Sept 2008 - no witty title as we're too busy dealing with stroppy 3 yr olds.

[MrsArchchancellorRidcully]

Hello all. Couldn't see a new thread so thought I'd do the honours. Sorry for rubbish title, I'm no good at witty! :)

ninja So sorry that twatbadger is being...well....a twatbadger

Sooo...work have told dh that he now cant have his holiday in July that we have booked. Lost our deposit...£400 down the drain ffs.

Am so fed up. We just cant afford another one what with all the issues with the house...any ideas on cheap hols???

Dh away in Belarus til saturday and sounds like he is staying in a real pit...am worried

Bec that's terrible - will his work reimburse for the inconvenience?

We've been looking for a cheap break but dh can only get the first week in June which unfortunately coincides with half-term so prices are absurd . He has been looking at center parcs holland again. We went last august and it was a 1/3 if the price of uk ones. However we are less than an hour from Folkestone which makes it a not too bad drive. I've been looking at menorca too.

Hope you find a good deal!!

I've been looking at menorca too kagey for the same week !!! We did have that week ear marked for decorating but it might be our only chance of a hol this year so...

No, he wont get reimbursed...dont even get me started Part of me is wondering if its a type of constructive dismissal thing going on??? They have just sent him to the arse end of Russia (he just text me and he is not happy...he says it just like you imagine cold war russia to be) and are generally treating him like shit but he needs longer in the dept to get some experience

Luckily ds1 is being a star about it I told him this morning that we had to cancel and he just said "oh well mummy we can save up for an even bigger holiday next year!!"

Tell me more about CP in Holland kagey !!!

Becaroo have you tried tescos? If you have a clubcard they are doing a thing with park resorts for a few nights for only 40 or 60 worth of clubcard vouchers. I wish I had seen it before booking our holiday. does he have his holiday permission/booking slip from work so he can challenge them.

Glad you had a good weekend Carrie. It won't hurt ds2 in the long run to have a bad morning, or a sleep in a buggy. Lucy slept way better in a buggy then her cot so Gina didn't know everything.

Robyn is being a bit of a nightmare, waking early and just being so grumpy and dis interested. Thus makes me grumpy as I need my sleep. My earliest morning was with dd1 the night Diana died. Dd woke at about 2.30 and wouldn't settle so we were downstairs watching alternate cartons and news footage all night and morning

debs Its "gone missing" apparently

Basically, one of the managers/company secretary has screwed up big time and the WHOLE dept are off the same week!!! How can that even happen???!!! dh is the newest in the dept and booked his hol last so....

Dont have tesco vouchers. Dont have anything (might have some nectar points actually but my account is under the old e mail address and I cant access it)

Am hoping we can get away that week - even if only for 4 nights - am a republican so wont be celebrating the jubilee!!!

Oh Bec, what utter shits. I hope your dh pursues the matter and gets the lost deposit reimbursed.

Glad you enjoyed the weekend Carrie. I think probably my earliest start to the day was about 4.50 with M at 15mo. It was midwinter and didn't get light for fecking hours.

Sounds like you and I are both at the bottom of the heap. M with often say to me 'I love daddy and I love Ike ............. oh, and I love you mummy' After thought or what?! Nevermind me, I just look after you all day

M had a fire engine and fireman visit his pre school today, then on Friday he is going to a fire station. He seems very underwhelmed by it all. I think he just wants to go to pre school and play with his friends and dinosaurs, and anything else is an annoying distraction. He has also started to become fussy at dinner time, which is nice

Bec we went to de kempervennen and it's about 2 hours from Calais. It has the usual center parcs activities and English was widely spoken. Erin loved the late afternoon kids shows (even though most of it was in Dutch). Well worth the journey!

Dd2 sometimes wakes up at 430 but after a quick drink of milk she will settle . She is 1 in exactly 2 weeks time and I have yet to organise her little party.

iltmimi My dc's pick up the odd bit of fussiness from nursery / school. They have a tizz for a few days about something or other then it tends to settle down. DS has started yelling "I AM NOT EATING THAT!!"" every so often, it's quite funny hearing it from a human dustbin with hollow legs .

ILTMIMI Toby keeps telling us all he loves us and stating our relationship to him...Yesterday he said "Ds1 is my big brother!" I said "yes and who am I?" "Oh, you're just mummy" Typical!

kagey 1???!!! Blimey, where does the time go??!!

milestone alert I've just ordered DD's big girl car seat. Goodbye 5 buckle car seats that are a flippin' nightmare to transfer, hello big seats that don't require a battle to get into.

She's heavy enough for the next stage and the current strap is on the last bit. It's a PITA to pull it tight now TBH as there's not enough to yank properly and she's usually kicking me at the same time. I tried her in DS's seat last week and it fitted better than I expected so she's moving up. I also think she's wider than her brother, it's quite a squeeze in the little seat .

Bookmarking. will try and post tomorrow.

meg ds2 is very almost out of his carseat too. We've got 2 and 1 of them seems narrower at the top and his shoulders are getting squished. The other one is ok but he's running out of legroom due to me being fussy and liking legroom and seat to be at a particular angle When we go to NZ we'll take a booster for ds1 and highback booster for ds2 so I suspect when we get back he'll end up staying in it. I need to get another one actually as I don't really want ds1 on a normal booster yet (although he prob will in 1 car as it's only used for short journeys and that way I ony need to buy 1 more highbacked one)

bec I hope you get that money back and the numpty who arsed up gets into trouble!

I overheard ds2 tell ds1 yesterday when they were arguing: "I'm not going to be your brother anymore" DS1 took great delight in telling him he was stuck with him forever!

I became an auntie for the first time on Sunday. My little brother is a dad! A hefty 9lb 1oz (same as my ds1) boy who is very cute but I don't know when I'll see him. Looks like June half term might be the first chance

Congratulations on becoming an Aunty How about Skype? It's not the same as seeing them in person, but the next best thing maybe?

We put M in a high backed booster just before Christmas. I was a bit nervous about it, but he fits in there a lot better than his old car seat - which baby I is now in.

M's fussiness is mostly at dinnertime, he eats his breakfast and lunch fine. So I am putting it down to tiredness and a bit of trying to exert his authority

Toby is 98th centile for height and weight...do you think he could be in a booster seat now rather than a static carseat??

Hmm...

Am beyond fed up re: hols. Its mine and dh's 40th this year too so really wanted to go somewhere decent

Oh bec you poor thing :( and the fact that you have special birthdays makes it even more :( We will brighten your day as best we can with and and much chocolate!

car seats DS1 isn't heavy enough for a highbacked booster yet but we bought him one in Morrisons of all places when the had a baby event, and have it in the loft! Its the same Brittax one that DD has and was only £25. It doesn't have side wing bits so is nice an slim fitting which made the difference in us not needing a new car when we had DS2. There's an amazing car seat fitting specialist near us and he's very particular about booster seats, won't even stock or sell the ones that don't have a back, he says they do nothing except raise the child a bit, there's no head or neck protection and the belt can slice into them in an accident, and every child should be in a high backed booster until age 11. As you can tell we really had the hard sell from him!

debs thank you for the reminder that a night's sleep in a buggy isn't the end of the world...!

kagey I can't believe its your DD2's birthday!

Does anyone else get the 'musnet recommends' emails...? hopefully was quoted on there this week, I'd been wondering how she was, still lurking?? Fancy a ??!

Not caught up yet as having too much fun with DS. We went to see John Carter at the trafford centre on Tues. It was a mediocre film with good sci fi effects ands DS slept on my chest through most of it

Yesterday I overheard DD mutter 'bollocks' under her breath when she couldn't find a pair of knickers

On a serious note, the unprofessional cow of an I'm has responded to our small claims court by denying she owes us any money so now we actually HAVE to go to court and I have to sit opposite her and not turn into an emotional gibbering wreck. Damn. Had hoped she had an ounce of moral fibre. Oim sure she's going to say stuff I'm not ready to hear and which is irrelevant - whatver the reasons she took an advance fee to provide a service, and she didn't provide the service so money back please! But how will I face her when it brings so many ishoos with it!? And I'm likely to have to bring DS to court with me cos no one can look after him.

I'm = IM damn autocorrect!

I went to the small claims court last year MrsA, and it's not as daunting as you think.

It's probably not a court room like you would expect it to be (ie like on the tv), it's most likely to be a room with a table in. The judge one end, with you and the IM sitting opposite each other. The judges also tend to be lay judges, so no wig or gown etc. The whole setting is a lot less formal than you may expect it to be.

If they offer you mediation, take it. It doesn't cost you anything (although it may be different in Wales) and it shows that you are balanced and willing to take all routes before it goes to court. The mediation here was done over the phone. The mediator knows nothing of the case, they just mediate with a view to a conclusion.

Keep your points factual, brief and strong. More than likely the judge will not understand the ante-natal jargon and terms, and probably won't want to either. So you almost have to simplify your case and put it in a nutshell (cases are given 30 minutes for both sides to put their point across).

We paid you xyz in return for abc
You did not give us abc, therefore we are requesting a refund of £xx

If the discussion does not stay cordial or on topic, don't be scared to butt in (politely) and get the discussion back on track and your point across. It's not a bun fight exactly, but you have such a short amount of time that you have to be quite forthright. Don't be a shrinking violet if the IM is being loud.

Also don't be scared to interject if you think what the judge is saying or if you believe their understanding is incorrect. They are NOT God.

Also take dp in with you. My dh was great and was able to argue without emotion, while I was sitting their fuming and wanting to poke the claimant in the eye.

Also if you find yourself getting emotional, explain that you find it a very emotional issue (the judge is human), but also say that this claim is a claim about money and a lack of service, not about your emotions.

Whilst I understand how you emotions are all tied to this situation (and rightly so), the judge probably 1) doesn't understand or can't empathise, and 2) care. This is about a financial transaction, not an emotional one. Unless of course part of your claim is about the emotional stress.

If I think of anything else, let me know. Feel free to ask any questions :-)

Thanks ILTMIMI, yes we will Skype once sil is feeling a bit more human. She was torn to shreds and lost 1.5l of blood! Skype is much better than just seeing photos.

Great advice there MrsA, this thread is so useful! All I can offer is a 'good luck with it all and try to stay strong'

Off work today as ds1 was sick yesterday. Ds2 was sick last Monday and last Thurs after being in contact with the bug 4 days before getting it, so hopefully this is the same odd, likes to lurk before pouncing bug and not a different one. Especially as we're going away for the weekend.

Congratulations AuntyDebs! And good luck with small claims MrsA - experience of me and my parents is most people give in just before the case actually comes to court, assuming they've got any money to give you, which saves the hassle.
(though we didn't bother taking our builder to court as confirmed he has no money, so have to be satisfied with the electrician beating him up...)

Parents have now got a high backed booster so we're visiting tomorrow - I hope between us we can figure out how to get the first seat configured for a newborn again!
I'm managing to be a bit less anxious while the weather is nice, but been referred for CBT - suspect there will be a huge waiting list.

NC Its always easier to feel/be more positive when the sun is shining IME...easier to go out, easier to want to go out, the feel of the sun on your skin, people are happier/more friendly....hope the CBT referral doesnt take too long.

Just got back from the GPs...had a bit of a bad bleed (clots galore) this morning so thought I had better get it chekced out...they think its because of the new hormonal meds I am on but if not its back the gynae...sigh. Feel (and look) like roadkill

I must be the only woman who longs for the menopause to begin

mrsa I agree she may settle before it gets to court...make sure dh/someone else goes with you for support!

carrie yes, I saw hopefully in the e-mail . She's on twitter every so often, being arty and crafty.

Bookmarking.

Ladies,

Had my last day commuting to work today. It was supposed to be my last day of working full stop but I offered to continue working from home as we need the extra money. So I've got a big writing job to get out the door by Tuesday, then maybe I can relax a bit.

Am 35+3 today and huge! Having a repeat gtt & growth scan tomorrow as baby's abdominal circumference is off the scale (all other measurements are average) - they want to rule out gestational diabetes. Have been easing up off the cakes and biccies the last week in the hope that it'll help slow the growth.

Porch is finished, floor is laid, shelving is in - there's still a never-ending list of things to do but dh is running out of hours in the day so I may have to compromise on a few things. Hospital bag is nearly packed and baby clothes and blankets are all washed and folded away. Nearly there!

Ouch, baby kicking me in the cervix will have to return with personals another time.