Its Thursday, its 7.30am and its time for...THE STAFF ROOM!!!!!!

[MaureenMLove]

Morning all!

Ah, but my house often gives the impression of having been hit by a tornado!

I think thats too cryptic Fruitloop, I don't want to spend the next 6 weeks, having to explain who I am to everyone, apart from everyone in here!

I've got to go and see my dd's form tutor in half an hour. Its called an Academic Day. Each child & parent is given 15 minutes with the tutor to discuss how its going so far. I can get there easily, luckily as I don't have mindees on a Thursday, but fancy working in town, full time and having to pop back to school for 15 mins! I hope she's doing OK. I love a bit of proud mummy stuff! I shall report back later.

Oo, oo and my mortgage advisor phoned me this morning and he as promised our new mortgage will be sorted and money in the bank before the end of the year! Yay! New kitchen by end of January! D'you think I'm pushing it to have it done for my party on 19th Jan?

Hi Ju..
well my mindee is fast asleep had loads of fun with her today, shes such a sweetie and we've been munchin most of the day(i fancied some corn on the cob, didnt realsie she lurves it, then shes just eaten all her lunch and let her half a treat size bag of maltesers with me
Got dd and three mindees to pick up at three, then of to C.P tomorrow..WooHooo!..ofcourse ill be working on the morning, with mindee who is leaving, but i expected that, getting monies worth and all that!, grandma is picking up tomorrow!, so she'd better not be alte as we'll be ready to leave when she arrives at 12pm!..i'll have to leave her on the step with a note

Loony, i dont know what your dh does, and i know this will seem terrible, but there will be lots of places in retail looking for staff over christmas?, you might even find bigger department stores may need managers/accounts people or something(like i say, dont know what he does), so he may still be able to get something??hope so

i should be ironing for tomorrow while mindee as leep now as have to go shopping tonight..tell me to git off my arse!

Hi all sorry I'm a bit late! I've only got one before/after schoolie from Jan onwards - help! Am I charging too much? (£4) an hour - or is it just quiet this time of year? Or is it cos I'm ginger!?!?!

LOL SM
Its quiet, beleive me!

strawb - 4 quid an hour! that's no way too much. Where do you live?

Poor looney, no just how u feel my dh found out he is being made redundant last night from what we thought was a safe job im 5 mths pregnant just bought a new house total nightmare but im staying calm and not stressing over it im sure they will both find something.... Thinking of u anyway x

I think it must be because you're ginger, have you thought about dying it? If you do, make sure you send leaflets out letting everyone know you have died it so you get more custom Oh and don't forget to write to ofsted and write to who minds and see if they will print before and after pics !

As for charging too much I would look at your area on CIS and ask around at groups to see what everyone else charges and go somewhere in the middle. £4 near me is too much but other areas wouldnt be too dear at all.

Usually gets busier about jan/ feb with people looking to start back after christmas to pay back debts they ran up over christmas!

Please can you all look at my thread on bathing mindees? TIA

would help if i linked my thread would it!

looney + Nod - Everything will work out fine, it always does. Just think of those little bubbas in there, how exciting! My man and i would love another but can't till DS starts school. He's only 2 and half, hate having to wait! really wanted our kids close together too. bloody Ofsted! they've got complete control over our whole lives now! what more will they want? blood?

Mo - new name is just fine (I'm no good with names so can't think up a better one for you) Great stuff about the mortgage/kitchen and good luck with the meeting

Shosh - it arrived already!! Glad you like it, may have to get one - is it one for each child?

Fruitloop - may have to try them as they sound yum!

BoysAreLikeReindeer - ???? at sausage fingers??

SweetSnowflake - he's done office work for the last 11+ years. As for retail....Christmas is out as they need him to work his notice and he has to stay til early Jan (although they don't have a date yet! ) My sister works in retail and said January is not a good time as they usually take on Christmas staff if they need people perm. He will try though like everything else.

Strawbs - it IS quiet but price can also be a facter. That's a bit on the high side for here and I thought we were expensive end but I don't know average charges in your area? I charge £3.80 an hour because of being so close to the M4 and a very direct route - JellyJelly was in Tilehurst and used to charge £3.25 so it depends on where you live. I think you're near the Uni? If so, I suppose you can charge more. I suggest checking other charges in the area. January is probably better time of year for new business. In Oct 2005 I got rid of 3 mindees and went down to 1 and had no more until Feb 06. Started getting calls in Jan/Feb and then by end of Feb was totally full again. Good luck!

Right, lunch nearly ready - I'm being naughty and having one of those cheap big yorkshire pud things with sausage filling as no mindees to watch me eating crap and it's all I fancy!!

strawb, i charge £4 part time, £3 full time, im in teesside, have one full timer, 5 part timers

what? she would've wanted to collect her child after a dirty nappy? eh?

Looney I said about sausage fingers because I am so slow at typing then the convo moves on !

Always get left behind

See what I mean ?

fruit, I started the thread because whenever I try to find out from other cm's what the rules are on bathing mindees I can never get a definate answer, they always say oh its a grey area, don't think we're supposed to but with permission maybe ok but don't know so I just wanted to see what parents and cm's tend to do/ think.

that makes no sense!
Why would she want to collect her child after a dirty nappy? the kid was wiped down AND clothes washed! that's well over and above call of duty! and she'd be p*ed off too! Glad she's not one of my parents!

I have no idea. didnt think bathing would be a problem if the parents have asked you to. I used to do it as a nanny :-/

I've left my usual sarky and most informative reply!

All good at school. Not major boasting to be done. It was more of a 'what are your aims for this year, dd?' It was just with her form tutor, so he can't go through all the subjects with me.

He did say that she's capable of & has the brains to move into the grammar stream next year though. Its a good school actually, it takes selective and non-selective students. There's 3 grammar classes and 1 shaddow class and based on her 11+ & yr 6 SATS, she is in the shaddow class. She so would have sunk without trace at a grammar school. She's just not got the confidence to cope, but this school gives her both. Her maths is very good and he said her maths alone, would take her up a stream.

Aw Mo, bless her

OMG look at the time

off to poke mindee then trot to school at 3pm

my DS is up, he's not bothered if I ignore him - poor soul!

He's too busy getting tips from big cook little cook! A bit worrying he knows all the actions to the song - oh and the words!

Gotta get my mindees up soon, then off for a walk to the school.

Oh yeah, anyone know a good way to keep jigsaw puzzles separate but easy to get to. I was thinking plastic bags but that's my nanny head on! Gotta think about Ofsted and suffication now! I've just got so many puzzles and I've chucked the boxes cos they kept falling apart. Actually I might start a new thread.....

My first one! wish me luck!

Laundry bags. You can get them in Wilkinsons. They are like those little string bags you used to get for the washing tablets only bigger, with a zip. 2 for about 50p I think.

well feeling like i jinxed myself this morn. had to go to dentist and while in chair could feel my period start . feel like toal c**p now. so down, fed up of all this ttc businees.

on another happier note - need advice on first mindee posiblity. have been asked for mon-fri pick up from pre-school at 11.20 keep till 1.10. am worried about rushing about lots as dd starts her pre-school at 12.30 so would be in and out alot but doesn't bother me! also she has requested no food but dd has lunch at 11.45 due to school. what would i do with mindee, just let her watch! mum is foreign and speks limited english but is lovely. don't want to say no to first one but am feeling a bit like saying no at the mo. also it would mean a whole place being used for 2 hours care! should i quote her for it being hlaf a day maybe? thoughts please, oh and a few hugs wouldn't go amiss

BoysAreLikeReindeer - makes sense now - I'm a bit slow these days (pregnancy brain!).

Mo - glad meeting was ok - don't understand all the bits but will soon as ds goes to big school in Jan

Fruitloop - I use resealable bags for ones with broken boxes.

Right, best go check the flapjacks Mmmmmm smell nice