April 2009 - Episode 10 - Christmas time!! we can all drink wine, while children gurgle nursery rhymes, with logs in their nappies, and pee by the tree fun will be had by baby and me!!

[SantasNutts]

here we go then Merry Christmas One and all!! xxxxx

We dont pay that for our smile account so unsure there.

is it a current or a savings account?

I suspect the membership fee is waived if you pay in a certain amount each month - that's often how these things work. It's an easy way for the bank to penalise you if you take up the account and don't use it much.

Do you really need a separate account Bebe? You already have an account solely in your name, so why not save the hassle and simply say to your DH "No I will not tell you how much is in my account" and "No I am not getting any out to cover financial crises of your own making"

Boff what you say about having separate a/cs in case one of you dies is food for thought. DH and I have sep. credit cards but mostly joint accounts. I thought that they could advance money before probate to cover emergency cash situations. (Hopefully not an issue we will need to face any time soon)

Anyway, this is all getting rather serious. As if that weren't bad enough, I am somewhat fearing for Edmund's safety. DS1 has been on the phone all day trying to organise to feed Edmund to the lions.

Fei do you have a fireplace and some kind of fuel? If so what have you got? (not that I'd feel that happy having an open fire with small children around)

Auld I hope you're soon warm again, and that A is okay. Here's hoping for a big scratch on the doctor's car for making you go down there at such a hideous time.

Tigga, I spoke pretty good French before I left the UK. I spent all my childhood holidays in France, studied French at uni and had spent my 3rd year as an assistant in a school. And I think I am lucky, as I pick languages and accents up easily. Possibly genetic (my mother does too, as does my sister).

Are you planning to move here?

Doc was v nice. A has a rhinopharyngite, whatever that is in English. ("Nasty cold", I think, Brits are so very untechnical compared to the hypochondriac French). However, he also has the beginnings of an ear infection, and possibly of laryngitis. Great. If he's not better in 48h, it's antibiotics for him.

Laundry is piling up (I still have to wash sheets and towels after all my relatives stayed, and our clothes from our trip to the IL's), and the fridge is empty. And I am getting FA work done. This is wearily familiar...

Oh dear Auld, poor A. Laryngitis in babies = croup and supposedly starts very suddenly so I am surprised the doc could have spotted it before it has actually begun? Fingers crossed the doc is just completely wrong and A will only get better from now on.

I wish I had any pocket money to spend on frivolities

We are having our house valued tomorrow. Anything I need to do, apart from cleaning?

MrsG we have an open fire and DH burns coal and wood in it. I just KNOW I would never manage to get it going, so far I've only burnt paper and cardboard boxes in it. It seems to be some sort of rocket science, building a fire.

ROFL... DH is in the kitchen 'cooking' ready made tortelloni with stir through sauce and something is burning and boiling over and he's swearing a lot. What can be so difficult?

Evening all.

Right, the only way to tackle this catch-up is in bite-sized chunks.

Bicnod, how's yer boobs?

Bebe, what everyone else said. You've seen how hard it is sometimes to look after a baby you felt completely ready for. Tell your husband not to be a tit, and if that fails let him read what's been written on here! And I have a smile account that's free. And a smilemore that costs a monthly fee.

Boff, your house sounds like the opposite of the von Trapps'

Dawn. John Major? Any particular reason you chose him? And John Barrowman? . IMO.

King, you're having a crappy time. Get well soon and evils to your dodgy family members.

AA, how shitty. Hope the wee one gets well soon and that a fairy comes to do your housework. Go and eat something.

Welcome back Feiera. I'm amazed you made it back in one piece at all. Put on more jumpers and cuddle .

WFH, how cute about your gremlin baby. And solidarity for the AF.. What is it about the first one that's so bad?

I stayed at my Mum's last night. BW slept for 12 and a half hours nonstop. This is Unheard Of. Do you think he was actually warm for once? . Did anyone notice their babies needed more daytime sleep too when they started crawling?

Feiera, offer the surveyor and cup of tea and bit of cake. Always makes them add a bit to the value! And why do boys have to turn such simple things into a drama?

Fei, make sure to pull the curtains extra far back from the windows in all the rooms to maximise the light.

Re fire, if I can lay a fire I'm sure you can too. Basically build the fire with plenty of air pockets, with the most flammable stuff on the bottom (i.e. paper) then wood stacked so the flames can lick it and just a bit of coal on top of that. When the coal has properly caught, add more coal. All of this I learnt from reading Enid Blyton school stories (where it was a sign of a deep character flaw if a girl could not light a fire in an older girl's study ) and it seems to work.

Now I am going to watch House DVDs. There is little point tidying till the building work is finished. G'night all.

Zulu am not sure you can post with us anymore now you've admitted to not liking Barrowman! As for Major, I wasn't upset Edwina Curry had an affair, more that she chose a really boring person to do it with - if you're gonna stray, stray for something worthwhile

WillOnlyLeaveRobinForADucatiTiggaxx

Evening

Mum's MRI is at 8am tomorrow. Seems like a ghastly early hour to be shoved in a noisy tube, but she's just glad that it's all moving forward. She decided to go private to get the MRI as it would have taken two weeks on the NHS, but 24 hours at the local BUPA.

Feier men like you to believe building fires is rocket science, but it really isn't. They make it look harder than it is . Build a sort of loose wigwam with dry kindling sticks on their ends, with newspaper crumpled up tight inside the wigwam. Light newspaper with a match. Wait. If it doesn't catch immediately, blow gently on any smouldering bits of the kindling until they catch. When the kindling is burning nicely, pile a couple of logs on top, making sure air can still get to the flames by propping them up against each other. Voila.

Sympathies for non-sleeping baby, though. I have one of those two and am thoroughly sick of it. He woke me up the other night 20 minutes after I'd gone to sleep, and I just burst into tears on DP and wailed that I couldn't do this for a minute longer.

Zulu, first AF after baby - longer and heavier than normal, basically, plus I'm just not used to it! Also I can't find my Mooncup, seeing as I last used it 18 months ago and tampons a bit uncomfortable as everything's still working back into place in there, so stuck with pads Blergh.

mrsgboring - LOL at DS1 organising Edmund's demise! My DS1 managed to push Orbit over today, he had spent the last twenty minutes cuddling him though so I think it was an accident.

dh invited us down for a mini break. He says it's to make up for being a dunce when it came to finances and thus Christmas and 'other things' Not sure what the last is, I didn't want to press tonight as I've decided we will go down and we'll have a little chat about babies again.
I've thought about letting him see what you all have said, but I have decided I'll paraphrase and edit out the 'tit' 'twat' and 'slap' remarks so not to get his back up.
The strange thing is I think I've come around to the idea even after what you all have said -maybe partly because of it. It helped clarify part of my mind which was dragging. Though I'm still a bit scared too... but I'll talk it all out with dh and see what decision we come to...though I'm thinking for practical reasons (so I can be sure to fly home for sister's wedding- that is really a big deal for me) waiting until after May is a good idea.

Well thanks ladies, I shall attempt to build a fire on my own very soon

WFH I can totally relate to bursting into tears when your baby wakes you up. I keep feeling sorry for myself during the day after a bad night and if anyone had asked me how I was today I would have probably cried too. I just don't understand why those little devils won't sleep. And I also think that it's a punishment for me for being a bit smug about DD1, who slept through reliably from about 3 1/2 months.

Good luck for your mum for tomorrow xxx

Off to bed now, who know what tonight will bring!

I feel today was a sort of success. I cleaned the kitchen dh left a mess, and took down some shelves and put away loads of paperbacks and went for a walk and did my grocery shopping and dealt reasonably with a crying clingy snotty baby who did not want to eat.
Plus I ate 3 meals and took my iron and my vitamins.

But I did not get any writing done. Better luck tomorrow.

Now I hope everyone bundles up and manages to get sleep because their lo's also sleep so tomorrow we can all a have happy, positive, successful day.
Good luck with the MRI, and fire starting.
x

(I'm to bed; I'm shattered. Lame I know. But really I'm so tired.)

Bebe remember you have nothing to prove! Don't get pregnant just to show yourself and the rest of the world that you can cope with a small gap although I am sure that's not what you meant

Right, have written my flexible working application. Do you guys think this is ok as one of the paras:

"Given the current reorganisation of the communications department, it is difficult for me to make suggestions as to how this request could be accommodated within the team. However, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss how my request would affect any changes being considered to my role and to the team to ensure that productivity remains unaffected."

??

Re: separate bank a/c. The last thing you want to be doing if your spouse lands up under a bus is being worried how you are going to buy your groceries that week. There is also virtue in having multiple accounts anyway in case one of you is the victim of identity fraud, because it takes up to six months to clear it up and in the meantime you need a 'hygienic' account. Does that make sense?

Looks OK to me, WFH.

children back to school tomorrow yay
I love them to bits but ds1 especially needs the routine and he sets the others off. Hopefully I can throw off this sinus thing with a bit of a break and then I can stop getting this horrific headaches (and spend more time online)

WFH let us know about your mum when you can.

WeHaveSnowTiggaxx

Re: bank accounts. I opened an extra savings account online the other day (Natwest) - just filled in a form and poof! done, although they have had to send me a form to sign to authorise the transfer of £1 from my current account with which to open it!! (Why is it banks still require signatures for things such as this, but I can buy anything else in the world just by typing in my PIN, or the so-called security number on the back of my card???). DH and I still have separate bank accounts - it' really a hangover from uni, and the associated debts. It seemed like too much of a faff to try and reconcile the relevant loans/ overdrafts etc so we just kept our own accounts. But we did open a joint online only account, which is a savings account in theory but we actually only really use it in practice to transfer money between ourselves, as we have no capability to save! But we're always taking money from/ putting money into each others accounts online, so there are no secrets! If I wanted a secret account I'd have to go to a different bank!

I've been looking at savings accounts to try and find the best thing to do to save money for a university fund for H. However, I am pathologically incapable of understanding all matters fiscal - from what MSE tells me, it appears an ISA is the best option. Does this sound correct?

WFH - hope the MRI went well. Is it literally just the scan that is private or will she be able to see the consultant for results sooner too?

Bebe - glad you are going to get the chance to talk the baby thing through again. Don't be swayed, but if you really decide you are 100% happy with it then good for you! FWIW, I would show DH the comments as are. He is intelligent enough to understand that none of us know him from Adam, and therefore all twit/ twat/ slap comments are generic, in a FWly commune solidarity styleeeee. I'm sure Mr Bebe is a sweetheart really

I haven't much experience with building fires, but I can chop you some kindling with a small axe if you wish.

Also, John Barrowman is a from me I'm afraid.

Morning.
Well, A slept in his cot from 7:30 till 1:30, and on and off in my arms thereafter.
I have suddenly acquired a crop of exhaustion wrinkles down the sides of my face.

re the laryngitis/croup, the doctor said that as A was sounding very hoarse he was worried that his vocal chords were affected and that he was on the brink of laryngitis. Not sure that makes more sense.

I have a pile of work to do and can't get on with it due to snotty baby and the fact that my office space is in our bedroom, where A currently sleeps. And DS1 asked to come home for lunch when he realised that A wasn't going to the CM's and I was therefore not really having a working day. He has been being neglected due to A's illness, so I said yes. Another fruitful day in store.

Bebe, talk it over calmly with your DH. Enjoy your mini break!

Gah, I have forgotten everything else I wanted to respond to. baby brain again...

Auld, sounds like you had another difficult night. I hate it when the dcs are ill. I really hope A will start to feel much better soon.

Our car boot, where we keep the buggies, is frozen shut

Anyone else excited at the prospect of proper snow?

just popping in; trying to get things done before we go (or get snowed in!)

I'm feeling confident and positive we'll find a good solution and I'll in the mean time get my life in order. Going to apply for the smile savings I think...just want to put away 10 a week i think and it'll be there for when we really need it (or when Moo goes to uni).

Sorry to hear abt the lack of sleep again, we seem to be about out of ours again. Ride it out as best you can (as you know you can- we've all done it before we can do it again) hold on just a little longer.
Have some crispy treats and clearance chocolates; eat them up before I'm back so I'm not tempted. Going to try working out at the hotel gym tonight me thinks dh can watch moo.
x