We are the festive receptionists' mothers - we bring shepherds, aliens and travelling cribs to a nativity play near you

[mistletoemulledwinemoodlum]

This is our new festive thread ladies.

I have no idea. From the evidence shown at home I'd say incessant questions.

Bump for the new term

I guess we should get a new thread for the new year, although I have a thing about waste so a thread with spaces is like throwing out day old bread to me

Uniform mostly ironed and waiting to go. Seem to have had most of the polo shirts eaten by a monster or something. Mum bought dd1 some new trousers, truned them up, and dd promptly grew So will need more of those too.

SHe has hardly mentioned school. Dunno if thats good or bad, no nightmares or tears so am really pleased with that.

Hope all the dcs had a fab Christmas and are refreshed and ready to head off to solo toilet trips and school dinner line-ups.

Gone quick eh?
My plans for the weekend are ironing uniform, packed lunch shopping etc.
DD hadn't mentioned school either, until today when I gave her a new lunch bag and we talked a bit about how nice it'll be to have a couple of her younger friends stay all day now.
She seems okay about going back. Not thrilled, but okay.
I've enjoyed the holidays myself too though, and it's been nice to not do the school run these cold mornings.

I really have not missed the school run, or the school get ready. DH has been off, I'd forgotton how nice it os to have someone to help with breakfast and nappies and so on!

His 45hr weeks continue so he'll still be leaving at 6.15. On a bloody marvellous note, I return to work from maternity leave the week after half term. Phew! That's a great stroke of luck really.

It has indeed gone quickly, and have enjoyed the lazy mornings.
I have not ironed uniform yet.
Boy doesn't go back until Tuesday, they have a training day on Monday. He hasn't expressed a preference towards going back one way or another.

I don't want to go back. I like holidays.
Be alright once I get started though.

Ditto mine hasn't really seemed that fussed about going back or not.

We have had a wonderful, lazy relaxing time at home with dh off since the weekend pre-Christmas.

Got to get PE kit packed up, book bag back out and uniform ready this weekend.

We had a wobble at the end of last term when ds decided he didn't want to go for a few days so I'm hoping we can start this term more positively on Monday.

We go back Tuesday too glogi.

Searched our backwater for school trousers. Only 2 shops stock uniform, Matalan and M%S. Neither stock navy until summer.

Am going to hothouse my dd's so they can move out of town and live near great shops, and buy me a bungalow nearby

Dd goes back Tuesday too. We flew back from Seattle yesterday and we all seem to now be in different time zones with dd bright and bushy talied at about 4 am. It's a form of torture, trying (and largely faling) to stay awake during the day. I optimistically scheduled an afternoon families party tomorrow then panto on Monday.

Dd loved seeing her grandparents and is going to miss them. They don't fly and we don't plan to go back until summer 2012. I feel like we need a holiday now.... Dh is flying off somewhere for work on Tuesday.

Actually I think I'd quite like to get back into our routine. I have a paper to write that is hanging over me like a black cloud and I need to get shot of it. Then I've got another week's grace before my own teaching kicks off.

Anyone made any NY resolutions? My SIL and I are going to check in once a month wrt to weight loss. But I think I made a siilar resolutin last year...

I resolve to get down to a 14, from a 16/18

Also resolve to try feel more positve about going back to work. I might be able to muster a or at best a . If I get to I would be delusional. One has to be realistic.

I don't want to send her back.... . I'm going to miss her.

Glad to hear your dd had a good time Acinonyx. It must be very sad for the gps not to see her more often.

I don't exactly have any resolutions, but I do have a partly-formed intention to find a way of getting dd1 to put her shoes on etc without shouting repeatedly.

I have a new year's resolution, inspired by a friend who has done the same thing this year.

It is to make a list of the books that I read this year.

And to try to read more of them!

Ooo yes good luck on the jetlag Acinonyx. Glad you had good holidays, hope gps not too sad waving you off. Would lure of grandkids not get them on a plane?

Hello. Can I sneak onto this thread please? I briefly posted on the one that started before the Autumn term but I was being a bit ahead of myself as DD will be starting in a mixed nursery/reception class on 11th January. I think .

She had two settling in sessions in November (morning and with me around) and December (afternoon and with mums and dads the other side of a screen divider in the classroom). DS is in Year 1 and so DD is used to the whole going to school thing, so I am hoping all will be well. But one thing having DD has taught me is that thinking I know what she will do is not always the right thing to do .

We have a home visit on Wednesday (must tidy before then I suppose...) and will find out definitely when she starts. It will just be mornings until the end of the year as she won't be 5 until September. So will be backwards and forwards to school at 8:50, 11:30 and 3:20 for two terms .

Hello Noah. That settling in schedule sounds complicated!

Mine have a double school run too, son no. 1 is in reception and son no. 2 in nursery. I don't usually do it as am at work, but did for a week before Christmas, and it seemed as if I was spending most of my day walking to school or returning from it! Have you got far to go each trip?

Hello golgi

I have to admit to have been lurking on this and the previous threads so feel I at least recognise some of you.

School is in our village so is a 5-10 minute walk (at my pace) or more like 15 min walk (at DS and DD pace) or 10 min scoot/walk/run (if we are late, which I sometimes never am).

At their school, children start the term after they are 4 and have two terms of part time and then depending on when their birthday is, one, two or three terms of full time. As both DS and DD are autumn birthdays they had or will have a full 5 terms in the nursery/reception class.

The overall foundation stage teacher (there are loads of adults around the place in the classroom) is possibly the most enthusiastic person in the world. She is a great teacher to have at the start of your school days I think

Mine are at village school too, sounds about the same distance away.

Due to building work they are going to combine the nursery and reception classes in February. That should be interesting, as boys will be in the same class.

Dd is still asleep after nearly 16 hours so hopefully we are all catching up.

We have had an ongoing shoe battle. We now have a small plastic kiddy chair by the shoes which sort of helps.

Nothing will induce them to fly, unfortunately.

Now must clean house for visitors [hmmm] Oh joy.

Are you going back FT or PT tree?

Acinonyx, crikey, I bet you're all shattered! Sounds like you've had a nice time though.
Hiya Noah, you'll be to-ing and fro-ing to that school a fair bit then.
Aranea, no I don't really want my DD to go back either.
I hope yours has a better time this term.
Golgi, what sort of books do you like?

Oh, I'm so not relishing getting up early and defrosting the car.

I also want to lose some weight. I was looking at tomorrow (back to school day) as a start, rather than the 1st Jan.
I'm even thinking of doing 2 or 3 slimfast days to give myself a kick start. We'll see.

Hello Noah - nice to have the home visit just before starting term. I imagine that will help. Ours was ages beforehand, and wasn't dd1's teacher anyhow, so I don't think it helped enormously. Guess it just served to reassure the school that we really lived here.

Thank you for the welcome

We do have the slight problem that the date for school applications has changed here this year, so we won't know until beginning of May whether DD has a reception place. Should be all right, as we are in the village (about 0.4 miles away I think) but there is no sibling priority so I will be glad when I definitely know.

With DS, you found out before Christmas about reception place for the next year, so it was easier. But we should be in a all right place I think

Thought I had lost DD's uniform (bought a little while ago and labelled as well ) but luckily it turned up. We are doing school shoe buying and hair cutting tomorrow (DS has an inset day).

You will probably soon find I tend to waffle on a bit

Hello everyone, and Noah. I think we all lost uniform too. Who was it that lost the labels? Did they ever show up?

Going back to 23.5 hours. Which will be 2x 7.45 till 8.15 shifts. Which is a freaking nightmare for childcare. Nights are totally impossible, and days nearly as bad. Plus there is no set shift pattern, so it's all off duty dependant. I think that we get that about 2-4 weeks in advance. Not easy to fail to provide continuity of care Am hoping gp's can keep up the childcare a bit longer, though at 73, and 76 it is getting a bit hairy.
I also need to send in my requests for holidays for the year. I have no idea really! Although I'd love the half terms off I have little hope I do realise.
My biggest fear is working loads weekends, or half of the weekends. I won't see dd much and that will affect her, with school being such a huge chunk of time. That is a sad thought and one I will try not to worry about. I'd rather do full time in the week than loose the precious weekends with dh and dd.

Sorry to vent.

OMG tree, that sounds really hard. I hope it all works for you.

Tree - I hope your employers will be sympathetic - I know that they are supposed to be as flexible as possible with childcare issues, but it doesn't always work out that way in practise, I realise.

I consider myself very lucky that I will always be around in the holidays.

Noah - fingers crossed for her reception place.

Paisley - I choose books by going to the library and seeing what I can find in the five minutes I get before librarians start scowling at my children. Pretty much anything, because if I don't like it I can just take it back.

Have ironed polo shirts this evening. They are all looking a bit grubby as I'm not as strict as I should be about "whites and colours". Now worrying about vests.

They're long days Tree! I have a friend who's a midwife (you are a midwife aren't you?) and she says the same. It can't be easy.
I found myself working quite a few weekends last term (I do care work). But I often finish at 2 so not so bad.

Well DD's all bathed, hair detangled, bags ready, and fast asleep. She says she "can't wait til tomorrow"!