JUNE 2008- tantrums, shrieking and lashings of Gin (and that's just the mums!)

[pureeandpearls]

Thread number 123 or something like that

systems amber neenz I share your pain as was up again at 3am due to snuffling waking madam -didnt get her off again til resorting to medised at half four .. she is very touchy and bunged up today but its been past few nights at same time she wakes (am not giving her milk but will just give her medicine and go).

P hope all goes well at hospital but sounds like you've got some nice things to look forward to.

essie would love to meet up but 2moro may be tricky as meant to be going into work.

Feeling very done in so going to try to rest now while I can.

Essie, yeah I reckon yours is darker. We learned our lesson with colours like that - they always look nice on the tin but overbearing when on the walls, so now we always go for very subtle shades, just a hint iyswim. Dulux do a colour mixing service where you can choose a colour and its shade - 1-6 (1 being the darkest and 6 being the lightest shade iirc). I can't remember exactly which colour we used or which shade, but I think it was a 4 or even a 6. They mix it for you at B&Q and Homebase etc. Might be worth a look.

LOL Neenz, last night was great for me really, Caitlin woke at 9, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and Liam at 4.30 - but that gave me a 5 hour stretch between 9 and 2 which is longer than I've had in ages so I feel better than usual!

don't be too hard on yr sil tho. cc worked so well for ds i secretly thought anyone who wouldn't do it was a bit wet and rod for their own back ish; but it has absolutely not worked for caitlin in the same way at all, she gets so upset it has made her worse if anything.

Systems, that is BAD! I didn;t realise Caitlin was such a bad sleeper. And when Liam wakes too I bet you just think Arggh! Hopefully there are peaceful nights in your near future

Um Neenz you have just described me, except DS is a better sleeper, don't be hard on her we all have very different parenting techniques for example and I just know that you are all going to come down on me like a ton of bricks on me but I am worried about how much medication you give your DT's. Your SIL's baby sounds very much like my brothers eldest who is now a strapping lad of 17, he was so bad that it tooke them nearly 4 yeasr to pluck up the courage to try again. My other SIL didn't have a full nights sleep for nearly 5 years. DD was fantastic, she slept like a dream and had regular 2 hour naps morning and afternoon and could entertain herself. DS on the other hand has to be with me all the time. I didn't want to sling either and yes I probably have made a rod for my own back, he follows me everywhere, wants picking up the whole time and quite frankly does my head in, which is why he has started nursery 5 mornings a week, I am more relaxed and our relationhsip is back on track.

But you don't know how much medication I give my DTs. Thanks for your concern, but you have no idea so I am not sure where that has come from. I am very comfortable with the amount of medication they have. Can you actually show from any of my posts that I have been overdosing them or using medication too much? Please do tell.

Just a quick hello, full of a cold here , feeling sorry for myself. Car still off the road - will cost about 250?, mil still here until Sat, hoping we get the car back tomorrow to go to the spa. Very warm here too Paro

Puree - you OK? what's the op?

Five/Neenz - probably just best to leave the medication debate alone

Sorry Neenz wasn't that you were overdosing just that you seem to give quite frequently, but that is your decision, just as your SIL's way of parenting is her decision and everyone elses in the world. Each to their own.

I also happen to think form your posts that you are an extremely good mother who have the most beautiful children who are very happy.

And that is the end of that one.

Morning all, another night on the sofa, DD is doing the coughing so much she is being sick trick again.

I agree with Deb - no medication debates! And we all parent differently, responding to our own kids. Some kids and parents need CC, others need to parent a different way. We were much happier once we relaxed and just let Fraser wake multiple times a night at 6 months. It was easier on all of us than CC, since CC never worked for more than a few nights. Now he's regularly only up once a night, so it obviously was right for him & us. However DS1 responded beautifully to CC and sleep training - he was still up once a night at this point too - it's just the way my kids are. Neenz, try not to be too hard on your SIL, and it's probably way to early to see if she'd spoil her DS!

On another note, I need to pick new flooring for my kitchen. Unfortunately I think we can't afford much more than vinyl, but we're still agonizing over which colour to pick. It interesting the priority differences, DH wants something v. light because it'll look best, whereas I'm really concerned with showing spills.

Amber - I think it's hardest to sell at the top of the market, at least it is up here. When we sold our house we had to take a significant discount but we sold for only £156K, so taking a hit wasn't as big a deal to us in the long term. Friends who sold for twice as much took more than twice as long to sell, and their place was gorgeous. Good luck anyways!

Thankfully we have Deb and Aberdeen to be the voices of reason on this thread. Agree with them and Five that everyone parents in a different way and nearly always to the best of their ability. I think it is quite important to remind oneself of this, and try to be comfortable with different people doing things differently, even if it feels like an attack one's own approacht.

Deb sorry you are feeling ill.

Aberdeen - re: flooring. Have you looked on eBay? We got our kitchen tiles there at a bargain. The wall tiles are Fired Earth but left over from another job the ruler did. In terms of colour the floor tiles are dark grey and still show up lots of mess. The bathroom floor is White and also messy, so no idea whether dark or light is better. Maybe patterned is the way forward?

Systems-been meaning to ask, how are you feeling this week?

Morning all- just ordered the playhouse we are getting babypearls for her birthday

Debs- op is wisdom teeth extraction

I concur wholeheartedly with what has gone before- everyone on here is a great parent simply by virtue of the fact that they are on here. If you are a shit parent you don't seek others' advice, opinions or support online because you don't care! [Wonders if that makes sense]

FWIW I bribe babypearls with chocolate buttons ALL THE TIME (she's my excuse to buy the Tiddly Pots of white chocolate buttons in Hotel Chocolat)

Oh, and your thoughts please on what I should put in the lunch boxes we are making for the kids who come to the Christening (so they don't have to queue at the buffet table). I figure Debs will be particularly good at this as she seems to host a party every month You will be delighted to know that I have moved on from my idea of serving pink food.

Poor you Neenz- I have a friend with twins exactly the same age as yours, so I know that it's jolly tough dealing with two. They're both ill with bacterial infections at the moment so she is exhausted. She has used 1/3 bottle Calpol since she had them. I have used three of Nurofen. I am in no position to say anything

In other news I have uploaded more video to YouTube (links on FB) I can't help it- I think she's hilarious!!

[P&P slinks from the room in shame to eat a few more of babypearls' chocolate buttons!]

Ali - Thanks

Neenz - enjoy your night away

Puree - love the video, lol at the chocolate buttons. Now, party food mmmm
how long will the food be sitting in the lunch boxes? and how old are the children?
sandwiches with/without crusts, cut into fancy shapes if you can be bothered
mini quiches or pizza
breadsticks
crisps
mini fruit salad -grapes, strawberries, melon
cupcakes/choc crispy cakes
little pot of jelly with fruit in (I have special pots with lids from Lakeland)
carton of fresh juice
napkin/kitchen roll
little sausages

hth and good luck with the op, I have had 2 wt out too

Have posted a new video on FB that my boys have done (600 photos, lego star wars animation....)

neenz keep in mind that nothing says you have to spend time with your SIL - I'm lucky in a way, DH and his brother don't get along themselves so I'm spared! They are very smug and self-satisfied and I'm very not cool with a lot of their attitudes. I do get along okay with my DB and his wife but even we have very different parenting styles and sometimes it feels like they are critical of our choices and it hurts - so I'm very sensitive to the whole issue of different methods!

And yes, we always try to the best of our ability. Sometimes I just wish I was more able !

Head is pounding after a couple hours of soft play this morning . Off to take the adult version of calpol and calprofen myself - nothing wrong with liberal self-dosing, I did far worse to myself in university!

wow - way to kill the thread ....

where is everyone? helloooooooo

Hahaha, is everyone shunning self-medicating Abdn?!
Now, I find this whole 'everyone is good parents' quite amusing given that I left Iestyn on the bed this morning where he proceeded to fall ON HIS FACE off the edge. What's worse, I laughed (and it wasn't funny really). It was a wry laugh though.
Anyhow, I felt a bit bad and then I drove from Tooting to Wimbledon (crossing so many taste, cultural, financial etc barriers...) and in Tooting saw a girl pushing a pram with one hand so that she could light her fag with the other and immediately felt like a superb mother. But ROFL at Puree and the chocolate buttons. Iestyn gets Yorkshire tea biscuits from my mum because 'they're easy for him to hold'. Yeah...

Puree major sympathies. Before Christmas I was warned I was heading that way. Instead, it might be root canal for me. We could be sisters in pain! When's your op? My treatment is next Weds, but it might not be root canal - it's stopped hurting. That's good, right?

Abdn flooring - we've got some of that laminate in our kitchen, in pretend slate (!). It came from Carpet Right - they're cheap! Looks good, though. I find black tiles eg. marble, granite shows water marks really badly. (So save your cash... ) But the white tiles we have in our bathroom show hairs, and it's amazing how much hair a human leaves on the bathroom floor! I'm pleased with our dark floor.

Hello everyone else too - hope all is well. Sorry bout the car, Deb. I had a flat tyre yesterday!

p.s. sorry, should have said ROFL at the chocolate buttons because they're Hotel Chocolat! How posh?! C'mon, puree, you need to try harder than that!

Hi everyone, another quickie so sorry for lack of personals .

I have also uploaded a video, inspired by puree - in fact, thanks to puree, I found out that A took his first aided steps yesterday! I was browsing FB and saw the video of C walking with her walker, and showed it to my mum and made some comment about how good she was with it and my mum said, "oh yes, we saw that Alex could do that yesterday"!! I'd been out for the day and mum had been babysitting - she didn't mention it cos she thought he did it all the time!

first steps

He looks very proud of himself! What is extra sweet is the walker he is using is the same one that dh learnt to walk with 36 years ago!

I'm glad I didn't scare everyone away... my mom's offered to stay in and listen for the boys so DH and I are popping down to the pub...

enjoy the pub ah (I am by the way compeltely floored after trial morning at work and then seeing mother,dealing with various minor domestics). And completely agree re self dosing (yes its the woman who used to take anti histamines to get a buzz before going out,swigs nightnurse who is now paranoid and underdoses on dosing syringe to her daughter).

Deb agree with essie re cheap laminate stuff - had it in last place and infinitely easier to clean than poncey stone tiles we have here.

sponge LOVE THE video.

essie lol at your post

RIght off ot check out pureesvideo - glad I'm not hte only one who thinks chocolate ist he way forward..

Sponge and Puree - great vids!

I have had such a mare. Had to take the morning off due to me falling apart with lack of sleep. We are close to me resigning now as I can't do it any more. We have the sleep training person coming round next week and that is the last resort. Please god let my baby sleep through. To me not working is a fate worse than death. I have only not worked for 6 weeks since I was 17. I have been applying for part time jobs on the internet but they all already have 100 plus applications. If I do have to give up work will the London mums please promise to come and play with me and Luke?

Hi to everyone but I'm so wrapped up in my own nightmare that I've not had too much time to read everything. Oh but BTW I give loads of medication to Luke but he seems to be constantly teething. He'll probably have to go to rehab to get off it all