December locals chat

[mellow2]

New thread as the other one is not going to last long.

sfx...no it wasn't me who corrected that sign at the pool. made me laugh, though!
and i loved your dd's "no, get the drill" comment. priceless.

LOL at art installation Steppie, have not been since the new one as it sounds like a risk to toddlers

paddle - oh that is rough.

about own room I fear that will be when I will sleep less as I am quite a light sleeper and will probably be checking more often than I need to, but she will be in a single bed so I guess she will visit when she really needs to

I guess the nursery visit can be written as a success as dd went into the pre school room when we arrived, staying while we did the chat and look around, and did not want to leavethat's a relief

shame about the weather today and forecast for the week wet grey, grey wet...

hope everyone ok today

sfx - glad DD liked the nursery. DS still in toddlers' room but he always trys to go to pre-school room.

steppie - how did you stop co-sleeping with DS1? My DS shows no sign of sleeping on his own. Now he sleeps in the proper bed, if I'm not there he just sneaks out of the room. The trouble is I really enjoy co-sleeping with DS.

Ros - good luck with the job hunting. Hope you find something you enjoy. Good advice from Foxie and Steppie.

Paddle - hope you are not too tired.

Hope everyone is well.

sfx..glad dd liked the nursery. how often will she go?
yes, the huge crack in the road 'installation" at the tate is a bit alarming and we did 'told off" for dcs jumping over it...bit like expecting toddlers not to climb over the moore sculptures at kew gardens.
haven't they heard of inter-active art, eh? eh?

sushi...think in the end just gritted our colective teeth and trooped him back to his own bed every time he got up. painful but does work sooner or later. think a reward chart featured..
yes, i like co-sleeping with dd, too. that smiley sleepy little face and request for 'cuddle' first thing in the morning is lovely.
downside: sod all sleep as she's such a fidget and always seems to end up horizontally across he headboard on my head.
so action called for..
soon...

Morning all. Got thoroughly drenched this morning on the school run. Why is it it always rains around 9ish and 3ish????

DH is off to the hospital this evening for some tests etc then staying at his parents tonight to return for 6.30am to have the biopsy done. Not sure how long we have to wait for the results. It is being done under local (with sedation) so he will only be there a few hours.

He announced to me last night that he has to go to Chicago for work next week and may have to commute backwards and forwards for the next 6 months. Although they will pay for him to fly back every weekend, it just isn't feasible to do that for 6 months, the jetlag will kill him. So I guess I will effectively be a single parent for the first half of this year.

CoV - good luck to your DH for his tests tonight/tomorrow (everything crossed). How do you feel about him working away so much?

Steppy - are you around for a cappucino tomorrow? I'll be back at 9.30am to let cleana in, so if you are around??? You could give me some tips about mini-beast. We are lodger free for a couple of weeks so now would be a good time to try to do something.

Sushi - I lurve co-sleeping too, spacially now I am back at work, as it means I get my fix of him during the night. I just wish he would sleep like DS1 and DD did.

SFX - did you like the nursery then? It looks fab. I bet your DD can't wait to get out there and play with all those toys.

We have a good selection of applicants for the room now. I am going to do a chart of the pros and cons of each one

CoV - what a bummer for DH and you. Six months? That's v long.

Steppie - thanks for the advice. Well, the trouble is that he has this funny breathing pattern that he kind of stops breathing for about 30 seconds in every 10 minutes and I am a bit paranoid. Also he always kicks the blanket/duvet off and is often sleeping with nothing on except his pyjamas so I am always making sure he has something on - about five times a night. BTW, he detests grobag/sleepsuit sorts.

sushi, my dd does that funny breathing thing too. freaks me out completely.

she self weaned boob and bed at teh end of Jan 07 - can't believe it's been a year!

now I just have to put my trust in a higher force that she will get thru the night without incident. i almost always wake before she does and it's always tense until i hear the first stirrings from her.

unless, of course, she's awake at 5:30am yelling "I'm here/Where are you/I'm awake/Don't close the door/Want to get in Mummy bed/Want a drink/I heeeeere/Where aaaaaaaaare you/Want to get uuuuuuuup now" etc etc!

i think playtime and snuggles in mummmy's bed will have to stop as she is getting more adn more interested in getting back in my bed!

i loved co-sleeping and i still quite like the odd night when she's unwell but on the whole we both sleep better with her in her own room!

foxie - very organised of you charting lodgers

cov- fingers crossed for your DH, it sounds really hard having to cope on your own for such a long time.

sushi - my dh has sleep apnoea and it used to freak me out completely in those early days, once in a while it still gives me pause as I wait for the next breath/ snore.
I imagine that with a child it can be extra worrying.

I love to co sleep but dd is less keen these days, even if she comes to our bed sometimes, she will often wake up an hr or so later and demand to be put back on her bed, might be on account of dh's snoring

Not sure about the nursery thing I would think about 2 mornings per week starting late summer maybe, it all depends on whether I get pregnant or give up on that entirely and go back to work.

I have no concerns that she will like it, she seemed very confident today.

TBH I am not too fussed about coping on my own. Don't get me wrong, I don't really want to be without dh for that length of time, but I am used to the trips away and he often works very late so I usually do the vast majority of the childcare myself (bath/bed etc). It is actually easier when he is away as I know he isn't around for a set amount of time, making food catering etc easier. It is when he has a busy period at work and come 6pm I still don't know if he will be home for dinner that is the PITA.

ps: good luck to MrCoV for the tests

Steppie - envious of your tate modern trip. I took ds1 and ds2 there once (mainly to defy friends' opinion that I can't do it on my own) but it was when they were drilling and making a noise doing that crack in the ground and both kids refused to go in! But we did make it into the ground floor cafe (kids held hands over ears) and had the world's most enormous fish fingers ... Still, ds1 was happy about the trip because we got to go on train, bus and cab.

COV, hope your dh's tests are ok

Steppie, thanks for the offer to look at my CV, I'll probably email it over tonight if that's ok?

Sfx, glad dd seemed to like the nursery. I chose the one that ds went to because he seemed to like it as well, playing with toys etc. One of the other ones we went to see he stayed very close to me and wouldn't play or anything, wouldn't have thought of sending him there.

Speaking of which, he's awake, best get him before he starts rattling the cot bars!

Afternoon all

Sfx - glad DD enjoyed nursery

Steppie - glad to hear Tate trip went well sort of, well you survived somehow Took DS there last sumemr, he had a ball playing on the escalators the whole time, then when I eventually managed to drag him outside he spent the next hour chasing pigeons while I sat on a bench outside Tate eating our lunch

Ros - that's fine, will speak Thurs, you're welcome (& anyone else) to come over for cuppa if weather bad

I used to love co-sleeping, sometimes it was the only way I got any sort of sleep! But we all definitely sleep better on our own. It was hard to break the habit but so worth it

COV - I have similar set up in that DH works away quite a bit or comes home late and I do all childcare in the week, it can be tough and sometimes I miss the adult conversation in the evening. Luckily his Bristol gig should just be M-W for next 2mths. 6mths in Chicago is a long time though, although I'm sure in some ways will pass very quickly

Forgot to add good luck for COV DH tests

KC & foxie books delivered but foxie your letterbox is too small so I left a book outside in a bag, added an extra small one by 'guru' of co-sleeping

managed to do errands and playground without getting wet again, but was stopped 3X by people asking for directions how odd

If he does go I will be asking my parents to look after the children for a few days at some point and joining him out there for a bit of retail therapy and doing the museums child free this time .

Am off to Pizza Express in a bit with ds and dd (feeling brave) as today my pfb is 6

The job thing is still undecided for me. When I started looking a few mths ago I too had strict criteria; local, part time, & job had to be appealing. Needless to say I didn't find much matching all 3

I did find some good jobs but mostly in London which is out of the question for me or it was a contract work which I don't want as is rather stressful and long hrs (ask Mellow!).

Now that we will try for 2nd baby and with DH being away so much, not sure whether to stay as SAHM. I think I'll keep looking anyway, maybe the new year will ring in more opportunities

Ros - meant to say I have written a few sentances at start of my CV by way of personal statement just to highlight my main strengths and experience. Good luck!

Ros/SJ - there should be lots of job adverts in the coming weeks, as everyone has a backlog from the Christmas period

SFX - thanks M'Dear!!

Well I took the children to pizza express and they were both little angels. Sat and ate nicely at the table, no bad behaviour, impeccable manners, it was a real pleasure. Even the waitress commented on how well they behaved [smug emoticon]

just come on quickly for sympathy vote as DS woke at 4am this morning and took and hour aof intermnittant screaming to get back to sleep. All good intentions went pot this wevening and I put him in my bed with me and cuddled him to sleep which took until 8.50pm Just couldn't bear another night of "arguing". Have decided on reflection that its robably because he's had me virtually full time over Xmas and New year (and bedtme has been a bit hit and miss) and although he likes CM - I think he's just playing up a bit.

Gather he and you DD had a lot of argy bargy today Steppie. CM seems a bit concerned about the scratches - but I have to say it was payback for the biting he did a few months ago!

SFX that book looks excellent (both do) - thanks - will read them!!

QC join the baggy eyed Mum's crowd!!

Went to a Directors awayday today and yawned all the way through

KewC i salute your sense of perspective amidst the battle hope you have a better night tonight

Foxie hope it helps.

tired now must veg out and try to motivate self to go jogging tomorrow morning, in the dark, maybe if I promise myself a small reward