My poor baby isn't well :( Little K has developed a nasty cold over the weekend and is quite poorly with it. We visited the doctors yesterday and had her back and chest listened to as well as her ears checked but it doesn't seem to be an infection, just a cold which has to run its course.
We've had a constantly runny nose, watery eyes, rosy cheeks, high temperature, lethargy, sneezing and coughing as well as 3 hours sleep one night instead of the usual 11! Cue the zombie look for me!
I hate when Little K is unwell. Thankfully she's never been overly ill, apart from a 24hr sudden illness when she was 5 weeks old which resulted in a hospital stay, but it's horrid to see her suffer none the less.

Get well soon baby girl,
Love and kisses,
TM <3

Bodycon? Yay or Nay?

So we have our friends little boy's Namind Day coming up and two things came to my mind..."what the hell will I wear?" and "what gorgeous little dress can I get for Little K?" Shopping for Little K was so much easier, straight onto Next Online and found the most beautiful little dusty grey dress with dusty pink stars and frills. Total gorgeous! Me - on the other hand - was not so easy. There are going to be a lot of people I was at school with at the Naming Day so had to make sure I looked good (or as good as I could). Most people that I know who are going haven't had children so their figures are still perfect.
After agonising for ages about what to wear I can across the dress shown above. I've never had a bodycon dress as they are super tight and hug the body meaning there is no room to hide anything! I made a bold move, ordered it in a size smaller than my current jean size, ditched chocolate and biscuits for 3 weeks and guess what...it fits like a glove! Super delighted! I feel amazing in it, it's VERY fitted, navy blue, shows off my curves and sits right at my knees, perfection. Now what shoes should I wear.....?

Love and kisses,
TM <3

The Little Things

This weekend has been awesome. Saturday morning was spent with Little K doing some housework. Little K loves to copy mummy and even learned how to dust the tv...pretty sure it was just because Peppa Pig was on! Mr L was working in the morning but when he came home it was off to stock up on some drinks and nibbles as we were inviting our Slovakian neighbours over at night. We also had a lovely family walk in the crisp autumn breeze.
Sunday (today) was spend being lazy in our jammies on the couch in the morning and playing games then Little K had a nap while mummy and Mr L lay on our un-made bed and talked for a whole hour (this usually NEVER happens!) about our life, career and future prospects. It was then off to meet Nan (mother-in-law), Grandpa, Uncle S, C and Little L for lunch and 'family day' at a local restaurant. There were games, music, dancing, singing and lots of laughs. We ended the afternoon by feeding the ducks, eating a little birthday cake then coming home for a bath and bed. Mr L is off out to work (and he's taken Cody) so the house is super quiet, very strange!

This weekend has been all about the simple things, the little things. We've had loads of family time, Mr L and I are closer than ever and I'm more than excited about new work ideas. I've come up with [what I think is] a fantastic idea for a book...and certainly something to look into further.

Exciting times.
I hope work and family life are just as awesome for you.

Love and kisses
TM <3

Mummies have no time to be ill

A week past Wednesday I was busy making some calls for a wedding I'm currently planning and I felt an 'oh so familiar' feeling...sore tonsils. I've been bothered with tonsilitis since I was a kid and was on the waiting list to have my tonsils removed when I was round 15 but I never got round to booking the operation.
Ten years later and my tonsils still bother me a few times a year. It hit me bad this time and took over a week to clear. I felt like I was coming down with the flu, was aching from head to toe, all my glands in my neck were swollen and tender, I had a nightmare of a headache and guess what...I never got five minutes to sit down. That's whats different about being ill pre-baby and being ill post-baby. That's also whats different when its a mummy thats ill and a daddy. Mr L felt ill after the zoo the other week and went to bed and slept from 3.30pm in the afternoon.

As well as being ill, work has sky-rocketed with lots of enquiries for weddings, parties and booking tables at the spring wedding fayre I'm organising...and studying for my business degree has been tricky too. The Open University advise twelve hours of study a week. Busy times but you know what...I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hope you're all keeping busy with both your family and your career

Love and kisses,
TM <3

Autumn day at the zoo

Last Thursday Mr L had two days off work so we decided to have a family day out and hit the zoo. We'd never taken Little K before, I used to get anxiety thinking about being far from home and letting Little K slip out of her routine. She is a very 'routine' baby and has been since she was a couple of days old. When she was very little if she was out of her routine by even half an hour she would scream uncontrollably so I have always been quite strict with what she does and when she does it.
This day, however, I realised (and felt guilty) that Little K had missed out on days out to the zoo etc all because of my anxiety so we packed the car with lots of yummy snacks, toys and cosy clothes...and yes, you guessed it, she fell asleep within 10 minutes and didn't wake until we got there!

Firstly we went to see the panda's then made our way round the monkey house, big cat area, hilltop safari, snakes, more monkeys, meerkats, sun bears, penguins, rhino's and much more. We all had a blast. There was a hell of a lot of walking but Little K managed to walk loads so was super tired on the way home. She especially loved the toy shop and all the cuddly animals.

After seeing what a good time we all had my anxiety has completely gone and we are already planning loads of family days out, next stop, Deep Sea World.

Work wise, I've been at a lecture for my Open University degree. I was one of 10 students who went, the other 9 were all very quiet with their little highlighters and notepads...I was my usual over-confident self and think I said what everyone wanted to say when answering questions from the tutor. I remember I used to be one of the quiet ones in class...how things have changed!
I've also been busy planning a Halloween Party and researching different party trends in the US to see what I can bring over here. New business cards have been ordered too so I can start to get in touch with wedding venues soon too.

Love and kisses,
TM <3

Time-out

 

Little K is generally a very well behaved little lady but she experienced her first ever time out yesterday, followed by another today. Twice in the past two days she has grabbed my face and nipped me. This has only happened if I picked her up to do something (change her nappy etc) when she wanted to play instead. I half expected her to run way each time I sat her on her 'naughty spot' but she sat still for the 60seconds I asked of her. Lets hope she learns her lesson and stops nipping! No idea where she has learned that from!

I've been struggling to fit in time to study for my business degree this week. The course has only recently started but I already feel like I've taken on too much. I need to study for 2 hours each day but some days this just isn't possible and I'm afraid I'll fall behind. I'm at a lecture on Saturday so will see how that goes. I really want to continue on my course for many reasons but one being that my own mum doesn't think I can do it. I have the determination to show her she's wrong, even if it does mean giving up that extra hour of sleep.

Love and kisses,
TM <3

Tears, tantrums and torn biceps

It was a lovely day today, a nice crisp autumn day. Little K spent the morning in the creche at the leisure centre as I worked out in the gym. I've been pushing myself recently as I love seeing quick results. Only problem is my body obviously wasn't quite ready for it as I've torn fibres in my biceps. Fantastic! This has resulted in me being unable to straighten my arms fully without being in agony. Hope it heals soon as it's so inconvenient!

Little K and I were playing in the garden this afternoon after I done some studying (not sure if I mentioned it but I'm also studying for a business psychology degree part time). Everything was perfect - Cody was running around, I was struggling to hang some washing out, Little K was wandering around...all three of us were enjoying the peaceful setting. Within minutes Little K was heading for the part finished back garden and towards a big pile of mud. As I took her hand to turn her around she screamed (and I mean SCREAMED) and was in floods of tears. When I put her down again, she was totally fine, heading for the mud again! Every time I turned her around she would howl and cry...even lying on the ground face first screaming at one point! I decided to take her to the drive so we could walk to the end of the road and back. The tears stopped and the soft giggles started, she seemed so happy. Ten minutes and about 200 baby steps later we reached the end of the road, I turned Little K around to head home and the tantrums started again! Screaming, crying and wanting to lie down on the road...not ideal! So much for the peaceful setting! After 5 minutes or so we finally got home again (had to carry her) and Little K was still howling. Even after being in the house for 5 minutes she never stopped. Eventally when she did she walked over very slowly and wanted a cuddle and that's all she's done all evening, want cuddles from me and Mr L. I knew the tantrums came with the terrible 2's but Little K is only 1! Oh dear!

I'm also busy planning a Halloween party for Little K and her friends. I always go all out with parties as it allows me to take photo's for my business website and hopefully gain more business. I'm all about building my portfolio at the moment and I'm proud to say its coming along nicely. You can have a look at www.elweddingsandevents.co.uk

Love and kisses,
TM <3

Santa Express

Insomnia got the better of me again last night...well this morning actually, 3am. I've no idea why it has made a nasty return - just typical that as soon as Little K starts being a super sleeper mummy turns into an insomniac! It gives me peace and quiet to reflect on everything though so I don't mind.

At 3am this morning I got over my itchy feet and wanting to go on holiday. We'll get away in March/April as previously planned. Instead, I decided we should treat Little K to a super special winter and do lots of nice, wintery, festive family things...so I booked the Santa Express for 22nd Dec.
For those of you who don't know, this is an old steam train which departs from the north of Scotland and travels through the highlands for a couple of hours. It's usually snowing so will make a nice festive setting, parents are treated to a mince pie and drinks and kiddies get a visit from santa and a present. To say I'm excited is an understatement!

This Christmas we're all about the family photo on the cards (which we shot a few weeks ago with a local award winning photographer), matching pyjamas to open on Christmas Eve, wear to bed and stay in all day when we wake up on Christmas morning, sprinkling reindeer food in the snow and looking into the sky for santa before bedtime as well as lots of homemade goodies such as cranberry and chocolate cookies....for santa of course!

All this drama from my side of the family and Mr L's side of the family has brought us so much closer as a little family unit...just me, Mr L, Little K and Cody.

Love and Kisses,
TM <3

Change of scenery

After all the family hassle we've had recently, Mr L and I really wanted to take Little K away for a weekend, somewhere not too far where she can play in new surroundings, maybe go swimming, visit a zoo...anything, just somewhere away from here.

I've spend ages searching online and I just can't find what I'm looking for. We'd need to take Cody too as have no-one to look after him but I can't find anything suitable. It's either too far away, doesn't accept pets, is stupidly expensive, doesn't have nice accommodation, not enough for Little K to do...so it looks like we'll be staying at home once again! That will be two years we've not been out the country on holiday.

All we want is a change of scenery and to get out of our same old daily routine...but somethings telling us we're not meant to go.

Love and kisses,
TM <3

New Hair

 

 

After uploading an old picture of Little K and I yesterday I realised how much weight I'd lost since then and how much I've physically changed. My blonde hair has been my trademark for the past 9 years but now I feel more mature, more grown up and motherly I decided to ditch the blonde and go back to my natural colour, which as it turns out, is pretty much the same colour as Little K's hair.

I was nervous as I was getting it done but now I love it, I have that feeling that nothing can stop me. Taking risks can be good every now and again.

 

I also got an interesting email yesterday from a potential bride and her soon to be husband...and as it turns out the couple have now booked me as their wedding planner! Delighted! Lots of work to do over the next 12 months for them but I'm more than excited!

 

Love and kisses,

TM <3

Baby Names

Thinking of Little K's name was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. Mr L and I were agonising over it for weeks. The only reason we finally came to an agreement on her name was because we were driving down to Sheffield for our first wedding anniversary and I read out pretty much every name from a baby name book on the 5hour drive! Mr L wasn't amused! Finally we decided on her name which is a perfect blend of both of our initials although we double barrelled it with another name I love, we chose Angel for her middle name after my late dad which we thought was a nice touch.

Even though I have so much going on right now I was procrastinating beyond belief the other day and we came up with the perfect boys name and the perfect girls name. We're sticking with the K and C names...my name begins with a K, Mr L is a C, Little K is obviously a K, the dog is a C...and our next two favourite names are also K names. This will make signing our Christmas cards just lovely!

And back to making the most of every opportunity...instead of puting Little K into the creche at the leisure centre and me trotting off to the gym..I'm sitting on the cafe working while she is playing. I must admit, it is nice to have an hour to myself to get on with some work without a little monkey battering on the keyboard!

Love and kisses,
TM <3

Making the most of every opportunity

I have so much going on at the moment I can't seem to find enough hours in the day to fit it all in. At the moment I'm sitting in my driveway in my car with my laptop as Little K is snoozing in the back - I must make the most of her naps and try and get through my 15mile long to do list. Being a busy mumpreneur isn't easy and it also means my free time is zero but I'm not complaining.

On a Friday and Saturday night I see loads of facebook status updates about friends going on nights out, tottering off to parties etc but you know what...I might have only had a couple of nights out since Little K has been born but I love it. My nights are spent working at home while Little K sleeps and my husband watches the millionth episode of swamp people or whatever it's called. Sure, I may not get to sit and chill in the evenings or go out and party the weekend away but I'm building an empire instead and I get to spend my days with Little K. I still get time with my friends and we still have a fantastic social life, we just involve the little ones too.

Fingers crossed, but we're hopefully going to get a little holiday before Christmas comes around. We usually go abroad at least once a year but the girl who usually looks after Cody is in Australia until January so looks like the hairy pooch is coming too. Hopefully we can get a nice lodge somewhere and have some awesome family time. No doubt I'll take thousands of photo's, memories are far too precious to forget.

Anyway..enought rambling...

Love and kisses,
TM <3

The Simple Things

As a working mum...or more importantly a mumpreneur...my mind never seems to stop. No matter what I'm doing or what time of day it is my mind is always on what I have to do next. I used to think this was great as it meant I was always so organised.

While giving Little K her bottle of bedtime milk tonight I was thinking about my new business idea (which is **way** down the line yet) . I was thinking about when I could do it, how it would work etc, totally oblivious to the fact I had my beautiful little daughter lying in my arms, eyelids getting heavy, just about to enter dreamland. When I snapped out of my business mind I felt guilty. How many precious moments like this had I wasted because I was so caught up in my business world?

These moments are so few and far between, Little K is growing up so fast.
My lesson for today is to appreciate the simple things in life.

Love and kisses,
TM <3

Friends

Friend (n.) - a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard

I have spent the afternoon relaxing at home with two lovely friends, S and J and their 5 month old son Little M. Little K just loves him and even learned how to give him a peck on the lips today! Have to watch that one when she's older!

I've been so stressed out recently with everything that's been going on around me that I've never taken time to step back and look at the bigger picture. Well, today I did just that and I realised that yes, its a pretty shitty situation at the moment but I have lovely friends, a fantastic husband and a daughter I love the bones of <3 ...not forgetting the bratface of a dog who I do love deep down...somewhere!

This afternoon was spent catching up, sharing the latest gossip, talking about movies, music, cake, drugs and pregnancy amongst other things and sharing my latest business ideas (which I have 2 of). I won't share these with you just yet, it's something for the future, possibly branching from this blog but we'll see.

Little K had a lovely time playing with Little M, even teaching him how to play with her toys and trying to give him his bottle when he got a little grouchy. I love watching Little K play with babies and children, she's just fascinated and that fascinates me.

Business wise...I've just drawn the winner for a competition I've been running all month for free wedding planning. Yes, I understand it is a lot to give away and it will seem like a lot of hard work for no financial gain but I'm hoping to gain in other ways - pictures for my portfolio, experience, contacts and promotion. In life it's not all about what you can do to gain money, sometimes some great things have come from giving something away. Market it properly and you could be onto a winner. Thankfully, marketing is my strong point.

Feelings with mum are very strained at the moment although she gives the impression she is oblivious to it all....hmm....thats a post for another day. Lets end this post on a positive as I've had a super happy day with those I love the most.

Love and kisses,
TM <3

Poor busines planning

Today I seemed to catch up on everything...since I got up at 7am I have been in three different modes...mummy...wife/mummy...business lady.

Little K was at playgroup this morning so I rushed into town to get a start on Christmas shopping - yes I did just swear, I said the C word! Apologies, I should've warned you first! The only reason I decided to get a head start is because everything is so manic at the moment and there is a lot happening over the next few months, if I can be organised in one aspect of my life I'll be happy.

I noticed on facebook late last night that a local lady who bakes cakes was selling off some leftovers from a charity event she was at. She stays a good 10 miles from where I stay but I fancied surprising Mr L and dropping off some yummy treats at his work so I responded to the post. I met the lady after I dropped Little K off at playgroup, purchased 2 cakes and 3 tray bakes at 50p each then headed to Mr L's work. The lady then drove the 6 or so miles back to her house. I never really thought much about it at the time but surely this was poor business planning...the cost of making the cakes and tray bakes, petrol for 12 miles (at least), the packaging of the cakes in a cardboard display box and her time...for £2.50?

Once I got Little K home from playgroup (where she had what seemed like a 5 second nap in the car and that was her for the day - oh dear!) I have been super busy tidying, cleaning, washing, dusting, hoovering, sweeping, scrubbing, cooking, feeding, playing, emailing, brainstorming, more tidying, nappy changing, dog walking, more cooking, reading, bathing, dressing, feeding, cuddling, more tidying, more washing and finally I am SITTING! I may still be typing, working and studying but at least I can put my feet up.

Mr L is working on a friends car tonight so I have the house to myself until he wanders in around midnight. Time to blast through everything I still have to do then do my favourite 'ing' of all....sleeping!

Night everyone,
Love and kisses,
TM <3

The Little Lost Mouse

Lessons were learned today...it truly has been a day of learning for me.

Firstly I had an appointment at my solicitors this morning to hand over the keys and tie up the sale of my old flat. I used to love staying there but someone managed to ruin all the happiness connected with that home.
When Mr L and I were looking into buying a property, a 'family member' said not to bother about getting a mortgage, he would lend us the money with the agreement that we would pay it back in full, with no interest. An agreement was drawn up by the solicitor and we all signed it. Over the next three years Mr L and I made a monthly payment to said 'family member' to bring down the balance - as if we were paying for a mortgage. When we came to sell the flat and made a formal acceptance, this disgusting 'family member' said the money we were paying him each month was interest - even though the contract stated no interest was due. After many heated discussions and arguments, this so called 'family member' said he would not accept anything less than the initial amount he loaned us and if we didn't pay it to him we would lose out on the sale of the property. It's a super long story but we had to end up cutting our losses and agreeing to pay him £6k more than he was legally intited to otherwise my mum would be stuck in the middle and it could've potentially damaged our relationship. It makes me sick to think he could rip of his own family but he later called me a 'business deal and investment, not family'. Ugh! To think I let this nasty piece of work walk me down the aisle on my wedding day two years ago makes me sick to my stomach.
Lesson 1 of today was to cut your losses, hold your head up high and be proud instead of fighting in the gutter. Mr L and I have £6k less in our pocket than we should have but at least we know we didn't stoop to the level that man did...we're honest, loving, hard working people. We're a real family.

As a little bit of stress relief, Little K and I decided to go to Dundee shopping (well, I decided....she didn't have much of an option seen as shes only 1 year old). I packed Little K into the car with lots of her toys to keep her amused, including her favourite minnie mouse cuddly toy. She is never without this...ever. When we finally got there, I parked up, got her into the pram with her minnie mouse and set off to find some high waisted jeans.
I was completely in a world of my own for a few minutes...turned round to realise there was no minnie mouse in the pram! Little K had dropped it and I had no idea where. Gutted was an understatement! I searched the shop I was in, re-traced my steps back to the car searching the whole way...I tried everything but I still couldn't find minnie mouse. I was frantic. I decided to get on my phone and trace down a local Disney Store. After running round I managed to find a cuddly toy minnie mouse in the shop...it was massive but it was the only one so I had to get it. It didn't help by the fact Little K kept saying 'Yes!' every time she looked at it. After purchasing it and heading back to the car I decided to go via the shopping centre I was in before and find the customer service desk. I couldn't find it and decided to give up and head home...if someone had found it they would maybe have kept it (it was a damn cute minnie mouse!) or maybe no-one had found it at all. Just by chance, I found the customer service desk, went over and made an enquiry about the lost mouse. I couldn't believe it but I was greeted by a man HOLDING LITTLE K's MINNIE MOUSE!!!!! I could've cried! I was over the moon - even if it did mean we were now going home with an extra minnie mouse - much to Little K's delight!
Lesson 2 of today is to make sure you explore every avenue when trying to accomplish something and even when you feel like you're about to give up...try a little harder. It paid off for me and I'm sure it will pay off for you too.

Love and kisses,
TM <3

Time to celebrate

That time has rolled around again....today is my birthday. On my last birthday, my 24th, I woke up feeling old and tired and that things were just plodding along - that I was just getting on with life. This could either be due to the fact I was indeed another year older and having a mini-crisis about it or the fact I had a 9day old baby who wasn't a great sleeper at all.

This year, I woke up feeling refreshed, young, inspired and motivated. Now I'm usually a very motivated person but something seemed to 'click' recently and everything seemed to make sense. I finally (after years of being unsure) knew where I wanted to go in life and had a rough idea of how to get there. I've always wanted to 'make it' and take myself and my family to areas of the unknown - to give us what we've always worked so hard to achieve - to give us success.

So raise your glasses as today I feel young (although in reality I'm another year older) and finally know where I want to go, how to get there and who is going to join me. I don't feel anxious about turning 25, I feel super excited as to what the future holds for my family and I.

My gorgeous Mr L has worked his (rather yummy) behind off for the last few years to provide for us while I left my beauty salon business and carried Little K in my tummy for 9 very long months - now it's my turn to work my (bootylicious) behind off and help make things happen.

Wishing you an inspiring day,
Love and kisses,
TM <3

Raindrops and mountains

The weather here is just awful just now...we're in the middle of some tropical storm which means tons of rain, very strong winds and cold days and nights. It's days like this that make me so glad I work from home. As I'm sitting on the couch in the jogging bottoms and jumper answering emails, Little K is in her walker munching on some rice cakes, Cody is sound asleep and the rain is battering off the window.

My good deed for the day is done too...I invited two workmen in for a cup of coffee as they were soaking and freezing working in our back garden taking a wall down.

Little K is also fully mobile on her feet now! It doesn't feel that long ago she had started to crawl but now she walks everywhere...including into our glass door in the hall! Oops!

Watching Little K walking reminded me about the early stages of starting my business and a little thought came into my head. Trying to walk must seem like such a challenge, like standing at the foot of a mountain and wanting to reach the top - much like starting a business.
The only way to start is by getting on your feet and taking tiny baby steps. You might have done this before by holding onto someones hand but this time its your chance to do it yourself. There will be the odd wobble (both in walking and in starting a business) but stay strong and keep going, you're going in the right direction. Sure, you will fall down - sometimes you will fall down and laugh about it, other times you will fall down and want to cry - it's going to be a bumpy ride. The only way to succeed is struggle to find your feet and carry on - practice does make perfect.
Soon you will build up your confidence and manage to take bigger steps towards your preferred destination. It is only when you're fully able to walk you realise you couldn't have done it without taking those tiny wobbly baby steps at the beginning.

Seeing Little K have the determination to go from crawling to walking has given me extra motivation (as if I needed any!) to get on my feet and get this business booming.

Love and kisses,
TM <3

First Post

Hi Everyone...I'm aware I'm actually talking to no-one as this blog has just been created but I hope to have a few followers in the future.

My name is That Mummy (not my real name obviously!) I am a first time mummy to a beautiful little 1 year old daughter called Little K (again, not her real name...) I'm married to my gorgeous husband, Mr L and have a crazy, hyper, puts-marley-from-marley-and-me-to-shame border collie called Cody (his actual name).

I've decided to start this blog as I'm a little different to the other mummies I know. I couldn't join in the conversations about the dreaded first day back at the office and the little ones first day of nursery because I didn't have a 'job' to go back to. I'm a mumpreneur. I'm a mum who is an entrepreneur. I have a wedding and event planning business which I have just recently started. I have big plans for the future and want to bring mums and business together to show everyone you don't have to have the career vs family debate...you can actually have both. Yes..it's going to be bloody hard but you know what...I'm going to do it and I'm going to share the journey with you. So this blog is not just about being a mum, a wife, a daughter, a sister or a daughter-in-law...it's about doing all that while trying to launch a business and set off in the world of success at the same time.

I'm not an ordinary mummy...I'm That Mummy

Love and kisses,
TM <3