March 2013 - we're gonna need a bigger wine rack

[Plonkysaurus]

Ta da!

Oh yes. Doesn't miss a trick that one.

I start by saying that I didn't go to uni so have no alma mater. However, rest of the recent conversation... Coughs . (You're right though, there are some Sloany beggars there and no mistake ).

Nice shoes Plonk - at least you'll still be capable of standing at the end of the night - or maybe not, but it won't be because your feet hurt!

We bought shoooos today . Well pre walkers as DS still can only toddle hanging onto two fingers one finger and an Ella's pouch for some unknown reason but he wants to do it ALL THE TIME and doesn't accept that he can't in the park when he's only wearing socks... So now we have bloody expensive rubber soles. He wasn't sure at first but seems to have got the hang of it. He's a 3f (but he is only little).

Hmmm. Strike though seems to have gone a little crazy there...

Evening all. I'm trying out this MNing in the bath that Eco and Plonk race about a tenner says I drop my phone though as I feel I deserve a soak tonight.

DD has been ill since Thursday and we've just been stuffing her full of drugs and I took Friday off. Her temps were up hugely and then yesterday we lips went blue and her HR went to 180 so we payed A&E a visit. She rallied within 5mins of arriving and we wanted to take her home but because of the blue lips thing they refused and threatened to send the police after us if we left so we sat in a cubicle ignored for 4hrs with a DD that got exhausted and beside herself and couldn't fall asleep on me. I was beyond furious. They finally let us up to see the paeds team and within 10mins of seeing the bloody obvious (child with a virus that took a bad turn but was now much better) they let us go home. My complaint letter is being typed tonight!

She's a bit better today but still clingy and DH and I have had a huge row culminating in me telling him that if he didn't man up, start taking some responsibility for his life/relationship/house/any bloody thing that needs doing and start treating me a bit better and feeling less sorry for himself all the time he would be leaving our house and our marriage. We've had smaller discussions about how unhappy he's making me at the moment and he promises to do stuff and then ignores it because he thinks all will be ok but I don't think he was expecting that. I just don't want to be taken for granted for the rest of my life and him to think its ok. It was a very sad conversation to have and I hope it's sunk in now because if not we're in serious trouble . Having a little one really does expose the best and worst bits of a relationship doesn't it?

Anyhoo I'm now enjoying a long soak and when I get out I'm having an amaretto coffee and some ice cream.

Plonk, good choice on the wedding shoes. I love a quirky addition to a wedding outfit! I had wedding wellies and wedding trainers as well as my fuschia shoes!

I hope everyone's had a better weekend than I have!

Stormy congrats on the pool win! I'm still dining out on the one time I beat my Dad at darts!!

Woah Betty I think a soak and boozy coffee/ice cream combo is an absolute must. What a shocking weekend. Poor DD, that must have been so stressful for all three of you. And bloody doctors - you'd have thought if they were that concerned they could have seen you quicker and popped her on a ward? Not that I know how these things work, it's your zone after all.

Really hope the little chat you had with DH has the right impact on him. It's shit that you were kind of forced to do that but these things are always better out in the open. You both have such demanding jobs, and you really do seem to take a hell of a lot in your stride. You know where we all are if you need to blow off some steam.

Wotta yes I did think of you shortly after I posted. Needless to say I went to Brum to delay my adulthood, and came back six years later talking like a yamyam. The little shoes are gorgeous, no? DS is finally also getting the hang of this, but he's yet to start carrying random object. They usually get eaten before he can take them on tour.

Oh Betty, I'm just off too bed but couldn't not post! Hope you're feeling better for a bath and some pampering and I hope dh pulls his finger out and steps up. Hope bettytoddle is on the mend too.

To not too obviously!

Betty sending a virtual hug your way. I really hope dd is on the mend and DH is pulling his socks up. He bl**dy well ought to be. You've had a really tough year, with hardly an unbroken night, and he should be stepping up and taking his share of responsibility.

Oh crap, I've killed the thread again. I keep doing that.

All sorts of fun happening here. Not. In fact it has been so quiet that the toddle actually went to sleep in her pram... so I decided to take full advantage and jump in the pool. Which is when the electrician turned up, and bellowed 'hello' from the other side of the garden. So I jumped out, frantically miming 'Shhhhhh' at him. On the plus side, madam did not wake, on the minus, I was freezing half to death, in my swim suit, in front of the electrician, who was making unreasonable requests like could I open the gate/garage/back door, when all I actually wanted to do was a) put some clothes on, b) have a very hot shower.

I am so looking forward to the day when all the work here is finished, hence no unexpected randoms will turn up at inopportune moments. Sadly I suspect that might be never.

Hi Doli. Hi everyone else too! It's been incessant rain here today. And yesterday. And the last seven days actually! We headed to the library but got soaked on the way. Well, Ecotod didn't as she was under her rain cover today chilling in her buggy. As an adult I have a thing about being cosy in a small outdoors type place. Cosy from the rain and wind and cold. Like in a hut, shelter, summer house, tent or den. I like to think it's because it reminds me of happy times in my buggy when I was a nipper. I used to get given the milk loaf to hold when mum had been to the bakery. I used to bite the end off Not sure where that nostalgic dirge came from....

The worm charming yesterday was pretty funny. It was pouring with rain. The babies 'helped' by stamping up and down and hitting the grass with beaters. We came second to last Also we decided to take babies for a boat trip on the broads. We thought the visual feast would keep them entertained. We were wrong. It was us, our friends whe also have a baby, another family and the aged skipper. We had been instructed to HOLD TIGHT TO THE BABIES. If there's one thing (other than nappy changes) that Ecotod is not keen on it's being restrained. She's constantlm wanting to be free should have thought that through ahead of boarding boat perhaps She howled. That made the other family a bit grumpy and it was hard to hear skipper pointing out broadsy things. So I delved behind the life jacket and layers of waterproofs to find my boob which was quite a feat. Getting Ecotod close enough to latch on was tricky because she too had a fat life jacket on She thought all her Christmases had come at once as she's not had day milk for a while now. Peace descended and I was able to chat to skipper about traditional broads sailing craft much to dh's amusement. To give him his due the skipper didn't bat an eyelid. Extreme breastfeeding part 75. Been ages since I've fed in public and it feels so much different now dd is person sized. You feel the same Betty and rainbow, or should I just get over myself!?

Betty you poor love. How has today panned out. Was the ultimatum helpful for dh? It's such a period of adjustment these first two years (according to friends and books), I guess it takes a while to find our new groove. I'm still looking for mine and dh gets fortnightly show downs.

Doli I think the electrician turned up unexpectedly hoping he'd find you in the pool What's left after the conservatory? It all looked pretty peachy when I visited.

Plonky what's a yamyam? And, tell us about your seating plan! Great work!

Wotta shoes are a real milestone I found. Lovely. Little sausage will now walk within days just to demonstrate how much money you wasted

Stormy, how is the CV looking? When is your deadline?

Am home alone tonight but headed to bloody Bedfordshire tomorrow for some company for the rest of the week. What shall I watch on Iplayer tonight ladies?

DH came home with a large bunch of flowers and a real life apology. Fingers crossed he's starting as he means to go on. I think you're right Eco, we just haven't quite adjusted to our new life yet but hopefully it'll come.

Eco you brave thing! I haven't done a public feed for bloody ages and you're right, it does feel very different when it's a child sized one with shoes and words and teeth! Also I agree about the cosy rain love, it's my favourite thing too. I love being in an outdoors shelter with a blanket for a snooze and I too can firmly remember being under the rain cover in my buggy all snug and happy.

Doli I'm so jealous of your quick dips in the pool but not so much of the electricians intrusion!

I can't remember back any further than that, sorry!

Today I braved baking with DD and made cinnamon swirl bread buns, madam had a whale of a time chucking flower about and helping me knead it and sneakily eating lumps of raw dough and the results have been demolished. That Paul Hollywood really knows his shit!

Eco you mad 'un! Love it though, your adventures sound so much fun.

I too remember my buggy with it's toasty navy blue foot muff and sturdy raincover. And the child minders dog bounding happily along with us.

Doli all I can think of is an electrician trying to get a peek of a frozen nip. My foul little mind . Shame he ruined your lovely swim.

Betty it's a massive adjustment eh? Keep those lines of communication open, it sounds like he heard you . Paul Hollywood also knows the directions to the local sun bed... Hehe. Baking sounds great!

Early night for me. Those molars are a right bunch of knob eds, and I've got my gym induction tomorrow. Night all x

I've been lurking again and unable to post as I keep running out of time - DD is soooo quick running around tge house destroying things that I am compelled to clear up in her wake and therefore can't do jack until she's gone to bed. And then it's dinner, clearing up and all the other fun chores before mn even gets a look in. Harumph. Can't remember who asked but work wise, I am in the throws of setting up a Newborn Photography business. I've done a few with friends now so just need to get on the marketing and wait for the bookings to come flying in... hopefully

Betty words, you say? Alright then, what's the vocab de jour? DD clearly said 'done' this morning when her porridge was in the microwave (and she pointed). Otherwise still on Mama, Daddeeee and teddah. Anyone got a real actual perfect word yet?

We've had two proper words. Baby, which she seems to have forgotten again, and bye, which accompanies waving. Her understanding's getting brilliant though. If we're elsewhere and I mention going home, she waves and says bye to everyone. If she's kicking off I can distract her by asking her to find a particular toy. She's got the hang of sit! but we're still working on stay!

Attempted but still mispronounced words are: miuk (milk), beeeah (bear), dat (cat). Animal noises she's mastered are cat, monkey, and lion. And she sings row row row when she wants me to sing. Far too cute.

That's very eloquent Stormy! So far we've had him bringing me my keys and then waving bye bye (guess he'd had enough of me) and he says 'yeah' a lot. Both in and out of context, but I'm taking it as a win.

Everything is Ber, Der or Bob. Or Berb. He's a man of few words.

eco I feed DD in public still very regularly as she still demands day milk frequently (by yanking down my top or pointing and yelling bo bo which I actually love!). I never really stopped feeding in public so doesn't feel that odd and I have only ever got smiles from people. Tbh it was such a battle to breastfeed at the beginning that I am still proud that it's so easy now so I think that makes it easier for me to care at all what people might think of how I look! Love your adventures - although won't be going on a boat anytime soon as that sounds stressful!

betty we have had similar episodes with DH here - I just think it's much easier for them to overlook the grind of babies. Glad you guys patched things up.

It's tough isn't it Rainbow? Hopefully all these DHs will settle into their adjusted lives soon.

Miss Madam point blank refuses to say Mama or any M sounds at all which is bloody typical but Dada, yes, more and down are fairly clear. If you ask her if she can say Mummy she says 'yesss' and toddles off. She also makes a good effort at dandan (grandad), bedda (Betty) soos (shoes), nown (nose) and dod (dog) and Stormy she also does row, row, row about a thousand times a day

I've got a day off and DD is in nursery so I had a mega lie in, a very long shower, have just taken the dog for a good long muddy hike and now need to tackle the mundane jobs before I spend the afternoon getting reaquainted with my sky plus box!

We don't have many words here, still no mummy or daddy, we have 'caaaaaaa' which is mainly cat, but is used for any animal. We have either 'ready steady go' or 'one two three' - if you can imagine those two sounding the same in their tone rather than the actual words. And we have 'erro' but only when picking up a phone, not when actually greeting people. Several seriously cute 'copying mummy' things though, including shhhhhhh complete with finger to lips, attempts at hair brushing, putting paste on toothbrush, sweeping floor.

Lots of understanding though, nods solemnly in response to every question, rushes to stairs if bath time is mentioned, can find bunny, point to noses, tickle daddy. Goes and finds shoes and heads to front door of I say we're going out. All super cute.

Last session at my beloved baby group today. Plenty of tears, Tuesdays just won't be the same.

Sorry for radio silence, it's may. And may means exams. As does June actually. So I'll see you all in July!

Since my last post we've acquired another word. A perfectly pronounced no. She's been practising it a lot today!

Stormy genius baby! Nothing here. Nada. Lots of Mamamamama, and bah and gig feature regularly. Mamamama doesn't however mean mummy, and bah and gig are just babble, so I think it would be fair to say talking is not her strong point.

Understanding is better. She'll set off towards the stairs if I say 'let's go upstairs', 'nappy' has her heading off towards the spare room where the changing stuff is, pudding and fruit prompt a renewed interest in lunch, She'll look for the dogs if I say their names, and DH if I say dada. 'Monkey' makes her giggle and run away as it's what I call her when she's eating wool. I think there is probably more, but it's hard to say when she can't confirm.

Nothing much happening here today, which is lovely, and a relief after I had both the electrician and the builder pottering about the kitchen last night when I was trying to feed the toddle. Despite doing my best to communicate 'please leave' without actually saying anything, they thought they'd be nice and hang about to play toddler friendly games with the small one. She was thrilled. Me, less so.

Eco on the subject of builders what's left to do here is sadly much. Landscaping, driveway, patio, and outbuildings are next on the list, plus coach house if DH get's his way. I'm discouraging that. I'm not sure what it would add to our lives other than hassle. Plus at the rate our builders work I'm fairly sure we'd be 6ft under before they'd finished.

Big day tomorrow, it's dolitoddle's heart scan. I'm 99.9999% certain it'll be ok, as she's a hyper active bundle of energy and built for wrestling not ballet, so ailing isn't an adjective I'd use to describe her. Then Friday the PILs are coming down to look after madam, so that DH and I can skip off all day Saturday to a wedding. I have never left her for a whole day before. I'm not sure who is more nervous, me or MIL!

Nah, not a genius baby. Perfectly normal. As is dolitoddle. Normal development covers quite a variation at times! We still mainly just have babble, though it's clear at times that she means something, we just have no idea what. Genius baby would be, I dunno, full sentences or something. Not expecting those for a good while yet, alas.

It's my birthday tomorrow!

Ooh happy soon-to-be birthday Stormy. How are you celebrating? I presume you've got the night (and following morning) off duty?

Doli we have lots of babbly noises in place of words too. Sometimes it's as though he's telling me something that's really very important, with all the right intonation and facial expressions, just no bloody words. I thought of you this evening - ds was climbing the stairs and insisted I carrying the cats food bowl.

Hope you get the right result tomorrow - it sounds like she's doing very well though as you say.

The house sounds gorgeous, but exhausting. I wish I had a coach house! I have neither coach nor house, just a rather battered vw polo and a rented shack.

I am exhausted and the bloody BNP's party political broadcast is on telly and I can feel the anger rising! On the other hand I get to curl up with a book and eat a big bowl of chili (eco not quite brave enough to attempt all that in the bath but it's one of my goals). I really ought to do wedding-y things but I just can't muster the get up and go.

I turned the BNP one off. Just couldn't face it after the English Democrats one the other day

That was a cracking piece of comedy. Anyone who thinks the Roman built 'adrian's' wall is the epitome of Englishness must be a comedian.

Stormy I switched the English Democrats one on half way through and thought it was a comedy spoof thingummy. Then I realised it wasn't....

Carrying the cats food bowl is very important Plonky. It's not quite a tea towel, but he's getting the general idea, so well done that boy

As for the house, it brings to mind the Fay Weldon short story about period houses. They lure you in with their charming looks..... drive you mad... bleed you dry.... wreck your marriage.... and spit you out ready for the next naive London couple. Ours has more or less ticked every box, with the exception that we are still here and are not yet bankrupt!

DH is on settle duty tonight, so I'm aimlessly pootling in a lost kind of manner. However, on the basis last night took 4 attempts over 2 hours, due to (ahem) farts, I don't consider myself off duty yet.