Tea room the Eighth - sun, sea, sangria, and perhaps a sandy Mellors

[DontCallMeBaby]

Greetings, welcome to the eighth incarnation of the tearoom.

The tearoom has been, and will be again, a virtual safe haven for anyone up for rather random chat and a comprehensive range of virtual snacks. Nothing in the tearoom will make you fat, or drunk (unless you want it to) or cause an allergic reaction.

The new tearoom location is a beautiful beachside cafe (no need for factor 50, the virtual sun will just lightly tan you, bring out your freckles or simply warm your skin, as you prefer) with a range of garden swings, hammocks, sunloungers, deckchairs etc (as well as a rather incongruous, but well-loved, chaise longue). For those in need of sanctuary, we have managed to fashion a new priesthole out of woven grasses.

Our fellow residents include Mellors the rugged gardener of few-but-well-chosen words, the naked mohawk babies, a coterie of bishops, various domestic pets, and a selection of others. On the human side, all are welcome - while we live in the One Child topic some regulars have more than one, and we are welcome all (except people who put their heads on one side and tell those of us with one child that it's just not fair to have only one child).

Please help yourself to a glass of Champagne and a canape on the way in ...

LOL at thumb and the two half bricks - but I should explain that DH has no objection to Having The Snip, he is quite quite happy with only one child, and very much Not Happy at the idea of putting me through pregnancy again... so if I said "yes, absolutely" he would probably book The Snip tomorrow. I'm the one who is holding out for the very slim possibilty of changing my mind at some point... [wibble emoticon]

Two half bricks!? Pirates?!?

Pass me that tea, quick.

Glad about your ladybits JM. Those wand thingies are Not Fun (she says from long experience of endometriosis )

Scottishmum, may I also confess to suggesting cbeebies/any other bloomin tele program that gives me a bit of time off? Oh the shame of it all...but it worked!

Yesterday, Cardiff. Always exciting going somewhere new for me. Sometimes too exciting . Survived the train journey (fell asleep both ways...), getting lost, nearly falling over the bollard, dropping my change everywhere (one day I will manage to pay for something without doing so...it's an ambition!), had a very nice lunch with one of my aspie-friendly colleagues and got offered a small 'post' in Ethics and Law at the University!

Didn't even realise they wanted someone...(and I would have thought that being an academic expert in Ethics or Law would have been handy for that, but hey ho).

Waves at Prof Amber . I went to uni in Cardiff, and love it there

Cinnamon roll anyone ?

No title for me, goodness me no!

Yes please to a cinnamon roll, whatever it is. Oh good, I like cinnamon rolls

Oh oh oh - cinnamon roll over here please!! I went to yoga class last night and only had a salad when I came home and woke up ravenous!!
(Are the cinnamon rolls in lewd shapes, too?)

They probably are .

Oh... yes, Amber, the mention of cbbcs has reminded me...

It has a note written in swirly writing....

To Scottishmum,
Love from teafortwo
x x x

www.kneebouncers.com/

I hope you and the wee one get as much fun as me and Milk have...

its offical, boy has no taste what so ever- he likes waybaloo the rather twee new prog on cbebbies with bits of yoga interspersed with be nice to your friends and share type messages.

We went to teh beach today- in RL- in rained. so we had our picnic on a sheltered bench looking at teh rain and teh sea. then onto teh pier. Boy demonstrated a fine ability to put 2p coins in slots and lose his money. his mate K demonstrated a fine ability to put money in slots and make more money come out teh bottom of teh machine! were on point of leaving when I managed to win 50 p in 2p coins! so had just as heavy a pocket going out as coming in... still means we have some 2ps for next time. Took boys to sweet shop to spend their/ my winnings.

pic of train, maybe one day. its 2 large cardboard boxes with a chain and snap hook coupling. Cardboard wheels fixed to sides with paper fasteners, funnel is a kitchen roll tube, steam is a piece of tissue paper scrunched up and stuffed into funnel. Fire box and coal are both drawn on with felt pen.Coal bunker is a flap of card folded down at tehback of teh engine, principly to allow boy to clinb in more easily. Train and carriage boxes have been painted by boy. Card name signs made by me and stuck on by boy ( PVA glue). lights painted and stuck on by boy - more cardboard , squares this time. Steering wheel ( cardboard) is bolted on with a a few washers to make it stand away from the inside of teh box. Its just junk modelling but bigger. having a workshop full of tools and scrap means we tend to make big stuff out of big stuff.

I finished off teh football goal I've been making too. its 20mm water pipe, teh blue roll up stuff, and 2 20mm conduit elbows, and some scrap netting left over from some hockey golas I made. 2 semi circular bits of pie joined atteh floor by teh elbows, net threaded on to teh pipe all teh way round.

sorry- rather rambly. my apologies. I'll be in teh armchair by teh stove if you want me. with a -good- chalet school book to rest my brain.

I do the 3 spoon trick too!

I should add I work full time, so my mum does a lot with her, but she also tells me dd is hard to amuse!

When I do have time off, like next week for example, we do EVERYTHING - toddler groups twice a week, rhymetimes once a week, the park as many days as possible, a baby gym class, the library swimming...

I try not to take her to museums, shops or resturants as she's hit the tantrum stage BIG STYLE

trains - that sounds like a good idea!

Playdough - bought some, big mistake - she keeps wanting to eat it. I put it away and no matter where I put it, she knows where it is and cries for it!

I'm blooming knackered tonight as she's teething and didn't sleep too well.

I really hope she falls asleep before the apprentice starts!

thanks for all the welcomes

and to the person with the lady bits problem, I forget your name, but glad to hear you are ok.

teafortwo, it won't open. stupid effing new laptop thingie

but thanx anyways

oh yeah dd likes waybuloo too

try just going to he website - then click on games

www.kneebouncers.com

It is a website for toddlers.... Milk and I love it!

What about making your own playdough / saltdough (recipes on MN all the time). It doesn't taste too good, is quick to make and doesn't cost much if she does eat it.

Just been to an art group today - wonderful activities; don't know how the leader makes any money with the stuff we get to do and take home - and Wriggle tried her hardest to eat all the pasta for sticking onto the dinosaurs. Raw. Doesn't seem to have spoilt her appetite, though.

'ello RS - art group sounds fab - Milk and some of the children from her gang are going to start art group soon too - I am very excited!

Art group, that sounds lovely

Scottishmum - I think knackered by care is simply the name of the game
I am always rather overwhelmed by the amazingosity and variety of the wonderful things that the rest of the tea room do with their DCs

Today was the first day of new nanny, so all a bit nervous in DaisyTowers

would have loved the beach. I got a 5 hour meeting and a rather patronising client and foot in mouth moment for me

daisy notices a cinammon roll left from this morning

magic of the tearoom, hurrah, it is still warm and my merlot turns into lovely fragrant coffee just long enough to eat ....(so not very long then)

one big advantage of days out- by teh time we get home its time to cook tea, and boy is worn out enough to settle and watch a dvd for 20 min with out me . When he was younger I used to take him to a playground late afternoon, it filled a gap, after toddle groups type stuff had finished, but before dh got home and our slightly later than some family tea.

ah yes, we had a playground after work outing today, lovely when it is so light, didn't get home until 6 then Daisyboy played while I cooked and ate at 7. Both knackered

I hope you don't mind me saying....but...

I am so so in love with this line from Scottishmummy....

"and to the person with the lady bits problem, I forget your name..."

Made me ROFL....

Only on mn and perhaps especially in the tearoom would you know such intimate details like that about someone, yet, forget their name - albeit a nom de plume!

Ha ha ha!!!

Daisy - how did new nanny day go? Are you and she/he feeling that the day was a success?

evening all!

I am starting to think I really should get on with doing some preliminary packing now; got the international movers coming in on Monday, it's really not that far away, and so far all I have managed to do is sort my clothes out, in terms of what I'm keeping and what's going to charity. I haven't even worked out what I need for the next 11 weeks! I am perhaps a leetle behindhand?

I am fascinated by toddlers' abilities to
a) immediately know when they shouldn't have something and want it, regardless of whether or not they have ever seen it before
b) know exACTly how to wind you up to fever pitch and then just laugh at you
c) know exactly where you have put the thing they want and you don't want them to have, and achieve miracles in climbing etc. to reach it.

It's been an interesting day!

oh, yes, I too am fascinated by toddlers ability to negotiate some things (like juggling knives) with no harm done and other things (like spooning food into mouth with lovely soft spoon) cause injury....

Nanny went well, I think, but you realise there is ssssssssssoooooooooooooooooooooo much to a daily routine to telll..... I thikn we are all a bit shellshocked but hopefully in a good way

thanks for asking Tea

daisy, do you have a book? I don't know how often you change nannies, but having a Book of how the day goes might be an idea? And the nanny could update it as she goes...

Person with lady bits problem here... ROFL!!!!! Like Tea, I was vastly amused You lot know more about me and my errr.... personal^ problems than most of my RL friends do but they at least remember my name!!

what I liked is that while we might all have lady bits (I mean I hope we all do, except for Dave the Hairy Trucker, Mellors, George and Wesley) it's only the lady with the lady bit problems that makes the grade

Thumb, we don't have a book, it seems a bit too "arms length" IYSWIM - but this is only our second nanny....

daisy, I do see what you mean but I wouldn't have it as a replacement for talking to the nannies about it, just as a guide - I mean, it's a lot for them to take in as well, isn't it - and a handy reference document would be great for them to make sure they don't forget anything.

Mind you, I know nothing of the situation - apart from having been an au pair some years ago in Italy; I just think that sometimes a bit of continuity between carers can be a good thing and a Book might be a way to help that.
Ignore me - I'm whiffling!