Dec 2007 - Little People, Large Strops

[strandedatseasonsgreetings]

Will this do everyone?

bugger posted on the old one ... still will mark my place here

Hello

Sorry posted very quickly this morning before getting ready for the school run.

Cazzy - nice to see you! Thanks for your suggestions. You are probably right it's just me being silly. Dd1 is happy to read anything at the moment. I have got quite a lot of non-fiction books for her - for example she is getting a lift-the-flap under the sea book by Usbourne (they are brilliant these books if anyone is looking for presents - she also has a World one) for Christmas and I think she will love that.

No library here sadly but will take her when we are home. If any of the libraries are still open after the general decimation of everything by our current Government/financial situation.....

Very apt title!!

Well done stranded :)

Great title Clara

Talking of books again, DS2 is reading quite fluently now and loves reading books to DD, he feels very 'big brotherly' to be reading stories to her and its all practice after all!

Trip to dentist this morning for DD...looks like the teeth should stay (fingers crossed), he says they should reseat themselves but the right hand one may darken. I'm sure she'd manage Buzzy, DS2 was missing his front two for a good few months too but DD would be missing them for a few years! I think it would bother me more than it ever would her TBH.

Buzzy, my DD also does not like chocolate, it does make it difficult at times! Thankfully she loves Milkybar chocolate so that gives me a little scope. She is also not keen on cake

Yay Clara!

DD1 has decided she wants to join the local swimming club next year, which is cool but it meets every Thur at 7pm...have decided the only option is to take DD2 and let her swim in the toddler pool while I watch. And buy takeaways en route between childcare and pool. Fingers crossed it will all work out. Seems like against all my best intentions DD1 is slowly accumulating a list of activities that I have to ferry her around to. She wants to add tennis too

Had a conference call to some colleagues in London tonight and they said there's 3" of snow on the ground in north London - unbelievable . BT your FB photos look amazing! We're having amazingly nice weather here for the time of year, must be an opposites reaction or something...

Buzzy that is one reason I am going to try again to learn to drive, there are so many activites and at the moment it can be a pita just getting dd to dance once a week!

Glad the teeth are ok Beckle, ds has a greyish one where he fell over a sunlounger and bashed it.

Clara dd has been bringing some more interesting stories home from school lately although she does complain they have too many words for her to try reading herself. I suppose a compromise is a mixture, the phonic reader type books for her to practice reading herself and others for actual stories. She got given some rainbow fairies books and quite likes me reading those to her.

Buzzy - that's one of the things I am going to miss about living here. My dd's can do quite a few things that we just couldn't afford at home. They both do swmming lessons twice a week (although the water was too cold for dd2 this week ), dd1 does tennis lessons through the school, dd2 does dance through the school and we take them horseriding most weekends. Nothing posh, just a slightly run-down stable with a paddock that they ride around. But there is a wonderful man called Jay who is from Jamaica and is brilliant with the girls and has been helping them learn - dd1 can now trot and dd2 happily sits on her own as he leads her around. All for a total of about £5.....

Hello shiny new thread I wondered where you'd all got to....

great news about DD's teeth beckle, although she hurt them in the first place

Re reading I told DD's teacher only this morning that her books seemed a bit easy for her (predictable middle-class pushy mother ). She is doing the Oxford Reading Tree and the books are just awful (although some are written by Julia Donaldson!)! Agree that reading to a younger sibling is a good compromise and helps with childcare too..

BT wow there is so much snow up north! It makes me miss living in the north east - but also quite pleased that I am relatively warm down south

DS2 has finally got some teeth after about a hundred years of teething. But now he has a horrid cold so I am still not sleeping...

clara - feel quite excited for you coming back to the UK! All the libraries, Marmite and cups of tea you could wish for!

Skid - yeah I am soooo excited too! Funnily enough dd1 was reading a book by Julia Donaldson last weekend and I did wonder if it was THE Julia Donaldson. It was called Singing Dad I think?

Have you had any with some boys with strange names in, Biff and something? Biff and Chip possibly? They seem to feature quite a lot. Oh and Kipper?????!!!! (A boys name not Kipper the Dog).

Moved into my house a year ago today

yes exactly clara - that's oxford reading tree - dd has had singing dad too!

clairey happy 1 year anniversary!

yes tis THE Julia Donaldson

and the reason they are called biff, chip and Kipper is so children reading them won't have the same names

How funny that here we are several thousand miles away from you and our dd's are bringing the same books home. At least I know she's on the right track for when she goes back.

Singing Dad was fuuny because my dh has a bad habit of singing country and western very badly just to annoy us.

I can't believe it's been a year already Clairey! I HONESTLY would have guessed at around 6 months!!!!!!

Glad you like my snow pictures!

Drskid - have you had much snow today? There has been loads in Essex, where my mum lives!

We've had more today. I had my scan appointment today (all went fine, pics on profile). But we had funny setting off - tried to go in DH's RWD Beemer which was parked outside - it got stuck blocking the drive where my car was parked! Decided to go in my car but had to push DH's car to get it out of the way then dig my out!
Luckily managed to get away in my car! Oh and I managed to forget my notes as well!

but at least hopefully you didn't de-ice the wrong car.....

Oh god, thought I'd avoided conflict by arranging DD's 3rd party for this weekend but now find all I've done is make this weekend the centre of gravity for her party, DD1's school fair and christmas shopping as the next 2 weekends are choccabloc full with various Christmas parties...now it hits homee why people hate having their birthday at Christmas time!!

Great that scan was good BT. Lol at BMW.

What's wrong with having kids in the books named real names??? My kids love finding books with their names in them. Bit hard to find books written about a Beatrix, altho she does recognise her name on Peter Rabbit books!

Yay for making it through the first year Clairey

Buzzy I thought of getting one for Daniel, maybe next year? I think though's "your child is the star" books are quite sweet, and I can imagine the los getting a real kick out of them!

yes I wondered what the problem with the names was too buzzy

BT yay on the scan despite all the snow. Still no snow here - think we are too far west (well in the middle really)

what a nightmare about all the birthday party clashes buzzy. FWIW as a Christmas baby, what I HATED, and am probably still quite bitter about, is that EVERYONE ALWAYS got me a joint Xmas/bday present and I used to get INCANDESCENT at the injustice of it because the presents were NEVER twice a normal present [need to grow up, and maybe get some therapy emotion]... think I am OK with it now though

Still don't know what to get DS1 for his bday - maybe a (2nd hand) playmobile fire engine, or a toy cooker... [ponders] What's everyone else getting?

DS has walkies talkies from me and a mr potatohead from dd. My parents are getting him the fall-overing scooter he asked for I completely forgot about the red football though Other presents I know about are gloves, a backpack and lunchbox for preschool and some dressing up clothes (so he at least has the choice to not be a princess though having seen him sat at the dressing table putting on makeup this morning I think princess might still be his character of choice!)

Great news on the scan BT, though it sounds a mission to get there!

ooh walkie talkies, that's a good idea - link (please)?

Skid - I thought you were about to tell us that everyone got you a joint for your birthday. Was about to say how amazing and liberal your family and friends must have been

Martha is getting lots of princessy stuff for her birthday - a minature toy Cinderella with coach and horses, a little toy portable cd player which plays Disney songs on special little dics, a pink handbag and a little jewellery box with a necklace. For Christmas she is getting a new bike.

Can I talk Pushing Boundaries? Now that they are nearly three are you noticing their bad behaviour changing? Whereas before it was mainly uncontrollable temper tantrums, she is now far more calculated in her naughtiness. She throws something because I ask her not to - not because she is frustrated or angry with it. She pulls her sister's hair because she knows it will annoy her sister. She helps herself to a sweet from my handbag because she knows she shouldn't.

This is all normal, right? Dd1 was such a bloody goody-goody she never does anything naughty. She still has tantrums, don't get me wrong. But doesn't do things on purpose.

clara - I need a joint or two after reflectiing on the injustice of my childhood

Pushing Boundaries - your DD2 sounds just like my DD1 and yes I THINK it's normal. I have certainly found that DS1's behaviour has become really quite bad recently - I blame his improving language/knowledge! I do find it easier knowing it is just a stage albeit a long one, is that any comfort to you? DD is now relatively angelic after 5 years of hell extremely volatile behaviour!

skid

I got ds john lewis walkie talkies (CBA to link sorry) also do them in elc and you can get toy story ones from wilkinsons

Definite boundary pushing here, both dc though. Lost it in a big way on weds morning and then felt awful all day because dd went to school upset where I'd yelled at her

Boundaries, well I think I'm kind of lucky that DD2 is not too too bad but I have resorted to naughty step on occasion - my biggest issue at the moment is her spitting out food in her mouth, yuk. I do also rather over-use the threat of going to bed...

I got slightly over-excited because ELC have just opened a shop here in Wellington, so have got DD2 some farm people for a farm set DD1 already had, a teaset and birthday cake that "cuts" up into quarters. Do they have pretty much the same stuff in ELC UK? Have instructed my Mum to find some swimming stuff with Dora on it as she is still mad for Dora. It is so hot here today its ridiculous, we NEVER have weather like this in Dec!

DrSkid, I think I had the best of both as my birthday is in Nov - which meant that no-one automatically bought me a 2-in-1 present but I did sometimes ASK for a big present that served for both e.g. go a trampoline when I was 10. I can imagine that people will get something maybe 1.5x a single present but not twice as nice. In fact her father already did that last year which I thought was especially mean given that he hardly spends any money on her the rest of the year so you'd think he might splash out!! But I guess from his perspective he very rarely gets to see her playing with her toys so why would he?