June 2008: the One Show (almost)

[Essie3]

Ali, no YANBU at all! I am getting increasingly at the amount people are expected to shell out on hen dos and weddings nowadays - luckily the next one I have coming up is on Oct 24th so have good excuse not to go .

Sorry to hear P not himself - is it teeth? One of our poor NCT babies is getting his molars already, and he's chosen the week his poor mummy starts back at work so she's exhausted bless her .

Thanks for all of DS's birthday wishes! He had a lovely day and is now very very tired especially as he decided not to sleep very well last night!

Amber I've been thinking of you and your sister.

babybill very sweet new name.

Ali £200 is ridiculous for a hen night.

Debs I think ds's best present was a helium baloon! Nice and cheap. Dp and I bought him chicken chase and that's a big hit though very noisey. He also loves Thats not my....books.

Been lurking to keep up!

Happy Birthday to Cecily and Harvey this week! Who's next?

Aberdeen - poor you and DS1.

Babybill - ahh - and loved the Aussie storybooks.

Ali, sympathies as ever on sleep. No improvement here either. I don't think you are BU at all about the hen do. I think it's so unfair and rude of people to expect others to shell out so much. Isn't the point to have a nice time with your best chums - not to spend a fortune on something just the hen wants to do?

Thanks BabyBill. I think it is OTT for a hen do too. The chief hen seems to have come round now. Poor girl is a bit stressed by it especially as she can't access the internet properly from the boarding school where she teaches and lives.

I can't think what you are doing in late Oct .

RE: Peter's health: I had initially assumed it was teeth, then yesterday he broke out in a low key rash. As he isn't that out of sorts I'm not worried. I think/hope it might be like the viral rash he had back in November although not so bad.

Xposted with Whinegums and Goingto. Thanks for the hen do support

Whinegums Can't believe how long you have had to suffer with sleep problems. At least this week I know that Peter is waking because he is a bit out of sorts. Having real problems getting him to go to sleep in the evenings though.

whinegumssorry to hear sleep problems still ongoing.

ali am with the others -hen do costs like that are ridiculous (in fact I think they are so daft I didn't have one... but then again I ran away to get married). Did anything help peter before when he had his rash? its very hard when they are out of sorts and only want you as does rather limit when you can do.

Lots of attempts to stand/try to walk here which is making her very over excited- 5.30am start this morning and only one hour nap..I'm hoping the growth spurt stops soon as its tiring me out.

ah how are you (and is ds still mending ok)?

Many thanks for all tips/support re holiday - feeling bit better about it now (although draw the line at leaving edie with babysitter I know nothing about which was suggestion today as plan when we were meant to be going on a safari outing thing - there is no way on earth I'm doing that on the say so of some girl at the tour operator).

Hello all.

Sorry for lack of posting, very busy at the moment and completely full until end of next week and then going on holiday.

Whinegums sorry about sleeping, DD is going a bit mad again and that and DS just coughing most of the night is keeping me awake, so sympathies from this end.

Bill really like the new name.

Poppy we used babysitters when we were on holiday who were good but they also were the ones who looked after them during the day so I guess that makes a difference.

AH what a weekend you all had, congratulations on your DH and hope your DS is feeling better.

going hope you had a great day.

Ali completely agree with the very over the top hen party arrangement. My sister organised mine. We had a great time, took over a local Thai which charged us £20 a head, my mother paid for the wine, we then went to the pub, met up with the stag party and then went to our local beach cafe which does BYO and dancing at the weekends. It was great.

Sorry if I have missed anyone out and probably won't be on for a while.

5 thanks for that - its not that I'm against babysitters per se (use one qutie often here at night) -its the knowing nothing about them etc - if you book holiday and know you're goign to use one you do a bit of digging about what they're like (eg club med) - it was more fact woman went ahead and just booked it without asking dh or me what we wanted to do .And your hen do sounds fab.

HI all- I'm finally back from weekend of insanity. The birthday party went well, as did the Christening. The rain held off, Cecily was an angel and DH and I are still speaking.

Have been thinking about best gift and TBH it turned out to be the birthday card from our dog in which I put her paw print (finger paint works very well on pets FYI). I really liked the new injection of books though don't think she's quite ready for penguin classics just yet!

And happy birthday to Harvey.

I pfromise I am not ignoring anyone but I am so knackered I'm off to bed. Thanks so much for all your good wishes. I just wanted to let you know how it went.

am not surprised you're tired puree am still in awe of the cake - photos are lovely btw.

for Poppy

oohh that site is good - we discovered edie likes cake (she launched into a cupcake dh was eating and just starting munching -paper and all). Can't think where she gets it from...

Good morning everyone, holiday here today, sun's shining and we're hoping the village pool will open today!

I did log in last night but then spent far too long(far,far too long) on FB trying to beat Whinegums score on Bejeweled blitz.

Sorry, Ethan is screaming, so just a thank you for the birthday present successes, and hope you're all OK. Sending sunny hugs to those who need one this morning.

I'm hiding from the temp. cleaner . I chat to the regular one, and pretend she's my friend rather than someone I pay to clean the house. Total middle-class saddo aren't I!

Our town has a new mayor whose hobby is collecting teddies. He is clearly a man of substance! There is a picture of him in the local paper, lying on the floor surrounded by his teddy collection.

For the cake lovers, I tried a new cupcake recipe yesterday and it was fabulous. It involved melting the butter and using ground almonds and yoghurt. I'm going to make lots for DS2's first communion party at the weekend.

Hello all,

Whinegums sorry to hear you still have sleeping mares. I am the same at the mo. Luke is waking up in the middle of the night 3/4 am and crying for ages. I found out Mark is secretly going in and giving him a dummy to shut him up but he'll never learn that way. He's then waking up for the day at about 5. I am knackered what with my 'disease' ;-)and the face that it could be a month before I go part time.

Ali - what was it that you were doing that would have cost £200 for one night? TBH I could easily spend that on a night out in London if I went for a posh enough meal with nice wine and threw in a cab there and back.

Well the weekend was tragic. My sis showed me the pics of the babies which I won't go into but upset me awfully. She lost so much blood she nearly lost her own life (which they didn't tell me till I got there). The funeral was very moving and sad even though it was all in french and I couldn't understand. Actually she's just called me, sobbing her heart out. So difficult to know what to say for comfort. Thanks all for your kind words x

Amber so sorry for your family's loss. I am glad that you were able to have a funeral and be there to support your sister.

Whinegums maybe there's something in the air in Glasgow, we've totally regressed on the sleeping, which has unfortunately coincided with my starting on-call work over night, tuesday night I was at work from 5-7.30, then came home, had to go back at 9-10 C woke up at 1.30-2.30 when I got phoned into work again and was there until 4 got back to bed and C woke up at 5.30 for a feed. had to be back at work for 8.30 and stay until 1. not fun. Was a bearable shift when I thought I only have to do 60% of the number that the full time people do... and then have been told that they want me to FT out of hours work. Given that they only pay me for doing 60% and there doesn't seem to be an option in the pay structure for working 3 days a week but 100% of the out of hours work, I am currently refusing and arguing with them. think their next move will be to say that if I don't do it then I can't work part time. I've contacted the union! Half the reason for going part time was to reduce my on call as it can be really hard to ensure that both me and DH aren't down to work the same weekend or evening.

Anyway, it's a long weekend so after I go home today I'm not going to think about it until next week.

love to everyone else, sorry for the moan wanted to get it off my chest to people who'll sympathize.x

rolf LOL at you pretending the cleaner is your friend! I'm sure you don't have to pay people to be your friend!

Amber, that sounds so sad

Going, happy birthday to your LO for yesterday!! at me taking a microwave camping! I always thought we were really brave and adventurous going camping but now it feels like we go five star!! Sorry about the glandular fever - is there anything herbal/homeopathic that can help?

Abdn, that sounds scary, but it just goes to show how resilient kids are (and how they don't need thud guards ) - I am so glad he is OK.

Ali, don't get me started on hen dos! Just arrange something affordable which involves lots of alcohol. If people want spa treatments or Monte Carlo or whatever they can do it on their own. It is so wrong to expect people to spend hundreds of pounds when they don't have a choice (or they have to say no they can't go). I just went to Liverpool for my hen do, cos I didn't want to put on other people financially. Weddings are expensive enough for guests (and brides!).

Debs, they just love any toy that sings and makes loud noises! They didn't get anything in particular that they just love (though the bus we bought them doesn't work properly so we have to take it back)

Poppy, are you going to Africa? Where? Sounds exciting though I can understand why you are worried. I feel the same about taxis and coaches (and that's just me and DH, I've never taken the Dts on a coach!), it is so unsafe to have no seatbelts, but you just have to have faith that the bus will not crash (because it won't, you will go, have a great holiday and come back without incident). Can you meet the babysitter before you leave Edie with her? If it is something the tour operator has set up I would feel quite happy, as long as the Dts seemed happy with her and I'd met her beforehand etc. It seems a shame for you to miss the safari.

Sleep has got better here now I have realised it is their teeth that is bothering them. They have four each coming through at the top and are chewing on everything and drooling everywhere. But no red cheeks which is why I didn't catch on at first (even though you can see all the teeth coming through ). Anyway, they have been unsettled in the evenings (esp. Esther) and seem to only go to sleep after we give them Calpol (after hours of crying on and off sometimes ), so last night I gave them both Calpol at bathtime and they slept all night.

I decided on a CM - all three I went to see were great so I decided on the one who lives round the corner from me. Her house was a little more tatty than the others... not dirty, quite quaint really. She is divorced with grown-up kids and seems to be pretty committed to the CMing, she even does overnights for people who work night shifts. The other two CMs were young mums themselves and while they were great I think maybe the one we have chosen will offer us the most flexibility (and she can pick up from the school they will go to whereas the other two can't).

Viva, sounds like a nightmare! What do other docs who work PT do with their out of hours? It can't be right to do 60% work and 100% out of hours. Must be hard to get time with your DH .

Amber your weekend sounds so heartbreaking, your sister is very lucky to have you around.

Neenz fab you found a cm so easily!

Rolf Your cupcakes sound yummy! I made this as ds's birthday cake and it was very good. I need to make another for his party with his cousins next week though he won't have had as many as your dd puree! Viva I really hope you get your hours sorted soon.

DS got his first pair of proper shoes today as he seems to be walikng all the time rahter than crawling. Shoe shopping for a baby is not easy, he was stamping on the ladies hand and aalso trying to comb her hair!

Who's got some video of their baby walking - I'd love to see it! Luke can do one step and then falls over

Amber, your poor sister - she has a long road to recovery ahead of her . Has she accessed help from SANDs yet? I think she desperately needs some counselling, if she would be up for that?

viva, your work sounds as crap as mine! Good luck with getting it sorted.

No walking here, only just managing about 30 secs balancing without holding onto anything. Think we're a little bit off walking yet - at least he can manage the stairs! I'm desperate for him to walk before I get too big to pick him up, but he will do it in his own time .

Hi all

Sorry been lurking but no time to post.
Organising wedding and move is pretty time consuming!!
Well i have a wedding dress, most of the wedding stuff and we have a house lined up in Holland. We also have 50 boxes to pack up our stuff. House is sooooo embarassingly untidy at mo.

Its Fleurs bday next i think? on 30th which is Sat as its Canary Islands day that day we are all dressing in traditional costume and going to the festivities and then on Sun we are having a Teddy bear beach party with a few friends. Havent got her anything yet except for a Push along Makka Pakka. Will look at wkend.

Amber- big hugs
Viva- hope hours are sorted soon
THose with sleep issues i just keep thinking one day she will sleep all night forever more!!! We still have good days and bad days here. Bad at mo as she has another cough

We are crawling here now and balancingg on feet for 3 secs

Thanks for talk on cupcakes thats what my wedding cakes will be we are making them ourseelves so my sis is trying out recipes so feel free to share

Re hen nights I had mine 2 weekends ago , a few friends and I went out for a meal and drinks in town we ended up gatecrashing (by mistake) a private lingerie party in a bar!!!But it was a very cheap but nice night.
Later im having another hen night the nigh b4 wedding with my mum sis and SIL we are getting wine, takeaway, dvd and face masks etc and doing each others nails , hair etc for wedding day

Right must go to bed as F has habit of waking at 5.30am lately
BIG hello to anyone I didnt mention and HAPPY BDAY to babies who are already one xxx

Amber - the funeral sounds so sad, is your sister back in the UK now?

Viva - work sounds a nightmare

Neenz - thanks, Ethan likes noisy toys too,glad you've got your CM sorted out.

Babybill and Amber - Ethan can stand , holding onto something but only for a split second.

Going2 - lol at your desciption of shoe shopping with baby - surely it's got to be better than shoe shopping with a toddler?

Rolf - cakes sound lovely but I don't want the recipe, I've lost half a stone recently

Pool was open today, water was chilly , too cold for Ethan but we still had a good afternoon and then barbecue.

Paro - life sounds hectic, but happy. Fleur's birthday weekend sounds lovely, can we all come to the teddy party on the beach please?

Gah, wrote a long post before and then the server crashed! Grrrr.

Amber, your poor sister, and you and the rest of the family. My heart goes out to all of you. But I think your sister is lucky to have you for her sibling.

Viva - that's a PITA about work, how can they get you to do 100% of out of hours when you only work 60%? Surely anyone can see that's not right. I hope you get it sorted.

Deb, I must stop playing those crappy FB games! But if anyone fancies a game of Scrabble on FB, I'd love to play. You can take up to a week between moves too, it's not a 'live' match IFSWIM. Anyway, if anyone wants to play, let me know. Oh and WELL DONE on losing half a stone. I think you've passed it on to me...

B can stand and cruise. And is a mega fast crawler. But he still won't say mama - only dada and baba, despite my attempts at brainwashing him!

Cakes... cakes... I got the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook last week, and I love it, I made loads of cupcakes at the weekend. Paro, highly recommend it, they're mega easy too, and very impressive. I'm using the chocolate cake recipe for B's birthday cake (which I have planned and ordered the decorations for already - sad I know!), and I'm going to make loads more cupcakes to go with it.

Neenz, that's good about CM. I don't know what to do about nursery/CM as I don't know when I'll finally get another job. We'll just have to hope things work out one way or another.

Rolf, PMSL at your friend the cleaner. I have visions of Mrs Levinson (I think that's what she was called) from League of Gentlemen!

Amber, sorry to hear Luke isn't doing sleeping either. B still has his dummy, but he can replug it himself, so I don't think the dummy is an issue for us. He just doesn't like being by himself when he wakes up. I feel I'm never ever going to have a decent night's sleep again - my sleep patterns are so screwed up that when B does sleep, I often find myself lying awake.

Paro, your hen nights sound good, and the teddy bear beach party sounds even better! Good luck with packing.

I'm at my mum's for a week, so I'm going to try and get in some early nights. There's nothing else to do here...

And on that note, I'm going for toast and hot chocolate and then bed!