May Toddlers - still toddling along!

[helsy]

Oi! Over 'ere!

I'm using my sick leave well and have just booked a holiday in Oban - we're going to see Balamory and sea eagles, hopefully.

We aren't allowed takeaway on Fridays anymore

Hello. Hot, isn't it? We've had THREE yes THREE parties today - one five year old girl's birthday, one four year old boy's birthday and a work barbecue. Bit much. Dd1 is high as a kite and dd2 will probably sleep until Wednesday.

We're budgetting too. We went from rent free (I had a house with my job) to a hooge mortgage and have suddenly realised how c**p we both are with money.

Ponka, do you work in a uni?

Cat if it feels like the right time go ahead. We decided to start trying when I was on ads - I got pregnant the first month we tried and came straight off the ads and I've been ok - not fantastic, not great at coping with stress, but ok and really glad we decided to try.

Anyone else's May toddlers coming along all of a sudden? We've had stair climbing, jumping off and clambering over things, meaningful chattering and lots of social interaction all in a couple of weeks.

Summer holidays soon! I'm planning our 6 weeks off like a military operation...

whoooaaa cat! that's great. so for it. i know i want another child, but i just dont want to yet, so if you do it must mean you are ready, especially after you thought you'd never have another. go girl!

yes to the meet-up. would email you but am at my parents and pc is slooooow so cant be bothered to wait for hotmail to load up.

yes. dd has grown so much. she is so interactive with everyone. giving kisses on demand and pointing to what she wants and who she wants. making conversational noises, so funny. bless.

Saw my extended family today at Dnephew's christening and they were all remarking on DD's advances. She also got to wear one of her pretty long dresses for the first time now she is walking and not really crawling. Was a nice day but long, hot and tiring. Three parties though! Not sure it competes with that.

Cat agree with Egypt - if you think you are ready you are. Sory didn't post about that last night. Also you did sound quite upbeat in you post!

Judd its a bit of downer about the take aways isn't it? Not that we had them that regularly. But no buying sandwiches at work got to get my backside in gear and make them. Actually I'm a little bit ashamed of our poor budgeting. Wrote us a budget last night to stick to and I am determined to stick to it. And will look back over previous threads about saving money. Do you think £60 a week is realistic for a family of 4 for groceries including nappies and booze but bearing in mind DH is away a few nights and we are all out of the house 3 days (although in to eat at night)?

Obviously everyone was too fried yesterday. We were too fried. I am not a heat lover, me.

We're off up north tomorrow for ten days, spending a whole week with vast in-law family. Eek! Lots of energetic under-tens, but DD is the youngest (for now; next one due November.) Generally not a lot going on here. DD obviously keeps doing genius and cute things... she pointed at the spots on my spotty skirt yesterday and said 'Bubble!' which I thought was pretty cute and genius... We are dreading all the driving we will have to do because she is crap at car journeys. I spent yesterday evening doing a compilation of Incey Wincey Spider type tunes for her entertainment, not really thinking it would do much good...

Cat, that's exciting planning! Do you have brothers and sisters yourself?

I think yes we are available for meetup but we must pull finger and look at flights. I hate thinking about flying so always put booking off till the last minute, which obviously is completely counter productive as we end up paying far more £££. And we are budgeting too! Glad to be in such good company. We will be staying for the first part of the week in the cheapest cottage we could find which has lots of mice and no washing machine.

DD will not be seen in long pretty dresses for a while yet I reckon! She still thinks standing is pretty hardline.

Spots - lots of eats and drinks keep DS amused. Especially sultanas in a plastic sandwich bag so he has to ferret for them! Or set off just after lunch, having run her ragged in the morning, in the hope that she sleeps all the way (likely?!)

yes i find we have to take long journeys at sleep times.. made that mistake yesterday. dd sleep in the morning still, so she woke at 12. had lunch and we left at 2, all prepared for a bit of a hectic (3 hour) journey but hoping she might have a little nap. the traffic on the a14 was a nightmare. took a detour and ended up taking ages. then dh decided he wanted to drop into his mums on the way to fix her pc!!! so we gave dd her tea there, this was now 530 ish. we left at 630. hmm. so fully expected dd to fall asleep in car on 40 min drive home......but no. got home, milk, bed. nope. sod it. got her up and let her play her socks off until 930 at which point she finally did go to sleep. never again.

aaaaaaanyway, we are on a bit of a budget too bozza. i try to shop for only the essentials each week and plan our meals for each day, according to what packet mixes we already have in the cupboards. how sad is that? i can about manage in £40 a week like that, but not including nappies. and not including booze!!! its a tough one.

Gosh I wish we could do 60 quid a week. It's double that at the moment. I've actually worked out that it would be cheaper to shop online at Tesco and pay for the delivery because of all the c**p we buy when we go shopping together. Dh just came back with four packets of bruschettas and three bottles of red wine- hardly necessary. Yum, though.
Know what you mean about dresses and not standing - Dd2 looks like a little old lady when we put her in skirts. DH took her to be weighed today. She's 20lb 12oz (9.41 kilos) which is ok, but she's only 72 cm which seems small. So, short and fat then. Marvellous.
Dd2 had her first school report yesterday - apparently "her enthusiasm to talk can sometimes get in the way of listening". How diplomatic is that? It was excellent apart from that, though. They commented on her dry sense of humour.
Hot, isn't it? Two naked children in this house.

OOh, forgot to say, HV did me a massive favour today. Dh asked about getting Dd2 to sleep (she won't go to sleep unless one of us is in the room with her, wakes up crying in the morning, won't just get herself to sleep or lie in her cot basically) and said that he would leave her to cry but I find it hard - so she told him I should go away for the weekend and leave him to it! Now, where to go...

LOL Helsy. at DD1, DD2 and DH. My 60 quid is to include the delivery cost btw. So Egypt do you think that an extra £20 for an extra person (4yo DS) and booze/nappies is reasonable? This is the plan for August.

DD currently trying to do more than she can a lot of the time resulting in plenty of scrapes and banged heads. Also she is still ruining all her clothes! We went to a local country park with a friend and her DS & DD yesterday afternoon and not only was DD totally grimy but my shorts were also covered in dirt from picking her up.

Yesterday morning took DS for hospital appt and it was decided that he needs more grommets. The op is scheduled for 29 July which is pretty quick IMO. I'm pleased though because it means it will be sorted before he starts school.

It gets better helsy. Have you had any ideas yet?!

I'd like to go and visit a friend, but all my close friends have small children - might see if I can persuade one to come away with me .

Why ruined clothes, Bozza? Is she very active?
Glad the grommets will be sorted out before school.

Dd2 is like a commando at the moment. Her favourite trick is going under the dining table then standing up and banging her head because hse doesn't realise it's low. We've got a review with the nursery this week and I'm hoping they'll be able to tell us why the only thing they seem to know about dd2 is whether she has run out of nappies.

Hmmmmmm budgets. I should get organised like you lot. We are scrimping and saving but we haven't actually worked out a proper budget. I wouldn't know how much we spend on food. I guess that's why it keeps going wrong then! Lol at buying c**p at the supermarket.

Spots/Egypt, We tend to do all our travelling setting off at bedtime. However, it doesn't always work well that way either. Last time, DS just woke up in the car 2 hours into a 3 hour journey. He just sat, saying "There", "There" and pointing to every light we passed all the way home. Then we put him in his cot and he sat babbling until late. Happy but awake. In all, he was up from 9 until about 1:30 in the morning. We didn't get him up because he seemed very happy but felt quite guilty about leaving him there.

Have been planning meals for the next few days. Georgina's famous Chili con Carne makes an apearance on the list.

Helsy, very astute. You noticed the "ac", did you? Yes, I work in Modern Languages (admin)in a uni. I love it (especially for the air con at the moment). We work with so many interesting people, speaking all sorts of wonderful languages.

Spots. You are really going to make it to the meet up? That's dedication to MN! Is anyone else travelling a long way?

things just go from bad to worse. this house!!!!!! forgot to tell you that i came home from shopping yesterday and found the kitchen floor under 1cm of water from the washing machine. dd has just pulled a cold mug of tea off the table and all over herself and the floor. my fault for being on mumsnet though. bless her.

i think that £60 is manageable for a week's shopping if you stick to meals and basics.

Eeep - my famous chilli con carne? Well... Morphy Richards' famous chilli con carne, hehe.

Okay, here's how I budget. I remember a few years ago the recommended budget for a student (to include food, washing powder, etc) was £28.50 a week. I work on the basis that we're 3 adults (in that, whenever I work out quantities, the kids work out as a half adult portion more or less) which gives me a weekly budget of £85.50. Now, I know that it's cheaper to live as 3/4 people together per head than a single person on your own, but equally a student doesn't need to budget for nappies etc! Plus with inflation since that advice I figure it evens itself out. I find that £85.50 a week is a comfortable figure - if I'm careful I can get booze and treats included in that price.

Other cost savings - always menu plan (even plan for that week's snacks, puddings etc, not just evening meals). Try and keep the amount of meat meals low - having a lot of meat one week really squeezes the budget (and buying meat separately from a butcher has really made me realise how expensive meat is - much harder to pass cash over the counter than swipe a card at the supermarket!). If we go for a roast on a Sunday though I try and buy a slightly bigger joint then have another meal in the week to use up the excess. Going own brand for absolutely everything I can get away with slashed costs dramatically (some own brand stuff can be half the price of the branded). Make double quantities of stuff and freeze the other half for a quick meal when needed (rather than pay for ready meals/take aways when for some reason you're running late).

Cat: that's fab news - how exciting I think the fact that previously you were so sure that you didn't want another highlights that this is the right time for you now you do - does that make sense? Keep us posted, won't you

Right, must go - have 101 things I need to get done since going away for the weekend. Now have to play "catch up" with all the chores

Hi everyone

Okay...so far i've only recieved 2 e mails about the meet up...anyone else? pleeeeease mail me [email protected] thank you!

Well baby no 2 plans have been halted for at least a year because finaly, finaly we have managed to find a little boy Weimaraner puppy born on Monday night, that is available. He's from two beautiful parents with fab temprements and the breeder seems really lovely. Concerened about where the puppys are going, wants to make sure we know what we're doing etc. Should be 7 weeks until we get him and neither of us think it's snesible to have young puppy + young baby. I am sooooo thrilled about the puppy that i don't actualy mind, and it's only a year really to wait

Georgina- So you went to london then? (i might have missed previous posting about that, forgive me if i have )

Oh Egypt you poor thing hope you get the flood sorted soon! We haven't chatted for ages so gimme a shout on MSN next time you log on?

Spots- I don't have any brothers or sisters no, but df does and he loved having an older sister. IT's part of reason we've been discussing no 2.

Bozza- i suck at budgeting sadly, DF despairs completly so i can't offer any advice there!

Okay i must go and stop the destruction kiera is causing in the sitting room. She's currently pulling ALL the dvd's off the shelf and giggling like a lunatic. There are ALOT of dvd's.
sigh

Talk to you all soon!

xxx

Oooo how fab about the puppy!! So pleased for you - I remember you were gutted when you didn't manage to get a puppy last time.

Yep, went to London and I'm so glad we did - we had a really great time. We Will Rock You is an excellent show, laughed so much and my hands were sore from clapping at the time! I'm spoiled for life for good hotels - the Mountbatten is amazing! Also caught some of the war remembrance stuff on the Sunday - atmosphere was awesome. All in all an excellent weekend.

Now anyone care to help me catch up with my laundry?!

help me with my laundry too - no washing macine and a basket full!

thats great news about the puppy cat. so pleased for you xxx

well, may i announce that i've just returned from tescos and spent £51 - including 2 new pillows and 3 bottles of wine. (that renaissance french wine is on special offer at £2.50 and is quite nice)

back in a mo....
blinking eck, dd was asleep in the car, only just arrived home, so she was due for a big one, all windows and doors, boot opened. the postman comes to the front door, which is where dd is, and shouts at the top of his voice MORNING!!!! nice bloke......but. i now have someone unpacking the shopping with me.

wine @ 2.99 not 2.50. do apologise, incase anyone had budgeted for it

Bet puppies are less messy than babies, too
Ponka - takes one to know one
I am now thoroughly ashamed of my excessive shopping and will try harder.
Two parents of babies the same age as dd2 told me today they wished their children were as good natured as mine. Clearly they've never tried putting her into a car seat when she doesn't want to go.

Just passing through, glad everyone is well. Not much change in DS - he is clearly in no hurry to move onto the dizzy heights of walking just yet.

Don't forget that if you shop online with Tescos you can find discount codes on the internet, I usually hunt down the £10 - 15 ones so you don't pay for delivery and get some extra shopping in!

Have to go, see you all soon (Cat I still have your coat!)

hey girls!! nice heat, eh!
oh well, better than rain all the time!

had our first session of nct antenatal class! was brilliant
7 nice pregnant ladies, huffing and puffing, and asking weird questions - it's especially for 2nd timers; so we all are in the same boat!
was really funny

we've been asked to tell our previous birthstory - and i again burst into tears
still having troubles to even think about it; let alone talk!!!
but the girls and the teacher were really nice and told me 'we'll get you through this'!!

besides that not much happening.
i still think bump is growing by the day
weighed myself yesterday and i put on 13kg so far
must be all that lovely chocolate and icecream bubs (not me of course) is demanding

still that flippin pain in pelvic bone area. turning around in bed is a struggle. and it doesn't help that ds always wants me to play with him on the floor - ouuuuuuch!

cat: woheyyy, finally the puppy! you'll have to post some pics of course

and re meetup: i really want to come but might be just the only weekend dp will get off; so we might be away - will let you know!

oh yes, budget!!! don't you just hate it! we had a quite tough time the last few months - sort of beans on toast time - but recovering now and that's why i can afford all those lovely sweets now - well, can't drink anything anyways

Ooo... ahem, forgot to say - ds2 took some steps on his own yesterday. And took lots of steps on his own (max about 4 in one go though!) today!

Guess I should have mentioned that earlier

that's the big news i forgot the first time she did it too, georgina.

wow, susi, your pregnancy is passing so quickly. for us here anyway!

libb, post a link to the money off coupons pleeeeeeeease!!

been in the paddling pool in the nude so far today, AND on our new swing although mummy had to hold the frame as it isnt staked in yet

Oooh Egypt, you're so daring!
Presume only DD did, although what do I know?