Avast Behind! Full of salty seamen and buxom lasses, the Gin Palais is heading off in search of Pirate Booty! For those brave BESHly wenches in their 30’s, TTC since the Black Death.

[BarbiesBeaver]

Ahoy Gin Hags, behold the Hendrick?s Palais, the finest sea goin? vessel that ever left these God forsaken shores. Packed with comely wenches and salty seamen, I be lookin? for a BESHly crew to travel the seas in search of booty. Land lubbers lackin? a twisted disposition need not apply.

Let me shiver yer minges with tales of the fearsome Droid Monster, who raises his bloody head each month, and the dreaded 2WOOFL, where the vaguest signs can be espied from the top o? the Crow?s Nest.

Get ye to the Brig, yer scurvy dogs, where Roger the Cabin Boy will see to yer needs, or apply the Cat O? Nine tails to yer britches if ye should mutter the oaths of Babydust.

Drink up me hearties, yo ho(es).

Not taking FA . No excuse. Double face slap.

GaGa - I'm in the land of clogs, cheese, canals and homosexual policemen on bicycles.

Skiing - well, I started TTC Nov 08 - booked 2 hols, one for Norway in Jan and one for Colorado in Feb. Think I had a chemical in Colorado - droid arrived whilst changing planes in Minneapolis and I cried my way all the way back across the Atlantic. I would have skiied at 5 months quite happily had it ended up that way - caveat - depends on the resort! I ski a lot off-piste and so do not tend to encounter pissed-up numpty twats out of control on the only blue run home. Also... Hemsedal/Revelstoke is a very different kettle of fish to Val D'Isere on half-term week. This year I was diffed and planned to book a last minute to Austria - as it happened I had such chronic ms that my balance was shot to fuck and I couldn't cross the room without holding on to the back of the sofa... :( I'm TTC again in December and we're off to Austria in Jan (Bear booked in with Mark Warner nanny) - I may (if I'm lucky) be 8 weeks. So ms might hit me with force. I have friends who have skiied all the way through - one who actually skiied the day she laid the baybee... she went in to labour and refused to let ski patrol bring her down as it was a bluebird day! But... very much depends where you are going.

Mina Do the Body Pump class, seriously - you'll love it - and the advantage is that because it's an organised class you can't fuck it off after 15 minutes without being stared at! Just grab a place at the back and enjoy. Seriously, I was really suspicious about such things but have been hooked since my first class and am off again this evening... and friday. Yep, friday night in the gym - that is as exciting as my life gets!

Take the bloody FA you two! It's probably good for you anyway. Stir it into your gin and drink in the sauna. Whilst skiiing. And shooting up.

Hello lovely Lyra by the way.

PS Body Pump is not a "running around" type class. It involves standing, lying down and lifting weights. No boob jiggery, no laps, none of that "running" shite!

PPS Went to spa pregnancy package day. THREE differs in the jacuzzi... saw one go in to the sauna. Went in, came straight out. Filled with naked octegnarians. :(

Bloody hell - the day she laid the baybee! I skied at 23 weeks in 2008, Les Gets and most runs pretty quiet. I only did blues and the odd red at genteel (dull) pace and took the cable home. I stopped at virtually every cafe for restorative hot chocolate and croque monsieurs and didn't go out every day. I told myself that my pelvis would protect the babbins if I fell and was most likely to fall on my arse/side anyway. Biggest issue was getting salopettes to fit. The mens extra large I borrowed would not do up and had to make do with the braces and a tucked in vest.

I only have mildish nausea and tiredness when pg so wouldn't be an issue really but given the mc not sure would want to risk it now.

Not sure I can be arsed with the worry though now. Might leave until a month or so before and see where I am. We went with a French company last year (and my French/spanish friends) as childcare included for free and way cheaper than MW. But was comedy given my schoolgirl french having to communicate with the nannies who spoke zero english (and my friends wouldn't help as they found it too funny!).

Not ME, I'm taking the FA religiously, have been for years! I was at Mina, not self .

Hello GG by the way. You are a fucking brick being back at work.

I likes a bit of Body Pump, but it's sooo quietly competitive that I feel a bit of a weakling. Probably because I am a bit of a weakling.

I took up swimming as everything else seems to cause me joint pain. I've just bought a wetsuit in order to do swimming in the sea on hols; surely this will ensure updiffedness as then I will never be able to fit into it again?

On the plus side the swimming is very therapeutic, fairly cheap and seems to be getting me fitter.

On the not-plus side, I am convinced everyone else in the pool is laughing at my shit technique and arse-width.

Skihorse I've just imagined that sauna and now want to barf in my mug. Thank you.

In fairness, people keep at me when I say that I was taking FA for about two years before babywin. But you should probably do it anyway, MsVampy .

What Lyra said re: being back at work, LadyGG.

Sorry Lyra - should have not expected such behaviour from you,

I have mostly done bugger all today but check emails, fend off enquiries as to my health with lack of eye contact and "fine thanks", drink tea and fanny about on MN. Tomorrow I will throw self back into it with bit more gusto.

Anyway, I couldn't stay at home any more as I finished all of the Stieg Larsson books (all 3) and now have nothing left to do. Also started seeing Tetris shapes in sleep which is not good.

You could have started the Hunger Games books. I am saving the last one for Christmas hols (unbelievable willpower required).

...Although not as much willpower as Aries. Or should that more accurately be described as De Nile?

I gave up on FA when TTCing Mina; it just got too depressing to keep buying them. Actually I think I can stop them now too, so you can have my stash of those too - msg me your address forthwith and I shall send you herbal magix.

(LadyGG - last time around I had so much sodding milk I could barely leave the house without spraying strangers, so I should be ok. If not I'll get more (or just give up!)

Toilet Ski? Huh?

The official health advice up here is that all sexually active women of childbearing age should be taking folic acid. Can't see it happening somehow...

Ski how old will Bear be when you start ttc again? Are you starting soon cos you'd like a small gap, or cos it took a while last time so you're figuring it might again? (I'm clearly nosy, feel free to ignore questions)

I'm putting off the skiing question for as long as possible, but suspect it will soon become an issue. Last minute decisions don't really work when you're planning for a group...

Am interested in the Body Pump thing (not now, after). They have it at my gym but the naff posters make it look like it's for mental-thighed gym nutters who don't stop 'til they drop. Whereas I have exercise-induced asthma, which makes, er, exercise quite difficult. There's only one cardio machine I can use (AMT), as the rest make me too out of breath to carry on after about 3 mins (including treadmill!). But if Body Pump isn't lots of insane running about, I might be able to do that.

As for spotting, Drom, I can't remember being told that (but is entirely possible I have written stuff here and then forgotten it!). Needles and other sources say you have to sustain LPs of 10 days minimum to be in with a chance of winning, Doc said you could theoretically start spotting the day after you ovulate and still get pg, so who knows. As I wrote earlier, I had one of my shortest LPs ever the cycle before my win, so am wondering if Doc was right

Oh, and TAKE THE FUCKING FOLIC ACID! A tub of 120 teeny tablets cost about £3 in Tesco , so there's no excuse!

£2.33 acksherly - and they're on 3 for 2 so you get a year's supply for less than a fiver

Chemical Aries? Chemical pregnancy.

What what what Lyra? Now I'm confused. Ski talked about putting a false bottom into my loo. Is that my bottom or the toilet's?

Aah I see. I thought you were querying her "chemical in Colorado". I can't imagine why she is dicking about with your plumbing arrangements/arse.

Evening all. Am knackered.

The assembly was fine. No need for awe, teenagers are pussycats, really, you just have to know how to play them....

Rie - any, erm, news?

None yet, salts. Had cramps at the weekend and on Monday and since then - nada. But I don't feel remotely anything, which is why I'm in de Nile being self controlled. It's not like it's all I can think about at the moment - there's enough crap going on to keep me well and truly distracted. My only worry is MrA; he's so stressed and upset at the moment I think he would be less than thrilled.

Not feeling remotely anything.... you are doing an amazing job of being cool.

Why would MrA not be thrilled? I know you have lots going on, but he knows it is on the cards, nO?

Yes he knows it's on the cards, of course he does, but he has so much on his mind at the moment that I think it would be one more thing. Maybe I underestimate him.

I did say 10 days or so ago that it would be an utter ironic-diff it were to suddenly happen now after 8 months of it being far more desirable! I'm not being ungrateful or anything but we really do have SO much stress at the moment which I can't talk about here. That was partly why I went away at the weekend - to get away.

PS does anyone else find Rhod Gilbert weirdly attractive?