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[ladymuckbeth]

Here we go. More unexpurgated chat about our darling angels, all of whom are gifted and have exceptionally calm and admirably-coping parents.

I can't remember where we were looking at the Saltwater sandals last year

Only looked at Clarks so far these in tan or

in red

these are the favourites Kate it must cost you an absolute fortune buying 5 pairs of shoes!

Oh LVB I can always trust you to bring up the topic of shoes!
Buying for 5 does cost a fortune, but it's something that I will happily buy many pairs of! I already know that they will end up with about 4 different pairs this summer!

Anyway, I'm already on the case - a few weekends ago we went and just got all the girls some Clarks Doodles as DTrips were still in winter boots and it was just too warm, but still too cold for sandals really. Doodles are just brilliant all weather shoes really, and they will definitely get the use out of them - they are just so handy in that you can stick them in the washing machine. Although not sure what you ladies will think of DD2's choice of Doodles - they are silver with Unicorns, rainbows and large amounts of glitter - I've never seen that girl so happy! She fell in love! Trips ended up with some pretty cute ones too, so all happy. If we'd had a bit more time I would probably have done some more research and bought more Converse or something?

Despite my love for those SunSan ones LVB, am instantly dismissing them because of buckles - laces are one thing.. but buckles! Those Clarks ones are cute - we often end up with their 'Rio' ones most years as they are lovely, and the Air range is so comfy too. I love these ones! Unless I come across anything else, will probably get those - although I haven't done my full sandal research yet
We will probably end up with Crocs too? A bit like Doodles, they have multiple uses.
Ooh just seen these clarks too - pretty cute?

Oh I like all those Clarks ones, well done girls. We had Sun-San ones last year and I loved them, may well replace.
I got Velcro trainer type things from Jojo last year which were cheaper than Doodles but similar.
Don't think I will bother getting them 'proper' shoes again until Autumn. Acceptable?

I like those metallic ones you linked to Kate - very cute. I had a much less successful than expected shoe shopping trip earlier with the twins - I thought they'd be really happy to go as they love their shoes and thought the idea of new ones would appeal. But we got there and S just point blank refused to have anything to do with the man or his measuring machine - crying, averting his face, begging to go back in the buggy..! I just couldn't persuade him, so he may have to spend the summer sweltering in winter shoes unless it goes better in another branch.

R was more on board with the idea though still a bit unexcited (I suppose they are only two) and I got her these which are quite sweet. She's only a 6.5 so not quite big enough for many of the styles. If her feet had gone up more than half a size since we got her last shoes I'd have taken the plunge and got a second pair of more sandally ones, but I have a feeling there's more growth to come this summer, though that may be an illogical thought process.

They then proceeded to trot around the car park with me trying to be cool about it but basically aging about 10 years in the process as I had visions of them getting squashed under the wheels of a car. Argh!

Aww those are cute Cerub, who doesn't love a 'fashion forward polka dot print' !

That was my main motivation for choosing them.

Right, what strategies do you all have for constant 'no no no'ing? It's driving me batty. All bloody day, every bloody day. I try the whole "do you want to wear these socks or these socks" thing but although they choose the sodding socks, they then refuse to put them on. Just so irritating! And me saying anything in my sternest voice just seems to be piss funny, it does not strike any fear into their hearts, even when there is full meaning and import behind it. (It's been a long day, in case you couldn't guess )

I could have written that myself Cerub. Exactly the same here, it makes me feel so much better knowing it's not just my two.
for you, although just a for me as we're on motorway en route to the pils for fil's 70th bash tomorrow. Cba.

Cerub I love those little Doodles too, very cute!
Do both of you ladies no remember DTrips going through this stage a while back!? Can definitely say that it was one of the most 'testing' phases they went through...
It's so much harder with multiples though - mine seem to thrive off each others' naughty behaviour. It was even worse with the 'no' stage - 2 would be fine putting their shoes on until #3 decides that no, she will not put her shoes on... suddenly #1 and #2 decide that they too do not want to put their shoes on!
You will get through it, I promise

We are still stuck in the "no" phase here too. It's maddening. Makes everything such a palaver that it sucks the joy out of anything. D is also going straight to tantrums about everything as well. If something is not to his liking and it's not sorted the minute he whines about it, he goes balistic. Am at my wits end as although I don't like to give in to the whining, the resulting meltdown that lasts up to 30 minutes I just don't have time for! Ugh. And like you say, it's worse with mulitples as they copy each other, and you end up being snappy with child A over something tiny, just because you have been worn thin by child B. Must admit that I think if Supernanny was filming the before behaviour/parenting in this house they would be getting some horrific footage. . It's just so hard to step back from it when they are going through the demanding phase.

ALL, like the pictures of Alnwick castle on fb. It's one of the places we're thinking of going to next week. Also thinking of taking the kids on a boat trip to the farne islands but an not sure us (or the poor nesting birds) can cope with our 3 horrors running around on the island and the boat! Will pick a day when they are on good form if we do attempt it. Any other suggestions on where might be good to visit in that area?

Can't really join in the sandals converstation. The boys have crocs, shoes and wellies. They are pretty uninterested in shoes. Most trips to the shoe shop are fairly similar to cerub's description of S above. Sorry to break it to you cerub I think it's a boy thing and it doesn't seem to improve.

Good luck with the interviews tarti. Hope to hear good news about them when I get back next weekend

We don't have a phase as such at the moment, other than generally pushing their luck . They are both lovely but Will is practicing ignoring us & being a bit nuts. Jack seems to be really close to me at the moment, which is lovely. He deadheaded picked a load of daisies for me in nursery the other day. I collected him & he didn't mention it to me all the way home, but went to dp to tell him he had a surprise for me. Dp pulled the daisies from J's pocket & put them in a dish so J could present them to me. It was so sweet. No idea where he got the idea. Nursery didn't know he'd done it either.

I'm really looking forward to taking our lot to the Farne Islands Chesti! We thought about it this time but I think C needs to be a bit bigger really if we're to manage all 3 on our own. I don't have the best sea legs either, especially on the small boats . I had a little google when you mentioned going to N/land & thought it might be the place further south. Is that the caravan park you usually use? It definitely had the sound of summer at the weekend when we were on the beach below (nice bit of sand & rock pools at low tide)!

I'm guessing you probably know a lot of the decent places since you've holidayed there before. I totally love castles so any of those get my vote. Warkworth is nearby, Dunstanburgh, Bamburgh are dramatic. Lindisfarne good as long as you check tide times & don't get stranded on the island / causeway. Alnwick Castle & gardens are lovely. Expensive for a 1 off but can validate tickets for a year if you think you might be back. Craster is a lovely wander on a nice day. As are Amble/Rothbury/Alnmouth. I've got fond memories of Ingram Valley & love Hadrian's wall too. Cragside, Wallington, Belsay lovely for stately homes / grounds. Whitehouse Farm is near Morpeth & is a decent day out but I think it's fairly expensive for what it is, certainly compared to similar things we have locally. They do have softplay included & it was really quiet when we went so was OK. There is a softplay at Amble in the business park if you need it though we've not been. If you fancy a bit of mining history, Woodhorn Museum gets good reviews but I've not been since it was refurbed a couple of years ago. It's next door to a country park / lake & Brewers Fayre pub. Druridge Bay country park is also nice for a wander. Or you could venture further south to Newcastle & Durham. I hope the rain keeps off for you. We've just got back today & are back to talking about whether to buy our own van...

Great suggestions from ALL - my personal favourites are Alnwick gardens and treehouse, Bamburgh castle, White House farm, Druridge Bay, Belsay Hall and if you want to venture into Newcastle the Seven Stories Centre for Children's Books in Ouseburn is absolutely fab.

Oh yes, would def recommend the Treehouse if eating at Alnwick castle / gardens. We ate at the castle at the weekend. Not a huge choice. Burgers / sausage sarnies same as from a dodgy burger van. Cold chips. At least the Treehouse looks a bit quirky for the kids & food we've had there was fine. Will have to look up the book thing tarti. My knowledge of Newcastle stuff is shocking!

Bit of a house disaster today. Builders have been rendering outside & seems ti have dislodged the bath waste water pipe. Only discovered this after bathing the kids this am when the contents of the bath peed down through our new kitchen ceiling / lights & short-circuited all our electrics. Still waiting for them to dry out so nothing is working. Pain in the bum.

Nothing to contribute on the Northumberland discussion but ouch to the flood damage ALL . Will anything need replastering/painting, or is it just a case of drying out? Are the builders going to make good at their own expense - I presume so?

Well I'm nearly ready for the off and just need to do the packing for my little sojourn. My flight's early on Friday morning so XH is going to be staying here tomorrow and until Wednesday - the one thing that makes me a bit uncomfortable about the whole thing. I shall just make sure I don't leave anything interesting/incriminating out I suppose. On the upside, weather looks brilliant, I have plenty of reading material and don't need to take a huge amount of stuff. Hoping it'll be all relaxation and rest, and not too weird being a lone diner/drinker! I might yet make up an intriguing persona to adopt and give the other holiday makers something to wonder about...Russian spy seems quite appealing!

See you in a week x

Oh have a wonderful time Cerub!

Bon voyage x

I'm having an agonising wait to hear about the job interview I went to yesterday. Never heard of a teaching job where the candidates weren't told the outcome on the day. I'll be annoyed with myself if, as looks likely, I haven't got it as I had a clash of interviews on the same day and will now always feel like I made the wrong choice!

God ALL awful about the bath pipe situation, presume they will have to make good the damage. What a disruption that you could do without.

Have a fab time Cerub! I'm sure you will.

Everything crossed Tarti. Tis a bit unusual not to say on the day.

I think we got off ok with the flood. Our new ceiling is white PVC (sounds lovely, I know) partly because it makes dealing with leaks much easier. Didn't think we'd have to test it out quite so soon! Plaster looks ok & we've not actually had it painted yet - was delayed cos of chicken pox. Electrics have dried out enough not to trip as soon as its switched on so we're all ok. Not really anything the builder could do so we've not said anything.... Yet. They need to do a final coat of render so we'll be sure to mention it before they do that!

Have an amazing trip Cerub you will have such a good time, sleep, relax enjoy!

I am going on a weekend break with DP, leaving the girls for the first time with Nonna and going on a clubbing holiday to Marbella - don't laugh, I won it in a competition flights, boutique hotel, VIP club entry to Hed Kandi, a rooftop pool party and a Minstry of sound Album launch at a club called Bed each night with a VIP table and a bottle of £750 champagne I'm sure we'll be off to bed as early as possible, I haven't been in a club in years!

ALL nightmare on the plumbing, we had a burst pipe once ruined the whole kitchen and our floor is still slightly uneven because of it!

Tarti no news is good news or so they say, fingers crossed for you x

Good grief Lavita that makes me feel old - I would like some detailed feedback as to what £750
Champagne tastes like!

I didn't get the job. Some truly lovely comments from the Head, but there was someone with lots of experience with younger ones in prep schools... comments are all well and good but would have preferred actual employment! I really should have gone for the safe one in the secondary school that I'm pretty sure I'd have got. Nothing else to apply for, for the time being. Bit traumatised at the thought of moving without anything lined up.

Oh Tarti, I'm sorry. I know what you mean. Nice as they are, lovely comments are a not exactly the aim. It would be so good for you to know you had the job sorted well in advance.

Lavita - wasn't it you who won a competition for a hol to the alps or somewhere last year? Do you enter lots of them? Free hols never a bad thing. I'm contemplating getting us all passports. Boys keep telling us they are going on a plane on holiday. How's that for giving in to pester power!

Good luck again Cerub - you must be nearly ready for the off!

Spoke to the builder earlier. He's mortified by the flood (& left our back door unlocked, can't remember if I said that) & insisting we should have rung him to sort it out. He's going to do a couple of extra little jobs to make himself feel better

Oh ALL how annoying about the piping, but is brilliant that you've got such a great builder! At least he is bothered about it and wants to make you happy again :)
Cerub You will probably be there by now! Hope you're having a lovely time! Please invent a super interesting alter-ego and report back to us ASAP!

LVB just a little note to say that my girls call my mum Nonna too! DH is Italian and I think it's the 'done' thing out there, and somehow it was my mum that adopted the name - she loves it! I think it's really sweet :) Very jealous of your holiday too - we desperately want a holiday but just not sure if we are ready to take that plunge with the DTrips yet? Talking of Nonna's, I think taking ours would be the answer but she has no time off work this summer. Even the plane journey - short hall flights normally only have 3 seats across and there are 7 of us - would mean that I would have to sit with 2 girls and the other 3 would have to sit by themselves whilst DH sat on his own. It just all seems a bit faffy? Trying to get hotel rooms to cater for us all too? I desperately desperately want a holiday but there is something stopping me?

Nothing much to report here apart from that I now have 2 daughters in casts/braces! DD2 slipped off a curb around Easter and even though DH took her to A&E with sore ankle, they didn't X-ray as she was prancing around like a hyperactive puppy and assumed she was okay. She has been occasionally whinging about it since (but been fine 99% of the time), and started crying earlier this week about it so I took her back on Wed and they have said that the 2 ankle bones have been completely knocked out of place. She's in cast for 3 weeks and is allowed to walk around the house but nothing more - no long walks or anything. Is possibly the worst child it could happen to - she physically cannot sit still for 5 minutes and already can't care the thing!

Kate DP is Italian too, from near Naples, where is your husband from?
So sorry to hear about DD2

What about a UK holiday? I would highly recommend The Sands Resort in Cornwall [[http://www.sandsresort.co.uk/rooms/apartment/ check it out here they have a 3 bed family apartment that sleeps 7 they have a pool, spa, soft play, bouncy castle, zip line, and are just brilliant with children. They also do a desperate kids tea and have a listening service so you can have dinner alone once they are asleep if they go to sleep
Honestly it would be perfect for you! It's expensive but worth it I think, has great reviews on trip advisor x also even if the weather isn't brilliant, there is so much to do and see in Cornwall!

sorry correct link

If you scroll to the bottom of the page and look at apartment C it has a lounge, double room, triple room and a bunk bed room plus 2 bathrooms, it would be perfect for you x