April 2009 Episode 15 Bebe & BB have babies n stuff

[PuzzleRocks]

Ta da

Oh auld, yes it would be a no from me too, is there somewhere else you could compromise on?

Oh and I'm not going to be too crazy, mostly just no work/jobs at weekends (not even cleaning the house!) so that's just family time!

Zulu, I go back in a couple of weeks too, thankfully from home 4 days a week and one day in London. I'm a bit about it but I'm sure it will be fine once I'm there!

And ouch for biting, Edie is looking toothy and she's been told I want nothing to do with teeth until they're 6 months, and no crawling or walking for a long time too!!!

Thanks, everyone.

BB there are places in-between the two towns we work in, though it's v pricy. I found an ad for a house that I thought looked pretty good. DH says it would be boring there. He has this vision of us nipping out to the cinema/theatre/opera regularly if we lived in Marseille. Given that I usually work till 11pm most nights to catch up for the time spent on the boys/house/laundry/etc., I can't see that happening very often, TBH.

How is K?
Am laughing at you ordering Edie when to teethe...

Dh and I havent been to the cinema together since before kara was born and there used to be one 10 minutes from us, when you've got kids an evening out has to be planned quite a way I'm advance for baby sitters etc in which case whether your 2 mins or 20 mins from the nearest cinema it doesn't really matter iyswim.

I'm having a bit of a work dilemma, I'm dreading going back (but that may just be me preferring to stay at home and be paid), but the company are flexible with me working from home some days, I get paid well, the down side being it's a 4 hour round trip to work and it's quite stressful / intensive at times.

Now my personal trainer is leaving in September and I'm interested in taking over the management of his company. I would need to retrain and for the first couple of years it would be a big (significantly big) drop in salary as - while I would get some of his clients -I'd had to go and find my own as well. But it is an established business with no initial overheads and I would be able to fit it around the kids.

I need to make a decision before monday... Help?!

Oh gosh

So I go away for a little while and see what you all get up to! Auld, shitty shit about the house but I hope you can convince DH to stay in the village you're in... sounds like you're stressed enough as it is!

Puzzle, good news that the tests came back clear, CF sounded sooo unlikely!

BB, glad Kara is feeling better, it's horrible when they are so poorly. Don't know what to say about your job situation, I understand totally where you're coming from as I found it much harder going back to work after having H. Would freelancing not be an option? I might have some clients who I can point in your direction...

Hi schulte - freelancing is maybe an option but I'm pretty sure I want out of the industry soon - I'm just not sure what I want to do instead. Maybe in house somewhere. Or maybe something completely different. I'm going to turn down the other job on the basis its not what I want to do either and if I did I'd want to do it with my own company not working for someone else. So i'm going back to work but with the intention of finding something else as soon ad I decide what I want to do!

How are you and the girls?

I've just eaten virtually an entire big bar of the new cadbury's dairy milk bubbly (milk chocolate over White chocolate bubbles), it's quite amazing!! Beyto got all of 2 bubble square bits.

Puzz hope second lots of tests go ok.

Happy new year!

Sorry to hear about sick babies, hospitals, tests, etc. Best wishes for good health for all the little sweeties.

We are fine, we moved to a new town in December and I love it here. Auld - stand firm! Living in a place you like and find life easy is the most important thing when you have children. (the downside for us is that the commute is going to be longer, but not necessarily harder)

dd1 is the most amazing little story teller. dd2 is trying to walk, adorably staggering behind her walker on beautiful chubby legs, beaming with pride. I have been thinking along the same lines as BB3 about being in the moment. What precious little people, how fast everything changes.

I am still fighting lots of health problems but it's a lot easier to get seen here - a dr came to visit me at home on Friday! I am hoping to be well soon, I had better be as I am due back to work in April.

Anyone heard from Bebe?

Hi kids.
Sorry to hear abt all the sick los :( hopefully everyone is better and now giggling away.
Auld I'd second making sure the house is well placed is key I believe is having a better life.
Vezzie hope you get healthy soon xx Puzz hope you're ok...
Typical (for the last year) bebemoojem stressfulness here with non sleeping kids, husband who is not happy with job, money troubles and frazzled me. Trying to balance being home alone with the kids most M-F with little sleep and trying to get some work done... hahahaha... fodder for the loony bin.
What I really need is about 3 nights without kids and tons of sleep and comfy cosy clean spaces... Not going to happen any time soon.

Vezzie, I had no idea you were unwell. I hope you are better soon.

E is being referred to an endocrinologist on the basis of her latest blood test results. Apparently it looks like thyroid disease.

Puzz sorry to hear that. At least you're getting some answers at last. How are you feeling about it?

Vezzie and Bebe- nice to see you!

I don't really know. It was our GP who called me last night and is making the referral. It has thrown up more questions than answers at the moment so we just wait and see.

Oh puzz that must be a worry. When will you get to see the endocrinologist? Am crossing things for you. [hugs]

We still do not have functioning bunk beds. But i have been given a temporary promotion at work. My boss hasn't been well so i'm going to do his job for eight months. He might not come back. This could mean i expire from stress, or it could actually reduce my stress by removing a layer of crap manage,ent. We shall see.

Ds1 is watching cars2 on the sofa while dp snoozes next to him. Inset day tomorrow, no school. Bliss.

Don't know yet, we have to wait to hear from the hospital.

I hope the work situation works out for the best.

I wish it was an inset day here, I should be getting ready and I am still in my pj's.

PJs all round here. I opened the door to a delivery just now and was very glad not to be outside, considering the icy blast that came through!

DS2 slept until 9.30am - this is unheard of. I think everyone is just a bit under the weather.

Puzzle, hope you get some answers soon.
FWIW both DH and his brother have had thyroid issues, (linked by MIL to the Chernobyl cloud that went over France) and the medication has vastly improved in recent years.

Vezzie, hope everything is OK. Didn't realise you were unwell.

BB, how is K?

It's freezing: snowed last Tues and hasn't melted since, which is exceptional for round here. It has just snowed again, causing DS1's school loto this evening to be postponed. He is v disappointed as is sure he's going to win a DS/wii. When I pointed out there wasn no certainty and he might win a ham if he won anything at all, he looked blank for a moment and then said, "Well, but it'd be my ham, then, and I could eat some whenever I wanted."

Our heating went off yesterday morning, probably because we've run out oil (the gauge is knackered, so I am not certain). Got someone to agree to an emergency delivery at 3pm, and the bastards called back earlier this afternoon and cancelled when they realised what house it is, saying it was too hard to deliver here and I could just phone another company and tell them I've 2 kids and it's 8° in the bedrooms, because they would not do it.
I am not feeling the love for Provence just now.

Thanks Auld.

Any oil today?

Yep, Puzzle, oil came, delivered by a lovely company who said they would never let anyone stay in the cold in this weather.

Oil delivery was followed at 6pm by plumber as that wasn't the real issue.

Plumber almost broke a limb slipping down our icy back stairs, but his fall was broken by yours truly, who held firm on the lower steps.
Unfortunately I held firm while he slipped, legs apart, against my boots. He claimed not to be hurt, but there was a distinct intake of breath as his groin collided with leather...

He fixed things and after 3 false starts, the heating came on for good around midnight.

Hope all the FW are OK.

Oh lord, what a carry on. I'm sorry but it did make me giggle.

I hope DS1 gets his ham soon. Or is it also half term there now?

Hello sorry I've been AWOL.

Vezz, hope you're ok and all the health issues get sorted soon. Glad the move went well, girls sound lovely x

Puzz, do you have a date for the referral? You ok? what a nightmare, I hope they are able to find a diagnosis soon so you can stop worrying and start getting her the appropriate treatment.

Auld, I too had a giggle at the stair incident! Any progress on house decision/issues?

Things are a bit crappy here, Edie went down with bronchitis last weekend so both her and k are still not well, I started back at work and hate it with a passion, k has hit the terrible twos right at the end of the year (I was too smug that I'd escaped it) although I think much of it is frustration at his inability to talk and needing attention. He's started speech therapy but they won't do much until he's three just gave us 6 signs to use (I had to battle for referral to hospital to have his ears checked) and dh is away visiting his family while I've got 2 sick kids and work and I'm massively resentful of him and causing rows. I feel a bit lost and closed in if that makes sense, like I've lost my confidence somewhere in the past 12 months but I shouldn't complain I've got three great kids and no real worries x

Auld at ds and his ham!!!

Glad the stairs incident made you both chuckle, that was the aim. I post too much gloom, a little levity helps here and there. Hence the ham, too!

Half term is not till Feb 24th, so DS1 is hoping the loto will take place before then. Presumably the ham, if well-cured, will keep till the big day.
In true French style, the loto starts at 6:30pm and goes on till 8:30-9ish, apparently. Can't see a UK primary school organising it quite the same way!

BB, I'm not surprised you feel lost and closed in; I do and I only have 2, neither of them as young as your twins and neither as ill as K and E.

I have no useful advice, other than to say that if your DH is like mine he'll have no idea of how much energy and planning you need to run your daily existence, and how many tiny incidents become exhausting, annoying dramas when you are managing them alone without anyone sharing any of it. He'll need it spelled out to him in diplomatic terms (ha!).
I have lost a lot of confidence too because I feel constantly guilty at snapping/being impatient/not spending enough time doing calm or fun or educational or relaxing things with my kids, since everyday chores require my time once I'm at home with the boys in the evening. And this annoying (Calvinist?) voice within me thinks that it's only tough because I make it so, and if I could be more sanguine and cheery about having yet another bloody fight with Alex to brush his sodding teeth, it wouldn't be so hard.
I hope K gets some help communicating, he must be so frustrated. I know how cross A gets when I don't understand his mixture of French and English. He yells, "Mais je t'ai said xxxxxx", as if I was an utter moron.

Auld you've hit it on the head, there is this constant voice telling me i'm making it too hard and what is it I'm doing that is making the days feel so bloody difficult. I become obsessed with things. Like k's speech and just how the hell can I help him and how have I got no time to just play with the kids?

In saying all that we had a very good weekend. I was thinking of enrolling k in riding lessons so took him up to the stables and we followed a rider round on a hack (just walking) and he loved stroking and watching the horses so he's going to go to toddler gym there where they do bareback Shetland riding and basically learn to be around the horses then if he still likes it he'll do proper lessons when he's 3. But we also went swimming together Sunday morning and for a walk just the two of us in the afternoon and he was so happy, his behaviour all weekend was like a complete 180 when we were home he played contentedly and smiled and laughed all day, we had a small tantrum at bed time but that's nothing compared to the constant battles we have had all week. And he was 'talking' more that he has for ages, just constantly gabbling to himself and me. It made me realise that he was missing one on one time and was struggling with that a bit so pony gym and swims are going to be my weekend routine from now on to ensure we get time just the two of us x

I just need to get on with it!

Blimey raffles here are a 20 minute ticket out a hat job! Do you have to go to the whole thing?

is anyone around?

Yep x

So sorry to hear about all your stresses and worries :( BB I cannot believe how strong you must be dealing with it all.