June 2008: birthdays, bunting and bumps make mummy a little bit tired!

[pureeandpearls]

Bring it on!!!

Nosey, not mosey!

Amber part of issue with flat may be that in a bad Market you are up against some quite nice period properties and a lot of buyers in that area are looking for that type of thing . No help to you though but wouldn't take it personally.
Sorry was being nosey as grew up in Greenwich so know the area

Poppy, you're on your iPod aren't you? Mine always does Reading when I type reading too

Amber, I think poppy has hit the nail on the head. You need the market to pick up and get a trendy city boy type looking for a flash pad!

Thanks bdq - the cup battle is something I draw a veil over !!

I am - it's fab (and my selection of mickey and teletubbies a good entetainment for madam). Sponge I would go for iPhone over blackberry if you are reading

I love mine too. Everyone with a baby shoul have one. It's fab for a cheeky surf while supervising free play . Am def thinking of getting an iPhone when my contract up later in year. DH bit offended as he bought my iPod for me, but the cost per use so far is def less than a penny!

ohh do - the iphone fab (and I live with a gadget freak) -its a good phone too and I love the little other bits with it like the map thing. Also got a baby monitor thing that rings dh phone when edie wakes so its useful too.
Right back to tour de france highlights - am loving this year's tour (and not just for men in lyrca )

Tell me more about the baby monitor thing? I love gadgets too!

I covet the iPhone but have 12 months left on my Blueberry contract.

I can vouch for Amber having a lovely flat. But am keen for her to move round the corner so keeping everything crossed that the Sheik changes his mind!!

BDQ I don't bother putting her in bodies at the moment as it is plenty warm enough, but had been thinking about the vest and pant thing and decided that the change must come when they switch to using the loo, though could be earlier if you wanted. I dunno how odd it would be putting pants over nappies though............

Oh, and check out my baby she's the third picture. I am delirious with pride!!!

its an iphone app - basically its a proper baby monitor that is wired to ring a number (in this case dh's )when noise goes above a certain level - you can set the level.

puree - wow that is fame!! although not sure about the toy... looks bit flimsy to me

Sorry this is going to be quick, on mothers pooter as we are with her until Thursday, and sorry for not catching up on news but in need of venting.

Just been to Kent to stay with BIL and SIL, arrived Friday, all well, Edie went off with cousins, late night but hey ho caught up with news. Saturday went to Heve Castle with SIL her twin daughters age 14, Edie and Seb and was great fun, got home and then went out for dinner with 2 other friends, cam back and had more to drink and fun night had by all.

Problem started on Sunday at 1pm when FIL and StepMIL turned up. Well they said hello to children and that was it until they left at 9 when they said goodbye to Edie and sarky comments on my parenting skills by SMIL. Oh and FIL bringing back Seb twice when he went wandering, I think my converstaions over the 8 hours lasted 10 minutes in total. So ignoring my children not good, but they also ignored DH, FIl's own son FFS and then when they were leaving they were nattering about family trees, DH piped up and said that his mother always said that they came from Tipperary, step monster in law (also DH's aunt, his mothers sister) said that his mother was a pretty prolific lier.

So he doesn't want anything else to do with them, I don't want them to have anything to do with DC's so anyone got any nice parents we can borrow?

Will get back in the swing of things sometime soon.

Lots of love to you all

Amber - lots of sympathy on the house selling, I found having ours on the market for 13 months bad enough. We had to keep dropping our price to eventually sell ours, we only just avoided getting into negative equity but managed to get moved. That is a beautiful flat and someone will walk in and fall in love with it.

J's bedtime routine is once he has finished his dinner DH takes him up and baths him then puts him straight to bed, he used to have a BF but since he dropped that we haven't replaced it with anything else. My reasoning is he has only just had his dinner and a drink so should be OK.

BDQ - I'm rubbish at fancy dress, my last effort was many many years ago I dressed up as Betty Rubble, went out in Manchester wrapped in essentially just a piece of blue material which I had to sew onto my bra to keep from falling down.
I think I'd try and go as Miss Moneypenny, at least she tends to wear some clothes and not just a bikini!

Five- that sounds like a completely shit experience. I'm not surprised you are fed-up. I have the joy of my PIL this weekend so send my hearty sympathies.

Like your costume-thinking ktpie

See now I really want an iPhone Poppy, especially if DH has to get up with the baby!!!

X post Five, sounds like a horrible situation. Awful of them to ignore you all like that. Your poor DH must be feeling pretty low. Families can be such complicated and tricky things at times.

Actually x posted with loads of people! Poppy - I think DH is itching to watch the tour, has to do it on the laptop as ITV dodgy so I'd better let him.

rolf I love Thea?s eating habits DS1 fed Fraser the rainwater in our paddling pool because ?he was thirsty mummy?. I am in awe of people who are ready to make that decision about family size, it?s very impressive. Although my DH has decided that we can?t have another baby as I?d actually break. I?d better stop complaining about my back and my pelvic floor if I get broody.

neenz if your DC will play with books then I?m sure they?ll be happy to read them when they?re a bit older, you definitely can?t force them to sit and read anyways.

I love ktpie?s description of cooking for twins!!! I am in awe of neenz though, I had a friend over yesterday and she had a 3 year old and 19 month old twins and always has her hands very full.

About BLW ? we did both which seemed to me to be the easiest. Also I just blended up the food for DS1 for Fraser so it wasn?t any extra work. I was already making a ton of spag bol and there was no way I was going to let Fraser feed that to himself!

poppy there?s been a tummy bug running amuck here in Scotland, maybe it?s made it?s way down to you? No other symptoms, just a runny bum. As for routines, I don?t think milk for bedtime is bad at all, it?s an easy thing to do and I just stagger the boys bedtimes when I?m on my own. Yeah Cbeebies?.

Amber oh no! Luke up early again! You must be exhausted? Your flat looks gorgeous too. I think it can be easier to sell cheaper properties, or at least it is up here. Friends with a gorgeous place double the price of ours took three times as long as we did to sell which was surprising since our place was absolutely nothing special - but then maybe it?s because at the lower price ranges you?re not looking for a dream home the same way.

BDQ We?re not putting a bodysuit on Fraser unless it?s cold outside now. I?m not sure what we?ll do in the winter though for two layers. I didn?t use two layers with DS1 because he?s a little furnace and is always overheating but Fraser is more like me and I need to bundle him up more.

There wasn?t a stage in the tour last night ? were they doing an overview so far? We?re really enjoying it this year although I was furious when they penalized Cav. DS1 says Cav is his favourite and that Wiggins is Fraser?s favourite and when we go out with two buggies they want us to ?race? and DS1 yells ?go Cav, go Wiggins!?

I?ve heard from two other mothers who have kids upstairs in the nursery 3-5 room where DS1 is supposed to move to next month say they are really not happy. Apparently there are a lot of problems up there, which isn?t surprising as there is 24 kids in the room (and 4 staff). 24 kids is just way too many.

Abderdeen - you're right it was a tour rest day which was good as I'd been hogging the computer so DH couldn't watch it. Wiggins is doing brilliantly! Cavendish is a machine when he gets to the sprint. I never used to be interested in it but I'm forced to watch it every year, we are doing well this year.

On the eating off the floor topic I took J out of his highchair and put him down yesterday without realising he had dropped a piece of bread and some biscuit, he leapt on them and they had been munched before I had time to react, poor starved baby!

Caitlin will eat anything off the floor, particularly when she has refused a delicious home-cooked meal five minutes earlier. And I refer you to my previous comment about being domestically crap, there is food on the floor more often than not still she is thriving on it so far!

Amber I feel your pain, your flat is gorgeous. The sort of place that used to get snapped up at City bonus time I guess. Here's hoping things pick up, it only takes one buyer ... This is ours. If you look attentively you will see evidence of Liam sleeping in my study and Caitlin sleeping in our bedroom while dp still has a music room upstairs - this is why we need to move!!

Blast Mumsnet, I have done no work this morning yet. I can't seem to have a quick check and leave it, it's all or nothing - anyone got tips on managing MN addiction??

Poppy, I think bottle of milk before bed is very common and my sisters gave theirs a bottle up to two years old. Not sure how it would fit in with next baby tho. A lot of people let their baby take their own bottle into bed, but not sure how I feel about this, seems a bit wrong imo.

Our routine is tea at 5pm-5.30pm, beaker of milk in their high chairs at 6.15pm, bath at 6.30pm then straight into bed at 7pm. Esther often struggles to settle and I think she is overstimulated - we don't really have any 'quiet time'. Theo goes off to sleep so well that I have just assumed E is being difficult . But I think she needs to have some wind-down time - and suggestions?

Amber, lovely flat - scary price! It's amazing the difference in price around the country - we live in a big four-bed semi in an 'expensive' area - but it's probably only worth about £280k. Where are you wanting to move to? Same area but bigger place? 4.30am starts are not funny - are you doing PT now at work? Do you think a new go at CC might improve things? Is it worth a try - I am to say that sometimes when I've done CC in the night it has been a relief cos I just go back to bed and go back to sleep and leave them to cry .

No vests with us at mo - just too warm so they just wear trousers/dress and t-shirt. It depends what size they make the bodysuits in - eventually you won't be able to get one in your LO's size! I think I agree what while they are still in nappies bodysuits make sense.

Five, PILs suck! Can you get your DH to ring his dad and tell him how he feels? My sister has this problem with her DH's dad and stepmonster - they never get the kids gifts and don't seem to care about them at all. People are strange.

Abdn, that is so cute with the buggy racing! Not into the tour myself but I have been loving the Open and Ashes test

Theo and Esther are wrestling - it is so cute. E lies on the floor, T rolls all over her and she giggles like mad. I wonder sometimes tho whether he is being a bit aggressive - he leans down on her so hard, but she seems to like it

Abdn, worrying about the nursery - what do the staff say about it? Could they get another member of staff or split the group in two?

SA I love seeing the cots in pictures of houses! I think it makes it very obvious why the place is being sold and that can only help. The guys who bought our place asked why we were moving and seemed happy to hear it was to get another bedroom (we sold to two gay guys). Your place looks very clean and ordered in your pictures too.

neenz if Esther's happy, I'd not bother worrying!

Bodysuits - wish I could keep her still long enough to get one on her! Her brother had them up until he was 2 1/2 because of his eczema, and we have a stack of big ones she could have, they're such a practical extra layer, but there is no way I could get them on her now, I dress and nappy her in motion, it's chaos!!

Wrestling - know what you mean neenz, Liam is twice her size and lies on top of her and she just giggles and giggles, while I try and work out at what point to intervene - if her face changes colour I normally remove him!!

abdn you have no idea the energy and stress it took to get the house looking like that we do our best to have it similar for viewings but never quite manage it!

neenz it's not the number of staff, but the number of kids in the room and I doubt if they can afford from a business sense to reduce the number of kids. They are already at a 6:1 ratio which is better than the 8:1 legislated ratio. I think they need to develop a policy of exclusion for kids causing trouble, but another mother asked them about this and they refused. It's not a state nursery - all the good kids will just get moved. I have emailed another nursery asking about space but that would add another 40 minutes onto our commute each day and I think it's just too much.