Meet-ups: WEST LONDON MEET-UP THREAD - July 2007 - from Acton to Sunbury everybody welcome

[mellow2]

Brand new thread for July.

Yes, if anyone is hosting a measles, mumps, or rubella party, I'll be the first there.

hi everyone
how you all diddling?

ros - would love to but am working (as you can see
went to "kew beach" at the gardens yesterday - dd loved it

survived the little fellas' sports day this morning. shame they ran out of time for the mums' race...
true to character, ds2 was gutted his team didn't win (although everyone's a winner..) while ds1 was just glad he'd missed maths

kew..have got a a faintly alarming skull head scarf if your ds wants to add a bit of johnny-depp-does-jack-sparrow edge to his pitate outfit

tooodlepip

Hmmm, measles... There's an epidemic of measles amongst early 20s in Japan as I write. Apparently there was a big movement against vaccinations for measles about 20 years ago so lots of parents refused to have it done to their LOs. Now they are suffering. Some died, some developed pneumonia including my cousin... Just food for thought...

Who is coming to the MN Christmas Party? Talk about venuw here.

vote for dates here

Ele - what was your thoughts on Sat? See below.

Sushi I looked after a teenager who had measles induced mennigitis and subsequent brain damage so I'm a big fan of vaccination. I know its rare, but you do tend to be influenced by personal experienced don't you?

I may be up for the Christmas party provided I can get home and the cost is reasonable. Anywhere on the district line would be good

Steppie - have a hair and make-up artist coming with photgrapher on Friday. Ooh-er!

is your fame going global then? KC

QC, yes. The benefit of vaccination seems greater than the risks. DS is fully vaccinated including the MMR.

So I have a celebrity friend?

well you might have in Sept (I think) not exactly front page of Daily Mail though so don't get too excited and I'm only one of several in the article (kindly written by Steppie)

or I should say professionally written by Steppie as tis her job!

Can I come out on saturday too please?

Am feelimg frazzled this week. Breast has shrunk back to non-Dolly P size but is still sore. Got dranched yestreday walking back from school - another Mum had to take DS1 home with her in her car as I conly had two umbrellas - neither of which kept us dry as we waded across flooded roads...

Getting a bit sick of burly builders being in the house every day at tea time. Lovely though they are, they are two timing us with another job in Twickenham and get to us at 1pm and stay until about 7pm - which is a bloody nuisance TNH - that's the time I most need to use the kitchen.

Anyway kitchen is looking very beautiful and they've promised to complete today. (3 day job is now on day 8 ). I would recommend them - they are good at what they do and very polite/clean etc.

Still dithering over DDs party - have now invited loads of kids from her class back here and am wishing I hadn't - what if they mess up my new kitchen floor with muddy little feet? What if I can't get a bouncy castle? What if it rains?

I am so exhausted I can't even summon the energy to weep!!!

I still have that voucher which you lovely people got when DS2 was born so may take myself off for an Aboriginal back massage soon..

are you suing Julia's husband with the unpronouncable name? Thats why he's late coming to my job - finishing off your's

using of course

ohhhh-er..kew...hair and makeup! that's glossy mags for you, dahling!
remember once when still, had my "proper" job, we all had to have "mug-shots" taken. everyone else had hair and make-up done in a studio..i, like you, had an "at home" shoot - sans the hair and make-up! "they" decided i should look "natural." why me?? i didn't want to look bloody natural...
enjoy!

mmr is just an emotional/political minefield, isn;t it? but agree kids should be vaccinated. we've gone downm the single vacc route - and with 3 dcs, a very long, expensive route is is, too. thing is i know the combined mmr would, in all probability, be fine. but my logical, reasoned decision from seven years ago has evolved into an emotional - almost superstitious - mindset.

..foxie, you poor thing. but, just think, they'll be finished today (hopefully) and then you can sip rose staring at your lush new floor..

steppie - think the hair and makeup was decided after seeing my photos. Think they are going to include some photos from the orphanage which is nice (and no hair and makeup there)

am having a very very lazy day
dd slept 12hrs non stop last night, a first since early last week
has not been keen on going out today - wants Thomas DVD on constant loop
has been asleep for 45min already

i can't summon the will to do any housework
and am fighting the urge to raid dd's chocolate stash the grandparents left

i really need to go for a walk

well, make sure they don't mask those ingrid bergman-esque looks, kew.
foxie - what exactly is an aboriginal massage? yes, we got drenched, too. it was quite fun, actually. ds1 and ds2 thought it was a hoot until they decided the lightning was a bit scary and started screaming. i wrapped dd in a towel which i'd bought thinking we'd be in the pool after school!
i'm planning to go to the riverside fair, too
blimey, haven't had any lunch..better put that right.

oh..so that's what you're meant to do with urges. fight them. there's where i've been going wrong all my life. thanks, sfx! and STEP AWAY FROM DD'S CHOCOLATE STASH

Mind you, the thing about giving MMR to toddlers (which I need to remember when DS grows up) is that (for mumps at least, and probably rubella -- not sure on measles) you really need to combine it with a booster in late teens (and possibly others after that) because the immunity is often not life-long. They offer that in the US, for example (at least I think I remember expat saying that) while in the UK we just get outbreaks of mumps at universities (some with serious consequences) as we crowd together hosts of young people whose immunity is just wearing off. Which isn't something the government likes to mention, given that they are too stingy to actually pay for such boosters.

I speak as one whose childhood vaccination against whooping cough wore off if I'd realised that that was a likelihood I've have arranged a booster myself (fortunately didn't have mumps jab until 17, so with any luck I'll still be covered. And I had rubella and then had the jab, so with any luck I should be set up on that at least my bloods came back showing immunity when pregnant with DS, which is good).

There again (as per Kew's comment on personal experience) I have a friend whose DS died of chicken pox which is very unusual (6 deaths a year in the whole country, I think) so I am a bit paranoid about that -- I know it's normally not an issue and far far better for DS to get it as a child rather than as an adult, but I'd like to be able to fast-forward to a point after he's had it rather than living on edge waiting. I've even toyed with the idea of the jab for that but I think overall statistically the risks of that one outweigh the benefits unless you're an adult.

boys should absolutely get a mumps booster when teenagers and girls a rubella booster. If you have IVF they test women for german measles anitbosies and insist you have a booster if you don;t have immunity.

There was a mumps outbreak at nephews local school last year - some very worried parents.

Sat at yours sounds good, Kew. I can bring some nibbles for the kids (unless we eat them first).

Am happy to go to the school thing if it's not raining.

what time do you want to come? Take your pick. If its pouring and we want to do something I swear by using Mothercare cafe as a playgroup (and their coffee isn't bad)

How about 11:00? I want to go work out in the morning. The kids are booked into the creche from 9:00-10:30. So, if I leave Twickers at 10:30, I should be able to get to you for about 11:00. Does that sound ok?