Year 12 #2: Carols, commutes & a few stocking fillers

And thank you everyone for holiday ideas. I love Italy and go every year so definitely a possibility. Also looking into Greece - perhaps Athens and an island. Kicking myself that I didn't book easyjet as soon as tickets were released - not willing to pay £200 when tickets were £40 to start with! Will have to bite the bullet, I think.

Don't judge me but thinking Dubai might be a real possibility at May. But it's Ramadan and the fact I need to keep myself covered is holding me back from clicking the button. My DSs would love it though. DH been before but would like to go out into the desert and dunes.

Happy New Year all

Wow, paternal grandma was proper rude there Whistl, seems to have lost her filter. How is her memory etc? My own mother can be inappropriate at the moment - frequently admonishes staff at her nursing home and tells them that they have a "mouth bigger than the harbour gap" etc (she lives by the sea) - in her case its due to dementia

Dd is doing work this holiday - in Art. Her other two subject teachers didn't set any

whistl How rude of your MIL! So unnecessary. Did she say this unthinkingly or did she mean to be malicious? How did your DS take it? Do they have a good relationship where things like this can be said?

My DS and yours have similar physiques - 6' and a bit and 31" waist - very gangly and all arms and legs but far from sickly! I would think that there are many of their age who are the same size? From what I see, most of DS' friends are like him. Nothing abnormal.

Just make sure that your DS is alright - how insensitive of your MIL to criticise appearance at his age when he might be most self-conscious! But ignore her - her opinion is unimportant!

Gosh whistl that is rude. And sounds out of character. It always worries me when elderly people behave like that in case it's the start of something untoward.

I hope you and ds can ignore and rise above it.

Happy New year everyone. I think I might have a very slight hangover

We are at MIL's at the moment. She's very much an old fashioned genteel "lady" - always doing the socially gracious thing.

Last night, at dinner, she turned to DS and asked him if he knew what gaunt means. He said yes: too thin and a bit sickly.

So then she nods and says to him "you look gaunt". Then there was a couple of minutes of her just doubling down over and over basically saying that she does not think DS an attractive boy because he's gaunt, but he'll maybe "bulk up" in the next few years.
Her other grandsons are all quite muscular. DS is 6ft with a 31 inch waist and he's slim, but he doesn't look sickly (although she insisted last night that he is).
It was astonishingly bad manners. Noone asked her opinion. We were not talking about anything related to DS or size or appearance or anything. She just felt compelled to basically say that she thinks DS is unattractive.

And of course, DH was out of the room at that moment.

I'm still at her house. Tbh, I'm feeling quite unhappy with her. How dare she?? And she's wrong!

Happy New Year everyone and thank you for all the support in 2018. May 2019 be a wonderful year for us all!!!!

Xxxx

Happy new year, everyone! Off to bed now as can't keep my eyes open!

Happy New Year! Hope 2019 is a great year for all of you and your DC.

Happy new year everyone! dS at a party and staying overnight so will catch up with him tomorrow...
Sri Lanka trip sounds wonderful Sostenueto!

Sri Lanka visit in July now arranged for dgd. She will be helping to teach English 7.20 am till 12.30 p.m each day. Then off to help the turtle hatchlings 2. Pm till 6 pm. That's the first week. ( I really want to go and help the baby turtles!) Then second week up the mountain regions and visits to Buddhist monasteries and Catholic churches. 3 rd week a safari!. They go July 24th till 17th August. A trip of a lifetime for her! She is going with her bestie and her family. Wish I could go!
Happy new year to all. Dgd studying hard now after having a week off for 2 big assessments when they go back to school on the 3 rd January.

I might not be able to stay awake, so I'd like to wish you all a healthy and happy 2019. Thank you for keeping me sane through DS2's GCSEs and beyond.

Happy new year everybody and very best wishes for whatever comes along. Same here - ds has gone to a party, and staying over, first time !!

A whole new experience all round 😂😂

Happy New Year all, just dh and I and a quiet night - ds has PLANS for the first time.

Early start for me tomorrow (7am) so I'll probably be in bed before midnight and leave dh to sit up for ds.

I've got a start date for my new job of 28 Jan so I'm thrilled. I also know a nurse who I will be managing who has accepetd a post which I am very pleased about. It will be exciting to be part of a brand new team.

We hosted Mil for Christmas - she is very frail and quite forgetful and needed quite a bit of care and support so it was a bit bittetsweet for dh. It all went off ok though and she had a lovely time.

No summer holiday plans yet for us - because of the new job it's a bit difficult to plan, but something to be got on with once New Year is over.

I’ve just booked a city break in Barcelona for my DSs and me in July. It’ll be warm but not particularly relaxing. The DSs get bored with relaxing. They loved Amsterdam this summer just gone, again a busy few days.

For relaxing I like a quiet Greek island.

242mummy we are going to Duinrell nr Amsterdam in May. Not sure it will be 2arm or relaxing but I'm hoping there will be plenty to keep dd and dfc amused.

We had hoped to go to Greece but the prices were ridiculous.

No other holiday plans yet but we're thinking about Iceland in July. That would just be me and dd. I'm getting a bit scared by the prices of accommodation though

My favourite warm and relaxing destination is probably Croatia. I love it there.

Will watch for more tips.

We're very last minute with holidays so no help, I'm afraid!
On the upside, I think DS may be finished with exams by the half term so could be a bit more relaxing than I feared!

No exams in January for DS1 - phew. As far as I know, it's end-of-year exams in May, all done before half term, then Parents Evening in June where we (I presume) get predicted grades based in exam results.

I have been scouring the 'net for May half term holiday deals but am flummoxed by where to go! Have all of you booked somewhere for family holidays yet - looking for ideas! Would like somewhere warm and relaxing ...

My DS3 is doing AS levels too, so they are AS level mocks. A level mocks will be next Jan, spoiling next Christmas.

DS is doing AS levels so the January mocks are it until the exams.
Good to hear from you Whistl and hope you had a good Christmas, too!

Unbelievable! You take a short break for Christmas and before it's even New Year, Mumsnet had dropped you off the threads "I'm on" button and you have to find the thread by [horror!] using the menus!
So this post is just to say that I hope everyone has had a nice Christmas and is looking forward to the New year.
Now I'm going to read all the posts I've missed and catch up!

Internal exams in Feb 2019for us.

Then in June 2019 end of yr 12 exams.

Then predicted grades given.

Over Summer hols 2019 first draft personal statements to take back to school in September.

Then day before y13 opportunity to retake to ask for predicted grade to be increased assuming have proved they should be according to results. (Ie. Early Sept 2019)

UCAS applications done by end of September 2019 for Oxbridge/medics etc

October 2019 - Oxbridge aptitude tests if applicable

Year 13 - actual mocks in January 2020

A levels May/June 2020