April 2008 - The one with the arrival of little sisters!

[Scorps]

Here's to PM's new little girl to come very soon, oh yes and my dd2

Oh good, can't wait to try!

Hello, hope the quiet means everyone has been having good weekends.

Went to (ex)work Chrismas do, which was really good, but me getting home around 3 meant I was next to useless most of yesterday! Had a quiet dvd day though, which was good.

Oh, and Friday night my Iphone died for some reason, so had to go to Apple store today (couldn't be bothered yesterday). They were fantastic and gave me a new one, so I'm now trying to restore my previous backup on it. It's ridiculous how dependent we (well, I) get on this!

DVD day here too Sal, works do last night and in at 2. Did make it to aerobics this am but fell asleep to ET after lunch.

Soph, love the idea of making Dh decide on meal for the night. I dont mind cooking but I hate deciding what to cook, I may just try your plan.

Hello!

I've been having a lovely time baking this weekend, to freeze for christmas. Yesterday was chestnut and mushroom wellingtons for the veggies/vegan xmas dinner, and little christmassy shapes made from pastry with cheese in (for next Saturday's NCT party which we're having at my house) and today was mince pies and mini choc muffins, also for the party. I love baking, it doean't always turn out well though!

The kitchen is finally clean, DH is out at his parents house filling in forms for the plane or something, and I'm having a sit down.

I gave the laptop keys a scrub with anti-bac spray on some kitchen roll earlier, and now the font is enormous. How on earth do I make it normal sie again?

Denny, you were exhausted and you still went to the gym?? Insane, woman, insane!

Knitter, wow. Just wow. Sounds lovely being at yours for Christmas!

Hmm, laptop. Don't really know without knowing what type.
If Mac, try: cmd - (command with minus sign)
or pc try: control - (control minus)

Hope it works!

Thanks Sal, DH came home and I got him to fix it with the promise of a choc muffin.

George is finally better, after a good 2 or 3 weeks of random ailments. Mainly teeth, I think but it's really nice to see him really happy and eating again. His speech is coming on in leaps and bounds, and was telling me in the car the other day 'mimmy, mimmy' and I looked over to see a mini next to us. He's been mini spotting since, I think that's pretty funny knowing the difference between one car and another at his age. I struggle at 34! His other new word is 'bus', but pronounced to rhyme with ice. He uses that word instead of anything he doesn't know how to say yet, which is quite amusing! After his meals I've started to get him to repeat 'Thankyou for my breakfast/dinner/tea, can I get down please'. He can do thankyou, tea, get and please but a couple of teatimes ago it was 'bus bus bus bus bus bus bus' with a massive grin on his face!

Knitter, good to hear George better! Feel so sorry for them when one illness drags into the next and they just seem poorly for ages.

We went to the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park with R today, and had such a ball. Took R on a couple of rides and then up in the "Eye" thing, which he seemed to love. In some aspects they are so much easier now they're a little older, aren't they?!

Afterwards we went to Coram Fields (that Ladybee has recommended a couple of months ago) near Russel Square. It's lovely to find a play area in the middle of London, and I'll definitely visit more often. I think I might try and do a bit of the British Museum again, and then go there with a packed lunch and let R play.

What is everyone else up to?

Morning, Sal

Winter Wonderland sounds amazing, I love all things Christmassy and I think I'd enjoy it there more than any of the toddlers!

This morning we're tidying up and playing hunt the duvet cover, my mum & dad are coming this afternoon for a few days (which reminds me, how's your mum doing Sal?) because dad is being santa at the Christmas party on saturday, and I can't find the other spare room duvet cover. The sheet and pillowcases were in the airing cupboard but no duvet cover to be found. It has to be somewhere, it's been used since we moved so not lost in the move! Any ideas where it might be?

This afternoon we're meeting a couple of George's friends at this soft play place. It's brillinat and will hopefully wear the little man out so he sleeps better tonight!

Knitter, that looks great! Hmm, duvet cover... I don't know, I chronically lose everything. There must be a fully fitted out home in a parallel universe already with all I've lost! Enjoy the time with your parents.

My mom's doing great, thanks. She has to go back to specialist on Monday for a checkup, but everything seems fine. She's of course still really tired, but I think that's a combination of them moving her brain around () and two batches of anesthesia in close succession. We're all just so relieved it's all over now, and realise we have so much to be grateful for.

Good luck to her for Monday.

Yes, she's bound to be tired, Surgery like that would take it out of you I'd imagine.

I found the duvet cover! Was just about to give up, then spotted a big blue Ikea bag that I thought was stuff I haven't unpacked yet. Turns out it's got stuff in that needed to come upstairs, and looks like DH 'filed it' in a corner of the bedroom. I was getting really annoyed with not being able to find it!

Right, off to vacuum before M & D arrive...

Afternoon all - just a quick pop in

Do you remember when DH wasn't appointed as Head of Secondary .... well, the school fired the guy who they did give the job to on Friday Anyhow, we got a phone call on Fri evening and DH was asked to go & meet the Head on Mon (Mon & Tues were public hols). He did and although they've decided not to have a Head of Secondary at the moment - surprise, surprise - DH is going to have a more managerial role and will get a pay rise Just goes to prove that they should have bloody appointed him in the first place , however, what goes around comes around, as they say ... watch this space

Will be back tomorrow. Have good afternoons ladies

Soph, that is fantastic news!!!! Congratulations to your dh! And what perfect timing, just before Christmas and everything! I'll stop typing like an overenthusiastic teenager in a second, but I'm so incredibly happy for you. And in an evil, grudgingly kind of way, I'm really glad the other person didn't work out after the way they behaved towards dh. Also, good on the two of you to have remained to professional about it - goes to show, in the end it usually work out if you do your part. x

Spent all morning washing the carpets, and will die of shame if anyone ever sees how much filth came out. We must have the world's best immune systems ever.

Did you hire a carpet cleaner Sal?
I'm tired. Just completely knackered feeling - had a 'challenging' (hate that term) day with B today, he's getting over another cold and was in a very contrary mood, and I didn't have much patience so between the two of us we weren't much fun. Hey ho, DH came home bit earlier than normal and is now attempting to put DS to bed - I can hear a lot of chatting going on and not much that sounds like a toddler deciding it's time to sleep...thank goodness it's not me up there

Do you all have your christmas trees up? We haven't, I guess it'll be this weekend. Just can't quite work out where it'll go...

Soph, that's great news about your husband. Very pleased they've seen the light but a bit that they've taken so long.

We had a bit of good news at work - apparently my company has done ok despite dire predictions earlier this year. We had a pay freeze this year, but now because it's all looking a bit more positive we're getting a bonus in our December pay! Very good timing to help cover an expensive month . We should also not have a pay freeze next year, which is good news too.

I need a christmas name...who can think of one.

Oh, Knitter, I keep wishing you were sat beside me these evenings..I've just royally messed up the ribbing on my first knitting project but am too lazy have decided just to press on and ignore it. Really, no one is going to look that closely, are they!?

Great to see you again, Ladybee. Probably just that end-of-year general blues, but see if extra vitamins or so could give you a boost. I don't know if you can get it here, but in SA I used to get a vitamin B complex injection when really stressed or tired (from GP), and it helped a lot. Failing that, I guess tablets should work too, perhaps just a little slower.

This seems to be a good day for employment - wonderful news re bonus and next year!

Oh, and before I forget - yes, hired a Rug Doctor from B&Q for £20 (24hrs), and £8 for detergent. I can't believe what a difference it made, and I've decided to do this every couple of months now.

oh good to know, B&Q is an easy drive. Might put that on my list of stuff to try to do over christmas.

I'm taking multi-vits, but might add in a iron one, I've actually still got lots of sachets of that liquid one from after B's birth.

I'm going to bed. Can't keep eyes open.

Morning everyone!

Soph, brilliant newa for your DH! Agree with LadyBee that they took far too long to realise they had the wrong person all along.

Sal, we hired a rug doctor before we moved out of our original house, and thought the carpets were revoltingly filthy from he amount of black liquid I had to throw away. Then my mum used a bit of the detergenty water on a tiny spot of something on an almost new cream carpet, and the second she put the cloth back in the water it turned a very muddy colour. So my conclusion is that there's something in the detergent that reacts with the tiniest bit of dirt to turn the water black. So, don't feel bad about the state of your carpets before you cleaned them, they probably weren't that bad!

LadyBee, Hi! We have our tree up, I love christmas! (Imay have mentioned it once or twice already...) I went to bed at 9 last night I was so tired, def an end of year thing. Re: your knitting - no-one will notice dodgy ribbing, and even if they do it's all part of the hand-knitted look! If you did want to put it right you actually can, how much knitting do you have on top of the mistakes? (If it's not that much it could be fixed, if it's a lot thyen it's probably more trouble than it's worth!)

Afternoon everyone.

Yes, we are very pleased about it all, although he won't get anywhere near as much as the Head of Secondary got But at least it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick ... as me Dad says

Ladybee - we've had our tree up since 29th Nov but only because I had a weak moment & allowed the biggest kid I have (DH) to put the tree up. He is well aware it's a once in a lifetime opportunity though

Am sooooo pleased we don't have carpets. Although if anyone mopped our floors at the moment they'd condemn the house I actually can't remember the last time I mopped. I'm kind of hoping MIL will do it while she's here - then again, maybe it's better if she doesn't!!!!!

What happened to everyone? I can't believe that mine was the last message on here

Hope you all had good weekends. We had a great time. Sat was our school do & it was held at the hotel where we had our wedding reception. MIL suggested that we stay the night instead of forking out for taxis, so we did & it was great. It was the first time I'd left Sam overnight but didn't worry about it as he was with Granny. I don't really think either of them noticed that we weren't there ... typical

Am having major stress about Christmas pressies as all the shops over here seem to have sold out of the stuff that DS1 would like. The worst thing is that one shop had everything on his list when he was with me the other week, then when I went on Sat they didn't have anything left. Am really peed off & not quite sure what I'm going to do. The post office have also lost the pressies I ordered for Sam from Amazon. Am really pulling my hair out at the mo & very

I think we all fell into a Christmas chasm.
Scorps, how are you and that bump doing? Can I be the first to ask, 'any twinges?' hee hee...only a few more weeks of that question to go then.

I am having a similar present panic, not for ds thank goodness, I ordered his stuff two weeks ago in a fit of 'I must get something organised', but DH!! I need to do a small something for him to unwrap, but can't think what.

Oh well...I read some of the stuff on toddlers on this website on my way home today. I was very relieved to see the thing about them doing the opposite of everything, just because they've discovered they can. I was worried that I'd given DS an overdose of the contrary gene and it was coming back to bite me.

Knitter, I just carried on and it actually doesn't look that bad. I did unravel one mistake but got in more of tangle trying to get the stitches back on the needle I have decided my motto is now going to be 'never look back'!

I think you're right Ladybee and I was wondering how Scorps was doing too - I shall wait with baited breath

I may be getting Sam's Christmas presents today, I'll let you know later. I always have a complete mare deciding what to get DH. He always ends up with the same things. I don't think I've found him an original present since we've been together He's just one of those people that isn't into gadgets and never wants anything, which is lovely in one way, but a complete and utter nightmare when it comes to his birthday and Christmas.

Miracles of miracles .... Sam's Christmas presents arrived Now just got to wait for 1 more package with the last of DS1's stuff in. Please keep your fingers crossed.

I haven't been very good at all.

some info here

Bloody hell, Scorps

Oh geez Scorps, I'm so sorry. How was Relate tonight?

Hello everyone else. Sorry so quiet - posted to little that I lost the thread.

Been busy lately with this and that. From today, we are officially British citizens - attended the Citizenship Ceremony today.

Tomorrow R's nursery play, and I still have to finish off his box. Am lazy, but obviously can't slip up on this.

Have updated thread. Relate was painful but ok