School Uniforms - Love them or hate them?

You must have been living in a dream if you have failed to notice that a) it's the start of a new school year and b) school uniforms (and the inability of parents to stick to it) have been in the news.

DD is now 16 and has left school. After years too numerous to count in which she just got up, put on school uniform and went to school, she is starting college. No uniform, and as far as we are aware not even a dress code! I blogged earlier in the year about how we went out to buy some clothes. And it may surprise you to know (or it may not) that I spent as much on 'some new clothes for college' as I ever did on school uniform at the start of term, in fact due to the uniform remaining the same, I was only ever replacing worn out or outgrown clothes, not 'this old thing that is no longer fashionable and any way I've worn it loads and everyone has seen it and I'm bored of it' so I suspect I'll be spending more from now on (actually not as DD is taking responsibility for her finances from now - but that's another post!)

So here is my list of reasons why I love school uniform. 

And before we meander down the 'but freedom of expression!' 'Personality!' 'Individuality!' my daughter is only at school (now college)  7 hours a day, and all the rest of the day, and at weekends, she can wear what she likes, be as individual as she likes, have a unique personality...

So I love school uniform because:

• It's easy. You know what to buy. They know what to wear. No arguments. It just is.
• Cost. You have to buy something, I've found uniform no more expensive than 'normal' clothes, and while you still need 'weekend clothes', you don't need as much as you do when you are wearing 'weekend clothes' all week!
• Speed of getting ready. Maybe it's a girl thing (!) but as DD got older, what to wear became a huge deal, for school it's nice to have no debate, no "I've worn this already" or "oh Jane hates me in that" or " but I said I'd wear the blue! Everyone is wearing blue today!" (see also Mean Girls, on Wednesday we wear pink)
• Differentiation of work and play. Some people may argue that school shouldn't feel like work but the reality is that it is and it does. Personally I don't mind that - I work and I'd rather not, it's life. It's nice to feel like you've left work behind and it's your time when you get home and take off a uniform.
• Durability - school uniform is practical, it's rarely built for trendy fashion, it's tough, hard wearing and stain resistant. Minimal ironing (I say minimal - I mean 'no') easy wash, quick dry.
• Every one looks the same. Rich or poor you are there in the same kit. Yes I know there is shabby uniform and posher branded blouses but on the whole you all look the same as everyone else. No bullying based on clothing (obviously there is bullying based on something else, but fashion isn't in the list)
• Responsibility - It's never too young to learn some responsibility to yourself. Knowing where your uniform is, looking after it, making sure to get it washed and ready for Monday. No 'oh I'll just wear this then' , you need to be responsible.
• Learning to obey rules - now I know loads of people will rail against this but the world doesn't work without rules. Where to drive, tax to pay, bin days, recycling, plenty of jobs have a dress code, or even a uniform, health workers must dress a certain way and be clean, police dress to be identified, as do other civil servants etc. Some rules are worth following and if you feel your school uniform is really terrible, form a pupil group at school and try and change it! 
• Identification. Uniform can be a simple way to see who is a child at your school. As a teacher supervising a day out uniform can be a simple way to keep an eye on everyone (I used to love the Brownie uniform on days out when I was a helper there for this reason) in a sea of T shirts and jeans, (and other school uniforms form other schools) your school uniform can identify you.

And no, school uniform doesn't help you learn better, but it doesn't stop you learning either, and denim shorts don't help you learn better either.

Feel free to disagree (or agree!) with me on Twitter or Facebook

For the record, DD liked wearing her school uniform. (Look at that lovely hat!!)

Your school uniform opinion #poll

— Tattooed Mummy (@tattooed_mummy) September 7, 2016

New alcohol guidelines? Bottoms up!

In 2014 my evening 'mum drinking' had crept up to one large glass of wine a night when I got in from work. It was lovely, tasted great and relaxed me.

But by the end of 2014 not only had I found myself drinking one large glass a night in the week, I was drinking even more at the weekend. All this drinking had led to a rather unexpected (but looking back on it pretty obvious) outcome, I'd gained a stone in weight.

Fearful lest the gradual weight gain continue until I needed new trousers I decided to do 'Dry January' in 2015 and to embark on a diet.

Dry January was as awful as you would imagine, but after successfully completing it I decided that I would not go back to drinking in the week. (for a rather vague definition of 'in the week' which was mainly Monday through Thursday, I think we can all agree the weekend starts when work finishes on Friday and ends when one goes to be on Sunday)

So reading today's news that the UK drinking guidelines have been rewritten I was interested to see how I fitted in.

It seems we (all of us, men and women) now have the same guidelines, regardless of weight, height, age or political party affiliation :-)

We are told to drink fewer that 14 units a week, to have at least a couple of 'dry days' and not to drink all 14 units at once.

Currently I'm doing dry January again (glutton for punishment) but on a 'normal' week I now drink 1/2 bottle of cava on Friday, 1/2 bottle Saturday and a whole bottle on Sunday. (I don't always drink on the Saturday - depends what I'm doing.) I don't drink any alcohol on the other days.

So how many units are in a bottle of cava? 8.6 it appears (same as a bottle of prosecco for those that are wondering) So I am going to be marginally (OK, OK, 3 units) over the 'low risk' amount for a week. Will I change my drinking? No.

Life is full of risk and we take them daily, I drive, I fly to holiday destinations, I eat street food, I cycle, I do all sorts of risky things. I will add drinking 17 units of alcohol a week to my risk list.

Will the new guidelines change your habits? Or maybe you are already teetotal? Let me know via Twitter, or my Facebook page.

My ten dieting secrets for successful weightloss

It finally happened. I have reached and actually fallen slightly under, my goal weight of 140lb (I’m currently 139.9lb). I weighed 155lb in January, when I weighed myself to see if giving up alcohol would make any difference to my weight over Dry January.

Tuna and egg salad with extra light mayonnaise

Using FatSecret a free diet app, which records calorie (also fat, carbs etc) and sets goals etc I have managed a simple diet since then and now am planning to just stay around this weight.

Several people have asked my my ‘dieting secret’ and sadly I’m not sure there is one. The secret is that well known one, you have to eat less calories than you need…then you lose weight. If you eat more than you need you gain weight, and if you eat the right amount you stay the same.

That said I do have some tips to sticking to your set limit. And some ideas for meals and snacks to keep the calories down.

1. Don’t ban any food. If there is a food you like and want to eat just include it in your plan. This might mean you have to eat a smaller portion, maybe half a pizza with a green salad rather than a whole pizza! or a small chocolate bar rather than a 1lb one, or it may mean missing out something else, so why not just have dessert for dinner? If you have a sweet tooth and crave lemon meringue just go for it, but you can’t have everything.
2. You will need willpower. There are lots of foods that taste much much better than skinny feels but if you want to lose weight you may have to say no, not every time (see point 1 above) but some of the time. Be prepared to feel like a holy martyr. Feel good about saying no and if you feel hungry and your stomach grumbles ensure you know how many calories you’ve had that day and then mentally tell your body to ‘suck it up and use some of the fat you have  already!’  (don’t do this out loud though, it’s considered odd)
3. Plan some snacks. If, like me, you are always hungry and fancying a nibble on something, plan some snacks. I have found that there are great low calorie options such as savoury popcorns, fruit, and even low calorie crisps that can be included in your diet.
4. To start with just record what you eat and when, I found using a dieting app was great for showing me where I was going wrong! When you see what you are eating and a pattern you can look at how to change it. If you always snack at 10.30 it’s silly to just stop – but you can change what you snack on (see above) Like wise if you tend to eat a larger meal at a certain time of the day, tailor your calories toward that. I like to eat a medium breakfast, snack at 10.30 and then have  a light lunch with a bigger evening meal for example. The FatSecret app is free and available on Android, Apple products and on the web. The website allows you to buddy up with people similar to you too, which can be a great boost.
5. Top examples of low calorie foods and meals I discovered are : Tuna fish, spookily low in calories and eaten with a salad (eg salad niciose) can be really filling for a tiny percentage of your daily allowance). Quorn, another high protein, low fat, low calorie food, great in a tomato sauce (homemade with no added sugars etc) with rice or green beans. Sushi, I found that a small pack of Yumie sushi at lunch was only 200 calories, perfect with a bottle of water, feels exotic and special full of flavour and very few calories. I’ve already mentioned popcorn, brands like Propercorn are great. 
6. Bulk up your plate with more vegetables (not root veg) and try to cut down on fat and carbohydrates. Lots of people will swear by a low fat or a low carb diet – in my opinion these work because fat and carbs have the most calories! I’ve used calorie counting only and have found adding extra lower calorie vegetables to meals has worked well.
7. Drinks are easy to consume and can hide an alarming calorie content. Alcohol really is an empty calorie (add Costa Chai Lattes to that list of hugely calorific drinks too!!) and alcohol is a poison, so I have given it up completely in the week. I now drink non alcoholic beer and wine after work instead, double health gain! Since finding out how many calories are in those yummy flavoured Frappes and Lattes in coffee shops I also tend to avoid them unless it’s a treat. Saving big money and numerous calories.
8. Be honest with yourself, if you don’t record everything you eat you might gain weight and will feel defeated. Better to see where you are going wrong on food intake so you can change it. It’s not easy to diet. You will need to change habbits. There is no magic trick. You just need to eat less. If you mess up a day, don't panic, just go back to doing it right the next day. I went to a couple of events where food was on offer so I just gave myself a diet holiday! That way I didn't feel bad, I enjoyed myself and went back to the diet afterwards. (oddly you do find as time passes you automatically make better choices anyway) 
9. I haven’t talked about exercise and that’s deliberate. I don’t exercise much and I didn’t step it up when I started this diet. The extra calories burned via exercise are surprisingly low.(you need an hour of fast cycling to burn off a single donut). Exercise will change some of your shape and convert fat to muscle and muscle is denser than fat and can weigh more. Most scientists agree that diet is much more important to lose weight than exercise (I’m not talking about over all health – exercise is obviously good for health, but losing weight is what I’m focusing on)
10. Drink more water. Everyone says this, but it's true and it helps. It stops you eating when really you are just thirsty. It fills your stomach if you drink water with a meal. It helps your body work and it's zero calories. And it's something to swallow!

So there they are, my diet secrets, which sadly boil down to eating fewer calories. But it is possible! It’s taken me 6 months at 1600 calories a day (1800 in the first 2 months) but I’ve lost 15 lbs. The FatSecret app allows you to choose how fast or slow you want to lose the weight and I chose slowly and it’s worked perfectly. I would suggest after losing 5lbs or so you reassess the calories you should be consuming, as you get smaller you need fewer to stay the same!

Homemade Quorn Chilli

Good Luck - let me know how you get on.

(This in not a sponsored post. Nothing to disclose here, move along)

Organised Parent or Relaxed and Wild?

How organised a parent are you? A conversation amongst some other parents today made me wonder. By nature I'm a laid back hippy kind of person, stuff happens, I worry about it when it does and I live a lot of my life unplanned and just thinking 'what's the worst that can happen?'

When Dd was a baby I breastfed and so I was able to leave the house without a range of baby things, just a folding change mat and a spare nappy (not for a trip lasting less than an hour) and maybe a small pack of baby wipes. As DD got older I had to stash potties around the house and took one in the car, but I always forgot snacks (boobs were hard to forget you see!) and drinks, so I often had to buy them out.

*shrug* but whats the worst that can happen?

What's the worst that can happen?

 My husband is totally the opposite, he likes to plan everything for the whole day with timings and disaster plans and plan b's and plan c's in case plan b fails. (this may explain why I love festivals and camping and he doesn't)

When DD started school we started using the calendar a lot more to mark everything from parent teacher meetings to dentist check ups to picnic dates with friends. But DH ever the organised one still feared we might miss something so we also have a whiteboard in the kitchen to write down everything that is happening in the week. We consult the calendar on a Sunday and fill it in.

Mr TM - taking control of the ship

We add what everyone is doing so that adding in new things can be planned around events already booked. For example, on an average week the planner will have DD's music lessons, after school clubs, days she is out with friends, the car MOT, a Drs appt, a reminder to put the bins out, dates homework is due in (by subject), library books due back, an inset day, a half day I've booked as annual leave, a day I'll be late home due to a meeting etc etc

And I confess it does help! We rarely miss things, or double book. Forms are sent in on time for school and we don't get library book fines.

My husband is a SAHD so this also means fabulous home planning! Shopping done, washing all sorted, school uniform washed and dried and ready for Monday, lawns mowed...

But are we over organised? I think I'm starting to feel weird, like the dreaded 'perfect parent' that the internet sneers so hard at. And I can't even take the credit really! It's all down to DH and his planning skills. Maybe because I have to be organised at work I tend to be less organised at home (I doubt it, I think it's just me)

So tell me - are we over planning? Are you already vomiting into a bowl? Do you plan things? Or are you a chaotic house of lost shoes and missing school bags (no judgement, what ever works for you!) I'd love to know, please add a comment below.

And no, you can't have him, I saw him first.

Quick Food Rant

Did you know, food is really really bad for you!

"Not all food you idiot" I hear you cry, but yes, all food, all of it, everything, living on light is the only answer (and yes people do think you can live on light see here)

Or maybe air, but not food oh no, just look at this round up of food advice.

Protein is bad for you

Fat is bad for you 

Salt is bad for you

Sugar is bad for you

Grains are bad for you

Fruit is bad for you

Fruit juice is bad for you

Smoothies are bad for you


and so on, forever about every type of food ever.

By this time I expect you are so depressed you are reaching for a bottle of wine..uh oh, guess what

Alcohol is bad for you

I'm going to go and weep quietly in a corner with a bar of dark chocolate.

(It reminded me of the fabulous Kill or Cure Website.)

 I'm planning to ignore all this 'advice' and continue with a mixed diet and a little of what I fancy, will you be changing what you or your family eat?