What's for Dinner?

I have been asked this question at breakfast before now or at the latest as a hungry boy gets in from school or college. Hubby used to try and ask but I banned him, I think because it reminded me of a pleasant but socially challenged bloke that I worked with when I first left school. He would phone his mum ten minutes before he left work every evening and ask this very question.....ugh!
The thing is, that now I have a pescetarian, with a pescetarian girlfriend and a son not eating red meat, also with a pescetarian girlfriend, the answer to this question is a difficult one.
Number 3 pointed out last week that he, in fact, still likes red meat and misses the old days ( 2015), when he got Toad in the Hole, Spag Bol, with mince, not Quorn or a roast dinner. Oh the guilt.
Hubby had been pointing this out since February to be fair but I had tried to convince him and myself that avoiding red meat was healthy. Anyway, Tuesday saw sausage and mash back on the table but only 3 of us to eat it.
This got me thinking about the many things we stress over when our children are little, only to find them obsolete once they've grown. I prided myself on family meal times, all at the table, all eating the same food, none of this cooking 5 different dinners in my house... oh the irony! The same goes for bed time, the bath, story, sleep routine a well oiled machine for many years, only to be overtaken by teenagers who stay up longer than us. The meticulous teeth cleaning, forgotten at every sleepover. No sweets before meals, ignored as soon as they are able to go out without you. The list is probably endless. We can only hope that some of it got through and some of it did them good. Just wish I could of told that young mum of three little boys not to stress too much. I doubt she'd have listened, much like this older mum of three young men who should probably just cook what she wants for dinner.  EJ

Prom Season

I haven't officially got a prom this year. Number 2 had his Year 11 prom last year with Number 1 and the nieces a couple of years before that. I have friends who have had a Prom this month though and am sorry to say that the painful experience shows no signs of going away,so Number 3 will undoubtedly have one in a couple of years from now.
Before I'd actually lived through one I must admit to having been a bit envious that we didn't have them when I left school, my prom equivalent was a couple of bottles of cider in a friend's back garden, listening to Dire Straites, but hey, we thought it was fun.
However, having lived through them I'm quite glad we didn't have them and have to say that it is another one of those times when as a mum of boys I get off very lightly and very, very cheaply.
Both my boys went with hubby to chose a suit and were back home in what felt like minutes, kitted out with suits, shirts, ties and shoes....done. There was a haircut strategically booked the week before and that was it. The girls on the other hand seem to be having a practise "wedding", in fact, their weddings probably won't take as much planning. Dress, shoes, bag, make up, nails, hair, tan and so on and so forth. It costs a fortune and puts the girls and their families under such a lot of pressure. Then there is the business of how to get there and who with....it really is a social minefield.
I got the job of hosting the pre- prom gathering and taking my son and 5 of his friends to the event. This would have been a breeze had 2 of the friends not been girls. The pressure I felt to get these girls and their dresses to the Prom on time and in one piece was immense. I actually had night mares that the car door wouldn't open....Why would a car door not open?! Anyway, I got them there. But what really adds insult to injury is that they care almost as much, if not more, about the "After Prom Party", and need a second outfit for this. Then there's the dilemma about who goes where and who doesn't have an invite, the upset about which lingers on long into the A levels.....my God. Give me cider and Dire Straites any day of the week. EJ

Mother Of The Driver

I am now the proud and oh so very concerned, owner of two drivers!
When Number 1 passed his test (3rd time lucky), it was clear that he was not that interested in driving and as the pass coincided with him going off to uni, we happily put off getting him a car until he was home for the summer.
Number 2 has been a very different kettle of fish, passing first time and making sure he was on the insurance 10 minutes later, to be honest, we haven't seen much of  him since.
They are supposed to be sharing a car as we don't feel it's worth taxing and insuring two of them but with Number 1 home for the summer , things are getting a little bit tricky. Number 1 is keen to stake his claim on the car, which in fairness, was bought for him but Number 2 is keen to be out and about on an almost 24 hour basis, offering lifts to his non driving friends and frantically cleaning and generally loving the car to bits.
I now miss the days when they couldn't get to places without me and find myself listening for sirens for up to thirty minutes after they leave. I hadn't realised how many good things I could find to say about public transport until trying to persuade my precious offspring not to taake the car.
Somewhat vindicated, Number 1 had a prang this week, no one was hurt and it really wasn't his fault, the driver pulled out on him and held her hands up immediately, ironically it was a learner driver whose instructor forgot she had dual control! Little does she know, she's done me a favour, as he now can't drive to London this weekend! Oh dear, he'll have to take the train! What a shame. Anyone else recognise this dilemma?  EJ

Answer Your Phone!!

So, your 13 year old son goes out with his friends, plays football, chats, buys some lunch and is told that he has to be home by 5pm. At 5.15 you text him to ask where he is, no answer. You text again, no answer. You call and phone goes straight to voicemail. You know, that phone, that is permanently attached to the end of his arm!! The one he stares at for every unoccupied waking hour!!
 Getting increasingly worried, you text one of the friend's parents, to check if their son is home. He is. At 5.40 you get in the car and drive the route you think he will take home, you find him and he tells you his phone is out of charge! Apparently, no one knew the time, he was on his way home but it "wasn't his fault" that he couldn't let you know.
What would you do?
I explained that in the interest of safety he needs to be home on time and if he knew his phone was out of charge he should of made sure he got home sooner. He is, however, convinced that it couldn't be helped and he had no way of knowing the time.
I have taken the phone from him for the remainder of the evening as a "consequence" and have said that I will charge it and give it back tomorrow. I feel totally justified but he is very unhappy and clearly feels I am being unjust and unfair. You'd think I'd cut his arm off!
Further proof that mobile phones are a double edged sword. As a parent it's great, if and when, your kids answer straight away or are able to get you when they need you. The opposite is true, however, when this sort of thing occurs and panic sets in quicker than it would in the pre mobile years. (Remember them?!)
When you then take into account how much our children rely on their phones for their social lives the mobile phone becomes a poison chalice. What do you think? EJ

Where is my Charger?

I know I'm not alone. The proof is there to see in the homes of many of my friends.....The mystery of the disappearing phone charger!!
I think it's fair to say that this a problem unique to the mums of this world, just look next time you pop round to a friend for a coffee or a chat and you'll see the charger, marked out in some way as belonging to MUM!!!
I've tried everything I can think of:
Writing my name in permanent marker.
Covering both plug and lead with pink stickers. (Pink has always been my first line of defence when protecting pens, pencils, binders, sports socks etc)
Hiding the damn thing in our bedroom.
Nothing works. Somehow, the one person who only takes her charger out of the house if she goes on holiday, is the person who manages to "lose" her charger! How?
The best yet was last week, as Number 1 went away for a few days and as he left, called over his shoulder, that my new charger would arrive tomorrow!
"But I don't need a new charger?!" I replied
Apparently I did, as mine had just left the building!
If anyone has found a way to hold on to their charger, without having their kids adopted, please let me know.  EJ

Model Looks

Now it's not often I get a compliment off of number 3 these days, back handed or otherwise but I'm choosing to see this latest little giggle of his as one whatever he says.
As we drove away from the Chinese take away last night he decided to tell me that he and his friends had seen mannequins, in a shop window nearby, that they all agreed look like me!
"Really?" I replied, expecting some sort of joke about age or clothes.
"Yes" he replied, "They are all made of black plastic and they haven't got eyes or anything but they've got your sort of face and hair and shape."
This reminded me of a visit to a soft play area years ago, when my friend's son had lost us and found an employee who asked him what his mum looked like. "She's got hair and a face." he replied. Somehow, they managed to find my friend. Anyway, I digress.
Call me vain but I've been back to sneak a look at these mannequins, yes they are made of black plastic, which I am not and no, they don't have any features but as far as a mannequin goes they're not half bad.
 I've decided to take this as a compliment as it is certainly the closest I'm going to get to being told I look like a model! Thanks Number 3. EJ

School Holidays Are Here Again

Well it's been a good day "Clean Eating Alice", wise, actually had a breakfast, lunch and dinner recipe today which went down well with the three out of five members of the family that ate them. I'm missing two of my "Chicks", as Number 1 is staying with his lovely girlfriend in London for the week and since Number 2 passed his driving test a couple of weeks ago (oh the worry), I've hardly seen him.
I think I've mentioned before how hard I'm finding this emptying of the nest and it's so apparent during school holidays! It's such a strange feeling, knowing that they have to be independent, wanting them to be but wishing they still realised they needed you, just a bit.
Number 3 is at that horrible in between age, coming up for 13, thinking he knows everything but in fact, knowing very little and finding everything about me totally un-cool.
 I still habitually make sure I am around as much as possible during the school holidays but find I am, for the most part, redundant. I actually feel like the mother birds nesting in my garden, on hand to feed the noisy chicks but not really achieving much else.
 That's not fair really, she does teach them to fly of course, which, in my own way, I hope I am doing too.  Really wish I'd had a Number 4, but of course I would only be writing exactly the same thing in a couple of years time wouldn't I?
Of course, there are plus sides to all of this....more time with the hubby, more time for hobbies and friends and the ability to get to know your boys as young men and hopefully find that you like them as much as you love them. It's not all bad, but a pause button would be nice at times. EJ