In little more than a week Brit Mums Live will be over for another year
I cannot believe it has been a year since the last one
Or even the one before
This year Brit Mums Live for me is about evaluating my blog
And deciding where to go from here
My blogging has got a bit lost since Tilda died
A bit frenzied
No structure or style
With Rainbow Baby well on her way
And Esther and William about to start school
It is time to make changes
It is time to get my blog back to something I am proud of
Rather than a rambling tumble of mixed up emotion
I have a bit of a plan in my head already
And will be seeking inspiration at Brit Mums Live
On how to do what I want and need to do with my blog
I think my starting place is going to be having more of a structure for my content
A schedule so that I get everything done
For myself and for brands, charities and businesses that I work with
My plan at the moment looks like this
Monday – Minibeasts and Motor Skills (for the summer) and then Mummy Monday featuring products and reviews and talk about me as a mummy
Tuesday – Togs for Tots featuring clothes reviews and sharing our favourite places to shop. I have already made a start on this with a weekly feature about Dressing A Boy
Wednesday – Awe and Wonder, this is going to be a day focused on learning and particularly learning through play
Thursday – Tilda Day – a time to talk about Tilda
Friday – Phonics and Fun with Words, another play based learning focus this time with a focus on reading and writing
Saturday – Messy Play for Matilda Mae / Sensory ideas for babies
Sunday – Rainbow Report and Reviews
I am going to apply a similar routine
To our lives at home
I want to make sure I make the most of the time I have with Esther and William
I want to take better care of our house
I want to enjoy Rainbow Baby
I want time to just be with Tilda, to focus on thinking of her
And I would really like some time with David
In the last 16 months I have been drifting
I still am most days
Not knowing quite what to do or where to go
Missing Matilda Mae more and more each day
And while I know that I will always miss her
I know that I need to make an effort now
To be stronger for others who need me
I am a mummy to four beautiful children
A wife to the most amazing man
They need more of me than they have had access to
These past 16 months
And so it is time
To start looking forward
I cannot be with Tilda now
But I can honour her throughout the rest of my days
By being the best mother and wife I can possibly be
And that includes making time to be me
As a writer, a blogger
Because I love what I do
I do not want it to stop
I just want to be more reliable
More responsible
More alive than I have been
My sponsor for this year’s Brit Mums Live
Is the rather wonderful Gummee Glove
Tilda loved her teething glove
And I have kept in contact with Gummee Glove
Ever since I first discovered them with Matilda Mae
At The Baby Show in October 2012
I am looking forward to working with Gummee Glove over the next 12 months
And sharing lots of cute photos of Rainbow Baby with her teething mittens
To help hone my blogging skills
And to make them work for me and the brands and charities I work with
These are the sessions I am most looking forward to attending next weekend
How I Did It: Success stories from high-profile bloggers
Design tips to make your blog look gorgeous with the lovely Capture By Lucy
How To Be an Agent of Change: Advocacy and charity campaigns
Pinterest: How to be a power pinner
Collaboration: Working together for bigger traffic and larger impact
How to Instagram Better: Take gorgeous snaps, build followers, be part of the community
Mama me-time: Escape the hubbub and explore what nurtures you at this mini creative ”retreat”
This weekend is my time
To consider, reflect and choose
Where do I go from here?
Where does Edspire go from here?
Where do you think I should go?
Where do you want to go?
What are you hoping Brit Mums Live might hold for you?
Have a brilliant time at Brit Mums. I’d love to have gone but it’s too far for me to travel. I think your structure looks great and it’s a fab way to organise your blog and what you want to write about.
Jennie, your blog never has been and never will be lost and frenzied… It has been an incredibly powerful and honest testimony to the pain of losing a most beloved little girl. A little girl who’s legacy continues to live on. You are an inspiration to us all and I’m so looking forward to meeting you next weekend.xxx
Oh wow, thank you so much for mentioning my session! I hope it lives up to expectations – I think BritMums is the perfect weekend to think about what you want to do with your blog and this time next year imagine where you will be xxxxxx
A lovely post. Even when you say you aren’t sure where to go, you inspire!
Can’t wait to see you xxxx
Ps, love the idea of Thursdays for Tilda x x (and the rest of the week!)
I agree with Claire, your blog has been honest not frenzied. What your blog has done is to bring together people to remember Matilda, to raise money for a charity which you possibly hadn’t heard of before – the Lullabyr Trust, to raise awareness of Count the Kicks, you have probably helped many people you don’t know personally.
You and your blog are important. I apreciate the need for structure, and I recognise your need to claim back yourself.
Have a wonderful time at Brit Mums Live. I suspect I am probably too old to attend things like this, they all seem to be aimed at parents with younger children. Sounds like great fun, and wonderful workshops. Enjoy learning new skills, it makes life interesting.
I think it’s incredible to look back over the last months and see how much you have achieved and how far you have come. Tilda will remain in your hearts and your lives forever and will be proud of you for looking to the future and to yourself xxx
You honour all of your children through this blog and in your daily life. I love that you have a plan and are focussed on what you want to achieve – and achive it you will. I am attending Britmums and I am hoping to meet new friends, and actually talk face-to-face with some amazing bloggers and people who have made me feel so welcome in such a fantastic community. x
Oh Jennie, you are so fantastic and inspiring. I totally understand the need to be in control of how your blog develops and understand where it’s going but please don’t be so hard on yourself lovely (I know it’s difficult). Know that there are so many of us that read your words and want to change what has happened but equally want to give you all the support and love you need to continue. Cannot wait to see you on Friday xxx
Your blog is so special Jennie and I am so happy to see you will continue writing and inspiring us all to be better mummies and better people. Thursdays for Tilda sounds wonderful. Your blog has never ever been frenzied just a heartbroken mummy who had lost a piece of her heart who shares her feelings high and low with us all who ate lucky enough to be part of your journey. Enjoy Britmums and take some time for you to be you xxx
I loved reading this and I don’t for a minute think your blog has been rambling although I can really appreciate that you do. Your new plan looks exciting, and I really hope you get tonnes of inspiration from Britmums this year. :o).