NOV 07 Now they are three - pre-schools, potties and power struggles

[Greedygirl]

New thread in honour of our threenagers!

Hi everyone :o

Hope you are all well! Am apologising up front for the rant but this is the only place i feel i can let off steam, where i know someone will hopefully agree with me lol.

Basically DP and I went out for a pub meal and a few drinks last night (ended up with DP having the hump coz i couldn't keep my eyes open by 9.30pm but hey, that's a different story!) and PIL had DD over night for us. They then took her out this morning/afternoon to a park. Not unusual, they are always taking her out which is great. Anyway, whilst PIL were out with DD, they both "didn't think" about putting sun cream on DD. She had a short sleeved t-shirt on and subsequently came home with bright red arms!! The first time it happened was because MIL didn't have any suncream so i went out and bought her some. She has consistently "forgotten" to put suncream on DD's little arms, face etc and it's not the first time DD has come home with pink arms (although this seems to be the worst redness i've seen DD with). It was a grey day this morning when they went out but they took the suncream anyway and then this afternoon the sun came out while they were out so why the FUDGE did she not put the bloody cream on her??! Apparently MIL just didn't think to put the suncream on her!! She's a pale skinned red head FFS!!

I'm really pissed off about it and when i was bathing DD tonight i took pictures of her poor little arms. It turned my stomach seeing her little red arms. MIL has said to me in the past "oh look, DD is getting some colour on her arms, isn't it good!!" to which i've replied "erm... not really, i like her pale and not burnt!".

I'm so glad i wasn't there when DP picked her up tonight as i might have flipped when i saw her arms. DP did apparently snap a bit about not using the suncream. I suppose it's some consolation that DD apparently had a sunhat on all day.....

Sorry for the ramble but honestly, FFS!!!!

RG - I can totally get your anger, I would have been fuming at that! I am fair-skinned nd have always taken sun safety seriously, my in-laws have been educated in my 'odd' ways of refusing to use anything under a factor 30 (that's for me, the kids get higher)! DD is very fair and would burn easily, William is darker and seems to spend more time running around outdoors in all weathers so doesn't always have sunscreen on. Consequently he has a bit of colour on his arms, but would still burn if we didn't put sunscreen on in fine weather.
I hate the idea of tanned children, purely because I know it's ultimately skin damage. Mine hate hats though, it is a real effort to persuade them to keep them on. Your DD is obviously more sensible than mine! I do make a point of using aftersun on them too, to help cool them down. I real understand your anger.

Loopy - thanks for the tip about the internal groundsheet. We were going to get a different tent until I read that, so we got the Vango Icarus 500 today, which seems perfect for us. We will be there from August 8th-14th. A meet-up would be lovely if you're around!

Had another roller-skating outing this morning. Unfortunately for.my friend, she fell in a ditch and sprained her knee. She ended up in a&e and s on crutches. She won't be back on her skates for a couple of months now!

RG - totally get that you would be furious about that! Poor DD! Quite often older people will say "ooo he has got a lovely bit of colour" which just leads to me obsessively covering him foot to toe in factor 50! I have had sunburn more often since he was born because I forget to do myself! Are you going to say anything?

Jet - what is this about rollerskating?! Sounds fun (apart from falling in ditches obviously).

Well, came home from work today feeling crapola. Not been sick but feeling very sickly. Really can't afford to take any time off work so hopefully is just a phase! Not the obvious before anyone asks!

Greedy - I bought some roller skates at the beginning of June and a group of us go at 8am on Sunday every week. I'd never skated before this year, so I'm a novice compared to my friends who spent their youth at skating rinks, but I am improving, and I love it My friend who hurt her knee is going to be out of action for a couple of months though which has prompted me to sort out knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards!

There seem to be a few of those bugs around, certainly a few of my colleagues have had one in the last couple of weeks.

It's officially the first day of the holiday - hooray! DD and I went out to my friend's birthday lunch which was lovely, Will had some time at nursery before we went to the dentist. Unfortunately, William freaked out, burst into tears and wouldn't open his mouth. DD was brilliant though. She has been a delight today, I just hope the rest of the holiday is as lovely!

Rest assured MIL was ticked off and i think she felt very guilty indeed! She asked me the next time i saw her if her arms were red and I said that indeed they were really really very red. She was quite apologetic and felt terrible. I think she will think twice/three times before going out in the sun without suncream for DD again! I could have rubbed her nose in it by showing her the pictures of DD's arms that i took, but i didn't want to be that cruel lol.

Glad that she got the message RG! I know that I was always left to go very dark brown as a kid so perhaps your DP was the same and she just didn't think? There has been some interesting stuff in the news about people not getting enough sunshine but I don't that applies to fair skinned red heads in some of the heat we have been experiencing!

Loopy - work is much calmer now thanks and I felt better after a good night's sleep. Not sure what that was about! I didn't eat though so my DH knew I was proper poorly because it is a very strange day indeed where I don't eat every available snack, meal and treat on offer. Hence my mnet nickname I guess!

Off on night out with a girlfriend now - what a luxury! Hoping for the matching lie-in tomorrow .

Hi all. Thought I'd better pop in say hi as I haven't caught up properly for ages. I've read through the thread on my I pod so sorry if I miss anything.

RG - I would have been furious about the sun burn too. Sounds like they won't be doing it again though.

Greedy - France sounds like great fun. We should try and meet up before term starts. Tom has gone a bit snacky with his food to; partly c'os it it is so hot and partly c'os he's too busy. I do find though that he will eat anything if I put it a Tupperware and call it a picnic.

Jet - I'm so jealous of you going rollerskating. I love things like that. We have quite a steep drive and I regularly. 'show' Tom how to go down it safely on his scooter.

Loopy- Mmmm know what you mean about presents and teachers. For me it was always about the recognition and being appreciated. Anyone who works hard to ensure that my boys are content and self assured deserves some sort of a thank you .

Whoops posted. !
It's all been go chez LOM. I've been up to my ears in paperwork getting my childminding reg sorted. Just got to wait for OFSTED to contact me now.
After lots of sick and a very scary rash Patch has been diagnosed with an egg allergy. He is such a sweetie. I've finally managed to get hum to take formula in a cup but only by putting hot choc in it for the first few times. I half expected swat team of health visitors to pull up and bundle me in the back of a van !
Tom is on fine form and loving cycling to the leaning tower of Pisa on his new bike.

Morning all.

Just a quicky - we've got to go and buy chairs for our camping trip and DD needs sandals, so I'll catch-up properly later.

Loopy - have pm-ed you my mobile number.

Have a nice day!

Hi everyone! Just bookmarking!! Hope everyone is safe from these effin' looter scumbags! Keep safe everyone xx

awww yay!! Well done DD1!!! :o :o :o

It's great isn't it!! She was obviously very ready to ride a bike and i think the scooter must have deffo helped with her balance!

DD doesn't really ride her bike much so we took her to our local country park thingy that has a bike trail and at first she was a complete pain and wouldn't ride her bike without either myself or DP holding the bike and/or her but towards the end of the trip she was whizzing up the tracks with loads of confidence! It was fab!! Must take her back there again soon - bit difficult to ride her bike in our garden as it's not very big for biking.

Just powered up the phone in the car to allow myself a quick mn.

Having a lovely camping trip in Devon and really enjoyed meeting Loopy and her beautiful girls. Will was particularly fond of DD2, he likes older girls!
But in the car on the way home he said DD3 was his favourite, so fickle! My DD loved playing with DD1 and is hoping you all come to Southampton sometime.

It's been nice being away from it all,including the riots which sound awful. We haven't had a cream tea yet, we'll do that tomorrow I think

Loopy - that site looks lovely. Hope you're all having a lovely time and that the weather's holding for you.

I have to say I am loving sleeping in a proper bed again after a week's camping. Though we did (stupidly) decide to be hardcore and go without an airbed - DH and I used to do a lot of camping when in the scouts/guides and much younger than we are now . We're taking the airbed next time!

Very jealous of your lovely camping hols and meet up! Yes it is a shame we can't have an annual meet up. We have relatives down in Somerset though so may get to meet some more of you yet.

My mum and dad are here this week so haven't really been onthe net. Been drinking far too much wine and eating too much yummy food. Time for a back to work bootcamp I fear if I want to fit back in my work trousers! My feet will not be happy in tights and shoes. Yuk.

Ah well, still got another week off. Taking Adam and his friend to see the Mr Men show tomorrow. A Living Social bargain (but like Groupon). Would really like to take Adam to see the Gruffalo or Show me Show me but they are not touring near here.

Am very jealous of your camping trip! The campsite looks lovely Loopy. Glad the wrap came out for a visit too! :o I still have a very nice Bamberoo sitting in a carrier bag in my wardrobe that i am reluctant to sell to just anyone.......

Jet - cant believe you didn't take an airbed!! Deary me, I bet you had a numb bum at the end of your week!!

Greedy - am jealous of your wine and yummy food. Am on a diet (although not doing too bad) but I am seriously starting to want to slack off. Must be strong tho!!!

Well, MIL is currently coming out of the other side of another "episode". She suffers from anxiety and last week and the week before she was unable to have DD on Thurs and Fri (when i work) because of this. Anyway, to cut a very long story short, she is now on Beta Blockers but doesn't think they are dealing with the mental reason why she gets so anxious, as they just block out the physical effects of it and is looking to maybe start on antidepressants. DP and I suspect that having DD on the 2 days for pretty much 12 hours is getting too much for her, particularly as DD is very demanding with MIL, but MIL will just let her do what she wants and gives in to her the whole time (). Consequently, she is probably very worn out and run ragged by the time I collect her at the end of the day!

DD has been offered two additional mornings at pre-school starting from september and i thought it would be much better for MIL if i got DD to pre-school on the Thurs and Fri and then MIL just collected her at midday and had her from then until DP or I collected her, which would drastically shorten her day. However she wouldn't even entertain DD going to pre-school in the morning instead of coming to her! I just think that MIL doesn't want to have less time with DD. She did mention to DP last night that she was thinking of looking at playgroups to give her a break, so surely this means that it IS getting a bit much for her?? I'm assuming that DD wouldn't be left at the playgroup and that MIL would stay with her. If she WAS left at the playgroup then i would not be happy and would want DD to have the extra mornings at pre-school. At the end of the day tho, MIL pretty much dictates what is going to happen and it's a situation that has to be handled very cautiously so as not to upset her! AAGGHH!!

Sorry for the massive waffle and thanks for reading if you got this far lol!!

:o

It is very difficult when you are relying on family to look after DCs isn't it RG? Your solution sounds ideal and maybe your MIL will come around to it in time. Or could you say that you just want her to go to pre-school more in the run up to going to big school?

My MIL also suffers with depression and anxiety and we are very wary of overloading her but she does have a lovely relationship with Adam (she also pretty much lets him do as he pleases!). She used to have Adam one full day a week and we suspected that it was getting a bit much for her - she used to let him have really long sleeps in the middle of the day and I think she also had a kip herself (according to Adam!). Adam now goes to a local preschool one morning a week (not ideal but I want him to have some local pals) and she picks him up and has him for the afternoon. I suppose it still takes over her day but at least he is a bit tired out by the time she has him.

Don't be too jealous of the wine and food RG - I am going to have to find a way of working it off now! Breastfeeding was just the best, I was so skinny and ate what I wanted!

RG - it's a tricky one isn't it? I think your solution is best. Could MIL have her for a couple of hours each week on a day you don't work to make up the hours she feels she's missing out on? That way you could have some me time. 12 hours is a very long time for anyone to spend with an energetic 3 year old, let alone an older person. My ILs are miles away so they always feel like they have to spend every waking minute with the kids when they visit, or when we visit them, and sometimes the kids disappear to a bit of space as they can be a bit suffocating! I think they also feel that my parents must get loads more time with them, when in fact they don't, especially since Dad's been in hospital since the end of Feb. Mum works full time and visits Dad on Saturdays, her rest time on a Sunday is valuable to her so I always ensure when we do visit that we don't overstay our welcome, I can't have her being ill too!

Greedy - back to work bootcamp might be necessary here - I baked 44 mini muffins today as I had a friend coming for coffee. Needless to say, there are 44 now!

Speaking of Dad, he's doing a home visit tomorrow, and Mum is going to bring him here for a bit too. It'll be only his 2nd time home since February, and this is going to be a gradual process, but it's moving in the right direction. He's going through a phase of making lists at the moment and phoned me at 6:50 am last Tuesday to ask for some birthdays of various relatives. He doesn't have much concept of time at the the moment and gets confused between morning and evening

DD's 6th birthday on Thursday, and GCSE results day so she's got the special treat of coming to work with me! She was actually born on results day, I remember asking the registrar who was stitching me up in theatre if I would make it into work that day to see my pupils! I think the drugs may have got to me . I'm probably as nervous as my students, maybe even more so!

Hope you're having lovely weather, Loopy!

Book marking x