Mums Running Club

I always say 30 weeks is the point where you can put superstition to one side because baby's chances are so good by then. Def need to get the car sorted!

Vixo we didn't do anything about the car until i was nearly due, i worried more about the pregnancy third time around, not sure why!

Thanks ladies for thinking a - that I ran well and b - that I have a sense of humour! The fact of the matter is that a - I am crap at running currently and b - without a sense of humour I would cry as I am just about at the end of my tether.
Yippee to new car shopping (sis loves her Alhambra), slow cooker recipes, pilates and putting feet up
Boo to bugs (CM get to the dr soon if no better), school runs (gggrrrrrr), weather, weekend hubby's and bed hopping/ lack of sleep.
EF - really pleased your level is good, a colleague has just got preg with ivf (1 baby already and 1 fail so 2/3 success).
mountain of paperwork to do when I got home but bricks were being delivered so hubby was swinging on the scaffold as I put kids to bed, then Archie decided to pee about and snapped the bed frame -arrrgggggjhhhhh. Put him in with Tom, top to tail but Tom kicked his catheter bag releasing the tap..... Now I have 1 broken bed and 1 wet bed.....double aarrrrggghhh. Finially finished work at 11 but remembered I had asked for the new mental health stuff to be put on an agenda for a meeting tomorrow so I need to prepare a presentation and I haven't !!! TOUGH!
If anyone complains they can f*ck a doodle do!!

Yes Caro, which one have you got?

MPVs are great for multiple 'toys' as well, bikes, buggies, travel cots you name it!!! we have a towbar on the back of ours which we can fit the bike rack to and thankfully Ss bike still can be flung in the back.  I've even used it as a campervan with all the back seats removed

Camlo ((())) TOUGH indeed. Hope it goes OK

oh camlo (())

well we have a call at 10am where the great and good will tell us about the redunancies. in theory i shouldn't be put at risk (N has showed me the spreadsheet and everyone's scores) but even so it's unsettling

Keeping everything crossed for you CM.  

Camlo ((())) you tell 'em! Sometimes life is just too much and you have to say no to some things before you go insane.

Have been trying to keep up but it's taken about a week to catch up!  Caro - where did you hear about the booster seats being replaced?  Would be interested to read about it as grandparents have only got a booster for Sophie although she has the Britax Si (I think) in our car.

Had an utterly sh**** week if I'm honest.  Kept it off FB as it will only makes matters worse.  V v long story but basically I've handed in my notice at the youth club (apologies if I've already mentioned some of this!) which means it will have to close as the other 2 staff do not have NVQ level 3 qualifications.  It's been rubbishly managed for ages but I had no other job so I hung on in there.  Then this ESOL teaching job was offered to me only about 3 weeks ago so suddenly youth club was no longer priority, more goodwill for the kids than anything.

On top of this, I have had issues with a colleague (P) who is eternally paranoid that shs is not kept informed of and consulted about everything, even though she's not qualified to make these decisions - for example she sent me snotty texts while I was on holiday because I had mistakenly asked another colleague (J) to cover my 3 hour session when I had (apparently) already asked her.  I apologised but she was having none of it.

My other colleague (J) has just left because she got another job and was fed up with the place and P moaned about her a lot because, again, she planned activites and staffing without directly consulting her.  Then I planned this sexual health activity last week for all 3 sessions as it was Sexual Health Week  - only thing I did wrong was not sit down with other 2 remaining colleagues (P & L) beforehand to ok it, not that I needed to, or send a letter home, which is not a legal obligation I am informed.  P became very aggressive after I forwarded an email from the Sexual Health Centre saying what I had done was all fine and well done etc etc so I ignored her horrible texts until we had to have a meeting last night.  She lasted 10 mins in the meeting, in which the community centre manager said P & L would be made redundant as club had to close for many reasons inc lack of funding, then had a go at me for not telling her the meeting day had been changed to her son's birthday so "your husband can play squash" - none of which she'd told me and I had told her and L.  Basically she has a criminal record and this is her only job, but frankly she should have thought of that!

Not sure if any of that makes sense!  But the upshot is I am being blamed by many people at that place for causing the closure of the youth club, which is SO untrue and I feel awful enough about it for the kids anyway.  Big GRRRRR 

rant over!

Just reading and not posting at moment as super busy but wanted to say hugs to Camlo, good luck to CM and hugs and grrrrrrr to JG xxxx
Overnight trip away tomorrow - lots of driving!

And breathe JG.............glass of wine?

Will respond to slow cooker stuff later.

10am too early Caro? 

I also missed out that Nicky was sick twice yesterday and has kept me awake half the night!  Promise to stop moaning now...

Oh dear JG, poor you regarding a sickie baba and the whole youth club saga She sounds a right cow that one you worked with and as you said should be more careful especially since she has a criminal record. At least you have another job and hopefully that will be much better. Hmmmmmm maybe a bit early for wine?? But coffee n cake should help briefly!!!! Chin up n all that eh?!!!! (((()))).

Enjoy your trip away Hoggle.

Im at work so quickly popped on, have to be very careful that the ward sister doesnt come up to minor injuries and catch me on here!!! On 12.5 hr shift today and tomorrow, what a thought so gone from the house for nearly 15 hrs tow days in a row. Will hardly see the girls. Dont normally do 2 in a row but someone wanted to swap a shift so i stupidly agreed!

Slow cookers are great. I have my SIL's that she doesnt use. I normally put on slow for aboput 6 to 8 hrs and then heat up the food the next day to eat again. Sometimes brown stuff of but dont think it really matters to be honest.

Oh dear Camlo, sounds grim to the broken n wet bed  and crap meeting at work. What do u do again??? Hope it all works out fine in the end for you.

Kinsey - i was a nervous wreck 3 rd pregnanacy, convinced something would go wrong. Silly really.

CC- sounds like you had a nother busy w/end doing your pilates. It'll be so worth it though eh. yuk to driving in Edinburgh, bad at the best of times but ten times worse with road closures!

It wasnt ma sister thats good at running that i did the MTB with but my other sister. Have 2 younger sisters and one older!!

Thanx Turbo, Im wearing a peachy dress in my FB pics.  Its the one i wore to Mara's naming ceremony well over a year ago and think it looks a bit better this time round as i am about 10 ibs lighter than then!!!!!

Canna remember anything else and better go down to the ward before i get in trouble x

Chest infection for Nicky so at least it's not a D&V bug! 

We had a seat alhambra before our VW. Was a brilliant car, wouldn't have changed it if we hadn't outgrown it! We didn't do anything until the twins had arrived so had a couple of weeks of driving everywhere in 2 cars! My VW boot is like a garden shed, at the moment it has the twins bikes, a skateboard, all the wetsuits and lifejackets and a mini BBQ in it. I know I need to clean it out but that means admitting the obvious, that summer is long gone!

I'm hoping no one dared to complain to Camlo today. (())

Nightmare shifts RF.

Hope Nicky is better soon JG and that work issues are resolved. Probably nothing much you can do but walk away and try to forget. Shame about the youth club but you aren't responsible for the situation. (())

CM - crap situation for you too,hope you are ok.

I am car-less this week. Driving home from work on Monday the brakes stopped working which was a bit scary! Hubby has ordered a part and taken it all apart to fix but now tells me it is a bigger job than he thought and he might have to get the garage t o do it. FFS great timing, the only spare money we have at the moment is the little we have saved for our hols. Rah. Struggling with getting kids to their activities, been ok so far with helpful friends and hubbys car but will struggle tomorrow with all the swimming and friday.

It was Emily's 9th birthday yesterday. Took her and a friend (and Reece)to the new cinema for the first time while MIL babysat the twins (no room in the little car for them and S&D were swimming). We watched the Lorax which was pretty good, I managed to stay awake at least!

So have had to cycle everywhere with the twins the last couple of days, thankfully my legs are pretty ok after the marathon - tight hamstrings being the only complaint. Did 4 mile runs yesterday and Monday and 7 this morning. Hubby didn't have to be in work until later today so we got the kids to school and nursery and then went back to bed Haven't been getting on that great lately, nothing major and probably mostly me being unreasonable so need to try and make the effort to make time for each other a bit more.

Right better get on with something useful!

 

blimey lotte my hubby would never ever go back to bed once up!!!! LOL!

We really need to make more of an effort to be a couple but we never do. Hardly ever have a normal conversation even in less its to do with day to day living etc. terrible i know

Oh no to the poorly car, not good when you have all that ferrying around to do.

Poor N JG but at least its nae D n V as u said!

haha, lotte. good on you.

well, we have all been put at risk within my department.  there are probably around 250 of us at risk now and they won't say how many they need to lose, but it needs to equate to a 10% operational saving. that doesn't mean 10% of people though as some people are more expensive than others.  just done my figures and i will get £10k payout if they make me redundant. N, on the other hand, will get £170k! methinks they won't be making him redundant somehow! he is on very old Ts&Cs as he TUPE'd from the civil service, which is why he is so expensive to get rid of. i have only been working for them for 8 years and am paid less than him (as part time), which is why i am cheap to get rid of. being cheap to get rid of is not a good thing - but i'm also not that expensive to employ as i am part-time. so they might get more of a saving from getting rid of someone who costs more to employ...

i won't find out if i am actually going to be consulted with until 12 Oct and then i will get told i am being made redundant on 14 nov (if it happens) and out the door by xmas.

had an appt booked with my financial advisor this afternoon anyway (he wanted to review performance of my pension and some investments) so took the opportunity to discuss worst case scenarios. one of my investments isn't doing very well so he wants to move it. he says if i needed to, i could plunder it prior to the move to tide me over if i had to, so that's good to know.

i don't think the problem would necessarily be finding a job, although it wouldn't be that easy. the problem would be that, in order to be in this area for the days i have the kids, i will need to take a significant pay cut AND work full-time. but if that's what i have to do...

sorry - very self obsessed. not a great day really...

This forum is definitely not just about Mums running!  More like a consumer adviceline - cars, slow cookers, car seats!  Love all the slow cooker chat.  I have a little one here which is great but the climate doesn't lend itself to nice hot stews in the same way that it does in UK.  Used to make some lovely chicken and veg stews in UK.

Camlo, hope your meeting went OK today.  Grr to wet and broken beds.  Will the pressure let up a little once your extension is finished or is that just a small part of the overall problem at the moment?

JG, sorry to hear about the problems you are having with the youth club.  It really is not your responsibility if there is no one else qualified to run it.  As you say, a shame for the kids but not your fault.  Hope the teaching is going well.  Also hope that N improves quickly now he is on the ABs.

CM - so sorry to hear about the redundancy threat.  You may well be too cheap to worry about losing, it may work well in your favour, fingers crossed for you, such an unpleasant experience to go through.

Vixo, I get completely what you are saying about feeling bad about not giving a proper meal in the evening but they do get good food at nursery at lunch time.  Max probably didn't get enough food last night - Mr TT took him along with him in the golf cart last night while he played 9 holes and he LOVED it - but only had a few snacky things to eat.  Woke up at 4.00 this morning saying he was hungry and did not go back to bed afterwards so was bit tired and grumpy when I dropped him at nursery today.  He's got bit of a cold too so not 100% at the moment any way.

Lotte, can't believe the long list of things you have in your car boot, it must be huge!  

My hubby would go back to bed for that, he'd never miss an extremely rare opportunity!!!

Back later. Kids to sort.  Just had hair cut - loads cut off and it's such a relief but, as ever, she just never quite gets it how I want it, there is definitely something missing in the finishing of it, sooooo hard to find a decent hairdresser - bah. Last time I ended up doing some trimming myself which is fine on a bob, but not on a half-way crop!!!

Pretty pants time for a few ... grrrrr JG but sounds like you are well out of it, onward and upward I say!

CM - that's grim, I know hubby had to fight tooth and nail to get the appropriate rights for his team up here when they were closing the base down, just to get the proper consultation time and stuff. Horrible to waiting to see (())

Lotte - bah re the car, hope it gets sorted out and doesn't blow the budget either ... AND it gets sorted in time for holiday.  As for getting on with each other, I think it takes a miracle to be honest for most folk at the moment - everyone is so busy with life and kids, so what little time and energy that is left doesn't always trickle through to keep a relationship bubbling along nicely!  I know we go through peaks and troughs, I just try and enjoy the peaks and ignore the fact that it means a trough is inevitable!!!  Sometimes it's something as 'simple' as what you did this mornign to re-tip the balance.

Vixo - I wouldn't feel bad about that kind of tea at all. As with everything it will change anyway, it's easy and like you say, not like she hasn't eaten anything else during the day. Things are tough enough aren't they and I imagine you are feeling pretty shattered at the mo.

RF - you look very glowing and fab in your pictures, I definitely need some of what you are on at the moment as I definitely feel anything but glowy at the moment, but then I know a bit more veg in my diet wouldn't go amiss ... off to make myself veggie stirfry in a mo!

In fact change of seasons is definitely hitting me - I love this time of year but my skin does not and I always get outbreaks of eczma on my face at this time of year - so not attractive so what with feeling all round knackered ... and I don't even knock out loads of miles at the moment either!!!

Have just relegated the 'beach bag' to the spare room - can't bare to put it totally away yet (contains towels, wetsuits etc) but kids definitely won't be using it much now although I am not giving up quite yet, although haven't swum for a few weeks now.

Five miles round the forest this morning and all my splits began with a 7. Then off to opticians for eye test. all good except they refuse point blank to re-glaze my current frame because it's not theirs. FFS, it's two years old, has only had one set of lenses in it and I KNOW cos I spent five years working in an opticians that the chances of it breaking are really really small!!! Bah. Should have done run AFTER the optician.

there are actually 700 of us in scope of redundancy

Just bought a maxi cosi Rodi XR on e bay new for ??64 incl postage so hope it's good!

Matilda seems happy with packed lunch so we do do a proper meal in the evening. Although I was kind of thinking school dinners would be good as I could then get away with sandwiches in the evening, I actually think I prefer this as I do know what she's eating. If she had school dinners I'd never find out what she had for lunch!

I had this slow cooker

http://www.hartsofstur.com/acatalog/CrockPot-Traditional-4.7L-Slow-Cooker-SC7500_IUK.html

I prob had it for 4 yrs or so, but the surface got damaged so that everything I cooked got stuck and burnt on. It did make nice food though, although didn't do porridge, it just seemed to turn to glue! My dad gave me this one for my b day

http://www.tefal.co.uk/All+Products/Cooking+Appliances/Table+Top+Cooking/Products/8+in+1+Multi+Cooker/8in1multicooker.htm

And so far the rice and porridge I've cooked has been great. It has a porridge function with a timer, ie the porridge doesn't cook all night, you just set it up the night before and it cooks in the morning and is ready for you. However I do want to make overnight porridge as I don't really like the stuff, and with slow overnight cooking you can add lots of fruit, cinnamon, and other flavours that make it more edible! Made some this morning and it was great as we all had the same thing, super quick. I made my own granola at the weekend and now I have it sprinkled on top and it's fab!

I will let you know what the slow cooking function is like after the weekend!

CM how shi*e, I'm always amazed by how badly companies can treat their employees when it suits them, and I know from hubby's experience that people telling you that it's meant to be and something good will come out of it doesn't help at the time! Keep your chin up.

Had my friend over for coffee today, a nurse from work, to catch up on the gossip. Basically the new practice my boss decided to open nr here is failing, and he and one other guy who co owned the business decided to ditch it, and therefore leave the 3rd partner up the creek. She has worked her arse off for the last yr trying to make it work, and now has lost money, and has been forced to sell her part back to the parent company (it's a joint venture partnership affair). So now the two practices that were co owned are now entirely separate, so I am going to go see her on Mon and just tell her that I was always planning on handing in my notice, so I will be available from the new yr, so if there is a part time job then think of me! No idea if anything will come of it, but worth having a chat.