Top 5 Car Movies of All Time

There’s nothing better than a great road movie. With the adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s legendary beat generation book ‘On the Road’ hitting cinemas this year, it’s a great time to look back at some of the defining road movies that have come to pass. There are hundreds to choose from, but these are our top five.

5. Rain Man

Rain Man just had to make our list. Harrowing, hilarious, moving and at times heart-stoppingly tense, it’s a film that has everything. Two estranged brothers meet and take an unforgettable road trip across America.

Witha razor-sharp script, incredible performances from Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise and some fantastic cinematography of American scenery, it’s hard not to fall in love with this film.

4. Easy Rider

Easy Rider is a film that defined a generation, and it would be hard to leave it out of any top five films list. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper both starred in and wrote the film, with Fonda producing and Hopper directing.

Both leading men give incredible performances as bikers travelling from Los Angeles to New Orleans, and there is a wonderful cameo from Jack Nicholson. With some fantastic shots of the American open road, this movie offers a great insight into this fascinating era, and is an essential part of the road movie genre.

3. Duel

For anyone who thinks Steven Spielberg has only dabbled in big-budget films, think again. Duel is a film on a shoestring that focuses on the universal psychology of fear, rather than expensive special effects. When a man in his car overtakes an old truck, the truck driver begins to pursue him along the open road. The film builds up such an incredible level of tension that at points it becomes almost unwatchable, and yet it is impossible to look away.

This was the first feature film Steven Spielberg directed, and it set him firmly on the path to his world-famous career. Despite this film being initially produced for American TV, its success meant it was extended in length and shipped out to European countries for cinema release.

2. Dumb and Dumber

Hapless Harry and Lloyd can do no right on their ill-advised trek across America in search of Mary ‘Samsonite’ Swanson, the well-heeled woman who inadvertently steals Lloyd’s heart.

The story of idiotic buddies travelling across America, and accidentally embroiling themselves in a crime caper too ridiculous to describe, might seem lightweight, but it’s hard to ignore the incredible comedy performances of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

The directors – the Farrelly brothers – went on to direct a whole host of ‘gross out’ comedies in subsequent years and, although they enjoyed major success with films like There’s Something About Mary, it is difficult to beat the hilarious naivety of Harry and Lloyd’s epic journey.

1. Thelma and Louise

Produced and directed by Ridley Scott, with heavyweight leading ladies Susan Sarandon and Geena Davies, this film was always going to be a success. Add Harvey Keitel to the mix, along with an emerging Brad Pitt, and you have the makings of a classic.

This is the story of two women on the run after committing murder, with the FBI in hot pursuit. For car fanatics, the Thunderbird convertible in which they travel is the true star of the movie. Callie Khouri’s fantastic script deservedly won an Oscar, and the film was a financial and critical success.

Thelma and Louise broke all the rules, and we’re pretty sure Harry and Lloyd didn’t have car insurance for their hastily purchased Lamborghini. But we have to be a little more cautious in real life, and adequate car insurance cover can help to keep you protected on the road.


Author Bio:
Jeremy Chapman is a regular contributor to the Sainsbury’s Money Matters blog,and loves writing about driving. In his spare time he can usually be found making himself giddy in a Go Kart!

** This is a guest post from the Sainsburys Money Matters Blog**

Daisy Days Designs-Memory Box Competition!

I have been a busy bee recently with lots of orders through my little handmade crafts and signs business Daisy Days Designs. I've also taken the time to try out some new ideas which has been lots of fun and given me lots to showcase! My newest favourite are these large Childrens Name Letters for the wall with an animal theme! These are selling fast and I absolutely love making them so it's a joy to hear back when they are enjoyed by customers! What do you think of these, do you like my newest creations?

Another newbie for me is personalised wooden buntings. I've got a Mickey Mouse mad son so he inspired me to do some Mickey Mouse buntings for boys and  Minnie Mouse ones for girls, at only £3.50 per letter these are selling fast too-any takers for some of these!?

With Christmas not that long away now (don't throw things at me for mentioning the 'C' word ok?!) I'm starting to work on personalised Christmas items so if you are looking for anything in particular or would like to start shopping for the most unique, personalised gifts then hop on over to my page here for some inspiration!

I can pretty much do anything for any occassion. So if you have a person/occassion in mind then get in touch and I can give you some ideas of what I can do!

For now though a special treat! My memory boxes are one of my best sellers. They can be personalised with any name/detail on the top and can be done in any theme you choose! I am giving one lucky reader the opportunity to win one by entering this competition! Not just for babies memory boxes-for Mummies Special Things, Grandad's Bits and Bobs-the choice is endless! You can win your very own totally unique and personalised box just by entering this easy competition!

Entrance by rafflecopter is easy peasy and you can earn entries by doing any of the following:

• Liking A Twenty Something Mum on facebook
• Following @a20somethingmum on twitter
• Liking Daisy Days Designs on facebook (when you do this, after you click 'like' you need to keep your cursor hovering over the 'like' button for a second or two and a selection box will come up-you need to click 'show in news feed' for you entry to be counter)
• Tweeting about the competition (can be done daily)
• Posting about the competition on facebook for your friends and family to see
• Giving me a +k on klout in any category
• Follow this blog on Google Friend Connect
• Google+1 this post

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This competition is open until 24th August and is open to Uk and Northern Ireland residents only. Winner will be drawn at random within 24 hours of competition close and is required to respond within a further 24 hours or else winner is null and void and a new winner will be re-drawn!

My Lovely Treat!

Ever wanted to forget your troubles and go back to those pre-baby days? Just for a few hours? Or indulge in something extravagant like you used to before becoming a parent?...I know I do! Sometimes even the most normal things are difficult to achieve when you have children, and the bigger things?! Well they are near impossible! I can't remember the last time I went out for a gourmet meal and spent an adult evening drinking good wine and eating good food-now days my eating out capabilities and suitabilities stretch to Frankie and Benny's or Macdonalds!

So imagine my joy when Experience Days contacted me to offer me a voucher to spend...on whatever I liked! Yes, what I wanted-not Joshua, not baby daddy-just me! I nearly spat my tea over my laptop with excitement when the email came through!

Looking on their website I lost count of all the wonderful things that took my fancy! Obvisouly my first choice was using the voucher for some sort of relaxation indulgence like a Spa day because Lord knows I need some pampering and preening! But then I looked at everything else they offer and felt stumped! Theres far more choice than I expected! Beautiful meals out, exotic cookery classes, photography sessions and so much more!

Of course other people have other ides on how to use the voucher-something car based in baby daddies case. However I am adament this is Mummies treat and that's that. The only problem is deciding what treat I fancy the most?! Oh it's a hard life isn't it?!

I will have to keep looking at all the choices and will keep you posted on where I decide to use my voucher!

Love Chloe xx

You Cutey

People who know me would describe me as having expensive taste. Personally I think that's the understatement of the year!  Prior to my baby making days I would think nothing of blowing hundreds of pounds worth of my very hard earn wages on single shopping sprees. Those were the days when a price tag of double digits didn't make me physically recoil, followed by mutterings of the 'good old days' when I could actually have afforded something that was considered expensive! So now thanks to my 'mummy' status and the onslaught of changed priorities thanks to my son, I find it really hard to justify spending money really, on anything for myself.

I wrote earlier this week, as I often do, about how I made the sacrifice of having a level of disposable income in order to stay at home with Joshua. It's the choice all of us mums have to make-have more money and sacrifice time with our offspring OR have no money and too much time with our offspring (and the usually accompanyment of Mickey Mouse and Peppa Pig etc). But that doesn't mean my taste has changed, oh no. Never one to be fully defeated, I still see Louis Vuitton bags and start drooling, I still practically lick the windows at Tiffany's and even have to peel myself away from the likes of Warehouse, Oasis and River Island. I still love all sorts of beautiful things, I just can't actually afford any of them now!

So I spend a lot of time looking at quirky brands who can offer me a hit of couture, without a coronary inducing price tag! I came across Cutey when I was surfing the web (not quite exotic, bikini surfing as slobbed over the sofa with baby food all over me) and looking for Shamballa bracelets. I am lucky enough to have a Tressor bracelet, given to me by my best friend but, in true fashionista style-I've now got the bug and one colour isn't enough! Unable to afford over £100 on a bracelet I was looking for alternatves. Luckily Cutey provide that alternative in several different colours!

I decided gold would be a great alternative as my Tressor bracelet is silver so gold would be good at balancing out the elements! While I was there I found myself drawn to their other items. I've not been hit by this whole 'pandora bracelet' epidemic. To me I don't personally like them enough to spend that sort of money. I like them, but just not hundreds of pounds enough! Cutey sell some very similar but at a fraction of the price! Win/Win for me!

Waiting for my bracelets, I was like a kid at Christmas. A Cutey Virgin, I was excited to get my jewellery and was not disappointed when it arrived. The Eros Charm Bracelet was so girlie and pretty-very me! And because it's so fresh in pinks/greeny teals it goes with a lot of outfits. In fact I wear it far more than expected because it's so easy to wear. Now when I'm stuck at home with the little man, I may only be able to wear leggings and boring tops (damage limitation) but add my Eros bracelet and feel that little bit more feminine! It's nice to remind myself of that feeling once in a while!

The Shamballa bracelet was excellent too, a perfect match for my silver one-this was just as stunning. The crystals all catch the light and it looks so expensive! I love it!

The Eros charm bracelet is only £12.99 and the shamballa bracelet was only £18.99. Less than £30 later and I've had my hit of couture and not dropped a bomb on my bank! Sometimes it's nice to be able to feel like you've got that designer edge, to feel like you've indulged without breaking the bank and Cutey are absolutely perfect for that!

Check out their website and range here at www.cutey.co.uk

Saturday is Caption Day!

So I have a fun one for you this week after not being able to join in for the past few weeks! Here's a picture of my almost two year old indulging in a bit of my current read...yes, it is 50 Shades of Grey! Have fun captioning this one!!

Love Chloe! x

The Most Beautiful Video I've Ever Seen

I had to share with you all probably one of the sweetest most beautiful things I've ever seen! I started blubbing like a baby when I watched it! This video shows an 8 month old, beautiful boy who was born deaf. The video shows his reaction to Cochlear Implant being activated and him hearing his Mummy's voice for the very first time-have the tissues at the ready people!!

Love Chloe xx

Double Bluff

I love being a Mum. I love being Joshua's mum. Sometimes I love it so much I could burst!

I love being a mum when Joshua wakes up at 6am every morning demanding cartoon time. I love being a mum when it's so early to me that I struggle to instruct my eyeballs to loose their 'far too early' squint and give me some sort of vision ability to make it out of my pit and down the stairs without tripping over while carrying said child down the stairs!

I love being a mum when I am draped over the sofa, trying to suffocate myself with a throw cushion as Peppa bloomin' Pig snorts her oh-so-familiar-and-therefore-annoying snort. I love being a mum when I realise that I can't remember a time when my days didn't start without an animated character.

I love being a mum when my son takes advantage of my 'fragile' early morning status. I love being a mum when my sons new trick is to remove his pyjammas and nappy (while I struggle to get my brain and ass in gear enough for breakfast time) and go on to pee or worse, poo all over the floor. I love being a mum when I remove the throw cushion from my head, early morning squint still there and sniff...I love being a mum when the realisation hits that my son has pooed on my carpet and is now holding it. Lovely.

I love being a mum when I realise that unless I run a bath at this Godforsaken hour for Joshua then I'm going to be smelling the smell of epic mummy failure all day in the scent of his poo.

I love being a mum when Joshua is famished enough to want a second piece of toast for breakfast and I therefore pop one in the toaster...and forget about it until I return from my only alone toilet visit of the day, and find the kitchen filled with smoke. Toast completely incinerated.

I love being a mum when I catch a glimpse of myself in the hallway mirror and actually scare myself. I love being a mum when I thank the Lord that no other person has to see me like this, I would actually be incarcerated for scaring small children to the point of tears, the sight is that bad!

I love being a mum when I realise I was so tired last night I passed out and I forgot to take my make-up off and notice my early morning squint has now gone, normal vision has returned and I see panda eyes staring back at me with purple eyeshadow smeared across my cheek, and ashamedly a trace of a dribble line across my chin. I love being a mum when the postman then knocks on the door.

I love being a mum when I plan my day ahead and it's filled with cleaning, ironing and running errands. I love being a mum when I sigh with lack of enthusiasm and remind myself that I chose this life! I love being a Mum when I look at the huge pile of ironing and can't remember why!

I love being a mum when I have to have a speed shower, washing my hair with one hand and shaving my legs with the other while also trying to wedge the door shut from a little monster (ok, toddler) who is adament he wants to come in too. Clothed or not. I love being a mum when I get out in record time only to realise I've only shaved one armpit.

I love being a mum when my sons newest communication is to pant and whinge at the same time, driving me crazy. I love being a mum when it begins at 8.30am and I know it will go on until 7pm.

I love being a mum when I catch my son with my crafting paint. I love being a mum when I realise he's snuck in to the cupboard, pulled a small can of wall paint out and proceeded to remove the lid. I actually do love being a mum when I'm about a second away from it going all over my laminate floor.

I love being a mum when my son decides to practice his other new art form of tantruming. Squeezing his eyes shut, opening his mouth and making the closest sound he can to a cry. I love being a mum when I laugh at him doing it and he peaks open his eyes to see my reaction and then actually does cry when he sees I'm laughing at him, not the reaction he wanted.

I love being a mum when it feels like I've been awake for eternity, experienced so much during this 'day' and it should be bedtime...but it's only 11am.

I love being a mum when Peppa (now effing, not bloomin'-it's evolved) Pig is STILL on tv, and I think if I hear her whiny voice one more time I may drop kick my tv through the window.

I love being a mum when I try to ring Joshua's Daddy and realise that at 11am he's still in bed. I love being a mum when I'm filled with contempt, and plot ways to feed him cat food and other acts of revenge.

Today there are lots of reasons why I love being a Mum, these are just a small selection of them. What do I do when I love being a mum this much, I hear you ask? ...I start a countdown until wine o'clock and barter with myself that it's ok for it to come early once in a while.

Don't you just love being a Mum?!

Love Chloe xx

Top Tops For Making Your Money Go Further As A Mummy

As a mummy, something that I've had to learn more about is balancing my finances. Before having Joshua, although I had outgoings for my own house, the majority of my money went on clothes, a serious shoe habit and a penchant for nice bags and expensive make-up! Not to mention a huge DVD and CD collection! Considering I was 22 when I was pregnant I don't actually think there was anything wrong in that, I think it's normal for young people to work hard and enjoy their wages! The whole work hard, play harder thing rings in my ears as I remember my regular blow outs in various shopping center's...sigh. Nowday's though I have made the sacrifice of having any level of disposable income in order to be at home full time with Josh. I would happily rather give up nice clothes etc to be at home with my little man, but sometimes that shoe habit does resemble something of a child having a tantrum deep down inside me as I withhold new additions from it! Oh the things we do for parenthood hey?!

Joshua is now two and I have learnt far more about making my money go further in the last two years than ever before. Literally because I've had to! I like to think that a lot of what I've learnt is common sense (which yes admittedly I was lacking pre-baby!) but I wanted to share with you my top tips for making your money go further as a Mummy. I'm writing this because although now to me it seems like common sense (only after 2 years of practice may I add!), a friend who recently had  a baby asked me how I make ends meet and get through each month-she wasn't even aware of some of what I said! So here are my top tips for making your money go further as a mummy!

1. Ebay. I can't recommend it enough as a parent. I used ebay before having Joshua to buy and sell the odd thing but it's really stepped up a gear in the last two years for me. In the early years, especially the first two, children grow literally at the rate of knots! I swear sometimes that I turn around and Joshua is that little bit taller *squints and eyes him suspiciously* So because of that I make sure that anything that is still in good condition goes on ebay when it no longer fits him. I think of it as recycling! I sell one size of clothing to help fund the next! I've learnt what brands sell best and now when I do buy things I make part of my buying decesion based on what will fetch the most on ebay when we are finished with it! Next clothing for example can sometimes go for almost what you paid for it. Character clothing too. I'm no snob and will also buy things for Joshua on there too. As well as Joshua's things I also use ebay to sell household things, my things and anything that will fetch an extra few pounds. More often than not the spare cash  do have has been generated on ebay!

2. Shopping around. Nowdays the big boys of the supermarket brands are all fighting for our custom, especially with the cost of living being so high (Oh Gosh I sound like my Grandmother there!). With being a stay at home mum, I find that having time to shop around has really saved me a lot of money. With Baby Events yo-yoing between Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys and Morrisons I can usually flit between one or the other to get nappies up to half the normal price. At any one time there is usually one going on, or one not far off so it's worth stocking up. I regularly can save upwards of £5 per pack of nappies which all adds up. Things like wet wipes and baby toiletries all often go to £1 each or less in the events and mean you can pay less than half price.
Aside from the Baby Events it's so worth taking note of the adverts on the radio, tv and in the paper. I never used to look at them until I realised how beneficial they were. For example last week I heard an advert on the radio about Asda's cleaning event where everything was £1...the day AFTER I did my cleaning product shop at an opposing supermarket. Looking at the prices I paid £7 extra for picking the wrong supermarket! I'm still training my brain to take more note of things like this!
So if you have the time to flit between supermarkets for different things then you can really save a huge amount off your weekly shop.

3. Meal Planning. Another food point, I know! And I can honestly say I HATE this one, but it's worth it. I never, EVER used to meal plan. More often than not I would decide at tea time what to cook and go out to our local Budgens store (cough, OVER PRICED, RIP OFF ,cough) and get ingreadiants I didn't have. I would find myself spending up to an extra £30 a week doing this! Now when I go food shopping I make sure to buy seven different meals, getting everything I need for them in advance. Combined with the above point about shopping around, I've noticed a huge difference in the amount of money we spend on food. I can't bring myself to go to the extreme of planning what food we will have on each night in advance, I do like to still feel a little bit spontanious still! But if it works for you to do that then go for it!

4.Asking. I used to take Joshua to an indoor play area once a week and pay almost £7 per time for us to go there. Never had I seen anything or heard anything about an incentive scheme there...until I overheard someone talking about it in hushed tones! When I asked the staff I was told if you kept your reciept you could come back and play for free within 5 days! Not a new scheme, just something they didn't like to promote! So that worked well for Joshua-he gets to play more often now and I don't have to pay. It's worth asking at places yo regularly visit if they have schemes, or cheaper ticket times available.

5. Be Shameless! I used to walk right past the clearance sections in shops. Nowdays I make a point of looking! Boots is a great one! I don't often buy anything in there these days as everything they sell can be bought cheaper elsewhere and I generally find the staff really unhelpful (I can say that as I worked there once-they treat the staff just as bad so that's probably why). But there clearance racks are excellent. I bought an £11 face primer I use on a daily basis for £1 just because it didn't have a box! I even managed to buy Joshua a pair of snuggle fit pj's in there for £1.50 once too! Pride aside it's worth a mooch and a root through!

6. Be Prepared. Another big thing I've learnt since being a mum. I never used to take much with me when I went out, just purse and make-up bag (can you see my priorities?!) now days I have a bag full, preparing me for the apocalypse if needs be! It's so expensive to buy drinks and snacks when your out so now I won't leave the house without a fresh bottle of Juice for Joshua and at least three different snacks as well as the usual changing bag contents. I also still take a full spare outfit. I learnt the hard way when I broke down once an hour from home and waiting for the AA found that I had to spend a fortune in the garage feeding Joshua and me and then buying an entire pack of nappies and wipes after finding I didn't have any. Then there was the time we had a nappy explosion and no spare clothes so off we had to go to find replacements...the list goes on. I never leave the house unless I'm prepared for the unexpected these days!

7. Reward Schemes. I'm now one of those women who holds in the queue's in shops as I scrabble through my purse for the relevant loyalty card. I've got that many it takes me an absolute age to track the right one out! Even for a tiny spend, I won't ever not use it because it all adds up. Prior to being a mummy I found the Advantage Card at boots to be the best but as I don't buy much there any more, I find it's used the least but for 4 points per pound, if you do shop there it all adds up. The best ones are the Tesco Clubcard and the Nectar Card. Tesco often run their points events where you can double your money which is great for us and thanks to that, Joshua got a whole new set of garden toys which saved me over £30! The nectar card is great too and I like it because it gives you the flexibility to use it on the day too, where the clubcard doesn't. When you get enough points you can redeem up to £2.50 off your shop at Sainsburys and if you are only spending a small amount then it's great. I prefer to spend my points as and when rather than save them but everyone is different.

8. Maximise your potential.  If you have a skill, a hobby or just something you love to do then look at how you can bring in some money from it. For me, I've always been very creative and always liked to make things and paint. It seemed a no brainer for me to do something with this so in the last month or two I launched my little handmade, personalised gifts business-it's called Daisy Days Designs . It's in it's early stages, but I have a facebook page I sell from and now am booked in to various craft fairs. I've done two already and made about £100 profit from the two together which is actually better than I expected. If you can make something that people would buy and do several craft fairs etc then £100 a week is the equivalent to a well paid part time job! And you can do it from home and enjoy it too.

It might not be rocket science to most but if you do all of these then your weekly savings will be massive. I've tried to use examples of how it's saved me money and on some weeks the savings have been over £50 which is massive. I hope this has been helpful for some of you and if you have any other tips then leave them below in the comments! As Mummies the job is hard enough without worrying about money!

Love Chloe. xx

Joshua's Referrals

With no laptop for the last week or two I've not been able to blog at all, which was a rather painful experience, let me tell you! Especially with the few weeks I've had, I've come to pour out my thoughts, feelings...Mother-In-Law irratations etc (!)  all here on my blog and not being able to 'vent' and share with all you lovelies has made for one very overwhelmed Mummy. So *hugging you all in a tight hug* I'm glad to be back.

If you read regularly you know that I've often worried about the fact that Joshua seems to be facing some difficulties with regards to his development. Joshua is the most lively, loving, funny and fun loving little boy you could wish to meet. However you all know that I've been worrying about his lack of speech. He's 23 months and a little while ago we had a very small amount of words which have now gone altogether and no more have reared their much wanted little heads. He is constantly chattering away in his own gibberish but none of it is actual human speak. Alien/toddler speak yes, human speak-no.

To add to this, I've never really discussed my concerns with his mental development on here. I always felt very uneasy about it, concerned and not really wanting to accept their is a chance their could be something wrong. Joshua is a typical little boy-VERY active and 100 miles an hour ALL the time. That's fine but he doesn't actually have an attention span, which at his age he should do. He won't sit and play with a toy, he doesn't understand the concept of puzzles and is very obsessed with emptying things and putting them back in, repeat and repeat and repeat. His lack of attention span means he's difficult to teach anything and combined with his lack of speech means he has now been referred to various types of specialists-including a pediatrician team who asses for behavioral and developmental issues.

When I finally plucked up the courage to address my concerns our Health Visitor gave him an assesment and agreed their was cause for referral in several areas (not to mention the difficulties I have with his eating and he's now seeing a dietician about it) and I now have two appointments in place and am waiting for the other two. I'm hoping that it will be something as simple as him needing gromits as to why he doesn't speak (because he can't hear the pronunciation of words correctly to repeat) and that he's just an over active little boy who just needs the right sort of stimulation and interaction. The other possibilities that were mentioned are far too scary for me to address at the moment.

On the flip side we were advised to do lots of role play which is where the baby and pushchair came in a few weeks ago and Joshua is loving to do lots of pretend cooking in his own kitchen with my pans and spoons! I already see a difference in him just with the few things I was advised to do in the meantime while we wait for our appointments. Sometimes I feel like it's shameful to admit that as a mother, I don't always know what to do. I don't always know how to help, and I don't always know what the correct thing to do actually is. Asking the Health Visitor what I should be doing with Joshua at the moment to stimulate him was scary and almost embarrassing for me and yet with her advice I've already seen a huge change and a great leap in the right direction in Joshua. It's really made me want to reassure others that it's ok to ask for advice, but it's more ok to know that as mothers, we don't and we won't always have the answers on our own!

Have any of you ever been worried about your childs developemnt, perhaps noticing that they are behind where they should be? I would love to hear from you if you've been in my shoes!

Love Chloe xx

I'm Back!

Hurray! I am finally back online! My poorly computer had to have a visit to the PC Doctor this last week or two, which although needed was like missing a limb! I now realise I may need to find a support group for laptop addicts, I literally am hooked to mine! I went the whole nine yards with withdrawal too-moodiness, sense of overwhelming loss and uncontrollable twitching. Not good. Thank goodness it's been returned to me, fixed, working and just calling my name to use it and catch up on the hundreds of emails, twitter conversations and blog posts I've missed out on!

So my lovelies, please don't think I'd abandoned you, I would never dare as most of you know too much anyway! But here I am, back, blogging and twitching has now been laid to rest! Main question is-what have I missed?! *looks suspiciously around*

Joshua The 'Daddy'

I'm not shy when it comes to sharing my opinions with you - my lovely readers. One thing I feel very strongly is gender neutralisation. I wrote a post a while ago about a mother who raised her seven year old boy as a gender neautral child. She didn't even tell friends or family if the child was actually a girl or boy. He had a neautral name, neutral hair cut etc and could make the choice for daily clothing from girls skirts and dresses or boys trousers or shorts. It made for very unsettling reading for me because I don't agree that gender neutralisation is right in children-to that extreme.

Joshua this week was treated to a new toy-a boys dolls pram and boy doll. Whenever we go to groups or he goes to Sunday School at Church, or even at friends houses-the first thing he goes for is a dolls pram and loves to ram it around, whizzing it here, there and everywhere. I have never had a problem with this because with Joshua's problems with his lack of attention span, I have been advised to encourage anything he does that grips his attention and activly encourage role play. However Joshua's daddy was a lot less encouraging of the whole dolls pram thing for his son. Until he saw the sheer joy and entertainment Joshua found in playing with it at a friends birthday party at the weekend. Such was the extent of Joshua's enjoyment that his daddy gave me the money to buy him his own boys pram and doll. Turn around for the books eh?!

We went to the Early Learning Centre the next day as the only place I could find a blue, specifically  for boys, dolls pram. Finding a boy doll was easier as these are more common. Imagine my suprise and also my pleasure in hearing the lady say to me that they sell more of the boys prams than any of their girls style prams! That says to me that it's not 'wussy' to allow your son to play with dolls and prams, not when they are two years old anyway!

The difference to me is that I allow Joshua to play with a toy which shouldn't really be seen as only for girls. I don't however allow him to grow up unsure of whether he is a boy or a girl. Far from making a child more sure of who they are by not accepting the boundaries of girls and boys limitations, I feel gender neutralisation will actively make a child more unsure of their place in the world. I'm happy to allow Joshua to play with a dolls pram etc but wouldn't let him wear girls clothes etc. Especially because I know of a man who sadly is a very damaged individual because his mother allowed him to wear girls clothes as a child and encouraged him to live a more feminine lifestyle than was neccessary.

So as Joshua charges around with his dolls pram, and looks after his 'baby', I am relishing in his adoration and care for this little plastic dolly! I know he enjoys playing with his football and his sand pit as much as his dolls pram and I also know that as he grows up the dolls pram will be a source of embarassment for him as he grows to like cars and trains etc! He's two so I see no harm in his playing with it but it doesn't mean anything more than him liking to play with a doll and pram!

What do you think, does he look like he's being a good 'daddy'?!

Love Chloe xx

Our Day At Woburn Safari Park

This week we did something very special. Joshua has been such a good boy recently and I felt he was in need of a treat. Seeing how interested he is in animals and how excited he gets watching them, I decided it was time for his first visit to Woburn Safari Park! I must admit though, I don't know who was more excited about it-me or Josh! I've been several times since I was a child but knowing this was Josh's first trip made it much more exciting!

We are lucky enough to live only about an hours drive from Woburn so it's not too far with a little one in the car! We set off for the Safari Park mid morning and were there by lunchtime, talking animals and animal noises all the way! As you all know, Josh is nearly two and at this age he is really visually responsive so when he see's animals he gets really excited. Knowing this, I was so excited to see his reaction that I was like a Child at Christmas!

Woburn Safari Park is known for it's Road Safari. This is where you can drive round their 360 acre park which is FULL of all sorts of animals. Considering the weather is 'iffy' at the best of times at the moment, being able to still do something fun and entertaining while not being exposed to the constant and unpredictable rains showers, is a huge bonus because for the Road Safari you don't even need to get out of the car. You just sit tight and drive round looking at all the various animals as you go!

The safari is split in to different zones, which seperate the types of animals in the park. There is a section as you drive in for the elephants which are always a big hit there. Joshua was so excited when he saw them he clenched his fists and made a sound something like "eek" as he struggled to express the extent of his excitement. It was so cute!

Here you get to see things like the Zebra's and the Giraffe's as well as buffalo too! Then there is the Kingdom of The Carnivores' which house the Lions, Tigers and Bears-basically all the scary meat eating animals! We liked this part of the safari because Joshua made the connection between the Lions and Tigers and Cats all on his own. As one of his only words is 'Cat' he quickly recognised the similarities between the animals and Nanna's cats at home and everytime we saw one would point and say "Cat"!

My personal favourites were the Giraffe's though-I've always loved them the most! They are so beautiful and as Nanna and Grandad reminded me as we were looking at them-I used to call them 'Dragons' when I was little-no idea why! 

The thing that everyone has in common when they go to Woburn Safari is their love for the monkey enclosure! Even us adults were excited to see if the monkeys would pick our car to jump up on to! And as soon as we drove in, the monkey's seemed attracted to our car, they were all over us! Joshua found it hilarious watching them jump up and down on the car and walk on the roof. However as he sat on Grandads lap one did jump right up and look him in the face-he wasn't too sure about that close proximity and it did frighten him a little bit! I personally don't think I've squealed with as much delight in years, I loved it!

You can drive around the Road Safari as many times as you like which is great but there is also the Foot Safari to explore where you can get upclose and personal with Penguins, Lemurs, Wallabies, Sheep, Goats and more. This is great for younger children who can't sit still for long periods! When you are going around the Foot Safari there is also talks and feeding times which you can plan in to your visit. This is great for children who are enthusiastic enough to touch the animals!

We took a lovely picnic with us to eat and found a great spot in the picnic area overlooking the lake where you can hire pedal swans. We got to eat a yummy picnic watching families play and race their swans while Josh got to feed all the ducks and Geese that were milling around the picnic area! He was more interested in making sure that the ducks had a good lunch than he was in eating his own! But he's always loved feeding the ducks and these one's weren't frightened of being close to people which meant Joshua was in his element!

Before we even thought about leaving we made sure we had a pit stop at the gift shop to buy a few little trinkets to remind us of Joshua's first safari visit and we also went to the toddler play area which Josh also loved! The do have play areas for older children too, not just toddlers which means the kids can run off all their energy after sitting in the car for the Road Safari!

The only thing we didn't get to do was go on the train that takes you around the Camel and Zebra enclosure's. This looked great but we missed it, which was disappointing but next time it will be first on our list!

Joshua spent the day so excited, happy and totally in his element which in turn made me enjoy the trip myself all the more! I don't think we've ever had a better day out than we did at Woburn Safari Park and I would deffinately go again because there is so much to do you can't get bored or run out of ideas! The whole park was exactly as much fun as I remembered from when I was younger, except this time I got to enjoy it myself and also enjoy see Joshua's enthusiasm too! I would totally recommend Woburn Safari Park to every family, it's a great day out which can last as little or as long as you like and it's perfect for all weather too.

 One thing is for sure-it doesn't matter how young or old you are, everyone will love Woburn Safari Park!

Visit the Woburn Safari Park website for details, directions and entry prices here.

**This is a sponsored post we were sent tickets to visit the safari park but all thoughts and opinions are my own**