Tea Room The 24th - San Francisco Painted Lady!

[Tee2072]

Welcome to the 24th incarnation of the One-Child Tea Room. Not that you only have to have one! Just so long as you enjoy chat, tea, coffee, cake!!

The usual rules apply - no bunfighting. If you like that sort of thing, go elsewhere.
Other rules: bring . Or .

Our ongoing voyage take us to one of San Francisco's Painted Ladies!

We've brought the Aga over, it's in the back in the cosy kitchen overlooking the back garden. The chintz sofa is in the front room, under the bow window! All of the pillows and duvets have come along as well!

What's that? The Priest Hole? It's just over there --> behind the bookcase!

Mellors is upstairs, preparing the bedrooms for naps and such.

The aspidistras are thriving as they overlook Nob Hill! The horses have found themselves stabled in the Garden, which is much larger than these places usually are in this city!

So come in and have a seat!

::tea hurries off to Powell Street to catch the Cable Car to Ghirardelli Square::

poor Wriggle, probably an appropriate name right now!
Good on you Amber, wandering up and making friends

I know one should make friends as you go, and indeed given his personality I am sure Oxboy will but I have a friend now and we have a photo of us starting school together... I had sort of hoped for the same and yes, we may skype etc but of course at his age it's the immediacy of "do you want to play NOW? Good, me too" that is attractive
can you see me trying to have my rather good victoria sponge cake and eat it!

(I am grateful for my one... I am grateful one... I am sooooo glad I'm not having a herd....!)

Scout - Have you perhaps had a glance of how, ahem, the other half lives?

Oh dear Lord yes! S'siL birthday tea. I am soooo grateful for my one and I am even MORE grateful for MrScout and his loveliness and his ability to take care of ToddlerScout without being asked.

I don't have any friends from childhood/school at all. In fact am only in contact (via fb) with one. Am not very good at friends for some reason, and moving round a lot as an adult doesn't help.

Serpent, I found lots of time in the bath helped with CP.

Am tired out - running with pony this morning, then a couple of hours in the park this afternoon

Second the wonders of lovely helpful dads, Scout. As we speak Oxbloke and Oxboy are doing some complicated manouevre in the bathroom which will result in clean, happy boy fed and ready for bed while I google my name in inverted commas which was rather shocking work

I am FB friends with a large portion of my Elementary School class but we were a small class. Very few of them do I actually have contact with/care about their statuses. I'm "friends" with them more out of nosiness than anything. ToddlerScout's Godmother is my best friend and we met on the first day of High School. She is my longest friend. Even as a child I had outgrown my little suburb. I have other friends from various sources but keep in touch with them at different levels.

I find now I am somewhat lethargic regarding trying to find new friends but do find myself lonely sometimes. I think that's more the adjustment from working to staying-at-home with ToddlerScout 24/7 than lack of friends/things to do.

MrScout felt redundant/useless for the few months. He just didn't know what to do and how to help. After my trip to M&D's last spring when it was just ToddlerScout and I they have become two little peas in a pod and are co-chairs of the Mutual Admiration Society. It's lovely. Was so nice to be out for lunch and MrScout just scooped up ToddlerScout and took him to see the ducks on the river so I could finish my meal (without being asked). Or when all of Toddler's "dear" cousins were over MrScout was playing and watching and keeping brute overzealous/no discipline Nep1 from causing harm to a still teetery Toddler.

I should mention BiL does nothing. Nep1 purposely tripped up Toddler and BiL made a comment to Toddler about "oh, did you topple?" He didn't actually move or try to make a show of control/discipline until later when I "shouted" (not loudly or meanly but enough that he knew he was in trouble and I wasn't taking nonsense) at Nep1 to "Stop pushing ToddlerScout! Keep your hands to yourself!" I'm not normally so involved in the children's play but I had spent AGES watching Toddler being touched/pushed/carroled/towered over in a threatening way by child who should clearly know better, especially since he has a brother of the same size.

(Toddler is now the same size as Nep2 who is ten months older. )

CMOT - Eeeeek and phew re your Mum. Have a much needed posh and good glass of !

unserp - day three is the worst after that it is all a bit of a laugh!

Friends - Milk fell in love with a very shy Londoner who mainly conversed with her in dinosaur roars. He went to her school for a bit but now lives back in his home city. She cried for a week in a dramatic state of longing for him. She was obviously enjoying this somewhat (it involved lots of crying infront of the mirror, sighing and saying "oh my dear daaaarling love!"). They have continued to converse via mail. He sent her a Valentines card primarily made of staples - her reaction was quite over-whelming I think in the World of four year olds staples are practically the same as diamonds!

(it's sort of good, me wandering up to people to make friends with them, but it's also silly, since I can't see if they're actually friendly or not and some aren't, which has led to a couple of dangerous situations in the past )

Who's for ?

Me please, Amber. LCT had me up at 5! ::tee falls over::

It's been hailing here in Belfast. Hope everyone else's weather is better.

I have a friend from age 4. We met at ballet class and she was my best friend for years; although she has many other best friends as well. She is like my non-biological sister and always will be.

I have a few friends from senior school, some closer than others; one from Uni (but I wasn't resident at Uni, I commuted, so that made forming close friendships harder) and a few from my first workplace after Uni. And then I have lots of other friends who I've picked up along the way, as it were - although not as blatantly as amber! more like friends of friends who I've discovered I have lots in common with.

I have just come back from choir rehearsal. I have joined the Avondale Singers - a college choir for the local Seventh Day Adventist college. They are very good! There are a few oldies like me, mostly altos, surprisingly - but 90% of the choir are students. Makes me feel old...

Serpent, I hope Wriggle gets through the pox ok - have you tried bathing her in oat water yet? Apparently you stick a couple of handfuls of oats in a stocking/pair of tights, then put it in the bath (don't know how long for) and the avenins in the oats come out and make the water nice and soothing for the itchy skin. Aveeno cream is made from the same stuff from oats too.

Scout - your BIL sounds remarkably painful. :(

We change our clocks the first weekend in April, iirc - so we will have 1 week where we are 10h ahead before our change, then we will be 9h ahead. I prefer being 11h ahead, tbh - I stand more chance of catching my Dad online in our morning, his night.

Amber - hope you have never actually got yourself into trouble through being friendly...

Morning all - hot buttered crumpets and coffee/ tea/HC anyone?

I'm feeling exhausted after the weekend. Met up with some friends from a forum - so first RL meeting - Friday night - got back late (drove though). Collected them took them and mistlechick to a local park where we walked around - mc now has a new adoptive uncle who was being Gandalf in the trees and doing charges with swords etc... then a late lunch, quick play in the playground and round a place with butterfies.... then took them back to hotel, got MC home and fed and got dropped off in town for a curry - and another person had turned up by then... So got back late again. Then helped at the NCT sale on Sun - so got there at 11.15 and finished at 5.30 and was on feet organising stuff or putting out / putting away tables for all but 5 mins. Was very restrained though - only bought 2 puzzles and some clothes (mc is very disappointed). Then choir practise. Was having to shut one eye some of the time because eyes were moving off in opposite directions which makes reading words and music very difficult.

CMot - I'm with you on the friends thing - got bullied at school and didn't even bother to turn up for 20th reunion... Have picked up some good ones since, but few and far between. I hope that you get an answer re your mother.

Chickenpox - mc got this when he was only 3mo - I thought he had gnat bites and took him to several people (mainly pharmacists) to see if there was anything I could use on him as he was clearly itchy - rubbed his head on you if you let him - luckily he hadn't learned to use his hand for scratching - although it was just starting and looked very funny. I eventually got a diagnosis about 5 days in to the spots - he had one 'classicl spot and lots of others that weren't! One of the reasons that the diagnosis took a long time was because I was exclusively bf and many people discouted cpox at that early age because of it. He's been exposed a number of times since and not re caught it...

Yes please to crumpets and the like. I'm hungry.

am running about packing and sorting for our brief trip big city. finding DHs cufflinks etc.
Now need to have lunch and then practise poem I'm reading at service until I can read it with out crying buckets.

I'm good at new friends,This is a handy skill when you have moved house 22 times. Not so good at keeping up old friendships after I have moved away.

TW, er yes, I have gotten into very major trouble indeed Doesn't stop me, though. Arguably not having the bit of the the brain that controls appropriate social interactions might be the reason

UniS, hope the trip to find briefs and cufflinks goes well. Thinking of you all.

Yes please to crumpets, MT. That's one heck of a weekend!

::props up Tee and hands her an extra strong ::

for all those who have had busy weekends.

I think we may be over the very worst with the CP; one groggy day which I didn't notice being at work and then two awful days. Today she is alternately running and singing and picking me flowers and sobbing inconsolably because RacingCollie won't be harnessed to her tricycle and nothing else will make life worth living. (And yes I know all other four-year olds can ride bicycles, unicycles, etc. Realising more and more that Wriggle is Very Young for her age.) The bath is a good tip - I put in some emollient bath for eczema, having rushed to Boots on a Sunday after the second night without sleep. Why didn't I think of oats???

I don't have any friends from primary school, no doubt largely because I didn't have any friends at primary school. I had a few infrequent friends at secondary school, much the same the first time at uni, then went to Germany on a placement and suddenly was considered popular and attractive! It was a huge shock, not feeling rather unattractive and unsuccessful. I don't know why it happened, but it gave me a lot of confidence thereafter. North Germany, not South. They are completely different cultures and I am a terrible South German.

Can I ask a really random question without getting flamed/people thinking I'm odd?

Is it normal, a year on, to still "resent" ToddlerScout smelling like someone else? As in, I can tell who he's been having lots of cuddles with. Nothing against this person but giving him cuddles this afternoon and when getting ready for bed I noticed it and it made really sad and a bit protective.

I say a year on because I really resented it when he was new and for the first few months. Then it went away (or I just didn't pay attention to the feelings) but today the feeling reared it's ugly, jealous head. Any ideas how to get over it?

Better now, thanks!

Scout - I know exactly what you mean - I have to give MC a hairwash to get rid of the perfume smell when our dog walker/ mc sitter/ general factotum has been giving him cuddles. Because she's accepted as the person she is and isn't 'family' or remotely trying to barge in or anything, I accept it as just one of those things. However, if it is someone that might be trying to shoulder in, I can understand your angst.

What was the scream about? [hugs]

Nope, not odd at all, Scout.

Scout When the YD was very small, DH and I would regularly breathe in deeply when cuddling him, and we decided that the smell of you own baby should probably be a controlled substance!

I still don't like it when he smells 'wrong'!

The scream was at frustration at my Seniors (teenagers). A couple of them could drive me to drink!

Thing is, though, it was my MiL/his Nana. I'm not bothered as I want him to have a wonderful relationship with his grandparents (and he does) but it was like a stab in the heart this afternoon when we got home and I was having cuddles.

It feels odd to want him to have this relationship but resent him smelling like her.

Scout, I have a bunch of yummy protein bars for you from Trader Joe's. Peanut butter and pretzel flavour, and white chocolate macadamia. Mmmmmmmm!!! They're going in the post this afternoon. xxx