MARTIANS 2014 thread 12: the one where we do nowt but eat.

[prambo2thereturn]

Oooh, double Corrie tonight!

Just to let you all know - Pram is going dark on us again! She's got no internet access for a bit but has text me so we aren't all stressing about her!

Sorry, just updated on FB. So, I pranged my bloody car on the way out of the hospital car park so been sorting that hence the delay (also small matters of school runs, kids tea and homework). You couldn't make it up at the moment! Anyway, no one harmed, specifically not the baby GIRL happily wiggling away inside... I waited ages and it took forever as she was very uncooperative. All fine though. I do have placenta previa though but they hope it will move and I get another picture at 32 weeks! Thanks for asking about me. I'll try and be a better Martian from now on.

Poor dh couldn't find the police station, despite driving past it many times! And then the car park there was full so he drove round looking for someone to park and eventually gave up and came home. He's going to go in the morning to the one in the town where he works, he has 24 hours to report it. He cried when he came home! I have honestly never seen him cry!

Another girl for the Martians, congrats Teddy!!

Wow another girl!! We need a running total - are the stats still being updated?

I used to cycle to work through central London. Sounds scary but the traffic tended to move so slowly it was very safe and cycling was the quickest way to work by miles! It's the only thing I miss about my job. Well, that and Friday Wine Club.

i'm not sure - do we know who's who up to now - i have been crap on gender guesses spreadsheet! ill have to sort it tomorrow but i am sooo lazyyyyyyyyyyy!

lyra - boy
gawjus - girl
me - boy
maybe - girl
teddy - girl
baldrick - girl

who else can we remember? preggo brain!

this proper/carrier bag is interesting!!!

aw mummy sounds horrible, poor dh - at least he can get a rest before going tomorrow! sounds like you're not having an easy time of it either though so be easy on yourself xxx

Mine's a girl Grey

Hello all, congratulations on gender scans to those who have had them this week! Really sorry, I cannot remember who has, apart from teddy and lyra. I am officially the most rubbish of Martians, and must try harder...

I love making and receiving homemade presents, but I do agree that you have to know your recipient. My parents and PILs love foody gifts, and my siblings all love boozy stuff, so they are easy(ish). Other people I know would be difficult to make presents for, and would appreciate them less. On the subject of vouchers, generally I think they are a bit of a cop-out, however, one year my sister specifically asked for a gift voucher as she wanted some clothes, and knew that money would just end up being spent on the kids! She knew I didn't have the budget for an actual garment and prefers to choose for herself, so a voucher was the best way to go. Having read pram's posts though, I'm now worrying that some of the people I have made things for were secretly cursing me for it

That turned into an essay, sorry! I will now go and sleep, cos my brain refuses to function normally. Zzz...

Hi all, newby messager here, please be gentle! Currently 19+4, got next scan on Monday but trying to keep sex of baby a surprise, tho Chinese calendar says girl, ahem should have said partner wants to keep it a surprise!

ps - meant to say I second badlywrittenpoem post, I also believe in re-gifting, recycling/charity shop donating the crap where necessary!

Hi dizhin, welcome. My scan is on Monday too. I'm 19+2 today!

Hi dizhin welcome to the thread. It moves fast but we try to be friendly

Grey I'm expecting a girl too - your preg head must be bad as I only posted that yesterday! (Or you ignore my posts!)

Its funny hearing about crap presents on here, I have the delight of having the mil who loves crafting but is just a bit crap at it really! Please don't think me ungrateful, my mum is a trained dress maker so I have been brought up with homemade stuff, trouble is it's always been to a professional standard! nothing like the latest trauma the mil has bestowed upon us this week, #shudder!

at dizhin's god awful home made garment. I'm imagining a frock made of old flowery curtains with shoulder pads?

MummyPig I meant to say I'm sorry you're having a shitty time at the moment with your dad, money etc. but you're right to focus on all your blessings - looking at DS can put so much in perspective. Still hard when you're skint and worried though. Have some (sorry, they're from the market- can't stretch to Selfridges this week).

Welcome, dizhin!

Ooh, do tell; what have you received from your MIL?

The mil has decided that quilting is her new hobby, love the sentiment, just the finished product is well...
Let me set a scene - my bedroom is cream, yellow orange slightly Chinese, chic, simple. The quilt is well best description is Argos catalogue boy bedroom duvet covers, circa 1986 with a sprinkling of grandad pyjamas, dropped stitches and not even loads of stitching and thin like a quilt. It actually has a duvet in it, so she has given us an washable duvet. Grrrrr again not to sound ungrateful but wtf! Who would make something like that and not ask what colours do u like? #andbreathe

Spare room?

It's super King size! spare room is becoming nursery, I did wonder if it could be 'the camping' one - until dh put it on the bed! I was bloody cooking last night and threw it over him to doubly cook him.

On a more positive note, how is everyone doing with getting energy back again? Is anyone still exhausted? I had a terrible cold last week and previous week had sprained my ankle - i'm convinced being prego is not good for u! However this week no cold, better ankle, lots more energy and lots of kicks and squirms!

Welcome dizhin

I'm thinking about making some homemade gifts this year after reading this thread. Maybe flavoured olive oil in a nice bottle for relatives who enjoy cooking, flower pots decorated by my boys for my mum (she loves anything made by her beloved grandsons), fudge for friends etc. Hmmm.

Mummy, what a horrible shock for your DH. I hope he's ok in the morning.

And congrats scannees So many girls so far. Team Blue is losing badly.

Well, the bank said a flat no to my request for a loan, so had to resort to Plan B, asking XP for an advance. It will come as no surprise that his offer was accompanied by unreasonable conditions. he initially expected me to move out of my home on the same day he gave me the money, which would mean packing up a three-bedroom house and moving, with two children, within days . After much negotiating, he agreed to a month, so I've got that long to find another house and move out. It was that or lose the restaurant. As we'll be going into a rented house it shouldn't be an insurmountable task but it means I've got a lot to do in the next few days. I'm viewing two houses tomorrow morning which look nice and very spacious but very expensive too

I told the boys they're getting a baby brother and they're both pleased. DS2 especially was delighted, hugging and stroking my bump in the school playground

Thank you ice, lovely flowers.

Hello dihzin!

I like to knit and have knitted things for friend's babies, have also sewn a few things as I have my granny's lovely old sewing machine. I've made a patchwork quilt for my goddaughter for Christmas, without asking her about colours first (mainly because I was using up bits of old material I had lying around, eg one of husband's old shirts).

I hope I would always appreciate the thought behind anything I was given, however much I didn't like or want it, and would expect anybody I gave something to to do the same.

When my sister was unemployed she made a lot of things for me as she had a lot of time and not much money, and some are a bit eccentric but I still love them.
Someone told me they knitted some clothes for their daughter-in-law's baby, and the dil told them they didn't want anything homemade because the baby was only going to have designer clothes.... There are surely ways of being tactful about such things!

Anyway, the accident with the cyclist sounds scary - hope the paperwork with the police gets sorted with minimal hassle. I lived in Cambridge for a while where some cyclists were extremely inconsiderate and dangerous (especially to pedestrians) so I know that there are faults on both sides. The police used to lie in wait now and again for people cycling at night with no lights, or going the wrong way down one-way streets, and fine them.

grey girl for me too. And I had a Jane Norman carrier bag Rock, it was the only acceptable form of p.e. kit bag at my school!

Mummy how scary for your DH! I hope he's feeling less shaken this morning. And you too, sounds like you're not having the best time of it x

Welcome dihzin :)

Lyra sorry about the bank but your plan sounds very achievable and you'll have your lovely restaurant at the end of it. Exciting!

I'm so emotional this week! I'm absolutely exhausted and I've got a pretty much constant headache. Really struggling to keep up with work and the house and the move.

Baking & Jol I too have my scan on bonfire night.

Re: PE kits. It was always a trendy plastic bag in my school. Although it was a bit of a stuck up place where they made fun of you if you didn't have designer trainers. Not that I'm traumatised or anything

Mummy I hope your DH is ok. Sounds like he's had a big shock! Cyclists can be crazy. It's all country roads round here, even the fast A roads are pretty windey, and every now and they you come round a corner to find 2 riding 2 abreast in the middle of the road!