Dec 08 Ladies - We're fat, we're thin, we're nearly 3 years in!!

[DeidreBarlow]

Sorry for the shocking title - couldn't think of anything else and our babies little people will be 3 in the next few months!

Marking my place - need to catch up. We have been TT (finally!) so much watching and stressing and trying not to jinx things! If he's dry by Xmas I'll be v happy.

A very happy birthday to the pre-December tots .

Actually, having caught up all I can say is good riddance to November 11. Much love to Lady, Beans, Deids and ZJ.

Any punts on Masterchef? We like Ash and that girl with the purple hair.

Hey all. Sorry have been quiet. Been busy with work and Xmas shopping. And general child-stuff. You know how it is!

Been single parenting for a while as DH has been so busy at work he hasn't really been home much before 11 for a few nights and I'm usually fast asleep by then. Then he's left by 7.30, so he's only seen the girls for moments at a time. And tomorrow morning is his last session with them until Sunday night as he's away for the weekend. Cripes. He's been to the pub tonight and is on his way home as I'm out with a friend for dinner. But he's clearly quite pissed. I'd promised DD1 a sleepover with DD2 tonight, so they're in a room together. Remarkably quiet, actually! I think they're both knackered from nursery. Will put DD1 in her own room before I go to bed as she's got gammy eyes at the moment and keeps waking up crying in the night, poor beast.

Well done on the TT, Effie - it's a bit of a stress, but worth it in the end! Although I trained DD1 in April/May and she wet herself twice at nursery today, so it definitely takes some time!!!

Trace - any news on house?

Ours chunters along. We're hopeful of exchanging pre-Xmas and then moving in February. Whoop whoop!

Thank God November is over tomorrow. A friend of mine's Mum had a massive stroke this week and is paralysed down one side - at the age of 62. Bloody horrid. Apparently she can still speak, but is slurred. I'm meant to be seeing my friend on Saturday, but expecting her to cancel. Typically, I'm mobile-less at the moment as am having it fixed, so can't call her to comfort her at all. I have emailed and hope she gets it. Poor poor love. And her poor Mum.

Vag - good work on the training. I'm so very impressed. I haven't been for a run or anything in over a month. Although I seem to be losing weight, which is good. Guess it might be stress-related!! Down to 64kg, which is good.

Dad has now arranged a weekend away for Mum on 17th Dec with all three of us girls. It is a real treat as we're going to a Spa hotel in Cambridge for a night, with a lovely meal out and a manicure thrown in. DH is looking after the girls for me. I cannot wait. Will be so nice for us all and Mum needs a break so much. Dad has arranged for a MacMillan nurse to come and look after him for the night, so Mum can relax completely. He doesn't completely need someone with him 24/7 yet, but we'd rather be on the safe side! He's got chemo again tomorrow. Yucky. I think he's probably dreading it, but is popping on a brave face for us all.

Anyway, enough boring on from me. Am reading a stupendously fun book at the moment, called The Book of Human Skin by Michelle Lovrik. Very funny and sick and I'm loving it!

Hope all doing ok. Rubes - how is work going and the move? And the nurseries etc?

xx

Hello all, hi beans, that weekend with all the girlbeans sounds lovely and exactly what your mum needs. How clever of your dad to sort all that. He's a Sharp man. I bet it makes him feel a bit better too, I bet he hates the toll it is taking on your mum.

Yay for TT success Effie.

A little good news for the end of November. A lovely friend of mine safely delivered her DS2 (Lo3). She was having some pain and she was a couple of days off being due, so she contacted her midwife, but she wasn't happy with the pain she was describing so had her come into the hospital and it turned out she had a twisted bowl that could easily rupture. So they had to perform an EMCS and that sorted the bowels out she & baby are thankfully fine. Phew. She is a bit grumpy because she stuck in hospital due to the CS and isn't enjoying the laying in bed bit (her last two where vagola births) but she is just grateful they picked it up.

Also you'll be pleased to hear the Spinosaurus has been delivered DH picked it up & its on its way to NL. The boostapaks arrived too JB they are awesome!

Hello everyone,

beans What a thoughtful dad you have. Does your mum know yet? Mine share a room all the time and rarely wake each other in the night. As adults they are going to be able to sleep through any noise. It is a skill for life! That book sounds odd! Isn't Ewan McGregor in a film about making a book from skin? Rubbish film but Ewan is nude a lot .

vag Glad the boostapacks are good. I should say although I suggested the idea of booster/bag things I think it was jam who said she had those ones. I don't want to take all the glory! . Ouch for your friend. I bet that was very painful. Ooh can I ask you a bf question? I have loads of milk in the freezer from when DD2 was in the NeoNatal unit. Do I have to chuck it away now it is over 6 months old?

effie I'm not watching masterchef. I just found some variety pack frosties at the back of the cupboard and had those for tea. I am not their target audience! Hurrah on the TT.

ZJ I don't know about the pile of presents thing! DD1 is confused about the role of Father Christmas and keeps mentioning him bringing her a clock for her birthday! I'm not sure how much is too much at all. She asked today if she could write a letter to Father Christmas so she can ask for the racing car and track . Damn Peppa Pig.

DH was on strike today, so after he went on a march (this made me chuckle as he is just not the marching type!), he looked after the girls while I painted the kitchen. I'm very pleased with it. It was an unpleasant orange and is now 'milky coffee'.

Hello all,
ZJ, gosh, have only just read up - geez.... Nov has been OK for me, but crikey our thread has been hit hard which makes me
Uber busy here. (thanks Beans for asking) by the way Beans your weekend away sounds lovely, what a lovely Dad to organize that - Close knit fam it sounds you have -you lot are going to get through all this with each other. Work wise- although I have been back technically since July I haven't actually worked except my training course My Nov was all messed up largely due to ID clearance delay and MIL!!! Anyway, got a quick Havana then a lil pre Xmas shopping trip short JFK and that's it until hopefully mid Jan. (Loving part time)
Moving has been good / great but also challenging with the littles! DS is a bit sick, but they have both really settled and love the new house. It was not lived in for months so we have had a few teething probs but sorting it out quite fast and hoping to get a couple of new appliances in before Christmas as the dishwasher is broken which I really miss (princess I know!) The move slightly coinciding badly with DH getting swamped with work, so not only has he been eager to do some stuff to settle in at the new place, he has also been up until 1am most nights doing his other job [urgh] Happy though, because as soon as we get everything sorted out here at the new place, it will be FAB. So much more room and kind of reminds me more of home. the landlord at our old house is getting biffy about stuff (long story but we are sort of breaking our lease there) but he has underestimated my short fuse due to lack of sleep so I'm in no mood to put up with his crap - DH has done SO much for them without making fuss calling the agent etc... Little irritating that DH can be slightly 'soft' tho despite all that, and would rather just avoid conflict and cough up the £, but I'm more about principle etc and tend to get quite biffy unfortunately.
I have sorted the new nursery and really happy with things there (despite mil questioning me about DD attending as WELL as ds
Effie - great about the TT!
Sybs Let me know how you get on with that Thomas cake! I have a massive Thomas fan here too, but is it bad I'm tempted to buy that one for a tenner Tesco does?
Lady you sound a bit brighter. Still want to see you ASAP. Glad DD enjoyed her b'day on the Sunday and so glad everything went well for the funeral -

Veggie well done on your inches lost - bummer about the Amazon order. Can you get it sent to me if you are going through LHR I could get it there? Can't remember your flight situation - you must be really excited by now - actually I think I recall you are going straight out of Schiphol to KL?
Spot how are things? I have actually just bought something off eBay right in your area, so if it happens that I collect it, I wondered if/when you are around for a cuppa? How are you settling?
Deids Hope you are OK and thinking of you.
Jam I did gasp at knife boys latest on FB - eek! can you imagine - my dd and him! Fire girl must never get together with him when they can talk!! She is TROUBLE!
Right, I have spilled over into rambling..... I am so tired it's stupid, but cannot sleep.....
Beans you sound like me with your weightloss. it's bitter sweet, I lose weight when I stress about stuff too, and seem to run on adrenalin. Good for the weightloss, bad for the stress.... But my mind just constantly goes which also is annoying....
SL Hello!

It's ok Rubes, thanks for the offer, but it arrived in time for him to do a last-minute pick up at our friends house. Poor DH is unwell today, he's been quite stressed with sorting out work stuff before we fly home, so it was really good of him to rush over to pick it up. I'm quite happy with many of my purchases for family. I quite like Swarovski crystal and I wanted to get some jewellery for my nieces, but there are four of them so could get a bit expensive. I looked on Amazon, wow its so cheap on there, so bought a lovely necklace & earrings each for the girls and a necklace for their mum & step mum, a brooch & little tulip pretty thing for each our mums and cufflinks for his two brothers and my older brother. Oh and another necklace for his BILs fiance. It was loads of stuff but came in at well under ?200.

Wow, Rubes - all go for you. No wonder you've been a bit quiet! Impressed you've been on at all.

Vag - happy to hear about your friend's 3rd nipper arriving. That's a lovely way to end the month. Phew.

We are having a very boring day today - waiting for my iPhone to be delivered from the menders. Man, I've missed it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SYBS JUNIOR! I cannot believe they're all turning 3. So amazing. Am filled with love for them at the moment. All of them, even though I've hardly met any of yours!

I went out for supper with a lovely friend of mine last night. DH babysat. She is babysitting for me tonight as I have my work Christmas meal! HA! Good timing on arrival at new job!

DDs both have v sore gammy eyes, so am bathing them in cooled boiled water and cotton wool. DD1 up two or three times in the night with sore eyes. Poor little bear. I moved her out of DD2's room at midnight as she was screaming the house down. Probably shouldn't have bothered! DD2 being a right little sh*t at the moment. Screaming the house down and pouring her juice all over the furniture and down herself. Grrrrrr. DH now gone away until Sunday and I confess I was a bit weepy this morning. Think because I'm so tired from 2 nights of being up (although I used to cope with every night up about 6 times for 14 months!!!) and because my two weekend activities with friends have been cancelled, so am a bit at a loose end!!! EEK! What am I giong to do????

Beans, jump on an easyjet flight & visit me!

That would be so fun! xx

Yay, my mum is home! She came home today, I was ridiculously excited to see her. Just wishes the circumstances could have been better. We are having Nan's memorial service this Saturday.

vag So glad you got the Spinosauus, I'm sure the boys will love it as much as DS does. We have a Triceratops & stegosaurus coming to at Xmas. They do such good dinosaurs.

beans How lovely of your Dad to think of you all when he is going through it. Hope the girls' eyes improve soon.

sybs Happy, happy birthday to M - has he had a good day?

Oh DH home, supper calls...hopefully back later x

Oh Deids - that's lovely to hear you so excited about your Mum! Sad circumstances, but so nice to be so pleased to see her!

DD1's eyes are much better, but still a bit gooey. Can't get a doctor's appointment, so am goign to see how she is tomorrow and if they're still gooey, then will take her to our local walk in place that opens at 8. She didn't wake up til 8am today. DD2 slept til 7.10. It was lovely. No ups in the night. Hurrah! Although I didn't get back from my work do til nearly midnight. I'm so RUBBISH at late nights now!

We had a lovely dinner and it was our boss's treat and she gave each of us a scented candle. What a lovely lady. Makes me want to work for her harder, if you know what I mean. Am very tired this morning. Oh and with DH away, I managed not to be scared of the dark! Well done me!

What's everyone up to today? We're heading down to see Mum tomorrow. Dad's out for the day, provided he hasn't reacted badly to yesterday's chemo. So we're doing fleeting visit to grab DD1's presents for her birthday. And all our Xmas presents too. Woohoooooo!

Right, off to Fruity Tunes.

Beans pop to the pharmacy and have a chat to the pharmacist. You can get some over the counter eye ointments. You can put a little on some cotton wool and then wipe it across the eye while its closed where the top & bottom lids meet. That should sort it.

Thanks Vag - I'll do that later, I think. You're a star. Thanks.

Just been to Fruity Tunes. Lovely chap who takes it. I'd just started blushing a bit when he looked at me, but fortunately I noticed he's not as handsome as I initially thought, so potential embarrassing crush has been diverted. Pheweeee!

Hello everyone,

Oooh

Secret Santa email : jinglebells d e c [email protected] (no spaces!)
Thanks to all those who have emailed so far! Now, I think I initially said today was the final day for submissions but being a kind soul I will give people a few more days. On Sunday evening DH will do the draw and email everyone with the details.

sybs Happy birthday for DS for yesterday. Hope he had a great day.

deids Glad to hear your mum is back and hope the memorial service gives your Nan the send off she deserves.

Beans Poor show that you couldn't get an appointment. Eye infections are so sore. Hope the chemist can help. I feel the same as you when I have a DH-less weekend ahead of me. It seems much harder at the weekend, especially at this time of year when you can't just play in the garden. Going to your parents sounds like a good plan.

rubes Your job sounds so glam, 'just popping to New York darling!'. Hard work though I'm sure! Glad the nursery change worked out well for you. You deserve a medal to do the packing yourself.

DD just got the little chocolate from her advent calendar to last about 20 mins! She is a little sweetheart. DD2 still only has three teeth. The one at the top is quite long and gives her an oddly lopsided quality.

I've been reading AIBU threads about children's parties and have worried myself! What a minefield. Last year it was thick with snow and no children, only a few adults came to DD1's party, this years has to be better than that.

DD2 has screamed most of today for no reason other than being a little shit. Hmm. Am very very tired now. Got a friend coming for supper and all I want to do is watch telly. She's just split up with her boyfriend and I can't be arsed to counsel her. Selfish, moi???

DD1 being sweet and I've been horrid. Need to buck my ideas up.

JB - how many nippers have you got coming?

Hurrah, it's December. Let's hope it's a whole lot better than November

Beans your weekend away sounds fab, how lovely your Dad is to arrange that for your Mum. Hope he coped with the chemo ok this week? And I second Jolly's comment that weekends are harder to deal with on your own that weekdays for some reason, especially when your LOs are screamy or whiny

Deids hurrah for your Mum coming home, you must have missed her so very much. I will be thinking of you tomorrow and I hope the memorial is full of happy memories of your amazing nan

Rubes I feel exhausted just reading about everything you're cramming in right now! But you sound really happy with how it's all going. It's great to hear that the new house and nursery are both good'uns

I'm quite excited about the secret Santa Jolly, thanks to you and MrJolly for sorting us out

beans you always seem to be accommodating to others - not selfish to want a night to yourself at all. As Veggie said - I did get something over the counter too which helped when ds had conjunctivitis.
Happy belated LittleSybs
Deids so glad you've got your Mum back -it helps being all together. Hope you're ok.
Glam on the surface Jolly but not so at certain times but can't complain!
ZJ yeah it's been hectic that's for sure. I'm off tomorrow and I feel like there's so much unfinished stuff everywhere here that I want to get on with!
New nursery is lovely and the only one of two around here that will offer a 7am drop off if needed so I can try and work some Mondays with DH dropping them. had the 3rd degree from mil about them both going but hey ho. They aren't starting until the 9th Jan as there are so many Mon's that are holidays!! Plus I'm only away over night later this month so not really needed until Jan - then ds get's his freebie sessions which is nice.
Right I've got a load to do before head off so must stop rambling.....

Rubes what exactly does your mil suggest you do with DD when you are working? Put her in an over head locker?

Are you ok Beans?

We are in Australia for DS2's birthday so we are having a little birthday party for him here tomorrow. It is just a small one, he's not really big on large group parties at the moment, so we are just having his 2 favourite friends from nursery, and a brother & sister that he loves playing with. His best girlfriend is away this weekends so it will just be these friends and DS1 will have a friend come who is a sibling of one of the kids. Anyhoo, we are taking them all to a local softplay and then back home for hot dogs and those funny face potato things and pizza. Then DS1 has a friends party in the afternoon and I'm taking DS2 to a Aussie/NZ Christmas party, where Santa will be popping in for an early appearance.

Sintaklaas & the Zwarte Piets went to DS2's school today and gave all the kids a very realistic toy iPhone. DS2 loves it!

Right gotta go sort out party bags!

pmsl Veggie! Nah - she is just bending over backwards since my whole first month back at work got cocked up largely due to her, and I had planned to put them both in from that following month (ie this month) but then with the moving and having to give a months notice at ds's current nursery and all the holidays that fall on a Mon (the only day dd will go) and their settling days needed, Jan was the only option to start, so she's been a bit taken aback I think as she expected to be first response child carer again, when I'd decided after my first month that it won't work really.
And seriously nothing against her so much, just think she has more on than she realizes, and altho I work very little, i still can't work around her - I need set childcare days - thus the professionals......
Right, should be sorting stuff.... bit worried about ds - he has one of those umbilical hernias and its bothering him since he's got a bad cough.... Veggie - must ask you about that later....

I think any pain should be reported to your GP. I'm all for leaving things to see if they will resolve but with things like this its best to keep the medics updated with any changes and let them decide if anything further needs doing. What does DH think? I might be a case of when the cough resolves the pain resolves but it's best to just let them have a look.

Hello all! Hurrah for December and more birthdays for our lovely not so littles.

Very sorry for the rubbish november - especially those who have lost people they love - ZJ, DB and LadyT and those having a rough time.

Rubes - glad you have survived your whirlwind of change and the new nursery sounds great. For what its worth, I think its absolutely right not to rely on MIL, especially when your schedule is flexible to some extent - too many moving parts for things to go wrong otherwise.

Beans - hope your weekend is going well. Really glad to hear you are enjoying the new job. I am glad your boss is treating you well!

Probably loads of personals I am missing but I have seriously lost track.

Not so much going on in the invis household, just bogged down in the day to day. Though my bro has just announced they are expecting their first in early summer, which is exciting news - though will be a bit sad to have my niece/nephew in the US.

Have salvaged my rather ragged mummy honors by managing to sort out a soft play birthday party for DS just before xmas - I guess it will be a rag bag of people at that time of year. Was slightly irritated when we got beaten to it with a class invite from a couple of kids at his nursery for the weekend before having a joint party - it would have been handy to have him in there too. But that is what happens if you're not at the gate every day... oh well. DD is already plotting her trip to the toy shop to choose him his surprise present!

Did manage 2 evenings out this week (nothing too glamorous, a school fundraiser for DD and a book club evening) and almost keeled over from the effort.

Hello all, am seriously rubbish at keeping up at the mo. Dieds I see from FB that your nans memorial went well. I am glad you were able to celebrate her life.

Was wondering whether we should bin off this thread as there has been so much sadness and think of a lovely new Birthday/Christmas thread title.

Happy Birthday to all our littlies that I have missed.

Right have to crack on with operation decorations. Just the outside to do.

Lovely lovely news my little sister has just gotten engaged! So happy for them.