The New Granny’s Survival Guide by Gransnet

The New Granny’s Survival Guide: Everything you need to know to be the best gran by Gransnet

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’m not a Grandparent yet, but I was delighted to read and review this book on behalf of both Mumsnet and Gransnet. “The New Granny’s Survival Guide” is a guidebook which will help you navigate your way through the complex role of Grandparenthood. The foreword is written by Janet Ellis who shares her own role as a Grandma.

The book is full of helpful quotes and examples from members of Gransnet who share the good and the bad of being a Granny. I was shocked to learn that there are 14 million Grandparents under the age of 65 in the UK. Gransnet was launched in May 2011 providing support and comfort to a vast network.

Did you know that 5.8 million Grandparents regularly look after Grandchildren for an average of 10 hours per week? It saves parents a whopping £11 billion in childcare. You are either for this or against, but 97% of Grandparents don’t get a penny for the childcare either. The facts and figures really brought home to me how important Grandparents are in our lives.

The book deals with all aspects Grandparents must deal with, from the delight of the “birth” and coping with ever changing advice on feeding, sleeping and clothing a new born. To competition between Grannys and even what name to chose for yourself. I thought the section on Mother-in-Law/ Daughter-In-Law relationships gave some very useful advice and opened my own eyes as a Daughter-In-Law.

When to bite your tongue and when to offer help and advice are discussed with emphasis on taking a deep breath and a step backwards before plunging in with unwanted words which alienate your relations with the parents of those precious Grandchildren. The “Wisdom of Experience” chapter was an absolutely brilliant summary of Grandparenthood.

I think this book offers its advice in a fun, easy to read format, which is up to date and will benefit families of all ages. I have no hesitation in giving it this 5* review.

Find a copy here on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

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Good deeds Week 15th – 21st December

Welcome to my weekly update in my year long challenge to do one Good Deed a day for a year.  I didn’t start this on the 1st of January, I began on the 16th April, the day I began reading “A Year of Doing Good” by Judith O’Reilly. So I’ve a few weeks more to go to complete my year. Along the way I’ve met some great people and I’ve made some great discoveries about myself.

December 15th – 3 Good Deeds today! I loaned a friend a book, helped my Mum with a couple of computer issues and I’ve written a Christmas card to someone that I have neglected for several years. Still trying to get my interview with Judith O’Reilly off the ground have sent her a lovely e-mail, hoping we can get it sorted soon.

December 16th – At school today it was the dress rehearsal for the infants Nativity play, so I helped dress, lambs, Kings, a Donkey and a Christmas pudding to name but a few, They all looked so sweet dressed up. Good news, Judith replied and promised to get on with the interview answers for us, fingers crossed!

December 17th – Nipped back to school to help the children get dressed for the actual Nativity play today in front of all their Mums and Dads, boy were they excited! Tidied up all their clothes and turned them right-side out ready for when they get changed later.  Rushed into town after work for a few last minute presents and made a donation to a street busker. Good Deeds received, had lots of thanks for a guest writer interview that I posted today. if you missed it here is the link to meet Scott Fivelson. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-2Xr

December 18th – It was well into the afternoon today and I hadn’t found a good deed to do today, Oh I’d posted my Christmas book on the blog, but nothing else was offering itself to me. I voiced my concerns to the children as we were driving along and they suggested I try and find another road user that I could perhaps be extra considerate to, alas the road was empty! Then when we reached the junction at a busy bridge a lone car came into view, I was able to safely wait and allow him to cross at the turning before me when really it was my right of way, a desperate deed!

December 19th – I’m reading a book for a view all about Gransnet. If you’ve heard about Mumsnet, an online community with invaluable advice for Mums, then you may be interested to know that Gransnet was launched in 2011 and they’ve just brought out a book called The New Granny’s Survival Guide. I must say it’s great reading, full of fun advice and warnings, I’m not a granny, but it also has advice on the mother-in-law/ daughter-in-law relationships which is also useful. Also I’ve been preparing some edible gifts ready to take with me to a Christmas party on Friday.

December 20th – Yay! Donated money to a homeless person whilst out this morning. Off out to a party this evening, taking edible gifts as well as Christmas presents.

December 21st – Just got back from visiting relatives and delivering Christmas presents. Took along some old photographs, books and pictures which we have found and spent a whole afternoon bringing back lots of memories. Read an article in the local StarCourier Newspaper about a book co-written by local author Jenny Elliott-Bennett called “Writers For Animals”, the book contains 20 short stories, all proceeds go to Animal sanctuaries in the UK check out the book here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com Tweeted about it to help spread the word.

And today’s Good Deed to join in with is… Give away 10% of the contents of your purse today with love, blessings and no regrets, to someone during this season of Good Will.

The Mummyfesto by Linda Green

The Mummyfesto by Linda Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Most Mums will recognise the maternal instinct to protect their young no matter what. Fighting for justice and what’s right for their children, their families and their community, three Mums plan to take their radical ideas all the way to the top. Up there with free public toilets and Government funded children’s hospices, they are also proposing replacing the House of Lords with Mumsnet, skipping to be prescribed by the NHS, free hospital parking and colour coding road signs so that women stop getting lost! The Lollipop Party are driven by their love for their families as they take on the might of the British Government in the general election. You’ll laugh and I expect you’ll cry, this book NEEDS to be read. Check out #Mummyfesto and see the ideas rolling forward.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mummyfesto-Linda-Green/dp/1780875223/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368471981&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mummyfesto

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Taking on a Challenge

Following on from yesterdays post about “A Year Of Doing Good” by Judith O’Reilly, I’ve decided to write about the challenges which I have set myself. They’re not New Year resolutions because I prefer short challenges that I’m more likely to commit to. For instance; I now do 15 minutes everyday on the exercise bike. It’s not much, but it’s what I’m most likely to achieve. I do 5 mins on a hard gear, then reward myself with 5 mins on the easiest gear, then I finish with 5 mins on a middle type gear and it’s all done. I use the time to plan what I’m going to do with my next 15 mins, easy!

Next I set myself a goal to write a minimum of 1200 words a day for my next book. I plan to have the first one ready for edit by the end of January and then I have committed to do the same for my other book which although started, has sat on the back burner for a couple of months (or is it 3 or 4 months?) So far I’ve kept up with the goal for the last 5 days. I like to start new challenges on odd days, not a Monday. A Monday doesn’t work for so many reasons, I think there is a mental hangup about a Monday mixed with the traditional working week. So I started my writing challenge on a Friday, it was great to keep it up over the weekend and by Monday I felt good about what I was achieving.

My next Challenge is no hardship to me as I love reading. If you are a follower of Mumsnet, join the challenge too. I joined goodreads.com last summer and set myself a challenge to read 40 books by Christmas and ended up raising the challenge. So this year I’ve set the bar to 100! I love the way books open my mind and fill it with wonderful new information and experiences. I mix it up and try books from several genres. I’ll go to the library and choose a letter of the alphabet and pick books by Authors with that letter, or I’ll go to the non-fiction section and select certain shelves to choose a book from. A few years ago I was in the library not getting very far with some family tree research, when I felt a need to go to the psychology section. I chose a book called “The Other Side and Back” by Silvia Browne and a whole new world opened up for me, it has brought so much comfort and joy to myself and my friends whom I shared it with.

Well that’s my next 15 mins up, I’ll tell you more another time.

Rosie

A Year of Doing Good by Judith O’Reilly

Mumsnet are giving you the chance to win a copy of this book in their book giveaways, open for 24 hours from 10am this morning.

A Year of Doing Good is about one Womans Challenge to do One Good Deed Everyday for an entire Year. It sounds like a brilliant read, I’m going to try to win a copy.

 

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book really wasn’t for me, far too long-winded. I got bored reading it and couldn’t wait to finish. Lots of historical data, but it just didn’t reach out to me.

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Reviews and Courses: Angels in my Hair by Lorna Byrne

Angels In My Hair by Lorna Byrne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, there is always something magical about a book with deep Irish roots. Together with all the Angels it was a truely inspirational read. It gives the reader plenty to think about.

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Mumsnet is advertising several courses for the Autumn; creative writing, social media and several others, check them out at Mumsnet.co.uk

Enjoy your day, and don’t forget to smile!

X

Rosie

A Monster Calls

Having talked about this book, only a couple of days ago, in my bog titled “Cancer the scary big “C” word”, Mumsnet book club is also promoting the same book. There is a chance to get your hands on one for free for 24 hours from 10am today.

If you missed the Mail on Sunday review, A monster Calls, by Patrick Ness is the story of a 13-year old boy whose mother gets cancer. It was originally written for children to help them come to terms with the emotional chaos this can cause amongst a family. However it has been repackaged for adults too. Reviewed in the medical journal The Lancet, many medical professionals support its content.

Check out Mumsnet bookclub for other book giveaways and book club news.