I don't dress for the school run, I dress for my (wise & avid) life!!

[LetThemEatCake]

continuing from here and quoting esher!!

Am staying with parents who have no internet access at home but my dad sometimes pops to internet cafe so I may accompany him for an hour or two in order to check in but don't know if I'll be able to post or only read.

I would love to do another meet-up too btw

My problem is I'm convinced the 3lbs are on my belly!!

Happy packing ollie and esher.

GRRR, I did huge order with Blooming Marvellous and apparently 3/4 is out of stock but they didn't check if I wanted to replace it with anything which means I now have to pay 2 lots of £4.95.yay or nay

Plum hope you are having fantastic time could you specifically have a mojito please. God I miss mojitos, in fact it's probably the thing I miss most about london being able to get a decent cocktail. Milk&Honey? The Player?

esher the coach potato to 5K running plan is fabulous it got off all my baby weight last time (and there was a lot) and back into the fitness game.

LTEC the blue dresses were fab thanks, the smaller one never fitted but have worn the larger one especially in this hot weather! I think it depends in what proportion for red and camel I think it wouldbe a little too seventies, but that might be what you are aiming for!

dolcee hope the dress works!

felix this that model needs to learn how to smile.

Sorry to all those who haven't got supportive parents or ILs (or who have lost them Carciofi), don't know what I would do with out either set of mine and don't take it for granted believe me.

nnoooooooo esher!! 3 weeks??!!!

you will be missed

Plum you sound utterly scrumptious. Have a fab night

fel1x on the lookout for dresses for you - what fun!

ok you stylish lot - tell me - is the Houlihan thing over already? Hope not because I just bought a very convincing H&M rip-off pair today......

Just lost a massive long post.

He ho. Had a meltdown today. I don't want to type it all again but the sahm routine got too much all of a sudden and I couldn't stop crying. Red lentils boiled over on a newly cleaned cooker, 4 bottles lined up to wash in sink and dd whining for an ice cream and I lost it. Dp was obviously a bit scared and came home immediately. They went swimming and for dinner and I slept then chatted to my dad (father to 5 dds, parented 7 ) for an hour. I am fine now . I need to feel less guilty about recognising how unstimulated but totally challenged I sometimes feel. My dd is so wonderful you see and everyone we know thinks my life must be so easy - she's v bright, v loving, always happy. Except sometimes it isn't about that is it. Anyway, enough moaning. Sorry.

Got sil's birthday bbq at weekend. Her ds' birthday too. She's driven me mad with her present selection. I won't go into details but she's made a comment about what I wear - or more what I might not want to wear. I think I might wear something outrageous like the new floral teeny tiny playsuit from asos . I really, really don't want to go. On that note, Cakey what swimsuit did you wear eventually to your picnic thing? I might wear something similar (bearing in mind I am a lot bigger than you). They did say to remember dd's cozzie - I could say I thought they meant all of us .

Totally now AW post. Apologies again.

Will be in better form tomorrow I promise.

monkeys just off to bed but just wanted to say you are not alone. Does it sometimes feel like your brain is melting from under use yet is still tired from the monotony of the day? Unmumsnet hugs from me. Hope you get a good night sleep.

carciofi So sorry.

esher have a fab holiday.

Bloss Has anyone answered your Shred question!!??

monkeys We all have bad days. Just try and smile through it.

Well I've had a 16 hour day. The joys! Just sat down.

In-laws? Well my FIL has not even seen dd once - she is 2.5. I could go on - but I won't.

Hello everyone, thanks for bag links. I'll prob be in Paris soon bonsoir so will look for that shop. Anyone know Penelope and Parker? Please google and tell me what you think - I really like some of the bags. They're proper handbags, but made to fit laptops and work junk. Can't work out how to link from iPad.

Sorry about all your parent and in-law traumas. I really can't fault any of mine in terms of attitude to us and dcs (and mine are gc 10,11, and 13 to mil, though you'd never know). Both mum and mil drive me nuts very fast though. I totally agree with Tracey that it seems normal to me to want to spend time with gcs. I imagine that if I'm in good health when the time comes I'd love to pick them up from school and the like. But people are weird - there's no getting around it.

Lovely maxmara dresses on matches site - don't you think?

Handbagsandgladrags.co.uk for the bags

Monkey it's part of life though isn't it - the horrid day? Don't worry, tomorrow will be different. A good book on the go is always crucial for me - it's like a place to escape to. Or walking the dog. Best is walking the dog and stopping in sunny spot of park with a good book

Hi all. Falling behind- can't keep up! Mad week. Office closure confirmed so not great really.

Will try and post properly in the next day or so. Sorry to hear about parental ussues; in general we are lucky although far away from them all so not something we can rely on regularly. FIL met dd once and calls her by wrong name when talking on phone to dh. Nice.

Fel1x welcome back. Will have a think re dresses and try and post tomorrow.

Night all.

Hey MM - so sorry to hear about your day and believe me, I know the feeling.

am going to the G Sessions tomorrow night, will wave to you

I wore this in purple for the picnic. SFiL still licked his chops and asked how it was that I still had such a perfect figure after 3 children

Number 1 - it's FOUR children!!
Number 2 - DON"T EFFING LOOK AT ME YOU LECHY OLD MAN!!

wear the teeny playsuit . If anyone can, you can

Makemine I think there;s enough longevity in the look to justify an H&M purchase; maybe not a NaP one though.

Cake I have that swimsuit but it's Calvin klein and was about 60 quid! Gah!

roman I quite like those bags but I am not sure they are big enough - I obviously don't know how much you have to drag around with you but they look quite snug.

I hate a bag where you can actually lose things inside because there are not enough holes/pockets etc and you just have to shove it all in and hope for the best!

If that makes sense!

Notyummy That is a worry. Sorry.

Notyummy was thinking about you and your job yesterday. Really sorry to hear the news. The work rumour mill has been running overtime re: redundancies at the PCT where I work too.

MM hope you're feeling your usual self again today. It really does happen to us all (although I reckon a lot of people don't admit it). You are so fortunate having an amazing family around you (certainly doesn't seem to be the norm, does it?). I love reading about your relationship with your mum and sisters - its the exact thing I'm aiming for with my DC.

Dolcee - recently I've concluded that on balance I'm glad my parents live 100 miles away from us. My DC are GC 7 and 10 and I feel really bad asking my mum any favours (on the very rare occasion that I do). It's made us very self sufficient and I like it that way really. Trying to rely on unreliable people (and even worse, people who do things even slightly begrudgingly) - well we can all do without any of that . As for my ILs - my FIL died before I knew DH and never met my MIL (thank goodness - sounds like a miserable human being and my DH has nothing to do with her). Unless you have super duper family support, having no support is a lot easier I reckon.

LTEC hope things are better now that both you and your mum have your own space again. Also, how long does your bedtime story routine take -it sounds amazing, but I'm always so tired at that time of day! And, you are your DH are hilarious - the new apron dress really tickled me, its the kind of thing DH would say. He is totally oblivious to what I wear / spend etc. Marsha shame you're returning those shoes following comments from your DH, my DH would be unlikey to even notice them (has many advantages )

Morning all. The thread has been so busy yesterday I have difficulty catching up and checking out all your links.

It's really sad that so many of us seem to have dysfunctional relationships with parents/inlaws. As Zembo put it so well: Sometimes it is easier not to have any support/contact at all than having to deal with your parents' issues.

notyummy - So sorry about your job

monkeysmama - I just know how you felt yesterday. Had too many of those days when DD was a baby. In fact I think I was in tears almost every day for the first six months. "Everyone we know thinks my life must be so easy" is something I can totally relate to. The thing is you can never influence what others think about you and shouldn't care really. Easier said than done. I fail often and still care too much what others think. Glad your DH and family could help.

Rainy day here today. Have started thinking about A/W wardrobe and really want a lovely shearling/light leather coat. Have browsed but can't find anything I really like. Maybe something like this but I don't want to spend a lot of money on Ebay without being sure that I really love it.

Thanks for all your messages - feeling much better this morning. Dd told me I am "bellissima" then paused before saying "you looking same as Igam Mogam" WTF!

MM - glad you are feeling better today

notyummy sorry to hear about your office closure, I have been made redundent twice andit does suck. I hope you find something even better soon.

Fritzi I felt like that with DS and am doing everything I can this time before the event to negate it (i.e buying some nice clothes in the sale in bigger sales, discussing breastfeeding with DH, roping in parents helps). I LOVE that coat, it looks so warm and swishy (I know it's leather so not swishy!) but I would be wary of spending that much money on something I couldn't try on as there is a very slight chance it might make you look like one of Santas helpers.

roman another handbag site, arggh, I am LOVING this, not a raspberry pink person usually but think the colour would make you smile whatever type of day you are having

Libra - Santa's helper is a look I want to avoid at all costs for A/W . Love that raspberry bag! Really sensible to discuss and prepare before birth of baby. I always assumed I could handle anything on my own. Not very wise...

I mean "everything" not "anything"...

Tracey a very happy 1st b'day to Bea! Hope you have a lovely day and the sun shines for you.

MM glad you are feeling better . Being at home can be great but can also be frustrating!

Notyummy sorry to hear about office closure. Do you think you will go into consultancy?

Ltec good luck at the interview, outfit sounds great!

Zembo I know, I know it probably looks bad that I listen to his comments, and that he makes them. But I always show him stuff, and his comments are part in jest (he knows 'Dorothy P' will have a certain effect on me ). But really I hate my feet and have to concur they do not suit (as much as I would like them to).

Blossoming I don't covert Mulberry really, given a choice would prefer something like that Gucci bag Tracey would like. Or Hermès if I could ever afford it.

My parents are excellent if not far away. Very strong in character (expats) and very generous (have just bought us tickets to see them, and do Liberty shops when here). Siblings all great, funny and lovely. Only problem is the in-laws cannot live up to such expectations. But that's ok I leave dh to have a relationship with his parents.

MM believe me I know that feeling well - sometimes it just all gets a bit much really.

I do love being at home with the children but the repetitive nature of it can be stressful and draining. However I do remember that my job was a lot like that too.

Glad you're feeling better today.

NY - sorry about office closure - thats what happened to me when I was pregnant with DS1. Hope they help you to look for other opportunities internally.

MM - so what did sil tell you not to wear? I am such a child that I'd be in playsuit and ridiculously high heels