Meeting Myself Coming Back-Week One

Welcome to Meeting Myself Coming Back, a little Blog Hop Linky created by A Twenty Something Mum and Makeshift Mummy. Every other week we will post a series of questions which you are welcome to join in at your leisure.

First there are a few rules:
1. You MUST copy the rules before you write your answers.
2. You MUST include the introduction and original header saying how these two fabulous yummy mummy's created it.
3. Don't hold back and enjoy ;-)

1. List the names of up to 10 people you wouldn't mind being stuck in a list with and why.
Well for me this is an opportunity to let my pervy mummy fantasies come true! Not that a lift would be ideal because I'm not a big fan of the thought of being stuck in a lift, especially after I actually saw a load of people get stuck in one in our local shopping centre recently! Anyway, The obvious would be Edward Cullen as a first choice, only if he had hunted before getting stuck or else all that vampire/need for blood may cause a problem. And yes I mean Eward Cullen the character, not Robert Pattinson the person! Then I think I would quite like to be stuck with Alan Carr and Lee Evans, both HILARIOUS! They would deffinately help make light of the situation and keep me entertained! I think Jennifer Anniston would be a good one too-just so I could find out what REALLY happened with her and Brad. Then I wouldn't really mind if McDreamy from Greys Anatomy was there, nor Gabriel Macht, Chris Evans (the actor not the british presenter!) and maybe Lucas from One Tree Hill just for good measure. And of course Hilary Burton and Rachel Mcadamas who are my favourite actresses.

 2. Aside from being a parent what's your greatest achievement and why?

My greatest acheivement aside from having Josh would be the success I acheieved in my career before becoming a full time mummy. I was given a chance in a role I hadn't worked before for a huge new company and it paid off, by the time I left at 23 I was one of the youngest, most succesfull Account Managers they had. I was nominated for a national business award for my acheivements too. It's something I'm proud of and worked hard for.

3. Who's your naughtiest crush?

I can't say who my naughtiest crush is because they are all listed above but none of them are naughty-sorry for lack of gossip there!

4. Whats the one thing you want but don't have? And how far would you go to get it?
A daughter. Don't mis read that, I don't wish I had a daughter in stead of my son. He's my world and the love of my life, but I've always known I want, at some point in my life, a daughter of my own. I don't think I would feel fulfilled if I didn't have one. It's because of the close relationship I have with my mum and I want to have that as the daughter in a relationship and a mother in another relationship. I would do anything to have a daughter, even adopt if I couldn't have one naturally myself.

5. Do you remember your dreams and if so whats your most memorable one?
I do remember dreams as mine always are quite vivid and as a light sleeper if they are too emotionally charged I wake up. Not just the bad, scary dreams but the sad ones and the good ones too. I had one recently where my boyfriend died in a car crash and I woke up because I was actually crying. That one still gives me chills.

6. What are your biggest regrets and why?
Regrets are a weird one for me, of course there are things in my life that haven't gone to plan but I made a choice a long time ago to not regret things. I strongly believe that everything makes you who you are, the good the bad and the ugly. So for that I can't allow myself to regret things. I also think there is a lot of truth in the saying about only ever allowing yourself to have regrets for things you have done in your life, not regrets for things you haven't done. I tend to live by that saying. I would rather do something and it go wrong or the results be not so good and of bad consequences than not do something and live a life regretting and wondering 'what if'. For that reason I'm happier living without calling something a 'regret'.

7.Does your imagination get the better of you?

I'm an over thinking so I have a very active imagination, you've read my posts of winning the lottery! I wouldn't say my imagination gets the better of me, as I don't live in a dream world. My life is full of drama and trouble and strife (boo hoo get the violins out, I know!) so really I don't even have the time to allow imagination to take over. Or really the inclination to let it! I think if you live in a dreamworld then reality is only going to be more of a horrible contrast than it already is.

8. What's the one thing you would change about yourself both mentally and physically?
I read a saying once "To wish for the person you want to be, is to waste the person you are" and that is another quote that rings very true to me. I have major issues with my chest, I'm very small chested and it causes a lot of stares etc when in bikini's and for a long time it's made me very insecure. If I won the lottery etc then I would probably pay for that to be changed but to be honest I've kind of accepted it now and I wouldn't save, or get in debt to change something that is me. I was made this way whether I like it or not! Mentally I would probably like to remove the part of my brain that allows me to suffer from depression, it's a battle I wouldn't wish on anyone.

9. What scares you more than anything else?
The thought of loosing my son or something happening to him. I wrote recently how the world isn't a safe place anymore for our children and with all these horrible people out there I often find myself laying awake at night worrying about all the awful things that could happen. If I lost my son, I wouldn't be able to cope with the grief, and the pain I would feel knowing he suffered would cripple me. That scares me more than anything else.

10. How do you hope you are perceived to be by others?
I hope that people see me as kind and compassionate. I always want to help people, to cheer them up when they feel rubbish and be their shoulder to cry on. Likewise I love it when people want to share good news with me too! I also hope people know I'm honest. My honesty can appear blunt sometimes and uncaring but it's quite the opposite. I believe if you love or care about someone you tell them the truth in order to help them grow and learn as a person. I know lots of people, especially British people don't always like this though! And most importantly I hope people perceive me to be a good mum. I blog in order to generate this perception, because when people see me out with my son they assume I'm a lot younger than I am and the assumption that younger mothers are bad mothers follows me around. Therefore being in my mid twenties I hope blogging gives other people a reason to look at me and think I'm a good mum. As much as I fight it, it's always nice to know people think you are good at the things that matter and the most important thing to me is being a mummy.

Those are my answers for the first in ther series of Meeting Myself Coming Back-head over to the linky to add your own and check out others!

Love Chloe xx

Meeting Myself Coming Back

Welcome to Meeting Myself Coming Back, a little Blog Hop Linky created by A Twenty Something Mum and Makeshift Mummy. Every other week we will post a series of questions which you are welcome to join in at your leisure.

First there are a few rules:
1. You MUST copy the rules before you write your answers.
2. You MUST include the introduction and original header saying how these two fabulous yummy mummy's created it.
3.  The post you link in the linky needs to be the post with these questions!

Don't hold back and enjoy ;-)

So without further ado here are this weeks questions...

1. List the names of up to 10 people you wouldn't mind being stuck in a list with and why.
 2. Aside from being a parent what's your greatest achievement and why?
3. Who's your naughtiest crush?
4. Whats the one thing you want but don't have? And how far would you go to get it?
5. Do you remember your dreams and if so whats your most memorable one?
6. What are your biggest regrets and why?
7.Does your imagination get the better of you?
8. What's the one thing you would change about yourself both mentally and physically?
9. What scares you more than anything else?
10. How do you hope you are perceived to be by others?

Look forward to reading your answers so come along and sign up using the linky at the bottom! If you have any questions you think would make a great addition to the next post in the series then leave them in the comment box below!

Lots of Love
Kate and Chloe
xx

Saturday is Caption Day!

I love Saturdays because it's caption day! I provide the picture, you provide the caption below! When you're finished with mine then why not head over to Mamasauras's blog for the linky!

Love Chloe xx

Little Dish Competition!

As you know Joshua is a taste tester for Little Dish, the brilliant and healthy children's food brand. I've teamed up with Little Dish to offer one lucky reader the opportunity to win their entire range of food and a goody bag too!

Little Dish are one of my favourite children's brands. On the days when I don't have time to whip something yummy and healthy up for Joshua to eat then I feel re-assured giving him a meal from the Little Dish range. They are made from 100% natural ingredients and no salt or sugar is ever added to their dishes. This is a big one for me, I never ever cook with salt at home so I won't give Joshua something that's been heaped full of it either. Little Dish give me peace of mind that when I don't have time to rival Nigella in the culinary department, I can still provide him with wholesome, nutrious food!

The meat they use in their dishes is free from antibiotics and comes from farms where the animals are cared for and their vegetables are tested for nasties. This combined with the fact that their food tastes great means I only ever give Josh Little Dish meals when he's not been cooked something from scratch!

You can buy Little Dish in Tesco's Sainsburys and Waitrose and choose from twelve delicious dishes! Our favourites are the Butternut Squash and Chicken Pie and the Two Vegetable Pasta!

So if you want a chance to win the entire range of twelve dishes and the goody bag all you need to do is use the rafflecopter below! There are many ways of gaining entries including:

• Liking Little Dish on Facebook
• Liking A Twenty Something Mum on Facebook
• Following Little Dish on Twitter
• Following A Twenty something Mum on Twitter
• Tweeting about the competition (can be done daily)
• Follow this Blog
• Plus 1 this post on Google+

My Mummy & Housework by Joshua

I must write this quickly, before mummy comes back! She's always going on about her 'blog' and I must say at first the word 'blog' was a new one to me and I thought maybe her special drink hour had come early the first day she mentioned it. But no, she keeps going on about it and all her lovely new bloggy friends. At the moment she's currently roaming around the joint mumbling something to herself about a 'Making Family Chores Fun' post but I'm not really sure what she means because the postman's already delivered our post this morning. I know this because he always looks a bit scared and jittery when mummy answers the door in the morning. I think shes beautiful no matter what but the postman seems to find her sticky up hair, panda eyes and something called 'morning breath' quite frightening.

My mummy says that her house was always perfectly in order before I came along. Although I don't know why she would want all those fun things like the remote control, the hoover and the dvd case all neatly put away! Why waste such great toys, they were made to be played with and scattered everywhere after all! I keep trying to tell her that us toddlers have a magpie like attraction to...well anything we shouldn't really. She doesn't seem to understand the more she tries to keep me away from something, the more I'm going to try and get it. I've even heard her mutter some naughty words under her breath sometimes when she's found me doing something I shouldn't-like emptying the shoe cupboard. I was only trying to make sure she had enough shoes!

So while she's tidying and trying to figure out ways to keep me away from things I shouldn't play with (good luck with that one mummy) I try and get involved too, you know, just to help her. Mummy says that she hates our kitchen floor. I think it's great for sliding around on and spinning around on while I watch my reflection in the oven but she seems to think it's the "bain of her life" whatever that means. She does spend so much time looking at it and rubbing it though so maybe thats got something to do with it. So I've recently decided to try and help her make friends with it. She seems to like it when I use the dustpan and brush to show her how fun the kitchen floor is. Although when I start doing this I always notice she puts her feet up with a cup of tea. I've not sussed this one out yet.

Mummy is always moaning about the mess after tea time too. But I don't know what she's talking about, when I have the boys over for tea I'm happy to feed them myself. I don't expect her to provide a brilliant three course meal for me and my buddies, so recently I've taken to preparing my own meals when the boys come round. Just to make life a little easier for her, you know.

Then there is the dishwasher. This is supposed to be Daddies job but for some reason he seems allergic to it as I never actually see him near it. When Mummy asks him to 'do' the dishwasher he always remembers something else he should be doing. Mummies face goes a funny red colour when he says this but I know how many important jobs my Daddy has. Watching football is a very important job but I don't think Mummy has learnt this yet. So I don't mind helping my Daddy out from time to time, in fact I quite like 'doing' the dishwasher although Mummy didn't find it funny when I emptied the whole box of tablets in there, that did make quite a mess but I think she's forgiven me now. Those little wrapped tablets are the best thing ever, they make a great crunchy noise and they fit in all my hiding places, Mummy says more naughty words when she find where I  leave them for her. I'm just trying to make sure we always have some spare you see.

I also try and help Mummy with the washing up. She told Daddy that she 'bribes'  me while she does the cleaning with a few pots and pans. I don't know what 'bribes' means but I am only too happy to help wash up a few left over pans etc in my kitchen. We all have to pull our weight around this joint, and I'm not scared of a bit of elbow grease. Unlike Daddy.

Mummy seems to think that the best way for making chores fun is to get me involved. But quite honestly she's got it all wrong. Getting me involved with the chores?! Don't make me laugh! (Seriously, don't make me laugh, somethings brewing) I DO the chores in the house. Without me I think this house would fall apart, I do most of the cleaning for Mummy. I just don't think she's up to it without me.

But don't tell her I said that.

Love Joshua (aged 18 months) xx

**This post was written for the Morphy Richards Innovators Post Challenge**

Ten Things I Tell Myself Everyday

I love this meme and have been tagged by countless lovely bloggers including Karis at Those 24 Little Hours and Alice at AKA MUMA including others so thanks for all the tags people!

At first I thought it would be quite difficult to think of ten things I tell myself every day seeing as I don't have much time for talking to anyone other than my son, let alone myself but it actually was suprisingly easy to figure out! I must say I agree with Alice, talking to yourself is so the first sign of madness. Oh dear!

So mine are these, make of them what you will:

1. I can't remember a time my day didn't start with the Disney chanel

2. Must drink something other than six cans of diet coke today or at least plan for replacement teeth

3. Today I really must figure out why my bin ALWAYS smells like pooey nappies

4. I was born to be a mummy so why do I feel like banging my head against a brick wall and never having any more children?

5. I want more children.

6. It's lunchtime so I can start the wine o'clock countdown now

7. I will figure out what I am supposed to be doing to earn some money from home

8. If I pretend to fall asleep while Joshua has a nap then maybe baby daddy will take pity on me and take Josh out when he wakes up, quietly leaving the house so not to 'wake me' and then I can run upstairs, put my feet up and watch telly for an hour

9. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Ben & Holly is actually a very educational way to spend an hour

10. I'm going to be a better mummy tomorrow.

For this meme I tag:

Kate at Makeshiftmummy
Lucy at Leopard Print Mummy
Emma Louise at Fallen Angel to Yummy Mummy
Sara at Words With Wine
Karen at Bizzy Mum

Extreme Safety Measures

 The world we live in is not one I would call 'safe' for children anymore. When I speak to my Grandparents they tell me in their day things were much safer, but then again I can't help but think this may not have been true. I think in my Grandparents age things still went on but just weren't talked about, far less published in the media. So I guess you could say with the adaptation of what the media will now print, which is usually more of the bad, awful stuff than the positives of life, I do now feel that this world isn't what I consider a 'safe' place for my child.

Since becoming a mummy I've found myself lying awake staring in to the pitch black as my other half snores away and my son rummages around in his cot in the next room. Listening to him innocently chase his dreams and occassionally crying out for me if he has a night terror makes me all the more aware of how innocent he is in this big bad world. The conotation of the big bad wolf and red riding hood springs to mind often. My son is so small, so new and fresh to this world and his beautiful and pure innocence is something I spend hours worrying the world could steal from him in one cruel swoop. I know it's normal to worry but it terrifies me.

I do everything I can to protect him of course. Like we all do as parents. Despite my fear of everything that could hurt him I have still been suprised lately about some of the procedures in places (which when your honest about it) which are to prevent the unthinkable things from happening to our children. For example the first time we took my son swimming, we left it late as I am not an avid swimming pool fan. My son was about 8 months old and he loves water and was splashing around with Daddy. There were only a handful of people in the large, exclusively accessed swimming pool including one older child whom I assumed was about age 7/8 or so. I got my camera out to capture the whole 'first swimming' experience, snapping away pictures of my son and partner. May I add at this point the pool was so empty no-one else was even half snapped in any of the pictures. Within no time at all the lifeguard had practically fallen over himself to get to me to tell me to put my camera away as you can't take pictures at a swimming pool. Now this might sound like an idiot thing to do but I genuinely had never heard this before so was quite suprised. When I thought about it though it made a lot of sense. Swimming pools mean people with lots of flesh on show etc so I can see the logic of not allowing photo's but I did draw the line when he asked me to delete the photo's I had taken. I refused because after showing him no-one else was in them, I wasn't about to delete them, there was to me no point. He let me keep them but advised (ok told) me to not do it again. Happily I agreed I wouldn't.

Then there was the time not long ago we took my son to a soft play centre. He was in his absolute element! Happily running around like a mad child burning off some steam, snapping away (yes I'm one of those mummies who likes to take photos, so what!) I was proudly pointing my camera at him when I was told I wasn't allowed to take pictures in there. Now this one did shock me. Children are fully clothed at soft play centres and I couldn't see the harm in taking a few snaps there when for the most part they were of him only with the occassional half limb of another child. It's not like I was snapping away at every child possible, because then I could have understood it. I was only interested in photographing my own child.

To me this is a step too far. I know the world isn't a safe environment for our children but not allowing photographs to be taken in an area where so many happy childhood memories can be made seems extreme. And this is coming from a parent who worries about the potential nasties of the 21st century. I know fully about the dangers and exact workings of certain types of people who could cause harm to children but this doesn't mean I think rules like these are a good idea. I don't see what they are protecting to be honest? There are other ways of policing photographs like this, the staff should be trained to look out for the difference between a happy parent making photographic memories of their child and a person not doing this. Don't remove the right to photograph our own children from us just because some people will abuse this.

Of course now that I have made the mistake of using my camera in these places, and now I have been informed this isn't acceptable I of course will abide by the rules not to do it again. Abiding by the rules doesn't mean I agree with them. The swimming pool one I can understand, nudity etc and it seems safer but a childs play centre that is alien to me.

I do indeed look at the flip side and look from that point of view but I DO have experiences that I wish I didn't and yet my opinion still remains the same about these rules being extreme with regards to soft play areas. What do you think? Should soft play areas allow photographs to be taken or do you think it's safer that they aren't allowed, bearing in mind your hardly likely to even be allowed within ten foot of one of these places without a child of your own in tow. Which I know doesn't rule out the risk altogether but does narrow it down. I would be interested to know what your thoughts are on this so please comment below. But as for me, I still think this is extreme even though I spent an hour laying awake worrying about the awfullness of this big bad wolf world that we live in.
Love Chloe xx

So Rock & Roll (Yawn)

Being a Mummy is the most hardcore job isn't it? Yet despite how hard, impossible and bang-head-against-wall-frequently, it is I seem to find my life lacks that rock and roll edge. I used to get excited about nights out and remember one such occassion inviting our group of friends back to ours to continue the drinking...come 7am we were all still drinking champagne in the living room and going strong. Now days my idea of hardcore is doing the ironing and the cleaning in one day in and amoungst all the other usual mummy orientated jobs. Or even doing the ironing on a Friday night. Yup, I'm so rock and roll!

I don't actually mind this though because quite frankly come seven o'clock when Joshua goes to bed my brain shuts down for the day. It's like a permanent brain fart until the next day. I think because my brain is so over run during the day with the numerous thoughts of nappies, feeding times, and rubbing crayon off the walls that by my sons bedtime my brain lets all the air out-a la' brain fart. So like I said I don't actually mind because even if I did want a good old boogie night, girlie style, it wouldn't happen anyway because I'm usually asleep by 7.02pm. It kind of makes a night out a bit difficult if my friends have to drag my drunken, half asleep self back home half an hour after leaving the house. So really I don't mind that my life lacks it's previous rock and roll theme.

However today as the sun was shining and the boys were out I realised just how extremly housewifey (a.k.a boring!) my life had become. I had my third lot of washing in the machine, I'd gutted the house and filled three bin bags of 'stuff' (don't ask me what, I couldn't even tell you!) and was now on my hands and knees rubbing my kitchen floor clean. The sun was shining, I could be out in it at the park with the boys, sunbathing and enjoying some peace and quiet but no I was CHOOSING to clean my floor in my rare few minutes alone in the house. I can't tell you how quickly I dropped the mop when I realised this huge faux pas! I suddenly felt guilty for coming so far away from my fun loving roots! Choosing to do the housework! Pah! Who is this girl and what has she done with the real Chloe?!

But I like a clean house and now I've got older (alright I'm not that old) I appreciate living in a clean house (albeit momentary as soon as I release my son it's like a bomb site within thirty seconds) far more than I appreciate loud music thumping through my ears while the vibrations make my drink edge closer to the side of the table and the mercy of the dancefloor. It makes me tired just thinking about it quite honestly! I think since having a baby I've also had a personality transplant, is this normal?! Please tell me I'm not the only one?!

I do have moments when I ache for a good old knees up with the girls, a boogie to some of my favourite tunes and a nice opportunity to dress up and remind myself I can at least attempt to feel sexy, even if I look far from it! But for the most part, as in 99% of the time I would rather have a clean house if it was a choice between the two anyway! That's probably because I spend most of my time in my house I suppose so I understand the train of thought behind it, but still I sometimes feel very old before my time! Am I alone in this, please tell me I'm not!

To further reiterate just how far unstuck I've come from my previous self we went to the beach yesterday and I had to drink copious amounts of red bull on the beach to have the energy to walk around and 'explore' (aka shop) and then had to have a nap for an hour when I got home just to recover from the spontanious outing. So Rock and Roll hey?!

What has happened to me! I've turned mid twenties and feel much, much older. Help Me!

Love Chloe xx

'Those' Friends

Bridesmaids the film sums up 'Those' Friends perfectly!

We all have them, we all know them and we all struggle with them at times. Yes folks, I'm talking about 'Those Friends'. You know who I mean when I say that, the capital 'T' will pretty much spell out who I am referring to in your circle of friends! I also think 'friends' is a label loosely applied to these people we know who fall in to this category!

Now let me begin (are you sitting comfortably?) by saying I am not a bitchy person. I don't think there is any room in todays society for bitchyness in my life. I can't speak for the rest of the female population as I think we are all built with a heat seeking bitchiness radar that none of us can ignore 100% of the time! But for the most part I'm not a cow, I don't talk about people behind their backs and I don't like being mean, rude or nasty for the sake of it. So usually the only bitchiness that I expel is at a certain time of the month when I'm on the sofa in joggers, feeling rubbish, stuffing chocolate in my mouth while ranting on to baby daddy about whoever I feel deserves the rant. Other than that, I'm usually not bitchy. Basically I'm a time of the month bitch-sound familiar? I think if we are all truly honest we know we can have our bitchy moments, but most of us try hard not to make them a regular occurance.

So to summarise I am not a cow or anything else for saying this ok? Good. Glad we cleared that up.

But I have been thinking about 'Those Friends' of mine a little recently and feel more than ever pigeon holed as a bad parent compared to them. These friends are the kind who's child is always miles ahead of yours, more intellegant, better behaved and generally miles 'better' than yours. For example your child is screaming their head off as you rush round tesco's trying to stop them having a full on tantrum while you finish your shopping and your friends child sits there perfectly, smiling angelicly and you can practically see his halo, because of course their child never behaves this badly. And they make sure you know/feel this at every opportunity. We have a particular couple friend whom we have known for about five years, they met just after us and are now married with a child and another on the way. All good on that front, nothing unusual. We used to get on really well with said couple especially as our pregnancies slightly overlapped, it was a lovely time in our friendship. It all went south when the babies were born though.

Their child is about six months or so older than Josh but their child may as well be 20 going on 2. Their child is the perfect sleeper, the perfect eater, he's clever in ways a 2 year old isn't normally and I swear his poop must be gold. In fact his mental abilities apparantly match that of a 18 year old Maths A-Level student. You get the picture!

For some reason (for the life of me, I can't figure out why?!) we don't really socialise together anymore, the men keep in touch occassionally and I see both his and her facebook updates (you all know I'm not a huge facebook fan) but that's about it and I prefer it like that. Does that sound bad? Anyway, facebook it seems can still deliver those blows of feeling parentally inadequate even though direct speaking has gone out of the window. There is no escape!

This week their child (curtosey of facebook) has begun to do something most children don't even do for another year or so and it's all I see when I log on, which trust me is rare. It reminded me of the many times when I was totally frazzled as a new mum with a baby who (like most and is totally normal) wouldn't sleep at night for much of the first few weeks. Said friend would tell me exactly what her child was like at this stage and by the sounds of it he slept through the night from the day he was born. It was like this with everything, any problem/challenge I faced as a new mum when I went to her for advice it often came out patronising and made me feel inadequate as a parent because me and my son were so far away from her and her perfect child's example.

There was never an occassion where the opportunity wasn't taken to rub our noses in it that our son wasn't doing what their child did at that age. But as it's gone on I realise we are not the only ones with this feeling towards said set of friends. Everyone we know jokes about it using metaphors like their child is going to be a rocket scientist by next year and a nobel prize winner the year after. It's unkind to do it behind their backs but you know what, it's true and thats how they choose to live their lives-always making their parenting choices far superior to everyone else's meaning their child is 20 going on 2. Well good luck to them, they seem to have forgotten every child is different. Perhaps they will remember this when their next is born.

While their son has been allowed only a small number of educational toys, mine relishes in being treated to weird, wacky and wonderful toys by everyone who loves him. He loves nothing more than to dance around to their music and squeel with delight when we join in. My son may not have the vocabulary of a dictionary but hey he's 18 months and I get far more joy at listening to him chat to me in his toddler gobbldegook than if he were to be reading the financial times to me. And you know what? My 18 month old son might not currently have the intellect of scientist, he even ate sand yesterday at the park to further prove this point, but he's my child and I love him regardless!

I know they love their child just as much but my son is mine, he's perfect to me as he is. There is nothing I would change about him, not a single thing (except maybe the scent of his filled nappies, but who wouldn't?!) and I would rather my son eat sand, watch mickey mouse and play with noisy toys because in what will seem like no time at all he will be old enough to read the financial times (although with a daddy like his, Joshua is more likely to read the Sun, lets face it!) and read about nobel prize winners (it will probably be my friend's child) so I want him and me to enjoy this short time when he is a toddler and everything that goes with it. So in reference to my 'friend' I say this, up yours *gives birdie*. Hell hath no fury like a mummy scorned and no-one makes me feel like my perfect child is inadequate. You are officially un-friended on facebook!

Ahhh I suddenly feel much better now. Whats that I hear you ask?...Yes, I am on my period.

Love Chloe xx

Saturday Is Caption Day!

Saturday is Caption day and you know what that means! I provde the picture you provide the caption, have fun with this one!!

Love Chloe xx

My Dirty Little Secret

I'm trying something new.

It's quite hard.

I'm not used to it.

Get your minds out of the gutters (I know what y'all are like tut tut!) people I'm actually talking about stopping swearing! Not what you thought I was going to say was it?!

 I've been a potty mouth for far too long. I wasn't raised to swear. In fact if I ever swore in front of my Dad then I was in BIG trouble. And I respected my parents too much when I was growing up to ever swear at them. So it wasn't until I left home really that it started. I can't even figure out why to be honest! I think I realised that I could make certain statements, or stories come alive and get more of a reaction if I inserted an expletive in it somewhere. From there it became like a shadow for my mouth! Every time I spoke, a non-essential swear word would filter it's little, dirty way through to my sentence.

Let me just say that swearing does not suit me. I've been told this a LOT. I'm a 'nice' girl, I went to excellent schools and have always spoken clearly and have often been described as 'posh' thanks to my schooling. So you can imagine how foreign swearing sounds with a voice like mine! Very out of place.

I've also noticed how many people I know don't really swear, at all. Most of my close friends never swear and it seems so effortless! I've also noticed that when I swear the affect is less of 'wow' due to impact and more flat. Flat as if I had farted in public and people didn't know where to look. I guess you could say I've been noticing how uncomrotable my swearing makes other people! In turn this made me look at it and realise how much it would make me feel uncomfortable too!

I don't like swearing, never have but mostly I hadn't ever thought too much about it really. It's just something I did, regularly. A bit like an addict, it had wound itself in to my vocabularly so tightly I feel recently like I'm learning a new language, one that doesn't feature expletives if the postman is late or if I've got pins and needles. I guess you could say that swearing was like a vocabulary drug and it had some pretty nasty effects!

So I recently decided it was time to stop. I think it was when Joshua started talking and the realisation that my sweet, innocent child could at any time announce my bad language as a choice word of his own, that was when I decided to stop. I know it's the right thing to do, I want to do it, I really want to do it! But it's just so darn hard!

I've gone swearing cold turkey and it's not as easy as it sounds. I will be mid sentence and about to throw in a carefree expletive and will literally try to suck my words back in to prevent the eveil swear word from overshadowing what I was going to say. This results is me looking like a crazy lady, spluttering and choking on her own wording when all I was asked is for "£1.49 please" for my bread and milk. Poor checkout boy, he looked like at me like I needed to be commited to some sort of institute, and I could tell he was trying to figure out what sort! I think I even saw him shoot Joshua a glance that said "Poor kid, with a mother like THAT".

So it's not easy but I know it's going to be worthwhile. I feel much better, fresher since I started trying to stop. I feel like I've not got this dirty little secret anymore! I don't agree with swearing around children and I don't want my son to grow up thinking it's acceptable. The only way I could ensure this was to stop myself. After all I can't tell him off for doing something if mummy already does it, poor kid would grow up to be all kinds of confused!

Mostly though, and selfishly I've done it for me. I don't like swearing, it's happened over night but suddenly I find it offensive, a little like a vocabulary knife is stabbing at you when someone swears. Especially if it's needlessly. I literally woke up one day with this new attitude of swearing literally being something dirty, horrible thing that I don't want to do anymore. And that was enough for me! Lets just hope I can crack it because I don't think there is any treatment for compulsive swearers!

My only remaining problem is baby daddy. His potty mouth is on a whole other level. When I say I had a potty mouth and he has a potty mouth, comparing the two - mine would be half full and his would be overflowing! He doesn't even know he's doing it! I think I may need to remove his tongue or sew his lips together for him to stop! ...Which actually wouldn't be a bad thing!

Love Chloe xx

Carry Me Home Competition

 Thanks to the lovely people at Carry Me Home I am able to offer one lucky reader one of their gorgeous eco friendly cardboard toys (which I have reviewed here). The winner can choose from either the smaller Cottage or Fire Station-the choice is yours if you win!

Entering is so easy! You can enter via the Rafflecopter below! The ways you can earn entries are as follows:

• Like Carry Me Home on Facebook
• Follow Carry Me Home on Twitter
• Like A Twenty Something Mum on Facebook
• Follow A Twenty Something Mum on Twitter
• Tweet about the competition (can be done daily)
• Follow this blog
• Leave a blog post comment on the original review post here!

The competition will be running from 21st March until 29th March 2012 and the winner will be drawn at random and notified within 24 hours of the competition ending! If you win you can select your chosen toy but remember you need to reply to my email within 24 hours or I'm afraid I have to draw another winner!

Sorry to my overseas readers but this competition is only open to people in the UK and Ireland.

So with that said, get entering people, it's a lovely competition for a beautiful prize that all children will love and enjoy!

Love Chloe xx

Carry Me Home

I want to share something with all my lovely readers. It's a fabulously well kept secret that I'm about to blow the lid off! Am I ashamed? Nope, I just want to share with you all something that's got me so excited recently, probably more excited than the kids!

Ever heard of Carry Me Home? Well they are a brilliant range of innovative toys that will keep even children with short attention spans kept amused literally for days, weeks even! The range is basically a fold out and pop up building (cottage houses for girls and fire stations for boys) made from cardboard that can be coloured in! It's a really simple concept but provides literally an endless amount of amusement.

When your chosen building arrives it's all flat packed in a thin narrow box. You open this and it folds out to a layout style floor mat for everything to be placed on. Then there is the central building itself and a whole range of other inserts. There are four rooms for each building that you can choose to fit inside yours, each is reverseable too so you can mix and match them depending on what story you little one's imagination is playing out! There are also numerous characters included to help bring the role play aspect to life!

I have been helping a friend look after her 8 year old quite a lot recently and she was adament she was too old for 'dolls houses' but when I got this out for her she couldn't get her hands on it quick enough! We gently pressed all the cardboard pieces out of their slotted places and I did all the folding that was needed. There is no glue or scissors required for these toys, it's all very eco friendly so all you do is just reconfirm where the folds are supposed to go and voila you are done!

We chose to start with the smaller dolls house which we thought would be the best place to start and my friend's daughter Sophia said she wanted to use colouring crayons for it rather than paints-this was fine with me although I am looking forward to cracking on with the fire station for Joshua in paint! I had a nice pack of colouring pencils and we sat down together to get going. I am not even joking when I say we barely moved all afternoon! The deep concentration on our faces literally repelled my other half from the room for fear of intruding! But we were so engrossed in creating our beautiful country cottage that we didn't care. All the time we were chatting away naming our characters, planning a story that we could play out with them and discussing our colour themed ideas for every little detail of the cottage and it's rooms!

 When I say every little detail, it's amazing how much attention to detail has been paid to these toys. The rooms are 'furnished' with decorations and furniture to adorn in any way you choose and the building itself has flowers and details to match up too! So far we have managed to colour four of the rooms, our characters and the house itself but we haven't finished the floor mat just yet! Like I said it's time consuming but in a brilliant way because you aren't bored-just driven to complete it!

 Sophia not only enjoyed the craft element of this, she is also straight to the cottage when she comes over and sets about playing dolls houses with it and the characters etc. So much for her being "too grown up" for dolls houses hey?! So for me I couldn't be more excited about these toys because they offer so much potential on the craft side and also as a toy when finished too! And all for only £10 (for this smaller cottage)-deffinately affordable for everyone!
As we all know as parents it's like World War III when you are trying to occupy your children and these toys are excellent because they offer craft and play in one. The fact they are completely eco-friendly and very well priced makes them my newest favourite toy on the market! Yes I am literally gushing about this product, nothing else has excited me this much since my best friend had her baby!

 I would recommend the Carry Me Home range for children from about age 3 Years upwards. I think any younger and the enjoyment will only be minimal with the craft side of things but the older they are then the more they can get from these products. Like I said, Sophia is 8 and this is her newest favourite toy and I am the greatest honourary auntie "ever" so I'm very pleased! I also think these will make excellent gifts because there isn't anything else like these on the market so you can gurantee you will be giving a present that won't be duplicated and will be eagerly received!

I must confess that the day after we started operation 'colour cottage' Sophia arrived and suspictiously eyed the cottage while I averted my eyes with guilt. She quickly asked me if I had coloured some more in after she went home the day before to which I couldn't lie and admitted I had. She honestly shot me the dirtiest look like I'd eaten the last cookie or something! Good job I didn't tell her how long I spent doing it without her?! After all I am far too grown up for colouring!

Tykee Toys are the manufacturer and you can buy their products from their website here or you can see them every weekend at Covent Gardens Jubilee Market Halls and look out for them at Bovingdon and Wembley in the coming weeks too!

If you fancy grabbing a piece of the action for your little man or little lady then look no further because I have one to give away to one lucky reader! Click here for my competition courtesy of Carry Me Home to win a choice of either their Fire Station or Cottage for your little one!

The Person Behind The Parent Label

 I've been struck down by something recently. It's had a really powerful affect on me, it's pulled the rug from underneath my feet and made me feel, well a bit like I'm on some sort of drugs (well what I imagine drugs to feel like as the only drugs I've ever had have been administered in a hospital!). And yet the feeling makes me want to dance in the street, stop strangers and share this profound feeling with them and sing from the rooftops. Yes, I've fallen in love.

Now you may be a bit confused. I have been with my partner for five years and I love him dearly, although his empty sweet packets on the floor, stupid adult onesie 'bed outfit' and weird television choices do tend to, frankly, drive me nuts. I do love him, deeply. However he is not the recipient of my gooey-eyed adoration. My son is.

I'm not saying I've only just started to love him obviously! He's 18 months old and if I'd taken this long to love him then I would have hoped I'd have had a knock on the door from social services and the men in white coats! Of course I've loved him, protected him etc as we all do. But it's really feeling like now he's got this amazing personality I'm just falling more and more in love with him. He's the true love of my life.

Oddly though, I'm not writing this post out of dedication to my love for him (otherwise I would have advised you to reach for the sick buckets already!) it's actually sort of the opposite. After all, we all love our children like this don't we. That's what being a mummy is all about. That and the joyous sleepless nights which tend to be the trademark.

What I am talking about though is not letting being a mummy define us. I have found this harder than ever before since my love and adoration for Joshua is multiplying on an hourly basis. I feel like I want to dedicate every element of my life, soul and being to Joshua. He deserves every single part of me. He's my child and I would give him my life if he needed it. But, this has likewise had me thinking recently, what about me, Chloe? There are days when not a single non-mummy thought enters my brain. At all. Those days are consumed with toddler meal times, nappy changes, playing games, occupying said toddler, banging head against brick wall over unconsolable toddler in full tantrum mode etc. In fact I would say most days tend to go like this. But I've realised how important it is to keep a very tiny bit of myself back. Just for me. Up until this point I've felt a teensie bit guilty over it. But now I realise this is actually the key to being the most succesful parent that I can be. Rather than it being a sign or failure that I don't let my son have every single element of me and my life.

I'm happy to let being a parent be my top priority, let it consume me, drive me, motivate me and make me question everything, including myself. But what I can't allow being a parent to do is to control everything. I liken it to this simple equation: Chloe= 99% parent and 1% person. That ratio is fine, because I'm giving a much higher portion of myself to Joshua but also retaining something, however small just for me. We all need to do this because if we wrap ourselves up in our children too much then we are effectively loosing touch with ourselves and the world too.

I have several friends who are excellent parents. But, I see they are only parents now. They don't really have a relationship with their partners, they don't have interests or hobbies, they don't seem to do anything that isn't for their childs benefit. And deep down I feel sad for them. As great as they are at parenting, there is still a person behind the parent label that they have forgotten or even worse chosen to cast aside. I want to shake them and tell them to go out for dinner with a friend, go to the cinema and watch a rubbish film just for the sake of it or even just go for a walk around town and a mooch around the shops on their own. Anything that gives them something for them. But I don't because it's not my place. But what I do take from them is seeing this and not wanting to be perceived like this. Not only do I not want people to think I am like this, but I also myself, don't want to be like this.

Being defined by labels is easy to be done. But it doesn't make it right. Most of the time I am happy to be defined as Chloe the Mummy but it's important that occassionally I remind myself that I'm Chloe the writer, the scrapbooker, the film watcher. Chloe who picks rubbish films and pretends they were great, Chloe who cries at songs that touch her and Chloe who would love nothing more than a shopping spree on her own and some major pampering time! I feel that by reminding myself I have a personality outside of the parent label I'm also able to offer something to my partner, my friends, myself and most importantly my son.

For me it doesn't take much, the odd hour when my son and partner go for a walk and I can laze on the sofa and watch something rubbish on tv during the day and know that I should be doing the ironing/cleaning/washing etc but to hell with it! I take those moments and watch tv, do some scrapbooking, do some writing etc. I do these things to remind myself of who I am. And you know what? It's those times when I really, really like me. I like who I am. And it's also those times when I really, really love being a mummy. I guess it's nice to be able to reflect on being a mummy sometimes, rather than spending every second being consumed by it.

So what is it that you do to 'switch off' from time to time? Do you agree that it's important to hold something back for yourself and to have some snippet of a life, of an interest away from your child? Or do you think that you have to cast aside yourself to be a parent? I would genuinely like to know what you think.

Love Chloe xx

There's A New Kid On The Block-Giving 25% Off Too!

I am a bit of a snob when it comes to Josh's clothes. Ok, not a bit of a snob. A proper snob! All my friends and family know this about me and most (I say most, as not all, annoyingly) of them refrain from buying him clothes on birthdays etc as they know I'm very...selective about his clothes. Ok, selective/picky what ever you want to call it! I don't care if other people in our family get funny about this, to me I take pride in my sons clothing and I go without things so he can have the best. It's what mums do after all isn't it!

So that said I'm always on the look out for new and exciting brands that can give that special edge to Josh's wardrobe. I tend to be very loyal to a select few brands but am now getting more experimental as I find some amazing new and innovative brands online. One of my newest favourites and quite frankly, my best kept secret is Boys&Girls. If you've never heard of them before, then head over to their website to check it out. They do funky clothes with a quirky, bright and funky edge. Nice, good looking clothes. Think Boden style without the price tag!

I must say that having a son, it's quite hard to find somehting a 'little different' for him. The clothes shops dedicate 80% of their floorspace to girls clothing. I find this unfair and restricting so am now shopping more online. Boys&Girls recently launched their new range so I picked out a few key items for Josh's Summer Wardrobe there and when they arrived I was so happy with them I've now started browsing for a few more
 bits!

I got a lovely grey hoodie with a big star on the front, a gorgeous sailor style stripey navy and cream top and some lovely and comfy looking green shorts.These key pieces for me can  be worn together or also all seperately with other items but they are deffinately staples for his summer wardrobe.

The quality is excellent, you can feel that it will last and wash well which is key with childrens clothing. Because of how much they need washing etc (thanks for that kids!) and how much children grow I do prefer to spend a little more and get good quality clothes that will last longer. Rather than clothes that are cheaper but don't last long. Thats why these pieces are perfect, plus they aren't even that expensive! The prices mean that it's very affordable for everyone. They have a selection for boys and girls and start from age 1-2 years.

I find their bright colours and funky designs mean that Joshua really looks the part and I know that no-one else will be wearing the same as him when we go out! Like I said, I'm a snob and when people compliment Joshua's outfit I do take pride in it! I'm not too proud to admit that I like it!

Also their entire range is made from organic cotton, which means it's got even more going for it as a brand! I usually find with brands where the material is organic, the prices tend to make it out of my reach (so to speak) but that's not the case here! So yet another plus point from me!

The lovely people over at Boys&Girls are offering 25% off for my readers this week only if you use the code TSMUM when you checkout. They also give free shipping when you spend over £30 so between those two little gems you could save a lot and get a lot in return!

I really can't recommend these guys highly enough, Boys&Girls are a lovely, new and innovative brand and I for one am adding them to my list of brands I will remain loyal to from now onwards!

**I was sent some items by Boys&Girls for the purpose of the review but the opinions and views are all honest, true and my own**

Mothers Day MEME

This meme has been created by the lovely Loretta over at More Than A Mum as a way of celebrating motherhood in the run up to Mother’s Day. I was tagged by the lovely Mummy's Cheeky Monkey  So, without further ado here are my questions and answers……

Describe Motherhood in three words.
Beautiful, Worthwhile and hardwork!

Does your experience differ from your Mother’s – how?
My mum had me at the same age that I had Joshua and we were both in similar personal circumstances-relationships, stability etc. However I would say that our early experiences of motherhood were a little different, I suffered from post natal depression which had a little bit of a bad effect but luckily didn't last long. Then I resorted to quite a strict routine with Josh where as my mum always was fond of the baby led approach. But other than those differences, we both raise our children wrapped with love and have the best intentions.

What’s the hardest thing about being a mum?
I find the lack of sleep is the worst thing. I have always needed a lot of sleep and I remember being told when I had Josh to prepare to be tired for the next 18 years. That is the most true statement I've ever heard, and I'm only 18 months in!

What’s the best thing?
Without a doubt is the love. The love I feel for my son is like no other. Every mum says the same but after my post natal depression I felt protective of him, but not in love with him for a little while. When it started to grow I felt that rush of love and haven't been able to see straight since-blindsighted by love for my little man. He's the love of my life, and my love and adoration for him is the purest kind of love there is. Now he's older and can express some of his love for me too, it's the most beautiful thing.

How has it changed you?
Being a mummy is the most worthwhile, best job in the whole world. But it's also the hardest and nothing can prepare you for the difficulties you face as a parent. However it's all worth it and overshadowed by your child but it changed everything about you. You loose your identity as a person when you become a parent, again this is ok it's just an adjustment!

What do you hope for your children?
My ultimate hope for Joshua is that he is happy with his life. Of course I would like to see him successful etc but my only true hope and goal for Joshua is to raise him to be happy and content with his life. I will strive to give him the very best in every way but his happiness is key to everything. I can't afford great things but I have a heart full of so much love for him, I hope that will be enough to raise a happy, content child!

What do you fear for them?
I fear all the normal things-illness, awful accidents etc. In fact I could lie awake at night worrying about the bad things that the world could inflict upon him. I also fear he will feel compelled to do somethings and be a certain way, which is something I never want him to feel. Ever. I want Joshua to be who he is and be happy with that.

What makes it all worthwhile?
The cuddles and kisses I get. What's more is that Joshua doesn't cuddle or kiss anyone else like he cuddles and kisses mummy, it makes my heart literally swell with pride!

For this lovely Mothers Day Post I tag:

Moors Mummy
Kate at Makeshift Mummy
 Zoe at Tricky Customer
Allison at All In One Mummy
Rachel at Mummy Glitzer
Nothing But Words And Wine
Lucy at Leopard Print Mummy

Flexibath Bath Toys

After reading an article yesterday about how often you should bathe your child, I started to think about our own bath time routine. Joshua is 18 months old now and since he was a few weeks old we have given him a bath every night, without fail. In fact the only time he's missed his night time bath is on the odd occassion when we've had no hot water (thanks to a crumby boiler!).

Bath time is important not just for the obvious cleanliness reasons but for Joshua it's a change of scencery and a new, otherwise un-played with set of special toys which he only has for the bath. It's also an important part of his bedtime routine, there is nothing like a nice warm bath to prepare you for sleepies!

With it being quite important for us, I really try hard to keep bath time fun and interesting because I don't want him to get bored of it, and I always want it to be a part of his routine he looks forward to. Although I'm sure when he's older we may experience the odd tantrum over it, just because! So that said I like him to have different toys for the bath, things that he can't play with at any other time. I have found problems with this though. You may be the same as me and notice that the range of bath toys is quite poor. I find the toys are either all the same sort of things, and so the variation is really restricting. When on the odd occassion I do find something that looks innovative and good fun, it's usually accompanied by a hefty price tag so it rules it out on that basis. I've found problems with putting normal toys in the bath too. We tend to leave them in the bath which generally ruins them. If a toy isn't designed to be constantly in water you find it quickly looses colour, shape and whatever toy capability it had to start with. So they are out too! So it's actually harder than you think to find decent bath toys!

Thats why when we saw the Flexibath Bath Toys I knew they would be a perfect addition to our bath time routine. The toy itself comes with a really clever little table style shelf that sticks to the side of the bath with suction cups and gives your child somewhere extra to play with their bath toys. You also get a great assortment of tubs and pots to display on the shelf and these are great for filling with water and pouring out etc-Joshua loves doing this! We also like to play 'tea time' with these bits and pieces and pour tea for mummy and Joshi to 'drink' aka pour away!

A great thing about this toy is that it's made froma  really soft, easy to clean material, and it feels very good quality. A Real Cool World are the manufacturer of this and the toy itself is extra special too because it's specially made to be free from all harmful amterials including BPA which is something that makes me feel even better about this product. I know it's environmentally friendly and also very safe for Joshua to play with regularly. And that's something you can't put a price on. Ok, well you can, and it's £13.95 from the brilliant Whitestep website, but I think that price is excellent all things considered!

Daddy recently went on a mad cleaning spree while I was away. I shouldn't complain because I know lots of men are allergic to housework. Luckily mine isn't, in fact he's the opposite and very occassionally he has these mad cleaning days. The only problem is that he gets trigger happy with throwing things away and this time Joshua's bath toys took the brunt. Rather than cleaning them he decided they all needed throwing away (which they didn't!) so when we came back from Nana & Grandad's Joshua had no bath toys left! Not one! He looked at me all sadly when I sat him in the toyless bath! Bad Daddy. So these toys really were a great and much needed addition for us!

When I do want to give these a quick clean (and not throw them away DADDY) I just run them through the dishwasher as normal and voila, all clean and ready to play again! I can't rate these highly enough. They are a lovely take on something a little different for the bath, they are clean, environmentally friendly, fun, bright and importantly cost effective. So I think if you value your little one's bath time as much as I do then head over to the Whitestep website and grab one for yourself! While you are over there you may find you spend more than intended as they have an excellent range of really innovative, creative toys for everyday play as well as bath time!

Love Chloe xx

**We were sent a Flexibath Bath Toy by A Real Cool World for the purpose of the review, but all views and opinions are genuine and my own**

Saturday Is Caption Day!

Saturday Is Caption Day!

You know the drill by now, I provide the picture and you provide the caption! Leave your captions below!

Love Chloe xx

Bargain Friday

So you all know I love a bargain, really in the current climate, who doesn't?! So I thought I would share with you all some of my bargain buys from this morning. I am a very please-with-herself mummy!

So I thought I would make a pit stop on our long car journey back home and go via the Boots and Next Clearance Stores. Sometimes I can get LOADS from there and other times, not much so it's always a bit hit and miss. Seeing as it's only 15 minutes out of the way I thought we would make a detour. And the fact Josh was screaming with boredom!

So I didn't get much in Next, just these boys stripey leggings which were only £4-half price! I was really chuffed with these because I love dressing Joshua in leggings when we are just at home chilling out and it's hard to get boys ones! So that was a bargain! And I got a few little tops for my friends daughter who is four, for £2.50 each. Chuffed.

Then I popped in to Boots and I could have spent a fortune in there but restricted myself to things that were actually useful to us! I managed to get a pack of nappies for £4.25 and I am always really pleased when I can get nappies cheaply! These usually cost around £10 in the Supermarkets so I was very pleased and walked round the shop with them tucked under my arm, staring every woman out who eyed them up as if to say "Back off Mrs, There MINE!". I also managed to get Josh a nice casual pair of jersey style red shorts with a drawstring for £3! These will be excellent for general playtime etc in the summer. Then I found a pyjamma top for £1.50 because it was missing it's bottoms, and after further inspection found some matching bottoms for £1 so Josh has a nice new pair of snuggle fit pj's for £2.50! And the best bit for me was the fact that I managed to get my Garnier BB face cream for £1! I nearly fainted when I saw the price! It's usually a tenner (ish) and it was £1 because t didn't have a box! Not one to be box-ist I snatched it up before anyone else could get it first! So a teeny bit over £10 spent but a lot in return and when I worked out the RRP of everything it woul have cost me nearly £40!

 And when I got home a few of my ebay purchases had arrived! I got these two 'Chicken Soup...' books for 99p for both! I love the Chicken Soup Books because they really make you feel better about life and the inspirational little memories and stories are lovely to read. I also got 'Because I Said So' on dvd for £1.25 total! It's one of my favourites but I lost my disc of it when we moved so I know what I will be doing this weekend!

So that's my days bargains today, anyone else had any good bargains recently?

Love Chloe xx

Cack

Considering yesterday was my Grandad's funeral, something actually happened that really lifted my spirits! Joshua said his first word! I was THE proudest Mummy ever and personally I think my Grandad knew that we all needed something to smile about and had a little whisper in Josh's ear last night!

So there we all were, dressed in our finest dark clothing, all morbidly anticipating a very hard day when in sauntered one of my mums three cats. She was all 'Hey, I'm here, I'm sexy, adore me' like she always is (yes my mums cat is a HOPEless flirt, and her name is Hope!) and I was stroking her and talking at the same time saying something about PussyCats when all of a sudden Josh bent down, looked at her and went 'Cat'. Alright it sounded a bit more like 'Cack' than 'Cat' but it was deffinately there! I was so shocked I literally had to cling to the sofa!

I've been really worried recently about Joshua's lack of speech. I couldn't help but compare other children his age and although it does seem to be a general concencus that boys speak later than girls, it was really un-nerving me that my Best Friend's Little girl knows lots of words and is only a few months older. Plus that and the fact we have one of 'those' friends whose child is so advanced in their vocabulary that he could practically sit his English GCSE already at only 22 months. So although I do try really, really hard not to allow comparision affect me where Josh is concerned I was getting worried. Especially when I read somewhere he should know 20 words by age 2 and he was already 18 months not saying anything that could class as a proper word!

So as I was saying, the shock of hearing my son say 'Cat' nearly made me lose my footing and end up on top of the bloomin four legged thing! I went on to say it again and again and told everyone yesterday who would listen that he had said his first word! Plus he kept saying it, although I think it lost it's shine of being impressive when he kept pointing at weird looking long lost relatives and going 'Cack' and looking all pleased with himself. I think I may have overdone it on the praise and encouragement! Oh well! HE SAID HIS FIRST WORD SO WHO CARES! Wooho!

Mind you he has become very fond of 'oh dow' as in 'Oh Dear' when he drops something etc as well. I know he's picked that up from me and it's very cute, but I haven't been counting that because it's not quite there just yet! It's still uber cutesy though!

Don't get me wrong though, Josh has been a very vocal little boy since he realised he controlled his voice-probably at about ten minutes old then! He loves to chatter away in his jabberish toddler talk and he likes to sing, screech, boo and make general random noise. It's very cute but as much as I adore watching him talk to his 'peoples' (his Happyland Characters) I was worrying about his speech so thankfully I feel a little more relaxed now! And a lot more proud, which I didn't know was possible!

So in the midst of a very difficult day, my little boy, (named after my Grandad) stole the sadness and replaced it with joy. He's becoming such an expert at making me beam with pride, making me forget my worries and just feel so happy, so in love that I won't ever be able to thank him for the joy he brings to my life. In the face of sadness, Joshua made it alright again. And at 18 months I think that's quite an acheivement!

So what was your little one's first word? Or aren't you at that stage yet and are wondering what their first word will be? As for me am I sad his first word wasn't mummy? Nope. I'm just relieved that he hadn't been listening to his Nana who thought it would be hilarious to try and get his first word to be 'Ass-Hole' in Meet The Fockers Style....

Love Chloe xx

My Birthday MeMe!

Admittedly it isn’t my birthday but Mummys Cheeky Monkey tagged me in this meme and i’m fascinated to participate and find out more about my birth date. It was originally started by Kate over at The Five Fs and her intention is to get a post submitted for every day of the year so please once you’ve taken part head over to her site and link up.

When is your birthday? 19th November 1987

Pick three people who share your birthday and share what you know about them.
Jodie Foster-Actress from films like Panic Room and Flight...something or other! Not a huge fan!
Meg Ryan-legendary actress from films like 'When A Man Loves A Woman' which is one of my favourite films! Also known in recent years for her trout pout!
Calvin Klein-Fashion Designer born in the 40's

Is anyone listed as being born on the same day as you (ie the same year)? If so, what do you know about them? Nope, no-body famouse was born on the same day, in the same year as me. Personally I think it's because that day couldn't hold room for anyone else! Ha!

List three people who died on your birthday and tell us what you know about them.
Walter Stewart, American murderer, executed at 42 years old in 1997
Christina Corrigan, obese girl (680 lbs), dies at 13 years old 1997
Dedrick Gobert, US actor (Boyz 'n the Hood), shot to death at 22 in 1994
List three notable events that took place on your birthday.
1993 Space Shuttle STS-80 (Columbia 21), launches into space
1987 France performs nuclear test
1984 Liquid gas tank in Mexico City explodes; 334 die

Tell us about a holiday that falls on your birthday.
My birthday is also International Mens Day (oo-er) designed to bring unity to ment and boys all around the world!

For this i am tagging:

Aimee @mrsaimeehorton
Charlotte @TheCrumbyMummy
MummyBarrow @MummyBarrow
Susie Purslow @susiepurslow
Laura @misssv
The Happy Life Of Us @jarly28
Kate @makeshiftmummy

Death Is Nothing At All

Death Is Nothing At All by Canon Henry Scott-Holland

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no difference into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it

Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind
Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner

All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!

One of Those Days

Today has been one of those days. You know the sort, where very quickly you realise it's 'going to be one of those days', and come 11am you're already craving bedtime for the little ones just so you can crack open the largest bottle of wine. In fact it was such a bad day today I only reached 4.30 before I hit the bottle! Opps.

Now before you judge me, hear me out! I'm currently staying with my parents. Whom I love dearly, they have a beautiful home and are always very happy to have us to stay. Sadly our visit this time is because my Grandad passed away and it's his funeral on Wednesday. Anyway, so as much as I love them it's a little...tricky staying there. My mum is recovering from M.E and we have to be very...considerate when we stay here. Toddlers, considerate? Not happening! It therefore means my nerves are shattered constantly worrying about whether Josh is stressing her out too much or making her feel unwell with his rushing about and excitement. So we quickly got dressed and ready to go out for a nice day seeing friends etc.

I was rushing and not paying attention and literally two seconds out of my parents drive I drove in to a gate and literally scraped all the side of my car and burst a tyre. It also made Josh cry. Brilliant. Even worse is the fact I've not even had the car a month and the RAC won't come out unless your 3/4 a mile away from your home. Basically, I was screwed.

I spent all day waiting for someone to come and look at it, and with very few toys, no stair gates and a very un-baby-proofed home, by 4.30 I was a mummy wreck. Yup I hit the bottle just to calm myself! I love my son to pieces but seriously he's hard work sometimes!

To top this off my parents have brand new cream suede sofa's and my mum adores them. What did Josh do? Spilt Ribena on one of them. Seriously I was ready to lie down in the road! My nerves just tipped me over the edge at this point in anticipation of the raging expleetives that would flow like a torent.

So I've had a toddler resembling a caged animal going beserck at me for being confined up all day when I had promised him a fun filled day with his best friend Bella, I've ruined a VERY expensive sofa and I've ruined my newly acquired car.And I've turned to drink by mid afternoon. I am now a mummy lush.

Great.

On the plus side though the car will be fixed properly by tomorrow curtosey of my dad's friend (and my dad's paying so thank you dad), the mark on the sofa should come out eventually and my mum has reassured me there is no crime in having the odd early tipple to 'help' your parenting abilities once in a while. Personally though I don't care, I'm just glad this day is nearly over and now I'm off to wallow in bed and finish that bottle of wine...

Deborah and Ariel Levy

The Levy Children

 So as you know by now when I see or hear about something that I feel strongly about, I find it hard to stop thinking about it. This weekend, entirely by chance I was directed through a twitter link to an article about an American Couple.

Deborah and Ariel Levy are what would appear to be any normal parents. Mum and Dad to two sons and a daughter, living their everydays lives in America. Look a little closer and you see that their daughter has Downs Syndrome. Their daughter Kalanit is now four years old with two older brothers. So what's the problem I hear you ask? They are suing their healthcare provider for 'wrongful birth' saying they would have aborted their daughter if they had known she had Downs Syndrome. Yes, it's one of the most disgusting thing's I've ever heard.

The couple conceived Kalanit when Deborah was 39 years old so they were keen to have all the tests that would act as a warning to conditions including Downs Syndrome. As we all know, mothers over 35 years old are at increased risk of their child having Downs Syndrome. So doing the sensible thing the Levy's had the tests. Although the scans did show some things to be concerned about the amnio test came back clear so all seemed to be well. However sadly after Kalanit was born she was diagnosed with the syndrome and it was realised that the amnio had actually removed tissue from the mother not from the fetus. Hence why it came back clear when Kalanit had the condition.

So fast forward four years and the family are now suing their healthcare providers for over $3 million dollars for their daughters 'wrongful' birth.

This case has really played on my mind since I read it. I find it deeply disturbing and also increadably sad for this little girl. Her parents are not only standing in front of a Judge and a court, to tell them they wish they had aborted the child and therefore technically would prefer it if she wasn't alive. No, they are also standing on the worlds stage and saying this too! It's the biggest insult to so many other people. It insults the parents of children with Down's Syndrome, illnesses and disabilities as well as those people who are unable to conceive at all. In fact I think it insults any parent.

In my opinion every child is a gift, a blessing. And my twitter friend Sarah Bage @LittleFellandUs sums it up perfectly. Her son has disabilities and in her blog post here she writes about how having a child who is born with something like this is what it is. It can't be helped, it can't be changed and acceptance in imperative. The Levy's are standing there trying to throw blame around for something that can't be blamed on anyone. I find this typical of today's society-always got to have someone to blame rather than accepting the facts and moving on. People always have to have someone to blame and point the finger at.

The Levy's say they love their daughter as much as their other children but I find myself asking, how can this possibly be true?! They are telling the entire planet they wish they never had their daughter! It's a disgrace to her life that she is allowed to live with them if you ask me. I think they should send Child Protective Services in over this (the American version of social services) and remove the child from their care. Place her with someone who is happy and loving and accepting of her the way she is. In my experience with children with Downs Syndrome (which admittedly isn't vast) they are the most loving, kind and wonderful children. Equally as capable of happiness as any other child.

Now not for one minute am I disregarding how difficult it must be to parent a child who suffers from Downs Syndrome or any other condition. No way. In fact I salute parents like that and think they do amazing jobs. And in all honesty when many of them recieve that earth shattering news about their child, I'm sure in their darkest moments they consider abortion or question whether they should have followed that path. I think that is understandable. Whatever decesions they make, what for me is wrong and not understandable is to then blame the world for it and stand and say on the world stage that you wish your daughter wasn't alive. Because effectively that's what they are doing-remember the court case is for 'wrongful birth'.

Kalanit's brothers love her and accept her and I think the parents could learn a lesson here about pure, true love if they only spent the time looking closely enough to see their daughter is beautiful and loving rather than a drain on their finances. I think it's important to think of people like Chris Burke a well known actor and goodwill ambassador who was born with Down's Syndrome. He is the perfect example of how a child with Downs Syndrome can excel and acheive as much as any other child with the love, guidance and support of their parents. I find myself asking how much Kalanit will be encouraged to acheive by parents who wish she wasn't there?

So my lovely readers what do you make of this? Are you as shocked and disgusted as I am, or do you think I'm looking at this from the wrong point of view? I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

For now I'm going to leave you with the link HERE for the original article if you want to read it.

Love Chloe xx