Jan '07 part 25: Tell our families that they may take our social lives, but they'll never take our FRREEEEEDOMMMMM!

[2Happy]

Now paint your face blue, and stick your tongue out at the world - end especially the half-wit-mid-life-crisis-lacking-common-sense-PMT-suffering-eejits we otherwise call men.

eandh, ratbunny, susie, UD - this one's for you

c section takes around an hour start to finish, however, they monitor for a few hours before, also any emergencies eman you go further down the list I had to be in at 6.30 with Hattie but didnt go to theatre till 11.40 and had hattie at 12.16 back on ward around 12.45

Ellei had to be in at 10am, theatre at 3.50, she was born 4.19pm back on ward just before 5

Panic over!
Her MIL just knocked.
Baby Oscar arrived a couple of hours ago. (8.12lbs)
Phew. Was fearing the worst.
Now I can go shopping this afternoon for a little outfit!!!

Happy Birthday Ratbunny ... are you out scaling some mountain somewhere?

Aaah .... a little baby boy how fab !

Shimmer what an excellent idea. I wish you loads of success, and then when you're ready to expand into a chain come and start one up North, it sounds just what I need.

Favourite books...zillions.... but my all time favourite of 11 years is 'Peace at last'by Jill Murphy, followed by 'Whatever Next' I remember DD 'reading' this too herself at 2/3 ish and making my heart curl.

My copy is a bit battered now but its one book I'd never part with. DS2 likes the perennial favourite 'the hungry caterpillar' and 'the busy spider', anything thats really chunky and hardback.

Well Rgee is on her hols this week and we are actually going to meet her at the beach tomorrow !!! I'm really excited... lets hope for good weather !

We love Room on the sodding Broom here. I can now practically recite it!!

Oh gosh we love books too tends to be a disney one ie toy story, disney cars ect.

Ellie's favourites are sleeping beauty, little mermaid and she used to love hairy mclary (funnily enough its got 'lost')

Hattie loves the 'thats not my...' books and most bedtimes I always read lightkeepers lunch to both of them as used to be dh fav book as a child

I can't find our copy of room on the broom - its totally disappeared and its doing my head in coz I can't find it!
I love Monkey Puzzle, The Gruffalo and Gruffalos Child. And Gerald the Giraffe. And Each Peach Pear Plum.
I HATE Thomas books. Sooooooooooo dull.
I am surprised by the number of totally crap kids books which are available. Just because they are nicely illustrated and have teddies in them, doesn't make them any good.

You can have our copy! I know it off by heart now!

I've got a scan booked for Friday!

J likes the Noisy Noisy books, he has the pirates, Grr and Vroom ones and loves tem - they have little buttons to press all the way through - he is into 'pressing' things at the moment - all we hear is 'push' 'push' when he finds something remotely button like

He is jabbering away SO much now and can string a few words together. I understand most of what he is saying now and nursery said he was very 'advanced' for his age at talking mind you, me and DH have verbal diahorrea so it's no surprise really...

Happy birthday Ratbunny - well remembered EAH!

Lizz - I got the yoghurt campaign this afternoon. Am curious how they will send it too!!

9 days to completion on the house......SOOOOOOOOOO exciting!

UD- How exciting UD! Hope fri comes quick for you.

Wilkie- Just sent you £2. Oh and do you think having a Luke and a Lucas would be confusing

THE GREAT BABY VINO SWEEPSTAKE
Wilkie 8lb 3oz
EandH 8lb 8oz
Laughalot 7lb 10oz
LTH 8lb 11oz
Dragonhart 9lbs 2oz

Shimmer- I LOVE book shops. My suggestions would be to make sure that buggies can manoeuver round the displays and they are not too tight and not to put fragile/delicate books (like pop up ones) at a level where 2/3yos can reach!

EAH- That's so expensive! I would say that you just cant afford it. Is is a supprise or could you talk to MIL?

Happy Birthday Ratbunny!

Vino- Hope you are ok and not feeling to massive. I cant believe that I have another 10wks to go. I am huge. Hope it is all water. Water is surely lighter than baby and wont grow anymore?

Sorry- my mind is blank and I cant think of anyone elses posts! Hope you are all ok xxx

All the Julia Donaldson books - my favourite is snail and the whale, my mum loves room on the broom, ds1 loves gruffalo's child, dsis prefers monkey puzzle - they're all good!
I can recite virtually all of the Hairy McLary series, they're good
ds1 likes Thomas, and Bob the Builder (sigh)
We've also recently got into the Brambly Hedge series, beautiful pics with lots of detail for kids to point out
Got a few Usborne books, the Apple Tree Farm ones. I don't especially love them, but ds2 seems to like them ATM
My favourite though is Bear Snores On. Love it.
ds1 also likes: Big Pig, It's a bear's life, Hey I love you, Gilbert the Great White Shark, Trumpet (the little elephant with the big temper - you can guess the phase we bought that one for!!!) and (totally randomly) he loves to have bible stories on the potty out of his children's bible he got for his christening , anything about tractors [yawn] - even including farmer's weekly!! Oh and Russell the Sheep has fantastic illustrations (and an audio cd with Richard E Grant, surreally brilliant!). And Dirty Bertie, Pooh is that you Bertie? And potty poo poo wee wee. And sticker books. We read a lot...

oh feck still havent sent you the money - will do it this week promise.

Wilkie - eddas dd was very very talkative at an early age and she jabbers on continously now

oh and tonight I read 'lettuce the rabbit is a bridesmaid' (present when Ellie was a bridesmaid) was very dull but she likes it

We have banned gruffalo as Ellie started getting freaked out round the woodland park

Brilliant suggestions you all. Thank you. I'm going to have to go back and take notes now........

Will definitely post a general thread too, when I have the energy. SO tired... bedtime.....

Hope you had a good birthday Ratbunny

Also, eah, can I be your friend on facebook? (Was going to search for your but can't remember your surname!) Think I'm only friends with Vino at the moment. I'm Anna Morgan (London), if anyone wants to look me up

added you shimmer

Ud - How about Nikita? Then you could have Niki or Kitty. Or, La Femme Nikita?!
BTW - the Nikita I work with is 18 and totally not a townie chav or the sort of person you would associate with having "that sort" of name.

Neighbour has named her son Oscar Beau. I am loving the Felix suggestion for a boy.
I think you should seriously consider Xenia if its a girl.

Do you get scan photos on Friday??? Make sure you post them up if you do!

DJ slept through from 7am - 5.45am!!!! I feel like a million dollars from not having been woken at fart o'clock for an extra bottle. We are currently mixing his formula with cows milk, to wean him off it, and I'm wondering if its making him sleep more

Right. Off to work. Fun. What trouble can I get into today. On Saturday one of my favourite customers left her credit card in the shop. I rang and left a message but on Tuesday she still hadn't come in to collect it or rang up. So I thought I'd be sensible and rang up the "if found" number on the back to let the bank know we had it. They cancelled it.
She came into the shop in the afternoon when I'd finished my shift. Oops. I don't think she was best pleased, but who leaves their card in a shop for 4 days? I also cut it up and threw it in the bin. Probably should have not done that either. From now on I will just do my basic job.
M/care clothing sale started yesterday. Am off to hunt through bargains! x

Lizzz - what's the current range for maternity clothing? Is it any good?

pile of shite.
I'd go to H&M, Top Shop or Dorothy Perkins or New Look. There is a few bits online in the sale, but they are not really that bargainous I am afraid. What do you need? There are some work trousers for £10 in dark grey at the moment on our sale rail. But other than that, nothing interesting.

here good bargains to be had at Dorothy Perkins though.

ROFL at this, who on earth would buy this? (sort of suitable as an under bump support band though? )

Attractive, Lizzz!
(belated) happy birthday Ratbunny
Good luck tomorrow, UD
kw3 hope the sports day went well and you weren't dragged into the super competitive all for fun Mum's race!
kw3 and Reg - great to meet you both today, lovely morning. ds1 said he enjoyed it a lot - sorry he was too tired to walk into town! By the time you read this Reg you'll be home, so hope your last day went well, and good luck for the 10k!!
It was too windy on the beach this morning, I had to scrape my hair back, so Reg and kw3 were unable to see my new hairdo, boo! I will have to post a pic on here though, because I need opinions on my new hairdresser, see if you think he's any good. He's very cheap - £24.99 for a pair of thinning scissors off ebay, and a willing husband . It's rather shorter than I expected - I asked for an inch and a half off and he took 3 off (well, you know the old joke about why women can't park cars, don't you?!!!)

Yeah, for work, more than anything else. I think my baggy Levis will do for maternity jeans and i still have some cords my mum made me which will do if i need anything smart/casual! I was only doing the odd day here and there freelance when i was pg with Z, so i didn't really need work clothes!

Went to get my note for the scan tomorrow...i'm v v v v excited!

OMG Lizzz - i went and bought that today!

I'd second H&M. I got some really good very long tops there which I am living in.

Rgee- Rachel/Rachael related question: How do people presume it is spelt. I think we will go for Rachel but just wondering if everyone asumes it is spelt Rachael?

Lizz- Hope your night is as good tonight. Sure I saw that skirt/braces combo in mothercare earlier in the year!