Shoes, shoes, shoes. It is no secret that I have a love of shoes so when I was recently invited to an event by organised by Vionic UK, I couldn't resist going to find out more. We were told that Vionic Group LLC is one of the leading global makers of consumer and medical footwear, so I was intrigued to find out how stylish shoes could be good for your feet too. 

I was therefore thrilled to find a collective of likeminded bloggers, including some of my favourite bloggers Emmaand3, Pink Oddy and Parent Blogger News  at the event held at Marco Pierre Whites in Birmingham. We were treated to a delicious lunch and then a talk from Tony Linford who eloquently conveyed the benefits of the Vionic range of products, from the innovative FMT technology which helps reduce over-pronation to the ability to relieve common associated pains such as plantar fasciitis (heel pain), knee pain and back pain. 

Tony said that women get to around 40 and realise that their shoe choices were having an affect on their join pain (I obviously cannot comment on this as I am not "quite" at that milestone yet!) but with age being something that I can't control, having the ability to control my shoe choices is something that I need to reconsider.

From the Antonia Wedge shoes (shown above) that are perfect for work, to the Islander Toe Posts which are ideal for the summer, there is a range of shoes for every woman and every ocassion.

The shoes are designed for good health and wellbeing, they are not sports or running shoes but they do actively encourage walking and being active. They have a great article on the Vionic blog called Find30 about how studies have shown how 30 minutes of exercise a day is enough to boost metabolism and improve one’s mood, providing cardiovascular, metabolic and cognitive health. Sounds good to me .... I just need to find those extra 30 minutes.

I was gifted some Vionic shoes and I have to say that they ARE very comfortable and Vionic have been even more generous and given all my readers a 30% off code that is valid until 30th April. All you need to do is shop on the website here and use the discount code VIONIC30 at the checkout stage.

The event really made me think about me footwear choices and if you want to read what the other bloggers throught about the event, there is a link to a round up of the event from Myriad PR here. 

Did you realise that your shoe choices can have such an affect on the rest of your body?

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I received news last week that my oldest has been allocated a place in her preferred secondary school. Once the excitement died down the panic set in and it all seems so real. How am I old enough to have a child going into secondary school already? My emotions fluctuated all week and I don’t expect they will settle down any time before September. September 2023 that is, because I also have another child starting infant school at the same time, and will have to go through all of this again in six years.

Thousands of children in England missed out on a place at their first choice of secondary school. More than 30% of pupils in Birmingham and London had to settle for a lower preference, while in Bristol 7.5% of pupils were not offered a place at any one of their preferences, so I know we are lucky.

You would think that having seen one child successfully through primary school I would feel prepared, but I don’t at all. Secondary school is a different world, one  which I have barely set foot in since I graduated myself. Stepping over the threshold on open evening was like both stepping back in time to when I was 17 (bad hair and unflattering trousers), and landing on a foreign planet.

White boards were the height of technology when I left primary school but now it’s all tablets, laptops, and independent learning. There’s no lunch money, I just top up an account online and she pays with a fingerprint, and chips are only served once a week. It’s a world of “can I have a mobile phone?”, “how do I do simultaneous equations?” (um… ask your father), and “what’s it like to kiss someone?” (DON’T ask your father!)

While my oldest has moved beyond the realms of dressing up for World Book Day, birthday parties at soft play centres, and Christmas plays at school, my youngest is just about to start, catapulting me right back to the beginning. I am honestly not sure how I feel about this. High school may be more expensive in terms of uniform and school trips, but infant school is much harder work with all the getting ready in the morning, special assemblies and concerts, and parent helping on school trips. 

Parenting is such a bittersweet experience. We raise our children to be independent but each step they take on their own is a step further away from us. Part of me is proud that they are so capable and confident, but another part of me yearns for the time when I was their entire world (or I was when they wanted something)

These next few months will fly by and, before I know it, I will be walking one child into school to hand safely over to the teacher, while being told not to walk anywhere near the other in case I embarrass her in front of her new friends. I have promised myself that I will try to savour the last term of life as we know it, to look forward to the opportunities that having two children in full-time education will bring, and to stop worrying about changes which will happen whether I want them to or not.

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We regularly talk about the affects of childhood asthma but I didn't know that asthma has been associated with a prolonged time to pregnancy and a decreased birth rate. 

A new clinical observation study published today (12 February, 2016) in the European Respiratory Journal adds to previous studies that have identified a link between asthma and fertility. The evidence so far has been conflicting and many of the studies have either relied on data from questionnaires or small sample sizes. The current study investigated 245 women with unexplained fertility problems aged between 23 and 45 years. They underwent asthma and allergy testing and questionnaires during their fertility treatment. 96 women in the study had either an existing doctor’s diagnosis of asthma or were diagnosed with asthma when they entered the study. That is a whopping 39% of women, which is a huge number. 

 

The researchers monitored the women during their fertility treatment for a minimum of 12 months, until they had a successful pregnancy, stopped treatment or the observation ended. The results found that the median total time to pregnancy was 32.2 months in non-asthmatic women and 55.6 months in those with asthma. Women with asthma also had fewer successful conceptions: 39.6% achieved pregnancy in the asthmatic women compared with 60.4% in the women without asthma. The results also found this trend was more apparent as the women got older. 

Lead author Dr Elisabeth Juul Gade, commented: “This finding in a clinical trial setting adds new weight to the epidemiological evidence suggesting a link between asthma and fertility. We have seen here that asthma seems to have a negative influence on fertility as it increases time to pregnancy and even more so with age. 

“We do not yet know the causal relationship; it may be complex with different types of asthma, psychological well-being, asthma medication and hormones all play a role.  Given this new evidence, we believe that clinicians should encourage women with asthma to become pregnant at an earlier age and optimise their treatment for asthma pre-conception. Patient education is also of paramount importance as adherence to treatment may be enhanced if patients are informed of this link.”

Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK, says: “These findings will be frustrating for many women who are trying to conceive as they do not offer any solution, other than planning a family earlier in life which is not a viable option for everyone. There is a wealth of existing research linking asthma and hormones so this adds to our knowledge on the subject but we need much more investment into asthma research to be able to understand exactly how asthma could impact on fertility. If you have asthma and you are trying to conceive then you should have an open discussion with your GP about your health to ensure you are managing your asthma, understand how your medicines work and are taking them correctly. If you have any concerns you can also call our expert nurses on the Asthma UK Helpline on 0300 222 5800.” 

I loved being pregnant and fortunately have never suffered the torment of struggling with conception but I can only imagine how difficult this must be. On the flip side, I now worry that my youngest daughter will endure these difficulties as she grows older and wants children of her own. I am a huge supporter of Asthma UK and their helpline has been so useful for me and my family, I just hope that they continue to get the support and investment that they need to continue their important work and research.

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As a mum, I love to see other mums striving to create something for their family, so when I was approached by Lisa from Create Me Books, I was happy to help share their story.

Lisa is a Mum of three and foster mum to many over the years and lives in Devon. After a big operation that required a long recovery, she decided to write her little girl a bedtime story, and after lovingly creating this book she made the decision to turn her vision into a business. Lisa has now set up an ecommerce website (https://www.createmebooks.com/) with the idea being that people can come to them, create personalised children's books for their little ones (ages 2-7) online and have them delivered to their house. Sounds lovely doesn't it? 

The website is really easy to use and you can personalise your character with their name, hair colour, hairstyle, outfit colour, skin tone and even whether the character wears glasses, which is very cute. From point of order, the book took around 10 days to arrive so it is worth noting this if you are buying one for a gift. 

The illustrations in the book are both colourful and beautifully drawn, they capture the innocence of the imagination without distracting the reader from the story. The quality of the book doesn't go unnoticed either, the pages and cover are exceptionally high quality and would withstand the odd toddler drink spill or debate about which page you read last!

 

There are paragraphs of the book that rhyme and others that don't but upon speaking with Lisa, it was never intended to be a rhyming tale but this is something she is looking to develop as the business progress. This doesn't detract from the story but it is worth keeping in mind if you start to get into a rhyming "flow". The story is adorable, visually interesting with a varied layout designed to retain the interest of the child.

The book retails at £17.99 which when there is a section where you can write a personal message to the recipiant, it makes the book an adorable gift and keepsake for any occasion.

So we are absolutely thrilled to be able to give you the chance to win a personalised book for your child ...... just enter below!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Terms & Conditions

The Prize: Personalised Bedtime Book from Create Me Books
The winner will be chosen at random by the random winner generator on Rafflecopter and notified within 7 working days by email
Create Me Books will make every effort to provide the book detailed here but this cannot be guaranteed
By entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.
There is no monetary equivalent.
Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizes
If the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner.
End Date 29/02/2016 at 12am