AUG08 - Amazing Children belonging to the Most AMAZING Group of Friends

[TwilightSurfer]

I am so blessed to be part of this group. We are starting another year together, our 3rd but who's counting. May you each have a happy and healthy one. I look forward to more meetups, more FBing, more Skyping, more Waving, more crazy tales, more laughter, more hand holding, and more support than is humanly possible! XOX

DD2 and I have done 6 spiderman jigsaws this morning so I'm now letting her watch Hercules (she likes the horse ) while I get on with some Parent Council Stuff and stick on the slow cooker

hope you're all warm and dry wherever you are

I've just won a MN competition! £75 worth of stationery and a kids' camera. Not too shabby but was pinning hopes on the Featherdown farm holiday natch. That's my 3rd MN comp I've won now, once won £100 Pampers vouchers (which I sold to a friend) and another time some UV t-shirt vouchers.

Have been trying to write a novel in my head today, figured it might keep DH off my back (not that it's exactly well-paid work.) I have a premise for a romcom but dagnammit, I just can't write fiction. I blame the Asparagus gene (you will be hearing this phrase a lot now I have decided to use it as an excuse) - there are just no people living in my head. Plus much of the plot/relationships are from rl people heehee.

VG this morning I met up with a similarly grey-faced friend who reassures me that her 17mo DS is going through exactly the same throwing/hitting/shouting/spitting phase as mine. No suggestions, just commiserations...it's knackering. Although at last I can use the phrase 'noise with dirt on it' to describe my little angel

three hour nap so far. Wake up? or let sleep? 12.45pm

nights still fairly rubbish

DS not DD

any thoughts?

the two to 1 nap transition has not been the easiest ...

never wake a sleeping baby/toddler!!! sleep promotes sleep.. he obviously needs it bless him!

OK ... this much sleep just makes me nervous ... thanks!

laughing to myself because reese just threw all of k's littlest pet shop figures off the dining room table to the floor then she slammed my laptop shut and picked up a hairbrush to throw at the glass patio doors but i swept her up before the release. seems she's tired and ready for nap. one peep after i plopped her in bed...now she's snoring. can't say mom's day out was restful for her today.

i agree with lucky. lwfh let him sleep. it my alter his night slightly but then again it might not.

pilates was nice today. the reporter got plenty of class shots so i'll be waiting anxiously for the february issue to print. it's the chatter chattanooga if anyone's interested in local business from this little piece of the earth.

oops i really really really love the pictures of helena on your facebook page. she so cute.

thinking.....no words are coming to mind....so i'll stop here for now.

vg reese will shove her plate off her high chair table and say "gross!". lol! i believe it will be a loooonnnngggg while before she gets the point that, 'mommy made this for me. i should show her i appreciate her.' still don't even have that from k yet so i'm not holding my breath.

evening all

DD had a huge nap then seems to have turned into one of the boys - she tried to see which of her toys made me yelp loudest when she threw them! She was allowed to watch a little telly whilst waiting for DH to take us out for coffee after work and I told her to sit on a cushion or no Peppa and she looked at me and said 'so!' I don't think she meant it but that she got the teenager context right!

VG - I discovered today that just giving her a plate of sliced avo, tomato, banana, tangerine, olives and apple with a slice of homemade bread made dinner pass without fuss, so back to the picnic meals of the summer(as the snow covers everything in a thick layer in 25mins!)

LWFH - DD slept 2 hours this morning starting at 9am but has been a whirlwind since then - I don't know how I will cope with 2.

Buckets - well done on the win, it is karma's way of saying 'get writing girl'

VG, I love your dull wittering

LWFH - hope T sleeps thought but if it helps I agree with the others

TS glad the class/reporter went well

I am hiding downstairs from the children DH can deal frankly. he got a phonecall at 16:55 telling him he was cancelled for court tomorrow and to be in for a nightshift tonight instead feckers

Snow now pelting it down here - I hope Sazz left work before it hit.

VG I completely understand where you're coming from. On the one hand it's amazing to see them developing their powers of understanding and testing their strength, but on the other it's hard not to be offended when they're playing lovingly with a toy and then suddenly slam it on the floor/the cat/your face. Food throwing is something I find particularly hard but I realise this is my issue and just try to ignore it, or if I can see he's about to throw the plate I just pick it up and calmly say 'have you finished? ok, I'll take it away, no problem'.

Same with hitting: DS is going through a real slapping phase just now, and when I look in his eyes I can see pleasure but it's a pleasure in trying things out, not necessarily pleasure in our discomfort (that may come later ). So again I just try and minimise it - grab his hand and say NO very firmly, sometimes followed up with 'we don't hit', then distract or move my attention elsewhere.

The poor little scrap is completely done in tonight, he hardly slept as we were out during the day and his cheeks are flaming red from teething. Also much evidence of teething coming from the nappy end [bleurgh] so his bum is red too. I hope he gets a good sleep tonight. I gave him some Calpol so hopefully he'll be able to relax.

Yes, it's hard to remember the big picture when you're shrieking repeating for the grillionth time 'no DS, don't put your hands in the toilet. Don't play in the toilet. Toilet is not a toy! Although they do sound a bit similar. HANDS OUT OF TOILET!' He has nearly fallen in more than once, I'm legitimately anxious. Tell me, as the mother of an older boy, when if ever do they grow out of being fascinated with the chodbin?

PMSL at strip.

My evening swim got cancelled and DH said I should get back on the laptop as my brain is cleary whirring. I now have 2 A4 pages of character descriptions and plot. Can I do the filly-in bits i.e actual writing? I'm not so sure. It's a big leap out of self-consciousness. But for now, I am off to watch Glee with DH, find out what the fuss is all about (and there's a gay character called Kurt).

Cyteen, with the toilet thing at this age I just say 'toilet yucky, pick her up and mention something exciting in another room while taking her there.

I distinctly remember saying to Ds 'We do not lick toilets' - I think he just thought 'Wow, what a fabulous way to get mum to chat to me and concentrate on me totally.

When dd2 fusses at the table I just take her down from the table and let her wibble for a minute while we carry on and ignore her. She hops back up and starts eating a minute or two later.

I spent too long trying to explain things to ds when it would have been easier to use distraction and so that is my main tool now .. The girls are more easygoing characters and I don't know if that is because I've been less anxious or because they are less stubborn than him by nature. (Wouldn't be difficult emoticon)

Glad you made it home in one piece sazzles. The thaw is doing pretty well here and have actually caught sight of the road outside our house for the first time since before we went to France . Remaining ice though is of the slippiest kind and seriously dangerous. Fingers crossed for another mild 24-48 hrs though and then well be back to normal hopefully.

We also have a child who enjoys throwing. DH is marginally hopeful that he may yet be related to a member of the England cricket team (except that his girls are Scottish and they girls) but as much as she's a surprisingly good shot for a 17 month old, it's pretty tedious and I agree about the double standards. Tricky.

Don't have the problem of the food throwing though. She is a gannet. I honestly don't know where she puts it. She NEVER refuses food and I have to stop giving it to her at the end of the meal, which I don't like doing as I think it's important that they learn to recognise when they're full. On the other hand, I don't want her to pop. (PS I appreciate how ironic this is given that 12 months ago all I did was moan to you ladies that she was so underweight...).

Nothing interesting to add about my own life at the mo so lovely to hear your news and musings. Esp. that you have a book on the go buckets. V. exciting!

Grrr on your behalf dizzy. Are you feeling sunnier today no1? Hope so.