Mamma Musings

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Car wrecks are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. In fact, adolescents are twice as likely as adults to get into a wreck. The first 18 months after teens get their license are the most dangerous and during that time new drivers are four times more likely than adults to get into an accident. There is a very good reason to why this is the case though, and that is because they are inexperienced and tend to get distracted easily. It is no surprise that young people want a driver’s license though as this can often feel like the first step towards freedom and adulthood. 

However, in their haste to pick up their friends and go for a ride, inexperience can make them forget what they are doing, and this has the potential to be deadly if not done responsibly. Having said that, they still might get into an accident even if they drive perfectly. The accident might have been caused by somebody else (or another young inexperienced driver), if this is the case, then you should hire someone like this Los Angeles car accident lawyer to help you with your claim. Hiring a lawyer will help you with your case and will remove any stress. You won’t have to worry about a thing, as they will sort out getting any compensation that you are owed.

Driving Under the Influence

It is never a smart move to drink and drive, but unfortunately this is a mistake that a lot of people make, not just young people. However, having said that a quarter of all teen drivers were caused by drinking and driving.    DUI charges can have serious consequences for the violator; go here to learn more.  Although pretty much everyone can agree that drink driving is a stupid idea, due to peer pressure or other factors, teens are more likely to drive a vehicle whilst intoxicated.

Not only that, but they may also remain in a vehicle with an intoxicated friend, and this can also lead to an accident occurring. It doesn’t matter if the driver is intoxicated, or the passenger is, both could lead to an accident. If the driver is intoxicated, then that is an obvious enough reason why an accident could occur. But the reason that an accident could occur if the passenger is intoxicated is because it can distract the driver. 

Driving Recklessly

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When a young driver first starts driving, they might be safer than they would be a few months down the line. This is because as their experience increases, these young drivers become more likely to speed or drive recklessly. They are more likely to make phone calls or text whilst driving. Teens with risk-taking friends were most likely to engage in risky behaviours. Young drivers will see this reckless driving as fun, however, it can have dire consequences. This is just one reason why young drivers should have more training, even after they’ve passed their test!

Many young drivers will have to deal with a speeding ticket or two before they learn to calm down behind the wheel. However, this takes time and isn’t something that all young drivers will do straightaway. With regards to accidents, almost a quarter of all car accidents involve a young driver that was speeding. Most of these drivers were male as well, which is why insurance for males are normally a lot higher than for females. This is also partly because young boys are more prone to dangerous driving, such as street racing or stunt driving. 

Not Wearing a Seat Belts

A seat belt really is not an option, it’s something which can help save you from a serious injury (and even death). It’s not there as just an accessory, but as an essential thing that is a safety feature that is needed whilst driving. Many young drivers will willingly ignore the law that they need to wear a seatbelt, and although not wearing one is not a reason for an accident, it just means that young drivers are more likely to be seriously injured in an accident. 

The whole point of a seat belt is to help keep you safe, but unfortunately some young drivers think it makes them look cooler, so they decide to forego wearing one. This is a mistake. However, they won’t realise this until they get more experience, or end up in a car accident with severe injuries (something which could have been avoided if they wore a seat belt). Not all young drivers are like this at least and having experience does not mean that you are a perfect driver. Accidents happen for all sorts of reasons though, so you can never know when one might happen. If you’ve ever been involved in an accident, you might be wondering what you do next? Why not check out this handy checklist here to help you out! 

Note: This is a collaborative post

Kahlil Gibran, “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

Another week into this strange new norm and we are all adapting pretty well. I have to say I am really proud of how well the kids are handling all of this. They are missing their grandparents and their friends so much but are doing really well. I think we can learn at lot from them.

Its funny I have begun to look at this as more of a slow down rather than lock down and ive had some time to reflect on a lot of things. One of the things that has come to the fore with all this is we have vowed to spend much more time outdoors as a family and secondly sustainable living. I suppose I never really realised until now how much unnecessary stuff we buy for ourselves and the kids. I have been totally wowed by the concept of the Reima kids 100% recyclable jacket, the kids can even register the jacket with Reima and they donate €10 to the charity supporting saving the oceans and you can also track your jacket to see where it ends up once recycled. Its genius. It really is the way forward and if we all make small changes like this it will make a big difference.

Another thing  I have been terrible at is buying take away coffees. My love of coffee hasn’t changed but I have realised taking my Keep Cup with me or bringing it out full with me is just perfect. Also shopping bags!! I did try to take them every week but now I make sure I do. Small steps can make such a big impact.

Its funny I think we will look back on this period of our lives and hopefully realise it has taught us so much about ourselves and the way we live.

There are loads of phrases we see and hear when it comes to our smiles….”our smiles are the windows to our soul” or “smile and the world smiles with you” or my personal favourite “smile..its the prettiest thing you can wear“.

But you see for me for many and I mean many years I thought that this wasn’t the  case. I never smiled in photos, actually I deliberately avoided photos on nights out at events etc. On the rare occasion I did end up in a photo, I preferred to hide in the back and certainly never smiled showing my teeth. I always promised myself I would do something about it. They weren’t terrible. I just wasn’t happy with them and it didn’t matter what my friends and family said that was my opinion and that was that.

Last year I hit 35, a bit of a milestone in my own head and thought you know what.. im going to do this. So I began a treatment programme which used clear aligners. 

Thus beginning a journey I wanted to take for some time.  This is all done online, you take impressions of your teeth and they get sent off and a couple of weeks later your clear braces land in the door.  So so simple and efficient.

The name of the company I happened to work with is called Your Smile Direct, which is one of several new, online companies that  have made it possible to address minor teeth misalignments from home, without the dentist visits or big bills associated with  braces. Your Smile Direct has recently closed down, but there are other, similar options out there including SmileDirectClub and Straight Teeth Direct.

However in advance its important to have consultation with a dentist, do shop around as you may even be able to obtain a free dental consultation.

Following completion of the programme which took all in all about 8 months, I could not believe the different, each aligner change brought subtle but noticeable changes but it was only at the end when I saw the before and after pictures I realised just how far my teeth had come. But it wasn’t just my teeth. I lecture and I found my thoughts on my teeth really impacted on my confidence. I hid behind the podium, behind my hands or pages. Always aware and to be honest probably overly consumed by it. Now, its an entirely different story, I don’t mind getting into photos. I smile!! I actually truly smile.

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A little know fact about me is that my area of specialism is white collar crime, more specifically prevention and detection.  According to wikipedia white collar crime is defined as “financially motivated, nonviolent crime committed by businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as “a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupation”. Typical white-collar crimes could include wage theft, fraud, bribery, Ponzi schemes, insider trading, labor racketeering, embezzlement, cybercrime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery.”

Investopedia goes a little further with its explanation  explaining that white-collar crime should not  consider only offenses undertaken by an individual to benefit themselves but crimes including large-scale fraud perpetrated by many throughout a corporate or government institution

Prevention and detection of white collar crime is critical for any business and never more so in the current climate.  Many of us have heard of the Enrons, Andersons and WorldCom, even Bernie Madoff. White collar crime grabs headlines. Its the scandal, the human interest, we want to know, we are curious to know more.

A couple of tips I have gleaned from my 20 years experience include:

• Training is critical – educating your staff on what to look out for is paramount. You need staff buy in.
• Whistle blowing hotline – facilitate staff who are willing to make protected disclosures
  

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• Empower your staff in a compliance/ regulatory role. They need to know they can follow through on action points
• Goes with out saying get good legal advice such as a good  Tampa criminal lawyer
• Be alert!!
• You need to monitor employees – look for red flags such as  logs on outside of designated times, round sum payments, staff who wont take holidays etc
• Familiarise yourself with the Fraud Triangle – knowledge is power
• This sounds really simple but keep an inventory of equipment held on site and review it regularly. Especially for example if you keep expensive IT equipment on site. Don’t give the fraudster the opportunity.
• Consult the experts! This is a minefield, if its outside of your area of expertise there are many people in this are who are experts and as the old adage says “prevention is better than cure”
• Be aware of the growing area of cyber crime.

The psychology of a fraudster is baffling and perhaps I watch too much CSI and Law & Order but this area of the human brain fascinates me so much. The collective thinking about this is that the drive to commit white collar crime can be driven by greed and dishonestly. Some fraudsters even cite a jealousy of their boss for example if he/she  is earning more as a motivation to commit crime. There is much research in this area and if its something that interests you, take my word for it you can get totally engrossed in this stuff.   Rationalization forms a big part of the psyche of the typical white collar crime fraudster…such as “ah sure it was the companies money”, “nobody is getting hurt here”. I suppose being able to rationalize it in that way helps them sleep at night!!!

Note: This is a collaborative post

Kahlil Gibran –  “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”

During 2018 and 2019 I took part in the fabulous linkie run by Donna from What the Redhead said. It is inspired by the above quote and runs each week. I really love reading other peoples post in this linkie so despite vowing for months to get back to it, I have finally decided to get back to wring more on the blog. 

Our New Norm

It’s all a bit surreal isn’t it? Hard to know what day of the week it is. Working from home for the foreseeable, kids off school for the foreseeable, social distancing the new norm.  One thing I have learned so far is that kids are super resilient. Every day my pair wake up full of life, happy out. The roles have been reversed they are now teaching me how to live a “slow life” , to enjoy the little moments, to live in the present, to not be stressing about rush here and there.

Our days are filled with board games, socially distanced walked, facetime calls with grandparents. Very different to the rush and fast paced of the ‘norm’ for us. So rather than fret and worry, we are doing our best to embrace this new norm for the next while.

So take care, stay home, stay safe and we will meet on the other side of this when im guessing many of us will have a renewed appreciation of life and our loved one. We can and will do this. Lets learn from the example set by our kids.

Everyone knows that person (or maybe it’s you) who has all their jewellery shoved into one box. It’s full of tangled up necklace, miss-matched earrings and likely a lot is broken. When properly taken care of, your jewellery can last for many years and stay in the same condition it was when you first bought it. If you invest in beautiful, quality jewellery pieces, you want them to last, so that one day you can pass them on to someone else. 

Use these tips to take care of your jewellery pieces and ensure they stay in tip-top condition. 

1.      Store in a cool, dry place

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Humidity and moisture are the biggest enemies of jewellery. Couple that with heat from either the sun or internal sources and you’ve got a potentially volatile situation for your precious pieces. Over-time heat can degrade certain materials and sunlight can distort colours. Humidity can lead to tarnishing, so keep it in a cool, dry space. 

2.      Keep chalk in your jewellery box

If you have quality silver pieces, like those from Fjewellery.co.uk, store them with a bit of chalk. Chalk is known for its ability to absorb moisture, so it will ensure that your silver stays completely dry. On top of that, it can also filter out chemical residue that could cause damage to your jewellery. Chalk will not cause any damage to your pieces even if some of the dust gets on them. 

3.      Don’t stack it

Stacking jewellery on top of each other is asking for damage. When you pile things up, it can lead to chipping and scratching. Store your jewellery in a way that your pieces aren’t being thrown against each other every time up put something away. Any plated jewellery will easily chip, and even your non-plated items can become scratched. If you’re storing necklaces than they will become tangled and can easily break if you’re piling them all together. Instead, hang your necklaces and get a jewellery box with individual slots for your rings. 

4.      Avoid swimming

Don’t wear your jewellery when you’re swimming. Whether you’re at the beach or in a pool, both contain harmful substances that will damage your jewellery. If you’re at the beach, the saltwater will get into all the nooks and crannies of your jewellery. It can be extremely damaging and hard to clean out. Beyond that, the moisture will encourage tarnishing. If you’re swimming in a pool, you’ll be subjecting your jewellery to chlorine damage and the chemical can wear away at your pieces, making them appear dull. 

5.      Store diamonds on their own

Diamonds are the hardest stone on the planet. Though they might not feel it to the human touch, they are much harder than any other gems. If you have sapphires, emeralds, rubies or any other stones or crystals, make sure you keep them separate. Diamonds can cause severe damage to the surfaces of different gems and scratch gold and silver jewellery. Store your diamonds in their own pouches to keep them from coming into contact with any other pieces in your collection.  

Note: This is a collaborative post

When you become a parent, you may have noticed that both yourself and your partner are lacking in passion, which was perhaps never the case before your child was born. A lack of intimacy can severely impact relationships, but you may not be aware of the cause behind the issue.

Lack of libido affects more than one in five men and an even higher percentage of women. Therefore, it’s a fairly common problem in many relationships. If you’re concerned about either your own or your partner’s libido, it would be worth seeking the help of a professional who could give you the advice you need to get your intimate relationship back on track. Here are some of the most common reasons:

Relationship problems

You may have never considered that your relationship was in any kind of trouble, but if you feel as though you don’t want to be intimate with your other half due to a gradual lack of attraction, then this is often difficult to fix. There may be a vast number of other reasons why your relationship is having difficulties; such as lack of trust, friction with both careers and diverse parenting methods.
You may be in a long-term relationship which has changed dynamically over the years – perhaps you now see your partner in a friendly manner rather than romantically. Likewise, you may have been sleeping in separate beds since your child has been born which can affect your intimacy levels.

Hormones

Less commonly, hormones can cause a lack of interest in sex. Conditions such as hyperprolactinemia can have a negative effect on your sex drive; in which there is a raised level of a substance called prolactin within the blood. Another hormonal problem is suffering from an underactive thyroid. Hormone issues are most commonly associated with women rather than men, meaning that male needs are often overlooked in society when it comes to lack of libido. Ehormones MD offers an HGH therapy clinic, providing human growth hormone injections to reinstall the necessary hormones in the body and help reinforce passion back into your relationship.

Stress and exhaustion

As a parent, you are no stranger to the immense responsibility that comes with taking care of your child, maintaining the home and keeping on top of your work and social relationships. Feeling stressed and overtired can take its toll on your happiness and can even cause a real lack of interest in the things you once loved to do. In these cases, it would be best to speak to your GP on how to move forward; either by taking medication or seeking therapy.

Contraception

Since having your child, you may have started on contraception until you’re ready to conceive again, but with this, often comes the side effect of having a severe lack of interest in intimacy. Be assured that this usually only happens when you are on a new contraceptive method and should start to improve over a few months.

Whether it’s due to a medical condition or psychological factors, there may be underlying factors that caused the lack of intimacy with your partner. For women who have certain health issues, such as vaginismus, vulvodynia, and vaginal atrophy, these conditions oftentimes lead to painful sex. Vaginal dilation therapy using vaginal dilators is a viable treatment option to improve tolerance to penetration, help restore the vaginal opening, and ultimately, treat painful sex.

Note: This is a collaborative post

Once my second son was born I knew working from home would be really important to me and im delighted my current work/ blog situation allows this to happen. However working from home does have its pro and cons and I knew from the outset setting boundaries would be the most important part as it can be so easily to get consumed by work and end up using every waking minute to log on, check emails etc.

So one year in I though I do a post considering the pros and cons from my own experience:

Pro’s

• I love being able to drop the kids to school/ activities. Yes I probably am that parent who is enthusiastically encouraging from the sidelines!!
• If one of kids is sick etc, im not stressed about organising emergency childcare etc, I can be there.
  

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• My time is my own – I can work early mornings or late at night but key is to be disciplined. Say you decided to do 5 hours a day…you need to cut it at that otherwise the temptation is for it to drift to much longer days. I can be guilty of “just checking an email” which turns into either a job being done an hour or two can have lapsed.
• Chatting to fellow remote workers/ blog buddies one of the things that crops up most is a better work/life balance which is what I have been striving for, for many years now. I know Laura of Miss LJ Beauty  agrees for her too living in a really remote location makes working from home a no brainer for her. Rachel from Coffee Cake Kids  agrees too being able to attend sports days, school events was a key driver for her in choosing working from home.
• No rush hour traffic!! My bus stop was half way along the route so I never got a seat!! Standing on a jam packed bus is no fun.
• Recently I have seen technology improvement’s such as a messaging platform which enable me to remain close to my customers despite being physically distant from them.

Con’s 

• Ill be honest I miss the camaraderie of the office, the water cooler chat, the coffee break gossip! Lately I have been giving consideration to the use of serviced office spaces local to me while the kids are at school, something like Click Offices Dublin where you can rent either a designated desk or a hot desk space. Great idea for people like me who like to work for themselves but also like the idea of social side of the office. Human interaction can be a deal breaker for some and one of the reason they don’t like the idea of working from home.
• Another con for me is that there is no “down time” the feeling of leaving work behind as you skip out the door at 5.30 on a Friday.
  

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• A lot of people have asked do I worry more about my mental health being home full time.
• Distractions – coupled with the necessity to be disciplined I find sometimes at home I might say “oh ill just stick on this wash or make the bed” them im back working rather that being more disciplined and getting it done in the hours I had allocated to work.
• Having worked in an office for many years, then working at home for yourself it can be easy to miss the support services such as IT, Facilities etc particularly when things go wrong!!

On balance I love the flexibility of working from home, I feel so much more present in my kids lives and I don’t have the fear of missing plays/ sports days etc, work life balance has vastly improved.

Note: This is a collaborative post

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Taking a course or qualification can help to boost your career and self-esteem. However, how do you focus on your own education when your kids are still in school? Balancing family life with your new commitment to education can be highly fraught. This guide will help you to understand the best ways that you can both gain a qualification for yourself and ensure you can still spend time with your family. 

Take an Online Degree

Online degrees are some of the best options for mature students who want to focus on their family life. This is because you can conduct online degrees from anywhere in the world, ensuring that you do not have to leave your family home or go away for months at a time to complete your qualification. Instead, you will be able to submit your assessments, watch seminars and lectures, and use college resources from the comfort of your own home, leaving you to spend more time with the people you love. For instance, Merrimack College’s online M.Ed. in High School Education can help you to achieve the qualifications you need for teaching without living on campus.  While perhaps not available for online degrees, if you do decide to go college. It can be well worth checking out if any scholarships are available such as those available from Nancy Etz

Look for Childcare Facilities 

If you have a small child and want to be able to take them with you to your lectures and seminars at a physical college, you should also look for childcare facilities on campus. It can be hard to find a babysitter to cover all of your lectures and to ensure that you do not miss out, many college campuses’ have free care facilities for young children, which let you drop them off and pick them up around your degree schedule. 

Find Family-Friendly Accommodation 

If you are going away for your education, you should consider finding college accommodation options that are family-friendly. Rather than having to leave your kids at home, there are many colleges that provide self-catered flats and studio flats for parents. These ensure that you do not have to live in accommodation that is difficult for families, such as shared housing or student flats. 

Have Good Time Management Skills 

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However, one of the major steps that you can take to balance education with your family is to grow your time management skills, allowing you to free up time to spend with your kids. The most effective ways to do this include making a schedule, where you can allot time for both work and play, allowing you to find convenient time blocks within which to do work towards your degree. Having a routine also helps, as this will ensure that you are able to spend a regular amount of time with your kids on a daily basis.

Involve Your Kids

Kids love to be involved in whatever their parents are doing, and this applies to college too. Rather than bar them from your degree activities, why not spend time doing homework together, or let them help you to think of ideas for projects or assessments that you are working on? This will then help to prevent any resentment that your kids feel towards your degree and show them what you are spending time on.

Note: This is a collaborative post