June 08 - a Coalition for all (even those with May or July 08 babies).

[DomesticGoddessInTraining]

Abdn liked the title so I just went ahead!

The party was great! DD1 was so excited about it. They all loved the jelly boats, and there was virtually no food left to bring home. I think some people took doggy bags away with them which was good. A couple of the mothers helped with teas/coffees, and with clearing up, so everything went pretty well. We didn't do half the games I'd planned (as expected but I like to have lots in reserve). A few of them did PortStarboard. We did Sleeping Lions and when someone was out they went to the food table - that went very well. They liked pass the parcel so much we did it again half an hour later. The castle was good. DD has a mountain of presents to open and that's how I'll find out how many came . I think it was about 30.

Thanks for asking . I'll read everyone's posts properly later on. Still sorting things out...

so pleased it went well for you and your dd1 Rolf!

Hi, just checking in before bed to say hello and glad the party went well Rolf and have a nice date night bugger!

Glad the party went well Rolf, now you just have to find homes for the 30 pieces of elc/pink tat our that ydd1 will have been given. I have given up on big parties just because there is no more room for presents.

Glad the party went well Rolf!

Evening all,

We converted S's cot to a bed today and it's going terribly so far ! He really does love it, but is just refusing to settle. We've had an hour of screaming interspersed with me and DH going up to re-settle, read another story etc but no sign of the screaming abating. [sigh]

After all the humming and ha-ing over bedroom colours I've decided to leave S's room as is for the time being (even though I won the green vs blue debater). After sorting his bed today and moving a fe things etc (and put the curtain back up which has been down for about 6 months!), I thought it looked soooooo lovely, I couldn't bear to change it .

Bugger, I'd love to meet up with you and Biscuits again soon. My weekends are pretty full on over the next month (although, unusually, I am off on Tuesday and looking for some way to keep me and S occupied for the day if either of you are off and free). But yes, I am over for the ITNG thing if you're off. DH is away for loads of weekends in October so could plan ahead for a meet up then?

Sorry, self obsessed post and can't remember anything else I was going to post on account of the screaming reverberating round the house!

Sorry, meant to say really glad the party went well Rolf!

Goddess, hope he calmed down soon and that tomorrow night will be better. I intend to keep Ethan in his cot for as long as possible!!!!

Thanks Deb. It took about an hour and a half in total. I ended up sitting with him for about five minutes stroking his cheek etc (which is what I used to do when he was younger and would struggle to settle) which seemed to work. He has fallen out of the bed already though, poor thing. His bed is very low though, and I'd like to see if we could skip the bed guard if poss.

I'm sure this seemed like a good idea at some point...

Putting DS1 in a bed was no bother, but Fraser's been a lot harder DGT so I know what you mean!!! We've highjinks most nights where he wanders around the room and tries to wake up his brother (who's fortunately a very determined sleeper). I think it's because he's in the process of giving up his nap - either he has one and he's not as tired or he's completely overtired and hyper.

We leave Thursday for two weeks in Canada and I'm so dreading the flights and Fraser's reaction to the time change that I feel sick. I'm not a good flyer (hate airports) and Fraser's just not flexible lately... I'm also bitter that this is DH's only main holiday for the year too and we're spending it visiting family - fair enough we moved overseas - but part of the reason was to get more holidays (you only get two weeks in Canada) and now that he's self-employed and I'm staying home we're not getting the full four weeks + stats. I'm trying to convince him to work enough Saturdays that we could have a family holiday in October and go to York and NE England for a week!

AH I am sure you will have a lovely holiday once you get there.

DGT how was the rest of the night?

I am feeling awful at the moment as P woke at 4.40 this morning, and I couldn't get to sleep last night till after 12.30. We have been awake since he woke. I even asked DH if he could work from home this morning so I could go back to bed, but he worked most of yesterday so that he and a colleague could meet at 7.30 to prep for some big meeting today. He has a cold and so is feeling grim too. I am fed up of how hard he works.

I'll stop moaning now. My plan is to leave P watching cartoons for as long as I can get away with it.

spider my two are watching cartoons too - I'd better shower (what I was supposed to be doing, not MNing!)

goddess I've got my Mum here on Tues I'm afraid. A weekend in October sounds good to me, it's after my exams, and hopefully before this baby arrives so I have a window for socialising!

AH that's intersting about the two weeks holiday in Canada - should remember that when feeling jealous of my sister's school holidays - at least I get six weeks + 60% PH, (this sounds a lot, but you have to subtract all the weekend days and out of hours we are contracted to work and it becomes a lot less!)

think we'll hold off on converting to a bed for now, C has not tried to climb out as yet, and she seems quite happy where she is!

we're watching the dreaded Zingzillas. I hate it - will also go and shower!

Well I managed about 40 mins of dozing before P hurled himself at me and headbutted me in the teeth. All my teeth are present and correct but it hurt and I am feeling less inclined to lie down again. Glad others are making the most of the TV today. In the mornings I find that milkshake on 5 is much better for this age group than Cbeebies or BBC2. It avoids the dreaded Zingzillas too.

why do they love love love singzillas? My two even know all the words to the theme song...

spider milkshake has commercials and DS1 would pester me to death...

biscuits until C starts to climb, I'd keep her in the cot! I think there's a lot going on in their heads at two and I feel like it's all been too much at once for Fraser, bed included, and that's part of the reason he's very very clingy these days.

When you think about holidays, teaching starts to look very attractive! We both have parents who are teachers (and my brother and SIL) and I find they have no appreciation for how precious holidays are to us and how big a deal it is for us to spend all of our holidays visiting family...

I have a cling on too at the moment AH, everytime Pete tries to do anything with C, she starts whining 'just Mummy, not Daddy, Just Mummy.' It's getting a little wearing for both of us!

T hasn't tried to climb out of her cot yet, and, like Deb, I'm keeping her in it for as long as I can.

DD1 didn't actually get too much tat for her birthday. She got 4 pairs of PJs, some money, a few bizarre flourescent toys, lots of drawing stuff. Generally nice things.

I'm up, showered and dressed . The boys are having lessons this morning, which makes me feel like a pushy parent, but it's only for a few hours on a Monday morning during the holidays. So I had to get up as I can't answer the door in my PJs.

Abdn sympathies on the holidays. Before we had children, we spent all our holidays visiting DH's family. It was actually really nice, but I do feel as though the years we could have been having more adventurous holidays were a bit wasted. Wouldn't it be lovely to be teachers and decamp for the whole 6 weeks? DH is self-employed so can theoretically take holiday whenever he wants, but invariably it has to be cancelled or he takes work with him.

Spider that's such a killer, an early wakeup like that

Luckily P hasn't cottoned on to the adverts = things to pester me about. It will come though. I have to avoid the magazine aisles in supermarkets and stationers though, but the BBC programmes have just as much merchandise as the commercial stations. P is also weirdly into Buzz Lightyear, despite not having seen Toy Story. Why is he so appealing? He is everywhere at the moment with Toy Story 3 coming out.

P also has a clear Mummy preference. On Saturday when he woke up at 6.10 I had managed to turf DH out of bed to get him (no mean feat, he's a heavy sleeper), and poor DH got a barrage of "No, no, no, Mummy, Mummy", and he actually lay down again so that he couldn't be picked up. DH came back and I had to haul myself out of bed (he was still howling so couldn't ignored).

Beginning to feel more human. Not feeling sick or shaky like I was at 6.30. DH just rung to say he thinks he has food poisoning from lamb last night which we all ate. I feel fine though. DH is staying at work though . Have I metioned yet today that he works too hard?

I started a baby name thread yesterday as much to my surprise we are struggling with boys names this time. Anyone who is bored, here it is: PetersBrother What I have concluded from the thread is that there are no magic names out there that I haven't already considered, and either rejected myself, or had DH reject. I think I will leave it for a few months and come back to it when DH has a greater sense of urgency.

Hi all,

I am definitely not moving Luke's cot to a bed yet. He would be off like a shot as he hates bedtime and sleeping. He also moves around a lot. I watched him last night before I went to bed when I tucked him in. He half woke and sat bolt upright and swayed around until he fell in completely the opposite direction and fell fast asleep again. I'm not sure if a guard hold hold him!

We went to Chessington yesterday - £70 for 2 adults can you believe???? Luke had a nice time but it's more for older ones I think. I felt sorry for the animals as their cages weren't very big and I could see the leopard pacing which is a sign of stress and boredom poor thing.

I have driven my car on my own for the first time today and it was fine (just back from nursery) after having a big row with Mark on the way there about my parking skills (or lack of). He stormed off and left me even though I asked him to stay and help me do the reverse into a busy road. He did me a favour really as I coped fine and now feel a bit more confident.

I also hate Zingzillas but Luke is not bothered by it. His favourite now is numberjacks which I am pleased about as it's educational and he's learned to count backwards from it . He still has no idea what nuber is what though!

Has anyone had a massive independent streak in their LO yet? Luke's got it at the moment and will not let me do anything for him. He has to climb in the high chair himself and the car seat, he now dresses himself and wants to put on his own nappies. He gets terribly upset if I help him which can be a mare if I'm in a hurry and it takes 10 minutes to put his T shirt on.

Rolf - so glad to hear the party went well. You are a very brave woman - I would never have even contemplated doing a party for that many people.

Spider - sorry to hear about your bad night - it's hideous when they wake that early and won't go back to sleep isn't it. At least he will have a decent nap today and probably fairly early so you can sleep.

Aberdeen, I hope you enjoy your hols when you get there. At least with family you can leave the kids and go off with DH for a bit of dinner/shopping. I also loathe long hall and time differences which is why I refuse to go to see Mark's sister and mum in Florida.

I'm not posting, I'm packing.

This is a mirage and I will deny being anywhere near the pc if dh sees it.

Amber J is independant in weird ways. He has to put his wellies on by himself and will take his own clothes off but hates being dressed and so would never do that for himself. He is still really lazy about feeding himself too. If he has a sandwich for lunch he will start off eating it by himself but normally gets bored halfway through and brings his plate to my lap so that I can finish giving him the rest!

I am reading but probably won't get chance to post much for a week or so. Tell me off if you see me on here.

biscuits I'm relieved I'm not the only one with a clingy kid. Fraser's okay with either of us but since I'm around all the time, it's wearing on me. Plus he's wayyy grumpier than normal so it's not lovely cuddles but a grumpy one if that makes sense.

spider I saw your name thread and honestly all I can think of is Paul - but then you'd need a daughter called Mary... sorry that's less than helpful!

Amber Fraser's going through the opposite stage right now - wont do anything on his own (except put his wellies on if I've told him to stay inside )

Quick post from me as having mad tidy before toddlers descend!

Skim read:

@ we're not moving A into a bed until we absolutely have to! Have heard mixed reviews from friends and sleep is soooo precious in his house we're doing nothing to jeopardise
it

@ Amber, well done for driving on your own - I clearly remember my first solo driving experience (I was 25 when I passed my test) as I was in York and hit black ice!! It was a real baptism of fire (or ice!)

@ tv, A also enjoys Zingzillas, it doesn't really bother me, the one I hate with a passion is Numberjacks - I actually want to poke my eyes out when it comes on, dreadful programme! I like Alphablocks though - maybe that's showing I enjoy literacy more than maths!

Dh now back from Snowdon - had two hellish nights Fri and Sat (Sat night A was up from midnight til 4 ) so I'm immensely glad that mum was up to look after the boys while I went back to bed.

CC starts tonight - wish us luck .

Oh and agree on the holidays thing - did try and persuade dh to retrain, but we couldn't actually afford to live here if we were both teachers!

Eddie good luck with the sleep training. Just remember you need the boys to sleep and they need to sleep so don't feel guilty and don't give in . You'll do great.

Spider, sympathies on DH working too hard. We have the same problem here - but that's why they earn decent money isn't it. For us it means we live in a lovely area, I don't have to work much and we are very comfortable. I feel sorry for DH when I think of it like that!

Sybil, good luck with the house move! You never did do a link - any chance? (My theory is this house is actually a mansion and you are a secret millionaire ).

Amber, well done on the driving. Glad you got a bit of confidence. Just keep getting out there and you'll soon feel like you've been driving forever.

Abdn, I would be really miffed too if I was spending my hols with family so I totally sympathise. I am sure you will have a good time though. Hope the flight goes well.

We are not thinking of moving to beds for a good while, although the caravan we are staying in in late Oct has twin beds and not much room for cots so we might take the plunge before then. I don't mind them escaping I just dread to think what a state the bedroom will be in every morning cos they will prob take every book from the bookcase, empty everything out of the changing station and dump all the toys on the floor. Might have to remove all that stuff before we start.

I am 37+3 today and feeling a bit fed up. I am really trying not to because there is no point, this could go on for another 4wks, but I just want the baby out safe and well. Still think something will go wrong. I have been having a very small amount of itching but really nothing major but don't know whether to mention it to MW. I had it last time and was induced cos my bile acids were raised (which increases risk of stillbirth - from very small to still very small iyswim). If I mention it she'll send me for tests and if there is any sign of bile acids again they'll want to induce me again which I really don't want. But then I wonder if there are bile acids I really need to know about it - even though the risk is small . I am really not that itchy at all and I have a doppler at home so I can monitor the hb to make sure the baby is not in distress. If I hadn't had it before I would not even be thinking of mentioning it.