School proms – a ridiculous idea

It’s nearing that time of year again when thousands of school leavers will be dressing up in their finest and going to the end of year school prom.

With parents spending hundreds on which, at the end of the day is essentially a dress, teenagers are dolling up for one big party.

As a report in one newspaper today reveals that today’s teenage girls are having spray tans, and some spending up to £500 on a dress, it seems one ridiculous step too far for me.

What a load of pressure and fuss over nothing. Yes, it’s lovely to have a party, and who doesn’t want to dress up and feel special on occasion?! It’s going a bit overboard, though.

Long gone, it seems are the days of looking forward to the end of school leavers disco, where it was a case of just enjoying being with your friends, and having a good time.

Now it’s a case of inviting dates along to the prom, and as a  painfully shy teenager I would have rather poked at my own eyeballs with a pair of rusty spoons than have to worry about who to ask to the prom, or indeed if anyone would ask me.

Why the pressure and competition as to who can have the ‘biggest and best’ dress, or all the hiring of limousines to take you there?

They’ll be hiring helicopters next and parachuting onto the school field in order to get one up on their peers.

Nope, it’s all a load of overpriced idiocy.

Surely the most important thing is having a great time with your mates and not who can spend the most and show off.

Bring back the strobe lights and disco balls in the school hall, some good music and the refreshment table of Panda Pops and Disco crisps in the corner….

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2165688/Tans-tears-tiaras-Forget-humble-discos–todays-school-leavers-celebrate-U-S-style-proms-1-500-ballgowns-rigueur.html

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Mixtape Monday – Theme Tune for the Week

Sports Day time has come round again in this household, and both small ones will be participating in the school sports day in the next few days.

Oh, and never mind all this ‘we don’t do competitive sport’ garbage that they come out with nowadays.

In my forthright way, I’m coming out and saying that’s a load of tripe and they should be limbering up, Rocky style, to get the juices pumping and the competitive streak up and firing on all cylinders.

Good job the athletes at the upcoming Olympics didn’t have the whole wet ‘we’re all winners together’ teachings when they were at school, as the ones who didn’t come 1st, 2nd or 3rd, would just be sobbing in a heap at the feet of the others.

Either that or there’d be one great big group hug and handing out of lollipops to each and every participant at the finish line.

So, my theme tune for the week is:

Survivor – Eye of the Tiger

Go on, admit it – you’re jumping up and throwing air punches, aren’t you……….

To see what others Theme Tunes of The Week is, go across to http://iwantmymummy.co.uk/mixtape-monday-3/

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Things to do when the football’s on…

The rest of the country might be going crazy for the football right now as we’re in the middle of the Euro 2012’s, but I’m one of those who is trying to ignore it in the hope it will all go away.

Admittedly, this is hard when even with the living room door shut and me hiding away in another room with the laptop you can STILL hear grunts, groans and “OOOOOH’s!!” from the football watchers every time one of the overpaid neanderthals footballers so much as goes within charging distance of the goal.

It has its advantages though, as I get to write in total peace while they’re oblivious in Cloud Football Land.

Things I’d rather do than watch football:

– Watch paint dry. Slowly.

– Do the ironing. (See, THAT’S how bad the football is. You know it must be mind numbing if it makes me want to tackle the ironing.)

You can’t even escape the blasted thing on Twitter. All the trending topics are football related, and you have a timeline full of football spoutings.

At least that does have an advantage, though – if the husband comes in and tells me what’s happening, I can look all clever and already know. Pretending it’s a psychic thing I can do, or something.

Ok, I want England to win as I’m patriotic, but that’s as far as my enthusiasm goes.

I’m not about to actually start WATCHING it or anything….. I’ll start to worry about myself if that happens.

Roll on when it’s all over……

 

 

 

 

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Nearly summer holiday time again…and I’m waterlogged…

It’s nearly that time of year again when school breaks up for SIX whole weeks of abject misery (sorry, I meant quality time with your little darlings), and if the weather doesn’t pick up soon and stop raining it’s going to make for a fun time of being stuck indoors.

Today hasn’t boded well to say it’s only a random wet Saturday they’re not at school. It doesn’t help that the 8 year old is up by 5am, so by the time it gets to 9am he’s saying he’s bored already.

In his words:

“How is it only 9 o’clock already?!”

Try staying in bed then you clown, and the day wouldn’t drag on so much.  (Love him really. :-) )

I can see I’m going to have to be prepared for this summer, as I’m not holding out much hope for being able to do our usual activities such as a football kickabout in the park, farm visiting or picnics.

This being due to the fact that we have had solid sheets of rain and some kind of freak monsoon season for weeks now (with the local area already flooding in places.)

So, this year I’m going to have to do something completely alien and plan ahead. Maybe I should write out a daily plan or something.

You know, something sensible people do with small kids. Unlike me, who usually wakes up in a morning and thinks, ‘Ooh, what should we do today?!”

So I need a plan of action for rainy day activities.

– Rope them in to help me build my Ark. He had the right idea, did that Noah. (Well, it’s raining heavily enough round here. I figure I’m going to need one.)

– Take them swimming to the local swimming pool. They usually have kids swim sessions on, and ‘Inflatable Play’ sessions where they bring out all the floats, balls and toys once a week.

If the session is full I can always use the back yard. Where once stood patio flag stone, we now have a little river and our own ducks. Quack. This may or may not be entirely true although it feels like it

I’m thinking of calling up Grandma and Grandma Pig from Peppa Pig and borrowing their boat. I think I’ll need it to get to the shops at this rate.

My brain’s in danger of becoming waterlogged from all the incessant downpours. Let’s hope the sun makes an appearance in time for school kick out in July……….

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Children eating round supermarkets – why?!

A mum and her children have been banned from a branch of Tesco because one of her children was eating a sweet in the shop that they had bought from there on an earlier shopping trip.

The mother has refused to set foot in the Tesco again as she was left ‘humiliated.’

In defence of the security guard who asked her to leave though – how is he supposed to automatically know whether the chew bar is one you have or haven’t bought yet?!

Is he supposed to keep track of when and where each and every parent bought that chew bar that their  toddler is happily chewing away in the trolley on?

Why do they need to be munching their way round the shop anyway? Surely they’re not that starving hungry that they’re going to waste away before the shopping trip is over?

Where does it end? I get peckish sometimes while doing the weekly supermarket shop. I might just take a blanket and a picnic basket with me next time and pitch up in the middle of one of the aisles and have a little impromptu picnic.

Or grab one of those rotisserie chicken things and scoff it round the shop.

How is that any different to swiping stuff off the shelves and giving it to your children before you’ve paid – it’s exactly the same thing, isn’t it?!

You see it all the time. I’ve seen a parent take a multi pack of crisps off the shelves while shopping, and open it for their child in the middle of the shop and let them munch their way through it in the pushchair.

Maybe it’d be better to occupy the children by letting them help with the shopping via a shopping list and getting them to read it and get the food from the shelves for you.

Either that or the future will be full of adults sat in the middle of  Aisle 4 with their fold out chairs….. :-)

What do you think?!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2162098/Tesco-ban-family-store-daughter-eats-10p-chew-bar-mother-paid-for.html

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Mixtape Monday – Youth and Summer

Another week, another Mixtape Monday choice, and this week’s theme is summer and youth.

I’ve chosen this song because it reminds me of high school years, summer days and you just can’t help but dance about to it and wish you were there on the video too in the lovely, blazing sun!

 

Chaka Demus and Pliers – Twist and Shout

 

 

Go to http://iwantmymummy.co.uk/mixtape-monday-2/ to see what others are listening to.

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Happy Father’s Day…

The small ones in this house have spoilt their Dad today with cards, and a present of a new cooking book which he wanted.

Later on, we’ll be heading out for Sunday lunch at a pub of Dad’s choice for a slap up meal.

Happy Father’s Day to my Dad as well, who will probably be happily guzzling his bottle of wine he got while he’s away having a peace and quiet weekend (don’t blame him.)

That should keep him quiet for all of ooh, five minutes. :-)

Happy Father’s Day to all the people who sadly don’t have their Father’s with them any more, and wish they were still around to share the day with and spoil them.

Happy Father’s Day to all those Dad’s who have children not living with them any more and wish the kids were there with them on this special day.

Happy Father’s Day to all the great Dads, Daddies, Fathers out there ! :-)

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