2014 Durham/Teesside/Tyne & Wear Cake Fest

[juneybean]

Thought I'd be premature and create this thread now.

Currently have this meet up planned:

13th Jan - Miss Tina's in Washington

Indith I'm sorry to hear about your mum

Oh Indith, I'm sorry about your mum. Hope she recovers soon.

Happy to take any/all children if it would help you get away. The big ones could have a sleep over and after my lot a wouldn't scare me as long as I get to hand him back

Even if you don't get to go away, w and d welcome for a sleep over to give you some head space.

So sorry to hear about your mum Indith here if I can help at all!

Things start in March I think! Bit scary! Filling in consent forms to take in on the 17th February so will hopefully find out more then!

So lets arrange cocktails for after the 27th Feb but before mid-March?

That viennese place sounds good, shall we try it when you're free?

Any one fancy Slug & Lettuce next week?

Would love slug and lettuce but not doing anything till this year is done. roll on 27 th!

cocktails for then sounds like an excellent idea.

Somewhat pitifully I am free March 1, 8, 15 and 22nd!

I'm free the 8th March!

So am I like golden i am pathetically free all weekends in March.

Golden you looking forward to starting? What date do you start your annoyingly fragmented week of introductions and uniform fitting?

8th March, is that next Saturday? I could be free for something? Only weekend I'm not free is March 22nd, as I'm likely to be going to a wedding.

Trip dear it is the start of Feb now not March.

It's not fair! I want cocktails too but can't get back afterwards!

I need gin. This is very close to being a medical emergency. My gin levels are dangerously low. DD is lovely but full on, DH is being wilfully stereotypically male, DM is being made redundant and is leaning on me, MIL is a passive aggressive cow who thinks I am parenting DD all wrong and criticises me to DH constantly, a mum I see a lot of has found out it was me that reported her to her HV and therefore social services, DD's blood tests came back clear which means the paediatrician has no idea what is wrong with her innards (though I'm glad it means she isn't coeliac), DD still isn't talking and the HV said she will refer her to SALT immediately as she "isn't normal", and a stranger today assumed she had SN (referred to her stimming). Plus I have gained weight again, I'm broke, missed my psych and jobcentre appointments due to being chronically disorganised, the cats have pissed in the hall again and we've got someone official coming round tomorrow, realised I am a shit friend as my supposed best friend hasn't heard from me in 4 months, and I need gin!

Sorry for the rant. It's a case of vent here or pick up DD and leg it for the hills, I'm afraid.

And my homebrew tastes of vomit. Note to self: don't use orange juice again.

You really do need gin.

Your dd by the way is beautiful. Love the bunches.

And while anecdote does not equal evidence and all that and a referral to a SALT isn't going to do any harm, at age 2 ds1 could say "uhoh" and "dye" (bye) and roar like a lion.

Ds2 on the other hand can say too bloody much.

Indith Thank you. And it does make me feel a bit better, since your DS1 was pretty verbal when I saw him in the summer! I have started avoiding groups where I know I'll see a lot of other children her age though. And she seems to want to potty train, but how do I train her to tell me consistently that she needs to go? I guess we'll have to go with her grabbing her crotch!

It was a bit of a self indulgent rant, especially given what other people are going through (how is your mum doing?).

Grabbing her crotch is a good starting point! Dd was around V and ds2's age when she trained (initially, we have had many a relapse). She was very verbal but her yells of "I need a POOOOOOO" we generally accompanied by her stripping and pulling her nappy off. Quite some skill given she was in terry squares.

Mum's op was today. Don't know how it has gone yet, dad not phoned and can't phone him as ds2 screaming the house down downstairs as I hide up here trying to finish my evidence file off for tomorrow.

That is a skill! I have to admit, I'm havering over potty training partly through fear of the poo in the carpet incident you had with your DD!

I hope all went well with your mum.

'Trip dear it is the start of Feb now not March.'
Dammit I got over excited.

Viking you rant away, you sound like you need it. DS only had a handful of words until he was 2.9 and then he suddenly developed verbal diarrhoea.

Indith - fingers crossed for your mum.

DD is still not ready for potty training, she is showing no interest at all. Waiting until Spring to properly try again.

L was well over 3 before she gave it any kind of attention, she had done a wee on it like a year prior and thought well I've done it now, what more do you want so took a bit of time before she actually gave the nappies up.

M wouldn't poo without a nappy until she was nearly 4!

Well, I've bought a weeing doll, ordered a potty that's more like a chair, and am working on a sense of optimism. I already have a large amount of carpet cleaner, so we're nearly ready to go!

Nearly 4 juney ! I'm not dealing with pooey nappies til then!

8th of March? Cocktails?

Vikinglady - a rant always does the soul good. I unleashed one from a lady today when I foolishly asked her if she was ok.

Indith - hope your Mum's op went well. Start date at Uni is March 24th. Having major wobbles and not putting notice in at work until last possible date - 24th of this month.

Don't wobble! It will be bloody difficult. There will be wobbles. But it will also be bloody wonderful and worth it. peaks and troughs.

and once your lectures start we can vary share of you like and rant and rave all the way. Though I do tend to leave at 6.45 to escape both traffic and children and Sir and work in the library in peace! gets you in for 7.30 so a nice hour and half of peace with a couple of slices of toast from the cafe and coffee etc from the machine is 50p and very good.

8th of March cocktails and.... where do we fancy eating?

Don't mind. What are we doing, evening or afternoon?

Must go poke people into coming!

Spiggy reporting in from London in a pub while waiting for my colleague and his bloody cigarette breaks

8th march? Cocktails? Hell, I don't care what food follows, I'm in already...

If someone is able to offer me a bed for the night, I'd be up for cocktails and some kind of food badness. I'm up for anything.
Need to check with DH as to what we are doing that weekend though. Am I pushing my luck in condemning him to 2 nights in the same month with the Child Who Will Not Sleep?

Indith - how's your mum?

Have been in Wales all week staying in a farm. I forgot my brush and didn't bother to buy a one... Spent time with a Premier League football player there, sadly a Welsh one though.

Hurrah for March 8th.Have a comfy couch, Trip.

Indith, will see you soon anyway, but may potentially be getting a visitors parking pass from somebody who lives around corner from Uni and may be getting a new car, so tis all slightly up in the air. Hope your Mum is feeling better.

Have heard Fat Buddha in Durham does good cocktails and food.