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....

Well done on finishing tulips and fingers crossed for your results. I am considering retraining but it would have to be something that paid to train....??? Need to look into options.

Glad things sound like they're improving on the sleep front Dinky, hope he continues tonight.

SM - I most definately have periods of chore!!!! I'm fairly sure we all do. Chin up lovely x

MOS phewwwwwww, don't envy your heat over there

i'm back! we had a fantastic time, lovely weather and the kids were just in and out of the pool. dd's swimming is amazing, she can do backwards somersaults, diving off my shoulders, standing on water (translated means treading water) and has just generally got so much confidence. i'm so happy cos it reminds me of being young and just loving throwing myself around in a pool or the sea all day long.

couple of days at the beach which ivor particularly loved as he could just walk for miles in any direction without anyone stopping him! both our flights were at lunchtime-ish so ivor slept all the way there and most of the way back which was a relief.

and now back to reality!

i've had a quick catch up. sounds like there's been some hideous sleep deprivation dinky, hope he performs well again tonight. ivor had a slightly disturbed time last night which of course could have been down to numerous factors, i gave him a few minutes to see if he'd settle down but when he didn't i got up to go to him only to be asked by dp 'are you going to shut his door?' another one who thinks cc is magic and can be used in any situation! i don't think he meant it as cruelly as it sounded but...!

sm well done on everything you've got going on i'm very impressed at how you've got on with things. i do think the social work type idea sounds well suited to you.

mos so sorry to hear about your son. i'd never really thought about suspension from a fee paying school but bearing in mind you've paid for his food and board on top of everything else it seems stunning that they can just say 'no, your problem now'. i hope he settles ok for this week and doesn't let it affect his exams.

tulps fingers crossed for your results and hope dd's head is ok.

bumps - lovely to have you back. sounds like you've had a pretty shitty time but i'm very impressed at your weight loss regime. i hope things get easier for you.

stw really glad to hear you're finding things a bit easier or at least that life doesn't seem so all consuming. fwiw you do seem like a chilled mum, even if you don't feel like it inside.

Welcome back kbn Glad you all had a good time

Ok, I've just one something quite naughty. I've been having a look at childcare costs for when I attend college and we just can't afford it, so I just registered on a course with the OU at a cost of £650, with the intention of register now, pay later, but that part of their site is not working!
I will have to call them tomorrow with my request. Dp is asleep on the sofa, have not told him yet. Eeek!

HI sorry fell off thread been doing greenabubs stuff (my little shop) struggling to fit things in!

hope your all well ladies.

xxx

KBN very of your hols - sounds fab. DH won't consider going abroad with two littl'uns, he says it will be too much hassle flying with them - however 6 hours in a packed car to Cornwall is ok ....

SM !!

Up at 4.30 this morn with a poorly boy. Poor DS has a temperature and has been throwing up.....am hoping he recovers enough to go to nursery today - it is one of my precious workdays and I have so much to do!

Calico Hope ds is feeling better. Lol @ 6 hrs in car to cornwall.

Hi all - welcome back KBN. That sounds like the perfect relaxing holiday for all you guys - glad you had a fantastic time! Hope Ivor settles down now with his sleeping. Danny was up for an hour last night (3 to 4 slot) - yawn. Hey ho, what doesnt kill me will make me stronger.

SM - saw your thread about not being able to afford childcare costs while studying . I think OU is the way forward - I think Tulips and Markstretch even use Tesco clubcard points towards paying for theirs (think I saw that on a thread yonks ago - apologies if have wrong names though).

Tulips - hope DS1 is ok today.

Calico - poor DS - hope he's better now, poor lad. Lol at the 6 hours in the car too - yikes that's my definition of hell...

Lovely sounding holiday KBN! Glad you had a good time.

Calico - We did 6 hrs in the car to Cornwall with only one child and it was pretty awful! Much prefered the 1.5 hr flight to France with two of them

SM Good idea of dinky's re tesco vouchers, I've seen it on their site too.

Hi sez hope your new venture is going well x

Spotty I know a little flight somewhere wouldn't be such a nightmare but DH moans that we'd have too much luggage to manage any free hands to deal with DCs......
I am still working on it though - doing the kids passport applications today

Dinky poor you another sleepless night - hope you get some sleepy vibes for Danny tonight.

Right - DS seems to be recovered (currently he is repeatedly jumping off the sofa onto his beanbag) so I'm gonna dose him up with Calpol and send him off to nursery.

hope DS is fine for the rest of the day calico. men are so useless about certain things (sorry for huge generalisation!). i do all the organising/packing etc for our trips - not dp's packing though, that would be taking things too far! and it really isn't as big a problem as it can seem beforehand, buggies can be taken right up to the aeroplane doors and then just have a TON of snacks to entertain/shut the darlings up with. all else in the hold. just don't expect to read a book or do anything daring like have a hot drink during the flight.

loving the idea of tesco clubcard points being used for OU. how brilliant.

ivor slept fine again last night but i'm so bloody tired anyway, i should be rested shouldn't i?!

I enrolled on something else in the end.
It's Social Work with Children and Families NCFE Level 4 at a cost of £285 which I'm paying in instalements. I've checked and NCFE is a valid qualification, is in date and is nationally recognised.
I know in social work/care alot of people view hands on experience more vital, but feel I need something on my cv to get a bit of interest as my voluntary work doesn't start for a while yet.
I am going to volunteer with HomeStart, but their prep training doesn't run until October.

I need my tesco clubcard vouchers for when we are really skint! Seriously, I do try to save them all up to use at christmas for food and presents.

Good stuff SM - I'm having stoopid internet problems so just saying "hello" then trying again tomorrow

That sounds really good SM! Hope you enjoy the course.

Nice to see you on briefly STW - hope all going well with you.

Disastrous night with Danny last night - he was awake virtually every hour from 8.30 onwards DH took the bullet the nigth before between 3 and 4 so it was my turn to deal with Danny last night - thankfully DH relieved me at 4.30 this morning so I could finally get some sleep. Am sending him to the GP today to check he doesnt have an ear infection as every time he lay down he started crying, poor lamb.

Hope you're feeling more rested now KBN.

OMG dinky It's never ending at your house isn't it? Poor you, dh and danny.
Good luck at docs.

I just received a cheque for £25! i took the boys to a family fun day on sunday, I entered a prize draw, got a call yesterday to say I'd won £25 and a man has just dropped a cheque into me!
Good job too, amk really skint again and today have to call pontins to cancel our holiday

Dinky - what an awful night! It does sound like more than teething. Hope doc can help. Lilian woke up screaming at 2am - she let out a huge belch and fart when I picked her up and promptly went back to sleep again - so ladylike!

SM Lucky you - the best thing I have ever won in a raffle was a bottle of hot chilli sauce (I was about 8 at the time).
NCFE course sounds great, good for you.

KBN Yes, it doesn't sound that difficult, does it - but then DH won't consider taking the two of them to Tesco! I have to do all the organising / packing here too, honestly we wouldn't ever get out of the house in the morning if I left it up to DH to sort out....

Calico When i was in hospital for a few days at the start of the year, dp got one of my friends round to look after the boys while he went to tesco! Shocking isn't it? Plus dp drives, and tesco is at the bottom of the road. It takes maybe 6 minutes to get there!
I'm head of the house too. If I ask dp to dress the boys, I have to pick the clothes. Men eh?

SM - I know!! Unusually Dh dressed DS this morning as DS refused to let me help him. I told him to make sure that he was dressed in old stuff as he is going to nursery today an they always get filthy. So DS comes down the stairs in brand new trousers and top that I got him for going to a wedding in a couple of weeks time......when I asked DH why he was wearing that he replied - 'well that's what he wanted to wear so I let him'. I wonder sometimes which one is the three year old.

Hmm, Dr has confirmed it is a horrible ear infection. Poor little Danny. Suspect will be sleeping (or rather not) with him sitting up on me tonight again. Ho hum.

DH is great with the boys in the morning - plays with them, dresses them and takes them downstairs (I get to deal with breakfast and putting them to bed so its a fair division of labour) but even he needs to be guided as to good choices of clothes for the boys...

oh poor danny and poor dinky. if he's on meds i hope they kick in soon.
can't believe i complained about being a wee bit tired compared to the nights you've had.

dp is also great with getting things done and kids dressed etc. our lovely nanny tends to put out a suggested outfit for ivor which helps in any bad combo problems. how spoilt?!

dinky Poor Danny Really hope he's better soon and you can all get some sleep.

I've been meaning to mention this for about a week now, Luke is giving proper kisses! Up until recently, everytime I've asked him for a kiss, he either runs away, yells "nananananana" or covers his face, but about a week ago, he started giving me kisses when I ask (and dp and jacob) is very sweet.
His favourite word atm, is 'share' I say it that often, Luke yells it everytime someone so much as looks at him.

Hello lovely ladies long time since i posted i know - sorry its been a busy time for us though, we have been in this house for over 6 months and we are still doing loads to it every weekend, getting fed up with it now.

SM sorry to hear you are skint - know the feeling - this house has bled us dry, we needed a shed (which DH spent all weekend building) as we dont have a garage to store stuff like the lawnmower ect but i was a bit at £400 - we could really have done without it! Still £25 will be useful especially as you werent expecting it

MOS - nearly 50 degrees!!! omg i would honestly die, i really would. I was bitching and moaning when it was 28 here and spent most of the two days cooped up in my bedroom with Milo, some toys and the lovely lovely air conditioning unit - i cant bear it over 23 - i just hate being hot (love sunny weather though) Sorry to hear about your son's suspension, thats taking the piss a bit though taking your money and then sending him back anyway fwiw im having a bit of a 'time' with DD3 who is 13 next week - sadly she is acting more like 16 and its making me very upset and worried about her future.
Dinky i have only read the last couple of pages so just wanted to say sorry that you have been having a rubbish time with regards to sleep and poorly boys Im thinking of taking Milo to the GP as he keeps putting his finger in his ear as if it is irritating him and he does it every day, im pretty sure it doesnt hurt him but it definately seems to be irritating him.

He isnt talking very much, i know everybody elses babies are probably chatting away but he can say car and hello Its funny i had a feeling this would happen with all these talkative women in the house surrounding him - he cant get a word in edgeways and it seems that he is content to let everyone else do the talking for him I remember DD 2 being nearly 2 before she spoke as well though so i am trying not to worry or get stressed about it though.

Talking of stress and worry my poor DD1 who is 18 in a couple of months has been diagnosed with PCOS. We knew it anyway due to the absence of AF for so long but she had bloods done and a scan and even i could see all of the cysts on her ovaries on both sides All the consultant said he would do is put her back on the pill and then address her getting pg when she eventually decides she wants a baby - i am very for her though because out of all of my daughters she was the one who wants to be a mum most, she is fantastic with Milo and is such a born mothery-type (unlike me!) and it seems such a shame, i hope it all works out for her when she eventually does get around to settling down and having a baby.

No luck as yet here on that front yet either, have been trying for around 5/6 months but nothing as yet. This month is a bit of a washout too as havent been able to do the deed more than a couple of times due to being so busy and also my opk's havent had a positive yet either so maybe its not my month - not to worry though im sure something will happen by the end of the year, if not im not that worried as Milo is delightful and i will always be grateful for having him - being fat and quite old i dont think is helping with conception too so heres hoping over the next few months

Sorry for the mammoth post - had a lot of catching up to do - sorry if i missed anyone out, going to make a concerted effort to keep up a bit more!

Ah that is so cute SM.

Rosie - lovely to see you on! Sounds like you've had a busy time of it - and as for having to deal with teenage girls, oh I can imagine you'd need nerves of steel and an industrial quantity of vodka to get through that. Dont envy you at all. Sorry to hear DD1 has been diagnosed with PCOS but the treatments for fertility related issues with PCOS is coming on all the time so hopefully as and when she is ready for a family, all will be well. And Milo sounds v cute - Danny is not hugely verbal (mama, dada, josh, elefa and ta and yus are his vocab - everything else is squeal and point) and DS1 wasnt very verbal at all until over 2. Is hilarious though that we're doing speech therapy exercises with DS1 to get him to make the t noise instead of the k noise (which he hates and cant be bothered doing) but Danny has it down pat and wanders round going t t t t t At least I now know he can make that noise..

No speech here yet. He can say mama and dada but other than that his only sound is babababa which he chants every now and again but doesn't mean anything. I'm becoming quite a good warble and screech interpreter though.

Bizarrely ds1 seems to understand A's conversation quite well... not that they have much, they seem quite content to mooch along happily side by side pausing for the occasional snack break or cuddle. I just turned round and the pair of them are sat side by side on the couch staring into space happily munching chocolate... no mistaking those two are brothers!

Rosie, i' so sorry for your dd1 but hopefully when the time comes the doctors will be able to help her conceive without too much traumatic medical intervention.

Rosie, we need to buy a shed too.... bloody lawnmower and bikes are in the hall fgs. It's all money though isn't it, little enough of that around these days.

Dinky, hope danny feels better quickly with the meds, you might even get sleep tonight!

Sheds cost sooo much money! Didnt realise till we started looking and tbh it took DH ages to put it together (with some very colourful language ) I have a very sweet mental image of A and his big brother sitting side by side together - i really hope i can get pg again and have just one more otherwise it will seem like Milo is an only child, it felt like that for me even though i had 4 half brothers and sisters as they were so far apart in age from me.

Am quietly reassured that at least two of the babies on this thread are not speaking in sentences just yet! I really am not worried but DH keeps saying when will he be speaking and i tell him to hush as when Milo does eventually start it will be non stop!

Forgot to say - r.e. the sleeping thing - god knows why but Milo has started waking up every night at around three am. We started to bring him out of his room and into ours but he is such a bad kicker me and DH cant share a bed with him as such so DH has been going into Milo's room (where there is a bed as well as a cot) nothing consoles Milo, except a bottle of milk which i think is a bit of a slippery slope, just hope he soon goes back to his old 'going through the night' self - Dinky you really, really have my sympathies xx

Rosie - could be a growth spurt for Milo. What sorted out Danny's 3am wakings was offering him a dream feed between 10 and 11ish (which he gradually dropped over time). May be worth a try?