The One and Only TEA Room: Everyone Welcome (bring champagne and muffins please!)

[Jacksmama]

Wow, we're on our third thread!!!
Previous (second) incarnation of the tea room.

A warm welcome to everyone, whether you have one child, none, or ten. This is a tea-and-muffin or booze-and-sofasorcanapees sanctuary for all. But certain standards of behaviour continue to apply - anyone engaging in fisticuffs will be ejected by George Clooney, ably assisted by Mellors the Gardener.

Cheers all!

cmot- But I have a feeling cmotboy has one of those beautiful faces that it doesn't matter what clothes he is wearing or haircut he has he will always make all ladies go "Awwwww" and "Cutchiecoo" and kiss him and ruffle his hair slightly and men whack him on the arm in a 'one day you'll be a man, my son" way and girls go weak at the knees and other boys knock on the door to play football with him at every opportunity....

.... so I wouldn't worry about the Lionel Blair' trim - no one will notice infact he could have a skinhead for all we care - he would still be a complete scrummyboy!!!!

In response to overwhelming public demand, I present Bocca's Buffet of Booze. Featuring

champagne
chablis
merlot
gin and (optional) tonic
some dodgy red wine I found in the cupboard under the sink.

Cheers everyone!

Aw, thanks Tea. I think he is scrummy, especially when he leans on me and tells me that he loves me and I'm gorgeous. It's not skinhead, I just like his hair to be floppy on top. And it's not.

UniS - any spare marzipan ? I love it, and have run out of my secret stash of Neideregger

Did you buy anything Bocca ?

UniS and cmot, would it help if I confessed that the pudding came at the cost of spending the morning listening to the trials and tribulations of paying invoices on time, and having to discuss our greatest achievements* and learning experiences of 2008? Sigh. DH is going on a software development conference at the same venue in March, and his little face lit up when I told him about the pud ... he's going to kill me if he gets fruit salad.

On the surname thing, I'm afraid I am rather conventionally Forename Hissurname. Although I am exclusively Ms, I won't answer to Mrs. Mrs Hissurname is his mum, obviously, argh, and Mrs Mysurname is MY mum (dentist called me that this afternoon, which is bizarre as I've been married nearly ten years). In full, I am actually Forename Mysurname Hissurname, but my maiden name is my middle name now, not a surname. My doctor's surgery (what IS it with medical types?) thinks I am Forename Middlename Mysurname Hissurname.

I do wish I'd given DD my maiden name as a middle name, along with the proper middle name she's got. It's more interesting than my married name - much more interesting, on the basis of my married name being extremely dull. Still, my only male cousin (dad's side) has four kids, three of them boys, so not like the name's going to die out in the family any time soon.

Hang on, am I getting confused with Pimms, or a poppadom tray? Oh hell.

• mine - briefing the finance director and chair of the audit committee while the fire alarm went off for fifteen minutes, without being reduced to a gibbering heap

Unis - does your dh do medicine on people or is he a dr like my old and much loved geography teacher in....... trains or my best friend in...... storms???

Wow! Spend one night at home out of the tea room and it takes hours to catch up.

In no particular order, these thing occurred to me:

We keep bees. Not much work involved until it comes to extracting the honey, since we hav got an old-fashioned hand-turned extractor. The trick is to get an mum-of-many with her offspring (you see, they hve their uses) to come and turn the handle.

I am Mrs MyName, WS is WS HisName MyName. As I am a teacher, I thought the chn would never manage the change to HisName, which is foreign and a bit complicated. On my passport I am Mrs HisName MyName, on my cheque book I am Miss MyName as the bank refuses to accept my married status.

I am probably older than Bocca squared, let alone the rest of you. Granted that I have a 2-year old, I am probably a Miracle Of Modern Science.

My bad news - I have been looking forward literally for months to a one-day course on spirituality in education in Salisbury Cathedral. Imagine, a whole day paod, with lunch, talking to grown ups in a fantastic place in my favourite city. I planned all the lessons and e-mailed them to the supply teacher, got my spare tyre mended, cooked ahead because I'd be home late, the got out the course flyer ri check the start time .... and it was last Friday. I am SO SO SO disappointed. And feel so stupid.

I call myself dr when I feel like it. For a while I was 'Dame' in all my school correspondence. I may be now outed on MN like our Visitor-In-The-Priest-Hole, as I only have a PGCE, although I have started a Masters (and given up for now - how do you find the TIME???? Note of hysteria creeps into voice)

Yikes! Where did my last post go?

To recap

• I hope cmot won't mind me pointing out that there's a picture of the very scrummy cmottiddler on her profile.

• Three cushions to match the intended decor of this tatty magnolia but soon to be redecorated room

• I love the way that via-a-doctorate Drs think that medical Drs don't really deserve the title (at least, that's what our friends who are one of each, so to speak, entertain us by bickering about).

• Racing - Do you think we should one day do a show and tell with our birth certificates? I quite like the mystery (and, anyway, we could always produce fake ID like teenagers in the movies).

• Wish I had thought of calling myself Dame at work!

Another drink, anyone?

T42- UniP is a Dr of Mathmatics... yawn inducing stuff. Doesn't stop him doing the "trust me I'm a Dr" line.

DCMB - I think I could handle the training day if it came with a pud like that. As a freelancer I get sooooo few corporate days that I'm not working on suppling technology too. Even fewer now, I used to be able to scarf left overs on a reugular basis when I did a lot of conferences at one venue- the kitchen always over catered so the staff could tuck in.

Boy DOES have my surname as a middle name, thank you for reminding me Racing snake, I do sometimes forget. 3 initials is very much the right thing for a cricketer of distinction to sport, and of course boy is going to be one when hes older.

I just had teh dodgy red wine from under teh sink- it was a bit dodgy- but it was wine. DH is now home, cold and wet but had fun. Ho hum.
Ok- lets see if this typing in a txt editor and cut n pasting to browser thing works.

UniS - do please explain this text editor thingy. Could it be the answer to my posting prayers?

Its alittel programme that gives me a blank "page" to type into, in a window that can be small and sit ontop of my browser- so- I can read posts, type something sensible, read another post, reply and when I'm done THEN cut n paste teh whole thing int the "add mesage box" .
I've no idea what they are called on windows, on this Ubuntu system i use "gedit", i suspect "Tomboy notes" would do it too or a "sticky note".
It hides in accessories on my drop down menus.

CMot - Ds's hair is kept short. The basis for this is that when he gets hl it will be a lot easier to deal with... Equally large, if not bigger, smile though...

Ds also doesn't want to have 'curls' which, if he had longer hair, he would be in danger of getting. Currently it just looks nicely tousled most of the {although that could be something to do with the fact that it doesn't get brushed very often [bad mother emoticon]

Yes, I'd like another drink please - have been playing quartets hard elsewhere...

Gosh, this thread does move on, doesn't it! I have only read this last page to catch up (feble effort I know) and can offer this:

I am variably Mrs My surname His surname, Mrs His surname, Mrs My Initial His surname.

DS has my maiden name as a middle name. This was always the plan but it does cause confusion as I have the same last 2 names as DS but in his case only the last one is a surname.

Glad merlot is acceptatble in here - it was the only down point of that film Sideways (is that on our shelf? It really should be!) that they "dissed" the mer-LOH.

Ds hasn't had his hair cut yet and he will be 14mo next week - I think it might be time, his fringe is nearly in his eyes

TW - ds had to have his hair cut at 9mo (!!!) although the hairdresser managed to keep the lovely natural shaping (as you can see in picture) for quite a long time.

Last time he had his hair cut I squeeked just as he was going to get a horizontal fringe cut very short. It does mean that I'm going to have to attack the front with a pair of scissors quite soon (as I don't want to spend any money on haircuts at the moment)(but I know that I can do this without doing a 'fringe') but at least it keeps the fairly natural shape that I like. Its great though, its only now that its getting a bit longer that he really could do with a bit of a brush in the morning - normally, when its short, we just don't worry!

Dh got up without me waking him this morning

I am a little more used to the hair length this morning and the girls at nursery like it. I do like his curls though

Interestingly, an oncologist I know (who is v v bright) says that his wife is a proper doctor as she has a PhD as well as her medical degree. He also refers to her as the bright

Am trying desperatly to think of my greatest learning achievement of 2008, but am sure that I could think of something in return for a lovely lunch

Well, I have been trying to get a word in edgeways! I have been diligently reading and reading and every time I am poised for a post DaisyBoy or DaisyMan or Work intrude

So, drum roll, my comments on -oh, about the last 1,000 posts!

name I have always been Ms MaidenDaisy it never really occurred to me to become Mrs Husband. We had lived together for 6 years before we did the deed and it never occurred to either of us
but because it didn't (numpty alert) when friends started writing to me as Mrs Husband I thought they were being funny or ironic so in fact a few of our friends do call me Mrs Husband

Actually, we obviously gave no guidance at all and different people plump for different things - the DaisyHound people cannot get their heads round 2 surnames in a household so they invariably volunteer DaisyHound Maiden-Husband....the vet, the kennels, the feed people - all just do it without a by your leave

DaisyBoy is Master Husband but has Maiden as a middle name, along with DaisyMan's old family name that is a middle name for them all and then a middle name so poor childee is Name, Middle Name, old family name, Maiden, Husband - I think he is somewhat saddled particularly because his first name is unusual

No, I am not a Doctor and yes, Bocca, I too always wanted a PhD so I could avoid pre-tag issoos although my last name is the complicated one....[sigh]

Cmot - travel -you do get around, I think of you as a home worker who gets out and about but its really the other way round isn't it?

DCMB that pudding, miam, I would like your job, I am sure I would be very good at it!

I assume you are DCMB from Dirty Dancing (pops DVD on shelf) not Proust?

Mistle sorry MH being a bit hopeless, he is probably feeling quite depressed, not much help but glad he is up today

Most impreseed by CMOT husband and painting house, I like that kind of out of work. Pray do tell, what is the Understanding? Does it involved leather and whips? Do you need me to call in our Canadian Fetishishist?

JM don't worry about the snow, you'll have lots of work and look, you can don the leathers and help CMOT with her husband!

UniS intrigued about the front door- well done

Amber hope you are happy in the corner

• we had a body early in the tea room and we don't want another [stern look]

by the way, I can Do Bees now having listened to the Archers and Radio 4 Today so I am happy to manage the apiary! We need to watch out for mites [nods sagely]

Sadly I am not a PhD doctor, I just prance around in blue stockings, but DaisyMan is so I am a vicarious doctor!

Oh, Racing I have just read your post about Salisbury Catherdal. That would make me cry, I mean really, I'd come over hot and cold and cry

You must take the day off, you really must, and go and Investigate something nice, for you

I forgot, DaisyBoy is Master Myname on his NHS red book because I couldn't decide what his surname would be for ages (Myname is very old, about 800 years and I am a girl and my sister dispensed with her name fa la la as she skipped down the aisle so I feel the weight of AGES as the Last of the Mohicans)... anyway, when I got to the registrar, I remembered DaisyMan's little face all crestfallen but brave when he knew his son was not going to have his surname and I thought do the dead of Agincourt care? Probably not, and capitulated

but by then DaisyBoy was In the NHS System as Master Myname and so it came to pass...

Goodness, I sound mildly hysterical and slightly mad

normal morning then

I don't think I'll even start on haircuts. DaisyBoy had his first one at about 2 years and a bit, only after he had said "Mummy, I need a haircut" about 20 times a day for a month

The Daisys are not big on personal grooming (well it seems DaisyBoy might be ) - I don't have photos, will try to make you friends and load some....

All CmotDiddler and MJ hair sounds scrumbly

At times (pre DS) I have felt more like a member of flight crew who occasionally popped into an office. That was the year I was actually away for 210 nights.

at the leather Understanding. As an aside, I once knew someone who reckoned that being a Mistress would be the best thing as a career choice - you get to sit around and order men to do your housework properly, and shoes etc would be tax deductible. Also shouting at work would be totally acceptable. Anyway, it sort of stems from the point when our friendship (we met as he was going out with my best friend at Uni, who dumped him soon after our graduation) transgressed the point of friendship (courtesy of Far Too Much alcohol), then we decided to enter a relationship. At this point, knowing each other very well, and having seen what we had done in our various relationships before, we set out some ground rules that we would stick to to prevent these. Most of it boils down to accepting the way the other is and working with it.

I forgot to ask DH what he felt about names. Until the week before our wedding when someone enquired as to his thoughts on the subject. Fortunatly he hadn't even considered that I would change either.

The cats cause some amusement at the vets as they have rather singular names

Come on CMot - what are their names then?

I have a friend whose cats are called Connie (Con Artist) and Big Furry. On the basis that they don't come when their names are called anyway, it doesn't really seem to make much difference.

Now our chinchillas have interesting names - Quetz and Truffle. Quetz as in the shortened version of the feathered god of the Incas. Truffle as in milk chocolate...

Dog has the name she came with - on the basis that we couldn't think of anything that sounded fairly similar that was better.

Our current cats are Tesla and Heisenberg. Previous cats were Schrondinger and Mendeleev. We always end up discussing why they are called what they are (3 physicists, 1 chemist)

I like Quetz !

Yes thanks, I'm very happy in corners.

Names...hmm...in business I was MrsMaiden-name for years but it got very confusing considering I work with my husband. Several of the clients thought I was his Mistress, and it led to some very puzzling conversations and social gaffes by them including the bank manager who had invited "dh and his wife" out for a meal and hadn't realised it was me...and had spent several minutes chatting me up at the social event oblivious to the fact that he was insulting his new contacts. So I reverted to Mrs Husbands-name .