The sun is out and our weekends are spent enjoying the sunshine with friends and family getting out to parks and woods and even the odd trip to the seaside; Anyone who knows me will say that I’m never seen without my sunglasses, come rain or shine (heck I’ve even been known to wear them when it’s snowing!) I love the sunshine but I also know it’s really important to protect my eyes… and I’m not going to lie, it’s another excuse to indulge in designer labels – let’s just say I may have a slight addiction – which wouldn’t be so easy to satisfy if I had to add prescription lenses.

I’m fortunate enough to only have to wear glasses when I’m working at a computer and when driving at night and my eyes are tired – basically my eyes enjoying being lazy every once in a while!

Even so I’ve still considered the possibility of laser eye surgery; whilst I may not seem the obvious candidate I love the idea of having complete freedom from glasses. I can’t imagine what’s it like having to juggle multiple pairs of glasses and then adding sunglasses to the mix in the summer – just as my Mother she’s the queen of glasses cases and wondering where glasses are… 99% of the time they’re on her head!

Yes the cost of laser eye surgery is a significant spend but I prefer to see it is an investment and with Optical Express there are plenty of finance options which are clearly illustrated to help you stay in control and spread the cost.

Glasses are pretty cool nowadays, they even have designer frames; but having eyesight freedom is still something that for me is way better in the cool stakes – oh and it means even more opportunities for designer sunglasses – I’m fancying the Prada Minimal Baroque round style next…

Disclosure: A fee was received for this post.

Yes I know Boo is not even four but there’s something about her starting ‘big school’ or reception to you and me that’s made me look ahead to her financial future. Boo already has a bank account that all her birthday and Christmas money goes into but what’s beyond just holding her money in an account?

Nutmeg offer a wide range of investments, from ISAs right through to pensions, which is a great place to start looking at getting the most out of Boo’s savings. Now we all know that with investment, your capital is at risk but I’d much rather use a company that is experienced at taking calculated risks with money than attempting to go it along cowboy style on the stock market – let’s just say I predict I’d be more mouse than wolf of wall street!

With an online management investment service, you can track your portfolio 24/7, and with no hidden fees it’s easy to see how your investments are performing. The management fees are set depending on how much you invest and I was surprised to learn that you can get started with as little as a £1000 fund and £50 deposit per month which is perfect if like me you’re looking to get the most out of Boo’s savings without risking it all. I’m also really impressed with the transparency of the potential return using Nutmeg; there are no get rich quick promises and the risks as well as the potential rewards are clearly shown in easy to understand illustrations.

Nutmeg also offers pensions as part of their financial services – whilst I may be a fair few years away from even early retirement it is definitely something that I’m aware of and want to make sure that when I reach retirement age I’m financially comfortable enough and not having to worry about money. With Nutmeg you are able to manage multiple investment pots covered with one management fee, plus the added bonus of being able to combine the government top up of 25% on regular net personal contributions. I like the idea of being in control of my pension and having online access to it’s performance.

Looks like I’ll avoid having to add part-time investor to my mummy skills and leave it to the professionals…Phew.

Disclosure: A fee was received for this post.

There use to be time when mornings were peaceful, productive and organised – that was pre motherhood. Fast forward to any given school morning and it goes something a little like this: Wake up around 5am to get some work done and prep e-mails for the day, 7am Boo wakes up and then all prep goes out the window, 8am we’re both dressed and breakfasted now just to find Boo’s school shoes! 8.20am I suddenly realise with 10 minutes to go I need to transform my face from sleep deprived mother to functioning adult, oh and do my hair!

10 minutes for skincare, make-up and hair seems a little ambitious and I’m often asked how I manage to get ready so quickly; my secret? I’m organised when it comes to my hair and face care. For me it’s all about having all the products you use where you can get to them quickly and without moving other stuff.

I manage to cleanse, tone and moisturise plus apply minimal make-up in less than four minutes and it’s all down to clever bathroom storage. I have all the products I need daily right by the sink plus face clothes and cotton wool. The only downside? It can all get a bit cluttered – top of my bathroom wish list is a vanity unit, let’s just say I’ve been doing some serious ‘research’ on Bella Bathrooms’ website – I love the idea of having all my daily beauty essentials out of sight when not needed, plus it’s a great way of making the most of the dead space beneath the sink and hiding the unsightly pipework.

When it comes to vanity units, I didn’t realise there literally is one for every style of person and bathroom, some come part of bathroom sets – like pick and mix – some are sleek and modern, some are shabby chic; the possibilities are endless and that’s what excites me. Anything that helps make it easier to look that bit more groomed in the morning is a winner… Because nobody needs to know I’m surviving on less than four hours sleep!

Visit Bella Bathrooms for a wide range of vanity units.

Disclosure: A fee was received for this post.

‘I can’t believe I’m writing this…’ was how I started a post on social media yesterday and the truth is I really didn’t; Boo was back in hospital. Boo fell out of bed just after 1am on Wednesday morning and had re-fractured both bones in her arm. It turns out her cast shouldn’t have come off so early and the repairing fractures were unsafe – the angulation (the way a broken bone sticks out – was so bad it was if she had an extra elbow in the middle of her forearm.

I knew this time we wouldn’t be able to escape surgery… and I sat there listening, nodding and asking all the relevant questions while the consultant talked me through their action plan: they were going to attempt to manipulate the bones into an acceptable position under general anaesthetic but there was the very real possibility that they would need to use metal plates; all I could keep thinking about was this wasn’t fair. Poor Boo is the most resilient young lady I know, she has a heart overflowing with love and yet she has the worst luck with her health.

I know life isn’t fair and I’m a strong believer that there is always someone worse off than you, and for that I am truly grateful, yet as a mother we have a basic instinct to protect our children and I can’t help but feel that I fail in someway if she is ill a lot and then all this with her arm – I wanted to cry.

But instead I talked things through with the consultant and consented to the procedure. I carried Boo and chatted with her as we took the long walk to adult theatres and having previously had bad experiences with Boo and anaesthetics, I was so happy that she had a good sleep – the team were fantastic and I laid on the bed with her and cuddled her and sang Hush Little Baby while they gave her ‘milk for the teddies on her hand sticker’ and then I waited.

Waiting is hard, we’re an impatient race but nothing compares to waiting for the call to say your child is in recovery. I paced the corridors and I did lots of thinking, praying and not a lot of talking.

The operation was it seems a success, they managed to avoid pinning at this stage – Boo woke up groggy but healthy and we even got to come home late yesterday evening. 20 hours later we were back in bed, only this time she was in my bed, sleeping in my arms. Boo has a long road ahead of her to get the best possible outcome for her arm but as always she’s doing everything with a smile on her face… Boo the brave.