Issy's graduates (Bella, Blue, Head, Jumping, Irish, Wasabi, Girl, Sunny) here to give advice and swap tips

[bluesatinsash]

Ta da!

Hope this shakes a few of us out of where we're languishing these days .

Let this be the one-stop shop into everything that is the crazy, wonderful, sleep and sanity deprived world of bringing up baby

Oh yes, and Jumping you are a bloody brilliant mum. Let nobody tell you otherwise.

Ever.

So, Wasabi?s catch up part deux.

Blue I smiled at your catch up post when your DH was in the pub for a stag do. You are very good drinking diet coke when having a nice night in on your own. I invariably find that a nice white burgundy starts to call me in that particular situation. I have to say that I love it when DH is late back. He says ?oh I?m sorry I?m going to be late on Thursday? or whatever day (he has to entertain a bit for work) and I have to pretend to be sad. I love DH dearly you understand but, well, marriage can be hard work sometimes and it?s nice to have a night off occasionally.

Your curtains sound luvverly ? like you I hold John Lewis dear to my heart. Our snug is a whisker away from completion. We bought a lovely old writng desk in Hungerford last weekend so DH will go and collect that tomorrow and have also bought a little telly to pop in the corner so that is the last piece of the puzzle ? tomorrow night we can snuggle in our snug. Yipeee! Actually we also need to get a big box fire guard thingy which will look rubbish but not as rubbish as a todder on the way to the burns unit.
I had to smile at your food routine ? it is so similar to mine. I think we are both quite rountiney people I do the meat/fish at lunch and then a more random tea. Clara has anything from scrambled eggs, baked beans with toast to lentil curry (thank you Ellas) or hummus and rice cakes for tea invariably with a mini baby bel which she likes to munch herself. I must try French toast actually. I have also been known to give her pieces of plain broken up (home-made) cake which she loves. I know you shouldn?t give too much sugar but at least if its home-made I know it hasn?t got any freaky additives in. She also loves rice pudding. I am such a ponce I grate things like nutmeg or cinnamon into it ? mainly because I like the smell.

I am LOVING the thought of Ben as a little spider! You must post pics on Facebook. Fred had a Halloween party at nursery on Weds and he went as a pirate ? they painted his face and everything it looked so funny. He was just yelling PIRATE at the top of his voice over and over again. Such a refined child. We bought a pumpkin back from Norfolk the other weekend so will do that on Saturday. I am stocked up with my trick or treating goodies as we have of kids in our road too. A lot of people moan about Halloween (and I have to say I avoid a lot of the tat that seems to appear in supermarkets at this time of year) but I think it?s cute when little local children that you know come trick or treating.

You write of your love for your gorgeous boys so beautifully. It makes me happy to think of you watching them playing around together with so much pride.

Rogue Hope A is over her cold. It?s a difficult time of year ? I?m afraid there?ll be a bit more of that to come. When you are cursing it remember that getting sniffles, coughs and all the rest that early in life means their immune system will be nice and strong by the time they get to school! I hope other than that your angel baby is still being an angel for you! 6-8 weeks can be a tricky time ? growth spurts etc. If A seems to have gone a bit off course recently that might be why! If not then consider yourself lucky!

Was your MIL all lovely and clucky over A? Of course she was. Hope your DH?s work schedule will calm down a bit next week. DH also puts in stupid hours towards month end (and even worse at quarter end) so I can really relate. He leaves the house at about 6.30am, gets in about 7.30 and some nights actually continues working ? and this is after working on the train as well. We are lucky that DH has a reasonable high earning job but he does work so very hard.
Head Greetings fellow kitten adopter! Sam sounds very cute ? love that Luca called him after Fireman Sam. How has your return to work gone? I think it must take a few weeks to get into the swing of a new routine. How is the new Nanny settling in and how have L & F taken to her? I am assuming it is a she but you could have a manny!

Looking forward to seeing some big updates when you are next on lates!

Sunny You have been v quiet lately too. Are you back at work yet?

Issy So lovely to hear from you. Good to hear that E is growing, albeit slowly! I sympathise with the sick thing ? Clara is still prone to it and will sometimes randomly hiccup and throw up entire meals seemingly for no reason at all. Very annoying. And messy. My HV told me that the valve responsible won?t get to full strength until she starts standing up which she is currently showing no signs of doing at all.

I sympathise with your thoughts about finances and hope that your job stays in place despite the dreaded cuts. I know we don?t tend to do politics on this thread but I have to say that so far I think that this government seem to be competing with Tory administrations past on how much they can hammer single parents.

Right I had best be off as Clara will be up soon and I have to get organised for a trip over to a friends house this afternoon. I am still so in love with my beautiful little girl. I still struggle to put her down to sleep at nights after she has had her milk and she is gently burping and hiccupping with her little cheek resting on my shoulder. In a way I am quite glad she isn?t turning into a toddler just yet as I am in no hurry to lose my lovely, soft, sweet baby.

Have a lovely weekend everyone xx

Hello ladies We've been on hols in the land of no internet, will post once I serrle A

Righty, I'm back at work, I have no babies tugging at my legs and it's very quiet here so I'm going to do a biiiiig catch up :o

Issy lovely to hear from you again, I've sent you a friend request on fb, Eira is so sweet, the last pics of her smiling are lovely.

Bella sounds like you've got a pretty good routine to me, very similar to Francesca's though she does a later nap, from about 10.30 and all being well it lasts two hours then it's lunch. She might chuck in a short power snooze before tea but otherwise that's it for her. I see you've also got 4am waking issues too. I cannot bring myself to do CC, I can't bear to hear either child cry for more than a few seconds so until Francesca decides she doesn't need milk at 4am I'll be getting up and shuffling like a zombie to her room.

wasabi so glad to hear your dad's illness wasn't anything too sinister. Still not nice for him but so much better than you know what...

How are your kittens? Are they driving you bonkers yet? :o Sam chases my feet whenever I walk barefoot, it's a killer because I'm just not a slipper person. He's sweet and very patient with the kids though, Francesca grabs chunks of his fur and he just puts up with it.

gonerogue how were you hols? I hope you're feeling nice and rested..

jumping you asked me a load of questions waaay back, so here goes: Work is fine, it's knackering because I still have to get up at 6.30/7 when the kids wake up but I don't get home from work until 11pm or later. It's nice to get out of the house I must admit and it's nice to be able to actually have a lunch hour, and wander around the shops in a leisurely manner, but boy am I ever tired!

I am still bfing Francesca, I've never had the greatest milk supply so when I'm not working I'm still doing four or five feeds a day, morning, midafternoon, bedtime, dreamfeed and usually a night time one as well. When I'm at work I do the morning, pump at work at about 6pm and then do a dreamfeed when I get home - hence the knackeredness, I usually don't get to bed before midnight.

She's sleeping ok at night, not brilliant, but not terrible. She usually wakes up at about 4am and I was getting in to bed with her and feeding her while I fell asleep again but that wasn't good for either of us. She woke up every time I moved and I didn't sleep properly at all so now I just get up, prop my eyelids open with matchsticks and feed her and go back to bed. My mum thinks I'm bonkers still feeding her at night but if I don't she wakes up loads and never settles back so I think she needs it.

The nanny is working out brilliantly. She's really lovely, both children are really happy with her and it's so nice to be able to dash out the house when I'm late in the morning and know she can do anything I haven't managed to do that morning like putting the washing out, clearing away breakfast, feeding and dressing the kids... erm.. pretty much everything :o

I'm loving the feminist bent this thread is taking :o I've been a firm believer that the previous generation misled us somewhat about having it all. My mum had her children in her early 20s, went back to work when I was 5 and basically worked 12 hour days 5 days a week from when I was 11 or so, including spending at least 2 weeks abroad every other month. There's no way she ran a perfect house, we had au pairs (most of whom were rubbish, either weepy teenagers or sour faced old cows who stole all my parents booze and fed us dreadful food) My mum only recently admitted to me that she only ever cooked meals that took 20 minutes to prepare and cook. The funny thing is that I hadn't noticed any of it when I was young. I know she was tired and busy, but it just didn't register with me that she was juggling so much. And that was in the days before internet shopping. I don't know what I'd do if I actually had to find time to go to a supermarket :o

Oh to live in Sweden, ok so they might pay 70% income tax or whatever, but they get 18 months mat leave on full pay. I think what's so scandalous is how expensive childcare is and how little support middle income families are given. Given my hours at work (I work 10am - 10pm) and the fact that dh doesn't get home from his commute until 7pm the only way we could get childcare was to go down the nanny route which costs us £1400 a month for three days a week We're not poor but paying the nanny means a very tight household budget from now on, I've had to take a big cut in my salary as I'm not working flexible hours (usually we're supposed to work any shift, any day of the week with only 24 hours notice, I'm working set days and set hours). I now earn £10k a year less than when I started here 8 years ago

Aaaaand relax..... :o

Anyway, I hope I haven't missed anyone out. Sorry it's a bit me me me.. I will try to keep up more often so I'm not doing such a big catch up (and mostly forgetting it before I've even typed it!)

Big question of the day....are you buying your babies a Christmas present? And if so, what? Obviously I can't get away with not getting Luca something, he knows about Christmas now, but Francesca hasn't a clue. It feels mean though...

Laters xx

Hi again, am checking in while procrastinating. Somehow MN is a lot more alluring than writing about disaster recovery in a virtualised environment .

Hey Head I was looking forward to your catch up post It's great to hear that your nanny has settled in so well and that the children have taken so happily to her. Your routine sounds impressive! You are putting in some serious hours - respect. Francesca sounds like she has a good routine going - albeit not one that matches with yours That 4am waking is a toughie to shift. It's like some universal baby witching hour.

On the subject of kittens, if Sam has just one annoying habit that isn't too bad. Ours have regular attacks of the crazies and chase eachother round the house like loons. They also hassle me for food costantly, hover under Claras highchair at mealtimes and sleep in my ironing basket, not in the lovely faux sheepskin beds NEXT TO IT. They are quite cute though. S'pose.

Loving your feminist fury - right on sister. I think your point about our mothers gen viewing their history through some very rosy tinted specs is bang on. I'm not quite sure when it stopped being ok to just be a good enough parent. Or rather a good enough mother. You have to hand it to men really. They benefited from feminism by getting to have sex without getting married which is why no man under about 40 (vast generalisation but you get my drift) wants to get married and gave a family "because I'm too much of a kid myself." Meanwhile women put everything on hold until we're really pushing our luck biologically speaking because we don't want to look needy. Then if we finally do get married and have children we take on our share of the bread winning but also the purchase of bread ingredients, baking of bread and the tidying up afterwards. We don't eat the bread because we're on a low carb diet because we shouldn't let ourselves go.

I probably took the bread analogy too far there but you see my point. It all seems to have gone a bit awry somewhere.

Anyway I'm quite tired now and off to bed.

Night night everyone

Oh and on the subject of Christmas I don't think we'll be getting Clara more than a token couple of bits. Having said that it would be nice for her to actually have something of her own rather than her brothers cast offs.

Hey wasabi, we had a breakthrough in the Fairy household tonight in the name of feminism, dh has been putting both kids to bed when I'm at work (of course, who else is going to do it, the tooth fairy?) I've been putting both kids to bed for the last ten months and been juggling with their various demands as they've changed over that time (Luca used to have to be sung to sleep while I bf'd a newborn Francesca, then she had to be rocked to sleep while I read him a story, then she wanted to sit in her bouncy chair while I read his stories, now she just wants to crawl around and attempt to climb everything while I read him his bedtime stories) As dh can't boil water without burning it, dinner is almost always my responsibility too, so I have to do bath and bed x2 then come down and do dinner, most nights we dont' eat before 9.

Until I went back to work Luca steadfastly refused to be put to bed by dh so there was no way round it. Tonight for the first time dh read stories to Luca and put him to bed while I bf'd Francesca and put her to bed. Net result = both children asleep by 7.15 and dinner at a sensible time!!! Sorry this is utterly irrelevant but I just wanted to crow about it. This is our new routine now :o:o

Anyway, gotta go as Sam is chasing my fingers across the keyboard and those claws are sharp!!

TTFN xx

Sorry for lack of posting - Aoife has just had the most exhausting of growth spurts - eating every two hours for about half an hour at a time - even at night. God I am wrecked. She is now over 10lbs which the practise nurse is happy with thank God.

She did make up for it by only waking at 3 a.m. today and then at seven, but slept until half ten so I got a little lie in.

I will have to read back through so many posts - and write back to you all soon.

Sorry for no personals yet - will write big atch up tomorrow

Hi guys, just marking my page, Will do cath up post on my lunch tomorrow.

Good to have you back Head

Just marking my spot too. Been in Italia for a few days (pissed it down everyday - more of which later)
Now off to le countryside in a couple of hours. Oh yeah, PACKING EEEK!

Anyway LOVE LOVE LOVE the feminist flag we have erected too. Just been all excited reading the posts, bouncing up and down a bit in my chair like G does when he gets rice pudding for his tea

will catch up very soon

Wish we could have a rl meet up but we couldn't all be further apart in the british isles if we tried really could we?! :)

Bella . Boo to it tipping down in Italia - that's just not on..

Yes we are very geographically diverse. I think we have a foot in each part of the British Isles save for perhaps Wales . Would be happy to meet up in London one day although it would be 'sans bairns'. I could catch the sleezyjet down and back..

Head - glad the nanny is working out. Neither wonder you are knackered with the feeding... Does F need this much milk still? Ben has milk at wake up, 3pm and bedtime but he does eat like a monster and has the thighs to prove it .

wasabi - I LOVED your bread analogy, you are so right and men do definately have the better deal in our post-feminism world. It is a challenge to be all things to all people, Wife, Mum, colleague, friend whilst also having some me time to go to gym, read a book, plan a revolution..

I do consider myself very lucky, not financially, but time wise. Both DH and me are home by 5.30pm at the latest and I think that helps emormously in getting things done and not spiralling down the stress vacuum. We also have family doing the childcare two days out of three so I am £160 for one day at nursery (albeit going up to £300 as Ben starts in January) per month not £1400 like Head .

The days I work are way more stressful of course as its straight to the kitchen do not pass go the minute I get in. Again I'm very grateful that I do have two days off each week to have a slower pace, have the luxury of being able to have dinner ready etc. DH has never expected his dinner on the table (as if!) but I know he loves a Tues/Thurs as I'm home and his dinner is on the table not still to be cooked as I fly in the door behind him... He would be happy to prepare dinner but its my territory IYKWIM and only I know if Ben had butternut squash for lunch so not to give him it for tea etc...

My Mum went back to work when I was three but we were lucky as my Mum worked in education and had all the school holidays. I always felt she was around looking back.

How has feminismn helped me? Probably in securing equal pay for equal work, flexible working allowing me to drop to three days, marrying a man who sees me as an equal not a subservant which can only be due to our generation view on things. Saying that my Dad was very supportive of my Mum retraining (Secretary to Special Needs Assistant)and expected me and my sisters to go to Uni... That's the man I grew up with so was never attracted to the typcial 'Alpha male' dinner on table by 5 or else kind of guy...

I fear I am rambling

Blue I don't know about the night feeds. I'm not convinced she gets much milk at each feed hence she still needs to get one in at night. My milk supply isn't brilliant any more... exactly the same happened with ds. I get past 9 months, periods return and milk seems to get less and less.

I've only got 7 weeks to go until her birthday and I can go "yessssssss!" cos I'll have done my year :o I guess I'm just stubborn and won't give up until then. The she gets big fat bottles of cow's milk to fill her up and she won't want me any more. Of course then I'll cry my heart out and completely forget how shitty I felt getting up at 3am every night :o:o:o

I'd LOVE to do a meet up, didn't we all tinker with the idea last year when we were all pg?

Just a quick bookmarking post here too :)

Loving the feminist theme too, and very interesting to read everyone's work etc. situation and also good to hear what the generation before did. My Mum worked part-time from when I was a baby but only very part-time and she used to take us with her or we'd amuse ourselves in an adjacent room (she's a music teacher- taught at home and in schools). But she always had school hols off and was always home by 4pm, and my step-dad worked from home so we were never in any childcare. Quite jammy really. Saying that we did have to amuse ourselves quite a lot whenever mum was working- but I think it just made me and my sister close.

at the nanny fees Head- think I might change profession!! You made me chuckle at the image of the au pairs too. If you don't mind me being nosey what did your Mum do? Sounds very interesting!
I really feel for you with the late nights and early starts- it does wear you down, especially with a night feed added to the mix. F is still feeding at least once in the night too- and probably doesn't need it, but is teething badly and her appetite in the day has been very variable so feel she needs that night feed at the moment to keep topped up... and I'm still cosleeping half the night with her so she has got used to snacking on the mummy buffet .
Blue I am lucky too than my MIL minds the DCs 1.5 days, so I only have to pay for childcare for 2 mornings each week which doesn't cost too much during school term time... Like you though I find the 1 day I work the whole day pretty stressful at tea time etc.- though the other afternoons when I'm home are crazy too as DS and DD1 have quite a few activities (swimming lessons, gymnastics etc.) and homework etc. seems to completely fill the 2 - 5pm slot... DH doesn't get in until at least 6pm so making dinner always falls to me (we all try to eat together, but usually I start the kids at 5-5.30pm and DH joins in at the end), which I don't mind, but never get a chance to cook anything that interesting these days (not helped by F going through a mega clingy phase...)

I think in our generation we suffer severely from maternal guilt- I know so many other mums who fret enormously over going back to work, getting quality childcare and making sure the kids are settled and happy. It is an impossibly hard task.

Right, we are the house of contagion yet again (chest infections and Ffion has some strange viral thing resulting in spots all over her- but not chicken pox) and getting even less sleep than usual so must dash- probably won't get time to get online before I am off to sea but hopefully catch up later next week...

Big wave to you all- will do more personals soon! xxx

Hello ladies - sorry for not posting until now - we have just had a major growth spurt, followed by my dryer blowing up and my dishwasher breaking. I am just waiting for something else electrical to break down on me.

Aoife is great - had her first vaccinations last monday poor child. I will never be able to look at her getting them - even if I do have to hold her down. Sleep wise we are getting one or two wake ups a night still but I'm not too tired/bothered with them.

Head I third the OMG at nanny fees. I'm probably looking at about ?800 a month for Aoife when I go back to work. I'm hoping though that I will be able to work part time 3 days or if not then work rom home 2 days because my commute is an hour each way and I work from 8 - 5. My sister would drop her to the creche for me and then I would pick her up when Im working. Oh and I've bought Aoife 2 outfits for Christmas - my family have already bought her toys and I'm sure she'll get loads of presents form CHris's side too. She's not getting much else from us.

Jumping hope the contagion leaves soon, and that you have a good time at sea. We were very lucky growing up in that my parents owned a grocery shop and we lived behind it so there was someone there 24/7 for us. We even used to be able to go home at lunchtime from school for dinner that my mam had cooked in between customers. (She did have a cleaner/ironer though so wasn't too overwhelmed) We did enjoy the perks of the shop too - sweets anytime mammy wasn't looking we were so bold. Anyway with 10 of us she would never have afforded the childcare.

I too was raised with the expectation that I would do well in school and go on to Uni - as long as that was what I wanted too. No major expectations put on us but my parents did hammer the education thing home. My Dad was great around hte house, he used to (and still does) cook the Sunday dinner and Christmas dinner so that set my expectations for DH quite high. (Good that he met them )

wasabi how is the new kitten? We have three cats chez rogue - one that we've had for 7 years and then two brothers that we got last year. We also have 2 dogs - Dh had never had pets gorwing up so we may have gone slightly overboard. How is C doing, any progress on the walking/standing/shuffling?

Hi Bella not good that it's raining in Italy - how disappointing. I too wouldn't be averse to a meet up in London - I can get cheapo flights over. Will we do it - (possibly after Christmas?) Can leave Aoife with DH for the day - would do him the world of good.

Hello to everyone else - Blue like teh sound of the gym regime - I might start one up in February (not January because everyone does that after Christmas thing don't they? )

Holidays were great - just change of scene, DH was there all day so he could see hwo life is with Aoife at home (his verdict - "bit monotonous isn't it?). Aoife may have a touch of bronchiolitis (sp) so am doing my best to keep her wrapped up warm adn not get wet.

Have just ordered my oil for the next few months - it's gotten so cold here.

Ok - hopefully we can arrange our meet up - would be deadly! Talk to you all soon (and sorry for length of post plus any spelling mistaks I've missed)

Hi just popping on to say still no proper time for a catch up as am applying for a job I am unqualified for
desperate times calling for desperate measures etc
G has started walking (a weeny bit) holding onto only one hand! It's very impressive and sweet, but means that I still spend a lot of my days dawdling around the house with him while he pulls me towards things that could potentially kill him if left unsupervised. The oven door, cables, knives - he has a sixth sense for these things already.

rogue loving the use of the word deadly. I LOVE the Irish accent. I wanted to go to Trinity College Dublin to bag me an Irish husband but alas the parents weren't feeling it.

Must crack on but I promise I will get back for proper catch up and personals too. Feeling great warmth and affection for you ladies these days I must say. We have been through a lot haven't we?!

jumping could you pretend that you were at see but secretly pop over to see us instead?! Imagining that for you it's a wee bit trickier to get over here...

oh and will just add that the Bella dairy is still open first thing in the morning and once before bed. The bedtime one is for G cos he still really clearly wants it but the morning one is for me as I get to stay in bed a little longer and I really love that cuddle with him as we both snooze. I will start to stop that one now though because I think it's stopping him from sleeping through properly and he is happier when he does I think. He slept til 6:15 ish for a week before we went away but has since regressed back to 5 frustratingly. I am shocked and amazed and delighted by how much he is eating these days so i know it can't be hunger! head i think you are right about it being a bit of a baby witching hour at that time. It's mine too. that's when I used to always get a visit from my demons...

Anyway AGAIN will catch up properly another time NOT NOW!!

Hee hee Bella I got in so much trouble with deadly when I lived in Nottingham. Some people had a lot of trouble with deadly being good. Hope the job hunt goes well for you.

Have just gotten Aoife off to sleep. She has started crying at night before bed - sometimes she's just tired, sometimes she's hungry but it's a bit hit and miss as to which one it is. Apart from that she's great.

Had her in the doctor the other day - she has a click in her left hip. They think it's ligaments settling, or else it's that she's dislocated her hip I'm waiting for a referral to the ortho clinic now.

In other familial health news my Dad has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. He had colon cancer about 4 years ago and was clear until his last hospital visit. They are operating the week after next and are fairly confident that he'll be fine because they have cayght it early. It's going to be all go for a while here though while we see him through that.

Okay enough wittering from me - talk to you all soon

Goodness me I have found myself with half an hour to myself so have decided to spend it chatting to my Mummy pals!

Well my little C is coming on leaps and bounds this week although she seems to be the latest in the group to do everything She is up on all 4's now doing her rocking backwards and forwards so I am thinking crawling will be here soon. I hope so because she is getting very cross indeed. She can't pull up yet but wants to stand a lot which as long as I hold her hand she can do. Her babbling is really changing as well - no mama yet but I am still holding on for that one!

She is still sleeping really well thank heavens - I have got far too used to a good nights sleep again which will not be good when the next batch of sleeplessness occurs. Still eats loads as well - pretty much 75% self fed now as well I'd say. She's losing interest in her morning milk though. She has about a 2 minute breast feed and wants her breakfast pretty sharpish. I give her formula in a cup and a little baby biscuit and fruit for elevenses (or tenses)after her first nap and that just about gets her through to lunch! If she doesn't get her elevenses she goes loopy if lunch isn't on the table by about 11.45.

She goes down again about 2ish and then wakes 3.30-4pm when she has about 4oz in a bottle then tea at 5 and another bottle for bedtime. The routine has to be a bit flexible because of taking F out and about but if she has a shortened sleep in the morning she just sleeps longer in the afternoon. She seems to recalibrate herself really well.

Only news from me is that we had a bit of a disaster at the weekend. Freddie got up at about 6ish (we think) to go to the loo. All fine but he couldn't quite switch the hot tap off. Unfortunately he had put the plug in the sink. He knew there was a problem but didn't want to wake us until Mr Sunshine showed on his little Gro clock which is set for 7am. The first we knew of it was when C's monitor started beeping because the link between the 2 sets was gone. This was because the electrics had gone off as water was pouring through the bathroom floor into DH said the guilty little look on his little face was priceless.

Anyway, spent 2 or so hours mopping up, the bathroom carpet eventually dried out (we had to take it out!) and all is well. We were going to do the bathroom in Jan anyway and put a new floor in so it isn't like he's ruined a good carpet. Carpet in bathrooms and toddlers don't mix well! Poor Fred - he looked so upset. It's the kind of thing that you think you would be cross about but he looked so crestfallen that any anger immediately dissipated.

The utility room is being painted this weekend - we did the kitchen last weekend. Looks good - kind of a warm grey blue and a definite 50's vibe. We could do with a new kitchen but this will tide us over until we can afford it.

Ok, that's my news, I will return with personals later. I need to get sorted as Clara and I are off to Monkey Music then having lunch with one of the other mums afterwards before collecting the Fredster from nursery.

TTFN

I have returned! You can?t get rid of me that easily ? and while we are on that subject I would LOVE a meet up. Maybe not this side of Xmas as it will all get too frantic but perhaps in the New Year ? something to look forward amidst the bleakness of January. I have realised that when I talk about things we have talked about I refer to ?a friend of mine? rather than a virtual friend or a MN friend. Don?t want to get overly emotional here but it would be lovely to meet. I?m in Newbury but can easily zoom up to London for a day.

Head Like Jumping I also laughed at your recollections of your au pairs! How is your new evening routine holding out? I can?t remember the last time DH and I ate at 7.15. DH doesn?t even get home until 7.30-8 and we tend to eat between 8 & 8.30. Even at the weekend we seem incapable of getting ourselves together before then. I like to think of it as European hours. Some would merely say I was disorganised. I also nearly fainted when I saw the amount you have to pay your Nanny. I?d be expecting Mary Poppins with Dick Van Dyke and a jaunty tune for that kind of cash. Because I am effectively a SAHM that shoehorns freelance work in I don?t have too much of an issue now but when I worked 3 days a week it was nearly £700 a month. Madness. If I put both of them in now it would be upwards of £1100 a month. When you add the cost of train travel in (£350 odd in my case) you can probably see why I chose to go freelance. The cost of childcare is one of the great scandals of our time ? especially when you consider how much the actual carers get paid. Someone is making a shit load of cash but it certainly isn?t them.

Gonerogue So sorry to hear of your Dads diagnosis although it?s good that they think they have caught it early. Heres hoping he recovers well from the op and the evil cancer buggers off once and for all. So happy to see you are still loving this whole Mummy gig. I hope you haven?t found Aoife?s jabs too painful. It is horrid, there is no doubt of that. I know what you mean when you say that you are getting one or two wake ups but can cope. C was like for months and I managed fine. I wouldn?t want to return to it you understand but I managed. You do. I hope she beats off any nasty coughs and colds. There is so much doing the rounds at the moment she is bound to suffer a little. It sucks totally but each winter they get stronger. Fred has a drippy nose and cough at the moment but it is his first this winter. Poor C has already had about 3 colds.

On a happier note the kittens are doing well. They are as mad as cheese but I have become rather fond of them. Like your DH I was never allowed pets as a child (too messy) either. I?m not overkeen on dogs I have to admit although I like the ones I know IYSWIM but I do like cats. I am dreading the day I get pestered for a dog/hamster/guinea pig etc. I just know who?ll end up doing all the cleaning out.

BlueI completely get you when you talk about what feminism has done for you. Whilst I think that the emancipation of women from their ?traditional? roles has brought about a whole new set of problems I don?t for one second think we?d be better off if it never happened. Oh no. In fact I get exceedingly annoyed with people like my MIL who basically shake their heads and say ?silly feminists they?ve made life so difficult for themselves.? Honestly, it?s like the Suffragettes never happened. My DH is quite a trad male in some respects but given that he fell in love with a career girl (at one point after we?d been together several years I was earning quite a lot more than him) he was always prepared for me to go back to it. He was really supportive when I went back part time and took his turns to pick up Freddie, start supper etc. It was me that wanted to do freelance work instead. If it wasn?t for him I couldn?t do it at all as he will often keep the kids entertained for several hours at a weekend so I can do what I need to do. Having said that he loves the fact that when he gets home his supper is, if not on the table, underway. In a way it?s his ideal world ? he gets to come home to a warm, comfy home and a nice meal and I still earn money.

My mum was a freelance journalist so there is a definite family trend, although she got to write lots of nice, fun creative things for womens magazines and newpapers whilst I write about the pressing IT issues of the day. When my brother and i were still quite young she was offered quite a senior editorial post in a womens mag. It would have meant either a nanny or my dad giving up work and being a SAHD. My Dad said no and my Mum chose, for whatever reason not to take the job. It was an open sore in my parent?s marriage for a long, long time. Mistakes were made which I didn?t want to repeat. My Mum sacrificed her career to care for my brother and I but boy did she make us aware of that fact. I always promised myself that if I did the same I would never beat my kids around the head with the ?sacrifices I had made.?It?s one of the reasons I keep plodding on with my work even when it can be quite tough ? it?s a few years of really hard work in return for keeping something of my own. I love my mum and I know she had a bloody hard time of it for a few years (my Dad moving us all to random parts of the country then buggering off on business for 2 months at a time) but I want to be better than she was. She was full of anger and resentment. Not a place I want to be. Having said that having my own children has made me realise just how hard it was for her. Empathy is a wonderful thing. She did raise me to be a stroppy feminist though

Jumping Here?s hoping the contagion has left town. F?s viral thing sounds like roseola which my two had a couple of months ago. If it is 3 days of a fever then a red spotty rash then it def sounds like roseola. Once the rash is out the worst is over. Hope your trip out to the big blue goes well.

Bella Aw your little man is walking! The stooping shuffle (from you) will only last a few weeks or so. He?ll be off and wobbling before you know it. It?s amazing that sixth sense they have for seeking out things that can kill them. It never goes away. Sorry. Best of luck with the job application!
Right, I?m quite sleepy now so off to bedfordshire. Night night everyone xx

Oooh a lovely stream of posts to read on my lunch break.

wasabi - wanted to give Fredster a wee cuddle after reading about Watergate (literally!). Wee lamb, not wanting to disturb because he knew his clock said it was too early. All's well that ends well if the carpet was on it way out and at least you know he washes his hands after going to the loo (bluejunior please take note!). Your utility room sounds fab.

What magazines did you Mum work on? I used to read all my Mum's/Aunt's mags as a girl (Women's Own/Weekly/Women etc.) before I graduated to my own (Just Seventeen was my bible). They were always full of sanitory towel and Silk Cut ads from what I remember . Used to devour the problem pages...

You have a really good balance going on there with your freelance work but at home, keeping your skills current but being there for F and C and having your DH appreciate it too. Also lovely to hear that C loves her grub, her and Ben both! He could eat for Scotland and loves everything and anything, long may it continue . Nap wise he is 9.30am for 1.5 hours then 2pm for 45 mins. I can see his morning one getting pushed back and back until it becomes one after lunch nap but not wishing that any day soon as I get so much done in the morning nap zone as Isaac is at school..

Jumping ahoy matey! Are you back from sea? Agree it sounds like F has the Roseola virus. Benj had it a few months back, three days of fever then two episodes of a rash. I thought it was called the 'Bellasomthing' rash but only because I got my 'Rosa' and 'Bella' mixed up from watching Fireman Sam (Bella owns the cafe and Rosa is her cat ).

Rogue - sorry to hear about your Dad. Hope its all caught early as you say and you are all there to help him with his recovery. Yes baby rearing can be monotonous some days but the older they get the easier/more fun they become. Only last week DH said to me that he loves this stage Ben is at as he is mobile, full of fun and mischief and DH feels he can realyl get involved whereas previously he was more supporting me looking after Ben IYKWIM. Glad you survived A's jags , its nasty expecially the double leg one but they recover quickly and tuck their petted lip away for another day.

Bella - sooo what job are you going for? Can't imagine you not being able to wing it flourish in any given career, 'cept perhaps a secret agent (too chatty loose lips sinks ships ). Yay! to G cruising, way to go G-man. Ben is still doinghi upper body crawl/lower body bum shuffle. He is now trying to stand and can pull himself up but no balance yet so I can keep him a baby for another few weeks .

Head - meant to say re: Crimbo pressies, we're getting two new toys for B, wrapping up two old ones of his big brother but mostly giving him clothes. How's work panning out?

Sunny - you still out there?

All good here at bluetowers. Busy getting organised for Crimbo. DH took the day off last Friday and hot footed it to Glasgow to get all the presents, bar one or two - what a star! I'm hosting this year so need to get (a) a witty festive apron to wear (b) new baking trays etc and (c) my MIL to help me put the pigs in blankets! REally looking forward to it as we have our new dining (old garage) room/snug and the last two Xmas's have been... well Xmas 2008 was as I found out I'd had a MMC on 22nd and Xmas 2009 although amazing thanks to Ben's arrival on 23rd was a sea of two day old baby, head up arse aaargh!....

I've gone a little in Mini Boden and The Little White Company and ordered gorgeous clothes for both boys. It's my niece's christening next month and I'm putting them in matching outfits for the first time (lovely brushed cotton checked shirts, grey cardigans and blue cords or dungarees in Ben's case..). They will do their parties and Christmas Day too. The Mini Boden loot is being farmed out to various family members to give to Ben for his Xmas so cost effective to boot .

Right, signing off, dib dib and toodle pip x

Ahoy there me hearties! Well I'm back on dry land and trying to get caught up on a zillion things, but DH is poorly (that's what happens if I leave for 48hrs ;)) so have a quiet evening and just need to sit down for a few minutes and thought I'd use this moment to catch up a little! :)

Rogue I am so so sorry to hear about your Dad. Like wasabi said at least this time it has been caught early, and I really hope the surgery goes smoothly and he makes a quick and full recovery. I'm sure having his newest little granddaughter to cuddle will help enormously :) Was very interested to hear about how your parents juggled the rogue clan and work- sounds like they did an admirable job :) Hope the evening bedtime settling starts improving soon- mine all went through funny phases at that time of night for some reason, but usually it passes quite quickly.

Bella- well done to G for starting to walk!! Way to go! Yes the stoop can be hard work- DD1 spent 3 months at that stage (unlike DS who only spent 2 weeks before going completely solo) and my back was wrecked! DD1 is so much more cautious generally than her brother, not sure what F will be like- she reminds me more of DS so it might be quite a quick phase (I hope!), though at the moment she's very content with crawling at great speed everywhere and just pulling up on everything and occasionally standing solo- think it could be that she hasn't yet figured that I could be used to help her walk and poor mite I'm not offering all that much at the mo!
Good luck with the job application- will keep fingers crossed for you!

wasabi- I had to admit to chuckling a bit at the image of poor F feeling guilty for the flood but so restrained too due to the incident happening pre-official-wake up time. We too use the gro clock for DS & DD1, I think it's a fantastic invention! Glad the flood didn't cause too much damage. Our bathroom is in dire need to rennovation (we have only an unsealed bath, toilet and sink- no shower, no airing cupboard etc. yet!) but it's a bit down the priority list at the moment!
I can really see how your Mum's career decisions must have had a big impact on her overall happiness and self worth- but it's such a shame that she made such feelings so clear to you and your brother. I think you are doing an admirable job of balancing the more than full time "career" of being a SAHM with freelance work on top- and so glad your DH facilitates it too. It is so hard achieving a balance, or compromise, that you can feel happy enough with, but also ensuring that the children are never made to feel at all guilty for forcing such decisions. At the moment I have to admit to feeling a little resentful towards DH as his job insecurity is what is making me have to work- but that isn't really the whole story, I was a career girl too and I do love my job (mostly) and although I am struggling right now with how to ever progress my career and get a stable job myself I can't blame DH for that at all- I probably would have wanted to keep my career ticking over even if finances hadn't forced my hand, and I realise how lucky I am to be able to get part-time work in something that interests me too. Anyhow I am officially unemployed in a month(!) but have some consultancy stuff possibly lined up. Not sure yet if I could manage to do that all in my evenings (as F still not a great sleeper, and just so much to do in eves to keep the house ticking over) so for the moment going to keep the childminding arrangements...

Your kittens sound adorable (as does wee Sam Head)- I am quite a cat lover too, though sadly DH isn't- so we have compromised and have a barn kitten who is now nearly a cat! She is ultra affectionate even though she sleeps in the barn and never comes in the house- even DH is developing a little soft spot for her- but her main function is to catch vermin according to DH. We did have a stray cat a couple of years ago who lived inside, and of course slept on beds etc. and DH wasn't overly keen...then DS developed severe eczema and his allergy tests showed sensitivity to cat hair :( So she had to be rehomed :(. We do however have a very gorgeous and friendly dog (who would like to be a lap cat, though he's far too big). DH is a dog lover and Charlie's very much part of the family.

Blue I am muchos impressed at your organisation of Chrimbo! Good on your being hostess too- I admit to quaking in fear of the thought of cooking for many! You totally deserve a fab christmas this year too. I have to admit to never looking even at Boden...I just know I'd be too tempted! For special outfits I rely on boring old Next or occasionally Vertbaudet, but I've been very lucky and received bags of good quality hand-me-downs for the DCs from friends so not had to buy much in the way of kids clothes for a while (though would like to sometimes!).
I am scarily very disorganised again for christmas...though have started a bit for the DCs. Relying on the old internet shopping for most of my England-based relatives...but hard to keep costs down and have some sort of personal touch... 2 years ago I made all my relatives christmas presents- jam, pickles, fudge and photo albums- but not sure I have the time/energy this year!

Well Ffion is finally well on the mend. The rash lasted 6 days much to my surprise, but fever only a few. However she is now teething really badly poor thing- like my others she's late to get teeth (none yet; DS & DD1 were 13 months before cutting their first) so the bad teething stage only just kicking in now... Much to my relief all went well while I was away, MIL did a stirling job at settling F at night and started the process of trying to keep her in the cot all night, which I've now been continuing. So F has spent the past 3 nights in her cot- but still waking at 11pm-ish for a bottle (which she really seems to need) and taking quite a while to go back to sleep- doing a combination of controlled crying, gradual withdrawal and shush-patting... Then wakes again around 4am and twice she settled back pretty quickly but last night only settled for another 40 mins, and at 5.45am I gave up and brought her downstairs. So we have some way to go, but it's a start. It felt amazing to get one totally uninterrupted night on the ship, though weather was atrocious so quite noisy and the engine sounds woke me a little! Was good too in a way to go back to my "old job" which was very hands on, and we had a very clear, sunny day on Weds which was quite beautiful.

Right, must get cracking with folding my ever mounting clean laundry pile... The fun of saturday nights!

Much love to all xxxx

PS. Also meant to say a big hello to Sunny and hope all is well in the Sunny household?

Finally I meant to ask you all what you are planning for the babies first birthdays? Scarily Ffion turns one in a week (where has the time gone?!) so I'm trying to decide whether to organise a small birthday tea (just a couple of our friends and possibly MIL & FIL) or whether to meet some friends at the park or soft play place then have a birthday tea at home just for us 5... With the other 2 I did a small birthday tea for a few friends but next weekend is one of the few we have in the next month with no visitors and could really do with catching up on household chores etc. Poor Ffion, coming second to that :(
What do y'all reckon?

Also- I would love to come to a meet up. Not sure how, but if it could be possible I'd love to. Obviously I'd have to fly over so London would be handiest, and no doubt I'd have to bring at least one child (probably F), but I could possibly combine it with heading south to my rellies... (however at mo not planning a visit until the summer when we do our "big trip" en masse in the car)....

wasabi - oh I have been doing my utility
room as well. I got new presses in Ikea and vinyl tiles for the floor. They are all in now so the only thing I have to do is paint the walls.
So have you gotten a mama yet? How was monkey music?

Poor Freddie - that's so sweet that he
didn't want to wake you.
I also refer to "friends" when talking about
you guys - funny isn't it?

Interesting to hear about your mother and
how that has made you want to parent. My
experience is the same - but I think it's
because she never had time for us with so
many running around and the shop so I want
to not make that mistake.

Blue - I remember reading just 17 on the
local basketball courts with the girls
and lads and going through the problem
pages too. The lads used to be grossed out
oh to be 14 again with no worries.

I love the child rearing - I'm always
something different and have more time to
spend with my Dad/visit friends/relax
with Aoife. She was so cute today I made her
giggle (proper giggling) today and kept
making the same noise for about a half hour,
It was gorgeous. I wish I'd gotten it on camera.

I would love to host Christmas but my dad
is very set in his ways and won't leave his
house so I make do with helping him cook
dinner at theirs. I'm in charge of starter and dessert. You do deserve a good Christmas with lots of wine and fun.

Jumping welcome back to dry land. Love the pic of barn cat on FB - brilliant. Hope your dh is better/gets better soon. Glad to hear you got on well with your sea adventure - and that you got some uninterrupted sleep. I'm getting some this weekend my siter is taking Aoife while we go to a friends thirtieth.

Cn;t believe Ffion is one already - time has flown I'd say go with what you prefer for the party - a small tea would be cool.

No real news from me - jsut had a quiet moment Aoife went to sleep straight after her bath so I am having a nice internet night.

Right so this meet up = I'm free all of January and have Aoife's Christening on the 5th of February.
I've just looked at flights and they are fairly cheap at the mo so if we can fiv ona date I will book them.
Obviously this means we are having a meet up [cheeky grin]

Hello to Sunny, Bella and anyone else I've missed - hope you are all well and talk to you soon.

Shit man I have fallen so far behind I don't know if I will be able to remember all the things that I wanted to respond to/discuss, so this may be a tiered response.

Very interesting to hear about our mums. My Dad has always been a workaholic. He has been very successful but at a huge cost to his relationship with the family. My mum in essence feels like she was a single mother to the four of us and had to fit around him. She always worked, and still does at 71. she is a therapist but was a teacher. We had au pairs too but she was very much all about the family and was therefore around quite a lot too. But in our teens she taught full time in a six form centre right across the other side of London for a while . I am not sure why she did this as I am sure she could have worked part time and we would have been fine. Funnily enough that's all I resent if I resent anything, which I don't really, because she was out of the house from 6:45 til 5:30 every day and then had to get straight on with tidying and cooking etc so she didn't have much time for that post school wind down chat that is so necessary and had no idea what was going on with us at school. not really. I missed her a lot then and I was 13 - 18. THAT is why I am so concerned about leaving George. I can't help but think that if I missed her that much at that age, how on earth will it feel for him? :( I always assumed I would be a full on career woman but now I just don't know. I want to go to all his assemblies and pick him up from school and help him with his homework etc.

What I love and admire about my mum is that she has always been massively behind us doing whatever we want to do career wise. She has a terrifying work ethic which I thought was down to her northern roots but now I see that everyone else on this thread shares it and that perhaps I have been a bit too chilled out. Being a working parent is very hard work. At least we all have OHs who contribute to the home side of things. My mum had no help from my pa which I think she found very lonely. She knew that sometimes he avoided coming home on time because he felt so out of place at home really. That's very :( and in fact they have been having therapy these past through months as a result of her accumulated resentment I really respect my Dad for going mind you and for listening and changing his ways, a bit.

I would love to live life at a slower pace but I fear I will be waiting til my retirement until that time comes around again! and that will probably be 80 by the time we get there.

ANyway I digress....as per...

wasabi PHEW that your dad is ok. my dad had a shock last year. not nice at all.
Like the others I majorly hearted the story of Fred and the flood. I love all F stories. I hope you are collecting them somewhere! I still chuckle at the thought of him stuck against the window, yelling out to you. :)

Good old C for being a good sleeper. G is much better again now too. I realised that he was sleeping too much in the day so I ration it now. I never thought I would see the day when he got past a catnap so it's quite weird having to stir him or keep him up but he is finally making through to 7 which is life changing. I think my milk is dwindling though as a result.

I have just started to ditch the bedtime boob and received zero resistance! Couldn't believe it. I will continue the morning one for a while though i think. Can't be arsed with getting up too early and also I am paranoid that he will suddenly start getting poorly. He has been so very healthy so far. One cold and a bit of teething has been our lot. I know it can't be forever and fear that he will suddenly get very ill as soon as I start back at work. Yikes

I can't believe how ginormous Mr G is now. It is unbelievable how fast tehy grow in the first year.

I am currently surrounded by people who tell me that it is not good for him that he wants to walk before crawling. I am not quite sure what they want me to do about it. I do not have any qualifications in personal baby training FFS :D

blue i am in muchos awe at your chrissy preps. blimey! You inspired me to write a list of people I need to buy for. I am so pleased for you that at last you will be having a lovely day at home with your family. I had a lovely one last year but this year will be a bit more since we are STILL living with the parents.
Think we will start looking just after christmas.

I too had a nostalgic pang at the mention of Just Seventeen. That and Mizz were my young teen faves (before cosmo and MOre (position of the week??!!))
I use to do all the quizzes about my 'relationship' when in fact I was never ever in a relationship
The little outfits you have chosen sound gorgeous. I love the little white company and mini boden. I allow myself a bit of mini boden now and again since he is my one and only. Their clothes are well made. I have a voucher for LWC which I keep saving for special.

Jumping around a bit here but in terms of 1st birthdays I just want a nice pub lunch (gastropub biensur) with the blended extended as I call it i.e. DP's kids, my siblings and Gma and Gpa. I think that my mum chums might do a few weekday lunches too.

For christmas I am expecting fearing an embarrassment of Georgie riches since he is the first of the next generation on this side. My mum wants to do him a stocking! I said that he will love the tissue paper and ribbons etc. That is all he really needs. I think I might buy him a little toy. But I might not! I will get him a birthday pressie though. I'm not tight honest!

head I am so pleased that you have got your DH sharing the bedtime routine now. THat must make your life significantly better! I did feel for you when you were having to juggle both. are you much more knacekred now you are back at work?

In fact are you all just knackered ALL the time? One of the things I worry about is that I am already so tired. How will I cope with being back at work? But you all seem to get so much done and you are still nice people? Do you walk around in a permanent state of exhaustion or are you just well hard?

rogue Very sorry about your DDad but fingers crossed it will all be dealt with very quickly, painlessly and effectively.
i can't believe you are already down to 1-2 wakings with aiofe already. Does that mean she goes down unaided? i found with the G man that it was only at 4 months ish when he could put himself to sleep that wake ups became predictable but I won't rehearse all that again having taken up reams and reams up thread :D
I know what you mean about the hysterical giggles. TOOOOO cute. I have a flip camera and my iphone as I am now obsessed with capturing everything on film. Proper giggling fits have eluded me though :( he always just looks straight at the camera all po faced as soon as I take it out.

right that's enough for part 1
part 2 will contain details of my chat with my boss. eek.

As for meeting up January will be good for me but preferably before i start back so i will let you know asap what my start date is.

Catch up post whilst munching lunch .

Bella - at your 'blended extended' what a great phrase! I remember position of the fortnight in MORE! but had already graduated to hard core Cosmopolitan by then . Don't you listen to anyone saying G should crawl first . My DS1 never crawled, walked by 10 months and is the fastest runner in his class . They all do it in their own way. Benny B is a bum shuffler which has morphed into a crawl but dragging his left leg behind him .

re: tiredness. Work can actually be good for your tirdeness in my experience. Although stay at home days are full on, they are full on with children so you're brain is tuned to their needs and wants not yours so I often find myself on a plateau of tiredness (especially sitting watching Timmy Time - whoops there I've nodded off again) whereas at work, I'm having to think on my feet, answer emails, attend meetings and deal with staff which sharpens your brain and in turn make you feel more awake. Its like what they say about excercise, even if you feel totally knackered you feel better having gone to the gym.

My top tip for combining both is always get a couple of early nights in during the week - 9pm ones - its tough as you want to make the most of your adult only evening zone. At least one long lie at the weekend and at least one overnight away from children every couple of months. You never fully go into a deep sleep when the children are there and the nights they have stayed over at Grannies my brain just switches off and I'm out like a light knowing the only thing to waken me will be my bladder .

Keep us up to date with your job and house hunting, really hope you get the right balance .

Rogue - so to read that your getting lots of giggles from Aoife. Did you get your night away? How did your sister cope? Your Dad sounds fab, doing all the Crimbo cooking. I will be utilising my MIL's experience on Xmas Day, think I'll be more her wing man than her mine . Loved your party dress on FB, very swish .

Jumping - glad to see you made it back to dry land with a good nights sleep under your belt . Have we missed Ffiona's 1st b'day?? We used to have a list of dates but it's on the old thread I think.... Hope you had/have a lovely day . We're just having family round for B's b'day as its two days before Xmas. I have pushed the boat out cake wise and getting a hand made one done, well he's only one once! He's getting a ELC rocket and clothes .

Hey everyone else, hope you're all gearing up from Christmas. I'm savouring the run up as its almost as good as the week itself, all the parties, house smelling of orange and cinnamon (courtesy of TWC 'Winter' Candles), decorations, carol services etc

vvvvv quick one just to folow on from blue i love those candles too and the run up.

Excellent tips about managing the tiredness. I keep staying up way too late. Am very bad like that which is silly since I really love my sleep and also since I have ditched G's afternoon kip he can barely stay awake til 6:30pm which means mornings haven't started after 6:30 for a few days now. Actually mostly i'm fine I just crash at about 4 - which he does too.

so pleased I don't know what Timmy Time is yet!

Right off to book tickets for a day's outdoor ice skating, pizza and hot chocolate with my Dsissies and my DSDs. It has become a bit of an annual think. I'm a sucker for traditions.

oo and look at you with a cake ordered.

oh and love the idea of the rocket. saw it in there and quite wanted it for myself

is it happy birthday Ffion yet??? if so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! Wow