Meet in the middle at the schultuete shop!

[PiratesKnittingTreasure]

Here we are .

Ditto what LaG says Deb. That sounds really tough. I hope things get a little easier too. If he's not already, I hope you can persuade DH to talk to his GP about the depression.

Sorry about your mum too LaG - I hope they get to the bottom of it soon. Do you have any nice half term plans?

No shopping, even from Lakeland Gig . I am going to make a dent in the Christmas shopping this weekend though. Not too much to report here, just still looking forward to a quiet-ish weekend which will include a trip to Ikea

Deb I am sorry dh having such a hard time- I would echo what self says about trying to get him to seek help. Sorry to hear about bullying- does school know?

self what's on shopping list? I did a fair bit for big gig last time I was in hospital . I have a few bits for mini gig but am bit stuck as she has birthday and Xmas so close together. Also she already has a fair bit so am a bit stuck.

lag I feel your pain about tired tears- we now have a star for a whole day with no tears over nothing (wrong coloured crayon, toy fairy not standing on- mini gig thinks its a game so laughs when she does it).

Deb, I second what everyone else says, big hugs xxxx

LG, hope they find out what is wrong with MIL x

Secret, looks like you and I both had a trip to Mecca today .

Gig, at a day without crying - an hour without crying from DS2 would be bloody lovely, one hour without backchat from DS1 even better .

Really tired as DS2 has horrible cough so no rambling post from me today x

Hi everyone,

Managed to get a bit of Christmas shopping in at the weekend Gig, a few bargains from Costco mostly when I was picking up dull things like contact lens solution etc. We handily have a Costco right next to Ikea (a.k.a) Mecca , so you can imagine the fun things we've been doing this weekend!

We do however have a new wardrobe for DS's room and I am ignoring the fact that the door doesn't close properly - it's this one here if anyone is remotely interested!

On backchat, unnecessary tears and other 4 yr old delights - we have them all here too. However, DS is poorly today with the lurgy, so the only energy he seems to have is to let me know when a dvd is finished so I can put the next one in...

Random question for the day that occurred to me while having a tidy in the kitchen. Do you all still use melamine bowls/places for your 4 year olds or have you graduated to regular crockery? If you've moved to regular crockery what size of plate do you use? I've still been using melamine plates for DS as he wouldn't eat more than that size of portion anyway, but my slightly bonkers SIL has commented recently how little DS eats - when we go to theirs, I think that the portions they give my DS and their DD (who's 5) are massive - using full sized dinner plates. Obviously I'm not going to change portions etc on the basis of what my SIL does, but it did make me curious as to what other people did.

Oh well, best get back to the day's tasks. Moving beyond curtain gate, we need to decide whether we want a pull out desk with the mid sleeper bed we're getting DS or not. Obviously he doesn't need a desk, but it'd be a nice to have in the future and the style of it will make it easier to hide stuff behind it

Yes we still use plastic plates mostly plus china but tbh when (usually nannies) use normal plate or bowl , food gets thrown as dd hasn't that big an appetite. I do use side plates for her sometimes and normal fork/spoon but she prefers the ikea ones.

Definitely get a desk. We are due An ikea trip...

We use a mixture. DS1 has his own china plate that he painted at a pottery cafe last year. It is probably half way between a side plate and a dinner plate in size. He has also been upgraded for cereal to one of our cheap ikea china bowls. He along with DS2 uses Ikea rainbow plates, cups for much of the time. DS1 has a BIG appetite so I find the ikea rainbow plates a bit small for a main meal

Useful to know, thanks. Although, over the last few days he's not ate much at all - woke up with a high temp on Monday and been poorly since. He's much brighter tonight though. I've been feeling a tad guilty - various people have been astonished I haven't taken him to the doctor's and I'm just a bit as what can they do for a cold/sore throat really? The weather here has been awful too, so there's no way I'd want to take him out. Please someone reassure me they'd be the same

Oh, he has been steadily getting better and temperature was controlled by calpol/child ibuprofen

Well I have been nowhere near dr (despite all chemo be careful warnings) nor has dh nor mini gig with same thing. Nasty tho it is have been doing same thing of dosing up at home. And sympathy for ds as I have no appetite .

Off to France tomorrow

Secret, I'm with you on not going to the doctors! I have lost count of the number of doctors' visits some of my friends' kids have had for coughs and colds! You did exactly the right thing. Glad to hear he's on the mend .

Have fun in France Gig !

Haha - I win the most callus Mummy award having sent DS1 into school for the last two days with what sounds like a similar bug/sore throat/cough. He's been fine, just needs massive downtime after school.

My parents are here this week after PILs last week . Plus, DH away for three days this week, and I miss him. At this point I wish to insert an emoticon for

Vive la France Gig

I want a 'like' for your post LaG! I'm glad we're all in agreement, there's a reason we all get on

Very glad you're getting to go to France Gig - enjoy!

Aww thanks

My favourite moment of the week was when DS, who was working an amazing Daffy Duck impression this week, was chatting along to Micky Mouse's clubhouse!

Who are you feeling manipulated by LG?

Hope parents weren't too much hard work.

We're all soooo ready for half term here - and then down to a 3 day week after half term, hurrah!

Did I mention CM has handed in her notice and finishes at Christmas?! So will hardly be working at all from Jan-Feb then finish on Valentine's Day .

So ready for some me time now - and some time to think about the future .

It's probably too complicated and too petty to explain adequately. "Manipulated" is probably too strong a word to describe it but I can't think of a better alternative.

Here goes: essentially they said they would stop here for one night on their way back from France. Then they said last weekend that they would have to stay longer in order to adjust DS's curtains that they made last time they were here, but look all wrong (You see Secret it all comes back to soft furnishings at the end of the day ). So I cancel a visit from my
cousin yesterday so that they can get on with the curtains. They arrive, eventually look at the curtains, declare nothing is wrong with the curtains but somehow end up staying anyway from Wednesday to Saturday.

Meanwhile DF is saying things to me like, "What you don't realise LaG is that Mummy and I are very wary about asking you for anything as we never know how you will respond." FFS, this is over him asking if he could have orange juice at breakfast and me saying, "Just help yourself".

There are other bits and bobs too... But that's the general vibe. Anyway DH back tonight and they should go tomorrow. I need to work out how to avoid visiting them next weekend though now that they have been here for longer than expected.

To rub salt in the wound DF said to me last night:

"So your friend x seems nice. Like you she is, well, SUFFERER isn't the right word, but also has two boys to deal with like you."

They are his only grandchildren and I am his only child, yet he still thinks of having two boys as something I have to suffer even if he knew that wasn't the word he ought to use.

I was very restrained though and said, "Well, I think boys are great."

He replied with, "Well I suppose they are just very different."

Please forgive the overt (not even stealth) boast coming up, but in the circumstances I think it is justified...

...DS1 has had a great end to his first half term. He got an award in assembly yesterday for doing a great piece of work. It will go up in a display case for two weeks, he got a special sticker, letter posted home from his teacher etc. He is very proud of himself (as am I)

Wow ! I'm stunned. I knew there was a massive anti-boy bias now in society, but from your own dad?????

But good on your DS1, what a star !

How was everyone's weekends?

We have a very tired and emotional DS1, and a DS2 who spent a couple of hours last night being sick but then was fine all morning (ate lots of breakfast, was v naughty) until we got to a pub for lunch when he was sick again. We were meeting up with our old next door neighbours from our last house. It was good to see them, but my poor friend has had/is still having a mc, so she was putting a brave face on it but wasn't feeling too well.

Mini gig looking sooper cute in Paris.

Secret - what brought you down to these parts? We drove within about 500 yards of where you FB checked in this morning. DH has been there in the past for work away days.

Are other Reception DCs monumentally tired after the first half term? Poor DS1 is in bits having got through last week with his bug. He is having a bit of a sleep regression too if that is still possible at 4 years old, plus, the clocks going back is always hideous in our house.

MIL still isn't right with her stomach problems. All the GPs tests for various bugs have come back negative so she has been referred to a consultant and has to have an endoscopy. I think an ulcer is suspected.

Thanks Pirate for your thoughts about my DF. I am still mulling it over/stewing on it TBH.

Sorry, that's a bit of a scatter gun post.

So sorry to hear about your friend's m/c and your MIL .

DS1 seems fine tbh - it's DS2 that's suffering. DS1 has taken to getting up at 5am to go for a wee - he then goes back to sleep leaving DS2 and I wide awake . Really struggling to know what to do about it .

MIL really pissed me off this weekend (surprise surprise!). Got the boys utterly gorgeous school photos back and all MIL could say was that DS1 needed to have combed his hair . DS1 climbed on my lap this morning and said "I don't like my school photo cos my hair's all messy, I need to buy a comb."

FFS. She is so fucking negative about everything - drives me mental. Rant over.

Had a lovely day with an old friend, getting muddy in the woods .

Hope everyone else enjoying their half term x

Pirate - sounds like me and you might have some ranting to do when we meet up tomorrow.

Oh yes, let's rant together !

Sorry to read of parental/IL woes. Pirate, doesn't your MIL realise that messed up hair is essential for school photos?!?!? I had a great time a few months ago looking at my old school photos (resplendent with messy hair) and was crying with laughter at them asking my mum why on earth didn't she take me to a different hairdresser (Not that your boys need a hairdresser obviously, it's just that when our DC look back they will no doubt have the same reaction we all have to photos taken in the 70s!).

LaG - sorry about your dad. Is it a case of, having been a dad to one daughter, you have a completely different experience of parenting to what he had and he thinks it looks like harder work (bearing in mind that the passing of time dimishes how hard things seemed)?

I was in Sussex for a wedding at the weekend - can't believe you were so close on the Sunday morning. We were really just pottering about waiting to back to the airport. If I'd thought ahead we could have met up maybe (although, we may not have been particularly good company!).

Sorry also to hear about your friend's m/c. It completely sucks.

No half term here, but DS is being a monster. Very cheeky and rude. We had a real battle of wills (I lost my temper) on Monday. And he really played up at nursery yesterday so I'm hoping he's much better behaved. I'm wondering if it's a combination of still being ill (not sure what the GPs did to him at the weekend, given that he was recovering from being quite poorly last week, but he slept for 3 hours on Monday afternoon) and DH and I being away, or if he's going through a bit of a testosterone boost. He gets really angry at the slightest thing at the moment and then just gets really upset.

Gig, hope you're having a lovely time in France!

Secret - a wedding sounds much more mundane than the theory DH and I concocted that it was a Scottish Labour Party cell trying to penetrate the Tory Heartland

That's a very generous interpretation of my DF's thought processes, and probably has a heavy dose of truth to it. I feel so sad though. I would have thought that a man of his generation who hadn't had a son would be do happy and proud to have two grandsons.