Hello and welcome to Word of the Week. Thanks to those of you that linked up last week, I look forward to reading all about your weeks this week. It was lovely to have quite a few new faces last week, too, mixing it up with the fabulous regular #WotWers – welcome and thanks to all of you.
If you’re new here, Word of the Week is a nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. You reflect back on the past week and sum it up in one word. Then share your word with us in a blog post, with as little or as much explanation as you like. It’s a fun and friendly linky, so please do be lovely and visit as many of the other blogs as you can and share with them your thoughts on their words and weeks. I do comment on every entry to the linky, and if you add the Word of the Week badge to your post to help spread the ‘word’, I also tweet them out.
My word of the week this week is:
It just had to be.
Most weeks ‘blog’ is a huge part of my days and week, of course it is, it’s what I do. But this week, it feels all the more prominent.
At the weekend I fancied a change, so I decided to give my blog a bit of a makeover. I love my header and graphics, so that’s all still here, I just wanted a new theme and layout. It would be fair to say that this absorbed me for quite a few hours! I can’t tell you the number of themes that I tried out for size before settling on this one, and then even within this one there are so many choices it took me an age to settle on this look. But I’m there now and I like it. There are still a couple of little tweaks that I’d like to make to it, but I have very little technical know-how, so the fabulous Sian over at Potty Mouthed Mummy is going to help me sort them out next week, thanks, Sian! What do you think of it?
I’ve announced two new blog ambassadorships this week, one with Reading Eggs and the other with HUGGIES Pull-Ups.  I’m really pleased and proud to be working with both brands, both very relevant to our lives and hopefully my readers, too. So amongst other things, I’ll be talking literacy and reading, and potty training and wee, soon!
I also shared a post entitled What Pro-Blogging Means to Me and I was a little overwhelmed by the response, to be honest. It resonated with some, inspired some and with those who didn’t fall into either category, they were simply lovely with their comments and support. Thank you, fabulous blogging community. I do love what I do here, so it’s nice to think and believe that some people enjoy reading it, too.
And then the most astonishing thing happened. The icing on an already good bloggy week, a bolt out of the blue and a shock that I’m still grappling with. Tots100 updated their rankings and I did a little better than I’d expected. In fact, it was the lovely Beth at Twinderelmo who tweeted me saying  ‘well done on your ranking’ that prompted me to go check it as I was unaware that they’d updated that day. So off I popped for a little look. My, oh my, what a surprise! I made it into the top 100 after 6 months of blogging, and so I have now been in there for about 15 months. For the past 6-7 months I’ve hovered around the 20-30 mark, which I was very pleased with, as you’d imagine. But somehow, in some way, this month has been a good one. I doubt I’ll stay there, and I’m really not sure that I should do (I did immediately tweet Tots100 to check that they’d got the scoring right, as really, it’s a bit odd!), but I’ll enjoy this moment while it lasts, and I’ll always know that once upon a time, I reached the heady heights of the top 5. It’s better than I even imagined, and with my 2 year blog birthday coming up in a few weeks time, it’s time to take stock and just enjoy the moment.
So it’s a thank you from me. Thanks for reading, thanks for supporting, thanks for talking to me on social media, thanks for being nice to me at blogger meet-ups, thanks for sharing what I write, commenting and of course, for linking up here. Where would I be without you guys? Thank you.
What about you? What one word sums up your week best? Please grab the badge, link up and share.

Linky opens at 6.30am Friday, to midnight on Sunday.
i think I was as excited as you when I saw your tots score! It really is so well deserved. Loved your pro blogging post and I’m so glad you’re getting so many lovely blogging opps as you’ll struggle to find such a lovely honest and true to themselves blogger xx
Ah, that’s is lovely! You’re too kind, thank you, so glad you enjoy my blog xx
I was so happy for you when I saw you were #5! This is no coincidence. Your hard work and organisation are obvious, and you deserve your place up there 😉 well done for being an ambassador for pull ups. We’re also about to start potty training Jumpy. I can’t see the new layout because I’m on my phone. Will have a look on the laptop after the School run. My Word of the week is resignation. X
Thanks, Mel. I’m actually quite looking forward to the potty training now, feels better with back up! Oh, OK, hope you like it 🙂 x
Hi Jocelyn, what a lovely and positive post! Congratulations on reaching number five in the rankings and stop doubting yourself, you obviously work hard on your blog and now you are reaping the rewards! It’s nice to see.
I also like the new look of your blog. The staggered effect and circular, expanding images make it interesting, so you get a thumbs up from me.
And of course, as always, thank you for hosting!
xx
Thanks, Debbie. Glad you like the look of it, too, thanks for the feedback x
Well done on the ranking – hopefully it’ll hang around longer than you expect too. Thanks for hosting, have a fab weekend x
Thank you! Oh, I doubt it, but it’s nice anyway 🙂 Thanks, you, too x
What a great post to end the week.
I am so happy for you hon,
Have a great weekend and half term with the Little Ones 🙂 x
Thanks, Jayne, you, too x
Excited to be helping with your blog lovely. A real privilege xx
I am so happy that you’re helping me, I wouldn’t know where to start! Thanks xx
The perfect word for your week. I love your new blog design – looks fab and a huge well done on your new Tots100 ranking – very well deserved too! Congratulations on your two new ambassadorships and I’ll be especially looking forward to your potty training posts as we’ll be trying again with this in the summer. Thank you for hosting #WotW and hope you have a lovely weekend 🙂
So pleased you like it, I spent quite some time deciding! Thank you, and yes, should be interesting to share the potty training journey and tips along the way, and hear how others are doing, too. Thanks, you, too x
Oh wow that is totally amazing honey and I am so thrilled for you, it’s very much deserved!Xx
Thanks very much! x
You have a mention in my post this week!
I’m so pleased for you, you write an honest and refreshing blog and I always enjoy reading it.
Liking the new layout and enjoy half term x
I do? Thanks! Oh, that’s lovely of you to say, thank you, and glad you like the layout, too. Have a fab break yourselves x
Your blog is looking fab – I like the layout. It’s so hard choosing how to do it, isn’t it? x
Thank you! Oh yes, I messed around for quite some time with it! x
I missed all the ranking stuff, so well done. Totally not a mistake and fully deserved I’d say! As I mentioned, I’m liking the new look too 🙂 x
Thanks, Iona. It was a shock! Thank you, it is nice to have a change x
Congratulations on your score, it’s fantastic and very well deserved! I leapt up the scores this time too, after the metrics session at blog camp, I checked my profile with tots and I hadn’t realised my instagram account wasn’t there, now I’ve added it, it’s made a huge difference…it’s amazing what you learn at blogcamp!
Well done on the ambassadors too. x
Thanks, Karen! Fabulous news, a session very well spent then! Thanks, I’m really pleased to be working with them x
Congratulations! Very much deserved 🙂
Thank you, Karen! x
Congrats. You are having a good week. Exciting times. Hope it keeps on rolling.
Thank you, it has been a good one. Ahead of a lazy one, I think, as I want to enjoy half term with the kids x
Thoroughly well deserved! Love the new design too!! Good week for the blog xxx
Thank you very much! And I’m glad you like it 🙂 x
Congrats again on the Tots score….I am so pleased for you! Sounds an amazing week!
Have a great weekend and a lovely half term x
Thank you, Kim, lovely of you. You, too x
Congratulations Jocelyn – a well deserved bit of recognition for all of your hard work. The blog redesign looks fab too – hope you are doing something to celebrate this weekend 🙂 xx #wotw
Thanks, Katie. I am liking the new look, I do like a change 🙂 x
Congrats on your Tots100 ranking, I am not a parent/mummy blogger so I am not familar with the Tots100 ranking system but from what I gather from other bloggers its fantastic to be ranked anywhere in the top 100. I also love your new makeover on your blog. Makes it very clear and concise.
Rachel xx
Thanks, Rachel. Yes, Tots has a round 8-9000 parent bloggers registered with them, so I’m very happy to be ranked at number 4…for now! Thank you, I’m really enjoying the new look, and yes, I think it’s very easy to read. I appreciate your feedback x
Well done on your Tots100 score! And love the blog look, when I have been to tweek mine I don’t have a clue where to start and when I do I spend hours and get nothing changed, haha xx
Thank you. Ah, I’ve been there before! x
A great big congrats on your tots100 score! And all of the lovely blogging things you have going on at the minute too – very exciting to read about. And I do like the new looks for your blog too!
Sounds like a very great week! Thank you so much for hosting =)
Thanks, Jenni. Glad you like the look of it, too x
Congratulations on your ranking and the opportunities- definitely much deserved. It’s so wonderful when things fall into place and it sounds like they are for you. x
Thanks very much, it’s going well at the moment, so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts! x
Well done on your Tots score. You work so very hard and really deserve it x
Thank you, Louisa, much appreciated x
Wow! Perfect word of the week, I am so happy for your ranking, huney. Well done. Truly well deserved.
Have a lovely weekend. xx
Thanks very much, have a good one, too x
This week is totally dominated by your Blog and you should be so proud of it too! What a great week you’ve had and I’m excited to sort-of know a Top #4 Blogger *swoons at your celebrity status!!* It clearly is very well deserved and your pro-blogger piece was so heartfelt and well written. You deserve your pro-blogger status! Well done & I do like your new look esp the staggered approach!
Thanks for the lovely linky as always
x
Thank you! Ha ha, I’m pretty sure I’m not a celerity!! Thanks, I appreciate the feedback, too x
I’m new to joining in! Absolutely fabulous ranking, in the Tots100, well done you x
Lovely to have you! Thanks x
Congrats! I am so happy to be a regular reader and your blog really do has it =)
Thank you, Merlinda x
Well done what an amazing week and very well deserved. And wow after 2 years thats fantastic , and the blog looks fab x
Thanks very much, Sarah! x
Congratulations on the Tots ranking, Jocelyn. It’s very well-deserved! I did a little whoop for you when I saw. Loved your pro blogging post, too. Love the new theme – clean and I like the way the pics enlarge when you hover over them xx #WotW
Thanks, Leigh, that’s lovely of you. Thanks for the feedback, too, those are the things that I like about it, too xx
What a great blog week for you. My tots score jumped quite a few places too which I wasn’t expecting. You must be so proud of all of your hard work x
It was a good one! Well done to you, too 🙂