I am feeling so inspired right now. I attended FunfestUK at the weekend, at Whittlebury Hall in Northampton, organised by MiPR. It was a last minute choice, but when I heard that my friend Vicki Psarias, Honest Mum was going to be one of the speakers, and as it was only a short journey away, the decision was easily made.

I had to take Dominic, my three year old, as the hubby and my eldest had football commitments and I have to say I wondered how much I would actually be able to take part in as Dominic is a feisty little chap when the notion takes him and is rather vocal when he isn’t enjoying himself.

Dominic, proud as punch with his finished jigsaw

However, my mummy fears were unfounded as my little darling was an angel. He sweetly sat through four different speakers & amused himself in the main, had beautiful manners when given gifts and was overall wide eyed, charming & happy to be at work with mummy. God I felt so proud of him! You know one of those moments you just look at your child and think ‘wow, you are so amazing! or ‘How did I get so lucky?’

A confident, complex bundle of vessels, arteries & brain cells all working more efficiently than Team Wonderpets, fusing into a fine specimen of a human.  My other sweetheart, Harry, got man of the match at footie, so he had his own moment of glory – cue one very impressed mummy!

Sometimes I’m so bogged down with wiping bottoms, cleaning the house, working, playing chauffeur, sympathetic shoulder, wife, ‘domestic goddess’ & general multi-tasker, trying to fit everything into the stream of life as we all do, that I forget to take a moment and appreciate these 2 incredible children I have! Every day I am so thankful to have another day on earth with them. They each have their own sparkling and sometimes challenging personalities, but they make me a better human being and teach me lessons in life every single day. Paradoxically, they also test my nerves to it’s outer limits and necessitate patience in abundance!

Myself, Vicki from www.honestmum.com & Katy from www.whatkatysaid.com

So, back to the event, I spent some time hanging out with the lovely Vicki, as our kids gravitated towards each other, busying themselves with the numerous activities laid on for them, we found ourselves doing some fabulous, therapeutic sand art from Kids Be Happy and chewing the fat about general girlie/mum stuff.

Emma Bradley from www.emmaand3.com with the panel

Honest Mum giving it welly on the blogger empowerment front!

Earlier, she and her fellow influential bloggers had shared their experiences and wealth of knowledge with us and I have to say, I’ve come away with inspiration coursing through my veins and a renewed belief in myself and my blog aspirations. They were refreshingly honest and generous with their insights and advice, which was a revelation in a career which can be rather circumspect. For anyone who missed it you can read Vicki’s speech, in full, here.

I think, as women who work from home, around the demands of a modern family, we can often feel a little segregated, solitary and inevitably, that self doubt can creep in. ‘Is anyone listening to me/reading what I write?’, ‘Am I doing this correctly’, ‘Am I flogging a dead horse?’ ‘Should I get a ‘normal’ job?’ But after a day of girl power and some key advice, I feel strongly once more that everyone has their niche and USP, so it’s with gusto that I throw myself back into my writing and a renewed confidence that I can make a difference in this world!

We loved Funfest and I look forward to bringing you lots of reviews & innovative ideas from the brands involved. Dominic was kindly given this huuuge minion balloon for being such a good boy and decided he wanted to give it to his big brother who had missed out on the day!

What inspires you?  Do you work from home & sometimes feel a little deflated?  Have you ever been to Funfest? I’d love to hear from you!