continued pontification for September

[sfxmum]

hello bla bla bla

Oh Kew that is such bad luck

Hope he recovers quickly

I haven't had a chance to look at links yet but need a bit of advice from you office girls/ex office girls...

We have some minor local diginatories visiting tomorrow and I have to present some info to them and Chief Exec then go out on a couple of site visits with them

I have had to gt the car valeted as I need to give lift for these visitors

I have a trivial but important question : should I wear a suit or something I feel comfy in? I am worried I will feel like a prat if I were a suit and it will make me unrelaxed. The alternative is I just wear smart black trousers and smart/casual v necked cardi which I love, with some ballet pumps (which I love).If I wear suit I have o wear heel as trousers are long.But am worried everyone else will be in suits and I will feel too casual.....

Advice?

Sorry I realise it is very trivial but am getting all stressed out over here

sausage - sorry no advice. My office wear is my casual wear, though I try not to wear my extra-mini skirts when lecturing on a high platform... I would go for the smart casual, which for me would be the high end of my wardrobe!

KC hope ds is feeling better

ros fingers crossed no terrors tonight

SBS despite my casual workwear when I had meetings I would wear smart casual very occasionally suits if meeting with outside agencies which included higher pay grades

today I have mostly been amused by the fact that the volume on the bbc iplayer goes up to 11
I am easily amused

Slng I am the same - tend to just wear trews and a cardi to work, or occassionally skirt/tights/boots.

It has to be a VERY special occassion to get me in suit

kew - so sorry about ds. last thing you need, eh? hope he's better now..

sausage, probably too late now. but deffo smart casual/whatevfer you feel comfortable in.

i've never had a job in my life that involves a suit, but if it's not you i just think you end up feeling a prat - i always feel like i'm pretending to be someone else if i've got anything remotely "smart" on or heels..

of course, if you've opted for the suit.....suits are the way to go for an uber-professional image

morning all

Might be too late too but it was mostly suits where I last worked & definitely suits for meetings with guests. Don't know what the norm is at your place but if you're worried maybe better to overdress than underdress. You can always ditch your jacket if they are dressed more casually than you

Thought of me wearing heels everday now though makes me want to

Sausage, no advice from me I'm afraid. Where I last worked everyone pretty much wore jeans!

No night terrors last night! But ds was in his bed for the first time. He did at least stay in it but was a bit restless. He doesn't seem to want to wear a nappy at all either. Woke up at 5am wanting a wee

Not sure what we're going to do today. I did think of going to Kew but the weather's putting me off a bit!

DS still has nasty cough but seeems to be no worse than bad cough so fingers crossed that he's over the worst. Ma has him today as didn;t want to risk CM. Have been up every night working at home till 1.30ish (apart from Sat night in casulaty obviously) so am seriously knackered.

Sorry too late fro me to reply Sausage - I always go for suit if in doubt simply becasue being underdressed makes me more uncomfortable than being physically uncomfortable (IYSWIM) but it depends on what your comfort zone is...

Ros, DS seems to be nearly dry at night now and doesn;t want a nappy so we are doing nappy watch - have told him if his nappy is dry every night for a week then he can move to "pants for bedtime" (ie pull ups just because I have got too much on dealing with wet beds just now and it'll be progress in his mind). Perhaps you could try the same.

It took DS a good 3-4 weeks to feel really comfortable in his bed, he was very restless.

QC - glad to hear Gherkin-kun is on the mend, must've been scary to see him suffer like that. Poor Gherkin-kun and you. Hope you get decent sleep tonight.

Thanks for the link of the house. Must go and have a look.

My assistant hasn't showed up yet, it's very very unlike her to do this and I'm seriously worried about her. She went to Poland to see her family over the weekend and it looks like there's no flight delays. Called her mobile and home but mobile is switched off and no answer at home. What should I do?[v worried emoticon]

Problems sorted - my assistant is due in this afternoon, she forgot to put it down on the office calendar. Phew

KC good to hear gherkin seems to be heading in right direction, hope you manage some rest soon

Ros about nappy dd went without during the night a few weeks after she was mostly dry during the day, we had about 4-5 accidents in those first few weeks but none since, I expect if he does a wee before bed and wants to try might as well
about the big bed, we had more disruptive nights for a while but she always wanted to remain in her bed, guess she needed extra reassurance

sushi hope you hear fro assistant soon might be something quite normal

I guess I never expected the nighttimes to be dry so quickly! I might see how he gets on but his nappy at 5am was still quite full so not sure if he is really ready yet. Maybe the pull up pants are the way to go instead.

Sushi, glad your assistant isn't missing!

Seems like its going to be a quiet day for us. Just popped out to the shops, might head to the library this afternoon

funny, isn't it, i'd rather feel under-dressed than over-dressed any day..

kew, are you working until 1.30am becuase needs must or insomnia. a combo of both, i suspect. it's so hard when you're that tired, isn't it?

well, have had another mini-spree in woolies my lot have never had so many pants and socks...

shite, though dd was quiet, has mixed a whole jar of hot choc in a tupperware box with water and over herself. oh lord, the mess.
note, have time to MN about it instead of dealing with it

Went on a quick practice cycle ride. Now my hands are shaking and my legs are wobbly. Who says exercise is good for you?

I don't

Combo of both, Steppie.

Clinic have agreed to see me tomorrow to check platelet levels before reducing dose - hurrah (but more time off work to make up).

KC fingers crossed less drugs are needed

steppie how creative of dd at least she smells delicious

Ros meant to say dd did wake up a few times asking for the toilet/ potty

slng it will hurt less next time

sushi glad no nefarious end to assistant

quiet day here too with lunch guests
dd seemed keen to amuse herself on pc and making films with camera and I have been studying in between the odd game of hide and seek
could be worst

We have our first party invite. Just a party, no mention of birthday or anything, at a local fastfood joint , late afternoon. So, my questions:

(1) Do we bring a present?

(2) What to do with DS2? Is he automatically invited too? I guess I say he's coming in the RSVP?

(3) Do I feed DSs fast food for tea?

I've realised what a sheltered life we've led, not having been to one of these parties before!

Hi all. DOn't seem to have found time to post on here in ages! Hope everyone is doing well. How are you Kew?

Not much at this end, been busy cake making again. Had another 2 orders last week. Noe this week but plenty of school things to keep me busy and a school cake sale on FRiday, then a Halloween party at the pub Friday evening and another at dh's office on the Saturday, then the joys of half term next week. Am heading to my mum's for a few days then up to Il's for a couple of days too .

In fact, for "sheltered" read "boring". Not been to many parties at all!

sing...and so it begins.....very soon you won't know how to behave at a party unless it involves cake, tears and tantrums..(actually, come to think about it, that sounds pretty like your average office bash, too...)

1. probably is a birthday bash (strange didn't say on invite, tho) unless it's a hallowe'en thing??
   just ask the parent and, if it is a birthday, yes do buy a pressie (unless you're specifically told not to..)

2. ask the aforementioned parent would it be OK to bring along DS2 with you and offer to pay for his, ahem, meal. hopefully they'll decline your kind offer..

3. yes, afraid that's ds1 and ds2 will be having for their tea as presume that's part of the party..

presume we're talking golden arches
on the rare occasion we go there, my brood don't even like the food - they just want the gifts.

hello CoV

sfx..ds1 has taken to film-making with our video recorder
this morning he filmed me screaming like a fishwife encouraging ds2 to get ready for school
siiiiiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Slng - is it an adult's party or a child's?

If its a child's deffo bring DS and a pressie

If its an adult I would just use your judgement on the pressie (what is the party in aid of?) and maybe mention you are bringing DS

Regarding food - I am always very laid back regarding food at parties - I think parties are the one time DCs can enjoy junk food if they wish - after all its a special treat isn't it?

Thanks for the advice re work - I went for the trousers and cardi and felt fine. Was glad I didn't go for a suit. Its hard to explain why, but I went to a lot of effort organising this event today but wanted to appear as though it was no effort at all - so felt quite comfy in my comfy clothes.

As I know you are all interested - I wore a soft coral coloured cashmere/cotton cardi, black slinky stretchy bootleg trousers and flat leopard skin ballet pumps Tee Hee

The visit went very well. I didn't have to drive the visitors in the end (though I'd had my car cleaned specially) and I got a message from our CEO thanking me for "working with and on local politicians" i.e. getting them to take an interest. We took them out for a yummy Indian lunch in Southall afterwards

In fact I rather like all of this schmoozing

sausage: "working with and on local politicians" somehow that sounds a bit funny. Still, a lunch at southall is not to be scoffed at. Which restaurant did you go to? Who's your local politician? Is it Steve Pound or one of those pesky tories?

It's a child's party. Not the golden arches (the big friendly M, as it is known here), but similar ... I don't mind junk food either now and then, but it's been relentless cakes and sweets since school started.