Cantaloupe, cantaloupe! Will you eat the bad mango? - 10 / 10 thread

[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

at good avocado

I now have The Boatman going round my head

Oh FK, I meant to say, are there any seeds you need?

Toot, have got a bundle together - 2 dresses that might be too small as say age 2, but fitted dd until very recently. some age 3 gap trousers, a skirt, 5 tops and 2 jumpers. One of the jumpers is a gorgeous gap stripy hooded one, that says age 2, but is big. If you want it it's yours, just email me your address.

Oh yes please yes please, I shall email

Hmm, except that I can't remember which email address is yours. Is it the one that starts spo....

TooT have sent you an email .

Have not just finished off left over trifle

Thank you Idris, I have replied

TooT,

I hhave quite a bit from DD that you could have, just have to find it in the attic. Will prob fit your DD, and mine is also v slim and petite, esp where trousers are concerned.

How about shoes? I have pretty party shoes, sandals, plimsoles, everyday girly shoes and wellies, what size id your DD2? (Can you tell her mum has a shoe habit? )

Yes please to clothes Wombling but don't worry about shoes as dd2 has plenty atm thanks to your and Idris' and Tatties' generosity before

Now, why do none of you have a big girl who could use dd1's outgrown clothes? I can't styore it all until dd2 catches up, we just don't have the space.

Glad ds is better today TooT

DD had her taster session at school today. It was all I could do not to sob. I think that I will have to find a quiet corner somewhere and have a good cry and get it out of my system before she actually starts.

Bugger me but uniform is crap and expensive isn't it? We have a new cardi for her which MIL has kindly offered to pay for but the rest will not come from the school with logos on. The vast majority of her preschool stuff was 2nd hand and cost me a pittance. It is a huge shock. Do kids still get picked on for wearing home knitted jumpers? They did in my day

Mothers... don't get me started... I grew up being told by all and sundry how motherly my Mum is, she stayed at home, did baking etc etc which was all lovely but when I needed her around to help when dd was tiny she was too busy doing an OU degree to come and help out so twas just me myself and I. MIL lovely but so scared of getting in the way or doing the wrong thing she tends to err on the side of doing nothing at all. ILs are a bit odd in some ways. They come and stay but attempt to leave as little a mark on us as possible, even to the point of bringing their own food. Anyway, I am rambling and will stop now.

Franster I hope you are OK and resting. [fuss]

TF, I think little children can wear handknitted cardies, no problem
I am rasther dreading dd2 starting school because I will be without a small child for the first time in about 13 years. I still have over a year though

Oh FrayedKnot, that was it, school uniform!!! John Lewis do v. reasonably priced organic cotton school trousers but they are not on the website and you have to go to the shop and ask searching questions. They also do non-organic cotton. BHS also do cotton but don't necessarily stock them/.
M&S rumour that they do them but I have yet to actually see a pair.
Don't buy from specialist eczema websites as they charge £££££££££
There is also Clean Slate Clothing (fair trade and organic) - good but understandably pricey.

I've been looking for cotton uniform too - summer dresses are easy peasy but the winter grey skirts/trousers are all polyester and horrid. DD doesn't have any skin problems but nevertheless I wouldn't want to wear polyester so I don't expect dd to either. Some of the stuff I have seen is just awful. Bleurghhhhh. No JL or BHS in this one horse town, nearest is 35 miles away. [starts googling for mail order]

Oh and I want a Nice Lunchbox too. Not one with Disney Farking Princesses on it. DD would explode with delight if I got her a Disney Farking Princess lunchbox but if I have any more Disney Farking Princess shite in my house I will explode with disgust and I will make a bigger mess.

Hello,

Hope everyone is ok and that Franny is resting.

DS is still having a Not Listening phase - I don't know what to do. I am feeling rather grumpy today. And now I have to go to a CPR class and I really don't want to but I know I Should.

TF, we have dd2's new parents evening otnight.

I htink we have some of dd1's uniform left for her htough!

She has a Charlie and Lola lunch tin that she is keen to use.

She isn't 4 until August si will be a teeny weeny littlie when she starts.

Is she looking forward to it LittleRach?
A nice teacher and classroom atmosphere can make a huge difference.
Dd2 has a July birthday so will be a littlie when she starts.

Hello

TooT so glad DS is better today. I actually rarely use a thermometer, I rather oddly won one of those in-your-ear ones when DS was tiny but have only used it about 3 times. I generally go more on what he looks & feels like.

Please could you message me on FB with your address for chard seeds? I have some 2-3 jeans. I don;t need any seeds right now TooT, I don;t have room for anything else!

Tiger, DS had a play session at school today. It was the first time I had left him there and it was for an hour, which I thought a bit too long really but he seems to have survived it.

Franny I hope you have had a chance to rest a bit...I also wish we were closer and could help.

MrsC hope you find something lovely to wear.

Who said about JL trousers? Our nearest one is at Bluewater, which I find a scary place, but may venture over there sometime.

Dd will be teeny too littlerach she's not 4 yet either although as an early July baby she's not as little as your dd. I met her teacher today, Lucy already knew her as she'd been to her nursery and the teacher remembered her name and gave her a big smile so that helped put her at ease.

I've looked at JL & M&S websites but nothing cotton on there. We have a teeny tiny M&S in town, Adams, Asda & Tesco and that's about it for uniform suppliers. Oh and one independant shop which I would love to use but the stuff in there is really cheap abd nasty. This isn't a particularly affluent or lentil weavery town so buying lentil weavery stuff locally can be tricky. I might go back there and see if they can order in cotton stuff. Gah.

FK I didn't leave dd - there was coffee in another room for parents but we were told that we didn't have to leave if the children were happier with us staying. DD asked me to stay so no coffee for me. Generally she is happy in these sorts of situations if she can see me, I only have to be lurking in the background rather than holding her hand all the time but I do have to be there.

I think that once September comes she will be happier to be left as she's already been there and has also met her teacher twice now so will be a bit more confident.

Might be worth interrogating John Lewis by phone before making the trip. They will probably have to order it in anyway.

Gosh Tiger and Littlerach they will be young won;t they? DS will be 4.5 in September.

Oh, I forgot

Dried fruit
Fruit salad from sandwich van lady (a treat these days as she has put her prices up)
Big salad for lunch

I think that might be 5, just.

DS also starts school full time in September, but it doesn't really feel like it as he is in a mixed nursery/reception class at the moment (finishes at 11:30) and so apart from being there longer will be the same in September.

I also randomly won an ear thermometer when DS was small - I think I entered an NCT competition and was surprised to win.

Just had a fire saftety person come and look at our house and fit some new smoke alarms. We seemed to be quite safe which was good.

Tigerfeet - we have the lunchbox issue every year. I hate those pink ones with puppies/marshmallows/hearts on and all the bratz coolbags, so boring.

We found some great tin ones in paperchase and monsoon, the pictures were much nicer. One year dd had a black one with a sort of retro flower print on. Flower fairies another year, much more palatable than some others.