Temper Temper....

I sometimes think back to my childhood days and realise that not much has changed. I still much prefer my own company, I'm still irritable when challenged, I can still read an Enid Blyton book with as much pleasure as I did when I was 10, I still hate sudden loud noises that make me jump, I still love jelly and evaporated milk and I STILL have temper tantrums.

The only thing that saved me from spontaneously combusting when I was but a young lass was the thought that one day I would grow up and finally find inner peace. Well, at the tender age of 36, I've decided that my naivety must be addressed.

If I had to liken myself to a cartoon character it would be the Tasmanian Devil. I am a lovable warm character who means well but who sometimes has a tendency to lose it completely at the slightest irritation. In fact, I am utterly jealous (and wondrous) of those people who never see red. What is wrong with them? Why aren't they hopping around like they've just walked through hot coals? My defense is that I am passionate and I care. The reality is that I am probably blowing things massively out of proportion and could do with taking a chill pill (or 2).

Hubby is one of those nice calm people who hardly ever loses his temper (even with me). He takes everything in his stride, is prepared to give everyone the benefit of the doubt (me included), sees the positive side of most things in life and will probably live a long and happy life because of it. I wonder why we work so well? Something about opposites attract I suppose and the fact that secretly I aspire to be like him (except for when dealing with the arseholes at HMRC).

I've analysed why I haven't grown out of my temper tantrums and I can only put it down to one thing...hormones. Why else would I wake one morning, feeling tranquil and calm and ready to forgive anyone for their annoying mistakes and habits, when another morning I can wake up and literally want to kill someone. I can't explain why I was so prone to tantrums as a small child, think it was because I was just a sore loser....

So in a bid to cleanse my soul and hopefully rid me of the tantrums for ever, I am going to list my most common blood boilers in the vain hope that I may be eternally free from hate and frothing at the mouth.

1. Middle laners on the motorway
2. Ditherers in the shopping centre
3. Ditherers in the street
4. Ditherers anywhere
5. Inconsiderate people
6. People who let you down
7. People who are arrogant and overly opinionated
8. Call Centres
9. Solicitors
10. Anyone who works for the DWP
11. People who interrupt when you're talking and finish your sentence for you
12. Kerry Katona
12. People collecting for charity in the street who "jangle" their tins at you
13. Ex-husbands
14. Women who obsess about carbs/calories/weight
15. Misplaced sarcasm

Oh well, there's always therapy....

Intervention - necessary or not?

Since my appointment at the hospital this morning, I have been debating something. Firstly, why are there so many pregnant women in the world? I thought everyone hated sex.

Secondly, how much intervention is necessary to ensure a baby is born safely into the world?

Take my situation for example; fell pregnant with my first son Jack, 11 years ago. Was greeted with the usual indifference that a first timer receives and ended up looking at a dead baby at the 20 week scan. Reason? Placental insufficiency. It just didn't work. From the moment of finding out to delivering my son (because a labour is best for Mum - who says?) I was literally bombarded with hundreds of questions about when to induce labour, what kind of pain relief I wanted, did I want to see the baby when it was born, what kind of burial did I want... I don't think I had even come to terms with my pregnancy at 20 weeks, let alone that it had ended so abruptly.

Move on a few more years and pregnant with number 2. There's not much chance of you losing a baby a second time around I was assured. well, I can prove them all wrong because second son, Oliver had triploidy, more commonly known as a chromosome disorder. This time, there was much more sympathy on offer, but still as many questions. Do you want to terminate the pregnancy, how do you want to terminate the pregnancy, do you want to be in hospital or at home when this happens, do you want to see the baby when its born etc... God, who thinks I have all the answers? Its at times like these when you absolutely can't think straight.

So, third pregnancy and this time I am offered all the care under the sun. Except I was referred to an over stretched specialist unit in Birmingham, dealing with as many foreign immigrants as english women. Thus my experience was sufficiently less great than anticipated. I don't think I saw the same Consultant twice so my history had to be repeated again and again and again. Not great when you're trying your hardest to forget. But to be fair I did receive additional care and I was scanned about 11 times (try holding in all that wee that many times) and the result was my beautiful son, Oscar.

So, finally getting to the real point here. Sitting with my shiny brand new Consultant this morning, the whole saga had to be repeated again. Lost the first two, had Oscar in Gib etc etc. Questions, questions, questions. I know why it has to be done but instead of making me feel safe and reassured, I am now thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Before today I was blissfully unaware of the pitfalls (because I had put them to the back of my mind) and now I am a nervous wreck. Talking to my Mum about all of this she reminded me that "in her day" there were no scans, no tests, no back ups and that you "just got on with it", which leads me to ask, is that better than knowing too much? How much intervention is necessary, and, if a pregnancy is just not meant to be, should it just be left to nature to decide?

AWOL

Yes, I have committed the worst sin of blogging. Going AWOL.

To be fair, I do have my reasons but there is no excuse for not sharing my anxst with my fellow bloggers, after all, why should I go through lifes little challenges alone?

So, a quick update.

Oscar is doing absolutely fine. 6 teeth now, I should know, I've felt every single one of them sink into my bare flesh at feeding time. Nearly walking, regularly falling over, not mastered any words yet but can trump on demand.

Hubby - also fine. Has all of his teeth still, is walking, regularly falling over, has definitely mastered a full vocabulary (mostly consisting of "where is" or "what do I do with"). Definitely can't discuss his wind via this forum.

Me - OK. Business plans on slight hold for the minute, anticipating a slightly later than expected launch date due to some shall we say, considerable challenges.
Oh and also pregnant again. Yes expecting No 2. Ever so slightly tired (suffering from lack of iron), feeling sick regularly and eating chips for england but at the same time overjoyed.
The most strange thing has happened in relation to this momentous occasion. I seem to have "synched" with my friends. No less than 3 of my closest friends are all expecting (and didn't expect to be) within 4 weeks of my due date. So we can now swap bloating stories, food stories, memory loss stories.....can't remember what other stories...

The major bonus for me this time round is not that I've been there once before and therefore slightly more prepared for the aftermath that is the first few months with a new born, neither is it that hubby is also better prepared and is at home to help me with both adorable children. It is simply that Kerry Katona is not due to give birth at the same time as me....hurrah.

Yes, I'm back.

Pooh song

Yes, I have finally found a "Pooh song" that sums me up nicely. And here it is;

Up-down-up
When I up, down and touch the ground
It puts me in the mood
Up, down and touch the ground
In the mood... for food
I am stout, round and I have found
Speaking poundage wise
I improve my appetite
When I exercise

I am short, fat and proud of that
And so, with all my might
I up, down and up and down
To my appetite's delight
While I up, down and touch the ground
I think of things to chew, like honey
With a hefty happy appetite
I'm a hefty happy Pooh

With a hefty happy appetite
She's a hefty happy Pooh

Get it on i-tunes - marvellous ditty.

Unconditional love?

Over the BH weekend, we received a visit from my dad and step-mum. It was the first visit since we moved into our new home over 5 months ago and only the 3rd or 4th time my dad had met Oscar since he was born in June last year.

I always had high hopes for Oscar and my dad when I was pregnant. I knew that dad was not a baby person but I naturally thought those rose tinted glasses would be well and truly on when my son was born and that they would naturally bond, much to my delight.

Well nothing could be further from the truth.

I don't think my dad has yet cuddled Oscar. Come to think of it he hasn't even spoken to him.

What is that stops my dad from making the transition from distant stranger to doting grand-parent? Is he worried about looking silly when engaging in the usual silly frivolities that a baby loves? Does he really dislike babies that much that he can't bring himself to go anywhere near one, or is it that he just has no feelings for my son?

I guess I can't bring myself to think that this is the case because who wouldn't love Oscar? OK I know I am biased but he is cute and in the main a good baby; friendly, amenable, giggly and only occasionally prone to wind.

I know my dad didn't really "do" parenting in the usual sense of the word. Yes, he was always there for me, yes he supported me financially through my life when needed, and yes he provided me with a strong sense of morals and a passion and drive for succeeding in business but I don't think cuddles were offered in abundance. What stops someone from putting their arms around someone they so unconditionally love?

I appreciate that not everyone will love your child, god knows I used to (and still do) harp on about it to hubby - that we should never assume friends and distant family will immediately want to change our sons nappies, put up with his obsession with Pocoyo and friends, wipe his dribbly nose and look happy when biscuity fingers find their way onto their nice clean jeans, but shouldn't grandads, grandmas and all other bods falling into this category just find all of this particularly endearing?

I'm unsure as to how their relationship will develop. I know I can't keep Oscar away from dad but I can't bear to see rejection year after year as my sense of protectiveness gets stronger.
Hopefully I won't have to worry about this problem because the situation will right itself. So why do I have a nagging feeling that I might be being slightly over optimistic?

Perception or Reality?

I've recently took to pondering about how truly happy people are and whether the change in economic climate has had a massive impact on how we view ourselves and others.

I know I am happy, despite facing considerable personal challenges in my past and present life. I also know when others are not because they question why I am. I honestly don't find myself looking at the way my friends and family live and questioning why. Those that do are clearly looking for some kind of reassurance and reason for their own life choices.

To give you an example;

Last year, I finally managed to achieve what I thought was THE impossible task - having a baby. It only took 10 years and a couple of very late miscarriages to get there. I was living abroad at the time of giving birth to Oscar and had set my mind to experiencing a different way of life and culture for at least 3 years. However it was not to be and under very difficult circumstances we moved back to the UK with a 3 week old baby. I didn't know it at the time but I was also spiralling towards a serious dose of PND. Hubby started to look for work, but together with a very tearful and constantly dribbly nosed wife draining his resources and a very difficult economic climate, it proved to be an impossible task. I also found out I had skin cancer. Oh and Oscar was almost treated for TB (except it wasn't in the end - THANK GOD).

It soon became apparent that our life as we knew it pre-move abroad was not going to exist in the new world and so we decided to take a different approach. That's when Derbymums was born as a concept and since then we have channelled all of our business skills and experience in to the project.

As a consequence however, we have had to make massive financial sacrifices and there is no doubt that our new way of living has been at times tough - however the benefits as I realised the other day hugely outweigh the disadvantages. These are mainly;

Our son has us both around and so has the benefit of twice the love care and attention. I appreciate that we are very lucky to be able to provide this, hence why it is at the top of my list

Hubby and I have each other and we get on well. We are a business partnership and best friends. We have our disagreements but I wouldn't be without him. We can bounce business ideas around all day and we don't have to wait for a rushed time slot over a hurried evening meal before our heads hit the pillow with exhaustion

We can go for walks in the day with Oscar and just sit and take in nature and the world around us. When I worked in the "corporate world", I barely had time to think for myself let alone focus on what was going on around me

I don't have to worry about any back stabbing, conniving, up to no good, vindictive bosses who want nothing more than to make you look bad whilst making themselves look great. I have been in this situation more times than I care to remember, mostly since it became acceptable in todays' society to treat people like sh*t and not with common decency

So, when well meaning friends and family imply that we are in a sorry situation and must be terribly down about what we have lost and how we now live, I find myself having to put them right. And I would question, are you sure that living in a corporate world, battling to find time to nuture those closest to you, trying to prove yourself all the time when in reality you could just do without it, taking time to take a deep breath and reflect on where you are heading in life and just generally appreciating your life for what it is, is making you really happy?

Everyone has a different way of looking at things. I just know I am happy being me, doing what I'm doing and trying to make a difference by launching a business that will work with local people, businesses and charities. And because I am happy being me, I am perfectly happy for everyone else.

Isn't that the way it should be?

The adventures of Explorermer Mortimer - http://tinyurl.com/dh6ydc

You MUST check this out.

In addition to; looking after a small child, setting up a brand spanking new business and dealing with imbecilic financial institutions on a daily basis, hubby has decided to branch out into story telling.

Story telling for children, adults, in fact; anyone.

I don't like to give hubby compliments because his head is generally big enough but I have to commend him on his efforts. It is a fantastic read.

Bear in mind the characters actually exist, and if at that point you don't think me and the other half are complete nutters, then please stick with our inane ramblings and business goings on...

You have been warned.

Proud Mummy

I don't often count my blessings. Bit of a shame really because if I did it more often I would tell my husband how great he is at being a husband and my family would know I loved them more than life itself.

But today I am going to because I have had one of my first "proud mummy" moments.

Carl and I set off on Saturday morning to visit some good friends of ours that are due to become parents in September. My worry I suppose was that seeing first hand what it is like to look after a vibrant (and that is an understatement) 9 month old might just put the fear of god into them. I know when I was pregnant, experiencing parenthood from a distance was not a great thing for me and my confidence. In fact it made me feel sick. Even more sick than morning sickness.

Anyway, we arrived at midday and promptly handed Oscar over to them for a cuddle and a hello, to which he responded considerably well given that he doesn't really "do" cuddles and would much rather bash you in the face with a slobbery fist (obviously in a "I can't yet control my hands kind of way - he is not a bully I might add.)

This optimistic beginning actually continued through the whole weekend. He was fun to be around, there were no nappy changing meltdowns, no tantrums, no refusing of food and spitting it out/rubbing it in his hair. No weeing on us, carpet, sofas or other people. Sleeping in his travel cot with no fuss (he has only slept away from home once before), sleeping through the night and generally advertising parenthood as the best thing since sliced bread.
Now I suppose it wouldn't have really mattered if he had been slightly more "challenging" as he tends to be now he has found his feet and his vocal chords, but it was nice for hubby and I to go away and feel really proud of our little boy. And to know that we had left our visitors with a warm feeling about impending parenthood, rather than sheer terror.

Of course tomorrow is another day and Oscar is a little human being like all of us. He has his ups and downs, good and bad days, highs and lows. But for me, if truth be known, I am simply thankful that aside from what he does and how he acts, he's here, he's full of life and he's healthy.

You can't ask for more than that.

Spark Your Potential

Off I went yesterday to a networking event at Alton Towers.

I arrived in plenty of time to meet a co-WAHM, Amanda, who will absolutely kill me for mentioning that she is 21 (soon to be 22 - very important that) and has 3 children under 5 AND a successful business (www.ellaannouncements.com). God she made me feel old. But she is lovely so I will let her off.

We carefully edged our way into the room of business women, not feeling intimidated at all and ready to be inspired during the seminars and via networking opportunities. The first thing I noticed however was that there was a distinct lack of chairs in the room. Now I happen to have one leg slightly shorter than the other and so spent the next 15 minutes shifting from one foot to another, uncomfortably. I don't understand why chairs were lacking unless the organisers felt that we needed to be kept on our toes (literally).

Most important thing to mention - there were loads of foodie bits to be had, although I could have quite easily worked my way through a whole tray of mini choc croissants - not very important and successful like business woman behaviour. So I stopped at 10.

Jo Cameron (of Apprentice fame) was the first to kick off and I have to say that I was very impressed with her enthusiasm and zest for life. Lets face it, whenever you go to any event, you expect to be faced with the "I've got it all women" who you immediately take a dislike to, but I really quite liked her. Jo has moved on to designing and running seminars for women - www.jocameron.co.uk (in business and generally) and I am most tempted to join one, given how inspiring I found her on the day. If you want to get on in life and in business, her website is worth a look. And yes, she still has the same zany laugh that you will remember from her time spent with the GOD that is Sugar.

The first seminar I attended was on inspirational women and was fantastic. Amongst the speakers were Jo (mentioned above), Jenny Hudson (fab cake maker - you must check out her website www.sweet-as.co.uk), Ranbir Sahota who runs her own home based PR business (www.vitispr.com) and last but not least, Sandra Brookes (self employed business adviser) who I shall affectionately call "The Quiet Assassin". I have decided on this title because Sandra is extremely gentle, quietly spoken and kind hearted, but clearly when faced with a knife wielding lunatic would not only be able to disarm him but beat him up and leave him in a tangled mess on the floor. Actually I'm not sure of this fact exactly, but I wouldn't want to cross her in business, lets put it that way. The lady knows her stuff and is very determined.
Amongst some of the little gems I picked up were;

1. Think intuitively
2. Get in touch with your local women's business development agency for help with funding, advice, grants, expert support
3. Keep on top of debtors
4. Take a decent salary for yourself
5. Be resilient
5. Keep your values alive
6. Deal with the big stuff first

Note to self - STOP WATCHING JEREMY KYLE AND GET ON WITH IT LISA.

The second seminar was PR on a shoestring and hey-hey guess what this is?

I think amongst all of the valuable advice and information I picked up, the event taught me that I JUST NEED TO BLOODY WELL GET ON WITH IT. So the new me is going to work even harder at getting this business off the ground.

Watch this space.

Mixing business and pleasure

I am about to launch a business with my husband.

Given that we have a very "healthy" relationship and ordinarily love each other considerably - is it wise to take a leap into the unknown and mix business with pleasure?

For example, will arguments only serve to increase the passion in our marriage, or will he be sleeping on the sofa more?

Will we argue at all, and, more importantly, will he be allowed to win any arguments?

I am a very stubborn person, so stubborn I argue with myself a lot of the time. How will this translate into a mutually supportive business relationship?

I think we will be OK, after all he knows when to just nod politely and when to answer back, the trouble is - I don't.....

I am looking forward to our new business arrangement but I can't help but ponder on the above questions, definitely a female trait because he is just thinking about whether or not I'll start to wear skirts again.

Oh to have a more simple outlook on life.

MY NEW LOGO

I AM SO PROUD.

Sophie Hannah

Did anyone read Sophie's article in SHE magazine (April edition)?

It was headed "Why I feel trapped by motherhood" and detailed Sophie's own experiences of being a mother. She talks of finding it scary looking after her children and how her lack of maternal nature has made parenting a difficult concept to accept.
She goes on to say that "if more people acknowledged how hard and unpleasant it can be to look after small children, perhaps we'd all get more help, both from our extended families and society in general".
Sophie clearly loves her children (as do we all) however the thought of "restricting her freedom" in any way causes great anxiety. Prioritising her love of writing over full time motherhood is a choice Sophie has made and whether you agree with her or not, you have to admire the lady for being "true" to herself and more importantly for publicising her feelings.
I felt inspired to contact Sophie myself to acknowledge her determination and honesty and to tell her that she was not alone. I too find myself sometimes wondering what I have got myself in to when I realise I have had to completely change as a person to accommodate this new life.

But then who can say that they've never had this thought since becoming a parent?

Interesting article - interesting lady.

Where do I start?

Firstly - note to self - MUST get font right. It has been pointed out quite correctly that I have started to post blogs that could only be classed as suitable for dwarfs to read. Hopefully you can all now read my ramblings well enough (not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing but anyway my font faux pas has been overcome).

Secondly, despite my excitement and nervousness at attending local networking event, I didn't make it due to acceleration of very bad head cold, resulting in sore throat, annoyingly tickly cough and intense head pain. You must all know how bad I felt because I am not a man and do not exaggerate common illnesses.

Anyway, decided to send hubby without me, with clear instructions not to f*** up.

Needless to say he did very well without me. No I am not sulking...really.

On a more serious note, he managed to complete our pitch in under one minute and was given a "thumbs up" from the camera guy. Either he did very well or it was a blatant attempt to chat up hubby who was probably mistaken for being gay. This happens a lot, along with him being mistaken for a plumber on several occasions. This always results in a laugh from me because he has no idea how to "plumb" anything. And I mean anything.

He got back to our house at about 9.30 and was full of chat about how the evening had gone - there were about 70 business angels in attendance, Rachel Elnough of Red Letter Days fame and enough funding opportunities to build the next olympic stadium. When asked who he had sought out for business advice and any golden nuggets of info for our business, his answer was "well I spoke to a retired midwife who has invented a chair to stop your knees hurting if you crouch a lot at work"....OK then.
To be fair there is a significant link between midwives and our business but needless to say we will not be selling chairs for crouching in the very near future...
Its just a waiting game now to find out if hubbys magic worked and we win the pitch competition...I will keep you all updated as I know life will stop at all levels until you find out!?

So, what next?

I'm almost at the point now of design spec stage 1. We have a meeting arranged with our web developer and I have researched to the point of obsession. This is where I have to leave my womanly traits of general indecision and delaying tactics and get on with the job of creating my dream.

No pressure then.

Networking - the good, the bad or the ugly?

Well I'm off to a networking event tomorrow and have booked myself in to "pitch" for a prize of on-line mentoring from an ex-dragon, in a bid to improve my chances of making my business a success.

I have 1 minute to sell my business concept, my entrepreneurial skills and how I will achieve my route to success.

I can't decide whether this is going to be;

1) Incredibly insightful
2) Horribly embarrassing
3) A buttock-clenching nightmare

What are your thoughts?

Is it me?

Yes, I'm up again. This time it is 3.06am and after having gotten up to drink some water to help heal my incessent and very annoying cough, look at e-mails, view the blog, read a post on Mumsclub about Insomnia (how apt), I thought that I may as well contribute something to society (well not quite, but you get my drift).

One question that stayed in my mind yesterday as I was wandering around my local supermarket, is it me or are other people intrigued by their fellow shoppers? Why is is that you hear some of the most interesting conversations whilst queuing to pay for your bread, milk and chocolate biscuits....no definitely not chocolate biscuits...fruit, yes definitely fruit (husband might read this)....

Take for example the conversation that I (accidentally) tuned in to.

"Well, you shouldn't give in to him" (me thinks this is a girlie chat about husbands/partners inadequate behaviour and am about to nod my head in agreement)

"If you didn't let him have it, he wouldn't miss it" - (ooo this could get interesting....)

"I just think you are way too soft with him - he's far too manipulative" - (a tad too controlling maybe?)

"I know but I love him so much" - (ah, what it is to be in love...)

"Well you should have just picked the biscuits up then instead of the can of Whiskas, then he wouldn't know any different" - (WHAT?)

At this point, curiosity got the better of me and I HAD to turn around. I then realised (from a quick scan of the products ready to be paid for) that they were talking about food for the pet cat??!! Now, I'm sorry but if you fail to use the precious time allocated whilst queuing at the checkout to:

1) Moan about work/boss/smelly work mates
2) Discuss at great length husband/partner/ex-partner/ex-ex partner
3) Talk about any of the related subjects : hair/clothes/shoes/money
4) Think/talk about chocolate
5) Scan the person in front of you's shopping and make up their life story for them
5) Listen to other peoples' conversations

Then there is something seriously wrong with you.

What is it about colds and timing?

My other half has been away this weekend. Ordinarily not a problem, except I have a major cold, earache, sore throat, tickly cough and very sore nose. My son isn't really bothered. He is just mildly irritated with my incessent coughing and me blowing my nose. He is afraid of my sneezes and I think at the last count I made him cry 8 times.

He just wants a play mate and not a dull one at that.

Of course now I am ill, I am thinking about my business. All of the things I could have done this weekend - research, networking, planning. I'm feeling guilty cos thats what women do. When they are feeling bad and generally run down, they make themselves feel worse by mentally torturing themselves.

At least I have had my Mum around to help me entertain my son and generally stop me from going insane this weekend, although I suspect he would prefer a playmate that looked like Sportacus. No such luck there I'm afraid.

Anyway tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow will be better because my head won't feel like a big ball of cotton wool. It will be better because I will have set timescales for my concept meetings with my web developer, and it will be better because Oscar won't be teething, wrestling with me whilst attempting to change his nappy or biting my leg (a strange habit he has started in the last week or so). Well 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

What am I doing up at 02.20am?

This is a question I ask myself regularly. It's probably because when I'm up in the night after settling my son who has:

a) lost his dummy
b) lost his bear
c) lost his blankie
d) all of the above

I start thinking.

Oh dear.

I then check my e-mails, and then my recent posts on several business and Mummy related forums, and then my blog to see if anyone else is up at this ridiculous hour (er no)... and before you know it, its morning and I'm still tired whilst everyone else in the house has at least had a decent nights sleep.
I decided earlier today that I must be a little bit mad....the odds are stacked against me but still I look for more things to occupy my already busy mind. Its a good job I don't have a very small child (who is learning every day to be ever so slightly more destructive), a hubbie who is out of work and a business to get up and running. Still life would be dull if there weren't at least 100 distractions to contend with.

So, where am I on this path to personal fulfillment? Well, my research is well underway, my website design is a mass of post it notes on some brown paper (learnt that somewhere whilst working for an arty farty company) and I now feel as though I have something worthwhile to contribute to my local Mummy community. If only my personal life was so well ordered...

What I want to know is - how many entrepreneurial Mums out there worry about the following:

1) Grey hairs
2) Grey hairs on legs
3) Any hairs on chin
4) Size of tummy, boobs and hips
5) Still looking pregnant when not
6) Yummy Mummies and their apparent take over of the world
7) Victoria Beckham disappearing into her own head
8) Networking
9) Not networking
10) Dog having a poorly tummy and transferring all manner of germs to an already sick son
11) World supplies of chocolate running low - best buy up all the Wispas before they disappear again
12) Will anyone read this blog?
13) Will anyone hate this blog?
14) What am I doing up at 02.33....revert to top of post.....

Help me to create something fantastic

HELP ME TO CREATE SOMETHING FANTASTIC!

OK - so this is my first attempt at blogging, so bear with me. I will try not to ramble.

To explain my reasons for treading the path of blogging technology, here's a bit about me.

I'm 36, and a first time Mum. I've done the career thing, the climbing the (very long and sometimes splintered) ladder, thinking that making it to the top is what I wanted out of life and then realising it's not. The turning point for me was after I had my beautiful son, realising that as risky as it is, I want to step out of the rat race and concentrate on two specific things - my family and my passion of running my own business. I want him to be proud of me.

I've spent the last six months of my life researching and soul searching. I know what I want to do and this basically is it:

Set up an inspirational website for Mums. It can't be average - it has to be great. It will have a "local" rather than national focus and will be THE place that Mums go to, to:

TALK TO OTHERS
PREPARE FOR EVENTS (DAILY AND LIFE)
RESEARCH WHAT TO DO AND WHERE TO GO
HELP THEM MAKE DECISIONS
SAVE MONEY (REALLY)
FIND STUFF
FEEL GOOD

Now granted, there are a few sites out there already and the majority are good, but I want to be better.

I have lots of ideas, some good, some excellent and some (admittedly) a bit dodgy and I actually now have the makings of a half decent website, BUT before I go any further with this, I need your help. I'd like to hear from Mums everywhere who fit into one or more of the following categories;

• Mums who use a "Mums/Parents" information website already - what they like about it and what they don't
  
• Mums who have used a "Mums/Parents" information website but don't any more for whatever reason (please state what the reason(s) is/are)
  
• Mums who would not go near a Mums/Parents" information website and why
  
• Mums who think a local "Mums" information website is a good thing and why, conversely those that think it's a bad idea and why - BE HONEST
  
• Your ideas to make my site great - and if it's fantastic and gets listed on my site, yes you will be credited for it - honestly

Thanks for reading and "blog" me back (is that the right terminology?...so much to learn).....

Please help me realise my dream.


Lisa