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...

Night was rubbish till 1 am then Danny managed to sleep till nearly 5.30 so not too awful thanks KBN. Have today off so took him to GP who said is an ear infection but borderline for ABs - she prescribed them anyway in case he gets worse over the hectic weekend we've got coming up. Enjoy wimbledon! Here's hoping your support singlehandedly spurs Murray on to new heights

ps got to tell someone - SIL, who had an early miscarriage a couple of months ago, called DH last night to tell him she's 8 weeks pregnant. Fingers crossed for her this time round.

Hello all, sorry i'm being a bit rubbish this week... running around like a blue arsed fly finishing things up at the playschool for the year and dd was on holidays already and is climbing the walls which wasn't helping!

Got to watch the match today though and am over the moon that Holland are through... can't believe they beat Brazil (see how much faith i had in my country )

dinky... congrats for your SIL... hopefully she has a smooth pregnancy this time and you'll have a snuggly newborn to cuddle in 7 months

A is driving us mad... he won't go to sleep til gone 10 at night, sometimes closer to 12. He is mostly sleeping through the night once he goes down (2/3 nights) but the lack of time to myself in the evening is killing me. We think he might be sleeping too much in the day and not eating enough so we're waking him after an hours nap and giving him and endless supply of food (which at least is curbing his insatiable need for nursing so i don't feel quite so pestered). Hopefully he'll settle a bit better tonight!

ds1 will be in the biggest clas the school has had in well over 10 years... 13 pupils he'll actually be in a room of 23 though as dd's class is 10

Hello all, had my second full day of training today and it was so tiring.. I can now go out on the road but have to wait until monday to find out when i start... I have a holiday booked for two weeks starting the 12th so probably after that I would think...

DP had the children today and needless to say they ate at wrong time, slept at wrong time and are still up now... AND as I didn't get home till late I couldn't cook dinner and so we are having a take away as he was too busy to do it... ... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hope all are well xx

Hello!!!!!!
back home on the laptop, so can now post properly.
Before I catch up, my news.........
I got the results back from the test paper for my course. Full marks Woo-hoo
That job I interviewed for last week at the children's centre, I got a call to say they had seen some very strong people for the position and they were torn, so what they would like to do is offer me 15 hours a week so they could split the roll between 2 of us.
I accepted, better than nothing, and might actually be better for me and th children in terms of adjustment.

Now, back to you lot,
bumps Glad the training is going well, sorry dh didn't stick to routines etc. Mine wouldn't either (but I'm not going to get started on my dp, I'm really pissed off and have realised I'm a better parent when he is not around )
dinky Sorry to hear danny has another ear infection, hope you are all ok and managed to get a bit of sleep
mos Did you get the bungalow? that is a lovely idea to have it as a holiday home, hope the trip to the bank went well and your bro was ablke to tell the other woman where to go
dinky what a PITA that J is starting reception late and they didn't tell you.
I don't even know the start date for jacob's nursery
I need to buy his uniform this week before we run out of money again.
Jacob will know 3 children in his nursery class, the others are all going to the morning session and Jacob in the afternoon because he will be the youngest in the year (august baby)
Bloody hell mos what a return! Hope things have calmed down a bit since your arrival, hope dd is doing a little better with the croup. Is awful.

Glad to be back to normal after a rubbish holiday. i did not realise that Pontins at camber Sands was the worst one. Everyone is tellinjg me that now, but didn't think to mention it 2 weeks ago! nevermind.
Off into Staines today to return some library books and Luke is at the doctors this afternoon to see if they can give me ab=nything stronger for his eczema, is quite bad at the moment. I have been using savlon in the morning, aveeno midday, aveeno again before he gets in the bath/shower and sudocreme before bed.

hello all,

dinky sorry you are having such a hard time with all the ear infections and other ailments. Sods law it is when your DS is out.

bumps well done on your job/training

SM fabulous news ref your exam and job offer. Actually, I think the 15 hours to start with is probably better as like you say, it will give you (and kids) time to adjust and also you'll get the best of both worlds, part time SAHM and part time professional!
Sorry your holiday was crap though. Hope you get something sorted for Luke's eczema.

Had a very long day yesterday. Left at 6.30am and got back around 8.30pm. Long (and sometimes borning) day at Goodwood. DS1 turned up around 2pm and we left around 4pm to drop him at Southampton and hit the most horrendous traffic. Was completely knackerd by the time we got home.

A bit annoyed about bank interview on Thursday am. We were told it was all sorted over phone and agreed in principle when DH phoned up last week from KSA. We thought we were going in to get finally approved and sign papers but we had to basically apply then and will know more next Thursday when we have another appointment (bloody pain as its DS1s birthday) A bit worrying as obviously the other potential buyer needs to be advised asap if we are buying it although I suspect she is still arsing around. Less than 2 weeks til proposed completion but my brother still hasn't seen a contract to sign. Just hope we find out for definite if we can get mortgage before she decides to get contract sorted.

Right off to do some more tidying. House was a tip when we got home, so much dust and dirt and the garden a jungle. DH just been out strimming and is now emptying out the conservatory and cleaning that so we can get it sorted into a safe toyroom. Lots of crappy old toys that we had in the loft that got brought down when we had the loft converted but very old and knackered. We got a blinding (DHs words) deal on some little tykes toys on ebay which include a kitchen so hopefully we will get that in there this afternoon. (in fact DH has just gone to get it out of garage now!)

Busy day (again!) today. Going to pick up DD1 from boarding school at 11.30am then off to Bluewater with her whilst DH takes DD2 and DS2 to see his parents who live around 20 mins from there. I still don't really want to see them so it suits me, I'd rather go to bluewater
Out to DS1s school ball tonight which will be nice. Think we might book a taxi so can both get plastered!

Update on pork/booze.
Had a glass of red wine on flight and a glass (or two) each evening. Pimms yesterday at goodwood (five quid a glass!)
Cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, bacon sarnies and sausage baguette. Oh, and a roast pork baguette with stuffing and apple sauce at Goodwood yesterday. Lovely

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.
any more news on meet ups?

Where is everyone?
Hope you've all had a good day
mos You haven't really eaten that much pig have you? I hate sausages and pork. bacon's ok but has to be really crispy.
Hope you had a good day at Bluewater with dd1.
Keeping my fingers crossed about the bungalow.

The doc gave me loads of stuff for Luke's eczema, so fingerts crossed it'l start to get a bit better soon.

Hello Ladies!

I?ve not been on for ages ? been a social whirl over the past week. Didn?t feel like I was living my usual life of housework and going to bed at 10pm!

First of all though, a quick catch up with everyone:

SM brilliant news on your test result and job offer ? well done you! Sorry that Pontins was a bit shit though. I used to compete in Brass Band competitions at Pontins in Hemsby and Prestatyn when I was in my teens, and hope it wasn?t as crap as it was then. At least you had good weather (I think?). What did you get for Luke?s eczema? We?ve found Betnovate is good at keeping the nasty stuff at bay.

Dinky - lovely news about your SIL, and hope she has an smooth pregnancy xxx How is Danny doing now? You said you had a manic weekend planned ? hope you managed to fit everything in!

Welcome back to England MOS! I?ve realised that we probably eat too much pig in our house! Your food diary sounds like a normal week for us!!! The DC?s aren?t so keen though. In fact, their favourite dinner is salmon, rice and peas! Hope you enjoyed DS1?s school ball and managed to keep the alcohol consumption at impressive levels!

Bumps - well done on completing the training and hope you get a start date for after your hols. Where are you going?

I haven?t been this tired in ages. DH took the kids to nursery this morning and I had a lie down on the bed for a minute?. Next think I know I had 5 mins to get ready for work. Needless to say, I was late! Sam has been waking up between 5 ? 5.30am for the past 3 weeks now ? how can I get him sleeping longer? He has black-out blinds, good temperature in room, favourite cuddly toy etc. He?s destroying me!

I?ve had a great few days though. On Thursday it was my Dad?s 70th birthday so my little sister, my littler half-sister, Dad?s cousin and I all went to Paglesham in Essex to take him out for dinner. We had a fab time ? my Dad is certainly living life to the full. He went off to Thailand for a month on Saturday, has just bought himself a Saab convertible, and has a great social life. I stayed at my sister?s house in Leigh, then did the school run with her and had a lovely relaxing day getting the train back home. Did me good to get away from the kids for a night. On Saturday night the nursery had arranged a staff/mums? dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Had slightly too much wine and didn?t go to bed ?til gone midnight, then Sam woke up at 5.10am . Not a great combination! Yesterday was DH?s brother?s 40th birthday BBQ which I really struggled through. The day was made slightly easier because there was an 8 week old kitten that Orlena & Sam were besotted with. I really want to get one!!!

Sam?s really trying to talk now ? mind you, every animal seems to be ?cat?! The funniest thing is if we try to get him to do a Peppa Pig snort ? it?s hilarious. He?ll have a shot at repeating most words ? the most impressive one so far is dinosaur (well, only I would know that?s what he?s trying to say!!!).

I?m very excited! I?ve managed to trace my older half-sister who lives in Florida! We all lost contact with her about 7 years ago and no-one?s been able to find her. I?d been looking on Facebook for her (she has an unusual Ukranian surname) to no avail, then tried again last week and she?s just joined! So has her daughter, my niece, and she?s pregnant! She?s expecting a baby boy in November ? which will make my Dad a great-grandad at 70!!

Thankfully I?ve got a quiet week ahead and will be trying to stay off the wine to detox a little. I need to get to Ikea one evening to get DD?s birthday present. At nursery they have one of those swivel ?egg? chairs which has a hood thing you can pull over, and she loves it. I can?t believe she?ll be 3 next week. My baby girl is growing up ? all long limbs and curly hair .

It?s been very quiet on here ? hope that means everyone is busy enjoying themselves!

Wow STW - you have been busy. No wonder you're tired! Sam sounds adorable if sleep depriving. As far as I can tell, there isnt any way you can make them sleep later if they want to wake at 5 - will he stay quietly in his cot for a bit when he wakes? If so, maybe leave him for a bit and he might go back to sleep (Danny does on v rare occasions - only for 20 minutes or so but 5.30 is easier to deal with than 5am I think). Thanks for your kind wishes for SIL - am keeping everything crossed. And yes survived my hectic weekend - just - family and MIL over for dinner on Friday night (goodbye meal for sister and her boyfriend - who flew off to south america for 6 months today. moi?), breakfast on Marylebone high street with NCT friend who emigrated to NZ and her family (her DD is same age as DS1 who kept referring to her as his girlfriend - lovely - and her DS is 2 years old and played really nicely with Danny), DS1's school fair then off to a friend's wedding in central london in the afternoon while MIL babysat the boys (who were so good for her - again) where got v drunk and caught up with people I was at university with who I hadnt seen for 14 years, including my exboyfriend from university days - then Sunday (while v hungover - not good planning on my part) had the Wiggles concert in the morning, trip to park with the boys afterwards (where Danny managed to walk face first into a swing and gave himself a black eye - doh!) and then a 4th birthday party in the afternoon. Was a relief to go back to work today! Oh and as for words - Danny's three favourite words at the moment are This, That and There. He goes round saying them all day long. Is so cute!

MoS - sounds like things are as hectic as ever for you. Glad you're getting your fill of pig foods and booze while you're over here.

SM - well done on the job and your course paper! Sorry your holiday wasnt all you hoped it would be - hope you had some fun times while there.

Hello all not got time to catch up but just wanted to say hi...

MOS how long are you over here? sorry if you have already said.

Hi dinky, poor danny with a black eye bless he sounds so cute with his talking. Izzy is picking up a few more now. Her favourite is still shoes,and now she has the same word for sock and rock (she says it on her rocking horse) and it is cock! I find it highly amusing cock cock cock, she says.

STW that was a mammoth catch up sounds like you have been having fun, despite early mornings. urghh another half 5 start for us too, although she didnt wake in the night so suppose I can['t complain. [rolls eyes]

The thing that drives me mad about it is that Isobella is soooooo grumpy all morning then, I keep telling her that its because she wakes up too early but she doesnt listen!

SM was quiet this weekend im glad though not much to catch up on!15 hours sounds good, i officially do about that (although always works out more!) and I find I have the best of both worlds.

I want to do something fun today with Isobella but don't know what?

Morning.
STW You have been busy!
The doc gave us loads of stuff for the eczema, but not the stuff you're using.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the weather.

Still no recognisable speech from A, although he understands most of what we say. He has specific noises for certain things... if he wants something he points at it and makes a particular AAAHhhhhhh sound. If he's being held and wants to go somewhere he points and says something that sounds like here/there being said with a mouthful of marbles. He has an odd sound for cat that bears no resemblance to the world at all but he uses it every time he sees the cats. He does says Mama and Dada but not very often... Mama more regularly but not by much. On the plus side he's been making more sounds... he seems to be able to so ba, ra and a couple of others now.

Nights are a bit of a nightmare at the moments, he won't settle to sleep til 10 or later and its hit and miss wether he'll sleep through so i'm knackered beyond belief!

Poor Danny with his black eye dinky. sounds like you had a lovely weekend though.

STW... great news about your half sister STW... hope you guys stay in touch this time

littlesez... the park is great at this age and its free

tulips A sounds so sweet! Luke also has his own noises or versions of words. When he wants Jacob, he yells "cack-ka", he also does the here/there thing.
He is now trying to have full conversations in babble and most of the time I have to just guess what it is he's going on about.

Jacob just said "fuck sake"
he wanted to go to the toilet and I told him if it's a wee he can stand up and he replied "fuck sake" OMG.

Luke has now decided he hates the high chair and will only eat his dinner if he is sitting in a proper chair which is a bit of a PITA as I only have 3 chairs!

Bookmarking.

Congratulations SM and oops re Jacob's language.

LOL at MOS's pork and alcohol catch up.

i ended up going to sure start. It was a session for 18 months and above but izzy was fine andjoined in with all the older boys as usual!

It was sooooooooo funny, they have a pretend zebra crossing with lollipop lady dressing up clothes massively too big bright yellow coat which got dragged around everywhere, ill try to put pics on facebook, hilarious

uh-oh im dreading the swearing! I have been so good but if im driving i am terrible for foul language.

Just went to pics with my mate was fab x

littlesez Glad you and Izzy had fun at the sure start centre. It's recent5ly been road safety week, so we've also got the zebra crossing and lollipop lady gear, massive fights over the lollipop lady pole thingy.
What did you see at the cinema? I love going to the pictures. I prefer to go on my own though

Tulips - A sounds gorgeous (if rather insomniac like). Danny is teething and being a nightmare to get to sleep at nap and bedtimes again - aargh - and his sleeping through is v hit and miss (though his 5/5.30 starts are pretty regular ) so I feel your pain.

SM - sounds like you or DP will have to go in the high chair then! Lol at Jacob's mini tirade.

Littlesez - Izzy sounds so sweet with her lollipop lady get up! Danny is starting to get into dressing up too (DS1 has always been into dressing up and accessorising - Danny not so much) - his favourite thing to get dressed up in at the moment is my high heels and scarves Glad you guys had a great time at sure start.

Neither of mine seem interested in dressing up. Jacob does like handbags. he'll put mine over his arm and tell me he is running away to Staines! When I ask him what he's going to do at Staines, he says he's going to work at the train station

Luke is crying. Again. It is non-stop. He is very clingy, very much a mummy's boy and has a very bad case of seperation anxiety it seems.

But, neither of them whinge for dp, just me. Is this because they know there's no point with dp because they won't get their needs met, or am I too soft and they know they will get away with stuff?

Its because your boys love you SM and they feel safe when you are there. It sounds like Luke is growing up fast - and that's when separation anxiety is at its worst. Just give him lots of kisses and cuddles (he wont let you do it forever) and remember the mummy mantra.

Thanks dinky That's my line of thought too. I think they do it for me because they feel 100% secure in our relationship and know that I will always be here. Maybe it has something to do with me being a SAHM and dp working? I don't know.
I do try to reassure Luke asmuch as I can, it seems I am always holding him or having him sitting on me or next to me.
Jacob keeps snatching Luke's dummy which is not helping his mood. Maybe the thing to do is to start weaning Luke off the dummy so we don't have that problem anymore and help Luke to find another way of comforting himself away from a dummy.

Jacob is now just yelling "fuck sake"
yesterday he said it twice and it context but this morning I have lost count how many times he has yelled it. Am I right to just ignore it?

yep.... ignore it and it gets boring for them quickly. Whatever you do don't do what my aunt did and make a big fuss about it. Once my cousin knew it annoyed her he spent 6 months waking her at 6am every morning jumping on her bed shouting 'fuck! fuck! fuck!.....'

A is clingy too... I'm just going with it for now and hoping lots of reassurance will eventually ease him out of it.

FWIW, both DH and I work but when ill the boys are both very much mummy's boys - and Danny is a total mummy's boy too anyway. The sweet thing is that he's also v clingy with his nanny and my MIL so he clearly feels very close to both of them too. He bursts out crying everytime its bedtime as he knows his nanny is going home and burst out crying when MIL left on Sunday morning (she was babysitting the boys on Saturday while we were at the wedding).

Definitely agree with the ignoring method.

And on the flip side of that dp and I are both at home (thanks to his continuing unemployment ), in fact whilst i'm doing coursework dp is the parent more often 'available' yet whilst A is clingy with both of us it's far more directed towards me than dp. There are times he sobs to get out of dp's arms to come to me

Hello all hope you are all well..

I am pleased to report that O is sleeping again. phew. And he is back to his normal loving self so it really was all down to his ears and teeth... !!! His speach is also limited he says mumma, dadda, dessida (jessica), cakey , more, duce [juice],tar and narna. Everything else he just points at and grunts... I am not worried about it though as he understands everything i say so he is just lazy...

Jessica is being a pickle at the moment. Her fav word is no at the moment usually followed by I dont want too.... She is not naughty but whines all the time!!!

Still it is just a phase... Isnt it????? hehe..

Tulips A sounds so much like O except we have at last got the sleeping sorted (you watch I have just wallied that now havent i... )

SM so pleased to hear about your exams well done you... woo hoo

Dinky hope things have settled at work now..

Hello to everyone else xx