June 2008 - we're back!

[PrincessOfWails]

Here we are after a prolonged break! Before we start chatting, I suggest a quick recap. Here's mine:
I used to be called Essie.
Iestyn born 16/6/2008.
I still live in north Wales.
I'm currently unemployed after a dreadful time where I was very badly treated but I can't talk about it for legal reasons.
But the best news is that I had a second boy, Goronwy Cwyfan, born 8/7/2011!

[LotsofDots]

Hello!

I used to be called vivaglasvegas/shouldersbackandnobiscuits.
Charlotte born 06/07/08 (late to the party, but due in June!)
I still live in Glasgow and work as a hospital doctor, with one last big exam to do in October...

DD2 born 24/11/10 (Dorothy).

[ktpie]

Hello! I've kept the same name. I've got Jonathan, born 02/07/08 and Henry born 01/02/10.
I didn't go back to work (as a research scientist) and to be honest have no plans to!
Sounds like you had a terrible time at work Essie/POW.

[systemsaddict]

Hello! recap great idea: kept same name, caitlin born 11/6/08, also have liam nearly 2y older (though I'll try to keep to dd and ds on here).

Work full time as uni lecturer; dp didn't work for a couple of years after walking out of horrible job, he has now got pt job at kids school which is handy!

Watching olympics opening - dd kept me company till 11, which is ridiculous, I remain obsessed by sleep issues...

[LotsofDots]

Opening ceremony was amazing! The viral conjunctivitis that my daughters have gifted to me from nursery is less so. Eurgghh. Eye goop.

[systemsaddict]

EW to conjunctivitis!

V excited today, my best friend is coming to stay for a few days with her two boys (each 9 months younger than each of mine). Hope for sun for us!!

[Rolf]

Hello everyone!
Same name here.
DS1 (12) - going into year 8
DS2 (11) - going into year 7 (ie starting secondary school)
DD1 (7) - going into year 3
DD2 - Thea - shares a birthday with the fathers day babies here!

Former solicitor (a galaxy far far away) and can't imagine going back to it but not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself. I'm now an orphan as my father died in May, so with my youngest/last child about to start school I'd say a mid life crisis is pretty much inevitable. Let's see if it's a dignified one.

We have got well into the olympics, to our surprise. We loved the opening ceremony and I think that stirred us up to enjoy the whole experience. DH's rear end has taken on the shape of an armchair, which in turn is surrounded by things from Dad's house so this summer we're working a Steptoe vibe.

Lovely to hear from everyone but how sad that there are so many employment issues.

[LotsofDots]

Rolf, we are very into the lympics here as well. Perhaps you could find an Olympic sport to develop as your midlife crisis? I personally have always fancied the modern pentathlon.

In other news my conjunctivitis is now officially bacterial and getting heavy duty antibiotics. I look like a mole.

Just watching the wee Lithuanian 15 year old who's just won a gold in the swimming. Wow.

[Rolf]

Dots, the pentathlon is more realistic than gymnastics (there'd have to be a separate event for the norks) but my favourite event so far is women's air pistol. They were so completely in the zone and focused.

I'm sure it's been asked before, but why don't the male beach volleyball players compete in skimpies? How can the women's event have credibility when the clothes so obviously serve differing purposes?

Are our best James Bonds trying to find out if there's a performance-enhancing drug that is undetectable by the tests currently in use?

Hope Dots eyes are feeling better soon. You won't be allowed near the unwell public like that will you?

My children are all off doing activities today and I am loving the silence. It's going to be just me and the girls for most of August (DH is taking the boys for a male adventure) - wish me luck!

[LotsofDots]

Have a strange vision of the norms gymnastics now rolf.

The beach volleyball outfits are ridiculous. They have funny thermal layers when it's wet or cold, did you see them?

The unwell public are not normally subjected to me too much anyway, as I am mainly in a dark room looking at pictures, but I have come home after making a feeble attempt at going to work. I seem to have managed to get a flu like virus as well. I am crumbling.

Systems, hope you are getting nice weather for your visitors. It's crap in Glasgow.

[PrincessOfWails]

I reckon at my stage in life, pistol shooting is the only realistic Olympic sport to aspire to, in the absence of useful things like laundry, toddler wrestling, school run etc! I saw one flag bearer in the opening ceremony with a big beer belly, and he was shooting. I already have the physique.

Currently in London, and off for a week in south Wales on Saturday! Will do a proper post from my computer soon!

[systemsaddict]

Did you see one of the women shooters was 8 months pg? Respect!

Had crappy weather for visitors, but soft play and pizza making kept us busy indoors. Lovely today, as they left this morning, typical! Still I has taken today as leave so could at least enjoy it.

I am becoming obsessed with the shitness of so much contemporary work, so much so that I am thinking of making it my other big research focus.

Hope the eyes are settling now dots...

[LotsofDots]

The eyes have just about recovered, as have I after also having something like flu for 4 days. Now on call this weekend. Yuck. Managed to see the athletics last night though, which was amazing!

[PrancingBuffalo]

I used to be Whinegums/BuggerofSurburbia. One DS, Barnaby, the last entrant to the June 08 thread born 07/07/08. We're still in Glasgow. I was made redundant when on mat leave, but got a better job anyway. I don't want to jinx it, but it's likely I'm about to become head of my department. No school for us until next August.

Systems, there are still sleep issues here too, do I have the only child on the thread who has never, and I mean never, slept a whole night through?

Dots, hope you are feeling better. Today was my first day back at work after surgery to fix post birth damage. That's a whole other story...

[LotsofDots]

I wondered if that was the op you referred to on FB. I remember you mentioning it before and gearing up to go and see someone about it. Well done for getting it sorted! Didn't think you'd appreciate being asked on FB!

Have had a lovely normal day today with no illness, no whining from the DDs, who generally managed to play nicely together, a trip to Dobbies garden centre with a friend (who is also a primary teacher and therefore DD1 is in awe and on best behaviour when she is around!) we also had a play date next door for Dd1 while DD2 was asleep, so I got an hour and a half of me time! Hooray!

I now need to focus on finishing the blanket that I am making for my Mum for her 60th next Tuesday. It has been nearly finished for weeks, and I keep putting it off. Better get darning in ends. I also need to decide how I am going to decorate her cake. I have a feeling she might see through my stick chocolate fingers round the outside tactic.

[Rolf]

Buffalo - good for you getting the surgery. I hope it's sorted things out. I was booked in for a TVT a few months ago but I had to cancel it when my Dad became ill. I'm hoping to be able to get it done next year.

Glad the eyes are better, Dots.

If anyone has any advice on this I'd be awfully grateful!
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/1535319-2-freezers-and-1-fridge-filled-with-rotten-food-What-to-do

[PrancingBuffalo]

Rolf, I'm so sorry about your dad. I hope you get his house sorted out. And I hope you're ok. There's a thread with lots of chat about various repairs, you might find it helpful here I didn't have TVT, and I think I had a different problem from you, but I'm glad I've had the surgery - already a lot better!

Dots, there is nothing wrong with chocolate fingers! You could always tie a naice bow around it. I almost said to you to come up to the ward when you spotted my 'view from my hospital window' pic on FB, but I wasn't really up for any good chat at that point.

I'm unexpectedly loving the Olympics, so much so I'm planning on getting tickets for the Commonwealth Games. Until now I was thinking we'd escape Glasgow when it was on.

[LotsofDots]

We are already excited about the commonwealth games. We might volunteer to Do Stuff, as well as go to some events. Cycling, gymnastics and rowing will be our top picks!

[FormbyDoula]

Hi! You can probably work out I used to be Neenz.

I went to Commonwealth Games in Manchester and it was great. Might try to get tickets for Glasgow.

I'm on way to Olympics now to watch handball! Very excited.

I'm on my phone so it's not easy to write much!

[abdnhiker]

Hi, I'm not creative enough to change names! Ds2 was born on the 7th of June and ds1 is two years older. It's back to school time here in a few days - i've been lax in sorting uniforms etc! How do people feel about the kIds starting reception in sept? I'm really glad to be up here where f has another year in nursery. Ds1 enjoyed school last year but the teachers gave him a hard time for fidgetting and when I said he as only five they said "well if he was in England he'd have gone a year early" which filled me with dread (besides being annoyed because we're not in England and most of the rest of the world starts at six so five is still young!).

Lots of Olympic tv on here - I think we're going to try to get to a hold postbox soon! There's two relatively nearby apparently.

Sorry for everyone's job crap - I had a similar horrid time when I went back when F turned one and ended up quitting my government research job and staying home for a year. I've been working in industry now for the past two years and I'm so much happier (and financially we're much less stressed).

[abdnhiker]

Apologies for the spelling! I'm on my phone!

[systemsaddict]

Very sorry for your loss, Rolf. Good to see you got some useful advice on your thread, hope you get it sorted.

Abdn, good to see you! And glad that you have a job which works now! I have very strong feelings about reception, some children have to start Too Young and are expected to do things they are simply not capable of. I have a rather traumatised nearly six year old boy here as a result, he has not enjoyed the first 2 years of school at all. There may be other stuff going on - we are in the middle of a diagnostic process with him, possibly borderline ASD - but it might also 'just' be that he wasn't ready for school when he had to start. We are now hoping that his reputedly brilliant year 2 teacher will be able to improve things. Still, it's nice to have the summer holidays when he can unwind and I get my boy back! Not so worried about dd starting, I think she is ready.

At my mum's for a week's holiday now - lovely weather, big garden, and someone looking after us - bliss!

[PrincessOfWails]

Hello all, I was away on holiday last week. Lovely!
Rolf - sorry to hear about your loss. I don't know what else to say so it sounds a bit rubbish really.
Also, sorry to hear about the ops - Buffalo too - and can I join in? I'm a regular attendee at the lovely (!) Childbirth Damage clinic here!! I was proper trashed by DS2, who was a whopper with big shoulders. I'm being lighthearted but actually it's quite serious; torn to shreds etc. I have an open offer to have surgery to repair it, but I'm umming and ahing about it really. Right now, it would apparently be 'cosmetic surgery' (and yes, ladies, that would be a designer vagina on the NHS). But in 10, 15 years time, it might not be cosmetic at all; but it would also be too late. However, no repair job for me if I am going to wreck it all having another baby (undecided), but I've also been told that I should not have another baby vaginally (not helping with any decisions).
Some self-help, though: to help with the ol' pelvic floor, and also my saggy mummy tummy, I'm starting the MuTu system this week. Will report back!

I've had a mixed sort of weekend. I gave DS2 his last bf yesterday morning - largely because he did not care! Sob!
I had a lovely time yesterday and this morning with two schoolfriends, both with children the same age as Iestyn, and one younger one each as well! But one of them lost her mum - my 'second mother' as I used to say! - very unexpectedly and rather young just before Easter. She is orphaned now - her dad was killed in a road accident far too young when we were 11. It's so sad, but she's doing brilliantly - she has her two boys - and DS1 and her DS1 are close friends.
But the far more difficult bit. A recap - some of you may remember my cousin Karen, who has been fighting breast cancer for 2 1/2 years now. She has a little girl who will be five in October. Well, she has secondary cancer in her liver, and they told her last week that there is nothing more they can do. No timescale - could be tomorrow, could be 12 months or more (just looking at her today, as a non-expert, I...well...what do I know.) She is ultra cheerful - and always has been, that was the way she was dealing with it. But.

[abdnhiker]

Wails - sorry to hear about your cousin, I remember you telling us about her.

As for post-birth vaginas, I'm okay (its scarred and crooked but fine) except I can't run anymore. I know i should be going for physio but the thought of adding another appt to my list fills me with dread. I'm just barely hanging in there with the workload/kids etc as it is. I will have time in a year when f is in school but perhaps then it's too late....

What's the MuTu system?

I'm heading down to London tomorrow for a day trip but not staying overnight unfortunately. 6am flight sucks....

Systems - has ds had a good summer? I think I'm the one whose enjoyed the break the most - no worrying and dealing with teachers. DS1 enjoys school on the whole so that's okay but he's not been pushed academically because they think he can't focus when really he's just bored. I'd be way more upset if he wasn't happy. (are second children generally more ready? Ds2 is learning so much from DS1, including how to read and maths, that he's academically ready for primary one already (but has the attention span of a midge so it's good he's got another year at nursery!)

[PrincessOfWails]

Abdn I will report back on this system, but MuTu (short for Mummy Tummy I think!) is a 12 week programme to get your body back, and there's also a shorter, more focused one as well.
I need to sort out my mummy tummy, but also the pelvic floor issue won't get better by itself. I should have had physio, loads of it, as part of the NHS follow up for childbirth damage (I'm going to abbreviate - I hate typing that because I shudder each time!) but it never happened, despite me, my MW and my HV making follow up calls. So if I can avoid it...

Hope the London trip is good! I'm off midweek for a couple of weeks before school starts.

[Amberc]

Hi all!! Not changed my name either as haven't the wit or intelligence! Luke is starting school in September - very ready as has really been going for about 2 years anyway at kindergarten. Madeleine and Isabella are 19 months and driving me up the wall in one way or another all the time! Lovely girls though for the most. Starting training in September to be a teaching assistant (as long as I get copies of my gcse certain in maths and English - down to one last awarding body now - others say they don't have them - why did u throw them away???!!!).

Anyway - now need to work out who is who from facebook and shall return with comments on comments!! X