BritmumsLive #motivationalmonday #themondayclub

This last weekend i went to Britmumslive along with 500 other bloggers. Mostly women but a few very notable men. It is conference organised by and for the mummy bloggers of this country who regularly put ourselves out there to own our little corner of the internet. My little corner was nominated, short listed and made a finalist in the Brilliance in Blogging awards. I didn’t win in my category. Which is okay. But the awards ceremony bit made me feel ill. I hadn’t thought about it through most of Friday and then suddenly remembered! had to almost sit on my hands to stop me chewing them down to the nubs.

But i didn’t win, it was okay. SIGH. huge relief and then on with games.

Friday was a bit of a strange day for seminars, we formed a little secure pack and gravitated towards the ones that we all jointly thought we would like. Safety in numbers. The seminars were maybe aimed at people new to blogging or with a greater attention span than a mother of 5, freed for the weekend into London! .

These ladies (3childrenandit, the 40year old domestic goddess, hello wall and a strong coffee) were my homies for the day and we chuckled and messed around like naughty school kids. One of my friends noted how wonderful it was to see people realise that the complete stranger standing before them was actually someone who they have a pretty in-depth relationship online. Putting a face to the avatar…that moment was awesome,  arms flung wide and hugging each other like the friends we knew we already were.  Although inevitably it took a lot of staring at name badges, trying to discreetly peer at women’s chests is not a talent i have and again, like last year you got to the end of the weekend and pretty much gave up doing it. Its far to stressful and awkward and little bit odd. 😉

My highlights of the weekend were:

A lovely hotel room (by myself) squuueeeeee….i didnt have enough time to enjoy it really but it was lovely having space that was mine and no-one elses..just for a little bit.

Listening to Kirsty Allsopp talk about dog poo and vomit and thinking actually i quite like her…

Some lovely ladies having my back at the awards when i was feeling nervous

The wine

Laughing….and laughing…and laughing

Hanging out in the bar at the end of the day, WAAAY past bed time with the lovely daddy bloggers

Listening to the amazing Katie Piper and being inspired by her strength and her faith.

Stumbling into a seminar on videography and being inspired by a brilliant and knowledgeable teacher and nice guy who was willing to help

Talking cameras.

Getting my blog name on a bottle of diet coke and marvelling at the genius behind the marketing campaign with one of their PR bods, only to find out it started in Australia a few years ago! We are clearly behind the times here!

The keynotes. Last year these were one of my favourite parts, it was like grown up jackanory 😉 Listening to the stories of motherhood told by mothers who are so very gifted at giving their words a voice. It was again, one of my favourite parts of the weekend. Especially as i was thrilled to see online buddy and writer extraordinaire reading a post which i had read on her blog and been transported into her world, hearing her read it was like listening to a movie script. Do go and check her out.  Oldermum 

The dedication to a very special baby whose shares a name with one of my own babies and who i will never forget

Singing and dancing at the top of my voice to firework by Katy Perry to remember a mummy blogger who last year i chatted with over coffee and who sadly is no longer with us

Laughter through tears

Hugging the incredible Edspire. what a brave, brave lady she is.

For me, it was the people who made this weekend. I could have easily done without the seminars, or maybe actually it is more about the fact that my attention span is so short, so easily distracted that as i sat staring blankly into space while someone was talking..i found myself wondering why i was sitting here and not going out and doing some of those things that i always said i would love to do when i didnt have my kids with me. Beacause here i was, without my kids, and i wasn’t doing any of those things.

maybe we just need to organise a Britmums night out, or weekend away?

Anyway i chatted to many lovely folk this weekend, including Alex from Madagascar..who, okay is a lion..but having seen all of the Madagascar movies a MILLION times i feel like i know him.

But some of the folk that just rocked by little world this weekend where….as they say on the X factor, in no particular order…

Hello Wall

A Strong Coffee

3 Children and it

The 40 year old Domestic goddess

Pinkoddy

mummydaddyandme

capturebylucy

mutteringsofafool

diary of the dad

Babberblog

and a bit of a special mention to theboyandme who i have been badgering about the joys of prime lenses for so long and so convinced was i that she would love it that it toted my own 50mm lens to London so she could try it and i think after using it she might have seen my point!! 😉

This week there isnt a giveaway but you can carry on going for the LUSH box and supporting my friends at onepercent. Rafflecopter below. The winner of the Hotel Chocolat goodies will be announced on my facebook page so be sure to go and like it. Thanks lots!!

 

 

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Chirk Castle #CountryKids #Nationaltrust

A few weeks ago we went to Chirk Castle. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had heard really good things about the castle. It is a National Trust property and so we knew that we would be able to spend a lovely time in the gardens with the kids, especially as it was such a hot day.

It is a little over and hour away and we we drove into Wales, the landscape really does become ‘this green and pleasant land’  Which when you mostly spend all your time in a large urban area it is lovely to see the space just opening up before you and galloping off into the distance.

Chirk is a 700 year old castle that is apparently one of the only ones in Wales that is still lived in today. We didn’t see any of the residents..im not sure who they are, but i do wonder how they don’t get lost in that huge building and the 3 mile driveway must make popping out for a pint of milk a bit of a pain in the ar** 😉

You get a real impression of its bustling castle courtyard where there was a very enthusiastic member of the Chirk Castle team getting the kids into teams and having a go at being at attacking the enemy the way they would have done so many centuries ago. He was really very good and had us and the kids laughing and smiling. Even my 4 year old got involved, though i think she preferred to smile at me a lot than do lots of charging and yelling that he was asking them to do. The kids got to try on some armoury, man that is heavy stuff and then ventured inside to the deep dark dungeon. If you have a little one that loves all things medieval then this is the place for a visit.

It has a lovely little cafe and play are where they were toasting marshmallows on an open fire for the kids and then acres and acres and acres of land to explore. We went for a long walk through the woods and found a little spot for some lunch amongst the bluebells.

You can visit the castle but we didnt go in this time, instead choosing to explore the beautifully manicured gardens which also afforded themselves well to some rolling down the hillside activity! The gardens also had some little ponds that the kids spent lots of time playing around and seeing of their various toys would float. Not all of them did  *oops*

We finished off our time there by walking through the prettiest wild flower fields that overlooked the cheshire countryside. There just isnt much to not like about this national trust property. It is a perfect balance of space, things to do and a little bit of shopping and playtime.

We will be going back.

🙂

 

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

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Newborn photography at home. part one. #Mamarazzi #photography101

If you have ever happened across my photography page, there is a wee little link thing down there to the right then you would notice that  I have a whole area of my site dedicated to photographing babies. Since i work with newborns and have done ( as a neonatal nurse) for 12 years now, it has seemed like a natural step to newborn photography.

Its sort of a niche area of photography. It is a pleasure to do but can take a long time (which i guess is why so many photographers avoid it!)  and i love meeting these little miracles and getting to know another little person.

I often get asked about how to get lovely images of babies when they are so new. So i thought i would do a few posts with some hints and tips to getting some lovely images of your newborn baby. Easy things that you can do at home.

So part one, i thought i would explain a little about the environment that would be a good place to start if you have a newborn and you want to try and get some cute shots.

  • Newborns have just come out of a very warm environment in the womb. Its very warm in there, about 38degrees. So if you are thinking cute naked baby shots then you need to have your environment warm. Babies cannot regulate their temperature when they are born so its important to make sure you do that for them. My general rule is if you are uncomfortably hot then the baby will be happy 🙂
  • Choose a time when your baby is usually most settled. Often babies are sleepy in the morning and start to crank up the grumps towards the evening. Not always the way, you know your baby the best.
  • When a baby is in utero it is NOISY! Lots of noises! Anyone who has a newborn will marvel at the fact that their new baby will nod off next to the washing machine on full spin. So its a really useful tip to download a white noise phone app and have it playing near your baby. Or you can use a womb noise teddy things you can get to soothe newborns to sleep.
  • Look for signs that indicate when your baby is relaxed and settled. Babies have a way of communicating….honestly! It isnt always all crying.

Signs that they may not be in the best place for being a model…

  • Stretching their hands towards you and up towards their face or splaying their fingers apart in front of the their face, yawning, hiccuping and sneezing excessively, arching their back  or moving their arms and legs frantically.

Signs that they are ready to play model…

  • well fed or just fed, wrapping them up in a blanket or other loose item to feed them and settle them. One thing that will for sure wake your baby up is fumbling a onesie over its head when its asleep.
  • Rock your baby back and forth to imitate the movements that would have settled them in the womb. how many mothers always say that their babies were still as could be when they were on the go and then woke up to party when they lay down. A slow rocking motion copies this and will help lull your baby to sleep.
  • Once they are asleep you can gently pop them on the beanbag or pillow that you want to use to photograph them on.

….and how you go about setting that up will be in my next newborn mamarazzi post!!

 

 

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Thats Entertainment #butlinsambassadors

Our 4 day break at Butlins really taught us a thing or two about how to cater for your market and how to do it really very very well. What we were continually impressed with at Butlins was just how amazing they are at doing what they set out to do..and that is give children a holiday they will totally love.

There is so much to do at Butlins that we didnt really know where to start, but you are given a handy ‘what’s on’ guide when you arrive in the park and from there you can plan your stay. There is really so much to do and the majority of the events, while some have to be booked. There really are hardly any hidden charges. You just put your name down and you can come along. There is really so much for the kids to get into.

The funfair was a big hit with our kids, the height limitations are on the large size. So often we needed to ride with the older kids. But im guessing this is because the park is free and so kids can roam around and go on it as they fancy so they have to have good safety measures in place. The staff were courteous and polite all the time and even had a little bit of a banter and a laugh with the kids.

The highligh for my son was the go Karts. This was extra to ride and he loved it so much that he saved his money to have another go later in the week. Was his total favourite i think.

The funfair has a lovely retro feel to it which i think is entirely intentional..the lovely iconic helter skelter and the large oversized deck chairs, perfect photo opportunities! Inside the skyline pavilion there was a funfair aimed at the younger kids. This was incredible at the end of the day as we were heading home and the big kids got a kick out of taking their little sibs on the rides. There was hardly a queue on any of these rides! In ths skyline pavilion there was so much going on. We saw Angelina Ballerina, the skyline gang (who are butlins celebrities!), Thomas the tank engine and there were plently of arcade games and the girls managed to talk us into a build a bear type teddy each!

 

We did venture out of the resort and i enjoyed a few morning runs on the beach and couldnt help but discover these gorgeous little lines of beach huts. Adorable. It was nice to get out of the resort for a little bit of fresh air and take in the sea winds. There was also a large park next door to the resort which we didn’t get to go to, which would be something we would try and go to next time!

One of the highlights for my older girls was a trip to watch a filming of I can cook, the popular show from cbeebies. They really got involved and both got onto the stage and had a go at making some biscuits. Which we all got to sample on the way back to the hotel. They were so proud of themselves.

 

 

 

 

We only managed to get to the swimming pool once as the day we got there it was closed as there was an issue with one of the rides. We went the next day to be met with HUGE queues to get in and the receptionist at our hotel advised us that as it had be closed the day before and the weather wasn’t that good it might be worth leaving it for another day. Which we did. We all went the following day and the kids really enjoyed it. It was still incredibly busy and for our competent swimmers that was fine but with the little ones it made it quite tough. Butlins do offer a toddler only session though in the morning but sadly we weren’t able to get to one of those.

Overall from a point of view of entertainment you just cannot fault Butlins. It is full on, kid centered and caters for all sorts of tastes. One thing we kept saying to each other all the time was ‘ how well do they do what they do?’ By the end of the week the kids were friendly with the people who worked in the restaurant and they greeted the kids with genuine smiles and high fives all the time.

Butlins are currently looking for a new set of bloggers to represent them next year. I would whole heartedly recommend applying. Your kids will LOVE  you for it. You can find the application form here.

 

 

 

 

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