Durham / Teeside / Tyne & Wear Meet up and random chat thread.

[KaraStarbuckThrace]

Next meet up, Tuesday 4th September.
During the day, either Botanic Gardens in Durham or the Slug and Fiddle near the Gala Theatre in Durham City centre.

Now for some random chat.
DS sang a song about bolognaise today. And DD walked some more. But still prefers crawling and using my nipples as handholds on Mount Starbuck.

Aah, will you have a go down the slides at Adventure Point for me? I finish mat leave next week (puts on v sad face) and would much rather be telling older kids to get out of the ball pit and give me some room to play than go to poxy work. Still after a year off I suppose I should show some sort of willing. If anyone wants to play again one Friday though, I'd love to.

I went to 'ruff n tumble' soft play at Aycliffe today and thought this must be what hell is like . After our 2 hrs we retreated to the safety of McDonalds. McDonalds and gin. A winning combination.

Thank you Kara ! Am not looking forward to the avalanche of pink crap gifts on her birthday. I get cramp in my tact glands.

Oh no Trifle! Oh well I think once I start I get some Fridays off too so we can have a Friday ginplaydate.

Viking does that mean you don't want the spectacular salmon pink combined with baby pink outfit MIL bought dd? What a shame, tis hardly worn you know. Such a beautiful combination of salmon pink frilly dress and bloomers and baby pink cardigan. I don't know how anyone could not like it.

Friday's are good for me, I am usually not doing much on a Friday.

I shall try and make Tuesday 19th, DD will be at the CMs.

This has been the week from hell. DH - diarrhoea Monday (he's gone back to work today). DS - tummy ache Tuesday, he's better now. DD, Exorcist style vomiting Monday night and Tuesday, seems better but ultra ultra clingy and is refusing all solids and just having BM and water. She has eaten a bit of BLW banana muffin this morning.

Urgh kara, that does not sound good. Hope you don't catch it as well.

If there is a friday meet I will try and get time off. Am in danger of ending up in the same situation as last year and having far too much holiday and not enough time to take it so am determined to take a few days off when I can.

Especially if there is a possibility of gin

Too late spiggy...

Oh no Kara. Hope you aren't suffering too badly and that cbeebies will keep children quiet for the day so you can feel sorry for yourself in peace.

oh no Kara. hope you are all better soon.

Oh no, get well soon!

Finding it really tough right now :(
Cara is better but refusing all solid food.

Oh no. Hope you get well soon.

Hope you get well soon.. is I around to help?

Oh no, poor you Kara. Really hope tomorrow is brighter for you all.

Get well soon Kara and the StarbuckThrace household.

I went to bf group with no dcs today and it was lovely, lovely, lovely. Me and the other peer supporter who comes every week each got given a beautiful bouquet of flowers .

Aww Indith, that is so lovely!

Feeling somewhat better, but not too much, DD did go to the CMs this morning and was fine, while I took DS shoe shopping.
But she has gone back to being ultra clingy. Did manage a nana nap on the sofa with DD on my lap and DS playing with his bricks!

This might be a bit of a longshot, but I may as well ask here. It can't hurt.

Im out of work, but looking for work and its not going too great. I live just south of Darlington (about 10 miles). It takes me 30 mins to get to Teeside Park - so I assume similar to get to Middlesbrough? It takes me an hour to get to the Metro Centre so not as long to get to Durham.

I am currently doing my AAT (accounting qualification), have nearly finished level 2 and about to start level 3 in March. I have done a little bit of a Business and Admin course and have done ECDL level 1 (I have only not started level 2 as it clashes with my AAT level 3)

I am looking for admin work preferably in Accounts, but am not too fussy. Im not sure how long Id like to commute for (it all depends on the job I suppose) so not sure if Newcastle is too far? I have worked in Admin before (2001-2008), in accounts 2002-2008 so do have experience even though its been a while.

So now having been given that information where is the best place to look for jobs? Any good agencies? Any good papers to look in?

Ive only been here a year so Im not sure where to go. Ive tried Agencies in Darlington and had no luck so am thinking of broadening my search area now.

You have my sympathy, I have been looking for work to. Jo Hand in Middlesbrough is good.
I would say Middlesbrough would take about 40 mins from Darlo but could be longer as traffic is normally bad. Plus you need to factor in parking. I used to commute to the Port of Sunderland and it took me about 45mins, I live just 2 mins south of the Tees flyover. It would take you an hour get to Newcastle.

much sympathy, not sure what to suggest though as I don't have job hunting experience. universities prob good ones to keep on your radar. otherwise I don't know what to suggest. hope you find something soon.

Would you consider York or Leeds? Possibly as easy as Newcastle? All my job hunting is from years ago but jobsnortheast was good, doubt its in publication.

Snow is falling
All around us
Children playing, having fun
Tis the season
For men to play in Lycra
Freeze their balls off
Every one.

We're going to build
A snow dog todaaaaay
Coz dd insists, she cries each time one melts away.

Snow snow snow. rater a lot. Dh has gone to the Tyne to race (the man idiot), FIL in due up at some point he'd better bloody well not arrive before dh is home I can't be doing with FIL right now, snot baby has coughed and screamed all night again. I am grumpy. Am going to throw the children into the garden once they've had breakfast so I can watch TV, MN and have my breakfast in relative peace with snot baby.

Ugh (proffers an irish coffee to lessen grumpy levels a notch) I used to be a rowing widow too. I saw sense to give it up when I was a student but for DH I think it was the lure of Lycra... He stopped when Thing One was born and replaced it with biking. The Lycra never really went away. It now snuggles comfortably between all bike bits that keep mysteriously arriving in the post!

I give our snow till lunchtime to feck off. Think we have some strange microclimate here, never as much as Durham. Perhaps it is the steelworks at Teesside keeping us all polluted warm.

Lol at your DH Indith. Every time it snows DD asks "is Father Christmas coming" - for the sixth time this winter, no!
And I can sympathise with bike bits arriving in the post. That's the case here too, even though DH hasn't biked to work since last October the big wuss.

glad those steelworks good for something. We still had snow left on the ground from last time just up the valley! Dh did give up rowing when the boy was born and concentrated on rugby but then he ruptured his cruciate so afteer surgery went back to rowing. I fucking hate rowing. Especially when FIL is coming and I'll have to cope with his rather late midlife crisis and his tales of woe about his not actually his girlfriend but who was enough of an OW to split him and ex up but who won't be his girlfriend but who he has all but stopped visiting the dcs for (she has small children so he gets his fix there) but who is trying to stop him going away with his choir even though there is no relationship . I bet you are sick of him just reading that. He will be here, be annoying, won't wear his hearing aid, wind the kids up and spend 90% of his time texting her like a teenager.