It was an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot zucchini - 10 / 10 thread - all welcome

[FrannyandZooey]

For anyone who wants a boost to their general health. The suggested goals are:

EAT 10 PORTIONS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES EVERY DAY - if you don't usually eat much fruit and veg I would build up gradually or you could upset your digestion.

DO (AT LEAST) 10 MINUTES OF EXERCISE EVERY DAY - can be yoga, stretching or something more energetic. The plan is that the idea of doing 10 minutes is not too daunting, and having started you may well find you want to do more.

There are no restrictions on what you eat so long as you get your 10 fruit and veg as well. The focus is not on weight loss but on improving our energy levels and hopefully our general mood and well-being. Sign up below and post here to tell us how you're getting on and how you are feeling.

Basic guidance on what constitutes a portion of fruit and veg here and you can download more detailed information by following the link at the very bottom of the page

Has anybody made bean burgers? I want some cheap, easy protein that I can freeze and have handy. I have black-eyed beans, mung beans, aduki beans and 7-bean mix.
Which should I try first?

have done felafel - it would work in the same way. black eye nice.

Thank you. Black eye it is

What is natex? It sounds like some sort of explosive. I loved Tartex but you can't get it over here. And I heard a rumour that it now has something to do with Nestle.

Am not a tahini fan either but you can make some fab sweet bread with it. It makes a halva-like layer in the middle, all sweet and sticky, mmmmm.

Tooticky, how do you make bean burgers without egg to bind them?

F&V:

Aubergine, chickpeas, pineapple (x at least 2), mango (x2), juice, grapes, raisins (x 2), a leaf or two of spinach, yellow pepper, tomatoes and too much garlic. Does garlic count? No nuts. That's at least 10, woohoo

Crap day. barely eaten, let alone fruit and veg. must do better. sigh.

Hope you are ok, slur

I am at my university today and I have loads of worky meetingy things. I have a rule that I don't come on mnet from university but I have to today.

why?

because I have been thinking about you all down the motorway.

Toot - I am worried that you are not eating and you have to because you are a dainty fairy like person - you cannot go without food. Let her franny.

Wombling - darling wombling, I have thoguth about you and have nothing salient to add but I have thought about you a lot this morning.

Boco - one thing I wanted to tell you is that my mum was a 'coper' - never a crack of vulnerability showed. I love my mum- she is wonderful and was a wonderful mother but I remember even as a child feling scared that she could cope all the time and I might not - I still feel like that a bit now - she is very accomplished. What am I saying? I don;t know - I think it is along the lines of coping ain't all it's cracked up to be or something. Oh god, I thougth about you loads and that is the bst I can do!

Vibes to all veggers - heads, throats, bumps and souls.

Blah blah blah.

Have to go and work.

Have that dinner tonight.

(slur you eat too)

(ann emoticion)

'tell her franny'
not
'Let her franny'

BBee, you are lovely. You are sunshiney Boco is right.

I am slipping in here having left Anne outside the yurt barking practical instructions at unsuspecting passersby.
I have emailed you Boco.

I think we need to have some fun in the yurt. I am going to think up an exciting vegetable game - perhaps it will be a bit like picture bingo. My god, that game. It's terrible - 'no that's a house isn't it, put it on the house on your board, no the house not the lemon, THE HOUSE.'

We won't play that game. It has brought back nasty memories.

I have friends coming to stay today. They are bringing their dog. It is Johnny Jet's first sleep over. I hope he behaves. Then we are away until next week.

I have been stupidly busy and then I startle awake at 6.30 and think 'OMG TooT's shoes'. I woke DH up this morning and said 'OMG TooT's shoes' and he said 'Toots Froots'. I think he was asleep.

I'm sorry TooT. I am going to try, if I don't manage this week it will be next week. I feel dreadful about it.

TooT are you eating?
I do try Bee but I have no authority with this rabble
I hope everyone is feeling less angsty
and that pointy has got over her bewilderment at what we actually do here

pineapple, raisins, apple, banana

can I just give some advice to the wise? Don't eat 4 portions of pineapple in one day unless you want to experience a Temporary Cleansing Reaction

ruddy ds up at ruddy 5.30 ruddy ruddy nora

am meant to be going to waddling antenatal aerobics
it isn't just sitting on balls, it's moving and stuff

I lay awake from 5.30 worrying about my friend's dc
I am becoming increasingly convinced they have asperger's
is this a crap thing to try to diagnose when I have no background in SN at all
and should I just butt out?
nobody seems to have noticed or to be doing anything to help

and I think ds is developing a bondage fetish but what the hey

morning all, satsuma, still in pjs, children and dh not up, been ironing
hope you are all ok and that people are eating
Slur and Toots i hope you have a good day today
fra I hope your bottom is alright, I think it's really shaky mentioning spectrum stuff to friends unless it comes up in conversation, she probably has her own suspicions anyway -- am convinced one of mine is ADD but would be gutted if someone else suggested it even if their own was on the spectrum, maybe that's oversensitive, but having a child with an indeterminate "wonk" (in the nicest possible way) does make one feel oversensitive, one fears judgement so much

But can you "be there" in a subtle way -- I have mentioned my fears only to a friend who was very supportive and very affectionate towards my "wonky one" and would never judge

I'm sure you wouldn't judge your friend either but do you know what I mean?

have fun at work bbbee

x

Tell me about your friends ds. Why do you think AS? Is he first or only born? I think it can be hard to know what is NT and what isn't when it is your first.

Perhaps if ds wakes up tomorrow at 5.30 you could tie him down with belts and that might prove to be a mutually pleasing arrangement Fra?

Good morning

I think my headache has gone and I feel less angsty about the weekend

TooT I think I know what you mean about the not eating thing - sometimes I am so occupied with things that I forget and then it seems like a hassle to prepare stuff or there is nothing you feel like eating. Feeling like that doesn't usually last long though does it?

Franny I don't know what I would say about your friend's dc. Are you sure no-one is doing anything about it or are they maybe keeping it quiet?

I think it is something that has to be broached very carefully and very affectionately, and very much in the context of thinking the child is bloody marvellous. Though I think better to say than not to as a rule, because she may be thinking about it in the back of her mind and worrying and not knowing or saying - and might just want to talk about the eccentricities even if not in the context of a syndrome.

A good friend of mine came once when ds2 was small and said 'God he's wonderful isn't he? I do love him, he's so beautiful, I could die for him, I could date him. I love the fact he takes his clothes off all the time, it's so free. Why does he do you know?'

it was VERY well handled I thought.

"having a child with an indeterminate "wonk" (in the nicest possible way) does make one feel oversensitive"
well no that is the thing
I would not offend / upset her for the world

I am however sure that no-one is doing anything - the school have made noises about some kind of help in the future but nothing has been done yet
and no time scale for anything happening
and nobody has mentioned spectrum stuff at all - perhaps I am totally on the wrong track

100 I will email you if you don't mind, rather than say it all on here publically

I think that approach would have opened me up, 100, about mine. Anything that seems negative at all induces complete clamming.

BBBee, and Stuffit, Franny and everyone, thanks for being so lovely. I am sure DS will be ok, he is coming along so well, I am sure they have made a mistake in the measuremenmts somewhere, he is hitting all his development milestones as far as I can see.

Anyway, I need some advice/suggestions form all of you with sons. What sort of toys would be good for a one year old boy? DS is getting a bit bored of his exisiting toys plastic crap. I am not sure what to get him.

Franny - what about a wnacky basket? Would that be suitable at this age? Could you remind me what to do to make one please?

Fra and 100 am very worried I have said something wrong and worded something badly..i withdraw my indeterminate wonk comment, it's just a light (for me) way of thinking and dealing with my dc's issues

good luck with however you approach it x

Sorry. Cross posted with my frivolous email, when you were all discussing serious stuff.

My top 1 year old present is made by Galt. And it is these four wooden pegs in different colours that go in holes with springs. I think it might be called Pop Up Toy.

I give it to every one year old I know, and they all LOVE it, and so did all of mine. Very simple, endlessly pleasing. Hope it is still available?

oh that is a brilliant toy i wanted dgs to have it but i couldnt find it anywhere

Stuffit - what are you on about? I agree with you absolutely. Anybody who you think is looking queerly at your child (I have been reading too much Enid Blyton to dd - hence use of word queer, good word though) and says 'why do you let him scream like that?' or whatever is a NIGHTMARE.