Dec 11: Not tonight dear, I've got a haddock.

[PerilousStiletto]

I liked this one. :)

My new job starts tomorrow and I'm bricking it. Also v nervous about the drive. I'm sure I'll get used to it but still makes me nervy...

Good luck mopsy, you'll be fine, hope tonight is better for you with MiniM...

Today is tidy-up-and-try-to-get-school-prep-started chez Aethel. My entire house needs sorting

Ooh, good luck mopsy, you'll do brilliantly I'm sure. It's always wibbly being the new kid however old you get, but it will soon be the new normal.

Will catch up with all the fun and electrocution later!

Ooh good luck mopsy you'll smash it I'm sure!!

You'll be brilliant Mopsy! Good luck!

Good Luck for tomorrow Mopsy.

Aethel hopefully your okay....next time remember the wall finder thingy!

Peril...Hope things are getting back on track with DH.

Back to school in 3 days. All school uniform has been washed and so we are all ready for weds.

Darcie has been having major Aspie ishoos this last 2 weeks....freaking out about everything :( has been very hard couple of weeks.

My cakes are doing well :) got another order for 24 birthday cupcakes this week...rainbow style.

Sky in bed already and has been for an hour...Darcie been at Nanny's since midday so I can have a break from her :( so all peaceful till she's home Chez Queen.

ps loved the great football score today...Go Liverpool think if they keep playing like that then that could be BPL Champ contenders this season.

I declare it a successful weekend at Ashworth Towers.
Friday: holiday booked. DH not murdered.
Saturday: garden tidied (tent taken down, paddling pool deflated and cleaned,chairs put away, raspberries picked (and eaten immediately from the plant by Boi), flowers dead-headed, lettuce sown n thrown, leeks thinned out, parsnips thinned out, playing, swings, slide, climbing... The boi whinged to be qllowed to climb the step ladders. i eventually let him. and he rewarded me by counting the steps up - to 8 - all by himself! Then X factor! DH not murdered.
Sunday: veggie beds deslugged, new hose attached, scootering, kitchen cleaned (3 bastard times! After bfast, after lunch, after dinner), roast dinner and mini magnums, , X factor soon! DH not murdered yet.
(He's ironing. I kid you not. He is ironing and has asked what I'd like ironing. It's a fecking miracle! )

Oh and a carrot was picked! And it was rather impressive. And so was eaten with the roast dinner. We'll leave the others for a few more weeks though.

You deserve a medal shaped glass of wine there!

Make it a mahoosive medal! Cheers!!

Nice cats, nice wrap, gorgeous Ted, btw.

Sounds like a fab weekend Oiperil! We had a good one too - my aunt/business partner came to stay for business meetings on Friday that went absolutely brilliantly (DH drove me to the door of the meeting, I held myself together for 2 hours and then collapsed into the car and was chauffeured home!). Yesterday we had some people over who I had never met but DH and I both immediately clicked with. So great to make new friends.

I slept all afternoon today while DH had a friend over for a play date. Now lying in state in the living room pootling about on facebook selling groups, DH practicing his banjo and drinking my breastfeeding tea (I told him it was Ayurvedic calming tea). Maybe now on top of everything else he can even take over breastfeeding DS

We had a fun internet enabled family moment on a three-way video Skype call tonight - my aunt and her son in Nairobi (also 20mo, she adopted him at 2 months), my parents in Washington DC and us here in Eton - DH playing the mandolin, my dad playing the guitar and all of us singing together to the two boys who loved it!

Hope it went ok mopsy...

Had a severe fit of nostalgia today... Took the DCs on a daytrip to Hampton Court palace, and while stuffing them with iced water, scones, cream and jam (obligatory role of a mother) in the cafe, I saw a group of very obvious first-time-mothers having a meetup with their small babies. The babies all looked about eight-ten weeks old, and my first thought was wow, that was me eight years ago... And then I confess, dear reader, I ogled the eight of them and decided which was the mum with the colicky baby (jiggling them constantly) which was the high career mum back to work already (babe in one hand, blackberry in the other, latte on table), which was the stress bunny, which was the most knackered due to too many night feeds... There's a novel in there somewhere ..... bet lots of people have done that one

Thanks. Went OK. Driving down motorway in rush hour v nerve wracking but I got there and back OK. Ugh. Can't wait until I'm used to it and not totally freaked out every time! Soooo much to do before lectures start eeek. Bit overwhelmed and scared.

PS xiao and aethel, your days sound lovely.
OK your weekend sounded great too
Congrats on the carrot

:o

My cats are batshit insane a little bit odd:o

The carrier is technically a 'legacy' one. The artist who is responsible for the print has a familiar name

My big spawns go back to school tomorrow!

Yay Octo, hurrah for schools Hope you're feeling a bit brighter as Autumn's rolled on, and that you have something nice planned for yourself over the coming months.

Do you think it was the electric shock that's made you go all nostalgic aethel? But oggling is fine, creating the narrative in your head is fun: some people/groups are so easy to read it would be a shame not to! How's the jetlag going, are you coping OK? Have any of the DC reacted particularly badly?

And well done on not being squidged over the motorway your first day at work and getting there by car mopsy. Having to do both your first lot of driving and starting a new job is a lot to cope with- but you should have a massive sense of achievement each day

No houses to be found yet...on the up side, DP is applying for a promotion at work, so will be helping him with the application over the next week. A colleague has brought in loads of books for DS that hers have finished with, and another colleague brought me a thank-you bottle of wine back from his hols, so it makes up for another knackering day!

Nrrrg, DD2 is still sat up perkily chatting. Guess she's not adjusted yet... Both DDs have to be prised out of bed, not ideal when school starts on Thursday! DS keeps trying his afternoon nap at 4 pm... I'm lousy at mornings anyway, ho hum.

Sending house-finding vibes the way of northern. and buying-offer vibes to cheung! rather depressingly our old area has seen a huge rise in house-for-sale prices, we went on the market a year ago next week and our inmediate old roads are up by thirty-fourty thousand . ny mate who has a period house on the market is asking a hundred grand more than we were (but it's a river road dahling, so would be worth fifty grand plus just for that alone) the money is just silly really, guess that's the London thing. But we really like our new place, so it's immaterial in a way what happens to other people's houses , as long as we we are healthy and can afford all the bills arg I need a job!

Mopsy - soon you'll be arriving at work and wondering how the hell you got there. (In an autopilot sense).

aethel hope you got some sleep in the end! I think jet lag definitely gets worse as you get older, no idea why though. I've noticed it coming back from Asia, I never used to get jet lag at all but now, ugh - even from the States I'm up at 4am.

northern good luck vibes for DP for the promotion - hopefully he'll get it and that will be the start of a run of good luck with the house as well.

octo great to see you doing the party dance - from your posts it sounds like the summer's been tough and I hope you can relax a little bit when school starts.

mopsy pompoms for the start of term! This is the worst time, it all gets better from here. DH always runs around like a chicken with his head cut off before classes start overwhelmed by how much he has to do - but in fact it gets so much better once the routine starts

Gosh I have discovered facebook selling groups and have got DS his entire fall/winter 2-3yr wardrobe for a total of about £28!! All gorgeous stuff, organic cotton from Frugi, a couple of tops from mini boden. Also got some little wool and fleece soakers, bamboo nappy boosters, three Frugi breastfeeding tops, a 2-3yr John Lewis duffle coat and I think we're good to go! Just a couple of last minute bits for the newborn and some arnica tablets, and the hospital bag will be done too.

Yesterday DH and I also flexed the debit card and ordered some stuff from Ikea - in order to try and distract DS when wants to read a particular book and throws every other book on the floor searching for the one he wants, I saw an idea for toddler bookshelves made out of picture ledges: www.apartmenttherapy.com/diy-book-displayreader-project-105770 So those are arriving on Monday along with a proper pillow and duvet for him to use in his toddler bed which should arrive today!

Who was it wondering where our little babies went? I was packing newborn vests into the hospital bag last night and I refuse to believe DS was ever that small

Arrgh www.apartmenttherapy.com/diy-book-displayreader-project-105770

Sat on train at paddington another day in london done

I have seen an amazing dinosaur skeleton print Hatley coat for DS but it's £30!!!! I can't.......can I?

Err yes! For our pfb's.

Go for it! Coats get loads of wear, and feature in lots of photos so you want him to look his best