Fab Feb 2009: when they're good they are very very good, when they're bad they're todzillas...

[dinkystinky]

New thread for us to chat about our little jekyll & hydes...

Danny is currently stood next to me rearranging my DVD collection - I will be doing a work out to charlie & lola tonight apparently, while DS1 will be watching Billy Blanks Taebo with his pre-bedtime cup of milk and DH's history docu is hiding out with Diego in the city of lost toys...

I missed you guys
Maybe TMI but pitchfork wounds in arse are healing well

Hi all

GOOD NEWS!!!

He is back and working things out, he adamant he wants to stop drinking full stop. I haven't asked him to (I just didnt like the getting leathered) but he is certain. I aint gonna argue with that

so glad as he is a god man deep down and Izzy is loving her extra snuggles

Calico im joining in with you this weekend! Izzy stayed at my mums last night whilst I got taken on a date to a swanky restaurant

TITS Im sorry about the speech stuff, sorry i dont know much about it but what happens now? Is it becasue of lip/tongue tie xxx

Glad all is looking up Littlesez - keep talking and supporting each other and you'll get there! He does need some help though if he does want to stop drinking full stop as he's going to be surrounded by temptation 24/7 - but he can do it!

Waves Hellooooo room for one more? Havent posted for quite a few weeks but just wanted to see how everyone is getting on.

Only read the last 4 pages so forgive me if ive missed anything or anyone out.

Tulips sorry to hear about the speech stuff too - hopefully it will be sorted in no time though?

Littlesez sounds like your OH is in the right mindset to help himself and enable you both to continue forwards as a couple, it will be hard but he sounds very positive now, will keep everything crossed for you.

Dinky and Katie hope you are both well, Dinky is Danny still getting you up at night? Milo is waking nearly every night now - just seems to have got into the habit bless him its a bit knackering though so god knows how youve done it this long.

Well 11 days till Milo is 18 months - it seems so long ago they were all newborns doesnt it? I suppose a year and a half isnt that long but it just seems like he has been here forever.

Still TTC #5 and not much luck so far, have bought a clearblue fertility monitor so maybe that will help but i strongly suspect that my age and general bodily condition isnt helping matters. Will just keep on trying though and see what happens - if it does then great but if it doesnt then i have my lovely girls (all nearly grown up now though) and my gorgeous boy

Things are a bit tricky financially atm, poor DH got a 25 percent paycut - he worked for a large council contracting for the last 3 years but of course with the new government there are lots of cuts so they terminated his contract and put him on a salary and permanent job but he had to take a pay cut sadly which is basically the size of our mortgage - its really hard at the moment for everyone i think and times are tough, we are surviving with the help of DH's credit card to plug the gap but DH is confident he will get another contract soon enough (not sure if i am given the state of things out there) Anyway its not all doom and gloom and at least we CAN survive, some people have no work at all

Have an old friend from Devon coming to stay today for a couple of days, looking forward to that as have been feeling a bit isolated of late.

Milo still isnt speaking much, im convinced its because his sisters undestand him and do his bidding so he doesnt have to try and speak much - he says 'car' and 'hello' and 'mummy' and 'dad' and that is his entire repotoire lol - my DD2 didnt speak much for ages either though so im not worried.

Hi Rosie - very long time no see! Lovely to hear your news, but so sorry to hear about DH's job situation. Really hope he's right that he can get another better paid contract soon and hope in the meantime you guys manage to keep your heads above water ok. Have a fab time with your friend and fingers crossed for no 5 for you guys.

Danny's sleeping is better (woke up only once last night at around midnight and DH settled him and then up for the day at 5.45 this morning) - basically it goes to pot whenever he is teething or ill or going through his latest stage of separation anxiety. It is knackering - and each time it goes to pot it takes ages to get it back to normal again - but I've got the mummy mantra on continual repeat in my brain to get me through this stage

P.s. the phoenix is a new incarnation of an old poster from our original threads - another one with 4 kids, littles one is H.

Ahhhhh now i know I was wondering where she was!

waves at Phoenix long time no see

Talking of seperation anxiety Milo is going through something like that at the moment, i honestly thought it would all be over by now but nope he cries each time either me, his dad or his favourtie big sister leaves the room (its currently DD1) God she is 18 in 20 days (as she keeps reminding me) I can hardly believe it. Anyway its funny how babyish Milo can act still but he is firmly in toddlerhood, tantrums are particularly funny (throwing head back and full howling mode) but we are taking the laid back and ignoring it approach.

Oh god i just re-read your post ... 5.45 Milo never gets up before 7, i would be DEAD lol

Its a good thing DH and I are used to little sleep from our jobs is all I can say Rosie - otherwise parenthood would be a total shock to the system with 2 early risers

Know what you mean about Milo and being part baby/part toddler - took Danny and DS1 to our next door neighbours little boys 5th birthday party yesterday and Danny was determined to get on the bouncy castle with all the four and five year olds (with me on there to whisk him away from being squashed flat as a pancake every couple of minutes) and to mug older kids for the footballs they were playing with (in toddler mode)- but was also keen on trying to escape to the street through the open doors every few minutes or so to keep me on my toes (in baby mode). It was exchausting!

Lol @ escaping toddlers! We went to N Devon camping 3 or so weeks ago and Milo just kept running off down the field at every opportunity, we took it in turns to run after him but he sure slept well at night.

Its nice to hear that Danny is so sociable as Milo is really shy of other children and toddlers, i need to socialise him a bit more i think - he wouldnt go near a bouncy castle. As a matter of fact he is a bit of a scardy cat lol - he gets frightend by motorbikes and loud planes.

Danny's sociability depends on his mood Rosie - there are just as many times when he starts crying if a stranger smiles at him...

DS1 was like Milo - really shy of bouncy castles, loud noises etc - but by the age of 2 he'd turned into a really sociable little boy. So give it time and there'll be no stopping Milo soon.

Hello! Just popping in to say hello! Not had the chance to get on much recently - with Sam's crap sleeping we are usually in bed before it gets dark, and I'm really pulling my finger out re. DD and speech diary, visual timetables etc. Portage worker is putting me down for an autism course in January and she's putting us in touch with other families of ASD children... It's all looking rather likely now . Getting lots of help though and staying positive....

Sorry that was all me me me .

Will try to catch up properly later.

Got halfway through typing my post and ds1 turns the laptop off. Git!

littlesez That is good news! Good for him. I am sure that you will both work through it, it will be hard and like *dinky8 says there will always be alot of temptation, but it sounds like he knows why he wants to stop and I think that is the biggest step.

rosie Sorry to hear about dh's pay-cut.
Luke is the same with the talking. Dp thinks he is really behind, but I think it's just a case that because ds1 will do alot of the talking for him and because I understand sounds, words and actions, he doesn't have the need to improve his communication atm iyswim.

STW I'm glad you are able to stay positive. I'm sure you will all cope fine with this, especially after the course and when you get to know/meet other families with similar situations. O is so young, you'll just have to make things a normal part of life and make it all as fun as you can.
Did you ever do the photo book thing for her?

I just had a lady from homestart round. I have signed up to become a volunteer so she was talking me through the course and what is expected etc etc. She said that it seem that I have all the qualities they look for and she thinks I'll enjoy it, she just wants to make sure I can commit to it for at least 12 months. I told her that I wasn't doing it purely to offer myself to families who struggle but also because I am hoping to get in social work and would like to put some voluntary work on my cv to gain brownie points for getting onto a degree course. i told her my life plans and so on, so hopefully that put across that i will put in the time because it will also benefit me.
She also said that when I moved here, i wouod have been a perfect candidate to receive homestart help and she was a bit shocked that my hv didn't refer me.

We went to lakeside yesterday (last minute decision) and got the b oys a new West Ham kit each (dp's choice, not mine). They look so so cute!! (pics on my fb page, might try to get one on here later)

I got my start date for the job. September 6th, just now need to find out what the hours will be so I can start looking for childcare. I have left messages for the centre manager, but she seems to be quite difficult to get hold of.

stw you can come and have a me me me post anytime, i did it for a week! sending hugs and hope your feeling ok xxx

Thanks for kind wishes from you lovelies xxx

dinky! Isobella was crying her little heart out yesterday, we had a fun day at work with bouncy castle. I wouldnt let her go on with the big boys. Should have seen her when it was her go though all my girls were looking after her and saying "CAREFUL" she had other plans and was throwing herself and flipping all over the place.

Right bath time xxx

Evening all. STW - sorry Sam's sleeping is crap again. If it continues like that, may be worth checking his ears out. Its great that you're getting so much support re DD but I bet its really worrying for you guys too. Sending you hugs and some vitual sleep dust for Sam.

SM - wow, you're going to be so busy in the not too distant future! The boys sound v cute in their matching outfits.

Littlesez - aah at Izzy and her bouncy castle escapades.

Just marking my place, have been so busy recently and have had no time to catch up... Will be back on later when I have recovered from my four o clock start this morning..

Coffee where is the coffee... yawn,,,

Morning all.

Some git has stolen my pushchair.
I leave it downstairs in the block by the bottom of the stairs and have done for 2 years and some fucker has nicked it. Buggy board and all.
In the basket, I also had a new pair of jeans that I had bought but left down there because I didn't want to bring them in when dp was here.

the joke of it is, that this is the first pushchair that I have bought from a charity shop. All the brand new ones I have had and left down there (or outside tesco for that matter) have been fine, and my 2nd hand one gets taken.
This is also the first time I haven't had a spare one in the loft as we sold them at a car boot a few weeks back.

SM How awful - some people are so mean....hope you can get a replacement soon.

Good to see you on here Rosie. I wouldn't worry too much about Milo's speech, Lilian says very little - she seems to practice a couple of words each week and then forgets them. This weeks words are tractor and cake! Compared to her brother she is very quiet but I know she doing a lot of listening. Good luck with TTC no 5! [crazy lady emoticon]

Bumps I feel your pain - early start here too this morning, it feels like lunchtime already.....

All excitement in our village this week - there is some filming going on for an ITV drama series. Just saw Alex Kingston in the village shop.....can't see anyone else I recognise though I am rubbish at celeb spotting. They seem to be changing the road outside into a 1960's scene - lots of vintage cars, etc.

That's rubbish SM - am wishing some v bad karma on the buggers who stole your stuff! Hope you can borrow a spare one so you can get out and about with the boys.

V vvvvvvvv little sleep thanks to teething Danny last night. Sounds like our little ones are all co-ordinating on the insomnia front.

How exciting at celebs in your village Calico. See if you can launch L and DS's showbiz career as extras.....

Indeed Dinky - I did walk past the film crew several times yesterday with my two but they obviously didn't spot potential star quality.....

hello all, a very busy few days so just a brief catch up.

littlesez fantastic news, will keep my fingers crossed for you both.

SM bastards. That is really low to steal a buggy. I would offer you DDs old one which was hardly used but its very pink and flowery!

I've been trying to clear out old baby stuff of DDs. As we are hardly here we have almost new moses basket (slept in for about 4 hours over 8 days!) a high chair and loads of other new stuff. Offered to local refuge but they didn't want it

dinky I guess you are right, a lawyer is good practice for being a mum

STW sorry you are so worried about DD. Fingers crossed that it isn't anything too much and she is just a lovely shy little girl.

Calico very exciting, where is it you live?

rosie, lovely to 'see' you again, can't believe you are TTC number 5! If you want to cut out the middle man you can have one (or two!) of mine. Not H though, he is the least trouble (at the moment)

H still full of a cough which he has had for over 3 weeks now which is hard work, particularly at night. Had a really rough few weeks. DH gone back to work and I'm struggling with all the kids whilst trying to do as much clearing of mum's place as possible.

Went down today to remove the carpet. DS1 removed it ok. Then removed the lino underneath. Then the lino under that. Then more lino,............... then, last of all, a layer of newspaper dated 2nd April 1966! WTF!

Am finding it very stressful trying to organise plumbers, flooring people tilers etc but I keep telling myself it will be worth it.

Was gutted yesterday when I went into guest room/H's room (not that he sleep in his bloody cot!) smelt very mouldy next to shower (have shower and basin in bedroom as put in quite easily as it backed onto main bathroom. Anyway, clearly the shower in main bathroom has been leaking, for some time by the looks of it. Edges of carpet had mould on and when DS1 pulled it up underlay totally rotten and floorboards very wet. Am hhoping carpet is salvagable (can you get mould off carpet? - mainly on underside but just a little coming onto edge) If we have to replace it will be a nightmare as have adouble bed and large overbed storage which we will struggle to get out of room. Since haveing it put in we had loft converstion done and now stairs are outisde that door it will be VERY tight getting stuff out!.

We are having laminate flooring done here in a few weeks so will try to keep a bit of the old underlay from there to replace the rotten one in the bedroom and hope we can save the carpet, maybe with the use of a good carpet shampoo?
Need to try to get a plumber in but not had a chance today as been out from 8am to 5.30pm.
Fingers crossed the leak can be fixed without disturbing too much tiling/flooring. Never bloody rains!

Hope everyone is doing ok x

Hi. I managed to get into Staines today and got a new pushchair in argos.
The journey there with them both walking wasn't too painful and he really enjoyed his first buggy-free bus ride!

I have just received the hours for my new job.
It's 1-4 mon, tues, thurs, fri and 11-2 wednesday.
Don't think I'm going to be able to do that.
Although I have people who can take ds1 to nursery and collect him (he is going 12:45 - 3:15) but I then need someone to have ds2 part-time, from what I can gather, it is harder to find part-time.
Then he will need to be in care for atleast an extra hour (if not more) to allow me travel time, then I have to pay bus fare, so in all, it might even cost me to work!
Tomorrow I am going to contact the tax credit office to see what I will qualify for, then find out if the employer provides childcare vouchers, but more than likely, I will tell them that I won't be able to accept the position unless they can offer me 2 full days

Oh twats SM!!! Im with Dinky and really hope karma is true....and bites!!

Am not having a great time of it at the mo, I have a couple of slight health issues, my pnd has picked up pace, and my immediate family have several bad issues to face in the coming months.....
Arsebiscuits all round! On the plus side my boys arent being too bad!!!
Hope everyone else is ok? xx

PS STW - Have you been to Zumba yet?????....

Spotty hi, so sorry to hear that you are having a rough time of it health wise Glad your boys are ok though.

SM - bastards! Thats such a shitty thing to do, trouble is i know id be looking out for it in the immediate area and challenging everyone who had one like mine, Im sorry that happened to you though because not only is it a PITA but its the expense too! Congrats on your job by the way.

Phoenix I would gladly take one of yours (not the older ones though - bugger that! lol - Ive got a HOUSEFUL of moody teens all on holiday yay!) number 5 is proving to be very elusive, its stupid as ive never really 'tried' for a baby before it normally just happens, had a ms then was pg within 8 months again with DS and wasnt even trying or tracking my cycle. Well we shall see what happens i suppose, if its meant to be its meant to be otherwise i feel very blessed. Reading the bottom of your post i cant tell if its your mums house or yours in KSA that you mean? Are you in the UK at the moment? (Im crap i dont use FB that often)

Calico, how exciting! That happened quite near me one summer a few years ago, i lived in Guildford but had to go to Godalming for something and i parked up and walked into a street and it was all decked out in Snow, in the middle of July! They were filming 'The Holiday' (loved that film) and apparently the shops had agreed to put out Christmas stuff in Church Street provided they could stay open for business so i went to a craft shop and sautered past Cameron Diaz in a sheepskin coat (she must have been boiling!) Then when i went back to my car i went past Jude Law, i only saw the back of him though - my friend who i was with spotted him first.

Dinky - sorry about the lack of sleep, hope those teeth come through soon though!

STW, like SM said its good that you are staying positive and i think it will be especially good for you to talk to other families in your situation.

Littlesez, hope its going alright for you both.

Well im off to join the Library today, want to get Milo some books and some for me and DD3 - she is a voracious reader and has them all read within just a few hours and given that its the summer holidays its starting to cost a fortune (which we just dont have) so going to get organised and join the library instead.

rosie I'll know if I see it. My friend picked it up from a charity shop for me, but she hadn't noticed that the buckle was missing, so I cut the buckle off of an old pushchair, which was a different colour. I can't imagine there are many of the same design with different colour buckles.

spotty I'm really sorry you are having a rough time atm
I asked for your last post to be removed. We have an original poster who had some trouble on another thread and it resulted in her being stalked through this site and onto other sites, so she decided it best not to continue posting here.
Phoenix has risen from the flames

I just thought it would be best if there wasn't a link to the 2 that would come up on a search (if those saddo's are still at it)