Crepes and Mulled Whine in your pants

[Auriga]

Somebody had to do it

MrsS at your DH's skincare spending - mine uses the big botttles of cocoa butter!

Oh God Herbs, the frock!

I am also at MrS's pamper products. Dh is a soap and water man, with occasional forays into shower gel usage. He does get the broken capillaries on his nose treated with electrolysis these days, but only because I suggested it. And then he moans about it costing £18.

I was left a few hundred pounds in my great-aunt's will, so we are awaiting a nice new sofa. The one we have came to us second-hand about 12 years ago. It's still structurally sound, so I tried to get it re-covered but was quoted about £800. Ridiculous! So I've ordered online from Ikea. Old sofa supposed to leave sometime next week, courtesy of the council. New sofa supposed to be arriving on the 20th (as the nearest Ikea is Southampton, they only seem to come over this way for deliveries every couple of months - I ordered at the beginning of November!). Anyone care to place their bets now on us sitting on cushions on the floor over Christmas? Either that, or the old sofa will be sitting adorned with tinsel in the front garden as a Christmas art installation to annoy the neighbours.

Eventually, however, we will drink a toast to Aunt Irene (ay-ree-nee), my dad's younger sister who died in the summer at the age of 100.

Ah, she was the children's great-aunt, obvs. And my aunt. doh.

Mr Inferior regards anything more new-fangled than soap as Evil. He had to test various products for my last mag - I should have sent them to your DH, MrsS - and hated it.

Annoyingly, he has the dermis of a particularly flawless toddler. Which he ascribes, obviously, to his lack of Products. He is the sort of person who didn't get teenage spots.

I am the sort of person who did get teenage spots.

Hello everybody - I'm just back from doing uni' interviews with DD1 and completely emotionally and physically exhausted. What's more she has demanded boots as well as an i-phone for Christmas and did not think it reasonable when I pointed out that her présents added up to more than those of the two other DC's combined. Sometimes she is really selfish. (joins unreasonable teenage daughter club).

I have now realised we have one week next week until Christmas holidays and I have done next to no Christmas shopping (except for i-phone). I'm going to have to hit Amazon in a big way today. Stuck as usual for DH - it's going to be a jumper again. He has added to stress by telling me he's got me a fab present (this after last year's debacle).

MI - my DH will not use anything other than soap on the grounds that it's gay! As you can see he's really forward in his thinking and his bottle of Homme Sauvage that he received for his birthday in July is still untouched.

I have bought a few presents, but am going to hit John Lewis in a big way on Monday to break the back of it. Talking of grooming, I may replace DP's bottle of Terre d'Hermes which is LUSH and which has nearly all gone. Win:win.

HPT bought, now awaiting full bladder. Embarrassingly bumped into acquaintance in the chemist, and had to make small talk for ages in the hope that she'd go before I picked the HPT off the shelf. Turned out she was waiting for a prescription, so I had to just grab and go. She politely pretended not to notice what I was doing.

The result will determine my levels of drinking at a) tonight's DP's boss's party, and b) booze-fest at old pals xmas day on Sunday. Be rather hard to explain why I'm not drinking at that one...

"Antibiotics" Herbs. Classic but useful.

I did have to poas more than once in the last few years but turned out to be the advent of crepeydom... from clockwork regularity to more random periods. Used to get slightly sick feeling and metallic taste in mouth too which was all very disconcerting as only had that before when pregnant. In my case was mightily relieved when it was all a false alarm. Hope you're not too shocked / disappointed whatever the outcome...

17th good for me!

QQ, same here, re absent periods and POAS, thank God!

Right, Jan "do" - sounds like 17th is favourite so far?
MI
Stropps
Herbs
Auriga
BTM
MrsS
Beachy
Ruby?
QQ

Hatty, can you wangle a trip to London?

I think it's the polarity of the two possible outcomes that are hard to deal with. Outcome 1 - I may have a baby, and four more years of ickle kiddies, with the trials and marvellousness that would mean. Outcome 2 - the clanging bell of menopause.

I have given up on knowing when to expect my period, after a life in which they were regular as clockwork...

...OK, apart from the month when I er miscalculated

Results are in. And it's the clanging bell. Bit gutted really.

oh herbs

Herbs

Aw Herbs. Have a hug.

Oh boo.

Despite myself, I'd begun wondering how life would be with a newborn and a five-year-old, how much baby stuff we've got in the loft, while also thinking about the horrors of sleepless nights, and that I'd be 68 by the time it would be 20.

But this result means not only no baby this time, but no baby ever more, which is something of a cold-water reality check.

And, WTF is going on then? Can I assume my period will start tonight, with a massive gush, all over my VW dress and DP's boss's expensive flooring?

Oh Herbs, have a hug from me too.

And on a more practical level, go armed with extra-thick sanpro

you might find you skip a month herbs, and then have 2 periods in 6 weeks... anything becomes possible. Only way to manage is to be prepared at all times I find and to expect that if your cycle lengthens periods may be heavier. I think lack of PMT symptoms etc may be because of not ovulating but no doubt someone more medically minded might have a better / correct explanation.
I do sympathise with the clanging bell idea / feeling but while it does feel like the end of something it can also be the beginning of something else... plans for your new career etc and once accepted can feel strangely liberating. But be sad / disappointed first.

Thank you QQ.

I have had a cry, have hidden the HPT, and have counted my blessings. Think that this on top of not, in fact, being able to start the new career I'd hoped for has been something of a bummer.

I've had anovulatory cycles before, but not going on this long and with this much crampy hoo-ha. Something new on the crepey front to look forward to.

I had a weird cycle at the beginning of the year and POAS and then have been back to being regular as usual since. It ain't over 'til it's over...

OMG, I miss a day of crepey chat and come back to a POAS drama.

Sorry it's not the news you wanted, Herbs.

I have also been driven to POAS (that was before my ovaries were officially declared "raisins" earlier in the year). I have had no period since June/July's 29 day whopper, and hadn't had one for about 8 months before that.....and I'm only 46. And when my POAS wad negative I had the same mixture of relief and sadness. Well, probably more relief TBH, but I do have three of the blighters already, and they are a lot bigger than your little chap.

Oh god. Talking of 'little chaps' and tears, anyone see the bit on the news last night about the total lack of changes to gun laws after that Newtown shooting in the US?

One mother who lost her six-year-old said 'I still remember the way he felt'.

Ahhh Herbs :(.
17th here too - we can celebrate erm a significant birthday...

Ds clearly has mossie cafe stamped on him somewhere and is covered in bites - If I joined the dots I wonder what they would make?

I saw that, Herbs, and I'm usually pretty tough but found it really hard to cope with.