Crepeys Not Crêpes

[Cremolafoam]

Oi over here hags

at recriminations re MrS! DH is messier than me, so there'd be no dice there. If he ever cleaned, of course.

Have spent the afternoon cooking a middle-eastern stylie dinner for friends due later. Luckily DS and his pal have kept out of my way and DD is still at gym Hope it tastes OK - all new recipes from a mag...

Update on Ds and things of a, um sexual nature.
Having perused book he declared 'so men and women have sex only once a month to have babies' ... Hum, something may have got lost in translation..
One page featured 16 drawings of willies clearly on the theme of 'they come in different shapes and sizes'. Ds thrusts page under my nose and demands 'so which one will mine look like?' oh if only we could pick and chose.
On s&b note went shopping and nearly cried at sight of self in frock I could have rocked 3 years ago ... Where has my waist gone, and when did the matronly bosoms appear

Oh I know, BD, it's that 'oooh how fetching...but not for me' moment .

I am trying to get up the energy to boss my fellow inmates of the Inferiority Complex into clearing up. This is not working.

I have to say, probably the best benefit of going back to full-time work is having a cleaner

But I do feel knackered. I have no idea how I will keep going for 20 more years, as the government plan.

If we move back to London, I am definitely having a cleaner!

I have a horrible cold and am going to spend today cooking and pottering. Not cleaning.

I hate cleaning, but apart from token efforts from DH (if he's in the mood) and the DCs (under threat of imminent death) I have to do it all.

We did have cleaners when I worked FT (a slightly eccentric husband-and-wife team - she did the dry stuff, he did the wet). But I can't justify it financially at the moment.

Tis peaceful here at the moment; DH and DS are slumped in front of the Grand Prix, DD1 is at rehearsals and DD2 is trying on her neon outfit for a forthcoming rollerdisco.

BD - I'm impressed by your DS's interest in matters of biology. Mine have never shown much interest in the subject. I fear DS is now well-versed, after a year at secondary, but the DDs are still floating about in a cloud of blissful ignorance. I did have the "period" talk with DD1 (who is now 11), but I don't think she believed what I was saying.

I am still hungover/tired and only had a couple of glasses of wine last night

Don't they have cleaners in Paree, MrsS?!

Yes indeed, BTM, but DH works from home and doesn't want to be disturbed. There is also the difficulty of getting rid of them. French labour law is a nightmare.

I am making a coffee walnut cake - my favourite. I have also made tomorrow's dinner and tonight's. Quite a productive day.

Aaahh.

DD made a mess in the kitchen apple crumble, which we had with the leftovers from dinner last night. I think I may go to bed soon

Morning ladies. I'm cold this morning, have discovered just how many draughts the not-so-new-house has... A number of the windows are masticked closed, and now I know why. Brrr. Might have to get some fingerless gloves for typing. Chic ones, of course.

Have got loads of work to get done today as have got a big AGM to attend next week which will completely lose me a week of working time and then I will have to catch up somehow. There's very little tolerance in my workload - if I don't keep up it goes bonkers and then I can't remember stuff that has fallen off the bottom of my email front page. Sigh. More time and a better memory would help immeasurably.

I'm also waiting for the Council to come and collect the dead fox we found in our garden last week. So, so gross, the smell! And it didn't even put off the other foxes from sauntering past - I thought at least they would avoid their dead mate's last resting place, but no. Dh has manfully moved it and wrapped it in polythene so I'm praying they come and get it this morning.

MrsS - your sound of dh cleaning made me laugh out loud. Dh is not a cleaner in any shape or form, but if he were made to do something like clean a bathroom I would just get the silent, sulking treatment (which is louder than any complaint, no?). At least your dh is engaging with the job in hand .

Yuk to the dead fox.

I trod on one once, while out for a run (a car came towards me, so I had to leap onto the verge without looking, and there it was....crunch). I was very nearly sick with the smell and had to walk home.

Re: cleaning. DH was wiping down the kitchen worktop yesterday evening, and DD2 came in and said "why are you doing mummy's cleaning?" It took a good few minutes for me to come down off the ceiling.

at the thought of CV's face - "Mummy's cleaning" indeed!

I think DH must have seen this thread as he has cleaned the flat from top to bottom (including the cats' box - ) without so much as a squeak, an eff or a blind. He even put the clean washing away. There were no comments about my being a slut, or the inadequacy of my efforts, it was just done.

Now how do I get him to cook a couple of evenings a week?

MrsS that is a miracle Well, it would be in our house!

Reporting in: I am giving my h his d back. Dh was observed hoovering yesterday. Also various jobs that have been outstanding for ages have simply been done without me asking. And he is currently booking us some time away together ALONE. Certain huge changes - which have been overdue for several years - appear to be actually happening. Support is being provided for changes I want to make to our way of working. Yeehar!

However this has all come as a result of protracted "negotiations" after a fairly spectacular showdown and I am now even more tired than I was last week. When we go away, I shall just need to sleep. It's all been a bit ... dramatic.

Wow! there's something in the air if all these dhs are suddenly shaping up.... or have they formed themselves into a male version of our crepeys gang and came on here to do some research about "what women want" or somesuch.... imagine their surprise that it was their emptying cat litter trays, coking the occassional supper and some witty banter washed down with buckets of red wine.... who knew!

err, I'd probably rather have my supper cooked than coked...

If my DH goes anywhere near the kitchen, "coking" is very likely....

Mr Inferior does do his half of the housework. (Possibly more, as I loathe hoovering.) And we just about share the cooking (I do more in the week, he does it at the weekend.) But I still feel unspeakably weary about carrying the overall load of Sorting Everything Out. Meal planning. Dashing round shops in the lunch hour to purchase small vests and pants. Worrying about vegetables. All that stuff...

... I know. The endless gym and games equipment, the musical instruments, the forms that school send home, the checking out of social arrangements and sleepovers... the birthday cards and presents... how did they all end up being my responsibility?? It isn't that these things are DIFFICULT, it's just a BURDEN.

Oh yes, the forms from school... This week I have had cello rental form, overnight trip form, school photos form (x 2) AND IT IS ONLY TUESDAY. DD2 does not want to go on the ski trip this year. This is a great pity, as DH and I usually take advantage of them both being away, to go away on our own. I might threaten her with a week with Granny Doom instead...

Is Granny Doom any relation of Great Aunt Ada Doom in Cold Comfort Farm?

Dh, who's not working, does try to pitch in, but inconsistently.

So, for example, he was in charge of EHICS when we went to Italy and did the ordering online. At the parents' meeting for dd's German exchange, he spoke up and advised other parents how to go about it without getting ripped off etc.

Last night, when I came home at 10.15pm and checked her packing, I discovered her EHIC expired in Aug (two days after we went to Italy). She was leaving for Germany this morning.

DH can't account for this. Doesn't know what can have happened. Thinks he must have ordered one for her (ours were new in March) and can't understand where it might be. Etc. It fell to me to tear the study apart while he carried on looking at his favourite websites. Didn't find it.

And when we got up this morning there was no milk or bread for breakfast.

He used to be a demon in bed, though.

"He used to be a demon in bed" male crepeydom has struck?

DH used to be a demon on the sports fields (he still thinks he is ), not sure I would ever have called him a demon in bed though!

Now panicking that DD's is uptodate as she goes to France in 10 days (I'm sure I did them all....)

So Crepeys, did we come to any conclusion on a date for our meet-up??? Would a Saturday be better so that people can meet for lunch/shoppping/evening as suits? So Sat 16th or 23rd?

Dp works from home half the week, and is it really asking too much to unload the washing machine whilst you are waiting for the kettle to boil? Or do the washing up? Clearly, yes it is....
And yes to letters, trips etc, and opening is mail to find the IR are going to send your details to a debt agency and the bailiffs will be knocking at the door...(to be fiar, that isn't his fault, he and his accountant have told them numerous times he does not owe NI contributions as he has been PAYE for ever and never earned outside of that system, but they just won't let it go).
Parents evening otnight, so we shall find out if ds is doing okay.....

Triple bypass and spinal injuries have cramped his style a bit

I'm looking forward to his full recovery. Puts domestic shortcomings in perspective