Published 27/2/17, Random House NZ RRP $35, EBook also available. I read a lot of books and 99.999% of them are not about me (surprise!) or my life or anything remotely resembling my life. They serve as the distraction needed at the end of the day, …
Poor New Zealand has undoubtedly had one of the craziest summers in recent memory. It’s been warm yes, but mostly accompanied by rain and humidity resulting in more bad-hair-days than beach days! The one *upside* of our punishing summer is that we can start incorporating …
When I think about sight and eye health, the sum total of knowledge accrued in my near-38 years is limited to;
I realise I’m pretty much an expert already HA, but as there are two little men and their four, fairly virginal eyeballs under my care I dispatched them to the professionals at Specsavers last week for comprehensive eye exams.
I’m going to put this in bold because it’s important and I will probably remind you again ok?
Kids under 16 receive FREE eye exams at Specsavers.
Yes, yes YES! Free!
The thought of taking both of the boys to any type of appointment together fills me with dread so I made them individual appointments on separate days and this worked perfectly for us. It allowed me to give both Ethan and Nixon and their respective optometrists my full attention and eliminated the stress of trying to keep Nix under control during Ethan’s exam.
Initially, I assumed the check-ups were going to be all about this;
I feel as a mother that the latest hot-topic and source of parenting guilt is undoubtedly that which revolves around screen-time. How much and how often and the detrimental effect of screens on the body, mind and of course, developing eyes.
I was sooo relieved that Jason at the Specsavers North West store took an entirely holistic approach with Ethan. Instead of grilling us on the amount of time Ethan spends online, he began by asking E what his hobbies are, what sports he plays, what activities he likes to do outside? At first, I was not following this line of questioning at all but as the eye exam progressed, everything fell into place.
I’m going to sum this up for you in #mumspeak; instead of trying to understand the complicated little gadgets that eyes really are, it’s easier for me to think of them as a muscle. If kids (and adults) are constantly asking their eyes to do the same workout ie look at screens within close proximity OR enjoying close reading, eyes never get a chance to ‘stretch’ and extend themselves just like our muscles need to do through exercise. This is increasingly important as one in five New Zealand children spend the equivalent of a full-time job (up to 35 hours) per week staring at screens! Screentime itself is not bad for your eyes, it’s the time spent viewing screens in close proximity, the lack of variation in ocular activity that results from device usage and the associated social and physical implications that result from digital isolation which do have negative effects.
Jason’s suggestion for managing screen time made a lot of sense and seemed reasonable to both Ethan and I; 20 minutes on, then take a break – outside if possible. The beauty and value of outside play for both kids and adults is irrefutable but particularly for eye health, the range of distance that’s available for our eyes to gauge provides a great ‘workout’ and is in direct contrast to the close work done inside on devices or whilst reading books.
Just remember to wear your sunnies!
Nixie’s exam also went really well. The tests were perfectly age adjusted for little guys like him and he was pretty intrigued with the ‘robots’ that wanted to look in his eyes (Digital Retinal Photography is included free in all eye exams at Specsavers) as well as the funny glasses he got to wear.
We survived! And the boy’s eyes are in tip-top shape thank goodness.
If you’re worried about your kids’ eyesight, get them tested people! Long term eye issues have a higher chance of being cured if they are detected and treated before a child turns eight. And their eye tests are FREE at Specsavers until they’re 16, you got that right?
Both adults and children should have their eyes tested once every two years so shake off that procrastination and book your kids in for free exams now > www.specsavers.co.nz/
Dave and I have recently realised that our home-owners enthusiasm for pfaffing, improvements and once effervescent tszuj-ing has pretty much plateaued into nothingness. A visit last week from Jade Turner, Lead Designer at The Warehouse, got me totally pumped about homewares again and showed me …
Assuming different roles and their associated responsibilities as we move through life is simply part of the human condition. In our early years in New Zealand we generally follow a fairly well-prescribed path – we move through the traditional education channels, followed by employment or …
When you’re a Boy-Mum, many habits around the house (need to) change. You realise that vacuuming anytime before 4.30 pm when the children are home is pointless and only results in ‘why do I even bother’ angst. You quickly learn to always check pockets before turning the washing machine on. You discard any expectation that socks will be removed and put in the laundry in any manner other than in balls. Eau de LYNX and preteen/teen boys go together like peas and corn and you should never, ever forget to check the toilet seat before sitting down.
This is a scientific fact.
As the only female in the house there are 4 risk factors that present themselves every time I enter the bathroom;
I’ve been a Boy-Mum and a wife for 12 years now and I’ve managed to implement many awesome habits amongst the Jack Family menfolk. Folding towels in half, then thirds to put away in the linen cupboard is still a work in progress, but I’m hopeful in 2017 we will be triumphant in this area.
Eliminating the three Female Risk Situations described above completely, is also progressing rather slowly. Baby-steps were evident until an actual baby arrived in the house. Nixon’s arrival and progression through toilet training has seen standards lowered across the board, and further evidence to support my assertion: toilet domination is a numbers game and a war I’m struggling to win. Quite frankly I’m outnumbered and undergunned. Your support and sympathy would be very much welcomed in the comments below ::::::::sobs:::::::
Last week did allow me a toilet-related giggle or two however. We had a tradie at home 
doing some building work. He started early in the morning, as is good practice, but he must have left home before he finished his ‘morning business’. I popped out to drop Nix at kindy and he took this very small window of opportunity with gusto and acquainted himself with our bathroom.
First and foremost, I have absolutely no problem with this. Nature calls of course, what else can you do? The situation was apparent when I returned home minutes later having forgotten Nixon’s bike and a very, very embarrassed builder rushed past me with cheeks ablaze as I ran smack into a toilet ‘smell’ that literally left me reeling! I wasn’t going to put the man through any more embarrassment but I totally wanted to slip him a bottle of V.I.Poo and kindly suggest that a smart tradie never leaves home without it lol.
All you need to know is that Airwick V.I.Poo is a genius pre-poo toilet spray that creates a layer trapping odors under the surface before they escape – IT WORKS PEOPLE! And it’s available at your supermarket : )
One less obstacle between me and a state of bathroom bliss……………….that’s never going to happen in my house fyi!
#YesWayRosé, it’s the second annual NZ Rosé Day on February 5th – a ‘National Holiday’ I’m totally on board with FYI. Celebrate at home and enjoy this gorgeous Frosé (frozen rosé) recipe with Akarua’s RUA Pinot Rosé RRP $24. This would be a perfect pairing …
Oh. My. Lord. Never made zoodles before, preeeety sure I’ve never created OR made a whole foods recipe before either. First time for everything – including using New Hemisphere Hemp Seed Oil – and let me tell you, I will be making this again, and again …
Kids and lunchboxes.
Here we go again for another year!
My kids start off the school year quite enthused about lunches but, as each term draws to a close, we find more and more food coming home uneaten. Which makes me cringe for two reasons;
After 12 years of making lunch for Ethan, I’m fairly sure that the secret to an empty lunchbox is variety. Peanut butter sandwiches day after day doesn’t cut it and ‘lunchbox fatigue’ quickly sets in.
Farrah’s Snack Wraps are a delicious school lunch solution. I’ve partnered with them to show you how we use their range to give the boys some yummy lunchbox variations that are super easy to make. Available in White (totally dairy free!) and the new Cheesy variety (made from REAL cheese!), the size is perfect for little hands and as you’ll see in my video, they never crack or split when you roll them!
Pizza Quesadillas
Peanut Butter Banana Roll-Ups
Hot Dog Roll-Ups
Classic Filled Wraps
I have 5 prize packs to giveaway, each containing a Farrah’s Lunchbox and packs of Farrah’s Snack Wraps.
To enter just comment below with your favourite way to use Farrah’s wraps.
Competition closes 5/2/17 NZ residents only.
Well, Summer, you haven’t quite made it to New Zealand (yet – I’m still hopeful!) but some gorgeous new beauty releases certainly graced our shores this month. January brought something for everyone and for every budget. SPF products are, of course, seasonally popular right now, but …