The 11th Gemini bus - Trudging through the terrible twos

[AGnu]

Definitely! Cowbridge is nice, I had friends there growing up. Bit middle class though, it may not be quite what you're looking for! Wherever you live in that area you'll probably be close enough to be my doula for #3...

We aren't really sure what we're looking for just yet! It'd be wonderful if we had an answer as to job and pay and interview time, etc. this week but we are quite aware that this could be another 2-3 weeks from now (which is agony!). Def detached home, a 3 beds (4 would be awesome... but proving harder to find), walking distance to a school since DH would take the car to work, and a garden of some sort for kids to be outside. That's it really! I'll have to start looking around there. Thanks for the recommendation!

Ooh, doula, huh? Haven't been to a birth in over 3 years-- besides my own of course! I'd feel all rusty

Boo hoo home time soon Today was the first day that we all got along like a happy family and finally felt like we were on holiday and now we have to leave Oh well, better to leave on a happy note I guess! My ankles are huge so maybe it's best we head back to the cold

Woohoo Agnu! Let the baby making fun begin

I'm going to take the sunshine home with me so you can all enjoy it apart from bring sadly

Welcome back Frus! How are things with your DH today? When did you get a new job? Last I knew you were CMing. How are your DC? We've missed you!

Hey Frus! Hope your DH's man-period has finally gone and he's done moaning about having to do adult things . I'm also very intrigued on this new job of yours!

Welcome back Pear. Sorry to hear about the swelling. Lotsa water and water-type foods (cucumbers, watermelon, celery, etc) can help too. Also laying down on your back with your feet propped up on the wall (I know, it sounds ridiculous, but it totally works) can help everything kinda drain back down out of the legs.

So DH is heading your way next week. He's going on his own to visit his mum for a week. I don't even really have words for the range of emotions I'm having at the moment. I'm having to solo-parent which I'm not looking forward to. My good friend is going through a whole slew of her own family shit and so she's been distant and therefore I'm already feeling a bit lonely in that respect. My anxiety is getting the better of me and I keep wondering if I've said something or if I'm bugging her. My dad has said he'll offer his support in anyway that he can while DH is gone. My pessimism is on an all-time high right now so that doesn't feel like much. There's so much going on next week too. Kid's dentist appointments. M's first full week at her new nursery. The last week of elder two's school year (plus a kindergarten graduation and all the bullshit that comes along with it. FUN.). And then their first full-day of summer and a really freaking long weekend with which I need to figure out what to do with them. AND the big giant wait to hear from the potential job is still on. I'm having a day where I'd like to just run away and not have to be an adult anymore. Not have to think about all this shit.

Frus yay for the new job amongst adults with real adult meaningless conversation included So pleased to hear that your kids are doing well despite the normal kiddie stuff to deal with! How lovely that you're sharing your DD happy story with others who will benefit...you guys so deserve the break! It must be so lovely for you to watch your DD blossom right now!

Bring, you're a super mum who can and will totally kick ass next week flying solo and all your appointments and engagements will be a breeze to you because you can so handle this one handed Dig deep and pull up that kick boxing rage to get you through...he ha hoo kicks and POW to your job list If that fails which it won't one day at a time and we're so hear to listen

So, I'm really home now. First morning back in my own bed. Ankles have swollen up more and are actually quite painful now. I've taken a photo but it's actually quite gross so maybe I won't show you I look like an over cooked granny!! I did your bed trick last night Bring when we arrived home. Hasn't worked yet but I will keep trying. Today is all about washing and keeping DS entertained whilst having MIL hang about DH asked her last night what are her plans and she said she doesn't have any. Guessing that means she might be sticking around until the funeral next week then. Might try and turn this into a positive and take DH to the cinema in the next few days to cheer him up as he's understandably sad again Oh and my garden has turned into a forest because she's been watering like mad. I've never seen it looking so green but OMG the weeds lol

On another note...think I've finally found a dress to wear to wedding no2. Tried on the size 10 last night but it's slightly too big. Damn these maternity sizes! Don't know how much growth will happen in 2 weeks. Beyond annoying! I am finally hitting the 3rd trimester next week woohoo! I know I'm only going to grow so maybe I should just stick with the size 10 as I could totally wear this dress to dinner if I wanted, maybe. Here it is http://m.seraphine.com/navy-lace-maternity-dress.html. Shoes will be my next issue

Ahh isn't that typical. Just looked at the dress myself and they've removed it from the sale so now the dress is back to £50 plus instead of £30. Maybe I'll stick with my size 10

I'm only going to grow in 2 weeks, right? I find this whole dress shopping for the future really frustrating when I'm growing sooooo slowly. Reminds me bring I need to send you my bump photo!

Cute dress pear! Hard to say what the growth will be like in 2 weeks, tbh. I'd stick with the larger size, myself. Maybe find a way to pinch it in on the sides or something if it's still a bit big by then?

So not be a scaremonger, but have you had your blood pressure and urines checked lately along with the swelling? Midwife appt soon?

Frus that is absolutely wonderful news about your DD! What a life-changer for her. Do you feel like her behaviour benefited as well now that it's easier for her to let you know what she needs? Oh my puberty! Yikes! I have a good friend whose daughter is 13.5 and she's had some doozies of stories to share. And yes, gotta love the 3rd year old's absolute refusal to go to bed. Good lord that's annoying. Love the pub job! Hmmm... heading off to contemplate my future UK job in a pub . Do you get some regulars? I bet the people watching is fantastic.

Well thanks for that super mum bit of confidence boost. Today is loads better. DH and I chatted quite a bit and I was able to confide in him that having him gone for a week is going to be very lonely (yes, kids are great company but there's just something about being around one's partner...am I right?), it reminds me a bit of when we were first dating/married and we lived on opposite ends of the Atlantic and just that feeling of saying "bye" is creeping up a bit. It was a very emotionally stressful time and even just thinking about how that felt all of 10 years ago can still bring me to tears, and 3 kids when 2 have just gotten out of school and 1 is just starting a new school they are working through a whole lot of crap that they're going to take out on me at home and it's gonna be really hard! The timing is shit... but then the whole thing is shit isn't it? So, it's hopefully going to go by quickly. I just made DH promise to not tell me about all the food he's eating that we both miss from living here.

It must be an amazing process to witness for you! So so pleased for you and your DD!!

Skipped off work with my friend who lives down the street and we went shopping Felt GREAT! Ever since getting dropped from this other job, the work load has gone waaaaay down. Good for the sanity, but horrible for the wallet. The cheeky woman has never acknowledged what she did, our former friendship, the email that I wrote to her explaining my personal situation, nothing. Nothing like completely cutting someone out to make them feel like a complete piece of discarded rubbish.

OMG I literally can't take much more of my MIL She is driving me bonkers!!!! Bpear and I had a little nap this afternoon because I am exhausted and I've just woken up to blaring (and I mean blaring) classical music. I mean seriously. How can old people be so annoyingly selfish lol It's alright though because I need to pop out to buy a kids birthday present for tomorrow so I can escape alone but Geeze she is driving me up the wall To add to that our fridge is full of out of date food that she says is absolutely fine to eat and our heating is on because she's cold. Everything is fine though I am keeping my lips sealed until the funeral (1 week to go) and then to be honest I can't have her living here anymore. 4 weeks is enough for me. I've been extremely patient and kind but I really can't cope with more then a month. Haven't had that chat with DH yet Kind of hoping I won't have to! On a brighter note I've been washing like a maniac so that she can do all our ironing before she leaves

Bring yay for your shopping trip! Did you get anything nice? Or was it just a general shop.

I have kept the size 10 dress. Oh and the cold weather has returned my ankles TG, otherwise I would have gone to the midwife like you suggested. I've got my 28 week appt next Wednesday and my GTT test the following week.

Bring - Are you still alive super mum?

I had a major download to my mum last night. I feel loads better. I cancelled seeing my sister this morning as I was dreading nursery drop off (which actually went better once bpears anxiety disappeared) and I'm so glad I did as I managed to buy groceries, but some plants for the garden, Hoover a bit and make risotto for tonight whilst bpear was at nursery. My sister just has no idea what my mummy life is like at the moment It felt good to put me first and get ahead.

MIL was meant to go home yesterday but she changed her mind last minute and stayed another night. She left early this morning before we came downstairs for breakfast but she will be back tomorrow.

I've been feeling a lot less movements over the weekend. My mum reminded me that the baby has probably grown and now has less room to move about...makes sense. I still feel kicks it's just a lot less which was a bit worrying.

Just barely holding on over here. DH leaves tonight. Can't stop feeling like I'm just going to burst into tears all the time. My mum is driving me crazy and is of course making everything be about her. MIL managed to fall down the stairs over the weekend and has all sorts of injuries that have put her back in the hospital so that happened. Kids are done with school this week and so trying to figure out how to keep everyone entertained this weekend and into early next week. AHHHHHHH. I just want to run away from life right now!

Eek, sounds stressful trying to push your MIL out and into her own place over there pear. Any success?

If you're worried about babe, start doing kick counts. Nothing wrong with following your gut instincts and having everything checked out too. Hugs for you!

Bring let the fun commence Good luck! Be strong

MIL has decided to go home today so she can drive to the funeral herself. This idea sounds loopy loo to me but DH has put his foot down saying he doesn't want me to drive in a separate car...TG! I had to point out to them both that since she's chosen to have the wake in a pub with no garden, Bpear isn't going to last long at all!!

Anyway, this means she won't be back for a while hurrah! Oh I'm awful aren't I Seriously though I can't even have a conversation with DH without her butting in even if she has no idea what we're talking about, she's grown a new confidence that I never knew she had since my FIL passed away!!

I don't want to get up I've got a lot on my plate today. Whooping cough injection, 28 week midwife appt and then rushing off to see a specialist about my supposedly 4th degree tear that didn't happen but hoping to get tips to prevent another 3b out of it

Honestly. I don't want to be strong anymore. My basement is flooded after torrential rain all of last night. Of course the area that got soaked is around the litter trays so any stray litter has been transformed into sludge and there are puddles all over the place. The temps here are projected to be near 100F tomorrow through the weekend with more rain and storms on and off and of course the air con is puttering out and is barely keeping the house above 75F. It's been running non-stop all day trying to keep up, so on top of the rain flooding, the condensation from the air con fan in the furnace (we don't have a boiler here, it's central air) is leaking all over the other side of the utility room from the flooding so it's just a giant cat-litter puddle mess everywhere. It's like I JUST WANT A FUCKING BREAK. Please. I feel pissed off my at my MIL, even though it's not her fault, I'm still mad at her for it because what else can I feel right now? Mad at DH and his calling and texting all day because he was bored in the city centre since he couldn't go see his mum in hospital due to her radiotherapy so he just kept moaning about being tired and restless. FFS.... how can I be sympathetic about something like that at a time like this? for the record, the basement wasn't found out about until DH was already resting his head over yonder in UK time so then got super irritated that I'm dealing with this on my own. Then the spiral began with being frustrated that the money we set aside to FINALLY get the f'ing basement sorted out has to be spent on taking the whole damn family over the Atlantic again for the 3rd year in a row, and frustrated with being left here with absolutely no help at all from my family despite my many attempts to reach out for some assistance this weekend. Feeling almost desperate enough to reach out to my mum but I know that it'll only lead to more disappointment so feeling majorly frustrated about that too. I am a mess right you, you guys. A mess. I just feel like a walking crying, frustrated, irritable bitch and my poor kids are stuck with me. Fecking almost 3 year old is putting me through the wringer and is refusing to go to bed most nights now. It just feels so never ending right now.

bring hurry up & move over here so I can come give you a hug! I know there's nothing I can say to help but we're here whenever you need to vent!

We're officially TTC... & I'm worried I might have thrush!

Thanks agnu. Feeling slightly less overwhelmed this morning. It's only 10:45 here but it's already sweltering in our house even with the air con on.

Apparently "hurry up" isn't in the vocab of the directors of this prospect job. We are still in the wait to hear back from them.

OOHhhhh! YEY! Not about thrush, but yay about TTC! Apple cider vinegar sitz baths help tremendously with thrush. Also natural yogurt and probiotics targets for women's health. (shh, TMI, but you can do them vaginally too and they re-colonize to get rid of the yeast).

I've just bought some more ACV & yoghurt is on the shopping list for tomorrow! I've even managed to convince DH to try natural remedies for his suspected athletes foot! We're just a houseful of infections atm! I knew one day I'd manage to hippy-fy DH!

Glad you're feeling a little calmer today. Any chance of you getting out of the house to somewhere with better air con for the day? It's horribly warm & muggy here too. It rained earlier & I really hoped that would clear the air but sadly not!

I'm officially in the 2ww! I'm having weird period-type cramps & I keep freaking out that I didn't ovulate test was +ve on day 11 & so will have a period any minute. Day 14 today & I'm going to start testing on Wednesday. I know it's ridiculously early but with both previous pregnancies I got really strong BFPs before AF was due & I want to squint at imaginary lines! I'll probably know before I get round to testing anyway. Both times I've had symptoms exactly a week after ovulating!

Runt's birthday party today. 13 screaming children in our little house. They could barely move but refused to go outside for ages! They had fun. The other mums kept an eye on them. I faffed about in the kitchen & avoided the insanity! Exhausted now! Exhaustion is a 2ww symptom, right?!

Hello hello! I'm alive. Just 1 funeral and 2 weddings done Naturally we're exhausted all over but hopefully life can now calm down and I can start to think mainly about what's arriving in 11 weeks time! DH sent me a text at work this morning saying he was struggling to keep it together and was feeling v sad I suspect he is just exhausted from the weekend so his emotions are running wild, maybe. Or maybe he misses calling his dad Stupid Father's Day marketing everywhere is probably not helping!

So, I can finally forget about the bridesmaid dress horrah! After all the alterations were made I just squeezed in. The only time it felt a bit uncomfortable was when I sat down. The bride was happy so that was good and on the day it was nice that I didn't feel that different to the other two bridesmaids. I did feel like I looked fat rather then pregnant as the puff skirt just looked like it was hiding something, could have been fat or a bump so it wasn't obvious. Quite a few people said that they would have never guessed that I was 7 months gone. The day itself was warm and I could have melted DH did amazing considering he was on his own lots whilst I did bridesmaid duties and he was such a support to me. I've got to say that he was an absolute star considering he'd only just had his dad's funeral and I don't know many guys who would have been able to cope that well. I was so proud! I negotiated my 1st and only glass of champagne in this pregnancy at the toast. Well deserved I felt It was sooooooo good! I did so much bending down at the church to make sure the dress was OK for the photographs. Poor baby was doing crazy flips but even she let me dance for a while in the evening until she finally gave me the warning signs to sit down Anyway, being pregnant didn't stop me from being a good bridesmaid or having fun so I am very happy about that. It's funny how different we all are. There was a girl there who is due exactly a month later and OMG she is massive! Poor thing has probably put on 4 dress sizes all over.

Bpear was an absolute nightmare at wedding no2. We shouldn't have taken him. I will never take him to a wedding again for a long long time! Luckily we managed to hide his shocking behaviour from most as the hotel was very big. At one point he ran crying and screaming into the bar area and about 5 men just stared at me The tantrum was all over me saying that he couldn't touch the piano. I nearly cried because he was screaming and wriggling like a fish so I couldn't pick him up. It was all mortifying I am guessing his bad behaviour was all stored up for us because he has been a angel for my mum the previous 48hrs! Anyway, we got through that and I entertained him with the elevator whilst DH listened to the speeches etc etc! We managed to slip away at 7:30pm and drive the 2hr journey home!

Nursery went OK today TG and this week should be a little bit more normal with only the dentist and GT test to condend with.

I've decided to sign up to a Hypnobirthing class for the day in July. It's not cheap but I can't focus on books at all at the moment. I'm just too tired come the evening to read. My friend tells me she knows the midwife running it and really liked her so that's given me some faith! Hopefully it won't be a waste of money but I'm so freaking out about it all now that I just want to be prepared as much as possible.

Bring so sorry to hear about your litter tray disaster! Yuk! I am guessing that's all sorted now? Great to hear you're still alive though

Agnu woohoo for TTC! Natural yoghurt on bits is a life saver! Can't wait to hear some happy news from you soon!

Sorry for the very long post I hope everyone else is doing well?

Agnu whhhhaaat!!! What are you waiting for lady? I got my bfp both times on Dpo 12. Do a test!!!

I'm only 3dpo pear. Got a +ve ovulation test on CD11 & today is CD14. I got BFPs on CD26 both times & they both appeared in seconds. This time I'm hoping to watch lines get darker... assuming I'm actually pregnant! I'm sure all my symptoms are psychosomatic, I started feeling crampy about 24 hours after ovulating. I know I'm quite sensitive to hormones but I can't imagine the tiny amounts of hormones emitted by a recently fertilised egg would have any effect on me!