Four years! FOUR!
Happy birthday to us! Four years ago this evening 7 quite anxious and excited women were waiting the final launch of Truly Madly Kids. A germ of an idea that had sprung up amongst relative strangers in a photography forum had become, over a year of work, the beginnings of team TMKUK.
Over the years the team has evolved. We’ve said sad goodbyes to Louise, Jordanna and Penny and a great big hello to Megan. Life has changed in ways we hadn’t imagined. Here’s a catch up on the current team:
Rosie
The last four years have been a time of huge change. I went from a 40 something to a 50 something. The children have grown and grown (eldest goes to high school this August) and have grown into their roles as TMK kids. They love taking part in the blog and Kate recently won a voucher in a national competition for our favouite charity World Vision vlogging about pumpkin carving! Three things stand out for me. The amazing team we have formed both at TMK and with a much wider community of bloggers, readers, clients and fellow instagram addicts, the development of my writing and my trip to Jordan to meet Syrian refugees. My photography business on the Isle of Skye has grown like CRAZY (with the attendant amount of crazy work) and I have created my dream of photographing families and elopements in our gorgeous Scottish landscapes while still being able to spend time as a family, run, walk the dogs on the beach, keep the house sparkling clean, do my tax on time…ok maybe not all of that all the time!
VIX
When we started Truly Madly Kids my children, Scarlett & Violet, we’re 3 and 7 totally dependant on me. Now, it seems, the youth of today grow up ever so quickly and I now have two absolutely hilarious girls that keep ME entertained on a regular basis. They are strong, fierce little ones who manage to cope, with grace, with what life throws at them. Unfortunately, their dad has cancer and I’m not sure, at their age, that I would have coped with the news in the manner that they have. They are doing amazingly well at school and both are hell bent on wanting to be in a movie, drama has taken over our lives.
As for me? Well, I am still working hard at all that I do and am enjoying life to the full. We are currently in the midst of packing up our home to move in with my lovely partner, David, and we now have two or three of everything you could possibly imagine. I’m also on day 56 of 100 days of exercise which has been easier than expected. (currently 12 lbs down and counting) Natasha and I are currently in the process of starting up a new business called THE FOODOGRAPHERS and guess what it’s all about? Hah, you guessed it, photographing food and drink for restaurants, bars and numerous other food related businesses, and creating recipes in our test kitchen to share to the world. Many moons ago, whilst living in New York, I trained as a mixologist so I’m hoping to add some amazing cocktail recipes too. (we must remember not to Facebook Live whilst tipsy)
Truly Madly Kids will soon be getting a makeover with a fresher look that kind of signifies how we’ve grown as a blog over four years and that the TMK kids are not as tiny as they once were.
NAT
Wow, four years! I can hardly believe it, so much has changed and we’ve grown our community in so many ways. My children are now 15 and 13 and with looming exams, homework and their incredible social life, which quite frankly I’m super jealous of, we just don’t get time to do as much crafting or cooking as we’d like. It’s been so wonderful to document them growing up, sharing recipes, dressing up costume ideas, meeting some fabulous local suppliers and going to press events. It’s literally been a whirlwind. During the past 4 years I have spent 3 of those living and working in Singapore. Something which I still find incredible and difficult to put into words as it connected me to my Chinese heritage in often quiet moments everyday and enabled me to travel around Asia to places I’d only dreamed of seeing with my own eyes.
So many highlights but for me but as it has been on the bucket list for awhile, getting the opportunity to visit and eat at River Cottage HQ has to be one of my top picks. In terms of travelling, it’s a tough call but I think on balance Vietnam is the winner as I spent my 40th in this beautiful country. And now I’m back living in the UK and on another adventure, training hard to trek to Everest base camp later this year raising funds for The British Red Cross. If you want to follow me my insta handle is @girlvsmountain where I journal my training. I’m also excited to have started using my passion for all things food to work with Vix on setting up a new venture called The Foodographers this year. It’s all go, as ever.
I’m super proud to be part of this collective and love how we’ve grown, support one another and get to write about things we are passionate about. Here’s to much more and our super shiny new site design which will be launched soon. Thank you for reading and sharing our journey, it seemed only right to share a photo from last summer of the North West crew’s munchkins.
MEGAN
I was late to the party, joining in 2013, but I am certainly glad I did! Blogging here at TMK has given me a real opportunity to enjoy writing and also a means of showing my burgeoning photography skills! I have also made 4 fabulous friends in Rosie, Nat, Melissa and Vix here at TMK, but also made plenty more great friendships in the wider world of blogging which has been an unexpected benefit! TMK also gave me the added confidence to set up my small, but blossoming, social media company.
There are so many posts I have written that I am proud of: Finally getting body confident, and realising I am comfortable in my own skin or my post on what I have learnt by the time I was 40. But equally, I love to write about travel, and documenting our journeys to Canada, America, Belgium, Greece and France have been just as satisfying.
I’ve also loved watching my daughter grow to be part of my blogging adventure; you’ve probably seen posts we’ve collaborated on (how she dresses!) but also she loves to help make videos over on our YouTube channel.
I leave you with the kids on I on a fabulous beach in Greece, always happy when we’re travelling!
Linked to The List
