Full Steam Ahead....Baby Show!!!

That time of year again...Earls Court Baby Show looms large! Hard work but lots of fun, and creates a great team environment for us to share ideas. It is fantastic meeting our customers face to face and seeing all these tiny little bundles and rather large bumps! I wonder if anyone has ever gone into labour at a baby show? Must have surely? We are running a competition for free tickets worth £40....if you or anyone would like to enter then all you need to do is be a fan of our facebook page and follow instructions from there. Click to enter for Free Baby Show Tickets!

Why are boats cool and caravans uncool?

I know you shouldn't generalise but I think it is fair to say that most regards boats as cool and caravans as a bit uncool. The Top Gear team have definitely done their bit to entrench this feeling amongst the British public! The interior accommodation of the average boat and average caravan are no doubt similar. They are both mobile and provide the freedom to visit an array of places. But a stark contrast between the two definitely exists. Boats are considered a luxury by most and caravans on the whole a cost-effective long-term holiday option, particularly for the retired. I was lucky enough to spend acouple of days on a boat last week. I think the part of the reason lies in the fact that you travel to your destination on a boat, whereas the caravan is towed behind. Whilst you can move your caravan where you like, you don't generally pull up somewhere for lunch in it.....with a boat you can moor alongside a pub or have lunch on deck, or even a bbq on the beach or riverbank.....car parks and lay-bys do not have the same appeal! Caravans are more of a base to explore the surrounding area, whereas you can just sit on deck and relax as you take in the sights on a boat....yes the weather needs to be good....but perhaps this in itself adds to the luxury factor. Sitting on deck with a drink in hand is for some reason infinitely more appealing than sitting on a deck chair in a field. Is the the glamour that is associated with marinas and the sailing/boating set? Perhaps it is because boats are regarded as a bit of a boys toy....whereas again....caravans don't really fall into that category! I think also a lot of us do for some reason have a bit of a fascination with water, albeit the sea or a river. Yes you can pitch your caravan on a cliff top and look out to sea, but it just isn't the same as actually being on the water. Well I have to say for me it would be a boat everytime....I wonder if Jeremy Clarkson likes boats? He has certainly put a few cars afloat so I guess he does.

Yes, I admit it....I am a fidget bum!

I have always denied being a fidget....although when accused of being so...which is often...I become suddenly aware of the constant movements I make and do my utmost to suppress them. The result is a fixed stare, tense posture and probably some sort of contorted look on my face! With huddle & bliss at the recent Excel Baby Show I did an interview with iMama.tv. The lovely ladies there made me feel very at ease and I chatted away. Luckily the interview about our stunning 48 hour bag was used....however having now watched it myself I can confirm that I am a fidget bum.....oh put it down to nerves or whatever you like, but frankly I do not stop moving. I am glad that I manage to talk easily, highlight the beautiful contents and even comment confidently on starting your own business.....but oh I do not stop bloomin' movin'. Take a look for yourself (Click here). Suffice to say I have some public speaking lessons booked with a close friend Sarah who teaches drama...she will probably put me in a head vice and tie my arms behind my back!

Motivation Returns...

Well Chaps, been away for a while. Bereavement is an unknown quantity in every person....for me it manifested itself in exhaustion and lack of motivation but most importantly a deep desire to spend time with my children. I suppose all of these things are understandle having spent 18 months caring for my husband David. I have been extremely fortunate in that I was able to to the time out I needed. My sincere thanks go to Louise and team of family and friends at www.huddleandbliss.com for taking care of everything whilst I did what I needed to. As a result I believe that my two boys have come through this trauma amazingly. Being open with them, although heart-wrenchingly difficult, was the best thing I did. The passing of their father was not a shock to them. Children need to been treated the same as adults in these circumstances and given the information and tools they need to cope. Whilst what and how you tell them things needs to be carefully considered, it must be done. Hence me and my boys are good. We have had our dark days and we miss David terribly but we are living our lives to the full...which is definitely what he would have wanted.

And so my motivation now appears to have returned! Finally! And what better time to get back into work full on than as the boys begin a new year at school? It just feels right. So I am warming up at the moment and will be back full time on 6th September. I am so looking forward to it. We have the Earls Court Baby Show coming up. This year we have two stands. In addition to the usual huddle & bliss stand we are our luxury hospital bag, The h&b 48 Hour Bag, the spotlight it deserves...a stand all of its own! I think it gets a little lost in amongst all the other beautiful baby clothes and products on the huddle and bliss stand....so an opportunity to set it apart. As popular as ever with celebrities and famous faces, we are only sad that we can't tell you all about them due to privacy issues! Many of these wonderul pre-packed hospital bags are bought by the dads-to-be. I would be ecstatic to receive one.

We have a couple of new people coming on board which is really exciting....particularly as one of them is a man!!! Oh dear, how will he cope with the team of confident working mums at huddle and bliss? I hope he has thick skin and a good sense of humour. He is a Dad of two with another on the way so will be giving us a good insight into the father's perspective. I hope he gets his wife a 48 hour bag!!!

Sx

Making a Come Back....finally

Well my last post was in December when I said that I would be taking some time out with boys...and that is exactly what I have done. But I am back at work and raring to go...so watch this space!

I'll Be Back!

Will be back soon - Taking some time out with my boys following the sad passing of my husband in October. We won the battles but ultimately lost the war. Memories last forever.

Sherry xx

The Irony of Life

I gave blood for the first time today. I have been meaning too for a while, but as with many of our intentions they never come to fruition or they take a long time! A year ago my husband received a blood transfusion. At that point I vowed that I would give blood. It has taken me a while but I got there eventually. I was booked in to do so a few weeks ago, but my husband was rushed into hospital so I had to cancel. I rebooked for today. It always makes me smile when life's situations create coincidences that have a certain irony! I knew last week that my husband was going to be in hospital today but I did not find out until late yesterday that he would be having 3 units of blood transfused. So there I was laying on my bed as a virginal blood donor whilst my husband lay in his hospital bed several miles away receiving his blood. His transfusion will give him the strength he needs to start his next round of treatment and fight on. Did you know that one unit of blood can save 3 lives? I read that somewhere this evening. I just want to give back and contribute to the gift that my husband has received from some kind and unknown individual somewhere.

You see we could all need blood at some point. It is natural for us to always think things happen to other people. To associate transfusions with life-threatening accidents and surgery and avoid thinking that the need for someone else's blood could possibly apply to our own lives or those of the loved ones around us. But we never know what life holds. I can vouch for that.

Nearly everyone I spoke to today had a story, a reason as to why they were there. Mostly it was due to a loved one receiving a transfusion, a newly born child, a family member with cancer, a friend who had major surgery or someone they know having a life-saving transfusion following a bad accident. Whatever the reason they were mostly there because there was some event or person in their life that had suffered, needed blood and they recognised what the gift of blood can do. The same applies to me. As humans we often need an emotional catalyst to spurn us into action. It is not that we don't care, its just that until such things touch our own lives we tend to plod on blissfully unaware of the need.

My husband has obviously not received my blood today - he is a different blood group anyhow! But in some small way I feel like I have given back what has been used for him today. I will be a loyal and regular donor. Yes I have an aching and bruised arm but someone somewhere will benefit tremendously. So if you have never been a blood donor and are fit and able please give it some thought, you could truly be giving the gift of life to someone somewhere when they desperately need it.


Become a donor

Batman is in the house

My youngest is currently infatuated with his batman outfit. It was a hand-me-down from a relative and is a little faded and raggedy but he adores it. Yesterday morning he could be seen playing 'his version' of chess, full dressed as Batman, complete with shopping bag and crocs...and eye-catching combination to say the least. In fact my youngest is very particular about what he wears. He has never liked slogans or pictures on his clothing generally and from around the age of two he has often asserted what his choice of outfit for the day was to be. He took this to a new level a couple of days ago when, now 5, he insisted on selecting his entire outfit for the day without any assistance whatsoever. Well not sure if I have a little fashion diva (suppose it is divo for a boy!) but he came down in a completely co-ordinated look. Navy shorts, yellow and navy striped polo shirt and a pale yellow Ralph Lauren jumper to complete the look! He even went as far as to explain why he had selected each item and how it complimented the look! He fell somewhat short by then selecting his bright turquoise crocs as footwear, but hey you have to have practical footwear for the garden.

But yesterday, well it was a Batman day. He even insisted on putting the outfit back on after his shower - well it is the school holidays and I am in a lenient mood...what harm will it do for him to sleep in his Batman gear if that is what he wants? He slept until 8am this morning so he obviously wasn't uncomfortable - we did of course forego the cape and the mask for bed in case any of you are worrying - I also made him leave his Batmobile on the driveway!

Not sure how long batman will be around for this morning, but he is definitely 'in the house' at the moment. Have a feeling a pirate may visit or perhaps Spiderman (complete with foam six pack), he has been absent for a while!

SEO Saturday

SEO for those of you that don't know... is search engine optimisation...still none the wiser? Well basically it is words and terms that you include in visible and invisible areas of your website that the search engines can pick up on and then help people find your site and individual pages...sounds thrilling doesn't it! Sadly it isn't quite as simple as it sounds and that is the tip of the iceberg. It is an enormous task and requires many hours of concentration and research...you have to get in the 'zone' a little so it is not something that you can dip in and out of, and for a busy mum this makes it all the more difficult. So a few weeks ago I decided that Saturday would become huddle and bliss SEO day. My boys are here of course but they are getting to the age where they are happy and in fact desire..to entertain themselves. My husbands business is Mon-Fri so I can pretty much concentrate for a set number of hours on my huddle and bliss work ....last Saturday it was 18 hours non-stop!!!! It becomes a bit of a challenge though...and I love a challenge. And besides I enjoy it. As I always say....I have no off switch.

There are a lot of businesses out there doing SEO...it seems to be the next web or marketing 'thing' and I lose count of how many calls I get offering SEO. I really think it can be a big money-spinner. But I am a staunch believer in that no one knows babies and baby things like a mum...and no one knows huddle and bliss like me so I think with a little help from my IT guys www.jj-solutions.com and a bit of reading I can do it myself. At the very least I will gain an extensive understanding of it...I wonder how many business people out there have handed over thousands of pounds and they really have no clue how and why their particular keyword terms have been selected, or if they are even doing what they are supposed to. Now I am sure there are probably a number of SEO'ers out there shouting back at me....please get in contact, if I am missing something here then I would love to know! At the end of the day for anyone setting up a business there is nothing like hands-on experience and someone leading a business has to know every aspect of it. I have done and still do on occasion, everything from making up swing tags, constructing our gift boxes and working in customer services. I believe it is crucial. It has to be a constant learning curve - bit like being a mum! You never know it all and you have to be prepared to learn along the way. Each stage with your child brings a new set of dilemmas and challenges but overall joys!

So here it is SEO Saturday. By setting a day aside for it I also ensure that I make progress on this enormous task at least one day a week!

Before that though I need to go and cook breakfast for my boys...they are calling for bacon sandwiches this morning....mmmmmm....don't normally eat breakfast (yes yes I know I should) but am sure the smell of bacon cooking on a Saturday morning may bet my appetite going...if nothing else I need to up my caffeine levels, always takes three cups...the cafetiere is calling!