Sept 08 - Our LO's are nearly 2, and they're hiding to do a poo (is it time for potty training, not until it stops this raining)

[ninja]

I started it!! (I'm going away to London with just DD1 tomorrow so I want to know where you all are when we get back.

3 toddler free days!!

fanny you speak wise words! I know just from driving round town at home that if the kids are whinging it can send my blood pressure soaring and I become a more angry driver. Must find the inner zen and somehow be a stimulating, entertaining, informative mummy while facing forwards and concentrating on driving. I agree though, they're not going to come to any harm in their seats. It'll be fine. There's wine and DH at home

meglet oh but that the interior would be finished...besides the fact that the doors won't be finished, we still have no kitchen! To be fair, once that's in the main part of the extension will be done, but we haven't started painting the utility room, and some self levelling stuff needs to be put down before the lino can be laid in there. Then there's the hall where some cracks appeared during the knock through and paper needs to be stripped, the gaps filled and then it all re-papered and painted. But that's a job for another year! At least the extension, where we'll spend the vast majority of our time, will be beautiful :)

I wonder if the behaviour difference is a boy/girl thing? DD is waaaaaay more independent than DS, one of her first phrases was 'my do it all by yourself!' and she tantrumed much more than DS has, and was harder to distract out of it. She generally has a broader range of emotions, whereas DS just pootles through life, a happy little chappy content with his play as long as he's got some trains, cars or aeroplanes. Both kids have been great this last couple of days with being at different people's houses, I'm very proud of them :) Won't be saying that in 24hrs though if they're terrors on the journey, which is what I'm fully expecting.

Must stop jabbering and go to bed, night all!

Meglet They have decided that some of the measures we use to keep DS (and all of us) safe, i.e locked bedroom door, blacked out windows and loads of other stuf, is not suitable. To be fair they have been saying it for months but we know the alternatives are not workable so we just ignored them. SW has decided if we don't make a set of changes within the month then DS becoms a 'child in care' which means they then have more power to snoop and demand we do stuff which will set DS's moods off and be wholly impratical with a newborn.
Not looking forward to the visit as we are bending over backwards for them and I know they will nitpick about something.

debs sorry to hear that

up all night with gastroenteritis. ugh. Feel dreadful.

debs Can I have a against (some) SW's now. My friends 18mo DS fell down the stairs twice recently so they have been referred to SW's, poor friend is a nervous wreck as the SW's have been to the house and noted the children have bruises (they're both toddlers FFS). Out of all the parents I know she is one of the most sensible, if they think she's rubbish they might as well put the whole town on file. And (gets on soap box) they still don't get to the kids that really need them .

If the SS have answers that actually work in the long run for the child and the family then great, but in your case it sounds like they are going to swan in give you a list of things to do that will be a PITA and not help in the slightest. My HV had a 'great' idea about using the porch as time out for DS, it sort of works but then he started posting all the shoes through the letterbox to the outside, so she said to bring all the shoes in the living room and DD started hurling muddy shoes all over the place. Maybe they should build all new houses with a time out room for toddlers .

becaroo Get well soon.

I'm meant to be gardening today, better get on with it I suppose!

Sorry to hear about the SW, your Aunt and your lack of sleep Debs. What a hard time you're having at the mo

I haven't opened my laptop for a few days because I've been busy in the evenings and when ds has his nap, so do I I feel constantly sick at the moment and it's so bloody draining, but hey ho.

Hope you're feeling better Bec.

How are you bec?

We're home from our travels, its so nice to be back. The extension looks amazing, beautifully painted and the floor is gorgeous. Still no kitchen of course, but the lads are out there with the digger right now making a start on the garden!

Hello all and sorry for the long silence. We've just moved to our new house, and only got broadband yesterday. I have just had a massive catch up while DP and DS are playing in the park.

Debs sorry to hear about your aunt, and sorry to hear those bloody jobworths from SS are giving you a hard time. As if it was not hard enough already with a little newborn to look after.

Hopefully, ILTMIMI and Kagey sorry to hear about the sickness. It will pass soon and it will get better. It has for me, although I have to say, this pregnancy I've been a bit more sick than my first. Dealing with a toddler does not make for a restful pregnancy either, however adorable Diego is at the moment. Which he is. And very cheeky!

Carrie, your extension sounds lovely. I hope you get your proper kitchen soon and can fully enjoy it. Oh, and good luck on your SWInging - just be careful with the cast!

And Fanny, lovely to hear you sounding so serene and content! I hope I can reach that motherhood zen when my little one comes in January.

Meglet happy you had a good day last Sunday and the sun shone for you. xxx

We really love our new house! Diego can play outside and the neighbours are lovely. There is a very good school nearby and it's just great to have the extra space. The fact that we are in a new area makes us feel like we are on holidays as we are still exploring and discovering the neighbourhood.

I am bloody knackered, though, and having my 5 month bump on the way while desperately wanting to lift boxes, sort things out and get things done is rather frustrating. Having said that, I just had my 20 week scan last Thursday and everything is well. I'm having a little girl! She did not stop moving one moment during the scan, and I can feel her kicking and turning in my belly a lot more than I felt Diego. So despite the tiredness and the boxes and the unpacking to do, we are really really happy. And we'll hopefully have a chance to rest very soon, as we are off to Greece tomorrow, where the Greek grandparents are counting the minutes to fuss over their precious first grandchild (while DP and I, hopefully, lie in the beach and sleep like a pair of walruses).

So, I just wanted to post before I disappear under the radar for another two weeks. Don't want you all lovely ladies to forget about me!

Awww what a lovely post Pacita, so glad to hear the move went well, have a wonderful walrussy rest :)

pacita I have obviously posted under false pretences if you think I am serene and possess motherhood zen! Thrilled to pieces with having two amazing beautiful children but in no way feeling the zen just yet!

Your new house move sounds fab. I am hoping for a good experience when we move at the end of the year, but I am terribly nervous. Can you send some of your good vibes in my direction?

Good vibes to you, Fanny. Our move was the best thing, although you are wise to move once:
a) you are not preggers and
b) DS is of a more manageable size (i.e. not a slippery newborn)

Have you got somewhere in mind? Do you want to stay in the area or move away?

I don't know if you remember, but this is the house we fell in love with back in March, put an offer for, lost, got offered again two months later as the other buyer changed his mind, and have been through purgatory with the bloody bank to get. So being finally here feels like the end of some homeric quest.

It is a sixties house flooded with light, with a beautiful (but lethal for kids) wooden staircase and in totally the opposite side of London. We just love it.

I shall be picking your brains, as the birth draws close, about how to cope (or not, as it may well be the case for me) with two!

pacita great to hear from you! So pleased your move went well. I am still champing at the bit to move but dh is adamant. sigh. what can you do? a baby girl? how lovely (sniff, sob) Have a fab time on your hols x

I am feeling a bit better thanks ladies...black vomit with bits in is never good, is it???? Just feel very weak and tired.

Not doing anything today much to dh's disgust!

hope all are well x

Nice to see you Pacita Have a lovely holiday.

I hope you're feeling better today Bec, black vomit sounds grim.

DS is 2 on Weds. TWO. Can you believe it? Where has the time gone?

...there you all are!

Bookmarking!

Thanks for the vibes pacita. We are moving to a completely new county for DH's work. We don't know the area at all so it's going to be, um, interesting. I'm so glad you got the house you love.

beca So sorry about the vommies.

ILTMIMI Weird, isn't it? DD turns 2 on Thursday. She is moving up to the big toddler room at nursery tomorrow. And she is actually counting properly now! Not just reciting 1 2 3 4 5 but correctly saying things like 'two toast' when she has two pieces of toast. She really is so much fun.

FP counting? You do realise you have a genius on your hands there, dont you?
Thanks for the sympathy x

ILTIMI Happy birthday to miniILTMIMI for tomorrow x

Should get a start date for my job this week!!

DS's counting goes '1 2 8' while wiggling the fingers of one hand!

We've had some bad behaviour and a language explosion here, now doing sentences like "George's birthday (invite) got Thomas on it and Percy on it too"
The words don't flow very well though its as though he has to think of each word in turn, but that makes it sound even cuter

DD had her settling in session at nursery school yesterday. I'm really pleased with our choice in the end, I had a great chat with the nursery nurse while the teaching assistant took DD off to play, and DD was talking straight away which shows she was really comfortable there. She didn't want to go home though, she'd only discovered the home corner and could see the play shop, art area, writing tables, jigsaws etc, which never got a look in! Bodes well for her proper start on the 27th :) I just really hope I'm pg to make the most of the two hour break while she's out and DS is asleep!!!

Hi ladies.

Still feeling pretty grim.....do you think its normal to still be feeling really sick 6 days after having gastroenteritis?? Havent had runs or been sick since thurs night/friday morning but still feel grotty and not managing to eat much...just digestive biscuits, bananas, bread and brown rice.

Feel a bit daft going to docs to say I feel sick!!!

Toby still doesnt really talk, but he understands everything we say, can follow instructions etc. His basic vocab is;
yeah
more
in there
muma
dada
bro
He is trying to sound out other words but only I know what he means;
bir - for birds
bre - for bread
bi - for biscuit
biii - for big

Bless him!

Got my start date - next weds!!!

Oh bec poor you! Sounds like your body is gradually replenishing itself starting with simple foods that won't set your tummy off again. Do hope you feel better soon!

Hello again!

Will catch up at some point.
The conference I've been organising for years happened over the bank holiday (it seemed like a manageable task back in 2006...) and was a great success but I was on my feet and running around permanently for about a week.

So took the rest of last week off to recover and do a bit of light wallpaper-stripping so A's room could get painted and he could finally have his own room. Of course it wasn't that simple - spent a day scraping the ceiling too , and we've also had the 1920's shed removed and concrete poured for a new one. Ended up spending most of the last few days in bed with exhaustion.

About to start more drugs to get me to ovulate - joy. But in the meantime A is being extra endearing, in between practising for being 2. His favourite word is 'no' unless the question involved biscuits. He's also supposed to be going to Toddler Room at nursery for a couple hours a day until moving properly 2 weeks later. He went in for breakfast on the first day and has refused to go back to Babies at all! At least it's his birthday this weekend so the ratios will be OK. They claim he even ate salad, which I didn't believe, as his usual response to veg is to go 'hello carrot/tomato/whatever', stroke it, cuddle it, roll it around his mouth a bit, repeat, and then give to dn who chomps it with gusto (dn's first sentence was 'more vegetables?'!)

A and dn can also open the front door. They are furious that we now shoot the top bolt whenever we go in, so they can't trot out onto the path and the street...

NC good to see you again, glad the conference was a success, sounds epic!

Happy ovulating!

Hey nc good to hear from! Toby can also open the front door so I am a permanent prisoner in my own home!!

Toby is currently at the kitchen sink making fairy liquid cups of tea...he is most put our that I wont drink one!!

Toby wont eat salad but likes fruit and veg, especially carrotts and strawberries.

Very nervous about next week - eek!

Tipping it down here so not going out.

A just ordered me to 'sit down mummy. Tea, mummy!' until I followed orders, made myself a cuppa and sat down with it. Awww...

Hey guys, just popping on v briefly to ask anyone who can be btohered to check out my thread here. My step father is in the most insane amount of agony ever and the hospital don't seem willing to help, so I'm looking for advice for what to do next!

No advice hopefully but I hope someone can do something. It sounds awful.

I obviously hadn't posted for a while, I had to go hunting for this thread. Went back to work this week and had sil staying so it's been a long week.

Had a good breakthrough with ds1 this week. I'd been thinking he would never be dry at night as his nappies were always soaked through but then forgot to put 1 on on Tues night & he was dry in morn (woke at 5.30 shouting for me & got up for wee then back to sleep). Then this morn he was dry too without getting up at all. So hope it continues.

Lovely to see you NC It's v spooky though as I was driving behind a car today which had NC at the end of the numberplate and I thought of you and hoped you were all ok. Just call me Mystic MoveIt

Bec - about a month ago I had the most horrendous bout of diarrhoria (SP?!) and stomach cramps that I have ever had and it was acute for about 2 days, then slowed down over the next 3 days. I didn't go to the Doc's - although in hindsight I probably should have - but when I looked at the internet it was probable that I had food poisoning rather than a stomach bug. Anyway to cut a long story short, it probably took me a good week to start feeling normal and to want to eat again. But if you think things are dragging on for too long, then go to the GP's, or does your GP do phone consultations and they can decide whether they'd like to see you or not.

Oh, and good luck for starting your new job next week! Have you had to buy a new wardrobe full of clothes and shoes as well???!!

I'll go and have a look at Hopefully's thread now.

Oh, and ds had a lovely birthday yesterday. We went to the zoo, which he loved at forst but then got a bit bored and tired and was more interested in the tractors and diggers than the animals!!

The JCB digger we bought him has been a complete hit, it's in the living room at the mo but it's going to have to move outside asap as it's bloody huge!