I seem to be living at this desk and staring at this screen. How much damage this is doing to my eyes, I really do not know!

I finished re-uploading all the clothes at 23:15 yesterday. I was here all day; my bum was numb and my fingers unable to move. Oh, and here I am again! Today will involve more tweeking with the website, chasing the designer to make sure he is doing his bits, paying suppliers and chasing up deliveries. I also have to go to Daughter number 2's Easter concert at school, sort the washing, cook tea, etc. I want to launch this Friday!

Good news is that my new Blackberry arrived first thing this morning as did my delivery from Morph Maternity. I am looking forward to having a proper Bumpalicious phone with a professional message rather than the slightly dippy one I have on my existing phone. I won't worry so much now when someone goes through to voicemail. I'm just wondering how long it is going to take me to read the instructions. Any Blackberry tips out there?

The clothes from Morph Maternity are gorgeous. I'm really pleased. The feeding tops are brilliantly designed so that they look like normal tops and of a great quality. Some thicker long-sleeved ones and great Summer weights in shorter sleeves. I can already see that I am going to need  more of the blue and white striped t-shirt. My favourite is still the pink stripe which just makes me feel really summery. I need that on a gloomy day like today.

Well, off to chase and pay bills! I hope the sun shines on you in many ways today!

It seems like ages since I last blogged and it appears from my last post that it is. Apologies and explanation later!

Firstly, a happy Mother's Day to all the lovely mothers out there who do such a great job juggling everything and keeping it all together most of the time! I've had a great day. Bacon bagel delivered to bedside by husband before he went off cycling, lunch cooked for me, my parents here and a singing "show" by my daughters. I also managed to fit a run in but I don't think lunch had been properly digested so I spent the whole time trying to deal with indigestion. It was not pleasant!

Anyway, why haven't I been here for a few days? Well, I have spent days uploading all the products onto the new website and I mean, days. I was then told by the web designer that he had not told me the best way to do it. This means that all those days are effectively wasted and that I am having to do the whole thing again. I think I dealt quite well with the news, all things considered. It is just lucky for him that he was at the other end of the telephone and not in the same room. I calmly told him that I am sure he must appreciate how I feel and that he would not want to be in this position, would he? "No, Amanda, I wouldn't." was the response! There is nothing I can do but calmly put my head down and get on with it, so that he where I have been for the past few days. I am about half way through. Lovely husband had the girls for me yesterday morning instead of going cycling but it's not how I would choose to spend Saturday morning. We should be up and running by this Friday. I've posted a few more pictures to Facebook to keep you up to date. Have a look here www.facebook.com/pages/Bumpalicious-Maternity/101867509893560.

The goods news is that the website is looking fantastic. All the hard work seems to be worth it. I can't wait to show it off!

What else has happened? My new samples arrived. Some lovely jeans with a great supportive bump band, brilliant white shirt and some basic tops. There are off to me pregnant friend for her to test drive them for me. A lovely man in Turkey is ending me some free samples of the maternity skirts and trousers he produces. Things on the Bumpalicious brand front really are moving ahead. I hope that, by the Autumn, I will be able to provide a Bumpalicious maternity essential pack which contains everything you need for a basic maternity wardrobe i.e. jeans, black trousers, black skirt, short and long sleeved top. Any other suggestions? Wrap dress? Tunic?

Well, back to uploading for the website. Enjoy those Mother's Day chocolates and flowers!

Photoshoot number 2 today!!

I truly believe that to give real people a proper idea of how they will look in our clothes, they need to be modelled on real people. So, once again, I donned my bump and managed to persuade my lovely friend Helen to do the same! We spent a very busy 4 hours with Louise "working it" for the camera. I will never look at a catalogue model in quite the same way again. It is hard trying to look natural whilst remembering what your hands, feet and face are doing. The shots I saw really were great. Keep checking in as I collect them tomorrow and will post them to the Bumpalicious Facebook page over the next few days. It's amazing how much blusher you need to photograph well!

Talking of Facebook, we reached the magic 25 yesterday. Thank you to the lovely Sarah Appleton for liking it. I feel like a real milestone has been reached and that I am right to have faith in what I am doing. All this hard work and worry will be worth it. What I have realised over the past few months is that you really do need to have a deep belief in your business to get it off the ground. So many times I have thought of calling it quits but my deep rooted belief that I have a great idea that will appeal to lots of mums keeps me going. I think it's normal to feel like this. Often, the greatest ideas come from the greatest doubts.

The website is still my biggest worry. The web designer relocated offices at the weekend and systems seem to have been down for most of the week. I struggle with not being in control of things. I think it might be a woman thing, It's certainly a Virgo thing! At least I will have some great new images to post onto it.

Good news is that I received my EORI number! Brilliant service at HMRC. I can now import to my heart's content. My clothes from Ripe Maternity are on their way from Australia and should be here by 6 April. The clothes from Morph Maternity will be posted tomorrow and my Valja clothes were all photographed today. I just need to work out where I am going to put them all and in what order. Insurance also sorted so a bit of a roll on that front. I'm really excited about a couple of adverts I am placing and my Akua-Ba press release has been really well received. 

One thing I have learned since I started this project is that a business problem shared is a problem halved as with any other and that there are some fantastic business groups out there aimed at working mums. I have been to both Networking Mummies and MumsClub events. All the ladies I have met have been great; interested and supportive. As well as an avenue of support, they also provide great business advice. I've been to seminars on marketing and image and have one on intellectual property coming up. I can't recommend such groups enough if you are a mum just starting out. I am genuinely excited that Networking Mummies has opened a Birmingham branch. I'm really looking forward to the first event.

Well, husband due back around 9pm. House looks like a tip and I haven't worked out what to have for tea yet. At least I remembered to collect the girls from school, feed them and put them to bed. Had great fun reading Tangled - what a kick-arse Rapunsel she is!!

It's not been such a successful day today. The EORI application sent on Friday did not get through to HMRC so I have had to send it again and the web designer's system was down at the weekend so no progress there. At least the sun shone and I did have coffee with a friend. Oh, and car needed loads of money spent on it to get through the MOT. I really hope the rest of the week improves.

On another note, Husband and I watched the brilliant Wonders of the Universe with the lovely Professor Brian Cox last night. I realised that whatever I achieve with Bumpalicious Maternity may be a great thing for me but will be small for the Universe and it will all be sucked by a Black Home one day anyway. It may be feel better in a strange way that a much greater force influences everything we do in ways that we cannot see or hear. Perhaps my destiny is already mapped out for me and I am on a path I can't change. But what if I can change it? So many questions, I think I need to do what Chris Evans does and watch it agin to try and understand it a bit more!

Anyway, my Bumpalicious journey continues and I hope I am only about a week from launch. I think I have found another model for my clothes. A friend as I stick to me rule that Bumpalicious clothes will be modelled by real ladies, not professional models. I want people to be able to see what the clothes would look like on lovely, normal ladies and not size 8. I want pregnant ladies to see that they can be gorgeous without having a modelling contract. I hope everyone out there agrees.

Adios Universe!

Well, I did remember that the clocks changed this morning but it has meant a very tired me today!

I decided to give myself the day off yesterday as sitting in front of this PC is doing nothing for my eyes or my brain. At the moment Daughter 2 is playing with her Winne the Pooh Duplo blocks whilst I type this and I am trying to digest a very large Sunday lunch!

I did achieve quite something (or so I thought) on Friday, I managed to apply to HMRC for an EORI number. You need one of these to be able to import goods into the UK. I currently have some clothing samples stuck at Heathrow as Customs won't release them without my EORI number. That puzzles me a little as all other samples have been sent straight through to me - perhaps I was just lucky those times. In any event, I need an EORI number so I may as well apply now. I now have to keep everything crossed that the application proceeds smoothly as applying is not the same as receiving. This seems like a big step on my own brand mission. I will keep you posted!

I also did manage to upload almost all remaining photographs onto the website Management System and my resizing worked! I have a few more to upload and that is a task for later this afternoon. I will not go to bed until it is done. I am aiming to be at final form by Friday. 

I thought I'd give you a hint of my stock. This is my first press release about my site and Akua-Ba. It's really important to give a little back. Comic Relief really bought this home to me. I hope to be able to do more as the business grows.

Has anyone ever wanted to through their PC out of the window? I feel like it at this very moment. I have been sitting here for hours trying to load images onto the new website's Content Management System. Some go one fine, others need to be resized and that is a very hit or miss process. Not being the most IT literate being on the planet, this is bamboozling me and driving me towards that glass of wine just a little bit more quickly!

Why can't images resize themselves automatically? I think this one is going to have to wait until the morning.

I did get to see daughter number 2 come off the netball field all victorious and with grazed knees! Missed the match itself due to picking up daughter number two. Does the juggling ever stop?

I have been for a run in the wonderful sunshine! If only every day could be a bright day like today! treated myself to a hot cross bun having given up chocolate and crisps for Lent.

What else? Organised second photoshoot with Louise for next Wednesday and had my press release approved by one of my lovely suppliers, Marre from Aku-Ba. It is so nice to get a positive response to something. Sent deposit money off for Bumpalicious clothes from another supplier and commented on my website product pages. I'm also crossing everything that I can get it up and running before the school Easter holiday.

Does anyone have any tips for being more organised when working from home and how to get the housework done quickly?

What a day! I'm not sure how much I have achieved but here goes:

- labels have arrived in China (only took 2 days - better than first class!). Clothing in production. Really excited about receiving first Bumpalicious branded items

- learnt how to upload different images for website and how to distinguish between colours

- agreed to put an advert into Insight magazine and also hoping they will run my Akua-ba release

- placed orders for AW2011 with Bellybutton, Ripe and Queen Mum. Not even in Summer and already Winter stock to think about!

- hoovered the stairs and did some ironing!

- took daughter two to gym, collected both from school, fed and watered them, etc.

- accepted invite to launch of the Birth Planner (brilliant!)

- sorted out entrance to local NCT sale

I do feel tired so I hope something has been achieved!

Taylor (as I may call her as she regards ALL of us who went as family) told us that she writes a great deal (well mainly) about love and breakups and that her touring has made her realise that we all feel the same about these things wherever we live and whatever age we are. That made me think, do we all have the same highs and lows about starting a business? Perhaps I could find out by sharing my experiences with others (perhaps I will get some reassurances along the way!).

Anyway, this is a blog inspired by Taylor!

Where am I on my business journey? Well, Bumpalicious Maternity is still at the setting up our fantastic new website stage. Yesterday and today will involve uploading further images of all the great clothes we will have to sell. Yesterday I learned that I didn't need to have some groovy resizing software to reduce all my image sizes but that my Apple had a shortcut to do it for me. That call to the Apple Help Desk was the best one I have made in a long time. In my feedback I said that I would have kissed the lovely man who helped me if I could and I really meant it! I was beginning to lose the will to live with images.

I thought I would help you if you knew what Bumpalicious was all about. My Philosophy is set out below. Do let me know if you like it.

What do you think? A good starting pint?