I do, however, have another job to add to my belt.

If you’re a parent blogger in the UK, chances are you’ll have heard of a certain leading blogging network called The Tots100. Well, I’ve been given the brilliant opportunity of becoming the site’s new editor!

I’m hugely excited to be part of this bunch of talented people and am looking forward to reading the inspiring blog posts submitted for sharing, as well as writing the odd article myself and generally keeping things ticking along.

You can read my introduction post over at The Tots100.

Come and say hello!

The gorgeous MAMA UK is billed as a magazine for modern mums. It certainly doesn’t disappoint. From cool clothing for kids, recipe inspiration, inspirational women and interiors style, this is an online magazine with a difference. As well as being featured in the Mama Mondays series, I’ve written an article for the site all about the search for balance as a working mum. Pop over and have a read.

I’ve also been dipping my toe into the non-lifestyle, non-parenting, non-showbiz arena that is weddings. I’ve been involved with a brand spanking new project called Love Scarlett that’s all about offering a creative platform for artists in the wedding sector.

As well as ghostwriting and proofing copy, I’ve also written my very own feature, One Wedding; Two Views. It’s a piece about a wedding that shared two photographers who were commissioned separately. If you like stunning photographs and arty shots you’ll find it interesting. And it goes without saying that it’s worth a look if you’re seeking inspiring ideas if you’re currently planning your own wedding.

Billed as the “magazine for modern mums”, it’s chock full of articles and inspiration on everything I like to read about. Interiors style, cool kids clothes, travel inspiration, parenting dilemmas – it’s all there, written in an honest style with no hint of “fluffy twee” in sight.

I love it.

Which is why I’m dead chuffed to be featured in the weekly “Mama Mondays” series. You can read my Mama Mondays interview here and gloat about my lack of interest in housework. It’s normal to only clean your bathroom once a week, right? RIGHT?!

Oh.

If you’re still reading – here it is. Here are some snippets from the show I currently present on Heart with Adam Ball at breakfast.

Radio demo

So, the end of 2012 saw Jez Clark announce he was leaving Heart Breakfast in Wiltshire to pursue a new career outside of radio. He was flooded with lots of messages of good luck and the Heart Wiltshire Facebook page was inundated with well wishes from people who’ve listened to Jez for more than 10 years.

That means a new sound to the show, currently running as a More Music Breakfast Show with Adam Ball and little (actually, not so little considering how much I ate over Christmas) old me.

Here are some bits from our first week together last week:

Heart Breakfast – Jan 2013

This morning we marvelled at Adele’s “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!” acceptance speech at The Golden Globes, while last week’s showbiz story goes to McFly’s Tom Fletcher who did *that* wedding speech. (Anyone else watch that and feel immediately miffed THEIR husband didn’t sing HIS wedding speech? No? Just me then.)

We have lots more fun things planned for the show this week and if Adam makes me laugh half as much as he did last week then I’ll be a happy lady – laughter helps you lose weight you know. I think. Or maybe I read that somewhere and have been kidding myself ever since…

On the subject of which, I’ve been trying out a new type of tea for the last week. It’s all part of my intention to get a bit healthier this year and lose the wobbly bits.

These are the bad boys who’ve been helping me with my late night tea habit, much to my husband’s amusement:

It’s safe to say Christmas has well and truly arrived, bringing with it a very tired and stressed out mum, writer and radio presenter.

Over on my parenting and lifestyle blog, Mother’s Always Right, I’ve reviewed some amazing products and experiences ahead of Christmas. Our favourites so far have been the VIP opening at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland and the Triple Supercar Driving Experience (the husband owes me BIG TIME).

Photo credit: CP Photography

I’ve also written about some other lovely organic and homemade gift items I’ve stumbled across, plus the odd crafting and baking activity I’ve attempted with my feisty toddler. I wouldn’t go so far as to liken myself to Nigella just yet though…

At Heart, we’ve been incredibly busy switching on Christmas Lights across Wiltshire. The highlight for me has to be meeting Mike the Knight (totally star struck) at the Brunel Lights Switch On in Swindon. That boy is a real celeb and my toddler’s dreams all came true in an instant. Seriously.

We were also lucky enough to interview the very friendly and very gorgeous Gabrielle Aplin the other day. The Wiltshire star has already had AMAZING success with her cover of The Power of Love which was featured on a certain department store’s Christmas advert recently. You can listen to the full interview on the Heart website.

Copywriting wise, there are some fantastic deals coming up at Mums and Me soon and I’ve been salivating as I’ve been writing the copy for the site. There are also some brilliant posts on our blog with lots of ideas to help make Christmas Day perfect this year.

With my 70 hour working weeks and all the Christmas panic I haven’t had any time to pitch for any features this month, but I would like to share this piece I wrote for Dorky Mum recently. It’s all about being busy – something I expect at least 9 out of 10 of you will be able to relate to.

And that’s me done. I’m off to bed before another busy day tomorrow attempting to cram 48 hours into just 24. Stupid days, they really need to make them longer, no?

This is a photograph of my daughter’s feet a day after she was born. I didn’t know it then, but those feet would later cause her a few problems when it came to walking. In fact, it’s not just the feet that let her down. It’s her whole body really.

My daughter is hypermobile. This means her joints are too flexible. I’ve written about this condition a lot over on my parenting and lifestyle blog Mother’s Always Right and it cheers me to know that some of my posts have made a real difference to a few people. Just last week, another mum tweeted me to let me know her son had been diagnosed with hypermobile joints after reading my blog alerted her to a possible problem in her own child.

So it was a great pleasure to be invited along to talk about hypermobility from a parent’s perspective to the students at Norland College in Bath. I gave an hour long talk to the future childcare professionals, discussing the emotional impact of the condition on both myself and my daughter. It was great to hear some of their own experiences and see that many of them have heard of this relatively common condition before, even though there’s still an element of mystery around it.

A huge thank you to Claire Burgess who invited me to give the presentation in the first place – it’s a really hopeful sign that future childcare providers are being made aware of this condition that affects so many children. Perhaps that air of mystery around hypermobility won’t remain for much longer.

Don’t forget, if you’d like to book me for an event or workshop, please use the contact form here.

The thing is, I have a self-imposed limit on the number of times I write about blogging on my parenting and lifestyle blog Mother’s Always Right. It’s not what that space is about, unless it has a relevance to another area of my lifestyle or family.

In this case, I couldn’t really justify the blog post I’d written about valuing your blog. Which is why I’m lucky to know Nickie, blogger extraordinaire at I Am Typecast – and creator of Geekalicious.

I’ve been published at Geekalicious today, asking: How do you decide what your blog is worth? If you’re a blogger or a PR or an SEO, I’d love to know your thoughts.

I hosted an interactive workshop, giving advice, background, practical skills and inspiration that these groups could put to use when they approach radio stations with their “story”. I got to see what life is like from the other side of the “radio fence” and discuss all the benefits that appearing on the radio can bring.

I also ran a workshop on writing, with the focus on putting together a press release that won’t get binned and writing great copy for websites, blog posts and newsletters.

When I host sessions like this, I like to make them as interactive as possible. Maybe it’s because I’m the daughter of a former drama teacher or maybe it’s because I remember being subjected to many dusty lectures at university, where I struggled at times to keep my eyes open

Large presentations and speaking events are great, but there’s something really exciting and energetic about the intimacy of a workshop-style seminar. People seem more open to ask questions. There’s more opportunity to develop a discussion and debate – and you know how I love to chat.

If you’d like to request information about my rates for speaking events and hosting workshops and seminars, I’m always open to emails. You can reach me through the contact page here.

Seriously though, if you’d like me to come and talk about radio, blogging, social media and how to approach news desks, then please fill in the booking form. I’m taking bookings now and am involved in some really interesting events and seminars over the next couple of months which I can’t wait to write about.

That’s all from me for now. It is Friday after all…