All right, confession time: I've been here for 5 years and I still can't get my head around Celsius temperatures. Every time Em gets a fever, I take her temp and then waste five minutes trying to convert it in my head, before giving up and going online to convert it into Fahrenheit.

And I also still can't get my head around the fact that no house we've lived in here has had insulation, so the rooms are always freezing in winter. After the first chilly morning last month when I went in to get Em up and saw that her hands were blue, I decided that I needed to get an in-room thermometer so I'll know when her little room is TOO cold.

So I ordered a Grobag Egg thermometer from an Australian website and it came early this week. It's an egg-shaped nightlight with a thermometer built in, and you don't even need to KNOW what temperature the room is to know whether it's too cold, just right, or too warm -- the thermometer changes colours to tell you. Blue means too cold (under 16 degrees), yellow means just right (16-20 degrees), orange means warm (20-24 degrees) and red means too warm (over 24 degrees). The temp is displayed on the side, just in case you're interested. But all you need to see is the colour.

And I have to say, I think it's brilliant. All I have to do is glance in the door to see whether the room's at a comfortable temp for her or she needs an extra blanket and the heater on. Apparently it won 2006 Nursery Product of the Year from the Australian Toy Association -- I can totally see why.

Only trouble is, now I want one for my bedroom, too...

http://www.gro-group.co.uk/grogroup/products/egg/