Secret Garden

[BriansMum]

Hope this works, a shiny new thread girls - come on in .

Hi all, quick post as knackered and have long day in Winchester tomorrow!

Just got back from out laws - deep joy .

Don't know about 3D - DS1 has watched a very short 3D film at Legoland which he loved but not sure about any damage to eyes (wouldn't have thought so). 3D does my head in tbh so I wouldn't want to sit through a feature length 3D (plus I've been traumatised about taking DS1 to the cinema since the Cars 2 crap so may not go again til he's at least 15 !).

Have polished up my CV and sent it to a couple of my headteacher friends - wish me luck .

Good luck Stitching...

Good luck Stitching!

Thanks for all the thoughts on 3d. Stitching, you reminded me that I couldn't bear watching 3d when we got a demo in JL a while back. I've persuaded DS that it would be much better to watch in on DVD snuggled up on the sofa (and easier to manage any scary bits).

Having a tantrum free night tonight but DS is still awake and playing in his bedroom. I swear he's a half vampire or something!

Thank you for the good luck wishes .

Leo, I really don't understand all the rush for 3D tbh - I don't think my brain is wired to cope with it! Luckily our cinema offers any 3D films in non-3D too so when we watched HP we were able to choose not to view it in 3D. It really spoils the experience for me.

Sorry to hear your bedtime woes continue - does S sleep in really late in the morning or get really grumpy during the day? My boys would be on the knees if they went to sleep that late every day! Just shows you how different they all are doesn't it? (not that helps you of course )

Right off to a science centre in Winchester for the day - hoping it's as toddler friendly as the one in Glasgow!

Good luck stitching - fingers crossed Here.

Are you still doing reward chart Leo? I do feel for you as bedtime stress (or sleep stress) just gets you down. I am anticipating a big backward step here when baby arrives.

Somewhat quieter day then planned due to nearly 3 hour delay on eurostar but can catch up knitting (am back into it so be proud stitching).

Also dh current favourite name is Florence - even been calling baby it. This would be fine but isn't that what camerons baby called? If so I am not sure ...

Oh sodding hell... Number jacks is on.. Is there an odder programme on cbeebies?

Numberjacks here too funnily enough. DS is transfixed.

The reward chart only worked (to a point) until DS got enough stickers to get his promised treat. Then he reverted to type. We're going out later to buy a jar - good behaviour means pasta in the jar, poor behaviour/tantrums etc mean pasta taken out of the jar. Once the jar is full then a reward. Can't hurt to try!

He's still quite wide awake so far Stitching, but I think he'll be shattered later and will no doubt just crash out at some point. Being up until midnight isn't the norm obviously but his ability to defy sleep amazes me. Last night DH had told him that we would come in and give him a kiss once it was our bedtime (when we had finished the wine and pringles our evening jobs) so he was waiting up for us. I'm praying that something happens to break this habit he has got into soon. It's playing havoc with my revision (like I need a genuine reason not to get work done )

And yes, Cameron's baby is Florence.

Gig, I'm impressed on the knitting front - it's nice to have a fellow knitter who's not a pensioner !

Leo, I see a friend on FB has offered the support of a sleep consultant - are you not tempted? I know they can sometimes be the kind of consultants who borrow your watch to tell you the time but if you can get one recommended it's got to be worth a shot? I saw the photo of him fast asleep on the sofa .

DS1 also a big NumberJacks fan - it's soo bad! Although not as bad as Justin's House - Oh. My. God. as the yoof would say. I'm a big fan of Justin in Something Special but I think he's starting to get a bit too big for his boots tbh!

forgot to ask what you're knitting gig?!

Ah thanks for warning stitching re justins house - something special good, gigglebiz no so will try and keep justins house off the tv.

I agree that sleep consultant might be worth a shot as independent view even if it is a bit of statement of bleeding obvious . I know friends resorted to it with twins who weren't sleeping -it did just confirm what they knew (ie feeding to sleep bad) but was push that helped. I guess it's a bit like diets or using a trainer At the gym- you generally know what you need to do but having it spelled out really pushes it.

Got hugely busy week at work so probably should have logged in today but too tired . Just want to knit and watch tv (havent seen downtown yet and have a guilty pleasure of that show on expats In France - I am assuming laguerta parents not on it).

Blanket - knitted a coat for dd which did get a lot of use but wanted something more long lasting . It's a Debbie bliss one so not cheap but lovely cashmere mix wool.

Ooh I love Debbie Bliss stuff . Yes, I tend to shy away from clothes because of how quickly they grow out of them - but have knitted a couple of things for a friend with two girls so she has passed them down to DD2 now .

How have I known you all this time and not known you were also a keen knitter?

Gigglebiz is the devil's own work but fantastic scheduling from CBeebies means it's on while I'm getting tea ready - buys me 15 mins to get plates laid out, table done, etc, before the boys descend on me !

Properly shattered here. I am finding two little boys very tiring at the moment. So very sorry for not posting more. I don't feel as though I can contribute/respond to everyone adequately.

Florence is nice and goes well with DD1 if you are after what I think of as an "Edwardian" vibe. I haven't watched Downton until the other weekend when DH was on a stag and I found series 1 on demand. I realised the three sisters are called Mary, Edith and Sybil. If you are considering Mary then maybe Sybil would work too! I was staggered by what tosh Downton is though, and I think I quite offended my mum by pointing this out to her. I still watched the first four episodes though.

Leo - so sorry that your bedtime traumas continue. Maybe a sleep consultant is worth a go? It might take the stress out of you and DH wondering what to do next and provide a neutral diagnosis and route forward. The older he gets the harder it will be to resolve, so probably better to act now. you also quite rightly sound utterly fed up with the situation, you deserve not to have this stress constantly in the background.

Stitching - best of luck with the cv's.

Our house sale and purchase seems to be ok. The estate agents are being very gung ho and talking up a mid November completion. It would suit us, but I suspect it is a bit unreaslitic seeing as surveys haven't happened yet. I have spent today arranging visits to Pre schools and primary schools near the new house. I am a bit concerned about taking DS1 out of nursery in the middle of the year and then not finding something else as most places are full in the south east. I know really that we will find something.

Deb - any rectory news?

yes - it is complete tosh downton but enjoyable rubbish. The thought about the sybil/mary thing had occurred to me.

DH very keen on the old fashioned names hence florence - lilian has been rejected by dsd on grounds that its short form of lily is very similar to her name (a good point that had passed me by). DSS was no help as got side tracked with some us website that was suggesting names like fist....he is now keen to change his name by deed poll.

I must admit that I have no real instinct for names having been full of ideas for dd1.

I can see your concern re nursery place but I would go and have a look at places first - there has been a fair amount of shuffling in dd's class with kids leaving to go to other schools where they are feeder for reception etc so you may get lucky.

This has led to the first instance of Playground politics (although has completely bypassed dd who is completely oblivious to it and doesn't care) - unlike me who was floored/very upset by that kind of thing. I have a very old friend whose daughter is also in e's class- the girls get on well but I wouldnt go as far to say they are really friends yet (I think this is the age where they start to develop that) although they have started to talk about each other/seek each other out etc. New kid has joined class who has decided that my friend's daughter is her best friend- this has led to e' being shoved out the way , told she isn't this other childs friend etc (my friends daughter pretty unphased by this and continues to play with e/other kid and anyone else she cares to think of). The magic thing about this was I was a bit upset (remembering my own playground days) but e really wasnt bothered, ignored this kid, was completely matter of fact and went off to play with someone else.

The other interesting thing is new kids' mum is clearly quite nervous/needy (I felt a bit sorry for her as she was looking very awkward /hovering over this kid at the pre school meet the teachers day and seems to do this every drop off I go to when most other parents at stage of a quick kiss goodbye now). She was also suitably ott when saw my friend at parents night (we were chatting together as have known each other for about 15 years) and all but pushed dh out the way to get to my friend (dh now obsessed with this woman having a girl crush on my friend.. and knowing him will say something ).

I may be proved wrong on this but I think I am developing a theory that behind every quite excessive behaviour in a child (where not sn) there is usually some parental/home influence. Just got me thinking about this as I notice there are a lot of posts in aibu etc about kids being left out etc and my heart sinks about that whole side of things so am so glad that dd seems to be like dh/dss and not soft /shy like I was.

quick post, as should be doing asda order

I love Downton and the expat in france, what we would have given for the an expat fish and chip van and someone bringing me a tesco order when in Austria!!

Discovered Justin's house and Ethan really giggled at it, I managed to avoid it

rectory still not on themarket, so no closer

sad news here my Uncle was at the drs with a bad back 2 weeks ago which proved to be cancer in the kidney, now in hospital with cancer of lungs and spine and it's only a matter of hours, Mum has been there since saturday taking it in turns to sit at the bedside, just can't believe how fast he's gone.

That's an interesting theory Gigondas. DH and I have commented that despite us both being quite shy as children (and in adulthood to some extent) DS1 seems quite different and has always been very happy with new people and situations. Having said that we have noticed that in recent months he has been a bit anxious. It is probably a combination of: him growing up and being more aware, sibling jealousy, potential house move, and missing DH who he doesn't really see in the week because of his long hours with the new job . The sibling jealousy is mostly due to sleeping arrangements. We only have two upstairs bedrooms and a third in the basement. DS2 has been in our room since birth, but for the last month or two I have been sleeping in the basement with him as he is still waking twice per night. DS1 was jealous of not being in our room as it was. Now Mummy disappearing into the basement has made it worse . Anyway, all these problems (no upstairs space and no DH) should all be resolved with a new house. Sorry that was a bit of a ramble. And yes I have tried putting both boys in same room, was fine until 5am when everyone ends up awake.

So deb what's the deal with the rectory? Have you made an offer? Also was wondering how your boys have been with house moves. Am I right in thinking that it was Tristan who was 3 when you went to Austria who found it hardest? DS1 likes the idea of a new house but hasn't twigged that he is leaving Guildford as well.

Despite slightly worried tone above I am actually very excited about the move. I hadn't realised until we had our offer accepted just how much pressure I had been feeling. So really it is here.

Deb- I thought that tesco delivery idea was brilliant . It is a bit of a mix of the interesting (the girl today studying to be a chef) and the bonkers (the alpaca thing - enough and that retired army guy ... Celebrity ??!).

I am so sorry about your uncle- I hope he is as comfortble as possible in circumstances. Same thing happened with my grandfather .

Laguerta- that fits my theory - poor ds1 but I do think house move will help (fwiw dd nursery think house move can be very unsettling for kids this age ). you can offer me words of wisdom as am planning on kids sharing but can see me doing downstairs bed stints with dd2.

Ooh, it's busy on here tonight. Bit too tired to read properly and post, but thanks everyone for support/encouragement over DS and bedtime. I really appreciate it and am sorry for moaning about it so often!

I haven't ruled out seeking advice from a sleep consultant but I'm a bit sceptical to be honest. It's not been too bad tonight although I could hear him singing away at the top of his voice about an hour ago. I think he's asleep now. We've not been up to him since 9pm so fingers crossed.

Right, I will come back to read/post properly tomorrow, but for now... Zzzzzzz

Deb - meant say earlier - sorry to hear about your uncle. Strangely we are waiting results of an MRI scan for my uncle too. Symptoms similar - back pain, originally diagnosed as kidney infection but wasn't. I think we are all preparing for bad news.

Right, night all.

LaG, no, haven't made an offer as it's still not on the market so we don't know the price the diocese has decided on yet!!Really pleased about your move though. Tristan was 3.5 when we moved to Austria and he was terribly homesick at first, kept wanting to phone up his old childminder. He also started wetting the bed after being dry at night for a while, so we reverted to pull ups at night for a bit and it settled down.He didn't cope with Kindergarten at first either but it was different as everyone was speaking German so very scary.So my advice would be that you should just go with the flow and don't be worried if ds1 struggles a bit. He'll soon be fine. Tristan is also the one who struggled most moving back here so it could just be him, not his age.However he can't wait to make the next move as then it means he gets his dog Stefan is my worry this time as his best friend lives next door to us now.He's already said he doesn't want to move.

Thanks Deb. I guess it all depends upon the child themselves at that specific point in time. Hope that the rectory comes on the market soon. Must be frustrating. Poor Stephan, hopefully he will come round to seeing that it will be a great house to live in. How has he settled into secondary? I have just been chatting to a friend who much to everyone's surprise has had a really hard time settling into primary. He seems very confident but has just been sobbing for weeks. His poor mother has been doing a fair bit of crying too.

It looks like the vendor of the house we are buying is a bit shady. He is selling under a different spelling of his surname to that which he uses for everything else. FIL has been internet researching him in detail, and he definitely has fingers in a number of pies. I have raised it with our solicitor who is going to tread very carefully on confirming id and ownership of the property.

Apart from that, both boys are sleeping incredibly badly a cold for one and teething for the other. Just had a quick snooze on the sofa in front of numberjacks. I loathe that programme. DS is very keen on it despite finding it terrifying.

My uncle died this afternoon, I've spoken to my Mum and Aunty and they are both relieved to see him out of pain.Thanks for your thoughts

Oh Deb I'm so sorry. It must be an awful shock for you all for this to have happened so soon. I hope it's some consolation that he has at least not suffered for too long. Thinking of you and your family.

Deb I am so sorry to hear about your uncle.

Lag - how are the boys? Its bizarre how much kids seem to like numberjacks as it is so odd. And your solicitor should sort issues with vendor if aware that may be somewhat flexible in his Dealings (our vendors were very odd - didn't even leave forwarding address plus left unpaid bills eith newsagent etc).

How are you doing on s going to bed Leo?

Hi stitching if you are lurking