Dear Santa, For Christmas I would like The British parenting blogger calender!

Dear Santa,

For Christmas I would like the British Parenting Blogger calender for two reasons:

1. I’ve been a really good girl this year (and most of the years previously, and you never did bring me that train set I asked for when I was 9.)

2. I’m in this calender that I ask for and want to see my photo to see if I can quit this blogging, parenting website writing, book writing malarky and take up modeling instead innit?

About me and Childcare is Fun!

This here photo on the left wasn’t the inspiration for the start of Childcare is Fun (it started way before they were born,) but it IS these two cheeky littlies (and littlies like them) that keep it going today, and makes everything I do worth something.

 

Childcare is Fun started back in 2007 when I was working as a nanny in London with two gorgeous little boys. I was their nanny for 9 years (J from 5 months and B from birth.)

I posted art activities, cooking ideas and places to go with the little ones. It got quite popular so I turnedthe blog  into a website with a blog attached, and ‘Nanny Fi knows best’ became ‘Childcare is Fun!’

Today Childcare is Fun helps on average 150 stressed parents a week FOR FREE with it’s parenting email advice service. It’s something I’m mighty proud of and something that although takes up most of my free time, makes me feel good about myself. I help people for FREE with my qualified and experienced advice and in return I get these awesome emails saying ‘thank you’ and ‘you have changed our lives’ That always makes me smile and my heart glow.  (I’d like it noted here that other parenting advice services charge up to £100 per question!)

 

I think my most popular posts are the ones where I write about things that get people talking. This has to be my favourite ‘in your face nasties’ post that I wrote a week after having my little fella Oscar. I look a bit nutty in the photo don’t I?

Qualification stuff

NNEB Diploma in Nursery Nursing

Diploma in Childhood studies

A fancy degree in Childhood and youth studies Ba (hons)

Certificate in Management

A few fancy training certificates in baby massage, baby sign, science with children, art with children and sport with children.

Awards

‘Highly commended’ awarded by The Professional Association of Nursery Nurses in the 2005 and 2006 Professional nanny of the year awards.

Bronze parenting website award from Mumpreneur UK 2011

A fair few nominations for blog awards 2010 & 2011 but never made any finals so pointless listing them.

A few general points to note about me.

1. Eats cake. Lots of it (especially chocolate.) Can be bribed easily with mentioned cake to partake in blogging events, give talks, offer free advice and appear on TV and radio shows. Cake doesn’t pay the bills but it tastes good.

2. Loves playing with the littlies, especially horsey back rides, den building, crawling races, mud pie making and raspberry blowing on bellies.

3. May avoid exercise wherever possible. This and the cake have nothing to do with the spare tyre around my middle. This IS my two babies fault entirely.

4. Childcare is Fun – The Book is coming out to a nice book shop near you very soon…

5. I ran the london marathon in 2007 and was overtaken by a man dragging a large wooden cross dressed as Jesus, and a blind man with no arms and no legs. I am not kidding. I ran for charity (Whizz Kidz) and I do lots of work for charity, it’s good to give something back when you have so much. I don’t mean money, I mean I have a lovely family, fantastic friends, and I have (now) my health.

6. I’m not short – everyone else is of abnormal height.

7. I can’t do heels, but I can do very extremely shiny new doc Martins.

 

8. I run a free art group for littlies at my house. Insane but fun.  My once beautiful, Cath Kidston tablecloth is now paint stained and knackered.

9. I’m on a local radio show (Stafford FM) every week taking parenting questions LIVE on air. Cool hey?

 

10. I like chocolate. But not as much as chocolate cake.

There.  Now, please Santa (or Tara & Jay) give me the calender? Please?

Simples.