January 2008: I'm four and 'they're all mine!'

[latrucha]

Sorry Simposn. Just couldn't resist.

I am lucky in that both kids love to ride their scooters and the school is only 5 minutes away.

Hoping that with M the screaming will at least be held off until she gets home.

Do any of her classmates walk the same way? Maybe go with them as a distraction??

Phew! today was actually fine. It won't last.

Good idea about the friends but the ones who live close go by bike. Danny provided the distraction today but he has also decided that he does not need to hold my hand or wear the ladybird (yes, it has graduated to him. It totally did the trick with S BTW. She now holds the pushchair just fine and doens't nag for my hand)

Nathan is very naughty too LaT - not listening, saying no when I tell him to do something etc. Not helped by the arrival of the wonderful Andy who being a young adult dog is mentally also about 4. They are remarkably similar in too many ways . They can drive me up da wall and I end up shouting at them both and calling one by the other's name

They were both up at 4.15 start this morning. I have just ordered S back to bed for the third time and she has gone finally.

I just hope Danny sleeps a home not in the pushchair so I can lie down too.

Ugh.

LOL at Nathan'n'Andy. Nandy?

Ouch, painful LaT!! I only ever had one up at that kind of time, so sympathies for 2.

H seems to have settled into a 6am routine, thank goodness. It's almost civilised!

D's last molars are coming through and he cried and woke S. The day was ok in the end. I got a little sleep when Danny did and I spoiled them rotten all afternoon. The blackmail for the walk home with S is holding so far! Two days and no screaming.

Hope you all had lovely Jubliee bank hols? We ran away for 10 days to Italy (first family holiday away in nearly 2 years...wanted to take advantage of free flights for Mia before she turns 2 next week!) and it was fab :) Shame about having to come back to work though....

Simpson - at the really amazing school down the road, they have a 3 form entry every year (90 kids) and its massively oversubscribed....the children are split into 3 classes (loosely) but they get to move around between the classrooms and do different things (and mix with each other). If its like that, then M should be fine. Our local school re-sets the class groups at the beginning of yr2, once the kids have had a chance to make friends and they can work out a good balance across the classes. I guess the main issue is whether the school have enough space and facilities for a 3 form intake? I don't think there's much difference between 25 and 30 kids in a class - some recent research said that the benefit from small classes was limited to when there are less than 12 children in the class, and that after that it didn't matter.

LaT -sounds like you're doing brilliantly with S on the food front :) :) Its not so long ago you coudln't get her to eat anything at all!!! I reckon a bit of bribery is entirely reasonable

I've been trying to get T to stop sucking her thumbs for bloody ages. She sucks them so hard she gets large red lumps on the joint, and her teeth are getting quite buck-y. It also means she's caught worms a few times now.....(yuk, yuk, yuk!!!!!). DH found some thumb-guard things on the internet to wear at night (she's been great at stopping in the daytime) which worked for a while, but then she's gone back to sucking. Now I'm working a combination of star chart and My Little Pony (actually, the Tesco cheap ones!) and she's doing better.....

Mia turns 2 next week. Where does the time go???

Well, we had some good news today, the school have reported to the LEA that they will not be ready to take 90 kids So M will be in a class of just 60 with 2 teachers and 2 TAs (which is what I was expecting tbh).

However the kids the year below won't be so lucky and will be in a class of 90.

I took Molly to a party at the local library today which was good fun but highlights the fact I won't be able to do this stuff with her much longer

She is sooo ready for school and I pretty much have all her uniform ready (thanks to a friend coming round last night and dropping her DD's cast offs).

But i will miss having her around in the after noon tbh.

Aw Simpson. You'll still have all the holidays. I'm glad you're feeling relieved.

Hi Filly - glad you had a good break. I've no advice about the thumb sucking I'm afraid but start charts are still working pretty well here. S has tried new things each week and has even found one she likes - strawberries. So, result there.

I have had a hideous cold for ages. Home things still suck too. boo.

S's reception teacher has asked us to get a paediatric referral fromthe GP to look at Sabela's knees and hips. She doesn't straighten her knees when she runs. I had never read anything mre into it than she wasn't going to win Wimbledon but the teacher thinks there may be more to it. I'm kicking myself for not considering it necessary to go to the doctor before. Perhaps that's why she was so long to walk (although she was just inside the limit of 'normal'). Perhaps treatment would have been easier before

Danny's birthday is looming too. He's such a funny boy. He has started raoring. He has an happy roar and an angry roar. I've seen him practising them in the mirror.

LaT - what do they think might be the problem with her legs???

Had an awful few days with M. It started on Monday night when she took over 2 hours to go to bed, she was running around the house screaming and kept coming downstairs etc. then of course she was tired at nursery on Tuesday and her teacher said she shouted in their faces and made 2 o.ther kids cry and had to be put on the thinking chair.

She did not go to the park after nursery yesterday because she had been so naughty cue massive 1 hour tantrum on the way home and at home. Think running off down the street, hitting me etc, that was Molly!!!

Last night was no better really, lots of screaming etc etc. so my new tactic is to put one of her favourite toys in the shed every night she is bad (she has lost her toy pram and scooter so far) and every good night she gets one of them back.

There has been no screaming/coming out of her room tonight so far so maybe the message is sinking in. I told her before bed what toy she would lose if she was naughty tonight but also said I would let her choose what toy she wants back if she is good iyswim.

I don't know why she has suddenly started doing this?? The only thing I can think is that her reading has taken a massive jump forward in the last week and maybe her little brain is over stimulated iyswim???

It could well be that Simpson,or it could just be four. I have found thisage to bemuch more like that than any other.

The GP rubbished the teacher andsaid there was nothing wrong with her, perhaps it was a habit but referred her to the paediatrician in case she would benefit from physio so I was quite happy until sports day today when I saw just how different she is to her peers and started [[http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_health/a1499748-My-daughter-runs-with-straight-legs#32476897 this] thread. She is way behind, really noticeably so. I feel pretty sad about it.

Simps - the news from school is good, and a relief I bet.
Does M like drawing? Can you get her sat down drawing stuff and get her talking about what the people in the pictures are doing? and see if she lets out what's bothering her that way? If there is something I mean. Could easily be her mind whizzing away faster than she can express herself so she's getting frustrated.
I like your toy rule though :)

LaT - haven't read that thread yet but I am all too familiar with the guilt of not noticing things being not what they should be and wishing i'd done something sooner. Not much advice except to hope that things get to where they should be eventually.
Sorry about home stuff too :(

Filly - holiday sounds lovely. we are really looking forward to our week in jersey in August. Kind of wish we'd booked 2 weeks but we couldn't fit it in with other holiday stuff/or afford it probably. Have no idea how the flying bit will go but at least it's only 1hour each way :)
Will do some visits to the airport beforehand with H i think, though he loved his train journey to London on Tues so maybe i'm worrying over nothing.

It's the thought of him kicking off as the plane door is shut/he's strapped in/told to sit in one place/the noise/etc. meaning he screams blue murder for the full hour....gulp.

T's sports day was supposed to be today, they called it off by 9am and it's since stopped raining...oh just looked out the window, it's started again. actually wanting the weather to live up to the terrible forecast so the cancellation is justified

M napping, DH meant to be home earlyish today, i've achieved next-to-nothing this morning, oops.

The toy rule seems to be working she earnt her scooter back last night and will get her toy buggy back tomorrow morning!!!

Good good. I think soeties they just get into a habit of behaviour and can't seem to quit with the usual tactics.

I have been lent a buggy board and now they both love it after I sold the other one. It is uch better to be fair. Far less screaming after school (although not tonight).

Can anyone help me see around this behaviour? S is obsessed with talking about the boy and the girl she finds most problematic at school. She is, when she talks with e, incredibly competetiv with them, particularly the girl. So, if we are playing tea parties with dollies, it will suddenly be, 'Boy A can't come.' If I give them a treat, it's, 'Boy a can't have any he can have spiders.' Or IF we're colourig, 'I can have the pink one. Girl A can't. She will have the black.' It happens an awful lot. I tried talkig to her about it but no enlightenent as to why. Now I've tried disapproval as in, 'I don't like it when you say mean things about your classmates.' Problem is, I just don't understand what it's all about or even wht they are like at school together. Does it make any sense to you? The boy is a very naughty boy and they girl can have quite a cross face sometimes but seems fairly friendly to S if not her friend.

Has Madmouse really left MN?

I believe she has left but said she will pop into here from time to time

Not that she will pop in here obv. But that she felt she had to leave...

Molly is exactly the same re other kids. She comes home sobbing that she is not allowed into one girls "gang" but then will happily exclude others herself"I don't want to be XXX best friend anymore I like YYY"

Molly's teacher said there is a group of them that get together and discuss who is coming to their birthday parties etc and at the slightest little thing one is excluded

They also compete of daft things like who has the longest arms etc!!!

I have had a chat with Molly about feelings and not hurting other peoples feelings, but not sure if it is working

TBH it sounds like S is working through having to share and take turns at school, Molly is pretty good at sharing with J most of the time but it was still a shock when she had to realise she had to share with 35 others in her class and that she could not have her own way iyswim.

Haven't caught up at all, and in a tearing hurry, but just needed to say:

LaT - A (nearly 7) saw the GP this morning to get a referral for his legs. Given all the issues we had with T, you'd have thought we'd have noticed sooner that both of his feet, but especially the right one, flap out sideways when he runs, from the knee down, so he is half the speed of everyone else.

Feeling very and guilty right now.....it took a combo of sports day, me suddenly noticing his legs looking twisty in his summer pjs, and someone commenting on his odd running for me to do something about it.

Getting T referred back to the same specialist that diagnosed her at the same time, as its been 2.5 years and I want to get her fine motor skills assessed before she starts proper school in September.

Honestly, this parenting guilt thing....

Where has MM gone? And why????

here Filly back later

Typical Molly ism from today...

To set the scene we are in the middle of a massive queue in tescos which is moving so slowly....

Molly says "mummy do you remember the time that you went to live in Italy and I had to go and live with granny and I didn't want to live with granny and I missed you so much and I felt sad and you went to Italy to have a rest from looking after me and Joshua..."

I had to point out to Molly that I went to Italy on holiday for 5 days!!!

LaT - oh :( and I read those threads and got quite upset about them....I can understand MM's feelings but how sad to lose such a great addition to MN :( :(

Simpson - Seriously, you need to stick M on a stage somewhere, and sell tickets - you'll be minted :) :)

Missing you guys! How are you?

Here: children are delightful; marriage intractable. Holding in there for now.

All good here.

Got both kids school reports today which was all good although no surprises re Molly's struggles with PE

We have a prize giving tomorrow eve, will be interesting to see how Molly copes with having to sit quietly for an hour (30 mins for hers followed by 30 mins for Joshua's).

Hey Simpson

I hope it goes well. Are you still thinking of being a classroom assistant? I'm thinking of going back to work and am dreaming of such a job coming up at S's school. Either that or self-employed but that all looks very bitty. Looks like I wll be on my own pretty soon and am having to think very hard about practicalities.

Yes but am panicking as I need a placement desperately to continue with the TA course I want to do.

I have done and passed the basic one but in ord to do the next course to qualify I need classroom experience. I have sent my CV out to 20 schools today asking for a placement.

I have not contacted DC school as ideally I want to keep things separate iyswim although have put myself down to do reading with the kids there.

Can you volunteer in anything? I have volunteered in Joshua's youth club because it looks good on the CV!!!

Sorry things between you and H are pants

Have you spoken to him about it???

Yes. I dont want to say anything about it really as he has come on here before and read and is very cross that I might discuss it with another person.

I volunteer as a breastfeeding peer supporter. I'm applying for a job with the network though it is very part time and it used to be the job of one o the most senior directors so I don't think I'll get it. Its sort of an exam officer but I haven't passed the exam I would be assessing (I'm in the middle of the course). I do have the experience so I suppose it depends on who else applies.

I'm also secretary of a local playgroup whichI find annoying but doesn't take too much time as yet.

Sounds like you are pretty busy which is good.

Molly got the reading award at her prize giving last night and Joshua got the outstanding achievement award too which I was soooo proud of as he has worked really hard at school this year.

Just had a phone all from exH this eve (first one is 6 weeks) and he called NOT to find out how his kids are but why my youngest brother had not replied to a text he sent yesterday, it MIGHT be because he is pissed off that you have not rung to find out how your kids are for 6 weeks but can text something to do with the tour de France FFS!!!

And breathe!!!