Avidly gazing at spring/summer looks, while Wisely purchasing caghouls......

[notyummy]

Hi all!

Sorry about the rain/hairdo situation Hopefully.

I am eating G and Bs Mint dark choc as I write Verity.

Bloody cold here. And wet.

morning

ollie love that dress in the blue combo formyself-- can imagine the grey looking wow on you.

dec and mrscb lovely jackets.

annie think it would be lovely for your Irish family to have the girls and an adventure for them

great news re-flights marsha

have a great shop trip portia

ants would love to travel to Dublin with you,have not had time to check out flights etc yet.great price!

fritzi I am only 3 weeks to go!

will be bringing both my girls for waft

happy days all

mrscb brilliant news..you will be amazing at it..what about

this to get you started

ants, are you doing 2 nights?

Have a great day portia. Envious!

Fab start to the day as baby slept all through the night! Can't believe it! 8hrs in one stretch for first time in months, bliss.

Have ordered more aggies in panic after they were linked to on here: grey suede this time and with 24% off.

Loved the sun yesterday but back to rain today apparently. In grey skinnies and pink and white Breton. Navy blazer.

Morning all. On train to London in Phase 8 grey dress with black patterned opaques and heels. Feels rather wintery an outfit, and it uses quite a nice morning here, but the forecast said 12 degrees max and raining, so what can you do?! Have lots of meetings but hoping for a quick pop into a couple of shops- and a coffee and Grazia fix at some point. Eating my packed breakfast of muesli and fat free fromage frais and feeling virtuous as everyone else has bacon rolls and pan au choc. Making up for the weekends over indulgences....,

Blue- sounds like dd is finding her sleeping mojo. Good news!

Marsha- well done on booking the flights. I always like to have something like that to look forward to.

ants- only glanced at flights up until now. I suspect I may go from either Birmingham, East Mids or Stansted because Heathrow is a pain to get to for me. Will let you know though, as if the price difference is huge it may be worth my while. Bloss- I may well go for 2 nights, but would probably not be able to arrive until late afternoon as will drop dd off at school first,.

Hope you all have good days. Oh- and whilst I remember, what is the situation with our job seekers Pickled and Apuski? Any news? Have they managed to find an interview slot that fits in with work etc for you Apuski?

And have a great day Portia- look forward to hearing your report!

Silent scream at tiny babies sleeping through. Seriously though, blue, really pleased for you!

Another dismal day here, and the baby has a cold. Sigh. Might have to spend some money to cheer myself up.

Need some sunshine now.

Great news on the sleep Blue, glad you feel refreshed. How are you getting on Icey?

Your DM picture was lovely suburban. What a load of tosh in those comments though - idiots.

MrsCB I think you would be so suited to that career path, really hope it works out for you.

Sorry about DD's accident Red, what a fright for you all. Your comment to your DH about someone stroking the scar in years to come gave me a lump in my throat.

Very healthy breakfast NY, buy yes the weather is set to be cold and wet again today down here.

Portia hope you have a fantastic time today, looking forward to hearing all about it.

Am very of Dublin plans. DH tells me to go, enjoy and forget the money. etc...NY can you send me a PM with some idea of hotel prices?

I went to the hospitals post birth listening service yesterday, which I found really valuable. The midwife went through everything and I was able to fill in lots of gaps. I was amazed to hear that from getting me into theatre to DD being born, it took just 8 mins. However, I came away finally knowing that I could have done nothing more, and that it is no surprise that BF didn't go as planned.

Her parting words to me were, try not to relive the sad/traumatic thoughts of the birth but remember what I achieved and how strong I was.

Very wise words, and surely on the back of that I can blag a couple of nights in Dublin.

Meant to say that I tried the Lisa top on in Whistles, and it's really beautiful. I really like the longer sleeve length (elbow) for a summer top. They also have a pair of jeans in a sage green which I can't link too but with the top - its a perfect spring/summer outfit. Need to lose a few pounds before I can buy anything though.

MIM- how lovely to hear from you and so pleased that the hospital listening service was worthwhile. She sounds like a wise lady. TBH I think I should have done something similar as though I rationally understood why I ended up with an instrumental delivery, it was still pretty traumatic. And the forceps without epidural thing is still pretty vivid in both DHs and my mind!! (Not trying to claim PTSD or anything similar btw- just 'interesting' memories.) I am glad you are actively working through it and delighted you may be able to join us at the MU. Will PM you today if I can master a cut and paste from the iPhone- if not it may be tonight.

MIM so glad that listening service was useful. I was offered similar service after DS1's birth, but didn't use it. In hindsight I slightly wish i'd gone if only to be able to talk DH through it - he was utterly traumatised by witnessing it (think it was much worse to watch than experience in some ways - PPH is fairly dramatic to see, i understand, but leaves the patient rather unable to appreciate what's happening due to blood loss).

And while we're on a TMI note, I have had the most horrible sinus thing for 24 hours. Slept for about 11 hours last night and feeling much better today. Children and DH all afflicted to varying degrees too. We are house of disease.

More rain today. I am normally supremely unaffected by the weather, but the endless rain is even making me

Hopefully- sounds like some our experiences were similar. I also had a PPH and was then hustled off into theatre leaving poor DH clutching dd in an empty room covered with blood. He was terrified I think.

Anyway. Slight derailment there..

Hope the sinus thing clears up for you all soon. It's not going to help your Insanity efforts! Did NMTZ on Monday after a longish run on Sunday. Was very careful about getting down extra low with squats and lunges and used 5kg for nearly everything. As a result was pretty stuff yesterday but did L2 6W6P anyway. VERY stiff today!! Havi a rest day. Back running tomorrow.

In other news, just seen a pretty blue skirt by Preen at Debenhams that I linked to a whole back in the Times. It's childish, but I always feel like I have scored some imaginary fashion points when that happens!!

mim The listening service sounds like a good idea. We don't have anything like that here. How great would it be if you could make it to Dublin MU?!

I saw my sister at the weekend and I am really worried about her. Her body hasn't really recovered since DS2 was born in January. Sleepless nights and tiredness, her immune system is down and she feels ill all the time. She hasn't been able to shift the pregnancy weight and has been wearing her mat jeans up until now. She is such a wonderful Mum to her three DCs and I know she will be ok eventually but I just wish there was something I could do to make things easier for her. I offered to take her shopping but she thinks that would be even more depressing .

notyummy Very wise to have a rest from exercise today. I listen to Jillian's podcasts regularly (ironic really as I have become the only non-exerciser on this thread) and she always emphasizes how important rest days are.

roary So good to hear from you. I miss your posts!

red How is the teaching going? I had a fab wardrobe fit for a high-flying exec when I was teaching. Made me so much more confident and appreciated by my students too. Hope DD is ok now?

Had to go to Zara yesterday to replace the linen T. I accidentally shrunk it in the dryer and it is now very very short. Maybe I can use it to make something for DD.

notyummy, will do day's work on Fri then catch 7.30 flight.

Fritzi - I can understand your concern for your sister but I do think that it gets quite hard work to recover from DCs the more of them there are! I popped back to normal very fast after DD but I only had her to care for (and I was very spoiled and had no household chores at all in the beginning). My friends who have had No 3 or No 4 in relatively quick succession do find getting back in shape takes a while.

Does your sister have help in the house? Could she have a bit more?

Glad the talk helped you, Mim and good you may go to Dublin, it's a great place but I am biased! I also had PPH and then surgery with DD1. DH was also left holding the baby for the 3 hours I was gone, the first baby he'd ever held. It was good bonding for them! Also like that Lisa top. I have a top to return and the £15 Elle voucher so thinking of getting it.

What date are you going in case I can escape?

Where in Dublin are your family, Annie?

Nice dresses, Red and Ollie.

Have fun, Portia.

Prego, DonaAna. :)

Fritzi, it is early days, I am still tired and DD2 is almost 11 months. It is good your sister has you to look out for her.

Oh and Fritzi, I am forever shrinking things, I hate having a combination washer/dryer!

bonsoir Lack of help in the house is one of the main problems I think. She doesn't have any. My sister and her DH work both as social workers, so their income is not that high. Also my mother disapproves of hiring help in any form but that is another issue. Maybe I'll take a few days off some time soon and help my sister decluttering and reorganizing. She would be embarrassed if I offered to pay a cleaner I think.

Glad you are feeling better having had the chat Mim....it's a really good policy to talk things through.

Fritzi - sorry about your Sister feeling low. I had 3 in quick succession (3 in 3 years), and you do really need to be quite structured, and have additional help - it is impossible to be all things to all people. I had a Cleaner and someone to iron, and it enabled me to spend time with the DCs. Your Mother's attitude to hiring help is irrelevant and unhelpful I'm afraid. Unless she is prepared to provide the necessary practical help I would take no notice. Maybe if you purchased a block of cleaning, say for 6 weeks as a treat, so your Sister could have some time out with the Baby, then your Sister would not be offended....Anyway, it won't last forever...As Decam says, it is early days....

Has anyone got an Isabella Oliver code?

Cute jacket mrscb...yes, must organise meet up-long overdue. We must also meet for coffee. Let me know if you are free.....

Decameron- looks like the weekend of 17th/18th Nov is it!

Fritzi- how great that you are being so supportive of your sister. I think your idea of helping out sounds like it is less likely to cause embarrassment. As Decameron says, it is relatively early days and friends of mine certainly feel that it takes longer to get back to anywhere normal with each baby you have.

Hopefully - I suffer dreadfully with sinus issues and have bored everyone to death on here with my woes but the very best thing is vicks sinex spray - better than any of the steroids or very expensive drops I was prescribed.

Just back from Vets as my boy cat has been fighting - £40 later I have had stern words about no more fighting

Fritzi - agree with Bonsoir the more dc's you have the longer the recovery. My recovery after DD was much longer due to not being able to rest in the same way. But domestic help was a life-saver - I upped my cleaner's hours and relaxed a bit on the cooking front. Some things have to give at certain points for your own sanity.

MIM - glad you had a good meeting and got some resolution

Fritzi - gosh, no wonder your sister is finding it hard to recover - three DCs, including a tiny baby, and no help in the house sounds very testing indeed. I can see that you need to be a bit creative with helping out. Does your mother offer any practical/material support herself? What about your DSis' in-laws? Is there anyone you can get on board?

Thanks for all your kind words and great ideas! I know that our mother's attitude shouldn't impact so much on how we are feeling as adults but it is difficult. It took me forever to accept that having a cleaner does not equal laziness and decadence.

Everything, TS is probably her best bet, could she order online?

My KG order arrived and the black pistols while gorgeous are definitely for the slim and long of leg, so alas not for me. 4/4 pairs of footwear from KG going back...bummer.

Fritzi, lots of good advice on here. She is obviously run down and would probably benefit from some Floradix - like you, I too bought a bottle recently and felt better for taking it.

MiM, you are sounding a lot brighter, long may it last. My MW gave me a copy of my hospital/delivery notes after DD's birth and they contained rather more info than I needed to know - sometimes ignorance is bliss .