TTC a 2012 baby - the GRADUATES!

[Carlitawantsababy]

As requested/suggested this is a thread for those graduating from the TTC a 2012 baby -this is our year thread! Bring your BFPs and get yourselves comfy

trope No idea where we'll end up yet, still 2 options, very cheap, bit further out but buying on our own and staying there or cheap, nearer town buying with my parents and doing up as an investment, depends on the properties out there really!
fools I have a terrier as well as a cat but she's not quite the ratter she should be, she saw a group of them down by the river once, stood amongst them and wagged as if to say "oh, hello tiny dogs"

Hi all! I'm hanging my head in shame at letting myself get so far behind again! No excuses, just been really scatter brained and tired.

I've had a read through what I've missed and completely forgotten most of it so please excuse the inevitably sketchy post that's going to follow:

Trope Great news that you're telling people; you can relax a bit now Hope the work on your house gets done quickly and you get no more unwelcome guests! [shudder]
Good riddance to the awful midwife that there are so many not doing their jobs properly!

Carlita congratulations on the sale! That's got to be some kind of record! Exciting times ahead!

Am loving the gorgeous scan pictures everyone's put up!

My pelvis has drastically improved since my physio appointment (still crunching and grinding but the sensation of being hit with a cricket bat has gone - touch wood - so I'm happy), another appointment on Thursday to look forward to.

Have had a lazy day with DS making ~whispers~ Christmas cards and looking into cheap homemade presents for people. Have discovered Skittles vodka(!) and it looks ridiculously easy to make so there's my piss head friends sorted Though it will be torturous not being able to enjoy the fruits of my labour; Skittles are my favourite sweets and vodka is, well, vodka! Have other lovely ideas too but that's the stand-out winner in my (alcohol starved) eyes

Baby has got very strong in the last week, the kicks/punches/head butts have had me jumping and wincing and she (still nervous about assigning the sex for fear the cowbag sonographer was wrong) is pushing right up against my ribs today which is quite painful!

Loving everyone's name choices! DP is a traditionalist when it comes to names so it's been tricky. We've (I think) decided on Isabelle, not decided on a middle name yet though to join our DS (Oliver Francis).

Trope a Cosatto cot for £40, what a bargain!! Good work! I'm about to start trying to find a bargain now that we finally have all our furniture for the flat.
My lovely mum has requested that she is to buy the bedding on top of the goodness knows how many clothes she's already bought, bless her She's the only person from both our families that seem particularly interested. I don't mean that in a 'they're not buying us things' way, we don't expect that, but just asking how things are going

What a me me me post, sorry!

Fools the wedges I do are very lazy easy, I just chop up some potatoes, no need to peel, coat in olive oil and whatever herbs and spices that take my fancy and bung 'em in the oven for about 45mins. Very headache friendly Hope you're feeling better soon.

ghost whilst I do believe dogs have septic tongues, I am not prepared to find out after watching them eat horse crap amongst other things on the walk today. I am, however, willing to send you a small vial so you can test its therapeutic qualities if you desire? [hgrin]

Carlita, that all sounds so wonderful and exciting. I am completely addicted to property porn and cannot wait until we are ready to look for our next home. But when you add the promise of a more financially secure future to it, that is just amazing. Your dog sounds as wonderfully nappy as mine. Our big bog doesn't seem to realise he is a 55kg monster and has frequently been chased off fields by Yorkies, Chihuahuas and once a squirrel. Shocking although very funny watching a big hulking rottie running and yelping away from animals he could squash without noticing! He really is a rubbish excuse for a dog.

Right, must go and finish dinner. You lot are a terrible example! [hgrin]

Hooray bun I was wondering where you were! Where is piggy these days?! Aw, fools, your dog!

Bun you must share the skittles vodka recipe!! Its sounds very cool and would be great for some of my friends.

Bun HELLO! How are you! So sorry I missed you earlier. Your wedges sound just like the ones we make. But even that was too much for me today. Still, head has eased now, just in time for my lower abdominals to all start aching. If I didn't know better, I'd say I pulled one or two. Just sore enough to give me another wobble about bump. Still, nowt I can do until the scan on Thursday. Both excited and terrified.

Please share the skittles vodka recipe! I have a few alcoholics friends who would love that!

Skittles vodka recipe is here (there's lots of other alcohol related fabulousness on there that I'm too scared to look at!) It's perfect for our friends as there are 5 of them that live in London and drink together a lot so 5 separate flavours to enjoy together should make us quite popular!

Glad your head's feeling better fools, I was suffering with one earlier too but DS kindly went to bed early so am feeling more human now
I get that pain too, it's apparently the ligaments etc stretching and usually eases off in a day or two. Don't worry about worrying(! ), I was exactly the same; with pains, if I couldn't feel much movement and a million other reasons. I only stopped worrying after my 20week scan tbh. Unfortunately I think it's yet another lovely 'side effect' of being pregnant

fools eep - that sounds stressy - will you go away to see family at xmas, or will you be home in the building site?
Hairless cats creep me out (and what do you do with them? You wouldn't want to stroke it, would you?!) and DP and I aren't really dog people, but thanks for the suggestions though! :)

carlita lol at "hello tiny dogs"
Bun hurrah for your pelvis improving! I ordered some plain red cards ready to make our own cards this year (doing the fingerprint reindeer on my pinterest board) - am very excited about it! :)
I have xmas pudding rum stewing in the cupboard in the kitchen - I used decent rum even though the recipes all say cheap is fine, as I thought a golden cuban rum would make a far nicer base! Going to divvy it up into small bottles so I get lots of peoples presents out of it! It smells so good!
Isabelle is lovely - Isabelle and Oliver - you're so middle class!! You must move to poets corner instantly and start riding horses on the weekend and saying "ya" instead of "yes"
Sorry your families are being a bit rubbish - lovely that your mum is so keen though! :) New bedding for the baby sounds great!

I am 16 weeks today and finding it hard to believe! The first 10 weeks or so went so slowly but since the 12 week scan time has been speeding along! Bump is aching a lot today and having one of it's bigger bloatier days, but I don't mind as it's been so small recently it's kinda nice to have something to stroke!!

The builders have removed nearly all the pebbledash from the front of our house now (it's been a very noisy couple of days while they jackhammer the old render off) and you can see all the brickwork - it's pretty scary! Some of it looks great, some of it is all wobbly and loose!! They were hoping to get the scratch coat of the render on tomorrow, but the weather forecast is dire - bit worried about heavy rain and my exposed brickwork, but it's only for a few days so hopefully not too much damp will get into the cavity! Had a bit of a depressing afternoon yesterday when I discovered a change in building regs last year mean that we have to improve the insulation of the wall being re-rendered and as we want to sell next year it's important we comply with the current regs. Very frustrating - we had decided against cavity wall insulation as the front wall gets a lot of driving rain on it, but it's that or insulation backed render, which is crazy expensive (and it's a bit late in the day to switch frankly as the materials for the normal render have been bought already and we'd have to change to a specialist rendering company). :( Just got to hope that the new, waterproof render stops the driving rain from getting the cavity damp. We will wait a little while after the work is done to let the cavity properly dry out before getting the cavity wall insulation - it does mean getting holes punched in our lovely new render though :( Suffice to say it wasn't a great afternoon. And DP worked late. (Moan moan whine whine etc )

Today I have kicked myself up the bum and done some tidying up in the living room (or "the pit" as it should rightly be known). After that I am determined to make a start on putting my unwanted stuff/clothes up on ebay! I will be productive!

Thank you Bun! I could kiss you for that! It's so very perfect for my friend.

Am slowly learning to do everything in the morning so I can die with my headaches in the afternoon. Think I will let dh treat us to dinner tonight so I don't have to cook. I'm thoughtful like that! ds whining about eating in a restaurant all day has no bearing on my decision at all honest

Trope! You poor dear. All that hard work to get pretty new render and the stupid building regs change and bollocks it all up. [hsad] That's just not cricket quite frankly. Still, sounds like you've found some decent workmen, they are really speeding along, aren't they? Don't know much about the process, but it sounds quick!

I think we will be staying here for Christmas, doubt they will have punched through yet, so we will just have a big ugly box stuck on the back of the house and dust, but I like dusting so hats no real bother. Will be at my parents for the meal, mum is a typical yorkshire feeder, lots of food piled onto huge plates. Helps that she is an amazing cook! Actually, I'm looking forward to getting started, new bathroom, kitchen, the hall and entrance are being extended and improved, downstairs wc being added and a whole new room out the back. We will easily break the ceiling price for the road when we sell! Not so keen on the logistics though, especially for the dogs. It will mean taking them out for a walk every other hour as they won't be able to get out in the garden and trying to stop the big one getting stressed (he's delicate and highly strung like his owner) and the little one eating the builders. Oh the fun we will have!

Can't believe you're 16 weeks, in a month you'll be half way! How fantastic! I'm only 4 weeks behind you, thought there was a bigger gap than that. Don't really want to get there at the moment, I hit 20 weeks a few days before Christmas, I don't feel at all ready this year and am already stressing, worrying and budgeting like a crazy lady. And the lists! Can't forget those, I have lists everywhere. Still not joined pinterest, can't follow your links upthread on my phone and always forget when on the pc. Must do better.

Glad you are feeling more positive today, I need to get eBaying. Have a saxophone to sell and some childhood toys that seem to be worth a fortune now! Saving the Robbie Williams doll (don't ask) until he dies so its worth more, he can't have that long left now with his lifestyle, surely?

Well, that's quite enough from me for now. I need to find out who needs the loo, dog or child. Oh what a glamorous and exciting life I lead! [hgrin]

Lol Trope I know! Maybe I should make the middle name Chardonnay or Mercedes to reflect my council estate upbringing?

What a nightmare about the insulation regs! Just when you think you've won. Booo!

Ooh I love those cards! I'm doing pop up Christmas trees and DS is decorating the black card on the front with star stickers and glitter pens (sorry if I've already said this!). They take so long to do, can only do 2 in the evenings when DS is in bed. We've done 5 so far Will put some pictures up later, dying to get people's opinions but family and close friends are getting them for Christmas so can't show them!

Oh my! Christmas pudding Rum! That sounds like heaven in a bottle!

Fools, that sounds like a winning dinner plan

[Grin] at waiting for Robbie Williams to die!

I had a 2 hour nap whilst DS slept this afternoon, feel even more desperate for sleep now! But, DS has woken up properly now and it's apparently time to break out the jigsaws. Oh joy.

Bun, cbeebies have printable puctures for dcs to colour in. Ds is completely enthralled with macca pacca right now, freeing me up to supervise sit on the sofa and feel sorry for myself while hugging a giant stuffed penguin.

trope yay for 16 weeks, it also sped up significantly for me after 12 weeks and is now going quite fast! and yay for the death of the pebbledash, that does seem like quick work. Damn the building regs but as you say, it's a necessary evil if you want to move soon. Just looked through all your Xmas pins to see the (awesome) reindeer cards and ending up repinning half the board! at you being so organised, we have loads of presents to make as are doing a completely homemade Christmas this year and haven't done a thing! Were planning on starting once the flat was sold but neglected to consider having to find a house to move to. DH and I are getting more and more tempted to ditch the renovation idea and buy somewhere on our own and just stay there! Going to play it by ear and see which houses are good on Saturday, we're looking at a mixture. The idea came up originally as we didn't have our own deposit (my mum lent it to us) so would have had to go back to renting once we sold so decided to buy together, BUT our flat has sold for Si much that we can pay my mum back (+percentage of profit) and we now have our own deposit so have a choice now!
fools that does indeed sound glamourous! PMSL at you awaiting robbie's death! Will think of you when it does happen now!
bun you're organised too! Stop putting me to Christmas shame people!

Hi chatty people! Another page & a half to catch up on [hsmile]

Thanks fools - I must admit to hiding my paper mountain in our office but the rest of the house looks lovely [hgrin] Hope you had a good walk on Sunday. Sorry about the headaches - hope they bugger off soon!

Hope you're worrying less Mamma - it's so hard to know what's normal, when things change sooooo much . I'm just sticking with my instincts now....

No names picked here yet & I'm not sure we will anyway. Last time we had a few girls names & I had a couple of boys names (though DH wasn't keen on either), but when he was born a) I wasn't really expecting a boy as I'd thought we were having a girl throughout and b) my boys names just didn't fit him IYKWIM. So it took us 2 days to name him, poor thing. I think we might do the same again as even if we pick names they might not fit anyway and we'll be back to square one again sigh. Gosh Ghost that's a lot of rules [hgrin] I love Evelyn too, it's on my list. Although I used to have a pony called Cassie (although short for Casablanca), so Cassandra's out for me. I love India and suggested it last time but was told no -booooo! I love Tabitha Willow fools although I think DH might have a fit if I suggested those names [hhmm] He's more of a traditionalist. Love the idea of Daphne & Freddie or Florence & Dylan though Kazyr [hgrin]

Hats off to trope for the essays -glad I'm not the only one [hsmile]. Thanks for the happy birthday - had a gorgeous meal out thanks. I can highly recommend Rustique in Halifax for any of you Northern ladies that fancy a night out - gorgeous food & we had their set menu which was £13.96 a head for 3 courses - bargain!! Your bottom melting comment just made me LOL on the train - not a good look [hgrin]. God, the rat sounds horrendous [hshock] Glad you managed to getting sorted out quite quickly though. Like the idea of Robo-cat though - would work for me as I'm allergic to cats (& dogs) too, so they play havoc with my asthma. Although fools, Rex cats are really ugly and I can't have ugly things in my house [hgrin] Yay for the pebble dash, the baby purchases and some of the comedy gigs! Very glad you had some positives on what sounds like a busy week.

[hangry] at your MW Carlita. She is a real bitch! Fingers crossed the move happens really quickly for you, so you can get the care you deserve. Good that you can book your 4d scan in between 20 weeks and when baby arrives. That's one thing I'm grateful for, having to have a 32 week scan [hsmile].

Glad you're feeling a bit better Bun I don't think it was a me me me post anyway & Skittles vodka sounds amazing! Will have to have a look when I get 5 minutes - yeah right!

Well I think it's time for me to slow down a bit as I think I overdid it slightly at Zumba this week . I had to sit down for 2 songs which I never do but I think part of the problem was not enough to eat during the day - appetite not being what it used to due to severe lack pf room these days [hgrin]. Also, is anyone else suffering from lack of sleep for no apparent reason? I keep waking up at the crack of dawn and not being able to get back to sleep again. It doesn't matter what time I go to bed an I don't need the loo, have any pain or comfort issues when I wake up - its all so pointless and annoying!!! The other week I had to do a full day work after being up since 3am - amazingly I didn't fall asleep at my desk but just wish there was something I can do about it [hsad]. Oh well - only 19.5 weeks to go before the real sleeplessness kicks in [hgrin]. Oops this seems to be another epic post as we clearly haven't had enough of those lately [hwink]. And now have just refreshed and there are another 6 posts! I give up [hsmile]. Will be back soon - got to get off my train now!

Davina i've definitely found myself waking almost every night for no reason, usually around 4am, and struggling to get back to sleep - no matter when I went to bed or how tired I am. Must be a hormone thing! Though this morning I was actually hungry when I woke - have been ravenous for the last few days...

And good old 'Fax! I've never heard of that place, but then, I haven't lived in Halifax for nearly ten years so I guess it's not surprising! I hear there's going to be a new shopping centre/cinema etc?

Sorry to hear about your lack of sleep davina sounds awful! Not had that yet! Glad you're doing well otherwise though and that you had a good birthday, sounds lovely! Good on you for going to Zumba! I have done zero exercise since PGP started and am not sure what to do about it really, may try to start aqua natal in the next few weeks if the pain continues to improve - scared of having to stop the acupuncture in case the pain comes back! Don't want to be totally unfit though, need strength for the birth and lots when the baby is here!

Haha Fools, thanks for that, will have a look!

Wow *Carlita! That sounds great! Lovely to have the option

I forgot to wish you both a happy birthday Davina and Trope! Happy (belated) birthday!

I've gone through the not sleeping phase too but am so exhausted at the moment nothing will keep me awake

I've done negligible amounts of exercise since PGP kicked in too Carlita, think it might be a contributing factor to my lack of energy. I've just remembered about your MW not referring you to a physio, completely out of order!! Hope everything gets sorted for you before the 4 weeks, it's a terribly long time to wait when you're in pain

I have put some pictures on my profile of the Christmas cards and a couple of other bits to bore entertain you with if you want a look

DP has a friend over and they're playing on the XBox so I'm going to entertain myself with some list making

Well as I'm up in the middle of the night again thought I'd catch up with the rest of the posts.

trope not good news on the rendering front but fingers crossed the weather holds out for you. I'm with you on the bump stroking, though as all my movements are SOOOO low down I sometimes feel odd as it's like I'm stroking my internal organs, which have all moved up to make room for baby IYSWIM [hconfused]. I did giggle at your kick up the bum comment too asI got a mental image of you kicking your legs back as you were tidying up - sad I know. Blame the hormones & lack of sleep. I'm feeling a bit manic at the moment.

Hope you managed your night out fools and the headaches get better soon. The extension sounds amazing - I bet you can't wait for it to be finished! Love the Robbie Williams comment & it completely makes sense [hgrin].

I'm still sticking my head in the sand when it comes to Christmas. I live Christmas normally, but I just don't have the energy for it, nor any room for more stress in my life right now. Work is just bonkers again, so I'm only just coping with that, never mind actually having any sort of home life. But I'm determined it will get better after November, as I'm going to be much stricter with my scheduling or at least that's my intention

ghost it only opened in May this year so its not surprising you haven't heard of it if you've not been over for a while. We moved out nearly 2 years ago, but DH's family live over there so we go over occasionally. Yes they are building a new complex on the old Netto site - its going up really quickly and I think it's due to open early next year. It will be really good for the town which is more and more rubbish these days, certainly on the shopping front and don't get me started on the chavs [hgrin] It makes me quite glad we moved out of Halifax really. And as my job is now a national one, I don't have to go there every day - more like once every couple of weeks. Sorry you're suffering with the same sleep problems (but am secretly glad I'm not alone)

Aqua natal sounds good Carlita I did no exercise once I fell pregnant with DS1 and really regretted it afterwards, so I am making a determined effort this time round. It's surprising me how hard it is though & how quickly I get out of breath just doing things round the house, so I'm not convinced its actually doing much for my fitness any more but at least it's a fun night out with my friend. Plus I AM going to be much fitter and thinner when I go back to work after having DC2. No way will I be wearing size 16 clothes this time round!! (Usually a 10-12 and have never before been bigger than a 12 when not pregnant/after baby, so it massively knocked my confidence)

Thanks for the Happy Birthday Bun - will have to try look on your photos when I'm back on my lapdog [hsmile] DH has some overtime to do this weekend so if he does it when DS is is bed, I might have to start thinking about Christmas and trying to get organised - I foresee lots of list making!

Right, going to try go back to sleep now as my alarm is going off at half 5 & I've been awake for over 1.5 hours [hangry]. Catch you all soon!

Ps apologies for any repeating myself/random ramblings! [hwink]

Urgh Davina sorry you had such a bad night's sleep, hope you're not feeling too zombie-like today! I cursed myself and had a bad night's sleep too a few hours of patchy weird dream-filled sleep - not enough! (though I did dream that I threw my netbook at DP because he was pissing me off, had to giggle at the fact that even my dream self is a hormonal wreck!)

Davina I was very very glad to get out of Halifax too, though after 10 years the trauma has subsided somewhat . I had heard it had got a bit rubbish though, and I know my family don't bother to go in much except to M&S. It was sad when the old cinema got turned into a nightclub though, so good to see that there will be a new one. Just looked at the restaurant you recommended and as a pregnant veggie there's not much I can eat, so might give it a miss [hwink].

So, you are a skilled craft-based lot - can anyone help with my fancy dress dilemma for the weekend? I'm not really a fan of fancy dress at the best of times, but it's one of my friend's fave things so she always does fancy dress for her birthday and times it to coincide with Halloween. This year the theme is 'The Only Way is Made in... Brum', so the theme is really rahs and chavs I think (i.e. the only way is Essex/Made in Chelsea). Said friend is tall, skinny, blond and with big boobs so she loves to do this kind of thing (grrr) as an excuse to dress outrageously. I won't actually be going out dancing with them this time (last year we were out until 4am) but will be seeing her for lunch and then for the birthday dinner, but she seemed really disappointed when I said I wouldn't be doing fancy dress. Any suggestions? I really don't want to spend money on maternity fancy dress! And it's a tough month for me so don't want to spend much on accessorizing on top of travelling there, her present, lunch and dinner out etc! I guess if I just dress normally and do big hair, sunglasses and a big handbag that might count? [party-pooper emoticon]

fools wow - sounds like a pretty major job you've got on at home there! sounds great though - wish we had the money to extend our poky little house!!

Proper laughed out loud at the Robbie Williams comment!! You're spot on though - definitely worth more once he's gone! Fame fact! Take That played at my school just before they got really famous (I was more of a Nirvana fan though so didn't go...) pretty much the entire school squeezed into the drama hall to watch them during lunchbreak. Prior to the "gig" (or whatever you call lip-synching to a backing track whilst dancing badly!) they rollerskated around the staff car park wearing little more than cycling shorts! Some of the younger teachers got a little flushed and overexcited. There were rumours of naughty goings on in the green room with sixth formers afterwards too...

Am with you on the list making - I love a good list, especially when put in a spreadsheet! (DP got me this mug for my birthday last year).

bun Isabelle Chardonnay! Perfect!
carlita I'm not so organised really - pinning stuff is the easy bit.. actually making things is harder!! I ordered the pompoms for the reindeer noses yesterday though, so once my amazon/ebay parcels arrive I have the supplies I need to make the xmas cards - now I just need DP to be home for a few hours to do his thumbprints alongside mine!
I am at you selling your flat for so much - that's fantastic! So nice to have options!! I reckon just see what there is going in Hastings and be open to either option - if you find your dream home then you can snap it up and stay put
Davina Glad you had a good birthday! It's so nice when you find a good local restaurant - eating out is my weakness, I do love going out just me and DP for a good meal. I hardly dare think about how much we've spent over the years on eating out! We've hardly done it the last 3 years as money has been super tight and one of the nicest things about DP being back in reliable work has been being able to go out for dinner on the spur of the moment, or go get a fried breakfast on a Saturday morning and afterwards sit reading the paper and drinking (free refills of) coffee and watching the world go by.

Bun those cards are brilliant! You & DS are quite the creative team! Your friends & family will be lucky to get them! Did you buy the cards with the sheet music inside, or did you print out/stick on the sheet music yourself? I was trying to work out what the music is - and now I have "deck the halls" stuck in my head! (fa la la la la, la la la laaa)
The xmas tree and stars are fab too - where did you get the patterned paper for the stars from?
davina lol - I think i'm mostly caressing my bladder, but frankly it needs some love right now! Bump is still quite achy today and I was getting some proper sharp pains last night - reckon it's going into a growth spurt - which is hardly surprising given the rate that fuzzy is growing!

carlita aqua natal sounds like a good plan - nice and supportive for your joints too! I'd love to do a class but I'm too immunosuppressed for swimming pools :( It's really hard to find good exercise to do while pregnant/with hip issues (my obst reckons the hip/pelvis pain i'm getting is the pregnancy, rather than my arthritis, so I'm having to take extra care of those joints now too). Am hoping to get back to pilates soon, but now my hips/pelvis are hurting I don't know if I will; heartburn is so bad I can't lie flat on my back (plus you're not meant to lie on your back much after 4 months I believe), breasts are too sore to lie on my front, hips/pelvis too sore to lie on my side!! Only leaves standing and the thought of an hour long pilates class of standing only exercises doesn't really appeal much!

Today it is raining in hove - my builders haven't shown up (they said they would call if they weren't coming, but I shan't hold my breath!) so I think I have a day free of noise, free of the toilet seat being left up (or worse, wee'd on) and free of making cups of tea! I may even get to the post office to pick up my ebay parcel (that the sender didn't put enough postage on - bit annoyed, but she threw in some free babygrows that didn't sell, so I don't mind too much tbh!)

The builders originally thought getting the pebbledash off would be horrendous (everyone we got to quote did that sucking in air through their teeth thing) but it came off far easier than they expected. Hoping that this means the end price may be less than the "worst case scenario" they quoted for - but somehow I doubt they'll charge me less than the maximum they can get away with!!

And look - i've written another bloody essay! I really should learn to be more succinct! Brevity is not a skill I appear to have!

ghost I'm so not a fancy dress person either (nor is DP thankfully!) and usually find an excuse not to attend fancy dress events (I'm such a party pooper!) Big hair, sunglasses and a big handbag could work though - maybe OTT make up (lots of foundation to turn you orange?) too? Haven't seen the only was is Essex - are they velour tracky / PJs for school run type chav characters? (in which case, just wear your PJs, slippers and dressing gown as fancy dress!) or are they more aspirational, dressing in a primark version of the chelsea toff type chavs?

Personally the thought of going out to lunch/dinner dressed up as a "character" makes me squirm - why would anyone want to be seen in public dressed like that??? - but am aware i'm a minority view in hating fancy dress!!

trope I'm the same, but over recent years have been subjected to themes like 'toys', 'pirates', 'halloween', and 60s (DH and I went as people in their 60s as protest - most comfortable fancy dress ever ). To be honest it's always fun if you put a bit of effort in, but it's really not my bag.

I've never seen any of these pseudo-reality shows as they make me cringe, so I'm a bit clueless about the themes, but my friend said she was aiming at rahs/chavs so that's what I'm basing it on. The orange foundation would be a good touch and could be done cheaply, so thank you!

Hope you get to enjoy your noise free day - I sympathize, as there's an enormous 40-home development going on immediately behind my office (in fact, for the next six weeks they are working on our ground floor as part of the development - thankfully I'm on the 2nd floor).

And as for pilates etc - I'm still doing pilates now at 29 weeks and have just paid up for the next 8 weeks - I can no longer lie on my front but can manage everything else. The advice about lying down on your back is generic advice as a small percentage of women start to feel dizzy and faint. This is because there are lots of big blood vessels on the interior face of your spine, and as the baby gets bigger it can put pressure on these vessels if you lie on your back. However, obviously in a pilates class you can just move if you start to feel funny (it's a bit different if you're sleeping, hence the guidance about not sleeping on your back). My pilates instructor has never had a pregnant client who has had the problem but has done specific pilates in pregnancy courses and was just advised to watch out for it. I'm also doing antenatal yoga classes, though we tend not to lie back much. But sorry to hear that you're suffering from a combination of arthritis, hip & pelvic pain, heartburn etc - it must make things difficult!

Oh god, ghost I don't envy you, another member of the fancy-dress-party-pooper's club here! The Only Way Is Essex is lots of thick make up, hair extensions, fake nails and not too many clothes - lots of fake boobs and teeth etc. Actually, I've just realised whilst writing that, they seem to model themselves on Dolly Parton... odd.
It's a shame it's not just a generic or animal themed fancy dress because you could have taken the piss with this type of thing

Thanks Trope! I bought this paper and another bundle like it that's not on there any more and used them for the stars and the cards, so each card and star is different, though still in the red/green/cream theme.
Sorry, no idea what the music is, I'm sheet music illiterate unfortunately! Though, I'm singing 'deck the halls' too now!

Have reached the 6 month mark today! So little time to get everything done what with 3 birthdays, Christmas and having a baby in the next three months!