January 2009- toddlers turning 15mths and all that jazz (really just a new thread so DOG can fit it on her poncey iphone!)

[PatTheHammer]

Good enough for ya dog .

And sorry I do realise some are only turning 14 mths and some are nearly 16mths etc,etc......apologies!

All officially toddlers now though i think (well 120's H and HKZ's J are pulling up/taking steps now I think, think mostly everyone walking of some sort!) Scary thought!

Phew, have just sat down - 12 hours straight cake decorating - that has to be some sort of record doesn't it? My back is killing me and I'm covered from head to foot in icing, but its all done.

We now have a passable space shuttle and a what feels like a few million hairy, bug-eyed alien cupcakes which look far too cute to eat. I am especially proud of the ones in the silcone-feet cupcase holders, as they bob up and down when you move them. We've had them in the fridge all afternoon and it looked like they were all getting excited and jumping around every time we opened the door.

Weather forecast is great so bouncy castle man has called to confirm he'll be delivering it tomorrow morning. So its all systems go - again!

Chef, the wildlife all around you sounds amazing. The place our family owns in southern Ireland that we go on holiday to every year has a wildfowl and nature reserve right by it, along with a place known as Ravens' Point. If I'm honest, I'm a bit scared of them, they really are huge and can be quite menacing if they think you are invading their territory.

Moose your cup cakes sound so cool. Are you on fb? Are you going to put the pictures up? I really want to see them

Have a fantastic day today x

Moose,am sorry to hear of all your delays and frustration with DS1, its really awful having to wait, there shouldn't be any waiting where children are concerned. Your party sounds fab, will you put a few pics up on your profile again so we can all gaze in awe at your masterpieces? DD is 3 on Tuesday and has requested an Elmer the Elephant cake...that should be simple then We are having a little gathering next Sunday, am going to do a bit of shopping for it today. Hope we are as lucky as you have been with the weather.
Any ideas for things to go into party bags on a very tight budget? Or do you think at 3 they don't really need a party bag anyway?

Chef, glad your scan was straight forward, sending you lots of positive vibes for good results. Am loving the sound of all your wildlife...in Hackney we have....scraggy urban foxes...pidgeons, oh and cats!

Lenni, hope you are bearing up in Morocco. Do you have the DCs with you? Have a few friends who are stuck far away and meant to be back at work on Monday.

Books , well done on surviving four! Hope all is good with you.

Tink hope its DD1 with the 7F feet and not DD2! Just had J's feet measure and he's a 4f... not as wide aS DD so he can't inherit her shoes grr.

D0G Hope all is going well with the move. Are you officially moving next week or the week after? Very exciting!

Tea Hope you had a good evening. When's your DD turning 3?

So we have had a busy week. Finally managed to potty train DD after several dismal attempts over the last year. Yesterday she went the whole day without an accident, hooorah!

Has a lovely day relaxing in a friends very beautiful garden in Brockley, her and har DH entertained the dcs all day wghile i sat in the sun...perfect!

Has anyone had experience of 'stuff' coming out of their dc's ear? Jude seems to get ear infections easily, and has a cold at the moment. Yesterday (tmi warning!) he had what looked like snot coming out of his ear.It was only a small amount and he is fine...no temp or anthing...so what is that about? Apart from being completely revolting?

morning

mm - you r a star cakes sound fab

hope u managed to get icing out

hkz - i luv elmer good luck

yes ideas i would put in a tub of playdoh each only 80p and how about a small bag of buttons

dh and dd1 swimming

yes it is dd1 with 7f feet

Hackney - Not until July does she turn 3. My two are very close together in age

Hi everyone....

How amazing is this sunshine? Lenni am thinking it has nothing on Morocco though - can't believe you are still stuck there. When holidays go wrong etc etc...

hackney eugh at ear-snot - N always has a little scraping of yellow wax but I can't even get at that, so not much help I am afraid.. I am sure it's just standard mucus from a cold though - it's all connected, isn't it?

Very busy weekend - PIL away so have been running the B&B, cooked for 17 people on Fri night! And 11 last night - a doddle compared to 17. And full English (Welsh) breakfasts. My stint as a domestic goddess is almost over though - they are back tonight [phew].

Sister also here - off riding this afternoon together so should get going really.

Waves to everyone else.

MM just exhausted even thinking about the icing marathon you endured.

Good luck for party!

Evening all.

Parties are over! Hurrah!

It went really well, thank goodness. Weather was gorgeous - rocket ice lollies all round! Actually, it went so fast I was almost caught out by not leaving enough time for the alien egg hunt. I hadn't factored in how slowly 6 year old boys eat. Bouncy castle was a huuuuge hit, rockets had a few mislaunches but that just added to the general raucous over-excitement and they all found plenty of alien eggs to take home. They also had huge fun with the big bag of rocket balloons and several balloon pumps, but opted not to do any of the astronaut training exercises I had planned, in favour careering about on the bouncy castle.

Little darlings are both in bed now, hopefully sleeping for ready for school tomorrow. They are both totally exhausted.

HKZ, I get all my party bag stuff of ebay so not much help with shopping I'm afraid. At 3 years old, I would probably head to the pound shop for a small trinket each (think pot of bubbles, mini playdoh pot or mini colouring pencils and mini colouring book) and then pop in a small packet of sweets and some birthday cake. Found two examples of an Elmer cake here and here. The first one has probably used an elephant shaped cake tin and then stuck on squares of different colour sugarpaste icing. The second one has just painted him on the top of a round cake using icing gel. I think to keep it simple I would make a large madeira cake eg in a large roasting tin (madeira is best for cutting to shape without dropping to bits and is even better if you freeze it for a few hours or overnight before cutting it) cut it to look like an elephant and then buy a couple of packs of the different colour sugarpaste you can get in the supermarkets and cut out squares to stick on like patchwork.

Sounds like J has had an ear infection. Apparently once the mucusy stuff drains out it relieves the pain and they feel better. I don't think its considered serious if he hasn't had a temperature and there's no sign of blood in the mucus. some info here.

Tea, no I'm not on Facebook, but I will put some photos on my profile when I get them off my sister (our camera is kaput) who forgot the cable we needed to download them today - and add you as a friend so you can see them.

MissJ, cooking for 17! and I thought I'd had a tough weekend. Hope you have been relieved of duties and have your feet up with a nice glass of red by now.

Moose thanks for the links. Think I will take J off to the Docs tomorrow, he has had a few ear infections so its best to get them noted iyswim. Love the elmer cake ideas. Am just going to make two round victoria sponges and cut around. Have got some icing pens and am goin gto make his patch work out of them and different colour sprinkles and sweets....eek...the thought of it is bringing me out in a cold sweat.
Glad the party was a hit, looking forward to seeing the pics. What did DD make of it all?

MissJ am seriously impressed at you r breakfast cooking capabilties.

Tink and Dog thanks for the party bag ideas...I went to sainbos earlier and they had a whole party section so I picked up some tat little bits there and will stick in a balloon and a slice of Elmer! The bloke in the chippy let me have 10 of his stripey paper take away bags so will use them as the party bags...sorted.

Had a chilled out day here, pottering in the garden. Just had a builder round to do a quote for a new kitchen and a few bits here and there...think it is going to be $$$$ so might have to wait another year...our house is falling apart in places..would love to win the lottery and restore it. We have decided to stay in London for a few more years, so I can get maternity pay if I have a DC3 and so we can save big time in order to leave! So have decided its worth spending a bit on our house if we are going to be here for a few years yet.

Hope everyone has had a lovely sunday. D0G hope the scan is good, are you going to find out if its a g or b or have a surprise?

HKZ, try a madeira recipe instead as victoria tends to crumble when you cut around it. Madeira is basically the same recipe with more flour in it. There's a recipe on the bero cookbook site here. Popping it in the freezer really does the trick as well. Just wrap it tightly in cling, freeze overnight, allow to thaw slightly then cut to shape. It holds together much better than fresh cake and retains all the moisture and flavour. It also means you don't have to bake and decorate it all the night before the party. Your decoration ideas sound fab, love the idea of using sprinkles and sweets for the patchwork. Photos please!

Haven't forgotten the dog training stuff either. Can't remember if I said, but I think clicker training is probably the best way to go. Hopefully I will have time to put something together for your this week now the parties are over.

Dd loved the party, especially as one of the Mum's stayed with her 10 month old dd so she had some baby company as well as a gaggle of over-excited boys. She particularly loved sitting to the table with them all stuffing pizza, garlic bread and strawberries!

Next big organisation project for me is planning our 3 day, 2 night festival excursion with dd in May. Will have to keep asking my weather angels to be kind methinks. Seems to be working so far.

moosey, party sounds fab! more requests for photos from here...

MJ, am impressed too with your cooking capacity. Have worked cooking breakfasts and it is definitely not for the faint hearted.

HZ hope J's ear ok.

Haven't read much further back, so apologise. We had a fantastic afternoon at whitstable today. What a scorcher (comparatively)!

Having some nice grilled steak, my first English asparagus and some wine to celebrate spring. Ahhhhh.

Have to start running training tomorrow as have entered myself for the run to the beat half marathon in September in a bid to scare myself into getting fit.

Right, anyone up for some Birthday pressie discussions? Tink, where are you??? Need some ideas for DD who is going to be 3 please. Am thinking:

mini guitar
karaoke set thingy
dvd player
wooden cakes
little mermaid/other dvd's

obviously not all of them but need to research best/most useful then make a decision. Any other ideas much appreciated.

thanks books, will look for cheap games. am with you on the teetering/heart thing. H putting us through it too!

DOG, meant to mention scan! am sooo broody and can't believe I'd even think of doing it all again. very excited for you.

Ohhh D0G, I like a surprise too!DD was a surprise and DS was meant to be a surprise...but I saw his willy on the screen at the scan and couldn't help myself from blurting out 'Oh...is that a willy?'

120...I have just wrapped DD's presents, we got her;
gruffalo 2in 1 puzzle
gruffalo Snakes and Ladders game (she likes Gruffallo)
A set of wooden animal picture dominoes (cost 2.50 off amazon)here
penny whistle
wooden cake set here
cardboard playhouse that packs down flat which you can decorate and colour in... here

Think here GP's might have got her a little tea set thing or something. My main criteria was that they were relatively quiet presents that didn't take up space!! I really wanted to get her a keyboard as she loves the piano at MIL's house, but am holding off until next year...would really like to get a proper piano one day.

Moose I iwll try the maderia and thanks for the tip for freezing, will do that too as DH is working next sat so won't have much of a chance to do things in preparation for Sunday.

Books we are a house of Gruffallo too, think we all know it off by heart. We took DD to see the stage show at Christmas and it was fab, would highly recommend it if you haven't been already.

Moose You know your cake making. I took some notes... lol. Glad to hear the party was hit.

HKZ lol at scraggy urban foxes and pigeons. I know what you mean. Yeah for DD and potty training! What a relief that must be. Idea for party favours for 3 year old; KAZOO'S! We are going to be in our flat for a couple of years too and so we are going to paint because, damn, the colour my uncle (previous owner too, uncle just keeps it the same... he's a little uneventful individual really) paints it in what I call 'Death Warmed Over' colour... honestly, there's no other description that fits as perfect.

MissJ 17 people! I struggle to make bacon and eggs for me, DD and DH! You rock.

120 I run my first 10k Marathon next Sunday! I was hauling ass running on the treadmill at the recreation centre and saw the advertisement for the Marathon and signed up and it did scare my into exercising! I'm going to do the half marathon in October... provided I'm not pregnant.

My goodness... DD is right pissed off that I won't let her near the computer. Oh, now she's fine. They can be so easily distracted at this age. I have found a good one; she pines at me, I say, 'Where's your ball' and off she goes looking for it, getting sidetracked along the way... giving me a few minutes to piss around on MN and FB.

Had a fab Sunday lunch with my SuperFlyMoms. We went up to Sooke Harbour House . Its where my husband is the Head Chef. We had the Sunroom which is just off the dining room so the little ones could roam freely and not disturb staff or other lunchers. I love going there. Its neat to see all the little ones turning into tots. We've all been hanging out before any of LO's could lift their heads. Two of the moms have new LO's too. Second wave of baby making.

Have a great Monday Ladies.

chef that places looks lovely!

HZ meant to say a big congrats on the potty training!! the bags can now get lighter..

working today.

Chef - Your H's restuarant looks lovely and what a view! Am as I've said before of where you live. Beautiful place to be.

Still trying to potty train my madam, she's good at wee's but will not poo on potty Any tips?

yeah tea... I'd say bribes all the way. we did choccie buttons or stickers for a poo. then it was one for a poo on the potty... two for a poo on the loo. once they get the hang of it you have to stop though or it becomes an ordeal.

morning

120 here i am

i am getting dd1 for xmas and 2nd bday her 2

all from elc

wooden elc puzzles
happyland postoffice,rocket and garage
elc keyboard
mini sizzling kitchen
washing machine

getting dd1 for 5th bday

dvds
wii games
train set
wooden road tracks
wooden garage all elc

hope this helps

super scribbler is fab

busy ladies this weekend

hkz good ;luck @ drs

great to be back to normality here

peace

off for a walk with dd2 soon
was taking her swimming mondays have stopped she wasnt enjoying!! going to do tumble club thurs instead she doea sing and sign 2

Chef....the restaurant looks lush. I know what you mean about 'death warmed up' colour...magnolia...even saying the word makes me shudder.

Work is super hectic so I really shouldn't be MNing.... Left DH with the Dcs...he was not in a happy Monday mood when I left so am glad to have refuge in work!

If anyone fancies sponsoring me I am doing a 5k run for GOSH in June:

here

or

here the n click on individual then type in my name...which is on FB! (ZW!)

Its a bit of a complicated website which is annoying....nedd to get my arse into gear on the training front.

Right...must...do..work...

HZ - I went for a run this morning nah nah nah nah nah!!! maybe we can hook up and do a weekly one in the evening? (followed by a pint...). LOL at your DH not being in a Monday mood. Can imagine his expression.

thanks tink, great ideas!

I am in a very sunny mood today but have lots of work to do and am not doing it only half way through. very naughty. Have managed to stick to my eating rules though (no chocolate without a piece of fruit first, no tea without a glass of water first). not sure how long I'll keep it up though.

I did the sports direct cheap croc thing that I found under hte offers on here and got an awful enormous mug along with the shoes. Fortunately managed to get a friend to take it away with her. Eugggh. Very cheap crocs though (£9 all in).

I'm up for running it with you but looked into both it and the flora 5K runs and I really object to having to pay £15 to do what is essentially a 3 mile run. I love raising money for charity and will give it happily, but for some bone-brained reason have a block about handing it out to administrators!

Coolio 120....am going to start training at some point this week, once a certain person's birthday is out the way. Definitely up for a run in Vicky park or something.... The admin thing pisses me off too, but I guess these things take a lot of organising an dincur fees...hmmm.....and you went running on ...a monday mroning? Freak ! I am on a health kick too...all be it a rather feeble one that seems to involve a significant amount of red wine consumption...in the full swing of TTC...so my body is a temple and all that. (My body is a wobbling mound of jelly...but never mind)

Oh dear, you guys are making feel a bit pathetic. I was proud of myself for walking an extra loop of the block and home through the park this morning after the school run as my first step towards getting fit again, but a very poor attempt compared to you two marathon runners.

I am also struggling to fight temptation in a house full of birthday cake and alien cupcakes left over from yesterday.

My aim is to get back up to walking 5 miles a day in my MBTs by the end of May. I'm going to try it with dd in the sling, but am not sure if that will unbalance me in my MBTs and cause back problems.

My sister has signed up for the 10K Race for Life, I think in June. I did it with her last time, but can't even bear the thought of it now.

We have lost the sun here today and I'm actually feeling a bit chilly.