To Boost or Not to Boost? - Day Nine

We're closing in folks. The finish line is in sight. Only one more day to go of this detoxing lark and I'm a free woman.

Free to do what though? Free to eat truck loads of chocolate (Easter is imminent you know)? Free to wolf down piles of pasta? Free to guzzle coffee and convince myself it's all for the worthy cause of keeping me awake?

Somehow I think not. Do you remember that horrendous day I had on Day Three? The detox headache from hell? Well I didn't think I would say this but I think it was kind of worth it. I mean I must have had some pretty grim stuff going on in my body if that's what withdrawal is like. Do I really want to invite more grimness in?

Breakfast: Eggs, tomatoes, cucumber & olives, Lunch: Tuna with balsamic vinegar & pine nuts, salad & boiled egg,   Dinner: Haddock fillets, oven baked ratatouille, garlic mushrooms & corn on the cob

And whilst I'm not ready to run any marathons just yet, I do feel very much awake. Yes. Without the caffeine. The herbal teas are taking a bit of getting used to but really I'm starting to question what coffee or tea really ever did for me anyway.

The fact that I love chocolate has not changed (and never will). Helen McCrea would need to be some kind of  all-powerful sorcerer to sort that. But now I know not only how to predict my cravings, but I also understand them and can prepare for them with wholesome, nutritious food. Raw cocoa is one of Helen's tip top recommendations. I knew there was a reason I liked her.

This morning I was asked, with only 30 minutes notice, to go on BBC Radio Newcastle as a phone guest. Eeek! Obviously, I was up for it but I was kind of nervous. The last time I was on the radio, only a few weeks ago, the BBC managed to lose me in their own building and I ended up bursting into the studio with only seconds to go to plug my business. Not ideal. But this morning, as I paced the floor of my living room, waiting for them to call, I felt alert, ready, positive.

I think it went okay too. I'm a little jaded that I didn't get a chance to mention my website (thecoolrulecompany.co.uk, if you're wondering), but I actually enjoyed chatting about the topic, which was toddlers and telly. Would I have been so in-the-moment if I'd been fuelled by sugar and caffeine as per usual? Perhaps not.

Hmm, Newsnight or Question Time?

So, I shall glide into Day Ten tomorrow with a whole lot of love for myself and my new-found mental alertness. I hope you'll join me for the home run!

Go well,

Abi

Sort out telly rules for your toddler and lots more besides with the amazing Cool Rule range. Just visit www.thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Listen to my radio interview on iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p015yrmt
Scroll along to about 9 mins, 12 secs to find me!

Find out about Helen McCrea's brilliant detox and fitness plans at www.femalefitness.co

Read Helen's expert nutrition blog at www.helenmccrea.co.uk

In Search of Supernanny

Please forgive me if I need to prop up my aching feet. Or if I need to rapidly replenish my hydration levels. Big Tot might be feeling the strain too because he's been my loyal companion on this epic journey. I didn't realise the two of us we were capable of travelling such a distance or bearing such a heavy load. And the journey, although long and winding and perilous and tough, is not yet finished.

So, just to recap, we started our adventure in the humblest of places, our living room. It was Saturday morning, the only time of the week when Mummy gets the monopoly on the telly. Supernanny was on. My absolute favourite. I'd set up my little arrangement of cushions, a cuppa, the remote and explicitly warned the Tots that Mummy was not to be relied on for anything for the next hour. Ironic that the only time I spend  ignoring my children is when I'm avidly watching a parenting guru, but such is life.

Big Tot and I had spent the first ten minutes having our usual argument about why Pokemon was strangely vacant from this morning's viewing. And I had the subtitles flashing away so I could at least read what was going on even if I couldn't hear it. And that's when inspiration struck me. I needed Supernanny's help.

And not in the way you might imagine. I wasn't yet desperate enough to make the emergency plea for Supernanny's parenting expertise as I could shamelessly swindle that off the telly. I needed her words. Her trusted, expert, dependable words. I needed her to endorse the Cool Rule Book.

Now I know my gorgeous, photo book creation is the answer to every parent's dreams. And the parents who've already bought it know that too. But the people who have not bought it, and have a rather demanding yet very wonderful toddler at home, need to know it too, don't they?

And that's where Supernanny could help. Or Jo Frost as she is more formally known. If only I could send her a copy of the Cool Rule Book, then surely she would be happy to emblazon it with some kind of statement of total admiration. Something along the lines of 'every family needs one'. Not too much to ask, is it?

Anyway, that's how the journey started. I leapt up from my cushioned arrangement, fuelled by my motivation to find Supernanny. Big Tot got carried away with it all ("I'm going to win! I'm going to find Supernanny before you!") and we began travelling the globe via the magic of the internet.

Was she in England doing her extreme parental guidance? No! Was she in Beverly Hills where oddly enough she seems to have an agent? No! Did her Twitter fan page have any idea? No! Did her website give anything away? Of course not! Where the flip was she?

And that's when we stopped for snacks. Refueling was important.

Did her Facebook page even belong to her? It appeared not! Hang on, what was that? That flashy pop-up type thing which Big Tot insisted might be a new season of Angry Birds. That was no angry bird. That was Jo Frost herself insisting that I come along to her brand new show which was - wait for it - live! Oh yes, we wanted to go, we wanted to go. Big Tot was going to take his plastic motorbike and I was going the take the Cool Rule Book and it was going to be a perfect end to a perfect adventure. Where was it?

Oh, er . . . Australia.

And that's when we stopped for more snacks. And more or less put the whole journey on hold.  No point bothering her Down Under now, was there? Surely it could wait until she returned. Now I just have to figure out where, exactly, she will return to.

And can you believe Little Tot missed out on all of this? He'd been on an adventure with far crazier heights and more extreme thrills than we could have imagined. Because scaling furniture is exciting stuff when you're fifteen months old. Maybe next time we'll join him.

But I'm not giving up on Supernanny. Not that easily.

Go well everyone,

Abi


Find out how brilliant The Cool Rule Book is before Supernanny does at www.thecoolrulecompany.co.uk and celebrate happy living with your little one today!