Sept 08: They're under starters orders .... and they're off .... well, some of them!

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

I thought I'd use this title as not all of our delicious babies are on the move yet, including mine

eek, email from work re flexible working, too scared to open it, and you're all out enjoying the sunshine!

hopefully I think you are right - everyone must be out today enjoying the sun. Except us. I know how you feel about the email. I sometimes get a sick feeling in my mouth when I see an email from work - so scared about what it might be.

Confession time: I was browsing property porn rightmove this afternoon and saw a house next door to one we were gazumped on two years ago. At the time we said, of course, the one you'd really want is the one next door. I sent the link to DH for a laugh to see if he recognised it, and... bloody hell we are going to view it at 10 am tomorow! Slap me, will you?

If you want to be brave and open the email I am here and you can rant to me if you need to.

GAAAAAHHHH! I opened it, and it isn't a bloody decision! Just another question about why I can't work 3.5 weeks on, 1 week off (would have to pay for full time childcare place despite only using it 3.5 weeks a month, don't earn enough to make this remotely viable). I have explained this to them twice already, you wouldn't think it was a difficult concept to grasp.

Oh dear! Do you think they are being slow and difficult on purpose, as some sort of tactic?

I really don't know. I've heard bad things about their flexible working policy (i.e. it doesn't exist) before now, but they did seem to be trying to find a solution up until now.
What sucks is that I don't want really to go back (hideous commute more than anything else, job is nice), so might end up doing what many other women do and just going quietly, rather than fighting it, if they make it difficult.

If they agree to want you want, do you actually want to go back? I think the answer to that will determine what you should do here.

excellent ponymum. prices have come down from 2 yrs ago so looking back now, the gazumping was a good thing.

I unequivocally don't want to go back - it's 3.5hrs a day commuting every day i'm in the office. trouble is, if i get the hours i've asked for, it's £9,000 a year, lots of benefits, possibly another maternity leave. and it's a crap economy to try to freelance in. lots to turn down.

Hi foxy. Where have you been hiding?

hopefully That is difficult. How crap that we have to work at these jobs when we don't want to. But can you just get through it by telling yourself that you deserve the benefits, and do it for that? i.e. hang on in there until you qualify for the next maternity leave? It's what I would do if I still had a job (says the woman who is going to be officially unemployed in, er, 4 days).

hey ninja

My connecta came this morning! Thing is...it looks really.....insubstantial and you know how big Toby is!!!

Oh, well, will give it a go. Am wondering whether a back pack type thing with a frame would have been better?

Still feel really horrid, on ABs now

Have a great weekend everyone....I shall be on the sofa groaning and bathing my temples with eau de cologne...

4 days til you're unemployed ponymum? Crikey. Sounds like buying a house is the very thing you need to take your mind off it!
Dh and I had a long chat about the whole house thing while we were out on a much needed date last night. We're in agreement about what we're looking for, so when we get back from holiday in a couple of weeks we'll set the ball rolling with getting quotes on our house. I'm just so terrified no one will want our house. We've already seen two on the net that we'd get ourselves round in a shot if we had a buyer!
Loved the sunshine today, went to a fab park with some friends. And tomorrow's the weekend, hooray!
Tonight its me, the scrapbook, and britain's got talent. Aaaaaaaaaaaah
Is it wrong to open a bottle of wine when I'm home alone?!

I find the connecta really comfy, but M is just average weight (and short with it!!)

My frind has a monster baby now 14 months and she uses it with him so it should work.

I have a back pack with a frame and it's not nearly so comfy (but possibly easier to put on)

we've got a backpack with a frame becaroo, it was bought 2nd hand and is quite old so think its bulkier than the new ones but the new ones are still quite bulky I think. And very expensive.
DS2 loves it though and it was brilliant for travelling when I flew to Scotland on my own with both boys and when we went away last week. Much easier to get on and off transport with and has a huge pocket in it so I didn't need a hand luggage bag.

I'm going back to work next week and don't feel ready to go back yet. But if I go back now I get paid for the summer holidays so the benefit is worth it. At the moment we could just about afford for me not to work but if when the interest rates go back up we'd need more money.
It's depressing though, I'll get paid just over £1000 a month I think and childcare is almost £800!

We spent the day in the sun and now I have stupid stripes as I was wearing a vest top but my bra straps kept sliding.

Had a lovely day at Yorkshire Sculpture Park today with some friends and kids (although the kids played in the Rhodedendron bushes most of the time)

M now totally adept at eating off a picnic blanket

we've got decisions to make about houses too. We still want to move back to Scotland but unsurprisingly dh can't find a job at the moment. And now that I've said i'll go back to work I now cant leave before Christmas without losing money and possibly a good reference.
We've decided that we can cope with this house for the summer when we'll hopefully be outside a lot but come winter it's going to be too small. So if we're still here at the end of the summer we might have to buy here and accept that we can't move to Scotland for at least another couple of years.

Hmmph! Thanks for the reality check carriebo! Yes, it does sound a bit stupid if you put it that way. I only really sent the link to DH as a joke but then he suddenly got all serious about it.

We have a back pack with a frame, and have been using it since DD was 6 months. It is a Macpac possum and it is SO BRILLIANT! Well, that is.. I have never actually worn it myself. (DH wears it whenever we go for walks because I am not supposed to carry weights if I can avoid it.) When we bring it out DD starts banging her arms up and down in delight. She really loves riding in it and it is so great to go for walks with the three of us together.

Ooooh, oooh, ooohh, I know someone on britain's got talent! I only found out today [out of touch emoticon]. I used to go to school with him and keep my horse at the same stables and I was his first snog. I should go sell my story!

I'm hurt that you're not all basking in my reflected faux-celeb glory

Sorry hopefully I don't watch it so I would only sound dim if I commented!

Here's a weird thing. Earlier tonight, when DD was still downstairs, I had the monitor in her room turned on (I was keeping an eye on the temperature in case I had to cool the room down when she went to bed). I kept saying to DH, isn't it amazing how clearly we can hear the birds through DD's monitor upstairs. When DH went upstairs to get the bath things ready, yes you can guess... there was a little sparrow in DD's room! It was trying to get out the window, so DH rescued it. Must have been there for ages, but seemed quite calm. Bizarre! (And yes, I am going to disinfect the window tomorrow!)

What a hot day today and we spent most of it indoors
Dp is feeling rough and ds is getting over a cold so they flaked out in the living room. Me and Robyn went in the garden for a while then had a walk but, unsurprisingly she would not sleep so had to feed her to nap again. I would love to stop doing this but she howls when she is tired and the only thing to stop her is to feed her. Am thinking about a dummy but not keen.
We had a bath together as well to cool us down and she loved it, she just sat there tapping my legs and splashing bubbles about, then she realised she could grab my boobs and got even more excited. She is booby mad that girl, when she feeds she starts to giggle when i undo my bra.

Please tell hopefully , i love bgt, i want Aiden to win

Debs T makes a noise like one of those olympic shotputters warming up when he's about to latch on. Makes discreet feeding in public a barrel of laughs . Have decided that once he's over this cold I am going to cut down and stop BFing - he is biting me at the end of every single feed, and none of the tried and tested methods seems to be stopping him. Will continue while he's ill though, as seems a little unfair to snatch it away mid-illness!

Oh, and Lollyheart it was Greg. I like to add him to the (alarmingly robust) list of men I have turned gay!

Wow hopefully i think he is rather nice i did wonder if he was gay, but im sure you had nothing to do with that, i also think he should of gone through not hollie.

Fraser is a boob monster too.