Sept 08: last year they were cute little bundles that smelt of milk and vanilla, but now they've been replaced with a babyzilla!

[ILikeToMoveItMoveIt]

A new thread for us as the last one was running low.

Just popping in (Hi foxy, Smack lolly and yes, I am the proud owner of a funpod and DD loves it).

Carrie oh bless your DD and her poo incident. At least she knew what was needed, even if it all went a bit pete tong.

DandS no advice for you re schools, just fuming on your behalf (and I bet you have all the time in the world to sort this don't you )
Back to work now.

dg I wonder if he is constipated? He's normally regular on the dot going after breakfast - we don't bother changing his night time nappy til he's done the morning poo! But that doesn't mean he doesn't need to go at other times. He'd happily watch tv during these episodes, but when I've got other people here it doesn't seem right, and I know he's well fed and rested. This.too.shall.pass. He's got all but the last four molars teethwise.

I'm so busy at work I can't think straight imo but I can't focus on anything but sorting out the school thing.

We have had a lovely day today. The sun is out and it is actually warm so me, Robyn, ds and dp have been in the garden most of the day. Ds has been beating up his dad on the trampoline and me and Robyn have been wandering around and laughing at them. She is shattered now as she missed her nap again but she just will not give in and sleep.
DD1 has been in bed again with a migraine and feeling sick, it's about the 10th time since christmas, last's about 48 hours and all she can do is sleep. Might take her to the docs as I think she has lost weight as well.

Hi lolly and smack

Sorry to hear about dd1 deb Hope she feels better soon.

D&S No advice, but really feel for you. We are in a very different situation as you know - ds1 has been offered a place (not surprising as we can see the school from our house!!) but he says he doesnt want to go and wants to continue with home ed!.....its never easy is it? I am holding onto the place for now as a) we are in catchment and it is the only local school and b) I am worried I might give the place up and he will change his mind! But AFAIK everyone got a place who wanted one so dont feel I am "withholding" a place from another child IYSWIM? I am not bothered about him going there tbh but want him to have the choice and to decide later in the year.

I second the tips you have already been given...I'm afraid my experience is that the more noise you make, the more notice will be taken and the more likley you will get what you want. It shouldnt be like that but it is.

Really hope this works out for you and your ds x

Have a good weekend everyone x

I hope you understood my sarcastic tone D&S, as a FT worker myself I know how little time you have to (as DP would so charmingly say) scratch your arse, let alone sort out critical and important stuff like this. I am thinking of you.

On a more positive note, I can highly recommend the funpod. This week DP was chopping mushrooms for a soup and C went into funpod and was happily popping them into the bowl for him. Everytime I look at mydaddycooks.com I get more ideas for involving C.

This weekend looking good. Shopping, playing out in the sun (I'm so pleased that having C means we can just play together - I'd never do this before) and planting flowers, plus the Grand National tomorrow!!

bookmarking...

Those funpods are wonderful! Such a good idea.

We've just got back from 3 days in Weymouth. Weather was great but we stayed in a child un-friendly house with Dad & Stepmum which meant I couldn't relax. Never again! Roll on our summer hols in cornwall which will be child friendly.

Erm (whispers) whats a funpod?

funpod. IMO has got one

imo don't worry I did get it.

What gets me is that there seems to be no assistance or help for us. Until you get an offer from somewhere there is no-one to help you deal with the fall-out. God knows what happens to the poor kids who's parents can't/won't do the kind of thing we're doing.

Anyway we're going to look at the school we discarded in the early process. It's recently had a good Ofsted but things in the report that worry me are that boys, especially white British boys, have been identified (by Ofsted and the school) as struggling with writing and language, and girls with maths. A lovely musnetter has put me in touch with one of the parent governers so I've e-mailed her to get the lowdown from someone with children there. It's not what we wanted, and there's no guarantee we'll even get in as they are currently full, but it's better than going miles away I think?

We use our Stokke high chairs like the Funpod. DD hasn't had her safety bar on it for months as she just wouldn't put up with it so she uses it like a step ladder.

Lovely day today. Spent most of it in our lovely garden, although this has been tainted by the fact that our house is an educational no-mans land.

D&S am for you. It must be so worrying for you. Stay strong, you WILL get there in the end.

We've spent a weekend with a poorly boy. He bumped his head quite badly on Friday afternoon, then about teatime on Friday he done a huge vomit and just looked unwell. Mindful of the head injury a few hours earlier I phoned NHS direct and they told us to go to A&E. Off we went and while he was there he perked up a bit. On Saturday he went downhill again and back to A&E we went.

His symptoms were very much like a head injury, but not totally and the nurse suggested he may have a stomach bug. I went onto FB when we get home and notice that a friend we spent time with on Weds was nursing her ds through a horrible sickness bug. Then another mutual friends ds's came down with it on Friday too.

So we went from bricking it on Fri and Sat morning thinking ds had really whacked his head, to then realise he did have a stomach bug. Thankfully he's been better today but he's still not really interested in food - except chocolate

ILTMIMI how frightening for you. I'm so glad he's OK.

Heard a shocking story at the weekend. Friend's sister's almost 4 year old was found at the bottom of the pool of their holiday apartment in Spain. They were changing the baby and he just went out. He was blue and had no pulse when they pulled him out and has been unconcious in hospital for the last few days. Thankfully he spoke for the first time yesterday so they're thinking he will pull through. He still has water on his lungs and pneumonia on one though - poor thing.

The reason we were talking about him in the first place is that he is also in our borough and has no school place. His mum is less worried than us (obv. before the accident, now she's just concentrating in getting him better) as he's an August baby so waiting possibly until mid way through the year to start at the school she wants isn't something that worries her.

I had a message from one of our local councillors this morning that one of our other councillors (there are three of them) is coming to see us to discuss finding a school place. I really hope this is the start of good news for us.

D&G how awful for your friend, what a horrendous accident

Glad things are sort of looking up for you on the school front - at least someone is taking notice and coming round.

Schools aren't answering their phones, I have to wait until next week to try and get dd a nursery place.

Had a lovely weekend away with one of my old school friends, meeting her baby for the first time. It was so weird being away from the kids, but man I loved the lie-ins!

We're really enjoying the sunshine, lots of riding bikes and blowing bubbles in the garden. This afternoon dd and I just lay back and listened to the bird song. In-laws are visiting now which the kids love, as do I as DFIL is washing up while I MN!

Extension news...having got planning permission we've submitted our application to building control, and last friday went to tender to five builders. Now its a waiting game for a month til they come back with their quotes. We're hemmoraging (sp?) money though - £30 to see if you need planning permission, £150 to make planning application, £150 for building control application, £243+VAT for building control site visits, £365 on structural engineer doing calculations for the steels. And all this on top of the nearly £2k we knew we'd be spending on architect. We're gonna end up with no kitchen coz all the money's been spent on the fees! At least once the extension is built we can take our own time about furnishing it and sorting the garden (which is entirely patio and gravel, the only green is the hedge across the bottom!)

Must stop wittering before DFIL realises what I'm up to

ILTMIMI Hope your DS is much better today, at least he passed the chocolate test.

D&S That is one of my worst nightmares . Poor little boy, I hope he is on the mend now.

DD has been enjoying playing in the garden now the warm weather is here . She is being a pest and trying to pull my plants apart but I think most of them should survive the summer! Both the dc's are going blonde now the sun is out, heaven knows how me and XP ended up with blonde children, genes are weird things .

........ah, just remembered what (random) bit of info I was going to share with you guys. If you have seen that spray on plaster stuff then you might not want to use it on a young child. It stings like hell. I cut my finger on a broken mug today was rather excited about using the spray plaster, until it hit my finger . OMFG I have a high pain threshold but I nearly hit the ceiling. I think I will avoid using it on the dc's as they would scream the street down!

Normal plasters for the dc's I think.

D&S terrible news about that little boy. Hope he pulls through.
Glad you're being seen by a councillor, hope this means things will start moving in your favour.

Well, more shite news from me. Looks like another miscarriage. Bleeding and cramping over the weekend, so got myself down to A&E today. Scan showed very small sac. Should be 7 weeks today and I definitely haven't got my dates wrong, so am certain this is over. Back to hospital on Weds to confirm HCG levels are dropping.

Don't want DS to be an only child.

digi So sorry to hear whats happened

Really sorry digigirl.

Sorry to hear the bad news digi and D&S. Sometimes things go awry for seemingly no reason.

quote from here:

"Alternative Provision ? local authorities will be required to provide full-time education for children and young people who for medical, social or emotional reasons, or because they are waiting for a place in a maintained school, are not in school but in alternative provision."

It sounds like if the LA has not allocated a place for a child, they still have financial responsibility to look after him once the school year begins.

a line of thought worth checking?

So sorry digi

Very sorry digi

Really hope the councillor visit helps the situation D&S carrie We have just submitted the form to the council to see if they will let us extend over our kitchen extention that we did 3/4 years ago!.....its a compromise to stay here on my part and the house needs a new boiler, a rewire and new windows so dh may regret not moving!!!!

D&S I hesitated to say anything before as I didnt want to offend, but have you considered threatening to home ed your son? IME some LEAs will do almost anything to stop you home edding your child.....maybe a place at one of your chosen schools would magically come up?????
Or (WRT to what foxy said about alternative provision) maybe you could tell the LEA that you will be hiring tutors to educate your son and you expect them to pay for it???
As I say, just a thought......

bec no offence taken at all. I'm not really in favour of home ed (not against anyone who wants to do it but it's not for us) but it certainly is worth considering. We'd have to hire tutors as it's not an option for either of us to be at home.

Councillor is coming this evening. Will let you know if she can actually do something to help or if she's just paying lip service to us.

D&S Awful story about your friends little boy, hope he gets better soon. Having a fear of water myself it is also my worst nightmare.
Hope the councillor can help, it is dragging on a bit and you are obviously quite stressed over the whol mess. I would hold off witht he home ed threat what if they said 'great go for it'?

Digi sorry to hear the bad news

I have finally got over the dodgy chinese takeaway I had on Saturday night. I spent most of Sunday morning on the loo and feeling so dreadful. was still knocked out yesterday, didn't stop me eating fish and chips although I wish it had as that made me feel awful. Shouldn't be such a pig I guess

My thinking was to write to the LEA stating that they have a legal responsibility to provide your ds with a school place, as they are aware. That they have, to date, failed in their legal obligation to do so.

That you are also aware that they have to, by law, provide him with an education within the state school system and you are currently interested in what that provision will be if, by the start of the new school year a place within the local school is not allocated.

That you expect to have a response within a week (legally I think you have to receive one within a certain period of time) as you have to make plans for September.

I for example had to find a childminder who could do my drop offs and pick ups and keep dd1 till I finished work.

Is he currently in full time nursery care? DD1 was and were I in this position, I'd have been willing to leave her in the nursery, (she turns 5 next week so could stay in a nursery till then.) and give the LEA the bill for her care. After all, if they cannot provide him with a place, the least amount of disruption to him, the better.

Maybe you have already done some of this and I am no help at all, but I have been trying to put myself in your shoe.

Councillor was lovely but no help really. We're the third family she's seen apparently. She gave us the name of a governer of the school we're trying to get him into who lives on our road!

Foxy he is in nursery and I have considered leaving him in there but he's so ready for school and all his friends will have left. The councillor also told us a cautionary tale (!) about moving her son half way through the year but what a mistake it was as everyone had made friends in September and he was isolated.

Well I've read the admissions code this morning (you would not believe how much I now know about school admissions) and while we're got some good points I don't think there's anyway we'll get around the legal mandate that class sizes cannot be greater than 30.

Anyway we'll appeal and see how we go. We're getting a list of other schools with places and we'll go and visit but really I think we're stuck with the waiting game. It's so stressful.