Fab Feb 2009 bar: toddle on in, grab a pew: mummy's in need of a drink or two...

[dinkystinky]

New thread for us to natter on about our toddling terrors... complete with some virtual booze. Mine's a french martini....

ps have discovered this morning how to do drops for Danny's eyes without WW3 erupting - do them when he's bfing

Thanks dinky I was just thinking I hope you don't all come on and tell mne to calm myslef down.
The thing is, jacob and this boy are going to be in the same class! It was confirmed last week or whenever it was we went to the open day at the school.
The other mum keeps telling me how pleased she is her ds and J will be in the same class and I just smile and say yes.

Glad you found a way to get the drops in.

Hopefully her little boy will calm down when in the discipline of the nursery class room - some kids respond really well to structure they get at school.

Hopefully. Hopefully Jacob will too! Although, since I have gone back to trying to shout less and have returned to the more positive parent I used to be, his behaviour has inproved by like 100,000%. He still hits and pushes, but I'm now doing a mix of simple clear threats thyat are followed through (like, hit Luke again and no cbeebies for the rest of the day) and time-in and reassuring hugs etc which I think is working well atm.

SM I'm really pleased the positive side is reaping rewards. it sounds much better.

i agreed with Dinky that outside of the group environment you should limit contact, it winds you up too which can't help your calm, positive vibes! pre-school may well help the other child plus your ds may not be as attached to him so when he does start pre-school he's not as likely to be joined at the hip to him. now that dd is at proper school i'm often quite at some of the other kids and still panic that dd might turn out like that but she prefers to smugly preach about 'so and so did this today, that's not very nice is it mummy?' which is almost as bad!

on the subject of old kid's tv shows my dp is slightly obsessed with all things Oliver Postgate etc so we have lots of dvd sets of old classics some of which have gone down quite well with dd. crystal tips and alistair was a new one he produced a couple of weeks ago. I'd never heard of it but it seems to be fairly popular with dd. ds isn't that interested in tv apart from itng at which he bounces up and down, yells 'ooooh' a lot and tries to climb into the tv. it's really not the miracle calm time for me to get on with something as he needs more supervision than normal but i do love his reactions to it.

that and the very hungry caterpillar book (and soft toy) he goes nuts for. dp, dd and i read it out in unison to him the other morning (ugh, don't we sound hideous?!) and he was beside himself looking round at each of us.

Aah - the hungry caterpillar was Danny's favourite book. He's now moved on to lift the flap books (spot is a favourite and rabbits nap by Julia Donaldson - all the acorn woods ones are good IMO) as likes to be active when he reads

Morning.
Had a good nights sleep last night. First time in weeks!

Dp's on nights now until the strike next week, so not sure what I'm going to do with these kids as it's supposed to rain all week.
Today I have to go into town. The toilet seat came off yesterday. Whilst I was on it so needs to be replaced.
My mum gave me £20 yesterday so it'll come out of that and I'm going to get Jacob a mattress protector for his bed.

That toilet seat incident sounds embarassing SM Glad you got a good night's sleep.

i'd take rain over the snow and hail we've been having all day

stupid country with it's stupid wether

on the plus side i baked muffins out of boredom earlier so now the kids are on a major sugar rush comedown and zonked on the couch so i can get some work donw

Arrghh its freezing here too, is it snowing in Eire Tulips?

SM ive done that too, and it isnt just once

Just reading about the hungry caterpillar book and its Milo's favourite, i was in Asda yesterday and bought him a sleepsuit with the hungry caterpillar printed all over it and a matching bib and its soooo cute on him, he loves it and points to the caterpillar where he can see it.

Well AF finally arrived (only a couple of days late) so thats not too bad. Will give it our best shot again this month (s'cuse the pun ) but i wont be testing until around the 28/29th of April to make sure that i have given it long enough for AF to be due.

Milo got fitted for his first shoes today - he was a 4.5 G in clarks bless him, he looked so proud walking around in his big boy shoes now. God i have really started to notice his tantrums in the last week or so i forgot just how bad they can be! He literally thows his head back and if im not there to catch him he smacks it on the floor, silly baby! But yeah if you say no to him or he has to do something that he doesnt want to do he has a proper benny. Its not funny but it is iyswim? I wouldnt let him see me laugh but i am inside because he looks so silly and annoyed, i know there is at least another 2 to 3 years of this ahead so i had better get used to it i suppose.

Dinky how are Dannys eyes now? Did you use the chloramphenacol (sp?) ointment and how did you get on? I have seen the evidence for that mega temperature last week - two new top teeth! They are coming thick and fast now, oh how quickly our babies are growing up, i love it on one hand but on the other due to experience of the girls i know just how quickly it all goes and it makes me a bit

Bugger, the girls are all on half term as of Friday - cue lots of moaning about boredom and arguing between them, the joys of half term should be getting to me nicely by the middle of next week so sorry if i get all moany!

Just posting to say hi all

Hello all - Tulips snow Its easter for godsake! Hope you're ok and have lots of oil to heat your place till the snow disappears.

Aah Rosie - first shoes are the cutest! Love the sound of that Asda sleepsuit - will have to go find an Asda to check it out. Hope you survive the next week of moaning girls! Thanks for asking about Danny's eyes - all cleared up thank god - but now he has tummy bug (cappuccino froth poos again, oh joy) and teething. Never ends does it! Well done M on his two new teeth

Nice to see you on Elkie.

Work still a shocker and everyone and their dog seems to be on holiday at the moment which doesnt make getting deals done any easier. Am drowning my sorrows in the biscuit tin and getting a kicking on the weightloss thread for not being in the zone... sigh...

Have a good easter everyone. Off to MILS for the weekend - got eggs and baskets to do the boys an egg hunt in her garden/living room (depending on weather) on sunday

ps tantrums Rosie - DS1 used to have micro tantrums which were so cute DH and I used to laugh at him - would last 3 seconds and then gone. Danny wails like the world is ending when he has a tantrum - again passes fairly quickly but he is a much more wilful/expressive child than DS1 was at this age

No oil... stupid boiler bolloxed again

Sunny and warm today though only in Ireland! People think it's a joke about the changable weather here but it really can go from summer to winter and back again in 24 hours!

rosie... that hungry caterpillar sleepsuit sounds soooo cute
at Milo being 4.5.... A is still 2.5 and not looking like he'll grow out of them soon. A does the tantrums too.... if he doesn't get his own way in ever the tiniest thing he flings himself to the floor... if you ignore him he gets back up.. comes over to make sure you're looking and chucks himself down again, I have to restrain myself from laughing too tbh And i thought dd was bad at this age... she was sweetness and light in comparison

dinky... enjoy the biscuits, i'm sure the stress of work is burning them straight off so you're in the clear

The weather in Ireland... ahh the stories my dad used to tell me about it raining, raining, raining all the time. We had a house over in Cork (the one my dad grew up in) called Raffeen that i visited about 11 years ago (it since got sold when my dad passed away) and it just rained all the time then too. DH and i were saying that we might come over to Cork with the kids this summer as i want to visit my two Auntie's and my Grandparents graves plus i want to take the girls to Blarney Castle so they can kiss the stone like my dad had me do when i was little, it will be nice for them given that they are a quarter Irish.

Thats rubbish that your boiler packed up though Tulips Its still bloody cold so im feeling for you!

Dinky, hope you have a fab and relaxing weekend (you sound like you really deserve it after all the bolleux you are going through at work). Poor Danny - he is really in the wars ilness wise isnt he? Hope he is on the mend soon though. Lol@ you feeling guilty for not being in-the-zone , pah its Easter anyway and Chocolate really counts at this time of year (start again next week!)

Hello Elkidee nice to see you!

I am shattered today, have been getting up every night for Milo atm as he is not sleeping all the way through and cries till we get him out of his cot and into our bed, i know we shouldnt really be bringing him into our bed but you know when you are soooo knackered and just cant be arsed to stick to your guns well thats us at the moment (plus he is still in our room in a cot and he cant half bellow so it wakes the girls up too) Fingers crossed this is just a phase though.

Bugger re no oil/working boiler Tulips - hope the weather stays warm and summery for you guys! A sounds so dinky but determined - bet he's going to be the kid that makes his millions and sets you and DP up for life.

Rosie - Danny not sleeping well either at moment - last night was crying at 2 (I only got in from work at 11 so was shattered) so I went and bf him (we've been trying to wean off the night feeds) and he was back asleep within 10 minutes. Sometimes the easy life route is the best one to follow!

OMG! you got in at 11? Im usually asleep by then Maybe you need some more maternity leave, any chance of number 3 anytime soon?

A is the same with sleep atm, he last slept through almost 3 weeks ago. He always does this for ages before getting a tooth but i'm shattered now. I wouldn't mind if he went back to sleep after coming in with us but most nights he can't seem to settle and drives me mad whinging and trying to throw himself off the bed.

Weird child apears to be getting a molar though... he hasn't got his canines yet so lord knows why!

dinky... i've already instructed ds1 on what cars i want him to buy me when he's grown up and rich Maybe A will get me the house to go with them

dd on the other hand never wants to leave home. She was chattering at me the other day and said 'Mommy when i'm big and have a baby we'll have six people in the house'... I then proceeded to make a huge mistake and replied 'But [dd], when you have a baby of your own you won't live here anymore, you'll be grown up and have moved away'.... she dissolved into tears and cried for an hour because she'll miss me when she's grown up, even after me rapidly back pedalling and saying of course she'll live with us forever

Ah bless Tulips - your DD is so cute. DS1 is similar - in the mornings he tells me not to go to work as he wil miss me. If I told him he wasnt going to live at home at some point he'd meltdown, bless.

Rosie - nope, no chance of no 3 any time soon. Work on our house tentativey pencilled in to start late summer so we're looking at at least 2011 before baby 3 can be considered...

Hello all.
Can't believe you didn't get home until 11 dinky That is shocking!!!!
I'll have to have a proper catch up later, just flying in before I start packing up after dinner.

Dp is going away on a training course for 2 weeks.
I'll be all on my own with the boys, but tbh, don't think it'll be much different.
The thing I'm worried about is what if it's easier?

Hi SM - its one of those things that sometimes happens with my job sadly - not meant to though...

Am sure you'll notice DP isnt around (mostly for the adult company in the evening).

I'M BACK!

Finally. I emailed MNHQ again today and they asked for my IP address and managed to sort it out. So anyone who is having issues getting on at work etc, get in touch with MNHQ and give them the number and hopefully they can sort it.

Lots of catching up to do but thankfully the lovely swampy kept me up to date with some of the chat. Thank you swampy.

Hope all the coughs, colds and gooey eyes are getting better and the naughty little monkeys are behaving.

rosie sorry it wasn't the result you wanted this month but fingers crossed for you next month.

H is driving us mad at the moment. He has a cough and cold again (for christs sake its 34 degrees here!) has another two teeth coming through and yesterday morning had an accident involving him, DD and a door which resulted in a massive lump on his head so I rushed him to the medical centre for a check up. Thankfully he is ok but very battered and bruised. Similar but less bad incident last night which made it clear it was deliberate as there was a bang, a scream from H and DD was running away

DH and I are knackered and snapping at each other so I've just booked a babysitter for tomorrow night so we can go to our local mall, get a bit of shopping (H has lost two sunhats and broken his sun umbrella) and have a meal.

DS1 and DD1 arrive here on Sunday night which will be lovely as I've not seen them since the beginning of January.

Hugs to everyone x

SM, i have to admit i enjoy occasional dp free time.

I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying doing things at my own pace, doing or not doing things that I feel like, having some alone time with the kids and watching what I want on tv once they're in bed. It doesn't mean that i don't love dp or that he's not a good dad/partner... it just means i enjoy my own space occasionally and like being in charge of the kids without having to confer or defer to his opinions all the time (the kids love this too as i tend to let them stay up late with snacks and movies when he's not here to be getting arsey about them not eing in bed early )

It can be exhausting spending all your days a compromising to keep everyone happy and there's nothing wrong with taking pleasure in having a break from that occasionally

crossed posts mos... welcome back

sorry G is waging war on H... must be stressful. I hope she gives in before he has any more trips to a&e, do ye do the easter bunny myth? i'm finding the threat of no eggs on easter is keeping my two fairly well in check atm

dinky maybe (re dp going away) but kind of loooking forward to having a whole 2 weeks of no one trying to feel me up
mos Yay! Welcome back. Missed you x
Luke has forever got bumps and bruises on his head where Jacob pushes him over. Really hope Luke doesn't grow into a difficult child like Jacob.
tulips I hadn't thought of it like that. |It will bhe nice to just be able to go to bed at 8pm without feeling guilty.
It's just I notice I'm alot more short tempered when he is around. He gets in my way and he ignores me when I tell him to stop shouting at Jacob every 2 seconds. wer don't want him to think shouting at people is normal behaviour.

Had another tough morning with J though. He is just non-stop. My best friend told me today she does think Jacob is one of the most difficult children she knows but that I handleit well and can't do more than what I'm doing.
I cried in the middle of the Tesco's cafe because I just couldn't take anymore. Oh well.
On top of that, Luke had the biggest tantrum EVER earlier. he was screaming, throwing toys and himself all over the livingroom and I was unable to calm him, he just pushed me away and got worse when I tried to pick him up so I had to leave him too it.
Is it wine o'clock yet?