Fab Feb 2009 - pass mummy the gin, its potty time!

[dinkystinky]

New thread as the old one got filled up - hope you all find it ok!

SM you shouldn't feel bad, someone obviously nominated you as they thought you deserved it. Don't think it matters in the slightest if you were nominated last year or year before. I'm sure I read somewhere last year that they always have a lot more donators (is that right? durr, should be donors) than recipients

How is everyone doing. Barely surviving half-term here. H has a terrible cough which has had us up every night this week. He coughs so much he is sick, poor little man DD driving us all mad!

Good news, DH has a job! Only a 3 month contract intitially but hopefully may extend and good news it is 5 mins from home and 'London' money so really it is around 4 1/2 to 5 months pay which is bloody good news. Was starting to get a little worried. Just waiting for paperwork to be sorted and hopefully he is starting on 1st November. Will be good for him to be back working/not under my feet!

He is having a mid-life crisis, he bought me a 1961 vespa a few days ago not quite sure when he thinks I have time to use it!

Calico Yeah, they do a secret santa so those who want to donate are paired up with people who have been nominated to receive a gift.
Last time (year before last), I got a box delivered a few weeks before christmas which contained a beautiful houseplant from Next and a small bottle of champagne and some truffles.
A second box arrived on xmas eve that was packed with stuff for the kids, puzzles, games, clothes etc, then some bits for me, gloves, candles, chocolates, more truffles and 5 disc dvd and a £50 M&S voucher!!!

Mos I thought 'donators' looked wrong when I typed it earlier! lol.
Pleased dh has a job. Good luck to him.
Half term is on and off good and not so. Jacob has a few blisters inside his mouth atm so is very distressed
We've been flowing quite nicely this week though. Went to Mercedes-benz world on monday, boys loved it (including dp), tuesday we visited some friends, yesterday we went to soft play, today we went to my mums and tomorrow we are off shopping and visiting other friends, plus I am looking after one of ds1's friends for the day, so should be interesting.......

SM bloody hell, that christmas eve parcel sounds amazing. Makes what I bought for my recipient last year sound rather crap!

Where is Mercedes-benz world? DH would like that as I suspect would H.
Good luck with your friend's kid

Lol MOS. I'm sure your package was amazing and very much appreciated.
I was very lucky that year. My donor also packed loads of really nice wrapping paper. Still have some left!
Mercedes-benz is in weybridge.
I have a few pics I keep meaning to put on fb. Was a nice couple of hours.

SM that is lovely

SM wow great pressies - what a great idea too.

MOS poor H - hope he feels better soon and you all get some more sleep. Brilliant news about your DH's job!

I have a job interview next week - really interesting job, good money, only 2 days a week but I'll have to commute into London which makes it less lucrative and would make nursery / school pick up impossible.....I can cover one day as I have a neighbour who is willing to help out but DH says he can't do the other day...I am really as he works for himself so should able to be more flexible (especially as he has an office at home). I'm going for the interview anyway but will have to try and sort out some other after school childcare for DS if I get it. First interesting part-time job in my field that I have been shortlisted for in nearly two years, so I am really keen to get it....fingers crossed.

Calico your DH wins the prize for twunt of the week. Why on earth can't he help, they are his kids too. for you. Good luck anyway, despite his lack of support.

Good luck with the interview, Calico. Is there anyone you could arrange a childcare swap with? I did that with a friend last year and it worked really well. THe kids enjoyed it too.

Calico1, good luck with the interview. How about insisisting that DH pays for the afterschool childcare he won't do? Yes, I know it comes out of the same budget but it might make him think about it and maybe reconsider, as MOS says, his kids too.

brrr... I'm freezing. Still haven't got oil for the heating and it's getting nippy over here now... we had ice this morning!

ds1 got his insoles today. We had drama on the way there though as he must be coming down with a bug and vomited spectacularly all over himself and the car.... I had to spend 30 euros buying him new clothes before we could go to the appointment! [skint emoticon]

calico What on earth is his justification for that?

Twunt of the month more like MOS!
He knows he can't justify it - it'll just make his life a tiny bit more complicated. He does virtually no childcare at the moment so he is wingeing on about one day where he'll have to drop off and pick up kids. In comparison to what I have done over the last four years it is nothing.....
We both pay half of childcare costs at the moment - even though he earns about 5 times what I do....actually when I write it down it seems like madness! Childcare swap is what I hope to do - though have to get the job first, though good friend is on the interview panel .

SR ice already!!! I have yet to put the heating on at home but I bet it'll turn cold really quickly soon.

Good luck for the interview Calico

Hello all - Calico good luck with your job interview but [hangry] at your not so DH! I cant believe he wont step up when he needs to. MOS - congrats to your DH on the job but wow at his continuing midlife crisis! Had a nice long weekend in Dorset with DH and the boys - gorgeous sunshine on the sunday so the boys were in the sea, on the beach and eating icecream - then v blustery yesterday and today but we all had lots of fun. Sadly came back to a house with no heating or hot water - so can sympathise with SR's brr sentiments.

Oh no dinky, hope it gets sorted soon. Have a nice hot on me, and some warm vibes to go with it.

My house has been like an infirmary for the last week or so, A had a bug last weekend (resulting in him puking spectacularly all over me, himself and my mother's floor when we went to visit her for her birthday.... not the birthday gift she was expecting ), he obviously passed it to ds1 (see above post!) and then on Friday night I got really feverish and my tonsils are swollen. Poor ds1's voice has risen a fair few octaves due to his sore throat and he's been choking and coughing all night the last few nights. Thank god for the open fire or I think we'd all have pneumonia by now!

And dp has decided the this is the perfect weekend to stop smoking and behave like a complete and utter twunt picking fights constantly We're not speaking as every time I try and have a conversation with him he starts ranting and raving like a spoilt child and it's making me miserable.

Wow - it sounds like you guys are having a really tough time at the moment SummerRain. amd (or if you'd prefer to help you deal with DP's temper tantrums) back to you too! Hope DP's nicotine cravings subside soon.

Hope everyone had a happy halloween yesterday and any little ones that went trick or treating had a good time. DS1 and Danny went trick or treating with our nanny before I got home - Danny was the worlds cutest and least scary spider and DS1 was a scary vampire - and they spent their bedtime hour getting high on sugar from their goodies which made putting them to bed (while dealing with trick or treaters at the door) rather erm interesting.

Well I brought ds1 to the gp today and other than a referral to ENT about his nosebleeds (another two massive ones last night) he said to let the rest of it just run it's course so not much help there!

dp is in better form but mostly as I'm not engaging with him when he's being an arse.

I'm trying to potty train A (again!) and so far we're not having much luck. He does ask to go toilet but can't seem to produce anything there and then pees on the furniture 5 mins later [sigh] The child will still be in nappies when he's a teenager at this rate

Danny sounds so cute dressed as a spider A was a pirate for the hallowe'en party they went to on Saturday.... he insisted on going home after 20 mins though and then demanded dp bring him back but refused to go into the main hall at all and just hung off my legs out in the kitchens. He was a very cute pirate though and had lots of mommies swooning what with the proper pirate pony tail, bandanna and eye patch

hope all last nights trick or treaters aren't too ill today as a result

SR no luck here with potty training either. Lilian refuses to consider it so I'll just wait until she decides she doesn't want nappies anymore though I doubt it'll be some time soon.

Lilian refused to wear the cute little outfit I made her for halloween (spent ages sewing spiders onto a black leotard ) and of course she wanted to dress up as a fairy.

Interview went very well yesterday - though they were interviewing 5 people for the post. Realise how much I want the job, nice people, good money, lovely place to work etc. Might hear tomorrow, if not on Monday. I'll be gutted if I don't get it......

Am keeping my fingers crossed for you Calico! Am impressed at you sewing spiders on to her leotard - I curse about having to sew name labels onto DS1's school clothes (which he then goes and loses anyway despite the name labels grrr).

Danny will do a wee on the potty if we ask him to but shows no other interest in potty training either.

Not potty trained here either! H started so well last November but it came to nothing. Sort of gave up (party through lazyiness) when we moved back but we had so much going on.

H and DD went out trick or treating with her friends from school and they had a fabulous time although H somewhat confused.

calico fingers crossed for you ref the job

SR they can all be arses

DH/FW has been a bit of a twunt recently but I've put that down to him not working. Was supposed to start (temporary) job on Tuesday but has been arsed around a bit by the agency/company due to work for. I then pointed out he couldn't sit around waiting and should apply for other jobs so he arranged a job interview for 4pm today then of course the agency phoned and said he could start tomorrow! He went for interview anyway as current job just temp and has just phoned and said it sounded very promising. we will see. He has been really snappy and snarly recently and I'm praying he will get better once he is back at work/not under my feet all the time!

All busy here, had DD1 and one of her friends who are still on half-term wrapping loads of presents for santa's grotto. About 80 done so far!

not potty training here until after Christmas, after training 3 of them I am going with the method that worked the best for us!!!!!!

well he's back in nappies today as after 5 days we've had no success and all my couch cushions are destroyed

I was really hoping we could get it done before christmas but he really doesn't have a clue and is just getting stressed so it'll have to wait. I was really looking forward to being free of nappies though!

On the plus side, for the first time in 7.5 years I'm not pregnant or breastfeeding a child... he hasn't had mama milk in a week and although he's asked a couple of times he didn't protest when I said mama milk was all gone (it's not but much as I would have liked to let him wean completely naturally I can't go on any longer)

calico.... goood luck

and mos, good luck for your dh too..... after years of dp being underfoot with no work I feel your pain!

Hello all.

SR - sounds like a good idea to bin potty training for now. A is bright wee man - when he wants to he will nail it in no time at all.

Hope everyone had a nice bonfire weekend. We took DS1 and Danny down to some fireworks in Dulwich round the corner from DH's friend's house on Saturday - Danny loved the fireworks and sparklers (as did DS1 for once - normally the loud noises freak him out but he had ear muffs on that seemed to help) but kept running off in search of more sparklers which was a nightmare as there were hundred and hundreds of people there. He gave DH and me (and the friends we were with) several heartattacks! Yesterday we went to see a dance show - Some Like it hip hop - in the afternoon and he and DS1 were so good during it - watching him trying to bust some moves on the pavement outside after the show was enormously amusing!

Didn't get the job - so disappointed

Oh Calico - am sorry. Really hope something bigger and better is around the corner for you.