January 2008 Shiny New Year Toddlers - first steps to mischief !!!

[Lilyloo]

Hope that's ok all

Morning

madmouse - was going to rely on satnav....and you said there was lots of parking so i'm not going to let myself get stressed about that

and YEYEYEYEYEYEYEY for Nathan brought tears to my eyes reading that (i am a soppy mare i confess), all such good news and shows you and dh really have been working hard with him.

both boys have caught me out at hv appointments doing similar 'oh no he can't do that yet'....
sometimes it's just a case of asking them to do it.

lucky - that sounds like a lovely day

lily - phew, would have been hard work!

mrsmc - hope your friend finds it for you. roseola is an illness like measles i think.
my mum's cancer sadly never goes entirely, she will never get the 'all clear', it is just 'dormant' atm. it will come back and we all know it. but lots of people make it through several treatments successfully. a new drug has just been made available for 3rd treatments onwards. she had a very aggressive trial treatment so hopefully it will keep it at bay for longer than normal. it wiped her out for a year and affected her hands and feet so not 100% brilliant but...she's on no meds at the mo, hasn't been for a few years and it's stayed away so far

LaT - hope someone on MiS helps out. does anyone in dh's family have young DC? maybe work from within and spend time with them? they would know other families with young ones. even if the family ones are older than S, they may have friends with younger siblings?

I have used the heinz sauces (i was v anti anything not fully organic when ds1 was little, standards have slipped...) and ds2 likes them, ds1 is on a fussy streak and hardly eats anything other than jam sandwiches atm. will look out for the others next time i'm in tesco. though i was always anti c&g too....

had a rubbish night's sleep, went to be early, 9. woke at 11, 12 & 4 & 5. just me, not the boys. ds1 up at 6.20. ds2 still asleep.
maybe i shouldn't have bothered going to bed so early...

[Arrives just in time to swipe a glass of champagne and raise a glass to] NATHAN and MADMOUSE. Congratulations. You must be so proud and happy about all the work you have put in with him.

Very at meet ups but will try to be good.

Is it today?

LOL a the sledge Simpson - I see a lot of thing differntly now I;m the mummy not the baby!

Angechica - one of my SILs still lives at home at 28. I couldn't imagine doing it and DH insisted on leaving when he was at university. He still got a bit 'When did she come home last night' to me about her last Saturday, so I well and truly put him in his place. I realsie how different now the image of Spain as a 'family friendly' place is. IT IS very family friendly, but not in the way WE mean at all. Am trying hard to study .... Actually, I opened the book and my computer, and I've turned one page in the book! hooray for Blast MN

Lily - good exercise for ya gal!

Gingeme - are you sparkling yet?

Sorry for rubbish night's sleep JKS. Unfortunately DH's family are a bit isolated themselves here as they are from the north. I couldn't really understand why they have remained so for so long until very recently - (well, since we came). But away from home environment, with 5 children and a culture like this I can easily see why MIL didn't make many friends. When DH told MIL about my usual activities at home, she said, 'She's going to go home, isn't she.'

havent finished reading the thread, but Madmouse just read your post and had to write straight away that I am so happy.... i am actually crying my eyes out, feels like we all know each other IYSWIM. I will stop being all soppy now.

LaT - def try to start something... I think that is a great idea and that is about MIL saying that... it is still early days so hopefully it will get better.

JKS - sorry about your mums cancer.. it is a horrible thing. My GF passed away from stomach cancer and it was truly awful. I am running the Race for Life for Cancer Research in May with my SIL and some friends and my cousins as it is such a good cause.

Got to go DS2 moaning... will poist back later.

lat champagne at 9am, is that the spanish way?

thanks for being soppy with me ladies

guess who ate two weetabix with fruit this morning and would probably have eaten more

oh and we had another false alarm at 4.45 so the alarm is going in its box with gratitude for good service time to fly solo!

Morning ladies
No LaTrucha not sparkling just yet as we have just got back from playgroup. Well Edward and I have. DH took George for his 12 month jabs though he is actualy 13 months today. Got the next lot 10th March.
madmouse at Nathans breakfast its all we can do to get George to eat a small amount of porridge though he did wolf down a banana and half a satsuma this morning
JKS you could alway nap in my bed tommorrow while I entertain the boys for a bit if you like Im sure Simpson won't mind giving me a hand. Fortunately George slept lovely last night. 7.30-5.50 had a bottle then slept till7.30 when Edward came in to our room shouting 'breakfast time Mummy'.
Right off to start the blitzing now the boys are sleeping.
Back later xxx

Champagne at dawn here Madmouse!

I know I said I was going to be good, but you'd better post tomorrow or I'll sulk.

I'll join in the gratuitous bubbly drinking

gingeme - wouldn't want to get in the way, sure you have a quiet pub round the corner i could go and booze doze in
i'll be fine, it's almost like i can have one good night's sleep, then have to have a bad one, so tonight i should have a good one.

madmouse - good idea re the alarm

mixed - thanks for that about my mum. i did a walk for cancer research last year, will probably do it again in the summer. not quite up to running

LaT - that's unlucky about DH's family not being from there either. so dh has 4 siblings, none of them have dc?
you mil may be right, don't mean to be negative, but unless you find somethings to do (for you & S) you will get further depressed i think. at least i know i would, and i would be fantasising about going home and all the things i could be doing there instead. maybe allow yourself to imagine going home for half an hour, then give yourself a stern talking to and go the (one) swing again

Have i told you that PIL are coming here on Thurs - Mon? no big deal you may think....

DH & I are going to London without the boys
what will i do with myself a DC-holiday!

list of activities planned so far:

• sleep
• sit in starbucks (or similar) with newspaper and drink tea & eat chocolate brownies annoying anyone walking past with my idleness
• go to a pub and drink a pint of lager (don't think i can manage any more than that, my how times have changed!)
• go window-shopping in Covent Garden with no buggy or DC!

& slightly boring

• check out tenants from flat
• clean & tidy flat for showing to prospective tenants
• maybe do some diy jobs, depending on state of flat

any other ideas???

Sleep

Thanks MM will check them out now!

Lily - yes well maybe not just sleep

JKS - Good advice.

I think my MIL meant that I had such a lovely time at home I wasn't going to like it here. She meant well. I'm feeling ok ATM. We did go to the private hospital, and Sabela is totally healthy. I did liek the environment I must say, although DH is now picking on me because I'm supposed to be a socialist. He's quite right, really.

JKS

I would .... go to a decent comedy night - used to love that when I lived in London.

definately JKS wow young childfree hedonistic days did they exist

Oooo...Oooo What about the cinema? I haven't been in yonks. But generally, I would sleep, eat nice things, drink nice things, maybe go to a park or museuam and not have to entertain anybody. GI'd go and see a childless friend too!

LaT so lovely to hear Sabela is perfectly healthy. Lol at your dh teasing you about being a socialist. I am a socialist and i must say I am a big fan of the NHS. I really don't think that Brits realise what a fantastic service it is. The Dutch need to have compulsory health insurance, then pay for treatment and claim it back, often only 2/3 is refunded. My parents are really surprised when they hear that when Nathan needs arm braces the physio sends me to the ortho clinic, he gets measured and two weeks later i collect the braces. And not a bill in sight. And the care we have received with him has always been bloody brilliant! But if I moves abroad somewhere and the private option looked better for my child i might be swayed. Everything for my baby

We went to special needs stay and play today. There were only Nathan and a little girl who was two and had similar problems. The staff is specially trained and took Nathan off my hands straight away and played with him. The most fun bit was a table with raised edges full of dried pasta shapes and scoops and things. They plonked him in hte middle of the table and he had great fun throwing the stuff about and emptying containers of the stuff, all the while doing some brilliant sitting without arm support . we will go more often deinitely

Oh JKS planning is half the fun. Friends have asked us to drop Nathan off for the evening soon as they think it is time we have some time together bless. So we will go out for a nice meal soon. Let us know what you decide so we can drool with you. So do you own a flat in London?

I forgot to tell you yesterday DD's nappy rash has turned out to be thrush. She's got some cream and its already LOADS better.

Had a lovely day with her today - babygroup, then nap, then some playing. I made meatballs and pasta and she ate every last drop!

Then guess what.........

We managed to get the routine that i've been wanting since before I was even pregnant.

Bath (30 mins)
Cream and change (15 mins)
Bottle and story
Kiss goodnight and then

SLEEP

I know its stupid but we've always had to let her fall asleep while sucking on her bottle and we couldn't be in the same room as her while she was doing that or she'd wake up again but she looked so tired tonight that I thought she might just let me and she did

JKS - If it were me and I had a whole day without DD and some money I'd go horseriding.
In london I'd go to madame tussauds or a musical.
Hope you have a lovely time.

so ti was thrush, poor thing, glad it is better now

I love it when you go out of the room when they are still awake and they just go to sleep!

Yeh its the first time its ever happened to me. Its mostly been either a fight to get her to sleep or its been bottle and run

Will try it again tomorrow to see if it was just a fluke I think.

Evening ladies. Well I have been busy cleaning and making sparkly Even popped to Asda to get some posh biscuits 1
Forgot to say DH took George to have his jab this morning and the nurse said a realy odd thing ' I take it your his father?' DH 'yes' nurse 'and I take it the mother knows your here?' DH 'yes'. Why would she ask this? I'm just a bit confused tbh.
Well I am realy loooking forward to meeting Simpson and JKS tommorrow with their tots
going to have a bath now. DH down the pub so some peace for a while.
Night all xxx

Thats very strange Ginge. The only thing I can think of is incase estranged fathers try to do things but it is strange.

Have a nice day tom Ginge , JKS and Simps!!

I wanna go too.....

ahh well only 2 and 1/2 more weeks.

Lucky you need directions? remind me which direction you are coming from? How are you getting past Birmingham, north or south?

erm..... we come from the north so I dont think we get to birmingham quite but not sure as I haven't really looked at directions yet lol. I normally use the aa.com and then hope!

No, I'm not really on here as i'm getting us all ready to go to G's...

fingers crossed traffic is ok.

ds1 woke at...6.50
and ds2 was eventually 'got up' at 8.30ish.

Has the boilerman done some magic?????

right, i'm off honest!