Mums Running Club

Oh goodness Caro that's hard! Louise is a madam around the house - tv ban tomorrow for a start - but obeys school rules rigidly. JT might be best bet for advice being a teacher!

Tangy I forgot to say your poor mum (()).

JG I have no suggestions for you either. But my friend's wee girl suddenly started wetting and I don't think she did anything, just washed daily for a few weeks and it stopped as suddenly as it started.

Wetting after being dry doesn't usually indicate prob with fluid intake or ability to be dry again. Reinforce bedtime routine of wee, teeth, story (whatever) and wee again as lights out so bladder is totally empty before sleep.
Gggrrrrrr to naughty children, sympathy here too! I guess she is old enough to get consequences but also seeing you and her teacher talking regularly so she knows you are both singing from the same sheet must help? I think your idea of balancing carrot and stick is good.
Boo to the pain MM - don't run on it again if it hurts!!! Could do more damage?!
RF good luck!
Thunder and hail here - not very nice at all. Hope everyone is safe too.

Caro - try not to panic too much! You sometimes find they find their feet and test the water in school. At least your teacher wants to work with you! See how things go, but if after half term things aren't great, it may be worth asking for a home school book, I tend to divide it into different times of the,day with a sticker available for each season. We then have a set number of stickers to achieve in a week and I have a menu of rewards (the child chooses what goes on this) that they pick from at the end of the week. Could be worth trying something similar at home too? You may find it stops as quickly as it started, it sounds like she's too bright Ted's best friend bit his teacher and kicked the head one day last year. He's a lovely kid, just had a truly mental moment!

Mm - hope it's not too bad...

Tt - hope mum is on the up.

Tt - hope you're recovering well!

Parents evening tomorrow. Aaagghh!!!! Not too much else to report, but we,had a good laugh in the staff room at Lotte's lasagne story today!

Session, not season!

JG - I think you're best just to ride it out - we used to lift Issie but I'm not sure it ever helped (apart from saving on the washing) as it was only when we stopped lifting her that she learned to go dry all the way through the night. Hope you've got some good waterproof sheets - don't know how I would have coped without ours.

Caro - oh dear, sounds like you've got quite a little madam there. My girls are occasionally contrary but fortunately rarely defiant (so far). The only thing I can think of is to maybe try some more immediate punishments say taking a favourite toy away just for the rest of the day. Could it be that if she knows she's being punished for a longer period of time for being naughty that she might feel there's no point being good because she still won't get her TV time or school dinners back so she's nothing to lose by being naughty?

TT - thanks for posting your "race report" - glad to hear everything went well, I also had that shaky reaction to the drugs after having Lily by c-section was very odd. Picture on FB of Max with Oscar very cute - lovely boys you've got there.

MM - have you considered becoming a personal trainer given all your coaching experience? I bet it's something you'd be really good at and the best thing about something like that is the flexibility around childcare.

Kinsey - hope Aiden's knee is okay. Reminded me of last year when Anna took a nasty tumble in the street and had a gash in her knee. It happened near the GP surgery so hubby took her in there to get it checked out and cleaned up but it was only when we took her to casualty a week later because the cut had become infected that we found out there was a piece of glass in it. Poor little thing must have been in so much pain all week, felt awful for not realising there was something in there. Oh, and she ended up in hospital on an IV antibiotics drip overnight for the infection and was very nearly taken to surgery to have the glass taken out (luckily her temperature was too high for a general anaesthetic so they sent us home and the piece of glass worked it's way to the surface a couple of days later and could be pulled out). If only these little ones would stop falling over our lives would be so much easier!

Half marathon speed training seems to be paying off already - did 9 miles yesterday averaging 8.34mm which is pretty good for me as it didn't feel like much of an effort and most of my easy slow runs lately have been closer to 9mm. Still not sure if I'll actually do the race though - am I the only person who enjoys the training more than the actual race? I hate the nervousness before races, having to line up and run with loads of other people all around you, and pushing yourself to run close to your limits. The only thing I like about racing is the finish line and the medal. Although I suppose I do get a sense of achievement IF I do well though ...

Sorry, have waffled on for ages there. Ooops, was supposed to be getting an early night so I'm off now. Goodnight!

Ow ow ow Karen! Luckily the knee has made a miraculous recovery, think Aidan might be taking up amateur dramatics at some point!

Caro, only thing I would do is try to take away something she enjoys as quickly as possible. The day I found Martha had been drawing on her wall she missed ballet and she was not happy about that. I guess the brain develops but behaviour regresses when they are learning so much??

Thanks for the advice re bedwetting.  I agree that lifting her is only saving on washing, I just thought until half-term while she's so tired maybe I'd do it.  She has always had a super strong bladder and only goes for a wee at the very last moment, so getting her to wee before bed is quite a challenge!  Will keep reinforcing the bedtime routine though.

Caro - what a little minx, which parent does she get that from?!   But seriously, echo the advice of others about not making punishments too long-term as a week is still a long time at their age, and if she's anything like Sophie she'll have forgotten all about what she did the next day!  My friend's daughter went through a similar phase before Christmas so she drew her a princess castle reward chart, let her daughter choose the reward at the top (some fudge I think!) and she was an angel from then on!  Keep talking to her teacher too so she knows you're checking up on her.  Some parents wouldn't care so you're doing a good job just by taking an interest in her behaviour at school .

Caro - we use the pebble idea to reinforce good behaviour as at home. Every time there is positive behaviour (ie dress for school without any help, set table for dinner, clean teeth well, do as asked without being asked 20 times) a pebble goes in the jar and when the jar is full they get to choose a special treat. Really makes you work at reinforcing their positive behaviour and Megan loves counting her pebbles in at the end of the day.

We also agreed wtih Megan the consequences of certain types of wrong/naughty/bad behaviour.  So if any of us lose our temper (including mum & dad) thats 5 mins on a time out. Naughty behaviour at bathtime will lose you a bedtime story, etc.  That has definitely helped set the boundaries rather than us just randomly responding with whatever punishment we felt like at the point when she misbehaved!

Think you just have to try various things until you find something that works for you.I really thought Megan wouldn't go for the pebbles idea but she loves it!

Camio - can't believe you've signed up for next year. Madness woman!

TTid - now have a vision of you in a supermarket aisle on a mobility scooter breathing hard and trying to figure out if you need orange jiuce or not! gald all going well.

Lottle - lol. Kids do say the funniest things at times.  Vagina and chips anyone?

I would recommend putting a fleece blanket under bed wetters too, it absorbs the wee really well so other parts of bed tend to stay dry + easy to wash + dry quickly. Also means they r not waking up wet + cold.

Was going to suggest a reward chart or something similar to pebbles too. If ur particularly arty then make a reward chart that would appeal to her, characters she likes, fairies, peppa etc etc, if going dwn the pebble route then decorate a glass jar that she can see her pebbles in as they build up. It is so easy to end up always doling out punishments + making them longer + harsher til u do nothing but, so anything that focuses on good behaviour + trying to keep the punishments short + consistent with the severity of the behaviour can help. Like suggested it can b helpful to have a range of punishments already laid out so u know what to say as soon as they behave badly + ur not blurting out stuff + immediately regretting it.

Well she was fine today - her teacher gave her a sticker which she is showing to all and sundry, I gave her a sticker as well, and she got to watch telly!  I do like the pebble idea - have tried reward charts and I'm not in the least bit arty!

Karen which 1/2 might you be doing? I can't remember.  I def think you should go for it now you've done the training.  Did you know there is now a park run in walthamstow?  It's in highhams park, nr the peter may sports centre.  One day, I will go and try it out!  I really want to go and be a parkrun tourist as there are now so many nr by.

Pilates tonight, work tomorrow.  Am doing 2 days this wk - on Fri I am working at a branch within walking distance from home which will be nice.

Glad she is better today caro. Perhaps she didn't feel well?

I should try some reward chart suggestions really. We are pants at carrying out threats. I like MR's suggestion of a naughty step for everyone including adults as I seem shout a bit to often at the moment.

Feeling crappy here with blocked sinuses and head ache and all u can have I'd Vicks rub. Oh well, hopefully get it out of the way before baby arrives. I feel too tired to go into labour at the moment!! How you getting on tt?

So car is a write off and we have to wait for insurance to give us a settlement. Not sure which car to go for, but tempted by a bigger 4x4 or similar to save my back when strapping in kids and also after seeing how the land rover escaped unscathed whilst my car crumpled!

Just a quick check-in before bed to let you all know we are doing well, thank you for asking. O doing brilliantly, eating and sleeping well. Was back up to within 2 oz of his birth weight at doc appt on monday. I am doing so much better with breast feeding than with M so hope to be able to continue longer this time. I am chuckling at all of your comments about me in my motorised scooter because that is basically how it was!!

Went back into the shop yesterday and saw some of the same staff which was quite funny. Ok bed calls, will catch up tomorrow.

Hoggle, hope wedding prep going well.

Oh and helmets. Think my boys have met helmets. Bought them from wiggle. They also have lights on the back.

Sorry no idea, why that posted again. Silly ipad!

Good to hear youre doing so well TT.

Also good to hear m behaved better.

Oops new car Anj. Hope you are ok now.

Post more later. Was just reading and it posted random message! So thought best post quickly!

Agree, good news TT. Whilst I absolutely don't want any more children, those very special first days ... aaaaah ... well I do miss those a bit ...

How is your foot MM?

JT - how are your lungs etc???

Anj - hope you feel better very soon, nearly there ...

Caro - whoops to M!!! She is a clever little soul but the pebble jar sounds like it might do the trick. S has never massively responded to stickers but last year we went through a shocking stage and had shells to fill a jar on a weekly basis, the treat was very simple (a packet of chocolate buttons!) but it did the trick and she soon moved on.

JG - I'd probs not go back to lifting if it was me (but I didn't lift mine anyway). J had the odd relapse when he was very tired at school in the early days but it was shortlived so we just kind of lived through it.

Ummm, what else ... CM - hope you've got used to your hair!!! Looks great.

Went to osteopath yesterday - and boy do I know it today even though it felt like she wasn't doing anything!!  Getting some improvement on the bruised sternum I think although some internal bruising still going on.  Ankle now has a bruise beneath the ankle bone that wasn't there before so something is definitely coming out now!!  Odd cos my ankle never swelled up at any point but I obviously sprained it without realising it a few weeks back. So at least another couple of weeks before I'll be trying to build up some running .  Off to find those 'suffer fest' DVDs that you keep sharing RF. My circulation is really bad at the mo and i can't face freezing my feet in the gale force winds today!  Plus I think I ought to steer clear of clip-ins and mountain bike until I've been on ski holiday!!

Can just feel my running fitness leaking away , so joining the other souls on the bench at the moment ... at least we are not lonely!!

cc - i now have a bum groove in the bench because i have been on it so long. since last feb, i probably have only been away from it for a couple of weeks at a time!

anj - hope you are recovering from the nasty shock and get car sorted soon. E is after a 'strong car' to pull a caravan. J wants a dog - E wants a caravan. i am afraid they are both going to be disappointed as i cannot oblige on either score!

TT - great to read your birth story. glad things are going well. well done!! 

not sure about hair yet. it really is VERY short indeed. eeek. everyone has been commenting on it, and J has stopped crying now at least! he really did blub when he first saw me, then he got all embarrassed and told me it made my head look like frankenstein's. i think it's because the hairdresser did the big welsh hair thing with it (they like their hair big in wales), so she blow dried it to give it volume, which i HATE!!! so today it's flat, with just a bit of gel in it, but i've never used gel before so i have no idea what to do with it!

my calf is still ticking along. managed a couple of walks while E was at school on mon / tues so probably did about 7 or 8 miles over the two days. will go to pilates tonight and then onto swimming to try 1k or so. am hoping to do some more walking at the weekend.

kids are with T now until monday morning.  it's half term so he gets an extra night to make it 50/50. i hate it. kids were both upset this morning and E said 'my heart will be hungry for you when i'm at daddy's'.

caro - sounds like M is very much pushing boundaries. i have very defiant behaviour from E at times too. she didn't want to come to the table yesterday so she said 'i will come and sit in the chair that J wants to sit in and you won't make me move'. such a delight, my daughter. but OMG she must be going through a developmental leap at the moment because the questions have multiplied a thousand times. i do remember J going through this phase too probably at about the same age. from memory, it lasted quite a long time. ARGH!!! she asks questions ALL DAY LONG about EVERY BLOODY THING. and each answer to a question sparks more questions, which just DON'T BLOODY STOP!!! this morning, the two of them were in the lounge watching Tom and Jerry while i got the bags ready for school and i overheard J says 'ARGH, Ellen! Will you just stop asking these questions!' Poor boy - he is sick of it too!!

 

CM - does she asks questions that don't really make sense, or have answers? Isabelle does this from time to time and then gets very frustrated when I can't answer her. I can't think of a good example at the moment but it's quite funny at the time! The good thing about hair is that it will grow again. Wish I was brave enough to chop mine off really, but I don't think it would look very good, and I've yet to see a short/mediium style with curly hair that I think looks good so growing it out would be a nightmare. I do remember being very very upset when my dad shaved his beard off when I was about 11. I'd only ever known him with a beard and he just didn't look like him at all. Of course we then got used to it and he now looks really odd with a beard - like when he grew it while they were away recently.

My running is slowly coming along, and I'm managing to fit in about 3 runs a week, but the longest has been only 4 miles, so I've got a few more to do before the 10k in march. O is still pretty temperamental in the evenings (and the weather's been horrible!) so I've been sticking to daytime at the weekend or when I can get over to my parents.

I went to choir last night and had given her a big feed and changed her before I left, hoping that the warm car and drive would send her off to sleep, only to find when I got there that she was wide awake and had done an enormous poo and stank - I hadn't taken any changing stuff with me, oops! I jiggled her on my lap at the back through the first half of the rehearsal and then eventually got her off to sleep about 15 minutes from the end. Must express so that I can leave her with hubby, but I'll have to muster up the energy to deal with the rolling eyes and martyred sighs I'll have to suffer if I get back and she's been crying for 2 hours! Ah well, I have just achieved the near impossible and she's asleep in the Moses basket and not on me, so I'd better do something vaguely useful!

Its not great but its not terrible CC. I did reps last night and ran my 15 today. It was fine yesterday until about 1 mile into the cool down and must have landed funny coming off a kurb. Today also fine until about 14 miles. The main problem with running the last two days has been the wind. I HATE HATE HATE wind!!!  Makes me cross, winds up the kids something chronic and I find it so hard to run in. Last night my miles were slow, partly due to very heavy TOTM started yesterday, always the worst day and partly ridiculous wind. 6:30s for miles x 3 and then 6-6.10s for the 0.5 mile reps. I was struggling but no matter at the point in time. Many miles in the legs which will hopefully unfold later. Bit worried about TOTM affecting London as is weekend before it starts. Might see if there is a fix when I go back to docs after my x-ray.

15 at 8mm today. Felt fine in places and then down right hard into the wind or being blown from the side was worst tbh, when it blows the snot out your nose. Hate that!!

Seeing physio on Thursday anyway. Physio reckons its some sort of seizing up thing, and it does feel like that cos if I stop and wiggle my toes a bit the pain goes for a mile or so. Not a fracture else wouldn't be able to run at all. Need my new orthotics desperately!! Achilles also not great but managed!! Wreck  I know but I am pushing on with caution!!

 

No more of a wreck than me MM I think!!! I do feel a bit broken in general at the moment so I am really working on strengthening everything else while repairing the broken bits. TOTM doesn't help does it - having absolute horror one at the moment but can never tell if it's going to be awful or barely there - the joys of being 42.5 I guess!! 

Trying not to think about my ultra at end of April, originally I had high hopes of trying to get a PB at it, but that is not going to happen at the moment ...Good training there though for you.

Vixo - oops to the stinky nappy but sounds like you are doing well with the gradual build up of the running

CM - boo to kids being at T - I take it he's got over the vomit thing now?????  I used to get that kind of questioning from J, used to go on all day every day, even my SIL asked me if I wore ear-defenders to drown it out!!!  S is not so obviously enquiring, she sits and takes everything in and then just asks a few questions.  I find that Batiste dry shampoo spray quite good for styling, especially if I have hat or post-run-no-time-to-shower hair!!!