March 2005 Part 7 - Welly Boots and Toddler Tantrums!

[JoPG]

Here is the new thread

Oh, and Freya very cute today. I think she is missing Ethan (absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that) cos she keeps on picking up photos of him and kissing them .

Ahh, sweet! Lauren is still majoring in Japanese! Can't wait for her to talk now as she's getting seriously frustrated and throwing some major wobblies because she can't make herself understood. Saturday was an EXTREMELY trying day as the entire morning seemed to consist of whinging and crying.
Then yesterday she did a backflip off her little slide which ended in much screaming and then smacking of the slide. God knows where she gets that from.
Went round to the little nursery school I've booked her into. Had planned for her to start in the New Year but have decided to wait until after her birthday and start her in the second term. I'd planned for her to go three days a week, from 8:30 to 12:30, but didn't think she'd last so long as she's in bed by 11:30 now, totally finished. Sleeping till 2 or 2:30ish. Which is really nice.
Beautiful day again today. Our Cape Town summer is really lovely. Roll on Sundowner's on the beach!

Have bought tinned pumpkin and am making pumpkin cheesecake for a Halloween party that we have all been invited to this weekend.
'Pumpkin cheesecake a la Pidge'
Mouth is watering just thinking about it, should be good aslong as bain amrie thingy doesn't leak!

Ooh good luck with the cheesecake. Get that tin well wrapped in clingfilm and foil and you will be fine.

I'm on halloween cupcake duty this weekend for a little party my daughter is going to (and Iris too of course!).

I'm sitting at my desk at work having a very, very rare lunch break so thought I'd catch up with you all.

Harrison is really well, really cute and has taken to screaming in absolute delight at the most bizarre things. Yesterday he was looking at a photograph album of himself and Hannah and he kept screaming and pointing at Hannah saying 'sister, sister'. It was a similar reaction to me if I'd won £10 million on the lottery

He's a bit off his food at the moment, which is highly unusual - usually I can't get it in quick enough. He's had a bit of a cold, so maybe that's it.

Jo, I was tempted to buy a tin of pumpkin and join you and Pidge in the Domestic Goddess league. Then I remembered all the posting about lining tins with foil and leaking and decided I'd stick with soup

Crisitina, hope you got on OK with Dominic today and hope he's having a lovely birthday

Happy birthday Dominic for yesterday !

Doing OK here, Niklas has had a bad cold again so has been really grumpy, has been trying my patience as I have it as well and have been feeling awful, but this morning he was much better and seemed to be back to his usual self !

Pidge, a suggestion to try to get Iris to sleep later in the morning - when we were on holiday we noticed that Niklas was sleeping longer at night, but was only sleeping a max of 1.25 -1.5 hours a day (all his own doing). WHen we got back and he started back at the nursery his waking got earlier and earlier, and he started going to sleep later and later. we found out that he had been sleeping at least 2 hours at the nursery and sometimes twice a day ! So we insisted that they only let him sleep after lunch for 1.5 hours. it was a tough couple of very grumpy days, but now he is sleeping again from 7.30/8 - 6.30/7. So in short (after all the waffling), look at how long Iris is sleeping during the day and think about trying to reduce it.
Did you try to make the apple tarte thing?

Thanks for the birthday wishes for Dominic. He had a nice day. We all stayed at home, went to the hospital for his scans, then back home. He was allowed to play PS2 a lot.

Sylvia is doing well, i think she's put on some weight as she feels heavier, her face is rounder and even has a double chin.

No cooking treats here as i'm feeling a bit down (nothing in particular).

Nice to hear about all these chatting babies. Isn't it amazing how gradually they went from one word here and there to understanding most of what you tell them and holding a conversation of sorts?

:)

Well done, Popsy. I hope it continues. Was it CC in the end?

a very wayered down version if cc yes

Oh dear, poor Freya has chicken pox!
Is she the first in the March 2005 thread to have it?!
At the moment she is not too bad with it, but I seem to remember that it continues to get worse for a couple of days or so before it gets better. Fingers crossed for a mild bout of it.
Fortunately she was still allowed to go to her Halloween party yesterday, as all the other kids had already had it. i will post a piccie of her and Ethan in their fancy dress later.

Poor Freya! Niklas hasn't had it yet but seems to have had more than his share of colds and flu so I think we can wait a while for that!
He had very high fever again last night, thought it was the start of another cold but difficult to tell as he is still snotty and coughing from the last one. He seemed fine today though, bit grumpy and tired maybe.

Great to hear that Harry has been finally sleeping better Popsy. Have you actually relaxed yet and had managed to have a good night sleep yourself?

Oh poor Freya. I hope she's not too miserable with it.

We are still completely cpox free in this house - I can't believe Cleo has got to age 4 and still not had it. Only a matter of time though!

I'm in an emotional whirl, having just dropped Cleo at school for two hours for her first ever 'taster' session. She's going to be going every Monday afternoon from now till Christmas, then starting properly in Jan. She normally refuses to hold my hand, but was gripping it tighter and tighter as we got closer, and when we walked into the reception area and all these kids emerged she clutched my hand with TWO hands!! But then a little girl said to her, 'let me show you round' and off she went, and when I was still hovering a few minutes later she said 'bye bye mummy'. So off I went!

Iris now asleep and I am sitting in blissful peace with coffee and some shortbread. Heaven!

Poor Freya - hope she gets better soon. Hannah had it when she was 3 and it was one of the worst weeks of my life (and sadly, that isn't an exaggeration). She wasn't too bad during the day other than being very grumpy but she used to wake in the night and scream like she was being murdered. She wasn't even awake so she couldn't be comforted, we just had to wait for her to calm down and make sure she didn't hurt herself in the process. Harrison hasn't had it yet so fingers crossed when he does, it won't be so bad.

Pidge, hope Cleo had a lovely afternoon and that you managed to have a very relaxing time whilst she was away. Harrison loves going to school with Hannah so I know when he starts, he's just going to run off without even a backward glance - it's one of the big advantages of having a brother or sister already at school, the little ones get used to being there every day.

Leo, hope Niklas is OK and that all is OK with the 'bump'

Thanks busy. She did pretty well really. She emerged clutching two pictures she'd drawn, one with her name written 5 times on the back!!! And she said she had a nice time, but she did say "Mummy when you said goodbye I felt like I was going to cry ... and I did have a little tear on my cheek ... but it's ok, no-one noticed". Awww!

My mum and dad are just back from 6 weeks holiday, so I got the kids on the phone to them this evening. Hysterical. It's the ONLY time Iris ever goes completely silent. She wouldn't say anything, until Cleo started prompting her to say all her latest random vocabulary "Pompost (=compost), bubbles, mouse" etc. To the complete bemusement of the grandparents.

Glad to hear that Cleo had a good time at school yesterday. Does she know anybody else that is going, or is she starting out afresh? Hope it all goes well again next Monday.

Freya is still poorly with her chicken pox, had a terrible night last night. Matt ended up sleeping with her all night, and he said she was very unsettled. She also missed her daytime nap yesterday - she just can't seem to settle because of all the itching. I will have to take her out in the car today to try and get her to sleep for a bit, she definitely needs some rest.

BW - I agree with you about school. Freya is so used to going there everyday that I think it will be a breeze when she starts. She is also very knows a lot of the children, including some who will be in her year.

Jo, thinking of you - I remember what those unsettled nights were like - it was worse than DH's snoring

Pidge, glad Cleo had a lovely afternoon.

Jo - poor you. I hope you all get some sleep soon.

Leo - I completely fogot to thank you for your idea about Iris's sleep. In fact (though I shouldn't say it too loud) over the last two months she has got LOADS better. A normal morning now is that she goes through from shortly after 7pm to 6.30am, and sometimes she even goes 12 hours. Unbelievable. Nothing changed - she just seemed to get the hang of settling herself back to sleep in her cot when she goes into light sleep in the early morning. Sometimes I even have to wake her when I'm going to work! Mind you this morning it was 5.45 again, but I'm hoping that was a blip.

Thankyou all for you best wishes for Freya. She had a lovely 3.5 hour sleep this afternoon (helped by some Medised, it certainly eased the itching) and she seems a lot brighter this afternoon. Some of the spots are starting to dry up so hopefully she will start getting better over the next few days.

Poor Freya! Hope she starts to feel better soon. Actually have Lauren booked in for her Chicken Pox innoculation next week. It's recommended to have it done before they start in any school environment, which she will do from March.
Lauren very much full of beans. Still no words to speak of, although she did say "all gone" yesterday after emptying all her crayons out of the box. But then nothing since that. Although she doesn't shut all day, she also won't make a sound if someone is speaking to her on the phone. Just has this silly grin on her face, but won't make a single noise.
Summer seems to have desserted us for a while, so all Lauren's winter things have come out of the cupboard again.
Twisted my ankle at gym today. Tripped over a weight someone had left on the floor. Ankle is all swollen and it's pretty sore, but nothing too serious. Really starting to feel the benefits of two months of gyming. Much firmer already, although the weight is only coming off slowly. Keep telling myself it's because muscle is heavier than fat, but probably fooling myself a bit!!

Pidge - good news that Iris is sleeping better.

Did any of you have problems with the clock changes? Luckily Niklas has adapted quite well, but I'm also getting dh better trained at not picking him up the moment he wakes up in the night or morning.

Jambot - you want to know about winter coming? Its been like summer here for the last few weeks, but today the temperature has dropped 10° and they are predicting snow for the weekend , I love snow!

Jo - I hope you had a better night and will have a better day with Freya again today. It sounds as if she could be on the mend !

We are all doing great at the moment, Niklas is well (hardly even has a snotty nose) and is really happy and wonderful again. Had a scan yesterday which confirmed that the twins are doing great ! Feeling tired and uncomfortable already, but hey ho, so long as the little ones are OK! i'm now going to be working about 30% so I can go home early to put my feet up !

I wonder how Umum is doing.... and Bonym, long time no news from her!

Presume you aren't finding out the sex of your twins Leo. How you can stand the suspense I don't know!
Summer seems back, although Lauren is wearing her Wellies with her sun dress. Insisted on having them on and actually put them on herself, even getting the right boot on the right foot. Think that was just luck though.
Busy trying to organise lots of pre-Christmas dinners and get-togethers with friends as the end of the year is fast approaching and if you don't book everyone now, everyone has gone away for the holidays. Being our Summer, Xmas is when everyone tends to go away for their big holiday of the year. We leave for Mauritius on the 30th December for two weeks - can't wait.

Jambot - Mauritius sounds lovely. Did you come to some compromise with your Dh about taking Lauren?

Leo - Snow? Now just remember, no snow boarding this winter!

Freya had a much better night last night and slept for 12 hours straight, she is currently having a nice nap. Her spots are slowly drying up and she is definitely on the mend.

I have posted a piccie of her at Halloween in the photobucket (it was Sat, so before her spots got too bad!)

DH and I are leaving for Mauritius on the 30th and my in-laws are arriving with Lauren on the 2nd, so we will have a few days on our own, which will be nice and relaxing. Also in-laws will be able to do the odd baby sitting so that we can get out and do one or two things that aren't particularly child friendly. DH is happy and so am I.

jambot - that sounds like a wonderful compromise. Plus how nice to have babysitters around on holiday.

Jopg - I keep meaning to ask - how did the pumpkin cheesecake turn out? I'm about to make another for a weekend away with friends in Wales. Plus I'm making some firework themed fairy cakes!