April 2007: if it walks like a toddler, talks like a toddler and tantrums like a toddler...

[StealthPolarBANG]

In honour of everyone who refuses to believe they are no longer babies (Pesha, NL and Dippy )

I'm 30 weeks on friday maveta . ds1 came early through stress so I need to stay calm until January - not easy with the builders about

LOL no i´ll save that information for when we´re sailing out the door leaving him in the midst of a small mountain of jackets, bags and hyperactive toddlers. oh the image.

Oooggs - wow! How time has flown since i´ve been away.. and Breeeeeeaaaathe...!

Eddas - oh no! And you just sounded so excited at how soon it was too, I am sorry! bum.

hi everyone
oooggs, sorry you've had a stressful day
liath, yes know it fairly well, up and down here but I'm certain it's tiredness and lack of time and will get better

Eddas - this staggered start stuff is bollocks and it really gets on my nerves. If you think dd would be ok with a full day ( and after time at nursery I don't see why not) ring the school and tell them that she will be starting full days. Our school does a staggered start - but only by a day or so 12/01 sounds like a week to me - and that is also bollocks. Tell the school your arrangements don't allow for you starting her then so how about the previous week please. She's your child and it's your decision - school cannot refuse to teach her in the afternoons or indeed for that first week because THEY think it will be better for a cohort of children they haven't even MET yet! I hate this 1/2 days, not starting yet crap. I firmly believe the vast majority of reception children can hack a full day, certainly children who are used to nursery days can and this whole lets move the goal posts and have you yo-yoing back and forth to school for the best part of a month is so annoying! It is so unhelpful for the working parent!

Don't hold back NL say what you really think
Night all!

thanks nl! what they've said is that they all do 2 weeks 1/2 days and then if they say they aren't ready then listen to them, but i'm in no doubt that unless something veyr odd happens she'll be full time after 2 weeks I had a quick chat to the teacher who's seen dd for 1.5 hours last week and just over 2 hours today and she gave me that knowing look I always get when I talk to people about dd and said 'she'll be fine'

thing is dd knows half the class from pre-school and they'll all be staying, there's no way she is going to want to leave. She even asked today if she was staying for lunch!

You are right NL they don't think about working parents at all but the good thing is I can drop her off and run at 8.40 so I can at least get to work ok, I hope. I'm going to ring the cm tomorrow and see how I go forward with her. I suppose ds' settling days can be whilst she's settling at school. May as well do it all. and I suppose the one good thing is that I won't be paying childcare for a month as they stop nursery on 19th dec, every cloud......

I think i'm going to ask dh to take 2 days off each week for the first 2 weeks of Jan so at least I can work all my hours in the office and that's one less stress.

I feel bad though because the only reason i want dd to start asap is my work and that makes me sad. I wish I could give up work

Ok - think I got a bit carried away there

Eddas - juggling kids and work is very hard isn't it. Personally I think giving up work raises as many questions as it does answers - and thats why i keep working - plus I love my new job and am very fortunate in it. I know I'm giving something there that not everybody can and that justifies my decision. If you don't enjoy your work and have a niche there then maybe it is much harder to justify but there are so many things to weigh up. working may be hard now - but in 5 years time your career will be so much more advanced - is that a good thing that will you benefit your family long term? I was thinking today that me working now means that in 20 years when my kids need a bit of help financially I will (I hope) be in a position to help them. Me working now means that in 50 years when I'm decrepit I should be able to pay my own way. Those things are important to me and I'm playing a long game but not everybody feels like that and for some the costs now seem too high. I don't think there's a right and a wrong with this - you do what you do and live with it.

NL, couldn't agree with you more re the school half-days etc.

Because B is one of the youngest, when she started Reception last year, she was doing half days for half a sodding term.

Luckily I was on mat leave at the time, so wasn't too much of an issue from that perspective, but it was a pain having to uproot K so often to drop off/pick up with not much of a gap in between iyswim.

Plus B was so bored. She was used to 4 full days at pre-school.

Anyway, rant over. Need to run off!!

Have a good day y'all!

You are right NL, in a few years time once ds is at school things will be easier and i'll be glad i'm still in a job. Giving up really isn't an option tbh, we need the little money that I do bring in. If i can stick with it once ds is at school and I have either no childcare costs, as I hope, or minimal ones covering just holidays, then I will be very happy. ATM I just seem to work for nothing and have alot of stress because I work. If i didn't work I wouldn't care that dd doesn't start school til a week after i'd assumed. I wouldn't care that she may do a month of half days. I wouldn't worry about getting her to school in time for me to rush off, dump ds at the cm, the rush to work, squeeze in 5 hours work, rush to pick ds up from cm, then rush to pick dd up from school by 3.10. It just seems very daunting, but i'm sure it will all work out. Then there's the holidays! I'm hoping MIL will help out and that maybe cm will change to 2 whole days(I have sort of mentioned it already) There is a holiday club nearby, but that is £30 a day, which isn't bad, but that's an extra £60 per week holiday time and that yet again eats into my money making it less worth even bothering to work it just seems so pointless, but you are right I will be glad I stuck with it in a few years, and i'll try to think long term I think it (working) feels like the one thing that gets in the way. But in reality that's probably mn

Sorry for the early morning rant/self absorbed whinge I do feel better though

Is anyone else shopping today? M&S have 20% off so i'm hoping to get lots of my christmas shopping done, 3for2 plus 20% should be good then on the tv last night it said Dorothy Perkins and Wallis have 20% off today too so i'll be looking in there. I want a new pair of jeans for saturday night as i'm off out

Oh no Eddas. Bloody staggered school starts! A month sounds like ages, but I'm sure you'll find it goes really fast though - a week or so before Christmas, then 2 weeks over Christmas will fly by (and presumably you won't be working much then anyway), and then 2 Jan is a Friday, followed by only 1 week before she starts. The idea of DH taking time off in those 2 weeks sounds good (remind him they are his DC and responsibility too )!

My childminder's son is ill today so I have O here, parked in front of Kipper on DVD. How long d'you reckon that will last . She's having a long sleep after lunch, I can tell you !

Oooggs - 30 weeks!!!! Blimey that's gone quick (for me that is, sure it hasn't for you )!

Oh, and anyone who even MENTIONS Christmas shopping or having done any and expect a big AARGGH! from me as I haven't even thought about it yet!

A question for Dippy, NL or other church types: I want to get Christmas cards you colour in for N to do, but I don't want Father Christmasses, rather Mary & Joseph, Shepherds etc. Where might I get such a thing?

Aaaand (while I'm thinking of Christmas - Eddas, this is all your fault!) SOL & Ange etc - I notice there is a family service in Winchester Cathedral on Christmas Eve at 11am or 3pm where you take your kids dressed up as a nativity character. N is very keen so we're going to go along at 11am I think as DH is working so we need something festive to do. If either of you fancied joining us, it would be lovely to see you.

LOL @ NL and I being "church types" Think our local Christian bookshop might have some of those colouring in type cards, Bramshott. I am popping into town today - want me to have a quick look? Probably somewhere online is going to be your besr bet I think tough

saw your comments about you and DP - totally in the same boat ehre It hurts!!

ARSE!! - to staggered starts Eddas - You have made me paranoid now though - must call DD1's school and make sure she is going F/T on the 5th Jan

Yes Dippy, you'd think I could get them online wouldn't you. I have tried Wesley Owen online with no luck. Any ideas of other places to try. There is a woman on Ebay who has some but the picture is a bit complicated and I don't want it to take N hours. We had some nice ones last year, but I can't remember where they came from now . . .

Bramshott - have you tried yellow moon? I know they do cards but cant remember what the pics are.

Dylan seems to be dropping his daytime sleep despite obviously being tired. I am NOT ready for this!!!!

Luce, I love you - those are great!!!

Pesha - the ones in Yellow Moon are Father Christmasses etc so I wasn't keen. Does remind me that I want to order some other stuff from there though and must get on with it.

O seems to be dropping her nap too - no nap Sun, Mon or Tues this week, but has gone down okay today. I am NOT ready for her to drop her nap , she's only 20 months FFS!

sorry bramshott, for mentioning the 'c' word Didn't get much in M&S, the queues were huge, as you'd expect. I might try online later

CD, is dd1 not full time yet? There's already 20 in dd's class that started in sept. The other 9 are starting either 7th or 12th Jan, and just my luck, dd is the 2nd lot

DH has already been prepared to take time off in Jan, his boss knows, so now I just need to tell him it'll be the first 3 weeks of Jan, for 2 days. He already has time off between christmas and new year. I don't as I don't have any holiday left but I can work 6 less hours than usual as I get 3 hours everytime there's a bank holiday. Oh and there's 3 hours for new years day too. Fab! Been looking at bus times and things as i'll have to take the bus if dh is off to ferry dd/ds about, to arrive by 9 i'll have to catch a bus which gets there at 8.16 or the next one is after 9!!! madness. Will be making up some of my hours then, so not so bad I suppose. Not sure dh'll be keen on using over a week of his holiday time so soon, but needs must. He does get 5 weeks so not too much of a problem well not to me.

Sorry i'm rambling again, thoughts spilling out

Hi all had acouple of manic days here.

Dh has been building stables for me so trying to help get those done, as we are predicted awful weather at the weekend.

My hoover has broken, and I am using that as an excuse for the house being a tip......... Wonder how long the part will take to arrive

Been cuddling my new baby nephew again today

Architect has spoken to the boss about doing an extension on to the front of the garage as well as converting it, which would give me a utility room aswell! just hoping he goes for it!

Hope you are all well

caz
Just looked in T's mouth - he has about 3 new teeth!

evening

shocking how schools can be so different - ds1's school all full time be oct half term - staggered - though if born before 1st March then full time day one

I have scaffolding inside my house as well as outside - may try a bit of pole dancing later

work/childcare/home is a huge juggle eddas - roll on maternity leave

midwife apt. today was fine, he is breech which is normal for this stage, he had better turn - I don't do c-section - especially with dts to look after

Wow oooggs, I must have missed the part where you found out you are having a boy! So so lovely Lol at you pole dancing

SPB, isn't it funny how early on in their lives you know exactly which teeth came through on which dates (I did anyway!), but as time goes on you don't even notice them! F has loads of teeth now, she can't have that many more to cut, just a few of the big back ones I think.

SOL, how are you feeling? Hope you are doing ok. How is your mum settling back home again? Hope she is doing really well

Feel a bit rough tonight. I have pain around my chest, the same type of pain that I was getting before I got my gall bladder out. Really weird as it can't possibly be anything to do with that, it isn't there any more! Feels really odd as it is hurting right through to my back which is exactly as it used to be, nowhere near as severe though, just seems a bit odd. I am hoping it is just because I am tired and a bit worn out. F kept me awake again last night, dh working and then I was up at 6am to go to work myself.
Off to bed now as have work again tomorrow, night all xxx

Hi loves

Quiet on here today.

Oooggs, I too cannot believe you are 30 weeks already!!

Caz, number 6 eh??? Good to see you.

JS, you sound exhausted. Really hope you get a better night tonight and that you can have some relax time this weekend.

Bramshott, not sure about the Winchester Cathedral Family thing - not really my scene tbh

How is everyone?

I still feel rough. Just think the last 5/6 weeks is catching up on me. Spoke to Dad tonight and Mum is doing ok, but it is going to be a long process. She is still very very weak - so much so that she didn't have the energy to talk to me on the phone Feeling very down about it all tonight, and feeling very sad about my Gran dying as I didn't get a chance to grieve for her properly.

Sorry for rant.

No wonder you're feeling rough, SOL. Do you have any holidays or treats coming up? How is your dad bearing up with all this?

SOl - you've had a terrible time with a whole load of nasty shocks all lumped up together and you didn't have time to grieve for your loss. I think there is a type of grief as well for when something big changes in your life - your mum is suffering from a serious illness and that is a huge and frightening thing. It doesn't just affect her and your dad, it changes the way you think about yourself and about her and everything really. To be quite honest nobdoy could blame you if you took to yur bed for a week. Don't expect to feel ok because you won't right now. Just aim to get through - which is what you're doing - and evenutally the clouds will lift. Liath's suggestion of a holiday is a good one - could you and dh and the girls go away for a couple of nights? Just take B out of school and go. You need some time to be you I think.