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

[spongebrainbigpants]

Welcome to our new thread .

PS Luke had a bad night hence I am up and dressed at this time. Luke is being left to sleep as I've drugged him up with a bottle of milk at 5.30am. He's got a cough like he smokes 60 Bensons a day poor lamb. He's also just got over a sicky bug.

God I hate the pages mn has decided to give us. I always go the wrong way or read the page the wrong way from top to bottom. I am missing loads. IS there an option to go a\k to the way it used to be?

Sorry, that was a bit moany! Amber not going to say anything, just to send a hug your way.

ABDn, aw, penis, how cute! And very forward. DS1 (8) still calls it his willy or his winky. Kids had their christmas play last night and have a late register so are still in bed. I have to go and pull them from their pits in a second ut wanted to quickly catch up.

Amber and ktpie our wreath (homemade, pinecones glued on a coat hanger that's bent into a circle) is tied on to our door knocker. But BDQ's suggestion is probably more helpful.

Hope Luke perks up today, DS1 was a bit sick yesterday, apparently running a low fever and very cuddly for about 40 minutes at school (crawled into the teachers arms and had a cuddle) then perked up and was bouncing off the walls as usual when I picked him up. Weird bug that one.

sybil one of DS1's friends Dad is named Willie so we thought that we should go for penis to be clear.

Sybil - I think if you log in then it reverts to the normal pages in the right order (so last message at the back). How was the play? I would give anything for Luke to still be sleeping at 8am!!

Aberdeen - your wreath sounds far nicer than ours - hoem made is always best! Luke was not the best this morning for little thing. He'll be as right as rain at nursery though as they keep them too busy to think about being ill. My back is throbbing from having to pick him up non stop.

ktpie We hang our wreath on our door by tying a bit a string to it hanging that over the door and tying it to the door handle on the other side - really classy!

Feeling really overwhelemed at the moment, going through another - three kids is one too many (though I would change any of them!). I also really want to get my house in order but just can't find the time to do it.
Also feel a bit peed off with MIL. We have booked tickets to go and see dp's grandmother in January for a weekend, the kids told MIL. SInce then she has been sending emails telling us who to stay with and telling us which weekend we should go (doesn't realise we have actually booked). I know she is only trying to help but we are perfectley capable of making our own arrangements - feel like she is trying to control our lives!

Ah, MILs have a habit of doing that, don't they Going. I think they go to a special school to learn how. You'd think they'd remember how annoyed they used to be when their MIL used to do it to them?! That's probably why they do it actually, like some sort of restitution. Mine is alright tho to be fair, but I know a few horrors!

As for having three, I am currently veering between being happy about having another and thinking 'are we crazy'. I am really chuffed of course but I am so tired - I was in bed at 9.30 again last night - what is it actually going to be like when baby's here? Hopefully the tiredness will go after 12 weeks (only to return at 40!)

I am having a lazy afternoon in the house with the DTs, which sounds good but it always drags and I get a bit stir-crazy. I could always go for a walk but I really can't be arsed getting them coated up and in the pram [lazy]

I read that charging for Christmas lunch thread - how funny, as if you do that?! I rmemeber there was a drama last year cos someone startewd a thread saying 'my SIL is charging for Christmas lunch, is she BU?' and apparently SIL was an MNer and saw the thread and threatened legal action or something.

Can't believe they pulled the post that said she'd 'eat her own fanny'. ffs!

Ktpie, if you go to 'customise' (next to Topics at top of page) you can set your MN to whichever way you like.

Viva, I am gutted for you about the X factor - that always used to happen to me when it was just the saturday show, I'd find out who'd got knocked out before watching it . It does spoil it quite a bit - you did so well to get that far without finding out as well . Hope you still enjoyed it.
Loved the prawn joke btw . I am rubbish at remembering jokes but I might just remember that one as you gave it such a good build-up

Going2 - sorry you're feeling overwhelmed at the moment, I know where you're coming from!Sometimes I wish there were 48 hours in a day.

Neenz - Sometimes I can't be bothered getting Ethan ready to go out but then the time does drag doesn't it? Today I sat down and put my feet up(for a second)he picked up my slippers, handed them to me and said "walk". That's what he says if he wants to go out - it actually sounds like wa-wa and it's the same word for watch and water!

I'm feeling quite smug - I have finished my Christmas shopping apart from looking for some choc coins for the stockings and today went and did a big food shop so all I need now is fresh stuff next week.Cards are all written and posted. Suppose I'd better get ready for the big Christmas group arriving on Saturday now.

Amber - how are you feeling today?

I'm jealous of all the lovely wreaths. We usually have one (I buy it - I'm pitifully unartistic) but this year our door is wearing pink undercoat (we're going to paint it red) and the letterbox and all other door furniture have been removed. So a wreath would draw more attention to it than it really deserves!

Going sorry you're feeling overwhelmed. I feel most of the time as though I'm running up a down-escalator, and sometimes the escalator seems to speed up and I think I'm going to fall off! Our house needs some serious tlc and sorting-out, and it's not very likely that it will happen at the moment. We always feel so much better when things are in good order. We have paperwork all over the place.

Well, I finished all the present shopping that I planned to get. I'm waiting for a few deliveries, and I need to put everything in heaps so I can see if there are any obvious b gaps. DH is going to London next week and I'm hoping that I can give him any last-minute stuff. I still haven't done the food order, and the deadline is tomorrrow. I need to get my Christmas file () out and see what I need.

testing, testing

That's better - feeling all festive now! It's fairly obvious that it's BDQ I hope.

Rof there's nothing about a Christmas file. My problem is I always start such things, life gets in the way, and I just forget about them!

Had a very festive weekend - tree buying and decorating, santa, sleighs, reindeers, german market and the Dr Who exhibition . David Tennant will always be my Dr...

Bit of a festive trauma though... no tree topper! The one we have is a bit heavy for the top of our tree - I need something that sits quite comfortably over it, but is still lightweigh. Nothing with the metal spiral type base that seems so popular now. If you see anything can you let me know?

We have tree topper induced droop at the moment BDQ and I can't reach to straighten it. DH is lounging on the sofa refusing to do it.

I am currently trying to organise our on call rota for Feb-Apr and my head is ready to explode. It's like one of those logic puzzles where they say 'sandra works 60% of the time and can't do tuesdays, Henry works fulltime, but he has an unreasonable amount of holiday requests that must be accommodated, Jennifer works 80% but is sitting exams in March and therefore doesn't want to do any on call in the preceeding 2 weeks. (insert another 12 people here, each with further demands)
Who is working on easter Monday?

I haven't got the foggiest, but I know it's not me as I'm going to a wedding in Cyprus

very christmassy here this morning. Icy and very cold. J has been refusing to wear his gloves and has normally has freezing hands by the time we get back from the school run. As it is so much colder today I decided I needed to get more proactive on making him keep them, so I sewed them onto his jumper! It was a triumph, he was most perplexed initially but gave up trying to pull them off really quickly.

We tie our wreath onto the door knocker with Santa's special key.

That's a great idea Sybil - Luke won't wear his either but he has a button on his sleeves. Can can still work out how to pull them off though, the monkey. I bought him slippers yesterday which are in the shape of turtles and he has kept them on (very cute!).

I think a wreath would look amazing on a red door Rolf - I wonder how you can fit in painting the door amongst the 100 million other Christmas things!

Glasvegas - I don't envy you doing that rato. It's the kind of thing I would enjoy doing (weirdly) and think I had accomplished a masterpiece only to find one thing was wrong and knocked the whole thing out of kilter!

Blimey - today and Monday left and then I am unemployed for only the second time since I was 17! Scary stuff. Got my period today too finally. Am pleased 'cos it measn I can move on and start the IVF. Been telling people at work too as I'm sick of everyone asking me what I'm doing next year. Decided to hang everything and get pissed up on friday. Will take very little and it means I get a elaving do after nearly 5 years. I won't get a pressie or card as I don't have a permanent desk any more. Still bigger things in life to worry about - like my present for Mark's uncle being out of print and not potentially not getting here in time for Chrimbo - disaster!!

when I say "we need to paint the door" I actually mean I need to ask the decorator to paint the door . I don't think he'll be able to finish it before Christmas and don't want that pressure on me, the decorator or the weather so I'm assuming it won't happen till new year. Can't wait to see a wreath on it next year though. It's the main reason we chose a red door.

Amber you're lovely and positive which can only help things.

ktpie what a great idea about the gloves

I've kept T awake and busy all morning as we're off to DD1's nativity play soon and I'm hoping T will sleep in the pushchair.

Viva that would make my ears bleed!

Sybil, that's hilarious about the gloves. T won't wear his hat but I'm not bothered - it's not like it's below zero. I haven't got them any gloves yet . They probably wouldn't keep them on anyway. They have lovely snuggly footmuffs on their pram so I am sure they are warm enough.

I am chuffed cos I have found a buggy board that fits our pram - I wasn't sure I'd be able to get one so that is a big relief. Getting around with a double buggy is hard enough, so a triple would have been a complete non-starter. So hopefully I will be able to get by with buggy board and sling.

Amber, glad you are feeling positive, have a great time at the party.

Viva, rota sounds like a nightmare .

E has not been well the last few days and last night T woke at 4.30 crying, so I gave him some Nurofen and he cried for about 5mins and was coughing, then he went quiet. I'd gone back to bed, but at about 5am I stirred and T was still quiet so I went in to check on him - he was just sat in his cot reading a book . When he saw me he started crying again, so I just left him again, he stopped crying quickly and I didn't check on him again - he was fast asleep when I went to get them up at 8am. I do feel bad sometimes just leaving them but it bloody works. They are never awake for long (if ever) in the night. Bad mummy

Thanks for the wreath tips, will have a think about it.

Neenz - J hasn't got any gloves either and as I pushed him through town yesterday his hands started looking really cold so I should probably get him some. Good idea sybil about sewing them on, I used to have them on bits of string when I was a kid.

Viva - good luck with the rota!

Amber - last few days at work must be weird. Are you planning on looking for anything else?

The lunch yesterday was good despite the redundancies (J particularly enjoyed banoffee pie!), a couple of my good friends are going, one of them finishes on Christmas eve after working there for about 15 years and the atmosphere at the plant was of being generally fed up and pissed off, unsurprisingly really.

BDQ - on the top of our Christmas tree is a star shaped bauble, we took the bit that holds the string off and made a hole in it and have made do with that for the last few years classy, love the name and agree about David Tennant.

Rolf - my festive file has helped me loads this Christmas, although I am starting to get a little stressed about the fact I ordered some Christmas cards from BHS to be delivered to store 10 days ago, rang them this morning and they have no idea when they will get there, can see the last posting date looming! Think I will have to buy some more and keep those ones for next year.

Blew up my gym ball thing this morning and J has had a great time pushing it round and round the sitting room, brilliant for keeping toddlers amused! He's woken up now so I'd better go.

rolf the interrupting sheep has been a big hit at work today - do you have any more jokes?!

sybil we have some gap mittens that C doesn't seem to be able to get off. recommend them highly.

*more rota action needed tonight, and then we're going to work on ikea kitchen planner, as DH has agreed to a new kitchen in the new year. hoorah, at last a kitchen that will hold all three of us at once!

Am now considering some diy tree topping options viva and ktpie. Hmmmm.

I am seriously impressed at the name!!!

ktpie - no not doing owt else next year other than the IVF - figure I have enough on my plate!

Luke is despertely trying to communicate at the moment. I feel awful when I don't understand. Most of his words he's learned from me so even though nobody else will understand I do. I think he's learned new words at nursery though and I don't have a clue. |Poor Luke wildly pointing saying 'dipdat' and I'm like - sorry Luke no comprendez!

I feel you pain with the communication Amber. Charlotte has a full on conversation with me, with much gesticulating, head nodding and repeating of phrases louder. unfortunately I don't understand 95% of it. I feel like someone in a foreign country being spoken to fluently by a native who'sgetting more and more irate with me.

ktpie i like the idea of J doing his exercises with the swiss ball.

BDQ I am very impressed with your name. [wonders if we should both feel slightly bullied by whinegums with her you must not use the same festive name stance ]

I have now allocated all the weekends, public holidays and fridays on the rota, hopefully I've broken the back of it now!

Why, thank you ladies! Sympathies on the communication woes, no problems here though as S's only regular words are no, yeah and daddy. Even then he's started saying no when he means yes! Bless him. He made a bee-yoo-tiful card and calendar in nursery today though so I'm feeling all proud mummy tonight

Tired here, bad night last night with Ethan - he's chesty but no fever, ds2 got in with dh whilst I shared the bottom bunk with Ethan!

Anyone else got a toddler who is moving everything - my kitchen cupboards are a disaster where he's moved things from one to another, I bought 2 new toothbrushes before I knew it one was in my wardrobe and 1 in the wash basket, and he also loves to put things down his dungarees, I need to frisk him before we go out and remove the cars or play food he's stashed away!

Hi to everyone,

Rolf - how was the nativity( I really miss all those lovely Christmas things from the UK)

Viva - well done with the rota - sounded a nightmare

BDQ - great name change

Gloves are driving me mad too and they're necessary here, it's Ok when he's in the pushchair with the cosytoe thing but when we're out in the garden they're terrible. The need to be waterproof and long enough to stop the snow getting in but they keep slipping off.