March 06 *#* all around the world

[UniS]

sorry couldn;t think of a funny title. but here goes.

Anyone with Dcs born March 06 welcome to come on in and introduce yourselves.

It was the truck. Looks a bit like a "duck" amphibious vehicle. but only by accident. We bought boy a box of wheels at legoland, so hes now able to have more than 2 lego vehicles at a time. The skate parks are an on going thing. He likes building lego skate parks at preschool where they have a lego skate board and bike. now we have the wheels and low slung axles I've made him a skate board for home use.

I bought some new T-shirts !!! size 1* and they are rather snug fitting. Ho Hum, I really should try and lose some of this spare tyre, but I doooo so like puddings and baking.

Caddy your home leave sounds anything but relaxing. You must be upfront about Timothy and say what you feel I think. If you want to talk about it then bring it up - if you're not in the mood for sympathy then say so. TBH the whole trip sounds like hard work so treading on eggshells around different family members can only make it worse for you. Remember it's you who has been through a really bad time and a holiday should be a good time. The grandparents will love seeing the kids again eh?.

Uni - my spare tyre is now monster truck sized. Not helped by a kid free weekend in Edinburgh rounded off with a curry with my parents as a thank you for having the girls for the weekend.

My sis and BIL were down from Scotland whilst we were away and are having a terrible time (again)....sis REALLY needs to go back on ADs and BIL had started a new business that seems like a really bad idea....

Anyway my sis is off work for half term mid Oct so I've offered to go away with her and the boys or have the boys here whilst she goes yo Ireland to see her friend....having them in the house for an hour last week tired me out!!!!!

am en route to bed, so making this short...

Caddy, your home leave actually sounds awful and stressful. Can you risk upsetting everyone and go to a hotel? Explain that you didn't want anyone to be put out by you staying with others and not them (hopefully will shame them as they realise they are bneing juvinille and unhelpful)? Being with people who will make you feel more upset about the loss of Timothy is the last thing you need -please look after yourself :(

LL - sorry to hear your sister is not well. Having the boys will be...an experience! And I'm sure it will make a huge difference to your sisters state of mind.

School holidays here - busier than ever catching up with all the kids schooled friends, and I really must start that packing...

Cripes you all sound crazy busy

Caddy I agree with what everyone else has said this is your holiday too, please don't let the rellies spoil it (I did ponder also saying split the family up between all 3 families! but guess your dh may not like that idea!)

Girls I know what you mean about spare tyres! do people really honestly loose them after having kids, I think not, everyone looks ok ish when they stand up, but the 2nd you sit down, it all lollops over doesn't it (or is someone about to prove me wrong)

Uni I love lego! I did see some Giant Lego storage boxes somewhere, but I can't remember where......

Waves at Astro

I'm crazy busy with work this week, have staff off, tis bonkers.

Oooh busy week Boris....can you get some time off this weekend?

I had a 'do nothing' day yesterday...spent an hour and a half in the bath reading my book! I did clean the bathroom sink though.

Caddy - where are you actually going for your home leave - I can't remember where all your family are. Canada?

Sitting here looking at the rain...bored.

Ohhhh to have the time to be bored
14 hour shift coming up tomorrow
I will have Sunday off this week, hurrah!! fingers x'd the weather is ok, so I can get out and do something? (Friday is looking shocking)

Boris, I shouldn't be bored as I have loads to do! My chest is really bad yesterday and today so am struggling. I had a DRs appt next week but am going in the morning instead.

This weather is shocking eh?? DP was rained off fixing our ancient leaded windows yesterday and instead he blitzed the utility (junk)room....windows again today but maybe more blitzing tomorrow!! Keep it up I say.

The girls are watching Up at 'film night' straight after school - they are very excited! 50p including a drink and a snack which Tilly proclaims to be a bargain - she is big into bargains right now.

Ooh ooh - I forgot to say that T lost her first tooth last Thurs....it was teeeny.

Caddy - how are your DD2s teeth these days?

I'm off to a lunch meeting for my community fram group....means I don't have to do any real work at all today!

Farm that is....I once wrote a whole funding bid for a Young FRAMERS club as spell check didn't pick up on my typo....

Thanks for the encouragement... We are headed for the West Coast of Canada which is, well, technically home although dh and I moved away from there the year we were married. The older dcs consider Alberta (next province over and beyond the Rockies) to be home. ds2 was born in London. (I credit his arrival with the discover of MN.) Dd2 is an all American girl who loves to point it out to anyone interested: "THEY are Canadian," "I am from NEW YORK!" In her defense, it was easier to sort out a US passport than to wait endlessly on Canadian bureaucracy when we were moving to Vienna.

I am bound to figure out how to handle rellies at some point, right? We do have a hotel for the first night and beyond that is anyone's guess. (It would be financially irresponsible to stay in a hotel for the entire stay. The prices are outrageous.)

We are in for a BIG shock weather wise. Only dd2 still has trousers that fit properly.

My brother sent me an email (for the first time in over a year!) with a list of his days off followed by a plea to know what we have planned. I was [happy] about the email but at the cheek of 'needing' to know what we are up to 24 hours before we leave. Nice to know that he IS interested though.

ll Sorry that you are unwell. We have been fevered with sore throats most of the week but it is not settling in chests. I am so relieved to hear that teeth will be falling out soon. Poor Char is endlessly asked about her broken front teeth. She does have a dental appointment in Canada to drill and fill under sedation. I cannot count the number of small cavities that fill her mouth. In Geneva, we went every three months and the dentist was willing to fix them without sedation but nobody here will touch her so it has been nearly a year. I hope and pray that her adult teeth will not be affected. So far, only one of dh's nieces has no enamel on her permanent teeth as well...

I have no spare tyre but I am slightly bigger all around due to lack of inspiration and fabulous food in Phnom Penh. I only struggled to shift the weight for a few months after ds1. Once I had more than one munchkin to run around aftercombined with endless stints as a single parent the fat just fell away. I am much less toned and the recent addition of a hideous scar makes up for the lack of a spare tyre: It is lopsided and thick on one side with a slight dart. No amount of exercise or weight loss will fix that...

Oh look... Another novel from Caddy! Sorry. I really should try to keep up.

Caddy, scars build character you know.

You should reply to your brothers email and ask if he could sort out where it would be most convenient for you all to stay as you only have the first night booked. Say you thought it would be asier for him to sort it out as he is nearer.

Boris - did you get on the Donnington Day? I did so I'm going to incorporate it into my short break and bring my sister as my guest.

Not the young framers again. Tis very popular hobby with youngsters so I hear.

Hi All. sorry for lack of communication.
Nice to read what your all up to tho.

Mucho sympathy on last minute brother and demanding family politics.

I'm trying to get boy to bank sleep this week as next week we have family staying for 2 nights and their kids go to bed rather later than boy. Think I over cooked him on tuesday tho and he was vile as a result. I only expected him to do 3 hours preschool, shopping, 30 mins on bike at BMX track , 30 mins ballet class and a short go to friends house after ballet to watch a video.... with hindsight, it was tooo much.

Much nicer child today however, preschool foloowed by watching shrek ( on my lap) occasionally saying " mummy make it stop, don;t like it" BUT he did promtly rush off at teh end ,dress up as a knight and play St George and teh dragon for rest of afternoon.

14 hour shift Boris- that sound like hard work staying awake. will you have company? other staff or just customers?

Just customers Uni, was a long day!! darn those staff holidays! annual leave, bah
I always tried to get dd2 to bank sleep and it's never worked with her, dd1's ok at doing that though?!

Caddy, I'm liking LL's idea of roping your brother into sorting out your accomodation and I'm keeping my fingers x'd for dd2's teeth being ok when she gets the adult set in.

LL, yes I've won too hurrah! I wanted to bring dh, but one of us has to be at work permanently at the moment, (I'll be running back to work that evening too, as it's technically someones day off, but hopefully I've persuaded them to cover me for an hour!) so I'm bringing my dad instead he's very chuffed, it's like a dream come true for him to get a chance to race round Donnington! I'll be seeing you there then and your sister!

arrrgh, 4 yr old from hell returned today. why are they sooo changeable at the moment. he ended up on final warning twice today ( separate incidents), has started lying as well. oh joy. BUT hes not very good at it yet.

Hope we flip flop back to nice child toimorrow. Boy has an all afternoon play date! I've just made hiim some mice ears to wear, as the play date is with another child ( and mum) from our fancy dress team. Event is tomorrow, all the kids are being mice in the team / family photo. 4 kids, all onlyies.

Awwww cute mice kids has he been better today? It's great when they 1st learn to lie and they're sooooo bad at it shame they get better, though I can still catch our lot out at the moment.... keep trying to instill in them that telling me the truth is better, as I'm madder when they do lie (attempts to be understanding when faced with truth)

OUR mouse child was cute ( just black ears, minor face paint and black top). and well behaved. Should have known, he was with someone elses parent, not on home turf, so he was lovely and home child was vile. OBVIOUSLY...

2 baby mice children V cute. mouse child 4, refused to be mouse, and wore swim hat and googles ( with normal clothes) for her fancy dress! team photo may at some point very briefly be on my profile.

having a good chuckle at 'Young Framers Club'. Bless them, they wouldn't be the coolest kids in school would they?!

Caddy - how are things? Have you decided where to stay?

Boris - arghg at your loooong day. Are regular staff back on deck now?

Uni - so true, home child is always dreadful. Glad your boy had a better day anyway...maybe visit friends on a daily basis for a while

We are still on school holidays, so DS home from kindy, and kids bickering like cat and dog, totally doing my head in. Thankfully DD2 being quite adorable, and sleeping better, though has had a dose of neurofen the last few nights - seems to have a scratchy cough.

Dh has been away since Thurs (long weekend here), back tonight - Monday. I am soooooo tired and the house looks like a bombs hit...will try to rally the kids to help tidy a bit today as I don't want to ruin DH's fun blokes weekend away by making hims pend all night tonight cleaning. Hes taken tomorrow off too, so that we can all go to concert together, and I can have a little chill out time.

Still no house...3 weeks left of lease :( freaking out a bit.

Oh no Astro...that's not very long is it....fingers very x'd that you get somewhere else to move to quickly, is there anything in the pipeline that you've viewed and are waiting on? That's very nice of you getting the tidying done before dh gets home to a mess (especially when he's been away with the boys!) I'd be very tempted to leave it (as if I get to go anywhere it's always a bombsite when I get back ) 3 weeks till half term hols here......

Uni I feel your pain, mine are sooooo good for other people, keep telling yourself he's only a pain for you because he loves you!

LL I did at Young Framers too, but forgot to mention it, doh!
LL is T coming home from school and wanting to do lots more work on what they've been learning, or do I have a weird elder kid? (she got up early this am and did two drawings, titled them and took them into school, then did a sheet of number lines...can't figure out how she's related to me at this point! but the little swat did get herself a 'point' at school for the extra work which is and )

Astro... at your house dilemma...keep on searching.

Uni - I love the thought of the child in swim hat and goggles!! I told my friend who said her work collegue had a child who refused to go to her own party!! Was all arranged at some venue so mum had to go along, feed people, do games and cake whilst daughter stayed at home with dad!

Friz, T is quite a swot. Both girls play schools for most of their free time. She is always doing drawings (very good at art) and taking them in to 'show and tell'. Last week Yr 6 were doing about WW2 evacuees and off her own bat she took in a DVD that one of my clients had made with a group of kids about the subject - I had to collar the teacher yesterday to explain the relevance!

I'm trying to catch up on some work before I head off to London this afternoon. I'm off to the theatre and dinner with my Auntie tonight to prepare for a day of financial planning on Thurs.

I'm in the midst of booking a hotel for the night before Donnington...my cousin works for Best Western but the one next to the track is full (of MNErs I imagine!!)so she got us a deal at one further south...£45 each dinner, B £ B and a facial/back massage for £35. Not bad. My sis has never had a treatment before so I hope she enjoys it!

Oooh that sounds lovely LL, makes me wish I wasn't in driving distance Hope you've had fun with your Auntie 'ignores the boring work bit'
Guess I'll be the only mumsnetter with their dad in tow eh

Phew glad it's not just my dd being slightly bonkers about school work then, another mum did mention that it's normal for them to play school a lot at their age, but I can't recall doing it myself....(was more a pony type girl, invisible ponies in the back garden type of thing! )

Astro any luck? no takers on my house so far.....bloody housing market!

evening. ask me about a beach day out in October, go on, ask me...

evening, so although I'm just off to bed, go on Uni, spill the beans

it was fab.

beach was almost deserted, wind was good for kites, sun shone. ice cream servings were larger than in summer too. all 5 kids V excited when they caught a crab in the harbour.

The tide "nearly git us" whilst we ate lunch!

sorry its brief, boy whinging on my knee for tiummy time. CBBies here we come

sounds lovely, are you going again this weekend, it's going to be Hot, hot, hot! and in October too (followed by a ton of snow this winter no doubt)
Wish we lived nearer the sea....never mind eh...certainly can't see us moving anywhere anytime soon at this rate......no more viewings so far and according the the news today worst time to sell ever (since we put our house on the market, sigh)

commiserations on no sniff of interest, someday the right person will fall for your place ...
We are a good hours drive from the beach, so probably won't be back there this weekend. We had relatives staying who currently live in central England and hope to soon be living in central USA so a beach day is a BiG deal for them.

Spent part of today cleaning up a new to boy , hand me down bike, a 16 inch wheel cheap heavy clunker, in need of new brakes. We hope it will do as a stop gap till hes tall enough for a 20 inch wheel bike, coz hes looking huge on his 14 inch and the handle bars and saddle are up at max height. we will be measuring him VERY carefully in the run up to his birthday.

It was interesting dynamic between boy and his 7 yr old boy cousin, boy on home turf but admiring and wanting to play with the big boy. BOy was the more confident of teh two when we took them for a night walk, but cousins legs are longer... 5 yr old cos ( girl) was elbowed right out. ho hum.