The last one out forgot to start a new thread!

[blueberryboybait]

Morning, hope you all find me!

Salta we have a one of these. I would say WELL worth the money. It is still in the car as DD1 will still ask to stop for a wee/poo on a long journey and we can just whip it out.

He should be able to hold on for at least an hour i would say. Stick a carrier bag with a towel on top on top of his car seat in case of accidents as car seat covers are a PITA to wash

Well done on persevering BTW. DD2 is VERY reliable when bare bottomed at home, i don't even ask her she just goes off to the potty. I REALLY should bite the bullet

Oh, and i have used that potty when we are camping

TMI

lovely news star congrats

Salta - well done on the potty training, I've not even started and have no intention of doing so it's SO much easier when they're older and life for me at the moment is all about ease!!

sodding paypal have limited my account till they can verify I'm not a hacker just when I needed it too!

christmas window in at the shop today and it took both of us from 10am till 6.30pm due to our need for symetery left and it was snowing though which was nice

oh, thank you for the advice - they don't deliver abroad. Will look for one locally.

Yes, it's hard, before this we would head out for 2-3 hours every afternoon to the park. I'm not quite sure how we can return to this kind of routine. Build up slowly I guess. I'll ask the other mums what they do.

Bibi - hi, very nice thinking about a snowy winter shop. Quite hot here now!

Just take the potty and go out. He will gradually extend his time between wees. I think DD2 can wait about 2hrs, but don't worry about it - find a quiet corner behind a tree and you'll be fine

Evening bibi. It may have been me that told Paypal that you are a hairy trucker

Check this one out ladies

night all

Star huge congrats - and then there were 3! I see there is an Aug 2011 thread already. I haven't joined the June one yet - it's way too busy

MIL arrived last night. DS was his usual chatty self so I think she's noticed a big change since he saw her last.

Crispy I've just bought one of those.

Salta don't know if it interests you but I've just used a company called Skypax to have some stuff that couldn't be sent overseas from a UK website. You pay GBP12 then whatever the delivery charge is and they have a UK address that you get the stuff sent to. They were very quick and efficient. They will even go shopping for you in London if there is something you want that can't be ordered online.

Hello from the land of gloom sorry to keep going on about it but it's hard to think about anything else.

Rustling round for something cheerful to say.

I fed ds2 cheese & crackers last night (nope, I don't want to hear that you all cooked Proper Meals thanks! ), I had a big wheel of Gubbeen & was shaving it off for him. He said "More Gombeen" which is a joke so subtle, Irish, timely and appropriate that I had to smile. (Gombeen and Gubbeen

In other news this hour he says the following rhyme:

Doctor Foster went to Cork
In a shower of rain
He stepped in a puddle
Right up to his tummy
And never went there again.

Really flows, doesn't it?

Anyway...

Queen while you were gone we organised a Secret Santa round for people who signed up for it, rather than just for everyone - if you would like to be included in sending & receiving secret gifts let me know & I will do some rapid rejigging .

Star, Pert, Merlion, I am green here, and not with morning sickness. Despite inner ache I am truly truly delighted for you all.

Ursula - very about the situation there, you will let us know when to start with the aid parcels won't you :) I like DS's rhyme.

Morning all else - had a thought about what to type and now it is gone!

bbbb you can start with the aid parcels now please. The country is in most urgent need of anything topped with salted caramel, and anything dense, dark and chocolatey. I'm happy to act as a central distribution point. I believe you have my address...

ursula with your aid parcels!! very nobel of you to distribute to all others in need.

merlion and salta i am more than happy to have stuff sent here and i will then forward on to you without you having to pay someone £12 for the pleasure! i walk past the post office most days so it really wouldnn't be a problem

bibi that was lovely, thanks for sharing

crisp did you have a drip set up last night for your wine intake?! well done for surviving four! as for dh, yes, his gma's really ill. she had a turn for the worse after we visited her and now has days to live But, at least she got to meet dd which seems to have really cheered her up. its so hard though. He seems ok with me now so i reckon we'll be alright for another couple of weeks

and news from the hippo household....why can't they all sleep at the same time?!!!! it was DS's turn to wake up frequently last night apparently his duvet was a little crumpled in the corner and he couldn't possibly sleep with it being so untidy [definitely his father's son emoticon]

and today T is a cat. this is far safer than him being a fireman or a superhero. in fact i am actively encouraging him because it involves him climbing onto my lap to be stroked I reckon i'll be making him a cat's tail before the morning has ended!

better go, i've just put dd down for a nap and ds is tucking her in...he's just run over to tell me she's awake. and so would i be if i'd had a 2ft rabbit put on my head

Ursula many many hugs for you and for your battered nation :( I love DS's joke, he's inherited his ma's way with words for sure.

Merlion I shan't be joining any antenatal threads until I know things are okay post-12 weeks, at the earliest. Am feeling, not doomy as such, but very aware that it's early days and am so much more aware of all the things that can go wrong. Last time I rushed to the docs to get into the system the day after I found out, but am happy to wait a few more weeks with this one and just let it be.

The insane sense of smell thing is already driving me mad Had it last time too. Was cooking pasta this morning and it smelt like sick.

Bibi congratulations on the Christmas window - are there photos?

Crisp well done on some uber parenting yesterday, wishing you a speedy recovering

salta well done DS on his potty progress :) I am pmsl at the mental image of him weeing into a purple polar bear's head

I am not sure i was an uber parent star, 45 mins of play, colouring, making dens and then i resorted to a dvd . I did cook them all (+ another child) roast organic chicken legs, mushrooms, roast pots, purple sprouting broccoli and gravy though. Not that i want to make you feel bad or anything ursula

I would be signing up MasterUndressJunior for the LSE at this point though. He seems to have a clearer understanding of economics and business than Brian & Brian.

Glad to hear DH is a touch improved hippo and all the very best wishes to his nan. So glad she got to see the gorgeous P and is not suffering too much now

I should be working but have so far, got up late, walked to preschool, dropped off DD2 and been to sainsburys. Lacking any ooomph this morning it appears, so please give me a kick back to my desk if you see me loitering!

Crisp you survived, and so did they That makes you a parenting legend.

Salta Just let him wee in a bush or somewhere nobody is going to be playing.

Hippo Do you really want to be treading on eggshells for the rest of your life waiting to be kicked into the doghouse for no particular reason? Tell him you are going to let it slide til after the funeral but then you really need a serious talk about his manipulative behaviour. The sulking/blaming you is a diversion technique so he doesn't have to face up to ever he's not coping with. Yes it's less destructive than alcohol/gambling etc but you deserve better. He owes it to you and the kids to learn those missing skills, be it counselling, psych books or I don't know what.

Can't find a bleedin babysitter! Really want to go out with DH tonight for dinner and dancing at Mexican restaurant :-( Might be desperate enough to look on Gumtree.

muah ha haaaaaa i've been stalking one of you today for KK and i've come up with a fab idea.... i hope!

thanks crisp, she's in hospital now so i'm really pleased we got to see her at home.

star i had an ultra sensitive sense of smell when pg too. oh i'm still so excited for you (and merlion and pert too obviously!)

silk, alot to think about there..... its not all his fault though, i can be just as stubborn as he is sometimes

hey ladies..

hugs ursula.. been speaking to my dad loads about the situation at home, worrying times [hugs]..

impressive crispy looking after so many childre, gold star award..

hope you are ok hip [hugs]..

day three of clean in action but have lost all my voom to work .. tis almost done, will never be prefect with 2 dds, one of who is already wrecking the place .. also tis freezing cold and i'm just not the mood to work

are you still cleaning? i'm impressed enya! but you're making me feel bad that i haven't been as equally productive! ooh i have done some sewing though how you feeling health wise today? i'm still full of gunk [tmi emoticon!]

hippo I respectfully disagree. The way anyone behaves is entirely their responsibility. So perhaps circumstances are not his fault, but how he chooses to react to them is.

Unless you habitually pick fights, snub, belittle and cold shoulder your husband, I don't think you are equally at fault.

Just found this elsewhere and had a little happy sob for all our growing-up babies...W.B. Yeats, 'A Cradle Song'.

The angels are stooping
Above your bed;
They weary of trooping
With the whimpering dead.

God's laughing in Heaven
To see you so good;
The Sailing Seven
Are gay with His mood.

I sigh that kiss you,
For I must own
That I shall miss you
When you have grown.

Lovely poem star

hip still the same keep getting random shivers too yuck!! And yes day 3 of cleaning got a tea loaf in the oven and tomorrows dinner prepared for dh and his pals so I reckon I am due a sit down

On iPhone and mn tis all changed

STARRRRRRRRRRR what fabulous news really happy for you!!

Did we set a secret santa spend limit?

hippo I agree with Star, you don't behave anything like your dh, unless of course you are lying to us but I don't get that impression. I did lol at nee nor T

bb that's crap redundancy news/pay. Aren't you so glad we work for the public sector ?

TS bb is right, aloe is good for burns. I think I used savlon too. Poor little R. We all do it though, no matter how much we try to protect them, don't be so hard on yourself.

queen sorry to hear of your disturbed nights, hope they improve soon

crisp you make me dizzy with your activities! How do you do it?

salta good news on the potty training. O just ain't ready and prob won't be for a few months yet.

silky Niki Graeme - seriously? Was she singing?.....

ursula will check out the link you posted so in the meantime I'm in the dark on ds' joke.

dh saw his union yesterday and they believe there is no case at all for dismissal. Waiting to hear when the investigation has been completed, in the meanwhile dh gets to lounge around at home.

I've been in prison this morning, but they let me out again so thats all good. Just having lunch then better get back to working...

Arrgh, I knew I'd forget someone Enya HUGS to you, I didn't miss you off on purpose!

And

Fjorgyn hugs to you too. was it yesterday or today dd's bday? Happy Birthday regardless!!

to anyone else I've missed..albs....bbbb....hugs to you too!!

Hippo and anyone else really, my friend is doing 'The Incredible Years' 8wk parenting course (via NHS or Surestart, I forget which) and says it is briliant. She says her relationship with her toddler has improved and she has been using the things she's learnt on her DH, relatives and clients to great effect. Another friend did a Surestart one with her DH about the post-baby relationship and recommends it.