So before I begin and you all get the wrong idea, I’m not some old lady stuck in the times of writing letters while listening to a wireless who thinks we should all chuck our smart phones out in the bin. I am, in fact, a child of the 90’s. I got my first phone when I was 12 (the Nokia 3310 of course) and over the years my phone has become like an extra, extremely important limb. View Post
Who doesn’t love Instagram? Thousands of tiny squares full of gorgeous images, providing you with inspiration, motivation and a sneak peak into the lives of others. The whole world from every perspective is there for us to see, all we have to do is pick up our smart phone and look. I am no exception of course, I love Instagram., being a blogger as well I find it a really useful tool for connecting with other bloggers.
It has been 2 years and 6 months since I first began my journey through this crazy thing called motherhood. There are some days where I feel like I am totally nailing this mum gig, days where I feel like being a Mum is what I was put on this planet to do. There are also the bad days though. The days where nothing is going right, the tears won’t stop and the tantrums are relentless. Those awful days that make me feel like a complete and utter failure and not worthy of the prestigious title that is ‘Mummy’.
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Before Leo was born. Oli and I used to pretty much live in the cinema, back in the days where we had cash that wasn’t allocated to nappies or milk and we had this little thing called Free Time. Trips to the pictures are few and far between now but as Leo has got older we have come up with a way to continue getting our cinema fix. Instead of despairing when we can’t get a babysitter, we let our little film lover tag along with us. Yes, if you want to enjoy the cinema with your little one you are going to have to swap that action packed blockbuster for something more family friendly but, sometimes, this makes the whole experience better. I love seeing Leo’s little face light up as he gazes up at the big screen in awe, munching away on his popcorn.
2016 is going to be a great year for family friendly films and I can’t wait to start planning lots of trips to the cinema with my boys. For any other film lovers out there, I have made a list of 10 family friendly films, all due for release this year. I have included films that will hopefully appeal to children of all ages so if you have a two year old, a six year old or a thirteen year old, there should be at least one movie here you can enjoy together.
Grab some popcorn, dim the lights, get ready to enjoy the trailers and get excited for these 10 films the family will love…
1. Finding Dory
Finding Nemo is one of my favourite Pixar films and Dory is just one of the most lovable characters ever, The bright colours and under the sea adventure is sure to keep the kids entertained and being a Pixar film, the story will have enough depth to keep us grown ups happy too. Release date: June 2016
2. Kung Fu Panda 3
Jack Black is back as the voice of Po the panda, the not so masterful master of kung fu. Fans of the first two films are bound to be happy to see the return of this clumsy, excitable panda and the films are usually entertaining enough to stop us parents attempting to sneakily play on our phones. Release date: January 2016.
3. The BFG
Here is a film for any Harry Potter fans out there who need a bit of magic back on their screen. Fantastic Beasts and where to find them in based on the book by the brilliant J.K.Rowling and is about the magical creatures that live in the wizard world. This is one the whole family are sure to enjoy, who doesn’t love a bit of magic after all? Release date: November 2016
7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
It is too soon for a trailer for this but you should get excited anyway. In case you missed it, in December the whole world went crazy for Star Wars, myself included. Kids of all ages were happily going along to the cinema with their eager, fan boy/girl parents to find out what has been happening in that galaxy far, far away. I am sure everyone will be equally excited when this next instalment hits cinemas later this year. Release date: December 2016.
8. The Jungle Book.
This year The Jungle Book is getting the live action treatment and it looks amazing. Very young children should stay at home and curl up on the sofa with the original Disney animation but this is definitely one not to be missed for families with older children. I for one can not wait to see Baloo the Bear and Mowgli come to life.
9. Captain America: Civil War.
Marvel are releasing yet another Captain America film but this time with a twist. Civil War sees The Avengers interests and loyalties divide and things start to go wrong for the Captain and his old pal Iron Man. This is certainly one to watch if you and your kids are big super hero fans. Release date: April 2016.
10. The Secret Life of Pets.
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As a mum of a very energetic two year old, I spend a lot of my time at the local soft play centre. It is a good way to tire Leo out and a good excuse for us to get out of the house. Leo and I have been making regular trips to soft play since he was about six months old, sometimes we have loads of fun and other times, well, it can end in tears.
It is now January and for thousands of A level students across the country this is a very stressful month. It is the month where they need to finish writing their personal statement, gather all their teacher references and get their university application sent off to UCAS. It may have been 7 years ago for me but I can still remember what an anxious, overwhelming time it was. I decided to study media at university as it has always been my dream to write for a magazine (there is still time!) and I really enjoyed the subject.
Once in university, when I started to meet new people and tell them what I was studying, rarely were they that interested, let alone impressed. You see, many people have this fixed idea in their heads of what a media degree is all about, they envisage lazy students sitting around watching films while making the odd note or two, maybe. If you are a school pupil interested in studying media one day or a parent with a teenager hoping to fly the nest and pursue a media degree this September, I am here to tell you this is not the case.
I want future students to not feel the need to justify the degree they have chosen to other students who think they are superior, just because they are studying something more traditionally academic, I absolutely loved university but I had to work damn hard to get a first, there is a lot more to it than you may think.
Here are some genuine, common misconceptions of what people think it is like to study media…
1. It is an easy course to get in to – Wrong! When I was applying in 2009 you needed two C’s and B at A level. Granted, it is no where near the three A’s or whatever it is you need to be a doctor but you do need to achieve decent grades to get in. You can’t just show up on the first day of term, with a couple of F’s in your back pocket and except to be accepted because it’s just a media degree.
2. You just watch films all day – Nope. Of course media students have to watch some films but it is never just for fun. You watch them because you are later going to be analysing a particular scene, looking at the camera work, the semiotics, the political context or the feminist undertones. Not once did we just sit and watch a film. Unless you’re doing a film studies degree, watching films is only a very small segment of a media degree, usually only one or two modules.
3. You can name every actor/director in every film..ever – Ugh, this one really annoys me. Yes I studied media but please don’t be shocked when I ask you who that actor is or I don’t know what year a certain film was released. As I mentioned above, media lecturers are much more concerned about the deeper meaning and technical side of a film, rather than the people acting out the scenes.
4. This course must have been your second choice – Strange as it may seem, some people want to get a media degree. They enjoy the variety, the creativity it allows and learning about the history of the media and discovering how we arrived at the digital age we live in today. It is a really interesting subject and people who study it should be taken more seriously.
5. It is easy – Like most university courses, it is as easy or difficult as you want it to be. You can get by doing the bare minimum and be disappointed three years later when you don’t get the result you wanted. Or, you can work hard, listen in lectures, write essays to the best of your ability, study for your exams and then ,hopefully, you will get the result you deserve at the end. The work itself varies and differs slightly in each university but I wouldn’t say any of it was easy. When I was studying we learnt about several different media theories, video and radio production, writing for newspapers as well as online journalism. Not once was I given an assignment and thought ‘oh yay, this is going to be easy’.
6. There are no jobs once you graduate – Isn’t this the case for so many graduates though, no matter what they have studied? There are plenty of graduate schemes out there in the media sector, you just need to look and apply, apply, apply! Apply until you can’t bear to look at another application form ever again. The jobs aren’t going to just come to you, you need to put in some hard work and be prepared to sometimes work for free. So many companies want people with experience and sometimes the only way to get this is to do some good old fashioned, unpaid work experience. My life took a bit of a dramatic turn after I graduated, I ended up pregnant a few months after receiving my degree and any career of any kind has been put on hold ever since. I know with hard work and determination, when the time comes for me to go back to work, there will be media jobs waiting for my application. Nothing is certain when it comes to a career and you shouldn’t choose a degree you are not passionate about, simply based on an assumption that there is a job guaranteed for you at the end of it.
Did you or your child study media at university? Before reading this post did you share any of these common misconceptions? Have you ever had to justify your academic/career choices to other people? I would love to know what you think. I hope more people start to realise that a degree in media isn’t just an easy option and that the students are often really creative and actually, 100% of the time, they have a brain in that head of theirs.
If you want more information on studying a media degree at university, here are some useful links –
20 important reason to study media
What can I do with a media studies degree?
University rank tables for communication and media studies degrees 2016
I love watching TV, it is how Oli and I relax almost every, single evening. After a hard day, I find sitting on the sofa and watching a really good show helps me unwind and forget any stress the day has caused. However, 2015 was the year that saw me give up on lots of my once favourite TV shows. I couldn’t make it past judges houses on The X factor this year as the programme has just become so dull and predictable. Ant and Dec lost my attention only a week in to this years I’m a Celeb and even my beloved Hollyoaks lost me as a viewer after the, ridiculous, reveal of the hospital serial killer.
It is nearly Christmas! A week today Leo will be putting a mince pie out for Santa and a carrot for Rudolf and going straight to sleep while Oli and I relax on the sofa with some kind of festive beverage – well that’s the plan anyway. In reality, there will probably be the usual tears at bedtime and Oli and I will spend the evening trying to build complicated train tracks and doing our usual last minute wrapping.
I love cats. I would go as far to say that I may be a crazy cat lady. If I see a cat in the street I have to give it a little stroke and those cute cat pictures that pop up all over Facebook, well, obviously I love those too.
We have a kitten, Jessy. She is 7 months old and she is so cute. I love her to bits and she is my furry baby. Recently, I have noticed that there are occasions where she reminds me of Leo. The things they do and the way they behave are weirdly similar!
In fact, they are so similar I am able to easily write this list!
6 ways the kitten is just like the toddler…
1. Fussy eating – Leo is the fussiest eater I have ever known. It is the one thing that stresses me out most when it comes to parenting. Why won’t he eat food that isn’t beige, why? With a toddler who doesn’t like to eat, the last thing I need is a kitten who is very particular over what cat food she will eat. She’s a wild animal, technically, surely she should just be happy to eat anything? She won’t eat her Asda’s own cat food, snob, but she will eat spiders
2. Food thief’s – I know this kind of goes against point 1 but apparently their fussiness does not apply to what ever food I am eating. Eat a sandwich in front of Leo at your peril and yesterday I physically had to remove Jessy from my plate while I was eating my breakfast. I just want to enjoy my food in peace, is this asking too much?
3. Demanding – My day consists of relentless demands from the toddler and the kitten. Leo wants me to play Thomas, make play doh, get him a snack, paint pictures, play hide and seek and all the rest. At the same time, Jessy wants to curl up on my chest and be stroked all day long and if I am trying to do stuff in the kitchen she attaches herself onto my ankles, both painful and very frustrating. Just when I think I can relax in a bath in the evenings, Jessy somehow manages to open the door and jump up on the side just because, I don’t know why, she misses me maybe?
4. Lack of listening skills – Having a little person who ignores everything I say is difficult enough, throw in an ignorant cat and sometimes I really think I am going to loose my mind. No matter how many times I tell Leo not to pull all the DVD’s out of their boxes he will still do it and no matter how many times I shout at Jessy for walking on the kitchen worktops, there she is again 2 minutes later. I guess the kitten can kind of be forgiven as she doesn’t speak human, but I am sure she knows she is being naughty and just likes winding me up.
5. Poo – If I am not changing Leo’s nappy, I am cleaning out the litter tray. They both love pooing when they have just been changed/cleaned as well, why do they do this? It is like they enjoy torturing me and I am destined to spend my life cleaning up someone elses poo. I am pretty sure they are plotting to synchronise their bowel movement as well, it wouldn’t surprise me.
6. Evening craziness – Does anyone else’s toddler go mad before bed? Like, running up and down the halls in their nappy shrieking, running around in circles and roaring like a dinosaur? Well, as soon as we get Leo undressed for his bath he goes crazy hyper for about 10 minutes. Weirdly enough, about half an hour before Oli and I retire to bed, the kitten starts going mental. Charging up the stairs, hanging herself upside down and brining us toys to play fetch with (yep, she plays fetch). It is so weird, they both go on a mad one every evening, just when I am completely exhausted and want some time to myself.
So there you go, 6 ways the kitten is just like the toddler. Do you have a pet? Do you feel like they are like another child and have toddler like tendencies? Let me know 🙂
You know how people say age is just a number? Or, it doesn’t matter how old you are, it’s about how old you feel? Well, although I have been legally classed as an adult for the past 6 years, sometimes I still feel like a kid. I may be 24 but I often just want someone to hold my hand and make all the big grown up decisions for me and, you know, sort out all my bills and stuff.
You would think being married since I was 21 and being someone’s mother for the last 2 years would make me feel like an adult, wouldn’t you? Some days having the big responsibility of looking after a child makes me feel like one myself, wishing someone would come and help me out, stroke my hair and tell me it’s all going to be ok. However, now in my mid 20’s, I finally feel like I am starting to become a fully, fledged adult – a proper grown up if you will. This is not thanks to any major life changes, just silly little things that I think, in my funny old brain, only adults do!
1. I can reverse bay park/parallel park.
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2. I drink coffee, daily.
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3. I dislike most of the music on radio 1.
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4. My house plant is still alive after 3 months.
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5. I like gin (a lot).
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6. I am starting to question how good Hollyoaks actually is.
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7. I can’t remember the last time I loaned money from the Bank of Mum and Dad.
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8. Nights in are way better than nights out on the town.
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9. I voted for the first time this year.
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10. There’s this little person who calls me Mummy.
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There it is, 10 little things that make me feel all grown up. Do you have days where you don’t feel as old as you are? Is there anything you would add to this list? As always, let me know 🙂
Halloween is over, bonfire night has passed and the trees are looking pretty chilly out there, autumn (or fall for my American friends) has definitely set in. With this pretty season also comes the not so pretty, cold and wet weather. It can be tempting to just stay at home and consider hibernating until the beginning of Spring but there are still plenty of reasons to get out and enjoy the sunshine great outdoors.
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| Yay, it’s now cold enough for me to wear this very lumpy jumper I knitted. |
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| Leo is not overly sure about the trampoline. |
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| See saw..Marjorie Dore |
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| Weee! |
3. Crafts – Been on Pinterest lately? Autumn craft ideas are everywhere and if you want to get creative you are going to have to get outdoors. You can’t make an autumn collage without any leaves, or an autumnal wreath without any conkers or acorns now can you? Also, how is your toddler going to make his stick man without any sticks?
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| These became a conkers caterpillar..it was destroyed before I had time to photograph it. |
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| Collecting conkers |
4. It is fun – The days of making sandcastles on the beach may be a distant memory and there may still be a few months to go before you will be building any snow men but that doesn’t mean Autumn can’t be fun too. Why not exchange the sand for leaves and make a big leaf mountain for your toddler to jump in. Throwing leaves in the air and running through them is also a big toddler pleaser, as is crunching through them and kicking them everywhere. In case you hadn’t already guessed, my little one just loves leaves.
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| Leaf mountain!! |
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| Crunch..crunch..crunch |
Two year old’s, they are not exactly known for their obedience and good manners, in fact it is quite the opposite. Us parents struggle to get our toddlers to follow some of life’s most basic rules – ‘say please and thank you’, ‘don’t run around by the road’, ‘don’t snatch’. However, our little darlings are more than happy to follow their own, toddler approved set of rules.
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| This is what I look like after 2 hours sleep..zzz! |
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| My brave boy. |
