BritMums Live 2013 – I’m going!

This is going to be frustrating for some I’m sure as I haven’t got a photo here (still trying to locate novalty big nose/glasses).Still I’d like to have a go at answering a getting to know you linky, anonymously………….

NAME: Well, I’m known on the blog as N.E.M.

BLOG: This one North Essex Mummy

TWITTER ID: @northessexmummy

HEIGHT: 5ft 2inches

HAIR: Blonde (from the bottle)

EYES: Green

IS THIS YOUR FIRST BLOGGER CONFERENCE: Yep

ARE YOU ATTENDING BOTH DAYS: Oh yeah! Just wish I could split into two for some of the agenda items

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO AT BRITMUMS LIVE 2013: A bit of me time finding out more about the blogging/mummy world and meeting lots of bloggers

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING: That is far too organised to know already, but you have got me thinking!

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO GAIN FROM BRITMUMS 2013: Inspiration to blog, blog, blog.

TELL US ONE THING ABOUT YOU THAT NOT EVERYONE KNOWS: Secret 1D Fan – There I’ve said it!!!!!

Blogger Block, a Baby and BritMums Live!

..Right… I’m not sure how to start this one off as it’s been a whole 7 months since I have put any new content on my blog. I’ve lost the blogging mojo and I don’t know what to blog about.

I’ve had a few attempts over the months but far from being in a rut I have been in a Grand Canyon sized hole with no way out.

Nearly a whole year ago I was a wide eyed expectant mummy-to-be with a lot of time on my hands. I really loved reading Mum blogs and decided to have a go and things went well. I had a tiny set of followers and started to make some connections with like-minded people. I’d publish a post (after typing it up in word first with several edits), tweet about it and update the Facebook page then spend the next week making connections, reading related posts and starting to write the next one. Oh the TIME I had!! I then saw that I’d just missed BritMums Live 2012 (a fab blogger event) I was gutted and straight away bought an early bird ticket to next year’s event knowing confidently that by this time next year I’d be well established and would know loads of people. I even got a guest post published about using Twitter. It was all going so well!

The reality is that my life took one big U-turn when my baby was born and I’ve been unable/afraid to blog at all. A new-born fog descended and I rarely had time for a toilet break let alone time to put together a coherent blog about… well anything.  I’m no longer a newbie mummy with my lovely bump and time to iron muslins! I have no idea who I am and what is important to me besides my family’s happiness.

It has always been in the back of my mind to blog about the ups and downs of having a newborn but the mind went to mush, and any time I did have for myself I felt guilty for wanting to blog and not reading about fun things to do with my baby. Plus I had no memory of what a keyboard looked like! I did attempt to write a couple of posts but I got half way through and couldn’t finish them off. Something has got to be done otherwise I’ll be going to a blogger event with no blog!

Over the months I have sat down to start again but still typing went out the window as I researched what people where talking about on various linkys etc I found I had more fun reading other blogs then thinking about my own.

This is my current action plan.

1. Get over the unable factor. Next time it’s nap time fire up the laptop and just do it. Motherhood has given me a big fat slap round the face and the organisation skill set to match any top PA. What I have had trouble with is thinking that my life is now bottom of the priorities list when it comes to baby, partner, housework. But this had made me feel worse as it’s something I’ve not done and its hanging over me! So I have now decided I have to do this to have some me time!
2. Get over the fear factor. I’m always going to have this if I was to blog every day of once a month. I have a mega confidence issue and fear of rejection – it is the reason that I blog anonymously. I still don’t know how an anonymous blogger will get on at a conference without the big sunglasses and fake nose combo but I like the BritMums bunch and I think that they will respect my anonymity. However I digress,  I’m mainly afraid that I’ll publish this and future posts and my stats will tell me that only four visits have happened and I’ll know that they were all me checking that it had been published!! But at the end of the day I’ve gotta start somewhere right??
3. CONTENT! – I’m going to write a list! I love them! It’s going to be about what I like to do and find interesting etc and then I’ll start to build my own writing around this. In my early blogger days I read that you have to have a blog theme otherwise your readers will get bored or stop subscribing because the content is not relevant, this didn’t help the fear factor at all! I’d started subscribing to a great London blog and I loved it (hence I tried to recreate an Essex version) but I’m not sure if this is ‘me’ anymore – or even if it was ‘me’ to begin with!! I love reading blogs from a variety of themes (travel, fashion, books, gardening etc) so do I have to pick just one?? Answers on a comment please?
4. Hook up with fellow BritMums bloggers and make sure I get the best out of BritMums Live 2013.

 

This all seems very self-indulgent and a bit naf blogging about my own blog but hey – a mum can blog – and does… eventually! Any feedback would be gratefully received xx

 

My Bucket List – 2012

A little while ago I discovered a great blog by Lesley Carter and I promised myself (and Lesley) that I would do my own Bucket List and share it. I’m hoping that some of you will already know about this site and if you don’t I think that the first thing you do before reading my post is check it out here;

LESLEY CARTER – BUCKET LIST PUBLICATIONS

What Lesley started was amazing and inspiring – hence this very post! I like the fact that she sets an annual list rather than a lifetime one – it makes things harder to put off!

So my Bucket List for 2012 is below – I was unsure of what to put in this list and actually got a bit frustrated with myself about the process. Should I have very specific goals or more general ones? Should I have 100′s or 10? Is there a set of rules you are meant to follow? I haven’t seen the film and not looked it up, are the ‘rules’ one must follow?

Already a reality check was needed – firstly in under six weeks time I’ll have my first baby – now there is no reason why I can not have my adventures with my new family in tow (Lesley demonstrates this a lot) however I might take a bit longer to get there. Secondly there are only 3 months left of the 2012 year so again I’ll be keeping this small so that I don’t set too much pressure on myself (but anything not done in 2012 will be default move to the 2013).

As its my list I’m going to set my own rule – do it for myself only! I’ve spent long enough worrying about what people think and I’m sure that some things in life have flown right past me as I’ve spent my head in the sand or unable to make a decision.

BUCKET LIST (in no order)

1. Finish writing my book that I started before the blog (currently 10,000 words)
2. Upcycle a piece of furniture & the glass jars (I’ll explain all in the post!)
3. Rid the house of any unwanted items
4. Take my newborn and NED to the seaside for a weekend break.
5. Learn how to use my slow cooker
6. Take a course in photography.
7. Set a date to get married to NED.
8. Write my 2013 list!

So far so good I think. I’ll be updating this post with links when I have actually completed an item off the list.

Have you done a bucket list? I’d enjoy seeing it so please link it back to this post with a comment.

So here goes - Wish me luck!

 

Cankles

Cankles =“a condition where the ‘calf’ and ‘ankle’ of the sufferer seamlessly merge into one”

After the sunny spout of gorgeous hot weather that we have had I have to say I now have the most unattractive cankles that I have ever seen. I noticed on last Friday lunchtime in the office that my legs had swollen so much that they felt solid & firm. My socks were literally hours away from being embedded in to my legs. I’ve since spent the last two hours since I got home with my legs up and a cold flannel on my feet but they are still there looking minging and throbbing at me!! Like overcooked sausages with spaghetti sized veins. Is this it now until my due date?

Sometimes I don’t worry about it as my bump is so huge I have no idea what my ankles or feet even look like!! But it is actually getting painful; I walk around and feel like they are wrapped in concrete and that if I were to add any more fluid into my bloodstream something would go pop. I will get to bed early so that I’m flat but still I will toss and turn in the night trying to get my legs comfy. When I wake up in the morning it is like they were never there and I have ankles again!!

Here is what I have tried so far to help;

1. Wearing compression socks; but in this heat I’m not sure if they make it bad or worse.
2. Only now wearing flat shoes so that there is not so much pressure on the ball of my foot when I walk.
3. I have a foot stool for under my desk to keep my legs raised and I also now go out for a little stroll every day to keep things moving.
4. Drinking – I have read that the less fluid you take on the more you will retain and hence have fatty ankles.
5. Keeping a cold flannel on them at night before bed.

If anyone else has some tips or ideas please let me know – I’d love to lie on my back against a wall and stick my feet in the air but I’m worried about lying on my back as this is bad for the baby. How do you put your feet in the air when you have a football up your jumper? I’ve booked in for a foot and leg massage in a couple of weeks’ time but I do not have the budget to do that every week from now until due day.

As I’m getting bigger it is getting increasingly frustrating as I’m less able to move around and help with sorting the house out, but maybe I’m not meant too. After all, perhaps this is just Mother Nature’s way of saying, “Put your feet up love, you are not going to be able to do this again for a while!”

#Tuesdaytums – 4th September (even more late!)

Here is another dealyed installment of my #tuesdaytums blogging post. I’m been very quiet on the blogging front as I’ve been busy creating a nursey and trying to get everything ready for D-day! Even though I’m walking at a snails pace now and can no longer bend over!

Here I am at 33 weeks – maternity top is from Red Herring at Debenhams.

BUMP SHARE / CELEBRATE!

TuesdayTums photos, follow this comment / blog and share a link below to your bump pictures, I will check it out and add a link to it in here and share it.

Previous weeks;

Week 31

Week 30

Week 28

Week 27

#Tuesdaytums – 21st August

Here is the next installment of my #tuesdaytums blogging post – on time!

At 31 weeks with an ever expanding bump, trying to get away with wearing a non maternity top from Peacocks. This used to be a great work top which looked super cute with a suit but now the more I look at this picture the more I can see all the circles stretching for dear life – perhaps this is not my best look!

 

BUMP SHARE / CELEBRATE!

TuesdayTums photos, follow this comment / blog and share a link below to your bump pictures, I will check it out and add a link to it in here and share it.

Previous weeks;

Week 30

Week 28

Week 27

#Tuesdaytums – 14th August (a bit late!)

Here is a dealyed installment of my #tuesdaytums blogging post. I realised that I’d got the dates wrong for my last one so I’ve missed a week sorry! I’m going to use the baby brain excuse.

So I’ve turned 30 weeks and now on the home straight! It seems funny when you look at my twitter and facebook page at how small I was 6 weeks ago! T-shirt is from New Look, they have a huge range of Maternity clothes online.

 

 

BUMP SHARE / CELEBRATE!

TuesdayTums photos, follow this comment / blog and share a link below to your bump pictures, I will check it out and add a link to it in here and share it.

Previous weeks;

Week 28

Week 27