indoor halls should the weather turn inclement.

The three aged 5, 6 and 8 years old had a brilliant week. They really enjoyed the range of activities which included:

  • sprints
  • long jump
  • high jump
  • relays
  • javelin
  • hammer throw
  • discus
  • shot putt

The camp cost €65 for the first child and €50 for each subsequent sibling which I rate as good value for money. It ran from 10am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. I found it really well run. There was  plenty of supervision and coaching. Each child recieved a certificate of attendance and a medal on the last day. They were chuffed.

Would definitely recommend.

* This was Fionn’s query when his older brother suggested he attend the summer camp for running training ;-)

Category: Events, Local, Parenting, Reviews
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Super Sugru Scissors Repair

Posted on | July 8, 2010 | 9 Comments

This is a guest post from Oscar, our 11 year old son. He eagerly awaited the arrival of Sugru in our house as he had seen the demos on its website. He repaired a broken scissors handle with the wonder material. Now nothing is safe ;-)

Take it away Osc:

Today I did an experiment with a product called Sugru. Sugru is colourful silicone rubber used for fixing items. I tried to fix a pair of broken scissors. What was wrong with them was one of the handles snapped. So I got a small packet of Sugru to fix it. I first opened the packet and felt the play-doh like substance. It was surprisingly very soft. I then applied it to the broken part of the scissors. I spread the Sugru so one could get their fingers in the handle. Then after 24 hours I checked the scissors and the Sugru on the scissors. The Sugru had turned hard in the 24 hours that it was setting but it was still feel the rubberiness in it. So in other words it was a complete success. I am giving Sugru a rating of 5 stars. Excellent. I would recommend it to anyone.

Category: Parenting, Reviews
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Quality not quantity

Posted on | July 6, 2010 | No Comments

A couple or so weeks ago, I was delighted to be invited by Kate in Fleishman-Hillard to visit the Pampers Innovation Centre in Schwalbach, Germany.

The visit piqued the interest of both the mammy and engineer in me. I love seeing innovation and how things are made. As a mammy to 5 darlings I’ve definitely seen my fair share of nappies.

An early start in Dublin saw myself, Kate and the lovely Sian from mummymaps winging our way to Germany where we met with Sue from the Royal College of Midwives and Hayley from singlemummy.net. A brief hair raising taxi journey and we arrived at the Pampers Research Centre.

What followed was a very interesting day. It is a place that on first entry looks more like a creche or playcentre. Every week 1200 mothers collect test nappies for at-home tests and are invited at intervals for interviews about the nappies. Babies are observed in playground lab to observe fit and leakage of new nappies. Dr Ralf was kind enough to demonstrate the recording of amount of moisture on a baby’s skin. Measurements essential to improve the nappy’s ability to draw wetness away from baby’s bum.

The main reason we were there was so that we could see the new Dry Max nappies and find out more about their development, evolution, production and the technology behind them. I have to say I was impressed with the new nappies. 20% less bulk as the traditionally used airfelt or “paper pulp” has been  replaced with Absorbent Gelling Material (AGM). The photo below shows the amount per nappy of AGM on the left compared to the airfelt it replaces on the right.

Less bulk and removal of moisture away from skin can only mean more comfort for baby and toddler and less likelihood of nappy rash. We’ve all noted the occasional, rather full,  morning nappy where toddler strides around like John Wayne. As the AGM can be applied to stay in a specific areas of the nappy, this can hopefully be avoided in future. There was an obvious improvement in performance when the old version of the nappy was compared with the new Dry Max version.

Other new information that I learned that day:

  1. Size 4 versus 4+ and Size 5 versus  5+:  The “+ ” indicates better/more absorbtion. The circumference, that is, tummy measurement of both sizes of nappies, is the same.
  2. Procter & Gamble  is always interested in feedback on their products. Ring freephone number or email to address shown below  on website.

I had a very enjoyable, interesting and informative day. It was great to meet so many people who were passionate and commited to what they do. Excellent as always to meet and catch up with other parents and bloggers. Thanks again to Kate and Rachel from Fleishman-Hillard and to Aimee and Gillian from Procter and Gamble as well as Dr Frank Wiesemann, Peter Dziezok and Ralf Adams who took the time and had the patience to show us around and answer all of our questions.

Annnd if you still want to see a vid of the new nappy after all that chat, here you go:

One of my highlights was seeing the prototype production line. Can’t get away from those mechanical engineering roots  ;-)

Category: Events, Parenting
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