Chatting, ranting and some stepping! Come in and have a brew with us.

[carrotsandcelery]

A place to have a blether, and a . All chatters are welcome, stepping or otherwise.

Come inside and settle down on the sofa.

I am just exceptionally grumpy again. I am trying really hard to pull myself together and not to express it.

Dh is asleep on the sofa

Dd is doing her ironing. Hurrah!

Ds has the play doh out. Yikes!

What is it about Sundays that drive me batty?

Carrots I wonder if we have control issues!

I kind of like it when I'm alone and no one is messing up the house but on the other hand I feel lonely!

At the weekend everyone is home so the house is constantly getting untidy.
But I like the company --even though I moan about them all and not getting time alone--

I have massive control issues Cats. Both my parents are terrible for it so I try hard to rein mine in but they do bubble out a lot sometimes. I am highly strung as well and a worrier so I get in a stew about stuff (like packing) that others could leave or be really chilled about.

I could be worse though. My dparents have twice not gone on foreign holidays that were already paid for because my ddad got in such a state about the packing. I am trying really hard not to get like that.

The teacher in me is also really bossy and I have to try to suppress that. All this suppression leads to other issues (overeating and frustration). Gaaaah!

I like it when the dcs are doing something. I just get wound up when they have stuff they need to do but they don't do it. I find it hard to relax then.

Carrots You and I sound very alike!!

I worry a lot and also want people to do what they should be doing. I have perfectionist traits but rarely achieve perfection! I need to lower my standards - "what I expect from people and what I expect from myself"

I hate packing for holidays but I still pack for the DC, they are younger than your DD.
I am also bossy! --have you noticed--

It is A LOT easier to pack for them. I feel like I am letting her down if I do that now though. Instead I am trying to teach her how to pack. Now she has started she is doing ok.

Flylady does mention that the perfectionist traits do mean that people struggle to get stuff done. I am getting better on that front and realising that, for example, mopping the floor around the big bits of furniture is better than not mopping at all because I can't move the furniture.

The perfectionism is part of what made my job so difficult for me. I couldn't be like my colleagues, who I saw as lazy and uncaring, and leave jotters unmarked or marked badly. I think that is why I was good at my job but also why I burnt out. I was encouraged to apply for promotions but knew I would get lost in the niggly detail and drive myself insane. I also preferred being with the kids and hated doing the desk stuff so I would have loathed it anyway.

The people who just coasted are still working away and have happily taken promotions etc.

It is a good trait too though. It made me work hard at school and it has made me try really hard to be as good a Mum as I can manage.

Changing the subject completely now but does this sound "normal" for a 3.7 year old?

After I was last on MN I logged off and went to my desktop then got distracted and left the computer on. While I was upstairs DD did this on the computer:

She got on the internet home page, clicked the spanner, clicked on bookmarks found club penguin, logged in and got as far as choosing a server then I walked back in the room.

I was and Gobsmacked!!!!

Is that "normal" ???

Wow Cats!

I think that may be a clue to what your issues may be. Bright kids are tricky to parent at her age.

It's the logging in that is particulary stunning

Both me and DH are gobsmacked! We don't know if she has just learned by watching us and taking it all in. I guess she has. She does play on the computer at nursery but I'm not sure what she plays.

Whatever she plays at nursery it won't be Club Penguin

A neighbor of mine in the US (and who I used to babysit) was doing similar things around 2 1/2-3 years old. And this was 20 years ago, so disks were involved. Children absorb loads.

It's quite amazing isn't it, what they take in!

They are both in bed now. DD is asleep, not quite sure if DS has gone to sleep yet.

Toddler knows what buttons I need to press to check emails and send emails. He can also tell me if Daddy has sent a new message that we haven't read yet.

They are the dcs who will grow up with no fear or problems with computers.

My parents used to be amazed by the fact my dbro could programme the VCR and a Commodore 64 computer.

I can't imagine what technology our grandchildren will be mastering

Mind you, my dbro was about 12 not 3 1/2

Dh has just opened a Crabbies for me

Cats I'd say she's been watching like a hawk and is bright enough to work out what the process is for.

My OH is a perfectionist, drives me bloody nuts as it's where all our stress comes from.

We walked all 4 dogs together today, all was going well until we encountered a local stray. Female boxer who is severely sick, emancipated with open sores. I've seen her a few times and just avoided her but today she attacked us. Maybe because of the puppies, or the DDs. She chased them yesterday and they had to climb up heigh to get away, but they didn't tell me this until today. The end result is my waif is at the vet's having one of her claws removed, it's broken and twisted.

Both big dogs did a Stirling job of protecting the DDs, but the OH still had to use force to get rid of her, then fend her off with a chair. I couldn't actualy see in all the confusion, but I think she was trying to get at DD1.

DD2 is currently laying in front of the TV with the bigger of the big dogs. He weighs twice as much as her and just lays there letting her cuddle him.

OH is cleaning his car now, he asked for tea. I've got the DDs well trained, they know to roll thier eyes and tell him "you're sooooooo demanding" before passing the message on to me I need to get some food organised, we kinda missed lunch in all the excitement.

We didn't start to do computers till senior school cause they were only fairly new then in the 80's. I suppose the DC these days will be so far ahead of us with technology! pretty scary as I'm a bit of a tech-dinosaur!

I think I will be off to bed soon, "see" y'all tomorrow

Night Cats - I hope it is a peaceful one.

Adora I hope your dog is ok. My pup (who is 3) is miserable. He split his paw pad yesterday and had been hiding under the stairs.

He is a rescue dog and has "ishoos" with the vet so I phoned them rather than take him up there. They said they wouldn't do anything anyway, as long as it is not infected, but told me to give him a dose of Twilights metacam.

He was a happy dog very quickly

We are not allowed to walk him for a while, to let it heal. He is still limping and being a bit sad but not as bad as he was.

I feel for you. I really don't like it when my dogs are sore.

sorry to hear about all the poorly pets!

mum used to bring a computer from school home during the summer holidays (so they didn't get stolen) - I decided when I was 6 that I would be a computer programmer!

DD1 (3.5) uses the PC at nursery (we don't do it at home as I don't want her to want to do it all the time IYKWIM), but they just play really basic educational games. I do wonder if she reaches over & tries to touch the screen as she is well used to doing that on our phones!

I have been over analysing thinking about why DD1 has recently been so much more of a PITA & wonder if it is because we are no longer spending any quality time alone together (DD2 now comes along when I take her swimming, which was previously her time). So today I took her to the supermarket to buy new wellies & we stopped in the cafe for a cake & a bambichino. It's also good because it means DH gets to spend some time alone with DD2. I just need to think of something slightly cheaper to do next weekend!

Thanks Carrots I hope your dog's paw heals swiftly. We haven't heard from the vet yet, but OH is in denial. Shouting at DD1 for not eating and when I told him to back off as we've all had a stressful afternoon he asked how she's had a stressful afternoon, that man treats denial like it's an Olympic sport.

Anyway, moving on, my DD's used to vie for attention, I think they all do to some extent once Mummy has something else to think about.

Poor puppies.

So, I've been looking around my living room (CHAOS has taken over again). Toddler seems to have moved on from board to paper (with the occasional hard) back books. I wonder if it's too early to box up his board books and use that shelf (and the space where there's a pile of books because he had more than a shelf's worth) for toys/art paper, etc. I've got to do something. Stuff has taken over again and Toddler's rapidly running out of room to make railway lines. I can easily sort out my bags (I take hesien bags to various groups and they're taking over as much as MrScout's boxes that he STILL hasn't shifted/sorted0. Then I can shove the boxes to the edges.

I need to do something before I lose my mind again.

bessie it is definitely something you need to keep an eye on. Not you personally but all people with two or more children.

You also need to keep an eye on quality time spent with the younger one. Ds got dragged around a lot with me, to wherever dd was going etc. I had to make sure I made that good time for him or that I did do something specific with him too.

Parks are a good place for it. Sitting down drawing (or colouring but both of mine hated that) together also seemed to work in our house. Once you get to the stage of playing board games it gets easier too.

We strictly limit computer, tv and wii time. It does slip sometimes though if I feel grotty.

Opinions appreciated please.

It is the dd ironing saga again.

She did really well (eventually) doing her ironing over the weekend and she did some this morning as well.

Do you think I would be ruining the message if I helped her out and did the bits and bobs that are just dried, ready for her holiday, or do you think she has probably got the message now and it is ok for me to do some of it for her?

Be honest please.