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.

Actually - thinking about it, I think I may have been trying to change too many things at once - for example

a) healthy organised eating. I'm not doing too badly on this but it takes more time and organisation than I am used to!

b) Physio exercises - now take about 15-20 mins a day though hopefully they will soon start to make my hip feel better

c) trying to do flylady stuff (OK not all of it, but just spending more time on organising/cleaning etc

d) trying to sort out paperwork in workroom _ I am definitely a visual thinker who likes to have stuff out to remind me what to do. I then coral it in boxes etc but it just builds up and I get frustrated.

e) I'm taking on a couple of new students at present. I like getting to know new students but it does cause more work sometimes.

f) medical appointments. I seem to have medical appointments coming out of my ears at present! They are all additional things to fit into the working day (without cancelling any teaching as I can't afford to)

g) trying to think about buying a new (second hand) car. In the past my Dad has always found really good value old cars for me, but he obviously can't do this now. I'm uncertain about it as I am no way an expert on cars but think I need to replace my car sometime this year ( it is so old, they don't so replacement parts anymore so if I need as part specific to it, I'd now have to start trailing round scrapyards which I don't think I am prepared to do!. I have no idea how much to spend or what would be a good deal so I am on a learning curve here that I am finding quite stressful!

h) Dad's illness and surgery etc- obviously this causes stress and concern.

i) counselling. - I have been doing this for some while and really benefit from it,but the last few weeks in particular have been more emotionally draining and difficult than average!

j) spare room - awareness that this really needs a good sort and clean in the next few weeks before my Mum comes to stay ( at present it has some mould on a wall because of consdensation from drying washing in there)

I think in all of this I'm probably nagging and haranguing myself to always "get on with the next thing" just because I am aware there is so much to do!!

I definitely need to have a bit of a re-evaluation!!

I think I was being a bit optimistic earlier! I got tired and decided I didn't quite have the energy today to do everything. I have now wrote myself a to do list of what must be done.

Now off to do physio exercises and have a shower!

good to see you are making a start again cats

its horrible here,cloudy and miserable and drizzle in the air

we have spent the last 2hours snuggled up on the sofa watching annie and eating popcorn and chocolate buttons

dd2 adored it

Number two-oooh, in the loo-oooh

Ha ha bessie! Did it work? (FX)

Cats it sounds like you are on the right track. Lists help loads. I am so for you.

zoo in dh's current job he often gets a Friday off and we go to the cinema in the morning and then meet the dcs from school. It doesn't sound like much but it makes a huge difference to our lives and to us as a couple. When we are doing ok financially we also pay a baby sitter (girl across the street who is FAB) to babysit and we go out for a few hours. I also used to meet dh somewhere after his work and that added a little thrill of "meeting" for a date to the night out too. It does make a difference and a break does make you feel better.

arti that is an awful lot to tackle at once. I realise you can't control a lot of it but you definitely shouldn't beat yourself up about needing and taking some rest time in amongst all that.

Rumor has it this week the temperatures are going to be in the 20s. Toddler and I are @SOOOO going to be living outside this week.

I just hope that it is sunny Scout. It was only 14C here but it was gloriously sunny and it brightened everyone's spirits enormously.

yep. after only 45minutes of cajoling & various bribes incentives, she finally did one after being promised she could do some drawing on the iPad! fx this continues & I can stop carrying (& cleaning) that bloddy potty everywhere with me! (I am ignoring the fact that I now have to carry a toilet seat around with me)

I've got a few bits & bobs to add to the online shop, then I need to sort some photos of the DDs out. I did a photo book of DD1's first year, so need to sort out something similar for DD2.

arti that is a huge list of stuff. Can you prioritise? (spare room sounds more important than work room right now)

Or break some down into babysteps? e.g. Just do one healthy meal every day (breakfast might be a good & easy one to start with?)
Or get some help? - ask your friends what they do when they need a new car - do they know a garage they trust? Or a friend of a friend who would give some advice? I think the AA will check a car over for you before you buy it (no idea how much that costs though)
Or do a huge diary of the week. Put in all medical appointments, teaching, family commitments, physio, meals and a sensible bedtime. See what time you have left over & work out what you can REALISTICALLY achieve in that time. You sound so busy I wouldn't be surprised if you can't fit much else in, don't beat yourself up about it.

Morning all

The sun keeps coming out. It is great! I'm going to take my mid-morning cup of tea outside I think!

I'm feeling a bit better today, although my hip and back are hurting a lot [wretched physio exercises!]

Thank you for all your thoughts and encouragement. I have been thinking things over and realising that I need to give myself more "formal" time off. That is, I do take time off but I think there is a nagging voice saying, "well you could be ironing while watching this tv programme", or whatever so I'm always pressurising myself. Of course I need proper time off each day, it sounds so obvious, but I wasn't actually factoring it in!

Bessie - I am trying to take it in babysteps! The whole diet and exercise thing has got loads more steps besides eating healthily (lose weight, aerobic exercise for 30 mins a day) and I am steadfastly ignoring that at the moment. I think my physio exercises are more important in the short term, to try and get my hip a bit better. Then I'll think about other exercise!!
I've got as much help as I can re cars, but nobody I've asked has anything particularly specific they can help with. I've found a 2nd had car place that seems professional and reputable and told them the kindo f car I want and they will contact me as and when they get something like that in, but I'd not know really if they were ripping me off!
I also try and diary things too, but actually, I tend to be less stressed if I just take a day at a time as much as I can.

The good news is: my Dad had his surgery yesterday and Mum said he seemed bright and cheerful when she saw him yesterday afternoon. Hopefully he should be allowed home this afternoon!

I'm off to write up some of last week's lessons and clear my desktop of assorted debris!

Going home today to turn around and come down again on Friday. Feels silly but I don't want to stay the whole week because we have lives at home. Fingers crossed for the sun that's been promised us so Toddler & I can live outside while we can.

I am glad your dad has had his op Arti. That he is bright and cheerful too is a fantastic bonus. That is one thing less to cope with too.

Would a school style timetable work for you. It took me years to detimetable myself but it might help you to compartmentalise your time a little so that little pockets are clearly free for your relaxation.

I would also set yourself a definite morning break and afternoon break as well as a lunch break.

With car shopping we have found that the small local ones are usually pretty good as they have to protect their reputations very carefully. We found a local one that sold exmotability cars and they were great. They had been bought new by people who were given grants to help them buy cars so that they could be more mobile (often people with some sort of disability) and they tended to have low mileage and be in great condition but also to sell for a slightly lower price.

It might be worth starting a thread and seeing if anyone knowledgeable can help.

Ds is STAR OF THE WEEK this week so was up and dressed for school by 7.20am. He is sooooo excited. It is also walk to school week. We try to walk a lot anyway but sometimes life doesn't make it too easy. This week we will have to or the dcs will be made to walk the perimeter of the playground for their playtime It has taken up a chunk of my morning though today because so many people stopped to chat on the way back to the house

Hmm- I do already have a sort of timetable based on when I am tutoring and which lessons to get ready, so I'm not sure formalising it more than that would help ( I makes me feel stressed thinking about it, so I guess that's an indicator it might not be a good thing. I'm just going to go slowly and carefully with allowed breaks and time off this evening and see what happens!

Thank you all for your suggestions and support. I think the key thing for me is to realise that I am allowed to have time off, even if everything isn't already done ( and lets face it, it is never going to be already all done!!)

morning everyone

as always on a monday i get dcs in and attack the house with vigour in vain hope by time they get back it resembles a "normal" home!

dp has tuesday and wdnesday off this week so will hopefully get some time alone again while dcs are at school,have 2hrs childfree while lil zoo at nursery.
he worked hours like tis before when the other 2 were little and was lovey that he got some one-to-one time each of them in the afternoon whilst the others were at school.im pleased lil zoo wont miss out on this as we often went parks and walks together,something im ashamed to say i dont do often enough as i tend try and get all chores done before they are all underfoot and i need eyes up my bum to avert major cat traumas and fighting!

Morning all, We have lovely sunshine here!

I have split my "To do" list into 3 sections. One section is housework another section is anything to do with appointments or people outside of my home and the other part is school/nursery related stuff (after school activities etc).
I am hoping this will help me to be slightly more organised although I have a long way to go!

I am trying to have a bit of "me time" in the mornings while I am alone (the doc suggested this) then the rest of the day will be time with the DC and trying to do jobs. I think as I get better I will do some jobs in the morning as well but for today I have been chilling out so far. The school run first thing can be very stressful so I sometimes really need a bit of time to relax after that so I am ready for the next thing. The doc also said things should get easier as DD gets a bit older. She is very much a "Three-nager" at the mo! The potty training is also stressful cause she refuses to sit on potty or toilet even if we bribe her.
She is in big girl pants most of the time now though so I need to get to grips with my washing.

I am hoping the plumber will turn up sometime this week cause or heating doesn't work (not a major problem at this time of year) it can still feel a bit cold at night though and I miss having nice warm towels after my shower.

Just popping in to say I am taking a break
I'm about to take a cup of tea outside

An open letter to people phoning me up.

No I don't want to pay for any advertising. That's any advertising, yes that 's right I don't want to pay for any advertising. I don't care if it makes me top of Google or gets me highlighted on Facebook or anything else. Yes I know how wonderful all these targeted adverts are but:

I have a waiting list. W A I T I N G L I S T
Why would I want to pay for advertising.

I have more custom than I can manage! This means I do not need to pay for any advertising. No please don't ask someone else to phone me at a later time. I will still have a waiting list. I will still not need to pay for any advertising.

Better still please don't phone me again yourself for the fourth time in 2 weeks. It will not make my waiting list disappear. I will still not need to pay for any advertising.

Yes I know how wonderful all these targeted adverts are but:

Aaaaargh!!!

I'm not so bothered about ones like Yell who do give me a free basic listing, although these can be annoying, but it is the total cold callers who phone "about" Facebook or Google, thus giving the impression they are from these companies ( they aren't).

< smiles through gritted teeth and goes off to sun herself!>

Cats that sounds like a good plan. Take the time while dd is at nursery and make it your own. When you feel even better you could paint then.

I am in a bit of a flap. Dd has been offered a pony on loan. For those not into horses "on loan" means you don't own the pony but you pay for its upkeep and ride it etc as if it were your own. You just don't have to buy it.

It is a brilliant offer. The pony is the right size and a really good, quiet, old, perfect starter pony. It lives about 2 miles up the road from us and could continue to live there. It belongs to one of her friends so they could ride, groom, muck out fields etc together. As it is old, she wouldn't have to ride it too much. At the moment it is ridden once a week so it would need 2 or 3 rides a week at most.

I have asked for some indication of what it would cost us to feed him, for farrier, vet etc.

I don't know what dh will think, or if dd has enough time for it or, and this is the main problem, if we can afford it.

It is something I would really like for her and this seems the perfect solution in so many ways but it may come to nothing.

I am all jittery!

Arti the sales calls are maddening here too. I feel your frustration. I keep getting ones that come up as "International" on my caller display. As my best friend lives abroad and phones once a week or fortnight I don't like to not answer as she comes up as "International" too. Then I get someone telling me I am due compensation for PPI I paid on my loan. When I tell them I have no loan they argue with me. You would think I would know!

Camomile tea all round it seems this morning.

Carrots - perhaps we ought to start a mumsnet campaign about sales calls.
I've had ones asking me if I want to claim from my recent accident - again you would think I would know if I'd had an accident wouldn't you!

I hope you are able to work things out about DD and the pony - it would be lovely but they are time consuming and expensive. could you loan it for a specified amount of time - maybe 6 months and then review depending on DD's level of interest and finances etc. It is one thing mucking out stables early in the morning in summer, but in winter it's another thing altogether!

I'd nab the horse manure for the garden though - let it rot a bit and it is fantastic ( and stops smelling then too!!)

Zoo. Thank you for checking up on me and glad you are getting some time with dp.

Cats - seems like you and I are on the "me time" plan together!!

My back/hip are really hurting a lot this morning! I'm trying to work out if the physio exercises will help or make it worse today!!

Hey ladies!

What do you do when you haven't had enough sleep and feel like the biggest grump in the world......and then take it out on the kids :(:( Muddles has a hacking cough and has kept me up for the last three nights and I am a bear with a sore head today. It isn't Lols' fault, but I was adament that she eat her breakfast this morning, as every morning. She was sat in her chair for two hours, two hours, to eat a bowl of porridge! Things is, as we were going to Tots she had to eat up because they have snack. If I'd had left her off the breakfsat, she can't have anything till lunch and I wasn't prepared to have that battle at Mother and Toddler in front of everyone!!!!
Bleurgh! with myself.

It is the time/enthusiasm that I am concerned about Arti. I had a pony when I was younger and it took up nearly all of my time. I did virtually everything for it myself though and he needed ridden every day really.

The time frame is certainly something we need to think about. He is perfect for dd now but she will progress, just as her friend who has progressed beyond him has. Then she may decide she no longer wants the committment or she will need a more adventurous pony.

The tricky part is that if I ask dd now, and outline what is required, then she will say yes and that she will do all that is needed. What 11 yo pony mad girl wouldn't.

But 6 months down the line, when it is cold, windy and raining and she still has to go and sort stuff out, and the novelty has worn off, will she still feel the same? I know I did but how can I know that she will. She is a very different child to the child I was.

It is a very tricky question.

However, if we are going to decide she is not, I would rather find out on a loan pony that she will outgrow anyway than a pony we have bought that we hoped would last her her teenage years.

Oh Camper we have all been there. Don't beat yourself up. What education would it be for life if they only dealt with the level and sane mother Think of it as adding to her emotional and social development - learning to cooperate with others when they feel rank!

Poor you!

When I am grumpy it is very hard to stop being grumpy. Lots of water and being out of the house usually helps me.

camper - I find chocolate it always the answer all the time at times like this.

DD2 & I took DD1 for her swimming lesson this morning - it's the first time I've taken DD2 with me to watch, but she sat happily in the buggy when needed, so all went smoothly.

cats have you asked your DD what "incentives" might help with the potty training? Are they helping at nursery? Some of the other kids have been calling DD1 a baby for using the potty, which I think has helped with our recent toilet success.

We're off round a friend's house to play after nap time, so I'd better make a & get tidying

Cheers guys. I have done my Shred DVD and went and woke her up from her nap with a def positive frame of mind. It helpped that she went all teenager on me and kept trying to pull the covers back over her head saying 'go away Mommy!' :o Carrots that's a brilliant view, deal with me while I am feeling rank! Bessie there is no choc in the house!!!!! I am on a definate health kick as it's scary short time till the Festivals and I want to be in my fancy combats, not heavy jeans!
Bless them, they are both perched on the sofa watching BabyTV while the neutradol does its thing on the carpet. Muddles is in full vocal mood! She is making noises everytime a hippo comes on screen. Oh and bugger it!!! She's bloody crawling!!!! Dammit, thought I had a bit longer but no, she's off like a nutter . Now I gotta move all the DVDs that were on the bottom shelf as she seems attracted to them.
Carrots sorry, can't offer any advice. Can you 'rent' the pony on a short-term lease? I know it's not a house, but DYKWIM? Say for 6 months, till November, and see how she does?