November 2014 - The one where they outrun us!

[MrsAukerman]

New thread ladies.

Oh we've been sorely tempted by the cosy coupe too! We're going to have to get something for the garden soon as carrying buckets around is starting to lose its appeal. But then I glance over the fence at the neighbours garden toy graveyard sitting out in the rain and I put it off!

Strawberry I know exactly what you mean! I get moments where it's utterly surreal and I look at him and think "Really? You're going to stay and grow up with us??" And it boggles my mind that soon I'll have two! It seems to have all happened in the space of 5 minutes! Do you ever get completely used to it I wonder?

(Also can't believe I'm choosing to go back into the grim stage again now that DS is suddenly consistently sleeping through but that's another story)

Anna I'm paralysed with indecision over outdoor toys. I reeeeally don't want them lying all round the garden unplayed with. We're getting our garden redone this year hopefully so I want it to look nice not like a toy graveyard - excellent phrase! Equally though the thought of buying new stuff makes my eco friendly side squirm as they are all just huge chunks of plastic that will be around for hundreds or thousands of years... but the wooden stuff is so expensive. Ahh middle class conundrums!

But even the plastic stuff is expensive to my horror. And knowing DS he would like buttons as when we went to a friends house she had a plastic toddler trike that was like a police motorcycle with loads of buttons and knobs and levers and he was overjoyed.

I'm concerned that if it's just a hunk of plastic that he won't be interested at all! But the ones with buttons cost a bomb.

Also our garden is 3/4 lawn so we need something that'll actually work on the mossiest shittiest boggiest grass ever, lol.

Strawberry do you think it would work if I could be there until bedtime then slope off and sleep in a nearby hotel? because that sounds ideal :)

Errrrr *moggle, pimp my coupe? I NEED this information!! DD loves hers and it lives inside (because dp has toy graveyard fear) so could be easily pimped I'm sure!

I saw a photo of a facebook friends garden and she has one half grown up/dining area and then the other half is split into a dog run and a toy area (these are separate areas i should clarify). It's not even a massive garden, looks great.

I also get those moments when I look at DD and I think 'didn't we just 2 minutes ago decide to try for a baby?' and watch her talking and running and becoming a proper person and can't believe how we got here and that this is our life and she will always be ours!

ladydolly google cozy coupe makeover. It's amaaazing. The playhouse makeovers are really cool too. The only annoyance is that we don't seem to have such a good selection of plastic spray paints as in the states... But I have already ordered a pair of license plate vinyl stickers to go on the front and back :-D I'm such a tightwad, it has our surname on instead of DD's first name so a future child won't feel left out!
Anna I wish I had bought some stuff off ebay in the winter. In Feb I was looking at little tikes playhouses which were going for £20 or £30 but now they are up to £100 and more.
We have a really boggy moss field instead of a lawn too. We are planning on getting artificial grass, I can't wait! Although it will decimate our savings so we may wimp out and just get some new turf.

My SIL has artificial grass and we're all jealous of it. It always looks perfect and no mud! No mowing!

They have a postage stamp garden though, so the cost wouldn't be as much. I doubt we could manage it.

I am yet again having a shit time with DS's sleep. He needs me to lie down next to him on the bed to fall asleep and then I need to transfer him to the cot. In the night if I don't lift him out of the cot onto the bed he gets hysterical whereas DH can get him to sleep or back to sleep in his cot. He's stopped sleeping through too and it's a killer when you've had phases of sleeping through.
Absolutely cannot imagine having a second at the moment!

We have a wooden playhouse broughtvfor ds1 2nd birthday it came treated but dh treated it again before assembly and its lasted its on stilts as our last garden was small so we stored his other garden toys under it. Think it came from garden furniture world or the like was £200 although similar elsewhere is £400-500. We noiw have a large little tikes slide, a toddler one, water table, whale rocker, proper see saw, swing/climbing frame set (that was Aug sale tesco £120 down to £38 week before ds1 turned 4) and garage has a cozy coupe, basketball net, trikes, scooters and more we moved summer ds1 turned 3 and have big garden now. Oh and we have the compulsory trampoline couple pics in our garden

Moggle if your garden is big enough toys r us have wooden swing set for half price its £99 often if you join their club thing ypou get vouchers for £10-20 off £100 spend or £10 off £50 spend on little tikes we have brought few bits that way think ds1 huge slide is £100 full price but we paid about £55 with offers and vouchers

All this talk of garden toys is making me wonder when we're going toy have to enter that territory...currently she's more than happy to play around with a plastic wheelbarrow and gardening set although obviously mummy's grown-up gardening tools are much more appealing Also likes using a scrubbing brush to prod the pot plants and the latest thing over the weekend was climbing into the veg beds and literally covering herself in compost .

Yesterday (when it was horrible and drizzly) she HAD to get out so I togged her up in her waterproof onesie and we went to the playground for an hour: she absolutely loved it and is getting really adventurous / dare-devilish.

Sorry to hear about the shit sleeping MrsA - hopefully just another (short-lived) phase - ours lasted about a week as since mid-last week, things have been much better again (although I'm now the one who can't sleep due to me having DD's cold and hacking cough at night )

Just getting geared up for the garden. It's a bit of a steep slope, so won't be getting any ride on toys. We got given a swing by Pil, but ds doesn't like swings (!?!), so it's abandoned at the moment. Our lawn is boggy and awful too, so I'm tempted just to stick with the sandpit for now, though I haven't put any sand in it yet! I'd love a wooden play house, but no place to put it with such a slope, unless we get one specially built.... Maybe when I go back to work and there's a bit more money coming in.
Went for a walk in a forest today and ds was amazing at getting up and down some pretty steep slopes, he must have walked about 3/4 of a mile, amazing what they are capable of. Of course he wanted to go in the mud, so his only pair of shoes are currently stuffed with newspaper and need a good dry out. (Orders wellies from Amazon!)
Strawberry, totally get the weird 'I'm a mum' thing. Mostly when I'm out in London with child free friends. I have an urge to go up to strangers and say 'I'm someone's mummy! Can you believe it? Me?!' Best thing I've ever done. Tears up...

We have a play house in the garden, but we have had it for about 2yrs and DH still hasn't finished painting it and getting it sorted so DD1 has had it all this time without being able to play in it
We also have a small trampoline, a toddler sized slide that a neighbour gave us, a child's swing that has a baby seat but it's a massive pain to swap the seats over.
Tuesday night's terrible sleep started early this week. It took nearly 2hrs of crying before she went to sleep:(

Terrible Tuesday surpassed all nightmarish expectations. She woke up at 3am and did not go back to sleep until 5.15, by which point I was so terrified of waking her up again that I stayed in that position until for half a hour until it was time to get up for work. Now for a 13hr shift on 4hrs sleep and the need to be awake for 20hrs

Jesus, massive hugs for you.

Have you tried our duvet thing? I am evangelical about duvets now - I weep with gratitude every time I pull it over DS knowing it'll make him sleep through. Last night he wriggled out of it and I was so scared it'd affect his sleep I actually crept in at midnight to pull it up, creaky floorboards and all! I barely dared breathe!

Oh and Ark if you're reading this, after all the talk of my sister claiming nothing but a rescue Staffie would do her blah blah blah.....She's only gone and got a big lump of a lurcher out of the blue! Hopefully it likes toddlers.....

Hugs, happy, that sounds like a nightmare, no advice, but lots of sympathy.

Sitting out in the garden with a cup of tea and a book while ds naps, bliss. But keep looking at the soggy lawn and wishing there was something I could do to dry it out.

Snap! Sitting out with cup of tea and soggy boggy lawn.

No nap yet though, DS is clawing through the vegetable patch in full waterproofs in an attempt to tire him a bit.

laughs at how often she sees Annarose post on other chats about duvets when you find a winning formula you just want to share it!

Oh happy how awful. Coffee, lots of coffee. Good luck!

'I'm a mum' moment last night, I organised a dinner for 350 in a french castle and snuck out of the pre dinner entertainment to facetime dp and dd for a few minutes, after kissing her through the phone (so cute!) and doing our regular 'spin your head around for giggles' routine I hung up and looked around the huge hall and saw at least 20 half amused/half sympathetic looking waiting staff watching me. It's when mum life and professional life crossover like that that it hits me.

Although this morning I got a message that she has slapped cheek, not wholly unexpected as all the cm kids have had it recently. But how long did it last for those of you who've had it?

Ok I'll shut up about the duvet now!

ladydolly had to google slapped cheek otherwise the only thing coming to my mind was "gosh, does that mean the cm hits the kids in her care?!"

Hope your DD one clears up soon

Oh happy, LOADS of and for you - really hope you are able to sneak some rest / down loads of coffee to keep yourself going. Can totally sympathise - I ended up sat in the rocking chair between 2-5.30am trying to get DD to sleep last Tuesday....

Meant to say, had the first "oh no" moment this afternoon when I picked DD up from nursery....her key worker told me she'd been a "bit of a monkey" and when I asked her to elaborate, she told me how she'd pushed another child off the slide..... I'm stood there holding DD whilst the key worker is telling me this and then DD just starts grinning from ear to ear....what can you do?!

Bought ds a pair of wellies from Amazon and tried them on him last night. The boot opening is too narrow for his chunky calves, despite being size 5-6 (he's a 3.5), told my mum, and she laughed- takes after his grandma! So back they go....
Other set of grandparents are taking him off my hands today, so hopefully they'll find some for him. He can't keep ruining his Clarks shoes!
So I' without baby, without work from 11-5 today.... Oh, the possibilities!

porsmork lucky you! My parents are looking after DD today but I am sadly at work :-( Was planning to cycle in for the first time in a couple of years but it started raining at 8:45 so I didn't... that lasted for 15 minutes and now it's lovely and blue and I'm annoyed!

Does anyone else find they are desperate for time to themselves but when it comes to the weekend they can't bear to be away from their DC? It's so silly! It's like finally when I have someone to share the crap with, it's much more bearable. By Friday evening I'm desperate to be away from DD but on Saturday morning when DH says, shall I take her to the park then, I say, oh no let's all go together! I'm such a muppet.

DD's had a lowgrade temp for a few days... Tuesday it didn't get high enough for nursery to call me but yesterday I had to come pick her up a bit early. She's got a temp again today and is clingy and weepy. I think it might be the start of chicken pox - we saw her little friend Monday last week and she came down with spots on Tuesday evening so the timing is all pretty perfect. But it also could be the 75 week leap, or teething... or all three! I'm frantically checking her for spots every time I change her nappy, nothing yet though.

I have a very miserable baby today. I'm guessing she is exhausted like I am. She woke up once last night, no idea how long for as I was too tired to understand the clock and it was earlier when I got back into bed then I had thought it was when I got out, but also work rang once after I had fallen asleep to check if I had done something I hadn't signed to say I had done. I am wondering if nursery lie, as they always tell DH on Wednesdays that she has had a good day with them despite having barely slept on the previous night and being hideous at home before and after.
Good luck with the chicken pox Moggle if that is what it turns out to be. Having dodged that bullet over Easter (nephew came down with it a week after we had spent a couple of hours with him), DH is talking about vaccinating DD2 against it. He wanted to get DD1 vaccinated but she caught it before he arranged it. We need to start saving as we might decide to get at least DD2 maybe both of them vaccinated against meningitis B when it becomes available again. I spoke to paediatricians at work who said they would definitely for men B.