How not to handle the school performance!

The scene is set, the school hall is crammed with awaiting parents, (who have seriously been there an hour early and saved seats for a party of ten) teachers are flapping around trying to find that lost child who has only nipped for a nervous wee. That's it we are ready, we are steady and...... the kids enter the hall from the furthest door away from the stage because there is nowhere else to put it except against the back wall. It's a mass of craning necks and straining arms trying to catch a glimpse of their child the star, it looks like a new form of yoga or a Kylie video! 

Then comes the vigorous waves from both parents and kids and yes, I'm seriously considering joining them. Do I, dont I,do I (my hand starts to lift dubiously)and she clocks me and oh no it's too late.....there I am joining in, in all the glory waving like a mad women (looking like I’m trying to swat an army of flies) at my little ninja all dressed up

and ready to perform for the first time on stage. I'm beaming from ear to ear, loving her outfit, makeup, and the fact that she is even ok with actually performing in front of this huge audience. This is truly a proud mummy moment and there I am camera in hand and I'm talking the big boy camera and wait.....what the..... oh crap the battery dies! Bloody typical that, so now I'm rushing around the camera bag searching, hoping, praying that I have a spare........woop woop I have a spare! But I have now drawn attention to myself with the use of nearly profanities (obviously remembering where I am, as I'm such a good mummy) that I think to myself, do I just smile and look apologetic or do I just pretend it wasn't me? Errr definitely the first because I do feel a little bad.

The show has started and I'm still craning my neck due to the giant of a man sat in front but wait I just slip over to the spare chair next me and crisis averted. I can now concentrate on the lil ninja who is now what looks like to be loving her role as Maleficent in this ‘Goodies vs Baddies performance.

She delivers her lines confidently, in character and also sings all of her songs amazingly (and even slips a cheeky grin and wink at her mummy) and yep, I'm starting to fill up! Hold it together you total typical mummy and I do just because I know the ninja would be the first to tell EVERYONE! #grass!

I think it's difficult to understand the power of a school performance especially when you have the teachers at the back of the hall reading along and doing all of the actions (be careful on that chair!) unless you are a proud parent of a child taking part. The unity that came together at the end of this was unbelievably euphoric and it was clear (even with the teachers responsible shedding every tear in their body) that the children had worked so hard. To see my lil ninjas face holding her friend’s hands, knowing these friendships are there to last, is just so rewarding and they have been brought together even more by the power of performing arts. Something which (as a teacher of it myself) I truly believe can have the most uplifting effect on anybody's life! I'm so proud of my warrior for stepping up and performing so well. (Little tear developing). 

Thank you reading 

Biggest mummy hugs xxxx

Taboo or not taboo that is the question?

Hello lovely people, reading today might make you feel a little squeamish, off or downright itchy mcitchyson! (currently sat scratting at my head as I type- she shudders). So, the subject of this blog post is Pediculosis capitis or headlice, nits, bugs or in my house ‘unwanted visitors!!’ (URRRGHHH!) this is the type of subject which understandably, every parent wants to brush (no pun intended) under the carpet, however it is just one of those things that happens in life especially if your child goes to school and mixes with others. There are so many facts and myths regarding this subject and as a mummy I just learnt as I went along, let me explain…

…so the first time the ninja was ‘visited’ by these ugly (and I mean URRRGLY!) little creatures, I panicked uncontrollably and just thought which scruffy (my small mindedness creeps in here) offspring has passed these to my adorable little girl? I later realised through my own research that any child can accrue these little blighters but it just so happens that my child has the type of hair that they seemed to absolutely lurrrrrve with all of their being #typical!!! LOL. So, what did I do? Well like I said the first time I panicked as I just had no idea how to approach it. I remember ringing my mum and crying down the phone as the first time the ninja was completely riddled with the creeping, crawling unsightly beasts and at the time she was only 4. My hubby ran to the chemist to buy the most medicated shampoo he could find, a metal comb and a skip full of conditioner. We must have been in the bathroom for 3 hours, washing and medicating and combing and all the while pulling out my own hair still panicking that these nasty little buggers were going to eat the ninjas brain. It even got to the point where hubby was sat on the loo (seat down of course) with the ninja on his knee and me picking out the left-over eggs one at a time with my nails just to get rid of them and this poor little girl was so tired she fell asleep in daddy’s arms. So, the question is, who was most stressed? Very clear, yes very clear indeed.

I soon got into a routine (less stressed every time) where, when the ninja was in the bath and I would wash her hair using tea tree shampoo (I decided to ditch the expensive medicated stuff as it just wasn’t needed) and condition it with tea tree conditioner leaving in a huge chunk because apparently, the bugs stick to it when combed. So, with the hair lathered I would comb it through in layers from the bottom, wipe the excess on a baby wipe on the side of the bath then rinse the comb in a sink full of water and just repeat the process until I could see no more crawlies (I would even crunch the big ones under my thumb nail just to make sure 1: it was a bug and 2: they would not be visiting again which was extremely satisfying!). This is then repeated every three days as this is when the new eggs hatch and begin their reign of mummy stress.

Even now the ninja is 8 I will still comb her hair through once every few weeks just to be sure however we have not had ‘visitors’ for quite a while now which could also be due to school hair consisting of a make shift face lift it is pulled so tight, and now we spray, spray and spray again with the magic of Insette hair spray which was always known when I was a child to make your hair feel like cardboard…ITS AMAZING!!!!!!!

I hope this has been helpful in some way even if expresses the fact that this is absolutely nothing to be worried about as a mummy and remember that the majority of kids will have them at some point and operation headlice is actually very easy.

Thank you for reading my lovelies.

Bug hugs oops I mean big! xxxxx

My Christmas essentials for the new year

Hey my lovelies and a happy new year to each and every one. So, I thought I would kick off this year with a Christmas essentials post as in, what I thought would be essential to me this year. I have also included my awesome advent calendars in this as these contain such lovely mini make up and beauty product essentials some of which are an absolute must as a mummy.

You see before you in this picture right here,

a tiny selection which I thought would be mummy useful this year which includes a huge box of Foxes biscuits, and as most mums will know a trough of some glorious crunchies with a cuppa for brunch is an absolute must when all you’ve had in a morning is brush the teeth, brush the hair, dress the child, can’t find this and can’t find that, oh look it’s there, nope gone again, where’s my keys, have we got everything and let’s go! Phew! So sitting and chilling with a good bicci to dip in your cuppa is pure heaven. Then we have the perfume which after all that rushing around can keep you feeling just a little fresher than you would without it! This Ga Ga Fame is also a new scent for me and I find it very fresh and even a little fruity which serves great as a ‘day’ smell (that’s if like me you have separate day and night smells – it just makes sense!). Next, we have a cute little pin cushion, something which I have never owned before which is surprising since I love to sew. For the past 2 years, I have just been using my fingers! Yes an absolute must for sewing lovers and now I can safely pop my pins in this beauty without losing them all over the floor for my feet to find. Woop woop!!! Glasses are next and these are just divine. I actually already have them with a black and white frame and now I have this brown and beige frame too. They are to be worn watching TV, at night and working (computer style) including on the sewing machine so now I have better eyes too (no sewn fingers for me!). The fake eyelashes can help awaken my tired eyes on bad days, hangover days or if my eyebrows fail at least I can stick them on as replacements, right! (you’d get this is you’ve read the eyebrow post). The last three items including colouring book and pencils, quote cards and stress balls are all hopefully going to help LOWER my stress! Yep that’s right I’m going to be totally stress free from using all of these (yeah right), working a full-time job, being a mummy and a wife does not allow for stress free living yet I would not have it any other way.  These gifts however will provide me with outlets for relieving stress and focusing on positives which is what I am all about. Plus the emoji stress balls make me giggle just a bit!

Moving on now to the advent calendars which I got to open every day in the run up to Christmas,

which was soooooo exciting considering I NEVER (notice the accent) get calendars for Christmas. So day by day I loved the little treats in each one. The NYX products provide you with a range of colours from the Wanderlust eyeshadow and soft matte lip cream products (all of which add to my war paint efforts to looking younger). The colours and brilliantly accurate from the colours they show and the best bit is the ninja is such a tomboy, she’s just not interested in pinching it (result)!

The ASOS calendar includes such a massive range of different products from Batiste to Nip + Fab and Elemis to Tony and Guy. It covers moisturisers, to hair products, firming products (ha yes at last I will be firm again) and even a cute little mirror and nail art. The point of this is that if you want to be a little spoilt over the Christmas period then why not treat yourself, you totally deserve it!

I love the fact that I can have this stuff just for myself, well maybe not the biscuits but the ninja will have to get her fight on if she wants the chocolate one’s cos I’m fast! Other than that they are a top shelf job,

(mummy 1 ninja 0….oh wait she can climb! Oh crap!) sharing it is then, oh well.

Thanks for reading my beauties.

Make 2017 a positive

Big hugs xxxxxx