ellen mitchener is fundraising for Diverse Abilities Plus

ellen mitchener is fundraising for Diverse Abilities Plus

THIS IS WHERE MONEY RAISED WILL BE GOING:

Smithers opened in 1995 as a short-stay residential home providing short breaks. It has fully equipped overnight bedrooms for up to 4 children or young people, with complex physical and/or learning difficulties; often with associated health issues. A further 3 children can be accomodated during the day. Ages range from 2-18, occasionally 19.

Shapes, established in 2004, is our domiciliary service for children and young people offering flexible support for children and young people aged 2-18 years with individually tailored programmes. The children typically have physical and/or learning difficulties, many of which can be profound or complex.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

If any of you would like to sponsor me every penny really counts even just a few pounds, i would be eternally greatful and i know the children and their families would be too

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Long time no see

Hello dear friends it is i,I have returned. I have been absent for a little while, due to hectic life style going bit all over past couple of weeks. Well Ben Nevis training is going good i have just signed myself up to boot camp for a week in June :s 6am role calls, running, surfing, weights, military style training, 8.9 hours of exercise a day!!! And im paying for this out of choice as i thought it looked like 'fun' yes 'fun'!! but it will help with the training and if it goes well i will be booking back on it next year as have the wedding next year :) as well as signing up for boot camp i have been regularly abusing my facebook page by putting link after link of my just giving page in an attempt to get sponsors i have even resorted to promises of giving up junk food for sponsors, its working as i am very close to my target and have managed to do day one of no junk. So on the charitable side I think im doing good. Work has been a bit hectic, they are changing the structure. I have decided to go for it as financialy we will have freedom and means i can do even more with my daughter or dare i utter it the word mortgage, yes we can actually save and have our dream wedding then save for a mortgage. A life long dream of mine to have my own home, but now its a case of if we do buy it needs to be near this school etc, my daughter is 21 months and already school comes into play, but i guess when you buy your there for the long haul and our children's future and well being is definitely not a last minute decisions but years and months of forward planning. We have also decided to take our first family holiday abroad :) so very excited but now need to work out how to get a 21 month old a passport :s could be amusing as she dont like to keep still one bit!!
 While on the subject of my daughter she got her first badge for gymnastics :) o very proud beaming mummy, we are looking into dance classes now as well as she cant keep her feet still when she hears music, she is definitely an active girl, swimming, gymnastics, she loves being outside, going to take her canoeing in the summer and next year going to take her camping. She has been camping when she was 3 months old and was really good. So definitely want to keep her active and outdoors attitude going.
I am also very excited as today i paid the deposit for our wedding cakes :) 19 months to go how very scary, when he proposed 2 years seemed to be so long to wait but its not!! luckily I am super organized (either that or i have far too much free time) the only thing i dont know is who is doing the hair. Got make up booked, photographer, venue oh wait registrar will be next months pay.
But i thought i would pop on to say hello and that i am still alive just going through a hectic patch. But I will leave you with this quote from a song i have decided is my 2011 anthem and theam song "If they tell you you cant, take the t off, opinion isn't facts so take it in and let it go" I spent Saturday while hung over (now i know why i dont drink that much) thinking that 2011 has been so far a very positive year for me and my family and friends so many great opportunities and things to look forward too. So here is to more 2011 :)

Diary of a busy mum: Shared care

Diary of a busy mum: Shared care
http://boroughofpoole.com/go.php?structureID=U464054ba125b4&ref=S464C1E4CD02FA

Shared care

I have decided i would like to try shared care. No not for my daughter but to help other families. A few girls from work foster and share care with families of children who have learning and physical disabilities. I was sat talking to my friend today and the idea and concept of it sounded great, even if i could only offer one day a week for day care. It would fit around my daughter, I could choose when i did and it would be helping families. Of course I am limited by where i live and my daughter so would have to be more mobile and not too challenging children but i feel i could still be of use and help. I am really loving my new job and often say i would love to take some of the children home.
http://boroughofpoole.com/go.php?structureID=U464054ba125b4&ref=S464C1E4CD02FA
If you get a moment copy and paste the link for more information.

How the scheme works

The scheme provides the family with respite from the stresses and strains of caring, providing parents with the opportunity to spend time with their other children or to have a good night’s sleep. The children benefit by developing new interests, friendships, experiences and independence skills.
The scheme recruits, approves and trains volunteers to be carers for children with disabilities. The carers may be single, couples, with or without children: all undergo a full assessment over a minimum of 4 months. Carers are paid a specialist fostering allowance but there is no charge to the child’s family.
Shared carers usually look after the child in their own home and can take them on outings, introducing them to new experiences, activities and having fun for all. The care can be day time or overnight. Often the pattern is that a child may go to a family for day care regularly for several months before first trying an overnight stay.
Depending on need, some children have care once a week for a day or a half day, some once a fortnight, others have an overnight stay once a fortnight or maybe a full weekend a month. We try to fit the needs of the child with the availability of the carer. Carers who can offer extra in school holidays are particularly useful, but the main demand is at the weekend.
There is a waiting list of children referred for a shared care link, so it is not a solution to emergencies but a long term plan. Matching a child with the right carers is very important for a successful link so the waiting list is not on a ‘first come first served’ basis. There is a constant need to recruit new shared carers as new children are referred.
The children are referred to the scheme by a social worker and all will have a significant disability such as learning disability, physical disability or autistic spectrum disorder. Children can be referred for a social worker to make an assessment of need by contacting the Referral and Assessment team at Poole Children and Young Peoples Social Care on 01202 735046.

Im guessing me and my fiance will both be crb checked even though its me providing the care but on the chance he may be at home hen i am caring and because he lives here i guess that's why, but they are only doing it to ensure the children our safe. So ive sent my enquiery form off so lets see what happens when the ball starts rolling :)

Gyms, nails and return of a life

Well not blogged for few days now shock horror!!! But i am alive, well and safe no need to panic :) The past week I have been battling inner turmoil about my future. I think when you become engaged you start thinking long term and if this is what you want forever until the day one of you dies. Well turns out few things i was unhappy with that were building up one was a desperate need for a date night as we haven't been out for a while and just connected and the amount of football  and pub meaning i have no life. I do have a life but what i mean is a little bit of me time as im either at work (love my job) or when im not working i am always with my daughter (love her too) my fiance seems to think i do have a life and on my days off go gallivanting with friends. Yes it is being social but it is not the same you still need some you time, i am still a person. I choose to have my daughter but i did not choose to give up my life. So very long heart to heart and few scar tactics later i joined the gym and so far have been out several times either before or after his football, i must say after a week i am feeling better in myself, my stress levels are down even if its just a 40 min work out it makes me feel better and its really motivating as i am now making a very big effort to eat healthy and drink plenty of water. I have also brought myself a car, I have now got to a stage where car sharing is not practical me and my daughter are outdoor people, being restricted by lack of transport (both of us loath long bus journeys) so will have a car in couple of weeks which will mean getting out more, going to the forest etc as she has just discovered puddles it will also give me more independence and control so very pleased there. Today i enjoyed some me time with a girl from work, we got our nails done, had lattes, did lunch with a glass of wine and shopped for 80's outfits for her birthday at the end of the month. It was great to just have that girly time and just chat etc. I love my daughter dearly and my fiance but i have found that having a bit more me time motivates me and i am a better partner and mother for it as i am happy. So in a week i have achieved alot. Am looking forward to Sunday my fiances is taking me out to an Italian for an early valentines cant wait :) so bad start to week with an emotional turmoil but some communication and compromise the week is ending on a high. Now that i have done that what shall i sort next world peace or world hunger?? hmmm maybe my other half's language when he plays the xbox?? no stopping all world wars would be easier ;P

Prick Me!!!

Well its a Friday night, a very good night on any social calendar and I'm.............sat at home, was ment to be going out but the fiance clearly has had harder week so my social life is push to the side i guess as a mum we are used to always coming last :( So tonight i shall be getting to know my new washing machine and doing arts and crafts for the wedding. What a fun evening and cant even drink as I have work nice and early tomorrow. So tomorrow I shall be getting 2 piercings as i need them!!! Usually when I am feeling low or going through a bad time i get a tattoo or a piercing as it helps me to think clearly and acts as a release. I now am a member of the gym so when I do get a free minute i shall be running or punching my frustration out. Tonight making the Confetti cones, table names and bridesmaids flowers its either that or i get board and start eating for the hell of it and for comfort as that definitely wont help the waistline situation. But I'm sure a small glass of red wont hurt though?!
Oh one last thing if any one happens to find a life i think its mine, as i appear to have miss laid it. Cheers!!!

Weight loss begin!!!

So i joined the gym yesterday!!! Cant wait to get back into the swing of things, i used to be able to spend whole days in the gym, now i can just about muster the energy to get up some days. So today i used the gym Step class this morning not as easy as it looks may i add, and didn't help i went for the hardest board without realizing it, but i got through it, felt good. Went back this evening for body combat, loved it, kicking punching the lot, managed to get some might good aggression out. but on negative side i was biggest in the room, i actually left the class disgusted that i have let myself get so out of shape and put on weight. So i have returned home and in the style of some celeb promoting a fitness dvd i took some pictures of my body profile looking all depressed and deflated, i am hoping that in 6 weeks i can update them looking slightly happier then in 12 weeks going look what it did for me!!! im not bringing out a fitness dvd just a visual for me to see its working as i think when you see yourself every day you don't see your progress as much you just feel it. I have an appointment with a personal trainer next week to talk about my goals and give me a health check hoping the scales don't tell me to get off!!! I have thought of my goals the first is to build up my stamina for Ben Nevis climb in July for charity, the 2nd to feel like i can buy a bikini and wear it without scaring small children and the 3rd would be the wedding next year. I am feeling good for the exercise and its just the kick start i need to get me eating right and feeling full of life and confidence. So let the fitness begin!!!