Are Fairy Tales Really All That Nice?

It wasn’t that long ago (ok, maybe in end of last year still) that A1 and I were discussing children’s stories (I do not remember how we got on this topic) and how if you really look at it, they’re creepy. 

I was going to post about it and then somewhere along the line I forgot or got distracted or something. What brought it to my mind today was that one of the morning radio DJ’s had mentioned it while I was driving to work. And then of course it was like “OOOOOHHH YEEEESS, thaats what I wanted to do!” (a month or more later). 

I mean, have you really read ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’, ‘Hansel and Gretel’ just to name a few?

It just kind of seems that ‘Little Red’ enjoyed disobeying her parents, was lazy and just spoke to any strangers she came across. Old ‘Goldi’ over there just teaches’ us that breaking and entering is cool. And if you read the actual Grimm fairy tale, she actually gets eaten by said bears. When the ‘Bears and Goldi’ became all cute and nice is beyond me. 

Speaking of the Brothers’ Grimm, I don’t think they intended for their stories to turn cute. The aim was to make children aware (and probably afraid) to not get up to any shenanigans (yeah, I used that word) or else! Obviously I think we would probably do more psychological damage to our kids had we read it the way it was intended to be read, but hey, don’t call them fairy tales then. Maybe call it “Book of Scary Sh*t” or something. But fairy tales is not it.

Another point is, if you have a look at the “fairy tales” (Not all from the Bros Grimm though, but still “fairy tales”) that they have turned into full blown big budget movies, its kind of dark. Case in point: Alice in Wonderland, Red Riding Hood, Snow White. What on earth would make them think we would take young kids to see that? Its freaky.

 

Stuff…

I can’t think of a damn thing to write. Nothing. Zip. Nada.

 It’s like my brain has become totally stagnant of late. I probably have a bunch of things that would sound perfectly blog worthy, but nothing that springs to mind in terms of a full blog post. Random little bits of shit that goes on in my head that couldn’t fill one blog post. So you know what? I’m putting all of it into one blog post. At least it is out of my head and I can clear some space for some kind of epiphany to hit. Scratch that. Any bit of space right now is probably more than welcome.

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I wish I really didn’t have to come to this hell hole I am currently working in. Granted I suppose every place has its issues. But issues regarding competency of staff and not enough staff to deal with the work load is bordering on ridiculous. It is also now the wrong time of year to start looking for a new job as people want to hold onto theirs to receive that all important 13^th cheque so that they can survive the dry mid-December to January month up until January pay day. This won’t happen for me as I am still on contract and clearly we don’t count.

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It’s gradually becoming hotter. And I am gradually becoming more agitated.

It is a well-known fact (one that I think I have bitched often about) that Summer and myself are born enemies. The heat is just too much and once we really get that Summer heat coming our way, I don’t foresee it being a pleasant experience.

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I have recently wrapped up watching all four seasons of the TV series True Blood. What’s so wonderful about it you ask? I don’t know. Ok, so maybe the men are slightly hotter than normal. Other than that though? I am not entirely sure what the draw in is here folks. And yet I have gone through all four seasons of it. It is interesting in certain parts and certain characters draw you in, sometimes to the point of tears. But hear me when I say only certain characters, not all. But as a whole? I dunno. The jury is out on this one.

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My son has a way of grating my last nerve. But it’s just so cute I just really can’t yell at him. He says the other day “movie mommy”. So A1 and I go through the list of their movies they like and all he says is “hmm, noooo, how about….” And then just stops, mid-sentence.  This goes on over and over and over again. Half drives me batty and half makes my heart smile.

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It has taken me two days to write this blog post. Two days! I just couldn’t finish yesterday no matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t get that 5 minutes I was looking for. But I am at least better off than what I was and am putting up a blog post. This makes me feel good. And at the moment I am all about wanting to just feel good.

 

Weekend Roundup…

My little girl is still snoring like a bear. Poor thing. I have now gone ahead and made an appointment with the ENT specialist to see what exactly the problem is.

I would really hate for it to be that the adenoids need to be removed. Not cool. And I don’t know who would be traumatized more, me or N. In hindsight, I reckon it will probably be me. I know that adenoid removal isn’t the most life threatening surgery you can imagine but the thought of my little girl going for any kind of hospital procedure puts a lump in my throat. Of course I could, as usual, be over reacting. It could actually be something that can be taken care of with meds. Let’s hope so.

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We let the kids watch the remake of the Smurfs this weekend. Had to laugh at A coz he kept on saying “Smurppss”. I’m laughing now as I type this. Sadly though N is not amused by the little blue people and tends to shut her ears and hide away. I think its coz they’re blue and weird looking. She did the same with the movie Megamind. Poor A will just have to forget about the “Smurppss” for a while.

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I think N’s obsession (and I do mean exactly that) with biscuits is becoming rather alarming. She wants biscuits after breakfast, lunch, supper and also at snack time. She will take other stuff but will always come back to a “bisik”. That’s her word for biscuit.

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So Friday I’m on my way home after dropping off L. I’m driving merrily along when all of a sudden I hear like a snapping sound and my clutch drops to the bottom. Shit! Clutch cable snaps while I am driving! I somehow remain cool calm and collected and just kinda managed to put it into neutral and just free it up until I couldn’t go anymore. I managed to get into the road where my folks live and my dad came to tow me up to their place.

It’s going to cost a bit to fix it. I can feel it in my bones.

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So I reckon all in all a rather interesting weekend. Hope you all had a fab one. Any interesting stories?

A Bit Of Randomness…

At the moment I feel like I have nothing important to say. Nothing to make a person giggle or think about. It’s like everything in my head is like a jumble and I am running on auto. Maybe I have stuff to say but it is probably rather random. I reckon I might be in one of those self-pity modes.

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I have to sometimes laugh at my son. He has such an interesting and, I would presume, very vivid imagination. I sometimes watch him play and the facial expressions when he in the throes of playing “some army game” or other (we got him a pack of those little green army men. You know, the ones they show in Toy Story? He loves it!). He is in the moment and feigns injury to boot! In his little mind it really is a life or death situation “out there” to survive. He does however need to work on his “ninja stealth”.

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My daughter is slowly improving with her speaking ability. Although not clear, we can kind of understand what she is saying now. She still sometimes babbles like a baby when she is over excited, but when she gets down to it, we can understand her. So happy about this. Hopefully we won’t have to investigate the speech therapist avenue.

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I did actually have a giggle last night though. We have been speaking to the kids about the potty (as you may well know). It seems N couldn’t really care less and is just on her own mission. A on the other hand repeatedly says “potty now mommy” AFTER he has made a poo or wee etc. I don’t think he grasps it so well. He even does this cute action where he bends his knees and says “me go sit on the potty”. But he is not even near it!

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L has told me that the twins have made new friends with the two kids down the road from our house. The little girl is two and the boy is (I can’t remember so clearly) about 7 or 8. A has taken a total shining to this little boy and they seem, according to L, to play very well together. I’m not sure if I should be worried about the age difference though. N and the little girl play nicely together, but N has this nasty habit of grabbing whatever the little girl has and immediately wants it as her own. I think I need to work on the “it’s not yours and if you want to play with it you ask” speech.  It might be beneficial in helping her “play well with others”. Would hate for “Does Not Play Well With Others” to appear on her grading card one day.

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I have been getting more than a bit annoyed at work lately. Maybe it is just me, but I hate looking incompetent to others when it’s something that is totally not in my control or my decision to make! Also, it turns out that some people are inherently deaf when it comes to your point of view when it is something they want. How did society in general become so self-absorbed?

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I am yearning for a good book to read! And when I say yearning for one I mean I would like some time to actually read one! I have some books at the moment at home that I would love to start reading, but alas, time is totally not on my side. Exhaustion is also a factor. By the time the kids have gone down for the night I am not even sure if I know how to read. Must make a plan though. Then again, I say that often too.

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The level of my tiredness has reached epic proportions. I find myself zoning out at work. Not actually falling asleep, but kind of just “being” there in body and my mind is totally somewhere else. Need to concentrate more but there are days when I actually don’t care. I can’t really even work on the computer for more than 20 minutes at a stretch without my eyes watering and becoming bloodshot. I look like someone who had a little too much the night before! And I don’t even drink!

The Thing About CG Movies

My kids have (I think) entered into the world of watching movies. And no, not the cartoon type, no no no people, CG animated. Cartoons have no bearing on them yet. And I say yet, because I’m hoping they do get into it at some stage. There are such wonderful classics that I would love to show them.

So for the moment its CG animation. Which means it’s everything from Toy Story, Despicable Me, Monsters Inc. to Cars, A Bugs Life and others. Now being kids there will always be favourites. I now thoroughly know the script to Despicable Me and yes I sing a very good “you got a friend” from Toy Story.

I told A1 that we need to broaden the collection because if I have to look at these any more I’m going to start dreaming of it, and well, I just don’t want to! So that’s where the others fit in. They’ll watch, but the fact remains Despicable Me and Toy Story are the favourites.

The kids have gotten so into these movies that N has a certain spot in Despicable Me where she tears up. And of course A knows certain parts of the scripts of both movies. If they aren’t sitting down and watching they will still watch it while they are playing. How they do this is remarkable. And yes, I have tried to put on something I would like to watch while they are otherwise entertained while playing, but they must have radar and know exactly when their movie isn’t on. Again, how kids do this is completely remarkable to me.

They are so addicted to these movies that it is the first thing they ask for when they wake up. They are not even properly awake yet and that’s what they ask for. It’s like it’s an automatic response. I think the mission for this week is to just try and get them used to other movies. This might prove harder than normal, but something has to give.

You know what? I’m actually missing Charlie and Lola!