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...

Sounds like you've been v busy Calico! An exhibition of your work sounds interesting - what do you do? Arse about the washing machine - hope you can get it fixed quickly and cheaply.

Just got a quote for £165 for a repair for the washing machine - and they can't come and fix it for at least a week - eek!

Dinky - a link to my work is here

OMG. I am so embarrassed. I had a little to drink on saturday night so came home quite drunk and then woke dp for a passion session.
I've just been talking to my neighbour about an incident that happened in the building on friday night (don't know what but there is blood everywhere) and she asked if I heard lots of sexual goings on on the weekend.
I said, no I was out until late and she said it was really loud and she had to shut her windows from the screaming!
I just phoned dp and he really laughed and said he did tell me to shut up!!!!
She must know it was me, she lives directly underneath us but I told her i didn't get in until 2am (lie)

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh well

Lol at SilveryMoon and her screaming Thank god she didnt realise it was you.

Calico - your work is beautiful. Have your kids inherited your artistic genes?

And Calico - ugh at that repair quote. Check on line for repair people too - maybe you can find someone quicker and cheaper.

dinky I think she probably does know it was me.
Nevermind.
calico Just had a little nosey round your site. You are very good aren't you?

Hello! Just typed a mega post then MN went offline and I lost it grrrr!

Not been on for ages - been trying to focus on DD and getting her back into the real world (even though she seems happy in her kingdom of Postman Pat figures and spinning round!). We're moving towards an ASD diagnosis later this year, so I've been hanging out on the Special Needs board a bit.

Sam defies common wisdom when it comes to sleeping still which is slowly destoying us (!) luckily he is an absolute joy to be with so redeems himself.

Must get back to work and drinking tea! I've done somethign to my back so not sure how I'll get through the next couple of days with the kids....

Missed you all xx

hi lovelies not much to say here either. all ok here but how the fuck do you cope with tantrums jeez im knackered, poor izzy gets so frustrated and doesn't talk much so i think she just can't explain what she wants.

its so exhausting sorry not much punctuation going on i am eating so typing 1 handed

also she is demanding boob all bloody day, what the hell is going on

still we have fun for most of the day, i usually go out all day, its the only wy to cope at the moment to just keep her busy and stop the screaming, forest school tomorrow so i know it will be a fun and calm morning as will be in her element

so come on tantrum tips please.

Hi LittleSez and STW.

STW - sorry Sam's sleeping is still so rubbish - do you think its his digestion still troubling him? Or could it be teething? Either way, really hope it passes soon and you get some quality shut eye. There is hope - Summerrain's A and LittleSe's Izzy have started sleeping much better so terrible sleepers can suddenly become good ones. And sorry to hear you're having a tough time with DD - I bet you're getting loads of support on the special need boards but we're always here for you too. Missed you too.

LittleSez - Danny has tantrums too (and has done for a while). It will get better as they learn to speak/communicate more and get to grips with their emotions. FWIW, I use a variety of techniques with Danny- ignoring doesnt work as he just gets into a total meltdown and is a yelling purple faced mess but distraction (either making his tantrum noises back at him or pointing out something to him to play with or getting DS1 to make funny facdes at him) works well. Also I find hugging him and gently talking to him sometimes works well - other times he just hits me on the head till I put him down though so is hit and miss. He does tantrum more when he's tired or overstimulated.

STW - if it's any comfort Lilian's sleeping was awful until a week ago.....strangely she suddenly started sleeping through from 8pm to 8am when I have to wake her up. No idea what did the trick as prior to this week she was waking every night for at least a couple of hours. Dinky is right - terrible sleepers do change!

Littlesez - tantrum city here too. Distraction is the only thing that works with Lilian. Usually I pick her up and run around the garden - she's usually laughing by the time I have done a lap!

Dinky - definitely discouraging the kids from any type of creative career. I know from experience that there is no money in it! They can both be accountants instead .

That's strange Calico - I'm encouraging my kids to be anything other than professionals working in the city

DS1 currently wants to be a rockstar footballer playing for Spain and god only knows what Danny wants to be - going by current form either a rock climber (the child climbs everything!!) or in demolition

Last time I asked DS - he said he wanted to be a digger when he grows up . Lilian is going to be a prima donna - no doubt about that!

dd wants to be a cleaner and live at home for ever having lots of babies and ds1 wants to be a knight One with too little ambition and one with too much! Based on current bahaviour i'd imagine A will probably be an outdoorsy adventureing type travelling all over the world climbing/jumping off beautiful scenary

Danny will probably be A's adventure companion

Hi all.

Fleeting visit I'm afraid. What with new job stuff, M's and MIL's healith issues and I haven't had much time to get on here.

We still haven't told MIL about the latest heart news as FIL doesn't think she can handle it. She has adrenal gland issues so shock and stress need to be kept to a minimum. She's been in and out of hospital for the last few weeks and was convinced she had had a load of heart attacks, but I thought the symptoms sounded panic attacky, so they did some more tests (all cardio tests were clear) and have finally given her a diagnosis.

J is taking M for another appointment tomorrow while I have my first day on the job training at Bluewater, so I have everything crossed, and MIL is out of hospital and feeling better, so I'm hoping we can maybe talk to her about it.

Hope you are all well. x

Sending you huge hugs MrsY - and best wishes for J and M for the appointment today (am also keeping everything crossed for you guys). You're having such a stressful time of things with new job, MIL's ill health (hope now she's got a diagnosis she improves rapidly) and M's diagnosis - make sure you make time to look after yourself (and the same goes for J too).

MrsY Thinking of you guys xx

littlesez Luke throws massive tantrums and sometimes it just makes it worse, so we tend to ignore it until he calms down.

Remember ages ago when dp drove over that level crossing at work?
Well this morning they told him he was to attend a meeting about it this afternoon, bear in mind nothing has been done about it so far.
Dp had to tell them what happened and they have reports from his fellow workers and team leader and have said now that they are going to pass it on to the higher bosses to see what they want to do about it.
The union rep who went with dp told him to expect the worst.
Surely they can't5 sack him now, can they? It's been months and he has continued to work as normal, surely they should have put him on suspension pending an investigation if they wanted to sack him?...........

Silvermoon that his union rep told him to expect the worst - if your DP has an exemplary record then honestly I dont see why they would sack him? Surely it would be some form of reprimand on his file? Cant believe they only gave him a couple of hours notice of the meeting - he should have at least 24 hours notice of any disciplinary meeting. Hope the union rep is just being unduly pessimistic.

Well dp said the guy told him to expect the worst and then anything else is a bonus.
That's right about it being 24 hours notice, I'd forgotten about that.......

MrsY Hope everything went ok for you and M today? Your stress levels must be sky high....look after yourself x

SM ! When will your DP find out what's happening. Can't remember the incident - was it very serious?

He should find out by next friday.
Wasn't serious in that no one was hurt or anything. Dp cleared the crossing fine.
Just can't believe it's taken this long for them to act.
He got a call from a work mate who said he'd spoken to one of the boSses who said it'll just be brushed under the carpet, so fingers crossed they just ask him to bend over!

Well, just had the opportunity to catch up on a few pages ? looks like everything?s been quiet over the summer!

SM ? I saw on FB that Jacob was a brave little soldier for his op! Must be a relief to get that over and done with. Am keeping everything crossed for DP and that his rep was being a little over dramatic. It?s taken a while for it all to work through the system, hasn?t it? LOL at your Saturday night antics!!!

Dinky ? Lots going on for you at the moment! How?s DS1 doing at school? Lots of upheaval having to move, but it?ll be worth it! How long is the building work projected to take? Hope you enjoyed your hols (must seem like a long time ago now!)

MrsY ? thinking about you and hoping that M will come through this condition well. What?s the name of it? How did the appointment go yesterday? I can sympathise with sorrow about things she may not be able to do in the future. I?m going through that a bit with Orlena ? we don?t know what effect autism might have on her ability to go through school, function as an adult/have relationships/have a family etc. Will she always need care? What about my retirement ? Will she still be living with us when she?s 40? etc ? I feel like I?ve been grieving recently for the sort of child I haven?t got ? been a bit low about it some days.

MOS ? are you still in the UK or back in the Land of Sand now? Hope you are doing ok? Just been reading about your DH and the excess weight ? it must be difficult to watch someone ignoring health risks etc, and jeopardising family life.

MsLucy ? I haven?t looked at the other thread, but sounds like congrats are in order!!!

Calico ? did you get your washing machine sorted out? When we had a similar problem last year, it turned out to be one of DD?s hairclips in the filter ? took the guy 2 seconds to remove!

Sorry I?ve missed so much. Thanks for the sleep encouragement! Really not sure what?s making Sam such a sleep avoider. I?ve had his ears looked at a couple of times. Could be teething ? Calpol does seem to help on the rare occasion he lets us get it into him. I don?t think it?s his digestion ? he really drinks hardly any milk these days ? I just try to give him other dairy during the day. I only let him have an hour?s nap these days too ? any more than that and he?s up til about 9pm!

Does anyone fancy trying to do a meet-up? I?m sure everyone?s busy with back to school etc but it?d be nice to arrange something before Christmas if poss? Maybe a Saturday afternoon or something? I?d love to see you all again soon!

Should get back to work now. Been doing a good job of pretending this morning !

Evening. I have simply been too darn tired to post. But I'm still here, sort of.

MrsY and SM, hope all is well and better and better with your little ones.

STW, have you come across Temple Grandin? She is an amazing woman who is autistic who has written a number of books. Have a look at Amazon.

The two I'm familiar with are The Way I See It and Thinking In Pictures.

I think you can get a real insight into what it might be like to be autistic and how an autistic person might think.

Here's what Amazon says about The Way I See It:

In this innovative book, Dr. Temple Grandin gets down to the Real issues of autism, the ones parents, teachers, and individuals on the spectrum face every day. Temple offers helpful do's and don'ts, practical strategies, and try-it-now tips, all based on her 'insider' perspective and a great deal of research. These are just some of the specific topics Temple delves into: How and Why People with Autism Think Differently, Economical Early Intervention Programs that Work, How Sensory Sensitivities Affect Learning, Behaviors Caused by a Disability vs. Just Bad Behaviors, Teaching People with Autism to Live in an Unpredictable World, Alternative Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine, Employment Ideas for Adults with Autism, and many more! Plus - an exclusive interview between world-renowned psychologist Dr. Tony Attwood and Temple Grandin.

About the Author

As a child, Temple Grandin could not speak. Her silent existence was broken only by rhythmic rocking and occasional fits of screaming and thrashing. Diagnosed with autism, Temple's many caregivers eventually helped her contradict her doctors' morbid predictions and go on to become one of the autism community's most beloved success stories. Temple Grandin, PhD, is a popular international lecturer on autism and the author of Emergence: Labeled Autistic, Thinking in Pictures, Animals in Translation, and Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships. One of the world's leading experts in livestock facility design, over half of the cattle in North America are handled in facilities designed by her. She credits her visual thinking and her systemizing mind, both characteristics of autism, for her ability to be "the woman who thinks like a cow." Temple continues to be an inspiration and role model to millions.

hello all, been a bit manic here but now settled back in at the land of sand.

swampy good to see you. what fabulous info you've found, hopefully that will be really reassuring to STW.

STW I hope you are doing ok and hanging in there. Are you trying the signing at all? Try not to let it get you down, it may not be as bad as you fear. Chin up

SM hope your little man is fully recovered from his op and that your big man gets it all sorted out ok at work.

Had to chuckle at your cavorting. The way I look at it, your neighbour suspects the noise was coming from your flat. You told her you were out. She may therefore think your DP had another woman back there! Had you thought of that? She probably feels really sorry for you now

MrsY hope your hospital appointment went ok with M and you can get all the informationn that you need. Hope first day of training went ok too.

dinky glad you found a flat. I'm sure you'll cope with the stairs and think about how fit you will all be

SR can't believe it is over a year since your DD broke her leg. Glad not too many injuries this year.

Hope everyone ok and sorry if I've missed anyone out, a bit busy here at the moment.

Franctially sorting out all my books/christmas stock (people are buying christmas cards already here!) and trying to summons up the enthusiasm to get ready for my new term of signing classes which start on the 20th. Not feeling too exited about it at the moment.

DD2 starts 'big' school (foundation 1) on Saturday so she is very excited and H will go to nursery on the compound from next week. Think he will just do 2 mornings a week and see how he goes. He was going to the local nursery in the UK during the summer and after initial crying was ok (welll, so they say) so fingers crossed he will settle ok.

My nanny appears to have gone AWOL again (but then she did this last summer and eventually turned up). Won't be the end of the world if she doesn't return as I will just change the days H is at nursery to when I've got signing classes.
I've just signed up for beginners aquafit and body conditioning (and boy, does my body need it) with a professional fitness instructor and am hoping they will help my back. Should know in the next week the times or dates so hopefully I can juggle work/H to fit in with it.

DS1 frantically doing his personal statement for his UCAS application which has to be in next month and DD1 starting her GCSEs so all busy here.

Right, off to supervise DD2 who has a friend around to play. No doubt they have trashed her room and are going to make cakes in a minute (they will spread cake mix all over the kitchen and them and I will scoop up as much as possible to put in cake cases)

Take care everyone x

lol mos, yes i did think about that. Don't really care though. I should have just fessed up and said yeah, it was me, and what? lol
She's a bit of a prat anyway.