Sneeze births please, and we'll BROOK NO ARGUMENT

[TheLittleFriend]

Over here Brookers. I'll stick a cake in the oven

Happy biscuits, birthday, hahaha. Scorpios unite. Have a lovely time with all your boys.

Kindle touch Olives. How lovely. I'm up for reading the next Hilary Mantel - she won the Booker again. Wolf Hall was fab. But better get a move on as it's not exactly light. I got a very lovely pair of birthday earrings in the design of little pinecones which I described as tiny hand grenades, much to my DP's horror/amusement. He's great at jewellery except engagement rings.

Loving your railway, Boo. Can we come over to play?

Now have gallons of newborn sleepsuits, all bought for pennies on ebay. Possibly rather too many.

boo, DS and I would love to come round and play. We spend long afternoons with train sets. Sometimes he put his horses on the line and then the train crashes into them. I'm sure this is completely normal and not the sign of a psychopath...

Happy birthday, biscuits! Got nice birthday plans?

Olives, you can sign up for emails telling you what is free on the Kindle each day. I've got some really good stuff that way, as well as some nonsense like romantic historical fiction, but sometimes I've needed something mindless to read. www.ereaderiq.co.uk/newsletter/subscribe/

Ooh, a brookers meet up at my house to play trains :):) I love it!

If you're all playing trains, can I send my boy round? I spend minutes hours building him tracks and he sits in the middle like a weird toddler giant wreaking merry havoc. Freaks me out!

Happy birthday all you birthday types. It's MrWhim's on Thurs. A big one. We're inviting lots of people we don't know very well round for drinks. So far we're up to 15 adults and 19 children. It's going to be chaos! And I can't even just drink my way through it. Still, we'll be in hospitality credit.

Tock I loved Wolf Hall - I actually only finished it a couple of months ago after a couple of false starts. I'm getting the whole Booker short list for Christmas (I think) - the Book People do an excellent deal on the whole set. I also just tried to get the AS Byatt book, Ragnarok, based in norse mythology but they didn't have it in the library. Another time. I love her too! But my new fave is George Pelecanos. He wrote on the Wire, and writes crime fiction set in the DC metro area, so it's fun to read about neighbourhoods I know.

Mr Whim and I are now thick in marvelling at the crazy electoral system, where they're announcing some eastern states whilst still polling western states. Not that I'm allowed an opinion of course, but gosh, it's tense. Well, it would be if it didn't just look like NumberWang.

So many birthdays!!!

Olives Im trying my best to ignore the talk of ongoing sickness, for fear that I might go crazy!! I've decided that my symptoms are going to disappear absolutely at 12 weeks!!!

OMG I want to launch myself at the cleaner (at work) she's been vaccuming for what feels like an age, and keeps hovering round the ladies loos so I cant discreetly run in to vomit.

Also is it wrong that I have taken to using the disabled loo for a bit of variety? I mean if I thought there was someone in the building who required it for its actual purpose then I wouldnt but its just rather handy because the sink is much closer to the loo, so I can sit down and vomit rather than doing this horrid squaty thing.

Oh Whim you made me snort at NumberWang! Happy birthday to MrWhim (is he 50?).

Can I join the trainset fun? DD loves playing trains, we really ought to get her a trainset for Christmas.

Happy birthday Biscuits and the other November birthdays.

Sparks, YANBU re the disabled loo - your need is great at the moment and I think that justifies it!

Sparks - perhaps I'm evil but I laughed at you using the disabled loo for puke-environment variety. Just go and puke right in front of the cleaner - that'll get her moving out of your way! You poor people with such bad MS. Sounds so crappy.

Happy big (5)0, Mr Whim. I bet Mrs Whim gets you some ferrero rocher. Used to love AS Byatt, Whim - and can even claim to have had a short story published in a collection that she's in - but I've gone off her in my old age. She is such a romantic and I'm such a practical Pam these days. Will deffo check out G Pelecanos, as loved the Wire and could do with some crime fiction. Yum - thanks for recommendation.

If we all brought our train sets to an elected brooker's house we could make the biggest train track in the world. Great that Gen's DD loves a bit of train action - I like it when a game is inclusive.

Feeling shattered today for some reason and Mr T and I didn't get off to a good start tho been nice to each other since. I seem to spend my entire day sorting out/cleaning/filing away/organising his and DS's stuff (mine too of course) and for just once in my life I would like him to pick up DS clothes after bedtime and put them in the wash basket or remember to turn the lights off and keep down the leccy bills (which I organise). I don't know how I once did a full-time job and ran a house, except there was only really me to tidy up after/keep clean. Moan/rant over. You Brookers doing the whole lot amaze me...

Tock dont worry about laughing, some of my behaviour has become increasingly strange that I find myself just laughing at me!!

Very good pragmatic vomming sparks

Oh. Need to deal with a poo. Have a nice day y'all.

Whims you made me LOL with your Numberwang reference! Anyone else's voting system (especially those crazy yanks) must seem like chaos at first glance!

Sparkle sorry to hear about your MS but use of disabled toilet totally justified!! I wouldn't worry about it.

I've been putting together the large amount of IKEA stock we bought last week for the bean... I know why I didn't want to buy and put it together sooner but at 33 weeks it is bloody difficult work! Not the actual construction of the flat pack menagerie but the bending and sitting and standing and squatting involved in screwing in the right bit at the right time

Nutella We've vowed never to put flat pack furniture together again, because we always end up fighting!! Luckily FIL is very handy, so he has offered to help with the nursery when the time comes!!

Can we all have flapjack furniture instead? That way we wouldn't go hungry putting it together and there'd be no arguments just silent, merry munching.

Enjoying seeing Whims prostrated but how will she get up again with that bump hindering her?

genius tock except now I really really must get hold of some flapjacks!!!!

Me too!

They don't have flapjacks here. They do however have terrible quality flatpack furniture that arrives with the corners all bashed and has to be sent back. Moan.

He is indeed 50 tock. As befits such an old man, I've got him a fossil. It's a rather nice trilobite. He got an ammonite for his 40th. If he's good he'll get a whole dinosaur by the time he's 80.

nutella, I think the more you know about the American electoral system the more chaotic it becomes, rather than seeming chaotic at first glance. I know I'm a bit of a politics nerd (an unashamed one at that) but some of the practices over here are downright shoddy, and in the UK would be sufficient to render an election void.

I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself with a broken dishwasher (which is now making the kitchen smell as it's been blocked for a week and has water sitting at the bottom of it), very chapped hands and a party for 16 adults and 19 children tomorrow night. Oh, and I managed to be awake between 2 and 5 this morning.
Still, there are people up the coast who still don't have electricity 10 days after the hurricane and now it's snowing there too, so I ought to count my blessings really.

Er whim why would you live in a country without flapjacks?!?!

whim make flapjacks for all your guests. A variety of flavours should satisfy all tastes. Serve with real tea, and you've got yourself a successful party!

I really don't want to work next week, even though its my last one ever. All these inconsiderate people are planning meetings and work for me, whereas I'm ready to sleep at my desk 20mins after arriving. If I call in sick I can bring my ML forward, but I know I'd feel bad for leaving them all in the lurch.

That's a funny saying... I wonder where it comes from? Preggo brain wanders off on yet another tangent.

There may come a time when you actually miss work Stacks - it's not unheard of.... I think it's annoying that they expect you to work in your last week though! Are you sure they aren't planning a surprise party with lots of flapjacks? Oh, but you work with a load of blokes don't you? Probably clueless ones. Extend your ML by a week if that's your fancy. Why not?!

Left on the lurch - "the phrase originates from the French board game of lourche or lurch, which was similar to backgammon and was last played in the 17th century (the rules having now been lost). Players suffered a lurch if they were left in a hopeless position from which they couldn't win the game."

Whims - outside caterers, a la rich American lifestyle? Like the fossil theme in your lives; good one. We took DS fossiling near Lyme Regis, a rather cold and blustery day. DP was v keen to make a great discovery and egged on DS who seemed a little less keen and replied "Go to the fossil shop then Daddy" or words to that effect.

Hobbling around here. Off to midwife with blood of iron and muscles of steel, hopefully.

Ooh I love flat pack furniture and flapjacks :) although Whims that America is starting to sound a bit odd, no flapjack?? I wouldn't stand for that!!

Stacks have a good last week at work, hope they don't make youdo too much.

Tock you will have the muscles of superman and more iron in your blood than an iron miner I brook no argument!! Good luck at the MW.

Sparks you vom where you want, if any one questions you, vom in their hand bag!! I would get back to the other fred, they are starting to name your baby, you don't want to end up like me!!

Well it is flu jab day tomorow, I am absolutely petrified of needles, I can just about cope with blood tests because they dont put anything in, but actual injections frighten the life out of me, just how bad are they?? This goes back to having Cyclazine (sp?) injections and it feeling like molten lava going into my arm a few years ago :(:( Is it ok or will my arm actualy fall off or does it smart a bit?

I've never had a flu jab boo but I'm guessing that there is a very real possibility that your arm might fall off :o. I haven't been offered a flu jab here (Germany) must ask the Dr next time.. she what she reckons...

Had an awful rough night's sleep last night. Then spoke to a friend this morning who was sick all night... we ate the same thing that DP (who is fine) didn't eat... but spoke to third person who also ate the same stuff (and is easily half my size) and she was fine so putting it down to the joy of pregnancy that I just had a crappy night... It's still bothering me a little but I feel absolutely fine and the bean has been wriggling away as normal... So should I put it out of my head?

Whims... could you try making flapjack with maple syrup and porridge oats?? flapjack.... sooo yummy!! you must be able to get oats over there... otherwise I think you should leave!!

I really don't mind building flatpack stuff... wonder if I could earn a good living building people's Ikea stuff??..... mind you it would probably be boring pretty quick ...

boo the flu jab is a tiny needle, and doesn't really hurt at all. It's a very quick jab to have, they don't put much in so there's no feeling of that, and it's certainly less painful than a local anaesthetic jab! You can maybe ask for some 'magic cream' it's a local anaesthetic cream they use for children and adults with needle phobias.

tock I'll go back to work in a couple of years, but wouldn't return here unless there was a financial emergency. Even then I might look elsewhere first...

Baby brain has forgotten who had a bad night, was it Sparks? Hope you feel better soon. There's also a D&V bug going round just now, a few ladies on the Dec thread have had it. Hope you feel better soon though. Take it easy.

Doh, it was Nutella! Still, hope you both feel better soon.

Im a flu jab vetran, tis only a tiny needle, and they do it soooo fast that you barely have time to notice anything. As for afterwards I always find that my arm hurts a little bit, like I've carried one too many heavy shopping bags but that goes away after 24 hours (and by go away I dont mean you arm falls off )

Boo mini sparks has been names twinkle I think I got off relatively lightly!!!!

Nutella get well soon!!!

nutella hope you're feeling ok now

boo I found the flu jab fine, but very itchy after!

whims I always thought flapjacks were an American thing

Just found out that my niece who we spent a few days with last week has slap cheek (parvovirus). From what I've read it's only really a concern up to week 20, but the Mw says I need a blood test to check if I'm immune anyway (about 50% of adults are and wouldn't necessarily know as it can be very mild or symptomless.) Though she was very vague as to what they'd actually do if I wasn't immune