My Dilemmas, Surviving Half Term And Other Stuff!

Hello folks, I’m just going to continue where I left off last, as you’ll realise my blog is less of a tirade about all things breastfeeding (or about breastfeeding cushions (; ) and more of a tirade about my life as a woman/wife/mother/small business owner/etc!

May after my birthday took a bit of a downward turn as after a fabulous week of wining and dining for said birthday, I managed to get a trapped nerve in my pelvis making it impossible to bend over, drive or take part in any type of fitness or socialising. Basically I spent a lot of time either in pain or in a drug haze (prescription) on the sofa watching series 1 and 2 of Breaking Bad (bloody brilliant btw) and undoing all the good that I’ve been working at over the last couple of months. I stopped taking the prescription drugs after 2 days when they were starting to make me feel sick! All fine now though I’ve got so much catching up to do what with half term thrown into the mix that my fitness is having to take a back seat, there simply are not enough hours in the day, I’m sure most of you know what I’m talking about.

After the trapped nerve scenario we hit half term, and as always after a very bumpy start sales wise in May things really started to take off again, just when I’ve got 2 boys to supervise/entertain, for some bizarre reason my sales always go a little bit manic over school hols and then die off again when they go back to school, it really is most inconvenient and perplexing!

Over the half term we went to an “Activity” Hotel in Devon called the Manor House Hotel . Together with my Brother and sister, their families and my Mum and her husband (My Mum organised it) in total there was 14 of us. Initially I was extremely put off by the 2 star appearance of the rooms and the bar area, however the activities were amazing and there really was something for everyone. Aaron (aged 5) made loads of friends, took himself off to the giant soft play and played mini golf every day, Caleb (aged 7), did falconry and tennis and loads of crafts, (pottery painting etc) and all the cousins swam and zoomed down the water slides. We (the adults) played tennis and went power walking in the beautiful surrounding country side (ladies) and the boys played golf and did boy stuff like rifling/lazer shooting/archery etc (how very cliché!). It’s an all inclusive deal and the meals are fine, not amazing but just ok. The main attraction of the holiday were the various activities which were numerous and not dependent on the weather. Actually the weather last week was amazing so we did spend most of the time outside. I would recommend it but only if you’re not put off by a lot of chinz and mediocre food as I said it was all about the activities and spending time together as a family which my Mum loved. It’s probably about a third of the cost of centre parks which may appeal also!

Recently I’ve had a dilemma what with the husband around a lot of the time and still struggling with making Thrupenny Bits “happen” I’m seriously considering finding a full time job whereby someone else pays my salary, I receive sick pay, holiday pay and maybe even health benefits or such like! Working for one’s self can be very frustrating at times, plus it’s difficult to remain motivated especially in today’s current economic climate and sales so up and down. I love my boys more than I ever thought possible and am  here for school pick-ups, play-dates and love all the baking and lovely stuff I’m able to do with them, however being on what essentially is a part time salary also comes with its restrictions, most of you know what I’m talking about… Before kids I had a great job on a good salary working in Television and have still got to work mainly during the summer months on some fantastic projects, though this year is not looking good on that front. I met with a brilliant recruitment consultant who is helping me with re-branding my cv. It will be a huge life change if Rich and I are both working but sometimes you’ve just got to take a risk and see what happens, you never know finally the scales may tip and Thrupenny Bits could really take off properly or I might find the job of a life time working for someone else!! We shall see, things will be a little clearer towards the end of the Summer…

Celeb news….Edith Bowman now has a cushion! I’m yet to receive any feedback so we’ll see, I’m always sceptical about giving celebrities free stuff which they can afford to buy themselves more so usually than the rest of us, it’s all good if they actually talk about the free stuff so long as they do like it! I have a lovely quote from Fearne Cotton but I am still yet to know if that’s convinced anyone to actually buy a cushion? Answers in the comments box, please! Edith and Colin are hosting something called the Bump Club following families through their experience of pregnancy and birth every Sunday on Radio 5 live. You can also download the podcast should you so desire.

On a very positive note, brilliant feedback continues to come in from my lovely customers whom I love and adore!! If you go to my Facebook page you’ll see a fabulous review from Rosie. She felt she had to let me know that she and 4 of the Mums in her anti-natal class have purchased cushions and swear by them, that’s what I like to hear!

On that lovely note, I’m now going to get back to my long-overdue tax returns, one of the very non-glamorous sides of running your own business or being free-lance! Oh yeah and the washing needs hanging out, bathrooms need cleaning, a garden needs weeding, blah blah blah….!

Mxx

Martian godmother

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