November 2012 - Spring is here, time to get our babies out and about.

[StuntNun]

Apart from the 'down under' contingent anyway!

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/postnatal_clubs/2011361-November-2012-Walking-or-not-walking-talking-or-not-talking-any-other-skillz

Ok so
O hasn't eaten his tea. He just messed about, so I got him down from the table. DS 1 polished the whole lot off and is having a yoghurt. O comes and points hopefully at the yoghurt. I said no, because you had no tea. He bursts into tears. Cruel mother?

(I am going to try him again with his tea after bath time )

Fuck. DD1 has been violent at nursery again today. She doesn't bit but hits and shoves and when I got there today she was sat in the directors office on an extended time out. It's the first time they've put her in there Excuses excuses she has a cold and had a bad night and nap dodged so isn't at her best. I have royally bollocked her myself as the second she stepped through the door she pushed LO over and she is very subdued and thinking next to me now.

The nursery staff are going to have a meeting to discuss strategy.

She had been getting so much better at home since LO started hitting back but DH and I are going to have to crack down and sort out some kind of consistent carrot and stick system. I have very low tolerance for violence.

Just catching up on thread - Pikz, I didn't realise your wedding was so close! How are the preparations coming along? I love a bit of wedding talk

I am right in thinking is May?

pr it is mortifying when that happens. But you prob will have to be super strict and make sure you, DH and nursery are all doing the same thing. Sorry you are having to go through this. I went through a funny time with Dd1 when she was about 2 with kicking and shoving and stuff it was horrible. You have my every sympathy. Xx

PR "discuss strategy" just means that they'll decide on how to handle future incidents and make sure all staff do the same thing. It's not scary, just bollockspeak I would follow their lead at home (unless you really disagree with their methods, in which case add your two penn'orth to the nursery manager) and be consistent across all settings

DD2 is really quite violent at the moment and she is nearly 4. Perhaps it is something to do with how their younger siblings are growing and becoming more independent, talking, walking etc? It could well be because of recent/ongoing feeling unwell as they cannot express themselves very well, or manage their feelings.

DD1 does not like onions. Living in this house, onions are part of daily life. She is not having pud as she did not eat her onions. I reminded her I love her amidst the tears and she said she does me too. Sometimes.

I have cassoulet in the oven. My mum served it at a dinner party on Saturday and says it's delicious. It came out of a tin and is beige. Am I going to regret this and crack open the frozen pizza again ??

I have never had that PP. it sounds

It is a bit. But tasty and edible and I have veg with it...

I'm just embarassed pidj not worried about what they will do. I'm sure they'll deal with it as they see fit, I will definitely follow their lead. She was very good the rest of the evening so I think the message hit home. It's just really hard hearing that your kid has slammed another kid into a cupboard and actually injured her (I understand that particular incident was provoked but still). She's not picking on one particular child, she just goes for whoever is closest but it is unacceptable and what scares me is that she won't get invited to stuff later on if this behaviour continues and I desperately don't want her to have a lonely childhood. But I am projecting - my own childhood was quite happy until I was 11 and went to secondary school and I remember some of my preschool friends were rough but we were still friends.

It doesn't sound very appetising. However I made Cassoulet on Sat, I froze some of it straightaway and took out to defrost today. But DH will be late. So can I put it in the fridge till tomorrow? I should imagine would not go beige. Don't know why yours Is beige pp mine is a sort of rich reddy colour.

Cassoulet is a slow cooked sausage, pork and bean casserole from the Toulouse area in SW France. It can be v good though I'm not a bean fan. Not sure about tinned. Next time pidj put a layer of breadcrumbs over the top before putting in the oven and kind of do a gratin. My DH loves that.

soph it'll be fine in the fridge overnight. The tinned versions are all beige.

From experience (of other people's!) kids forget these things very very quickly - I was TA for a lad with various issues when he was in Y2, he often got violent yet was never excluded from playground games etc.

This cassoulet was duck. And would probably have been lovely gratinated, I just heated the damn thing and was grateful because I cba to eat of an evening atm

Evening homeeeeeees.

sophia I need to be more like that. Mil watched in amazement judgement as I offered p one thing after another as she wouldn't eat what she was given. I haven't yet grown the balls I need to say "ok. You don't want that? Shame because that's what we are eating". Therefore I do not think you are cruel. You are sensible.

How are the onions served vq? Just out of interest.

I would feel the same way pr. DD1 has always seemed to me to be a girl who knows what she wants and will take no bullshit. How to teach her to channel that is the tricky part.

I have had cassoulet before but I wasn't keen. It was made with goose and pork belly neither of which were tasty. I am not a fab at all of fatty or slimy shit.

I am soooooooo looking forward to a quiche wedding pikz! Is this our first?

I don't want to dampen her spirit - women need spirit and balls - and rationally I think this is a short term issue not a long term problem. There is a pattern: it only happens when she nap dodges. And I'm grouchy when I am tired too.

I think the solution is easily within reach we just need to all work out what the best approach is.

Sorry I meant sausage duck and beans, not pork, but looks like pork and goose can also be used.

I've had tinned confit of duck (its always romantic in my memory as it was when living with a boyfriend on his narrow boat - it was easy to heat in the limited kitchen) but never tinned cassoulet. I love cassoulet. I used to make it with chicken on the bone, lardons and saucisson - hmmm could I make a toddler friendly version?

Pass belly pork all crisped up is one of my favourite things .

Mmmm duck confit from a tin works. With potatoes sautéed in the fat. It's one of my favourite meals. I wouldn't have a clue how to make duck confit myself.

Arghh so annoyed. AIBU? M has a toy monkey that she cuddles every bedtime/nap time. If we're going out she always grabs monkey, she loves to cuddles him and pay his back like a baby saying "ahh boo". She's been out with my niece today and she's bloody lost it Doesn't even seem bothered just said we've lost monkey when DH picked her up. Am I being irrational to be annoyed? It was her first teddy that she loved and they don't make then anymore

The cassoulet I have been doing is in the hairy dieters book yw and is delicious. They use sausage, gammon and chicken thighs with better and cannelloni beans. It has a v slight kick and yummy with a sort of gremolata using orange zest instead on top. Really really yummy. Did as my farmer coming in from the fields dinner for the weekend.

IME pr it was a stage and most kids go through one challenging stage or another. I am sure they will come up with a sensible approach, maybe you should think about how you feel it would be best dealt with so that if you are not sure you agree with what they are saying tomorrow you can come up with am alternative.

I'll agree with them soph partly because I trust they know what they are doing and partly because it is very rarely wise to disagree with the French education system. It is frowned upon. As long as there is nothing humiliating about the strategy for her I will smile, nod and do as I am told.

I still need to list my unwanted cookbooks for you guys. I need to make space for Hairy Bikers, I've never done any of their recipes. I need to go through the books I want to get rid of and photocopy any recipes I may want to do.

I have a real problem with British recipes though - the ingredient lists always seem so long compared to French recipes for the same thing. It's weird.

They are all in cahoots with the supermarkets!

lily I am with you on the galaxy. Apart from tasting fucking amazing it holds special memories for me. My Grandad used to buy me a severalslab at Christmas. When he died my Dad did the same. And then when he died I went without for a while until my best friend bought me some. She had remembered that they used to buy it for me. She's got me several fab presents but that always sticks in my mind as was just so thoughtful. So when I'm feeling down I eat galaxy and remember my loved ones. I have banned her from buying it for me again though, don't want her going the same way as my Grandad and Dad .

Off to catch up on thread after being distracted by chocolate!