Parent Governor

Before Christmas Roo's school secretary asked me whether I'd considered becoming a parent governor.  I explained that I hadn't and thought that you needed to be elected in to the position.  She advised me that they hold elections when there is more candidates than positions available.  She handed me an application form and off I went.

Unfortunately this form went into my 'to do' pile and well, that's where it stayed.  Every now and again she would remind me and I would say 'oh yes I'll get that to you by the end of the week'.  Of course the end of the week came and went, but about a month or so ago I finally handed in the form.

So now I am parent governor for Roo's junior school... eek!  

Tonight is my first meeting and worse still its a full governors meeting so everyone will be there... double eek!

I'm already part of the PTA or Friends as they are called at the school so I have some idea of the schools fundraising strategies.  However I have no idea what is expected of me as a parent governor, my plan of action is to simply smile and nod.

Are you a parent governor?

Any advice is welcomed!

Boo xxx

REVIEW: ChillFactor™ - Freeze, Pour, Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker

With summer just around the corner (hopefully!) what better way to get in the mood than enjoying a delicious slushy.  Most people enjoy a lovely refreshing slushy on a warm sunny day but don't tend to make them at home as they can be seen as too much fuss... Well not anymore! 

Introducing the Chill Factor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker...

As the most affordable and easy to use kid's slushy maker ever, ChillFactor™ is the patented handheld squeezable cup that is kept in the freezer. When a cup of cool slush is called for, it’s always at hand; simply pour in your chosen drink and squeeze for a very short time to produce frozen sweet slush as the result.

Now when I was offered the opportunity to review this I have to say I was I little skeptical about just how easy it would be to make a slushy in a squeeze cup.

To make the perfect slushy

Step 1 - Place squeeze cup into the freezer until frozen (ensuring the cup is upright and not squashed)
Step 2 - Pour in your favourite chilled drink (only use refrigerated drinks, room temperature ot hot drinks will not slush)
Step 3 - Squeeze the cup, within seconds you will have a delicious frozen treat

Upon unpacking the cup which come ready assembled I placed in the freezer.  Later that day whilst making Mr Boo's tea I noticed his glass of apple juice sitting on the side and wondered whether it would make a nice slushy.  So I grabbed the frozen cup from the freezer and poured in his chilled apple juice.  Slowly starting to squeeze the cup has that crunching sensation which sends chills down your spine. After just two or three squeezes I could start to see the frozen flakes starting to form.  It's like watching a science experiment in front of your eyes.

Once I had finished squeezing I asked Mr Boo to have a try and he loved it, sharp, refreshing and chilled. The ChillFactor™ comes with a straw/spoon which if you chose to keep your slushy in the cup can be quite difficult to get the last slush out.

Boo Roo and Tigger Too's thoughts...

After my initial reservations on just how easy it would be make a slushy in seconds I hold my hands up and say 'WOW!'.  Roo is fascinated by it and cannot understand how squeeze the cup it makes her drink into a delicious slushy... Bless her she thinks it's magic cup (who am I to disillusion her?).

Priced at £12.99, you may be put off my the initial outlay but I promise you will be constantly refreezing the cup to make more yummy slushes.

Available from Amazon

Boo xxx

Disclosure Policy: We received the Chill Factor Squeeze Cup Slushy Maker FOC for the purpose of review.

Tefal launches Ingenio in the UK

Today Tefal announced the launch of Ingenio in the UK.  The stackable pots and pan range that go from the hob, into the oven, to the table and to the fridge.

Having only a galley kitchen these would certainly ease my storage issues with convectional pots and pans.  They really look versatile and no wonder 20 million people worldwide have already bought and loved them.

Want to be amongst the very first to own Ingenio in the UK? Then you best head over to Ideal World!  To learn more, visit: www.idealworld.tv/tefal-ingenio.aspx

From tomorrow, you’ll be able to win Ingenio products from the Tefal UK Facebook page. Watch this space!

Boo xxx

Disclosure Policy: I am a member of the Tefal Innovation Panel, I have not been asked to share this information with you but it's so amazing I just wanted to!

Do you really need underlay?

Upon finally deciding to take the plunge and get the bedrooms renovated we started to make a list of all the must have items and those that we would like if we had enough money left over.

Underlay was one of those 'do we really need it?' questions that at first thought was no we don't need it.  Then whilst packing up the bedrooms and removing the old carpet we realised that maybe we did need it.

Why?? 

Well I was surprised to see that there was in fact no underlay under the previous carpet... only brown paper.  Yes, brown paper!  No wonder we could feel the floorboards through the carpet, we just assumed it was because the carpet was old.

Now I confess, I know nothing about underlay... well apart from the fact it should be under your carpets.  So I went off in search of underlay information and found this on the Carpetright website.

I'm loving their tagline of Make Underlay Your Second Priority! It's very true when you think about it, the money you spend on your actual carpet and then you don't make the best of it by not putting underlay down and reducing the wear-ability of it.

So decision made, we need underlay!

Boo xxx

Disclosure Policy: I have received Tred Air underlay FOC in exchange for highlighting the need for underlay.  Trust me, underlay really makes a difference.

Do you remember you first house?

It's funny the things you remember from you childhood...

I remember our first family home, although actually it was in reality our second (we moved when I was just a baby, so I don't count it as my first home).  Whenever I go home to see my mam I always make a point of driving past it and reminiscing about the good old days.

I remember playing in the front garden (we lived on the corner so had a large front garden) as the back garden was full of nettles.  I remember my mam making us a play tent by pegging two sheets to the washing line, popping stones on the corners to form the tent shape.

Childrens Wendy Houses have certainly changed from when I was younger m,y first wendy house the ones where you had to slot the plastic poles together and place a cover over the top.  The problem with this was that somehow it ripped up the back so we would joke that we had a front and back door to our house.  I wish we had a large enough garden to allow Roo and Tigger to have a wendy house.

Dutch Barn Playhouse

Sadly we only have a yard which we could probably squeeze a wendy house into but then nothing else. So until we are in the position to move to another house Roo and Tigger will just have to wait.

Boo xxx

Disclosure Policy: I have received no products or financial compensation for this post, I do really miss my wendy house and would love Roo and Tigger to have one of their own.

Making the most of my Britmums weekend

Have I mentioned that I'm going back to Britmums Live this year?

No? 

Where have you been?

Can you tell I'm a little excited?

Last year I was overwhelmed by the knowledge I was gaining from the sessions, meeting brands and most importantly putting faces to blog/twitter names.

This year whilst I'm excited to go and learn more and more about the wonderful world of blogging, I am still a little nervous at meeting some 'big' blogging names.  One thing I am determined to do this year is have fun. So I've been searching for bars in London to see what is closest to The Brewery and my hotel so myself and anyone else who wants to join me can dance and sing the night away.

Of course the next decision is what to wear? I've spotted a couple of lovely things in Next and with the help of writing posts like this I can afford to treat myself... 

(Scurries off to purchase new clothes)

Boo xxx

Why have children if you're not going to look after them?

I returned to work when Roo was 5 1/2 months old. At the time you only entitled to six months SMP and six months unpaid leave. So before I knew it I was selecting a day nursery for her and back at work.

A little while after I returned to work someone close to me said something to me which has haunted me, even now I can hear those words ringing in my head...

'Why have children if you're not going to look after them?'

I'm not sure if those words were meant in malice but that is they way they were taken.

When making the decision to return or not to return to work a mum has several decisions to make...

• Can your family survive with one wage coming in? Survive as in all the bills are paid and you can afford the occasional treat?
• If you worked full time before baby could you afford to reduce your hours and work part time? Will your company allow this?
• Cost of childcare, will you make enough to cover the cost of childcare? What type of childcare will you use? Family, day nursery, childminder or nanny?
• Do you want to work? Staring at the same four walls and baby groups isn't for everyone. Do you want to instil in your children hard work?
• The list of questions is endless...

For me I returned for both financial reasons and being at home full time wasn't me. I wanted to keep my skills up to date as well as instil a work ethic into my children. Roo understands that both Mummy and Daddy work to provide a house, food and all the others we need in life. Yes we may miss the occasional school event but at least one of us tries to be there whenever we can.

For example, Roo has a reading/maths cafe at school once a week. Last year it was on an afternoon so I would leave work early to attend and this year luckily it falls on a Thursday (my day off) so l can attend. Now the same parents attend these sessions every week and most of those who attend work and have juggled things to attend. Where are the SAHMs? I'm not having a pop at SAHMs but surely you could attend at least a couple of the sessions. I take Tigger with me and he is welcomed into the session along with any other siblings who attend. Not only is this a boost for Roo to see Mummy joining in with her schoolwork but but gets Tigger used to the school environment (fingers crossed he'll be attending the nursery from January).

So the long and short of it is that yes I work, yes I have children but I don't think they are missing out because I chose/have to work.

Boo xxx