June 2008: new year, new diets, new resolutions, but when push comes to shove creme eggs are still the solution!

[KnittingRocks]

Sorry, couldn't cope with Christmas anymore!

I feel a bit tubby right now too after our holiday last week! Lots of fast food tho not that much alcohol as Daniel still doesn't sleep through (more on that later). We are going to do a detox soon, it's Daniel's baptism Sunday so some time after that. No meat, wheat, dairy, white potatoes, alcohol or caffeine... it makes you feel terrible for the first 3 days then brilliant.

I tried to post on my phone last week while we were on holiday but it wouldn't post. We had a great time, lots of afternoon naps to catch up on sleep.

Nothing exciting to say except we loved the March For The Alternative altho nearly got caught in a riot on Regent St . Got away quick but it was very scary for a second.

I started sleep training D last night. He wakes each night at 3am and needs a feed to go back to sleep. Usually that's the only waking but sometimes it is more often. Anyway last night he woke at 2.30am, I went in, cuddled shushed etc but didn't feed... put him back down, he cried and cried... kept going back in at regular intervals. He eventually went to sleep after TWO HOURS! But then slept till morning. I am hoping tonight will be much better and tomorrow he will be sleeping through [hope]. he wasn't rooting for food so obviously isn't hungry.

I applied for a new job today as a breastfeeding support worker, only 10hrs a week, I'd like to do it as well as my current job which is only two shifts (afternoons) a week. Not sure if they will be up for that but it's worth a try. It was bizarre filling out the application, I even had to put my GCSEs on! I felt a little overqualified when I put on my Law degree .

I was thinking fire station for birthday too and this Fisher Price one seems to get good reviews on Argos and also i found space shuttle that looks interesting and gets good reviews

Good luck with the job app (and the sleep training) Neenz. That imaginext stuff looks good - I'm such a collector though, as soon as I get one thing in a range I feel the need to collect everything that's why S has such a substantial Happyland collection I went with the duplo fire station in the end - it was on offer for £35.99 at Argos so thought I'd snap it up at that price. I had to really restrain from getting the wooden one though, it looked so nice. S wouldn't have enjoyed playing with it as much as the lego one though.

Cute story from this week - S was in Sainsbury's with DH and spots the Easter Eggs. Decides he wants an egg. DH explains that they're not for sale as the Easter Bunny gets one. Much tears. DH asks S to pick an egg and he'll send a message to the Easter Bunny. S picks toy story egg (shocker). I nip in to Sainsbury's after work tonight, S "come and see my Easter egg mummy, the Easter bunny is bringing it to me".

Daniel slept through . Fingers crossed for another good night tonight.

The twins have been with the CM today - it has been great to have a day off! But she came to pick them up and they absolutely screamed their heads off when they realised they were going with her (even though I had been talking to them about it trying to prepare them), we had to literally manhandle them into the car. But of course they were fine as soon as she went round the corner and she said they'd been really good all day. They didn't cry when we picked them up, I always think that's a good sign that they hadn't been too stressed!

Hi all - blimey still super quiet isn't it? What is 30 day shred? I can't load it on the iPhone but really curious as to what can knacker you out so fast! I also want to do zumba but they are all evening classes so can't make it.

Neenz well done on Daniel! Madeleine sleeps through but Isabella doesn't although I don't feed her. It's all dummy dummy dummy and I was in every 30 mins from 3 till 5 this morning.

Luke has a wooden fire station but he never plays with it and it was really expensive (a gift from gps). I'm going to get him a bike for his birthday and we are also going to get a big boy bed as he's getting too big for the corned now. I'm hoping we'll get a few bob for the old furniture as clearly not hVing any more kiddies (although had a scateyesterday when I was dizzy and sick for no reason!!)

It's a DVD with a 30 day programme Amber. 3 levels - you do the first until you feel comfortable with it them move up. It's only 20 minutes, but high intensity stuff! I've gone off the boil a bit with it this week, but will start again with renewed vigour on Monday. It must have done something though, I ached for days after doing it for a couple of days.

Shame about Luke and the fire station - that's what I thought might happen if we got it for S. I've bought the duplo one now and stashed it away.

We're thinking about moving S into our spare room - it's much bigger than his and if we want to get him a big bed at some point then we'd have more room. It does mean getting rid of our spare double bed though - not enough room in the smallest bedroom. I'd quite like to get S one of those single beds that have a pull out bed that comes up to full height to make a double bed but they're pretty expensive and we have a long list of house repairs we're working through. There are some good double full height inflatable beds about though so I might investigate those. We love having a spare room, but S is starting to play in his room more and more these days (especially as he's now quite comfortable going up and down stairs on his own) and I think I'd rather give him the space.

Luke goes up and down the stairs on his own now (thank God!!) but he never plays in his room. I have put toys in there so he can play when he wakes up and not disturb me at the crack of dawn but he just takes the toys and brings them to my room - you are lucky Keepcalm!

Luke finally learned to ride a trike today - he's probably incredibly behind on this but I was so proud! Deffo going to get the bike now. Going to get one with stabilisers.

I did think about a double for Luke but I had a single till I was 19 so it'll do for Luke too!!

Could you try S in the double you already have Keepcalm? Could work, but if he likes it he might think it weird when you go on hols or visiting and he ends up in a single! I have one of those full height double inflatables and they are very good. It was only about £30 iirc.

Amber good sleep from the twins, is it tempting to give her a bottle to try to get longer out of her, getting up every 30mins is exhausting. Dan had a bad night on Thursday (after sleeping through wed), he just kept waking up all the time, I gave in at 6am and fed him (I thought well it is nearly the morning!). I think he has a virus again, a chesty thing, cough and heavy breathing... but he slept on his stomach last night and slept through again! It makes such a difference.

It is Daniel's baptism tomorrow which I am very excited about

Neenz - have a great day tomorrow!

I'm pretty sure I saw 2 dead horses in the grand national. The whole reason I never bet on it. It seems insanely cruel.

I posted a lovely long message on wednesday but the internet connection at our holiday home failed and I lost my message. arrgghh. In summary - Thomas the tank engine now a big favourite after Thomas day, rained for 2 days, but dragged ourselves around Beatrix Potter world - Jemima Puddleduck added to favourites list! then lovely weather for rest of week, but 2 snotty girls = temper tantrums a plenty from C! Also eventually put C in a big girl bed as an experiment while away - fell out 3 times in total, but other than needing to be put back to bed a couple of times just after bedtime she was ace!

It's D's blessing tomorrow as well Neenz!

Ah that's lovely Biscuits.Enjoy your day. Holiday sounds lovely! My friend gave me a tip re falling out of bed - put their duvet on sideways and tuck it under the mattress to hold them in!

Yeah there were two dead horses and they had to change the course on the second lap didn't they . I hate horse racing full stop because of the betting which I think is the work of the devil.

Hope the blessing and Christening went well! Just a super quick post - Madeleine did her first laugh today - joy joy joy - I am totally in love with her and can't wait until tomorrow when I can make her laugh again!!!

As usual, totally and utterly exhausted after the weekend.

Hope yesterday went well Neenz and Biscuits!

S would love the double Neenz, but it defeats the purpose of moving him into a bigger room - it'd be a tight squeeze with all his toys which we're trying to slowly but surely move from our living room to upstairs. You don't have a link to your inflatable double do you? I think that's going to be the most cost effective option for us just now.

Am feeling a bit sorry for myself - a bit poorly and could really do with a long soak in the bath but we've no hot water. Our boiler is kaput and needs a new circuit board. It went with an almighty bang yesterday (just as I was peering at it wondering why there was not hot water). At least that Scottish Gas homecare policy I took out when the heating went in November is now looking pretty cost effective!

Oh, lovely about the laugh Amber. That's always a lovely experience.

HI everyone

Seriously looking at another house, this one, lots of lovely features but needs new windows, has anyone had new wooden sash windows. I just want a rough price , I saw Rolf's name on a similar thread so maybe you're reading this Rolf? It's not in the same village but it is in the small town where the boys are at school so we could walk to school, shops, Drs etc... Still a bit torn between the convenience of that and leaving the gorgeous countryside here.

Hope you're all OK and that the baptism went well Neenz. Keepcalm, hope you get hot water soon.Amber , lovely to hear about the 1st laugh, wonder if she'll be the 1st to do everything?

Saw someone else had gone into a big bed, Ethan is still in the cot, but don't tell him

House looks nice Deb. No idea about sash windows.

Baptism was great - I really enjoyed it, much more chilled than the twins' baptism, but that was cos having done it once I was a bit more organised, and having just one baby makes everything easier!

Ah yes Keepcalm, that makes sense about the space! I am pretty sure the inflatable double bed was from costco.

And Daniel slept through again last night! Sadly the twins have gone back to waking at around 6.30am tho . They do play for a while but then you get the inevitable 'need the potty'. That was at 7am this morning.

Neenz couldn't you put a potty in their room? I've got one in luke's now and he uses it every morning before coming in to me (Luke gets up at 6ish so your 630 would be a lovely lie in for me!)

Deb that house looks great apart from their choice of wallpaper! I would go with convenience every time.

Hello . My computer still isn't working properly so I'm just popping on. I hope you're all well.
Thea is still in a cot ("tot" she calls it. Also "lemon turd" ).

I love the grand national . We went to a grand national party this year and all drank and bet too much.

Deb I'm afraid I can't remember how much the windows were except that it was quite eye-watering. If the sash boxes are intact it's much cheaper and less messy. If they aren't the job is big and involves trashing the plasterwork. The people we used are called sliding sash solutions in Horley and they are great, and can give a rough idea of cost on the phone, even easier with a picture of the house. hth

We're having problems with DD1. We're imminently seeing various types of child psychologist and I took her to a speech therapist as I was a bit worried about the way she was pronouncing her "s", and she's been referred to a cleft palate clinic. She doesn't have a cleft palate but there may be a problem with the way her palate is functioning. And she's being really difficult so that's all pretty hard.

Someone asked me if I was pregnant the other day (I'm not) so thinking about weightwatchers. Is someone else on this thread doing it? Is it embarrassing? The final frontier before admitting to being a fat suburban mama?

I'm also taking T to see the HV as she seems quite pigeon-toed and most days has a big splatty fall on her face. Deb how is Ethan's walking? Lots of these things chug along and you keep thinking they'll grow out of it and then it sneaks up on you that they haven't, right? Like DD1's speech, I suppose.

Anyway, much love to all of you. I can only get on the internet when my computer is next to the router, which is in the attic/DH"s study, so I don't get to use it so much.

rolf I'm doing weightwatchers. Have lost 39.5 lbs since Jan. Not embarrassing at all, or you can do it on line if it's easier. I'd really recommend it, I don't feel hungry at all and there's a supportive thread on here too.

den house looks nice, hope it works out for you!

rolf I'm doing weightwatchers. Have lost 39.5 lbs since Jan. Not embarrassing at all, or you can do it on line if it's easier. I'd really recommend it, I don't feel hungry at all and there's a supportive thread on here too.

den house looks nice, hope it works out for you!

So is that 79lbs altogether Biscuits (really hope I have added that up right - can't even call my kids or Dh by the right name atm so most probably not!)

Rolf, how are you feeling about DD1 and T being referred? You seem OK with it but I find that sort of thing terrifying. You just want everything to be Ok with your kids don't you and they are a constant worry. I hope you are being more sensible than me!

I would put a potty in their room but they tend to throw the contents of the potty everywhere if I don't get there quick so a bit worried about doing that! I think I will get D sleeping through better then teach them how to get themselves on the loo in the night. They can't throw it around if it is in the loo.

DH is really annoyed atm because the DTs keep wrecking his flowers, pulling the petals off and playing in the soil. He is annoyed at me for not watching them better, but when they are in the garden playing it's a chance for me to catch up on FB chores, I don't want to have to watch them like a hawk. I know I am probably BU, I do tell them off when I see them picking the flowers but really I do not have the energy to helicopter-parent them in the garden .

Hello all! been trying to be more disciplined about MNing at work so have gone a bit quiet. However I think I have the answer - I want to write a conference paper on Mumsnet, as a community with a very self-aware sense of identity and practice, and at the same time a new sort of voice in the political arena. And then I can justify my MN use during the day as research .

However I need to think very hard about how to do it in a properly ethical manner. One of my easiest decisions on this front is definitely not to draw on any of the discussions we have had on any of these threads as data. I would like to talk in a general sense about the sorts of communities that grow up around the ante- and post-natal threads, but absolutely not refer to any of the conversations we have here, I see these as 'private' even though they're publicly available, technically. Nevertheless, I did want to let you know that this is something I am thinking of doing! What do you think?

And now, onto more pressing topics, if Knitting or Dewin or other knitters can advise. My son would like to learn to knit. I can teach him the basics - though it's Continental-style that I know which complicates things a bit - but wondered if you could advise a good online place to pick up wool and (wooden?) needles cheaply. I looked at starting-to-knit kits but they seemed pretty dear considering I reckon I only need a couple of balls of thickish wool and 2 pairs of needles...

neenz I think kids wrecking gardens is inevitable at this age. We planted carrot seeds and Caitlin dug them straight up again. I will be amazed if anything grows. But my theory is that if they have fun doing things like that now, in a couple of years time we will be able to enjoy 'proper' gardening with them.

I'm doind weightwatchers too. This is only week 2 though. Lost 4lb in week one but I am going to be crap this week as I have two ale nights and have alrady gone over my points! I did it twice before though and lost a stone each time. Biscuits - wow!! There can't be much left of you! I went shoppping today and had to buy size 18 tops again even though I thought I may have shrunk to a 16 since I stoppped BF. No chance. My mams are still massive!

Systems - that sounds really interesting - what conference would it be for (or is that just me being a bit dim?).

Oh and I mentioned before luke was dry at night - well he was for 2 weeks and now he's not any more. Hey ho. No accidents for a few weeks now so I think we've cracked it!

My sister and I always ruined my nan's garden by pulling the rose petals off to make perfume! Also her next door neighbour always grew ornamental gourds and we used to put our hands through the fance and pick them off which I'm sure she wasn't too happy about.

Rolf, Luke can't say his s's either (lisp) - I thought it was something he'd grow out of?

SA your research sounds v interesting and a great way to mn at work!

Amber yes, I think lisping at this age is normal and they do generally grow out of it. T lisps too and I'm not worried about it. DD1 is inconsistent in the way she pronounces her "s" and sometimes is very nasal and sometimes not, which made the speech therapist think there may a problem with the way her palate functions. In any event, she wants to rule it in or out before she proceeds further.

Neenz I'm fine about T's walking as she's such an obviously "normal" child. I just thought she might need insoles or something to stop her feet rolling inwards, but I'm not worried about it. I'm worried about DD1 but we definitely need help with her, and she needs help with the world, so I'm thankful that we seem to be getting it and, so far at least, haven't had trouble getting help and advice.
Gross about throwing the contents of potties!

Biscuits wow! You must be so proud of yourself. There is meeting near me which I'll go to when the bank holidays have calmed down - they won't be running until May.