Gardening in the winter sun. 40-something mums Christmas thread

[somewherebecomingrain]

40-something mums with babies of all ages - please join us. The 20-something and 30-something mums will never satisfy you like this thread.

scarecrow I do wonder if it's January blues. I asked him if he could be specific yesterday - he said he feels like he hasn't got any energy, e.g. when climbing stairs - I wasn't sure if he meant arms and legs aching (like flu) or breathlessness (which I almost always get after having a cold) and he said the latter. Without sounding harsh, to me that sounds like he's just a bit unfit!

He is feeling quite overwhelmed both with life/work/commuting and with the idea of another DC. He was saying "oh, we aren't doing anything exciting for your birthday, that's my fault" which a) isn't true - we just had our wires crossed about who was booking tickets for something but he's booked one thing now and the other one I think we need to find the babysitter first and b) I don't really mind - it's not a big birthday, and it's on a Wednesday so cake and a takeaway will do me fine (and also c) he's bought me a fairly large present that I did order but I've been told I can't have it till then, so that will be exciting in itself!)

Bit of a parent fail this morning with breakfast - I often make DS porridge but usually only if I'm down making breakfast before he's up - today I made it while he was waiting so he got really hungry and then it was far too "ock" for him to eat and he got really upset. Anyway he's gone off to nursery fairly happy and I didn't have to be in the office any particular time this morning (some days I MUST be in at 9 SHARP which is tricky as nursery drop off is 8.45 and then I have to find a proper parking place, some days nobody notices or cares. This is supposed to be flexible but it's actually inflexibly flexible).

Hola. Baffled by tomorrow's arrangements. I might phone everyone just warning you. I hate the phone but its all gone into a tangle of multivalent possibilities I can only capture in speech.

rosie welcome home! Tooth pics please!

dr you have to burn your child at least once if he's 2 then good going xxx

BG much happier after getting the biohazards out!! Is at home with DH as I absolutely had to be in work today. He got really confused when I left without him this morning, bless him, this never happens!

How was the meeting, scarecrow? Desk mega important - mine had been taken over while I was on mat leave and he (note gender...) refused to give it back when I came back. Despite the fact that I hold confidential tutorials with students and he didn't. I have it back now, but not without strife! Stand your ground!

Drspouse is it your birthday today? If so happy birthday! And as somewhere says, you have to burn them at least once. I fed BG too hot porridge and he looked at me with open mouth and wrinkled nose, didn't think to spit it out though! Funny, since if he doesn't like it, there is no problem with it promptly reappearing!

Oh my birthday's not for a couple of weeks unfortunately!

Well I hope I have the honour of being the first to offer birthday greetings!!

Home :) lots of back reading to do. ...
Trip was 24 hours door to door. Huge problem at immigration as they did not want to let dh back in :) (I was tired and grumpy so said just send him back :) ) dd was wonderful as usual. She has coped so so well. She had total meltdown though when strapped into the car seat (which she has never liked anyway) bless her, screamed from Gatwick to reading before crashing out. I realised she has literally not cried for 3 weeks! !
Right. ... unpacking and shopping to sort. Dh working tomorrow so will have big catch up then.

Great Britain really is Great :)

Welcome home Rosie !

Welcome home Rosie and rosebud (and DH )! 24 hours gosh, you can pretty much fly to NZ in that time.

welcome home Rosie.

spent four hours at work today and I'm totally shattered. Flip full days are going to be a shock. Am going to try working 8-4 and should get to cm by 5.15 to take kids home for bed time cuddles. If it works I'll be a very happy mummy

this does mean leaving house by 6.30am however....

Welcome home Rosie!! What an amazing trip - you have done an amazing job surviving all the challenges of the last 3 weeks.

Glad to hear BG a little better now Goat

Scarecrow glad you got through your work day ok today. As you will already know, every minute counts when you're combining work and childcare, but things do get easier after you've got through the first couple of weeks.

I'm feeling a bit fed up this eve as planned to do some exercise but just too bloody shattered, and have to do my accounts before going to bed. DD has been awake from 5am the last two mornings, and I just can't seem to get to bed early enough to catch up on sleep. She's now caught some sort of eye infection from the nursery and the rules and regulations around exclusions, treatment etc are doing my head in. Still, should be grateful she hasn't caught scarlet fever as that's been doing the rounds too.

Job is ok - just glad I don't have particularly high expectations of it! If you looked at the company website, you would think it would be really cool to work there - lots of happy smiling people in contemporary/unusual workspace, lots of 'fun' stuff going on there etc. The reality is that it's just like any other small/medium-sized company doing the stuff that they do, with bickering, project dramas, cliques and naff in-jokes.

Think I'm done with moaning now - better get on with my VAT stuff as it doesn't seem to be doing itself. Hope those of you meeting up tomorrow have a fab time!

Scarecrow, what are the things we would not do to spend time with DCs ? If you fall asleep with them around 7, you would still have approx 10h sleep ! But no life other than work and kids and won't see DH ! I'm half joking.
Anyway, gutted our meeting tomorrow is not happening.
Eagleray, thinking of you and your paperwork.
Rosie, hope you have a good night sleep. In your bed. With silence.
Nigh night

Paperwork gone to hell! Just after posting, DD woke up so had to feed her to sleep. Need to get to bed now as have a feeling this isn't the last I've heard from her this eve...

Sorry meet up isn't going ahead now - maybe we should all post a photo at a particular time on FB tomorrow to make up for it?

Eagleray, sorry about VAT, you will get used to be interrupted every nano second and not do what you planned. I now use every spare second I can because you never know what is next !

DS tonight : Mama, close your eyes and you will get your prize.
He gave me a lovely kiss on the cheek. Love him so so so so so so so so much

Hiya

Shame about the meet up. Yep you can have a snap of me unpacking after our move if you like. Say 10.30am?

My baby is lying asleep peacefully beside me and I am lying awake worrying about .... My sister! Love you mn that I can come on here and vent it. Will spare you details of my/her sadness.

eagle it sounds like The Office.

I'm visiting my friends widow on Saturday. My chief concern is my son - he's an eczema covered stress monkey at the mo who can't keep still and she has ms. There will be other adults as mates are going too.

scare sounds great. Brilliant news. You can forget about having a grown up evening maybe as you will want to go to bed at same time as kids but you will def share their evening!

Will you still be around one day a week for occasional/seasonal MN hookups?

goat love your desk story. Also BG's conservativism (?sp) of childhood - mummy going off without me? Eh?

bbd wow to ds learning mandarin. That's him headed for an amazing career! Won't English/Chinese speakers be the most in demand. Though I'm sure that's not why you are doing it!

dr ooh happy birthday in a few weeks. Lets have a ridiculously long build up to it. I love a good birthday.

Xxx

o.m.g. I have been awake since 3am.

SBR, I don't work Fridays and for the foreseeable future not Mondays. Financially crippling but right for children.

OK, you have 2 weeks to plan my birthday.

My D(ish)M is staying the previous weekend and we're going to the theataah dahling on the Saturday night. I am wondering how to drop hints to my mum that she'd like to make me a cake but she wouldn't like to make the disgusting icing she made for DS's/her birthday cake (they share a birthday. Clever child. Very very clever child.). The alternative is me making the cake (I like making cakes but I made an over elaborate cake for DS/DM not that long ago so I'm a bit over cake making), or hoping that DH will choose a nice one from a shop (could go either way).

So that may be a lovely weekend, or it may be full of DM drama.

On the day I am thinking of inviting my female work mates to join me for coffee and cake (and one of them is very good at making cake - but sometimes doesn't work that day) late afternoon in the coffee bar at work, and then perhaps the aforementioned takeaway, and playing with my new toy present (I know what it is but I will tease you all by not telling you yet).

We were also thinking of going out the following weekend but we don't have a babysitter. I might persuade DH that I need a massage though, or other spa visit, and pop out on my own to do that.

ooh drspouse am enjoying this... can you do a very gradual reveal of the present? Kind of a gift-striptease

OK, I'm prepared to say it comes in a large cardboard box (about the size of a case of wine) and there was an accompanying large jiffy bag.

Hum DrSpouse... 2 weeks to find out.... Will think about it when tidying, cooking, organising....
Scarecrow, what happened ? T woke you up or is the work thing doing your head ?
SBR, Chinese learning for lots of reasons, are they good or not, I don't know. 1/ the most objective reason: yes you are right, mastering English and Mandarin and French can only be a plus nowadays 2/ Traditions : DCs are a quarter Chinese, roots and origins have always been something very important to me, they are lucky to have lots of cultures, this needs to be looked after 3/ less acceptable reason: making up for my youth mistake : my Dad begged me to learn, I did not, although i should have, 20 years of guilt.

drspouse electronic goods... jiffy bag is a remote or keyboard or summat?
not v imaginative emoticon

It does require electricity to run but the Jiffy bag does not contain a keyboard and it's not any kind of computer.

So I'm home alone and I have the remote to myself and I can't find anything to watch except Shameless USA from at least a year ago! How sad is that?

But I have had gin and chocolate. And (after I realised I'd left his bedroom light on...) DS is asleep.

Morning ladies
So much going on :)
Scarcrow, back to work is becoming a reality! 3days a week to start with will ease you in gently. Hope your new role will be interesting.

Somewhere, please try not to worry about things you can't change. Your sister is an adult and responsible for her own actions. All you can do is be there and show the children there is a different way of living.

Bbd, i hope not too much water damage has happened and getting it sorted won't cause to much mess. I agree our children's other cultures are important. Dd will attend Arabic and quran lessons ifwwe're still in UK.

Drspouse, really enjoying reading your posts and getting to know you. Your ds sound adorable.
Glad the paperwork is coming together, did i read that you hope to get your baby around April? ? (I could have that totally wrong) that's not long! Do you choose gender? How old will the baby be? (Thinking if it's a baby rather than new born maybe it will be born soon! :) )

Waves to cycle, how's the job going?
Goat, dd has started singing :) (made me think of you) i will try to record) she's worked out she can change sounds and volume, very sweet.

Afm. .. ds had a baby boy last week (9.4lbs) and dd2 is pregnant again :) she is very happy (she's avoiding working) dgd will be 3 when baby arrives. Very exciting.
Great being home, i will reflect on the trip for a while. It certainly wasn't a holiday, the only shoes i wore for 3 weeks were my Timberland boots! ! I do feel like I've done my duty though and dmil has met and bonded with rosebud.

Time for me now to really move forward with finding some work. A friend of my parents has offered me her (very) old car :) which is amazing and a huge help in the process. I will collect it next week. Today is cv rewriting day.

Weaning is progressing. ... I'm not doing too well with the baby led bit (other than being led by her want)
I'd love some of your win recipes and finger food ideas especially the porridge fingers!