Blondie Boy's 2nd Birthday

It was Blondie Boy's Birthday on the 5th and I think he had a pretty awesome time. As always all his treats were egg-free for his birthday and if I'm honest I thought the pancakes, cupcakes and cake were all super tasty if I do say so myself!


We had his party yesterday at The Life Craft in Glasgow and all the kids had a great time with messy play (painting, playdough and more) and got to decorate their own tote bag to take away! Can't recommend it enough if you are looking for a children's birthday party in Glasgow. Instead of blabbing on about BB's big T-W-O I will let some photos do the talking!

Yay Birthday! Woke up to presents and Egg-Free Mickey Pancakes.

Auntie Katie got him his first car! He calls it "Elmo car"--it is read with googly eyes!

Birthday Boy requested Purple Frosting for his Egg-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

Come Inside, It's Fun Inside! Fantastic Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Birthday Party at the Life Craft

Feminist Friday XIII: Television

I think anyone who's watched tv ever can have something to say about how sexist it is. Music videos, reality tv, hell even the BBC---you don't have to look hard to see the patriarchal influences on your screen. How many of you think about if what your toddlers watch is sexist? I sure as hell didn't until I chose this theme.

All Blondie Boy watches in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He loves it. He points out Mickey and friends when we are out and about and you've never seen his little face light up so much when you give him something with Mickey's image on it. Don't even get me started on how ridiculously cute it is when he gets up to do the Hot Dog Dance. We love Mickey Mouse so please as you read this know I don't have an axe to grind with Disney--I'm just trying to look at what my son watches from a feminist vantage point.

I was thinking about all the various episodes I've seen over and over and I couldn't think of any overtly sexist storylines. I was tweeting to Ellen about it and she asked if Toodles was a woman--I could see where she was going with this since Toodles is at their beck and call--but NotBlondeHusband pointed out Toodles was created by the Professor and "he's here for meedles and youdles." As NotBlondeHusband and I drove down the M77 towards Ayrshire though we realized while the mouse might not be overtly sexist, he wasn't completely free of patriarchal control.

Take a look at the female characters on the show: Minnie, Daisy and Clarabelle. They all wear high heels and they all wear bows. Donald doesn't even wear pants let alone shoes, but Daisy is always in heels walking around "like Marilyn Monroe in dress that's too tight" as NotBlondeHusband described it.  When the gang goes on a treasure hunt Goofy hopes it's stickers, but Minnie hopes it's handbags. So maybe Mickey Mouse Clubhous isn't overtly sexist it's certainly perpetuating gender stereotypes.

Maybe it's accidental, maybe it's a deliberate marketing decision to sell more pink branded items but whether direct or indirect, what kind of message is it sending? Am I going to stop Blondie Boy watching his favourite show? No, but it will make me question what he does watch in the future more closely.

What about the shows your children watch? How do they portray boys and girls? Men and women? Males and females?

Feminist Friday XIII: Television

Here's how it works. Write a blog about being a feminist mom, raising a feminist child, a rant or anything that falls under the realm of the theme for the week. Come back and link your post and post the button on your blog.


That's it.


You don't even have to be a blogger to take part - just send me your post and I will publish it on my blog for you. You don't even have to include your name if you prefer.


When you've published it, come back on Friday and via a widget thing you can add a link to your post and share it with everyone. The link remains open for 4 days.


Visit others, comment if you like them or feel inspired by them. Just go out and encourage and support other feminist Moms.


The more support you give, the more you will get back! I can't wait to meet and interact with other feminist moms around the world!

Things we couldn't live without

These are just some things that we love right now and use everyday. None of these are things I've been sent or given and this post is in no way sponsored. I always disclose when I've been given something to review but just wanted to throw this out at the beginning for y'all.

Babylegs: Blondie Boy's eczema has really flared up over the past week and he's been so itchy in the crease of his elbow that he'd broken the skin. It's been pleasantly warm for Glasgow so I can't be dressing him in long sleeve tops in the heat.  I can stick on a baby leg with his t-shirt or pajamas and it keeps him from scratching away.

Pouches: Blondie Boy loves fruit pouches. I'll squeeze half a pouch into his porridge in the morning or he'll just walk about sucking on a fruit or vegetable pouch for a snack, too. Tesco has just come out with yogurt pouches as part of their new Goodness line for children which is great because it means Blondie Boy can enjoy yogurt on his own mess free!

L’Oréal Solar Expertise: It's no secret that I'm so white I'm basically translucent and really getting even a bit of a tan is quite an achievement for me. I've been using this after-sun and tan prolonging lotion since we got back from France; I actually bought it in 2007 but this is the first I've used it. It has the slightest bit of self-tan in it and I love it. I'm maintaining the little bit of tan I got and I'm not orange. I highly recommend it.

Duplo: Seriously Blondie Boy loves, loves, LOVES his Duplo. He'll sit and build all sorts of cars, houses, towers and who knows what for hours. It's the first thing he goes for in the mornings and I don't know if I'd get as much work done as I do during the day without them. It's been great watching his dexterity and building skills grow day by day as he plays with them, too.


Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Who doesn't like the Hot Dog Dance? MMCH is the only show Blondie Boy watches or even shows any interest in really. We always have a few episodes on the Sky+ and I love watching Blondie Boy dance along at the end and then wave/say bye to Mickey. He's started recognizing Mickey in the grocery store and we may or may have not came back with a case of Carrefour Pomme pouches because they had Mickey on them.

Lady Gaga: "Bad Romance" was number one when Blondie Boy was born and my oh my does he love Lady Gaga. He asks for "gaga" several times a day. We've got the video for "Judas" on Sky+, songs on our iPhones and keep CDs in the car. You've never seen such joy as when Blondie Boy busts a move to Lady Gaga.  We'll walk past a store with a Gaga song playing and he starts dancing in his stroller. When a song ends he signs "more" and says "gaga" over and over until you play or sing. He is quite possibly the Littlest Monster and if I thought it was feasible I'd take him to see her live because I know he'd love it.