Now that Cybermummy is over it is back to time to focus!
I couldn't wear a maxi dress without buying and wearing this:
I am not going to reiterate the rules as hopefully we all know them by now, and if you are new to my blog, just ask, or look at last week's post.
Apologies for the delay with this post but Cybermummy took over and it took me 3 hours to write my Cybermummy post last night. A lot of us met up at Cybermummy which was wonderful...
As usual this is a blog hop, so if you are participating feel free to grab the code...
Running to put our goodie bag stash in the Hyundai car........ Fab moment!
It began the day before with a last minute dash to buy a Marks & Spencers maxi dress (could have so easily been a Monsoon one but despite trying on 8! none of them fitted). The M&S one was so roomy (thank you lycra) I was able to get it in a size 14! but it then meant I needed one of these:
For my Mum Tum
No! I am not! a size 20 but the 18s were out of stock (their best seller apparently!) and I did! take the 16 into the changing room but could only get ONE leg into it! I hate !!!!! but I need them right now!!!!!
Then I said to the husband I am going to pop and get my hair cut (should have thought of it sooner), and ended up getting leg wax, pedicure, manicure and eyebrows threaded. He ended up ringing me thinking I'd gone AWOL and my punishment was that I had to buy him a chicken kebab and 2 tins of cider on my way home (I know... very classy!). But I was so grateful that he had Aaron for that time as I knew he would have him all day Saturday too and I knew it was to be a long day.
So I am normally a very punctual person but I went to bed at 12:15 on Cyber Eve. God it sounds like Christmas Eve, but it may as well have been we were all so excited... Anyway, I was to be in one of the Hyundai Cars (yep lucky me) and they had tweeted to say that they would be at mine between 7:30 and 8 a.m. All day I had thought I would get up at 6 a.m. but when I went to bed that late I set the alarm for 6 but got up at 6:30.... looked at phone and sent this:
Well in the shower in true ungroomed Mummy style (haven't cared about my appearance since Aaron made an appearance) I discovered I had hairy pits!!!!! so I got the razor out... now I thought with my grooming session I had left no stone left unturned but clearly not and I was about to be wearing a sleeveless dress! So I am finally slipping into my undergarments at 7 a.m.!!!! and happen to look at my new flash smartphone and they have tweeted to say that they will be with me in 20 minutes.... I was like WHAT (me, normally 100% punctual, standing in my spare room in underwear....... and they had said 7:30-8 originally.
That was THE last time I had chance to look at the phone (I think I tweeted back though)...
Anyway at 7:30 I felt like I was being watched (seriously) and I looked out the sitting room window and there was a car, with 4 ladies sitting in it....... for those of you who think it is something to meet bloggers at Cybermummy imagine meeting them right outside your front door :-)
I said to my husband you have GOT to look out the window....
Anyway like something from Coronation Street I hung out the window and asked them to wait for me for a minute.... so not like me Mrs Punctual and started running round...
All this meant leaving without breakfast, and even without coffee.
Being a car full of mums, they had a tupperware container of hot cross buns so one of those sorted me out and we had a hamper provided by Hyundai, same company who supplied the car. Whoever in that company came up with the idea of the cars and the hampers should be promoted. It really added to the glamour of the day, to get door to door service and although it wasn't chauffeur style as they dropped them to the designated driver on Wednesday it was still awesome fun and they even set us challenges for the journey. Our team was so good at them we won, by sending tweets like this:
And this was how we looked when we arrived in the car park in the morning:
@MummyMatters was the designated driver x
It was such a fun packed day, I have written all this and at this point we haven't even arrived yet... I have put off doing this post all day as I knew I couldn't do it in one post but knew I have to really (everyone else has)...
So we eventually arrived and met all our other #Mumentum ladies and the venue (The Brewery) was stunning!
I really don't know what to say next so may just leave you with a slideshow. Is that a cop out? It is isn't it.
If you don't normally watch slideshows till the end, you have to watch this one, as there is a mental video at the end. My Daddy Cooks would be totally proud of me, as it only took one "take" and until I found it in my photos I hadn't even remembered doing it (and no I wasn't drunk).
I am the sort of person who takes photos of everything that moves and I am GUTTED with my low number of photos but I spent most of the day laden down with goodie bags.... which inhibited my arms for camera work.
I enjoyed going through the goodies this Sunday afternoon though. I had a luxurious bath in the Champney's bubble bath and Aaron had a gorgeous bath in the E45 bubble bath which was very gentle on his skin which was appreciated due to the fact that he still has eczema on his wrists.
Aaron simply loved playing with the Leap Frog toy (see below) we got given (and it is for 12 months which is perfect) and I have used the No. 7 Softening Foot Balm three times today - it is fab!
Fab Leap Frog game for Aaron
Bath for baby and bath for Mum!
I have to say, the talk that stood out the most for me was My Daddy Cooks in the session on Vlogging and I had not even heard of him before. He was doing book signings after the session so I bought his book for £16.99 which is mental as I haven't cooked in months but I need to and am hoping that because he is a blogger I might actually use it, especially as he cooks WITH a little boy - if he can surely I can too?
I think what I liked the most was spending the day with my blogging friends:
It was also wonderful to get to know the #CMcar1 ladies including Mummy Matters and get talking to her best friend: Cafe Bebe. I also met those 2 at the Boots Treat Street event. Cafe Bebe came home in our Hyundai car instead of staying over (empty Travel Lodge room)... as she is pregnant and her bump has really popped out. Long day for a pregnant one. Speaking of that, my only glimpse of I Heart Motherhood was spying her having a pedicure on the Crocs stand (good luck for your imminent new arrival sweet heart):
I Heart Motherhood
I also had a few chats and cuddles with Super Amazing Mum, and an ever so brief meet and greet with the wonderful StayAtHomeMumLovingIt.
I spent a lot of time chatting with the legendary Michelle Twin Mum and had an ever so brief hug with my mate Wendy from Inside the Wendy House. Very very sad I did not get more time with her. I was at My Daddy Cooks stand when I ran into her and we exchanged business cards and my memory is blank after that so I don't know did we get interrupted or what happened???
I only bumped into my friend Jenny from Gingerbread once and I can't remember what I was in the middle of when I saw her, but I was VERY excited later in the day to hear it announced on the main stage that she won the trip of a lifetime for FOUR to Disneyland Florida. Jenny was the first Mummy Blogger that I met in real life and accompanied me to take Aaron swimming for the first time (I haven't taken him since - naughty mummy!) - I have a lot of fond memories of our playdates (with Edward playing with Aaron).
I really want to write a lot about the sessions, but this post is kinda long enough already...
The crowd sourced keynotes at the end of the formal part of the day were awesome. There were funny ones, tear jerkers, etc.... it blows you away to hear an amazing blog post read in the writer's own voice. It adds a sense of depth and emotion that is second to none. Not having attended last year, this was new to me...
I want to write about each one and what effect they had on me, but I will clearly need to do that in another post :-)
One thing I do want to say is that as good as the day was and as superb as the venue was etc... I was a little shocked that each presenter had to find and open their own presentation visibly on screen. Even at my work place that wouldn't happen (there'd be a holding screen and the person would seamlessly transition to their presentation)... If I was a speaker and I had to find and start my presentation it would really add to my nerves and set me off to the wrong start. This even happened in the main big room.
Apart from the above and the sizes of the lunch portions (for my big size 18 self) you could not fault the day. We were treated like VIPs from start to finish and it really was red carpet treatment.
I have neglected to say that I won an Ipod Touch from the Disney Stand that was there (got a great goodie bag from them too with a Pirates of the Caribbean DVD in it).
Anyway the day has made me resolve to TRY and organise a weekend away with the girls so that we can meet again. How will we find time when I don't even get the time to sort out my receipts to claim business expenses.
I have been writing this post for TWO hours, and I'd been putting it off all day. It's now 01:54 Monday morning!!!!
If you are a Mummy Blogger then chances are you know that Cybermummy is on tomorrow.
A shop in Enfield Town (where I found myself yesterday) rescued my business card situation so I will go to the "ball" with cards after all. I couldn't get on well with any of the business cards websites.
Today I went to get a dress - last minute dash for an outfit. In Monsoon all of the Maxi Dresses seemed to have cotton in and they were so tight I didn't even get into an 18. Tried on 8 different ones.
Went to good old Marks & Spencers and I tried on a size 14 that was 100% lycra jersey fabric and it fitted beautifully. That was darn lucky as after my Monsoon experience I was thinking of throwing the towel in and not going at all as the sight of me in fitting room lighting was NOT good!
M&S quite literally saved my day. Would have been so much easier if I'd lost weight the last few weeks as it was more of a case of what fits me! Rather than what suits me! But luckily the M&S maxi dress did both! And until the last few weeks I did not know what a maxi dress was! Ha ha!
And not only am I happy with the dress I got, but it certainly hides a multitude of sins...
I went to get my hair cut and ended up....
Getting the hair cut
Then getting a half leg wax
Then a pedicure
at which point she said you need a manicure
and while they were doing that they said get your eyebrows threaded.
So I left that shop £48 less well off and well groomed :-)
So tonight the husband is asleep and Aaron is asleep and I don't really know what to do with myself. I am too much on red alert to have an early night...
I just rummaged through my jewellery and decided what to wear so I THINK I am all sorted.
The mobile is on charge. The camera is on charge. If I had fake tan too I would think I was going to a wedding :-)
It was only today that I got my new phone (Samsung Galaxy Ace) out of the box. Tried to put Twitter on it a few weeks back and when I couldn't, I boxed it away in frustration, but today (last minute again) I decided I can't go to Cybermummy Twitterless (and I normally tweet from my laptop) so I stubbornly walked into a T Mobile shop and the lovely assistant helped me to activate it.
How we are supposed to be tweeting when we are surrounded in our blog friends I do not know, but I will certainly give it a go.
Bye for now, I am sure I have some preparing to do :-)
I am proud, delighted and excited to announce that my sponsor for Cybermummy is Talk Talk.
How appropriate when it is my Talk Talk broadband connection that keeps me online... and supports me in all that I do online. Due to my blog addiction I spend a considerable amount of time on the laptop.
It has always been my wish that my sponsor would be relevant and be a product that I use everyday...... well this is a product that I use every minute of every day :-) and yes I like to talk talk myself :-) having been a bit of a chatterbox all my life.
I actually joined Talk Talk standing in Tesco one day, and left Virgin Media to do so. I find the broadband connection with Talk Talk much faster than what we had before. The move also brought down my phone bill.
At the recent Blogcamp event I found out about Talk Talk's latest product: Homesafe, which they've literally just launched. It is revolutionary, and nobody else is doing it. I will do a dedicated post about it but for now leave you with this link to watch a demo.
Parents with school age children will LOVE the homework setting where you can limit internet access (turn off social media) when children are supposed to be using the internet for homework research purposes.
The question they want us to answer is: Who would you most like to meet in The Hoxton Powder Room, and why?
I thought I would answer this with something that is relevant to how I am feeling at the moment.
I'll give you some hints:
I don't look good naked...
My "bangers" are heading south...
I wear baggy clothes...
and hold it all in underwear is a staple part of my underwear drawer...
When other bloggers meet me, they know it's me,
but shy from saying
"You are fatter than you are onscreen"...
A long time ago when I had one of my many bra fittings in Debenhams (for the bigger chest they are way better than M&S) I was reliably informed that he has come into the ladies fitting rooms there so I feel confident that he could and would come into the Powder Room in the Hoxton :-) (Now, I know what I heard was right, this is Gok in Debenhams...).
So this is the scenario.... In The Powder Room...
I am looking in the mirror, and I hear someone enter.
I see his reflection in the mirror and recognise him instantly.
He oozes self confidence and fashion chic!
He says:
"Girlfriend you can't go to Cybermummy looking like that! You do realise this is the Mummy Blog outing of the year. The creme de la creme will be there".
"Your jeans are the wrong cut, your jumper cuts off at the wrong point and makes you look dumpy, the neckline is all wrong and your jewellery is taking the eyes off your best asset - your cleavage - show off your bangers! Don't be shy".
"And if you get a better bra, it will make your waist look smaller".
"Come on "strip off I want to see you!"
"What are you hiding under there?"
"I was bullied myself at school for being overweight; there's nothing you can tell me about weight issues I don't already know! I know how it effects self esteem and that's why I want to help"...
"You're in your 30s. You should be a Yummy Mummy. Don't let these years pass you by!"
"I've styled thousands of women over the years... how long have we got?"
"Okay well it's Thursday now and it's late night shopping in Oxford Street - let's go!"
"I'd say your belly is the bit you want to change the most? 49% of women say that to me".
Me: "Yeah, I call it my Mum Tum and I even set up something called MomenTum with my online blog friends".
"Look, you simply need to start loving what you've got. You might think those bangers are heading south, but with the right bra those beauties will be your best asset!"
"Anyway, I have proven in my shows that men prefer women with a little bit of meat on".
Me: "Yeah but at Cybermummy I'll be with all women and you know what they can be like.... a lot more critical than men!"
"I think with the right clothes you have curves in all the right places. Girls with meat on are sexier. Think J Lo rather than size zero".
"You are not as big as you think you are. Look in the mirror, it's all yours and you need to feel proud of it. You should have been born in the 50s, think Marilyn Monroe, think curvaceous hips, movie starlets".
"My girl! Baggy clothes make you look and feel bigger than you are! For every square inch of extra material, you may as well be carrying an extra pound"...
"Slim is not necessarily beautiful - learn to love what you have!"
"Right, now to the shops, Cybermummy, bring it on!"
