Mums Running Club

4 miles done on the treadmill and a wee bit of core work. Really couldn't be bothered but the thought of the strathpuffer in two weeks made me do it! Hubby's bike that I use mainly as its better spec than mine is in for a service so need to go collect it tomorrow. I am getting very nervous at the thought of a 24 hr mountain bike event, I must be mad! So hoping its not icy, fingers crossed for a dry night about 5 degrees!!! There will actually be only 7 hrs of daylight cycling & 17 hrs of night time riding, yikes.
Kinsey- fingers crossed a decent house comes up.
CC- boo to poorly boy, hope he gets better soon.

You are mad of course RF, but it is the best way to be. And you will be absolutely fine too - you have some good training and it does sound like fabulous fun. No idea what we are doing in a couple of weeks time - perhaps I had better come and yell you on for a bit of encouragement.

Oh that would be great
Nothing like a good old challenge though eh!
Reading Andy holgates book - cant swin,can't run, can't ride. Good read
In bed

CM you can get junior isas now, it was the thing they introduced when they scrapped child trust funds, so Eric has one, and we pay ??20 in every month same as we do M's CTF, and we can't access it, nor can they till they're adults.

If child benefit was meant to be saved for the children to use when grown up, rather than on nappies, food, clothes, essentials, then there never would have been all the hoo ha about saving for kids, CTFs and jr isas etc, but we all know T lives on another planet somewhere.

Good luck mr MM, not sure the weather is going to be kind.

Wow to the skiing CC!

So I finally thnk after weeks of ridiculous negotiation the job has gne tits up. They were offering over ??3500 less than I would have earned working the same no of hrs for my old job, and funnily enough I think I'm worth more than that! It was going to always be less money than my old job as it was fewer hrs, but not that much less! I am not prepared at this stage in my career, with over 12 yrs experience behind me to take such a reduction in salary just because I am female and want to work part time. As the old saying goes, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys and I am not a monkey. I made them one final offer this evening, to match my previous rate per hr, and they a haven't replied. I am just annoyed that I have wasted so much time and energy on it, going for trial days etc, when I told the guy on day one what I earned. But anyway, at this stage in the game when it's the first practice that has showing interest and I haven't really started properly looking yet, I am holding out for better! And I even managed to avoid opening the bottle of wine in the fridge tonight!

oh that sucks Caro if it comes to naught after all this; I guess if nothing else, you are now totally up to speed on how holidays etc are calculated for P/T etc and know exactly what you won't be settling for?

Skiing like this will be a one-off I imagine given the costs but felt it was a good time to go before it starts to get more of an issue taking kids out of school for it (we don't get a proper Feb half-term, just a long weekend). I haven't actually asked school yet which is a bit cheeky given I've booked some flights. Will be three days ... so am hoping they will look kindly upon me. They are waaaaaay more flexible about this than when I was in England and got a bollocking for taking J out of school to look at a school for him up here!!

Our weekend forecast looks pretty good, wee bit chilly overnight at -2 but dry, are you lot in for some really drastic stuff then?

Argh, hubby got up to change M's bed at 4 am and his backs really bad again! So he's not gone to work as tube or cycling are out.

oh no, caro. out of interest, does he do core stuff? my back has been better (altho is never fully right) since i have been strengthening my core. it doesn't completely 'go' on me now like it used to before

beautiful day here today - am going to plough on with some work this morning and go for a walk during daylight. tried a 3 mile walk yesterday and coughed / wheezed badly all evening but i am just going to have to put up with it as i cannot do no exercise any longer. i am putting weight on and i hate that

good luck mr MM

i am sorry about the job, caro. you are right tho - you are worth more than that. i have found a job to apply for - in cardiff.  Assistant Director of IT Services at the Uni. sounds fab but it will be full time and i doubt there will be any flexibility on it. it is also quite a lot less money than i would earn if i worked full-time in my current job. about 1/3 less. . however, working fulltime in my current job means being prepared to be away from home mon - fri which i can never do while the kids are young, so i have to stop comparing other jobs with my current one. i do quite fancy the idea of working at the uni, and i assume - maybe naively - that there will be quiet periods over the summer, so taking time off to spend with the kids (if i have enough holiday) shouldn't be too much of a problem. anyway - best get my CV in first!

Oh no to the job Caro .How annoying, especially as they knew what you earned when you went into negotiations. Hope hubbys back doesnt keep him out too long.

Skiing sounds brilliant CC. I want to take Leila skiing before too long, but think it will be next year now realistically. I have been pricing up a summer holiday to Canada this year, before L starts school in so we can go in June out of the school holidays. It's v expensive though, so I dont think it will happen. But if we don't do it now, it is likely to cost a lot more next year in the school hols as there will be no way school will let us take her out for 3 weeks. We will see.

CTF and Child ISAs we don't have either. We have the standard CTF that the govt gave us £250 for but I put it in a high risk savings as we aren't going to add to it. The main reason being that when the child reaches 18 or is it 21? they have access to all the money we have saved for them and we have no control over when or what they spend it on. I mean (heaven forbid) what if they are a drug addict, or have a really unsuitable partner that they want to spend it on? We have 2 standard ISAs that we put into which is in our name and just a child saving account. We aren't eligable for the Child benefit now, and what was really annoying was that we had to opt out rather than the government do it. It kind of just got swallowed up in house hold bills anyway, although it will be missed.

CM, sounds like you do the same sort of thing as hubby. He works in an ops management company and is a Lean Consultant. Hope you get work sorted and things with N.

Camlo, sorry to hear about your friend.

MR - hope that the 24 hour challenge goes well. Nutter!!

MM, good luck to hubby on his challenge too. How far is he running?!

All good here, L finally back to school so I can get some stuff done. We still need to sort out the babies room as at the moment it is a guest room/dumping ground! So this weekend we will be putting lots of stuff back in storage and getting everything ready. I can't believe I am 35 weeks, where did that go?

Just wondering Vixo, I know it wasn't planned but would you go for a home birth again? I am quite tempted but haven't made up my mind yet. I have a presentation scan next week although the midwife said he/she is head down now to get me ready for a home birth but still not sold on the idea. I guess if I have any doubts?!

 

 

job applied for

anj - interesting about hubby. i'm not a lean consultant. don't know the first thing about it! but am trying to learn fast!

i had a home birth - was fab. what is your main worry about it?

I wish I'd had a home birth with S - I really wanted to but hubby wasn't keen and I gave in.  Thankfully I had a wonderful midwife with S (unlike with J) so even though it was in hospital it was a significantly better experience.  But if I had my time again I'd definitely do it.

Well done CM on the job application.  Weighing up pros and cons is difficult - is what makes hubby struggle to make a move to change his situation. He can't see beyond what currently is.

We haven't actually opted out of the child benefit - have had no communication from them whatsoever so hubby will pay tax on anything paid during interim - that said, letter from said useless dept has popped through door today ...

Caro - definitely get your hubby on some kind of core stuff - Pilates, whatever.

J gone to school today after a huge debate with him changing his mind at 11th hour and demanding to go in, but with a packed lunch as food doesn't taste right. So I best be off here and out for run before I get a phone call to say he's not feeling good!!! Long run will have to be Sunday now as am not risking a 18-20 miler today - would never live it down if I couldn't get back to collect him cos I was somewhere off in the hills with no mobile signal!! Hubby is off half the day cycling tomorrow so see no reason why I cannot go out on Sunday.

GOOD LUCK MM for your hubby and you with all the logistics. Hope the weather doesn't cause too much chaos.

Hi!

 

There's a mums running club on Tuesday afternoons in Battersea park which is run by physiotherapists, there's always a small number of us so we tend to get a lot of individual teaching. It's £6 a session and has a strengthening aspect as well as running technique.

 

I'll try and find their website to post.

 

Amy x

hope J ok today, cc. not what you need!

i am obsessing about this job and logistics of childcare if i got it. as assistant director, i don't think getting in at 9.45 and sloping off at 5 would go down too well... and what about the holidays?! having said that, i probably won't even get an interview...

just done a 6 mile hilly walk. lungs aren't as bad as they were yesterday after my much shorter walk. i just want to run again. today is soooooo beautiful too.

right - time for some work.

Does T have set days cm? You could compress full time hours so that you work long days when he has the kids and you do shorter days when it's your turn. MR does a compressed week as do I though mine is less so than Ali's.

EF - i doubt it. it's a pretty senior role with all the staff reporting to it from the IT dept, so i think it will be a case of actually needing to be on site during normal operational hours. i will ask though - if i get as far as an interview.

the main problem will be that even working normal 9 - 5 hours on the days the kids are with me will be a push for me with the traffic / parking in cardiff. before school club opens at 8 and after school till 6. so i would need the kids in there 8 - 6 every day just to work a 9 - 5 job and i imagine that they will be expecting more than just 9 - 5 from me in that kind of role.

on the days the kids are with T - weds / thurs every week and every other friday, i can work unlimited hours. but that is only 5 out of every 10 school days (and on 2 of those days i need to do the school run so can't get in early) and that may not be enough. there are only 3 out of 10 days when i can get in early and leave really late.

CM - whilst it's good to weigh this sort of thing up beforehand so you can think of what you need to ask in the interview, I also wouldn't stress too much about it all yet. Get to the interview first and get the vibe as to whether you'd even want to work for them first ...

Maybe getting out yesterday got your chest functioning in again?  I'd stick with the walking though, no point in overdoing it and ending up back where you started. No harm in some fresh air and especially sunshine at this time of year!

Great run done - legs felt fantastic which makes a change and won't last I am sure. So 8 miles done, a right mixed bag of hard-packed trail, turfy sandy bog and large boulders, moss-covered tree-roots and some hill reps to finish  1 hour 10 for that little lot and now the sun is shining too

you're right, CC. i probably won't even get an interview

fab run on tough terrain, too. it does make such a difference when the sun shines. looking at the forecast for the next week it looks GREY GREY GREY. argh!!!

lungs really are feeling surprisingly good. i am thinking of going along to a bootcamp thing tonight in the local comprehensive school. never done anything like that before but thinking it won't do me any harm. since i can't run... i probably won't be able to walk tomorrow if i do go to it tonight mind you!

so far i have written one section of my report (the scope) and one line of my findings. tis not going particularly well. argh!

He should do more core stuff that's for sure. He has seen the NHS physio a few times and been given exercises but he's not great at doing them. He says it makes it worse. I should send him to my Pilates teacher, but then each of us .paying ??12 a wk for Pilates....it adds up! He's certainly better now than he was only a few hrs after he did it badly and had to have the paramedics come. Can't bend though.

Not heard from job, but worked out what they wanted to pay was less than I earned seven yrs ago........hubby took a pay cut for his new job after being made redundant, but it was something totally new, and he had to be trained etc. I will be doing the same thing I have done since I was 22!

My friend will be here with her kids soon, all 6 boys are out on the lash tonight, the mums are home with the kids and my friend and I are gong to 'dine in for two' courtesy of m and s. yum.

Anj I know so many people who say the same as you about CTFs and jr isas, I guess I am just hopeful that my children won't be like that when they get the money. Maybe I won't tell them about the money till I know they're sensible......

caro - maybe he needs to go a few times just to get the hang of how to do the exercises? once he knows how to do it perhaps you could nag him to do them at home?

is hubby going to be well enough to go out on the lash then?!

i am sure there must be a way around the money situation with the CTFs. both of mine will get them when they are 18 or whatever it is. i shan't be impressed if they pee them up a wall! i am thinking it's uni money or deposit money for a house or whatever. but i'm not sure how you control it!!

if i got the cardiff uni job, i would be taking a big pay cut on my full time salary. going back to what i was paid 8 years ago...