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....

STW - maybe your brother was the caterpillar larvae running several miles behind the rest of the caterpillar

KBN - cheers for asking. We got our letter on Friday confirming he's into our local primary school (where he goes to the preschool class in the mornings and where his little nursery buddies are all hopefully going) so that's a relief. Sounds like I has had the virus Danny had - did you use the ointment on him or did it clear up by itself? Danny is also a mountaineering fool (also known as a lemming ) - in the place we had DS1's party there is a soft play room with steps and a ramp - he climbed up the steps onto the ramp then launched himself at his grandma WWF stylee - nearly flattened the poor woman

we tried the ointment but it just seemed to make his cheeks flare up. i spoke to the dr when the nurse turned us away from the mmr jab and he said their research is showing it's viral so it's just a case of waiting it out and to keep cleaning the eye with water. did D have a rash as well?

really glad ds1 has got into the school and he won't have to change uniform, venue, friends etc. i know a lot of people in our borough are struggling again just like we did last year.

Yup, gunk pouring from his eyes, rash (that came and went) and a horrid temperature and cold all at the same time - definitely a good idea to avoid the jab. Cleaning the eyes lots with cotton wool balls in warm water seemed to be the best thing to do to be honest.

Yes v pleased he's in - all the schools were oversubscribed but we live about 400 metres away so were keeping our fingers crossed. Out of an intake of 90 over half of the places were taken up by siblings so glad we paid the premium to move to nearer the school...

KBN Hope I's feeling better, poor little man.

Luke has tonsilitis and is now on AB's. He seems a bit better this morning, so hopefully we're getting there.
I really have to get out of this house, so going into town with a friend.
I have packed the thermometer, calpol and nurofen just incase.

My neighbour came round last night and taught me how to knit. I felt like I was about 60, watching EastEnders whilst knitting Not sure it's for me, I don't know if I have the patience, but will stick with it for a bit.
I need a hobby that doesn't involve too much concentrating. i do like to read, and read whenever I can, but you need to really get into it and sometimes my mind is too busy for that. The knitting did seem quite relaxing so we'll see.
Anyone want a christmas jumper? lol

Hey everyone..

Hope you are all well and able to enjoy the lovely weather..

swampy.. hope the CP is clearing up now.. after our extravangaza last year, I have lots of sympathy!!

MOS I have fb'd you for advice..but now have seen you have H troubles of your own..hope it all gets sorted..trust me the day to day stuff is much easier without a negative H...

SM DS had the same foreskin problem..he has had a couple of infections..but we have been told it is pretty typical for this age, and they grow out of it.. hopefully you don't need to go the surgery route..

TITS ....great acronym ! hugs re..DS...hopefully it is a phase that he will grow out of..

THOM DD is a runner and climber too..v.scary when you find her following you around upstairs and you left her downstairs !! She climbs up all furniture then stands up an applauds herself !! she is also getting pretty good at dancing particularly to 'starry eyed'..

STW...sounds like you are getting lots of support for your DD.. it must be a really stressful time for for you..

Dinkiy sounds like a lovely party for DS1.... bump sounds scary though..

I am ok.. have a contact related thread going in Relationships..but basically the current deal of (ex)H coming to stay to see the kids has fallen apart..this weekend he was extremely drunk and aggressive resulting in the police being called. He went but has been raging by text and email since then..have offered a parent plan via a family mediator but that has been rejected... i have no idea how to formalise him seeing the kids... so feel a little low..despite it being sunny and I am being on holiday..

Snowmama i'm so sorry to hear about your shitty time with exH. how hideous for you and the dcs. hopefully the absence of his negativity is helping you be strong to cope with it. BIG hugs to you all.

SM love the idea of you knitting away. it's a very trendy hobby now. how about designing a fab febbers scarf?
i hope luke is ok on your trip out.

i had to go to a stupid bloody 'breakfast seminar' at our lawyers this morning which involved leaving the house at 7.45am (i normally leave at 9.30am) which was a shock in itself. I chose this morning to have a long sleep so i didn't get to see him before i left, then the tube was buggered so i missed the breakfast bit!! had to sit and listen to it whilst eyeing up people's muffin crumbs.

Thanks, you are right it is a bit shitty...

oh poor you re. the breakfast seminar..I have had to go to some of those early morning do's and have ended up trying to balance everything and missing the breakfast !

SM love the idea of you knitting !

SM - love the thought of you knitting up a storm. DH has a couple of 20 something colleagues who knitted and crocheted some lovely stuff for DS1 when he was born - we kept it for Danny to use.

KBN - sorry to hear you missed your breakfast at the seminar (best thing about those early morning lawyer seminars in my humble legal opinion). Hope you've managed to grab some food now.

Snowmama - so lovely to see you on but so rubbish to hear that your exH is being an arse extraordinaire. Stay strong my friend - you and your kids have your lives sorted now and all WILL be fine in the long run. Could the arse stay in a B&B nearby (so not in your space and not somewhere where drink is readily available) and then just come see the kids at agreed times (could you get family members/third parties to help supervise these sessions if you dont want to be around his negativity) and if he's drunken/aggressive the session ends? Sorry you really need MOS on here as I know nothing about family law - will have to make do with sending you strength, hugs and best wishes that all will be resolved soon.

Dinky... yes that would be the best option, but he is in such a rage at the moment..even that option is an insult to him..will see how it goes, but thanks.

By the sounds of it, you're trying to keep it all quite civil for the DC's sake but he's not playing ball and being an arse to boot. I really hope he gets a reality check soon Snowmama.

snowmama I'm so sorry about what happened with ex-h. I hope you and the lo's are ok.

Luke has been fine today. No temp at all. he's been slightly ratty but nothing major. He's settled straight in his cot which is great.
I have a couple of friends coming round for a glass of wine in a bit, so that should be nice.

Morning all. Silverymoon - glad Luke was better yesterday - fingers crossed he slept well and let you have a nice night with your friends.

Discovered this morning that Danny has learnt how to blow his nose into tissues - am in shock as it took us until DS1 was nearly 3 to get him to grasp that concept. Mind you, Danny has had so many colds since birth I guess its not surprising that he knows what to do with tissues nowadays He is an absolute delight this morning - blowing kisses to DH and me at the breakfast table and toddling around and giving us little hugs.

BTW STW - did you ever find out where your brother was?

this is such a great age. we get so many great big 'mmmmmmmm' kisses from I. mouth wide open with us in fear of losing whichever part of our face he's going for but just one of the best things in the world.

wow at the nose blowing skills. what a nicely brought up boy he clearly is. does he help old ladies across the road yet?

at the nose blowing dinky... dd and ds1 are still barely able to do that... and A has a complete meltdown if he's approached with a babywipe or tissue, he prefers to wipe it on my top

snowmama... i'm so sorry your exH has been such a raging twunt I hope you can sort it out... do you have MOS on your FB? she'd definitely be able to give you some advice. {{{higs}}}

Not yet KBN - though he does try to leg it out the front door and out the gate (must remember to close it every time we come in) so maybe that's what he's off to do

I know Tulips - DS1 knows how to blow his nose but prefers to yell "Mummeeeeee I've got a bogey" at the top of his voice instead

Luke and Jacob both wipe their noses on one of the many muslins or snot-rags as they are called here!

Luke slept through last night. At least I think he did. Maybe it'd be more accurate if I said I slept through last night

Hi Guys.....missed loads ....will attempt to catch up but been so busy.

Finally got E's 12 month boosters and MMR done - what a relief - especially as we have cases of measles locally in non-immunised DCs....I was crapping myself and needed him jabbed asap. Just feel so sorry for those littlies that are too small for MMR - I would be beside myself.

Right, better go - E is sitting in his highchair grunting and straining will be back soon and hopefully will have caught up with everything by then.

btw, thank-you Dinky . Hope you got my FB message

Did indeed LMN - hope you enjoy them.

Hello all, sorry you dropped of my threads, been a bit manic here but will try to catch up

SM2 (snowmama) sorry, saw from my emails you'd FB me but seem to have a problem getting into my FB (since DD1 has spent most of the last 3 weeks on it) - can't seem to sign her out and get me in. Will try shutting down laptop later and see if that works and will get back to you, promise. If that doesn't work, email me, you have my email address (I think?)

STW sorry you are still worried about O. Must be very worrying but on the positive side, she speaks to you and immediate family and sings so its not a problem with her speech if you see what I mean. I do hope you get a referral and get it sorted though. Hopefully she is just shy.

SM knitting! well done you. My mum tried teaching me and I really wish I'd paid attention now as its one of those skills that seems to be dying out

dinky hope your DS is ok after his fall and had a nice birthday party. Good news about the school.

I've just contacted our LA back in the RL(UK!) about getting DD2 registerd (DC1 and 2 went private so no idea how it works) Apparently they check (via gps) the number of kids in DDs age that live in our area and send out paperwork in Sept, we apply by mid Nov and find out in March if we get a place for her for next Sept. The local school is literally 5 mins walk from our house which would be fab. Love the idea of being able to walk to school and her making friends nearby. Never had that with DC1 and 2 having to drive them to school and no friends lived locally as private school catchment is miles! Have also registered DD for the nursery attached to the school we'd like. Emailed forms a few days ago and phoned yesterday and they said she is pretty much guaranteed 2 1/2 days pw from Sept but might not be our days of choice. (wanted Tues Wed Thurs) but they think they will offer Mon and Fri 9 to 3 and half day Wed (least popular days no doubt) Not bad though seeing as I only applied this week and most people apply when their DC are 2.

Difficult dilemma about what to do. LA say no guarantee ref choice of schools but should get 1st or 2nd choice. 1st choice a 5 min walk, 2nd choice probably 20 t0 25 min walks so not as good. Almost tempting to stay here until next summer and if she gets 1st choice then go home then but not sure its right to stay for wrong reason.
Another big issue is DC1 and 1. Whilst I'm here DH's company pay towards their school fees. He told me yesterday if I leave in June they won't pay towards sept fees (so I lose 6k which I don't have) and can't pull DS out half way through his A levels.
Also, we've booked to go (on a company expense ticket) to Florida in Oct (all 6 of us) and if I leave in June we will have to repay that.
Please god let me win the lottery, I hate that my decision seems to be based on finances, that isn't right.
Right, enough about me!

SM (the first!) hope the ENT referral works out ok and all gets sorted.

KBN how cruel to have to look at leftover muffin crumbs. Hope all going ok with you at work.

swampy haven't got invite can anyone give me a clue of a date at least so I can put something in my diary until I manage to get FB fixed.

*LMN8 thanks for reminder about jabs. H was due two in Feb but the med centre don't have one of them but said its not a problem delaying that til June. Were supposed to get other one but they wouldn't do it whilst he had his cough so had to wait til better. Thank god he is better now so will book it tomorrow (our monday) but now sods law DD has started coughing and has a cold

Sorry if I've missed anyone out, just a quick catch up, hopefully I'll be back on more regularly now DC1 and 2 are back in the UK. x

hi guys quick hello from me well izzy has much improved in sleeping on the whole, only 2 ( instead of a million) attempts of settling and only 1 (instead of a million) wakes in the night............... until last nigth, no idea whats up

Snow mama I have no useful advise but hope your ok xxx

MOS I'm glad to hear your leaving, sorry that sounds weird, he just sounds like such an arse. It will be hard but your all better off without him. Are you coming back to UK? hope your ok too xxx

not getting on very well with hubby atm He isnt an arse, far from it but we just seem to bicker all the time. I think its mostly me Im a bit of a moaning minnie.

mos It sounds like you have some very difficult decisions to make
When my ds1 starts school/nursery, that will be a 20 min walk for us. It won't be so bad.
Re: ds1's A-levels, he seems like a well balanced, well bought up young man and will understand you having to get out of a relationship that leaves you feeling less than you are worth.
I'd understand though if you decided to stay, that's not to say it's the right decison (or wrong). If you stayed until ds1 completed his exams, when's the earliest you could get out?
Is there any way that you could get some kind of financial help for schooling?
What about a crisis loan? Or checking out charities? Your local council might have some kind of charity in place to help families in times of troubles.
Would transfering to a different school be very bad and unreasonable for him to do?
He wouldn't want his mum to suffer in a bad relationship or have his baby brother and sister in an unhappy environment would he.

littlesez Hope things improve with your dh.

MOS - sounds promising re the local school/nursery but sounds like you have some really hard decisions to make, financially and emotionally as well. I agree, moving DS1 while doing A levels, particularly if he wants to do law at university and can be tutored well to get into the universities he wants to where he is (as is v competitive), is something that needs a lot of thought and possibly even some discussion with DS1 who seems to be a very mature and thoughtful boy from your other posts.

Littlesez - sorry things are difficult with DH at the moment. I think things generally are after a baby - you have sleep deprivation, worries, work, dealing with little one and a million and other things to fit into your lives and your couple time seems to fall by the wayside (particularly when you both work long days or funny hours as you guys do). Alot of times its a case of not communicating properly or not feeling loved/appreciated - because you dont have couple time. Could you and DH try and fix some "dates" with your mum looking after Izzy so you can have just you and him time? DH and I found that made a huge difference to our stresses and strains in our relationship after having DS1. Hope all gets better soon.

Went to a private shopping evening at LK Bennett last night - combination of champagne and nothing to eat led to an expensive purchase - still not entirely sure if will keep it but was a fun evening. Now have a case of champagne mouth. And true to form Danny was awake between 2 and 4.30 last night for the first time in ages. Sigh.

hello alll, just popped on for 5 mins whilst the twunt is out with DC3 and 4. About time he got off his arse

littlesez sorry things are tough with you at the moment but hope you sort things out. Dinky speaks words of wisdom as does SM which worries me as I'm old enough to be her mother

Can't pull DS1 out half way through his A levels. Already committed to September term anyway as didn't give notice before start of summer term and if I do stay in UK after summer I will have to sacrifice things to keep him at his school. DD1 just about to start her GCSEs and not an option to pull her out either although thank god her school is half the price of his.
If I can, I'll try to tough it out til next summer when DS will have finished his A levels and be on his gap year (hopefully he is going to find a job in a firm of solicitors/legal environment and save for uni!)
DD will then have 1 year left at her school which hopefully I'll be able to fund (with small inheritance from mum) and she will have to go to a college for A levels.

dinky very of your shopping evening, particularly the champers!

Right, have to go, arse is back x

i've had 2 relatively heavy nights in a row (who do i think i am, some 20 something childless woman?!). so far am a bit weary but not too bad but am wondering if it's going to hit badly this afternoon.

last nights was a pub session for various people leaving work. dp was really sweet, he'd had to pop into my office and on leaving said 'don't worry about what time you get in, you won't be disturbed in the morning' so i was vaguely aware of dd (obviously having been primed) creeping in to dp's side of the bed and the pair of them creeping out. i guess i owe him a big lie-in tomorrow!

mos that must be really hard having to weigh up financial decisions when you're just about getting your head sorted about the emotional ones. but the financial decisions are tied up in the well being of your kids which makes it so confused. i agree with SM and dinky that you should probably speak to ds1 and look into whether there are any alternatives to him leaving in the middle of his a levels and also how he feels.

littlesez sorry to hear you're not getting on so great. you should probably look at why you think you're being a 'moaning minnie' as its possible you're either feeling guilty irrationally or there's something else getting to you to make you a bit moany. the children on board shift in a relationship is really hard and does take some getting used to.