So today the little froglet went back to school and peace reigns on the Lilypad. There is no glitter or sticky stuff on every available surface and the peace is possibly a little disconcerting!

 

She merrily skipped off today, more grown up and self assured than she was this time last year but still happy to hold my hand on the walk to school and this made me reflect on what a difference a year makes.

 

Twelve months ago my little girl was still my baby and everything she had learnt had been nutured by me and suddenly she was coming home asking me if I knew about eskimos or mini beasts (for those without small children, this term is affectionately given to beetles, bugs and butterflies). She began to grow into her personality (and seemingly a new pair of shoes each term).

 

Our relationship has grown too, she is more opinionated, engaging, amusing and certainly a little more defiant. She also loves being involved in the Little Lilypad Co.  She is more adept at working the computer than I was at 15 let alone 5 (although I promise I am not using child labour) and she loves beautiful things .... I wonder where she gets that passion from??

 

In the last twelve months, my baby has grown into a confident little lady, so we intend to spend the next twelve nuturing our new baby "The Little Lilypad Co" . What a difference a year makes , so roll on September 2011.

 

 

Trying to find your perfect target market or the "ideal" shopper for the exact products you retail is a little like "Knitting Fog" (one of my Nan's sayings). I am sure that market research, intensive statistic analysis and alot of man hours would give some clearer indication but as a working mom, I think having the time to do that may happen on the 5th of never!

 

So I have asked our Facebook and Twitter followers to tell us a little about themselves. some were shy, some were modest and some were unrepeatable!!

 

KiddieBase are starting their business in the company of 5 children that are 5yo and under (and a bump!) They have a fantastic concept and are great to tweet with and you can follow them on http://www.twitter.com/kiddebase We look forward to working with them lots in the future.

 

Climbing Tikes - They have a brilliant website and interesting fact from their owner is that she has just signed up to run 5k for charity in sept, so please show your support! http://www.climbingtikes.co.uk/

 

Babysigningmummy - "I teach babies and parents to communicate using simple signs and I love it"  Louise has also just been nominated for an award! http://babysigningmummy.com

 

Ice Jewellery - Loves our products and is a regular customer! We support this fellow http://www.mumclub.co.uk member, they have a great website and gorgeous products! Take a look www.icejewellery.com

 

It is clear, from this tiny selection ,that customers come in lots of varieties (a bit like ice cream) and everyone has different likes and dislikes. So my mission is purely to find something for everyone .... how hard can that be? I am off shopping ..........

 

 

 

I am guilty, I hold my hands up and confess because I am guilty of alot of things. This does sound a little like confessional but I promise that there will be nothing here that I wouldnt say to my mother, so it is safe to continue reading (although in saying that, you dont know my mother).

 

I am guilty of being a working mom and part of the job description is guilt. Its not a great emotion and over compensation does kick in most weekends, where you will find me trying to fit everything into the two days we should actually all be relaxing and enjoying each others company! A reality check every once in a while means that some weekends a complete PJ day takes over! My daughter loves this and this has become very apparent over the summer holidays. She has lots of beautiful toys but never seems to have the time to play with them because we are dashing here or going there, so we are also now guilty of a little self indulgence.

 

I am guilty of being a perfectionist, of wanting everything right, right now! I am guilty right this minute, trying to make this blog entertaining and interesting to read! (How am I doing so far?)

 

Mothering Magazine asked last week how to make life simpler and my honest answer to this was to stop trying to be everything for everyone. Be yourself and enjoy doing it, but again I am the main culprit for trying to be mother, wifey, daughter, grandaughter, friend, sister, colleague, cook, cleaner and entertainements manager ..... simple would be nice but who wants it any other way??

 

But the thing I am most guilty of today is being a year older!! It is my birthday, so please feel free to hop onto the Little Lilypad and wish me a happy birthday or share a funny birthday story.

 

And for the record, I am actually not older ......merely wiser!!

 

 

To blog or not to blog? That is the question..well I thought it was time to say hello. My name's Andy and i'm the other half of the LittleLilypad! Now despite being the silent half of the partnership it is actually a fact that I am the brains and the creative driving force behind the whole business...ah who am I kidding? Id like to say that was true but it is infact my lovely lady that is responsible for the delightful website so many people are now visiting to find the gifts they need.

 

This is infact a whole new world to me. With the introduction of the 'mumpreneur' phenom to my life, a woman posessed and a house full of lovely baby and children's gifts I find myself now mainly needed to carry the numerous (heavy) boxes of stock around and cast my eye over the stock and the site (im sure purely to make me feel included!) before things go live on there.

 

Well apparently these things are meant to be short so I had better go and inspect some fantastic, quirky and handmade little treats and then watch some sport to address the balance!