dec 2008- the one where they all turn 2...probably.

[VagolaJahooli]

Sorry bit boring I know but I didn't want to make any reference to spot as I don't want to jinx her and have her baby come early, then it would be my fault. Also didn't want the mad rush at the end of the thread. This way we've had plenty of time.

Bloody Nora really 1994. Gawd I am old.

I'm in for a Secret Santa :).

Snakes alive. I GRADUATED in 1994!

Smashing idea for Christmas drinkies! Yes, if I can get off but only possibly around week beginning 20th Dec. Isn't Veg around then too? And Secret Santa of course.

That's great, Jam.

Effie, any luck with the smoking jacket yet?

Hello all. Have been doing skimmy read. Rubes are you better now? Poor love.
Lady - after any kind of bug DD1 is off her food for atleast a couple of weeks, so please do cut yourself some slack on that. It must be horrid to be worrying that things will slip back when you were progressing, but do give it time.
I've had a v busy weekend and am exhausted. Dd2 up screaming til 1am last night - unheard of! DH was hero and got her off. We've had her in - oh bugger this am going to log on on PC not iPhone! Back in tick c

Ok, no I'm not. It's bust!
Anyway, DH got her off to sleep then got up with her this morning at 6.15 too. We had friends staying so she was in our room. Never again! I slept til 8, which is latest on months and months. Need more!
Sybs will ring tmw as am better at speaking than on here or text!
I am in considerable pain as my wisdom tooth is infected. It radiates pain out into my head. I can't have antibiotics as only just came off them! Even sleeping on RHS hurts. Feeling weedy. DH might have day off work on Friday so he'll accompany me to dentist for extraction of said tooth fucker, while lovely MIL looks after DDs. And have already been promised another lie in next Saturday. Already excited about that. Think am trying to block out horrors of op. Bleugh. 3.30 next Friday.
I'm in for Secret Santa too.
Have a story about a friend's wife who came to stay this weekend, but too long to post on iPhone. Will try tmw.
Sorry, hope not blathering!

Ouch! Horrid having to wait a week till you can get it sorted.

Poor Beans, you def need DH to pick you up. I picked up a friend after her extraction, was hilarious as she,said really funny things as she was coming around.

I can do SS and a night out on the 23rd any takers.

WG I just listened to ep.3, still giggling to myself. That George Bernard Shaw line still has me wittering away. I have decided that before I go back to Australia I have to see one more recording.

Poor Lady it is horrible to be sick so much but when you have a headache too! Ow.

Glad you are slowly on the mend Rubes.

1994, surely no one has been born since I finishes uni!?!

Hello lowrib.

Avo, that Au Pair thing sounds perfect, saving 2000 a month is a fortune.

Hello Sybs and Effie.

Spot I think sound at your wits end and desperate and even mention the private thing, you have the info Lady gave you on price. That should stir them up. When I mentioned going private to some GPs, not all, they visible stiffened.

We had DS1's violin concert today, he was brilliant, though was more interested in smiling for the camera than his performance. Also had the audience laughing with his antics. I even got up and played twinkle twinkle with the other parents. Bit nerve racking.

Right gotta go. I've possibly got some girls coming for coffee in the morning, if it doesn't snow.

Spot, Lady T and Avocadoes Eastbourne is treating us well, thanks Nearly the end of the first term (DP and I are both studying). The first round of deadlines are looming but we're really enjoying it.

Avo that sounds like a great idea. My mum worked and we had au-pairs when I was little. My mum always chose Scandinavian girls (and they were girls - aged 17 - 19) because she reckoned they were more likely to have great English and a good attitude. I'm not sure what that says about stereotypes, but she seemed to be right!

FWIW DP and I have a taken on a 4 bed while we study. We rent two rooms out, and we have two lodgers. It's working out really well for us. We were really clear that we wanted people who liked living with kids, and we're sharing with two really nice women - both mature students in their final year. They're both really good with DS and it's been great for DS to have other people around I think.

Sorry I'm rambling but HTH.

Vag - are your friends coming for coffee? Did you have snow? None in London as yet, but can't believe it can keep being this nippy and not snow for long... And bummer, I'm not having a general anaesthetic, just a local. Sob. So will see and hear it all. I really would rather be out, I think!

Ooh, was going to bore you with this story of our friend's wife. She's absolutely lovely (and secretly 5 weeks pregnant, but I'm sworn to secrecy - even from DH!), but she isn't very good at hiding when she's in a strop - in fact, doesn't even try. AND she gets wound up very easily. Can make evenings very awkward as she sits in a huff and makes bitchy comments to her husband. She's always been like that, but they've only been married 2 months! Anyway, on Saturday night, we were all having a nice dinner, despite her obvious huff and actually ignoring it and having quite a laugh. I wonder if she was pissed off that she wasn't drinking! But I served up the bread & butter pudding (tesco's, I'm not that nice) and I gave her too much and she said she only wanted a small portion and gave the bigger one to her husband. Her DH, mine and me were giggling as my DH said she only likes small portions and I said that's why she married her DH - clearly taking the piss out of her DH, who is lovely. Then she said "That's why you're fat"!!!! Hmmm. Now, she tried to pretend that she was aiming it at her DH, but both her DH and me were horrified by it. My DH, bless him, thought that she was aiming at her DH as well, but she obviously wasn't. I was very spikey with her for the rest of their stay as thought it was incredibly rude. Hmmmm. We'd just asked her DH to be godfather to Pru as well. Oh dear. We played Trivial Pursuit afterwards and I was teamed with her DH and we won. HA! That'll teach her. She even had a strop about that. Seriously, I was the one entitled to be in a mood, not her. I spoke to DH about it yesterday and he heard how it panned out and agreed that actually, it was aimed at me, not her DH!!! Rude cow.

Was that a blather? Did it make any sense? Luckily, I don't care that much and have laughed about it since, but seriously, they were our guests and she was so rude!

Ho hum.

Spot - definitely push for a private appointment - time to bring out the big guns!

Avo, you pay a nanny £2200 a month?????? Seriously? Holy bloody heck! And she only shows up half an hour before you leave for work? I'll tell you what. I'll quit my job and work for you - is this is the Glastonbury-Gate nanny too? My jaw is on the ground. Is that just London rates? Good Lord.
Anyway, I'm assuming I'm not helping your decision. Do the Au pair thing if you are comfortable with it as it sounds a heck of a lot cheaper (except guess you have to add food / living costs on right?) it's not for everyone (me included) but it sounds like it might work for you.

Beans are you sure that comment was aimed at you and not her dh? if I was sure, I'd have commented back, however you were probably shocked and without words at that point. If so, what a cow, and good luck to her dh when the preggo hormones really kick in.
dh has had his morning canceled yipee.

Spot: sorry to mess you about, but not sure if I can make it Thurs if the weather forecast is to be believed. If it does snow our train services are likely to be knackered. I am free on the 16 Dec though - would that be better?

I'm not 100% sure, but when I explained to DH he thought it sounded like it was aimed at me too. But maybe am being over sensitive as am touchy about my weight. I was too shocked to respond, but her DH had a go at her, which was when she said it was aimed at him.
Never mind. Rise above it!

PS that nanny rate is pretty standard in London

Hi Rubes!

And hello to Lowrib - lovely to hear from you. I've left Stokey too for the wilds of Essex. Glad to hear you're doing well.

Gosh I couldn't bear to be spending that kind of money just to live in London - and on top of that fight traffic and public transport. I think I want to move to either Lady or Jams neighbourhood - well out of the big smoke, but close enough to visit if I want!

Hi Effie!

I thought about getting into nannying, I think I should have. As a senior manager, I'm talking one down from the top dog, I wasn't on much more than that! I've thought about doing it over here when DS2 is a bit older.

The girls have just left, no snow yet.

Lady how is your tummy this morning.

Beans I'm not sure if she aimed it at you or her DH but really if she is going to be so grumpy she should take herself off for a lie down. Either way that was really disrespectful. Imagine when this kid comes along, poor child.

Im so excited, we have booked a night at Amesbury near stonehenge on the 21st so we can watch the sunrise at stonehenge on the 22nd. We won't be getting all dressed up like the Druids, but we'll be able to get close to the stones and witness the sunrise through the stones. So excited.

Snowy hellowy :)
All is white here - I've put a pic on my profile! Loads of the schools are closed, but not dd's or dh's, so they're both miffed! he he! I have a day off today because I've been working over my hours loads, so I'm just off to get a few pressies. I'm so excited! Hope I can get there through the snow!
Beans what a grumpy lady. Boo to her. She might not be so quick to comment on people's appearance when she's had her own.
indith and lowrib lovely to see you both on here again. How are the LOs?
Rubs and lady are you feeling any better today? And poor beans with that evil tooth.
OK must dash (not on a one horse open sleigh).
see you later xxx

Wow, Trace, that looks amazing. Glad you got the day off though. Why not do all your shopping online and stay inside with a nice hot wine hot chocolate?

BEans am at your friend, how rude. She sounds like a right piece of work though, feel sorry for her husband (though if they've not been married long he must have known what he was letting himself in for). Also feeling for you re-wisdom tooth. How grim. DP has been told he has to have his extracted but is putting it off until after baby in case it gets infected and he gets ill. But then he could also get ill before that so no ideal solution really.

Avo an au pair or a lodger would be a good solution I would think. My SIL has au pairs all the time and it works really well, but you have to be ok with sharing your space. I think I'd be too grumpy private to do so, but if it gives you a means to buy your dream house, reduce your hours and, in the long term, have all the boxes ticked (as the au pair wouldn't be forever but it sounds like the house would be) then maybe a compromise worth making...

WG we'v e been thinking Bounds Green, would work in many ways (as would be good to be near M11 to be able to see my mum), and A406 to get onto M25 to see sis etc - only fly in ointment is that DP's boss lives there but I don't think that should be reason not to do it. Will think ont. How is DD btw? Sounded like she was poorly from your FB update.

Vag glad DS1's concert went well. I was going to say you must be a bit bonkers wanting to get up and see the sun rise at Stonehenge before realising sunrise these days is around 7am so not too stressful. I think I was getting confused with midsummer!

Have ordered some thermals for T. He'll look hilarious but cosy I hope.

Count me in for SS.

Have a lovely day, Trace! That sounds nice. Careful in the snow. No snow here but thick frost - it's very pretty. There was the most beautiful fox slinking across the garden yesterday.

Vag, I was feeling pretty good last night but I feel all sickly again this morn. Ah well. I feel a million dollars compared to Saturday.

Thing is Rubes, childcare costs a shocking amount, whichever way you slice it. Eg, the nursery I was hoping to send O to a couple of days a week was £68 a day. Suppose she'd gone full time, that's £17k a year. If two were full time, you get a small discount but it would still be over £30k, plus the inconvenience of getting them there and the hours were only 8-5. So, that makes paying a nanny £26k a year or whathaveyou look reasonable! I couldn't afford to work full time even if I wanted to - especially factoring in the cost of getting to London. Childminders are cheaper, as are au pairs. I think in Avo's position I would seriously consider the latter, especially in a bigger house where she could have an en suite.

Beans, I think that lady is very rude! (You aren't fat anyway). I would have found it hard not to call her on it but then again, one can't with a guest. I have to say she doesn't sound like a lot of fun.

Lowrib, it's nice that you dropped in, it's always lovely to see old faces, so do pop back again. Another London refugee!

Hi everyone! I've been lurking but busy at work, where I normally get all my best m-netting done . I'm going to get a fancy phone too so that I can keep up better.

Vag was there talk of evening drinks in London on the 23rd? I could do that.

Also in for Secret Santa.

Re: the shock of nanny prices, I have just been looking into it and in our area it apparently works out as £2600/month minimum!! That is gross including tax, so not all goes to the nanny. It seems like the nanny gets about £1900 plus you have to pay another 40% tax. Can this be right?? I was thinking that it would be cheaper/equal to get a nanny instead of sending 2 to our childminder (£50/each/day) but I think the childminder will actually be much cheaper. The sad fact is that I will at best be breaking even or more likely paying for the privilege of working once we have two littlies.

Spot One probably unhelpful thought re: T's illnesses. I know someone whose DC had recurrent ear infections and an osteopath really helped. There was something out of alignment that was making him very susceptible to ear infections. Probably a one-off, but if you haven't tried it maybe worth a go?

Sorry, useless catch up. Will try for more later.

Hello Spot, I think Bounds Green/Ally Pally is a good call. The first flat I ever bought in London was in Hornsey - my ex still lives there actually. It's quite a spacious two bed flat (second bedroom tiny) on the Harringay ladder. Would sell for less than £300k I would think. Close to Crouch End. Even Wood Green isn't too bad in my opinion. Handy shopping centre, some really nice roads.

Beans, yes, your tooth - ouch. I know the thought of having it out is horrid but you will feel so much better.

Vag, do you mean Avebury? I know that area a bit. Been to Avebury many a time.

Hi Mom, how are you feeling? So many women are basically priced out of the jobs market. It isn't good but I don't know what the answer is...

Lady I love Avebury and thought of staying there the night before, love that stone circle, but Amesbury is the closest town so we can actually walk to Stonehenge (with children in push chairs and backpacks). The sunrise is at 8.09 (how the F they come to work that out I've no idea) Spot and the henge gates open at 7.30 so will be a bit nippy but if DS2 is true to form we'll have been up for hours.

Mom I can def do 23rd.

We are thinking of going old school and actually buying Christmas presents in a shop this year. Not sure if we'll buy here or in UK though. Lady are there any big toy shops in or around oxford. I need to check where in oxford my friend lives but you seem about 30 mins drive away. Would you be around for a quick cuppa on the 20th maybe in the morning? Rubes are you around then?

Spot I used to have a few patients up that way and it always struck me as quite open, even though its as built up as anywhere. Do you know what I mean. You could always see the sky, less kind of overshadowed.

Oh and lady you could be a little low on B vits, that can make you feel more seedy. The last few days expulsion may have caused that. Get some marmite into you.