April 2015 thread 6: our Christmas puddings are half cooked, now bring on the glow!

[BrixtonBunny]

We were getting perilously close to being full up, hope no one minds!

Lol, christmas cards and small folk just don't mix I'm starting to suspect... I painstakingly wrote a whole load the other day for DD to open them all for me the next morning >.

Boo - that must have tried your patience. I did mine in the evening without attempting to involve DD.

Have to go to work Christmas do tonight. Ugh. It's cold, I'm a bit under the weather and it's not one of my working days so I have to head there from home and obvs not drinking while everyone else gets increasingly merry. And put 'nice' clothes on and makeup ugh ugh ugh. What I really want is pjs, sofa, tea and a pizza. It's too late to pull a sickie now.

Smogs you read my mind about the pizza. We're having ours after the Nativity. DD is currently in her pink sparkly princess dress and a gold belt. Somehow got to convince her that she has to get out of that before we go. Not easy as I swapped my top for a dress to go over my leggings. What mummy wears DD wears. I'm still debating the dress, I just look like a house from the side and had to stick a pin in it to pull it in a bit. (Obviously made for heavily pregnant women with no space between boobs and bump.) Personally I think that's a bit odd as it's actually classed as a nursing dress so you wouldn't technically have a big bump.

Was planning on a healthy stir fry for dinner but now keep thinking of pizza!

FizzyBubbly!

at pizza ladies.

I'm looking forward to my soup for dinner. Really into soup at the moment because it's warm, nutritious and ready instantly with no effort! Can't be bothered cooking at the moment at all.

Thanks for the advice boo, the place is going to the dogs so don't trust them as far as I can throw them!

Another one waiting for her pizza - jammies are on and I'm off work until 5th Jan.

mswibble - I think we're all massively jelbags of your holiday!

Sorry for making everyone think of pizza...

I've got one more day at work then that's me done til the 5th - can't wait to have two full weeks off at home. Amazing.

What a brill idea cinnamon I never thought of baby getting used to a child minder so a few visits while on mat leave could be a good idea. Will get me used to the idea of leaving him with someone else too.
I did lamb steaks, baby potatoes and peas for tea. Steaks were medium but only coz I'm a pants chef and didn't realise until we cut into them. Delicious anyway so sod the "cook well done" rule.
of to the pub quiz in a bit...mum ice cream sundae
smogs I'm sure it will be fun once you get there. I have mine tomorrow but I'm driving so that i can leave when I want. Im usually in bed by 10pm so ill be suprised if i last until the minibus arrives for them lot at 11. DH isn't coming this year (even though we work together) as their department is having theirs in the new year rather than all together like usual :(

I hope I'm not too smug! To be honest its the one perk of working in such a soul destroying environment!

I have practically inhaled my Goodfellas thin base pepperoni pizza and now eyeing up all the Lindt chocs that are waiting to be put in other people's pressie bags ... must resist! < this is why I have put on a lot more than nevs sensible 6lbs!

Pizzas off the menu for tonight now .... DH has just walked in and said he's ordering Chinese, his treat! Win!
I guess it's kind of like the stir fry I was originally going to do?

DH isn't hungry so pizza is off the menu for me. Not ordering a dominos just for me.

I'll have to stick in the potato skins I got yesterday instead. Might dig around and see if I can find some nuggets as well. Not exactly healthy but I didn't have any junk today so I think I can justify it.

I've got left over roast potatoes and was supposed to be finding some other things to make myself a meal tonight... but now I'm getting a chinese, thanks for the excuse folks!

To be fair I think the nearest chicken and stuff to go with the potatoes is still in the shop, and I don't want to go out in the freezing rain again after just having cycled into town and back to gatecrash the xmas do of the place I used to work. I used to like the meal and free booze they provided, but of course this time I've come home sober and hungry, so chinese it is.

Ah that's useful Squatting because I had my 25w one today and they were like "see you on the eighth Jan". I didnt realise you got one at 28w.

Re mat leave, I want to avoid starting the mat leave massively early and being dead bored at home and then possibly going overdue..can you imagine!!

But then you have to balance it with how big you might get/practicality.

Interested to hear what everyone else is doing?

Did anyone have probs fitting behind the wheel of a car? I have to drive to the station and I'm quite big already!

Worst case scenario I have the option to take all or some of my leave for 2015 and finish work in mid-late Feb at the earliest but what on earth would you do with yourself!

Where I am if it's your second or more then you don't see at midwife at 24 weeks just 28,32,36,38 and 40. In all my pregnancies I've never had a midwife apt with a gp, just a stand in midwife of mine was off. Only time I saw a gp was for our 6 week check. I've got a consultant apt to fill my closest hospital in on kidney details as my scans are elsewhere which is at 32weeks so may skip that midwife one in favour of hospital as I'd rather not do both in one week!

Misty it's almost back to a normal colour. Who knows what that while thing yesterday was about. Annoyingly stressful.

Still getting the odd Braxton Hicks in the evening but I guess that's easy enough to live with.

My HR is pretty good about getting Mat leave sorted. (Helps that my mum is the HR exec's PA and can make sure my forms are on top! Nothing wrong with friends in high places.) can't remember when I get the payments breakdown. Waiting to see if I get the payments based on my secondment wages or my normal big standard wages.

smog it did a bit, but she looked so proud of herself for having helped that I couldn't really be angry with her...

So it turns out that the Eisberg wine grows on you, a whole bottle of red down and I'm kind of fancying another!

I've not seen a gp at all just a midwife but I don't go to my doctors practise either because they told me I was closer to a local sure start centre. It's not actually closer but it's right near where I work and has free parking coz it's next to a school so it's brilliant for nipping out of work.

No pub quiz either :( was busy and there was a wait for a table n DH pulled his face so we came back home. So instead of a sundae I've had a full tub of Ben and Jerry's :s

hmm good question about driving chicken I only have little legs and if I move my chair back I might not reach the pedals lol anyone have issues driving when they're nearer the end?

Your smp will be calculated based on your earnings in specific weeks/months Lauren82000, you can check on the hmrc website amd can use the calculator. The lady I've done it for for the preschool I'm on the committee of is due early March and its calculated on her oct and nov wages with pay date 25th of the month.

I had a bottle of 0% Cobra but it's just not the same! Will definitely try the Eisberg on your recc boo

I'm hoping that HR provide me with a definite breakdown of exactly how much i'll be getting, especially in the 5month as my OMP ends on the 18week so I'm just wondering whether the SMP will kick in for the remainder of that month. I get paid two wks in arrears and two wks in lieu so need to look at my dates i think. I'm ridiculously anal about budgets and finances, my 2015 excel spreadsheet has been done for weeks with all my fixed outgoings, etc listed so am itching to get definite figures in there!