Dec 08 Mums - Breech babies, bedtimes, boozing and Bikram

[KiwiPanda]

Um sorry about rubbish title

Hello!!

Sorry not been around for ages, have been doing some lurking here and there, but not much, must try harder.

Big news here is DH has quit his job, has got a new job but not starting until October, the plan was to spend time with the kids and some time on his crackpot ideas own business venture ideas. But now he has got some contracting instead so un fortunately he won't be able to do that and we won't actually be completely broke. This is overall excellent news as we don't have to do the mad run to nursery and then work 4 days a week and sometimes i even get dinner cooked for me when I get home. And today there was even a cake (they had been baking). DH is a much better parent than me!

kayz congratulations on DD's birth, birth story was lovely. Ahh.. you are such a pro! Glad the BFing and everything is going well and hope DH gets home soon.

dieds that sounds most difficult with the nursery and DS but you dealt with it very well - what is the bloody point of them writing down every little altercation he has?? Hope it gets better soon. Oh and well done on the weight loss going back a bit, can't remember how much you lost but it was loads! You must be a skinny minny now!

kiwi well done on PB, you are super speedy. You must give me some tips. I want to get my times down a bit, am getting more into running as it is easy(ier) to fit in than long bike rides. And I never get to go mountain biking anyway so what is the point . actually I shouldn't complain as I went to a 24hr race the other weekend but it was horrid and rainy and filthy mud so it doesn't count, harumph.

Oh and kiwi not sure what to suggest about your sister, have you been in touch with her at all in that time and just been ignored? If not, I would just try an e-mail or something?

jolly i too think DS's tantrums are getting worse. BUT I find if I tell him "No amount of screaming is going to make me change my mind" then he does listen, even if he doesn't stop tantruming straight away. If it is negotiable I try and come up with a compromise instead, or just give in I have to confess I dont' know what I'm doing though!!

On eating, we do bribe DS to try things. Otherwise he would NEVER EVER try new things and he has gradually started to eat new things when we have bribed him!! But with no getting angry or making a big deal of it. And he only has to have a tiny taste, no eating the whole thing on your plate thing. He is sort of better with his eating now, but it's still very limited, he has recently started eating sweetcorn, which is his first vegetable. DD still eats everything in sight. I am waiting for her to get fussy but it hasn't happened yet.

I have not read Fifty Shades either, don't think I really want to, think I know enough about it from facebook!

beans hope teh dinner party is going well! You are so good, I have no good friends in my village and never have dinner parties!

Oh on swimming, not sure who was talking about it, DS has been going to lessons for nearly 2 terms now and still can't swim without swimming aids! He has however, learnt to launch himself from the side into the water with gay abandon (which he was scared of before). However, he is so unscared of it now that he did it while I was still on the side last week, and I had to jump in and scoop him up quickly before he sank too much! I think from what other people I know have been saying that their children are all better at swimming than him even if they are not having lessons....but sure he will get there eventually. Kind of feel I should keep up with the lessons now I have started them (and he kicked up such a fuss for the first term, that it was hell, and so now he quite likes going it would seem silly to stop).

However, DS can now ride a proper bike. Some of you probably saw me getting wildly overexcited on facebook, sorry about that. But I couldn't believe he just rode his new bike in a couple of hours. Balance bikes are amazing.

Right I'm going now as DH has stopped faffing around on his computer.

DH isn't going to be home until sometime next week now. The guy replacing him still needs his passport back from the Angolan Embassy. Useless people.

SL that all sounds great! I often think that DH would be a better full time parent than me - far more patient and much better at actually playing with the girls rather than giving them stuff to do/ play with so that I can get stuff done, though then again that's probably because I prefer the house not to look like the aftermath of an explosion in a toy factory after a day at home

Re my sister, thanks for all the advice, but frankly I feel that she should be the one holding out the olive branch/ making some kind of effort. She's the one who got ridiculously huffy with me for daring to presume she might like to TOUCH her niece for the first time. There's also a lot of backstory involving money (isn't it always in family disputes?) - it's a bit complicated but basically when our Great Aunt died (who had been much closer to my sister, in that she loved staying there etc) she left a very old will. In it she left half the house she owned to a niece of the friend she lived with for many years. This niece felt bad about this as she hadn't been expecting anything, so rang up my sister and said words to the effect of "I want you/ your family to have half". My sister took it all, didn't share any of it with me or my mum (to whom my Great Aunt had left NOTHING, despite her being her only really close relative). My sister told me this when I was 7 months pregnant and staying with her, then refused to talk about it (literally said "I refuse to discuss this") then spent the rest of the weekend moaning about her DH. Unsurprisingly I have not quite felt the same way about our relationship since

My parents refused to get involved - my dad because he felt it was none of his business (not his blood relatives) and my mum because as she had been excluded from the will felt it would look like she was trying to grab something. Anyway I did FINALLY talk about this with my mum over jubilee weekend so I don't know how much she has regaled my sister with but clearly it's not had much effect...

So anyway I kind of feel that I've bent over backwards for years to accomodate her, and not made a fuss when she did things like this, but by refusing to have a relationship with my lovely DD2 because she had a M/C 6 months earlier she kind of drew a line in the sand...

Sorry that was a bit rambly. But anyway.

To cheer me up can I be a bit of a sappy smug mum and share the first line of DD1's latest "learning journey" from nursery? It says "LittleKiwiPanda is a very kind child and likes to make sure the other children are happy and included. She is very good at writing and can write letters independently". Etc. The first line bought a tear to my eye. Bless her little cotton Peppa pig socks.

Kayz that's dumb. Useless people for sure. Hope the week goes quick.

Summer a massive thank you! DS was similar! He did one lap of the lake wheeling the bike, then got on after I showed him Summerboys FB clip again on my phone (I now refer to as The E training video) and he was away! Mastered it after about 30 mins! Even with his seat too low so he was not getting up enough speed and still balanced fine!
Exciting news about dh - sounds like it is all working out well.

Beans Centreparcs sounded fab. I've always wondered what those places are like. Just heard they are super pricey for food etc. Good for kids though. I'd like to go to one of those places in Rhodes or Egypt with the swim up family rooms - however that said, I'd probably panic the whole time and make them wear floaties (arm bands) 24/7!
Well done on the entertaining, running, sexing and just general goddessary
Oh and that childcare you have sounds bloody amazing! Ours is a packet and a half, and I've now got to put DD's name on a waiting list for her 3 y/o hours which won't be until Sept 2013! Cannot believe I've also got tours of schools for ds to attend as early as next week!

Obes hope you had a fab b'day and you weren't too about yours Mum's anniv x

Invis congrats on Charlie's arrival - very good name

Deids you sound much happier - I had a chuckle over the Deidsboy saying "No" on the list too! For Heavans sake! I bet anything he'll settle down. Sounds pretty normal to me - actually I've been worrying a little as we have the opposite here - ds a little angel at nursery - butter wouldn't melt, he's the fav and all the kids actually announce when he arrives or they see our car pull up - "Rubesboy is here he's here" he's very popular. then we get home and he turns into Satan himself, and spends all day beating up his sister and inflicting pain the minute he doesn't get attention from me. That said he's a little unpredictable, as if he's not tired, he can be quite sweet to her too. I honestly think it's a phase for ds and preschool and will def pass soon

Lady Thanks for the offer - v kind, but sadly dh hasn't been on the bike excepts a few random commutes to work. He is literally burning the candle at both ends, and not a lie, he's working his day job, then has been working every Sat for over two months plus every night every until about 12-1am with follow up work from that job. He's knackered, and even then he's got to put money towards these exams which cost over 2K to attempt (which isn't reimbursed if you don't pass on first attempt, then over 500 quid in study materials - they fleece them. He's going to get back into in properly after stage two of the exam when he can chill out about it all.
Mine have both done swimming since early on (ds 18 mths and dd 5 mths) and I initially did the lessons where you go in with them (still do with dd) - with those to be honest it's just water confidence so nothing you can't do yourself with them.
DS goes to lessons without me now, and to be honest they are cheaper and he's learn't so much in a short period of time, and every week it's only him and 2 others who sometimes don't show up anyway, and the instructor and he likes it much better. But I wouldn't worry about it at all as long as you take them swimming now and then so they don't get worried about the water etc. as they're all still quite young.
Speaking of which dd goes today to her new term - sans sunburn this time - thank God!

Sorry crossed kiwi - I think you are right and after that story - wow. Always drama's in families - I def felt it was more to do with other stuff. She has some issues it sounds. Hope she comes round.

Oh and SL I can bore for England on running tips so if you really want some, do shout..! It's amazing how the right training can bring your times down/ speed up

how funny - actually as I posted that ds is being really nice and they are playing together really well. He's teaching her to read (clearly making it all up) but I guess I shouldn't have been so mean about him. But when the playing turns to dd ruining the train track he get's violent!

Kiwi - yes I really do want running tips! I have already got quite a lot faster just by running with the boys at work and making it hurt with a bit of intervals thrown in. I think I have taken 3-4 mins off my 5km time but would like to take 1-2 more mins off. I think I would probably need to be more structured about it - do you do recovery runs and if so how slow are they relative to normal? And what are good interval sessions to do? Not many hills around here but could probably find on if hill sessions is required (boo)
Sorry everyone for boring running talk but as lots of you are runners too I though it would be ok!
Rubes hurrah on the bike riding. It is amazing isn't it?
Gosh your DH sounds like he is working himself into the ground! You should plan a good holiday with childcare included to look forward to. Hey did I say - we booked skiing! And I am going to learn to ski (rather than board)
Kayz that is super crap. Is your dh still working out there then? For some reason I had image of him being stuck at an embassy or airport area waiting for paperwork! Anyway hope he is back soon.
Kiwi I wouldn't bother with trying to reconcile in that situation either. Have you spoken to your mum about her not speaking to you? What does she say?
Beans how was dinner party?

Oh and rubes ds is the same. Well behaved at nursery but always terrorising his sister! Sitting on her hitting her kicking her etc. she has taken to screeching "naughty brother!". For some reason she calls him "brother" rather than his name.

I want "getting into running" tips please I had started the couch to 5K, then the weather turned crap and it ended up the bed to kitchen to sofa for some days, and then I lost momentum. I'm wondering if I should do that again, or just see how far I can go in one hit before I collapse. back before my wedding I used to do 30 min 3 times a week on the treadmill going pretty quick. Hated it until I saw results.
Summer - also meant to say no not doing it cos everyone else is! Just the ease of it - less excuses when you just have to put on shoes or pack them in a suitcase!
Yes DS is fine with dd - often really good, until she starts destroying things he's built like train tracks or rips his books - then he gets really pissy and pushes her around at throws train track at her etc.
I'm really looking forward to going skiing - haven't booked but thinking of going with Esprit or MW. Where are you going?? We are going to go around Feb 24th just a week I think - tell me all!

DISCLAIMER: Ignore following post if you don't want running rambling

SL so basically I do about 4-5 runs a week (which is a lot, BTW, not suggesting you need to do that - my physio tells me that injuries increase massively once you hit the 25 mile a week plus bracket. Oh but I don't need physio because of running, in case that sounds alarming - I have arthritis in my left foot which is congenital, nothing to do with running at all and in fact only hurts when I walk..)

Of that I usually do:

1. One easy run - where I don't really look at pace but just do the miles I'd planned. I guess this is a recovery run as I usually do it on the first one after my long run, but I don't try for a particular pace, just whatever is comfortable.

1. One 'tempo' run - this is a run at race pace but for a shorter distance. ie as I'm mainly doing 10ks I might do 5k at my ideal race pace

1. One track session - I do this with my running club but basically it's intervals on the track of anything from 1200m x 5 to 400m x 10 with really thorough warm up, stretches, and crunches/planks/sit ups etc after

1. One interval session on the road. Easiest way to do this is 1 min fast, 1 min slow (or 30 seconds fast, 90 slow, or 1 fast/ 2 slow, it doesn't really matter). Only works if you do push it a bit on the fast, but take the slow as slow as you need to properly recover. I'm actually doing a 10k one on Tuesday nights now with my running club where you do 1km at ideal race pace, 1km slow (about 1 min/per mile slower) x 5. But that's quite old school really, I think shorter intervals are actually supposed to be better.

1. One long run (I'm training for a half marathon so I need to do quite long ones but "long" is totally relative term obviously!)

Then occasionally I throw in a random fartlek run, or hill sprints if I'm feeling particularly masochistic and Wimbledon isn't on (the hill I run up is the one outside the LTA which makes that impossible at the mo!)

Do you have an app or anything you use? Endomondo or IWorkOutMuse are good for intervals as you have the voice telling you when to start and stop. In fact I've just got the Pro version of Endomondo as it's got various different kinds of intervals so that might be useful for you..?

and.... that's quite enough of that.

/ RUNNING RAMBLING ENDS HERE

Right, could only manage 3.5 miles -with lots of hilly bits in my defense - nearly killed me, but first time out in about 8 weeks running and this time more than walking / running for once so mainly slow jogging. Not even gonna state my time, however it did make me feel good that I almost had to pull the dog along at the end!

Rubes, I'm trying to do 7k a week and can only manage 45mins. Also v hilly. But it's ok. I like it.

DInner party was fab! We all got fairly drunk and laughed a lot. It was a roaring success! I think everyone enjoyed it too. Sorry if I sound a bit wanky, but am so chuffed as I'm hoping we'll become good friends with them all.

DH working late tonight. I screamed unnecessarily at DD1 earlier and I am feeling incredibly bad. She even did some wee in her pants. Awful awful me. Hangover has brought out the worst in me. I currently pretty much hate myself for it.

Oooohh loving all this running talk, though I wander if we should have our own thread. Where is Tracey, she is training too.

Summer, I am really seeing loads of time reduction by upping my strength/sprint training. Admittedly I'm keeping my races short and my aim is a fast 5km rather than a longer run like Kiwi, but I am actually doing more strength training than straight runs. I am trying to increase my actual km's / week by running too my sprint training sessions, as well as actual long runs. Also, I do either hills sprints or intervals and then inbetween I do a circuit session. So for example tomorrow, I will do post intervals were is when we pick out 6 lampposts, sprint to the first the jog back, then sprint to the 2nd jog back, then 3rd, 4th and so on. After the 6th, you do it back wards, so 5th, 4th etc. As each distance is fairly short you do have to go all out and you can jog slow but not too dawlding. Then after we have finished we do a circuit of say dips on a park bench, then plank and leg pull ups on the swings (we do this at a local kids playground), then well just a bunch of other upper body and core strength stuff. Then another set of sprints. As you are training for a triathlon, and have to train for your cycling and swimming too I,d recommend sprint training and circuits if you can. Lots of squats will help with your cycling and lots of push-ups will help your swimming.

Sorry that's a lot of rambling I'm sure if I read that back I will have no idea what I meant. But basically what kiwi said but slightly less miles.

You ladies gave me a gigle on FB this afternoon.

Speaking of a giggle, Beans I read your sex post last night and was laughing my head off at your missionary finishing off with doggy. Too funny, sounded like it could be from a diving manouver triple sommersault in the pike position with a doggy round off.

Rubes your poor DH how is he supposed to pass the exams when he is gonna be shattered. Dh has taken on two jobs in one week for the week after next so he will be working in Saudi for a week and a half and for the time he is there he will also have to work in the evenings to do the other. Luckiky its a remote job and the client in in the US so it's doable but he'll be tired, but that's only for a week and a half and he'll get paid well. Also I'm not sympathetic becuase is it the last week of the Tour de France and i wanted to go to Paris for the final day :-( But the good thing about it is the work he is doing in Saudi is for his new company and it will be a big step towards getting the company a good name in the area that they are specializing.

Summer why are you learning to ski?

Invis sorry to ruin your fantasy, it would have been brilliant to meet up I'm Bruxelle. I dont get down there enough, I quite like Antwerpen so I usually end up there.

I didn't mind the Da Vinci code, but in a trashy crime novel type way, I never really understood why everyone got so upset about it. It was basically a trash, read in the middle of the night while your baby won't sleep type novel. Although I think I read it before I had either of the boys. Anyway it was one of those easy crap novels you read quickly and it's isn't too taxing in the brain, like Patricia Corn well novels. But all those religious groups quite upset like he was presenting it as truth, which initially he wasn't. I think when he saw how many more novels he sold when the catholics got upset he then started pretending it was real.

LAdy I was going to respond to something you said but can't remember what it was. So will you be in Belgium the whole time I am in London. And while im on the subject, can anyone meet up for a drink that week (28th-5th) & when can anyone meet up during the day.

Obes how are you getting on, when are you off to the US?

Deids, your DS sounds like my ds2, which I was hoping was normal. Surely they could find at least one thing he does well and concentrate on that. Ds2 can be difficult but I've been making a big effort to go on about the little things he does which a good, one of them is helping me with the bike while im unlocking the back gate, and do you know what he nearly flies off the bike at the gate now tomhelp me with it, even if I don't need help. Having said that I lost it with him today, big time. It doesn't happen often these days but when it does it's always huge. It's nearly school holidays and i think we all need a break from the school run.

Right I think I'm rambling now.

Sorry Beans cross posted, we can feel like bad screamy mums together.

rubes that is good, I don't know mcuh about couch to 5K but I assume it is for people who can't yet run 5k at all yet, i.e. have to run/walk? In which case presumably you don't need it! I would keep at it outside with the dog while it's nice and light in the evening and try and find some different routes to keep it interesting and maybe get one of the apps for your phone to time yourself to make you feel good when you get faster? Then hopefully by the time it gets dark in the evenings you will be addicted!

kiwi thanks! that is great. You do similar to what I do but more of it. I do 2-3 runs a week but usually 1-2 bike rides as well on top of commuting to work by bike. I could probably find time to do 3-4 I reckon if I really wanted to. I haven't done the interval training with longer intervals yet - think i should do some of that - and I don't do much interval training but what I do do is the 30 second, or 1 minute stuff that you were talking about. Actually I have my phone set up for 30 seconds on 1.5 mins off x 5 then 1 min off 1 min off x 5. I find it a killer. Think I should make sure I do that once a week. I do do tempo runs with the boys at work, and then lots of the "normal" runs end up being pretty tempo for me as they get competetive and I am slower than some of them. Oh and i use runkeeper, though I did use endomondo at one point, not sure why i switched now.
May try and do the local park run on Saturday, I want to see if I can do faster than 25 mins.

beans v jealous of dinner party. Clever you. Don't worry about screamyness - tomorrow is another day! We all do it. DH threatened to leave DS at the side of the road this evening, haha, he got really upset. Served him right though as he was beating up DD in the bike trailer as usual.

vag thanks for running tips, I x-posted. like the lampost one, that is like pyramids they do on the bike, sounds ouchie. I have done my triathlon! Sorry, I posted about it on fb but I think you were away and I meant to message you and then forgot. It went really well and I beat my friend which was most pleasing (haha, competetive, me?). Though my run was slower than I expected, it really hurts running on post biking legs doesn't it! I would like to do another but don't know when I would get round to it this year, would also like to do a lake swim but then I have to do some more swimming I think. My swim was not very good either in the tri thinking of it but my bike was faster than i expected.
i am learning to ski a) to learn something new b) because i have real problems with snowboarding boots, as i have funny fat tiny feet and I don't think they suit snowboarding boots. It is so painful and I am fed up of it (had two pairs of my own boots and both been agony, same with hire boots). And when I tried skiing for a day the boots were much more comfy even though people told me they would be worse.

Skiing rubes - we are going to courchevel with Esprit in March. Very exciting. 2 other families coming too. Hope we get one as DH and I are the joining couple, the others dont' know each other. Last time we tried to go to courchevel DH ruptured his spleen on a long weekend in Les Arcs a few weeks before so we couldn't go, so hopefully this time no such tragedy will befall us.

Vaggie, he's only doing all this work (the every Sat thing) in advance so he can cut back to less than usual (will cut back to one Sat - usual is 2) when he starts studying for the exams. Part one in Nov so back down to 2 this month then 1 a month until exams over. So, that's the plan anyway.
We're in Dorset 28/29 then should be around in 1st week but will have off and on plans possibly with dh's family who will be in the country visiting but will keep an eye on potential get together's and hopefully join!

Summer, I did (fast) walk some of it but not as much as I did when I started that Cto5K. I used Runkeeper and it was ahem 5.3k and 33 min The GPS kept cutting out though so have just downloaded Endomondo as it seems to be more popular to use? That was my plan exactly though - try and get hooked in the Summer then by Winter I won't mind so much!
What company are you using for skiing? Are you doing a chalet or hotel? I'm going to visit the indoor ski place in Hemel a few times before we go

Beans I've felt like that before - never nice but they forget v fast so don't worry.... I feel bad bitching out ds being mean to dd as he was lovely to her this afternoon after nursery, and then she hit him over the head with a stick out in the garden. Starting to get her own back. He was shattered though - up all night with a weird temp and has a slight sticky eye so both went to bed at 640pm not a peep! I've been ill with shocking hayfever, an eye infection plus conjunctivitis too so hoping I haven't given him

Ah I see Summer - sorry cross posted.

Well done on the tri Summer, did you say you run 5km in 25 mins, wow. Yeah it does feel heavy running after the bike, the only way you can help that is with brick training. I'm doing an ocean swim race at our local beach next week, its only 1km so should be fun, though I haven't really trained for it, bit tricky as its been so cold lately. The next day they have a run on the beach and the through the dunes. The races are part of a triathlon event thing and they have separate races for each leg as well in the days before the main event. I'm not doing the triathlon because the cycle bit is on the beach and down some scary steps. You'd love it Summer.

It's a chalet hotel rubes.
33 mins for 5.3k is amazing for a supposed non-runner. You will be beating me in no time

Just quick question. DD2 was playing with my pill packet today. She popped out one of my pills and I have no idea where it is. If she ate it, will it be dangerous??

Really? didn't feel very good - I'm wondering if the GPS going to poor signal half way through made something cock up with it. Though the map seemed to record exactly where I went. Will try the other app next time and see. As I said I did speed walk some of it, and nearly dislocated my shoulder when the dog chased a cat, but otherwise I sort of enjoyed it! Feel much better now for doing something as well.

No I don't run 5k in 25 mins vag but that is my plan. Only done 1 timed 5k and it was 25:44. But hoping I have got faster since.
My tri 5k was 28 mins ...it was a bit hilly and bloody hot (excuses excuses) but I was hoping for a bit faster.
I do like the sounds of the steps vag! How did you guess?!
Sorry for boring sports talk!

Guys. Seriously. Those are amazing times. I struggled for ages to get down to 28mins 5k and I hadn't done a triathlon before it!!!