Hello everyone
Sorry it has been so long, I am just at the end of my 2 week working frenzy. Have 4 weeks off to recover in now 
.
Thanks to all who wondered how I was and to BBB for her wave down the A23 . Really delighted that your dd is walking now.
bc thanks for the lentil recipe you posted ages ago. It is right up my street and I intend to try it this week. You are right about Norway. We have friends there too and it has always seemed an enviably nice place to live. Have just seen the news about Amy Winehouse too. Not exactly a surprise, but still shocking.
IC are you enjoying life back in the UK? Are you living in the same area you lived in before you moved to Madrid? We always use a 1.0 tog sleeping bag at the moment but vary what goes underneath. Tonight is quite warm so just a long sleeved pj top and a nappy. The upstairs in our house is quite warm though, usually at 21/22 degrees.
PA and scones how many weeks along are you?
stan congrats on Atticus. Sorry you had such a horrendous experience after the birth, but am bloody impressed how you have bounced back!
bethy that headmaster is clearly a t**t......
Not much to report really. Dd has just finished her first year at school and bought home a glowing report saying she is a lovely little girl and a clever one at that (chip off the old block obviously). Shame then that she has spent the 3 days since she broke up being a right little madam.....Ds is still utterly gorgeous and entertaining. He sleeps through most nights but wakes up somewhere between 5 and 6 and won't go back to sleep despite being obviously tired. He has started to jump and loves the trampoline we have in the garden. He is also obsessed with those toy cars/trains which move under their own momentum. We have a stone floor in the kitchen and they race along at great speed to his delight. He also had his first haircut this week and he looks much older without his long fluffy bits. I was also a bit cross that it cost £10 to cut an 18 month old's hair.
LBH sorry you have been finding things tough but it sounds like counselling will be a positive step. Motherhood must be really stressful if you are plagued by 'What if's'. I am currently obsessed with the idea that if anything was to happen to me now, ds would have no memories of me at all, and dd only very vague ones.
Please feel free to ignore me here, but all those who are having sleeping issues, please try not to get too stressed by them. I speak as someone whose ds only slept through about 6 weeks ago so I have been in your shoes. I think that as your dc have all slept through at some point there must be some factor, like teething, affecting them. They are also still incredibly young and may just need a little reassurance in the night that you are there. And remember that golden rule of parenting 'This too shall pass'. What worked for us in the end was me moving into the spare room (to remove the bf association), and dp staying with ds all night (his cot is still in our bedroom). He wouldn't pick up ds when he cried just sshhhh him and tell him to lie down. At first he was next to the cot but moved to the other side of the room over a few nights and that was that.
Well I have waffled on for far too long, and my ironing pile has not been touched yet again. Sweet dreams to all.