July 2010: now they're all 1, some me-time has begun [huge feck-off sarcasm emoticon]

[CakeandRoses]

am bf A and telling F off and have still come to the rescue.

My iCandy has the lower carry cot, upper seat and lower seat. It's this one Yes, I can use it as the single too - it's just the same as yours if I take the second seat and the adaptors off. You can buy those extra bits on ebay - you should have a look as you might be able to convert yours to a double cheaper than or for the same price as buying a new double.

Glasto 1213 vik?

Who are the roses?

Bedtime I think, once dh gets off the bloody phone. Night folks.

Right so D was up at 6 this morning due to such an early night so I'm hoping he'll have a nap around 9ish then again at about half 1, well that's the plan anyway.

Yea viks, he'll sit through the whole book every time. When I tell people they say 'ooh, that's good that he likes books' but when you have to read umpteen books a day it does get a bit irritating!

I still love the idea of the iCandy, they look really practical. The price completely put me off though!

dh that's about what S does when he's up around 6, fingers crossed for some good napping for you today!

am loving the idea of glasto 1213, gregorian chants etc!

J was up at 6.30 yesterday but still only had one nap (at nursery) at 11ish. he was shattered by the end of the day.

L loves books we have about 40 books and they all get read all the time, L loves to sit and look at them, we have about 5 in the car amd 10 in his room, he will sit through about 4 whole books with his dad but only one for me usually the humgry caterpillar or the gruffalo but thats only because I do better voices on the gruffalo than his dad!
cakes enjoy your last day of being in your 30's
chulita a sofa oven is a very practical biy of kit

we went to view the house last night and the tenant is away til friday and the landlord couldnt find the key so we couldnt get in, but we looked through the window (the bedrooms dont bother me) the living room is nice and it has a big extention so rather than a tiny kitchen it has a big open plan kitchen diner with skylights, its totally walled around the garden, only problem is we wont get dh's beloved shed into the garden, I have sugested dismantling in and geting a crane lift to drop it over the wall, who knows but im 99% sure we will be moving but because of terms of out contract it may not be until 31st November!

ooh that sounds lovely memphis! 30 November (there isn;t a 31st!) isn't too far away.

Off to swimming this morning, then either parent and toddler this afternoon or else I might see if the baby clinic is on at the children's centre where J goes to nursery, as I think J has molluscum con-wotsit (the thing with little warts) and just want to get an HV to check it out. From my Googling I'm pretty sure that's what it is and apparently it will go away of its own accord, no need to treat it, hence why I'm going to the HV about it rather than a GP.

What's everyone else up to today?

I'm feeling really guilty this morning, DH was in a lovely mood and I went and said something to him that was totally unnecessary right as he was leaving. It didn't need to be said at all really and certainly not as he was on his bike heading off...I'm such an idiot. Argh, I'm tempted to ring him and apologise but if he's forgotten about it I don't want to remind him, neither do I want him thinking about it all day.

House sounds lovely memphis!

We're off to a stay&play soon, L's screaming in the hallway about not having the car garage on the floor (where S was sitting on it) so I guess her angelic day was a one-off.

Hi all

Just had to iron some maternity shirts that even I couldn't get away with not ironing

I know, I can't believe I'm gonna have another little one soon. I have washed lots of the new baby clothes and compared them to M's and they don't look that much bigger. She is still only a tiny baby as well

How do you (if you do at all) discipline your babies? I don't know how to handle M's anger sometimes. When she doesn't get her will she screams at me in a really horrible, angry way and sometimes pinches and hits. Should I just ignore that or should she be told off? Ignoring doesn't seem to cut it but when I tell her off I sound like my mother and I don't like that. I don't want my baby to be scared of me. So, WWYD?

Thanks for all the toast topping tips. M loves cream cheese now and plain butter. She also loves jam, but I don't want to give her that all the time.

mlic Good luck selling your pram. That is a hefty price for a pram or even a small car isn't it

chul Hope the sickness eases soon. As for books, M has only just started to listen to stories a bit more rather than just turning the pages really quickly. And I like reading it to her. It does get annoying though, that it's always the same books. Why? Why not the interesting one, with the intriguing story line?

viks Glasto 2013 ey? I really like the idea of family outings like that for the future. Can't wait till they are a bit bigger and able to enjoy more things like that. I read about a family with two small kids travelling the world for a year. I would love to do that and so would DP. Not sure what our cat would have to say about that, but it's nice to dream.

cake Big day tomorrow. Have you planned anything nice? Hope A is sleeping a bit better. There must be something in the air. M was up with us on the sofa last night till 9 (usually she goes between 6.30 and 7 ) Hopefully they will get back to their good sleeping habits soon.

woodlands Your weekend at your grandparents' sounds lovely. Must feel very special to see your little boy playing in those places.

dh Good luck with the nap schedule!

memph Wow, how exciting about the house. An November isn't far away at all. Cool!

chulita I hate that feeling when I've upset DP. Give him a call. It will make you feel better and even if he wasn't thinking about it, he will appreciate that you did.

stac and kk All OK there? You've been quiet like me

wss I'm so pleased that A is happier at pre school. I was really sad for you and her when she didn't like to go. I bet that's a weight of your mind. M gives me kisses and smiles too, when she thinks she's in trouble. Unbelievable what they think off.

dylthan Good luck at the doctor's. I'm sure you'll be relieved after you've been but I understand your worries about going. Let us know how you get on.

I hope I didn't forget anyone. Laters.

That's great memph! Kitchen sounds amazing I'm jealous!

I've sold my buggy!!!! I didn't put it on until 9:30pm and by 10:30 I'd already had two offers! I put a buy it now price of £450 and it's gone this morning, they're coming to collect it in 2 hours I absolutely know that dh will come home and say 'you should have put £500 on if it sold that quickly' but as far as I'm concerned I'm over the moon with £450 as I only paid just over £700 for it 14 months ago. Asking more would have been pure greed and there's every chance it would have gone to auction where I possibly would have got less, and have the hassle of a courier to boot - this way it's easy and has been done and dusted within 12 hours! Shame the money has to go straight on my credit card mind :(

Am waiting in for them and also the delivery of the dog food and my new phone, then off to a girl from playgroups house after baby's lunchtime nap

Call him chul - I would in your shoes

Just realised, that disciplining sounds rather strong. I don't mean it that way. I just want to know how to handle her screaming/anger/tantrums so she doesn't grow up thinking, if I just scream long and loud enough, I will get my will.

Well done on the buggy mlic. That's very good and so little hassle.

Memphis- the house sounds v nice, I'm jealous! I'd love a house with a garden.

Mlisc- well done on selling the buggy, 450 is a great price to get.

D has had an hours nap so fingers crossed for another one later, I'll tire him out at the zoo.

I called him just now and he'd forgotten before he got to the end of the road but we had a lovely chat anyway. He's being brilliant with the children at the mo which sounds patronising but he's really, really struggled to bond with L since he went away for 6 months when she was 8 weeks old and it's something that's really bothered me. The two of them generally just wind each other up but recently he's been sitting down with her reading/playing etc and you can see her blossoming with all his attention!

trudy wrt to 'discipline' it depends what they're doing. S is a hitter and finds it funny so when he hits either L or me (usually with something hard) I pick him up and plonk him very firmly on the floor facing away from me and say 'no'. If he's touching something he shouldn't (like the router...grr!) I do the same. When he lies on the floor and screams I just ignore him. He tantrums more than L did at this age, throws himself on the floor and screams at me but I just carry on like he's not there.

Good stuff on the buggy mlisc, just nice to get it out of the house, they take up so much space!

Woohoo! I won M&S vouchers (too) about 3 weeks ago and they've just come in the post I don't like much of their stuff but I'll happily spend someone else's money (mostly on maternity and children's clothes or bed linen)

Oooo how much did you win chulita?

That's lovely what you said about your dh and L :)

£250 the problem is how to spend that much! (not that I'm ungrateful!)

trudyla I give a firm NO! then he ormally creeps back saying aaaahhh then kisses me, this is because after saying no I ignore him for a bit as it resulted in a tantrum but now he snaps out of it realising its naughty! when he just tntrums for no reason I ignore him and he just stares at me and tails off, you can see in his face he is thinking oh no its not working!
chulita buy bedding and new nursing bras, I would get underwear and bedding, but the spread i wanted was £75 which I could never spend. or could you buy some xmas gifts?
mlic I cant believe it sold that quickly, I wonder what the normal un adapted one would go for?

My dad has got to have a testicle removed, He should have had it done months ago and didnt, silly fool, now he can barely walk, they are butting a prosthetic one in, male pride he wouldnt have it done without a replacement!

That's what I think I'll do memphis, our bedding's very stained by L's eczema creams cos we used to change/goo her up on our bed so it won't hurt to have some clean sheets!

I just spent an hour making chocolate chip cookies with L only to lick the spoon and find that the butter had gone off. I checked it and it's 'best before' July 11...I'm sure it won't make us sick cos it's not a use by date but it stinks and really tastes horrible I'm hoping once they're cooked the chocolate will hide the taste but I'm not convinced.

Chul- how did the cookies turn out?

D had a half hour nap at 1 on the way to the zoo so much better, will prob be different again tomorrow!

hey all,

mad day at work yday - seriously it was like something out of a comedy. i won't bore you with the details but suffice to say i somehow ended up in a meeting unexpectedly informing our ceo (not the overall ceo of megacorp but of my part of the business) that my strategy was better than his

bizarrely he actually came over to say thank you at the end of the --bloodbath-meeting so maybe i still have a job.

nightmare day today, A's molar MUST be nearly here as she's been really grizzly which is not usually her. fingers crossed they're thru by my party as we're still getting fuck-all sleep and i look about 800 now.

she barely talks either - she's got a reasonable repertoire now but rarely actually uses it. she's talking way less than F did at this age. He on the other hand is like crazy little geek lately and is really trying to learn to read. he spelt 'cow' in the kitchen earlier, just from memory (ie with no letters near him). and yet he can still barely count to 20

am currently covered in wooden cakes and tin tea cups where both of them are offering them to me while i ignore them

i can't believe i'm going to be 40 - a proper grownup either! dh has arranged a party here which i'm really looking forward to. he's taken the day off tomo and F & A are still going to nursery so we can have a chilled day together and then out for a thai in the evening.

now that was a liberty mentioning hair dylth .

congrats on the win chul! really pleased to hear things are good with dh and L - i remember a while ago it was worrying you

and also to mlic for selling the buggy for such a good price

how're you pg ladies feeling now? excited? you're gonna make us all so broody when they arrive!

Can you link to your sofa oven pls memph? i'd love one too

FUCK!! just called dh (for the 4th time) to find out where he is as he's usually in by 7 latest to help with bedtime. he finally answered and he's still in London

grrrrrr!!

so not in the mood to do it on my own tonight esp as they've both been a mare to go down lately.

Put children in bath
Get children out of bath and dressed for bed
Story
Night night
Close door
Walk away

Simples

Ha ha.... If only it was that simple! D is asleep but took him nearly half an hour but overall not bad.

The cookies taste amazing [humble] which is why I've given half away to my neighbour and sending the rest to work with DH tomorrow (half of what's left after I demolished about 4 of them...)

After thinking I could never spend that much in m&s I've spent the lot on sheets and ugly maternity stuff. You can tell I never buy much new, I can't believe how expensive everything is!

cake hope they're both in bed by now and you're chilling out with a vat glass of wine!

get children washed and dressed ready for bed
read to F whilst leaning over A while she bfs
finish books, A still bf, F needs to go to bed but he has to wait until she finishes
decide who to put down first - whichever it is, they'll both howl and not go to sleep if the past couple of weeks is anything to go by
i go back and forth between their rooms for a good half an hour until i want to take a detour out of a nearby window

carnage