Start your runners (talk) and your new jars of Jam, 'tis the season-almost.

[Vagolajahooli]

Here we are ladies, time for all that talk of christmas table runners and chrissie deccy colour combos. And will we be getting some new Jam in this thread! Maybe not quite.

Does anyone want a 17 month old walking whirlwind. I'll have her back in a fortnight when her dad should be home!

Oh dear Kayz. Rampaging is she? Fingers crossed it is only two more weeks until he is home. He'll be home then until after Christmas won't he?

Rubes that's all a bit of a poo. I fear now we will have trouble re-mortgaging if you are having trouble getting loan. Can he get any help through the NHS? I know he probably wouldn't qualify for the key worker loan thing, but I seem to remember NHS employees could get deals through some banks as part of the governments thingy to keep NHS health staff close to where they work.

I am shattered. Have been making pizzas to freeze for the babysitter to pop in the freezer for their tea on Sunday and also a huge spag bol for their dinner tomorrow night. Thought I'd cook it up and take it to my friends where they will be staying until Sunday morning, then she doesn't have to cook anything tomorrow. Yeah, Rubes, that's the drawback of no family close by, we have some lovely friends looking after them but on Sunday we will have to pay about €100 to have them looked after for the day, and I feel a little nervous that if something happens we can't jump on the next train home.

I'm sure it's like living with Godzilla. DH should be home until the middle of Jan then he's off to Singapore for a course.

Feeding the girls oxtail stew made by my Mum. Have told them it's lamb and they're eating it. Mwahahahahahaha! It actually smells like dog food. We're having it for our supper later too. Hmmm.

Beans that's evil! I love lamb but not oxtail stew. Big difference! But hey, if they're eating it, win win.
Nah Vag, the latest lender is actually a specialist for professionals loan. DH not home tonight, so not even sure what we are doing but from last nights chat I think we are both on same page now to just present the situation to the owner and be prepared t move. The stupid part about it is we will probably have to pay more in rent than our mortgage would've been. Don't think we are ready to sell our flat yet either. I think it's more sensible to rent again until dh has his permanent job. I can still have the kids at the same school, even if it's moving further afield, as dd should be in on sibling status first before distance from school right?

kids are knackered. dh on call so I've done dinner, bath and milk and they think it's 7pm bedtime in about 10 mins! Mwahahahahahaha! Bit evil here too, but they need some extra sleep!

Oh and Summer (if you are lurking!) we ordered ds's bike for his birthday and went with the Isla bike - they said a week and it arrived in 24 hours! He sort of knows he's getting it but is still going to be pumped. I've got 12 already confirmed for his party and 6 yet to respond - only 2 no's so far. Crikey, could be a soft play party for 20. Fortunately it's attached to a golf club so I may have to nip in for a quick vino beforehand to cope

vag you are so organised!

rt christenings sounds fine to me, low key, nearest and dearest for a nice chat and food.

db your boy always sounds so lovely. glad he is doing well at school.

kayz I'd forgotten how manic toddlers can be! trail of destruction wherever they go.

rubes the house stuff sounds like a right faff on. Hope it resolves.

urgh.

ds2 is getting well into the tantrum phase. screaming fits about anything and everything. Have just managed to pull him out of one by pointing out that ds1 was doing apoo and did he wasn't too go see it and say bye bye poo? crazy boy.

He had the runs yesterday so I spent all afternoon and all day today with him. cm will have him back tomorrow thank goodness, I'm so behind on work now!

dd is so tired. She feel asleep after school today, can't have been later than 4.30. At dinner time I went to check on her, decide to stick a pull up on her as she is flat out and just leave her til morning. She woke up while I was sorting her and decided she wanted dinner. id taken her pants off by then, anyway she was dancing from one leg to the other and in pain so we ran down 2 flights of stairs and through the house to the loo. Just in front on the loo the niagra falls flowed or of dd and cascaded onto the floor. I have never seem a bigger we in my life, nor afaster flowing one. It was incredible. bathroom was flooded.

poor dd.

She is rather more awake now sheet dinner, hope I manage to get her to bed at a reasonable hour! They are all watching tv. dd was hosed down after her wee. Can I be arsed to bathe the boys?

jammy one how are you holding up?

Oh and ds had said he doesn't believe in father Christmas or magic! says he thinks stockings come from the shops but doesn't know how they get here or where the mince pies go that we leave out.

Argh! This is brand new today so I guess there is some gobby little rat bag at school destroying the innocence of my child . But . Need to do some magic rekindling. pnp messages coming up!

Indith, I was actually thinking about that today, and what if one of the bigger kids in the playground tells ds all that stuff. I'd be horrified. The other day I actually caught myself discussing stockings in front of ds and suddenly realized and quickly swung the conversation round as though it was to do with my tights for work I'd be horrified as I get so much enjoyment out of the kids believing in Santa. We leave wine and beer out for him (no idea where that goes) Carrots for the reindeers the dog eats!
Kids asleep - well needed.

Oh and I LOVE those pnp messages from Santa!! Kids freak out.

Hello ladies, how are you? This makes me the crappest poster ever, as I haven't checked in for ages and here I am to ask for advice. But if I offer and and and , will you forgive me? I hope everyone is well and all the children are excited about their birthdays - Deids boy and Shady girl very imminent, happy birthday to both of them.
So my question is about treasure boxes - my lovely new niece is very lovely, but my sister has said no Xmas pressies as she's inundated with new baby gifts and hand-me-downs. So I thought I'd assemble a treasure box, as DN will be 2 months by Christmas so good timing for her. But as I'm as crap a Mum as I am a poster, I didn't do them for my own girls. So what goes in one? What do little snuggly babies like?

Thanks you ladies, love to you all x

Hola ladies. Started trying to do my epic catch up on my ancient iMac and it won't post. I haven't lost it but I do have to retype it. Let's see how far I get as it's quite late now...

Lovely to see you ZJ. Sadly, I haven't got a farkin' clue what goes in a treasure box. A newspaper, a fashion mag, Private Eye? That would be fascinating to read many moons hence.

It's DP's birthday today and MIL and her DH are here again. They were only here last week. Admittedly they are coming to do us a favour and I should be more gracious - we are going into London for the day on Sat, for a posh lunch, a film and then a concert which is part of London Jazz Week that DP asked to go to - and MIL is babysitting. But I have such a lot ot do tomorrow, and they make me feel so grumpy. And I am not usually like that. Worse, earlier today MIL walked DD2 over the busy A road by our house looking in completely the wrong direction (I was on the other side of the road). Cars were speeding towards them. She often takes the girls to the park when I am no there, but now I will never rest thinking about her crossing the road with them.

I have to pack tomorrow because of being in London all day Sat. We get back late on Saturday night then have to leave for the airport at 3am. I am worried about coming back to chaos in the house late on Sat night (which is usually the case when MIL has been looking after them). Ho hum! It was 24c in Fuerteventura yesterday so the weather should be quite pleasant.

Yes, Rubes, the fine brought in by the govt is £60 per parent per day and local councils are already enforcing it. However, having taken legal advice (of course) - until the term after which DD turns 5, they can't pursue us. So we're good for now. But I deplore the entire policy. However, will probably be keeping in line from here on in.

Rubes - am very sorry to hear that the house purchase is hitting a sticky patch. But I have great faith in these professional mortgages so it might be third time lucky. I have alwasy found smears painful and uncomfortable - really uncomfortable so I don't think I could cope with a coil fitting. Maybe I am a massive wuss!

Right, so much more to say but will post this in case it vanishes.

Arti, did you do your parenting course? Not that I think for a second you need it, just curious what they taught you because DD1 has been a bit of an evilton since starting school. Rudeness, angry with me a lot...It's very wearing.

As to No 3...it's the wrong time of the month for a holiday baby It seems like a nice idea in the daytime. If ever I am awake in the middle of the night though it seems like the most stoopid idea every (for us). oh, and Arti - I think your christening sounds extremely nice. What more do you need?

Vag - you and Rubes talking about eggs and chicken's bums and poo on them (all the eggs we get from the farm are COVERED in poo) - makes me think of ZJ once trumping that by saying she'd once seen massive eggs with blood on the them because they hurt the chicken to lay

Vag - how amazing that your DD2 can chatter in Dutch. What do the boys feel about knowing they will be going back to Oz one day?

Hons, I love your method re: Christmas deccies with 1st for lights and other bits. DP is not getting his way re: late getting of the tree this year.

Kayz - oh my - did you say your DD is 17 months? Really? Where did THAT go? How long have you got DH for?

Beans - spot is still awful. But a lot better than the other night. I think it might start looking more passable from tomorrow, certainly from Sat. Re: the programme The Escape Artist, DP actually bought new window locks as a result of that, which doesn't inspire confidence. He represented a murderer the other week. I am so sorry DD1 doesn't remember your Dad. DD1 claims to remember mine but I wonder whether she does, really. The girls quite often say they are sad, out of the blue, and say it's because he is dead but they say it in a very comical way. In fact, I am certain DD2 just copies DD1. Anyway...love to you.

DB - I am so glad your DS got the thumbs up at parents' night! Just what we all expected! Good lad.

On a similar topic - another cheer for your DS1, Jam, doing so well at school. I think you are coping with the last horrid bit of pregnancy very bravely. You are moaning a lot less than I would be, that's for sure. When is your special weekend?

Indith - you mentioned someone pushing you too far on your course. That sounds unpleasant. Has the situation resolved at all?

Will post this and then do more.

Chickens' eggs. Not chicken's! Am typing too fast.

Nolda - how are you settling into the new crib? And being a worker? I think I would like it, I must say.

I am interviewing people tomorrow because we need a new member of staff at the preschool. I've interviewed people before in my life, but not for anything like this.

I had a massage today - which was actually a full body massage I was bought for my birthday in APRIL. I seriously need to do less stuff.

We have a massive parking dispute looming in the village. It's creating a lot of bad feeling. if the new proposals get through we will have nowhere to park our car nearby so I have spent the last 3 weeks writing all sort of letters and wasting no end of time on it. It is quite a bummer.

There's a spot of cheerfulness left, I think I'd better have it. DP has lost 2 stone. He is putting me to shame.

I am in bed but still awake and grumping about MIL. She brings out the worst in me, the absolute worst. Mind you, I can't complain. Some people have that relationship with their actual mothers.

DD1 is an angel in the Christmas play. She's asked for a silk dress (I've got to make it). Here's me thinking of customising a pillowcase.

A special wave to anyone reading this on a nightfeed

Is it just me and Sybs for SecreT Santa? Might not be that secret in that case Sybs

Right, best try to sleep.

I'm on for secret Santa...

Aargh, DD3 hasn't stopped pooing since Sunday. A clean nappy every hour or 2. It's going to bankrupt us! Oh and was just bfing and she puked onto my nipple. Nice.

Lady, lovely to hear from you. Will post more once nappy changed, big girls' hair done and school run done!

Lady, how are you coping with MIL today?

God, I'm struggling today. Friday is my worst day as DD2 has no childcare and is very demanding on my attention. Have snuck off to post this. DD3 is hardly sleeping in the day and has gone back to being up twice a night, so my smugness is biting me on the arse! That'll teach me! So I'm knackered and grumpy and if I dare to try to be on the phone or something, DD2 comes chasing after me to demand things. She is now goggling happily, while DD3 kicks about on her gym. But I've got moments before she notices I've gone and she'll be on me like a shot!

DH also bugging me. We're meant to be starting some building works next week, which is a loft extension above the kitchen. Not a massive job, but still a lot of money and the total will be about £15k, which is enough to make me gulp. However, DH has now decided to quiz the builder about every aspect, despite instructing him to do the work a couple of months ago as he was far and away the cheapest. This guy is very nice and has done work for a few of my friends, so I'm keen to go with him. But DH now kicking his heels and also expecting me to be the one to deal with the builder, despite him being the one with all the questions, so I'm stuck in the middle trying to relay messages and inevitably getting various bits wrong. It's like chinese whispers, only more important! Plus I'm trying to look after 3 kids and would like to just crack on as it means we don't have to then use DD3's bedroom as a dressing room. We currently don't have any cupboard space in our bedroom and a lot of my wardrobe is in a drawer under the bed. Yawn yawn, but I wish DH would just take on the responsibility of talking to the builder, especially as he keeps telling me how he has nothing on at work. Clearly I'm not busy enough! Hmmm. DH says things like "Surely you must have more to say than just yes" as if I'm some kind of idiot who is just going along with it. But actually, I don't have any other questions!!! The guy has been pretty upfront about it all along. Ho hum.

Right, whinge over. Off to 20 year school reunion tomorrow. Taking DD3 with me as need to feed her.

Should be lovely.

Sorry to complain!

xx

Decent catch-up Lady - noice. Happy belated to dp - well done on the 2 stone - wow. dh lost a stone himself in just 1 month cycling. He's still on the beers, though not as much. Can empathise over mil anxiety. I completely understand the road crossing thing too. I know the road you mean - I'd be a wreck. I've watched mil leave hot tea right in front of dd and pot handles etc, but I just tell her off and she hasn't done it since - she's so forgetful but it worries me - I hope you said something to your mil when you saw it?

When it rains it pours here, I've had letting agent calling, sales agent calling, landlord calling, financial advisor wanting instruction, and dh having me sort out a plumbing issue in the flat with half the info of what the tenant said, and questions from the plumber I can't answer - seriously I'm so fed up of this "I've got no time" standard reply. Well for farks sake, don't take on doing the entire plumbing yourself if you can't have time to answer questions about it when things go wrong. I don't know what kind of farking waterproof membrane was effing put down, or how accessible the pipes are!!
Anywho... in answer to what you said lady - I know they tend to be good mortgages, but it's just the extra cash that we are expected to find. Sounds like dh somehow (but has no time) spoke to the landlord today and still wanting to work something out.

I'm bloody freezing. Heating on constant and I'm still freezing.

Rubes, I feel your pain x

PS DH was the one who picked this builder's quote, so I'm struggling to see why he's questioning so much.

Beans! Cross posted! I fee your pain. I guess at least my dh has MAJOR workload and I have relatively none however, he half likes to control it all and then when it all gets too busy for him he hands over to me and I have to ask him half the stuff anyway. Pointless. He has just spoken to the tenant, and I've spoken to the plumber again so hopefully they are sorting it for him Tues - more money when we are already scraping the barrel for this house!
How exciting getting a loft conversion done though Beans.

meant to say hi ZJ! No idea about glory boxes either, but nice idea x

glory boxes... never heard of them, but they sound dirrrrty!!!

Hi ZJ! Do you mean a keepsake box or something full of things little ones will find exciting: different textures, sounds, colours etc?

Sorry about the poo, Beans and the vom!

Rubes, my DH often moans that I should organise this or that but boy is he fussy so wouldn't be worth it.

Pizza and then bed. So tired! Up early to take DD to twirling comp tomorrow.

A quick BF question. I've decided to stop feeding DD now. Bit sad about it but it feels the right time for us. It's been about 36 hours since the last feed. Am I likely to get engorged or risk mastitis by just stopping?