WEST LONDON MEET-UP THREAD - MAY 2007 (Part 1) - Acton to Sunbury everybody welcome

[mellow2]

New thread for May.

Does anyone have any cardboard books with people or food/meals they don't want anymore?

I can't seem to find them anywhere. All Waterstone seems to have are baby animals etc and dd's not keen on that.

hi everyone

again not much chance of catch up

mrsR - congrats

puds - scary stuff but happens to us all unless you fit them with bells and hold them with a rope.
yesterday at the pool dd decided to investigate a cubicule in the changing rooms when following me to the pool i turned my head and she wasn't there, it's their job to make us age prematurely i think

have fun tonight

You know when I was pg, I used to disapprove of people who have their DCs on leashes.

Needless to say, dd will get a leash as soon as she's walking! I'm terrified that I'll absentlymindely walk away from here in a crowded space as I'm just a scatter brain.

I mean reins.

I've always founf the ones that harness their torso are more acceptable to the kiddies that the wrist one. Both of mine hates having their wrists attached to mine.

My motto is Safety before happiness. So, they might not like the reins, but it keeps them safe and that is more important.

Morning all. Puds, don't beat yourself up about ds's little adventure. As everyone has said it hapens to us all. In the past month ds has ended up in the middle of the road. First time at my MIL's house where he managed to open 2 front doors and head down the path and into the road, and secondly at a restaurant he was out the high chair and simply ran out the restaraunt into the road, it was too crowded for us to grab him. He is turning me prematurely grey

Funnily enough I got a wrist strap yesterday. DS seems to prefer it to the reins. Whenever I tried them he would throw a tantrum and collapse onto the floor. I've also had to get a new carseat as he kept undoing his old one. Last week he undid it, climbed into the front, opened the door and got out at the petrol station, next to a busy road. Luckily I was still filling the car so ran round and grabbed him (not that I leave him in the car when I go and pay for precisely that reason).

yes i had a look at the reins on offer at boots yesterday have no qualms about using them really, she is getting a lot faster and sometimes just decides to hide around the flat which is fine but not so great if she gets the same idea elsewhere

thanks everyone, feel much better now! Needless to say he thought it was a big adventure!

I do have the reins and he doesn't seem to mind them, as long as I still go where he wants to go!

caraloony - what a shame we haven't met earlier, I'm a sahm aussie mum with 2 ds's and live in Acton! Unfortunately I'm moving to s'pore in 10 days, but I have started a antipodeon thread and there are a few other aussies around you. Not that this lot aren't nice, but sometimes hearing an aussie accent is comforting

www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=2423&threadid=276018&stamp=070522171323

caralooney if you click on the link below it will take you to the aussie thread - it's a slow mover compared to this thread!

Hi Caraloony - big welcome. Mine are 6, 3, and 2 months. My 3 yr old is nearly 4 too

But foxcub doesn't have an aussie accent.

but her dh has

Where about's in Oz R U from Cara? My Dh is from Darwin

Aren't you all a garrulous, friendly lot! Where have you been all my year? Yes it is a big shame Quokka - you sound like a top bird . I hope the Singapore move goes well - one of my best mates has been there nearly a year now and is loving the live-in maid!!! Thanks for the Aussie thread too - looks like there are some other newbies there as well.
If I can just contribute a horror story of disappearing children, I reckon my DD's easter monday adventure is pretty hard to top. We'd come home from a lovely morning bike ride in Chiswick Park, and had put DD to bed as she appeared exhausted... normal lunchtime nap for a 20month old. DS decided we should have a picnic in the back yard so we pumped up the music inside the house and set up the picnic outside. About 45 mins later, a man comes walking through our house carrying DD in one arm, his own DD in his other. 'Is this yours? I found her down the street next to my car'. We'd not closed the front door properly when we came inside, and she'd escaped. We have no idea how long she'd been gone - it could have been the whole 45 mins for all we know - and our house is about 50 metres from the A4. And the house was a total wreck from the chocolate-induced hysteria of the day before; god knows what this saintly man thought of us... he finds us lounging in the back yard drinking wine and our house is a bombsite and DD looks like an abandoned waif.
The worst thing is what your mind does to you afterwards - all the 'what ifs'. If only we were allowed to put 007-style homing chips in the little buggers - we might all look 10 years younger.

Hey foxy - we're all from Sydney although I did most of my highschool years in Noosa, Queensland, and my dad lives in the Yarra Valley in Victoria. Haven't been to Darwin but it's always been on my wishlist!

ooohhh I like the idea of micro chips? Where does your friend live in s'pore? We're moving into a condo 5 min from the aussie school and I think its full of aussies (the condo).

welcome Carlalooney. The same thing happened with my sister when she was a similar age. A man returned her to the house as he had found her wandering down the street. To make matters worse she was naked. Had been playing in the garden in the summer and my mum was "watching" her from the kitchen window.

Lol thank heavens for small mercies that DD wasn't naked for a change!!
Quokka, I've no idea where my friend is in Singapore except there are a lot of Aussies there and she seems to spend pretty much her whole time in the complex they live in because it's so social - so you're probably close! I'll find out though - DD1 is 2 1/2 and she's pregnant with her next one. They seem to spend their whole time in the pool. Hard life...

Cara/CoV - that reminds me of our old house, when one of our neighbour's got a knock on the door. Their eight year old autistic daughter was wandering the streets for 20 minutes nude as the day she was born!!

Cara - I have two lovely step daughters in Sydney and hope to visit there one day in this lifeltime

DD has nearly got run over a couple of times - suddenly run into road, passing cars forced to screech to a halt - you know the scene!!! I'm completely paranoid and hang onto mine all the time. Won't even let them play in the garden without me being able to view them.

My old boss lost her daughter for 20 minutes - in Leicester Square - imagine how scary that was!!! Eventually found her dancing in the centre of a crown next to the musicians.

I hate that feeling you get, when your heart stops, stomache turns over with fear...then they appear completely oblivious to the chaos they've caused!!

crowd not "crown"

I know what you mean foxy. I know we need to treasure the time there a little as it goes by so quickly, but I really would love to skip forward a few years to a time where ds is a bit more sensible (if he ever will be). ATM he is fearless/clueless.

there = they are.

hi carloony!

Foxy, know what you mean, after yesterday we've all put in requests to the library to have a childgate put to the entrance of the children's section. Not sure if they will as major funding crisis and haven't been able to buy any new books for 8 months!