Mums Running Club

Don't know how readable that picture is, hope you can make it out.

That soup sounds delicious MM, would be great for me at the moment too, haven't got any tomatoes of my own though, would have to buy some.  Glad S has perked up so quickly.

CM, good luck with keeping J still, is it illegal to tie him to a piece of heavy furniture?

Thanks MM, do glad it doesn't involve skinning or deseeding!

meant to say TTId - amazing news. wooohhooooooo!!

i have had a panic today. have had irritating itching under left boob and have a mole and a tiny pinprick blemish in that area, but not exactly where the itching was. it has been bothering me for a bit on and off but i have kind of ignored it. then today i was digging around there because it was bothering me and i thought i found a lump. so i got an emergency appointment this afternoon at the GP's. lovely lady doctor who thinks it may be the wire of my underwired bra ?? but anyway, it's not a lump. i have 'nodular' breasts. how lovely... of course my whole boob is now sore from excessive prodding. i am a plank really!

Just waved goodbye to hubby and M as they're off on their camping trip.  It may be sunny this morning but its 6c, so rather them than me!  They went in our friends large estate car and the boot hardly shut!  So amusing..........just hope they escape before the rain tomorrow.

Now, what shall Eric and I do with ourselves........

 

Sounds chilly Caro, do you think they will reappear later?!

TT - woohoo to another boy! Did you say 18 weeks? Flying by! Love the baby positions pic, just sent it to my friend who has been cosleeping with her 8week old most nights.

MM - glad Sophie is feeling a little better, was it last night you were going out with the bikes, hope you all got to go if so. The soup sounds yummy, I have failed to grow any tomatoes this year, something ate the plants when I put them out, my mum said slugs don't eat them but something ate the entire plant!

TangyT- thanks for info about childminding extra kids. We have actually discussed her taking Rosie too, and she said with the new regulations from this summer she could legally take both, she looks after Maggie plus two under 2 yr olds. One of
them is just mornings. But major consideration is she would find it hard to do anything, they do lots of trips out at the mo, and if she had three little ones plus Mags in the mornings it would be very hard (she recently had a scare involving a pram and a pond!). So the plan is that if I found somewhere for Maggie to go in the mornings (preschool would've been perfect) Rosie goes to the childminder, then childminder picks up M for the afternoon. I just can't find anything easy to get to. I'm depressed that I'm going to have to drive to two places and then park at the station to go into London (??5 a day), I hate all the parents who drive such short distances but I think I'll have no choice. It's less than a mile to the childminders then another half a mile to the station. Sorry mustn't complain, I could just stay at home and look after my own kids so will shut up now

CM - the kittens sounds so cute! Do the kids give them a moments peace?! Rosie is obsessed with our cat, and the cat biscuits, I turn my back for one minute and her hands are in the cat bowl. She only crawls fast when I'm not looking.
You were asking about cat sitters, the one I use is ??8-9 a visit I think, that's expensive, my mum is a pet minder (in Dorset so not near London!) and charges a few quid a visit. Prefer sitter to cattery as also means the house is checked on everyday (and she waters the plants), cat prefers it too because he can sleep on our bed undisturbed for a week!

Ok, onto running! First run in a week this morning, did a nice 6miler at 7am, bloody freezing but beautifully autumnal out there. I love changing seasons, the air smells so fresh.
Thinking of entering the Brighton half marathon, did it a few years ago and really enjoyed it, they keep sending me emails saying its filling up fast. It's in February so a good reason to move my post Christmas bum out the door.

Just had a call from the pub, surprise surprise!

TT when's your due date? I had my 20 wk scan around this time last yr, so must be close to E's b day.

Still cleaning the blo*dy fridge! Note to self, never have a second hand fridge again!

Hehe Caro!
Just been reading runners world and there's an article on running in pregnancy and post pregnancy. Maybe they've realised how popular this thread is!
Can it be that bad Caro? Our rented fridge is probably gross but I'm definitely slack about fridge cleaniness (ie. never clean it out!).
Back to watching wipe out. I like Saturday night telly

Oh and forgot to say, there is never anything wrong with going to the dr about possible lumps CM. who cares what they think, better to be safe! I once went about lumps and they were just hormonal.
Also remember when Hegs first talked about her skin cancer and that if they had diagnosed it earlier it wouldn't have been like this. Hope she is doing ok.

It's bad sonya! Our fridge ain't perfect, but I do occasionally clean in the rubber seal bits and de mould them.....

Watching telly now, had a huge baked potato covered in butter, beans and cheese for dinner, and now eating chocolate

Just researching car seats, as Matilda should be out of her group 1 one by now and into a 2/3, plus Eric will need hers soon enough. Like all things, there are too many to choose from and wide price variations from ??30 to ??250! S which ones do you have, are they good and would you recommend them (no isofix)
Thanks.

We have these for the twins and Reece and yes would recommend. (At cheaper end of the scale!)

http://www.mothercare.com/Britax-Adventure-Highback-Booster-Car-Seat---Max/481461,default,pd.html?cm_sp=ProductFeatures-_-Category%2520landing-_-Britax%2520Adventure%2520Highback%2520Booster%2520Car%2520Seat%2520-%2520Max&q=Britax&q=Britax

We have the maxi cosi Rodi (think it's the XR not air) Caro, it's fab. Got second highest rating from Which? After Britax isofix one. Only 1% in it. Apparently isofix isn't really needed for group 3 seats anyway as you're looking for the support in the back and neck as the seatbelt is the retainer.euk to the fridge too... We've had that experience with our first flat, except we had a freezer and microwave to deal with too :-S

CM - yep, definitely better to be Sent away with a flea in your ear than ignore something serious.

Sonya - I often think about Hegs too... I have a nasty feeling from her last post here things didn't go her way . I hope I'm wrong.

Right suppose I ought to get up. Have been awake since 5am as hubby who had slept in the spare room last night as I've been having trouble sleeping with my shoulder and asthma, decided to bound into bed as he fancied some fun!!!!! Needless to say he didn't get any and got dispatched back to where he came from and I'm still knackered. Rah!!!

Caro - just looked at Which? Current best is Maxi Cosi Rodi XR. 2nd is Britax Kid Plus SICT.

Don't Buys are (worst first) Graco Junior Maxi, Graco Logico L, Kiddy Guardianfix Pro, Safety First Tri Safe, Chicco Key 2/3.

Hope that helps!

Caro - are you getting rid of your old fridge then? I remember some pretty disgusting fridges from moving into student houses. Definitely couldn't go back to that lifestyle anymore! We've got a kiddy seat for Isabelle - cruiser fix I think, which is isofix, but they do the same one non-isofix. The thing to remember if they're not fixed in with isofix is if you're ever in the car without the child, you must strap the seat in because otherwise if you have an accident it would basically become a potentially lethal flying object within the car - particularly if you've got another child in there. That's the only reason we got an isofix one - because I knew I'd forget!

Sonya - I think of hegs often too, and I'm also very sad to say that I'm pretty sure from what she'd said inner last post that things won't have gone her way. I just can't imagine being in that position - makes me hug my children extra tight whenever I think about it.

Poor eliza was very sick last night. She was crying a bit before we went to bed, and when we went up there was vom everywhere. Poor little soul, had to have a bath and full bedding and pj change. Hope the rest of us don't get it!

Am a bit annoyed. We were going to go away with some friends for half term and I'd found a place that looked good and was very reasonably priced where we went in march, but whilst we were waiting to hear about annual leave for everyone, it's all booked up - bah!

Oh Janie, why did the kiddy guardian fix do so badly? We've got the cruiser fix, but I thought the kiddy seats were supposed to be quite good! We took a trip to the vw garage yesterday to check we could get a car to fit 3 seats across the back - and luckily we can without buying any new seats which is a bonus!

The Cruiserfix is fine Vixo, scored 74% you'll be glad to know! The maxi cosi was 75% so must have just missed out on being a best buy.

Caro if it helps! The maxi cosi Rodi has a thing that you put through the head rest to keep it secure when no child is in it along with a plastic thing that allows the seatbelt to keep it in place. I've done emergency stops before now and it's been fine.

What's wrong with graco junior maxi?? I'd decided that looked great!

Our car doesn't have isofix, that's why no isofix. Our stage 1 one is britax, so may go for that one then.

Yes getting rid of v old, small fridge. One day will get new kitchen, extension etc, and would like jumbo American style fridge. However until then, we don't have anywhere to put one, so jumped at the chance of a free smeg fridge that takes up same floor space as current onr but much taller. Also have a built in fridge which we have on n the summer, and in the winter the conservatory becomes fridge no 2 so we turn the built in one off. Would be nice to only have one fridge! Jut need to remember how all the drawers and shelves go back together.......

Caro - sometimes the which reports mark seats down for strange reasons so it may not be all that bad! Isabelle's got the maxi cosi rodi in my parents car and it seems very good, and has deeper wing bits than ours which isabelle likes if she's tired!

Lotte - I think you'll be ok at sandy balls since its out of season. Definitely wouldn't be my choice in the summer holidays, but the pool looks good for the children, and will save you a lot of swimming entrance fees if you have some rainy days! Message me if you want suggestions of things to do in the area - I won't fill up the forum with my rambling!

OMG Janie. I would have not been amused at 5am either. LOL sorry had to laugh!

We have maxi-cosi roadsters for the twins, they are ace, although Josh now finds his shoulders don't fit that well. So not sure what we do next!!?? They have the plastic clip to go behind the seat head rest too. Will probably get some basic boosters for the boys when S needs one of their seats.

Fabulous day yesterday. Just an easy morning at home after 8 miles run for me and 2.5km swim for hubbie, bit of gardening then went to Westonbirt for the afternoon. Was glorious, such a magical place in the autumnal sunshine.

Hubbie made us fab seafood risotto while I had some sudden inspiration after half a glass of wine and designed a garden I've been struggling with all week. Often works like that, suddenly it just clicks and it takes me no time at all to get the shapes just right. Sat and watched Dr Who with the boys which I love doing.

Very tough run this morning, but very pleased. 16 miles in 2 hours with 2 x 3 mile sections at 6:30 pace. I just about managed it. First 3 miles bang on 6:30s, 2nd set was 6:35s but had 2 huge hills and the rain had started so I am pleased with that.

Boys had a brilliant time at the race track on friday night on their new bikes. They both mastered the gears instantly and Harry was whizzing round. I struggled to keep up with him on my tired legs. Hubbie reckoned he was going at 15mph!!!!! Harry cycled  4 laps that are about 2 mile each, plus lots of messing around in the slaloms in the pit lane. He has sooo much energy and just keeps going. Amazing! . Josh did 3 laps, and is much happier on his new bike with his long legs.

Right just kids swimming to go, dinner to make. Homework is done but reading to do yet. Huge pile of ironing to do as well. No rest for the wicked hey!!!

MM - yes if happened to someone else I'd probably be laughing too, apparently he thought I was having an errotic dream?!  There's an interesting excuse!  Have you adjusted the back of Josh's seat?  I only found I could do it be accident when changing the covers, we've got two, one has wheels around the shoulder area and one has sliding clip type things.  There also there for the head.

Caro - Looks like it's a bit more than obscure stuff unfortunately:

The Junior Maxi is fairly easy to use and offers acceptable front crash protection, but as the seat's protection is so poor in side crashes it has been given the Which? Don't Buy rating.

Safety

The Junior Maxi scores three stars for front-crash protection, but in a side crash, with the back fitted, we gave it just two stars as we found it exposed the child to a risk of serious injury. It was even worse with the back removed, offering virtually no side-impact protection at all. The side-impact protection is so poor overall, we recommend you don't buy this seat.

Fitting and using the seat

Using the Graco Junior Maxi is very straightforward, and clear instructions and labels warning of potential misuse mean there is little danger of installing it incorrectly. It's easy to adjust as your child grows - it uses the adult seatbelt to secure the child, so there is no difficulty in buckling up and making adjustments.

The seat offers good leg support, and the padding is comfortable, while the child's view out of the car is clear.

The junior Maxi offers plenty of space for the child, but it also takes up a lot of space in the car compared to some seats. It is very light - handy if you need to move it from one car to another - and the finish quality is excellent.

The cover is very easy to remove for cleaning and to refit.

Overall rating

With a total test score limited to just 20% by the poor side impact protection, we recommend you don't buy this seat.

If you already own one of these seats, think about buying a better seat, but don't stop using it until you've bought a new one - after all, any seat is better than no seat at all.

This result is from our 2012 tests.

Pros: Light and easy to use, easy to clean

Cons: Side crash protection is so poor we recommend you don't buy this seat Graco Junior Maxi

It's a shame as I'd been looking at getting one for my car.  Just found some Rodis going cheap on ebay though.

Has to be said, my £1 Which? trial membership is being very well used!  Breadmaker, tumble dryer, car seats...  All in a week, I'm just a geek really