A Risky Business

I'm taking a bit of a risk writing this post.

Some of you may have seen that my activity on my blog (and Twitter and Instagram) has been almost non-existent over the past 2-3 weeks. Once again, I apologise.

Well, you remember back in early Spring, Matt was searching for a new job?

Yes?

It was a search that took him off to America when I was heavily pregnant. A search that eventually ended up with him starting a new job in early June.

For a while everything was rosy.

But then a few weeks ago, just after a weeks break in Tenby, it all turned pretty sour.

I won't go into details because I don't want to be accused of bad-mouthing the company...just in case. Although I've never divulged the name of the company on my blog. You can't be too careful though, you never know who's reading!

The upshot of all this is that Matt quit his job just over 2 weeks ago.

For a family of 4, with me earning a very limited salary from a small bit of freelance work, this was a pretty scary decision but one I backed Matt on fully. No great salary or fancy car was worth that. Thankfully we are financially secure enough for him to afford to do it for a while.

We both went through a fair few nights of very little sleep because of the fall-out from his resignation.
It turned a bit nasty. I won't say anymore than that.

Thankfully things are on the up.

Matt had managed to secure an interview within 48 hours of his resignation. He had an interview today, has another one on Thursday and one next week. He's also been headhunted by a direct competitor who heard he'd left and say they want to talk to him about joining them.

I haven't been able to blog about it because we still haven't told Matt's parents yet - Matt wants to tell them in person. Although they don't know about my blog so they wouldn't find out I just felt a bit strange writing about it without them knowing. They were supposed to come up this weekend but they cancelled so it drags on another week. If they do eventually discover my blog and read this then I apologise!

I have been itching to blog about it. Blogging can be a great therapy sometimes. Plus, I really wanted to share it with you guys so you understood why I'd been a little quiet of late.

That should change now.

I'm eager to get back to blogging and reading the blogs I love and I'm also looking forward to attending Blog Camp in a couple of weeks. I was unsure if I'd make it as Tiny Ched has a penchant for boob but the other day, for the first time, he actually took a whole bottle of milk!

This was after a great week of finding out I'd been chosen to be a Cosatto Brand Buddy (I love this brand so SO much) and then scooping the Best Baby Blog Award at The MAD Blog Awards on Friday.

Yes things are definitely on the up!*

My world

*I say this but Mini Cheddar has had some awful sickness bug the past 2 days. Can't win 'um all ;)

Daddy's Home!

Yes, he came home last week but this post is really to let you all know that thankfully unfortunately, we found out yesterday, he didn't get the job.

I think I mentioned in my post last week that we were even surprised he got a first interview, nevermind a second, third and forth (in America!). The job specification asked for at least two languages and Matt only speaks one. Apparently that's the only reason they decided against him.

They have said though that there may be something else in the future if the UK business really takes off.

Still, their loss is our gain! Plus he got a free trip to America and also got to see some of our relatives which was a nice bonus.

Yes it would have been a good opportunity but, as I mentioned previously, Matt came back from America full of doubt about whether he would take it even if it was offered to him. They said they would want him over in the States at least 4 times a year as well as spending a couple of days in London each week (we live in North Wales). It wasn't something he felt comfortable about.

Neither did I.

Having 'Daddy' away from home for so long had a bigger impact on Mini Cheddar than I thought it would. She missed him terribly and for the first few days after his return she would get anxious if he went out anywhere without us and would say "I just want Daddy to come home".

She was SO excited the day he was due home. I had told her that his plane had landed in London but he needed to make his way back on the train. Then I got a text to say he was getting into the station a couple of hours earlier than we'd first thought. When I picked her up from play school and told her she was beside herself.

Yes, there was one good thing about Matt going away to America.

Him coming home again.

Who needs a fancy new job when you have a gorgeous daughter who loves you more than anything?

Reasons To Be Cheerful...it's a double!

I didn't get chance to join in with Michelle at Mummy From The Heart and her lovely 'Reasons To Be Cheerful' link up.  So, I'm being extra cheerful this week to make up for it but as it happens Michelle has encouraged everyone to be more cheerful = result!  I'm also being extra cheerful as I'm going to do my first link up with Maxabella Loves on the other side of the world.  I love finding new blogs to read so it's a chance to hop around about 'down under'.

1. I love my new 'job'
I say job but it's not really as it's volunteer work. I'm now volunteering at a local Save The Children shop. If you haven't already read it, you should have a little read of my post from earlier this week called 'Born To Volunteer'. It's something I've always wanted to do but always used the 'I don't have the time' line. Well, I find my days are filled to the brim but I've managed to squeeze in some time and do you know what? I love it!

2. It's my daughters 2nd birthday next Friday
I can't believe that 2 years ago on the 11th March she entered this world.  She is growing up so fast it's untrue!  I am loving my time with her right now - she's really starting to talk properly and it's amazing to watch and my husband and I love having little conversations with her about her day.  She was diagnosed with childhood asthma on Thursday, poor little love, so has to have an inhaler before she goes to bed but she's been great with it.  In 6 months time she'll be starting play school.  Where is the time going?

3. My husband has some time off work coming up
He's off the day of my daughters birthday and he's also off the following week.  We have lots of treats and days out planned and I can't wait.  Just hoping he's fit enough to manage it with his ankle injury.

4. I went to the cinema
I can't actually remember the last time before that I went to the cinema it was that long ago.  I went last night with my best friend and we had a really nice time - especially as we went for a meal first too. My friend picked the film called 'No Strings Attached' which was about 'f*ck buddies'. All I knew before we went was it had Ashton Kutcher in it - nothing like a bit of naked eye candy on a Friday night if you ask me!

5. Spring is definitely in the air
It's finally March.  We are through the dull and cold months of January and February.  We are through the lull after Christmas where we all feel like we've eaten too much and are on the come-down after the festivities.  The snowdrops and daffs are blooming, the sun is shining and everything feels so much better!

6. Bloggy reasons
I was approached by a small company to host an advert or run a giveaway on Tuesday.  It's not what I started this blog for but it's nice to get recognition that my blog is being read and enjoyed.  Also, I updated my blog banner.  I know it's not exactly a reason to be cheerful but it made me a little happy on Wednesday night when I did it.  The one I had up before was thrown together in 5 minutes when I first started blogging at the beginning of the year.  This one is much better - and it took me 20 minutes, so worth the extra effort haha!  The photo of my daughter and I on the right was taken by one of my closest friends who runs Claire Penn Photography.  Oh and Lady Estrogen also wrote a funny guest post for me which I posted up yesterday...if you haven't read it then have a little look here and go check her out, she's fab!


What are your reasons to be cheerful/thankful this week?  Join in the hops and make new friends...

Born To...Volunteer

Regular readers to my blog will know I recently took up a position volunteering my time in a local Save The Children shop.  I started last Friday and I loved it so much I wanted to blog about it - plus a few of you asked me to (thank you for your interest).

For those of you who missed the previous post, it would probably help to read my post 'Charity Doesn't Always Begin At Home' to understand why I decided to do it.

It's strange but whenever I've started a new job I haven't been able to sleep the night before, felt a bit anxious on the morning and all those usual feelings you get when venturing out into a new world of employment. However, last Thursday night I slept like a log.  I woke feeling refreshed and raring to go - this has been very rare for me lately. You know things are bad when your own parents turn up on your doorstep with the biggest bottle of Metatone Tonic you've ever seen in your life!  I was so excited, I couldn't wait to get there to help out - even though I had no idea what I was going to be doing.

When I arrived just before 10am I was greeted so warmly by everyone.  They were all older than me, which I fully expected, but they were delighted to see me.  I half expected some of them to see my young blood as a bit of a threat in a way....I thought they may think I was going to go all Mary Portas on them or something.

I was shown the ropes by a lovely lady called Jackie.  She took me on the guided tour which started with the most important place - the kitchen.  We went through everything, all their procedures and practices.  The shop was great and I instantly felt at home.  The shop is really large and the upstairs hub was clean and tidy and I was surprised how well organised it all was.

Helen, the shop supervisor, came in a little later on and she was keen to talk to me about Save The Childrens new 'Born To' campaign.  It was a chance to get back to my marketing roots reading through all the material and to understand what Save The Children were trying to achieve and the promotional items they are in the middle of producing.

The 'Born To' campaign is to raise awareness that no child should be born to die.  It's currently estimated that 8 million children under the age of five die needlessly every year - it's a shocking statistic and one that really hits home... especially being a mother of a 2 (next week) year old.



Save The Children work in more than 120 countries around the world, including the U.K. and the U.S. saving children's lives and fighting for their rights.  The work they do is incredible and they have a superb fundraising efficiency compared to other charities which means a huge percentage of money raised goes direct to the cause.



I give a monthly donation to 2 cancer charities as cancer has had a direct impact on my life but, as a stay-at-home-mum with no income I wanted to be able to help more. Save The Children was my chosen charity and I will fully support them for the rest of my life.

So, back to my first day.  I also got my hands dirty (not literally though) by helping sort through donation bags.  It probably sounds dull to a lot of people but this was actually my favorite job of the day.  Jackie said she enjoyed it too so the two of us started tipping out the bags onto the counter upstairs.  We chatted whilst sorting the wheat from the chaff...deciding what was to go on sale in the shop, then pricing it and tagging it.  It was great fun!  You know what I even did for a while?  I used the industrial steamer to steam some clothes for display.  Strange, considering most of the time all my iron does at home is collect dust!

I was only supposed to be there 10am - 2pm but I stayed until gone 3pm and I didn't want to leave I was enjoying it that much.  If I hadn't have been busy Saturday I would have been there again the next day.

The great thing about it is, everyone who works there is there because they want to be. Nobody is paid a wage at all.  Infact, the Save The Children charity is unusual in that most of their jobs, even managerial positions, are carried out purely by volunteers.  All the volunteers in the shop were lovely, a real mix of characters too - all with their own stories to tell.

I came away feeling fantastic.  Tired but full of energy and excitement.  Next week I'm going to be let loose on the tills for while to help out and I'm looking forward to meeting all the customers.  I've never worked in a direct retail environment before, but you know what?  I can't wait!

On Saturday I was alerted via twitter to the 'Born To Write' conference that had taken place that day at the Save The Children head office in London.  I just so wish I had known about it sooner, I was so upset when I looked into it - I would have loved to have gone but it doesn't stop me becoming involved.  My passion for this charity has grown massively since becoming a volunteer.  This 1 day has changed my life and had such an impact on me...for the better.

Yes, I now firmly believe I was born to volunteer.  What were you born to do?