Dec 08 Mums - Introducing our new joiners, TrudyV and Al Fresco...

[Beans33]

Hope this is ok? Thought it was subtle enough for the wider MN and not offensive!!

ZJ ZJ!!!

Lady that would have me gripping the duvet with white knuckles. That Julie Myserson book sounds fascinating and have just added it to my GoodReads to-read list (getting a bit geeky about it now) but I'm quite happy not knowing about who lived and died in this house.

Good news sybs

Beans DD had one of those little trampolines, very cute. We had a big one until it was blown to smithereens in high winds last year.

DS is still being a miserable little munchkin. I took him to the doc this morning and it seems it's coxsackie of one sort or another. Sounds like a Scottish soup, is in fact a group of viriiii that includes hand, foot & mouth. He has terrible ulcers in his mouth and tiny blisters here and there on his legs, but not typical hand and foot blisters. He's remembered he's TT I'm glad to say. He's very grumpy as his mouth is so sore and he can't really eat, so am off tomorrow to buy shedloads of frubes to freeze and another gallon or two of toddler ibuprofen. I have a couple of sets of ice-lolly moulds, which have been worth their weight in gold, so I'm turning them out by the ton atm.

Btw hair is still doing well. Slightly itchy scalp, but after just rinsing my hair through last Thursday evening (rather than using shampoo and condit) it's in nice condition and not greasy at all. By now it would be getting greasy on top if I'd used shampoo. It feels quite heavy but also in nice condition. If this is how just rinsing once or twice a week is going to be then it's going to work for me, esp as with long hair with a not-critical fringe I don't need to worry about soaking it to style it.

Hello Ladies

I love it when I catch-up and find lots of lovely news:

A HUGE (yet understated) congrats to ZJ and lots of best wishes for a happy and healthy next eight months.

And a big "hurrah" to Lady on her new manor (don't let ghost jokes scare you, I have always lived in historic houses, I grew-up in a tudor post office, and I actually find it comforting to think of the lives that have been contained in those four walls before me. I can't explain why but it sort of puts my trials and tribulations into perspective).

Jolly, sorry to hear that people are being knobs about J's gorgeously coloured hair. I wonder if those same people feel sorry for Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore? I mean seriously, some of the most striking women out there are ginger.

Beans, I am glad you got a night off. How did your girls behave for your DH? Tell us they woke him at least 5 times and he looked frazzled on your return.

Veg, it sounds like you had another lovely weekend. You have great friends in NL don't you? You have a real gift for making friends me thinks.

Trudi, sorry that your DS was poorly and then playing silly buggers last night. Although its not uncommon to feel worse at night when you have a virus so maybe that was his excuse. I hope you get a better night tonight.

Rubes, are you being quiet on purpose? Stop that right now young lady. I loved your boating pics on FB.

And Effie yo are a woman of few words recently. I hope that all is well with you.

Trace, congrats on settling P. I too get excited by one night of bedtime without screaming and multiple returns. This evening I achieved by offering Jelly Beans for breakfast if I did not hear a peep after I shut the door. It worked a treat but I fear its not an example of my finest mothering skills.

Who would not be bored to death by yet another nanny saga chez Arti? I will keep it short. The nanny asked us to take the girls to her niece's christening on Sunday. We went but only to the party and quite late and by the time we arrived I think a quantity of cheerfulness had been consumed. The nanny was pleased to see the girls and took them around introducing them to her friends. One drunk Australian heard DD2's name and exclaimed "Oh its the infamous little screamer! We get to meet the little screamer".

The nanny looked mortified and quickly tried to cover by saying that when she first started DD2 screamed a lot and when her friend would phone she could always hear screaming in the background so nicknamed her "little screamer". She went on to say that the friend has referred to DD2 as that ever since. Now this is true, DD2 was a nightmare when the nanny first started, she cried a lot. But that was two years ago and I did not buy the story that only this one friend knew the nickname and it was all down to her. I feel the nanny refers to DD2 as the Little Screamer and it makes me worry that she isn't kind to DD2. As you know I have had my issues with the nanny but always kept her on as she seems to genuinely love the girls and feel very warmly towards them - or at least that is what I thought. Probably over thinking this, and certainly not explaining it succinctly, so I will sign off now.

Where is WG? Have not heard from her in ages.

Hello! Was off getting rained on in a tent in Norfolk and today has been spent drying everything out and doing mountains of laundry. And I discovered evil MOTHS in our bedroom so have cleaning and chucking out piles of old clothes and vacuum packing jumpers. What fun. We all enjoyed the weekend though, there were lots of ducks trying to break into the tents and enormous puddles for the boys to jump in.

LadyT: congrats on the move!

ZJ: whoop whoop :)

Arti: I have no idea re the nanny, but are you happy with the way she deals with the girls?

Glad you had a fab if wet time in Norfolk Effie.

Beans good to hear DD2 perked up and enjoyed her birthday. Trampoline is a great idea we have a small one that mum & dad got for the boys but they love it if we go anywhere that has one of those giant ones.

ON the subject of old houses and previous tenants I have lived in brand new and amazingly old but it never bothered me. I do think my home now brand new has got lots of happy memories sewn inside its walls.

PD lovely to see you.

Rubes dont go all quiet on us I love your little chats.

JB I am on your behalf over the comments on the beautifulness of the ginger hair. Ginger hair is quite common in our family and I would have lovved for the boys to have got it. I used to look after the most gorgeous little boy who had shockingly bright ginger hair. It was fab, people used to comment all the time on his auburn hair and his retort was its not auburn or ginger its ORANGE! Loved him.

Arti I dont want to cloud your judgment but I have said before I think you are too lenient on the girl. I dont understand why she would want the girls to go to an event for her family. But lovely that you took them. Cheerfulness aside you just wouldn't say that. I really think you need to reassess your childcare situation. I know you are on the whole happy with her care of the girls, but at the end of the day I just feel you are worried about getting a new girl in because of the disruption it would cause. Personally I think a few weeks of disruption for someone who you can trust implicitly with your children and have no worries about is worth the hassle. I do know of a couple of really good agencies in town that I used and I would be happy to recommend them for you.

Trudy how is DS today?

SYbs sort of good news on the job front then?

Lady how did your DD do in her big bed last night. It wont take long for her body to adjust tot eh different space she is sleeping in.

Off on hols tom thank gawd! really looking forward to building a few sandcastles with the boys and just generally relaxing. Just got to get a 9 hour flight out the way. Am already beginning to twitch.

Ooooh ZJ news! :) hurrah!

again, sorry for absence, just wanted to let you all know that E did 8pm-2am last night [huzzah] so we know she can do it, just chooses not to

plus we're tt-ing now, S has been weeing very well on the loo at nursery and informed us that she didn't want any more nappies, just big girl knicks. POne accident on the sofa so far this morning, wish us luck!

oh and sorry to ask and run,. but what do you all do about pressies for your lovely december babies, if there's something they want/are ready for that's not in winter? EG S would really like an easel and it would mean she didn't keep drawing on the dining table but since it's another 6 months til her birthday, I can't really make her wait. Do you spread the pressies through the year a bit, or get things in the hope that they'll be ready for them/patient enough to wait?

Morning ladies, I am having so much trouble keeping up you ladies. I keep reading and then not posting then can't remember what I have read. So if I forget someone forgive me.

ZJ a tiny little yay for you. Will reserve a bigger one for later.

Jolly, I actually have a bit of a thing for boys with flame red hair. When I worked at the kids hospital in Brisbane, there was a guy who worked in the adults hospital which shared a canteen with us. We used to have our tea break at the same time some days and I would watch him from afar. He had long flame red hair, piercing blue eyes and milky white skin (not something you see a lot in Queensland). I never plucked up the courage to talk to him and I don't think he knew I was there. Oh but he was gorgeous. Quite ironic I married a Chinese guy, you can't get much farther than a ginger guy than that.

Lady you DP is so naughty that would freak me out too. For DH fear of ghosts and placating the spirit world is quite a real thing so ghosts freak him out as well.

Beans I'm glad DD2 perked up enough to enjoy her birthday and also you enjoyed the weekend.

Hooray for sleeping babies. We are having some success with DS2 just getting into his bed with a beaker of milk and settling himself off to sleep after a book a kiss & a hug. I think it helps that his brother is in with him and they tend to jump into the top bunk together and snuggle off to sleep. He still has his feed before his nap during the day but as having a nap makes him have a later bedtime I'm going to see if I can drop that nap if I can.

Rubes I loved your photos on FB, DD is such a cheerful little thing and DS is the image of his dad isn't he, they have the exact same smile. Is your brother having fun in Thailand. After you talked about Krabi the other day, I suggested going back their to DH and he was so excited. So we have looked into it and booked a place at Railay, where we stayed last time. It is a lot more developed than it was when we went, and was only accessible with ponytail boats and the electricity was provided by generators. But they have power now and get around on speed boats. We can do a little trip to Khoa pi pi in 35 minutes. Also we can organise elephant treks, snorkling and other cool stuff for the boys from there. Getting very excited. Though its still all 6 months off. Which reminds me I need to get Aussie passports for the boys.

DS2 is being a little challenging lately, we went for DS1's music class yesterday and he ran riot. Everything I ask him to do or not to do he does the opposite. We often end up in a right screaming match with each other and time outs are the only option because we are both so at the end of our tempers. Usually we end up having a big cuddle but I hate the way I react to him and I hate that DS1 see it. I was fairly calm with him but he sees the way I deal with DS2 & I worry that that is how he end up dealing conflicts himself. They say that kids mirror their parents.

Arti I would be quite sensitive to that, DS2 drives me crazy but I hate the idea of him being classed as screamy. When BIL was making his comparisons between our DS's I hated that a relative had boxed DS2 already as some difficult child. He basically stopped giving him any attention because he found DS1 easier to deal with. If a nanny was doing this I would be concerned too. Maybe you need to just talk openly with her about it. Maybe talk about your own feelings about DD2 & also about your fear that because she is a 'spirited' child the nanny might treat her differently to DD1. Really though she spends so much time with them she probably does see as much of the lovely things about DD2 as the screamy stuff. Does that make any sense?

JJ - we're going to get DD1 a scooter this summer as it was too wintry for one at her birthday, plus she wasn't that co-ordinated. To be honest, she still isn't, but I am still keen to get her a scooter anyway.

Arti - I must say, if I was in your shoes, I would be seriously pissed off with your nanny about that. BUT she is clearly mortified by her friend letting the cat out of the bag and declaring that so loudly. I don't think it means she doesn't like your daughter at all, in fact, it sounds like quite the opposite. The fact that she invited you all along to the family do and was so keen to introduce the girls around seems like she truly does love them. I think everyone moans about their work, and she has obviously done the same, but as is nearly always the case, it doesn't mean she doesn't like it. Her friend is clearly a knob, and I don't imagine she'll be staying friends with her after that display of idiocy! It is a difficult one, because it's horrible to htink of anyone being rude about your nippers, but by the same token, I do think it sounds like she's said it fondly and not maliciously. It is really unprofessional of her, but then you weren't in a professional situation and it was on her "turf" (sorry, can't think of a better word!!), not yours, so perhaps with the addition of alcohol, barriers were dropped. In the same sentence, though, I would definitely have a word with her about it and perhaps give her a warning. It's tough, but I do think she loves your kids by the sound of things. Just be stern. I would be furious in your place, but I think I'd be willing to forgive her. Sorry, Jam, to disagree with you - and I also think your points are valid too, so ultimately, it's down to whether you still feel comfortable with her looking after the DCs or not. That's what you need to ask yourself. Hmmmm.

WG been in Portugal, I believe. Think she's back soon?

Arti picking up on Jam's comment, I know a family that has a tendency to employ nanies who get pg five minutes after she starts working for them, so they've had four in the last seven years, three of them in the last four years. The children - the smallest of whom I see regularly at mums and tots and who has the most magnificent copper-coloured hair - seem to have adapted really well. Obv I don't see what goes on at home, but the littlest has seemed very happy with the last three nannies, cuddling up to them and so on. Blah blah, what I mean is that the disruption may not be the obstacle you might imagine.

Jam thanks for asking. M is a lot better in himself, albeit with nurofen inside him, but he's playing and was quite jolly on a trip to the library this morning. The bothering thing is that he's having lots of accidents all of a sudden, having been TT for three months. Has anyone else noticed that nurofen/paracetamol bring that on? I expect accidents when he's in the throes of illness but he's clearly on the mend now. Have a fab holiday - if it's nine hours away it must be somewhere sunny!

Glad Norfolk was good Effie. Sitting watching the rain hurl down outside I can't say I fancy camping in this!

JJ we're not lavish with pressies simply because we can't afford to be. Something like an easel would be a big pressie we would save for birthday/Christmas. I find that even though they get everything in one go they come to things in their own time, so a present (I'll avoid saying 'pressie' again, my Twee-o-meter is clanging) they've ignored for months will suddenly become fascinatingly interesting, even though it may have sat in the corner of the room all that time. It doesn't necessarily need to be something they've never set eyes on before. Does that make any sense?

My MN is doing that thing where it doesn't update until I post something so I missed JJ & Jams posts but have now seen Beans. I think Jam has a good point, but most of all I think Beans suggestion of considering whether you still feel comfortable with her looking after your girls. I have to say she must have a close family if she invites her own friends & boss to her nieces christening. Birthday party maybe but a christening is strange. Our kids aren't christened and its not a tradition of either DH or my family religions, so I have no experience of who gets invited. However, the christening I have been to have only been close friends & family affairs. In defence of your nanny, we Australian's are very uncouth, I wouldn't be surprised if she did coin the name, its something my countrymen would do. My mum used to call my second niece 'whingy' & my third niece 'fatty' you can imagine my SIL approved of these names....not.

JJ a quiet yay for the sleep.

Hooray for holidays Jam, are you going to Florida, or have I made that up, I thought Florida was further than 9 hours.

DS2 is having a nap, I tried to not let him but he was so tired. It's getting so hard as he won't sleep tonight until about 8.30 and it means DS1 goes to bed then where hr could really do with going off at around 7 as he is tired after school. Well he may not sleep long today as our neighbours upstairs are both getting new balconies put up today so lots of drilling & banging going on. It was very exciting this morning as they had to get a massive crane in to hang the bases of the balconies. It arrived just as I was taking DS1 to school so was all very exciting for him and his school mates as it took up the school road. Completely messed up the school drop off for the driving parents.

Right gotta go I've got to fill out an application for DS1 to be off school for the trip to Australia.

It's happened again, didn't get Trudy's post. Trudy its not the neurofen, its the actual illness that's causing the accidents. If kids get really unwell they can regress a little in their development. It's quite normal and he will go straight back to where he was once its all settled down. Just have to bare it for now.

And on Trudy's theme of the nanny turnover (that must be annoying with the pregnancy thing do they have to pay maternity leave), kids move classes at nursery & get different nursery staff, they are ok. You where thinking of an au pair a while back is that still an option if this situation doesn't leave you comfortable with the nanny.

No I'm not being quiet or hiding etc, just cutting back on MN a bit as my rambling I'm not always proud of - SL's observation case in point! Plus I'm aware of my time slipping away as the dc's get older. Besides I'm just coming more in line with everyone else's average post count (JAM!!!)
Thanks Vag, yeah dd is a happy little one (despite waking 2-3 times a night still) and ds so sweet recently. He just said "I love you mummy veeeery much" completely out of the blue. I could not have asked for more lovely kids
Fathers day was fun. Cooked dh eggs benedict with smoked salmon and we had some bubbly too then as you know (if on FB) we hired some row boats and rowed to the pub for lunch and back. ds loved it and sang row row your boat most of the way while dd giggled (tho she wasn't thrilled with her lifejacket nearly strangling her)
DH got a new helmet and bike light and a shirt from the dc's.
Great news ZJ
Have a lovely trip SL
How is the hair Trudy? I'd like to try that, but my scalp gets really itchy and then sore if I don't wash my hair for too long. Though its usually ok just twice a week.
Avo, I have to agree with Jam / Trudy, is this the same nanny involved in Glastonbury-gate and the case of the stolen purse? if so - way too many chances, if not I will try to keep up
lady hope you are all are settling in well. Will text you re free dates but probably you are busier than me so let me know when you are free as I have dh's Sat work dates for the next couple of months now.
JJ ds got a balance bike when he was 2 but was a bit scared then and only got on now and then but mainly wheeled it around the house (he's a pro now) He just got a scooter of mil the other week and LOVES that. He gets spoilt by her though and tends to get presents at random times which make it a bit difficult. Sorry not much help. This year i'm going to buy him something that suits the winter though I think dh is going to build dd a swing set / out door climbing frame or something for her b'day, so ds will think it's for him -oh well it really will be for both. it's tricky isn't it!
Happy belated birthday miniBeans!

Yes I thought Jam is off to Florida. The flight time to Orlando / Miami is slightly less than that usually (take off to landing) but with the padding in the schedules to allow for taxi time and sitting on the runway it usually says about that long I think. Near enough anyway, but not longer.

Oh and then that evening we went to a lovely pub in the Surrey Hills for dinner HERE and I had the nicest steak outside of Gaucho Grill / Moretons in the US! They had a lovely outdoor playgroud too and ds had running races which one of the other kids parents there was orchestrating! Lovely day.

That's interesting Vag, thanks. No choice but to ride it out but have resorted to bribery for potty use, as any sane mother would. As I type he's "fixing" the chair with his tools, aww. They're a prime example. They were a Christmas present and he roundly ignored them for ages until suddenly I'm tripping over them all over the house and finding everything's being "fixed".

I don't know if the family pays maternity leave. Each nanny who's gone off to have a baby has never come back, I don't know if that makes a difference? They've all been lovely except one whom I didn't warm to but didn't have any concerns about. I feel bad for them as they're so reliant on the nanny, with three children and full-time jobs each, it must be a nightmare having to recruit so often. The newest nanny is younger than the previous ones, unmarried and quite god-fearing so here's hoping they're safe with her for a while!

Hello all,

jj I tend to allow for buying a couple of toys mid-summer when getting birthday/christmas stuff, ie get her less! I think when they are small they don't know how much to expect anyway and buying outdoor toys seems daft when there is snow on the ground. Hurray for sleep. It makes such a difference doesn't it? Much more human.

arti I can imagine that the name was meant with affection as she obviously thinks a lot of them. Must have made you feel awful though. However I'd certainly talk it through with her and have a good think about whether I still trusted her.

spot This is going back a bit. I wrote this yesterday and my phone ate it. I just wanted to say thanks for sharing about your dad and how you think he'd have made a good grandfather even though you had an uneasy relationship at times. It got me thinking about my late brother and how although we never really got on, I think there were things about him which would have made him a fun uncle. I've been thinking much more fondly about him since you made that comment. Hope that doesn't make me sound really awful, I did love him but he was a right pain in the arse! I'd just never really considered how he'd be with the girls before so thanks spot.

sybil Great news on the job.

Thanks for all your comments on the ginger front! I think my mums friend just tipped me over the edge! She has the whole blue eyed and pale skin thing vag, maybe she'll attract a lovely australian one day.

Jolly, that's really nice . Thank you.

Trudy I have to say I suspect your friend's new nanny may go the way of the others as, ime, the more god-fearing the younger the marriage (because of the virginity thing). I could be wrong though.
That's v sweet about your DS fixing things, I think you're right that they come to their toys at different times, and can rediscover them afresh, esp if they've been out of sight for a bit.

Rubes it sounds like you've had a lovely weekend, am so pleased . And agree your kids are just lovely. How are DD's teeth atm?

Glad to hear your job news, sybs, how are things apart from that though? Are you still ridiculously busy?

JJ we tend to get stuff when he needs it rather than save it for Xmas - but then he doesn't really get anything special then so at least he gets something! I think it depends if she gets a lot at Bday/Xmas, if so you might want to hold off more during the rest of the year. If you think she'd really like the easel now though, it would be a shame to wait 6 whole months! Could you get a cheap one off ebay so it's less of a big thing?

Arti my take on the whole nanny thing is that if you're generally happy then I'd overlook it, esp as who hasn't said stuff about their own kids let alone let off a little steam if the ones they look after have been trying. I dread to think what some of the nursery staff say about T when he's not there. I know it's different with a nanny because they're in your home and it's a much more personal relationship but I would prob forgive a lot for a generally good match. But if it feels like yet another thing, it's prob time to move on.

Happy hols to you, Jam! Lucky girl! How long's the trip?

Rubes, that's smashing, I will have a rummage through the diary and come up with a selection of dates.

Speaking of which, PD, we'd identified this Thurs or Fri as a possible evening out. Deffo can't do Thurs, Fri is possible but not desirable, next Thurs and Fri are ok as are the ones following.
Oh, the wine diary is for noting, er, notable wines. If there's one we particularly like we are both talented at chucking the bottle away and then forgetting the name of it

Arti, basically I agree with Beans. Thought the whole Glasto incident was vv bad BUT on this occasion think she has just been foolish, and a pissed mate isn't her fault. HOWEVER, I would be totally fuming so I do understand. But the girls seem to love her, right? Can you bear to speak to her about it?

WG was in Portugal. Are you back WG?

Sybs, that is flipping good news about your job. Phewf.

JJ, I don't buy the kids really lavish birthday or Christmas presents at the moment but if something crops up at a different time of year I will buy it. For instance, DD1 was very wistful about scooters. She loved them. So I thought bugger this, I'm not waiting until end Nov when she can't enjoy it! And she is not v good or confident with physical stuff as a result of the v late walking, so I bought her one with great pleasure. It was only £19.99 from Argos anyway - they have Thomas the Tank and Night Garden ones and whilst self-assembly, are amazingly robust and good quality.

Vag, don't worry too much about getting cross with DS2. Your boys both know fine well you are a loving mum!

Bumholes, more to say as usual but HAVE to keep pressing on with the unpacking.DD1 didn't fall out of bed last night and has taken HERSELF off for a nap which she couldn't do with the cot.

Massive wasp or hornet in the kitchen earlier. It was the size of an AAA battery. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. I hate them.

Rubes, your link to that pub won't open for me but it sounds like a gorgeous w/e...and yes, your DCs are v sweet, I thought that last week.

Spot, where are you on the house buying? Is it just all with the sols now?

LadyT thanks for reminding me - I meant to post about that and forgot. Same for me - Thursday can't, Friday possible but not desirable. Can't do next weekend though as I'm away. Can do Thursday the following week (7th?). I could say yes to Fri 8th but might have to cancel at the last minute as we are desperate to get a camping trip in and haven't managed it yet this year so the next nice weekend we'll be off. But don't plan around me - whatever works best for the most people. It might be an idea to arrange it around those who have said they prefer an evening meet-up. Anyone? So I was right about the diary then . Tis a good idea actually - I never remember which wines I've liked.

Arti I can imagine it must have been an unpleasant shock to hear that. However, as others have said it does just sound like a bit of a joke and not meant maliciously. Your girls sound way too lovely for anyone to be mean to them! Hard to say though not having met her or heard what was said for myself - you need to trust your own judgement on this one.

jj go for the easel I say. After all, Christmas is about a big pile of crap from the pound shop wrapped up in shiny paper isn't it?

Rubes I will be totting up on the thread counter when we get to the end of this thread and if you're not in the top 3 you're in trouble lady!

Rubes the proof of the pudding will stare back at me from the mirror tomorrow morning. I've just rinsed my hair in the shower and it will dry overnight, which helps the curl a bit as I move around in bed. Also I don't like having wet hair dangling around me in the daytime and this way I don't really have ti put up with it taking hours and hours to dry. Last time it worked really well and I had rock chick hair for three days, half-okay hair for one and pony-tail hair today. I get the itchy scalp thing too but it's not nearly as bad as it was. The thing that's shocking me is how greasy it doesn't look, it's behaving so differently without shampoo and conditioner. I rarely ever use s&c on DD's hair and it's always in beautiful condition, though dead straight and brushed every day, which helps.

Vag I worry about all that sort of thing too. The Mindfulness has yet to turn me into a zombie model of calm but I hope I'm making progress, albeit imperceptible some days

Oh btw, had to laugh in a way earlier as I remembered yet another nanny who left that family! This one went off to be a teacher as it fitted in better with her own children. They're a nice family with pleasant kids, they've just had the worst luck.

Trudy I rarely wash the boys hair either, or brush but they have gorgeous thick black hair which generally falls into place quite nicely. They both need a hair cut actually. I heard that if you don't s&c your hairs natural oils can get to work and apparently manage to self clean your hair. There was some article in the paper once about a women who hadn't washed or even cut her hair for 14 years. It was ridiculously long but very healthy. A top hairdresser was interviewed for the article and begrudgingly admitted that if left hair will self clean and its actually shampoo and hair products which perpetuate the need to wash & groom.

Trudy I've decided to try a new tact with DS2, I often preempt when he might do something wrong and tell him that I don't want him to do it. For example today we got DS1's school photos from school. He picked one up and I immediately said leave those alone you might hurt them (no idea why I said hurt but I meant he might harm them, like get smudgy finger smears on them or fold them). Anyway, he threw the photo on the ground and said
"Mummy I hurt it". I was quite shocked that he had done the exact thing I'd asked him not to do. Then I remembered reading somewhere that toddlers don't always hear everything in a sentence or may not get the negative part of the request. The example they gave was if you said "don't run on the road", they may only take in "run on the road". The suggestion for this request was to actually say "walk on the footpath with me". So for the rest of the afternoon I have actually been saying what I want him to do, rather than what I don't want him to do and the results so far have been pretty good, a lot less yelling.

Have you ever given tradesmen keys to your house. We have all the same locks in our house so we only need one key. I gave the tradesmen who are fitting the balcony the key today so they could lock our shed (it has their stuff in it overnight) as I went out this afternoon before they left. They have kept it to get back in tomorrow morning. I'm now paranoid that they are going to get the key cut, am I being stupid. DH is a little worried and is going to change a couple of the locks back to the locks that used to be on the doors when we moved in. He to be fair has reason to be paranoid as his office has work stuff which in his line of work could get him in a lot of trouble if it got stolen, but I'm caught between thinking I'm mean for assuming a tradesmen will conspire to rob us, and thinking I was a moron for giving them the key.

Right better go to bed.

Oh and we had our last p&t night with DS1's teacher before he goes up to the 6-9 group. I had a few fears about him moving up that she allayed for me, but also we mentioned that DS2 would be 4 in Dec 2012, and asked if we should apply for his place soon. She gave us a you-haven't-applied-yet-are-mental face and said I'll just get you an application form now too fill in ASAP. It is a very popular school because it gets good reports and its montessori, but I just assumed DS2 would rock in because DS1 is there. Oops. Well at least she said when we apply that we can write a preferrence to have him in her class because she would like to teach him, which I thought was nice.

Right really gotta go.

Hurrah Sybs on the good job news (for now), and at least you?ve got time to formulate a plan B before the royal skrewage

Good news on the no nappies PD. I?ve been meaning to ask for a while, is your DP a SAHD or shares the childcare with you? You?ve mentioned a few times about him having the DCs. (Tell me to bog off if I?m getting too nosy)

Good luck with the TT Jump, S?s initiation of the knicks sounds a great start. On presents, we only get DD a couple of little ?stocking fillers? for her birthday (if you can have stocking fillers for a birthday?) and then get her main present in the summer. We chose to have her christened in July so we had a date to mark as her ?official? birthday, a la the Queen. It was practical, as I wanted to split the cost of Christmas and also when they?re little they grow and change so quickly it seemed sensible not to get everything in the same week (and I like the idea of summer birthday parties in the garden too, but DH tells me off about this). If she wants everything in December when she?s older, then that?s fine with me. However E?s birthday is quite a bit closer to Christmas than S

Vaj DD is also being challenging at the moment, I?ve started to wonder if there is a terrible 2 and a half phase that I hadn?t been warned about, as I was just getting comfortable that we?d got through the terrible 2s. If it?s just a phase, then it will pass . Oh, just refreshed and seen your latest post, so interesting about the being positive, must try to remember that one. I?ve often given tradesmen a key or left them to get on with stuff, but then we?ve always used locals from the village who we know anyway, so not complete strangers

Arti on the nanny I agree with Beans? point of view. I wondered if it might be an endearing nickname (I call DD some awful things, but very fondly, however me calling her it and someone else doing it are 2 very separate things), and what the drunk friend said seemed to be in an ?it?s ace to meet this quirky child? way, rather than ?I can?t believe I?m in the same room as this child, get me out of here? way. She must think a lot of all of you, would you invite your work colleagues to an event at a weekend if you didn?t like them? On its own I think it?s a bit of an unfortunate incident, but there are the previous issues, so could this be the straw that breaks the camel?s back? To turn the situation on its head, if she turned up tomorrow and handed her notice in, would you be sad to see her go or relieved to see the back of her? What does DH think about it?

Welcome back Effie, camping in the rain sounds like my least favourite holiday, but I can see why ducks + puddles = lots of fun for small children

Happy hols Jam

I messed up the title of that book Trudy, if you?re trying to track it down. It?s not called ?house or home?, it?s called ?house? or ?home? or something else along those lines. Actually, it?s this one. I?m following your hair adventures with interest, especially since you said about never shampooing DD. My DD gets shampooed about once a month, with a slug of dentinox as she still has a bit of cradle cap, and otherwise just gets a rinse once a week, but I?d never thought about going without myself. BTW, does viriiii really have that many i?s?

LadyT your DP is a big meanie, winding you up like that. I hope you kicked him at 10 minute intervals until you finally got to sleep yourself? I have an interesting tale about a friends child and a (nice) ghost, they encountered on holiday (in another country, miles away) ? but won?t tell it without permission as I don?t want to cause another sleepless night! I?m a bit spooked by irrational things like that, but I think this story is quite a nice one

DD has started doing the loveliest thing at bedtime, after I?ve read her a story she asks me to sit in the chair and if she can take a book to bed. Then she picks a book and lies down and looks at all the pages and when she?s finished she says night night and waves at me and lies down. Reading in bed is one of my favourite things to do in the whole world and I think it is so cute that she?s asking to do this too, and I don?t think she?ll have ever seen me do it so I?m not sure where she?s picked it up from, but I?m really happy she?s already getting pleasure from it. And talking of which, it is time for me to retire to bed with a book myself, night all

That's sweet ZJ. Yes, DP is a SAHD and no, you're not being nosey!

Vaj that's interesting about not hearing the not bit. Don't think I've heard that before.

On the hair thing, isn't it supposed to be 6-8 weeks before it self-cleans, whatever that means? I've definitely noticed the less I wash my hair the less often it needs washing. With the DCs I shampoo as little as possible (not least because they hate it with a passion and I get full on hysterics). Bit paranoid that they smell though as I have a poor sense of smell so wouldn't necessarily be able to tell.

Don't know what I'm still doing up - absolutely knackered. Night all