It's not unusual for the homecoming queen to date a football player. What is unusual is for the homecoming queen to be the football player. Brianna Amat is what you could call a well-rounded girl. A whiz on the soccer field, she decided to try her skills on the football field as well. The coach was so impressed, he made her the high school's first female football player. During the recent homecoming game's halftime, this athletic girl got a note telling her to come out of the locker room -- she was being crowned homecoming queen. She quickly tucked her tiara away and took the field again later in the game. Oh yeah, she also kicked a field goal, whose distance was not only a personal best, but also garnered her team a win that night. Color us impressed.
Is blessing someone after they sneeze a social nicety or a waste of valuable classroom time? One California teacher banned the "bless you" because he believed it was an outdated custom that robbed him of teaching time. We're not sure how much sneezing was happening in this classroom, but, apparently it was enough for this teacher to decide to start docking kids' grades if they broke the ban. He said his ban had nothing to do with religion and cited the origins of the "bless you" custom, saying it came from a time where people believed sneezing was a way of purging evil spirits from their bodies. Then, others would offer thanks to God for dispelling the evil spirits. Now that we no longer believe a sneeze is removing evil spirits from our bodies, he believes the blessing is unnecessary. Unsurprisingly, parental outrage over the grade-related aspect of his ban forced him to lift it.
As parents, it's our job to keep our kids safe. Sometimes, we even wish we could bundle them in bubble wrap to prevent so much as a scratch from marring their amazing, little bodies. But, we know that's a little over-the-top, so we restrain ourselves. Some are saying that the recent move by a school in the U.K. to ban leather ballsbecause they were deemed too dangerous, is as ludicrous as the bubble wrap idea. Children attending Harewood Junior School will still be allowed to play with soft, safe, sponge balls during recess.
We didn't get divorced, our marriage lease just ran out and we chose not to renew it. Lawmakers in Mexico City are considering passing a law that would offer couples the chance to shorten the "till death us do part," commitment, without someone serving a life sentence of a whole different sort... If passed, the bill would allow couples to determine the length of their marriage contract. These unique marriage arrangements would also include provisions on how the custody of any resulting children should be handled.
Little girls and bunnies are cute together. Little girls and Playboy Bunny logos -- a little less cute. An Australian accessories store which targets the tween set (kind of like Claire's) has started selling a line of Playboy accessories. The store has come under fire for selling items such as retro-style bow ties and necklaces featuring the iconic bunny ears logo. Some are saying that if a magazine can only be sold to adults, then its promotional materials should also be geared towards adults, not young girls. How would you feel about your daughter wearing a Playboy bunny necklace?
Dana Macario is a TODAY Moms contributor and Seattle mom to two sleep-depriving toddlers. She is currently developing an alarm clock that will start an IV coffee drip 10 minutes prior to wake-up time. Once properly caffeinated, she also blogs at www.18years2life.com.