Dec '06 - Still clinging onto sanity.

[EasilyConfusedIndith]

New thread

Where did the weekend go?!

Time seems to zip past without me these days. I think its the one-long-blur-of-sunless-days, plus migraines again.

Indith, dd is 4 and has fits of doing things just to see what happens - and she is definitely not a boy, so not sure tis gender related. She also seems to have embarked on a devlopmental phase that involves demanding things NOW and bursting into tears/tantrumming like never before. We've never had 'terrible twos' in this house, twos, in fact, are charming, easily distracted little things. Four year olds, OTOH, are indescribable bundles of charm mixed with - what? Hormones? Separation issues? Pure bloodymindedness?!?

There are times when dh, dd1 and I all end up tantrumming back - thats how much it gets 'inside'

Made the biscuits Indith and they are deeeee-vine! How do you measure 75g of golden syrup btw? I just dolloped 2x large spoons into pan. Gave them a lovely cruncy outside and squidgy inside. Gorgeous

Go for it AQ, sound's fab! You'd be very lucky to find a 6x bed house round here for less than £2.5million. How depressing is that?!!

Hi Eli! I agree, DD2 was a charming 2 year old. She is much more of a handful as a 4 year old, though getting better, thankfully. Trouble is she's just so opinionated, and always has been ...

DD2 was a handful all through 2 and 3, but since she has hit 4 she has been truly delightful (touches wood).

She is so keen to learn new things - is a whizz with numbers and letters (and we'd branded her a bit dense )

I smiled a wry smile at that, Satin, felt/feel the same about ds2 who remains to show talents in any areas really but is generally delightful. 2 was fine, 3 absolutely horrible and 4 is shaping up ok. DS3 on the other hand is being a PITA at 2 so god knows what the next year holds. Had me in tears with his pedantic fussy non-stop screaming this week.
6 bed house in such a state, rotting windows etc and a very musty unused attic. 2.5 million castles, what do people do to earn that much???

Dh has been very lately at ds2's tantrums and outbursts. How quickly he has forgotten what ds1 was like at 4!

Bomb shelter is in my plan for shooing unruly teenagers out of the way . I informed dh this weekend that once the office really kicks off I want to finish out the downstairs storage room as my "woman-cave". Currently hanging out in the playroom on my laptop with the boys for what goes as any free time

ooh, a woman cave sounds good Jabber...

We are doing the loft (conversion) this summer, god help us, wonder if I can hide a woman cave under the eaves??

Castles, am probably about 1/3 into novel...writing it in bits like a patchwork quilt, really really want to finish it just to prove to myself that I can! But its like pulling teeth most of the time, and SO slow (no time). Which of your choices are you leaning towards atm? Are you still considering Speech Therapy? All very exciting!

when you get to the publishing point, eli, let me know. It was quite a learning curve with dh's novel but I am much further along now and polishing it for kindle atm. Well, not exactly atm as I have fallen hard for the Millenium trilogy and can't do anything in my spare moments except read about Lisbeth Salander

AQ, I haven't received it yet, but looking forward to it!
Shame about musty attic :(

Dd didn't get the terrible two's and nor did Ds. Dd is of course now 4 and has taken to foot stamping to demanding things 'now' yeah right!
She's eaten more today than she's eaten in two weeks I think, so is probably once again, growing! I am at a loss. She's wearing 5~6 and 6~7yo clothing already, but is very slim which makes it impossible to get clothing to fit just right...she's just so tall.

I can't pick up a book these days; I like to read right through within days and I just don't have the time or patience right now. Forgotten the last time I read a book :(

Ooh, thanks Jabber, will definitely ask for advice

Am forcing myself to make room for reading (ie switch TV off even if braindead/knackered of an evening) and really enjoying it. Am about to start Pullman's trilogy 'His Dark Materials' which dh is reading and loving not sure we like the same books, but worth a try!

The Pullman trilogy is fab! I got it from the same person who recommended The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. After you finish, there's a companion book out there that goes into the science bit behind some of the concepts that I thought was really interesting. You have to be into Stephen Hawking type stuff to like it though.

Love the Salander stories :)
Hated the Pullman ones. Couldnt even get past about ch3 of the first one...
I am a secret Twilight lover too

I've only seen the film of The Girl with the Dragon Tatt which I found surprisingly good. Have also read all the Twilight books and other teen vamp stuff and am so pleased that Vampire Diaires is back on ITV2 tomorrow night

Ooh, well done on the 1/3 novel completed Eli! I still don't know what to do work-wise but then, as you can tell from my last post, I'm still mentally a teenager.

Last night (in the UK) PS I Love You was on the TV. I haven't seen it, but I did read the book a few years back and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm a bit scared to watch the film as I've heard that it's been based in America instead of Ireland and that there are lots of differences. I'm always saddened when I read a book, love it and then see the film which is nowhere near as good or has been almost rewritten iyswim?

We'll see; probably watch it on Friday night.

Did you like that book Solo? I found it far too frothy and chick-lit. I adore the Dark Materials books. I gre up with Lyra as I read the first one when I was 12/13 though the final one didn't come out until I was in 6th form. Not read the dragon Tattoo ones, I sort of feel as though I should but I tend to dig my heels in and not read something when it gets to be huge like that. Everyone has read it, everyone says you have to read it and so I just can't be arsed. I need new reading material though, got nothing to read at the moment. Was hoping for new books at Christmas but nobody got me any so need to have a charity shop run

Eli wow, 1/3 through a novel! That is amazing.

My 4 year old is sulky. It is like dealing with a bloody teenager as he drags his heels and shuffles along refusing to talk to me other than to say "but I don't want to go out I don't want to walk its too far to walk I'm tired I just want to go home". Then he turns back into a toddler and just starts to cry.

The 2 year old is pretty delightful, she has her stroppy moments but generally doens't tantrum. you can set your watch by her blood sugar levels though. 11am starts to disintegrate (despite snack at 10.15). After lunch at 12 back to smiles then 4.30 or so she is shattered and starting to think about dinner and turns into a puddle on the floor again. I just wish I could work out how to get her to sleep properly. There are times when it really starts to affect her too and she gets bags round her eyes and goes form my lovely little girl into the toddler from hell :(

I did enjoy it Indith. I love most types of books from sci fi to chick-lit to rl stories. If it grabs me within the first chapter, I'm in it until it's finished!

I can't read chick lit, It bothers me. I can watch all manner of frothy films though so I'd probably enjoy the film. I think it is because if I'm in the mood for a chick-lit type story then I'm not in the mood to concentrate on reading words.

You are too young for chick-lit and other such crap genre of fiction Indith. Once you reach a certain age you will regress and enjoy Also, being so old I've read all the good stuff. I mean Laurence Sterne and Tobias Smollett are hardly about to write something else

Be quiet about 'old', you lot

I did get to read the first two pages of Dark Materials part 1, but dd2 was so busy tantrumming and bashing the bathroom door down (was in bath) I have no idea if it grabbed me or not. Suspect it might, though.

Over Xmas, got 'Eat Pray Love' (book) and read it last week - haven't seen the movie, expected to hate the book, but did like some of it much more than I thought I would (not the Love part though). Especially the descriptions of pasta

My tutor's secret passion is the Twilight stuff - this from a woman with grand literary experience - but I've not had time to dip in!

Eli, it seems we are the same age...Indith however, is a lucky Indith mere chic!

Dd makes me feel about 60 though.

Eli I think with Northern Lights you do have to make yourself keep going at first, then it will grip you and you'll wonder how you could ever have contemplated putting it aside.

I want to read more Pullman, I've read a few of teh other stuff for younger readers like Ruby in the Smoke etc back when I was a younger reader but I'd be interested ot get my hands on "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ". He's done a few fairy tale type things too, I flicked through the first few pages of one in Waterstones a while ago and was seriously tempted to buy it, may save up , the book itself was beautiful too so I know if I got it from the library I would never want to return it

That's the thing with me; I have to buy the book rather than borrow it from the library...I want my own third bedroom library one day