June 2009 - terrible twos here we come

[bigcar]

Here we are ladies

I'm really lucky as DH is a SAHD so will be about for my full leave, hopefully. Am planning on leaving it as long as possible as I can only take what I get from work and some holiday - we'd never survive on SMP with just one wage coming in!

Snow - it all sounds so glamorous!!

I wondered if I could ask you ladies something as am too chicken to post in AIBU but would really appreciate your thoughts. Basically, am not currentl speaking to my brother after a horrendous weekend in April (so J only 22mo) and am wondering if I am just being stubborn or whether I should stick to my guns - I obviously don't think IABU at all - but suppose that's the whole point. Will try to keep it brief!

Off to visit DB (no bloody D at the moment) and his new fiancee to meet her - B met her in late November and engaged by Jan. Head up bright and early as J travels so badly knowing B doesn't finish work until 12.30. B agrees to meet us after work although will quickly go home to get showered, so perhaps an extra ten minutes. Move the car to a Sainsburys car park at 1 then call at 1.30 to find out what's happening - B turns up at 2 with no excuse, that was a fun hour in the car with J and a scorching sun.

We then proceed to another town so him and fiancee can do their weekly shop whilst we trawl around after them (fun!). Discover at the end that they have a dog - great! J has no experience around dogs and I'm a bit nervous of her behaviour but am assured over and over the dog is an angel!

Finally get back (house actually less than 5 minutes drive from the effing Sainsburys car park!!) and the second we walk in, dog growling.. I make it clear I'm not comfortable but get both D and his bloody fiance telling me 'he'll never bite her, god no - he might growl but he's adorable really etc etc etc!!'. Feel a bit put on the spot as trying to like fiancee whose dog it is so decide to trust B and fiancee and let it go. Everytime J even slightly close to the dog, growling and just making me feel so nervous... repeated protestations from B and fiancee that he'll be fine..

Spend a horrific few hours in their company - B not even seeming to acknowledge his DN, not playing with her, talking to her. Lunch (bearing in mind we were in a car park) is made with no thought to J so spicy meat she won't eat and salad - another J no-goer. I wouldn't have minded if they'd asked or mentioned, I would have gone and got something for her (Sainsburys was only 5 fucking minutes away after all) but just produced... comments such as 'so when does J go to sleep so us adults can relax' - at 5pm after not getting back to theirs until 3!! And a CONSTANTLY growling dog.. move J away anytime she is near it telling her the dog doesn't want to play, take her out the room whilst B & fiancee do nothing!!

You've probably guessed where this is going - after some more pathetic issues (B dragging J out of the front room by her wrist because me and DH were slow to follow her in the morning with the words 'jesus - can't you just keep hold of her!' for example) dog tries to bite J. I ask B to move the dog to another room, he refuses and cuddles the bloody thing on the sofa - as if J was at fault when we've spent the whole of our time with them trying to stop exactly this happening with NO intervention from B or fiancee. Things get a bit heated with B treating the dog like some sort of PFB so we leave. Try to speak later to at least get a 'sorry, the dog shouldn't have done that' but instead get a 'it's your fault, I blame you - your daughter is too wild and you can't control her'. J was really well behaved... didn't try to pull ears or tails, try to kick or hurt the dog, try to ride it or even get a chance to be near it as we moved her away and she'd spend about half hour elsewhere before remembering there was a dog...

Decided couldn't talk to him so hung up & switched off phone. Got a 3 page text explaining exactly why the dog was blameless and why we're bad parents (things like you can reason with a child, not with a dog - she is 22mo, he is 4yo and supposedly fully trained!, you are responsible for asking the dog to be removed - so you had no responsiblity to move the dog (which is partly true but was really trying to trust B and new fiancee). I tell him not to contact me again (bit extreme maybe but just so hurt). He then removes me from FB, untags himself from pictures of him and J... just sad and am now gutted as don't want to ever really see him again, dont' want to be any part of his wedding (we were supposed to be bridesmaid, J was flower girl & DH was best man!!) and am not actually bothered if I never hear from him again.

Having written it down, seems a bit petty but just awful (and unbelievably long - thanks for those of you getting to the end!)... but almost 4 months later am still really sad about the whole situation but think we're deserving of some sort of apology... if it had been a 4 yr old child, I would've expected an spology so why is a 4 yr old dog allowed to do it (especially as he could genuinely have hurt her!).

Should've gone with my instincts and asked them to remove the dog asap but just didn't want to cause friction straight away...

THANKS ladies - I am sorry to rant

afternoon all

skillbo, obviously your db ibvu, my guess would be that he spends no time around small children at all given that he thinks you can reason with a 22 mo (!!!!) and will feel pretty stupid about that day when he has los of his own and the penny finally drops. Is he normally such a twat or was this a one off? Some people just don't get kids until they have their own, not that I'm trying to make excuses for him but one of my friends was exactly the same, when her dd was 3 she told me she had something to apologise for, I was very turns out when she'd visited one day when her dd was a newborn she was amazed at how badly behaved my 3 yo dd was . . . until her dd reached 3 and she realised that behaviour was entirely normal

snow, hope your trip goes well

gauchita, you could try asking one of the staff at M's nursery, they may be willing to help out in an emergency if you offer to pay, at least M will know them.

still hearing loads more sirens round this way although there hasn't been any more trouble really, thankfully. Hoping things will get back to normal now! E is in his new room . . . he hates it, managed to sleep in there last night but we've ended up with him in with us every other night and dh has had to sit with him until he goes to sleep very late every evening. Then of course he's ratty during the day because he's tired [argh] sure he'll get used to it soon

ds1 was bored so I've suggested he washes the windows, hes having a great time, strange child!

waves to all

skillbo I am not a big fan of dogs and really don't get dog owners who treat their dog like a child. I know a few people like that though, and they just won't move the dog somewhere else when C is around because it's their (the dog's) house and "it woudn't be fair" (okaaaay ?!) Also pisses me off when they say the dog won't bite, as they don't know what my 2yo child is going to do, I am pretty certain if C bites/slaps it then the dog will retaliate. and that might be "fair enough" but i would rather avoid that whole scenario altogether.

Having said that, I really think you should call him, agree to disagree about how eachother handles children and pets, and make up. Life is too short. If he still refuses to talk to you then at least you have made tried.

ninja C also needs up to wait in the bedroom until she falls asleep, is E in a proper bed now as well? C will just get up otherwise. We have made progress though as now if she does wake up at night she usually comes in and asks me to come back to her bed (instead of coming in the bed with us). It is hard work and putting her to bed can be soul destroying when it takes an hour and a half.
No more sirens here since about wednesday (well you know, usual amount), we saw three riot police vans this afternoon but no rioters.

Babysitter booked in for next saturday so we can go out, really wondering how bedtime is going to go, she puked last time, can't get any worse can it ??

gauchita hope your bag is sorted, really not long to go now :D

snow I can't keep up where are you?? . You are moving soon though aren't you. Good luck with the packing. We used to move a lot until we found this house 5 years ago, I'm an expert :D Label your boxes with upstairs/downstairs depending on where you want them, also "living room" "bedroom1" "bedroom2" etc won't mean very much to the removal company unless the doors are labelled. (it's a load of empty rooms to them).
As someone else said if you can do a big clear out before you move, while you are packing it's better than moving a load of crap to your new place.

Weighed myself yesterday and I'm exactly half the size I was on my last day of pregnancy (so with baby inside me still.) I know that particular fact doesn't really mean anything in terms of weight loss but still, quite proud of myself :D

better go we're off to the restaurant! take care juners!

Evening all!

Skillbo, I agree with the ladies, your brother is being vvvvv unreasonable, childish even! WTF with being all PFB with the dog??? The fiancee didn't act in the best way, had it been my dog and there had been a little girl, whose mum was obviously a little apprehensive about it, I'd have tried to make things smoother and maybe meet them halfway, but hey... Also, when you have guests at your home you're supposed to make them feel welcome and comfortable... neither of them acted that way at all. The mind truly boggles when you say your brother expects a 22mo to "reason" and "understand" huh???? As Ninja said, some people are absolutely clueless before DC about these things. How do you feel about it all? I mean, June's idea of contacting him would work if he's willing to maybe do things a bit differently next time you meet?

June, oh, a date sounds nice! I'm sure things will be fine with the babysitter. Wow to the total weight loss! Fantastic job, June

Ninja, bag sorted! We bought nappies yesterday which were missing up to now Hope these last few nights have been better for E in his new room. It's just a matter of getting used to it, I guess. After all, he's been in a different room for over two years He'll be fine in a few days, I'm sure. Glad to hear things are quiet again near you. You know, the idea of talking to the nursery is staff is a good one. I'll talk to them today, especially about the possibility of M having to stay all day any day should anything happen. My dear friend, the one that moved to her home town a few months ago, told me yesterday she'll jump in her car in a flash if I need her, bless her! She said he'd leave her DD with her parents and come and stay with M, which is a relief, to be honest.

Zhen, hope Friday went ahead as best as it could have. How are you feeling?

Snow, DH is an expert so I'll ask him for sightseeing ideas

Right, a false alarm on Saturday night Contractions every 2-2.5mins and lasting 40 secs. I couldn't sleep much and started fretting a bit re. unfinished bag and not having anyone to stay with M. I keep thinking if he has to make an early appearance, please let that be during the day
10 days till my mum arrives so fingers crossed!

We've made little progress on the name front DH is hopeless! He vetoes almost every single name but comes up with no alternatives Or he comes up with ones that don't work in both languages and would have different pronunciations in each, which makes it too awkward in my opinion. M's name is pronounced the same in Sp and En, and I think I want to keep the same approach for this little one as well

Right, off to work today. Hope everyone has a good start of the week.

Waves!

Ha! My post says "evening all". Sorry, I started it last night but only finished it a few mins ago

Thanks to all you who managed to read through my enormous post - apologies for boring the pants of you! And also, thanks for your responses - I think it's partly down to the whole 'not having children of their own' thing and as B hadn't seen J since she had just started walking, was probably a bit taken aback by how much she's come on since - it always amazes me that only a year ago she couldn't walk and could barely talk, crazy! From the whole untagging himself from photos, don't think he'd be willing to meet halfway, so to speak, which doesn't actually bother me that much which is a very sad state of affairs. I think if my parents weren't both still going (and going strong) it would probably be time to call it quits really - this isn't a one off, he's always been like this - but with my folks coming up to 50th wedding anniversary and stuff, could be awkward. Ah well - at least I'm not completely unreasonable!

Anyways - onwards and upwards..

I thought all the rioting and disturbance had quitened right down - we are quite reliant on the whole news as it's been quiet down here the whole time. Sorry to hear it's still a bit although perhaps that's just them rounding up more of the trouble makers?

June - hooray for another night out though... perhaps it will be like the whole nursery thing (I seem to remember she was sick the first week or so?)and the more often you do it, the better C will be at coping. Not great advise but must be so hard. And second, or third, the congrats on the impressive weight loss - you make it sound so easy but I think we all know, it's not so huge well done!

Gaunchita - hope you've had no more false alarms and can hang on until you mum arrives. Don't worry about things like the bag - people can come and visit and bring you things if needed and the unit will be well stocked! Also having issues with names - DH seems quite set on a few which remind me of dogs and the one I really really like, he is very against - typical! Guess we've got time to sort it out though

Hope all Juners are having a lovely start to the week - have sneakily posted this while I should be working so best get back to it but, as always, thanks for all your support - can't quite work out how I stayed away so long

gauchita eek @ false alarm, you realise if you go a day without posting now we'll be worried :D
Good idea to ask nursery, is dh your birthing partner? I am seriously thinking of getting someone else than dh for next time, he was useless very tired.
Argh I remember looking for a name, we had the exact same problem, good luck!

ninja can you send your ds to clean our windows? some of them have not been cleaned outside since we moved in 2006 .

oooh sounds like C is up, time to go!

afternoon all

june, E's in a big bed, well he would be in it if he'd just stay put he can't wander the house as he has a stairgate over his door, we can't put one at the top of the stairs because of the handrails. Thankfully so far dh has volunteered to sit with him, although did catch him snoring the other day This has got to be a passing phase, same as C, E was up at 3 this morning [yawn] Enjoy your night out and fab news on the weight front Oh and I've inspected ds1s handywork, you may want to look for an alternative window cleaner

gauchita, do try to take it easy, I know it's not so easy this time round with M and having had dh away but do look after yourself these last few weeks. Lovely friend you have there You have my sympathies on the name front, only one of mine had a name before they arrived, it's so frustrating when you just can't agree on anything. And yes, any time away from here and we will be expecting baby news

skillbo, I think it has all gone quiet on the riot front, just that the police are jumping immediately on any groups of youngsters before they get a chance to even think about doing anything, there's certainly a much more visible presence round our way. It's certainly good to hear they're starting to prosecute people, Reeves corner in Croydon that went up in flames has been a local landmark for donkies years, can't see why anyone would want to burn it down, so good to hear someone has been in court already. Your mat unit sounds good, ours don't stock anything, someone didn't have any nappies when I had E and they went round asking the other mothers if they had any spares! Again, sympathies on the name front. All this baby talk is making me feel broody

following on from snows excellent suggestion and so long as gauchita is happy with it, I shall kick off the sweepstake if that's ok?
ninjagoose, 3 days early (29/8?) and 7lb12

waves to all

Evening all!

Ninja, the stairgate was probably a great idea, then You'd find him in your bed all the time otherwise You're making me look for pound-kilo conversions now, ha!

June, yes, DH will be my birthing partner. To be honest he was absolutely brilliant last time, he encouraged me so much and was great support. Afterwards he took a long nap, though, he was knackered even more than me

Skillbo, yes, v v v childish indeed, the whole FB thing. To be honest, if you think he won't even consider reaching a compromise in this sort of things and this is just one of many similar attitudes, then you're right, maybe reaching out won't be worth it. Sad, but true Yesterday I sat DH down and asked him to think names with me. We have a list of about 10 so we'll do the same as with M, I guess, wait till he's born and choose one

Speaking about names, settle an argument between DH and me, please. Tell me how you (English natives) would pronounce this name: Gael. It's a very nice name, there's a Mexican actor with the same name, Gael Garcia Bernal, yum!, but I think no one will know how to pronounce it and he'll end up being called 100 different things, or maybe say "Gail" as in the woman's name... DH doesn't believe me so I need you ladies!

Right, quiet night last night, fortunately. I'm amazed at how much he still moves. He can't have much room in there and he dances and kicks as if he weren't almost 49-50cm long How????

MW appointment tomorrow morning and then we'll go and choose the picture we want printed from the photo-shoot. I think I forgot to tell you about it last week Last Wed we went and it was quite nice. I hate being photographed but oh well... There were loads of nude pics but to be honest, I didn't feel it was my cup of tea so my knickers stayed on and I wore tops or covered myself all the time We'll see how they look. Then we have the second session with the baby.

Waves!

gauchita I would pronounce it g-ah-ell (if that makes sense??) my cousin (female) is Gaelle. I love names that end in -el / -elle, had loads on my list for C :) Is it a boy you're expecting, I can't remember whether you found out or not.

ninja C is supposed to be having her nap right now and I must have put her back to bed 20 times already. In the evening I stay in the room with her until she falls asleep (read a story, sing a song, put my head on the pillow) but at lunchtime I have to work and check MN and facebook :)
They do learn eventually, don't they? Sometimes I wonder as dh is a proper night owl, hopefully C will stay put now. (nope, got up again, it's been an hour!!!) she has one dummy in her mouth and three in her hands, how many dummies does a girl need??

I still need to finish work and have lunch so better leave for now!
take care juners

afternoon all

gauchita, I must admit, I wouldn't know how to pronounce Gael, so would probably go for gail as you said or possibly gay'ell, if that makes sense, how is it supposed to be said? I also wouldn't know from seeing it written down whether it was girls or boys name but as there are plently of unisex names don't know if that is relevant? Hope today went well You were brave for the photoshoot, I would have had look on my face at the thought of nude

june, tbh as we're still decorating and need him to sleep during the day he's been going in his cot, not the best thing I'm sure but needs must and we'll stop pretty soon. The last couple of nights haven't been too bad at least he's stayed in his bed once asleep. at the dummies, at least you can get rid of them eventually, E has his thumb and his muslin still.

waves to all

aaarrrgh, i just wrote a huge post and my computer locked up.
In short, hi everyone, sorry to be not posting much. Mad week, away lots and away again on sunday for a week.
Will summarise
gauchita love the name. So pleased childcare for M sorted. Wish I was closer and able to help. Looking forward to your DHs suggestions for BA.
ninja glad decorating making slow but steady progress. A is still in a cot. He is so mobile in his sleep, I worry about tkaing the cot side off
zhen how are you and DH? How are you feeling? Packing tips great
june weightloss absolutely bloody amazing. organise another dinner out for you and DH and get to that japanese restaurant
skillbo at your DB and SIL. Incredibly stupid and irresponsible to leave the dog around J. THe PILs have several dogs and we never leave the kids unattended with the dogs. The dogs are brilliant and let the kids roll all over them but you cannot be too careful.

Bought a potty yesterday. A did a poo in it last night. He tried to stand and wee in it today and wee'd all over the carpet. I wasn't ready to potty train. What do i do???? Might save it for when I get back from the next trip.

ninjagoose, 3 days early (29/8?) and 7lb12
snow, 28th sept 3.3kg, 51cm

Morning all!

Snow, I'll send the suggestions over tonight when DH gets home I really really hope you meant 28th August and not September, otherwise I'll be 27 days overdue and tearing my hair out Due date is on 1st, which is a date I quite like, so not bothered if he waits Re. potty training, you can wait until you're back to go full on with it, and in the meantime just let him ask for it/use it whenever he wants. I did that with M while DH was away, and now I'm procrastinating until my mum arrives

Ninja, how did E sleep last night?

June, M's still quite keen on her after lunch nap and to be honest I hope she doesn't stop that any time soon. It gives me an hour of peace and I can also try and sleep then Yes, the baby is a boy

Zhen, hope things are ok and you're feeling well.

Thanks all for the input re. the name It's pronounced: ga (as in gas, so open "a") el (as in elephant, so again, open "e") I'm not too keen on that one, to be honest. I guess it's just because I don't want people to call him different things all the time (or ask us time and time again how it's said ).

Right, I need some household-related advice. We've never owned a tumble dryer and now are in need of one. Could you guide me? There are too many options out there! I really don't know what I should be looking for. Which brands are reliable? Am I right in thinking there are some that don't need an exhaust pipe for water (condenser ones?) Any advice will be welcome

Off to buy a mattress for my mum on Saturday, Ikea here we go!

Hope you all have a nice day, waves!

afternoon all

snow, hate it when that happens, either that or you hit post and you get the mn is off line, try again in a few minutes, message [argh] Yay for using the potty though, that's a big step! I'm sure he'll be fine to wait, just try to get him to try using it at nappy change times in the mean time.

gauchita, I wasn't sure if I'd remembered the date correctly That's a lovely name pronounced that way E was in with us from 4am, just didn't have the energy to argue with him!

Tumble driers, where to start Look at what capacity your washing machine is and get one with the same, good start point. You have vented driers where you have to stick a hose out of the window or put a vent through the wall or buy a little condenser box, can restrict where you site it in the house. You have condenser ones that don't need to vent and collect the water in a draw that you empty every 1 or 2 cycles, good because you don't have to site near a window but probably use more energy to dry, also get one that empties from a draw at the top not the bottom, sooo much easier. Condenser driers are generally more expensive to buy than vented driers. Another useful feature is one that has a sensor drier so that it will switch off when the clothes are dry rather than a set time, again adds money to the cost. As for makes, if you look online there are plenty of reviews you can look at, although I'd go for a name I recognise over one I didn't, names like Bosch and Miele have good reputations but again are more expensive. You can find good and bad reviews about most of the other household names so it's take your pick really, we've never had an expensive drier but they've always lasted ok. Sites like currys and comet are a good place to start looking as you can search by the various features a drier has and then you can narrow down your options and start looking for better deals. hope I haven't bored you too much

dd3 has discovered peppa pig, it's driving me nuts!!!!!!!

waves to all

snow thanks, as it happens we have a date on Saturday (did I mention that before? I get the same problem with posting and sometimes just don't have time to write again). Dh said he was going to book a japanese restaurant it but hasn't booked yet. He changed his mind about going for japanese and fancies something else but doesn't know what. I could remind him that he really fancied lobster pasta the other day BUT I WANT SUSHI!!! .

C has sat on the potty many times but not done anything in it. She is interested and tells me who has used the potty at nursery and what they did in it, and if people clapped.
We have bought a piggy bank and told her that we will give her a coin if she does a wee wee and two coins if she poos in it. (she likes coins, actually she thinks we're going to give her chocolate coins).

Wow, well dh is having dinner with a colleague & C is sleeping and I'm not sure what to do, not really into watching telly anymore, might rent a film on itunes...I could make a cup of tea, have a cookie and call a friend!

speak to you soon!

enjoy your evening june

Morning all!

Ninja, thank you SO much for that tumble dryer 101 lesson I did some market research yesterday and I think I've narrowed the choice down to four (between £330 and £450), they are all grade B in their energy saving capacity, all between 2.1kW and 2.5kW per cycle. The ones on grade A are a bit off my budget Currys at the moment has better deals than Comet, quite a lot of discounts, so we'd be going there I think. Well done E for going straight until 4am, quite good! He'll be sleeping through in his own bedroom in no time

June, hope you enjoyed your evening DH works tonight but I think I'll do the usual... sleep I just can't get to past 10.30ish

Snow, darn, I forgot to ask DH last night I'll ask him today and let you know, I promise

Only 3 more days at work now, today, Mon and Wed next week, as my mum arrives on Friday and M and I shall be picking her up from the airport. I think I have things sorted now for the baby

Hope everyone has a nice day today, waves!

ninjagoose, 3 days early (29/8?) and 7lb12
snow, 28th sept 3.3kg, 51cm
june2009, 5 sept, 7lb

lol @ 28/09, snow!!! poor gauchita :D

gauchita how do you feel, whts your guess?

Hello everyone, welcome back Skillbo.

Haven't really had time to catch up on the thread so hope everyone is ok.

Ninja - N is also a Peppa Pig addict so I have to tune it out as much as possible, when I go to sleep at night I still have the duh duh duh duh duh diddy diddy duh duh theme tune running through my head .

Snow - haven't ever potty trained a boy, but N is nappy free in the day now with few accidents. Best thing is lots of encouragement when they do get it right and an 'oh dear' followed by putting them on the potty when they miss.

If he is keen to stand up would a step stool and the toilet maybe be better as the wee has a long way to fall to a potty and there is more room for error.

DD has done some spectacular poomageddons during the process, like the one when she hid inside the tent to do a poo and then trampled it around in her wellies inside the tent, smearing it all over her teddies too .

June - if you have sushi eat some for me I am craving it, but am not allowed :(

Gauchita - glad to hear you are well and things are returning to normal at home.

ninjagoose, 3 days early (29/8?) and 7lb12
snow, 28th sept 3.3kg, 51cm
june2009, 5 sept, 7lb
Zhen, 6th sept, 8lb2

Had scan today all is well, due date now 27th Feb by dates :)

Oops posted too soon.

Skillbo - my DH is SAHD dad too and loves it, but he will swap over with me after Christmas and go back to work.

I hope you have had an apology from B and SIL by now, that is shocking behaviour and very irresponsible. You must be very

DH and I are slowly coming to terms with the loss of MIL.

Had a difficult day on Tuesday as it was DH's birthday and he would have a dinner with his mum on his birthday every year, but on the whole he is coping really well.

The funeral went really well, the service was lovely with several of the grandchildren singing a song.

There were so many people there they were lining the road outside the church. There must have been at least 500 people there, it was amazing to see how many people's lives she had touched.

The committal was very moving and all the male family and friends filled in the grave completely.

Apart from a few people who quite obviously had just come for a free drink at the hall afterwards, that had to be removed, it went well.

Evening all ladies! Hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday..

J is well into her terrible 2's now and am hoping, beyond hope, that she has peaked as it's proving quite trying. I try so hard to give DH a break as he has it all day but end up having to get him to come to my rescue as I can't really left her anymore so she ends up just lying on the ground, laughing at me! Soooo frustrating - especially if I kind of want to go somewhere particular!

Zhen - why no sushi? Provided the fish has been frozen (rather than fresh) it is absolutely fine in pregnancy. All supermarkets sushi is prepared like this and most restaurants too... you can always ask if in doubt but don't deprive yourself if you fancy it... I eat Asda sushi all the time! Glad to hear the funeral went well - it's lovely to hear so many people turned up, she must have been a very special lady!

Congrats to all of you having success with potty training - J will sit on it sometimes but apart from a couple of lucky wees, no real luck and she won't ask for it. Haviong looked into it though am definitely going to take my lead from her as everyone says once they're ready, it's a walk in the park - if you try before that, can be hell! So we'll wait and see I think...

Gauchita - wish I could remember M's deets although bound to be totally different but think will go with

ninjagoose, 3 days early (29/8?) and 7lb12
snow, 28th sept 3.3kg, 51cm
june2009, 5 sept, 7lb
Zhen, 6th sept, 8lb2
Skillbo, 2nd Sept, 7lb11

Hope you're feeling well and these last few weeks aren't being too difficult. Is DH home now for a while? Is your Mum here now or is it next Friday - regardless, how exciting to see her - I don't have a particularly close relationship with my Mum (probably closer to MIL) but there's something comforting about her nonetheless! I know nothing about tumble driers, I'm afriad but looks like Ninja has given you lots of good advice! Oh, and I would probably have gone Gail too sorry - when you say how it is pronounced though, think it's lovely so if you do like it, go with it... people will soon get the hang of it!

June - I always find my spare evenings sucked into MN to be honest - there's something about AIBU which I just can't drag myself away from! Hope you're tucking into lots of delicious Japanese nosh as I type and you're having a lovely time - very jealous as love Japanese food! There's a new restaurant round the corner from me which we haven't ventured too yet but really should - tend to end up in Prezzo's as have vouchers which give you cheap cheap food!

Ninja - proper Peppa Pog fanantic in this household although she doesn't get to watch as much as she'd like. We did treat J on her birthday though and visited Peppa Pig world as only about 15 minutes up the road... it was amazing and whilst quite expensive for me and DH (about £20 each), J is free until she's 1m tall so think we'll perhaps try to get back more until she's too tall - she was 90cm in her wellies on the day which meant she could ride every ride which was ace... although DH's face when they came down this water flume, bouncy slide thing was hysterical, J was loving it though

Am really struggling at the moment, energy wise, so will probably shovel some unhealthy crap down my throat now, have a look at AIBU whilst DH tries to kill zombies and hit the hay early! Wshing you all a lovely weekend x

Skillbo - you have just made my day I CAN EAT SUSHI hooray!

Peppa Pig world sounds just up N's street, although I am not sure DH would agree to it as £20 each is quite steep and we could go and see animals at the zoo or the aquarium instead which we would all enjoy.

I also spend most evenings chilling out on mn.

We are going out to bingo tomorrow night though for DH's birthday as he wanted to go in memory of his mum who went every week and loved it.
Haven't ever been myself before so will be an interesting experience. Hopefully N will behave for my mum who is coming up to look after her for us.

Enjoy AIBU :)

Hi all!

Zhen, I can second Skillbo, I've been eating sushi the whole pregnancy I love it and M likes it too, which is a plus as she can be fussy at times. What I try to do is go for the veggie ones quite a bit, as I know we can only have 2 portions of oily fish a week, and salmon is one of those, so I try and not over-do the fishy ones But enjoy away, lady! Hope you have fun at the bingo, lovely way to remember your MIL Happy birthday celebration to your DH as well! Glad to hear the scan went well 27 Feb is a nice date, as long as he/she doesn't feel like waiting until the 29th I saw the other day next year is a leap one.

Skillbo, DH is back for good! He doesn't usually travel, but this trip was necessary, as it was for our visa renewal. Bleddy long one, though he was gone for 5 weeks, the longest of my life! M had quite a hard time when I was in early pregnancy, she was having quite a few tantrums a day, running away when supposed to be holding hands (that's when I asked for reins advice). She has improved a lot since around May, fortunately. Let's see what happens once baby arrives My mum arrives this Friday. In the past we've had our moments as she's not the easiest of the people, but when she came for M's birth she was absolutely brilliant, her help was just invaluable, and she has improved a lot (personally, emotionally, etc) so it's easier to "be" with her now. M adores her, she sees her every day on Skype and chats with her

June, hope you had a fab night out with DH. How was it? What did you end up having for dinner? Hope C was a sleeping beauty for the babysitter

Snow, I have your info, lady! I sat down to quiz DH and he had such a concise but fantastic answer... This It didn't use to exist when we lived there, but DH's sister has been with some tourist friends and she says it was very good. It's basically like the ones here, and only £10, bargain! It takes you to 20 different places, you can hop on and off at the various stops so that you can stay in a specific place for longer, if you want. And the best thing, you have one stop right where your hotel is! I was going to name all the places in the tour, so you're killing lots of birds with the same stone Have a look at the website, and if you have any doubts or if you need anything else at all, please please don't hesitate to ask us.

Right, quiet days/nights here, although last night was a bit worrying again as I had quite a few cx for a few hours... I'm trying to not even think about it ha! He has to wait till Friday at least.

We went to IKEA yesterday to buy a mattress for mum, they delivered it today I think we have everything now

Hope you're all having a great weekend, waves!

I do not know what I am doing wrong, but I just lost another huge post.
Hi everyone from B.A. gauchita the suggestion was brilliant, have done the bus today. Very sorry for the 28th sept error, I meant 28th August!! Only a few more days till your mum arrives.
Hope you are all well, Z needs sorting so I havne't got time to re-write.

june hope you enjoyed your quiet evening
zhen glad the funeral went as well as it could. Your MIL must have been quite a woman. I hope you are getting plenty of rest now
skillbo plenty of tantrums in our house! Glad PP world was good, think we might take A soon
ninja 2 weeks left of holidays?is the decorating finished?
Work going welll. Z was a dream on the flight. Loving the Argies, from young to old, everyone stops and has a smile or chat with Z. Really, really lovely, and she is enjoying all the attention