Dec 08 Mums - Happy New Thread, You Beauties!

[beans37]

Come join me....

Poor you Jam. I hope you had a good sleep and feel better. Is your DH around today or can anyone else he'll out with the boys?

Beans, did you tell your mum? Why would she be horrified? Didn't she have three? I hope the restaurant was good.

Kayz, go to Singapore. I don't think travel is wasted money, we prioritise it above lots of other things because its so refreshing and we enjoy it so much. and you and DH deserve a honeymoon.

Rubes, how did the exams go? It sounds like the prep has been a trial for you all. I hope it proves worth it. Would success make your DH a consultant?

Lady, hope you had fun at the pub with your local mates. We may go to Cyprus 19-24 Feb, we will decide this week, if we do go wld you like our house so as to be close to your DP and his trial?

All OK here although DD2 in a very defiant stage. Her automatic response is "No" which is tiring. Her stomach is still bad, it's probably coeliac disease which her grandmother and cousins suffer from but it requires a GA to diagnose and so far we haven't followed that route. May have to though as 99% gluten exclusion which we've been doing is starting not to work. It will be an awful pain to do 100% as well need desperate toasters, strict desperation of food, constant vigilance, but it looks like it may be necessary :-(

Deids, I meant to say how glad I was to read your DH is making an effort and that DS is so popular and happy at nursery.

Oh Arti poor DD2, and poor you it must be hard having to be that vigilant with food.

Friends came last night, didn't leave till 2ish, DS up at 7. I think I'm still a bit drunk! Had too much wine & food, feel very ropey. Thank goodness for the TV! However we had such a giggle so in a few hours it will all seem worth it

Oh Rubes how did DH get on with his exams?

Still haven't had a chance to catch up!
Thanks all re dh.
Arti,It's actually Part 2 of his final exams (the first was back in Nov which he did well in) and part 2 is a 2 part thing It's also harder again. He basically gets grilled by a panel for 2 days with various Clinical's / Viva's etc and volunteer patients. He went up last night and his first bit is this afternoon then again tomorrow pm. It's the big one so he's Consultant level after, but I guess not technically until he fills a Consultant post as he's still in his same job till he does. The bastards don't hand them anything on a silver platter. He's not sure whether he's going to do fellowship before or after yet.
Briefly read about DD Arti what a pain to have to deal with the food stuff. Hope the pg going well.
Glad to hear about ds & dh progress Deids. And your fab night.
And Beans your night sounded great - particularly the wine I wouldn't worry about the foi gras. id you tell your Mum? I'd have thought it would be a lovely distraction for her and something to help her after what you've all been through.
Was lovely to see Lady and the girls and the dp - albeit too brief!
We stayed at a lovely hall which had beautiful public areas and atrocious rooms - just awful, but dh was on a course and that part went well. Lady what shoes did you get for dd? I just picked up a pair on eBay which were nearly new - wanted some plain white as I always find everything clashes otherwise

Oh, and I meant to say to JJ - after all my praise for Sitters, would you believe, we booked one (admittedly short notice for the area I was told as not a lot in the area ) and she cancelled on us 1.5 hours out!!!! Said her dd was sick. Never happened before, and the management were pissed at her and (apparently) gave her a formal warning. They extended my membership for free but still. Plans were still screwed. We ended up ordering a curry into the hotel ho hum.
Did you ever get a night out JJ?

That said, I'm not too put off them (yet) as we were out of area and I'm hoping assuming they are more likely to cancel if they aren't your regular sitter?

Rubes that is annoying but to be fair that can happen with any baby sitter, we often have plans with friends scarpeted because their babysitter cancels. We are lucky our baby sitter has no kids and doesn't go out much herself & she wants the money.

Arti what's a desperate toaster.

Scarpeted? ??

True Vag but apparently the agency was annoyed as the illness the sitter described of her dd was not something to come on suddenly and they are told to give a heads up at least earlier in the day if its possible they may have to cancel, so they can have another sitter on standby. This is what they explained to me anyway. Who knows.

I was wondering about the toaster as well. I can tell you, I have a desperate toaster. Def on the way out.

Oops, darn iphone text! i meant separate toaster (as in one that's never used for our normal gluten bread) and seperate food (as in stored desperate to anything with gluten).

Aargh, and again. SEPERATE

I quite like the idea of a desperate toaster.

Couldn't you just use the grill though instead? And use toastie bags for things like toasties in the normal toaster instead of having to get all separate stuff? Actually how would just a slice of bread come out in a toastie bag? Would it come out like toast? Then she could jsut have her own dedicated bag to keep hers separate.

Good luck to your DH Rubes, sounds tough! Hopefully worth it.

Beans glad you had a good time :).

Arti how is the swelling?

LadyT what's the phonics rant? I hear you on shoes, hideously expensive. I get all twitchy when the dcs are obviously on a growth spurt! Our lovely mobile show lady is fab though, I have all of ds1's old shoes in the loft and I know she won't mind checking them on ds2 so hopefully I can save a bit there!

DB glad dh is trying, good start :). Sure your pigs will be fine. When Iwas a child ours used to winter inthe greenhouse and spend the rest of the year out of doors. We had a cage with a run fixed onto it so they could go in and out as they pleased. When they were outside we'd just shut the door at night to make sure the foxes didn't get them.

Dd is much better this weekend thankfully, the poor girl was totally floored last week she just slept for 3 days straight. She keeps having bursts of energy though and then collapsing in a bit, sticky, meltdowny heap. Getting her to take her medicine is a challenge though, she keeps spitting it out no matter how many chocolate buttons I brandish in front of her.

Arti, couldn't you get a 4 slice toaster and have 1 slot dedicated to her bread? That might be easier and you could mark it in some way so you didn't forget. Poor you and poor her, sounds miserable.

My poor DD1 is very unhappy right now, all to do with the friendship machinations of 8 year old girls. It's breaking my heart for her but I am trying to show her that I am not upset as I don't want to make it worse. Kids can be very cruel can't they?

Sybs - your poor DD1. Is it bullying or friendship/group politics? I hope it is not bullying. DD1 has had a bit of friendship politics to negotiate but thankfully while it has been stressful at the time it has passed quickly and never involved spitefulness. I hope it is the same for your DD1.

Rubes - those exams sound awfully stressful. Any feedback from today?

Indith - glad to hear your DD is on the mend.

Thanks for all the tips about the toast. I know there are ways round these challenges, it is just that I was using toast as one illustrative example, in fact every foodstuff is a challenge. To take today we started problems with breakfast. DD1 likes granola, DD2 cannot have the same kind of granola as it contains gluten, she finds this very unfair and whatever brand DD1 has DD2 wants the same, so breakfast can often involve her crying as it did today (we could force DD1 to eata gluten free brand but its nearly three times the price and she hates it). After breakfast we went to a friends, they had freshly baked cookies for us, they were gluten, we all had to refuse them which looked a bit rude but if the rest of us had accepted them DD2 would have been so v sad. For lunch I cooked meatballs and had to substitute the breadcrumbs for DD2's special gluten free bread crumbs but gluten free breadcrumbs aren't as good at binding things, the sauce required half beef half sausage pork but we had run out of (v expensive) gluten free sausages and the butcher which makes them is closed on Sundays so my meatballs had to be beef only. We spent the afternoon baking for DD1's school bake sale tomorrow. We used gluten free flour for the cupcakes which is (a) expensive, (b) drier so results in slightly crumbly cakes and (c) never rises that well. For dinner the girls had pasta. DD1 hates the taste of gluten free pasta so I had to cook two separate pans and drain them in separate sieves. And on it goes. None of these things is that big a deal or that hard to handle but its all just a bit of a chore. And don't get me started on policing her at birthday parties...

Oh sybs poor DD! Children are very cruel, especially girls. Half the time they don't even realise that their words and actions can be so cruel. DD has been suffering too. She was a bit besotted with one girl, who was friends one minute and not the next. DD didn't know where she was and spent many a playtime on her own crying. It breaks my heart. However, she has now befriended another girl and is noticeably less sad.

Poor dd sybs.

Arti it will get easier, in a way perhaps going totally free will be easier? No exceptions, no grey areas. As friends etc get to know about it they will be able to be more understanding themselves (I know I always try to make sure if someone with a particular requirement is round then all food is suitable). Plus when she gets a bit bigger she will be more aware of her condition and able to police her own food.

Well after a pretty hideous week I am ending my Sunday with a reasonably clean house (need to attack and hoover bedrooms though), the washing almost under control even though dd has been pissing everywhere due to not wanting to go to the loo since it hurt then falling asleep on the sofa and weeing in her sleep and the laundry folding and ironing done!

Arti all of those things are a big deal, plus you are both working parents, and pregnant. I get hassled by full cream vs semi skimmed milk by my two. Geez, I can't imagine, and I know I take having no dietary / health problems for granted at times, but am so grateful as it would be tough.
Sybs, i hope things settle down with dd soon Poor thing. I dread the day (v soon) I have to deal with this sort of thing. DS is so sensitive and still melts down in tears over the smallest thing he takes to heart re other kids.
Ive have all day updates and dh feeling the strain. said the first part today was grueling and he's not sure. Said he nearly swore out loud, "what the F are you asking" thankfully he didn't. But second grilling was painless. So who knows. Part 2 of 2 tomorrow - in 2 parts again he's over analyzing of course (as you would)
mil has just left. It was so nice to escape, come back, and then do nothing except be cooked for. She even brought me wine She can come again
We are going to look at a house on Tues. Almost forgot it was penciled in. Haven't a clue why. We A) cant afford it right now, B) won't be on the market still when we can as it's another that has been reduced dramatically, and C) are stuck in this lease of which the house may be sold from under us with a couple of months notice. nonetheless, it's near one of my fav locations, so the pub lunch before hand will be welcomed.

Cross posted Indith. [sigh] - am exhausted reading that. Halo should be polished for you

I stand corrected Arti. dh just clarified, he isn't able to apply for official consultant post until after finishing the 6 year rotation he's on, and then get completion cert. But can do Private assisting at higher rate than before I think.
He's going on about how cheap his curry is tonight and that we need to move out of the London area as we get fleeced
Ive just had ice cream with Kahlua all over it... The over indulgence is so far out of hand it isn't real. dh is going to set up the turbo trainer again when he gets back, and Rubes is going to frequent it [fatface]

Arti - the different food thing is a pain. As I think I've said, DD has a stack of food allergy, including to both dairy and egg so totally get where you are coming from. DH and I pretty much ended up giving up many years' vegetarianism as we realised accomodating her diet and having some kind of family mealtimes was going to be pretty much impossible. Having said that, DD does understand that there are times her brother has things she can't (though doesn't always like it). She doesn't really want to eat stuff she can't have (she knows it makes her ill) so she is pretty self policing and it does get easier, but she does feel the unfairness of it. As a practical thing, I always try to have snacks/treats DD can have if we're out and about, so she can always somehow join in.

Syb - so, so sorry for your DD. I have to say that sort of stuff is my constant fear for my DD. All that kind of thing made me miserable in my school days and we've already had a taste of it when DD's so-called best friend decided she was more interested in someone else.

Rubes - fingers crossed for your DH. Those medical exams are such an exhausting treadmill.

LadyT - phonics - you reminded me of the curriculum evening for DD that I just went to where they explained to us how they now needed to wean the children off phonics and get them sight reading, using clues from context etc etc to get them to read more fluently. Sigh. Luckily DD is a a complete bookworm who figured it out for herself and is absolutely fine but you do wonder.

Just bracing myself for the week ahead, its going to be a bit full on. Looks like I am going to get to tack on a long weekend to Canada to see my brother, SIL and nephew before a US work trip. DH has been good enough to give me a free pass and am really looking forward to it. Not till April though.

Hello all,

Quick lunchtime catch up at work.

Arti How about baking recipes which are gluten free anyway, like things with almonds? They might be nicer if they are not meant to have flour in instead of replacing it. The allergy boards on here seem pretty good. Brilliant idea from invisible about always having a treat for DD2 in your bag so she isn't left out.

Rubes Hope your DH does well today. Reading your posts brought back memories of my viva .

Sybs Sorry to hear dd has friendship issues. Does she have activities out of school that don't involve her school friends? Perhaps try and encourage out of school friendships a bit so she sees that she has other friends. I'm dreading the whole friendship can of worms.

Sorry about my ginger rant and thanks for your supportive words. MIL makes out it is a bad thing and it just gets on my nerves. I don't want it to rub off on DD2.

I found my first grey hair this weekend. Right on the top of my head too. At bathtime DD1 drew a picture using bath crayons of me.... in the nude. Can you imagine?! I hope she doesn't do that at pre-school!

Hons I'm sure you look lovely in the nude .