Happy New Year!! Apologies for the two month wait for my next blog post. A combination of my youngest not being well, Christmas and a busy period at work has made it difficult to write anything substantial. 

I’ve been racking my brain for a few days now about what I want the subject of this weeks blog to be, especially as it is my , hopefully, long awaited return. I’m like that famous sportsperson who comes out of retirement to sort out unfinished business.

Anyways, after having a good think I decided to settle on a subject I believe is quite relevant at the moment and, according to one of my fifteen friends on Facebook (popular guy), something that is happening more and more. Hopefully many of you that read this blog will relate to this ‘demon’, something that, I believe, has the potential to tear families apart. This big threat to all things ‘fam’ is……

Best...Phone..Ever

Mobile Phones are commonplace nowadays. They are an essential part of life and are used by nearly everyone aged from 12 to 65 years old. I have heard stories of children as young as five having mobile phones but I guess my issues with that will have to wait for another day as there is something else bugging me about mobile phones. 

No, my biggest gripe with mobile phones is this….

"Yes!! Next level on Candy Crush."

This saddens me. Parents are more interested in what is happening on their mobile phone than what their child is doing. Precious moments are being lost all because parents would rather look at their phone rather than look at their children. This might sound preachy on my part but I assure you, it’s not. I am guilty of the very same thing and it makes me sad to think that I could be, and probably am, missing some special moments happening with my children. 

A few weeks ago I was waiting for a bus when an old man approached me. Before anyone asks, I do own a car but said car was having work done to it. Not to go off on a tangent but cars are so expensive to run. I fear that I will soon have to get a second job to pay for the amount of work that needs doing to my car. 

Anyways, I was waiting patiently for the bus when the previously mentioned elderly man (more PC I think) approached me and commented that everywhere he goes he see's people glued to their mobile phones, including many parents with their children. At the time I was on my own but my face was fixated on my phone. He asked me why people do it but I honestly couldn't give him an answer. Since then I have started to notice so much more how people are incredibly  reliant on their phones including several parents at a soft play centre yesterday who were supposed to be looking out for their children.

How did this become the thing to do? Mobile phones have taken over our life enough as it is, surely it can’t take over our family life. 

I, for one, am making more of an effort to avoid using my phone when my children are around and, in fact, I will be attempting to cut down my mobile phone use all together. 

When I finally reach the end of the road, I don't really think that I will look back fondly at the times I spent sat watching a video of something falling over on YouTube or reading an article about how putting a mentos in Coca Cola is awesome. I will look back with happiness at the time spent with family and friends and, going forward, will try my very best to increase this time.

Next time you are sat glued to your phone just imagine what you are missing of the big, wide world.

Why have children?

So, why do you have children? What are the benefits of having children? Do you have any spare time to yourself? These are a selection of the endless questions i'm asked by my friends and work colleagues on an almost daily basis.

Let's face it, having children leaves you broke, constantly tired and with little to no social life. If you look at it like this way then it really is hard to see an upside to having children. When i'm asked these types of questions I find it difficult to put into words why me and my wife have had our two beautiful boys. Sure, the main reason might just be that my wife wanted children* and I had no real say in the matter but isn't that always the case. (*our first was a  'pleasant surprise')

I'd be kidding myself, though, that this was the underlying reason why we have given up the next 18 years of our lives and why we have sacrificed a life of fine dining for a life of  wining but I would be lying to you, my loyal blog readers. One picture sums up the MAIN reason that I devote my life to my children.

My life

If i've had the worst day at work I can guarantee that these two boys(and the wife) will make things better, just by welcoming me home with a smile or a hug(not all the time, sadly).  My work colleagues, one in particular, regularly queries why I am so eager to get out of the door once 5pm arrives and ,until now, I haven't really justified why I run out of the door once the clock reached 17:00. I do it because I love my children so much and I don't want to waste any time sitting in traffic when I would much rather be hearing about Rupert's day or walking into the door to see Myles in his Jump-a-roo grinning at me. I do it because I want to spend as much time as physically possible with my two boys before they grow up and don't want anything to do with their old daddio anymore.

Rupert has recently started going to nursery twice a week and absolutely loves it. On his first day, my wife sent me a picture of him all ready to go and I can honestly say that this picture put the biggest smile on my face.

I later asked him how his first day at nursery went, he replied 'fine'. Folks, he is becoming a teenager ten years too early.

Really, all those sleepless night and trips to the hospital with the children are worth it,believe me,and to those people either expecting or pondering having children, I can thoroughly recommend it. It is the most satisfying thing you can do in life and is so rewarding...as this video can prove it!!

Kids and their mispronouncing of words,eh.

I'm sure my wife will kill me for uploading this so i'll finish it there. Sorry it's such a short one this week but Myles has got chicken pox and has barely slept....meaning that I haven't slept. I'm heading for a much needed early night so until next time...

All things Peppa...

Now, since my last blog I have been away for a few days with the wife to recharge the old batteries. To make it even better, the whole time away was KID FREE!!
I can't tell you how much I missed the boys but it felt pretty damn good to be able to march to the beat of my own drum again.

Anywho, whilst away I was having a serious think,whilst supping on various alcoholic beverages , about what sort of things to write about in my next blog. I knew that the theme was going to be that darn Peppa Pig but I really had no idea what content was going to be in it. If, like me, you have to put Peppa on TV morning,noon and night then you may spot some glaring omissions from this post.  Don't panic though, i'm sure i'll be ranting again about PP very soon.

Onto the main topic of this weeks blog;

Where to begin? Before having children I can honestly say I had never even heard of Peppa Pig. Why would I? I never watched children's television, never ventured down the toy section of a supermarket and SKY+ had saved me from a lifetime of adverts.

So you can imagine my naivety when Rupert was around six months old and Peppa Pig was turned on in our household for the first time. At that time I was all up for sitting down with my son and watching this little innocent cartoon about a small pig turned girl, her pig family and all her interspecies friends. Looking back now, I refer to this day as 'The beginning of the end.'

Over the coming months, my initial optimism for P-Pig wained and I soon found myself struck with a full blown case of 'Peppaitis'. What is Peppaitis you may ask? Well, unofficial Dad About You dictionary describes it as 'The feeling of wanting to curl up and die every time Peppa Pig is on the television.'

Many of you reading this blog, I imagine those without small children, might be thinking I'm overreacting. Well, I challenge you watch up to ten episodes of this show every day for the next two years.I challenge you to try and reason with a screaming toddler who just keeps shouting 'Peppa Pig' and offers no alternative programme they want to watch. For anyone who tries suggesting 'lock the child up in a cupboard until they calm down',  just to let you know that I have tried this multiple times and it just makes it worse. Just joking....we don't have a cupboard that locks(anymore)

As much as I try to  get round watching this show, I am often forced to sit there and indulge in it so I have started to notice various floors with the show, things that just don't seem right.  Peppa Pig Pet Peeves, and I will!! Here are my ......

 Peppa Pig Pet Peeves

1.Miss Rabbit and her numerous jobs

Miss Rabbit is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades. Whenever there is a job that needs doing, Miss Rabbit is always there to do it. She's been a pilot(pictured), school bus driver, checkout operator, ice cream seller, librarian, nurse and a fire fighter to name but a few. Two questions spring to mind here; how does she manage to do all these jobs and does she disclose all her income to the HMRC.  Her tax code must be really messed up. 

2. Your favourite character and mine, George

From the start, i've always liked George. He's cheeky, mischievous and..... too well behaved. Come on, what two year old can follow directions and stand there for long periods like George does. It just seems so unrealistic. On the flip side, he can only say one word, dinosaur. Surely Mummy Pig needs to take him to speech therapy.

3. Peppa and her friends

Peppa and George are around four and two respectively and , quite rightly, always seem to be accompanied by Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig when they go to meet Peppa's friends. However, it seems that Peppa's friends, Danny Dog, Suzie Sheep, Rebecca Rabbit and Pedro Pony never seem to be with their parents much. I personally would not let my four-year old out on their own, even if it's in a made up setting where different animals co-exist in a civil setting.

4. Peppa Pig and the Golden Boots

Back in February there was a Peppa Pig 'movie' released at the cinema. Of course, Rupert wanted to go as he's such a big PP fan so I couldn't exactly let down the lad by stating we couldn't go. One Sunday morning, myself, the wife and Rupert trotted down to our local cinema to see what I only could imagine would be front runner for the Best Picture at the Oscars. Boy, was I disappointed.  It turned out that Peppa Pig and the Golden Boots was an almighty ten minutes long with the rest of the time filled with old Peppa Pig episodes, episodes that Rupert, and I, had seen countless times. We had paid nearly £20 to watch a ten minute new episode that wound up being shown for free on Nick Jr less than three months later.

There's so much more I could say about sweet little Peppa Pig but I don't think I have the energy left to do so. Next time you are out, look out for all things Peppa. Clothing, toys, DVD's. This thing is a marketing machine and I don't think the wheels will fall off anytime soon. I have already come to terms with the fact that I will have to endure it for at least the next three years and that, folks , is the saddest thing of all.

Hopefully my next blog will be more up lifting. Until next time....

So it begins....

Hi! This is me, Rich, with the two most important people in my life. Meet Rupert ;two-and-a-half,a big television addict and too cheeky for his own good. Then there's Myles who is five months old, a big fan of not sleeping at night  and far too cute for words. You may notice that I haven't pointed out which son is which in that picture but i'm sure most will have a good idea. We are often referred to as father and sons but my wife will, i'm sure, come to know us as the terrible trio in years to come. 

Anyways, a big, warm welcome to my blog.....Dad About You. I've been meaning to start a 'dad' blog for a while now but due to many different factors (time, second child, wedding) I didn't get round to doing one. See, i'm passionate about few things in life. Spending time with my children is definitely up at the top but I also enjoy writing (a journalism degree and £25,000 of student debt can contest to that). It was really my lovely wife Trish's idea that I start a blog about all things dad as she quite rightly pointed out that it would be 'something to do' and 'would involve the kids'. 

I must admit, one of the best parts of being a dad is getting to use the 'i've got kids' excuse. If I don't fancy going to a boring work night out, a family gathering or just to football training on a cold winters night then all I need to do is play the children card. If any of my friends, family or work colleagues are reading this then I can honestly say I've never used this card once. :-s

What I imagine this card would look like

Whilst this apparent 'children card' has been used many times by my...ahem... wife, there are some drawbacks to being a dad. This drawback is something I have to encounter day after day after day. This drawback will resonate with many of the dads reading this blog. I give you.....

CHILDREN'S TELEVISION

Children's television, namely CBeebies and NickJr, has taken over my life during the past two years. I now find myself able to recite some shows word for word, having seen them for the millionth time and I even know most of the theme tunes. Try me? Mike the Knight? Easy!! Balamory? I can sing that in my sleep!! Topsy and Tim?? I'm so good at it I can sing it backwards!!

But there is one show, one show that beats them all in terms of taking over my life. A show that has brought on many tantrums and many, many tears. That show is.....

I'm now too angry/upset to write anymore but in my next blog I'm going to tell you all about my thoughts on Miss Pig. Until next time......