Dec 08 Mums - Happy New Thread, You Beauties!

[beans37]

Come join me....

Hi Spot. I thought id broken the thread with telling my smug comment! In hindsight It was probably just selling tactics and they worked
We have had the same with ds off and on the last few months. He flips like a switch. Seem to be coming out the other side though. He was being really mean to his sister, in trouble a couple of times at Pre school for fighting with kids / not listening etc, but mainly at home. I Started taking things off him when he was naughty. Which made him listen. Then had stern chats. I started seeing a pattern of his behaviour worsening when dh was working loads then when he was at home not enforcing discipline enough, and although dh was on the same page as me, he was in his own world working etc at home, so the dc's probably saw it as him condoning their behaviour so they carried on rebelling against me (Probably also a guilt thing as not around much so didn't want to be seen as a meany when he was home but I'm only guessing that)
When ds started seeing dh get tougher on him, he responded better. He also locks his office door now when he's working from home to sort of separate himself which he also wasn't doing much of before.
Fortunately post exam he will have less stress and therefore only work when they are in bed.
I do think a lot is their age. Everyone has said as such, but with the illness & the sleep deprivation you've been put through on top of the 4 year old behaviour, I cannot begin to imagine. They do say that young children who are naughty are better teenagers, don't they? Perhaps you will get paid back with brilliant teenagers with a fantastic immune system hang in there. I'm still bracing for the pox.

Hello everyone.

Am trying to keep up but not much luck. I am hideously busy at work and feeling the stress. In addition , dh is working hard so most of the grind work falls to me. Poor m is unwell today so I am at home watching c beebies when I should be working. Aargh!

Glad to see the preggers are doing ok. I have never been to Cuba but have a Cuban friend so can get the lowdown if needed. M is generally am obliging 4 y old at the moment but his sisters make up for it! I expect challenging teenage years with dd1, as she can be fairly histrionic now!

Hope you are all ok un the snow. I hate it, though it does liok pretty. Plus I am a wusser about driving on ice so have to walk everywhere with all 3.

Hope you are all well. Love to you all.

Lovely Sybs, look after yourself x

Yes, do look after yourself Sybs. Do you have a holiday on the horizon?

Beans - how is the sickness? I felt really awful this time around and it went on to 18 weeks. Oddly I never went off coffee though. It was one of the few things I could stomach. Have you told the girls or are you waiting for the scan?

Spot - Sorry T is being difficult. DD2 is generally pretty OK at the mo although she is super competitive around DD1 and also does a lot of winding-up DD1 and shoving her out the way if DD1 dares come near
me. These sibling relationships are very complex aren't they? DD2 is so much nicer to everyone else yet when DD1 isn't there DD2 is often sad. At times they play like best friends then they fight like sworn enemies. As an only child I can't understand it at all.

Rubes - once this set of your exams are over will your DH be able to slow down for good or will there be another set next year. Being a doctor sounds too much like hard work to me!

Kayz - very jealous of Singapore. I've never been but I stopped at the airport which has a pool do you can swim and stretch during long transfers! How brilliant is that? Will you stay there long?

Are the cottage plans still on? Should I suggest a London meet in Feb? I want us to get better at actually managing these meets!

No news here. Having a late birthday party for DD2 on Sat. I have to amuse 10 four year olds for two hours. I remember this being very hard as each game only lasts about five mins. Anyone got any good tips other than the usual pass the parcel etc?

Where is Veg? She's unusually quiet. Veg????

Hi Arti, This is the last of exams, but he's planning on working 6 days a week until Sept as we have to have enough deposit to either buy this place or buy somewhere else.
Thinking of getting a cat flap installed in his office door to deposit meals

Hello
No, not going to tell the girls til it's official as DD1 would be so excited, she'd tell everyone about it. She keeps asking me if I have a baby in my tummy as her best friend's Mum does!

Sibling relationships are complex, but marvellous. God knows where this third one will fit in! A, still feeling fairly rancid and eating too much as a result. Bleugh. And so very very tired.

Rubes, that sounds like a hell of a slog. Thinking of your DH as well!

X

Arti quick game great fun last ages!

You need -

a Large chopping board

a knife and fork

a large bar of chocolate

a hat, scarf and pair of gloves

a dice

Everybody sits in a circle chocolate on the chopping board with the knife and fork, hat, gloves and scarf beside it.

Everybody takes a turn to throw the dice. If you through a six you jump up run to the middle put on the hat gloves scarf and then you have to try and cut the chocolate with the knife and fork and you must use the fork to pick up the chocolate. You keep going until the next person throws a six then they have to put on the hat, scarf and gloves and keep going until all the chocolate is gone.

Everyone loves this game!

Oh Jam! I'd forgotten about that game! It was one of my Dad's favourites! Thank you for reminding me. Big sappy smile on my face! X

Where is everyone? Are you all ok? I'm just trying to sort out a dinner with DH tomorrow night... On his company! Isn't that lovely? Makes up for a lot of nights without him!

And need to get a sitter, come to think of it!

Very very nauseous. Think I'd better take the dog for a walk.

Sorry about the nausea Beans but it's a good nausea, baby growing sick. That's nice about the night out, thoughtful of his company.

Im here Arti have been lurking just a bit busy. ds2 is loving school but finding it tiring so has not been in for full days this week and had yesterday off because he had an eye test and it is a half day for the whole school anyway so kept him off. So anyhoo have not had the leisure time I waa hoping for this week.

Singapore sounds exciting Kayz, I have few friends who live therr but like Arti I've only ever been to the airport. Beans Cuba sounds exciting I always feel I should have done more of that area before we had kids. I must stress to all of you with pre school kids still get as much travel in as you can outside of school holidays because when they are bigger and you are strapped into school holiday prices it becomes ludicrous the price differences. Some camping grounds in France are charging the same amount for 2 weeks onsite camping that we used to pay to fly home! Anyhoo, thinking of finally doing a camper van holiday this year. Just a little pop top style. We are hoping to meet up with two old NCT families from London. One family has a camper, the other has never camped before. So we are looking for somewhere with nice onsite camping.

Vag, I am trying to persuade DH to go camping but he is of the opinion that there is no point camping when there are hotels and caravans.

I am so fed up of the cold. I do not do cold.

LadyT, did you ever pass your driving test? I am planning to try and get passed before the end of the year.

Beans, hope you are feeling better.

Right I propose an idea to get you two driving. When you get pass your tests we'll all put in & get you little congratulations present. No more dithering ladies!

Kayz I love camping, SIL thinks we camp because we are too poor to pay for hotels but it's grear fun. We could win the lotto & I'd still want to go camping. I love getting together with a couple of other families and driving a couple of hours for a weekend of camping. The kids love it too, we pull up & they have a camping ground full of kids from all over Europe to play with.

I'm bit over the cold too, we haven't been over -3 for 2 weeks. Its supposed to get warmer this weekend.

Im infested. My hair is full of lice! Gross. I checked the boys hair & found some eggz but no lice so I combed through my hair & I'm full of them! Im now obsessed with going through my hair with a fine tooth comb. Why do they want to be in my hair & just use my kids hair as an eggery.

I used to love going camping as a child. We used to go the British Grand Prix every year. But DH looks like I have 10 heads. If I get driving I could take the children on my own!!

I would love to go round France or Italy etc and camp.

Vag I say the same thing about camping, we'd do it even if we were millionaires! The DCs love it, they make friends in an instant and spend all day running about. I love it

Vag, that's gross re your hair! But they do go for clean hair, if that's any consolation??

I am so very thirsty. Loving strawberry and elderflower cordial. Yum.

Can't tell if I'm smelling my fart or the dog's. think the latter. Hope so!

DH late again tonight. We haven't had sex in so long as I'm always knackered and asleep by the time he comes home!

Thanks Beans but unfortunately that's a myth, lice aren't that fussy. I know why we all have it, I have this brilliant shampoo that uses tea tree oil & the lice don't like the smell so it acts like repellent. I order it from the UK. I ran out & took too long to order more so for a month or so we've been using mormal shampoo. I guess it shows the shampoo is effective. The boys school is always rife witg it, they do so much to try to stop it. They have people checking the kids hair every week & send letters home but there are always people who don't comb their kids hair or treat them when they get it so it just keeps going around. I am think I have managed to comb them all out. But if I find anymore I'll have to get some Hedrin. So annoying as it's quite expensive.

Hey beans have you decided where you are going tonight? How's your farting dog?

We've postponed tonight. My choice as am so tired and emotional at the moment! Next Friday instead.

Farting dog is fine. DH was appalled by the smell of me when he got home, so think it mightn't have been the dog at all!

DD has only ever had lice once - thank goodness. I was ridiculously squeamish about it and so my mum had to sort it out . I was alright combing regularly once they'd gone. Thankfully DS is that fair they would stand out a mile.

So DD appears to have developed an allergy to the guinea pigs . They live in the conservatory and she has always been fine. But this past week whenever she held one she started sneezing within a few minutes, eyes streaming etc. So they have now been re homed in the shed. I feel so bad on them as its much colder than the conservatory (although that was pretty cold esp in winter), but obviously its the right thing for DD. I'm hoping as the weather gets warmer she can just pet them in the garden and they can move into their mahoosive outdoor hutch. I feel bad as I am allergic to dogs and I fear I have passed my allergies on to her. She is so sad about it too.

Hello everyone,

Beans Keep nibbling so your tummy doesn't get too empty. Not eating makes nausea so much worse. How was the midwife app?

Deids Not sure if this helps but our friends got a cat about a year ago and within days it was obvious he was allergic. He bought some cat cleaning wipes (this sounds bonkers I know) which helps reduce the allergen on the cat fur. It really helps. Or might it be the hay? That's a pretty common allergy to have.

Arti The protein is a bit of a worry but the bp sounds ok. I saw a new kidney consultant this week and he was saying that pregnancy is a big strain on kidneys. He thinks my last pregnancy has permanently scarred my kidneys, hence my still high bp.

Anyone got a merina (sp?) coil? Said kidney consultant was keen for me to get one! No 3rd child here :( Anyone got any thoughts on them?

Hons, my obs consultant, who I really trust, raved about them and insisted they were the best contraception for anyone post about 35 (Mirena, I think it is) but I am a pathetic wuss about the idea of them. Contraception is such a bummer. Sorry about the scarring to the kidneys. Gosh, what we put our bodies through to have kids...one tends to forget about the insidey bits!

I am behind and need to do a big catch up but I have a few things to do first. I have a really stinky cold and I had about 2 hrs sleep last night - DP is really stressed by the trial and keeps waking me up with his nightmares and my only stoopid nose kept me awake too.

Anyway, I SHALL be back in an hour or two. Hope you're feeling a little less sick, Beans. Do mints help?

Hons I wondered about they hay. We keep it outside but I usually go and get some fresh hay while they have them on their knees, so she is exposed to both at the same time.

I guess if we bring the pigs in to play and she still reacts its likely to be them and not the hay. I also read their urine could cause allergies, so moving them outside is the best thing all round I think. Plus I get a bit more room back... Wonder how long it'll take the DCs to pile their toys in it

Oh beans I used to keep a packet of ginger biscuits in my desk drawer to nibble on at work. That helped lots.

Hons, my sister has a mirena coil and thinks it's fab. I had one fitted after I had DD2 and couldn't get on with it at all. I bled for 10 weeks. Then when I had it removed the doctor forgot to ask if I'd had unprotected sex in the last 72 hours. After 10 weeks, DH and I had finally decided to go for it, despite the blood, and so I had to take the morning after pill! Something I never thought I'd have to do once married and settled! Ho hum.

Thanks for all kind wishes on nausea. Today hasn't been as bad. What's so very mean about morning sickness (apart form the inaccuracy of the name), is that I just feel incredibly hungover and tired, and I haven't drunk in ages! And, I can't even stomach the thought of coffee to rid myself of the hangover feeling and kickstart my day! Grrrr.

However, am eating a shitload of ginger biscuits and man, they're good. AND I have just bought some ginger smelling shower gel, in the hope that it might stave off the sickness for a bit longer. But, honestly, it's not too bad as I haven't actually thrown up yet, just doing moping around feeling sorry for myself like a twit.

Deids, that's a bummer re the guinea pigs. Or, as DD1 used to call them, the piggy pigs. Let's hope it's the hay rather than the beast.

DDs playing so well together at the moment. It's terrible because they always want the telly on, but the moment I put it on, they totally lose interest and just play with their toys. BUT if I switch it off, they whine for it. So the bad thing is, that we have it on most of the afternoon, if we're not doing anything. But they don't really watch it, so figure it's not that bad is it??

Righty ho. Cuba officially binned as no flights home available for our dates, so Oman, here we come. Oh yes indeed! Fingers crossed.

xx

Hi All

Just had a great belated birthday party for N. it went v well with no tears etc despite 10 four year olds. May have totally humiliated myself though: one mum stayed as her DD was scared, I didn't know her but she was very lovely and helpful. She offered to operate the iPod fit musical bumps and I hesitated as our iPod is embarrassingly full of crap, neither DH or I have an ounce of musical taste. Anyway, she valiantly shuffled through Abba, Kylie, Madonna and Tom Jones and did a good job. Later we had a moment to chat and I asked her what she did and she said she was a radio presenter. To cut a long story short I asked her a few questions about it and when she said she had her own show I vaguely smiled and said "that's nice". At end of party other mums came to collect and two got in a right flutter and started nudging me and when said mum left they squealed "How do you know her???". Turns outs she's v cool famous DJ.
Oops.

Hope you are all having good weekends and appearing cooler than me.