I am a full time working Mummy who likes nothing more than to take a big long sparkly (if possible) bath. I will be sharing thoughts/ideas/tips on anything lifestyle/Mummy/Beauty/Teacher related. You can follow me on Instagram below - I do love a photo!
Remember me? Probably not, it's been a while. Where does they time go, ey? No, seriously, it feels like 5 minutes since I was all like "YEAH! I'm me! I'm gonna do some singing!" Well, I actually did and I've finally got round to recording it. I was very frustrated by technology today as my bloody camera kept stopping in the middle of recording and before this version I did the song perfectly and it decided to stop recording about 4 seconds before the end. GAHHH!!! So, this isn't the most perfect version but it will do!
I've also joined a band. We're called WASABIP (long story) and we're writing some awesome music! If you're local, we're doing a gig at the Basement in Chelmsford on 30th August where we will not only be performing in public for the first time but also headlining! Be there or be square is all I can say. We're finding it hard to choose a genre of music we belong to. We play a bit of jazz, blues, ska, rock etc. Basically we love mixing it up!
I hope you enjoy the video, I will be sharing more music, hopefully not in 6 months time but much sooner!
So, this week I've been having a really big think about myself. I'm a mummy and I love my boys so freaking much! However, the mummy role aside, I'm still me, Alice, a 29 year old with life aspirations, talents and things I enjoy. I feel I have lost this side of me a bit over the last few years as I have been so involved in family life, I haven't taken much time to pursue the things I love. I guess this happens during life at times, but I'd like to take it back a bit. For a start, I'm writing more, something I have a great passion for. I'm also a singer and I am determined to get at it again!
So, I thought I'd give you a bit of a back story today, to get to know me a bit better.
singing <3
Not much changes!
I've been singing since I can remember. I have memories of sitting on my swing in the garden singing Whitney Houston's version of I will always love you. She might not know it but my mum was a great inspiration for my singing as she always used to have the radio on and sing around the house; she's got a pretty good voice herself! My passion for singing increased throughout the years; I still remember mum and dad telling me to shut up when I got a bit carried away on our many long drives to holidays in France. Me and my family and friends used to put on shows for the grownups where we would piece together costumes and have a great time!
I don't know what to say, we thought this was epic at the time!
I loved singing so much, I knew I wanted to take it further, so once my GCSEs were done, against the wishes of some, I signed up to study a BTEC in Performing Arts. This meant leaving the comfort of my secondary school and all my friends, but I was a determined young lady! My BTEC gained me so much more confidence in performing and made me a better all-round performer.
I then decided to take my singing career further and complete a music degree. Writing was also a passion of mine and I like to mix things up, so I chose a popular music and creative write course at Manchester Met; a course I still believe I would have loved! However, I'm a home bird and had fallen in love by this point in my life, so after a couple of weeks I returned home and transferred to a Music and English degree at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge. I commuted every day to Cambridge from Chelmsford for this course and by the end of my second year at uni, me and Pete had bought a flat together. Although my original course would have perhaps been more enjoyable, especially with the creative writing, I believe I got a better degree from Anglia and I got into jazz singing which I now absolutely love!
Now, one thing I don't think college or university prepares you for is how to actually get a job in the industry once you're done with your course. I had absolutely no idea what to do when I finished my degree and I had a mortgage to pay. I ended up teaching music in pre-schools for a bit before settling working full time in a Montessori pre-school. (horrible place!) After a while, I wanted to earn more money and started working for a financial services company, which was a great place to work and I made some wonderful friends. Eventually, I started to think about what I was doing with my work life. I had never wanted to be stuck in a 'boring' office job. I wanted to be hands on, in a job that constantly changed. I loved working with kids in the pre-school and decided teaching was for me. During my maternity leave when I had Harrison I completed some work experience which further confirmed my decision to go into teaching. I applied and somehow got onto the best course in England - the Billericay SCITT. My year long training was the hardest year of my life; with a small child, very long working days and essays to write into the early hours, it was tough, but I did it and I'm still so proud of myself for completing the course with an outstanding. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love teaching. I'm one of those people who gets really attached (I'm pretty sure I fell in love with Pete the day I met him!) so I end up treating the kids like they're my own and care a lot about them. Teaching the children and seeing them grow is so unbelievably rewarding - it's just the politics and expectations set on teachers that sometimes gets to me - we are human after all, as are children, but that's a topic for another day.
with the band
During all of this, I kept up singing. I was part of a mucical theatre group for a while, then a band and I also went round solo performing. My passion never strayed from singing. I guess life just got in the way a bit. However, I have some time now that I'm off to get back on it and make a go of my singing. I'm currently learning a ballad from a musical and will upload a video once I'm happy with it, so watch this space.
Performing Day by Day in Godspell. I loved this show!
I hope you have enjoyed learning a little more about me and I just want to say to all parents out there, don't forget you are still you. You still have passions and I believe in order to be happy in life we need to pursue them if possible. After all, one day our beautiful children will fly the nest and what will we have if we haven't given ourselves time to shine?
Check out my website www.aliceloates.co.uk for more of my performances. You can find one my favourite performances: 'When You're Good to Mama.' - pretty relevant I feel!
I'd love to hear about your journey so far, please comment below!
Well it has certainly been a busy few months! We have had some amazing times! Let me give you the low down... We visited Venice, just the three of us. Venice is absolutely beautiful and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves a view and picture perfect moments. However, I wouldn't recommend visiting the area to anyone who has a three year old toddler. Probably should have thought this one through... there is a lot of water...and no barriers... and lots of steps which are not ideal for buggies...we spent the majority of the time chasing Harrison and having him ask 'Is there a park?' By the end of the trip we were exhausted so we managed to locate a park, a boat trip away and stayed there! It's also very easy to get lost there so I would recommend a Venice site seeing app that has GPS!
Picture perfect
Said grumpy toddler
Had an amazing bubble bath whilst watching Bridemaids. As you do when in Venice...
St. Mark's Square
As this was during the Easter holidays I have another week off so I decided to go to Spain with my parents and Harrison (Pete was back at work) in their motorhome with their yappy dog, Phoebe. Spain was amazing and I would definitely love to return (much more child friendly) but I don't think I thought through (there's a pattern here) all of us sharing a small enclosed space for a long period of time including a two day journey through France to get home. Harrison was actually very well behaved. I, however, was climbing the walls! I like to stop and see the sights so next time we go we will be flying! We saw some absolutely beautiful sights in Spain...
Said yappy dog
Guadalest - a beautiful town in the mountains of Spain. Well worth a visit! Heavenly.
The port in Barcelona. Such a beautiful city!
A beautiful sandy beach, somewhere near Benidorm.
We had a reasonably quiet June half term and were off holidaying again in the summer holidays. This time it was to our home away from home in France. We have a house in the Deux Sevres region of France; a tranquil location in the middle of the countryside with the nearest neighbour a mile away. When out in France we visited Terra Botanic. I would say it's well worth a visit there - especially with kids but just as much for adults too.
They had these super dressed up characters. They scare the hell out of me but H loved them.
Lots of beautiful picture opportunities. Here I am in the Japanese hydrangea garden.
Terra Botanic is a great place to go if you love plants and nature.
One of my favourite sites in France is Saumur, a town situated beside the Loire river. We went to a jazz night at the wonderful Gratien et Meyer, a wine celler (if you like wine, Saumur is a good place to go). I think we paid something like 8 euros and got free bubbly and live jazz music as well as a stunning view as it is based on top of a steep hill.
H and Pete having a great time.
The gorgeous views up in Gratien et Meyer.
My favourite town along the coast in France has to be La Rochelle. The old town with its cobble stone roads has such a great atmosphere, particularly in the summer months when the night market is in full swing and street entertainers line the roads; not to mention the food - fresh seafood and ice-cream of all flavours. Yum!
A picture perfect town
You can park and ride a boat into the town centre.
Then in September it was back to reality and back to school! As well as all of the amazing trips, I have been working very hard on my singing and have been picking up more gigs. If you or anyone you know need a singer, check me out at Alice Loates Singer . I will be back soon with an update on work and mum life!
