I can’t believe we’re in February already! Susie and I are doing our parachute jump on 29th March and is seems to have crept up very quickly. We are trying to raise over £1500 for Great Ormond Street (A very worthy cause!) but considering I’m scared of heights I am getting more and more nervous.  

This week is going to be a very busy week I can tell! As you may know by now we have launched 3 new recipes in our 7 month plus range and it’s been all stations go to make sure that they get to the shops on time! We are extremely proud of these recipes and would like to say a BIG thank you to all the mums that have wrote in telling us how successful they have been with their little ones! Please do keep them coming…..

I would love to hear how many of you young parents, actually just pick up a ruck-sack and your baby and go off to far-flung places around the globe.  Beyond a certain age (ie. school) this is pretty much impossible, so I would love to hear from you adventurous types, who abandon the predictable, embrace the unknown, and just bugger off with baby.  If so, where have you been, what did you learn?  Did you find your babies helped bridge any communication situations etc.  I would love to hear from you.

Susiex

I’m so glad that the festive period is over for another year, we had 16 family members around on Christmas day and I think it took an hour from arrival to wonder when leaving time was! Bless….So what’s the latest a Plum HQ this New Year? Sadly Julia has been off very poorly with this retched flu/cold/cough bug that’s going around and Ali has been off sick with a chest infection. We’re hoping that they are both better by next week, we miss them dearly especially Julia who looks after us in the tea and coffee department – far more than I do anyway! Yesterday I was in Leeds at Asda House, what a place! It has its very own café, restaurant, shop and even cash machines! It just proved to me what scale these supermarkets work on and how many people must get a corporation like that working. It certain put in perspective how small Plum is in this very competitive market and how hard we all work to get us where we are.

This week was decision time on our new Plum babies. We had hundreds and hundreds of entries and each baby was absolutely delicious but sadly we couldn’t use them all. The three winners were Lucy, Jack and Sophie – so watch this space, they are totally gorgeous and we are certain you’ll love them too! Finally, I want to congratulate and wish Karen, my cousin, the very best on her announcement of her impending arrival. Here’s hoping it’ll be weaned on the best, Plum of course! J

Take care until next time.

Rachel x 

Well, I do work pretty hard here at Plum, and I had a tiny break away from the world of baby food.  I visited Marrakech with a girlfriend and boy oh boy were my eyes opened!  It was the most amazing place and I would go back there in a heartbeat.  It made me very conscious of what a ’soft’ and pampered environment our children grow up in, compared to the very real and ‘raw’ existence of familes trying to support themselves.  Seeing small children aged around 5 begging in the streets when they should be in bed, is a part of life out there!  It certainly gave pause for thought for me on two counts.  Firstly, the sense of freedom these children gain from working together and being industrious and secondly, they become more assertive and confident.  We automatically (myself included), jump to assume that this is somehow cruel or indeed, inappropriate.  They still go to school, they are certainly not starving.  They may be grubby and their diet may not be the most nutritious - it is just so very different, not necessarily wrong.   

One lasting memory I have, is how they regard one another within the community, with affection and humour!  Now that is something worth thinking about.

I certainly love this time of year.  Crisp morning skies, amber leaves underfoot and knitting in bed with my 4 year old.  I am teaching Minky to knit, and it is the sweetest pastime.  The kind of thing to do on a Sunday morning when you want to stay in bed, and it is a sure fire way to keep her off Cartoon Network!  I hope you are too enjoying the autumn, and are not s.a.d.  I am just glad to see a season change, as they seem to merge from one into another without any true change these days.  So being cold is a good thing!  I was also delighed that my smallest was not too perplexed by the fireworks, as last year, she became too scared to go to bed, in case of the bangs and whizzes outside.  Fortunately, we embraced them with a grin this year, and went to bed easily. 

 Happy chestnuts!

Susie

This is always the time of year that I dread and embrace at the same time – back to school!. My biggest boy has gone back to school, middle daughter back on Sunday, and the smallest has just started. She was full of excitement at the thought of being quite grown up – new shoes, school bag with Charlie and Lola on it – however, she is now not sleeping, and getting nightmares about creepy crawlies in her room! All a sign of anxiety and nerves. Lots of cuddles, which is lovely! Lots to do to continue on the charge of energy we have with Plum foods, and developing lots more wonderful recipes and ideas.

We do love hearing any ones that you may have, or indeed, any comments I would love for you to join our Plum Mums! Will be in touch – I need some sleep, starting with a glass of red wine I feel!

Laters