I used to love doing things like this when I had diaries/journals online before, so I can't resist doing this! :D

50: Who should answer these questions next?  Whoever wants to!

This picture has been doing the rounds on my Facebook page at the moment, and it got me thinking about the ages some of my friends had their first child, and how old I might be before I find someone to settle down with and even consider having children!  At work we have 1 set of parents who struggled to conceive, so were in their early 40s by the time their daughter was born.  Another set  have adult children, and their 4 year-old was a pleasant surprise in their early 40s!  The others range massively, the same with my friends, although nobody in their 40s has popped one out yet!

How old were you when you had your first child?  Do you wish you'd had your first child at a different age?

Another favourite recipe of Sophie & Ryan, is cheese straws.  Sometimes it's nice to get the kids baking something savoury for a change!

The finished product, nom nom!

Ingredients

• 8oz self-raising flour 
• 3oz hard margarine/butter 
• pinch of salt 
• 6oz grated cheese (a strong cheddar gives the best flavour) 
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of milk
• Optional extras- 1-3 teaspoons of mustard (the little sachets of mustard you can get in pubs/cafes work quite well), or small amount of chilli powder

Getting busy stirring the dough

Method

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 350-375f/gas mark 4-5 and grease a baking tray
2. Mix flour & salt, then rub in the margarine/butter 
3. Mix in the grated cheese & mix to a stiff paste with beaten egg & milk. (I tend to beat in the mustard too at this point)
4. Roll out thinly & cut into narrow fingers (or other shapes if you're feeling fancy!) 
5. Place on the greased baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until brown.
6. Leave to cool, then enjoy

Rolling out the dough

Crafty activities are always popular during the school holidays, and are always handy for those wet days!  While at Tesco doing the weekly shop, I had a nosey down the craft and stationery aisle (because I'm a stationery nut!) and noticed they've recently rebranded all of their craft range, and introduced some fantastic new kits ready for the summer holidays.  The bonus of all this, is they had a lot of their old branded range reduced.  I resisted a massive splurge, but had to buy the last glue stick- 15p!! (I always need glue sticks at work, but can never find them as my colleagues have a habit of borrowing them and forgetting to put them back in my drawer!)  So definitely worth a look in your local larger Tesco for bargain craft goodies.

The new range currently has a 3 for 2 offer on a range of craft essentials- poster paint, pva glue, paint brushes, rubbers, pencils, felt-pens, mini notebooks...

I love the range of paint colours- there's the bog standard primary colours, plus pearlescent, metallic, and neon.  All for £1 each (although pack sizes vary- basic colours having 300ml & fancier ones being 150ml) plus they're all included in the 3 for 2!

Photos courtesy of Tesco.com

The new range also has some fab eco craft sets where they can use everyday projects combined with the kit contents to make some gorgeous items.  My favourites are probably the Loo Roll Owl Family kit, and the Milk Bottle Jumbo kit.  There's also a Fabric Conditioner Piggy Bank, Hunk of Junk Pirate Island, Rocket Bottle jet pack & Fancy Fish CD mobile.  All of the kits are £3.50 each, which is very reasonable.  Unfortunately, the Tesco website doesn't seem to have these kits in stock, but they should be available in larger store.

This post is in no way affiliated with Tesco, and has not been paid for.  This is my own opinion and is purely for information.

After accidentally deleting the original post (don't ask!) here's the new one!

Sunday introduction- I spoke to Debbie about the work she does with Rocky Does L.A.

1)Tell us a little bit about yourself
My name is Debbie and I work as a booking agent for a company in the States but most importantly I am a full time Mum to my beautiful little girl who is almost 4 years old.

2)Tell us about Rocky Does LA- what's it all about and how did you get involved?
Rocky Does L.A is a promotional trip to L.A and surrounding areas in California to interview and promote certain talents as well as arrange/attend any events we can and offers businesses the chance to come on board for sponsorship or people to generally get their hands on some cool signed items. We are also looking for a worthy charity to come on board, we want to help promote them as much as possible. 
I got involved through my friendship with Rocky Promotions and it grew from there combining their promotional knowledge with my booking agent experience.

3)How can people get involved with Rocky Does LA?
People can get involved by checking the link https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rocky-does-l-a--2/x/4012921 or by emailing me direct at debzscottstewart@outlook.com

4) Which parts of the project are you enjoying the most and the least?
I'm enjoying the interaction with the talents that we have on board for the trip, some I have never dealt with before so it's nice to be getting to know them a little better. The part I am least enjoying hmm I don't think that exists, it's all character and experience building for me which is always a good thing.

5) Which brand/artist are you most looking forward to working with as part of the project? 
I am most looking forward to working with Kurt Yaeger, I've known him for almost two years now and it's no secret that he is a huge inspiration to me so to have the opportunity to finally meet up with him will be brilliant, I want others to see what I've seen from the start, a very strong, talented and kind man with a huge, huge heart!

Author's note- I knew she'd say Kurt!

6) Once this project is complete, what's next for you & your marketing skills?
After this project I will continue my work as a booking agent and with the material from the trip I will be able to push these great people more here in the UK so I will be working on bringing more great events to this side of the water.






A big thank you to Debbie for agreeing to take part in our first Sunday Introduction!  I've got a few more Introductions planned with 2 lots of people fundraising, and 2 small businesses.  If you'd like your business/fundraising activities/blog to feature in a future Sunday Introduction, please get in touch.

I'm hoping to do a few holiday fun related posts of things I've tried and tested either at work or with my friends' children.  Sophie (a friend's daughter) has always loved baking with me, so I thought I'd share one of her favourite things to make first- fairy cakes.



Ingredients

• 110g/4oz softened butter or margarine
• 110g/4oz caster sugar
• 110g 4oz self-raising flour
• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

For the icing

• 300g/10 1/2 oz icing sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons water 

 Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line 2 12hole cake tins with cases (either paper or silicone)
2. Cream the butter an sugar together until pale and fluffy
3. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and add the vanilla essence
4.  Carefully fold in the flour.  Add small amounts of milk if needed so that the mixture is not too thick
5. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases until about half full
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown (or carefully stick a skewer or fork in- if they come out clean the cakes are done)
7. Set aside to cool
8. To make the icing sift the icing sugar into a bowl & add in enough water to make a smooth mixture

Now comes the fun part- decorating!  You're just limited here to what you can buy in the shops- supermarket baking aisles are full of a variety of things.  In the past we've used jelly diamonds, chocolate stars, Smarties, mini chocolate drops/chocolate shavings, hundreds & thousands, Skittles......the list is endless!

I've been a bit slack since getting the blog off the ground and the initial burst of posts, so I've been considering a few things to give the blog a longer term 'life'.

• I've just ordered a new layout and header on Etsy.  The current look is just too basic for me, and my IT skills aren't what they used to be, so there's no chance of me doing it on my own!  So hopefully we'll have a new look by this time next week.
• I've set up a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NurseryNurseConfessions) & Twitter account (@NNConfessions) to hopefully begin to get my profile a bit further beyond my immediate friends.
• I think my next step needs to be a Bloglovin account- I know quite a few bloggers I read use it, I'm just not 100% sure of the benefits at the moment, so if anyone has any advice, feel free to share!
• A lot of the blogs I follow have a regular weekly themed post, so I'm thinking of following in their footsteps with a 'Sunday introduction' theme.  I'm aiming to talk to a few friends with their own businesses, blogs and fundraising schemes.  I've got 6 or 7 people in mind so far, so hopefully that'll be enough to get me going short-term.
• I've got a playdough themed post in the pipeline, I just need to get some ingredients so I can actually make it! 

P.S. Just spellchecked this, and the blogger spellchecker doesn't recognise the word 'blog'! Bizarre!

In a previous post, I discussed some of the available option for those looking for childcare.  In this post I plan on exploring a little more about choosing a specific provider.  It'll most likely focus on choosing a Nursery as this is the aspect of the industry I'm most familiar with. 

Regardless of which childcare option you choose, there are a few general things for you to consider.

Research is your friend.
Research the different options and consider which works best for you- which option offers the best flexibility with the hours you/your partner will be working?  As a general rule of thumb, Nurseries open 8-6 Monday to Friday, but some will offer earlier starts and later finishes.  Childminders will vary massively depending upon their own needs and choices.
For Nurseries and Childminders in England, looks at the Ofsted website for inspection reports.  Both types of provider are regularly inspected and the inspection reports published online. (http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report)  Ofsted reports aren't the be all and end all though, nothing beats...

Visiting the provider
Always make sure you visit any potential childcare providers- I have known a parent send their child to a Nursery after only having dealt with them via telephone!  Nothing beats going for a look around, it gives you an idea of the environment your child will be in, an idea of what play activities are offered, what the staff are like and whether the environment will be suitable for your child.  If your child is active, they won't enjoy being in a small environment without space to explore.  I shudder at the thought of sending a child of mine to a Nursery neither of us have visited! 
Don't be afraid to make multiple visits either, choosing someone to look after your child shouldn't be taken lightly.  Try and visit at different times of day to get an idea of the routine.  Take your child with you- how the staff interact with your child says a lot about them and their potential for caring for your child.

Don't automatically choose the first option
I have met a huge number of parents who have chosen their child's nursery on the basis of it being the first nursery they visited, or the closest, or the cheapest.  Visit a range of nurseries- the one that looks good online or on paper isn't necessarily the best for your child, neither is the cheapest.  Weigh up your options after visiting them all- it's often a balance between what you can afford and what's the best provider.  Try and opt for the best you can afford, your child could potentially be spending several years in their care and you want the best you can get for your money.

Don't be afraid to ask questions
I've dealt with a number of parents who have come into the nursery to enquire about sending their child there.  In my current nursery very few of these parents seem to ask questions, and parents with a list of questions seem to be in the minority.  It may seem trivial to you, but if it's something you want to know then it's worth asking- you won't be thought less of for asking.
There's an excellent article on Mumsnet with some potential questions you could ask. (http://www.mumsnet.com/jobs/childcare-choosing-a-nursery) This isn't a definitive list, and you're bound to have your own questions based on the needs of your own child.

I've recently been off work after injuring my knee, and while I've been hobbling out and about exercising I seem to have noticed a large number of older children with dummies in their mouths.  Yesterday was a prime example on the 4 buses I took to & from hospital appointments.  One girl was around 5 and spent the whole journey with a dummy in her mouth, attempting to talk to her mother around the dummy.  At times the mother couldn't understand what she was saying, and had to ask her to repeat herself.  Later I sat people watching while having a coffee, and it seemed that everywhere I looked there were children who, in my opinion, should not have been sucking on dummies.
It's all too easy to bash on about the negatives of dummy use, so I've done a bit of research to find some advantages I didn't know about.

Advantages

• A dummy can help soothe a child- the urge to suck/sucking reflex releases chemicals that help to reduce stress.
• Dummy sucking can help reduce pain when a child is teething.
• For babies born with the urge to suck thumbs, fingers or fists, the use of a dummy can discourage them from doing so- sucking thumbs etc can cause dental problems. It's easier to wean a child off a dummy than a thumb, and parents have more control over dummy use than thumb use.  (I'm a case in point with this- I was a thumb sucker as a child, and will often resort to thumb sucking when tired or in need of comfort, as a result I have a slight overbite.  My younger brother was given a dummy, which he was successfully weaned off and has near perfect teeth.)
• Dummies can possibly protect against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) when given to a child at the start of a sleep period.  However it is recommended that the dummy is not replaced in their mouth once it falls out.  Research is unclear on how exactly dummy use can help prevent SIDS, but possible explanations include dummies helping to keep airways open, and because babies sleep less deeply when they are sucking so there is the possibility of them waking themselves if they have difficulties breathing.

Disadvantages

• Dummies have been associated with dental problems- overbites or misaligned teeth, when used up to the age of 3 or 4.  (I have seen this with a number of children I've worked with.)
• The use of dummies past the age of 12 months can affect the development of speech.  Having a dummy in their mouth can restrict their ability to babble, and as they get older start to learn to form sounds around their dummy.  Once the dummy has been removed this can then lead to speech problems as children have to re-learn how to produce sounds without the dummy.  (Again, this is something I've seen several times too.)
• Dummies can actually lead to disturbed nights sleep for parents when the dummy falls out of the child's mouth and cries until it is replaced.
• The use of dummies has been linked to ear infections by allowing bacteria to move into the tubes between the ears and throat.

Ultimately it comes down to parental choice- there are clearly advantages to some use of dummies up to the age of 1 year.  What concerns me most as an educator, is the over-use of dummies past that age and the possible problems it can cause.

I used two websites researching this, links to which can be found below.  I in no way endorse the full contents of these web pages, these were just useful pages I found using a search engine.

http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/baby/caring-for-baby/the-pros-and-cons-of-dummies-20111109-1n6mh.html
http://www.webmd.boots.com/children/baby/guide/baby-dummy-debate

Did you use dummies with your child/ren? What advantages and disadvantages did you find from using them?

Choosing childcare for you child can be a daunting decision- there are so many different options available it's hard to know what to choose.  So what are some of the options?

• A Nanny/Au Pair- not always an option for a lot of families, depending upon financial circumstances. A Nanny/Au Pair works within your home, taking care of your child/ren in the home environment.  They can live in the house, or live elsewhere depending upon your needs/circumstances and that of the Nanny/Au Pair.  This has the advantage of allowing your child to stay in a familiar environment while they were being cared for.  In the UK no formal qualifications or training are required to become a nanny, although a number of them will hold a Level 3 relevant qualification.
• A childminder- someone who cares for your child in their home, and may care for several others of varying ages at the same time.  In the UK there are more laws governing childminders than Nannies.  All childminders in England are legally required to register with OFSTED on the Early Years register (if providing care for children under the age of five), and the Compulsory part of the General Childcare Register (if providing care for children aged between five and eight years old).  Childminders do not have to be registered if they are only providing care for children over the age of eight.  Childminders in Wales are required to register with the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW). The registrations requirements are nearly identical to those in England.
  Childminders in Scotland are required to register with the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) In Northern Ireland, the Health & Social Services Trusts. are the relevant authority for the Inspection and Regulation of Childminders.
• Nurseries-children are cared for on non-domestic premises alongside a range of children, and are grouped according to age.  Nurseries in England also have to be registered with Ofsted, and are regularly inspected.  The age in which children are accepted into a Nursery varies from provider to provider- I have seen some that will accept children as young as 5/6 weeks, and others that start at a few months old.  50% of Nursery staff must hold a Level 3 (or higher) qualification, and some Nurseries will also have a graduate with a  relevant degree working with them.

There are various advantages and disadvantages to each childcare method, and some people may choose a 4th option I haven't mentioned yet- grandparent care!  Hopefully this gives some idea of what is available out there, and I'm planning another post about choosing the right nursery.  (You lucky lucky people!)

Which childcare option do you currently use?

I'm fairly new to the world of blogging, although this blog has been something that has been brewing for some time.  I guess the ideal content of my first post, is a bit about the lady behind it all, so here goes!

My name's Sarah, I'm in my early 30s and live in Leicester, in the middle of England.  I currently work as a Nursery Officer in a small Nursery in Leicester. I'm room leader for the Pre-school room, with a range of children from 2 1/2 to 4.  I'm usually responsible for the After-school club children, as well as Holiday Care children. For the last 14 years I've worked with children in a variety of guises- student teacher, class teacher, youth club leader, supply teacher and nursery officer.  Through these roles I've had the advantage of working with children from 6months up to 14 years.

Through this blog I aim to explore a variety of things- changes in the childcare system, child development issues, book reviews (I do love a good picture book!) and any other childcare/education related issues/random musings that spring to mind!  I already have a few posts mentally planned (thanks to a bout of insomnia last night!), some of which I admit some parents may not agree with.  I don't have children of my own, so I can fully imagine some parents questioning what right I have to raise such issues. (Or maybe I'm being paranoid!)  But I have 14 years of experiences with a variety of ages, backgrounds etc.  I have a Bachelor of Education degree with QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) with specialisms in Early Years and English, and 7 months ago completed a Level 3 Diploma in Children and Young People's Worksforce (Early Learning and Childcare) which is basically what was once a NVQ Level 3 in Childcare.

I'm open to any questions anyone has, I know some people may have them, so feel free to ask away!  And please bear with me with any tweaks I make to the layout etc, it's been a while since I used an online diary or similar!