Fifty Shades of Grey-Casting Call!

If you have noticed my lack of tweets recently, it's because I've crossed over to the dark side...The delicious, smouldering dark side...of Christian Grey ala 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. Yes I'm reading the book that's been referred to as 'Mummy Porn' and let me tell you, it's absolutely fabulous! I am as addicted to reading it as Christian Grey is to having weird sex, I'm hooked and everyone else I know who's read it is too!

If you've been hiding under a rock somewhere and not endeavered to get your hands on a copy, let me tell you to get yourself straight down to a book shop today, you will NOT regret it! Now I am no prude, my humor is often found in the toilet and I am no stranger to pushing the joke boundaries with dirty jokes either, but phwoar-Fifty Shades of Grey is the most raunchy thing I've come across! What's it about I hear you say?! ...SEX! Ok it's a love story with lots of sex. I must say I'm finding the second book focus more on the relationships of the characters than the actual 'deed' but still, I often find the need to take a cold shower after indulging in some reading (all the time, snatching five seconds here, ther,e and everywhere as I'm hooked it's liked an extra limb these days!.

So in the spirit of sharing my new found love of this book (written purposefully for the bored housewife/Mummy variety I hear, woohoo!) I thought I would share with you all my Fifty Shades of Grey Casting Call for the characters because yes ladies, it's going to be a film!! Swoon.

Christian Grey
So firstly who should play the indescribable Christian Grey. Dark, sexy, controlling, aggressive and with kinky bedroom habbits?! Well it's common knowledge that Ryan Gosling has been tipped as the favourite to play him, which I TOTALLY wouldn't mind but then I heard that Ian Somerhalder (aka Damon from the Vampire Diaries) is interested in the part and let me tell you that he has brooding down to a tea, I literally drool when I watch him in TVD! So of those two I'm keeping everything crossed it's one of them. But Lord help me if it is because I think I will need to be restrained from licking the screen at the cinema. Who do you think would better suit the mysterious Fifty?

Ryan Gosling (Drool here)

Ian Somerhalder (drool here again)

Ana Steele
Then there is the innocent yet captivating Ana Steele. She's got to be brunette and pale but really with make up these days it doesn't matter if it's natural does it?! Anyway I hate to be predictable with this one but I would really be interested in seeing Kristen Stewart take the part. I know because of how HUGE Twilight has been a lot of people think it would confuse the audience by mixing Ana with Bella Swan but yet her mannerisms in Twilight were perfect for Ana in my eyes. Ana is supposed to be a bit of a clutz and accident prone, a bit shy and have a 'never been kissed' look about her with a huge mix of natural beauty and allure. Kristen played this so well the first time round so I'm rooting for her. Otherwise I am also rooting for fellow Twilight actress Ashley Greene, if it were down to looks alone then Ashley would have my vote. Beautiful in a natural way, has the perfect face I picture for Ana and can play composed and happy in the flick of a nanosecond as the object of Greys affection needs. So for Ana my votes on one of these two.

Kristen Stweart, perfect Ana number 1

Ashley Greene, Perfect Ana number 2

 Kate
The 'beautiful' best friend of Ana, blonde and bubbly with a big smile. She's got to be someone who can pull of the looks without overshadowing Ana who is the real beauty of the film in the more natural way. She's also got to be able to do the ditzy thing really while also being able to play a sensible, rich girl with brains when it comes to her career. In short she's got to be the girl we all envied and wanted to be when we were at school! My choice for Kate would be Blake Lively. A big smiler, gorgeous and great personalities for Kate!

Blake Lively-My first choice Kate

Elliot Grey
Younger brother of Christian, more of the high school jock sort, someone who can pull of playing guitar and being the American boy next door charmer too. Hee's got to be someone the girls would have on posters on their walls while again not actually being the hottie of the film-we can't take that away from Christian now can we ladies?! He's also got to be able to have some great chemistry with Kate so my choice would be Chris Evans for this, he's funny and can pull of the 'dumb jock' thing while also giving you something to drool over! He's my choice for Elliot.

Chris Evans-Elliot

Mia Grey
Younger sister, full of enthusiasm and life, bubbly and bounces around. Young and fresh faced is needed as the youngest of three children and she will need to be endearing enough to understand why she's adored by her family. No nastiness with her, just sweetness and life. I think Elizabeth Olsen would make a great Mia.

Elizabeth Olsen-Mia

Carrick Grey
Christian's father needs to be someone who demands authority and captivates his audience, not just off screen but from his family too. As the head of the family he needs to be able to be noticably the figure of authority while also warm, loving and friendly. I think Richard Gere would be perfect for Carrick because he's gorgeous which although the Grey's aren't blood related does need to be a similarity between them. He would also be great because he can play parts that range from comedy to more serious and I think we need to see that in Carrick although his biggest trait is his family pride and love for his children.

Richard Geere-Carrick Grey

Grace Grey
Christian's mother needs to be warm and loving and very motherly around her children. She also needs to be smart and well groomed with a real professional look. Although a mother to three children, she needs to be the sort of mother you imaged was a real go'getter, pushing her children to do sports, join school clubs etc. Basically she needs to be ambitious and this needs to be shown with her children too. I think that Jamie Lee Curtis would be great for this role, warm and adaptable and someone we can relate to as having motherly tendancies while also being hugely career orientated.

Jamie Lee Curtis-Grace Grey

Elena aka Mrs Robinson
Without being too predictable here who other than Kim Cattrall would be great for this role?! A sexual older lady who indulged in her schoolboy fantasy with Christian from ayoung age. She needs to be similar in age to Christian's mother because we know they were friends and she needs to be an older woman who looks after herself. As a cougar she needs to be very well groomed, gorgeous and have a real air of sexuality around her. Kim Cattrall or even Michelle Pfiffer would be great for Elena.

Kim Cattrall - Elena 1

Michelle Pfiffer-Elena 2

Ana's Mom
We don't see a great deal of her but she is present and needs a strong character to play her. Ana's mother is unlucky in love, scatty and very maternal, I think Susan Saradon would be perfect. She has the motherly vibe going on so you could get a really lovely connection between mother and daughter and yet she can pin point the scattiness and short attention span too.

Susan Saradon-Ana's Mom

Ana's Stepfather/Dad-Ray
Another character who isn't in it a whoe lot but needs someone who would bring a lot to the role. He's a quiet man, with little emotional response and yet a fatherly love for Ana. He needs to be someone who's emotionally switched off and yet doesn't make the audience hate him, rather the opposite feel softly towards him. I think Mark Ruffalo would be great for Ray!

Mark Ruffalo-Ana's Dad Ray

So that's my casting call for Fifty Shades of Grey, what do you think of my selection? Do you have any better ideas to bring to the table?! Whatever your choices may be, I for one can not wait for the film to come out and as for all those 'haters' who moan about the book, claiming it's awful-well if you could sell that many books and give something the title of 'the new twilight' then go ahead and try! As for me, I'm going to keep indulging in my "Mummy Porn" book and drool over Christian Grey whenever I like!

Love Chloe xx

A PJ ZOO!

One of my favourite thing to buy for Joshua is pyjammas. I often write about how I find him the upmost cutest when he's in his PJ's! And as a Mummy with a boys, I think it's a common factor that boys are at their very most cuddly after a sleep or nap! Personally I like to think that nice pyjammas or sleepwear have an influence on this, mostly because they wouldn't sleep at all if they weren't comfortable so I don't ever mind splashing out on good quality pyjammas for Josh.

Usually he wears the snuggle fit style, but with the summer (where?! I know!) or should I say, the mildly warmer temperature, I have been on the lookout for something a little lighter for him to wear at night. Although it's not hot at night, it's just marginally warm enough for summer type pyjammas-I mean shorts and t-shirt style, otherwise Josh tends to get very sticky which can't be comfortable. And if Josh isn't sleeping, Mummy isn't sleeping and that's not fun for anyone!

I recently found a brand called PJZOO (as in  PJ Zoo) and they have the perfect sort of pyjammas for Joshua! Their animal themed pj's are all perfect for the warmer month,s meaning night sweats are less likely for little people. Their range is really unique, a mix between a fashionable Boden style with a funky designer edge to them. Their sleepwear has a statement animal on the top with patterned bottoms to contrast, making them really stand out, and look a bit special.

What I like about them is the fact they look great, I feel like he's wearing something really fashionable and quirky and yet they are practical too. Made of 100% cotton they are really soft on his skin and I don't have to worry about them rubbing or chaffing him. They feel good quality to touch and so I know he's comfortable in them.

We found the style of them perfect for active little boys, something which is imperative for us! The long baggy shorts mean that in the mornings after Joshua wakes up he can run and play to his hearts content without being restricted. It also means that their is space for his nappy at night too. Flexabilitiy is so important with nightware, and yet it's required to retain it's shape-these do that easily!

Joshua has the Turtle pair, perfect for his 'little yet cool' boy style! The shorts are currently quite big on him, hanging below his knees but he seems to love wearing shorter pyjammas as he's always touching his legs now and giggling as if it's reminded him he's actually got a pair now he see's them more! However I like the fact they are quite big at the moment because it means that I know he's going to be able to wear them for ages yet which means they are worth it!

I always find that the boys clothing market is so much more restricted than the girls. I often talk with Mum's on twitter who feel the same so it always gives me great pleasure to find brands that accomodate clothing for boys in a new and fashionable way, and PJZOO has deffinately made it on to my 'new favourites' list! And also because of how lovely and unique their designs are, I now have a long list of children in my family and of friends who will be recieving pairs of PJZOO pyjammas on their Birthdays and at Christmas as I know these will provide a great gift while also being very practical-win/win!

At £18 a pair these pyjammas aren't cheap but because of the quality and how well they will wash and last, I find this justifies the price! PJZOO give free postage on all UK orders too which for me is a huge influencing factor when I'm making a buying decesion. When you buy something online, it can often add anything up to £5 to your order, and when you are only buying one item I find this is hard to warrant. So free postage deffinately gets the thumbs up from me, as it makes the cost of the pyjammas overall much more affordable!

So if you would like to view their excellent range or browse through their website then please visit www.pjzoo.com and in the meantime here are some of my favourites!

Love Chloe and Joshua xx

**This is a sponsored review, we were sent a pair of PJZOO pyjammas to review but the opinions expressed are all my own**

The 'M' Word

I read a great post a while ago by the lovely Lucy over at Leopard Print Mummy who wrote about the 'M' word. When I say 'M' word I'm talking about ...*looks around suscpicitously*...Macdonals. Otherwise known as the Golden Arches, the 'M' word seems to be a right of passage when you're young if you have been a good boy or girl. I remember that as a treat when we went to the closest city for the day, me and my brother would get to have Macdonals and we would love it! Likewise I remember when the Happy Meals stopped and the big girls meals started, I actually think that transition started my rise from childhood to youth! (I'm only kidding!)

So now I'm a mum I must admit that I look at Macdonals in the same way now as I did back then, as a treat. I obviously wouldn't eat it all the time and deffinately wouldn't allow Joshua to eat it a lot. I also look at it for what it is-convinience food. So there are some days when we have been kept out of the house for longer than planned and I haven't packed Josh lunch-Macdonals is always useful on these days. And likewise if Joshua is having a treat day and being taken to a play centre then we will stop on the way home and finish off his morning nicely with the 'M' word. Occassionally we have gone when I just am too exhausted from running round after him and don't have it in me to stand and cook-lazy but like I said, convienience and all that!

So imagine my suprise when it was implied I was a bad mother for allowing Joshua to indulge in the 'M' word. Now I'm not challenged in the brain cells department (although the amount of Mickey Mouse and Peppa Pig I am subjected to these days is bound to begin to have some affect sooner or later!) and I know that Macdonals isn't the healthiest of food-hence why we usually only have a couple of trips a month. Sometimes we go once a week for a few weeks in a row and then we may not go for the next few weeks-not because of any other reason than their isn't the situation for it. So I was a little peeved when the person in question literally recoiled when I mentioned we were going to Macdonals (Joshua and I) and made noises implying an epic parenting failure on my part. I wanted to tell themswiftly to sod off, but found I actually needed to consider if they were right?

Joshua loves Macdonalds-most kids do! I like Macdonals too and I don't see anything wrong with the occassional visit-like I said, a few a month is our maximum. And after considering if I was wrong for letting my two year old eat their food, I decided I wasn't. I firmly believe that a bit of everything in moderation is ok. Growing up my younger brother would have friends over to play who's parents were very strict with their diets. For these children being exposed to a more 'normal' diet (no disrespect to those who are more strict than the average, it's all about choice, right people) meant they couldn't contain themselves. And it wasn't so much as my mum would allow them to eat things their own parents wouldn't, it was more they literally couldn't contain themselves and would help themselves, often sneaking back to the sweets cupboard and overdosing on sugary snacks. I don't want Joshua to be like this. I don't want him to build up an image of how delicious junk food tastes while never being allowed it, so when he's older he hoards and scoffs on it and can't balance out his diet for himself.

Joshua loves apples at the moment, and his beloved raisens of course. He would always choose a breadstick over a chocolate digestive (he deffinately didn't get that from me!) naturally. He so happens to love Macdonals too and because he doesn't have a weight problem, an underlying health problem or anything really that would make me stop him having it, then I don't see the harm, once in a while.

What do you think? I am genuinely interested to know your opinion about this, perhaps I am wrong but my stance on the 'moderation' seems to be the best, but then again I've not actually asked that many people! For example Joshua had a Macdonals at a service station on Friday on our way home from Cornwall. And today we are going for lunch after a manic indoor play session. But to me that is once last week and once this week and we probably won't go at all next week. Would this be more than you give your child or do you see no harm in the 'M' word?

Love Chloe xx

(Dancing) Queenie

As you all know, I am a mummy of a little boy. Joshua is going to be Two in September and oh how time has flown by. He's gone from a wriggly bundle of pooping/sleeping/crying joy to a proper little boy! Obviously this happens when they grow up, I know they don't get stuck in a time warp, never growing and developing and yet it's still the most amaizng thing to me that he's growing up, and learning things. My suprise at his growth is twinned with shock-how can it be happening so fast, how can it be happening at all?! It's like I'm constantly being hit by a revelation on par with when the lightbulb was invented-just when I realise that they do actually grow up! *sigh*.

Anyway I'm in awe at everything Joshua learns and does, always waiting for the next thing as eager for it to come as I am sad that it's happening so fast! So when he does things to make me laugh, it relaxes the whole process in my mind. I forget that I'm loosing my baby and realise I'm gaining a best friend!

I wanted to share with you all something I hope will make you laugh like I did! Joshua is very much a little boy so don't get me wrong I'm not one of these mothers who believes in the whole 'children should be gender neutral' thing (you all read my post on how cross a certain mother like this made me!) but I don't mind that Joshua seems to have a penchant for an old sparkly hair band of mine and an old handbag. In fact when we go to our toddler group his favourite toy is the dolls pram and baby to ram around. I don't mind him being like that at all-children are children at the end of the day. Joshua also loves to dance. Usually it's to the theme tunes on his favourite cartoons-he burst in to life! But to all of our suprise he seems to have another penchant....one for country music, a bit like his Mummy! Confused?! Watch the videa below!

Enjoy my sons take on recreating Dancing Queen(ie)! Love Chloe and Joshua! xx

Help Needed!

HELP! I am in need of some real Mummy-To-Mummy advice here people! I am at my wits end with Joshua's eating habbits! I literally am running out of patience, energy, enthusiasm and everything else needed to slowly and careful encourage my son to eat actual food!

I've talked before about how the only thing I ever was sure I wanted to avoid was fussiness with Joshua. My teenage younger brother was and still is the most fussy eater and binges on junk food and energy drinks constantly. He has had the worst case of acne I've ever known and although I really, really felt sorry for how badly it affected his self esteem I did also have to make an effort not to launch down the old 'You've Got to Help Yourself' rant at him. My parents spent a large fortune getting him treated with drugs prescribed from private doctors that aren't even allowed on the NHS in order to clear his skin. However his eating habbits haven't changed and I have no doubt his skin will return to it's previous state because of this. I love him but I never wanted to raise Joshua to be fussy, especially as fussy eaters tend to be against good food and all for the bad and nasties. Having seen first hand how a child like this is affected by bad eating I was very steadfast in my resolve to do everything possible to avoud fussiness.

So nearly two years in to his beautiful life, what do I have? A fussy eater. A very fussy eater. Joshua has always had an issue with textures, rather than tastes. Their was the 'no bread' stage-he would eat toast until the cows came home but give him soft bread and he would turn his nose up and his hand would physically recoil as if bitten by it. It drove me nuts. Luckily it's a little better nowdays but he would still prefer toast to bread if offered the choice (which he isn't often).

Nowdays Joshua is far more annoyingly fussy. Somewhere and over something I can't even begin to understand, he now has a list of things in his mind that prevent him from eating. He literally won't eat a thing I feed him without crying, real tears crying that is, and after a few mouth fulls gets so worked up he chokes and gets properly distressed. I let him feed himself but he doesn't actually feed himself, just throws the food around. He's not too bad with yogurts and fruit purees, he will feed himself them with no problems but come to meal times it's like trying to persuade Geri to re-join the Spice Girls-it just isn't happening.

The only exception are those toddler meals, the microwave ones by cow and gate etc. He watched me prepare them and gobbles them with glee-not a peep to be heard and even adds to odd 'mmmm' to it. Oh and of course fish fingers and chips and his fortnightly treat to macdonalds-those things he's never fussy with.

I've looked online, searched high and low and still I can't find any conclusive help. He's fussy but not with hot finger foods of the junk variety, he eats baby food (but he's nearly two) and yet I know he doesn't dislike the food we make for him-fish pies, cottage pies, spagbol etc. It's just in the last six months he's begun to refuse them. I try everything possible, even not giving him anything when he refuses his food, in the hope he will be that hungry by dinner time he will eat whatever-but it all fails.

Joshua has always been tall and skinny, never to have any baby fat on him at all. It's making me worry there is something wrong with his throat because what he does seem to like-juice, water, baby food is very soft. I have ruled out teething pains because it's been consistant for six months and he hasn't had teeth pushing through for all of those six months!

So fellow bloggy mummies, please PLEASE, could you give me any advice on how to handle this going forwards. I'm at my wits end and don't know what else to try to get him to eat things, anythings!

Love Chloe xx

How Much TV Is Too Much Tv?

From a young age my younger brother would watch television pretty much when ever he wanted to and with us being fortunate enough to have Sky he could indulge in his favourite cartoons pretty much all day long if he wanted. For what ever reason this was the only thing that interested my brother and he would be glued to the TV constantly and he would rather watch it than interact, play with toys or socialise. To me it was embarrassing because everyone noticed this and I knew that I wouldn’t ever allow my child to watch so much television. Being seven years older than him I could see how unhealthy this was and promised myself never to do this with my own child.

Now, what I will say is this. It’s very easy to judge other parents and their choices when you don’t have children of your own. So when my son was born my ideals changed on a lot of things. However I wouldn’t say I’ve necessarily changed my opinion on the amount of television which should be deemed ‘OK’ for a child to watch.

My son Joshua was about four months old when we first started to watch television together. If I needed to do some housework and didn’t think it would be exciting enough for him I would sit him in his swing chair and put something bright, noisy and child friendly on the TV for him to watch. I too at feeding times, or cuddle times would sit and watch it with him. Slowly he seemed to be more attracted to the colours and sounds of Peppa Pig and this then stuck. Since about five months old my son has been Peppa Pig mad.
He is now 18 months old and his love of television is very different. He watches it like any other child, cries when I’ve told him he’s had enough and is comforted by his favourite familiar characters. But now he’s older, he’s more head strong and independant, I’ve had to use television more than I expected to. Now days I’m lucky if I can get a shower in peace without him wanting to get in with me, so at these times I sit him in front of Mickey Mouse or Peppa Pig and speed shower. Likewise if I have to make important phone calls, or answer the door then he can sit and watch. I see it as a neccessary evil. It allows me to get things done around the house from time to time without having my little ‘helper’ who for all the good will in the world, usually makes more mess than he ‘helps’ to clear up.

So what is my problem I hear you ask? I am my own worst enemy. I have all this good intention about not letting him watch too much TV. I choose to read with him, do puzzles, do messy play etc literally anything else to keep his attention held before I resort to the television. He does watch TV for a little while before breakfast and a little while before bedtime but that is usually it (ok, that’s usually it in an ideal world). However sometimes during the day, I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of the tantrums, the demands for excitement, entertainment and my lack of ability to provide them only serves to drive us both to the TV just for 5 minutes peace.

Sometimes (more than I care to admit!) I let him watch cartoons just to hear myself think (above the annoying theme tunes that is) and then I feel guilty. If Joshua has been particularly naughty one day, I find we park ourselves infront of the TV for half an hour before tea time and then back again before bed. It niggles away at me and I beat myself up about it. The problem is that I see the same blank expression on my sons face as I saw on my brothers face years ago as he was consumed by the moving, dancing characters. It makes me quiver a little inside and reminds me of the pledge I made never to repeat that mistake. However some times I need peace, I need to not have a toddler hanging off my limbs while I try and clean the house, cook dinner and do everything else.

So I wonder to myself and to you, how much TV is too much TV for a child? I’m not sure, but all I know is that television gives me a breather during the day when without it I would probably implode. Or turn to wine. Lots of wine.

What Does Beauty Mean for Toddlers?

Have you ever seen those tv shows about American Beauty Pageants for children and babies? I once watched and was transfixed in horror at the lengths people would go to in order for their child to be declared the most 'beautiful'. It horrified me.

Beauty Pageants are thankfully (in my mind anyway) more of an American 'thing' and don't really tend to be big over here. But I was disgusted today when I read about a mother who's two year old daughter has spray tans before pageants. TWO YEARS OLD. My son is nearly two years old.

The daughters name is Savanna and let me tell you, she is indeed beautiful-well from what I can make out underneath her layers of make-up, hairspray and lycra outfits that Kylie would envy. And with the make up you can't deny she paints a pretty picture but since when did childhood beauty mean wearing make-up and fake tan and dressing little girls to look sexy? It's just wrong.

Now I don't disagree with the pageants as a general rule. What does disgust me is the lengths that some mothers will go to in order to see their daughter crowned winner. Make-Up on litlle girls is wrong and fake tanning them in my mind borders on abuse! Savanna's mother, named Lauren consulted a Doctor before allowing her daughter to have a spray tan. The doctor told her is was 100% safe but in my mind that is not the point. It may not cause her physical health any lasting damage but what about the mental damae it's installing within her that will have a little red button just waiting to be pushed later in life. I'm talking about the materialism it leads girls to become acustomed to and the very wrong assumption that to be beautiful you need to be tanned, made up to the nines and crowned as 'beautiful' to actually be beautiful. Those issues are all things young women battle with in their teens anyway without a strong, pushy background of years tottering round, prancing on a stage doing their best sexy impressions. It's quite a sickening image.

We live in a world where innocence is gone long before childhood leaves. A huge portion of girls as young as 8 have issues with their body image anyway and many a survery has revealed that the media portray the wrong image of 'beauty' to young and vulnerable girls. Girls who won't ever look like the women in those magazines because even the women IN those magazines don't look like those women in the magazines-thanks to airbrushing.

So as a mother says it's alright to tan her two year old regularly I am literally throwing my hands up in the air, exasperated at how poor some parents abilities to raise children are. My take on being a parent is to do your best to raise a well rounded child-does allowing a two year old to have spray tans sound like that? Not to me it doesn't.

A great comment I saw on the original article was about the way the word 'Beautiful' has been evolved by greedy, disgusting people. It used to mean being elegant, graceful, kind and moral. Now it seems beauty is difined by how much much and fake take you wear and how much surgery you've had. What happened to children just being children? We have a generation of messed up kids already who've had their childhoods stolen through awful things like war, crime and such and yet here some women are stealing their childrens own childhoods.

As for the reson they do it being that their children love being the centre of attention-all kids like being the centre of attention! I don't dress mine up like a doll! The parents saying that their children love to be on stage so they encourage them to enter pageants-I don't buy it. To me it's the parents living out their need to feel like winners, their needs to feel beautiful and their need to win. It's nothing to do with the children.

Two year olds in fake tan. What ever next.

You can read the full article Here.

The Evolution of a Handbag

Prior to my child bearing days, (which as my son is only 18 months old weren’t actually that long ago) I took real pride in handbags amongst other things like shoes and clothes etc. My handbag would display a beautiful array of counter cosmetics, designer perfume bottles, a yummy healthy snack to devour on the way to my next business meeting and many high-tech gadgets and gizmos amongst an array of expensive, beautiful bits and pieces. I breathe a sigh of happiness remembering the contents of my handbags as they used to look. Fast forward a few years and things couldn’t be more different!

When I was pregnant I invested in an expensive changing bag. As a handbag lover I knew I would need something I loved as it was going to be my baby assistant for the coming months/years. I spent ages picking the right one and didn’t mind the hefty price tag that accompanied it because to me if you’re going to get use out of something then the price is justifiable. I loved that bag, and carefully before my son arrived I made a list of everything I would need for an outing and perfectly arranged the contents in the bag ready to be used. It looked just as perfect as my handbag. All in order, arranged neatly and looked very classy inside and out…I had no idea did I?!

When my son arrived and the bag begun to get used, it quickly, very quickly morphed from a neatly organised bag of mummy happiness to a bag bursting at the seams as I tried to ram everything back in to it in any order while bouncing a new baby on my hip in the midst of the supermarket changing rooms. Packing a bag one handed with a screaming new baby proved to be the downfall of my inner bag arranging skills! Nappies, wipes, creams, bottles, powder milk, dummies, bibs, spare clothes…the list went on and yet it never again resembled that picture perfect bag again. From the outside the only give away was it’s shape, when I say bursting at the seams I’m not joking! One end would be squidgy and fat and the other would be protruding in the opposite direction as it struggled to contain it’s contents. But having a new baby did I have time (or quite frankly the inclination) to re-arrange it neatly after each use? No I did not!

I quickly realised when I became a mummy that the bag was created to allow me to have everything I needed with me and I also realised this is also the exact same reason the bag would never again be neat! Taking a baby out of the house involves military planning and therefore when you need something from the bag, you just need it-no thought is given to the display of it. The only care you have is actually getting through your outing and returning home again with you and baby still in one piece. That was an accomplishment in itself and a neat baby bag was soon forgotten!

Now my son is older we need less with us when we go out, although only marginally! I invested in a very large handbag that could accommodate my things and his in one because I began to miss my fashionable handbags! Gone are the days of expensive handbags! If you look inside my inexpensive yet still pretty handbag you will find a mixture of nappies, beakers filled and usually leaking juice on to my battered make up bag that consists of anything that will help me look remotely awake, as looking sexy went out the window a long time ago. There will be half eaten boxes of raisins among old loose raisins and 5p’s with biro’s all rolling around at the bottom. My purse is battered and bruised and bulging at the seams with all the credit cards I now have to be able to afford this venture of being a parent! Then there are dummies which seem to attract stray hairs from my mangled hair brush, and I know that bad boy has to go in my mouth before my son’s to remove said hair-eww! Next to the emergency sachet of Calpol is a packet of energy sweets and a voucher for 20p off Redbull which has become my greatest friend since having a toddler. You will also firmly find a pouch full of tampons nestled among paracetamol and bonjela for teething pains. And if on a very good day I’ve not forgotten them in my haste to leave the house you will find my once beautiful, no longer un-damaged Blackberry and iPod. Both bearing visible signs of being used as toys and dropped on the kitchen floor countless times by clumsy toddler. I would also say you will find my car keys in there somewhere but you won’t because usually I forget them and have to return to the house for them with a by this time, screaming toddler demanding he be let in to the car immediately. Keys or no keys mummy.
So as I sit here and ponder how much my life has morphed since becoming a mummy I realise that there is no better visual explanation of this change than the inside of a handbag. People pay therapists a lot of money to come to terms with the changes that occur after becoming a parent. I say, save yourself the money and just look at your hanbag.The evolution of a handbag tells no lies.

They Grow So Quick!

I've noticed several of my lovely blog and twitter friends saying the same thing recently. Mostly because our children are all roughly at the same stage/development levels so we are all being hit by this 'new' revelation together. Said 'revelation' if it was bottled would have a label reading "Caution! Causes watery eyes, long sigh's, wistful looks in the eye and occassional blubbering beyond control and of course, broodiness". My 'revelation' is that my son is growing up, too fast!

I remember everyone used to say things like this, about their own children and also to me when I was pregnant, I think as some kind of warning. I was thrown to the wolves when it came to comments about enjoying him while he was young, him not being a baby for long and the most common 'They Grow So Quickly'. I would just roll my eyes and politely reply, and being typical me, I totally overlooked their warnings and paid little attention. Yes, I am still retaining some of my teenage stubborness when it comes to listening to warnings from those who have already tread that path and want to help. If my mother knew I still retained any of this, even five years after leaving the teens behind me she would probably need to start paying a therapist!

Anyway I digress! What I mean is this: when people said to me about how quickly Joshua would grow up I ignored them (not actually totally because I'm stubborn) because in my mind a month is still a month long and a year is still a year long, isn't it? Surely the outside world hasn't changed that much?! I just didn't realise how much they learn, and change and literally grow in size in one month. It's liek they shed themselves every month, a little like a snake sheds it's old skin as it grows in to a new one! (I swaer I saw that on tv once)

But now as I watch my nearing two year old, I realise how absolute that statement was! It seems like Joshua was a baby for literally the blink of an eye. In a few months he passed out of his 'new baby' phase and started 'doing things' so the baby stage faded pretty quickly in a blur of sleepless nights adding to my overall blurry recollection of the later parts of 2010. From then he has sped through nearly two years to the point he's now a 'little boy' and not a baby anymore. He's a person now with thoughts, inclinations, habbits and his own mind. And he's my best friend now.

I must admit that I enjoy him more and more every single day. Now he's older, he gives as good as he gets in any situation! I know people say "He/she's got a real personality now" when their baby reaches a few months old etc but never before has this statement been more true for Joshua! He really does possess his own unique personality now. Displayed through things like him being adament he must at least try and feed himself every single thing he eats because food from mummies spoon just doesn't taste the same to a big boy. And him dancing like a looney who's feet have been stapled to the floor while his body bursts in to uncontrollable movement in reaction to his favourite television shows. Heck it's even displayed by the fact he HAS favourite television shows!

He eats big boy food, wears big boy pyjammas, wears big boy shoes, drinks from big boy cups and now has a big boy pushchair. It seems like we've spent the last two years building up to this point and suddenly it's like I ran in to a brick wall, or a closed patio door and my face is sliding downwards, still stuck to the glass. All of a sudden he's growing up TOO fast for me. I don't like it! I can't control it, I want it to slow down just a little bit...but likewise I am gripped by what he's going to do next! So I have done a few things to help aid my acceptance of this current stage. One of which is that I went to Next and bought him three sleepsuits in his current size (they do them up to 2-3 years you know, so I am saved until he's three!) so at least at bedtime three times a week or so he still looks like a baby. He's worn pyjammas since he was nine months old because he was so big so this is a real watery eye moment for me-he looks so adorable! And I must say it's deffinately helped ease my broodiness too because Lord knows I am NOT having another baby until I have some form or rock attached to my finger! So thank you Next!

So as I watch my big boy playing with his Buzz Lightyear, watching a cartoon so intently that his eyebrowns and mouth are reacting to the plotline like mine do when watching Emmerdale-I really am sighing with pleasure and sadness that he's growing so fast. Especially when I realised something extra cute this morning. I told Joshua that the ants (our tenants left our house with a nasty ant problem we are struggling to correct-cheers for that) come underneath the front door at night time and as I look over I realise last night he left three of his Happyland shops and houses by the front door ready for them! I can only assume he was providing the ants with a bakery to ease their cravings, a house to sleep nicely in and a police station for the naughty ones. Never before has my heart swelled with so much love and adoration!

So for now he may be growing way too fast for me to fully like, but one things for sure, he may not be a baby anymore but he will be My Baby for a while yet!

Love Chloe xx

Peppa Pig World of Playsets Competition!

So a few of you have noticed that with my internet sabitical (forced as per Sky being rubbish and not connecting our internet for three weeks!) there hasn't been a competition running on the blog for a wee little while! So rest easy bloggy-compers, I have a nice juicy one for you here!

I have to give away to one lucky winner (ok well really it's for the winners child unless said winning adult has a penchant for Peppa Pig!) a 'Peppa Pig World of Playsets' toy. This very smart toy will ammuse Peppa Pig fans for literally hours. Consisting of an entire towns worth of 'buildings' the playset features six different sets in one and also includes a Peppa figure too! All six of the playset slot perfectly inside each other for easy storage and making it a great toy for taking away etc as it only needs minimal space!

I'm giving this prize away in conjunction with the launch of my new handmade craft business Daisy Days Designs. So by way of launching with a bang I'm giving you the opportunity to win this lovely prize to put a smile on any little lady or little man's Peppa-lovin' face!

As per usual entries are easy to earn, and there are loads of ways for you to earn them including the following:

• Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect (on the right, down a bit)
• Follow me on Twitter @a20somethingmum
• Tweet about the competition (this can be done daily)
• Follow/Like Daisy Days Designs on Facebook
• Follow/Like A Twenty Something Mum on facebook
• Google+1 This post
• Give me a +k on Klout in any category
• Mention Daisy Days Designs FB page on twitter

Enter via the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Competition is open until Sunday 17th June and the winner will be announced by Monday 18th June. Open to UK residents only. Winner will be contacted via email by Monday 18th June but if no response is recieved within 24 hours the winner will be re-drawn at random via Rafflecopter. 

Saturday Is Caption Day!

I have a real beauty for you all this week! A great one to caption-can't wait to read where you imaginations will run with this....

Daisy Days Designs

So as some of you know I have a dirty little secret. Now I've said that I can imagine lots more ears perking up! When I say dirty, I mean filthy-I literally have to scrub myself clean afterwards....

Get your minds out of the gutter people, I'm talking about my crafting hobby! ...I get covered in paint, sparkly bits and glue etc and have to scrub myself clean afterwards! See! Tut-Tut you lot!

So I've been spending quite a lot of time on it recently, finishing up orders for people, generating new ideas for occassions etc and finally have started a facebook page to generate a bit more traffic as I'm hoping to grow it in to something of a small business rather than a hobby! I've called it Daisy Days Designs.

Lots of you may not have known about my hobby, but some of you do and have been very supportive and ordered bits and pieces from me. So I thank those of you who are customers already and welcome those of you who aren't just yet! I've so far only got a few pieces on the page itself because in hindsight I should have taken more photo's to show the portfolio of things I can do! So now I'm just taking pictures as I go and hoping that everyone will tell their friends!

All of my items are handmade and designed by me, with my own two hands (and occassionally my toes as two hands aren't always enough!) and so have that unique, personal touch. They are all able to be personalised with names, dates and messages too to give your gift that special something making it stand out!

Currently I do hanging words/phrases, poem plaques, chalkboards, countdown chalkboards, memory boxes, door signs and plaques, garlands and buntings, freestanding letters and words, nursery decor and a huge amount of other things! So pretty pretty please would you be so kind as to head over to my newly established facebook page (you don't need facebook to see it!) and give me a 'like' as  so need all of your lovely support! Head over to the page HERE.

While you do that here are a few of my items to give you a feel for things!

Love Chloe xx

Daisy Days Designs