Thanks all for advice on nursing home, have found out name and telephone number of home. Just want to know what it will be like though? Have never been to one. Usually we meet her at her house, even since she's been in the home.
Chef - those baskets sound yummy, such a thoughtful gift for a new Mum. You should go into business!
EPPM - Lovely to hear from you. How are you? How is work? How are the DCs? So many questions.
120 - Had a good read of your blog last night, bookmarked loads of recipes. I have a chocolate brownie recipe with raspberries in that is divine if you want it? Made me laugh when I read the brownie recipe and it said something like "This one doesn't actually contain any fruit or veg"
Books - I am pretty handy at chocolate victoria sponge nowadays (DD's favourite thing to make) but 25 minutes is pushing it! More like 25 minutes to talk her round to only using a couple of spoonfuls of cocoa and another 25 minutes to row over how many spoons are required for stirring.
Not sure about TTC MissJ, think it depends on your assessment of your fertility. Before we were TTC DD I was really unwell with arthritis and was on the verge of having to go on a treatment that you can't get pregnant on and might harm your fertility. DH and I had discussions about what to do and decided to TTC before I had the treatment, but the whole process was really medicalised. My GP told me the law of averages saws a healthy couple with well timed sex will get pregnant within 6 months and most couples who aren't going to need any help would have a successful pregnancy within a year. At the time I remember being horrified by it taking so long, but realise now that is pretty realistic. They gave me a 6 month course of steroids to keep me well enough to try and get pregnant. On the sixth month I got pregnant but miscarried and the seventh month conceived DD, although in reality we hadn't been using contraception for a lot longer than that so it took more like a year or so. My arthritis has stayed under control ever since fortunately. DS was much more natural and I was pregnant second month of trying.
Given that you are still bf N and having irregular cycles I think I would be inclined to keep trying but then my experiences of TTC have been in totally different circumstances where I have just wanted to be pg as soon as possible. I'm also tainted by my 3 of my 5 closest Mum friends and a couple of relatives having had fertility problems. I'd probably not bother with the military operation type of approach and just not use contraception and if it happens great. Know it will be difficult if you get pg just before your job starts though, so if you think you absolutely couldn't face early pg during the job then I'd try next month and then leave it a couple of months. Sorry for long waffly response.
Moose - I want that kitchen too! Your kitchen sounds so like mine. Mine only has 3 doors though (to think I moan about 3 and you have 4!) and a big chimney breast on the last remaining wall so my longest stretch of worktop is about 1m. It drives me crazy. If I'm baking I end up having to roll out on a board on top of the Aga as that is the biggest flat surface. The kitchen itself is pretty big, it is just a terrible design.