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.

As grumpy and constantly tantrumy as my two are, I have to say that on the whole they go to bed without fussing. L will run around asking for pointless things for about 30 mins but other than that it's out for the count.

I shall tactfully refrain from commenting regarding anything bedtime related, I think. However, M only naps now during the day for about 45 minutes - 1 hour maximum!

Anyway, unrelated but... Help!! M has received an invitation to a birthday party. What on earth do I do? It's at a soft play place, I think... I've never darkened the door of one before.

I presume she's meant to have either DH or I there with her... Can both of us go? Or will that cause raised eyebrows? Do I dress M in 'party' clothes, or romp around clothes? Do the parents need to dress nicely, or will jeans and a t-shirt do? [scruff]

I presume we take a gift, but what kind of price range? Do we need to take anything else, or offer to take anything else, like food or stuff? Do we pay for M's/Our entry, or is that left to the party organiser? [socially inept]

It is that simple in my house dh :) I don't have the time or patience for fucking about - bedtime is bedtime. I need to be downstairs by 7pm/7:15pm or else we don't eat until ridiculous-o'clock. My only stumbling block tonight was clearing up the vat of sick that ds2 delivered all over himself and me minutes before going into bed But that's all they've ever known so it's easy to stick to. They both protest for approximately one or two mintues and then go to sleep.

Ds1 has been playing silly buggars for a week now saying he doesn't want stories. So now he goes straight from my bedroom to his, night night, kiss, close door. Done.

I'm glad you've spent the vouchers chulita! Mine arrived today - I too am so unused to spending money I will eek them out as much as I can so I don't feel like I've been 'had' so to speak :)

Speaking of baking, I made cheese and sweetcorn scones this morning and they are absolutely gorgeous

x-post

Spirael some families have both parents and others (me) go alone. I don't dress up and don't put the kids in their 'best' for softplay.

Yes take a gift (price range depends entirely on how good friends you are I suppose), no don't take food. She will no doubt be given some shit food whilst your there. You won't be fed though so bear that in mind.

Entry fee is usually paid by the party organiser

HTH :)

And I bow my head to you for doing it mlisc, I hope to one day be able to do the same

Spirael- there can be one or two parents if u both want to go that's fine. Price range no more than £10 I'd say. Jeans and t shirt are fine to wear! Yes u do stay there with her and I'd say dress her in something pretty but comfy so she can climb and roam about, hth!

congrats on the wins mlic and chulita! nice to get some new maternity gear chul cos i'm sure you're sick of all the rest of your stuff after wearing it twice already.
been a mental week but nothing baby or work related, more neighhbours and family. there's 2 dodgy women that moved into our lovely little quiet estate into 2 seperate houses in the last few months and the 2 of them have become best of buddies and there's something very dodgy going on between them. judging by the people that are in and out of their houses and the suspiscious goings on, one of them is definately a drug dealer and the other one is in cahoots with her. and of course our house is stuck in between the 2 of them. i was getting my hair done in my salon at the front of the house this evening and one of the dodgy people knocked my door asking do i do womens hair (it was a man) and i fobbed him off but i had seen him knocking around today up here in a jeep but while i was sitting there i heard him say to the woman next door 'you'd wanna be careful of those petrol bombs'. i'm shitting bricks as dp not here and i'm imagining someone coming to do something to her house and getting our house by mistake :(. everybody in the estate is so angry because it's so lovely here and quiet but these 2 are just ruining everything. it's a real respectable place too so don't know how they even got houses here.
cakes how did bed time go in the end?
trudy you sound like a new woman. wrt to discipline i give a firm finger and 'no'.
tsc how is all there? unbelievable that you can get so much done and bought and yet he has no money. since our thing about money a few months back we opened a joint account that we both put a certain amount into every week and all bills, shopping, stuff for E comes out of that and it's working well.
E has a good few words but some of them are badly pronounced!
my head is busting worrying about this shit now

tsc! definately time i think! really made me laugh though!

tsc that is bloody funny. i will say nothing about visions of 4yo bf in the park

i thought i had A craftily fooled that there was nothing going on under my top for her between the hours of 7 and 7 but today whilst having a teething grizzle she wrenched down my top and kinda grimaced towards me. weaning could be upon us too.

trudy i'd advise the same as chul about 'discipline'.

mlic sorry but i did laugh about that sweetcorn sick - just typical that of children!

kk that does sound awful and i don't blame you for feel uneasy altho i'm sure the petrol bomb thing was just an idle threat. have you thought about going to the police (garda!)?

random question - does anyone have any cool way of storing their baking ingredients? i have mine on the top shelf of the larder but it's always doing my head in as it takes ages to get everything down, stuff's always leaking etc.

A went straight down earlier but F pissed around for ages. he used to be great

4 mins left of my 30s

the wrenching down of top was in m & s cafe btw

Happy Birthday cake (I think it's past midnight now with you so it must be the 6th)

Spirael yes I'd dress her in something comfy so she can run around and climb etc.

Sometimes both dh and I go (if we're quite good friends with parents), sometimes jsut one of us goes.

I spend up to about 10 quid on a pressie (less is OK though)

I never dress up (for anything, let alone kids birthday parties )

Be thankful you won't have to do bloody party games yet.

kk those 2 women sound well dodgy.

cake I have baking ingredients in glass storage jars, in the summer here we get so many flies etc you can't leave any packets open in the cupboard - everything like flour, sugar etc has to be in airtight containers.

I do bedtime on my own fairly often, it's usually fine. G goes down with no/very little fuss, then I put A down, pjs, teeth, story, light out. She tries to procrastinate a bit but the whole thing usually only takes 10 mins.

Feeling tired and angry this morning, but I want to know if its justified so I'll ask you ladies.

If you're a sahm and the baby wakes up alot earlier than your dp/h has to is it always you that gets up with the baby or does your dp/h sometimes get up with them and let you have a little lie in for once (bearing in mind it's also ne who gets woken up in the night too, not him)

Happy birthday cake :o

dh - it shouldn't always have to be you that gets up, of course. In reality, it's often me in our house. We do have a rule at weekends that I get a lie in one day and he gets one the other day.

Happy birthday cake! Have a bunch of from family chaotic :)

Dh yes, it is always me. All day, through the night and every morning. I never get to stay in bed not that I'm bitter

I don't have any nifty storage for my baking stuf, my ingredients cupboard lives up to my name if I'm honest.

kk sounds dodgy. I would echo what cake said about talking to the police.

tsc, weaning time, definitely. I know you'll be fine about that considering how much you love it, but cake what about you? How do you feel about potentially stopping?

He said he'd get up with D tomorrow morning after I moaned explained it shouldnt always be me.
From sat it won't be an issue, we'll be in a caravan with my parents so we'll give D to them and we can both have a lie in!

Wrt storage, I bought a couple of Jamie Oliver flip top jars to keep pasta in, I haven't got them yet buy saw some samples and they are v nice. The lids come in 4 different colours, I got almond because it matches my kitchen but there's also green, red or sage I think.

The woman who bought my buggy for £450 turns out to have a business and is now selling it for £625 here

I feel a bit sad, which I know is silly, but I wanted it to go to someone who would love it like I did and now I don't know where it will end up. Ah well, that's business for you

Happy birthday cake! i'm sure you'll have a fab day x
Mlic . I would feel really pissed off too! Probably irrationally bt

But thata just me!
We've phoned the police loads of times when theres been scumbags up and down between the 2 houses roaring and shouting. A few minutes after the incident last night the gardai went in next door so they must have rang them. Thats my normal neighbours not the other ones!
E ended up in with us last night for the first time in ages. Teeth I think. Was actually nice to have her in but not so nice that i'd want it again tonight!
Bloody freezing here today

Well karma has bitten her on the arse :) I got two brand new hoods for it as the viewing panel on one of them was cracked. I had never put them on (deliberatley as I wanted them brand new, in packaging, as a selling point). They just rang to say the zips on the hoods are the wrong way round to the fasteners iyswim? If I'd sold it to a lovely family I'd have bent over backwards to help get it resolved (iCandy will have to replace them but it's just organising it) but as she's only bought it for a profit (which is her perogative) she can sort it herself.

I said to dh I didn't know whether I should have offered a return or not, but I didn't. What do you guys think?

I wouldn't have offered a return mlisc

kk sounds a nightmare with your neighbours

dh I grt up with our dc in the night and on a morning mostly. Occasionally on the weekend I'll be allowed to go back to bed after feeding L like last Sunday when I went back to bed just b4 7 after getting L back to sleep about 6.30 and putting some washing on. Dh got up with the children and let me have about 50 mins b4 waking me to change L's nappy (which didn't need doing

mylife have it back, i'll have it!! Why did u go for a tandem, cake and chu went for side by sides. How old is E? D wants to walk more and more and by the time the baby comes he will be really wanting to walk, i can carry the baby for quite a while, so im wondering wether i will actually need a double, what do u guys think?
chu are u feeling better now, less sick? I cant believe i am in the third trimester. Saw the midwife today, all is well, have to go for anti D bloods next week.
dh my dh gets up a few times a week and once a weekend, he took him in the conservatory yesterday morning at 6.15 and i actually went back to sleep which is a first. I do all the night waking, of which there is a lot atm, dh does bath most nights and when he does get up in the morning he does breakfast.
So, can i ask, does everyone bath baby before bed and does anyone still give a bottle right before bed. I just cant see how i could do bed time alone if i continue with the same routing once #2 is here.