I'm a full-time mummy

Children get through a great many pairs of shoes and trainers - jumping, climbing, running and general playing means that footwear for most active kids takes quite a pounding. The only way to keep a control of shoe spending is ensuring that you know how to select comfortable shoes for your kids every time, so here are a few handy tips to keep you shoe savvy...
 
What can their old shoes tell you?
 
Finding out why an old shoe is no longer suitable can be difficult; 'they hurt' is often the best explanation you can get for why a shoe has become uncomfortable, so it can be beneficial to examine the existing shoes to look for tell-tale signs. Children's feet can grow in odd and unpredictable ways, but signs of bulging on the shoe upper or stress at the seams where the upper meets the sole can give you an indication of where the problem may be. Bulging on the top indicates the shoe may be too shallow, stress at the sides suggests it is too narrow.
 
Get the measure
 
Having your children's feet measured is recommended on every shoe-shopping trip - again, children are typically not great at vocalising whether shoes fit correctly or not. And don't assume that because your son or daughter was once found to have wide or narrow feet that this will still be the case a year later.
 
Choose specialists
 
Choosing a children's shoe specialist means you get the best possible advice on what footwear is best for your child, reducing the chances of them experiencing discomfort soon after purchase. Not only that, children's shoe specialists also have plenty of experience dealing with kids - which can be a big help if your little one has a tendency to get impatient and difficult when out shopping!
 
Knowing what 'fit' means
 
If shopping with the kids is something you rarely have time for, and you want to take advantage of the great deals you can find online with retailers such as Debenhams, you'll need to know what to look for when your child tries those new shoes on for the first time.
 
It can be tempting to buy shoes that are too big for a child with growing feet, in the hope that they will last longer, but you should not buy anything more than one size too big. Any more than this and the extra space will cause tripping and can lead to foot problems. Besides, that extra bit of shoe is likely to be worn and misshapen before your child's foot grows into it. Heel cups should rest snugly on the back of the foot, but not grip it, and if your child has one foot larger than the other, be sure to buy something which accommodates the larger one properly.

The New Year always brings with it fresh starts and new beginnings for the coming twelve months. What greater way to start 2013 than by redecorating your baby's nursery. Here are some great ideas that you can use to make the nursery more exciting for toddlers.

Brighten up the walls with bright colours

Young children should be in exciting and stimulating environments to help them learn and develop. If your nursery has plain white wash walls then you should inject some colour with a bright feature wall or by painting your baby's favourite cartoon characters and animals on the wall. If you are not the best with a paint brush or would like an alternative to painting the nursery then you can use wall stickers to bring your toddler's nursery to life.

Make your nursery educational

There are many great ways to make your nursery educational. One way to interact with children in the nursery is to create a reading area in the corner of the room. Start by using beanbags and an assortment of soft cushions and throws in a circle, for you to sit and read together. By fitting bookshelves in the same corner of the room you can easily access interactive toys and games when having learning time.

Making the nursery exciting for toddlers

To make your nursery exciting for toddlers it is a great idea to create a theme for the room and to build on this with colours, pictures, themed bed covers, curtains, rugs, lampshades and accessories.

If you have a boy then you could choose a cowboy theme and have a big sheriff Badge Night light placed above their bed and a rocking horse in the room. Or you could choose a racing theme and have a car shaped bed, a rug with racing cars on that your child can play or accessories and characters from the Disney and Pixar film, Cars.

If you are creating a theme for a girl then you could opt for a princess theme and have a castle painted onto the wall, shelves to display their favourite dolls or even a mini wardrobe with clothes in for dressing dolls and teddy bears. Or you could create a fairy and magical creatures theme and create a secret treasure chest for storing all of their toys.

For more exciting nursery ideas visit Vertbaudet for tips on how to decorate your nursery for a fresh start in the New Year.

While HP certification exams offer a range of sales focused knowledge and skills validation tests, there are only a few that are specifically designed to address the professional development and credentialing needs of advanced sales professionals. Specifically, HP offers two certification exams that will be of interest to you, if you’re a seasoned technical sales consultant or technical support services sales representative with an HP Partner. These are the HP2-E50 and the HP2-E57.

The HP2-E50 exam, which is entitled “Consultative Selling of HP Mission Critical Technical Services”, is designed sales professions with a minimum experience level of one year in dealing directly with customers on issues related to the testing subject matter. There are 40, multiple choice questions on the exam and you must earn at least a 65 percent score to pass the test.

The HP2-E57, which is called the “IT to Business Alignment - HP Always On Support Services”, is an advanced sales skills certification program that requires testing candidates to have at least one of experience in selling HP technical services prior to sitting for the exam. There are 40 questions on the test, all in multiple choice format, and you must achieve at least a score of 65 percent to pass.

There are prerequisites associated with both the HP2-E50 and the HP2-E57 exam. For each of these exams, you must be HP Sales Certified at Support Services Level II. Regardless of which tract you decide is best for you, you’ll want to ensure you adequately prepare for your exam, and using HP training and resources available from other exam prep providers, like TestsLive .com, is recommended for success.