Secret Garden

[BriansMum]

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

Only normal test(bloods and scan) -haven't had an issue with 12 week before (aside from my age) and have been tested for genetic issues as has dh so you would think that is reassuring but not. Just have to hope all ok..part of it is I can't believe that all will be ok which Is about what I think and react rather than reality of risk.

That is very brave of founder but equally heartbreaking. It's funeral of little girl at e nursery on monday. We can't go but want to send a card. Just need to find right words.

Oh another book to add to holiday list - one day. Sad ending but very compelling

So very hard to write a card and to find the right words. I was involved in the knitting project on here for the MNer who lost her DS to cancer in the Spring, I sent a card with my knitting and from memory wrote something like, "Dear Mr & Mrs, I was so very sorry to hear about the heartbreaking loss of your little boy, my thoughts are with you at this incredibly difficult time, yours, etc.

Not much, but I think sometimes in these circumstances less is better .

Will be thinking of you tomorrow x

Just quickly wanted to wish you well for today Gaston. Will be thinking of you.

Thanks for good wishes. Scan was good and bad. Good in sense that saw baby, arms/legs there, nuchal scan and bloods low risk. All sort of what you'd expect for not quite 12 week scan.

Bad news is couldn't see stomach (although dh reckoned you could just not clearly ) and no bladder visible. I am not sure if this would have been an issue if ha not mentioned about previous history . So am being re scanned in 2 weeks as a precaution (sort of an early warning given my history). Scan consultant very thorough (good) but has not much bedside manner (had scans with him for e which also resulted in angst at stuff he said). Also my main consultants view is that although this is worrying given my history , there is no evidence on tests of a repeat of issue (no kidneys) and it's too early to say anything on this front - certainly 20 weeks is real test.

Dh not that worried and I guess I shouldn't be. It's still early (not quite 12 weeks) and only cos scan good quality and man doing it thorough and cautious (you wonder if would be as hesitant given my history - he did admit was being ultra cautious ) .

Can't help feeling bit worried and deflated - lovely moment of relief seeing baby/ low downs risk robbed by this worry. I know I am stressed ESP re this given my history but would have liked a brief happy spell before getting anxious.

Dh being great but my stressing/pessimism not helping things at home - I hope on top of everything else I dont end up with another problem pregnancy and a stressed marriage.

Sorry- really selfish but not quite what I had hoped for very different reasons.
Still apprentice tonight

Really sorry that today hasn't given you the well-deserved reassurance that you'd hoped for Gaston. I really hope that the scan in two weeks is more reassuring.

Would second your recommendation of 'one day'. It's the only book I've managed to read so far this year.

Thanks Leo- calmed down a bit now after nice cuddle with e and weep on dh.
Watching apprentice in awe...

Aw, that's good. I've done nothing productive this evening apart from sign up to google +. Because I'm short of ways to waste time on the internet. Looks quite good though (or it will once I find some more people I know). Anyone on it/want to sign up?

Aww Gaston that's a crappy thing for you to have to cope with on top of the worry and anxiety that you already have on your plate. I'm so sorry it wasn't better news today

From everything you have said about your DH and your marriage i wouldn't imagine you have anything to worry about. You are both rightly worried about this pregnancy and in those circumstances it is very hard to be delightful to one another all the time. Glad you have both been able to have a cuddle and a weep over it this evening.

Apprentice was good/bad (same thing really) tonight. I think I would back Tom with Helen as Company Secretary. Susan is entertaining though.

I keep seeing things on google + from friends on internet etc. Will have to investigate at some point.

DS1 waking earlier again (5.15 today) so got tough on him and cancelled playdate after I threatened him with it for not going back to bed. He was very upset for at least 45 mins. Will have to wait and see if it has any cut through in the morning.

Hope tough approach on early waking works. Old enough to know now (still have opposite of non settling then staying up late and being tired)

Had bad night as up stressing at 3 am about things - going to see therapist to try to offload and also maybe try and see another scan person to get a view on whether it is just caution or real marker .

Can I ask what does google plus do? [ignorant face]

Therapist sounds like a good idea Gaston, I hope it helps.

We have settling issues to - it's usually about 9pm when our evening starts properly, which will be no good at all once I get my backside into gear and start studying for (hopefully) my final exams. Now we're back at work we really need to tackle it. S often comes into our bed between 4am and 6pm which isn't ideal though not much of a problem as he goes back to sleep. I'm going to try the reward chart approach as we've had success with that in the past.

How was DS this morning LG?

Google plus is a new social network site, which if they hype is to be believed, will knock fb off it's perch. It looks quite similar to fb but has some different features. The main difference so far I can see is that you can put people into 'circles' like family, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues etc(they don't know what circles they are in) and then you can share your posts, photos etc with specific circles rather than everyone. It's currently in beta so invitation only but I think I can send out invites now if anyone wants one. Not many people there yet. I think the privacy settings (once you've worked out how to make sure that you don't share everything with the whole internet) are supposed to be better than fb default.

Hi all, sorry I was absent last night - my MN went a bit mad (I ended up signed in as someone else at one point which was bloody weird!) and then TIO wouldn't work .

Normal service resumed .

Gaston, you and dh are under such enormous pressure right now it's bound to be making things stressful between you too. I'm glad that today's scan brought far more reassurance and you are feeling a little calmer. Can't even begin to imagine what you're going through x

I'm knackered today - boys were awake on and off from 5.30 after weeks of sleeping through til 6.45. Really knocks your energy. However, LG and I met up today to let the boys have a bike ride together which was great fun (most of the time!) followed by a pub lunch which I suspect we left just a fraction too late and had started to encounter toddler tantrums! Both DC slept all the way home and now just waiting for dh to get home to finally get our new paddling pool out and full before summer ends .

Apprentice - can't see how anyone else but Helen could win, the others are all numpties. And I'm sure Jim has only been kept in for comedy value when he comes up against Margaret on Sunday .

Leo, I quite fancy checking out Google + if you want to invite me .

Hi all- as stitching alluded, I caved and got an extra scan which showed all as should be for dates . But wont be going back to scan bloke yesterday for my mental health and anyone who has to deal with my afterwards. Got cute pic too today as scanner was out of this world advanced- even lovely scan dr cooing over pics and said nothing to worry about , have a lovely holiday. your lunch sounds lovely

Re apprentice am amazed Natasha got this far but cannot wait to see jim v margaret. I would say Helen but I still have my doubts as sir Alan wants an entrepreneur and may feel other have more to offer there. Warmer to Susan after background programme talked about her upbringing.

Leo I feel your pain as have sometimes ended up going straight to bed after resettling edie -extracting 10790 books from her bed, soft toys from up her pyjama top (I havent said anything but think a peppa pig episode and octonauts re babies have made her think carefully about mummys tummy) and her torch. Strangely sleep can allude you when you have a boxset of books in your bed and a Disney nightlight in your eyes... Once asleep she is ok but If has to get up for nursery can be quite difficult as tired.

Google plus good- invite would be lovely please.

Now can really look forward to holiday on saturday

Quick post - great news on today's scan Gaston.

I'll send google + invites later after tea - are your email addresses on fb? If not Fb PM them to me. I guess bedtime would be helped if we could get home and eat a bit earlier!

Yes please for google + clearly just what I have space for in my life

Gaston - what a huge relief to have got a good scan result today. Well done for getting the second opinion. A 2ww would have been just too shitty to deal with. I know that 20 weeks is still a massive hurdle for you but hopefully you can rest a little easier.

The tough love with the early mornings seemed to pay off and he stayed in bed until 2 mins before his clock changes over. I think he must have been awake for a bit and eventually got too fed up and cracked. DS2 has also had two much improved nights. Fingers crossed that it is the start of something positive. It's strange isn't it how some people have bad bedtimes and some have bad mornings with their kids. I can't imagine DS1 ever being grumpy first thing because he is tired. I am the knackered/grumpy one at that time.

I had such a lovely day today. Great morning and lunch with stitching and then low hassle afternoon at a friend's house. DS1 played trains with his friend in another room for an hour and a half quite happily whilst we sat in the kitchen and talked, occasionally hauling DS2 away from something inappropriate. It's nice now they are 3 being able to appreciate how much more independent they are. Poor DH got back at 8.30 having not has time to eat anything including breakfast. I definitely felt that I had had the easier deal today. DS1 did not sleep in the car unlike your two stitching!

G+ invites gone and I see stitching has signed up already. I have you all in a seperate circle so can share stuff with just you. When mudwiggle resurfaces hopefully she might want to sign up too.

Have a good holiday Gaston!

Too tired to read and post more so will just for now.

Morning all. I foresee a very lazy pj morning here. The weather is terrible and DH and I were up late last night. I got a bit of a lie in while DH got up with DS so I've now sent him back to bed.

LG - yes, it's lovely that they are so much more independent now. If DS wants something from upstairs he'll go and get it or will play quite happily sometimes in his bedroom (where all his lego is set up for him) while I'm elsewhere. I think they interact with other children so much better now as well.

I could have done with DS being a little less independent this week though when he had some diarrhoea but was insisting on cleaning himself on his own!

On a different matter altogether, I'm currently looking at getting our bathroom redecorated. We're hoping to finally get round to putting the house on the market next year, so don't really want to spend more than we have to on decorating. There's a bit of work that needs doing in the bathroom - plastering etc - and I plan to change the tiles and paint it, so 'umming and 'aaing over colours. The floor (which I won't change as it's in good condition) is like this which I think is limiting the colour options. I'm thinking of just plain white gloss tiles around bath/sink and painting a very pale blue colour. Any other simple, low cost suggestions that would work with that colour of floor covering? If we were staying I'd rip it up and change the look altogether.

We're also needing to do freshen up the kitchen with a lick of paint which I'm finding a bit of a headache. I hate our kitchen, but can't really afford to replace it when we're planning on moving! Everyone tells me it's absolutely fine though so I think it's just me. It's a sort of cherry wood colour with brushed steel handles. The tiles are a pale green though (which I don't think really go) and we've got the same flooring as the bathroom. The walls are currently magnolia, but I can think of any colour apart from some shade of cream that would go. Thinking cream paint, pale green blinds to match the tiles. Or bite the bullet and replace the tiles with a more neutral colour? Hmmm. Any helpful suggestions welcome!

Hello, sorry I've been away. We've moved house, only about 5 mins away but that meant no internet for a bit. I did login to FB and other sites from the IL's, but just in case didn't want to try here. Don't want them knowing what I say about them.

Only skimmed, but Gaston - so happy to hear your scan news. Been thinking about you.

Will catch up properly when DS1 goes to bed. Would love a google+ invite Leo, wanna see what the fuss is all about.

Hi Midwiggle - how did the move go? FB PM me your email address and I'll send you and invite.

I would definitely go for the pale blue/white option for the bathroom Leo - keep it as neutral as possible if it's just for the resale market. And if you can get away without changing the kitchen tiles do, otherwise again go for very neutral/bland . Are you moving far?

Hi Mudwiggle, good to hear from you again .

Google + looks very interesting, esp the 'circles' concept. It means you don't have to bore everyone to tears with irrelevant witterings and that people who have work colleagues on FB can now separate them and still have a moan about work ! I wonder whether it will knock FB off it's perch? Do you think we could use it instead of MN to keep in touch or is it too unwieldy?

Had a 5.45am wake up this morning after a 12.45am bedtime so we are also having a very lazy morning . The heading off to SIL's this pm -the first time we'd have spent the weekend with them since DS1 was 4 mths old and they live one hour away from us .

Gaston, just noticed you're on the Google + thread - I signed up to it with my hotmail account email .

Thanks Stitching. White tiles for the bathroom it is. The tiles around the bath go from bath to ceiling - am thinking of breaking it up with a strip of border tiles half way up. Simple, contemporary style. Any point or a bit naff?

I think I'll get some paint samples for the kitchen and see how they go. If I get blinds to pull in the green it might all look ok. Do people usually have curtains at their patio door? We do, but I only put them up because there's quite a nice curtain pole over them. They ones we have up don't really match though so wondering whether to replace them.

Not planning on moving far - will see what (if anything) we can afford next year. Our area isn't the best and seems to be getting worse, however, we've been quite badly affected by house prices, so although we're not in negative equity or anything, it limits the amount of deposit we have for a new property which is quite frustrating.

Re: G+ - I like the circles too. Think it could work for chit chat among small group, but might not be good for mammoth posts etc. I have a circle set up for everyone on this thread.

Ah, there is another Gaston on the MN Google + thread I think - not sure if it's ours!

You're right, it's not our Gaston! How confusing!

Quick post from sunny Hols (the other two have gone to shop). Did get invite so wasn't wrong Gaston.

Re tiles a border can be fine - had it in my old house - if something that coordinates.
Are stitching and me only ones not moving or about to move? And think a new paint coat even in neutral colour can make a difference. Mud wiggle lovely you are back.
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Stitching loved the apprentice- ESP ji, being taken apart at interview. It was hard to call the winner as last three all had flaws - felt a bit sorry for susan. Also Helen ace but not an entrepreneur.

There's another poster called GastonTheLadybird who was posting on a thread about Google + - I thought it was you!

Apprentice was strange - he's clearly a great inventor so maybe needs the direction AS will give him, but he's going to need a lot of hand holding! Felt sorry for Helen but her business plan was dreadful .