December locals chat

[mellow2]

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

piss up and a brewery are words at the forefrunt of my mind today.

2 meetings that my entire day has been structured around cancelled and re-scheduled.

grrrr.

also, have realised dd is not due to start pre-school tomorrow but the week after next

i have totally organised childcare around dd being there for 2 hours next friday!

my own fault, should've read the paperwork sooner.

Pads, did you ask whether Mini pads can start a week earlier? They might be flexible

SFX - IKWYM about me soace - that's why I love walking (its a lonely activity - BLISS)

Very nice woman just called about the room

CoV - great news your DH's BP has gone back down. Bet you can't wait to see him

foxie, big relief as they have confirmed she can start tomorrow! phew!

am now sitting at my desk with 2008 year planners printed off colouring in the half terms & CM's holidays and the bank holidays and my intended time off too.

I am having so much fun! just wish my highlighter wouldn't keep running out

glad you got that sorted Paddle, best of luck for tomorrow

speaking of planning, are we still having dinner out this month?

Hello all

LOL SFX about staying sane! QC hope your DS's routine comes back soon. I started reading Supernanny this wk, tis pretty good. She reckons no fuss, min eye contact/chat at bedtime/night wakings does the trick.

DS sleep times all went out of the window over Xmas too. Thankfully last 2 nights he went to bed without any drama. He's still waking up at 9am, his naps are hit and miss and I do think he is making up for tiredness and during his night sleep. I know I should wake him up earlier so he does nap in the afternoon but tbh I like the extra sleep

Glad school all sorted out Paddle, have fun with your colouring in!

Did mass Tesco shop/supermarket sweep with DS in tow this morning and have now made lots of soup and choc/biscuit bars, can't wait to try.

COV - good news about your DH

"no fuss, min eye contact/chat at bedtime/night wakings does the trick" - I don't mean to sound like a broken record SJ but done all that...!

You underestimate the stubbornness of my DS - this is a child who can be put in the car at 9pm yawning and can still stay awake being driven for over an hour! It doesn't seem possible but if he doesn't want to sleep he just seems to be able to glue his eyelids open.

Sorry things are bad QC, was just a suggestion, take it or leave it.

It is really frustrating when they are dog tired but absolutely refuse to sleep.
It took DS forever to get to sleep DS the past 2wks & then he used to wake btw 2-4am and 2-6am for several nights over Xmas/NY trying to defy sleep, it's only this week he's calmed down again & slept. Of course you know DS best and what works for him, I just hope things get better for you soon. Hugs to you

medi-sed!

don't envy you QC, really hope he comes thru this soon tho and you get your good routine going again. totally understand how important it is to have that routine.

how're his daytime naps going? dd appears to be vearing between nothing, short and long! on the nothing days she's sparko before 7pm but awake very early.

i am going to ask CM to restrict her to 1 hour naps from now on as bedtime becomes very late if she has anything longer.

just filling in all the forms for pre-school. am having serious twinges of regret about signing her up so early now.

especially now i realise i am saddled with a school year calendar to deal with as well!

wish i understood how my CM works out holidays! she takes 4 weeks p/a and i never know which i pay for and which i don't!

ps: just another thought Kew, have you tried putting a strict voice on? this sometimes works with dd a la "Go To Sleep This Instant!" said very sharply. Also the odd guilt trip can work when I tell her how sad adn upset I am that she isn't asleep yet [evil mummy]

i do remember this time last year spending hours getting dd to sleep each night. staying in the room, stroking her back then sitting by the cot then by the door etc. took several months and only found out afterwards that this is known as the gradual withdrawal.

Paddle - I'm sure DD will thrive at pre-school, hope all goes well

Naps also completely random. On the days he deosn't sleep he too is out like light at 7pm. I guess it will all work itself out.

I was doing the gradual withdrawal over Xmas up until last few days. I've used it lots of times with DS as it's the only way I can get him to sleep any time he has any sort of disruption to his 'routine'. It does work, but you're right it also require bags of patience.

Wish it would stop raining long enough for us to get to library!

Paddle - don't worry too much about the pre-school. I'm sure your DD will settle in quickly and have lots of fun.

QC - sorry but LOL at your DS glueing his eyelids open. Hope this difficult phase improves quickly for you. You have my sympathy.

sfx - is Pastel de nata addictive? I'm completely hooked on it.

yes ds has heard my strict voice a few times! I'm hoping when I've got him sleeping a little earlier I will go back to gradual withdrawal which I have done before (also didn;t know what it was at the time).

To be fair to him going to sleep at 9pm and waking once in teh night isn't the worst sleep problem in the world but I do feel like I have no life at the moment.

Paddle CMs are notorious for letting their charges sleep half the day - even the really nice CMs. Just makes their life easier and they don't have to cope with the child at 9pm, still galloping round the bedroom 'cos they slept for 3 hrs during the day!!

Hi ComeOVeneer,

Thanks so much for the reply! I suppose I should introduce myself then! My name is Amanda (obviously!) and I am married with a little girl who is turning 15 months in a couple of days. I work full time, although not everyday all day!

Do you guys meet up often then and where?
I must admit the idea of meeting without the kids does sound appealing!

Hi Amanda and welcome

I have 3 DC's (DS 7, DD 4, DS 10 months) and also work - live in Kew

Where about's do you live?

We are going for a girls night out soon so it would be great if you could join us for some food and a few glasses of vino

See here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/4136/443820?stamp=080110142527

Let us know if you can make it

Hello Amanda

I have a 2yr old boy and live in Twickers. We have been living here just over 6mths now. I'm a SAHM. See you around

hi Amanda i am in Kew and have a dd 2.7yr

sushi - pastel de nata & bica(expresso) is yum mid morning pick me up, have not had it in ages , mostly because I like them really fresh with v. flaky pastry, Portobello road saturday morning, still warm.....

but very rich

evening all

well, dd's pre-school sweatshirt is freshly laundered and i have forgone the apple for blueberries (snack) as i am desperate to appear posher than i am! or will i actually appear to be chav by taking something other than an apple or banana? last time we were there i noticed a lot of kiwi and mango.

oh god! the trauma of it all

hi amanda, i am a chav and i have a chav-tastic dd of 2.3 and i am, unfortunately, not able to make most kid-free evenings

welcome to the thread!

i seem to have fallen into a very weird state of mind this evening! it feels like friday. perhaps i am too overwhelmed with (uneasy) happiness that this week Ma only stays one night? i am an awful daughter and i only hope dd is kinder to me than i am to my mother!

Hi all

Hi Amanda, I'm in Brentford with a ds who's nearly 2 and am a SAHM.

Sj, sorry again about cancelling on you today. Ds did pick up a little bit but on the whole am glad we stayed in as he was a bit grumpy. And tonight, when he went for his bath, he seemed to have some discharge from his ear so am thinking about taking him to the drs tomorrow.

I'm also feeling like an awful daughter tonight as my mum is coming down in a week to look after ds but they also want to come down the following weekend for his b'day. I'm trying to put them off until Feb when dh's family can do a family thing! How mean am I!

Hello Amanda! I'm in Hanwell and have two little boys who are happily asleep (or at least I think so - sometimes they natter to each other which is a bit funny since ds2 can't really talk yet. Anyway I can't hear them which is the important thing.) I work five mornings and we generally laze about in the afternoon. We are experts at lazing about.

Off to do the washing-up! Dishwasher out with chums tonight...

oh paddle, dear, dear paddle...it's goji berries you should be packing for dd's snack, dontcha know

hello everyone and welcome amanda
i live in mortlake, work part-time (ish) and have ds1, 8, ds2, 6, and dd, 2.

kew, happy birthday to your mum and hope you mnage to have a nice evening, despite ds's current night owl tendencies..

foxie..meant to say. did you see in local paper about that accident with the bus - an 11-year-old boy lost his foot

right, better have some dinner
toodlepip

Hi ladies - and welcome Amanda (you have the same name as me and another pg-West London Mnetter!). I used to live in Molesey so know the area well. I live in Ruislip now.

Sorry am away on Business so having a quick post before I go out for a bite to eat.

Foxie - hope lodger turns out to be okay.

sfx - don't let Elle's dvd fool you - dh moved her the other week and he said she was awful - really bad skin and he said I looked a lot younger/nicer than her. So all airbrushing!

KC - I have a solution!! Send ds away to Grandmas for a week and she manages to get my ds sleeping in until 9.30am. So ds wasn't used to me being around and no spoiling. Mind you, apparently dh said he was a bit sad this morning when "mamma" wasn't there but soon cheered up when AP turned up.

I think he is a bit too young for the explanation, but it definitely works when they are older (3 years). I used to tell dd1 that I would wake up grumpy in the morning if she kept on waking me up in the night. It really worked.

There was one thing that worked for dd2 - I got a timer - you could get a Thomas one or duck one or something he likes. Set it to go off in 20 minutes (or whatever) and say that if he's still awake by the time the bell goes off (and demo this to him first!) he can have a cuddle of Mummy. He should be awake in 10 minutes - so just remember to take the timer out or else it will wake him up!

slng, that sounds really cute!

Steppie, meant to say, if you buy the Delicious magazine this month they've got a bit in there on making white sauces. Admittedly its in the kids I can cook section but still...

How awful about the boy

oops asleep in 10 minutes...

Paddle is a Boden-wearing Chav LOL!!!

Steppy - saw about the boy, poor thing. I hope his foot survives.

I know you are all dying for an update so: Interviewed a really nice potential woman lodger this evening who'd e-mailed me. She wotrks as a physio at West Mid and is remarkably "normal" for a lodger LOL!!

I have two more to go: lovely Aussie nurse and the two women who want to share but speak no English. Both Saturday viewings. Wish me luck that one of the nice ones wants the room - otherwise I'll have to either accept the picky Chinese couple with their long list of demands, or carry on looking..... DH wants the Chinese couple but thinks they should pay more if there is 2 of them. I don't as I think we are charging enough anyway and know they can't afford it.

Did I mention I have a tooth infection ?

Hope everyone gets a good night's sleep

CoV is Dh home now?

SFX did you do your DVD excercises?

happy birthday to kewmum!

lol @ boden wearing chav! t'is true but haven't managed to get a wine box yet.

is it okay for me to leave dd asleep alone in the house and drive (after large glass of wine) to buy GOJIOOKLEBONK berries or whatever the feck they are?