Film review: Trainwreck

Last night my amazing Nan looked after Leo so Oli and I could go out for the evening. When faced with a whole evening to ourselves, my husband and I are not ones to head out for food to a fancy restaurant or go out for drinks in some flashy bar. If we have a baby free night then there is only one place we are going and that is to the cinema.

We usually end up watching a film we are both looking forward to, so it is not very often just one of us chooses the film. Last night we went to watch Trainwreck, a film that is much closer to the romantic comedy than it is to the action packed blockbuster. It was totally my choice but I am pleased to say that although it’s plot was essentially just another love story, Oli laughed a long just as much as me.

Image courtesy of imdb.com


Trainwreck is about magazine writer Amy (Amy Schumer) who, as a child, took the warning words from her father that ‘monogamy is not realistic’ to heart. As an adult, Amy is career driven, promiscuous and in her own words ‘a very sexual person’. She seems to be enjoying her carefree lifestyle and ridicules all the people around her who are in happy relationships, most of all her younger sister Kim.

However, everything changes when Amy is forced to interview and write an article about sports doctor and surgeon, Aaron Connors (Bill Hader). Although Amy was not the one to pitch the article, her pushy, bitchy boss forces her into it, her logic being Amy’s hatred for sport would make for an edgier article. Things start to change for Amy as she and Aaron start to fall for each other. It is not all easy for them though and you are left wondering until the very end if poor old Amy will ever find true love.

If you want to have a good laugh but also get drawn in to a great plot with characters you can relate to, then Trainwreck is definitely the film for you. I have not seen Amy Schumer in anything before, I was pleasantly surprised at how good she was. She plays Amy brilliantly, her jokes funny and perfectly timed. The film starts strong with a hilarious scene where we see young Amy and Kim being grilled by their cheating, about to be divorced father, as he compares Kim’s doll to his wife, ‘how would you feel if I told you that you can only play with that one doll..forever?’. The jokes keep coming as we meet Amy and she gives us a glimpse into her promiscuous lifestyle, be prepared for lots of cringe inducing sex scenes that are also laugh your pants off funny.

Just as Schumer makes an excellent leading lady, Bill Hader surprised me and was interesting as well as funny in his role as love interest Aaron. It was nice to see Hader in a leading role and he and Schumer work really well together on screen. Trainwreck starts to lose it’s way slightly in the middle when things take a bit of a more serious turn. The jokes become few and far between and unless you are up to date on all your American sports players, some of the jokes may go whizzing over your head like a basketball thrown by LeBron James, he’s in it by the way. Fear not, I did not stay bored for long and as the film started to wrap up I found myself laughing again and during the final scene I could not stop smiling. Schumer, girl, you have got some moves.

There has not been a film since Bridesmaids that has made me laugh this much. If you are a fan of the 2011 Kristen Wiig chick flick then I am pretty confident you well love this film too. Both films are directed by Judd Aptow and have the same kind of feel, a funny girl prone to self destructive behaviour falls in love – what’s not to like?

I loved this film and inspired by Amy’s party antics, Oli and I headed to the pub after. It is not very often we have a baby sitter, we don’t all have the luxury of drinking champagne in the morning like a certain Amy.

Rating: * * * *  


Planning a minion birthday party

Leo is 2! My baby boy is growing so fast, before I know it he will be kitted out in a cute little uniform and be starting school. Let’s not talk about that now though or I might start crying.

To celebrate my not so little man’s birthday we threw him a minion themed birthday party. I toyed with the idea of a Gruffalo or Peppa Pig theme but Leo has become obsessed with master criminal Gru’s little yellow friends. When I sat and really thought about it, it was clear only minions would do.

The birthday boy.

Once the minion theme was chosen, it was time to get planning. As we all know money does not grow on trees, unfortunately, so I did not go completely crazy buying things for Leo’s party.

I turned to Pinterest to find some minion party inspiration. I found loads of amazing ideas, I ended up only using a couple recipes due to my lack of time/money but if you want some minion/Gruffalo or Peppa inspiration then check out my party ideas board.

Although I love the idea of homemade party tableware and bunting I just didn’t have the time last week to get anything like that done. Luckily for me, minions are everywhere at the minute thanks to the summer release of their very own feature length film. I did not have to delve too far into the Internet to find hundreds of websites selling minion party packs. I bought this pack from party pieces for £13, it includes enough plates and cups for 8 people as well as a tablecloth, napkins, a banner and balloons. Leo now has the table cloth on his little table at home, no more scrubbing Weetabix off wood for me..yay! This pack had everything we needed but larger packs are available for bigger parties. Leo loved all the balloons and seemed very happy that minions had taken over my parents house for the day.

Balloons..are..amazing!!

The thing I was most excited about was creating minion themed food. Baking is a big hobby of mine so I knew straight away I would be making Leo’s birthday cake. I went for a classic Victoria sponge and created the minion face on top using yellow, Blue and black ready to roll fondant icing. I used marshmallows for the eyes with piped black buttetcream icing for the mouth and hair. Leo was very pleased with it, his little face lighting up when we brought it out with a chorus of happy birthday.

Leo’s birthday cake.

As well as the birthday cake I made lots of little cupcakes with yellow buttetcream icing and mini marshmallow eyes.  My Dad and my Nan made a couple dozen biscuits decorated with minion character rice paper. We bought a couple packs of minion Haribo as well from W H Smith’s, sweets overload! For a healthier minion food option I bought a large punnet of blueberries and pineapple chunks and mixed them up in a bowl, these went down better than I had expected.

These took ages but went down a treat.

As for party games, there are loads of minion activities you could do: a minion pinata, make your own minion face balloons, minion face painting. There are loads of ideas of pinterest, oh how I love that app! Leo is still a bit young to fully understand games and he is not a fan of crafts so he just played with his new toys, ran around with his cousins and when they were all tired it was time to watch his new mini minion movies DVD, of course!


Cousin cuddles on the sofa. 
As far as I can tell Leo loved his birthday and was very  happy to have a house overrun with minion things for the day. 2nd minion birthday party = success!

Happy birthday Leo!

Has your little one had a birthday recently? Did you throw them a themed birthday party?


Running in Lavender

A week of smiles #6

I have had such a busy week! Sometimes life as a stay at home mum, miles away from family and close friends can be really horrible and lonely. This week has been the complete opposite, me and Leo have been spending time with other people pretty much every day, yay.

I have also been busy on the blogging front and have written 4 posts this week, 5 including this one. Go me! I have been so happy this week it’s going to be tough to narrow my list down to 10.

10 things that made me smile this week..

1. Cwtching on the sofa watching Home with Leo.

2. Leo had 2 play dates with 2 diferent friends from play group and I got to catch up with my lovely mum friends.

3. Spending the day at my Aunt’s house with my nan and cousins I haven’t seen in years.

4. Watching Great British Bake Off with Oli while eating salted caramel cake.

5. Having an evening to myself to just chill out and have some me time while Oli went out for a meal with work friends.

6. A trip to the park and tea at our local pub.

7. Leo laughing hysterically at WussyWat.

8. Taking Leo to soft play and to the swimming pool.

9. Watching Minions in the cinema and Leo sat through it all.

10. Spending all of this afternoon just playing and messing around with my beautiful son.

What has made you smile this week?

Tales from the potty: Chapter 2

Spotting the signs.

It has been a few weeks since my last tales from the potty post and things are progressing, slowly. Leo is continuing to get to grips with all his toilet vocabulary but I still don’t feel ready to take the plunge and say farewell to the nappies and by him a potty.
The no trousers look is a favourite at the moment!

According to lots of different books and websites, there are a list of things your toddler should be doing to show they are ready for toilet training.


Huggies pull ups website say there are 10 signs that your child is ready for potty training..

1. Stays dry for at least two hours
2. Is dry after a nap
3. Is uncomfortable in soiled diapers
4. Shows increased interest in the bathroom
5. Asks to use the toilet or potty chair
6. Has regular and predictable bowel movements
7. Asks to wear Big Kid or “grown up” underwear
8. Uses words or body language when he or she needs to go
9. Follows simple verbal directions
10. Walks to and from the bathroom, helps undress his/herself.
At the moment Leo is only ticking off 4 out of 10 things on this list. He is showing an interest in the toilet, stays dry for quite a while, knows where the toilet is and loves to take his trousers off. 
I am sure it won’t be long before he starts to tell me that he needs the toilet as he always tells me after he has done a poo. I am going to wait a little longer before starting to potty train him as he is clearly still not quite ready. In the next couple of weeks I am going to buy him a potty, just so he can get used to it and maybe give it a try if he wants to. Like I said in my last post, I am not going to push him because I have heard this can slow down the whole process even more.
Are you currently potty training your little one, how are you getting on? I would appreciate any advice you may have. 
To read more from Tales from the Potty click here.

One Lovely Blog Award

I have been nominated for the One Lovely Blog Award, yay! Before my nomination I had no idea what this award was or it’s history and to be honest, I am still not sure. The origin of this award appears to be some what of a mystery but from what I have read from other blogs, the One Lovely Blog Award is an award nominated to bloggers by other bloggers. The award is a great way to get to know more about your fellow bloggers and to show someone that you enjoy reading their blog.

My nomination comes from Adventures of a Novice Mum. I first met this lovely lady (I can not find your name anywhere, *sigh*) when she wrote a comment on my letter to new breastfeeding mums. I was then asked if I would like to link up with her Breastfeeding&I linky. I enjoy reading Adventures of a Novice Mum, you should go check out this lovely blog. So before we carry on I just want to say a massive thank you for my nonination lovely, it means a lot. Now, back to this here award..

The rules..
* Thank the person who has nominated you and link back to their blog.
* Comment on the post of the person who nominated you.
* Share 7 facts about yourself, it is more fun if they are unknown.
* Nominate 15 blogs you enjoy reading for the award.
* Add the One Lovely Blog Award badge to your post.

7 facts about me…

1. I totally 100% believe in ghosts and my parents house is haunted, I don’t care what anyone else says.
2. I am petrified of birds, especially sea gulls. Walking around Swansea City centre is a very unnerving experience for me, birds are everywhere!
3. I am a sensitive soul, it really doesn’t take much to make me cry
4. I am the queen  of procrastination.
5. I cried for absolutely ages when I discovered I was pregnant, like proper balled my eyes out.
6. I have a first class degree in Media Studies but my dream was to become a vet, I just didn’t have the stomach or brains for it.
7. I am a day dreamer and have a very big imagination – this is both a good and a bad thing!

So there you go, I hope you feel like you know me a little better now :).

My nominations…
I am nominating bloggers who have entertained me and inspired me, people who have made me laugh and made me cry (almost). My nominee’s include lovely people who have taken the time to read and comment on my blog and people who like to link up where I do. Apologies if you have already been nominated, you could always just have a second award post!

1. Jenni  Odd socks and lollipops @babychaos11
2. Beth Twinderelmo @Cinderelmo
3. Lisa Mummascribbles @mummascribbles
4. Sarah Run, Jump, Scrap! @runjumpscrap
5. Stevie A Cornish Mum @stevie_couch
6. Talya Motherhood the Real Deal @motherhoodrealdeal
7.  Harry’s honest mummy My little cheeky Monkey @harryshonestmummy
8. Caro The Twinkle Diaries @twinklediaries
9. Sian Pottymouthed Mummy @pottymouthedmummy
10. Tim Slouching towards Thatcham @thatchamdad
11. Kirsty Something Crunchy Mummy @crunchy_mummy
12. Prabs Absolutely Prabulous @AbPrabulous
13.Emma Brummy Mummy of 2 @brummymummyof2
14. Hannah Cupcake Mumma @cupcakemumma11
15. Kerry All about a mini Norris @amininorrisblog

Let me know when your posts are up, I look forward to learning more about you lovely lot.

Baby feeding rooms – a help or hindrance to breastfeeding mums?

This week is world breastfeeding week, there are lots of different things going on to celebrate, help, encourage and support breastfeeding mums. Although there is an official blog scavenger hunt going on, I thought I would write a post about something that really annoyed me when I was breastfeeding and even now a year on continues to irritate me.

The feeding chair..

Yes, I am talking about that chair. The chair you find in baby change facilities in shops, supermarkets and shopping centres. It makes me mad just looking at it. You might think I have some irrational feelings here but hear me out, please. 
From the very first time I came across one of these chairs, wedged in a corner of a supermarket baby changing room, I have despised it and everything it stands for. This chair is placed in these rooms for one reason and one reason only, for mums to breastfeed their babies. Correct me if I am wrong but I have never met a bottle feeding mum who has felt the need to hide out in a smelly baby change room. All my friends have bottle fed their babies and not once did any of them quietlly slip away to this room to feed their baby. I mean why would they? No one bats an eye lid if you bottle feed your baby in public do they (again correct me if I am wrong)?
I breastfed my son for 10 months and only once I used this chair. Leo was 9 months, we were in the M&S cafe and he was crying for a feed. At the time we were going through the feeding acrobatics stage and my brother was with us and he gets weirded out by breastfeeding. So, going against everything I believed in I took Leo off to the baby changing room for a feed. I sat down on the straight backed, plastic chair, placed inconsiderately close to the toilet and attempted to latch Leo on. I don’t know if it was the smell of other babies poo in the air or the uncomfortable, brightly lit surroundings or something else altogether but Leo refused to feed. He worked himself up into a state and I ended up storming back in to the cafe, told my brother to deal with it and gave Leo his feed. He was so much happier now we were out of that room.
Not exactly comfy looking, is it?
This was my only experience of feeding in one of these rooms and not because I loved feeding in public. In fact, I really didn’t enjoy feeding while out and about, not at the start anyway. I have had what felt like the whole of Costa stare at me while I attempted to feed my screaming newborn. I have had old ladies stare in cafes with odd little smiles on their faces as I fed my baby. I have even had strange men pretending not to look as I latched Leo on while eating out at a local pub. I found the whole breastfeeding around strangers thing really uncomfortable and stressful in those first few months. You may be wondering why I didn’t use these rooms from the start then if I wasn’t confident feeding in public? I didn’t use these rooms because I knew that like most things, breastfeeding in public would get easier in time. I knew I would learn to ignore the stares and not worry about the people around me and guess what, I did learn and it got easier. To be honest, I didn’t want to feed in these rooms because they smell..bad. I know they are cleaned regularly but the smell of a dirty nappy lingers and these rooms see lots of dirty nappies throughout the day. I can just about cope with my own darling childs poo, I don’t want to be sat in a room for what could be half an hour forced to breathe in air carrying the smell of random babies number 2s.
Not the nicest of views..

What upsets me more than anything though is that shops/cafes etc are not honest about why these chairs are there. In many department stores I have noticed that on the door to these baby rooms there is the nappy changing logo and a bottle symbol. A bottle?! Well that is strange *insert shop name here*, you have a lovely little microwave and bottle warmer in your cafe and yet you think parents will be bringing their freshly warmed bottles in here to feed to their babies? I mean, why would they stay in the cafe and enjoy some company and coffee while giving their child a bottle when they could sit, alone in this lovely changing room? Just be honest. That chair is there for breastfeeding mums and some mums may be so grateful for it. Those mums who find feeding in public too stressful are probably glad you provide this. I am not saying all places should get rid of this chair, I am just saying be honest. Stick a breastfeeding symbol on the door as well, there is one in case you didn’t know. The only problem is, put a breastfeeding symbol on the door and you will be admitting that breastfeeding mums should be feeding their children out of sight in a room full of nappies. 
The international symbol for breastfeeding

There are probably many mums out there who strongly disagree. Mum’s who may not have been able to go out if it were not for these facilities or mum’s who prefered feeding in the quiet than surrounded by people. All I am saying is I do no think sticking a chair in a baby changing room is the answer to helping more women feed in public. Yes, it is great it is there for women who need it but it is such a shame that women feel they need it. There were so many occasions where I would change Leo’s nappy and he would then need a feed. Sometimes, I felt as though I was obliged to use the chair as it was there, I was worried staff would frown at me for feeding in cafes when they knew fully well there was a chair waiting in the baby change. I was always envious of friends who bottle fed, not even having to stop to think about what they were doing or if anyone was watching. It looked so easy, why couldn’t feeding my baby be like that? Why can’t we just live in a society where breastfeeding mums don’t have to worry about anyone but their baby and people don’t even think twice if they see you feeding your baby? More needs to be done to help normalise breastfeeding and as a result, boost the confidence of breastfeeding mums. In my opinion, feeding your child in one of these rooms is too much like feeding them in a toilet and we all know that isn’t fair, to mum or to baby.

I really hope everything going on this World Breastfeeding Week helps to make breastfeeding in public a better experience for evveryone.
Do you think baby feeding rooms are a help or hindrance to breastfeeding mums? Do you use them? I would be really interested to find out your opinions.
  

Brilliant blog posts on HonestMum.com

Adventures of a Novice Mum
Mami 2 Five
MaternityMondays

A week of smiles #5

It’s Sunday again so it is time for another week of smiles. This week has been hard work, Leo is poorly with a chest and ear infection so I have pretty much just been cuddling him all week.

Although I have been playing nurse all week, amongst the tears and the countless episodes of Peppa Pig there have been moments that have made me forget about the hardship and smile.

10 things that have made me happy this week…
1. Jessy coming to sit by me without me prompting her.
2. Leo saying ‘mummy cuddle’.
3. Leo giving Jessy a kiss.
4. Binge watching Hollyoaks.
5. An evening out with my lovely Oli watching Avenue Q.
6. Making exciting plans for the future.
7. Drinks with the work girls (I wasn’t sick..honest!).
8. Baking cupcakes with my mum.
9. Spending time with my parents in their caravan.
10. Leo trying to play the Nintendo 64.
What has made you happy this week?

Introducing Jessy the kitten

Yes, you read that right. We’ve got a new kitten!

Meet Jessy everyone.

Deciding to get another cat after what happened to our boy Blue wasn’t easy. After we got that dreaded phone call from the vet I was convinced I would never have another cat..ever. Yet just over a month later I wake up one morning and decide I want a furry friend back in my life. We have in no way replaced Blue, he was mine and Oli’s first pet together and he was our baby before Leo was. I feel as though we are just filling a void, a painful gaping hole that can only be filled with purring, snuggles and crazy cat antics.



My first cuddle with Jessy.

After telling Oli that I wanted to get a kitten, I spent about 20 minutes crying. I was worried that if there was such thing as cat heaven, Blue would be looking down and think we have forgotten him. Even now Jessy is here I still think about him, I won’t ever stop missing him – he was my furry baby after all.


Reluctant to leave her carrier.

A quick browse of the Internet quickly revealed that not many people were selling kittens in Swansea. Amongst the cats that were available Jessy was by far the cutest so after a quick phone call with her owner we were on our way to see her. At the farm Jessy seemed very quiet but happy to be held. She wasn’t too sure on Leo but he was shouting ‘caaat’ at her repeatedly, poor thing! We decided we wanted her so we jumped back in the car and headed to Pets at Home to buy all the various cat things a cat owner needs. Approximately 3 hours after I decided I wanted a kitten, Jessy was in our house getting used to her new home.

Kisses!

At the moment Jessy is unsure of Leo. I don’t blame her really, he is an unpredictable crazy toddler after all. Leo loves her though, he comes for cuddles while Jessy and I are cwtching and he throws her balls around saying ‘Jessy ball’. I have a feeling once he learns to be gentle then they will become best friends.

My family.

It is going to take time for us all to adjust to life with a kitten (or life with humans) but after weeks of feeling sad I am now feeling so happy. My change in mood is all thanks to one very supportive husband, a very cheeky little toddler and of course a very very cute little kitty.


Welcome to the family Jessy!

Oli the big softy.
Leo trying to play with Jessy.
She loves her sleep this one.

Have you got a pet and a toddler? I would love to hear any tips you have on looking after a pet while looking after a child!





A week of smiles #4

I absolutely love this time of the week. I get to just curl up on my sofa, check back through my diary and look at my pictures and reflect on all the things that have made me happy over the last 7 days. This week I am writing this while a new addition to the family attacks my feet. If you follow me on Twitter/InstaGram you will already know this news, we got a kitten on Wednesday! She’s an adorable, energetic bundle of black and white fur and we all love her to bits. We have named her Jessy, I bet you can guess why! (I totally blame Jessy’s arrival on my huge lack of blog posts this week by the way.)

We have had a few stressful moments this week (who hasn’t?) but once again lots of different things have made me happy.

Jessy the cat!

10 things that made me smile this week…

1. Spending all day Monday with my Nan knitting and drinking lots of tea.

2. Leo saying ‘Ello darlin’.

3. Sorting out the bookcase (this made me happier than it probably should).

4. Cwtching in bed with Leo in the mornings.

5. A rainy walk on the beach with Leo collecting shells.

6. Getting Jessy the kitten.

7. Silly family selfie time.

8. Leo being ridiculously happy when I showed him his new minion wellies.

9. Spending time with my brother and his girlfriend today.

10. Watching Oli and Jessy messing around.

What has made you smile this week?

24 things you might not know about me

On May 15th, I turned 24 years of age. I had a lovely day and I will tell you all about it very soon.

For now though, I thought I would share a bit more of myself with you my lovely readers.

So here you go, 24 things you might not know about me……

1. I own more pyjamas than actual clothes.
2. My eyesight is beyond bad.
3. I spent a lot of time in my teens drunk.
4. I love yoga but I`m not very good.
5. There`s a strong possibility I am addicted to chocolate.
6. Birds terrify me.
7. I rarely wear make up.
8. My favourite book is One Day but I will never read it again because it broke my heart.
9.  Until I was about 17 I wouldn`t eat any food in a sauce.
10. I have a thing for Thor, not Chris Hemsworth in general, only when he is Thor.
11. My favourite film is Matilda.
12. I love living by the sea.
13. Driving to new places scares me.
14. I worry more than people think I do.
15. I`m thin but I don`t like my body.
16. Taylor Swift`s `Shake it off` immediateky makes me happy.
17. Apprrroximately 85% of my clothes are from Primark.
18. I have 3 tattoos and I regret 1.
19. When I was 14 I was obsessed with Green Day.
20. I am extremely ticklish.
21. `Game of Thrones` is my favourite TV show but I hate swords.
22. I can often be seen rocking a side plait.
23. i can just about play the guitar and piano.
24. I love my son more than I ever thought humanly possible.
I could go on but you are only getting 24 facts, 1 for each year! I hope you feel you know me a bit better now…not mummy me, or wife me but just me. If you`ve just had a birthday too then Happy Birthday!!
The Twinkle Diaries

A bit about me: Liebster Award

A bit about me: Liebster Award
Thank you for my Liebster Award nomination   Mummy Don’t  Say That (can’t find your name on your blog!). What a lovely community the parent blogosphere is, I am really enjoying getting to know lots of lovely people.
Here are my answers to questions asked by Mummy Don’t  Say That…

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