We are delighted to share this guest post from Tara West, giving some sensible, practical and easily achievable ways to save money on energy consumption.

It can be hard to maintain a household in a tough economy, especially if you have children. However, there’s no need to become frustrated with your energy costs when there are so many ways to be proactive. 

Simple ideas can go a long way to reducing your electricity and gas bill. Compare energy prices, remind your family to practice energy conservation and use services like http://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/compare-energy-prices// to become more informed about energy tariffs. To get the details on these and more money-saving tips, keep reading.

1. Turn off the lights.

You’ve probably told your kids to do this at least once already today, and for good a reason. Energy spent on lighting your home can make up as much as seven per cent of your total energy bill. Especially during holiday when the kids don’t have to go to school, you could really reduce your electricity usage by making sure they do this consistently.

2. Keep warm air inside.

Whether it is summer holiday or Christmas break, your kids are bound to be in and out of the front door all day long. Make sure they don’t linger when entering or leaving so that money spent heating or cooling the house doesn’t go out the door with them. Also, make sure you have sufficient weather-stripping on the door to prevent cracks in the frame that could make your home more difficult to keep at a comfortable temperature.

3. Switch energy providers.

You might think of it as a complicated process, but online resources can make researching and switching energy providers a lot easier than before. To make sure you are not overpaying for your electricity and natural gas, go to a site like www.uSwitch.com  and find out how you can change your tariff with little to no effort.

4. Turn off electronics.

If you or your family members are not using the television, stereo, video game consoles or DVD player, make sure you turn them completely off. It can be easy to ignore an idle television that no one is watching, but an extra few pounds on your monthly electricity bill will get your attention. To save even more energy, plug all of these appliances into a power strip so that you can break the circuit when they are not in use.

5. Close the refrigerator.

You’re probably as guilty of this as your children are. You go to the refrigerator, open it and take what seems like forever to decide what you want to eat. Your indecisive eating habits could be driving up your electricity bill, as well. It has been reported that your refrigerator and kitchen appliances make up one fifth of your total energy bill. Don’t make it more expensive by keeping the refrigerator open for long periods of time; this requires more energy to keep the food you have stored inside chilled.

So do you have some ideas to go away with? We hope so!

We are delighted to have teamed up with Munchkin to offer you the chance to win this fabulous Nappy Changer.

Lets be honest, every mum could use an extra hand at changing time. This multi-tasking organiser ensures all your changing essentials are within reach and neatly arranged. It has 8 handy storage areas for every cream, lotion, powder and accessory you need, plus, a convenient nappy dispenser that keeps nappies from falling out. We all know that a neat table makes a happy mum!

So how do you win? Head over to our facebook page and "like" us and when you have done that, click here to confirm your details through our contact page.

You have got to be in it to win it!

Competition closes on Friday 25th November 2011

My star sign is Leo. So this makes me brave, fearless, positive thinking, charismatic and with a fabulous mane of hair ...... apparently. (The astrologists clearly havent seen me wake up in the morning!)

So why the indecision? This is more a trait of a Libran star sign!

This weekend is bonfire night and with the skies filled with beautiful fireworks, why cant I make a decision about whether to go and enjoy them? My brave Leo characteristics want to go and look into the heart of the bonfire but my mothering instincts want to protect my children from the fire and the risks of fireworks and sparklers.

We all remember the adverts from our childhood, showing injuries to small children on Bonfire Night, so whilst I may have been fearless, I cant say I want the same for my own children. I dont want to wrap them in cotton wool, I want them to make mistakes and find their own way in the world.

They both have different star signs, so do you accept the traits of the star sign you were born under? Does your maternal instinct take over or do you simply not believe in astrology at all?

Who knows? Look, I am being undecisive again ........

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We are delighted to share a great guest post from Nadia Jones .... we will definately be trying these!!

Tips for Mastering a Bedtime Routine with a New Baby

If you arent a first-time parent, you probably know from experience how exhausting it can be to have a new baby. Once the excitement of giving birth to a living, breathing human being fades, you’re left with bags under your eyes and a mental state not dissimilar to a zombie. Of course, newborns and sleep deprivation go hand-in-hand, but there are some specific things you can do to mitigate the sleep problem and set up a schedule that is both structured but not too rigid. Here are a few ideas.

1.      Learn your child’s internal clock.

Although it may seem that the baby’s wants—hunger, fussing, sleepiness—are erratic and unorganized, they just seem that way to you because you are accustomed to a much more periodic time clock. Keep a journal and note what times of the day your baby becomes tired, hungry, upset, etc. After a few weeks of recording these times, you’ll be see a pattern emerge.

2.      Try to sync the baby’s internal schedule with your desired one.

Look over your journal to determine how you can adjust your schedule so that you and your baby are on the same page. For example, if you’ve noticed that your baby gets hungry at 6pm consistently then wants to sleep by 9pm, that means that your child will adjust to a schedule in which she eats three hours before going to sleep. As such, if you’d like her to be in bed at an earlier time, adjust the baby’s feeding schedule.

3.      Teach your child to differentiate between night and day.

Even though we have developed an internal clock that is synced with the daylight, newborns are active at erratic periods throughout the day. They eventually learn to understand that daylight hours are for activity while nighttime hours are for rest and sleep, but in order to speed up this process of learning, you can try to accentuate the difference. For example, try to keep your baby engaged while awake during the day by playing, talking, and simply doing. When it’s nighttime, even if your baby wakes up, don’t talk to her much, and don’t get up to do anything that would come across as a form of activity unless absolutely necessary. Soon enough, your baby will get it. 

4.      Don’t be too hard on yourself!

Anytime a newborn comes into the picture, there will always be an adjustment period. No matter how many baby books or articles exist, there will always be parents who will face inevitable challenges. You will likely feel that you aren’t prepared, that you aren’t doing something right. Remember that every parent has felt this way at one point or another, but especially at the beginning. Trust your instincts and don’t beat yourself up if things don’t go as planned.

Perhaps the hardest part about caring for a newborn is adjusting to a sleep schedule. Although everyone has a different opinion as to how to make the transition, knowing what’s right for you and your baby is most important, and it will always involve a process of trial-and-error. Good luck!

Author Bio:

This is a guest post by Nadia Jones who blogs at accredited online colleges about education, college, student, teacher, money saving, movie related topics.