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Long time no speak

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:09:00 GMT

<tiptoes in quietly>....

It's been a while. I heard a rumour recently that we'd gone out of business and weren't here any more. So here I am proving otherwise! We are most definitely still here and in fact us here have recently celebrated Bright Moon's 2nd birthday. We have been quiet, for several reasons, but we're still here, lurking!

So, what's been happening at Bright Moon Central?

MoonDaddy has a new job, unfortunately it means he's out of the house for 14 hours a day. After spending 6 months like this, we've had the decision that we need to move closer to his new job. For the sake of the boys, who are missing their Daddy, to save MoonDaddy having to drive so far to work each day and above all, to save my sanity. At the moment, he's out of the house for 14 hours and then falls asleep upstairs within an hour of being home. He's gone before we get up in the morning. If I'm honest, its like being a single parent with a lodger in the house and it means I've had to deal with everything at home on my own.

MoonChild the Elder started in reception class at school back in September and by the October half term I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He hated it, with a never before seen passion. I physically had to drag him into school in the morning and then have someone restrain him while I left. He climbed fences and escaped, had meltdown after meltdown and I was being called back to the school virtually every day for some incident or another. I dealt with this at a time when I was ill myself, I have been diagnosed as having a hereditary condition and spent most of the time feeling like death. Thankfully things are stable now and apart from the odd day, I feel much much better.

The straw that broke the camels back was when Moonchild the Elder announced that he was a very naughty boy. He has autism and most of his behaviour is because of his condition rather than out and out naughtiness. He'd had a meltdown at school and had kicked some chairs, the head mistress had told him he was a very naughty boy.

After almost half a term of coping with intense stress, my reaction was not a good one. I called the Autism Intervention Team and I called the area SENCO at the local education department and went utterly ballistic. It's amazing how being the calm and collected parent gets you no-where, but the truly angry parent gets wheels moving.

Since then, things have settled down. The school have had more training in Autism, they have more support, Moonchild had more support and I have to say his 1-2-1 is an amazing woman. It took them a while to get used to each other, but she copes fantastically well despite him telling her every morning, that he doesn't like her!

MoonChild the younger has started preschool and absolutely loves it. To the point where he has a hissy fit on the days he doesn't go to school! We've also started the process of of getting MoonChild the younger assessed for Autism.

So, we have a lot going on at the moment, we definitely are here but a bit quieter than usual. There are only so many hours in the day and at the moment, my boys need me more than the business does. We have plans for a sale to clear some stock before we move so watch this space!

But on a positive note, pre-christmas sales were up 9% on last year :)

Lighthouse - Conquered!

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:24:00 GMT

You may remember back in April, me telling you about signing up to abseil down Southwold Lighthouse, raising money for the RNLI. Well yesterday was the BIG day!

I aimed to lose 3 stone beforehand and only managed to lose 2.5 stone but I was happy with that, and on turning up and seeing all those steps up the lighthouse I was very grateful not to have to lug any more of me up them than I absolutely had to!

We arrived in Southwold just before our booking in time of 11am and stood to watch other participants coming down. The weather was perfect; not too hot, no rain and not particularly windy. There was a big crowd outside the Sole Bay Inn, right opposite the lighthouse and everyone who descended, did so to a round of applause. It's hard to describe the atmosphere, it was a mixture of excitement and trepidation from people waiting their turn, with relief and elation from the people who had already abseiled. Everyone was very supportive, the RNLI staff in particular were amazing. I think it was probably their quiet sense of calm that installed a belief in everyone participating that yes, they really could do this.

Anyway, we registered and received our time slot stickers and were told to come back at 11.20am to get kitted up. It took just a few short minutes for us to don our harnesses, accompanied by lots of jokes about how tight they were and how up close and personal the instructors had to get to tighten them all and tie them off! Fully fitted with harness, attractive fetching yellow helmet and pair of gloves in a size rather more suited to a lumberjack, we were invited to climb the spiral staircase to the top.

Thankfully I didn't really look up the stairs before I started ascending, if I had I may well have changed my mind. I would probably have got distracted and wanted to stand and photograph them! There was definitely a change in atmosphere at that point, it became rather more serious with a "lets get this done now then" attitude.

I freely admit I did stop to take a breather half way up the stairs. I could tell you at this point that it was to take in the fabulous views, or that my leg strap had slipped and how it was now round my knee and was affecting my ability to walk (which it was), but the sad truth is, I just couldn't breathe! (Isn't the air thinner at altitude?!) It was at that point I became very grateful for losing the weight and having been to the gym twice a day for the previous month!

The last set of steps up to where the light itself is, were much steeper and it was more like a ladder. It was at that point we were told that the climb wasn't 92 steps as advertised, it was 113! I was seriously hoping that the 13 weren't going to be unlucky ones!

The view was fantastic and we could see for miles around. Always nice to have something good to look at while you catch your breath I find! The first couple of our group climbed through the hatch to the outside and those of us left waiting, chatted nervously admiring the view and learning about why parts of the light were white and parts were red. I was half listening to the explanation and half listening to the cheers of the crowd below. I think it was a cunning plan of the RNLI to have someone up there to be able to talk about the lighthouse itself, as once again it was a calming influence and distracted you from any nerves. Plus we were laughing too hard at the attractive white covers we had to wear on our feet! (The lighthouse wouldn't look nearly so attractive with a parade of footprints all down the side of it!)

All too quickly it was my turn to climb through the hatch and then I was outside. I was far too busy admiring the view and waving to MoonDaddy and the kids to notice that I'd been clipped on and they wanted me to climb over the railings. That was the moment when all of your instincts suddenly kick in - you look at the rail, you look at the drop and your subconscious screams loudly "Are you INSANE?" But you still hear yourself say "ok" as you put your first leg over!

MoonDaddy says I looked a little ungainly at this point as I got stuck. 102ft up, above the rooftops of Southwold, with one leg over the rail and I couldn't quite get the other one over the finial on the railing! Thankfully they had a bit of carpet over the top railing to make sitting on the railing while you readjust your legs rather more comfy than it might have been!

Eventually I'm standing with both feet on the outside of the railing and I'm being told to sit in the harness and lean out. Not a chance mate - I'm standing at the top of a lighthouse, there's no way I'm trusting a little harness - I'll just stand here a while and hold on to the rail very, very tightly!

There are times in your life when you have to think about things before you do them and other times when you should just get on and do them without thinking. This was one of those times. The instructor told me where to hold the rope, I sat in the harness, let the rope run through my hands a bit and suddenly the instructors have disappeared and I'm over the rim at the top.

I smiled nicely for photographs at about the same time I was starting to have fun! All I had to do was keep walking, let the rope run through my hands and the ground was getting closer. Every time I decided to stop walking and to take little jumps, the rope ran through a bit faster and the ground came up a bit faster.

To be honest, I couldn't see a lot. I'm sure I should have been leaning back enjoying the view but I spent the whole time either watching my feet, looking at the wall or peering down at the RNLI gazebo beneath me! All the time I could hear the voices of encouragement coming from below, esp that of my friend Nic who was one of the first of our group to abseil down. The thought of coming down too fast and collapsing in an embarrassing heap on the floor made me do the last bit rather carefully!

My legs were like jelly when I got down, it took a couple of seconds before I could walk round to the area to take the harness off again. Everyone congratulated me on my achievement and I was given a certificate, the buzz was amazing!

The hardest part was the stairs and the most terrifying bit was climbing over the rail. The abseil itself was relatively easy! Immediately afterwards you feel that if you can do that - then you could do anything! I can see how addictive that feeling could be ;)

We could view and buy the photo's taken from the top immediately, they're waiting for you when you get down. I'm wondering which wall I should put them on? And what our next challenge should be?

Nic and I would like to thank the RNLI for putting on such a great event and giving us a fabulous opportunity to take part in something that was quite a challenge for us. It was an amazing experience; the day itself ran like clockwork, the RNLI helpers and instructors gave calm encouragement, they really looked after us and made everyone feel special. We are very proud to have taken part and to have been able to help the RNLI in some small way.

You can still sponsor us if you would like to reward our bravery, with the added bonus of knowing that we can't bottle it at the last minute! The RNLI are entirely voluntary funded, they receive nothing from the government and yet manage to provide an amazing service around our coast and inland waterways. We're told that the day raised in excess of £17,000, although the final figure may not be known for a while.

Now, who's going to come and join us next year?!

One week down....

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:43:00 GMT

The summer holiday madness has begun. We survived the first week with at least some of my sanity still intact (although maybe I should ask for a second opinion just to be on the safe side?)

Normally the school holidays are a quiet time for business, I don't know what's changed but things have certainly stepped up a gear over the last week! Which is fantastic, we're still managing to get most orders out the same day and we still get time to take the Moonkids out for days out. I just wish the weather was a bit better but you can't have everything I suppose.

But there's no getting away from the fact that the school holidays are tough on families. I'm lucky this year, I have MoonDaddy at home to help out but many Mums aren't so lucky. Especially the Mum's of kids with Autism. Children with Autism crave routine in the same way plants do sunlight, they struggle to function without it. At school, everything is regimented. Everything happens at the same time every day, they know their routine and what's going to happen next.

But come the school holidays, this whole system breaks down and it places an enormous strain on everyone in the family. Again, we're lucky - Moonchild the Elder copes reasonably well as long as he's entertained virtually all the time. He's even better if we're out and about a lot but that's not always reasonably possible. Other families are not so lucky, they have many more meltdowns to contend with and no support or respite until the school's go back.

Then you have all the working parents who have to arrange childcare. We went to the zoo today, which was being frequented by an army of grandparents with small children in tow!

Maybe it's time to change the way school holidays are dished out? The summer holidays were originally so long so that the kids could work on the farms and help out with the harvest. Which I think I could safely assume is no longer the case, so why instead don't they change it? A shorter summer holiday and maybe make the half term holidays 2 weeks instead?

It might be the same amount of holidays but they would be more spread out. Facing a fortnight's holiday is far less daunting than 6 weeks!

On the flip side, Moonchild the Elder starts Reception Class in September, so a part of me is enjoying spending some time with him before he starts big school. He on the other hand, wants to start right away and tries to put on his new school uniform virtually every morning! I wonder if he'll be quite so keen a few weeks in?

Does it make you feel better?

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:33:00 GMT

I tried to write this yesterday but it turned into a rant so I left it for a while. Yesterday seemed to be "bash the caesarean" day. In principle I agree with the idea that women who request an elective section should be given counselling to persuade them that natural birth is nothing to be afraid of. The fact that a C-Section is riskier to both the mother and baby is not in dispute, neither is the fact that it costs the NHS more money than a natural delivery.

But isn't it time we stopped looking at everyone who has a C-Section with criticism? There are many reasons why people have a caesarean and being "too posh to push" is only one of them. Everyone extols the virtue of a "natural" birth and wear their pride about having one like a badge of honour. Which is all very well if everything goes to plan, but let me tell you - sometimes labour can progress very differently and there is nothing natural about a long, painful, traumatic birth.

When Moonchild the Younger was conceived I had panic attacks if I thought about experiencing another labour that could be in any way similar to that when his brother was born. So Moonchild the Younger was dragged screaming into the world through the sunroof. But not because I had requested a caesarean, far from it. I did everything I could to convince both the consultant and midwives to let me have a normal delivery, but they wouldn't budge on the matter. I was still down as an "Elective" even though I may have feared another awful labour, I feared a C-Section rather more.

Moonchild the Younger was breech. I spent hours on all fours with my bum in the air trying to shift him, frozen peas on my bump didn't work, visualisation didn't work, two attempts at an ECV didn't work. He was comfortable with his head up by my ribs and the boy wasn't for turning. So why should I be made to feel guilty?

I took unnecessary risks by having a C-Section, I cost the NHS more money by having a C-Section etc etc.

I speak to other women who have had sections, for whatever reason and generally they feel like a failure. They failed to bring their babies into the world themselves, they failed to have a natural delivery and the whole birthing related community looks down on them from their righteous high moral vantage point. Maybe only those who've had a section understand those feelings, maybe it's not intentional, but the feeling is still there.

I've had a normal delivery and I've had a section, so I feel qualified to say that it really doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how babies come into the world as long as whatever decisions are made, are right for both the mother and child at that time. As long as both are happy and healthy, there should be no guilt.

So please, next time you see the caesarean rates, don't point the finger. The rate is what it is for many reasons, it isn't all down to women requesting sections. Don't think we wasted money, don't think we were too posh or too scared etc etc. We just had a baby. How it came into the world is no-ones business but our own.

Proof of my insanity?

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 21:56:00 GMT

I was looking down a list of local events last week and came across a mention of a fundraising event that made me think "Hey that could be fun" in an idle kind of way. Normally i would forget about it just as soon as I thought of it, but for some reason it stuck in my mind.

I think there are a few reasons for this - I spend all my time either with the boys, running Bright Moon or doing the various voluntary positions that I do. Sometimes it seems there's very little 'me' time left, and sometimes it feels like I'm not even sure who 'me' is anymore. When you become a Mum your life changes and you take on many roles. Presumably, all of these roles add up to make the "real me" but sometimes being a mum, a business woman and a volunteer isn't enough.

I used to be a little crazy, very impulsive and an up for almost anything kind of person. Now I have to plan our lives with military precision, which comes partly from having children and partly from having an autistic child who demands a very ordered life. So when I saw the RNLI were organising an abseil down Southwold Lighthouse, I jumped at the chance! (If you'll excuse the pun!)

It felt a little crazy and very impulsive, however I did pause for 24 hours to think about it and instead of managing to talk myself out of it, I picked up a friend also willing to do it. So we both signed up and have agreed to abseil down Southwold Lighthouse on 14th August to raise money for the RNLI. All 102ft of it! Neither of us like heights so this could certainly be challenging, although I must confess I'm finding the thought of the 92 steps up the lighthouse a rather more terrifying proposition!

I've also decided that I need to lose some weight beforehand (I have a major cake and chocolate addiction) so the challenge is to lose 3 stone before August as well. Oh yes, I like a challenge or two to keep me going!

The RNLI does such fantastic work and it's all funded by voluntary donations, which seems crazy really when you consider the work that they do. So to be challenging and stretching myself and raising money at the same time, is a great feeling. Plus, Eldest Moonchild is a BIG fan of visiting the Aldeburgh Lifeboat and of rescue tractors (they help put the boat in/get it back out of the sea). Please take some time to read about the work of the RNLI.

I love being a Mum, I'm devoted to my boys and feel a little guilty that it's taken something like this to give me a little buzz. I shouldn't need to do crazy things anymore - I have responsibilities. But the truth of the matter is that I didn't really change when I had the boys, I am still the same person underneath. I'm still the same girl who went out clubbing with a plaster cast and had to have it reset the day after because I broke the cast by dancing on it. I'm still the same person who wants to sit on a beach at midnight in winter and drives 100 miles to do it. The person who went travelling around Alaska on her own is still there - a little buried underneath all the intervening years and the responsibilities, but there all the same and it does me good to give her an outing. It probably does my family good too.

Please sponsor us if you are able, we would both appreciate it and so would the RNLI. We want to remind everyone who we are, that we have a name other than "Mum" and that friends can take on the world.

It's freebie time!

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:21:00 GMT

Seeing as I'm in such a good mood today, we may as well make the most of it! It doesn't happen very often - just ask MoonDaddy!

I have some short dated stock of 'Earth Mama Body Butter' from the Earth Mama Angel Baby team. The end of sale date on it is the End of March but it's fine to use for 18 months and believe me - once you open it, it won't last anywhere near that long as it's just so good. Specifically for pregnancy stretch marks but is fantastic as a general all over body moisturiser - it is vegan, cruelty-free, toxin-free and 95% of its ingredients are organic.

I have 3 120ml bottles, each worth £14.99 on their own, but I'm also throwing in some other Earth Mama Angel Baby Samples of: Angel Baby Lotion, Angel Baby Bottom Balm & Natural Nipple Butter, together with three sample individual tea bags (Milkmaid Tea, Monthly Comfort & Morning Wellness)

But that's not all - I'll also throw in a fair trade knitted rattle worth £7.99 each.

Seeing as I'm putting more effort into Twitter, Blogging and Facebook this week, I think it's only fair I choose one winner from each:

To win on Twitter: Follow us and RT the following: I've entered the @BrightMoonLtd goodiebag giveaway.

To win on this blog: Comment underneath any one of my posts

To win on Facebook: Follow us, comment "I'd like to enter the Bright Moon goodiebag giveaway please" on our page and share us with your friends.

One winner from each will be chosen at random at 10pm tonight. (Yes that does mean if you do all three, then you get three chances to win!)

Good luck

Five top tips for successful breastfeeding

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:55:00 GMT

I have to admit to being a little bit militant in my pro-breastfeeding stance. I breastfed both of our boys, Moonchild the Elder self weaned at about 15 months, by giving me the "what on earth are you doing mother?" look and his younger brother is still going strong at 16 months.

While I was pregnant with Moonchild the Elder, I always hoped I was going to breastfeed our baby, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. I did the NHS breastfeeding course and our NCT antenatal course also covered it, completely with little dolls to show positioning and attachment. It all looked so easy, we had the right information and we were prepared. Weren't we?

The one thing I wasn't prepared for, is quite how hard it can be.

After a difficult labour, both Moonchild and I were both tired and I have to say our first attempts were truely awful. If it hadn't been for a volunteer breastfeeding helper appearing on the ward one evening, I suspect that our foray into the mystical world of breastfeeding would have been short and painful. Finally I was talking to someone who really knew what she was talking about, whose method for successful attachment didn't include grabbing my boob and shoving it in my baby's mouth. I am ever grateful for her advice and every single day of successful breastfeeding since then, I can put down to her.

I have done a breastfeeding helpers course myself, to give a little something back as it were. I could go through a step-by-step guide but there are people better placed than me to do this. So these tips come from my own personal experience and should not take the place of any professional advice you may need. So here goes:

1) Always make sure you are sitting upright, comfortably and have everything you need to hand. You don't want to get cramp and there's nothing worse than realising half way through a feed that the TV remote is just out of reach!

2) Make sure you drink a lot. You can get very dehydrated very quickly while breastfeeding and believe me, you wouldn't believe how rough that can make you feel.

3) Always make sure your baby is correctly positioned and attached. Breastfeeding should NOT hurt, if it does - take the baby off and try again. I know how easy it can be to just "let it go this time" when you're tired or you're out and you don't want to have to take your baby off again. But believe me, you will regret it, cracked nipples are a terrible price to pay. Every feed should be a painfree feed, if there is pain, it's a sign something isn't right.

4) Don't think you are alone, there is help out there if you need it. You just need to know where to look. Volunteer breastfeeding helpers can normally be found some days at local childrens centres and breastfeeding cafes. Contact the BfN Supporter line for immediate advice and support and the BfN website has the details of local groups across the country. The La Leche League and the NCT also provide breastfeeding support and advice. They are all a valuable resource and can really help.

5) When it comes to stopping breastfeeding, whatever your reasons, whenever you choose to do it. It is your decision and your decison alone. Don't be bullied, or made to feel guilty because you want to stop at 6 weeks or are still feeding your toddler.

And finally - make sure you wear a nursing bra that fits correctly - preferably a sexy one too. You are not a dairy cow - you are one sexy mother and the whole world should know it!

But before you go - have you seen the Hotmilk fitting guide? He can come up and measure me anytime!

How was it for you?

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:04:00 GMT

So it's been the week of the budget. Not a so-called 'emergency budget' this time, but the real deal. The one the media have been speculating about for weeks.

George Osborne appeared all fresh faced, shiny and new in front of the camera's carrying the infamous bright red briefcase, looking slightly like a pre-schooler having raided the dressing up box.

Maybe it's a sign I'm getting old, but where do they find these children that run the country?

Anyhow, it's all fine and dandy apparently. George and his playmates fully understand the rest of us are struggling to pay our bills, with everything having got so expensive, they thought they'd help out a bit and cut 1p a litre off the price of fuel. Wow. Well I don't know about you, but it was going to have to get a lot more exciting than that to interest me. 1p, yes folks one single solitary penny.

I don't normally fill the tank brim full on my car, I have the patience of a gnat and I just can't do with standing out in the wind, cold and rain for quite that long. (As an aside - why are petrol station forecourts always that drafty?) But the week before the budget I did and I have to say it made me feel really quite ill. I wandered into the kiosk to pay in a daze, even the cashier looked slightly taken aback. It had cost me £104 to fill the tank. At £1.36 a litre that's a little over 76 litres. So George in future, is going to save me the princely sum of 76p every time I fill up, which would be approximately once a fortnight.

The saving wouldn't even buy me a bottle of diet coke and a mars bar. So how is this supposed to help me feed my family in any way?

But wait! The Income tax threshold is going up too you say? Maths not being my strong point, I'll just take the figures MoonDaddy told me - he says it should mean I have an extra (wait for it, you'll like this...) 86p a week in my pocket!

Well I might just get my bottle of coke and mars bar after all and if there's a special on, I might even be able to afford a packet of crisps to go with it. But not if the retail price index remains high, because next week there will be a price rise on coke and confectionary and I won't be able to afford them again.

So please George, I am not stupid. You are not tipping a busker, a few pennies here and there aren't going to impress me. Why don't you keep my £1.62 and everyone else's £1.62, add them all together and maybe build a hospital, pay a lollipop lady or keep a rural bus service? That might be something worth getting excited about.

A year at Bright Moon

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:14:00 GMT

Well I wasn't shortlisted for a Business Mum Award, but as I was surprised and chuffed to even be nominated, there's been no real disappointment. Our first year in business has had it's ups and downs, as with everything and now it's March, I'm starting to think where we're going with 2011! (Well we don't like to rush things here you know!)

Our first year - Warts and all

It took a little longer than we anticipated to get the website up and running, this was mainly because I am a perfectionist and once I've got an idea in my head, it has to be "just right" so something as simple as having a logo designed turns into a long drawn out process. The website finally went live in June but we had been trading through other outlets before then.

The major biggey for us last year, was Moonchild the Elder being diagnosed with autism. We had known for a long time that he was slightly different to his peers and had fought the doctors long and hard to get them to even investigate or give us a referral. But on the day, after three sessions in an assessment nursery, when they sit you down and tell you that your child has autism, it still came as quite a shock. You know there's something as it were, and you wanted to know what it was, but you didn't want it to be that per se. I have a friend with a son who has autism and they were worlds apart on the spectrum so I didn't see how they could essentially be diagnosed with the same thing,

It took the wind out our sails and I confess I turned my eye away from the business to read up on Autism. It was time well spent as now when I speak to some health professionals, I know more than they do.

During the summer, MoonDaddy was made redundant for the second time in under a year. I understand the whole "Last in, first out" approach but it's still hard for your family and especially for MoonDaddy's self confidence.

We spent a great many weekends doing baby, craft and gift fairs last year. Some successful, some not to successful but we enjoyed all of them, not just from the making sales point of view, but also from getting out and talking to people. The internet can be quite faceless, which in some ways (like when I'm writing blog posts on the sofa wearing a dressing gown) is most definitely a good thing (so not getting Skype anytime soon!) but you never actually get a chance to talk to people.

There's nothing better than actually helping people with their decision of what to purchase so they go home with something they're really happy with, rather than wondering why on earth they bought it.

We started doing parties for people in their homes, for toddler groups and antenatal groups. They are very hard work but equally as great for meeting people and hearing what they really think. Our latest idea is the "Stock Room Rummage", if people live locally or are willing to travel, we let them come over to see our entire collection from the comfort of our stock room sofa! We also provide coffee, tea and cake which always goes down well with the MoonKids as we don't usually have cake in the house.

In October we lost a very dear friend to us, the sense of loss to MoonDaddy has been immense but it has made us realise how important it is to make an effort to see those people we hold dear more often.

Throughout the whole year, both boys grew and developed personalities of their own. Youngest Moonchild is intent on walking and has recently discovered that there be toys in the some of the boxes in the stock room and he's intent on finding a way of getting to them!

We've seen some new things that we would like to stock, if only finances and storage room allow so will hopefully be introducing some new lines to you very shortly - some accessories and also a range of toys ideal for autistic children. We aim to do a lot more marketing and PR, although with MoonDaddy still being out of work, our financial safety net is a little stretched at the moment. Although I wonder if in the long run, not doing any will end up costing us more.

I have also started a new blog, mostly about autism and life with an autistic preschooler but also some of the more random musings that wander round in my head. I'm not quite ready to share that with you just yet but watch this space!

We've lost some friends this year, some we haven't heard hide nor hair from since MoonChild the Elder's diagnosis but we've certainly made a lot of new ones and learn who are true friends are. Business is building, the MoonKids seem relatively happy and there are daffodils out in our front garden - things are definitely on the up!

Mumsclub Business Mum Awards

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:13:00 GMT

I've been nominated in the Mumsclub Business Awards! The fact that someone thought we were good enough to deserve a nomination is absolutely thrilling. It's not necessarily the winning that counts, it's enough to know that someone out there appreciates us and thinks we deserve some recognition. It's a fantastic feeling I can tell you!

On a day when we got a mention on the local community radio as well! The shortlist will be announced on Monday so I'll be knawing my fingernails and playing with my rings until then. Hopefully we'll get some more good news then.

Fingers crossed

Moon Mummy x

Happy Birthday to us....Happy Birthday to us......

Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:08:00 GMT

Hello! <Moon Mummy waves forlornly from underneath a pile of paperwork!>

I know I haven't written for a while, with christmas and everything, things have been more than a little bit manic at Bright Moon Central. Besides the Moon Daddy has been commenting that sales and site traffic actually increased while I wasn't updating this blog!

Bright Moon was born on February 9th 2010, so we are now, officially 1 year old. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride what with one thing and another but we're still here, still trading and things are on the up. Which in today's economic climate is no mean feat in itself.

So to celebrate we though we'd hold a Special Celebration Sale, which we hope you'll enjoy browsing. There's something for everyone included, from Hotmilk lingerie to toddler toys and more. We've also had a couple of days out at trade fairs recently and have seen some fantastic new lines that we would like to stock. Some of them have already arrived and will be appearing in our store very soon. They're really a little bit special and we can't wait to show them to you.

As we're now facing our first end of year, I seem to have mountainous piles of paperwork and forms to fill in. I have missing receipts and I have to admit my filing system leaves a little to be desired. I have three folders - 1) Bank and Credit Card Statements, 2) Supplier Invoices & 3) "Other Stuff"!

I will be doing a full blog post on the ups and downs of our first year in business, but will have to leave that for another time. Tomorrow is Moonchild the Elder's 4th birthday and I have a chocolate hedgehog cake to make. Let me tell you, I am no baker and there could be an emergency rush to Tesco's in the morning yet!

I'll let you know how I get on! I have flour, sugar, butter & chocolate. I am armed and dangerous. Look out - this mummy is on a mission!

Better late than never

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:41:00 GMT

Hello. I've not been around much recently but I'm back and have cleared the tumbleweeds out of the blog.

It's been exactly a month since my last post and it's been quite a month.

It started with us saying goodbye to a good friend and a wonderful man. The funeral was incredibly sad yet very touching, so many people coming together to celebrate the life and mourn the loss of one of the good guys. Several people read their own personal Eulogies, including MoonDaddy. There were tears and smiles and some laughter as each recalled memories of our friend. Each story was very different but everyone recognised the person they were talking about. We talk about R often and recall some event or funny annecdote and I suppose it's in those memories that people live on. He may be gone but will never be forgotten.

We also celebrated younger Moonchild's first birthday, it's been an eventful year one way or another. It's had it's ups and downs and things are certainly very different than they were a year ago but that's not to say they're not as good, just different. If MoonDaddy hadn't been made redundant just after Moonchild the Younger's birth, then the idea for Bright Moon would never have been born and come to fruitition. Younger Moonchild is certainly very different to a year ago, he weighs a lot more for one thing (although don't we all?!) and has a dangerous opinion of his own!

Since then it's been a constant round of christmas fayres and shopping events, some more successful than others but we enjoy them all. It's nice to get out and about meeting people, especially at this time of year. The highlight was the Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre, three days of manic trading in the brand new Apex building. We even had snow to make things feel really christmassy! The only problem being we now need to order a load of new toys as we completely sold out of some products!

The countdown to Christmas begins here! Tomorrow is the 1st December and will see the start of our "12 Offers of Christmas" promotion. From tomorrow onwards we will release a new special offer for 12 days. Each special offer will be valid until Christmas Eve so some of them will only be around for a short time. These offers will help you find gifts for the special people in your life (or in some cases should be pointed out to your nearest and dearest) and will help you save money as well. Lets face it, we could all do with saving a little at the moment.

So keep checking back, these offers will only be available while stocks last and some of these stocks I can't see lasting very long at all!

If you only do one thing this week.....

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:12:00 GMT

make sure it's this -

Contact an old friend.

Someone you haven't heard from or seen in a while. Not just an email, or a forwarded joke. Properly contact. By telephone, or in person. For no particular reason, other than to say hello and see how they are.

This could be someone that you used to be close to, but maybe you've moved away and you only see each other one or twice a year, or even less. Someone you keep meaning to plan to meet up with, but you both live busy lives and next week/next month/next year will be ok, won't it?

Sometimes, it's not ok. Sometimes horrible, horrible things happen and then 'plenty of time' becomes 'no time at all'.

Tomorrow we are going to a funeral. It's not just any funeral and it's not the funeral of just anybody. MoonDaddy's best mate R collapsed suddenly three months ago and was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He passed away a couple of weeks ago and tomorrow, we will be making the three hour journey to his funeral. He was 39 years old, was married and had two daughters, the youngest being under 2 years old.

MoonDaddy met R at university and they've been good friends ever since. We went to their wedding and they came to ours, MoonDaddy was their best man and R was one of MoonDaddy's. R and his wife K made me very welcome into their circle of friends and she was in fact my matron of honour. We all had children and somehow life became very busy and we saw each other less and less. This is our fault really, we live three hours apart and even though R & K made the journey to see us last christmas, there seemed to be plenty of reasons why we couldn't go and see them this year. After all, there's plenty of time right?

Until we got that phone call. I can list the number of occasions I've seen MoonDaddy cry, I could count them on one hand. This was one such occasion and I'm sure that tomorrow is going to be another one.

We went to see R & K a couple of times after his diagnosis, I'm so glad that we did but it made us wish we'd made more of an effort to see them in the years since our wedding.

R was certainly one of the good guys. The type of person that if you needed a friend or needed something done properly, then he was your man. By profession he was a teacher and it's a testiment to not just his ability as a teacher, but also R as a person that his pupils have set up a memorial facebook page and over 1000 people like it!

My favourite memory of R is on the morning of my wedding to MoonDaddy. The girls had all stayed overnight at the venue and R had stayed with K as there was a shortage of beds at our house, (the accomodation for the boys.) I had to put some things out on the tables in the marquee first thing in the morning, so while everyone else (mostly my relations!) were panicking about anything and everything and the stress levels were rising, I had some lovely quiet time in the marquee with R for company. He was a steadying and calming influence and we had a laugh and chilled out while everyone else ran around like headless chickens! That was R all over, organised and unflappable. Yet he also had a wicked sense of humour that could make you laugh till your stomach hurt and you had tears running down you face.

I'm honoured to have been able to call both R and K our friends. They're lovely people and it really stinks that life has dealt them this blow. It breaks my heart those girls will have to grow up without their father, life can be so cruel. Somehow I always manage to say the wrong thing, yet after all, what can be said? What words can possibly give any comfort in this situation?

It's a truely tragic situation and I wish there was something we could do to make it any easier for K and the girls, but whatever that something is, I've yet to discover it.

Maybe all that we can do is to remember R, as he was. As our friend, who will be deeply missed and to keep that memory alive so a little piece of him is still with us and to make sure those girls know their father was a great friend, a kind and caring man who will be missed by so many. What greater tribute can there be than that?

Best laid plans and all that

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 20:40:00 GMT

What a week it's been! It seems that complete mayhem reigns.

Sunday was certainly the most stressful day I've had in quite a while. The Cambridgeshire Baby & Toddler Show was good but provided rather too much drama for my tastes.

Due to a lack of childcare, only one of us could be there so we arranged that I would do the morning and then The MoonDaddy would come and take over at lunchtime and do the afternoon. We packed the car on Saturday night and I got up and left rather earlier than I had planned to do as Moonchild the Younger woke me up so I thought I may as well get going.

I stopped at Tesco's to get a sandwich for lunch and a bit of a diesel and it's a good job I had left rather early as when I got back in the car, it declined completely to restart. So after trying to ring the MoonDaddy repeatedly, who for some reason known only to him, didn't think there was anything wrong with the phone ringing twenty times at 7.30am on a Sunday morning so didn't bother to answer it!

So there I was stuck on the forecourt of the local Tesco's petrol station waiting for the AA man. Thankfully AA man turned up after only 20 minutes and decided my battery was dead and needed jump starting and then replacing as soon as possible. The fault in his cunning plan was that petrol stations don't like you jump starting cars on their forecourts willy nilly. No, Mr Tesco Store Manager insisted that one fully laden Land Rover Discovery would need to be pushed off his forecourt before being jump started. Sitting in his nice comfy office he decided to aid with this he would send - a load of girls. All the able bodied blokes were otherwise occupied apparently. Shame on you Mr Tesco Store Manager.

Thankfully, said girls were lovely. Polite and helpful and rather good at pushing cars off forecourts.

So, after driving to Cambridge at erm.......a rather quick and possibly illegal speed, I got to the show and was dreading unloading. But I needn't have worried as when the organisers of the show go about their planning they think of everything. Including groups of lads with sack trucks to unload everything for you! How perfect is that?

At this point I'm panicking that I'm not going to get everything set up in time. I'm rushing about like a headless chicken that desperately needs the loo! The other stallholders come to my rescue and help everything up. Some truely lovely people really helped me out on Sunday and I'm really very grateful. x

MoonDaddy on the other hand had his own problems, which apparently involved both MoonKids fighting over the same piece of toast. Which must have gone well as within the first couple of hours of being single parenting, he decamps both kids and heads over to the mother-in-laws. Typical man: When the going gets tough - run to mummy.

Although that didn't go terribly well either and involved the mother-in-law getting a 101 masterclass in Autism. He doesn't like Red Leicester. It will land on the floor and a meltdown with develop......oh yes. A major one. But apparently he needs discipline. Mmmm I say nothing....

The MoonDaddy having planned to get to me at about 1pm on Sunday actually turned up at 2.50pm. The show closed at 3pm! Again, I say nothing....

Elsewhere this week - Younger Moonchild chose this week to start crawling and now there is no stopping him! Blink once and he's gone off exploring on his own! The dog is very worried and is often to be seen being chased by a rampant laughing 11 month old! Thos two are so in love, I'm sure they'd sleep together in the dogs bed given half a chance!

Unfortunately Younger Moonchild's antics have not been excusively crawling. Not content with having his horizons widened by his new found mobility - he's started pulling himself up on things as well. Nothing is safe! This is one fiercely determined boy who gets the rage when his plans are curtailed. There's something funny about an 11 month old shouting and waving his fists at you because you won't let him go out in the hall.

Now that I've bored you all to tears with details of our week, I'm off to bed. Yet another cold has surfaced and I feel dreadful. Have a good week. :-)

House of Plague

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 21:36:00 GMT

Sorry, we've not been around a lot recently. Just when you think things are going well, Moonchild the Elder brings home another round of bugs from preschool and we're all struck down with the lurgy. It seems this particular lurgy goes by the name of Whooping Cough and as you can imagine, I'm surprised we're not keeping the whole village awake at night with almost constant "whoop whoop" uncontrollable coughing fits.

We had a great time at the Northampton Baby and Toddler Show, the whole thing was a pleasure from start to finish really. Moonchild the Younger behaved impecably throughout and now seems to have his own little following with his adoring public. That boy's a charmer and I can see we're going to have to keep an eye on him when he's older!

Thankfully this weekend was rather quiet with nothing planned, other than pill popping and lemsip supping that is. Next weekend we're at the Cambridgeshire Baby and Toddler Show at Cambridge Regional College between 10am and 3pm. Unfortunately due to our chief fill-in childcare assistant having the cheek to disappear off to Canada for a month, we're stuck for childcare so the Moon Daddy will be staying at home to entertain both Moonkids on his lonesome. So sorry folks, Youngest Moonchild will be unable to meet his fans on this particular occasion, you'll just have to make do with me instead. I know I'm not nearly so cute but I can do a better deal on a Steiff comforter.

Talking of Steiff comforters - the long awaited Steiff delivery has turned up. We've been coo-ing over it all non-stop for days and have managed to put a few items online for your perusal but we're all feeling really quite rubbish so have been somewhat slacking on the web update side of things.

Steiff is THE biggest name in teddy bears and there's a lot more to Steiff than the threadbare old teddies that appear on the Antiques Roadshow. They do bears for children and bears for babies and a whole range of comforters and rattles. Not just as the famous bears but also animals such as rabbits and mice as well. Anyone looking for a super gift for a newborn, that will be treasured and remembered forever, can't go far wrong with a Steiff. Soft, gorgeous and very cuddly complete with the trademark Steiff button in the ear. They're also a lot cheaper than you might expect.

We're also working on a little Prize Draw at the moment, the details are currently being finalised so watch this space. With Christmas (is it too early to mention the 'C' word?) coming up - can you afford not to?

Keep smiling folks.