Dec 2011: Running around after our Cybermidgets...

[Aethelfleda]

Roll up, roll up, it's the Dec 11 new thread.
Prepare to be upgraded (if you can catch them!)

Hugs octo hope things look better in the morning.

DS is very attached to his jellycat giraffe he calls him rara, he generally likes anything to cuddle though. He spent the weekend learning to jump, has provided much amusement while watching him. He has taken to pointing at people and yelling jump so he can watch and copy!

Good luck to all those attempting house sale related things and also can't believe we have more new thread babies due soon, its gone so quick!

Oi sorry to hear things have been so difficult with DH but sounds like you got some very good advice on the finance side of things.

sympathy for boo and lack of routines/stress of three on hols. We have a sort of rough daily timetable that is fluid yet predictable when it's holiday time. So the DDs know we may get up a bit later but we will leave the house at some point, there will be some sort of down time in the middle of the day, we still have bedtime routine, and each day I tell them in the morning what the rough plan is, and each night before bed I tell them anything big that will happen the next day. We also have a "requests board" so they can write down the things they want to do and then we tick them off (I am strategic so all the things are achievable!)
This holidays' list covers everything from seeing daddy, jumping waves, library challenges and go-to-the-park, to eating scampi "inna pub"....

Ooh and northern, v exciting about the house offers! Hope it all comes together soon for you, sounds a v sensible plan and let's hope things are meant to be...

I will endeavour to post tomorrow, for I am too tired to be coherent today. He misses the detailed regularity of schooldays. With their linked after school stuffs and regimented weekends. He is clinging to the weekend at the minute as they at least haven't changed.

Maybe you can create a "school holiday calendar" together. Colour the weekends. Insert the stuff you know is definitely happening, and then make plans - in advance/in the morning of that day, and try to make a schedule -even if it's only very loose, it may be comforting for him to see it in writing/pictures. Good luck. X

Well, there's some good news....
Agreed sale on both ours and the one we're purchasing today. The owners of that one are touring about ten houses this weekend in an aim to find somewhere. Have agreed the mortgage (just need to do the paperwork when it arrives) and instructed the solicitor.

Now I just have to pay lots of money and wait ages for it all to go hideously wrong ! Remember folks, pessimism is your friend!

On the down side, DMiL fell over outside and broke her hip at night. Took nearly two hours for the ambulance to arrive. They've actually done a hip replacement, and she's out of surgery. DP's three siblings have decided to use the time to have a massive, sweary, flouncing argument, a fair bit via text so there's a nice record. I think they may have actually used up the world's supply of swearwords and venom. Lots of other sh1t chucked about too, concerning various long-standing family rows...
We're going up this weekend anyway, as it's my DM's birthday, but sheeeesh. There will be atmosphere.

I like peril's idea octo, but it sounds bloody tough at home for you. Three kids over the summer holidays on your own...hope you're getting some family/friends help?

Let us know which cake you do, glad you liked the thought Queenie. Loving the anniversary ideas, you're all very creative we just got drunk.

Hope you're feeling better faffin and the bruise isn't too spectacularly purple!

Northern that sounds great about the housey stuff. Hope your DMil is on the mend soon and hopefully sibling ishoo's won't get in the wAy too much.

I'm going to attempt a minion cake :)
Pls checkout www.facebook.com/GemsCakes1355for other pics etc.

Sky in bed and hopefully asleep for the night. Not heard from my Darcie so she must be having loads of fun...missing her like crazy...not sure I can cope with this growing up and having fun with your friends for a week away lark! Lol

Evening all! Congrats northern on the baby-steps with the house (an offer accepted plus a buyer is a great combo!) V sorry to hear about MIL, hope that things improve and you don't end up dealing with too much relative fall-out debris

Like the idea of a minion cake queenie, very in the moment! Banana cake as a base?

Today we proved that the kids are waterproof and xiao was kind enough to act as a witness. The holiday list is continuing, we added scampi-inna-pub to the ticked list! Part of me is hoping for some surreal and subversive wishlists...

Plus highlight of the day was on the way home through a country green, watching a cow carefully cross the road after pausing to let a van pass, then mooing and looking both ways. The DDs were very impressed!

Nice one Northern. Let's hope it all goes OK.

Spent the evening with Mr. Mopsy stripping the coving and the wood chip off the ceiling (ugh) then cutting a hole in one corner as there is a massive bulge in the ceiling there. The plasterer will put a new bit of board over and plaster the whole ceiling. My goodness, the mess! The filth! The dust! Horrible. I was the cleaner upper. Mr. Mopsy did the really hard work. But it was still shite. I really really dislike DIY. Once ceiling plastered we must paint the whole room, then paint hall, stairs, landing, bathroom and bedrooms (everywhere except the kitchen basically), then get a deep clean done on the house. Then we can get it on the market. So annoying that we left all these jobs until we want to move but they are so horrible. To be fair we have painted everywhere before. It is the horrible big messy stuff like the ceiling and removing wood chip that we left. When we did the kitchen just there recently we had to remove wood chip from both the walls and the ceiling... yuck... the people who had the house before a) had bloody awful taste and b) did everything massively shoddily. Anyway, only half the ceiling left to do with the steamer now and it is ready for plastering.

Did I mention I'm off to Italy on Thursday til Monday sans Minimopsy and Mr. Mopsy? Excited but dreading leaving minim. Better get to bed.

Hope today was better Octo!
Hope you're not missing Darcie too much Queen.
Hope things going OK with you and Mr. Oi, Oi.
Sounds like you guys had fun today aethel and xiao.
Hope your bruises are fading faffin.
Hello everyone else! Hope all well.

p.s. sorry to hear about MIL and in law family stress Northern . Hope it calms down!

Queen minion cake sounds cool! Can't wait to see the pictures!

Aethal glad you're having holiday funsies. Mmmm, scampi...

Norther Whoot! Yeah for tentative house progress, and boo hiss to broken hips. Hope your MIL is on the mend soon and the rest of the family wind their necks in.

Oh dear Octo fingers crossed for a better few days with a bit more structure. I'm actually going to be over your side of the country in early September, if you're around we could meet up and drink coffee while the kids wreak havoc somewhere ?

On the home front, DS has started refusing to go to sleep for anyone, and just wails and tantrums. Took two hours to get him down last night, I have a foul cold and feel like death and I had quite frankly Had Enough Of This Nonsense. DH eventually managed to get him to sleep at 9pm. Little beast. Good job he's so cute, else I would have gone a bit Kitty In The Wheely Bin a la 2010 cray cray lady. Tonight I am going to attack bedtime with a kind of zen calm, then drink a bucket of wine while reading Playful Parenting.

He's chatting up a storm these days, putting a few words together. Mostly 'apple/biccit, pease ta?!' 'No mummy, mine cow!' and 'Night night sheepy' while tucking his toy sheep in to the bed very similar to smothering said sheep to death with a blanket, but the thought is there

Has everyone seen what poor BennyBenBear has done to her leg?! I will be using that as justification for not doing any exercise, ever again.

Oh no poor Benny, what's she done? Hope she gets well soon!

Northern all fingers and toes crossed for the sale going through! And what a bummer about DMil and the sibling arguments. Were the swearwords at least creatively employed and a tiny bit entertaining when viewed from the outside?

aethel's brood are all impressively waterproof but the funniest was in the car on the way home, DH said "Wow. I wish DC2 was a girl now. I didn't know girls could be so cool and nerdy. Can they come over again?" I was like, I'm not your mum, you can arrange your own playdates with aethel's kids!

Hop I think that about DS and his cuteness often. He was a total little monster this morning and got under my feet in the bathroom, tripped me and himself up and fell over into the door frame to massive hysterics. Then wouldn't stop this sort of droning whinge whine of "mamamamamama", threw banana everywhere, tried to eat a signed contract I was trying to scan, and finally DH threw him over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes and they both screamed their way upstairs to an early nap. I just poked my head in and they are both fast asleep!!

She's ruptured her achillies tendon I think, looks horribly painful and she's stuck in a cast.

Glad it's not just my child. They're like beligerent little drunk people with bi-polar disorder. Most of the time I think he's so cool and funny and awesome, then other times I'm like 'what do you want?! What are you doing that?!' and the pinching/biting/hitting drives me crackers.

I have brought another Xmas present today...go me :)

Also brought school uniform for sept...just need to get shoes & trainers weekend before school.

Hoping Sky in better sleeping mood tonight was awake from 1:30-3:30am...all snotty and teething :(

Roll on 11am Friday

Just had a phonecall from the nursery to say a member of staff is being investigated for shaking Sky at lunchtime :( she seems fine in herself and the member of staff in question said she was just shaking off excess rice. There is a meeting with HR & Ofstead at 8:30 tomorrow Morning and I'll get a phonecall afterwards. Shaking is a zero tolerance policy so it's great they are doing it but just :( it's my Sky. So will wait till tomorrow to find out what's going on.

Cripes that's scary if she was sweeping rice or something you would expect a pat down not shaking?? Do you have to go in and speak to them? How often does she go now you a SAHM?

Figgy I'll get a phonecall tomorrow morning. She now goes 2 mornings & 1 afternoon a week. DH & I don't think it's a malicious thing as Sky is absolutely fine and apparently didn't cry when the 'shaking' happened. So dunno!

queen glad Sky is ok. Sounds a bit odd, surely a brushing down is all that's necessary, shaking them to remove crumbs wouldn't even occur to me tbh. Hope you're not missing Darcie too much, can't wait to see new cake pics!

northern yay to house news, but boo to family feuds and broken hips. Hope mil is on the mend soon.

octo hope things are going ok your end. You too peril, hope you're not arguing too much.

The BIL saga continues. The last thing we heard about it was that he was finding out (yesterday) what would happen. We assumed this would be a meeting at the police station to find out if he was being put back on the sex offenders register (he was on it for 5yrs following first offence) or if they'd be pressing charges. DH asked MIL earlier how he got on, turns out he was at magistrates court and its been adjourned to crown court. I can't believe/understand how he could potentially have gone to prison yesterday and we wouldn't have even known, he and MIL only live round the corner fgs! They're hoping he'll just get community service, but how bad could it potentially be, northern am I right in thinking this is sort of your area of knowledge? He still says it was an accident, but i'm guessing theyll know what he searched for so it would be obvious if it was intentional or not? It's obvious from the news lately that this sort of thing isn't being looked upon lightly at the moment. DH is also perhaps selfishly worrying about the effects of this becoming public knowledge, he doesn't want drunk customers giving him hassle because of what his brother is.

Oh god seven that all sounds like a nightmare. Has he been sent to the crown court for sentencing? Or it's been referred up? I thought only more 'serious' crimes were sent up to the crown court?

Queen Eeek! Glad Sky is ok, surely though it would be really obvious if someone was shaking a toddler to get food off them, rather than shaking them out of frustration/anger?

Seven that sounds like a complete nightmare.

They have a zero tolerance policy of shaking of any kind so a member of staff has to report it apparently. Sky didn't cry so think it's been taken out of context as she is fine sat here talking to Elmo!

Phew queenie, sounds like they are being uber-cautious. That's a relief, I guess it implies the system is trying its best not to let anything remotely dubuous go unchallenged...

:( for you seven, do you think the BIL and PIL are taking this as seriously as they should be? Or is there still some denial/minimising going on? Either way, my sympathy for your situation, it's an awful thing to be affected by and completely outside your control.

It's hot again! Who turned up the wretched thermostat?!

Oh and who on thread is moving DC into a "big bed"? dS has spent the last week trying to throw a leg over the cot side when he's not zipped into his grobag, sp we have decided we'll still use the travel cot when away, but DD2 is going into a mid sleeper and (gulp) DS will shortly be in his own toddler bed and (gulp) be able to get up himself.....help!

Seven I really hope your DH doesn't get hassle from this, that would be incredibly unfair from something he had nothing to do with. If it's been adjourned to the crown court I think that means either the defendant has chosen, or the magistrates have decided, to send it to the Crown court. The next step is generally a plea and case management hearing - if the defendant enters not guilty then it proceeds to a jury trial, if he enters guilty it's adjourned for sentencing.

Queen I'm glad Sky seems fine - agree with you it's great they have a zero tolerance policy on shaking, but it's still upsetting to hear it happened at all!

aethel we are seriously considering it too as DS is rapidly growing out of his travel cot - with his arms stretched out he can pretty much touch the head and foot of the bed at the same time

Is there any difference between a cotbed and a toddler bed and a midsleeper and a single bed? Would there be any sense in moving into a single with a side-rail? Are there standard sizes? Help indeed!!

Aethel Sky has a cot bed but the sides came off months ago so it's just a bed now...although she has a bed guard on the one side as she went thru a week or so of falling out of bed.

xiao, a cotbed is a cot you can take the sides off: a toddler bed is a cot-sized bed (but no sides to put back on for next baby!) they are both generally narrower and shorter than regular single beds, so take cot-sized sheets. Both are also lower-based than standard singles (so less far to fall!) toddler beds often have a rail to prevent falls, but you can buy "bed guards" that do the same job (google to find them: ebay/NCT are good sources. Ebay or Online sales are best for cot-beds and toddler beds, though all the mid sleepers I've been fOllowing this week went for insane amounts of money locally (£100 plussecondhand!!£

I wouldn't get a child under 5 a mid sleeper as they are like standard 3 ft wide single beds but are like little top bunks and are about 80cm off the ground: getting down the ladder for a mid-night wee is a bit precarious below that age.....

BOi stood with his back in the corner of his cotbed at weekend, put his elbows and lower arms along the top and hoisted himself up to take his feet 4" off the mattress... I fear it won't be long before he's climbing over. I'll try and keep the side up for as long as I can though, he has never woken up in the same position as he's gone to sleep.
Congratulations on the house sale northern. DH's is chugging along nicely. The buyer has arranged valuation surveys etc., and the solicitors are all agreed.
I'm not sure if I told you, but it was really funny, on Friday I was sat in a solicitor's reception waiting for my appt when the receptionist put a call thru to someone, "hello, yes it's Mr Oi about your conveyancing quote."
Incredible that mr Oi and I had both found and selected the same solicitor!! (Totally new to both of us, and in the town centre, along with many many other firms to choose from!) I didn't say a word to the solicitor, as I know they can't work for us both in marital dispute type things, and I didn't want to lose my 30mins of free advice!
Hope your mil is ok and that your in-laws wind their necks in (as hop so eloquently put it!).
Seven - how awful for you and DH. I really can't imagine how someone can accidentally view/download such material by accident. I hope you and your family won't be affected by it.