Blogging - Why? What is my Motivation?

Sorry for the lack of blog last week.  It had been one of those weeks that, even though we had been out a lot, we hadn't been anywhere exciting.  Having said that, some people might be interested in a "normal" week.  Let me know in the comments.

Anyway, this week I thought I'd share with you how I plan my content and what I envisage this blog to turn into.  Also I thought I'd give you a bit of a history lesson behind it (after all, history is my thing - one month to go before the dreaded MA results eekkk!!!)

How did it start?

I had been blogging on and off for a while.  I would often start a blog and then get bored or get too busy to write regularly or just not have something to focus on writing about.  Then in 2018 I decided I wanted to write about some of the trips we had been on as a family.  I loved the idea of writing about the places we had visited but also about how easy (or not) it was to get around with a buggy.

Whilst I was doing my dissertation, I found myself immersed in bus timetables, and then one day discovered a great little booklet in the Northamptonshire Records Office (I thoroughly recommend a visit to your local archives - it's amazing what people have donated to them).  This booklet was a guide to walking spots in Northampton and how to get to them by bus.  It was written in the late 1940s and I just thought this was a great idea.  So that's how my blog transformed.  I found myself listing places, not just in Northampton, but in the surrounding areas, that I could visit with Chloe on public transport and decided that it would be a fairly unique thing to write about in a blog (it's all about finding that niche).  Obviously restricting it to Northampton and Northamptonshire might be a bit limited so I hope to expand it to other areas too.  Basically, the idea is that as the blog grows the trips will grow too.

What is my motivation?

Originally, it was because I wanted somewhere to store those memories of the trips we had together, particularly as it was Chloe's first year on this planet.  Then I realised that I could help others by showing them ways of getting around when you have to rely on public transport (which unless I'm with my husband is me - I don't drive).  I'm always asking on facebook and twitter for recommendations to go to with my little girl and rarely get replies that don't involve a car.  So I decided that I wanted to create that platform. With it being February and living in a country where the weather is bleak at the best of times, finding the motivation to visit these places can be hard at times, but if I can help just one other mummy find somewhere to take her little one on a cold February day I will be happy.

What would you like to see?

So that leads me to the final part of this blog.  What would you, the readers, like to see more of.  Are there places you would like me to visit? Is there a certain journey you would like me to make?  What would you like me to feature?  Would you like me to show you soft play, museums etc.  So to plan my ideas so far I have created a spider diagram with considerations.  The first four categories I have come up with are

1. Venues
2. Cost
3. Transport
4. Time

I have then split these categories down into sub-categories.  These are:


1. Venues
a. Local
b. Further afield

2. Cost
a. free entry
b. memberships

3. Transport
a. Bus
b. Train
c. Tube

4. Time
a. travel time
b. time at the venue

My next plan will be to split these further to put actual venues/places etc  into the corresponding sections.  It may be that I create a chart with each column.  However, it's a working progress and I will update you with how I'm getting on (and also any places we do visit).

I hope this has given you a little insight of what this blog is about.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Speak to you soon

Kat & Chloe x

What's in the bag?

This blog contains affiliated links which are shown with an asterisk (*)

Hi

This week has been a fairly dull week.  We have been out a lot and have been on a total of 10 buses, however, they've all been backwards and forwards to my mum's or to go shopping (I may do a blog post about shopping experiences at some point).  It's been another week of cold crazy weather.  We've had a snow a few times this week but not enough to make for a fantastic blog post.  So when thinking about what to write about, the only thing I could think of was what we carry in our bag! What we carry in our bag is really boring though.  I don't have any cool hacks or fun things I can show you (there might be a little pot of bubbles in there but that's about as exciting as it gets) so that got me thinking about whether I carry around too much stuff.

The contents of our nappy bag

So here is our bag currently.  It's a decent sized nappy bag from Cath Kidston.  Of course it's got buses on it.  They no longer do this one (I picked it up second hand on Facebook).  It's about the size of a small overnight bag and has two pockets at the front which are closed with magnets, two elasticated pockets at the sides for bottles, and a zipped pocket inside the main compartment.  There are two large compartments.  One which has two netted pockets and a changing mat and the other that is the main bag. 

Inside my bag I carry:

• nappies (usually a few more than on the photo - I need to top up) 
• a packet of wet wipes 
• a change of clothes; two vests, a top or dress, a pair of leggings or tights and socks.  Oh and a spare pair of knickers for me (you never know when you might need them). 
• a hat
• some nappy bags 
• a water bottle or cup or something similar (at the moment it's the Munchkin 360 training cup*) 
• Nappy cream (I swear by Metanium but I also carry some sudacrem) 
• Teething gel although I don't use it often. 
• A dummy holder and some dummies (always carry spares because if your child is anything like Chloe they will throw them on the floor).  MAM do packs of two which come in a little pot that you can use as a steriliser which is fab.  You can get them here* 
• Hair clips.  
• Pens 
• Packs of sugar (this is obviously for me not Chloe - I'm a tea obsessive). 
• Oh and obviously my purse.  (I'm a proper Whovian and absolutely love this purse - it's this one* for anyone who's interested because I'm always being asked)

So there you have it.  That's quite tidy to be honest.  Often there's also my phone, of course, bus tickets, receipts, a bit of change.  I'm have a habit of just throwing everything in there. 

And there you have it.  My messy nappy bag. 

Comment below about what your must have item is.