The Mom from M.O.A.M....

As a child of the sixties one of my favorite TV shows was 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.' I just loved David McCallum! Illya Kuryakin, so cute, so brooding, so yum! (I can't bear to watch him in NCIS as 'Ducky' - spoils all my fantasies).

Moving forward. Alexa has spent her summer in summer school, not because of her grades, but because she wants to get a leg up on next year. Intense Global History has been the subject every night ending today with her Regents exam. The district didn't even give us a days rest. We got the paperwork for the fall when we got home today.

Alexa and I are known for our battles over what I'm willing to pay for and what I'm not. The beginning of the school year brings around several oldie but goodies like the yearbook. Lex will be a sophomore this fall at East High School. All her friends from middle school sans one, go to South High School. Lex has made new friends at East but hasn't really gotten to the BFF stage yet. Last year she wanted the yearbook. Of course, I said, "No!" She didn't know anyone, yearbooks are for seniors and I wasn't paying the ridiculous price they charge. Fast forward today - a Yearbook notice was included in packet for the rock bottom price of $87!! Seriously, seriously - $87! for a book she has no connection with? she's only a sophomore. But wait she says, "I'll have my picture in the yearbook! I'll be in the tennis team photo (planning to tryout for the tennis team). I'll be in a club photo! I don't know which one but I'll be in one because I have to join a dumb club so it looks good on my college applications! ALL the kids get their picture in the yearbook! It's really big and if I don't get one how can I sign other peoples books?!"

Berner High School Yearbook - Wisanda

$87!! I'm still stuck on that. I bought my own senior yearbook, and I wanted the yearbook of the class that graduated ahead of me because I knew so many kids in that class and I bought that one myself also. So my advice and instruction to Alexa was, "I'll gladly pay for your senior yearbook when the time comes. If you want any other ones, you pay for it...". Needless to say that went over like a lead balloon.

I even had the temerity to suggest she might "earn" the money to buy a yearbook. This suggestion was met with, "How? You already make me do my own laundry. None of my friends mothers make them do their own laundry!"

There, it's out there, I, Alexa's mother MAKE her do her OWN laundry. I used to be M.O.M. - Mean Old Mom, but now I've reached a new low, or high depending on how you look at it. I'm now M.O.A.M - Mean Old Annoying Mom. Do I get a cute sidekick or partner like Illya? Nope, I only get M.O.A.D - Mean Old Annoying Dad - who also thinks she should buy any yearbook that is not her own graduation year.

So here we are, M.O.A.P - Mean Old Annoying Parents!!