The Glass of Wine, The Campfire and The Awfully Big Adventure

[notwavingjustironing]

We've all blethered on pleasantly on Seashells' lovely previous thread and, with the school holidays approaching, lots of us are about to start our summer adventures( not all of which are in tents....!) This thread is for us all to check back in and generally keep in touch. So we've packed up our Icey-Teks and our Tarps and our Death Socks, gently doused the burning embers of our planning campfire and rinsed out the wine glasses.

We're ready for our Awfully Big Adventure.

Come and talk about yours here (even if you're staying put!)

One boy here, but loud enough to have been at least 2 of them. He put in a request for 3 babies this morning - one for him, one each for dh and myself. Uhm yes, uhm, maybe not this week.

I was baffled when people asked me whether I was disappointed that he wasn't a girl. Huh?? It seriously never occurred to me, and I couldn't understand why a) anyone would care, and b) you'd think that that's a nice thing to ask someone! Odd, odd people.

Boys are best! (IMHO although I have no experience of girls so I really don't know) Fair play to those of you with small children though I remember those days well. It does get easier I promise

Brambles I do like a toight bum! (our lifeguards are the 19 and 21 year old sons of a friend, fit they may well be but I'd claw my eyes out before I checked out their buns)

Thankyou for the all in one waterproof MisSal, how did you know I look fabulous in green and always accessorise with a large sunflower.

I don't want another child full stop - life is (finally!) beginning to get a little easier. There are times when I can sit and chill get stuff done while they amuse each other. With only 20 months between them they are really good little mates when they are not hitting each other / moaning / snatching stuff from each other.

I definately get the 'when are you going to try for a girl?' stuff. But then friends who have one of each and are trying for another get the 'why would you do that when you have one of each?' so I guess you can't win. And while a (small) part of me hoped for a girl when I was expecting ds2 once we found out I was actually delighted and if not before hell freezes over we decided to have another I'd actually prefer another little boy!

I think that those of us with boisterous children (of either gender) are drawn to camping, for obvious reasons .

Ds2 arrived very quickly. I hadn't been able to persuade the mw that things were moving on (they wanted to send me up to the ward ), so ended up delivering him myself while dh ran for help. He was so slippery that I dropped him as he emerged and he fell chest down onto the floor. Help arrived and all hell broke loose. It took a good 15 minutes before I was calm enough to ask whether it was a boy or girl. I couldn't have given a monkeys to be honest, just as long as he was OK. Apparently I said 'oh lovely' when told .

I grew up with brothers so I'm quite relieved that I have boys .

at ds2's arrival funtime! Totally get why the sex of your baby wasn't in the forefront of your mind after that!

My ds2s arrival was really calm and chilled. Elective section after an emergency one the first time round and the contrast was amazing. I was terrified the first time (probably know a bit too much given my job!) but second time knowing what to expect made it all really relaxing

I would have been rubbish with girls. Even now I'm the Lego builder, the den maker, the tree climber. My two are also great mates (not much between them age wise). Camping is brilliant fun.

Wonder whether Slubber is in that Forrin yet ?

The Amazing Bungee-Jumping Baby .

What's your area yellow, if I may be so nosy?

We are also a two ds family. They get on very well. It's all bums and willy talk with them.
Loving the bogey measure up there btw

Yes yes I love all that too notwaving! I made the boys a fab wooden train track all stuck down to a HUGE board. Everyone presumed it was dh's handy work!

Funtime I am a general surgical trainee but hope to specialise in breast cancer surgery when I am a proper grown up consultant. SO enough knowledge to be scared when I am on the receiving end without the detailed knowledge to reassure me! ALso embarrassing when I know the anaesthetist who did my epidural with ds1 - when he came in I said 'I think I know you in a professional capacity' while slurring on the gas and air . All good seeing him at work after that

If I had to have another DC I would want another boy now, although we do joke that if I was insane enough to have more children I would end up with twin ginger boys (secretly I quite like the idea ). I read today that the Italians have a saying that there is a special place in heaven for the mothers of three boys

Yes where is slubber, I require information on her ratio of different pegs and if the new bagging system worked

I reckon there would come a point when having morechildren wouldn't get any harder as they would all help out and amuse each other - 5 boys may therefore not be so mad lost! I'm probably deluded though and I certainly haven't got the energy to test out my theory (or the time at 38)

Yellow as a mere radiographer I know what you mean. After I had DS1 I had to go to theater as my placenta got stuck and I had a bleed. The anaesthetist came over with a cardboard tray of needles brandished like a waiter and asked 'and would madam prefer the spinal or the general this evening' and then proceeded to quiz me on when I would be back at work whilst the Dr fished around for my placenta wearing unfeasibly long gloves. I did a scan for said Dr in CT about 3 months later and she definitely didn't remember my face!

Tent pegs anyone ?

I wouldn't feel too down about it notwaving, at least you don't have to deal in a professional capacity with someone who has had their hand up your fanjo.

So back to tent pegs, when slubbers DH is pitching how does he know what to ask for and what exactly is a delta anyway. I am so rumbled as a lightweight camper now!

lost when I've got my doctor hat on I hope I'd just crack on and not let it affect me what job the person on the receiving end did trying to excuse the dr for not recognising you although I do hope that I treat patients more like people and not slabs of meat!

notwaving I think sometimes it would be a good thing to not know too much about what is happenening and just trust people to do their job well. I mean we will all have heard horror stories but most drs I know are very good at their job (and I'm not just doing the we all stick together thing). When on the receiving end it would sometimes be lovely to have a job in a totally unrelated area and just worry about getting better (other people in my case) and not know too much.

On a totally unrelated subject I am watching the London riots on Sky News and its totally terrifying. I am very very glad that I live in Newcastle at the moment! MissSal and lovecat I think you both live in London - hope you're OK. And anyone else who lives there of course xxx

Yep lost put it much more succinctly than me!!!

I know f*ck all about tent pegs too. Mineare all the regular metal jobbies that are hopefully not too bent

Yes I was wondering where you all live ( apart from you Losty )

Croydon seems to be on fire as well. It feels like the world is imploding, both home and away.

Quick read this before slubber finds us, we can all be knowledgeable and nod sagely when she describes her camping experience.

Yellow when I meet people in town I've x-rayed I am always clueless, I'd be more likely to recognise them if I saw an x-ray of their pelvis

Oh THATS what Delta pegs are!! The tent next to us had those and I was bemused as to what they were

lost its excusable to not recognise people you have xrayed when you meet them so fleetingly. I like to think I would recognise most of my patients because I look after them over time. Although to be fair some of them I might recognise them but not know why. And to be fair to your fanjo doc she probably looked after you pretty fleetingly too.

Sooooo then Losty, in your vast camping experience, would you say that Delta Ground Anchors are dependable and different to any other tent peg or anchoring system on the market today ?

Oh yes indeedy notwaving. I would go so far as to say DELTA provides maximum safety in the field and I would be more than happy trusting them to secure my helicopter landing pad, which I regularly take camping with me

See I personally think that the patented and registered delta design completely overcomes the problems associated with conventional tent pegs and methods of securing guy ropes.

I've also discovered to my delight that the base member presents a large surface area to resist the forces acting upon it.
Delta tent pegs hold fast where others cannot.

I don't know about you but I Demand my base member provides a large surface area!

Yellow, Sal, Seashells et al , what say you ??

Dammit, foiled by inept cut and paste technique.

I need to write that down notwaving, I think demanding my base member provides a large surface area could be a motto to live by.

Bed time for hung over old mothers now, I will probably dream about pegs tonight which won't be nearly as enjoyable as the one I had about Mark Cavendish last night nos da pawb.

Night all