The fledglings try something new for June

[DarkEvilMoon]

Hello, welcome back and jump on board for June.

As the thread title say we are mixing things up a bit this month, it might work. Then again it might not. It is still a long running thread and newbies will always be welcome. Usual disclaimer still applies "Don’t let it put you off if we appear a bit cliquey, we really aren’t! Some of us have been on here for years – but all lurkers, intermittent returnees, oldies and newcomers very, very welcome"

But here is where this thread is mixing it up. No more daily links. The Big link you will need is the launch pad from here you can get the daily reminders/missions/zones etc...

The first link for the babysteps is the particularly waffly introduction to and first babystep here, through it you can get to all of the other links

Not sure this will work or the lack of daily posts will be a problem. So fingers crossed for a month of nattering and flying success...

I always do 9x tables on my fingers, which I also thought was cheating, but at the recent maths morning at school they said it wasn't! They also showed a method for doing 7x on fingers, but I found that much more complicated. We were taught times tables really badly and I still struggle with 4s, 6s, 7s and 8s.

Osteopath didn't turn up initially, but I rang her and she dashed over (was only just round the corner). She apologised and explained that her husband had recently left her and so she's terribly forgetful at the moment . She was obviously in a state of complete shock and couldn't stop talking about it, but still managed to work her usual magic on me, so my neck feels a lot looser now. Am feeling so bad for her. It was like reading one of the threads on the MN relationship boards.

Linzer - how interesting that there are so many tricks for knowing your 9 x table. If I was better at maths I could work out why your method works, but it makes my brain hurt. How lovely to get back in touch with your neighbour. I'm always grateful that we are on such good terms with both of ours.

Swan - we've covered some sequencing, but I have no idea about functions. Hopefully, I can delegate that to school shortly.

Both boys are going to school tomorrow, although DS2 is only going for a couple of hours (to meet next term's teacher).

And if I don't hear about the job tomorrow, I'm wondering if it would be ok to email the company, if only to confirm I haven't got the job. It will be a week tomorrow since I had the interview, which seems plenty of time to get back to me .

I think it would be fine to email Toffee, shows you are still interested.

Well, mega busy day with very little Flying.

School run, work, school run.
Stay at school to watch Year 6 sex ed videos . Cringe at how dated they look - teacher admitted he'd seen the same ones when he was in Year 6.
Home with DD and friend
Help DS with homework - he's written a really funny piece of work
DD picked up by another friend to go to drama
Entertain first friend with x-box till her parents can pick her up
Feed DS and send him off to Scouts with his friends
Pick up DD and Friend number 2 from drama
Bring them back to our house till DD2's parents can pick her up (Friend 1 gone by now)
Feed DD
Quick bit of gardening
Off to pick DS and 4 other Scouts up from town 10 miles away and distribute them all back home
Unload Ocado shopping
Prepare gin and tonic
Whew.

It's been a nice day though, lots and lots of chat with other mums in between all this ferrying about, the DCs and all the friends have been lovely. I'm going to miss all this when they are older. The Scout trip was actually to the school DS will be going to, to use some of the facilities, it was lovely that he could show his primary school friends and they were talking enthusiastically about it in the car on the way home.

Er, Flying. Nul points. Day off work tomorrow though, so I must do some sort of home blessing.

What an exhaustingly sociable afternoon/evening, Who. How lovely that your DS was so proud of his new school and that they were joining in with his enthusiasm .

Thanks for your encouragement about emailing about the job tomorrow. To tell the truth, I'm a bit scared of hearing the answer. Maybe they have just forgotten all about me .

Both boys have been bathed and had hair washed ready for school tomorrow. DS1 fell asleep on his brother's bed late this afternoon - school is really taking it out of him - so I dread to think when he'll be tired again, but I'm too exhausted to stay up with him.

ta da : washed up, weighed cat food for tomorrow, cleared out litter tray again, washed some items of school uniform and left on radiators to dry.

Off to bed shortly.

done
drove dd to school
changed some sheets last night
put away some washing
wiped breakfast table

now to do some History. James I.

Good luck with school today Toffee
SC hope this is the last day of exams

Quiet here today....

Neck much improved today, thanks to time's healing powers and the wonderful osteopath. Such a relief.

DS1 has completed a full week of mornings only at his new school. Amazing! DS2 had a good time at his new school this morning. DH and I went to work whilst he was there, but have spent the rest of the day being very lazy at home .

Have emailed the company where I had the interview because I'm fed up of living in this limbo. I obviously assume now that I wasn't successful, but it would be a relief to have it confirmed. Have also asked for feedback, although I don't really want to know!

DS2 wants to make lemon cupcakes now.

Please help yourselves:

Mmm, lemon cupcakes - thanks, Toffee! Glad your neck is better and that you were able to get it sorted so quickly. Good idea to email the company; I was reading another thread yesterday where the OP was in a similar situation and wanted to send an email telling the company how rude they were not to have let her know - everyone was advising her against it and some gave reasons why she shouldn't automatically assume she wasn't going to be offered the job. But even if you're not successful, the not knowing must be awful and I'm sure you just want to draw a line under it all.

After all our discussions about running on the thread, DD2 has decided she wants to enter a couple of races and wants me to run with her. All three are running in the town race tomorrow; DS brought his goodie bag home from school yesterday (he's running with his class; the other two still have to pick their bags up) and DD2 discovered leaflets about another rew races in it that she'd also like to run in. And she wants to do the next Women's Race in Vienna (why isn't there a Men's Race, asked DS). DD1 OTOH has decided, after playing tennis on her residential, that she'd like to take up tennis. I am wondering whether these can really be my DC; I'd have run a mile (well, walked very slowly away from) anything vaguely looking like sport at their age and found PE lessons torture.

Agree about walking being more interesting than running swan but you're right, it doesn't give you quite the same buzz. It's also more time-consuming; apparently whether you walk or run a distance doesn't make much difference wrt the health benefits, but it would of course take quite a bit longer to walk it (unless you're a particularly slow runner/fast walker, I suppose).

Just waiting for everyone else to get up and then we're going shopping - DS has been sent some ToysRUs vouchers for his birthday to tempt us there, plus I want to check out the new TK Maxx in the same shopping centre that I've heard so much about. Need to get there fairly early, though, as it can get ridiculously busy there on Saturdays (am wondering whether it would be any better if shops also opened on a Sunday or whether it would just encourage people to go shopping more).

I'm sorry, I've not caught up on the last four or five pages of the thread, hope I haven't missed anything major.

We're still having a tough time. I've sat here crying from sleep deprivation on more than one occasion. DS getting me up between 4am and 4:30 every day and DH working away all week with new contract. I stupid agreed to work some shifts at the hospital as could do with a bit of extra cash but seriously regretting it. I feel like I can barely function.

So no flying. The house and 's cave are in an atrocious state. Ah well. Sod it.

Woken up with a bad neck again . I've told DS2 that if he wants to do anything naughty he should do it on my right-hand side as I can't turn my head that way .

Thanks for the sympathy about the job interview, Linzer. I agree with the posters advising that woman to remain polite, as you never know what might happen. Am truly bewildered that I didn't get a reply to my email yesterday as I assume that if the director was out of the office I would have received an automatic response. And even if he doesn't have a clear answer for me yet, he could at least have told me that.

Like you, we are are going shopping today. DS1 needs trainers and tracksuit bottoms for PE next week.

Good morning.

So last week was stupid crazy and by the time last night was reached it was the breaking point. Enter the spider. Crawled out of the edge where the matress was (a few cm from ds' wall), up the wall and into the support strut for his book case. Cue removing bookcase and contents from wall and trying to deal with hoover hating, spider hating, panicking ds. Spider evicted bookcase still in bits.

Lie in has been had. Coffee is being drunk. Ds is currently shouting at his father on the phone. About to grab clothes And be productive... HUGE to do list to catch up on...

Survived the shopping and finally got DS a desk and chair for his room, which are being put together as I write, but I feel absolutely exhausted now - we must have walked miles around Ikea (still waiting for my replacement fitbit to arrive so I couldn't even console myself with the number of steps I must be doing) and another similar shop - and it's really taken it out of DD1, who's been lying on the sofa since we got back. I think it's probably a good idea if she doesn't take part in the race tomorrow, especially as she needs to be well enough to go into hospital on Monday (which sounds all wrong, being well enough to go to hospital!).

DEM Good luck with your productive day (and fingers crossed for no more spiders).

Toffee at DS2 staying on your right side to do anything naughty (but poor you). Yes, completely agree that it's a bit off on the company's part not to even reply to your email; at the very least, you'd expect there to be someone there who could say 'sorry, person responsible not around [or other reason] but we'll be in touch next week'.

Grey So sorry to hear you're having such a tough time. I remember only too well how awful sleep deprivation is and that was when I was at home all day; I can't imagine how you're managing to cope with having to work as well. Do you have many more shifts to go?

Sorry to hear you are having such a tough time, Grey, and DEM too.

We spent most of the day looking at houses today and have found one that combines space and location, and doesn't need doing up... Hoping to put an offer in, but ours isn't on the market yet. Got held up by the photographer, which is annoying.

grey that's awful. Hope you can resolve it - biscuit and milk thrown into cot? Nappy change and resettle? Earache/blocked nose? More blackout? Sleep to wake? (never tried that but apparently it works) The only advice I can give is never ever give in to a cartoon on (or they'll wake up just to watch telly) and that is from my long experience of very early rising ds2...Sometimes they are just hungry and seem to want breakfast very very early. I used to stuff mine with snacks last thing at bedtime to try and reduce that likelihood. Good luck - it WILL pass..

Blue brilliant that you have found house with vital combo!

Dd has gone for a sleepover and paintballing.
Drama today for all
I did a bit of tidying in the morning but I had to beg dh to take charge of ds2 so that I could tackle some longstanding muddle without constantly feeling like I had to rush up and deal with something/supervise. Realise how tiring it is to never be able to focus on one thing when you are preoccupied with something/someone else..

AND there is always lunch to be cooked [grrr]

I made us all have supper at Nandos. but then fell out with dh over his decision to let dses have the bottomless soft drink option I don't think ds2 is ever going to go to sleep now having consumed his body weight in Fanta and Coke

DEM we had worse. Cat (our sweet fluffy little pompom ) brought in a fledgling and deposited it half dead and squawking in the hall. So pitiful. Dh wants to put bells on their necks now - they climb so high into the trees - Anyway spiders do NOT scare me. But live birds in your house are just horrible.

Oh, grey, I x-posted with you yesterday and missed your post about sleep deprivation. The early wakings are hell on earth - I remember them well. It's lonely being up so early with a toddler when you are desperately tired and you know that the long day stretches ahead. My DH used to work long hours (he'd be out 7am till 11pm when Ds1 was little), so it was all down to me. Does your DS nap or has he dropped his naps now? Eventually I trained DS to nap at midday I may have used the Gina Ford book - shhh and it saved my sanity knowing that I could konk out for an hour in the middle of the day.

Also, once I'd got over the precious firstborn phase (and I was embarrassingly purist at first ), I resorted to kids' TV. Cbeebies was a great help. Can you barricade yourself in a safe, child-proof room with the TV on and doze on the sofa?

DS1 has always been a terrible sleeper and it nearly broke me when he was little. Once, when he was ill, he just stopped sleeping AT ALL and DH and I were on our knees with exhaustion. Eventually, we gave him Piriton to get him off to sleep, as the chemist thought he had an allergy of some kind (I think he had a rash). When we saw the dr, he said no, it wasn't an allergy (just a viral rash), but we should keep giving him the Piriton anyway because it was knocking him out and we all needed the sleep!

Any chance of a friend/relative helping you out this week? You just need someone to entertain DS for a couple of hours whilst you catch up on sleep. It would make all the difference.

Shuddering at your spider story, DEM. I have been delighed to discover, recently, that DS2 hasn't inherited my fear of spiders and is happy to put them out for me. Very useful.

Linzer - not surprised you were exhausted by shopping yesterday. We were all exhausted by our shopping excursion too, although it was worth it to get cheap trainers for DS1 (saved about £30!). I hope DD is feeling better today. Is she doing the race?

Blue - great to hear you've found a suitable house. I hope you find a buyer for yours soon.

Swan - yes, I hate the fact that I am constantly interrupted by family members - and the endless cycle of meals too! Sometimes wish I could just throw a special meal pill at them all.

Reading about the half-dead bird your cat brought in makes me feel relieved that we have indoor cats who just sit and stare longingly at the birds outside. I'm not sure how I'd cope with dead animals in my house.

Well, yesterday was a bit of a write off, although we did achieve shopping first thing. Amazingly, DS1 was fine about coming with us - buoyed up by his newfound confidence - but then had a bit of a meltdown in Asda (who can blame him?) and had to go and sit in the car to calm down. He was in a state of anxiety for the rest of the day and I felt quite mean to have put him into such a crowded, stressful, non-autism-friendly place.

After the shopping and dealing with the consequences, I felt exhausted too and had a long nap in the afternoon, waking up just in time to take DS2 out for a runaround in the local park.

Have worked out the reason for the crick in my neck: I've inadvertantly been using a fatter pillow at night. Swapped it for a flatter pillow last night and am less stiff this morning. Am hoping to avoid the expense of a second trip to the osteopath.

We were all kept up late by a loud party till the early hours next door, so all a bit groggy this morning. Ds2 has made a card for Father's Day and given it to DH. Now watching 'Charlie and Lola', which he hasn't watched for years. He has a football party this afternoon, so that's exercise and socialising taken care of for the day.

Main task today: working on the DLA renewal form and getting DS1 outside.

Toffee - bless you for such a lovely reply to my whinging. I do try to cat nap on the sofa when DS lets me. It's 50/50 whether it does work, as usually he wants me to play with him. And yes, I am a terrible mother and use the TV as a baby sitter when I'm at my wits end.

Has your DS recovered from the Asda trip? can't blame him for the meltdown

Thanks for your suggestions too Swan - I'm prepared to try almost anything for some more civilised sleep/wake hours!

My oldest cat, who I had always thought too fat and too slow to catch anything, caught and slaughtered a bird in the back garden last week. It was hideous. When he was younger, he used to bring his "prizes" into house to show us, but he quickly cottoned on that we stole them from him, so at least he keeps his crime scenes limited to the garden now.

Blue - fingers crossed for your house move. Very exciting.

Linzer - sending you and your DD positive vibes for tomorrow.

We've had a nice day at my in-laws with all the family. Also had a productive day too:

Ta Da
LONG lie in - my DH is a God send
Father's Day gifts and cards written, wrapped and delivered
Washing on and hung up
Dry washing folded and put away
Dishwasher x2
Hand washing up done
Beds made
My work clothes ironed for tomorrow
DSs clothes laid out and nursery bag ready for tomorrow
DHs book keeping and accounts worked on
Shed loads of washing gathered up from around the house and sorted into wash loads
Living room hoovered
Bins round the house emptied
Sold stuff on eBay

Tomorrow I am only working a half day. Then DH and I are going to have a private tour of an independent school we are thinking of sending DS to.

Off to bed now. Night all.

Ooh, school tour sounds exciting, Grey. Am SO glad to hear you had a lie in this morning. Very, very important to get as much extra rest as possible when you have a demanding early waker to deal with. And thanks for asking after DS2. He's still in a bit of a state this evening, but I think the post-Asda stress has now been replaced by pre-school stress.

Didn't achieve either of my main tasks for today, as I took Ds2 to a party and was then waylaid by friends and Pimms . So that was the afternoon written off (but in a very pleasant way ).

Just finishing drying DS1's school uniform for tomorrow (had to wash it late and it's now drying on the radiators), then am off to get DS1 to bed.

shuffles discretely into the back of the thread after being Awol

Oops, discovered bold by accident. Not discrete!

Ha ha! Not discrete at all, MrsMook! Welcome back.

Just about to embark on the 'getting DS1 out of the house and into the car phase'. Never easy. Back later.

I always underestimate the amount of time required to herd children out of the house.

I'm trying to sort my laundry mountain out. It's 50:50 clean/ dirty at the moment but not in drawers so can't find what I need.

My other priority of the day is to excavate the kitchen floor which is covered by a jurassic layer of crumbs near Ds2's seat.

Time to plod on methinks.

Oh, don't mention laundry mountains, Mrs. I climb over mine to get into bed .

Have finally heard back about the job interview: I didn't get the job I applied for because I didn't have the skills required in their desktop publishing package, BUT... they have offered me freelance work instead . This is actually much better because it's more flexible, better paid and will, hopefully, go on indefinitely, whereas the job was a short contract. They also gave me really positive feedback about my interview, which has boosted my confidence, as I was beginning to think I'd messed up. Phew.

DS1 has done another morning at school and a bag of crisps at snacktime: the first time he's agreed to eat anything there. Huge progress!

DS2 has been a little b*** this morning (we've been struggling through Maths and English lessons) and has had computer privileges removed as a result.

Lunchtime now, then I need to continue work on the DLA form.

Not enough asterisks in my description of DS2: there should be five (just in case you are puzzled about what I'm calling him ).