January 2014: And then they were two! A new year and new tantrums as we welcome the terrible twos.

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New thread.

Hooray! I'm here. Fun times today, 15 mins nap . Although mil gave me the cash to buy some cute trainers from Next that I couldn't justify buying, but they are now ordered guilt free!

Hello, can I join you? I don't post very much, I did post on the first couple of threads and then lurked thereafter!

Dd is a very funny but feisty little character! She's the youngest of two, elder DD is the sweet sensitive one so it's a bit different this time with my little fireball. We are currently at the stage of not being able to tell her off for anything or we get huge heartbroken sobbing. I think we may be well and truely wrapped around her little finger!

Course you can StuffYouAllInTheCrust! Welcome back!

DS is king of the heartbreaking sobs atm too. DH thought it was so funny that he decided to show his cousin what happens when he tells DS off, but on this one occasion DS had different ideas and instead of collapsing on the floor in tears spat in DH's face!

Yay for cute trainers MerryPops! DH is away with work and I ordered takeaway guilt free, or at least safe in the knowledge that he won't ask me about it!

Thanks alteredimages

DD is the opposite in front of anyone else, they all think she's a sweet little angel who couldn't possibly throw a tantrum... She is queen of 'aww but look at that little face!' The horrorbag!

Hello! Yay for new thread.
We had the nursery stuffed hippo to stay for the weekend - think Teddy Playgroup if you watch Peppa Pig.
H has never been bothered about cuddly toys but has promptly fallen in love with hippo. Carried everywhere, cuddled into, propped up to watch Peppa Pig etc, slept with. Sodding nursery handing out a 20 year old loveable M+S hippo. I think I've found a look alike on eBay but he's not due to arrive till Fri. We have spent most of yesterday fretting about their separation tonight.......
Comedy attempt at Aldi though - apparently we shop in Addli

That is very cute puggle!

Their angelic looks don't help, do they? The other week DD was at a friend's house and was really late back. I was about to be a bit sharp with her friend's mum when she arrived apologetically and explained that DD couldn't find her shoes and the whole family spent two hours searching for them. It turned out DD had hidden her shoes under some furniture in the parents' bedroom because she didn't want to go home.

DH has been away this weekend and I have been free to watch as much rugby as I like. I feel totally crushed by those results though. Wales, Ireland and Scotland out! It must be especially hard for Paul McConnell who deserved a much better end to his international career.

Nursery have just informed me that they need to know what N will be wearing for their International Day in 6 weeks time. They would ideally like him to wear a Scottish or Welsh outfit, so I told them about the sgian dubh and no nappy for a real Scotsman, which hopefully has me off the hook for making a kilt.

I offered a Nubian outfit but they aren't keen because apparently N doesn't look dark skinned enough.

New thread! Hooray!!

DH off on business in Greece this week, so going for ready meals for me and chocolate bribery for F to get me through

Snap Angel.

DH is on his way home from the airport and last night was spent tidying up and throwing away the pizza boxes that won't fit in the rubbish chute and deleting the first series of outlander that I binge watched on the sly.

Well, I seem to have broken the thread again.

Just back from a Halloween party at DD's school. It was nice, because pretty much the whole school was there, but it was exhausting! They deliberately made it quite dark because it was on the playing fields and there was a big dance floor in the middle belting out music. There were bouncy castles and a climbing wall on one edge, tables and chairs along another edge with food and costume stalls and then the side opposite that had photographers and an ice cream van. Trouble was, with all that stuff and about 500 kids all dressed as witches or vampires in the dark, it was almost impossible to keep track of the kids when they ran off with their friends. DD also managed to lose her shoes. I feel broken and I lost my voice completely.

N refused to wear his costume at all, which doesn't bode well for his Halloween celebration next week. The one good thing is that three hours of me chasing him around has tired him out and he is asleep!

Altered you are describing the stuff of nightmares! We have a comdey hat that is Nemo the fish that H quite likes to wear - that will be the dressing up for us I think. (Though I quite fancy the idea of cutting out orange fish shapes and sewing them onto a blue t-shirt too and maybe some coral reef shapes....but hey, that's why I don't look at pinterest otherwise I'd be up all night sewing and be a nervous wreck)
Operation Find-a-matching-15year-old-hippo-on-eBay has been a triumph! No more "lost, lost?" (until we do actually lose it, then we're fecked)

Glad to hear that the hippo hunt has been successful puggle.

I have just about recovered from the halloween party now. To be fair, the tickets did say it would be "une fête d'enfer" so I should have taken them at their word!

A horrible dust storm sprang up today, and during my haste to get the washing off the line on the balcony I was smacked in the face by a lot of dust and some plastic bags. The water has also been off for most of the day, but thankfully was back in time for me to wash the cheese and toast out of N's hair that he had for tea.

The fishy t shirt sounds really cute, but I think sleep wins.

Hello new thread

Nothing to report here. That dust storm sounds a bit grim altered. I'm loving the sound of the Halloween party though. P has been asked to dress up for a couple of the groups she goes to, but there's not much else going on for Halloween. DM is going to babysit for the first time on Friday, so that we can go out for our anniversary. P will be in bed before we leave, so really she will just be sitting downstairs watching rubbish telly and eating sweets. It will be our second night out since she was born, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I can't believe you have to do Teddy Playgroup puggle. What did the hippo get up to in the end?

Hello book! I was thinking of you and P today and hoping that you would show up soon.

Today we were supposed to have another dust storm but it didn't show up. It has just been uncharacteristically gloomy and overcast. There was rain and hail in Alexandria though!

Water has been off all day again today which is making me . Hopefully will be sorted permanently soon, because DD is at the beginning of a two week school holiday and she is a mucky pup.

V envious of your night out. The babysitting gig sounds good too though! I don't think i could convince anyone to babysit N because he keeps waking up once he is in bed. I don't know if it is teething or just him being a tiny bastard.

Hope everyone has had an enjoyable weekend. I have missed both rugby world cup semi finals so off to catch up on them now.

Oh God. DD has a new pet fly (dead) and wants me to look after him very carefully. This is going to be a long two weeks.

It's Felix, I have NC

I fell off the last thread ages ago so will have to catch up! Half term here and I'm so bored already. I usually take S to a playgroup each morning and none and running this week. Can't believe she will be 2 in two months

Hi Bea. Wondered where you had gone.

Let me know if you have any brainwaves for occupying DCs. Yesterday we went to the cinema and had the whole place to ourselves. They ran the film just for me and DD.

Today I have bought lots of vegetables in the hope that this will encourage me to cook a healthy lunch. No luck so far.

DD is instructing me to stop "computering" so I had better go. It is actually coolish today, so I quite fancy a walk!

I can't wait until S is old enough for the cinema. A good way to pass a few hours! She's with the childminder this morning so that's one less day of entertainment to think about. We did some crafts yesterday afternoon which she loved, so I think I'm going to get her a load of paints and stick on bits etc. for Christmas.

It is a good way to kill time. Unfortunately that was the only film for kids on, so can't do it again this half term! Still ten more days.

Today we bought vegetables and delivered some to MIL, then made soup. Short stromae dance party, and now Peppa Pig has taken over while I have a coffee.

I am so angry about something that happened today though. One of the security guys for PIL's building was shoved into the back of a police truck and taken down to the station. All that happened was that the police had come to check up on a company on the third floor and when they asked the security guy if anyone was there he said he didn't know and people come and go all the time. They decided that they needed to "teach him some manners and to answer them straight away next time". Apparently, even though he is actually just there for cleaning, a security guy should know exactly who is in the building. FIL went down to the station and convinced whoever was in charge to release him, but otherwise he would have spent two days at least in the cells while they "verify his identity". There were another eight guys in the truck with him who had been picked up off the streets for these ID checks too.

It makes me so furious and sometimes at night I worry that by staying here I am complicit.

Hi bea! I hate half term. All P's groups are off this week, and everywhere is heaving with big kids. The forecast for tomorrow here is rubbish as well, so I think it will be crafts and films. Again.

altered I often think it sounds like a difficult (and scary?) place to live. You must be made of sterner stuff than me! How is DD's pet doing? Does it have a name?

We went pumpkin picking and visited a maize maze today. I am knackered. I fear I may have to do some exercise soon. Shudder.

Everyone back to school in sunny Highlands! I am tragic as I quite enjoyed Teddy playgroup (apart from the desperate falling in love)
We went out in the cargo bike, with a wee hat made for hippo from a bottle cap, pictures from the playground, hanging our washing and picking raspberries and went to the wildlife park on Sat. Found some old stickers so hippo's diary was a bit more fun for H than just me cutting and sticking.
My fairycakes in a silicone pumpkin lantern moulds all stuck like buggery so no domestic goddess badge for me.
Time killers - large cardboard tube on stairs (big poster tube type thing). All toy cars to top of stairs - slide, repeat - added stairclimbing fitness bonus

Teddy playgroup sounds lovely, as do the raspberries and being outside. Sun is definitely a bonus. It isn't even sunny here in Cairo! Cold and windy today.

I misread your time killer there and thought you meant putting ride on cars at the top of the stairs and H riding down them on some cardboard strips.

H would definitely be up for car surfing if allowed!
What a day yesterday. I think its H's teeth, or maybe a sore throat but in the middle of the night maternal guilt had come upon me and I'd decided that the pitted enamel on his front teeth (Dentist thinks he has a bit of enamel hypoplasia) must have eroded through and he had full blown dental decay causing pain. He only slept for an hour at lunch, had a major melt down after lunch, wouldn't sleep in pram but was tired tired tired all afternoon. I also bought an igglepiggle readybed inflatable bed thing to try and transition to his room. He loves it, and will lie down to pretend to sleep in it, but not actually sleep in it. And then not sleep in our bed cos he wants to be in the iggle piggle bed. He decided to cry from 1:30 -3 last nigth and refused boobs which is novel
Today toddlers can definitely get in the sea as far as I'm concerned (Thanks to TobyLerone for that excellent expression)

I fell off the last thread too. Nothing much happening here, first trimester tiredness has kicked in so I'm being a bad mum and lying on the sofa whilst L runs riot.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

X-posted puggle, that sounds like a long night! L's the same with her new duvet, she loves lying under it but won't actually sleep.

She did do 8-4 about a month ago, and 8-5 last week. It was amazing (although I error loads worrying about her). At the minute she wakes 1-2 before midnight, then generally ends up in bed with us.

I forgot to say, when she's told off she covers her eyes, which is really cute!

That sounds really cute GunShot. N has started sticking out his bottom lip and looking crushed before doing a slow motion fall to the ground. Cute and calculating at the same time.

He is keeping up with his 3am wake up call and refusing to go back to sleep til five, which I am not enjoying at all. Toddlers can definitely get in the sea.

DD is back to school tomorrow. Hooray!