Jan/Feb locals chat

[SJ99]

How exciting to be starting thread

Yay, thanks Sfx, am already looking forward to banana bread, mmmm!

In Sweden they had Noise Police (everything is so formally governed over there) but what a great idea, they used to go and put a stop the noise polluters, no messing.

What funny (and not so funny) things little people do.

Paddle - much sympathy. I have same problem with ds1 who has always been very articulate and you do tend to treat them as more grown up then they really are. I have kicked myself so many times for letting him play with felt tips and crayons unsupervised when ds2 was small. (Luckily not very house-proud!) I think the annoyance is more with self for not foreseeing everything than with the little ones who really only do what their curiousity lead them to do.

DS1 supposed to have pre-school jab but nurse refused to give the jab because she thought he was "too ill"! I didn't even think he was even a bit under the weather. What sort of mother am I!!?? Anyway we had a nice morning milling about at home, shredding paper and doing jigsaw puzzles without pesky ds2 ...

Sounds like a nice morning slng!

Any advice anyone?

Ele - are you there?

Suppose I'll have to be brave to start thread in the nanny section...

Hi all

Sorry no experience in that dept Sushi but am glad you've found a carer you trust, what a relief.

Ros - sorry would've liked to meet up but only just logged in & saw your post. Have just come back from Richmond after spontaneous walk and shopping trip, are you free tom arvo instead?

Have made an appointment to view a property at wkend, we need to make a start on working out where to live

Hope everyone else well

Talking of mischeivous behaviour, I went upstairs to clean bathrm and get stuff ready for bedtime and came back down. DS had taken my purse out of my bag and 'hidden' my credit cards. After 30mins quizzing him and searching for cards I cannot find them, he kept giving me his fake credit card from his cash register or saying helpful things like 'maybe it's in the kitchen'. Made me smile but not so funny really. I've just put him to bed and I will now have to ransack downstairs

Oh Paddle sorry to hear about your new TV being danaged. My DD still graffitis everywhere and I noticed that someone has "carved" the name of a TV show into our wooden fire surround!! . Mind you at least we can sand it - you can't really sand your TV screen

SFX - we did the river trip to Hampton Court when DS1 was 3 - it was great fun, although on way back you have to change at Kingston and wait 40 mins.

We went down to Wiltshire yesterday. I was tired buy it is always good to escape London. Have a work "sleepover" this week in hotel so cannot wait for a child free night I could really do with a mini breal - alone - atm. Steppy IKWYM about needing "me" time with three kids.

My sister yesterday spent our entire visit harping on about how "intelligent" her kids are. She has put them both into private secondary schools and goes on and on ad finitum - very broing and a bit insecure. Last visit she told me that she was more "intelligent" than me, 'cos she is the "first child". Now I know research indicates this is fact - but if she is so blooming clever, how come she can't see what a bore she is being?

Excuse the rant...

CoV how was your weekend then?

Sushi - its probably better to have a contract just to avoid misunderstandings. You could google one or start a thread for ideas. She shoudl probably produce it though. Re hols - CMs usually have a set amount of hols and give you good notice of when they need hols, so you can take annual leave if need be. Is she Ofsted registered?

I guess it all depends on whether you want a casual or formal relashionship. If you have known her a long time and are confident there won't be any ,misunderstandings, then an informal arrangement could be OK for you. If not, then you could just write down some important points (e.g. the times, duties, routines etc) to pin it all down a bit.

LOL at hidden cards and also the collection of pine cones and sticks, all of which seems very familiar! dd is good at that - one day I lost the phone and eventually found it in the compartment in her ride-on car! We did go to Lollipop today as dd was insisting and I didn't have the energy to refuse, although I'd have preferred Kew. However, it was great - not busy at all and she spent a very happy 3 hours playing while I sat there in a stupor Feeling pretty knackered at the moment and now have no kitchen, it is literally a shell and so have just had a microwave ready meal and washed up in the bathroom! SJ, how exciting to be viewing a property, is it local or further afield?

hello all

foxie as a first born I can say it is true - superior intelligence indeed anyhow that is a pretty rude thing to say. is that supposed to be 'honesty' between siblings?

bunyan - 3hrs!I salute you, doesn't not having a kitchen entitle you to take-a-ways?

SJ sorry I missed you earlier, cheeky ds, hope you find it in a usable state soon.

paddle glad things settled, how are things today?

Ros - dd does that I have to veto things before they get into the buggy, otherwise we would have enough wood to build a cabin by now.

here we had a 'resting' day, dd woke up all grumpy and contrary, it is actually funny watching reach for opposites and coming out with very amusing examples.
it seems to have worked and she calmed down eventually ate very well and engaged in quiet activities.

anyway hope to enjoy the sunshine at Kew tomorrow

Bunyan - put your feet up woman!!

SFX - . Methinks she is tres insecure and feels she has to constantly "prove" herself.

Does being first born make you feel you have to be Top Dog all the time over your younger siblings? I suspect that is what it boils down to.

I have a fairly decent career and she never excelled career wise for some reason, despite being so "intelligent" , (lacking in emotional intelligence perhaps)She also bitterly regrets moving out of Richmond as she cannot afford to move back again now, plus has a very ropey marriage atm after recently trying to steal someone else's husband and failing .

Unlike me - who is deliriously happy with a perfick life

Oooh I am such a bitch

foxiebitch from my point of view being the eldest always meant the burden of having to do everything first and being expected to act 'grown up' but I am actually very proud of my sisters and their achievements. we are all very different people but quite close.

SFX - changing the subject, I have been putting that "no cry sleep solution" book into practice. It was a real eye opener.

To my absolute amazement, if I refuse to feed DS2 and tell him firmly to "go back to sleep" he grumbles a bit but does what he is told!!! He still wakes two hourly but now I only feed him 4 hourly (twice a night). The other times he gets told off then goes back to sleep.

I always thought he woke due to hunger but its just his sleep pattern that needs changing (like the book says)

Wel panic over, eventually found the cards, he had stashed them in a secret compartment in my bag which I didn't know about

Bunyan - glad you had a good 3hr break this morning, pretty impressive. House is in Hampton, we are just trying to suss out areas and seeing what we could get for our money within our budget. House in need of refurb but appears to have potential, will be asking you for tips

Sfx- glad DD settled later on, have fun at Kew tom. Not sure what we are doing yet...

Foxie - enjoy your child free night, maybe your sis is jealous of you???

As for filling up basket with wood, DH perfectly manages to do that all by himself when he goes out with DS

yes it was a favourite of mine from the start particularly around night weaning and when I stopped feeding while out, glad it is helping.

I always felt that book along with the Penelope Leach's 'your baby and child' just gave me confidence as a parent and provided useful insights and those are hard to come by when sleep deprived

dd should move into her new room in a couple of weeks and tonight she asked me if I was moving too, this should be fun

Well done on sleep technique Foxie, that book was a real lifeline for me, hope it continues to improve

SJ exciting about the house although I hope it is still a few years before we have to move, am deeply allergic to estate agents.

dh told me that when he was at the library with dd last Sunday she picked up a Gina Ford book for him to read

I haven't really got my hopes up about the house as it is more in the name of research but am happy to be proved it's worthy of our money We're attempting the process of elimination just to identify some areas we'd like to live & can afford. Don't really know Hampton other than Bushy park which I love, DH quite taken with the area though so we'll have look around at wkend

LOL at Gina Ford book, DS did exactly the same last time we went to the library, it was book about farm animals with touchy feely bits in (not one of her parenting books thankfully!), only when I got to the counter did I see it was written by her

morning all
hope you all diddling ok.

paddle at TV...

foxie, even more at fire surround...does the name of the TV show give you a clue to the culprit? ..(oh dear, 'match of the day', eh? tsk, tsk, dh )

yes, indeed, dh keeps encouraging me to go on a 'girlie' weekend..yep, would love to, after I've been away BY MYSELF!

sj..my dcs' favourite was 'posting' credit cards between the floor boards..

sfx.. i love penelope leach, too.
re gina ford, always remember when a 'boy doctor'..(you know of whom i speak, foxie..) told he swore by gina ford and had worked magic for his dcs (didn't look old enough to shave, never mind procreate..)
"oh, the baby fascist" i replied. cue frosty silence and a very swift appointment..
right, better to do some work..
have a fab day all
toodlepip

oh and sushi, dab you've found someone ho knows ds so well to do those fill-in few hours..
echo foxie's good advice - has she done something similar for parents before? what's been the arrangement then/

think i would lean towards a more formalised - but friendly - arrangement.

oh..and i would certainly agree about the first-born being the most intelligent of the brood

actually, what i remember most is having to battle for every scrap of freedom, while my sister then just coasted through.
Me (home from college for a weekend); 'Where's dsis?"
Mum: 'oh, just out...not sure where."
Me: "But it's 1am..she's only 15....wasn't like this in my day.."

she bemoans fact she went through school with teachers comparing her to me, all the time..(all right, all right, my name is steppie and i was a swot..well..for a while anyway..)

Morning all.

foxie & steppie - thanks for the advice. Yes, she's Ofsted registered and CRB checked. You are right, although it's two hours a day, we should have something in writing. Will speak to her on Friday (mother's day party at nursery) and find out what she thinks.

Have a lovely day everyone!

good morning all

SJ still it can be fun nosing around other peoples houses
our criteria for buying was mostly to do with schools, I know it inflates the prices but I can't afford a private primary

steppie I keep saying I need a night away by myself in some hotel, most definitely before any possible second child

finally a quiet night uninterrupted by dd shouting and crying, all in her sleep mind but heck I can't sleep through that

when we manage to get ourselves sorted we should be heading out to Kew
btw dd discovered cookery books and keeps saying 'look mummy its the perfect recipe' while looking at some elaborate cake

SJ, Hampton is a lovely area, just down the road from me.

Well I have been a busy beaver, making a birthday cake for dh's grandmother's birthday (97th), this one. I will post a picture of it when I have finished (and dh explains to me how to put a picture on here ). I choose it as (a) she had those flowers in her wedding boquet 75 years ago and (b) her name is lily.

Ele - have emailed you.

CoV - the case looks amazing!

case cake

Hi all, am full of cold & feeling like death warmed up today! But must carry on!

Cov, that cake looks fantastic, think you should definitely make a go of your business idea.

Sj, I love house hunting, having a nosy around!

Well, we've got an exciting afternoon planned at the drs. They're usually running late by at least 30mins but if you're late you've missed your appt! But we need to get ds's ears checked, the HV has referred us to speech therapy for his speech development but from what I've heard/read, most speech problems are from ear problems. As he's had glue ear & infections think its worth checking if that's causing any problems!