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

[spongebrainbigpants]

Welcome to our new thread .

J is finally feeling a bit better. His temp has gone down (thank goodness, at 39.6 we were starting to think about a hospital trip if it got much worse), and although he is still not eating he just seems more himself.

ADDN - don't add it up. It will just upset you. Just think of how much the boys are going to love all that time with daddy and the extra in-law attention. We have ordered our on-line shop today and just to pick up the turkey and ham joint mid-week. Where it is all going to go is another question though...

We went to see the big man today. Our local garden centre has a really nice grotto. There is a big wardrobe in the side of a wall and when you walk through there are lots of coats and then you appear in Narnia. Lots of fake snow and animated animals later you get to meet Santa. It is really nice and J loved the moving animals, it is the first time we have seen his smile in days.

Sybil - glad to hear J is finally on the mend, he's had a rough time of it hasn't he?Santa's grotto sounds lovely

Sponge - lol at the proud teacher with book as the first word!

Abdn - try not to think about the money,and enjoy your special day with your family and the in-laws!How are the boys now? How long did Fraser sleep? Unless it's late afternoon I let them sleep as long as they can if they're poorly.

Ktpie - love the vigorous quality control

Neenz - Ethan often wants to sit on my knee when I'm on the toilet, but doesn't say wee though!

Amber - glad your night went well

Spider, must be so lovely having dh home now , I know what long hours he works.

Still fffreezing here but a lovely sunny day. My Mum and stepdad very kindly offered to drive mil to the airport. So today she set off for their house(Scunthorpe to Norwich), with the ice on the road her friends car stopped on a hill on the way to the station, so they stopped the next motorist who kindly took mil to the station and even went in with her, she has now arrived in Norwich but my Mum is panicking about the drive to the airport with the condition of the roads,whether she'll actually get here for Christmas is still up in the air!Keep your fingers crossed for me

Debs That was very kind of the motorist to help your mum. Fingers crossed she got to you safley.

SO sorry to hear about all of the sick babies, hope they are all better soon.

Not much to report here! The kids are off school, DS very quickley changes from being ultra adorable to very stroppy (which is very funny to watch!). Not many words yet. DD1 was born a month later than DS in the year and I remeber her saying mismas for christmas when she was his age, she seemed to know something was going on whereas he doesn't seem to.
Been doing lots of cooking lately but it generates so much washing up. Trying very hard not to eat the choc pistachio fudge and christmas pudinis we made for presents! Have to make more mince pies as we have four uot of twenty four left. Am waitng for my Kenwood chef to arrive from Amazon, accoring to the website it's in the delivery van!

Is anyone else wondering if their sick LOs have swine flu or some sort of other flu? We've got something here - but it's very mild so I'm not sure what it is. Fraser's fever was really high last night (39.1) and he was miserable and weak, but it came down with calprofen and today he's just grumpy and in the high 37s. DS1 has had it too, both with congestion and a cough. Whatever it is, I'm very glad it's mild.

We're pretty much snowed in here today, I could drive but the roads are pretty snowy. So we're stuck at home - is it bad for their brains to spend the day watching Cbeebies if they're sick?

Kia-ora June Mummies!

Finally I am online in NZ, yay! I think the chances of me catching up with the last month or so is pretty unlikely, so it'd be great if anyone would like to do a quick summary for me....pretty please.

It's a sunny december here, which is great, But I can't believe I may miss a white xmas in the UK.

V happy at the UK xmas no. 1 though.

Ah, it's good to be back on MN.

Opps, how out of date is my name? Will try and think of a new one for tomorrow....any suggestions? I think that SpiderWilliam mentioned KiwiKakapoo or similar, would that work or would it confuse everyone? Trying to keep to PP in some format....Kiwi PP? Peewee Kiwee? (I'm pretty short!)

OK, it's bedtime here. Night y'all. (I'm a country bumpkin now btw. I'm living in a country 'town' with a population of less than 5,000, most of which are farmers. I even visited some piggies today...)

Hello! Tried to post earlier on but everything went blank and the pages wouldn't load. Grr.

Welcome back Pumpkin! Glad NZ is working out - although don't call yourself a country bumpkin. I live in a barn (thus surrounded by farmland and the associated smells) in a village of fewer than 500 people... There is very little between the back of my house and the Menai Straits!

Hello to everyone - I did catch up but now I've forgotten. Abdn and Sybil Iestyn's also been under the weather, although not severe. It's odd - he seems to have a cold, is very very clingy and sad, and veers from being his normal self to being a shadow of a toddler. He was in good spirits this morning although was very tantrummy. He refused to let me get rid of the dried snot on his nose (it probably hurt actually ) and also refused shoes and socks. Sybil Iestyn totally refused calpol, but would take Disprol which is banana flavored and almost impossible to find.

Amber lol at the haircut!

Very impressed at the cooking going on, and the organization... I finished buying Christmas presents yesterday and posted them today... I really can't believe that Christmas is happening later this week.

Sorry, had to ensure I didn't slide off the thread through not posting, and will respond properly from now on.

Abdn I would be doing exactly the same as you, adding it all up and feeling really resentful about it . Are they staying with you too? When my mum and dad lived in Australia they said it was awful when PILs came over - they would stay at their house for six months! Not good. It probably won't be as bad as you fear, in fact as you have such low expectations it probably will seem great! I don't think your Dh should ask for money, but maybe just subtly mention just once how much you have spent and how much his being off work is costing. Then leave it to them. It will be great to have him around so it will all be worth it (bet you are mad that you have to share him with his parents during his precious time off tho )

T has been very sad today - he has a cough, nothing worse than that I don't think. Been dosing him up with Calpol/calprufen.

Welcome back Pumpkin! Couldn't do a round-up but my news is I am pregnant . Six weeks now so fingers crossed.

I have been to Tesco today and it wasn't as mad as usual for Christmas week. Maybe as Christmas is Fri this year people are waiting till at least tomorrow to start piling in to do the Christmas shop. We are not doing a christmas dinner (going to PILs) so actually it was cheaper than a usual week's shop . Got lots of lovely treats as well that we don;t normally have, like pain au chocolat

J has been really miserable again today and still not eating. I tried to give him calpol and he twisted sideways as I got the syringe in so it squirted from one side of his mouth out the other. He was awake and screaming for 3.5 hours last night so I feel knackered today.

It is snowing again here and the radio has just freaked me out by saying there are doubts as to whether people will get their christmas food shopping delivered. We will be either starving over christmas or forcing dh to risk life and limb in the car if this is true.

PP - good to hear from you. You sound really chipper too, obviously the move has agreed with you.

PP - great to see you back online, we've missed you.

neenz they've already been here for 8 days - then they've been away this week and are back for only 6 days. Thank goodness the BA strike was cancelled since that's who they're flying home!

sybil fraser's only taking in milk, breastmilk, and those ella's fruit puree pouches. Is J taking in fluids at least? It sounds like he's a bit worse than F at the moment. Fingers crossed they all perk up soon.

We'd better get our Christmas shop - I went back online and trimmed £16 off the price and my lovely Grandfather and my DH's lovely Grandmother sent us larger than expected cheques for Christmas - combined they'll pay for most of the gifts to the boys and us this year. I've just switched a few tags to read from them instead of from us.

PP no news from us, Amber's had a tough time and is starting IVF - I think tomorrow is her last day at work though. Deb has Christmas guests in and I think Ethan's been sick too (but don't quote me on it). Ktpie, Rolf, Essie, the central belt scotland crew etc are all around but I don't think there's any big news there (am I forgetting something?). Sponge is still soldiering on with her two and the sleep deprivation (making me so happy that I'm past that point). Who've I missed?

These poor sick babies. J sounds so miserable, Sybil and you must be knackered. Can't remember what day our food delivery is meant to be coming. I need to sit down and write lists but can't quite summon the energy to do it.

PP . Great to see you. How lovely to be in the sun. I am fighting off a bug that involves a horrible sore throat and would love to be somewhere warm right now.

Abdn glad that OU application had an outcome you were happy with.

DH, Thea and I went to the school carol concert today. DS2 did a reading and was really good, We were so proud of him.

Rolf - well done to your ds2, great that your dh got the time off work to go too.Hope the sore throat improves soon - can I suggest something alcoholic?

Abdn - are your in-laws helpful? I hope so!!!

Fingers crossed that all poorly toddlers get well in time for Christmas.

My boys are getting soooooo excited, well obviously Ethan isn't , but they're excited enough for him. Thankfully Stefan still believes so it will be another magical Christmas!That reminds me still got the reindeer dust to make - there was a thread on this the other week. I'm afraid I was responsible for introducing it to the children in my last school, and as far as I'm aware the tradition is carrying on!Stefan's latest theory is that Santa makes time stop like in one episode of Sarah Jane with Dr Who (- Rolf will know what I'm talking about,) and whilst time stops for us he has time to deliver all the presents.

Sybil - sounds like you might need to visit the DR tomorrow with J if he's still the same, a suppository might be the answer. I know the UK don't prescribe them but it's amazing how fast they work and if he won't take anything by mouth, it's worth it.We had a horrific time with Tristan once when he was very wheezy, could hardly breathe, feverish, etc etc, and within minutes he was so much better.It wasn't something I relished doing but with a toddler it will be easier than with a 4 year old boy!

Thanks for the messages. I was really starting to panic but he has perked and has eaten a fruit bar this evening. He is still having his breast milk as well (thank goodness my weaning plans had gone slightly awry). Hopefully this means he has turned a corner.

Abdn sorry to hear your boys are still unwell. It sounds like they have been in a similar state to J, and it must have been awful for you to look after two. Fortunately my older kids are both fine. They are a bit stir crazy as we haven't been able to go anywhere, but at least they are well.

Deb, I thought about you today. The car is pretty much snowed in and I was thinking that I would have to walk J to the dr's if we needed to go as I am too scared to drive in the snow. I thought about how brave you are to do it!

abdn I'm loving the new gang that I'm a part of - the central belt scotland crew I feel we should have a special hand movement - whinegums BDQ - any ideas?

snow we've just got a little bit here at the moment, but enough to cause traffic chaos of course! hope those of you in the deeper stuff get your food orders in!

poorly babies hope they are all feeling better soon.

Pumpkin welcome back. I think your festive name should be PuddingPenguin, until you think of a long term NZ one.

sybil how's J today? Fraser seems better and Duncan is definitely back to normal + a cold (which is normal for December after all).

More snow falling here. i sent Dh to work with the car instead of his bike (the idiot rode his bike yesterday and his freewheel froze on the way home so he couldn't pedal) but i'm happy to be stuck at home. I don't like driving when the roads are like this.

One of my best friends is coming by for cake this afternoon with her three year old - it's her birthday. I hope the roads are clear enough she can make it!

PP I saw penguins when I was in NZ so PuddingPenguin is great. Then you just need another P word - Pretty? Petit?

Deb how do you make reindeer dust?

oh my - just checked my email. A friend who has three children already (one 3.9mo, one 2.3mo, one 9mo) has just sent out her christmas letter which suggests she might be pregnant with a fourth. We all know she's completely mad but no one expected her to get pregnant again quite so soon. It's the going back to work thing, she really likes being on mat leave but would never quit her job because she's a 'feminist' and wants to say she has a career so she always goes back to work 6 months pregnant... (It's taking the piss of maternity laws) But when do you stop...

ABDN he has eaten a it of breakfast this morning and has begun bullying the other two again. All fab signs that normal business is going to resume (fingers crossed emoticon).

OK, so I have submitted to pressure and joined facebook. How do I join you guys? (Be gentle with facebook virgin!)

Awww, thanks for the lovely welcome back you guys.

LOL @ Essie living in a barn. Watch out for a carpenter and his wife seeking shelter, I hear it's rife at this time of year. Sorry for the b*mpkin word, but check out FB for pictures of S and I look a bit yokel.

Dried snot, coughs, tantrums and clinginess over here too. Altho Ry was wonderful today. Do you ever have moments when you look at your LO's and just fall in love with them all over again? I had one of those moments when Ry woke up from his nap today. But sorry what I was trying to say was I hope all our toddlers are much better for Xmas.

CONGRATULATIONS NEENZ. Great news. How are you feeling? (I love pain au chocolat, found a french bakery here already...luckily it's a bit of a drive away!)

Thank you for the update Abdn.

Amber - sorry you've had a tough time. Hope that finishing work gives you some time and space to go through a sucessful IVF cycle. When does it start?

Rolf - Well done DS2! I've also got a bit of a sore throat bug, but yeah, it's not so bad when I'm sitting on the deck in the sun... Actually I had the same thing when we arrived in the States for our stop over and picked up some wonderful throat spray. I can only take it every 4 hours and it only works for about 2, but it does help. (I'd never 'waste' money on that kind of stuff in the UK, but US dollars didn't feel like real money...)

Sleighbells - what is reindeer dust? Sounds intriguing.

I love the name PuddingPenguin - will change it now. I also like PetitPenguin, but we'll see how the New Years 'lose weight' resolution goes.

Abdn - I haven't seen any penguins here yet altho we did last time (and lots of seals). However we did have to stop the car on State Highway 1 to let a mother duck and her chicks cross the road the other day. That never happened in Wimbledon!

Abdn - 4 children under 5! Sod feminism, is she catholic? Ok, who have I just offended?

OK - off to name change.

It's me, Essie.
Thought I'd try out a festive name but it's not very good really. Might have to change my talk name altogether for flexibility. (It's funny because some people now call me Essie in RL! I like it too. )

Sybil glad J has eaten - that's the one I really struggle with, it's really hard. Iestyn hardly eaten anything for a week. He's currently living on a diet of babybel and the occasional pudding (Hipp organic - it has rice in it). He won't even eat yoghurt. For some reason it makes me feel all failure-y. He's not sick sick, just has a bad cold.

Abdn That's awful though, taking the piss, and also quite unnecessary; I'm a feminist - quite a hard hitting one too, I'm working on my tache - but staying at home with your children is in no way anti-feminist. I'd say she's in fact letting the sisterhood down by screwing a company around - that's the kind of behaviour that gives women a bad name and makes bosses more likely to find a (legal) reason not to employ us!

Glasvegas I think you already have a hand signal - isn't it a fist in the face in Glasgow? (I have a friend who lives in Glasgow, I love it really!)

Must do a bit of work now.

x-posted!
And Sybil now you have to find friends - type in e-mail addresses or names into the box at the top of the page. I don't know your real name so can't find you! But my e-mail is sara dot e dot roberts at bangor.ac.uk

essie that's why the feminist is in quotes - I definitely feel like I'm being a better role model for feminism by not screwing my work over than she is! The feminist things is her words - not mine! And not catholic, just mad.

and while they're sick any food is a success...

BethlehemBessie After Ds had hand foot and mouth I was happy for him to eat anything and for about a week after he got better chocolate and cake was probably his main food so don't feel like a faliure!

PP You do sound very happy, NZ suits you! DId you go to Las Vegas for your stop over? WHat did you think of it?

I waited all day for my parcel yesterday and it didn't arrive! This morning it hasn't even been loaded into the van. I am really pissed of with myself for not just doing the shopping when the girls were at their grandparents. DD2 really doesn't like going out but will force her out soon.

I've spent too much on food for Christmas, and there is only the 3 of us here but DH is like a bottomless pit so it will all go.
I got my usual monthly online shop with loads of extra Christmas things but it now means I need to go back to the supermarket for the last few bits and bobs, dragging DH along this afternoon so he can share the pain.

Sybil - hope you get your food shopping! That grotto sounds brilliant.

Debs - did your MIL get to you OK? Or is she still on her way?

Goingto - hope the parcel turns up, I have a really old Kenwood Chef that belonged to my Mum and I love it.

Hi PP! Glad you got over there OK. No news from me, apart from the fact I am now waddling, lovely.

Abdn - DH came back from cycling on sunday and told me that his friend had peed on his bike to deice it, apparently it has been talked about before but he reckons this was the first time it was put into practice and it worked very well. Loons!

Sybil - if you find Essie we will all find you.

Essie - I like your new name

Hello to everyone else!

Hope all the poorly babies get better soon, I feel like I am starting with a cold which is rubbish.

I am having problems with J on his change mat, most of the time he will not stay still and screams and screams. He wants to roll over and stand up and does a mixture of screaming and giggling as he does it. I get kicked in the bump as well which is not great. It's very frustrating. Distractions sometimes work if I'm lucky. Is anyone else struggling?