It's a race against time for the Avid girls to wear the Wise summer buys..

[blossoming]

Best I could do. Jump in!

Lots of food for thought indeed - will keep thinking.

Amber, that dress is fab! You must get it but just remember when you wear it to look like you don't know how gorgeous/sexy you are in it .

Icey, re: my emails to the DC when I'm at work, they've been spending a lot of time using Scratch. I would recommend it to all of you with similar aged DC to my older two (8 and 11). I set them little tasks like 'write a program to test your times tables' etc.

Issimma and others, thanks for sharing your point of view .

Ants, hope you are in a better mood today.

Fritzi, I was sure I could detect a hint of broodiness in your posts. I agree btw that there is something really lovely/moving when cousins play together and develop bonds. My mum's house used to be the place where all of the cousins (my DB's DC and mine) would get together .

Another lurker here though did delurk a few weeks ago as some of you may remember! No time to post much but love style tips and recommendations. Sorry, am not a great contributor really but enjoy posting where I can.
M

Red i am right with you. No fun at all.

I dont post anywhere near as much as I did and yes I watch what I post about just not into having everything shared.

My mini break was great we now have pox outburst (DC2) so am working at home to be near - have come up with my very own pox treatment will see if it works!

Is it oatmeal/porridge in the bath?

How are the kittens?

Kittens good although lots of dramas with them being moved constantly and not being able to find them.

Yes have been doing oatmeal baths (porridge soaked with dettol, tea tree and lavender oil).

Have come up with "cream" made of aloe vera gel mixed with vitamin e and tea tree oils - fingers crossed seems to be saving her precious little face from the worst of it but only time will tell!

Awww cute little thing, hope all is ok soon. Yes it's hard you kind of have to go through it, but also very scary. Ds2 hasn't yet. I wonder if there is an optimal age.

My two actually came through it totally unscathed. DS has one scar on his bum and that is the worst of it. I built it up in my head as way worse.

Have you homed the kittens gos?

gos hope she is over it soon and homemade cream keeps face marks at bay. I have a pox scar on my face and although I can see it, it is literally invisible to a normal person - I occasionally point it out and no one can ever see it.

Good news! DH has been offered a job . So, who wants to give me a crash course in how one goes about employing a nanny?

Neither of mine have had it yet - I blame it on them being utterly anti-social rather than any natural immunity

Congratulations to your dh Hopefully! Coming together now.

Lol at antisocial. Ds1 has and is fine but would like to get it over with with no 2.

DC1 had at same age and was unscathed but some good friends DS had awful time with it lately involving lots of infection so def want to avoid that!

Also I just want them to clear up quickly as possible ? shorten the process as much as I can and see if I can avoid some of them blistering at all ? she seems to have a lot more than I recall from previous time and EVERYWHERE but the homemade remedy seems to be working to stop it getting worse and stop some spots in their tracks (fingers crossed). Spent HOURS online yesterday reading all sorts of things people have tried. As I said only time will tell.

Amber Pm if still any interest in kittens.

Marsha you know where we are re the pox

I know what you mean - its better to get them over with...

True GoS!

They make me nervous for reasons you mention. Yet if he were to catch them I wouldn't mind.

Am out for dinner sometimes makes summer holidays easier!

Congratulations Hopefully friends of mine have found nannies by advertising on gumtree. I'm on mumsnet but I should be writing a contract for our new nanny and sorting out PAYE...

Red I had a similar experience of someone in RL mentioning something i'd posted on MN. It's all blown over now but I do worry about it happening again and it's made me more cautious about posting. FB group sounds like a good idea.

I loved the 'childminding in the sun' comment, DH and I have decided a holiday is only a holiday if there's a crèche or some other type of childcare for a few hours.

I'm watching GBBO on iplayer, not the thing to watch when you're on a diet.

Amber I hope you survived MIL's visit. Your comment about being a gold-digger made me laugh.

GOS hope the homemade remedy works, neither of my DDs have had the dreaded pox, they're bound to get it when I go back to work aren't they?

I'd hate to lose this forum. Even though I haven't met anyone except for the lovely Decam, I really feel like everyone here is my friend. I get such a kick out of this forum. It's the only one I look at really on MN, apart from a cursory glance occasionally at the other S and B posts. It just goes to show what a small world it is though, if someone managed to recognise you Red and NSG. I'm sure as Ireland is a much smaller place, anyone lurking from there would easily out me. Can't believe someone was ??? about the way you spend your money Red. Thought that was the preserve of my country men to be so bloody pass remarkable!
In other fashion news from the weekend, I bought (in addition to the wetsuit, but not to accessorize it!) one of these Lisbeth Mulcahy stoles in a raspberry colour (I think it's a really good colour on me. Is it a winter colour? Or maybe I'm not good at describing colours) and a pair of charcoal wrist warmers. It's really big and I thought really good value for 60 euro. They come in the most amazing range of colours, so every season will find a match.
Lurkers- take note- are you keeping a tot on my spend? (ahem- did you see what I did there?)
Sorry to hear about the pox GoS. DS aged 4 still hasn't got it. I dread him getting it. Hope the remedy works for her.
Well done Mr Hopefully! I have gotten nannies through a variety of ways, gumtree/agency/advertisement/word of mouth. Don't think an agency will be any better at weeding out people though. I was just as good at sorting out the wheat from the chaff, and rely on your gut. Have several conversations with them, prior to interview, and get all references before you even meet them. I have found that the best way.

Amber does Kanye West play in your head when you meet the ILs?

Er...jeepers, hope I haven't offended there Amber. Really sorry if I did. I shoot my mouth off sometimes.

Sorry late to the discussion on lurkers. I've been on this thread since LTEC started it over 2 years ago, although don't really have the time to post as much as I did in the early days. I was really freaked out to find out another poster on the W&A thread knew one of us in real life and didn't mention it. That put me off posting here for a long time.

Best way to find a nanny IME is to put an ad up at your local play club - beats everything else I have tried.

In full work mode, and lagging behind...

1. No to Mulberry - thanks all!
2. Have spent this summer vacation holidaying in a cold country, minding children
3. I'm a forum veteran have wasted the past 5 years on different ones. I joined here because I love the style ideas here and the all-inclusiveness of this thread. But I also joined because several forums where I was very active (2 closed ones on MN-like sites and one on FB) died. Moving to a closed forum means that the influx of new people stops after the first weeks. When previously active members become less active, there is no new blood coming in. Result: the forum slowly dies. In the FB forum, we all knew each other irl and had met many times - but somehow it was more difficult to share personal stuff under one's real name and it became very quiet after the first weeks. In theory the FB forum still exists, but people post there perhaps twice a year, and I hardly ever log in any more.

Personally, I try to filter the stuff I talk about here. I could be recognized and tracked down pretty easily but nobody has ever bothered - at least the axe murderer has not rung my doorbell. Yet.

Oh and I'm really sorry if I have inadvertently outed someone via Pin! I love Pin and follow and am followed by so many that did not realize that it could be risky.

Style news: another day in cobalt blue COS dress. Love it.

rufus, not at all, DH usually puts it on in the car on the drive down and serenades me.

And whoever bought a pair of Marrakesh several pages back - big thumbs up!
Rufus you spelled out my sentiments exactly.

Yes I hope people stay. I like to avoid fb if I can because my work is online.

You're joking Amber! You're so funny.
You see? If this wasn't open, we wouldn't have Amber and so many other people. So many have fallen by the wayside. LTEC who started it, Hellebelles, Roary and loads more.
Dona I tried that dress on a while ago. Loved the colour, but shape didn't work for me. Even though I thought it would be perfect for work in winter with opaques. Sigh. Am envious of you. Would really love a trip abroad on my own. Mulling over attending a conference in Prague. Have never been.