Me:  ”Ok.  Thanks babe.”

Miss M:  ”But you have to choose from the Peppa Pig books Mummy.

Me:  ”Ok”

Miss M:  ”And you have to choose from the Peppa Pig books on this side Mummy.”

Me:  ”Oooo kaaaaaay…..”

Miss M:  ”And it has to be a purple book.”

Hmmmmm.  I see a career in politics.

And

talking of politics…

(cough, seamless right?)

..today I spent the first part of the morning with the wise and wonderful Potty Mummy being interviewed by the folks at Shiny Red (and yes they paid us.)   Their mission?  To find out and share with their clients just if and how Mummy/Parent Bloggers would like to be approached by PR companies.

As many of you know from experience, UK Parent bloggers are being contacted on a daily basis by companies who want us to write about their products.  In the main I don’t think most of us have a problem with this, I mean, who wouldn’t want a relationship that can be rewarding for both parties?  But it’s fairly obvious that those of us termed as ‘Mummy bloggers’ are being seen by some more as a marketing tool, than as people who have varied opinions, interests and experiences.

The result?  At times clumsy, patronising, aggressive and downright bizarre approaches asking us to do something for nothing, and leaving us feeling, either angry or, well, a bit crappy really.

Hopefully today Potty Mummy and I were able to be a voice for Parent Bloggers in some small way, and the companies present seemed truly interested in getting it right.

As a blogger who has no media or business experience, this has been very much an eye opener for me and I have learned a huge amount about how valuable we as a group of people are, not only as consumers but also as opinion leaders.

I have to admit part of me has found it all kind of bemusing.  I mean, so many of my posts have involved public humiliation, mind numbing scatterbrainedness (’tis so a word), bad parenting and to put it bluntly, poo with the occasional warm and fuzzy moments dotted about amidst the mayhem. It’s warts and all car crash commentary.  It’s painful, often sticky and very very real.  But now I understand that that is our attraction.

We’re real.

We’re passionate.

We’re funny.

We’re ‘normal’  (mostly)

and most importantly, we’re honest.

And as long as we stick with this approach, I think we’re going to have a lot of fun.

Anyway, I’ve waffled on for long enough.  London has been brilliant today, and there is so much more to tell, including mad people on the underground and being lucky enough to join a group of very lovely and extremely talented parent bloggers, and an equally lovely and talented celebrity, to learn about the launch of a new website.

Oh and then there’s the incident with the enormous pigeon and the man dressed as a haddock.

But I’ll save all that for tomorrow.

Night night.

P.s.  Thanks Ashley and your team for making us feel very welcome, and for the cake.  Cake is always good.