June 2009 - terrible twos here we come

[bigcar]

Here we are ladies

hi girls,
very guilty of not even lurking atm. Z not great, dropped another centile in weight and despite having a good week with few vomits,becoming more settled with medication, has not gained any weight this week .

My best friend is here, we have managed the paris trip,and london yesterday. A was ill last week and early this week with some horrible vomiting thing. luckily the GPs looked after him while i was away.

I am going to take advantage of A having a nap and Z being taken for a walk and go and have a big cry. Sorry to be such a misery and me me me post. I just cannot believe i am such a crap mum who has produced two failure to thrive babies. Z now breast refusing half her feeds too which isn't helping anything.

Sorry everyone for the huge moan.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I hope we will do some touristy things locally before the v tearfull farewell to my best friend on sunday.

snow, sending you massive ((((hugs)))) have been there with dd3, it's not your fault, you're doing great, you hear me Highly recommend skype for those not physically close, seeing a friendly face makes all the difference. If there's anything we can do, let us know.

Hi all!

Snow, (((hugs))) please don't feel bad. Re. A being poorly, please don't worry, they all seem to be at the moment. M catches something every week, but it's not our fault, they're just catching bugs as they're in contact with other children and they pass them round and round. It's very hard, as it messes with their nights/sleep/eating etc and it's so tiring. I'm exhausted and I don't have another baby yet! Please be kind to yourself, rest as much as you can when the DC are asleep, don't forget to eat otherwise your batteries will run low As for Z, I don't really have much advice, other than maybe seeing her GP again? To see what they say re. the meds not working? Apologies if you've already done so, ignore me Are things with DH still a bit strained? That can bring you down as well. A few weeks ago DH was doing crazy hours and I was feeling so bad with MS and exhausted after a full day with M on my own that tension started building up. Sometimes, no matter how lovely our DHs are, some forget how much work taking care of DC can be, and sometimes think just because we're home (and not working outside of the house all the time) it's easier and not as tiring. That brought me down and definitely affected me during those weeks. Don't mean to make the post about me, just sharing some events in case they help? Feel free to ignore them Another (((hug)))

Bigcar, ouch, sorry to hear no replacement was found yet. It's an opportunity to find something nicer/that you like more maybe? How's the grounding going? Glad to hear he got the place you all wanted Day out with M was lovely, she behaved really well, we had some sushi And I got my bag

June, oh period for two weeks in a row is not fun at all, is it? Hope it's gone by now and that it goes back to normal soon. Sorry to hear work has been crazy these days, but glad to hear you've had time to work out and release some tension there Weight loss is going so well! Very happy for you! Dsis and baby are doing great. Her DD is SUCH a calm and easy baby! The type you can leave in her cot with a mobile or a toy and tidy up/fold clothes/do things and won't make a noise! M was never like that But hey, there's hope for the second one, right?

Mrsmc, I think it's a boy, but only because symptoms and MS were so different than with M so not very scientific, I know I'd love a boy, as I don't think I'd go for a third one, but I'm equally happy if it's a girl Thanks for the Flylady tip, I'll have a look. Good luck with the feeding drop this weekend

Hectic week here, a big job to deliver on Thursday plus work outside. M had a bad cough during the weekend which caused some sick events and some broken nights. I went to boots and begged the pharmacist to recommend something and the lovely man did It worked so well she started sleeping better that same night, thankfully. I think I can't remember when was the last time I didn't see her nose running

I've had to break the piggy bank and purchase some maternity clothes as I have a mini bump now so doing up trousers/jeans was turning tricky Isabella Oliver had a flash sale this week and I took advantage of that

DH is working tonight and tomorrow again as his boss will be away. I think I'll go and visit some friends. My parents just skyped and said they're on the beach and my sister and co. are on their way as well. Jeez, it's rainy and cold up here. Oh well!

Waves!

hey snow you're so NOT a crap mum, i hope you feel better now, sometimes you just need to let it out. remember you've pretty much just given birth, that's majorly exhausting, you're already tired looking after the toddler and dealing with everything else so i can't even begin to imagine how i would cope in your shoes. take it one day at a time, i don't remember where you live, i take it not in london if you visited with your friend? i'd come over to make you a cuppa and give you a big hug.
it really is not your fault if A is poorly, as g said they pick up all the bugs at the moment and Z's weight will be on the way up or at least stabilising now she seems more settled on her medication and vomitting less. she'll still be finding her own weight/balance right now.
take care of yourself, i hope the goodbyes aren't too hard tomorrow.
xxx

Girls, thank you so much for your kind words and hugs. Made me cry (again!). Very much appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I think everything is getting on top of me and all the crap with DH is not helping. He has been on best behaviour while my best friend was here, although managed a screaming row while she popped out with A. She thinks I am too hard on him, I think there may be some truth in that, but at the same time, he has been spectacularly nasty to me at times over the last 12 months. I used to put up with his filthy temper but now I have no restraint and just give it back to him.No surrendered wife here. I can't see how we are ever going to get back on track without external help.

Seeing the GP on thurs with Z. Adding a formula feed in, expressing and topping up too. The great thing is that she is more settled but the breast refusal and vomiting have had an effect on my milk and i think my supply has reduced.

A is entering proper '2' behaviour. Strops are frequent and getting worse in severity- hitting and biting furniture. Have introduced time out for the hitting/biting and using lots and lots of 'consequence' for the other undesirable behaviours such as drawing on the table/climbing on the window. Where did my charming little boy who was very easy to control go??

gauchita hope your work project going well.How are the new clothes? I love the IO maternity stuff. So pleased you found something to help M. I can't remember when A's nose wasn't running either.
bigcar thankyou for the pep talk. using skype regularly and only 8 weeks till our holidays.great news on ds1 school too.
june you poor thing with AF, how frustrating. Huge pat on the back re your weight. you must be so pleased. ?Time for a shopping expedition?
mrsmc great to see you back. how was the weekend weaning? So pleased X settled into nursery.
alloverit things sound hectic. great to see you here.

ah, feed time, thanks again girls.
Hope it sunny with you, is gorgeous but freezing here.

Hello all.

Sorry to hear that things are a bit shitty snow - though I must say you are not a crap mum. It's so hard with two as there seems to be no let up. Please don't be too hard on yourself. Sorry to hear that things aren't too rosy with DH either. I've been away a lot recently so missed any of your earlier posts on the subject. Hope that you get through it. It's hard to look at things objectively when you're exhausted.

Bigcar - glad to hear that you got the school you wanted. Yey! I hope we get the one we want, but we have to wait until April to hear.

June - Congrats on the weight coming off! I've started training again, I go to the gym twice in the week and do a longer run on the weekend. I'm back to running 5km, but hope to increase this as I've entered a 10km in August so need to build it up. It's not affecting my weight much so will need to diet a bit more I think!

Had a shit day yesterday. Bought some prescription sunglasses for A and some goggles as he starts swimming lessons after Easter. Cost £155! Never thought I'd ever pay over £70 for a pair of goggles. Oh well, he has to be able to see the teacher if he's in the pool and his eyesight's so bad without them. Plus E needed a new pair of shoes as well.... expensive day. We had to pay out £800 on DH's car last week and the power steering's a bit buggered in mine. Ho hum....

We also found out that the lovely pre-school that A goes to will be shut in July. Not too bad for DS as he'll start school in Sep, but I had DD down for January. Gutted. I've written to the MP and there is a campaign with some of the other mums with petitions and everything. The lady who runs it is so upset, she can't find another premises that ticks all the Ofsted boxes. The school that currently rents out the space to her just wants the space back, but we're all pissed off that they've decided so late in the year. A lot of the other pre-schools are already full for September. Some parents are having to try and find something for September as their kids have another year before they start school. A horrible situation.

Anyway, enough whining. It's gorgeous and sunny outside and we're off to singing group today. Hope you are all well!

If any of you could join our campaign to keep DS's pre-school open for another year, could you join our Facebook group?

We need as many people as we can get!

Marking my place, will try and post properly later

hi girls,
Pleased to say I'm feeling a bit better. Z put on some weight and my lovely, supportive GP has put in a referrral to the paediatric dieticians. Hope it won't take too long.

DH has been on night shift so I had the kids by myself for 48hrs. Was utter chaos at bedtime/bathtime but we got there eventually. He has lots of on-call and courses away over the next 6 weeks. Anyone have any tips for managing dinner/bed/bath solo? Z seems to always need to feed at 530/6pm and she is so fussy that I can't move/talk/do anything once I start feeding her.

alloverit I hope you get a good result with your facebook group. Must be so frustrating to lose a good nursery with such little notice. Well done you on your runs and the gym. Bugger about the v v expensive month. Just seems endless doesn't it. I cannot belieave how expensive the goggles are.
gauchita how you feeling? Getting some 2nd trimester energy yet?
june you feeling better now?
bigcar how is the paperwork pile? Ignoring mine and MNtting instead
mrsmc Any joy with the weaning?

aaahh, Z awake again, the joy of the 45min sleep cycle.

HI girls.

Glad to hear that things have improved a little Snow - it does get easier, I promise! As for how to manage 2 at bath bed-time when DD needs feeding, this is what I did. I would make sure the DS was bathed straight after tea (if you can) and then pop him in front of the TV. Latch DD on downstairs and then when she's finished, take both upstairs and have some quiet time reading to DS.Put him to bed, then have quiet time with DD (bath or not bath, depending on time). It's not ideal, and you have to bodge it a bit. Now they're older, it's much easier. I bath them together, then leave DS in the bath while I get DD ready on bathroom floor, then DS gets out and I take them both into his room to get ready. Then they both snuggle up in DS's bed for a story, I take DD into her room and have a quick cuddle and put her down, then back into DS for some cuddles and quiet time. It all takes twice as long when DH isn't there, and I probably don't get downstairs til 7.40ish, but it's do-able.

Anyway, the campaign is rolling along nicely. We now have a website for those Facebook-phobes Here it is. It's only been up and running since this morning. We've just set up an e-petition too so I'll link to that once that goes live. I'll start another thread to it and hope to get some support from Mumsnet. It's all so horrible, but the MP has been great and has fired off letters to various people so that's all good.

Waves to all

morning all

gauchita, how mean of them to all be on the beach while it's raining here get them to send a bit of that warmth this way! Will you find out boy/girl at your next scan, can't remember if you did with M? Has the ms settled now? Hope you survived without dh

snow, [yay] for the weight gain fantastic, hope you don't have a long wait for the dietician. Before you go keep a diary of what Z has and when over a few days, they will ask and you won't be left sitting there with a and [panic] face while you desperately try to remember on very little sleep and not look too daft and this wasn't me, oh no, not me [liar] Haha, my paperwork pile is in the same state as yours, I have moved it so it's not sitting there staring at me now! As far as evenings go, cbeebies is your friend and cut yourself a little slack knowing that you can't get everything done to the same standard/time as you would with help!

alloverit, will keep everything crossed for your school place next month Sorry to hear about the preschool, sounds crap! I'm not on fb but will have a look at your link, good luck with the campaign. Hope the next month is a little cheaper!

june, have things calmed a little yet, is it an end of year thing or just generally busy? Lol at your dhs skirt comment, must be great to get into all your old stuff, although must be a little of date now, surely a shopping trip would be in order to celebrate School run is no fun in the mornings but fairly much routine now, usually with much shouting from me for dd2 and ds1 to shift themselves! Learnt the bsl sign for time wasting this week, will be of much use.

MrsMcJnr, will the application be any easier with X already there or will he have left by the time A starts? Good luck with Xs onward move, if it's any consolation it's not overly easy here either, months and months of waiting after trying to choose a school you stand a chance of getting into.

dd3s school move went to panel on tuesday and I still haven't heard anything, starting to panic it's not going to be good news. I think if the dr took my bp right now, it'd be through the roof, wtf do they think making us wait this long is acceptable You'd think they'd tell me just to shut me up! Finding it hard to concentrate on much else at the moment.

waves to all

Hi all,

Bigcar, I hope you hear from them soon. Not on to leave parents waiting endlessly for something they can inform right away! Thinking of you here My parents are STILL at the beach [tut tut] It was carnival down in South America this past weekend and it extends over Monday and Tuesday in many places, so they thought they'd take a few extra days Skyping has been so hard these days, with that lovely sunny pool staring at me from the background Yes, we'll find out the sex this time as well, I'm too curious!

Snow, yay, so happy about the weight gain!! Good advice from bigcar on the track-keeping Hope the referral to the dietician comes quickly for you.

Alloverit, at the price of those goggles!!! Oh my, hope next month is less expensive for you. It's always the same, one drain appears and then suddenly 10 other things come up as well, all expensive of course I've joined your FB group, good vibes going your way for it to remain open

Exhausting week here, another big project came up and M got a tummy bug which led to many broken nights, dozens of laundry washes and no place to dry them! Gah! I can't go to work today as she's still not well, but have to work from home. MS comes and goes, although overall I'm much better than before.

Waves!

Hi everyone,

Snow - glad to hear about weight gain, try not to be so hard on yourself you are doing fine.

They are bound to get viruses, N is ill again at the moment with cold, vomiting bug and bad teething. She has not eaten more than a few spoonfuls of food in three days! I have to say since N's 5 week check I have never had her weighed or seen HV as breast fed babies rarely follow the weight charts which are based on formula-fed babies. I hope the dietician might be able to help you, have you checked for thrush in Z's mouth? (just a thought, but it can affect latch and feeding). Don't worry about milk supply it can increase again if you want to switch to sole bf once issues resolved, there are stories on here of people giving up altogether and then managing to return to bfing. Supply meets demand, I found this out over the last few days as N has been refusing food so bfing every two hours (thank goodness weaning didn't happen in half term due to her teething!).

Bigcar - good news about ds1's place, paperwork is the bane of my life. I have so much for work and DH is dyslexic, so I do most of the paperwork at home too and then you have to keep it for years just in case so it just piles up .

AllOverIt - good to see you back. Wow, I had no idea you could get precription goggles or that they were so expensive!

Gauchita - That tummy bug is doing the rounds isn't it? Hope you don't get it too, I was up all last night either with N or in the loo myself!

Right off to try and convince N that food is ok and it won't hurt her mouth/make her sick anymore. Hopefully she will start to eat tomorrow, I am not used to feeding a toddler with the appetite of a newborn.

Hey June ? hope things are less hectic and stressful now. It´s lovely being back in clothes you haven´t worn for a while isn´t it? Yes, trying for No3, not sure if I will cope very well. I seem to lose my temper at the slightest thing at the mo but that said, we´ve had a heart breaking week with two deaths (a baby of 4 days off 1yr and a dear friend of 47) and two heart attacks. We need some sun, it´s poured with rain for over a week now. School papers are in hand but we won´t know for another month if we´ve got a place.
Snow ? I haven´t even said congrats to you yet on your new arrival!!!! so, a little girl? Initial ?Z?? Tell me more. Sorry she isn´t gaining weight as you´d hoped but she has gained!!. You are a wonderful mother, please never doubt that. Sorry to hear things are tough with DH. I go through times like that too, they seem to be so selfish I find. I found that taking the baby along with the older one´s routine was the only way to do it solo. Just try to do what you normally would with A and take Z along.

Gauchita ? a boy hey? We´ll see! I felt so different with my two. With DS I wanted apple things all the time, and with DD, lemons!! BF drop is going well, this week she has had 2 morning feeds and has forgotten the other days
Alloverit ? really hope you can save the pre-school.

Bigcar ? should be easier to get A into nursery as X has been there but you never know!

Allsheep ? hope N is feeling much better.

morning all

gauchita, I feel your pain oh to be sitting by a pool in tropical climes [sigh] Hope Ms feeling better and you can get some work done

allsheep, hope both you and N are ok now and Ns eating again.

MrsMcJnr, so sorry to hear your news Will keep fingers crossed for preschool places for you. I think we've had your sun the last few days, not overly warm but lovely to finally see a bit of sun

well, news from panel wan't good, they are playing silly buggers. They haven't said an out right no to the place we want and have been offered but they are saying now they want to consult another school. Not only should they have done this months ago when they consulted the one we want but it's completely unsuitable for dd3. By the time they have done all the other assessments the place we want will have gone, they can't hold it much longer as there is huge demand. The place they want to look at is half the price of the one she has been offered so they are wasting time until the place has gone. Livid doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling, they have completely ignored the advice from all their professionals who are also angry. It's not good, nothing I can do, and there is a lot, that will get the decision changed in the timeframe I have to work with.

waves to all

Bigcar ? you must be sick to the stomach

As of this week A has dropped her nap but it isn´t having much of a positive impact on her night sleeping. Last night she slept 8-3 then up until 6 and then down until 8. I am exhausted!

My Saturday has been very sad ? not much Family Fun in that we attended the funeral of a baby today he died in 12 hours from a bacterial infection which shut down his organs. He would have been 1yr on Tuesday and died 4 days before. He was a friend from toddler group so we went as a family. Trudged up a very steep hill path and listened to his parents´ brave and passionate words and joined them in scattering his ashes and releasing helium balloons in his honour. DCs behaved appallingly unfortunately. Very, very sad but a reminder of what is important too. We have another funeral on Monday too of a close friend of 47 who died of cancer on Weds. It´s been a very sad week

mrsmc those poor parents of the wee boy. And your friend's funeral today. Thinking of you.
bigcar at the panel. Why is it so hard to do the job properly. I hope some miracle occurs and the place is held for DD3.

Diary a great idea, I did one for A.
allsheep hope you and N are feeling better. Thanks for your support. Haven't checked for thrush but will do. Weigh in on Wednesday.
alloverit thanks for the cactus hour management strategies .
gauchita beach time, sounds bliss. Hope you and M are well again and you got some work done.
strawbery hope you ok and the move went well
venetian how are you?

aagh, the 45min sleep cycle, Z awake
Hope you all ok

shouts a loud Aussie 'cooooooeeeee' to deafening silence

Hi all!

Manic days full of work here. I'll catch up now.

Snow, at the Aussie "coooee". How's Z? Any news on the referral?

Allsheep, oh poor N, she's such a good feeder it must have been really hard for her (and you!) Is she better now? Hope the bug's gone now and you're all better.

Mrsmc, poor poor parents. Sorry to hear about your week, it must have been really sad for you all. Re. dropping feeds, the same happened to me, she seemed to simply forget about it, I was quite surprised, tbh.

Bigcar, still on your behalf. As as said the other day, it's a disgrace they've done this. I hope you turn into a nagging mum from hell and call them every single day to ask whether they've carried out their very necessary additional assessment Idiots Everything crossed here for the place at your school of choice to be held for you (btw, anything you can do from your side to ask for that? or is it a no-no?) (((hug)))

June, how are you? Busy busy? Hope work's not too hectic for you.

Right, I've just finished an assignment that took me quite a few days.

M's better now, but oh dear me! have we got into full tantrum mode!?!?! Jeez, if she wants a yog I can't take off the lid, otherwise it's the end of the world... but of course she doesn't know how to open them so she just sits there and stares at me When I ask whether she wants my help she says "no!" The list of examples goes on. God save me. Anyone else going through this?

Japan's news are so so sad. I couldn't believe the images on Friday. It was just horrendous to see the devastation Poor people

Waves to all

heya, it's got a bit hectic lately so I've not had much time to post.

I'm trying to organise a walk for a charity on 10/04 and so far, (only) 3 mums have said they would come along. Another 2 said they would have joined in but they're away that weekend. 2 are so pregnant there is no way they can make it. It's hardwork getting people interested! The charity does ask for a fiver per adult which I think might be a bit steep.

bigcar you must be livid :( Can you write to them (recorded delivery) and express your concerns point by point? Bastards...

gauchita tantrums, yes, aaaaargh. Is it too early to introduce the naughty step???
C wants , I give it to her, she throws it on the floor (while saying "no throwing, no throwing", "naughty") then when I ask her to pick it up and put it in the bin she says "no" and cries if I insist.
well I'm not giving in and we have had 20 minutes sessions where C is crying and I ask her every 3 to 5 minutes (very politely and nicely) to put the foodstuff in the bin. She does it in the end, usually because she starts asking for something else (book, toy, tv etc) and I say to her that she can get that once the foodstuff is in the bin.
She puts it in the bin crying but at least she does it.
I'm not entirely sure there is a right way to handle this type of behaviour, whatever works for you and the toddler. I need to start watching some of the supernanny programs!

C does the same with yoghurt btw, she wants it but I'm not allowed to open it. I let her open it but more often than not she doesn't eat it and you know it will end up on the floor...
If she starts playing with food or pouring water on the flor etc we take it away immediately.
She also doesn't want grapes cut up (I do it anyway).
What else....she knows what she wants to wear and will cry if we try and put something she doesn't want on, sometimes she wants to keep her pyjama top on in the morning. I don't give in on these either as she just cries for a bit and then gets on with it.
It makes the day very draining a lot more interesting ;)
At the moment C goes to nursery 3 mornings a week and yesterday the whole tantrums got so relentless I was thinking maybe on one of those days she should go for a whole day!!

hey snow I remember the 45 minutes cycle from the early days, I feel for you, this too shall pass! Is Z showing any signs of sleeping through anytime soon?
I thought about you on sunday, I saw my friend who lives in the states on saturday evening, we had an excellent evening, really perfect, and then she left again and I was in tears :(

mrsmc so sorry to hear about your week, that is desperatly sad :(

allsheep I hope N has started eating again, it's all so worrying when they are poorly, isn't it.
How's work? did you say you started a new job earlier this year? Was it your dh who had back problems?

alloverit hope your campaign will get results. Good job on the running :) I'm thinking of joining a 5k race this summer.

I've been training as much as I can (roughly 6 hours a week). I'm something like 2 pounds away from my target weight which is great. Then I have to set another target...my body is just not the same as before pregnancy and I am finding it hard to accept it, I have a fatty lower belly and my boobs are saggy. Anyone else in the same boat?? With dh being so busy with work and so uninterested at the moment it's really getting me down, I feel so unattractive!! Maybe I should go and buy some new clothes...

Right, I've spent way more time on here that I intended to, oops!
take care juners!

Thanks Snowwombat, things are getting a lot easier for me now that the funerals have passed. Not for the families though [sad ] How did the weigh in go?
Gauchita ? isn´t it funny on the BFing front? Last month I just couldn´t see how we´d ever manage to stop and then suddenly that´s it. Don´t miss it at all, we have such lovely cuddles together instead A is certainly into the terrible twos! Throwing things when she doesn´t get her way, trying to claw my face when she cross. X was never like that, it´s quite a shock!

Bigcar ? any news? I applied for X´s school place yesterday (they start at 3yrs here). Turns out that all his pals will probably end up at a different school. Will just have to see what happens.

June ? thanks for the good wishes. Hope you get more interest in your walk. I have real issues with A and shoes. Basically she hates them which is fine May ? October but not ideal the rest of the time!! She has 4 pairs of slippers but won´t wear any of them. Will only wear her wellies and her crocs, it´s maddening! I was 1lb off my target weight but have managed to let 4lbs creep back on. Yes, the lower belly and the boobs are a bit saggy but I just think that´s a sign of being the mother that I am, mind you, ask me how I feel in a few months time when it´s bikini weather. Must do some toning.

ah girls, thank god I am not the only owner of an object throwing/furniture biting/ time out using toddler. He has gone feral .
Amazon today delivered a lovely great parcel of toddler taming books for me to read one day .

june of COURSE you have to go shopping for new clothes! All those months of hard work, celebration required. Highly recommend Westfield, went today with my sister, so many lovely shops and so pram friendly. Beats fighting my way down Oxford st. Some new clothes will be a good pick me up too.

As to saggy boobs, well mine great when bursting with milk and at my navel the rest of the time. Have a terrible tummy too.

mrsmc how lovely to just be enjoying the A cuddles.She is funny (well not for you) about the shoes. Sorry, no suggestions on that one.
gauchita how you doing on the MS front?
bigcar any progress with DD3 and school?Is there any way you can make them listen?
Hello everyone else.

Z has put on a little more weight. Still off the chart but improving. Haven't heard a thing from the dieticians. Might call them tomorrow.
Shattered, DH away, off to bed

No you are not alone with the tantrums, although N has been so sick for the last week that she has regressed and now I am having to refuse to give her 'titty' so that she will start eating more again. She only ate again for the first time on Monday after 6 days. It got so bad on Sunday night that I was syringe feeding her fluids and after two dry nappies at 3am we took her to A&E after she registered a 40.6 reading on the thermometer which luckily came down with calprofen but only to 39.2. Its so scary especially when they can't talk to you fully about what is going on.

On the plus side all that breastfeeding helped me lose some of the belly that I had been developing.

MrsMc - so sorry to hear about your friends little boy . Cuddles sound great, I wish N would forget about 'titty', breastfeeding her over the last week has worn me out, I forgot how exhausting the two hourly feed cycle was.

Well done Snow for dealing with the 45 min cycle plus a toddler! Glad Z is putting on weight, how many weeks is she now?

Bigcar - penny pinching *. It really gets me when I hear about situations like yours. I would be livid too. The Advisory Centre for Education might have some advice for how you can fight for the place 0808 800 5793.

Gauchita - the news about Japan is terrible isn't it. I feel lucky everyday that we live in a geologically stable country. How is the bump coming along?

June- 6 hours a week is fantastic, I really want to get back into shape (I also have a saggy lower belly + CS scar and slightly saggy boobs!), but between working FT, N and having time for DH and me it sort of gets forgotten about. I am starting a Tai Chi class next week though so hopefully it will tone me up a bit!

Hope you all have a great weekend, I will be packing boxes as a move is imminent (leaking roof just won't go away so we are moving on).

morning all

tis I, bigcar

MrsMcJnr, sorry to hear you've had such a rough week, those poor families news like this always makes me hug my dcs a little tighter. E is the same with shoes, hates them, just pulls them off straight away unless he's walking outside, socks too. Everyone keeps saying I'm cruel, especially over the winter, all I got was, that poor baby, no shoes or socks. Was easier with the older dcs when all shoes were buckle or laces, they couldn't take them off!

snow, massive [yay] for weight gain do you think the meds are finally working? Did you have any luck with the dietician? Given she's so young she'll hopefully get a priority appointment. Ah, toddler taming books, will you get time to read them Hope things are plodding along ok without dh.

gauchita, dd3 (being very delayed) is at that stage, has been for a looooong time, you can't open a yogurt or a banana for her without express permission first, even then she can change her mind part way through and then you've had it Thankfully E is not doing this . . . yet! He just thinks everything in the room is there for him and won't be diverted from his mission, oh and you can't help him feeding, he HAS to do everything himself. Yogurt lids are fine though [arghhh]

june, no need for recorded delivery, I have their emails so can contact them regularly with my objections with the added advantage of being able to copy all and sundry in! Good luck with your walk, hope you can get a few more interested, are there any noticeboards at any of the groups you go to that you can put a flier on? Definitely a shopping trip in order, you're doing fantastic!!!! As for saggyness, my boobs and belly have joined forces on a joint expediation to visit my knees thank god for a half decent bra! Guess that's the effect for me for having 5 dcs.

allsheep, sorry to hear N has been so unwell, hopefully she'll be eating properly again soon. Thanks for the tip, have been trying ace and a few other helplines, only got through to sossen so far, it's so hard at the moment with everyone contesting high school places at this time of year. Did they not fix the leak that was there when you moved in, all the best with the move.

dreadful new from Japan, watching that water moving so fast in land was frightening, and then to add the nuclear threat into it all, just awful.

thanks for all the support about dd3s school, much appreciated I've spent most of the week emailing and phoning and have hopefully got the mp on side too, no idea how much use any of this will be but better than nothing! We had dd3s annual review this week and I've been promised they will amend her statement and I should have a copy early in the week, not conviced it's going to be what we've asked for, wouldn't put it past them to rewrite in a way that favours the cheaper school. We shall see! Have hopefully rammed home to the LEA the type of place that she needs and why but I've heard that the number of tribunals for our area has gone through the roof this year, not good. Going to look round this other school on tuesday, will be interesting, I have my list of awkward questions at the ready.

got rid of a load of baby stuff last weekend couldn't believe quite how much emotion it bought up, ridiculous really.

hope you've all got some of this lovely sunshine we have today, have a good weekend juners

Marking my place for later.