radical cross stitch, theological debate, Easter bunnies, changing bags,and a baby brother...it must be June 08!

[spongebrainbigpants]

Welcome to our new thread .

Two days as adults without kids - it does sound really nice. That's the down side of not working and not having grandparents around... We will hopefully see my parents in April so I have to wait until then.

But in the short term - it's my birthday on the 30th of December and after forgetting one year (when I turned 30 no less) and consistently underwhelming me other years, DH has said he'd like to get me something special on the order of £200. But he needs ideas. I'm leaning to this wrap as it's ridiculously lovely and totally not necessary but I'd love other ideas too.

Ooh Abdn, that's lovely. Bad DH, though, forgetting your 30th! If I was having a £200 gift I'd get something practical like a new camera. The wrap is very nice though. Get it!

Debs, I don't bother with hats or gloves or boots. They are lucky to get their coats on . Seriously though it hasn't really been that cold here yet, not really dropped below 10C in the day and it has also been chucking it down with rain for what seems like about a month so we really haven't been out much except in the car. It is hard work getting them ready to do anything but I just plough on with it (and content myself with the fact that all the running around is keeping me slim )

E did something quite amazing today - I think she is a genius . She has a plastic duck in the bath and for the first time last night I showed her the duck and said 'what does the ducky say? Quack quack' and she said 'whack whack, whack whack'. Tonight I forgot all about it but after getting her dressed after the bath she was looking at a book while I was getting T dressed and she started saying 'whack whack, whack whack'. I went over and she had the book open on the pic of a duck. I said 'yes E quack quack!' and she pointed at the duck [proud][proud][proud][proud][proud]

That is the first thing she has done which I've thought wow that is really clever!

Hello,
Not much to report here but I've just realised that I haven't posted for ages! Um, not a great deal to say - apart from please, somebody do something about the weather! I achieved a bit of work stuff, but I'm still in Big Negotiations regarding my job and my position at Bangor. It's all very girl power-y.

Neenz glad you had a relaxing week, but sorry to hear about the tests. (I don't understand it so it might be fine - I hope so.)

Ktpie I love onion marmalade but I've never tried making it. Caramelized onions sound like quite a faff...

Abdn that wrap does look gorgeous. I have a waterfall cardigan that nearly went into the gas ring the other week. How about a really good pair of fitted boots? Or some extremely expensive fur lined leather gloves. (My personal favourite luxury item...but I've lost mine. )

x-posted! Hey, neenz, come join me and Iestyn at G&T... (The only G&T around here is in a glass! )
Speaking of which, I used DH's whisky in my Christmas pudding yesterday. He was furious - it was aged islay malt or some such stuff which I don't understand. Oops. (But it does annoy me that there are bottles of stuff in my house which I don't understand! )

Essie sounds like an expensive whisky for your pudding!

Very cute on the ducks Neenz. I was ridiculously excited when S opened the flap on his dear zoo book and said 'ooh ooh' on sight of the monkey.

DH off to get the sleeper to London in an hour so I've got everything crossed in hope of a good night's sleep (for me AND for S). Have even adjusted the heating so it doesn't come on at 4.30/5am in case our rattling pipes are disturbing him.

Am dreading tomo - DH away obviously so I'm spending the day with S. Weather forecast miserable and no activities planned

Abdn - it's a lovely wrap, he certainly needs to make up doesn't he?

Neenz - it is amazing when they come out with something new isn't it? Ethan is very nosey I think, he seems to listen in to every conversation, so if I'm suggesting it's biscuit time to Stefan and Tristan he's there like a shot!!I am surprised by his level of understanding though, I don't remember the older boys being like this at 17 months.That said though he has moaned so much today and he's dribbling loads!

Essie - do you know I just typed Nessie then!! I like those boots they're gorgeous. Can't do anything about the weather - sorry, we're worrying here - no snow yet!

I'm beginning to panic about the stuff we need to do before Christmas(shopping, cleaning, tiling, flooring,selling lots of baby stuff, tidying in readiness for guests etc etc etc) , so I think I might try to give MN and FB a miss for a while. Will pop back when I can.

Morning all! deb hope you get all your jobs done, but sorry to hear you won't be around much.

It has been very quiet on here of late. poppy is purée still having problems posting? Amber if you're lurking I hope the move is going/went well and that you're doing ok. Haven't seen Sponge for a while - anyone would think she was really busy looking after a newborn

well, must get on with the day although I think it's going to be a long one!

what whiskey did you use Essie, I mentioned this to DH as he was pouring his nightly dram of Highland Park and he looked very shocked on your DH's behalf....

Am definitely leaning towards wasting money getting the wrap from DH. Somehow I think it needs to be totally silly but lovely. The boots look brilliant essie but I got boots from my mother last year and they are verging on practical...

The wrap looks lovely abdn. Very frivolous - exactly what presents should be! From looking at your wrap I ended up looking at lots of cashmere socks and am wondering if it's too late to drop hints to DH.

Had our very first bonafide poonami this morning. Went in to get S this morning to find it had leaked through his nappy, wrap, body suit, pj's... Uurrgghhh. He was covered in it. A great way to start the day, I don't think!

Abdn I love that wrap. Last Christmas DH forgot to do a stocking for me and when the children started looking upset about it ("look at Daddy's lovely stocking...where's your stocking Mummy?...did Father Christmas forget about you?") he raced round his study filling a stocking with stationery which I had to open with exclamations of delight

Our favourite whisky is Highland Park

Neenz hope you get some good advice about those results. Very impressed with the ducks

Essie glad the negotiations are going well.

I really need to get on with planning Christmas. My brother and his family aren't coming to us for Christmas this year, so it's just us and my Dad. DH is working right through so we'll just have him around for the public holidays and weekend, so I've got to get my act together. I think he might even miss DD1's nativity play . I want to make a bit more of Advent this year so I'm getting quite excited about that.

And Sunday's the first day of Advent! I love it when Advent Sunday is early (ie November) as it seems like the whole Christmas season is longer.

Essie can I ask you a couple questions about the O U? I've got an interview with them for a tutor job in Dublin (yes, that's just about as far away as I could get from home but they would pay travel expenses). I'm trying not to get too excited because they might go for a much cheaper local candidate (they will have to pay almost 30% more to hire me than anyone else because of travel). I assume the exams are all written centrally, are they marked by the tutors? do the tutors have regular "office hours"? What are the main differences between the roles of a lecturer at a regular university and the OU? (Besides not physically giving the lectures).
Thanks!

.

I made Christmas puddings on the weekend! I've even got a photo of Iestyn stirring it.

Bad night last night - bizarre - he woke up at sometime after 5am and I ignored him but he started to cry so I went in. He got back to sleep, I put him in the cot. Then, maybe 3/4 hour or 1 hour later, he woke again. I brought him to my bed, and he wriggled until maybe 6.30 or so. Then he went to sleep, and so did I...until 8.45. So, didn't get to work until 10.30 but I'm feeling like a zombie due to the disturbance. And it's getting dark already!

Abdn I only know from being a student with the OU. But this is what I know:
My course was all home learning, but I had seminars I could go to; they were optional. Presumably you'd be hosting those as a tutor. The exams are marked by the tutor (and probably a second marker) although my final assignment was marked by someone other than my tutor - but then maybe my tutor was marking other tutors' work IYKWIM. Office hours - none given but my tutor would be on e-mail regularly, and would respond within a day to any queries. Sometimes she would respond out of office hours (eg 9 at night) but that's convenience.
I'd say that the main difference is that you don't get to see your students! Some you won't see at all, otherwise you'll only see them at lectures (if there are any - I had 1 a month but went to...none). It's all pretty anonymous, and very computerised. I'd also say (although you probably won't design courses but might contribute to designs in the long run) that you have to assume that your students have no information or access to anything. Assume that they're in the Outer Hebrides with a computer but no car. So everything is provided (by the course, not by you personally).
I would also say - from my experience of being marked - that it's quite automatic, you have a format to follow, and there's very little flexibility. e.g. I got a v. high mark, 83 or so, and I was given tips on how to raise my mark. (Maybe I'm not ambitious enough!)

Online shopping. It's the only way Essie. I actually went into town to buy a couple of Christmas presents yesterday and it was sooooo stressful (and that was without S). I'd have ordered online bit was only getting one thing from each shop so was too stingy to pay delivery.

Sorry you had a disturbed night Essie. I don't know if it's sheer coincidence, but S has been going through a wee 5 am wake up spell lately which is normally when our heating comes on to warm up the house before we get up. I changed it to 6.30am last night and we had no 5am wake up last night.

Fingers crossed on the OU job Abdn. I know it's not OU, but I study distance learning and my tutors normally agree at the start expectations around contact so that they are still providing out of hours supper but not feeling that their lives are on hold while they are on call 24/7.

Neenz, sorry I forgot to mention your tests before. It's all gobbledy-gook to me but hopefully the consultant will be able to tell you more.

Hi guys, sorry I haven't been around much - not finding life very easy at the moment and feel really low so not much to say .

M is such a difficult baby and just won't settle - and he's getting worse. At the moment I'm sat downstairs while he screams his head off upstairs because he's been doing this all day and I just can't take anymore. Luckily A is at nursery today so isn't hear to witness by appalling cruelty but I'm just at my wits' end .

I'm not really sure where to turn for advice tbh, my HV is being v supportive but nothing seems to be working. And to top it off A has taken to waking between 1 and 4am so neither dh or I getting any sleep at all.

Sorry not to respond to anyone else but I've probably nothing of any use to add anyway .

Hope you're all well x

Oh Sponge, you sound so down. I'm really sorry. You're not being cruel, you're just trying to stay sane. A lot of people get good results from cranial osteopathy. Would you give that a try? Sometimes even if it doesn't help, just feeling as though you have taken some steps and spoken to someone about the pattern (or lack of it) of Michael's crying, can make one feel less at sea. I hope something helps.
x

sponge I'm sending hugs. I promise that it will get better. But it sounds like you're going through a very tough spot at the moment. for what it's worth, I've taken both my boys to cranial osteopaths before. I think it helped, although with kids, you can't really tell.

And letting him cry for a bit is fine, it wont hurt him and it will help you cope. No one can handle constant crying...

I'm trying to think what helped me - I remember walking DS1 while he cried in the pram and then he learned to settle. Can you get out? If nothing else the crying doesn't sound so loud outside. Or what about a sling? Fraser practically lived in that. But I know that different things work for different babies and some kids cry more than others. More hugs...

Thanks essie and bdq... I'm trying to prepare for this like it's a full time job rather than just 3 hours a week - can't decide if that's being ridiculous or not...

Oh Sponge, I'm so sorry that it is being such hard work. I would second what Rolf said about seeing a cranial osteopath. My friend have a baby with very bad colic (which may be what is wrong with M)and she swears the osteopath fixed her.

Even if this doesn't help, you know this bit won't last forever. Every day is one closer to the end of this stage and one closer to an easier baby/life. Try to get as much support as you can, because there is nothing more soul destroying than a baby who cries incessantly. Do you have someone who can give you a few minutes during the day to just get away and breathe? It will get better, I promise you.

Thank you for your lovely messages - I have booked a cranial osteopathy appt for next week as the HV suggested this too. I will try anything at the mo .

AH, I would love to get out and walk - and I think this incessant bloody rain is certainly not helping my mood . I'm also going to start looking for slings - I was at the park the other day actually and a woman gave me a card for a 'sling library' locally where I can try out different ones. M is still so small and light at the moment that a sling is certainly an option.

sybil, I do have some people who could help out but I feel bad dumping a screaming baby on anyone else - not exactly fun spending time with him when he's like that . My mum is coming up next week - can't wait, she'll be able to give me a break, just wish she lived closer.

Anyway better go - don't want to just moan on all the time.

Thank you again x

Sponge - lots of sympathy, J cried a lot, he seemed to be always hungry, he was either sleeping, feeding or crying for ages. I found it very tiring.

Sybil - the onion toffee actually tastes quite nice, problem is getting it out of the jar as it's set rock hard.

Neenz - the child free few days sounds great to me. Rubbish about the doctor not doing the right tests and not being able to interpret them for you, hope you get some answers. Impressed by E and the duck!

Abdn - wrap looks great.

Essie - glad to hear you are getting somewhere with work.

Debs - don't go off for too long!

BDQ - Poonami doesn't sound like fun, were you on your own as well? Rubbish.

Rolf - I was surprised at my DH last year as he had organised a present for me from J (he's normally rubbish at presents) and I had to quickly buy him an online voucher as J hadn't got him anything!

How do you all organise your christmas shopping? Do you decide what you are getting everyone beforehand and go out on a mission? I tend to mostly just go and wander around getting stressed that I can't see anything suitable for anyone. I hate shopping which doesn't help. Thinking about popping to Denby tomorrow, they tend to have lots of gifty type things.

KTpie - I only ever shop online these days, the xmas shopping highstreet is a big no no I find when you have kids in tow.

Sponge, take help if it is offered though. People do want to help in these situations I find. I didn't let people help much when J was going through his 'no feeding while awake' stage because I felt I should be able to cope alone, and afterwards a friend told me she had really wanted to help and wished I had lent on her a bit. Looking back, I wish I had too!

Sponge I have this one and I would rave about it. If you don't see it at the sling library or find something else you like, I could lend it to you?

ktpie online shopping for me I hate the stress and crowds...

ktpie - I do my Christmas shopping online, a lot from Amazon. I have a "brainstorm" page in my diary with some ideas, and round about now (but not quite yet ) I do a proper list so I can tick things off. The biggest juggling act is making sure that the children's presents are roughly equal. And like everyone I have my nightmare people to buy for.

I don't use flylady but I have printed out her Christmas control journal which helps me keep the present thing under control. There's a v useful page for keeping tabs on the internet orders.

Having said all that, the last couple of years I haven't managed to do Christmas cards and I always end up with some sort of panic. I have a rough deadline of end Nov for mail ordering. I've just ordered the teacher presents as with 3 at school and all the TAs etc, it's quite a big job and can be very expensive if I leave it until I'm in a panic.

Sponge I also have the close parent sling - knew Abdn would get there before me! (I was still carrying Iestyn in it at over a year old - the joys of a small baby ). Much sympathy - been there, done that. Some suggestions - phone Crysis who were lovely to me. For me, they suggested...a dummy! Have you tried one? (Please, feel free to laugh at my expense - the zeal of the converted or what! ) I swear by the MAM tiny ones. I'll dig out the list of suggestions that my friend Suse gave me - her DD was a nightmare screaming baby. One of them was put the hoover on and stand next to it, then you can't hear the crying... (also they often like white noise - you can get a white noise teddy from Blooming Marvellous. Iestyn quieted down to the kettle boiling, or DH's razor. Inappropriate or what? )

Abdn I think it's great that you're preparing as if for FT. I'd be v. impressed by that if I was on the panel - taking it seriously etc.

BDQ and all others - you're right, it has to be online. Anyhow, there's no shops near us! Seriously, DH and I used to go somewhere nice (Shrewsbury, Chester, Bath) and have a lovely shopping day around now. But realistically it's not going to work with Iestyn in a pram - no relaxed mulled wine breaks etc for us any more! I will take charge and do it perhaps this weekend. DH, though, is really, really annoying about buying for his family. All my suggestions are usually dismissed (I could say not good enough...? I once did say 'I saw x and thought of that for MIL' and FIL said 'oh no, that won't do at all'. ) and then he hares around on Christmas Eve buying shite emergency gifts. They also have this really irritating thing in his family where his mum phones me and asks if I've 'had any ideas' what she should get him. He also can't just buy a present for his Mum or Dad - he has to phone the other to ask if they've 'heard any hints' i.e. had instructions what to say. I refuse to participate in this as it irritates me so much. MIL asked me a few weeks ago what I wanted and I refused to answer (cue eye rolling). Well, what does she expect? I could say 'money, more than £50 please!'. Or 'a new car'.

Anyhow... Go on, tell me all about the different customs in your OH's families! Everyone has them! (DH is still mildly horrified at our mince pie ritual in my family...)

Really tired now. I must have a good night tonight because of work (I need to finish my book, would have done it today but couldn't concentrate at that level) and if I don't do it tomorrow, I'll be in trouble. Doesn't bode well - Iestyn would only have a small pot of custard for tea. That's all he had.

I try to shop online but find it harder to get ideas for what to buy so still find the majority is stuff I pick up out and about. DH is no help. Do you ask people what they want? Where do you get inspiration for what to get people? I don't think it helps that our budget is very low! I have no intentions of going into any cities shopping this year so it's all going to have to be from local places I can drive to and the internet. The ILs always really go to town and we get piles of presents from them, I find it really embarassing when we only have a few things to give back to them, I'd love to get people loads of stuff but we just don't have the time or money, asked DH to drop some hints to the ILs this year not to buy so much but I don't think he has.

Rolf - is it the Holiday Control Journal? I think there are lots of good ideas on that site but when I look at all the lists of things to do each day it makes me feel tired and I have to go and have a sit down and maybe a nap