Evening all! [Yes I'm old enough to remember Dixon of Dock Green - only vaguely mind 
]
Hope everyone OK!!
Thanks for fab round-ups Goth 
Sillybilly Also crossing all fingers and toes (in a very discreet fashion 
) for tomorrow and hope tests went well today.
Falls on Bitchy's stash of hard liquor ... . Yay to Blanketgate progress! [Nay to sleep deprivation] Congrats on boudoir sort.
Hats off Engels you are on a roll! Top marks for cellar clearance! Very impressed with everything you have ticked off the list this year too. Arf at poonami!! 
(Like the sound of extended St Nic visitation btw.) And amazing about American soldier! British soldiers from the paras sheltered in our roof apparently (which was brave of the occupants given that the local SS station was 300m down the road).
Toffee sorry you had such a stressful morning and can really, really sympathise re: the "veering between being tough and being kind". When we had a talk with the headmistress recently, and dd's anxiety in certain situations was mentioned, the first thing she said was "does she have sufficiently strict boundaries at home because they make a child feel safe?" Dh and I were a bit taken aback and we had to think a bit because although we always start out with a great set of agreements at the start of term, we slowly become more lax as time goes on and bedtimes slip and we turn a blind eye to this and that, and dd tends to play us off against one another and spins things out, like all children do. And I'm reluctant to spout too many rules because dd's school is already suffocatingly strict and I think giving a child room to make their own decisions (within certain limits of course) also makes them feel safe and in control. But where does one draw the line between the two [tears out hair]? I'm obviously getting it wrong atm.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say rather badly is, I don't think it will harm your ds to know what you expect of him now, especially as you have been incredibly patient for so long and it all comes in a context of huge support. As it happens, dd was shockingly rude and uncooperative this morning. So much so that dh and I had an emergency conflab at lunch time to work out what our new, strict rules about bathing, bed times, hwk, getting ready for school in advance etc were going to be. We are grimly determined to follow through this time [old bag emoticon].
Swan congrats on driving achievements and for enduring mulled wine stall (school fetes are utterly exhausting).
Feetheart 51 years!!
at your dc climbing apple trees planted by their grandfather. Good luck with school disco.
Sorry you are ill Blueandwhite hope abs do the job
Gossip sorry you have been deceived - never nice and hope you have recovered from the lurgy
Blue and Engels and others - v. impressed that you have finished writing your Christmas cards!! haven't started mine yet 
You sound very organised with regards to Christmas menu/shopping Whoknows and you too re: stockings Toffee
Whoknows really admire your stand over dc and chores btw (determined to emulate). Glad school fair went well.
Paint hope you are feeling better, pleuresy sounds awful 
Dizzy hope you are ok and congrats to your dd on her plucky performance
Like the sound of your more meaningful St Nic celebration Just. And - respect - think you should copy out all those things you listed that you do in day interspersed with home edding and present it to the powers that be so they can learn something!
Big waves to Alice Angry Pushme Castle Honu Lauren Mercury Saturn Rowingboat Ellie Rollermum and everyone else I've inevitably missed.
Sorry but too tired to write any more personals - feeling a bit icky and hot/cold tonight - just hoping I haven't caught anything as I'm too busy to be ill right now!!
Had v. enjoyable weekend although Friday night was a wash-out. Turned up at church door for concert only to find that I'd got the day wrong! Ah well, will have to wait another 12 mths to hear English carols ... . Then decided to go to Christmas market instead but we drove around and couldn't find it. (Discovered on card helpfully left on fridge that it was inside, in a community centre 
) Oh dear ...all rather shambolic I'm afraid.
Made up for it on Saturday though following tortuous revision session with dd and cooking for 5,000 in the morning, then went to friend's to watch a film, then friends came back to us for grub and too much and an altogether fab evening which went on well in to the next morning. So Sunday was spent recovering, doing more exam revision, running diswhwasher x 4, and driving dd out to horse-riding party where she enjoyed a brilliant 2 hr hack in lovely countryside and saw an owl.
Today has been spent doing home bleugh, supermarket shopping, chemist run, school runs, laundry x 3, finishing final final bit of Christmas shopping (yay!), sorting out dd new rules with dh, packing shoe-boxes for Christmas appeal, meeting dd's new French tutor, cooking and clearing up supper and catching up with this thread!
G'night everyone!