March 2013- the one where plonk gets married!

[Gerrythetootallgiraffeswife]

Perilously close to filling the old thread suddenly!

Crap, sorry for late arrival.

Stormy sounds most like a viral rash or scarlet fever (loads of it in Hull at the moment), by the time little ones have a rash with meningitis they're usually very poorly and rapidly getting worse so probably not that. Definitely right to see GP though as scarlet fever needs antibiotics pronto!

Doli in terms of giving up bottles I'm not a good one to ask because madam would never bloody have them. She was rubbish with a sippy cup for ages too which is why I breastfed for much longer than planned and have very sad looking boobs now but things took a very positive turn when she discovered a straw! She loves it and it means she can drink from our glasses/cups etc too. She loves cutlery but has definitely not mastered it other than with yoghurt, so mostly she stirs her food for a while with fork and spoon and then resorts to hands. She still has a mostly beige diet too and you're more varied than us so my DDs namesake is definitely ahead in nutrition stakes!

And the Doctor Google Award goes to... Rainbow!

Hfm? A friends lo was proper miserable with it but v glad not more serious. No going to play group for fartypants for a bit though then. At least you don't have a nursery to avoid.

Gp was fine with DS today. No murmurs or anything. Some antibiotic cream for a funny nappy rash which I thought I'd mention while there (minor fungal infection) and wants to see us in a month just to check he's back on track. Suspects it was just calories being burnt much faster suddenly as he got mobile plus being ill, and yes, half a kg in 2 weeks stormy . He's back to nearly being in the 9th centile (so still little).

Haircut tomorrow - slightly worried he'll be a real life Sampson and I will steal his powers by trimming all his lovely locks off!!! But really want to have less opportunity for food to be stroked into it.

Very clearly hand foot and mouth. Spots have been developing all day, and by the time we got to the doc's she had bigger red spots on the soles of her feet and her bottom lip. She's very grumpy with it.

Can we have before and after haircut shots, Wotta? I need to do the fringe again, Fartypants is going old English sheepdog again. And I checked the red book, she's still tracking the 25th nicely despite barely eating at the moment.

Hope she gets better soon Stormy. Do you get the joy of administering antibiotics for hfm? Glad it's nowt serious but the miserablicosity sounds shit. We need a cigarette emoticon for me to give to you.

Yes Wotta, before and after pics are a must. Glad ds is a-ok as far as medical opinion is concerned. Must be a weight off for you.

We're resisting the haircut until school for now. I love little boys with long hair, so that's what ds will have as long as it doesn't look daft.

Now to transfer a sleeping toddler from car to cot so I can cook dinner. I am alone til about 9 tonight, at which point dp will get in from his sisters graduation celebrations and demand things of me. And I will promptly go to bed. Seems odd for marriage to be less than a fortnight now but feel more like ships in the night than ever.

Nah, it's viral, thankfully. But ta for the reminder, it's time to crack open the calpol again. Then bath and bed for her and collapse in a heap for me.

I have discovered the source of the virus! The littlest niece was at the doctor last week with ringworm. He had a look at her rash at the time too. Instead of saying, "Ah yes, this is hand foot and mouth, it's very contagious," he just said, "It's viral, it'll clear up by itself, don't worry about it." I wonder how many kids at our Tuesday group the littlest niece infected last week...

Oh shit. Ds has drunk off milk. What do I do? I am such a bad mum.

He might be sick. He might be fine.

How off was it?

He might get the runs. Can't imagine it'll do him any lasting damage. It's an easy thing to do. Don't beat yourself up over it.

Use by date is 20th july still. He might have drank off milk from last night. That's what happens when you buy milk from corner shop I suppose. Less shelf life. He seems ok. Sorry for barging in with my problems. Me and dh had a giggling fit that us two put together are supposed to be responsible enough to look after a baby. Pah!

How is everyone?

stormy I can't believe dd has hfm. Poor thing. I am sending her lots of cuddles for us.

wotta let me know of any tricks you have for the hair cut. Ds is due another one. He gets an itchy head in this hot weather so I need to keep it short. Glad the appointment went well for ds. What a relief.

eco how is the move going?

doli I hope you are resting.

Ds had his first full day at nursery. He cried when I left him and I cried all the way to work. I called an hour later and they said he was fine playing. He slept for 45mins and did lots of messy play. Dh said he looked happy playing before he picked him up. Anyones dc started to get possessive about their possessions? Apparently ds insisted bringing home his bag with him.

*from us not for us. Duh!

Yes, we have a newly discovered sense of mine, you can't have it! too. It was so much easier when all I had to do was say, "Can Mummy have the X please?" and she'd hand it over. Nearly threw herself in the litter tray having a tantrum when I tried to take a wet flannel off her earlier. Apparently it was very VERY important that she be allowed to wash the floor with it. And then I tried to take the bepanthen off her, that caused another screaming fit, but I don't care, because she's already bitten right through the tube and I'm getting annoyed at getting the stuff all over me when I squeeze the tube. And I'm not allowed to take Zebra off her while she's eating any more...

DS has to hold monkey. All. The. Goddamn. Time. And a dummy in his hand when he's eating. He's going through a phase (I hope) of having a few bites, moaning, having .00004 seconds of dummy then back to food.

And he's currently refusing to go to sleep. I've been trying for an hour. I blame the dawn wake up, but I have work to be getting on with.

Anyone who ever considers working compressed hours, know this : you will work through University Challenge despite wishing you were already in bed. And work roughly 25% over your hours just to get the essentials done.

Back to food after a dummy break sounds good. Mealtimes here involve two or three spoons, then spitting. She's basically living on calpol, milk and fig rolls at the moment.

Yummy the GPs gave DD off lumpy milk a couple of weeks ago and she had tummy ache and terrible nappies for 24 hours and then was absolutely fine. Don't worry too much!

Wotta great news that DS is in full health!

Stormy/Yummy/Plonky madam often refuses to give things up at the moment too but they're never things she could safely have. My sunglasses are the latest and they're lovely and pricey and she's not having them again!

Stormy DD had HFM when she was tiny and she had about 36hrs of grumpy and then the rash and 24hrs later it was all over save for a few spots. Hopefully yours will be the same. Our nursery doesn't even ban them with it because it's so common and generally so mild. If she isn't better quickly maybe she's got a does of something else too so pop her back to the GPs if you're concerned.

Eco massive hugs and loves for the move you brave woman. I hope you've got champagne on ice as the first priority to go with your greasy fish and chips! It's the moving in dinner of champions. We had ours sat on garden loungers in our new house as that was all we owned we had to sleep on them for a few nights too.

Alas, Betty, Fartypants already has it worse than that. It was Friday I started suspecting something was amiss, she was that grumpy and off her food, and also going straight to sleep at night (blessed relief after two months of playing silly buggers for up to two hours at bedtime). First noticed a spot yesterday lunchtime, loads there by bathtime, even more today. So hopefully it will have run its course by the weekend. Been in touch with the mother of one girl from our Tuesday group, her daughter has it too and has followed the same pattern and timing of symptoms. We both just assumed it was teething.

I repeat, don't move with a toddler

Oh no eco, where on planet eco are you? I bet that's one tasty bhuna. Even if it's really a crap bhuna, you wouldn't know. Has ecotod been loving all the people around and the constant goings on? I say well done you for getting on with all this. I'm effing terrified of when it's our turn, and the cross country move you're in the midst of is far more than our skip hop to the nearest city.

At least I think that's all it'll be. Much as I'd love to move back to Brum I doubt it'll happen any time soon . Silly Derbyshire, with its jobs and scenery.

The wedding is in eleven days. It's not even 7AM and I'm on photoshop creating beautiful order of the day things to leave on the chairs in the ceremony. DS has been plonked in front of CBeebies with a cuppa and his monkey. And I'm wasting precious time MNing!

Straw cups are the business, btw.

Yy to straw cups. We use the nuby flexi straw one, dd loves it and will happily down half a pint of water in one go on a hot day from one of those, but with anything else it's just little sips here and there.

I think the lurgy that we've had all weekend is departing, although I think mine is going to my chest nothing to do with the sneaky fags on Saturday followed by a day of shouting at year 10 with a sore throat yesterday stormy I'm glad to hear it's not something worse but that does sound pretty grim, hope farty pants is feeling better.

Happily back on the weight loss wagon after a drastic fall after the jump, and already feeling better. Have also raised nearly £1000, so thank you for all your moral support, and to Doli and wotta for their donations :) lovely lovely people you all are.

Talking of lovely, shattered, come back? We're all being really nice to each other again and we miss you!

Anyone else have a toddler who is obsessed with putting things between their toes? This is DD's newest and funniest party trick. Favourite thing is to grab my forefinger and wedge it between her toes, but anything will do. She just found a pea must clean the floor and put it there.

Eco I hope your house swap episode has finished now and that you get into your new home today. What on earth happened? I find a curry fixes most problems to be honest. In fact I can't think of a situation that wouldn't be ever so slightly improved by a veggie dhansak.

I'm halfway through my letter to DH. I plan to give it to him on Monday, with the instruction that we will be discussing the following Saturday on our 6hr drive to Wales for a holiday. The idea being that a) he can't escape and b) we'll be all communicated and sorted by the time we get there and can therefore have a lovely tension free break. On Friday I had a night out with some of my closest friends. Their various careers of psychotherapist, social worker and teacher meant the combined sympathetic ears had me crying during the starters. That is pretty unlike me unless assisted by a lot of wine so I realised it's definitely time to sort this out.

Hmm, straws. I should try Fartypants on one, shouldn't I?

Gerry, I think your drastic fall was very well earned. Am I allowed to ask how many pounds you lost in total? I'm in awe regardless, but it's nice to be able to put a number on the awe, as it were. Good luck with the letter and the talk, and if you want it proofreading I'm sure we can help.

Today I seem to have a much more cheerful child. No calpol yet, and no shouting either, although she's still wanting to sit on my knee and read stories constantly. Hopefully she's over the worst of the feeling like death.

49 lbs lost so far, 35 left to go I think although may adjust that as I get closer to my target depending on what size I am etc. that is, of course, ignoring the fact that I have probably put loads back on in the last fortnight but I'm refusing to weigh myself until I feel I'm fully back on track!
Glad the farty one is feeling more like her old self!

49lbs! Bloody hell, good job! I best get cracking, I'm only 37lbs lower than my highest weight at the moment (bloody baby weight) so you're winning. You might surprise yourself when you step on the scales though. Have a few days of good clean eating first, so you're not bloated and carrying half a ton of poo in your intestines. I've had a ridiculous binge over the past couple of weeks, finally stood on the scales yesterday and had only gained four pounds, and with clean eating yesterday I've lost one of them already. Actually, get yourself on the scales straight away, then you get that lovely start of a diet losing weight ridiculously fast thing, which does wonders for your sense that you can do this.

Gove's out!!!!!!!

Ahem... As you were