So, Spring has Wisely sprung and MU was Avidly done, now we're planning for Summer sun!

[AmberNectarine]

new thread!

For the Manolo Reine failing to materalise that is... and also once you get onto that peruvian gold you're in trouble. No going back. One week she had run out I got the cold sweats.

right back at marsha

i'm coming down to London to see the CL exhibition with a group of friends Reine, blimey it's long at 3+ hours. Was the Manolo one a similar length? Chuckling at the Reine tribute shoe - I'm sure I've seen a piece of clothing recently with your real name on it.

duh, sorry Marsha I somehow thought you were congratulating me on making it through the day without coffee Thanks again though, am finding the whole blogging thing a bit narcissitic and DP the only person who knows about it in real life thinks is hilarious.

Reine those cakes are incredible and your DD's are absolutely beautiful.

Went on a bit of an Ollieesque spree in Primark this morning, will do some trying on and report back any success stories.

at Suburban wondering about coffee abstinence congratulations. I am not a coffee drinker at all - my ideal coffee is one of those milky, creamy, syrup laden things that Starbucks serve that have only had the most fleeting acquaintance with an actual coffee bean.

Reine we juggle it with a bit of military precision and a bit of winging it. DH is home by 5:15, we eat pretty soon after that, and I work two or three evenings a week - I try to work from 6-10 on those evenings. I usually work one full weekend a month too. And if I have a lean or a busy period (or poorly DCs etc), those times get adjusted as necessary.

Slay I think being a lark is the easiest way to be when you have kids - it has to be a seriously early start before DH or I struggle with. Although on the flip side, the cluster feeding in the evenings till midnight used to absolutely kill me, I think it's a large part of the reason I hate the baby stage.

Have run out of time to Shred this evening after sorting out a random ant invasion. Possibly I need to vacuum a bit more religiously . Am all itchy now and imagining ants crawling everywhere.

Need to order some clothes this evening, including a bikini for the long hot summer I have decreed we are having.

Annie I'm amazed you can do the splits, I'm a little bit older than you and haven't been able to do the splits for years!

Love all the talk of owls and larks, DH and I are owls (he often works until midnight) and the DDs are larks which isn't a great combo. I find I'm ok on 5 or 6 hours sleep a night for about a week before I turn into evil grumpy mummy. I've been drinking decaff coffee while pregnant and bf and have only just started drinking proper coffee again, the caffeine makes me completely hyper and I have to limit myself to one a day. Amber I can't believe you haven't had an unbroken nights sleep for 9 months, how do you manage to sound so upbeat?

Suburban I really like your blog, and have you tried this book for children's birthday cakes? It was recommended ages ago on this thread and there's a penguin cake on p.35.

Dauphin I am SO excited about our trip to Calcot, partly because for 48 hours I won't have to prepare, cook or clean up after any meals . Does anyone else find the endless preparing of meals, half of which end up in the food recycling really depressing? I'm doing baby lead weaning with DD2 so lots of her food ends up flung around the kitchen.

I'm debating ordering this which I tried on at Westfield last week. I can't decide if it's classic and useful or just a bit dull.

Went to Kew gardens with the DDs today - it was like stepping into a Boden catalogue grin

sorry that should read 'baby led weaning' and I've no idea what happened to the at the end of my last post

NSG it's probably longer if you count the last few months of pregnancy! I've become sort of bipolar with it now. Some days I can take it in my stride and be confident it's just a matter of time, others I do feel a bit despairing that I'll never sleep again. Currently trying to phase out bf, and she did really well yesterday (bottles only between 8.30am-5pm) but then was very unsettled last night. Not sure if it's the right thing to do now....

We are BLW too, without too much success, she's not that interested in food (other than biscuits!) she is so cute though, babbling away at me, I could forgive her anything!

Annie amazing re. Splits, I have never been able to do them, and I am quite flexible.

FLE I find inconsistency of sizing soo annoying. I have 3 pairs of J brand 811s in 3 different sizes and all fit.

Is it wrong to be mightily pissed off that I haven't lost any weight really since I started exercising a lot more? I'm going to pretend it's because I've built up loads of muscle...

Running in to say a big thank you to Fleecey and Everything for the Oasis jeans info - so useful. Am going to try and find some in any colour today (if I can persuade sister and her 2 DSs to make a detour en route to the beach for a bracing walk!) to try on for trial fit. How funny and annoying about the different colours and their fit tho.

Amber it took me nearly 6 weeks of Shred before the weight started to slowly fall off. Best measured in cms lost from waist, thighs etc I think.
NSG Think Bloss has that BR trench. I love it in navy.

More visitors arrive tomorrow - DH says I have a manic look in my eye. Just not good at coping with the house being turned upside down. There is stuff everywhere.....grimace.

I like trenches, NSG, I like to throw them on with jeans.

Dd2 is waking up once in the night here and not eating as well as normal, I am fed up and so glad we will never have more children!

Have a good trip, Bloss.

Ds2 is a woeful sleeper. Still is.

9 months was the worst time irr bleary correctly.

When did it get better marsha?

Amber it will get better for you sooner than it did for us is what I shall say first!

But also it got a bit better when I stopped bf at 15 months and I threw him at dh for a break, I mean passed him with conviction that I did not want him back right now.

Also we did so many things wrong and mucked it up all the time due to sheer tiredness and made things worse I think.

See this is it, I think I have to stop the bf. Feels cruel when she is rooting at me, but I'm going to lose my mind if I continue to be woken 4, 6, 8 times a night and then have to get through the day with a frankly angelic, but very very lively toddler. I just want my life back a bit now. Think I'm going to try and use the Easter break to crack it, as I will have relief care and if DH even try's to abdicate responsibility I will pluck out his eyeballs

Try's, WTF? Tries

At 9 months it was really bad as the sleep/bf assoc was firmly established, for us too so every time he woke he needed to do it to go back to sleep.

You could try not being there at night but still bf in the day if you like. It will be hard, your dh will have to do it all. Dh and I only just survived. We were SO cross at each other but I was going absolutely insane too.

You see, there is NO WAY my dh would do it. He is great in so many ways but he is a beast if he doesn't get at least 7 hours sleep, absolutely intolerable. I need about 5, so while it makes sense for me to be the one to endure it, it does grind my gears sometimes, but everyone is different. I think, come Thursday night, I am just going to have to tough it out!

Amber a friend of mine was having similar sleep issues with her DD, she stopped bf at night and only offered cooled boiled water between 10pm when she did a late bottle and 6am and after 3 nights her DD slept thru so that could be worth a try. My older DD was a great sleeper when little and then horrendous from 1 till 18 months when we finally resorted to controlled crying which I found really hard, at one point DD was crying in her cot and I was sitting on the sofa in tears, luckily DH is made of sterner stuff and made me stick to the approach we'd agreed.

I understand about how lack of sleep affects your day Amber I`ve got bad insomnia at the moment due to stress and its a killer in terms of energy and the tolerance factor. Could go to your libary and get a selection of sleep books and then try a method thats appeals ?

I like the BR trench did you also see bloss`s Maxmara NSG ?

Good luck with the buying hopefully

My See Chloe wedges have arrived will wait until Ds is napping before I open.

A rather grumpy hello. I have a cold and really didn't enjoy being up all night whilst feeling poorly. amber you are amazing for coping so well or so long. E is only 7 weeks and already I'm wondering why she won't settle better at night! I have been spoilt by the wonder-sleeper that is DS! marsha know exactly what you mean about doing all the wrong things - it's so hard to think long term when you're so sleep starved and just want the quickest solution at that moment! Good luck amber, hope things improve very soon.

suburban never thought I'd say it but really like your peplum top! Not Vorderman at all. Re. the legs - I just wear trousers in spring and summer until it's at least 75degrees although DH does not approve!

Interested by owl / lark talk. I'm not really either, can happily go to bed early and sleep late but am also happy to stay up late and get up early as necessary. DH is a ridiculously early riser, 5ish in the week (way before the DC) and 6.30 at weekends (so looks after the DC until I deign to get up around 8.30).

Need to recommence sunglasses hunt. Have done pretty well with the SS list and ticked off white skinnies, flat sandals, coloured jeans, white shirt, cream knit, grey marl tees. Now need want the glasses, black heeled sandals, pink courts and a small colourful cross body bag. What do you think of this one? Too much for nylon really! . I reserve the right to add to this list , however!

Oh, chilly day, and DS still poorly. Can sympathise first hand on lack of sleep front as 5 yr old DS up 2-3 times a night, ill. Yawn.......

Have succumbed and ordered Goldsign jeans, and am wearing them with navy Boden breton, and orange suede Bally loafers. Am really into orange and yellow with navy this year. Oh and lime....

Teak garden table and chairs arrived, and look lovely. We were in the garden at 7.15 this morning putting it all out!

Bonsoir - really liked the Princesses Tam Tam stuff you linked too...oh, and almost booked hols for this year....It's been like a huge research project finding this one, but thinking near Royan...we've found a lovely house to rent there in countryside but very near La Grande Cote and La Palmyre beaches...

I We almost went Club Med but dh can't bear the thought of staying in a resort, so an independent place is best for us.

DCs all very into clothes here too Red. He has new camouflage 3/4 lengths which he adores! DD very into brands already (oh Lord)....much to my Mother's chagrin.