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...

Hi all - SM, good to hear it was an admin mix up on the college's part. Fingers crossed you've aced those qs. Have a great holiday.

Calico - glad you had a lovely holiday. The most relaxing holiday we've ever had with kids was the one in November when Danny used to have 2 day time naps and DS1 used to demand to go to the onsite kids club every morning - we got 3 hours of peace and quiet to ourselves. It was bliss. Sadly cant afford to go back there again for a v long time with huge home renovation about to launch in September. Ho hum.

Its my 7th wedding anniversary today so DH and I have the day off - have been to the gym, dropping off DS1 at nursery on the way, and we're off out for lunch at posh restaurant shortly. Hope you all have a lovely day in the sun.

Hey all -

Happy Anniversary Mr and Mrs Dinky!

We had a great weekend with our friend, they were so good with M and said how lovely she is, he even told his sister (who has two children) that she is the nicest baby he's ever known!! Ooops! He has known J since they were 4 and he is M's godfather, but since they moved to Paris, we obviously haven't seen much off them. I was so pleased M liked them and was on best behaviour.

We went to a lovely 1920's suprise 30th birthday party on Saturday night, and M was with J's parents, so we got a lie-in! Then after we dropped off our friends at Ebbsfleet, we went to pick M up and spent the afternoon in the paddling pool with M - she is another water baby.

SM, luckily, M is only clingy when she's a bit poorly, normally she couldn't care less about spending time with me! She's a total Grandad's girl, if he's about no-one else gets a look in! Hope the holiday is fun, you've certainly got the weather for it. I died my hair too, and J loves it! Maybe Ashley just needs to get used to it? Brave you getting a Mooncup. Am massively grossed out by them, even though I hate using disposable nappies, I do seem to need to throw anything away conected to periods. I would throw my underwear away after my period if it wasn't totally excessive! Hope you get good news about the paper...

Sorry your holiday wasn't relaxing for you, Calico, was it just because you were very busy?

been offline for a few days and come back to trimming stems and vacuums. please tell me you don't trim the stem when it's in situ? i fear a nasty accident. i've never seen one so it's a little hard for me to imagine.

happy anniversary to the Stinkys Stinkys or Dinkys? i hope you have a lovely lunch and relaxing afternoon.

we had the most manic saturday yet. dd's swimming lesson (she swam a length for the first time - 20m), dp and i having haircuts with a visit from a locked out neighbour, dd to a birthday party then we drove to a bbq on the beach at whitstable which is about an hour and a half away and we didn't leave till 4pm! we got 3 hours there anyway and it was lovely although the tide was out which leaves a big sandy, mudbath...we were much further up the beach but someone kicked a big "ballll" in so ds had one of his turns of speed, dashed down the beach and was straight in, not so closely followed by me with flip flops stuck in the mud. me picking him up, him covering me with mud etc. ah, bless them.

yesterday was completely chilled with paddling pool out (yes, ds went into that fully clothed too) and then the awful football match.

dinky i can't watch that grand designs without getting a bit upset. i'll never forget picking up a voicemail message one morning from my mate, expecting it to be 'i'm in labour' only to hear hysterical sobbing and just making out 'the cottage has burnt down'. it was so truly horrific for them but they've turned things around amazingly. we're visiting them again in early august. can't wait.

Happy aniversary dinky

Luke might stop crying in a bit. I'm sitting with jacob in the restaurant while dp is pounding the pavement with the puahchair.

Happy aniversary dinky

Luke might stop crying in a bit. I'm sitting with jacob in the restaurant while dp is pounding the pavement with the puahchair.

Yikes, KBN, sounds like you had a very busy Saturday! I love Whitstable, and in fact my in-laws have rented a beach hut down there later this week, so I'll take M Thursday and Friday, and J can join us in the evenings, as he works in Ashford. Will be lovely to have a beach BBQ.

SM - is it the heat? Hope he's cheered up and you guys are chillaxin' with a glass of something cold. x

J's putting M to bed, while I sort and put the washing away and then it's time for homemade paneer curry, tarka dhall and sag aloo, with a large side of NCIS!

Im still having issues so cannot face a mooncup, or tampons, or my overdue smear test but I do use washable pads, i know weird hippy alert! makes me feel better though to have nice pads instead ofickky plastic ones

had ANOTHER appointment yesterday with head of MIND who is going to try me with ANOTHER lot of counselling. I feel so raw and shitty boo hoo.

Going to a nappucino today (There is the weird hippy lady again) and its in starbucks missed my starbucks after local one was closed down because it was in borders.

Bumps great news about the job and FC for thurs SM.

spotty Im afraid I have no advice at all re your threenager but only hugs The only I do (I know different completely) Is distract before the problem xxx

congrats dinky's how many years

back to the land of broken nights again yawn one day I will have a good night sleep.

I'm jealous MrsY. i love it too, i hope this morning's unpredicted rain gets out of the way quickly.

littlesez so sorry you're feeling so crappy, i hope they find you some useful counselling too. big hugs.

sm i hope he's stopped crying now(!) and you're enjoying your holiday.

dinky went very quiet yesterday, she must have been whisked off her feet in a riot of romance.

Happy anniversary for yesterday Dinky, hope you had good day and nice lunch.

Sounds you had a lovely weekend Mrsy

Apologies, my phone hadn't updated from mrsy's post yesterday!!!

Just arrived at the Deep so going to take two tired and grotty children and feed them to see the sharks!

Lots to catch upon again!!

Littlesez ? sorry you are still feeling rubbish about the whole birth thing and hope the counselling is helping. I still sometimes feel a bit traumatised by Sam?s entry to the world but knowing I?m never going to do it again helps!!! I?ve been reading about mooncups after all the talk on here?. I?m just not sure whether to give it a shot. I?m a bit gross in that I am fascinated by bodily functions etc so it might be right up my street!

I?m in zombie land today . Have had the worst few nights for ages with Sam ? I reckon I managed 4 hours of broken sleep again last night so I?m struggling at work. Not sure what the problem is. Heat, teeth, separation issues?. Am going to post on the allergies board because it has coincided with me giving him bedtime bottles of cow?s milk only. His skin?s been fine with the Neocate/cow?s milk cocktail, so I thought I?d try it out. Maybe his poor tummy was hurting.

I had a long, lonely weekend without DH ? my meeting-up plans all fell apart so it was just me and the DC?s from Friday til Monday. Got through it though with some moments of swigging wine enjoyment! Still having poo problems with DD though and am getting fed up of clearing it off various surfaces and washing it out of her hair?.. will be speaking to the HV this week. Poo in Pooland has not had effect yet .

SM - I hope you are having good fun on your hols (have I got the right week this time?!?) Let us know how you get on with your resubmitted test results ? here?s hoping you passed the rest of the questions.

KBN I was exhausted just reading about your Saturday! LOL at the mud bath!!!

Dinky - hope you had a lovely day celebrating your anniversary! It?s 7 years for us too, this year. I can?t believe it. It also means my front teeth are 7 years old (I had them ?done? for our wedding) . Hope a few days off work has revived you a bit. How?s Danny sleeping now ? are his ears better?

MOS - when do you arrive in Blighty? Hope you have/had a safe journey??

Deep breath now and back to fascinating insurance. Hope you are all having nice days.

Hello all - as was our anniversary yesterday I cut back on MN time to show DH he is still my first love - just Had a lovely day in the sun and a nice time remembering our wedding day so was all good.

LittleSez - am sorry you're still feeling so raw from how Izzy's birth went. Sometimes talking about it helps as it leads to acceptance and once you're there you can then move on. Have you tried hypnobirthing techniques at all to let you release the fears you feel as a result of Izzy's birth and whatever it is that is holding you back from being 100% you and 100% comfortable with your body (which regardless of how the birth went did an amazing thing in creating and giving birth to your beautiful little girl)? The fear release techniques really helped me put to rest the fears I still had lurking as a result of DS1's birth before I had Danny so may be worth trying that avenue of help instead of, or along side, more counselling?

MrsY - sounds like you've had a fab weekend. Hope you have a lovely time on the coast.

KBN - god that saturday sounds manic! We have a mad crazy weekend coming up involving doing dinner at ours for my sister (leaving to go travelling around South America) parents and MIL on Friday night, early breakfast on Sat morning with friends over from NZ, school fair, wedding on Saturday afternoon, The Wiggles live in concert on Sunday morning and DS1's best friends birthday party on Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening will be spent collapsed on the sofa!

STW - feel your pain on the lack of sleep. Danny was up at 4.30 this morning (heat related I think). His sleep has been better of late but lots of early early starts due to the heat. Poor little man. He is so delightful though in the mornings I quite like having the extra time with him.

Hi.
Littlesez, sorry you're still experiencing bad feeling over the birth, I hope they find something that helps soon.

I'm getting on well with mooncup. Leaked a bit yesterday but was quite heavy. The whole stem is off too now.

Luke is so so, he just gets quite angry if you try to talk to him.
Dp is being a misery and doesn't want to do much. We went up to the clubhouse last night, boys loved it but dp was getting stressed because I had to keep getting Luke off the stage!
Jacob found himself a few little girlfriends who were following him around that was really funny.
Been to an aquarium today which was nice and had a walk through hastings then went swimming. Jacob wants to go to the park now so I'll do that then who knows.

Is quite tricky to read and post here as doing it from phone so will prob come back on friday when we are home.
X

Hi.
Littlesez, sorry you're still experiencing bad feeling over the birth, I hope they find something that helps soon.

I'm getting on well with mooncup. Leaked a bit yesterday but was quite heavy. The whole stem is off too now.

Luke is so so, he just gets quite angry if you try to talk to him.
Dp is being a misery and doesn't want to do much. We went up to the clubhouse last night, boys loved it but dp was getting stressed because I had to keep getting Luke off the stage!
Jacob found himself a few little girlfriends who were following him around that was really funny.
Been to an aquarium today which was nice and had a walk through hastings then went swimming. Jacob wants to go to the park now so I'll do that then who knows.

Is quite tricky to read and post here as doing it from phone so will prob come back on friday when we are home.
X

thanks for hugs guys xxx really appreciate it. Dinky how do I find out about hypno stuff? I'll try anything.

Hi all... Sorry for absence but been so busy.. Had first training day on Monday and i think it went well. Have to go back for another full day training on Friday then if they are happy I spend 12 weeks with a senior Carer out on the road..

I also have my very own threenager.. and I also have a little boy who is not sleeping again so this as well as the fact that some wanker keyed our car at the weekend has left me really stressed at the moment.... Ahhhhhhhhhhh and breath

Hope everyone is well.. happy anniversary dinky.

SM hope you are enjoying your hols xx

Littlesez - you could post a thread in childbirth asking for recommendations of Hypnobirth practictioners in your area - that's how I found Helianthe who ran a course that Stu and I attended but also did private sessions. Or you could google hypnobirthing and your area to see what practictioners are there. It's all about fear release and from the sounds of it, that's what you really need help with so definitely worth chatting over the phone with a practictioner to see if they can help you at all.

Bumps - life sounds v hectic! The heats not great for little people and sleeping - and keep reminding yourself that the threenager is just a phase which will evenutally pass.

SM - glad you're having a great time on holiday. You deserve a good break. Hopefully DP will chill.

Danny was put on the naughty step yesterday by his nanny for deliberately whacking poor DS1 (who was minding his own business and watching tv on the sofa) in the face with a shoe - he actually stayed on the step and when told why he was there and to go say sorry and give DS1 a kiss, did it! Am amazed. Have been fretting about how to encourage Danny to behave with DS1 as poor DS1 seems to bear the brunt of his attacks (and DS1 is a lover, not a fighter) so good to know the naughty step works...

hello all, got back to UK yesterday lunchtime but been manic since then.
Bloody baggage handlers managed to break our car seat so had to fill in lots of forms which will no doubt be a waste of time. Then taxi we'd booked didn't turn up
Finally got to house and found sodding car woudn't start so had to get AA out and then buy a new battery which cost 108 pounds!
Finally managed to leave DS2 and DD2 with DS1 and rush up to London to watch DD1 sing with her school choir at the Barbican. Very proud mummy moment. She had no idea we were going and thankfully I managed to find her briefly before hand.

Got home knackered at 11pm (having been up since 2am UK time) to find DD1 wheezing very badly so off to A & E who admitted her with really bad croup. They'd tried steriods and nebuliser x 3 in A & E but wasn't having much effect so she was admitted and I went home (very tearfully) at around 3.30am to rescue DS2 from DS1 who had to leave at 7am this morning to go back to school to go on a school Oxbridge seminar. I finally got H to sleep at 5.15am and managed about an hour myself before the alarm went off. Needless to say, very fragile today.

We had to take DD back to the hospital at lunchtime for a check up and they've given us steroids to give us tonight. Then had appts to view local infant school (in case we decide to apply for next Sept) and then the local nursery (where DC1 and 2 used to go) and have booked G & H in for 2 mornings a week during July and August starting next Friday I need some me time and without the houseboy and nanny I'll be living in a shit tip if I don't have some child free time. I don't know how you lot do it!

Anyway, enough of me

dinky belated anniverary wishes

SM hope you are having a lovely relaxing holiday (if that is possible!)

KBN sounds like you've been busy

any news on summer meet ups, with or without kids?

Holy crap, mos, that's one hell of a welcome home. Hope you get a chance to relax soon!

blimey mos how do you cope? I presume you mean dd2 not dd1? i hope she's doing much better now. ds is a croup boy and it's bloody horrible but sounds particularly bad if that many meds didn't shift it.

so glad you got to see dd1's barbican moment, i bet that was lovely.

hope you have a slightly more relaxed evening.

how is ds1 now with all the school nonsense, did he settle down ok for his exams?

bloody hell MOS

I want to meet everyone! are people still doing the 17th (I have a competition that day!) gah

Lord MoS - that sounds like one hell of a homecoming! Fingers crossed the rest of your time over in the UK is less hectic and much more chilled and relaxing. Hope DD2 will be ok - and so glad you got to see DD1 in action at the Barbican. Must have been really lovely to make it.

Had DS1's meeting at school this evening about him starting reception in September - there are 3 reception classes and they've told me which class he's in but not if any of his little friends from his nursery class (there are only 2 of those) are in there with him - also they do a staggered entry and he doesnt actually start in reception until the last batch of kids do on 27 September. Wish they'd told us that last month as we could have booked a nice holiday in early September for a fraction of the price our week and a half in France in August is going to cost us. Ho hum. Maybe we'll manage a quick week away in the UK somewhere in mid September before he starts at school I guess. Still in shock that my baby is almost old enough to start proper school....

KBN yes you were right, it was DD2 aged 3.6 that was in hospital not DD1. I get confused, too many children, too old, too exchausted I often refer to them as 1, 2, 3 & 4
Didn't really have much time to talk to/bollock DS1 as was rushing around like a loon. We are off to Goodwood tomorrow (DHs fathers day present) and DS1 is going to meet us down there and then we will drop him off in Southampton as he is going to an open day at the Uni there on Saturday so won't have time to talk properly until Sunday. Hopefully he did well in his exams (will know on 24th August!) and he is now working hard on his personal statement and extended project which he is doing about human rights/terroism.

The Barbican was lovely even though we were exhausted.

dinky how annoying about the school not telling you about the staggered entry. Is that normal now? Like you say, holidays will be so much cheaper at the start of September but maybe you can get something last minute. Hopefully they will put him in with his little friends.
Its very exciting isn't it, DD2(child 3 - just reminding myself) will go to F1 in September back in KSA and she is very excited about it as its right next to the nursery and there are about 15 of them from the nursery 'moving up'. I've realise now how lucky we are in that there is a maximum of 20 children in F1 with a teacher and a TA and a maximum of 24 children in F2. The school we saw yesterday had 30 in a class. I suppose that is something to bear in mind when deciding whether to come home next year or no.

Right, off to the bank this morning. We've suddenly had a crazy idea to buy mum's bungalow as a little holiday home. There has been a potential buyer arsing my brother around since April. Has lowered the original offer price twice now and if we get it sorted today (mortgage agreed in principle over phone) then my brother will have great pleasure in telling her to sod off. She kept saying she wanted completion in 2 weeks from now but no paperwork done.

Hope everyone is doing ok x

FFS. DH is out getting pissed at his firms 10 year anniversary bash and Danny appears to have come down with another fricking ear infection - 1 and a half hours of screaming before he'd finally settle. I know he's going to be up all night and DH is going to be as much use as a chocolate tea pot. Ho hum. I guess what doesnt kill me will make me stronger...

MoS - 30 is pretty standard in London - DS1 is in a nursery class of 30 (there are 60 nursery kids in total) and will be in one of 3 classes of 30 kids in reception. School is a good but not outstanding one and was massively oversubscribed for places.

Hope the trip to the bank went ok and you manage to get your mum's bungalow. That's a really lovely idea.

bad timing Mr Stinky. hope the night wasn't too bad dinky.

mos! you just never stop. good luck with getting the house. it sounds like a wonderful idea. you've been so busy dashing round sorting out you haven't updated us on your first bacon sandwich and large glass of something. how were they?!

sm i see from fb that you've been offered a job and passed your exam. bloody amazing work! didn't take you long.

i'm off to wimbledon this afternoon to cheer on our man murray. have had such a hectic time at work but sometimes it's not so bad!