Creper Roses

[SheherazadeSchadenfreude]

Here!

27th June - 2 votes! Come on Crepeys!

ToT Klaxon! Looks like I lost a pound (must have been all the stress last weekend!) - 5
My colleague has just told me she has now lost 2 1/2 stone with SW - she's looking great!

ToT - I have lost two pounds since the weekend, so overall down 2lbs on starting weight.

However, a weekend of friends and barbeques awaits, so no doubt I'll be back to the starting point by Monday.

I do wonder if there's something the matter with my metabolism sometimes. If I don't really restrict what I eat, I put on weight so easily. Such as three pounds in three days in Harrogate, which included loads of walking.

Herbs, both dss birthdays are around this time so had many years of successful and not so successful parties when they were younger...

We had some lovely park / picnic based parties. We used to make clear it was a FAMILY occasion (so as not to be left in charge of a large number of random children). We made clear we'd provide drinks (child and adult) and cake and ask all who came to bring some food to share. That always worked out fine. We brought all the "equipment" - extra blankets / rugs, paper plates, bin bags, plastic glasses and cutlery and some play stuff - balls, cones for races etc etc. If you have a pirate theme that would be fun - tell people to dress 'pirate' and make any games piratey too.
I do advise a wet weather plan made well in advance though - even if it's cancellation!

Hmmm, very much fancy a meet up and definitely like a good Turkish restaurant!
Might be problematic on either date in conjunction with my UK wide tour of university open days but if we plump for either will do my best!

Will check 27th!

Anyone want to give me a quote about being in a 'rock choir' and how terrific it is, please?

Oh 27th June poss (my life might have returned to something resembling normal by then.....

Brown paper bags (the kind your takeaway comes in) with a sarnie, individual crisps, a drink, a choc bar - job done - and most kids love it!

"It rocks" QQ.

"I like having Rock Choir emblazoned in sequins across my embonpoint." Herbs.

Thank you...

Happy to help MI.

I was in a rock choir. It was crap. It was all "Come on, Doris, two steps to the right" while lots of people tried and failed to sound like Aretha Franklin.

Ooops, that probably wasn't what you were looking for

Herbs, I'd be very sure to make it clear that all kiddiwinks are supposed to be accompanied by a parent. I don't know if we are all very hardcore round here, but it's the norm to dump and run at parties once they are at school. No parents of reception children here would expect another parent to stay at a party unless there were special needs involved or some sort of health and safety issue.

We used to do parties al fresco as DS's birthday is on American Independence Day. There were some memorable ones when we loaded up two cars with boys (no parents!) and took them to the beach. Great fun - we paddled, played cricket and football. I always took ready made lunch boxes, too - so much easier. We used to go regardless of the weather, apart from if it was actually raining. I am feeling very nostalgic now.

Neither 27th nor 4th much good for me but as it is so close I might be able to join you for a drink.

Herbs, I'm afraid I wouldn't have expected to have to stay at a fifth birthday part unless there were issues, or the people giving it were friends of mine/family friends sort of thing - which they often were and then it was lovely. I think parents get in the way a bit too and the children play to the gallery if they lose at pass the parcel. And everyone clucks around trying to make sure their child eats cherry tomatoes instead of strawberry laces (as dd was prone to separation anxiety I did end up staying sometimes so saw plenty of variants). We tended to think along the lines of: is the playground enclosed and how many exits does it have; do we know the parents of any children who may need an adult there well enough to have a quiet word and make sure they will stay; are there any sensible parents whom you could specifically ask to stay and help properly, with a view to returning the favour? We tended to have smallish parties, often in parks and similar (spring and summer born dc, soft-play-hating mother), so may not be relevant (and sorry don't know where all that detail came from!).

Heavens...remembering back to primary school parties, I'm struggling. ( feeling old...) I used be so relieved when parents stayed. Most were of the dump and run variety...preferably dump early and pick up late. I struggled also with managing some of the behaviour and rudeness of some of the kids. Mind you for DD's thirteenth last year I was inundated with not so little princesses demanding our internet password. DS's tell me this is pretty standard. I think it's a bloody cheek. Anyway Herbs I would make it very explicit if you want adults to stay and ply them with food and drink!

Rock Choir...I have never been to one myself. I am vocal director of a community choir and some members who have been to Rock Choir say it feels great to begin with but gets a bit formulaic after a while and a bit commercialised, you know...big business. Doubt that's any help, sorry mother

Ooh, now you see at most of the fifth birthday parties I've been to, the parents have stayed. The parents are mostly friends with each other, so there is an incentive! The idea of having to be in charge of 15 small children fills me with horror.

A lot of the people coming will have younger siblings too, which they can't just dump, which could be handy. I think it will only be the school parents who will dump and go, and sadly they are the children most likely to play up. One of my friends, who will hopefully be there, is an educational psychologist, so I could pay her handsomely to help me!

I'm going off the whole idea now...

herbs if I had my time again I wouldn't do 5 year old parties with just me and DH although that's in fact what we did. Enlist help!!

"sarnie, individual crisps, a drink, a choc bar - job done" Thanks Blackduck, was wondering what to have for lunch.

Long one, sorry. I need help please crepeys:

TIREDNESS
I feel tired every day, all the time . I wake up totally bushwacked every morning, go back to bed after school run and still often (mostly at mo) still feel cream crackered on getting back up.

I am asleep at night, heavily it feels like. I get up once maybe twice for a wee, it's not insomnia. It has been drifting this way for well over a year and the last three months or so I have barely woken refreshed, maybe three times?

I work flexibly at home. My life is not that stressful and my DH is a Noticing Things Fairy. I drink about one glass of wine a week. Walk lots, run a bit and often do a pilates class, sometimes two.

Anyone else this bad? Anyone got any thoughts? Success stories?

Had blood test this week and will go on Tuesday. Am gulping ferraglobin but maybe is deeper iron/ferratin prob. We're largely veggie and I was having irregular 2 week long periods until quite recently (gone sensible since copper coil removal)

Take ranitidine twice a day for hiatus hernia (can't do omeprozole it makes me gurgle) maybe I should try lanzaprozole. Or just change to some other med to see if it makes a diff.

Did wonder if it was a hormone deficiency (have other meno symptoms but not sweats/flushes) but 2nd month of HRT now and no improvement in sleep quality.

Shared room with DD in Paris who I woke up snoring (only once) could it be sleep apnoea....? (DH and I have own rooms - I can't do sharing a bed - so don't have much data from him)

I need to get organised/tenacious and get it sorted but I'm so foggy, I need support and help with a plan. Sorry if I sound neurotic (which I am ) but I feel like there is something I can fix, if only I could work out what. have seen several GPs but not feeling particularly heard....

I stuck to a maximum of 8 including the birthday boy or girl and had it all planned down to the last minute. Any persons likely to be a pain in the arse were not invited
There was a party last year that 3 of us mums insisted to going to, because it was at a private swimming pool with no lifeguards, 15 x 8 year old boys and the parents have extensive form for not paying any attention. Just as well we went because there were several "incidents" in the swimming pool and hmm, well, let's just say the whole thing was highly dangerous.

WAF, I think I'm possibly nearly as knackered as you. I was just thinking this morning that I have no idea how BD is still upright at this point in the week if she has to leave the house every morning at 6.40am. I couldn't do that unless I went to bed at about 8pm.

Hmmm... Most of his friends that I now are pretty angelic, the one who isn't will defo be with his mum, but his school friends are something of an unknown quantity, apart from his bestie - a girl, who he wants to marry. There are quite a few 'naughty' boys that I fear he may want to invite...

WAF, you sound very similar to me before my hypothyroidism was diagnosed, particularly the fogginess in my head. My GP recently lowered my medication and it all started again - on upping the meds I was fine again. I, too, was given HRT, but it didn't help at all. Has your thyroid been checked. Sorry if I go on about the thyroid problems, but I was undiagnosed for years. I do think that you need to persevere with your GP. Good luck.

Ooh, Herbs, definitely don't get left with 15x5 year olds! It's a tricky age - some parents happy to leave, some still wanting to hover. We did a few outdoor parties for DS, whose birthday is in November , because we used to live in a weeny cottage facing a huge common, so it was easier just to unleash the children outside. Balloon games, races, eating doughnuts off strings....we used to end with a few fireworks and mulled wine once the parents showed up to collect. Because it was outside the house the catering was straightforward, though. Mr Google is your friend regarding party games.

Rock Choir....ummmm....I considered this for about two nanoseconds while I was looking for some sort of local choir who didn't sing in Latin all the time. But discounted it.

BerryLellow - it is desperately sad. Although I'm racking my brains to see if I can remember her. Do we know what happened?

MI - have a look in TKMaxx for your Levi Demi Curves - I just bought a pair there which were massively reduced because there was a tiny fault in the fabric somewhere near the ankle. Next to the Demi Curves was a rack of absolutely shredded boyfriend jeans at full price. Ironic.

27th June - could be a winner...

WAF, no suggestions but sympathy, that sounds awful. Are these the first blood tests? Maybe the results will help at least point you in the right direction..

Herbs, yes I think it is school people most likely to dump and run (and I understand why if you don't have particular friends there). If you've definitely got some family type groups, maybe you could just informally divvy up the others so everyone keeps an eye on two or three? Have a large bit of paper and several working pens and make people write mobiles down legibly if they are dropping off and then stick that bit of paper to the coolbox or something.

X-post - WAF, I don't know what to suggest, but maybe you need to give things a chance to "stabilise" with HRT etc. But I do think a lot of it is linked to our old friend the menopause.