ELEVENSES HERE *****************************************************************************************

[MaryAnnSingleton]

think we've been deleted,so shall we put ourselves here in other subjects ?
Sleepless night fretting about T and loos and lunches at big school - how neurotic am I ?!

that's pesky hotcross...
parents are fine I think - cats back from cattery,so mum will be happy. Things gradually finding their new homes !
Is your plumber coming today ?

Hello! Happy Wednesday Hope you've had good days?

The plumber came last night after trying to cancel on us again. He didn't realise we were without heat - he thought it was just a routine boiler service. When I put him straight, he was there in a few minutes! It looks like our whole system isn't right. We have boiling water in the tank in the loft, and it should be cold, so definitely needs sorting. He's going to try to do a sealed system, not a whole new boiler etc, but it's going to be pricey of course We're waiting for the quote....

Went to book group last night. Turns out the book I slagged off was written by the host's old flatmate Oh well, it was still rubbish! then when I got back Dh told me his mum had been on the phone and is now coming next Tuesday until the weekend When am I going to finish the Chrsitmas shopping????? And my parnets will be here for some of it of course!

B went back to school today. There was a note in her tray saying she was going to be a shepherd and could I provide beige trousers for her for tomorrow? Having been up in the loft searching out old beige joggers she had a couple of years ago, I picked her up from school to find out she is now a sheep! Now she needs white and black clothing....

I'm out again tonight for a mum's drinks in a local pub. I'm hoping it wont go on too long as I'm shattered

oh you poor thing - what a lot to think about and the pesky heating too - are your upstairs radiators working or is it still not on ?
I did laugh at your book group thing - !

Morning

Oh hotcross, what a pain about your plumbing system... I hope the quote is not too scary!
I too did laugh about your book club thing!

Went to O's school play last night. My sides still hurt from laughing. The whole show as excellent, with some brilliant performances from some of the children. O,although only on stage for 3 minutes, stole the show He was an outrageous dancer and everyone was howling with laughter and wolf-whisteling at him
After the show we spoke with his old Y3 teacher (who had coordinated the dancers) and she said they decided to change his dance for tomorrow (which will be tonight) and at the end they are going to let him pull his wig off. Teacher was concerned 'not everyone at the back could see it was a boy'. So I said 'oh I would love to see that' and the head teacher pipes up 'come along, I will sneak you in at the back'. So I get to see the show again

Hotcross, have fun on your mums night out I have avoided it this year - ours for E's class was a set menu at £12.50, drinks on top, and I just could not afford it. Also, the last two times everyone ended up sitting next to their close friends anyway, so K and I decided to go out with our close friends in the new year instead of doing the class thing.

Right, better get these children to school, have a good day both of you!

Would love to see O performing too - bet it was a hoot ! have a great time again tonight ! what a star !!
Brrr, it's v chilly - hope you are warm hotcross...I can see my dad and builder making the foundations of studio and burning wood on a fire - probably bits of fence which appears to be down !

Morning

O was a hoot again! He got the best cheer, especially when the wig came off.

I feel a bit guilty, he definately out-performed some of the Y6 children, and got a bigger cheer during the bows. I hope they are not offended by this 'start up' Y5 stealing some of their glory [fret]

Teh funniest bit was just before it was O's bit, an excited murmer shot through the choir, along the lines of 'yes, it is the funny bit' etc.

I have taken some (blurry) pictures adn will try to upload them later.
But the school are producing a dvd of the show, and I reckon I could upload it onto YouTube to link to for you guys??
That may be a technical challenge too far though, but will try.

Right, have finished my morning coffee, am going to check on O and E (lots of noise coming from the bathroom and not a lot of it washing/brushing related.

oh brilliant ! you must feel so proud - don't feel bad that he's upstaged the yr 6s - they won't mind I'm sure
Do post the pictures and would love to see the video - tell him he sounds like a natural performer and very well done !!

I can't wait to see the pictures Hippi! O sounds like a complete star

B is a sheep in her school play next week They wanted her to be a shepherd but she got all worried about it as she had to 'look after' about 6 sheep and direct them, so they let her be a sheep instead. I'm not expecting much, it's very informal and the school don't rehearse for long...

I'm about being able to see your parents in the garden MAS. How wonderful. It's the perfect scenario isn't it? They're independent but close enough for you to help.

I'm sitting here with four layers on and a hat it's soooo cold. We're having a complete nightmare, trying to work out what's the best thing to do. We got the quote last night - £750 ish. Dh talked to my dad and our BIL and they both agree it seems high, and think we need a second opinion. However, it's nigh on impossible to get a plumber to come and look before Christmas... Dh has asked questions on a plumbers forum and got mixed messages. We don't know what to do

Mum's night out was fun. It's always the same mums though. An invitation goes into each bookbag, there's a poster on the classroom door etc etc, but it's just the same old faces. About 9 of us went to the local pub for drinks. We don't do the whole meal thing, because of the price, and also it's a bit formal.

Haircut later. I look like a highland cow ATM, so am hoping she'll be able to tame it!

Pictures now added - be afraid.... 'tis scary!! (and very funny)

btw, they danced to 'Sisters are doing it for themselves'.

Hotcross, bummer to hear about your heating. I don't think you quote sounds too bad, but then I don't know what needs doing. We paid £2,500 two years ago to have our whole system re-done. New tanks, new pipes. Apparently our hotwater tank was too pressurised and only weeks away from blowing up (to be fair, it had buckled and was leaking from teh excess pressure but we had ignored it and even slapped some playdough in the crack to try and seal it

MAS it sounds so lovely having your parents living so close. Am very very

Right, am going to wrap up warm and take dillydog for a walk.

yay ! he looks great - love his hair and boa !!
Poor chilly hotcross -have no idea about the costs of these things so can't advise. Do you have heating downstairs ? and hot water ?
It is nice but still a little strange to have them at the end of the garden - as you say, near enough to help but still independent. The thing that troubles me isthis...they are a bit lax in the cleaning department - fair enough they have just moved and the place is full of boxes and stuff and theres mud and things from garden where the building is going on, but SIL says that they left the old house in a bit of a state,despite cleaning it and being proud that they'd cleaned it up so well ! (brother and SIL have bought the house,I think I said that before ?) but I know that either they don't see the things I notice or else it doesn't bother them - the things they packed were either sticky/greasy or dusty - I would have cleaned everything as I went along - gah ! My brother is in desp[air about dad's car which is only about 2 yrs old and is like a moving cess pit,really it is...he hasn't cleaned it inside or out and it's full of rubbish and mess..and they don't even have poor dog any more to muddy it up. I know it's petty to fuss but the house it lovely and their things are lovely - they have some nice ythings/furniture/great pictures and it makes me sad that the finishing touches,ie dustless,sparkliness aren't there. Am going to offer to do their cleaning possibly, what do you think ? or persuade them to get a cleaner ? SIL rightly pointed out that mum's arthritis drugs make her less physically able/energetic and she may not see so well these days (she's 74)... I'm being unreasonable aren't I ?
Mum had a friend, a psychotherapist,who lived in a lovely period house but lived in total filth - the fridge was black inside and every glass or plate was sticky or greasy - I used to dread being invited to lunch there esp. when I was pregnant and when T was little ! Mum used to reel in horror at this, yet I fear that we might go down the same path ! SIL says she thinks not, but....

another week,and the last one of term !
Hope you are both well and warm...I am very cough-y and sniffly- felt quite unlike myself yesterday,though perked up after a walk into town -all the fresh air I suspect.
Went to a neighbours party on Saturday afternoon/evening- the boys stayed home as dh was feeling a bit rough and unsociable and T wanted to stay with him. Went with my friend S who'd come from London for the day - was v nice but tons of food and not enough guests to eat it all - lots of German things as she is German (our hostess C) and her mother is with her at the moment and is very good cook. Later on she brought round plates of food and those fab German Christmas biscuits/gingerbreads. I foolishly drank too much wine when feeling unwell and it made me feel very peculiar. I avoided the mulled wine as it's the devil's brew,imo.
We had the left overs for lunch on Sunday, joined by my parents - was really nice. When I took the plates back later in the afternoon C was hosting her dds birthday party and the little ones were making gingerbread houses !
Much work going on out the back..dad doing too much lifting and carrying and helping - tsk.

Sorry you are not feeling well. 'Tis the season to feel bleurgh!

Party sounds great though, no-one does Christmas food quite like the Germans. Oooh, the thought of it makes me feel very nostalgic for my youth...
Especially the Lebkuchen (the gingery biscuits you mentioned).

O and E had a fab time in Lapland, but due to snow, ice, lack of fuel, a pilot who had exceeded his flying hours and fog were not able to come back until Sunday Evening. So they had an extra day of playing in the snow!!

They had a great time! But both are exhausted! It is E's Christmas play this afternoon, then later in the week the class Christmas parties, a Christmas disco adn then thank heavens it is the christmas holiday!!

E's party yesterday after school was a great success (but very very stressful!)

oh I'd forgotten about Lapland - that must've been brilliant !! And well done for E's party too !
We have Christmas Concert on Friday where T's singing group will perform and that's it. There are carols tonight in church nr school but probably won't go.

hello ! last day of term !!
Am feeling very drained and not well- have had horrid cold all week and it's made me feel very unlike myself.
T's Christmas Concert was last night and was very,very good - fantastic vocal groups and amazing range of different bands - flute groups,string ensembles,Big Band, jazz collective, orchestra etc. The singing probably the most impressive - the head of music is very dynamic young man...T's singing group were great- they did 4 songs ,including I believe I can fly and Chasing Cars- really fab.
Got home very late and dh and I had to eat our supper at after 11 - we were starving,fortunately had fed T before we went out - concert much longer than at primary school !
T now fretting about his school mates 'knowing' that he does singing - the group are performing again at assembly - I have tried to convince him that his group were especially cool and that if anything it'll gain him 'respect' ! Think this anxiety is all tied up with the making friends thing - he was saying before he went to sleep that he hadn;t made many friends yet and I think he thought doing singing might make people not want to be his friend, if that makes any sense. I need to point out to him that he was befriended by a boy in singing group who asked him to join in the first place ! Am hoping he isn't put off by this as it's such a wonderful thing to do and be involved in,plus he's very good and sings unselfconsciously as part of the group and in front of little groups at home (us and my parents - I'd have been far too shy to try this when I was young). Hope he has cheered up by end of morning,though he has the dentist later
Am off to do Christmas food shopping with my parents now...hope you are all well xxx

Wow, teh singing group sounds FANTADTIC!
Poor T to be fretting though.. I agree with you - it will gain him respect.

O has had the same re the dancing, when he first did a dance at the school play in Y3 he was teased for 'being girly as dancing is for girls', but then on the night of the play everyone thought it was fab. This year it has gained him overwhelming cudos with his peers! Tell T to stick at it - and the friends thing will come.
Also, surely he would rather do his singing and through that make friends with likeminded boys and girls (such as the boy who invited him in the first place) then befriend children who may not like him if they knew about the singing...
Does that make sense )

I hope you are feeling better. E came out of school on Friday with a temp and having been sick. Gave her Calpol and she slept for nearly 22 hours She was much better yesterday. (Luckily because we had a Christmas lunch with my sister, it was lovely

This morning I feel rough, and think I am coming down with something. Although that may just be the thought of MIL coming for lunch on Christmas day, why oh why did I think that was a good idea???

I hope hotcross is okay?

hi hippi - you are absolutely right there - to quote you:

'Also, surely he would rather do his singing and through that make friends with likeminded boys and girls (such as the boy who invited him in the first place) then befriend children who may not like him if they knew about the singing...'

that's exactly what dh said. Anyway,T seems pretty ok about it now,was probably just a little wobble of uncertainty.
Poor E and poor you - I am much better but the coughing is bad at night- I must say I felt pretty poorly all week and that's very unusual for me-I'm generally very hardy ! It also made me feel a bit depressed but that could be general pre-festive anxiety
Have been to M&S to pick up the ballotine thing we ordered and then skipped to Sainsbury's to buy a few small bits - so thankful that all the shopping is done, though maybe need a few wee bits before Christmas. Saw my mum and dad ahead of us in the queue, Dad was buying a bottle of Kahlua ! My DB has bought him a fancy cocktail shaker for Christmas so no doubt he'll be making something in that - my brother makes something with Baileys that is very dangerous.
Mum and dad's heating went peculiar and wouldn't work on Friday and again yesterday but thankfully engineer has been out to fix it -fortunately not so cold here at the moment.
Hope hotcross is ok - keep warm and well hippi..hope you cope with MIL ..is she difficult ?

teehee, great minds think alike!

MIL can be difficult. On the whole we get on well, but she is one of life's 'point scorers'. She will say things I know to be untrue just to make herself look good. Sometimes I humour her, but other times I itch to set her straight.
She is not unpleasant, but has the ability to be. Does that make sense?

I hope hotcross has her heating sorted out and is warm and toasty.

Right, better go and make O and E some lunch. They have been playing with Lego in O's room for most of the morning

am sure you'll be well behaved with MIL hippi

Hello hello! Sorry I haven't been around. I've had a houseful and there hasn't been a chance to get on here. I have been wondering how all your pre-Christmas preparations have been going.

There is so much illness around just now. Hope you're feeling a bit more lively now. B is still coughing and spluttering, I'm wheezy and coldy, but hopefully that's as bad as it'll get

The shows sound fab. Well done all the dc's for taking part. I always think it's so sad when children say it's 'uncool' to be involved, when it would do them the world of good to do something so worthwhile.

We don't know where we're spending Christmas We've hired an automatic car so that dh can drive us all to my parents. However, Saturday morning doggle slipped a disc and trapped a muscle, and has been dosed up on anti-inflammatories and Diazepam. There is a chance he'll need an op, but he's much much brighter today, so I'm hoping he'll be fine. the vet is happy for him to travel as long as he can lie completely flat in the car. Dh is ringing the hire company to see if that's possible.... We're off to the vet tomorrow night for the final opinion...

Right Bis pestering me to come and play, so I'm off!

poor doggle ! hope you can get away hotcross xxx

aw hotcross, poor doggle. You are really going through it at the moment...

Has your heating been fixed?

Yes MAS, I will behave myself with MIL, I promise. She is sweet really, just a bit snippy at times, and I put that and the point-scoring down to insecurity...

O and E are now watching 'The cat in the Hat' on tv. I have spent most of the afternoon reading the mouldies threads on mn and am alternating between and
Oh, and am making soup, so multi-tasking at its best!!

yes, hope you are warm hotcross. What is the Moldies thing - I haven't looked at it ! What soup btw ?

Ah, the moldie thing is interesting, it spans 4 threads covering over 4000 posts (and I weep now because the time spent reading it is time I will never get back)

The soup is lovely, it is bacon, potato, tomato and lentil. Serve sprinkled with grated cheese and some crusty bread alongside. yum!
Just what we need, in this 'house of flu'

mmm, yummy,that'd do me the world of good !
But you didn't explain the moldie