***Lion Cub Mommies-Back In Action!***

[jelr]

I was just thinking the same thing - I dont think I could stand to smell DH's feet if I was to lie the other way

Yup we have a side too, although it changed when we moved her as there is not a lot of space at the end of the bed so I was knocking into the bed getting around it when having to pee during the night and DH never wakes up to pee - ha ha not that he doesn't wake up he just doesn't have to pee until morning So I'm on the left hand side by the door now for the last 5 years and it took a while to get used to.

Shiv: I'm so happy you got a house sorted, I can imagine what a weight off your mind that must be - yep the link still works and it looks lovely, I love the conservatory at the back and it sounds like an ideal location.

Well the duvet didn't go so well last night - I think I jinxed myself by saying it went well. She woke every hour from 12 and it was like she didn't know what to do or how to get under the blankets because when I went in she said doody and then toes for me to cover up her toes and tonight she would not let me cover her at all so I just let her go asleep uncovered and then covered her when she was asleep so I think it is going to take a few nights for her to get used to it - I'm glad I did it this week though when I was off work.

Ouch MJ that would definitely be a frightful way to wake up with Adam landing on top of you

 

[Mary Jo]

yay, Shiv that's great! must be a relief to have found somewhere suitable - it looks nice and fresh, and even better that it's in an area you're ok to live in. are you renting for a year and then going to buy? are you definitely selling your place or going to let it, too? how many houses did you go and see in the end? decent size, too - good to get a third bedroom, even if it's small it'll be fine for a baby.

I'm hoping we'll soon get a completion date on our new house/sale of my flat, we finally got the contract and land registry forms to sign (I say finally, it feels like this has gone on for ages but really it's quick for this house, we only had the offer accepted 2 weeks ago ), and there doesn't seem to be any major outstanding issues on the sale of my flat. we're also extending the lease, had to as it was down to 72 years and much less and it becomes unmortgagable, so we had to wait on my freeholder to get his act together and do that. really want to move in the next 6 weeks, if at all possible... we have some work to do on the house once we move in, it needs a new damp proof course and treatment for patches of woodworm, but that shouldn't take longer than two or three days, then we need to put new flooring and carpets in. I'm actually excited about the move now, I wasn't at ALL before, I had a vague sense of doom and dread, and I don't really understand why because the flat we were buying was nice enough... maybe because it was leasehold, maybe because I didn't like the area so much, maybe because there is no fence dividing the garden with the upstairs neighbour's and we wanted a fence and think that might have been a problem... this new house may need work but it and the garden is totally self-contained, and freehold, it's in a nice street, you can park outside the door, it's empty and chain free, it's also near a lovely park and the shopping centre AND good schools. so I don't have reservations.

 

[Mary Jo]

awww, jelr, am sure Natasha will get used to the new duvet soon, sounds like you're doing it in a really good way while you're off work and when the weather is warmer (is it warmer in Ireland, it's lovely here, bit of an early heatwave!). I think you're a braver woman than I am, am just not up for fighting with Adam right now, not that I presume it'll be a fight but I don't think right now he is able to appreciate something like his own duvet... once he will understand it I might make a bit of a thing of us choosing a bedding set together or something - no idea if this will work on a boy or if it's something only a girl would have opinions on! guess we'll have to see. I'm really looking forward to having a bedroom for Adam to decorate!

 

[Shiv]

David got the hump about me telling "you potential weirdos" where we will be iving, so I am taking the link down. If anyone wants to see it then I'll P.m it

 

[Mary Jo]

awwww, I promise I won't track you down and stalk you

 

[spidey]

Let the stalking begin Shiv! I took a look at your new house before you took the link down but I just now have a chance to tell you how beautiful it is! I love the back room that looks like a green house. The kitchen isn't that bad, it's just not modern. I call it an 80's kitchen Most of the apartments where I live were built in the 80's and they all have those same cabinets. The oven is a bit strange- what is that thing over the oven? Is it true that you guys don't have gigantic refrigerators like us Americans?

MJ- I love your new house too!! From the pictures it looks in great shape, but its always nice adding your own touches to make it yours. I've never seen a bathtub that fills up from the side rather than the end before. I love the yard too.. it's nice and private

Is it weird that I get such pleasure from studying your new houses?

jelr- I hope Natasha sleeps okay tonight without her sleeping bag and you can get some sleep too.

cleckner- that's pretty crazy that you are a random sleeper. I am too routine to ever sleep with my head on the wrong side of the bed But I do agree with you on re-arranging the furniture. I love re-arranging things to keep them new and exciting!

 

[jelr]

ha ha Shiv did you tell David that we are not "POTENTIAL" weirdos but that we were weirdos - I bet if anybody read some of our conversations they would definitely believe that

MJ: the house looks lovely too. it also sounds like a lovely area. What is freehold and leasehold - We dont have that here. I do know what you mean about fighting over the duvet - I was dreading it as I knew she would hate it, but it has to be done at some stage as I know she will be going into a toddler bed at some stage in the next year and as I was saying to you on fb, she falls over in her sleeping bag so it had to be done before we moved her into a bed. I actually didn't plan on doing it until the summer months when I was off but we are having the same weather as you all at the moment and it is an early heatwave so I just bit the bullet as you know yourself it could be raining all summer (I think your weather is more or less the same as ours) - I dont know why I'm worried about the cold really as our house is always roasting and is usually between 18 and 21 degrees and only ever went down to 17 during the snow, I think I was more afraid that she would feel cold because she is used to being wrapped up in her bag just like I hate my shoulders not being covered when I'm sleeping even if its roasting

Spidey: That was a grill on top of the oven - I'm speaking for Ireland now and I think the UK is more or less the same but no the norm is not to have a gigantic fridge like you have in the US, they have become more popular in the last few years are are actually called american fride freezers but on one door is a fridge and the other a freezer.

Well I think we have cracked the duvet (I hope I'm not jinxing myself now again) - she didn't wake last night but was awake at 7.30 instead of 9.30 and when I went in she said out out out like she hated being in her cot, but she was much happier going down for her nap today and tonight and we had put her dummies underneath her new pillow and I had told her teddy (there are teddy's on the bedding) was minding it and she thought this was really funny and kept saying teddy and toes so that was that she wanted the duvet to cover her tonight so fingers crossed she likes it better now.

We went to the beach today and Natasha was so funny she was really sceptical about the sand and the water being on her toes, I thought she would hate it because lately for some reason she doesn't seem to like to get her hands dirty at all and she did keep saying first of all toes and dirty, but we just played loads of games and kept burying her feet and ours and she seemed to become less wary and enjoyed herself in the end.

I really hope this weather is like this for the summer as she really loves being outside.

I can't wait to be off all summer as I dont want to miss a thing and she seems to be coming on in leaps and bounds this week and is putting a couple of words together, they are not in proper sentences at all, but a few words together in the right context for example this morning she said mammy, cream (well it is more like ceam) bum bum when I was changing her nappy - she is also trying to sing along with certain songs on the radio or sing along with me when I sing somewhere over the rainbow, it really is just humming with a few of the right sounds not even words in the right places but it is really cute.

Although I hope her social life doesn't keep going the way it is at the moment or myself and DH will be exhausted - She had a birthday party last Saturday, another this Friday and another the following Friday and then we have a christening and confirmation to go to the following weekend

 

[spidey]

haha... it's funny to think that you call them American fridge freezers Thats exactly what I have, and mine has a water and ice dispenser in the door too! Mine is filled to the brim and I could really use a second one

I wonder if the grill on top is what we call a broiler here. Just about everyone has an exhaust fan above their oven and sometimes an exhaust fan with a microwave ontop of it.

Congrats to Natasha on her talking!! Thats amazing! I was impressed with your other post where Natasha was telling you her feet were uncovered. My friends daughter who just turned 2 can talk in almost complete sentences now and her mom says that she hardly has a tantrum anymore. She thinks its from being able to communicate her needs better.

Oh, and Kira is entering that phase where she doesn't like dirty hands! She gets a speck of mud on them and then holds them up and whines for me to wipe them clean.

We had hot weather today so we spent most of the day outside and Kira got to play with the garden hose. One of her canines is about to pop through, so she has 4 molars that are halfway in, and now more teeth about to break the surface. Poor cranky girl!

 

[jelr]

All the american style fridge freezers have the water and ice dispenser on the door too. I think the more space you have for food the more you need. We always had a normal fridge which is one door and split in two with the top half the fridge and the bottom half the freezer and it did me just fine and when we built on the kitchen we were going to go for the american style one but they were quite expensive and I didn't want to lose the space on the water and ice dispenser (as they take up half the freezer here) as I reckoned I wouldnt' use it. So we bought a larder fridge and a larder freezer and the sit side my side and the door is changed on the freezer to open the other way so it looks exactly the same as an american style one but you have more space without the dispenser and the price was a little lower and mine is now packed to the brim and I could also do with another one. When DH was layed off one of my friends said sure dont worry, you have so much food in the house you can feed yourselves for a month and not buy shopping She was so right really but I still spend a fortune on groceries every week

I probably made Natasha sound more advanced on my previous post when I said she wanted me to cover up her toes, all she actually said was toe toes and patted the blanket but I knew what she was saying to me so what I meant was she was telling me in her own way not that she actually said cover my feet - I do think she has less tantrums in the last week or two and it could actually be down to her being able to tell us more (I know I have really jinxed myself now )

Isn't it funny that they are going through a phase of not wanting their hands dirty. I didn't think Kira would when she loves being out in the dirt and gardening with you so much. I dont know I suppose they are more aware of things now.

Ah the poor little thing getting molars and canines (we call them eye teeth here ) - I thought Natasha was bad getting the 4 molars together and then the canines straight after. I hope Kira gets them quickly and she will have a break, we seem to be clear of teething pain for a good month now. (again I know I'm am definitely jinxing myself ) I did think she was getting more then but it does seem to have settled down, although she is drooling the last few days really bad. it is like there is a constant drip from her chin which is strange as she never drooled at all with any of her other teeth. Hopefully if Kira gets them over with she will have a nice break before the last 4 come in and I'm hoping that it might be easier on them when they are a little older.

 

[Mary Jo]

thanks Spidey and jelr - Spidey, I've seen baths like that, with the taps in the middle, but we've always had one that's had them at one end. no idea how it'll work with Adam, one of usually takes a bath with him, and we sit in front of the taps, which isn't comfy but it stops him turning them on and falling and hitting himself on them. so with them in the middle - eeek! maybe we'll have to rig up something to cover them? a towel, maybe? the house *looks* nice in the pics but it's priced quite low because it needs a new damp-proof course, the smell of damp when you go in is pretty strong. it's had a survey for that, and a quote, and it'll cost about £3,000. plus another £1,000 or so getting some woodworm treated. all that will require the carpets and laminate in the living room to come up, which is fine because I didn't like them anyway.

we're going to put better quality laminate throughout the downstairs (apart from the kitchen, which is tiled) and carpet on the stairs and the bedrooms. the walls also need to be replastered, or skimmed, because they're really lumpy, it's like there's been wallpaper up and someone has ripped it off and it's pulled chunks of plaster down, but they didn't fix it, just painted over. so we need to spend on it before we really get to live there. but I don't mind because I think it'll be lovely once it's done. it had new double glazing put in last year - really nice as well as it's in the style of the old windows so suits the age of the house (110 years) rather than looking incongruously modern. and thank Christ it's not mock-tudor leaded double glazing because I find that to be an insult to my eyes and new or not it would have had to have gone. oh and ALL that wallpaper is going, I am not a fan of it at all, and especially in the bedroom, it won't go with any of my bedding! fortunately it's only one wall or just the chimney breast that has patterned paper on so it won't be a huge job to get rid of it.

jelr, I googled and found that you do have leasehold and freehold in Ireland! link. basically, leasehold properties are usually flats or apartments, where you own the flat itself but you don't own the land it's on. that belongs to the freeholder. leaseholders - or flat owners - pay the freeholder ground rent annually, and usually a service charge to cover building insurance and maintenence of the structure of the building - the roof, for example, and for the common parts like the hallway. my flat is leasehold, and to be honest I didn't want to do that again, I wanted us to be independent. it really put me off that the flat we were going to buy was leasehold, as we would have had to get permission to put a garden fence up to mark the boundary line, and we wouldn't have been able to extend the flat either, even though there was loads of room in the garden. also, the lease only had 87 years remaining, and once you get under 80 years you're heading towards a difficult position as to get a mortgage, lenders want there to be at least 70 years but ideally more on it. we just had to extend the lease on my flat to 99 years - which cost £3k - as it is down to 72 years, I always knew I'd have to do this as it was only at 83 years when I bought it. we ust thought, ack, we'd only need to stay in the flat for 7 years and we' be having to think about extending another lease, and it could have cost a lot lot more, up to £12k.

houses are usually freehold, so when you buy it you own the building and the land it's on, and so within reason and subject to planning consent, you can do what you want with it. so we will organise our own buildings insurance and do our own maintenance. fingers crossed once the damp is fixed it'll be sound.

re fridges, oh my god I am envious of people with normal size fridge freezers, never mind gigantic American double ones! honestly, the fridge we have here is tiny. it's 55cm wide and fits under the worktop, the smallest fridge with an actual freezer box (not just ice box) in it I could find when I got it about 7 years ago. we have no room for anything bigger. when we move, there is a fridge freezer already there that's included in the sale, it's not huge, it's nothing like as big as I want but it'll do to start. we dream of being able to go shopping and fill the trolley with stuff for the freezer! as it is I squeeze an amazing amount into my tiny freezer but I want to be able to bulk cook and have loads of meals all ready to go.

also looking forward to Adam being able to tell me what he wants. he really doesn't say much, he has his odd words, and he has more and more of them, but he relies on us to read his mind, I think! he grabs my leg and pulls me to where he wants me to go, which is sweet, but we have crying fits and tantrums for no apparent reason, and I know if he could articulate what he wanted we wouldn't have them - for example, the other day we got up and went downstairs, and I was washing his cup for his milk, and he was looking up to the worktop and started crying and trying to push me away from the sink. I gave him the milk but he was still really upset. something on the worktop seemed to be causing it. so I lifted him up in the hope that he could tell me or point, and he grabbed this big red shiny apple that was sitting there, and proceeded to eat 3/4 of it with a huge smile. I wish he would have pointed or said something but I guess he didn't know how to.

oh, and we had one of the first instances of real stranger anxiety the other day - he's never bothered by people but I have noticed if someone he doesn't know or hasn't seen in a while comes to the flat, he gets upset. he could see the same person anywhere else and he wouldn't be fussed! this woman came round to see me and though Adam has met her before it was a year ago, and he burst into tears and when I held my arms out he came to me to sit on my knee - this is something Mr Independent NEVER EVER does! (he sits on my knee but never comes if I invite him, or comes for comfort, he's more of a daddy's boy in that sense and goes to Chris ).

and his sleep has gone to shit this week. arggh. I wrote about it on the facebook group - basically he keeps waking about 3-4am, and is awake awake... and won't go back to sleep for ages, and then he sleeps so late it buggers his schedule! today he didn't get up till 10.50am. which is crazy. he's just gone for a nap now (about 2.20pm). i can't deal with broken sleep like this! thank goodness for a 4-day weekend, we're going to try to tackle it. not quite sure how, but think we need to get up at 8am whatever he's been up to at night.

re getting hands dirty - oh I wish Adam was bothered by this! he just loves rubbing his hands through dirt. we took him to the park last night as it was still really warm out, and he ran over to this piece of bare earth, kneeled down and rubbed his hands through it. ack. little boys!

 

[Shiv]

MJ I forgot to say that the hosue you are buying look lovely and a real bargain for London! I hope it all goes through for you quickly and youc an get Adam into his own room I think myabe the heat is affecting his sleep?

Spidey - I hope Kira's teeth stop giving her jip soon. Sophia's canines have been coming through for amonth now and still not broken the skin! She is being pretty good with them though (fingers crossed!)

Cleck - I am looking forward to your weigh in tomorrow!

jelr - I am glad Natasha settled better with her duvet last night. Sophia is still in her sleeping bag so I know we have to make the transition soon, but i am scared!

Has anyone got anything nice planned for the long weekend? In the U.K we have a 4 day weekend this weekend for Easter, do you guys have that in the states as well?

My boobs have started to grow (havig not changed f=since I got pregnant) so on the upside they are looking slightly less like a used tea bag, but I have new stretchmarks on them already - they look like a road map!

 

[cleckner04]

Check the lion cubs thread ladies. I posted a new idea for birthdays.

And don't get too excited about my weigh in. I completely stopped working out this week AND I haven't been inputing my food. I've gained a lb. already. But honestly, I don't care. I've been having stress with DH's job situation so weight loss is the last thing on my mind this week. I guess they are reviewing 16,000 people in the navy and will shove out 3,000 people. DH is on that list. And he doesn't have a good past record with getting in trouble like he has so we pretty much think he's getting shoved out of the navy in a year. I had a day of panic. A day of 'omg what are we going to do'. And now I'm starting to accept it and just hoping for the best. There isn't anything I can do about it so I just have to accept it I guess. We won't know for a while I guess. And if we find out he IS getting shoved out, DH is gonna move me and Emma back home and I'll probably move in with his parents. We more than likely won't have a second kid yet either. So really coming in this thread is just making it worse but I like checking up on you ladies.

 

[Shiv]

Aw Cleck - sorry Corey is facing redundancy. I do know how you feel after recent events with David. If worst comes to the worst and Corey is forced out then at least you will be together I hope you still come in here, I think talk of houses, toddlers and sleeping positions has overtaken any new baby and ttc chat anyway!

 

[spidey]

Cleckner that really has the potential to suck, but try to think of the positives so you don't get so down. You guys can be together and Emma can have her Daddy around. Moving in with the inlaws can't be much fun, but maybe when you live there for a little while, he could get some training in another field and get a good job- some sort of trade job would be great. My DH was an appliance repairman for awhile and it was good hours and great pay. Don't be hard on yourself about any weight gain... you'll get back into it once life stops being so stressful And Shiv is right, we're mostly talking about american fridge freezers now Although I suppose some Diva cup conversation could come into play for my next cycle When will you know if your DH can't be in the Navy any longer?

DH gets a 4 day weekend from his job, and I'm using vacation days to give myself a 4 day one. We have soooo much planned! Unfortunately Kira has a slight fever tonight, so if she winds up sick that might ruin things. Lots of gardening, cleaning and getting ready for summer! I'm hoping her fever is just from all those teeth trying to bust through.

MJ- Kira sounds the same as Adam when it comes to talking and throwing tantrums from me not reading her mind correctly. I hope Adam's sleep improves soon. Regarding the house- it's going to be alot of work, but it'll be nice to add your own touches too. You'll have to take before and after pictures for me to obsess over

Shiv- Thats good news on your growing boobs Are you doing anything for the 4 day weekend??

jelr- the funny thing about Kira and her dirty hands, is she sticks them in mud and then holds them up and says "ooooo" (for "no" since she can't make N sounds) and then I have to wipe them off. Then she sticks them back into the dirt How did Natasha sleep with her blanket tonight?

If I'm in the mood tomorrow I might take a picture of my american fridge freezer to show you girls how packed it is I am so spoiled by the crushed ice and cold water.

 

[cleckner04]

I'm really not sure when we'll find out about it. I hope before he's back so we can plan better. I am SO glad DH wrecked and totaled our car. Is that weird? Because now we don't have debt. I have a small loan that I have to pay off but I could do that in a few months if I had to. I've just been paying it off slowly just to keep DH's credit building. So if he has to get out in a year, we'll be debt free!

And I love my inlaws so living with them will actually be a luxury because my MIL likes to wake up and make breakfast and all that good stuff. But I don't think I could manage living with them in a long term sense. I lived there for 2 months last year and it wasn't bad but I did get sick of it towards the end because I like having my own house to take care of.

DH said a few other guys on his ship are already planning too because they are in the same situation. One already said he can get DH a job but it's in Illinois so not back home but close enough. ugh. I just want a stress free life. That's not too much to ask for right? I seriously would live in a shitty trailer if it meant I'd have DH home every night though. He already said we can rent a place in a trailer court if we have to. So we'll be complete white trash but we'll be together.

 

[jelr]

Aww cleck big big honey - I'm so sorry you are facing this. What sort of job does Corey do in the army? Could he get a job doing the same thing outside of it maybe at home. I think it would be fantastic if that was to happen as you guys could be together without him having to go away like this and be at home near family and friends too or do you think that wont be an option? Will he get a redundancy package that would help you get on your feet until he can find a new job? I do believe everything happens for a reason and it just goes to show with your DH wrecking the car that you wont have depts until you get on your feet. I know it is easy for me to say that because we are coming out the other side of it now, but I was like you when DH was laid off first I thought it was funny and was wondering what esle would hit us that week, but then I went into a blind panic and was convinced we wouldn't be able to pay our mortgate and houses are not selling here so downsizing wasn't an option so I was convinced we were going to be evicted by the bank and that we would either be homeless or would have to emigrate because there are no jobs here, but thankfully things are looking good now (I dont want to say anything on here for the moment as its a public site, but I should have good news fingers crossed in the next 2 weeks) and I do now believe that it all happened for the best and that it happened at just the right time as it has been so nice to have DH here and we have done our grieving for the mc together and had loads of time all 3 of us as a family.

Also are you still checking your monitor - could the extra lb be because you are oving - I think your cycle was around the same time as mine last time and I am 15 days after AF and have put on 2lbs in the last two days so I'm putting it down to ov as I have been sticking really well to the low carb diet this week.

Spidey: I would love to see your fridge although I would probably drool over the lovely food being on this bloody diet - I really hope Kira is not getting sick and it is just teeth that is causing the temperature - Natasha had a temperature sometimes with the last lot. Why do babies do something and then give out - I know it is cause and reaction and learning but it is so annoying - We give Natasha her dummy on long journeys and she throws it away and then cries for it - It drives me nuts

Shiv: I was scared too about the sleeping bag but I'm so glad I have done it now and it is another thing off my mind as having to do ifkwim - the thoughts of it was worse than actually doing it and it only took a couple of nights and she is sleeping better now (or more so I am) now that it is done because before no matter how far down we put her in the cot she would end up at the top and spent the night bashing her head off of the top of it - She didn't even flinch or waken but I woke everytime she did it and nearly felit it for her *ouch* but now with the pillow she is not doing that anymore and loves it - funny how they can hate something and then love it within a few days.

MJ: That is mad that we have freehold and leasehold here and I didn't even know it, I feel so stupid sometimes because I would think I have good knowledge of things but being on here I have realised there is so much I dont know - I reckon it must be more in the cities as everyone I know lives in houses, but then we are in a village. We do live about 15mins drive from a town but it is the same there - everyone rents apartments and flats and when they decide to buy they buy houses in the resedential part of town. I must ask my parents if they have heard of it because they are both from Dublin, although I know any of my family still up there are in houses too so that could be why I have never heard of it.

I hope Adam starts sleeping better for you - It could be the heat or just a phase, Natasha went through a stage of wanting to play at all hours and I know some of you girls dont like it but we had to used some Controlled crying because there was no way I was able to get up and play at 4 in the morning with her. The broken sleep is a killer though I also dont do well with it, although you wouuld think at this stage I would get used to it as I am a really light sleeper so have had broken sleep since Natasha was born between her thrashing around the cot and waking crying for her dummy, I know that is something I should probably tackle too and get rid off as she is far too attached to it and crys in her sleep if she can't find it and then we gave her two so she would hopefully find one but now she crys is she has one in her mouth and doesn't have the other in her hand but I'm not ready to do it quite yet as I know that will break her heart. Hopefully the house will come through quickly and Adam will have his own room and will hopefully go back to sleep when he has nobody to jump on lol.

We also have a 4 day holiday here but it is not affecting us as I'm off for 2 weeks for Easter and DH is off with no work. Is Good Friday a National holiday in the UK. I presume the US is the same as here if you have to take a vacation day Spidey. Here it is a holday but it is up to the discretion of the employeer whether they close or not and most employeers make you take it as a vacation day if they do close.

Also do you girls have the same traditions as here on Good Friday? Here we are not meant to eat meat but then that is for religious reasons and I sometimes do. Also none of the pubs or off licences open and it is against the law to see alcohol in any of the shops either.

Well I may run as Natasha will be awake soon and we are off to our friends son's birthday party.

 

[Shiv]

no time to write a big reply, but jelr you just reminded me of teh time DH and his frineds went to Ireland for a lads weekend and turned up on Good Friday and couldn't get any drink - oh I did laugh

 

[spidey]

Cleckner, we almost bought a trailer in a trailer park! You can get a really nice trailer for a great price- we were looking at brand new ones for around 30-50,000 but land rent is about $350- 400 a month here which sucks. If it wasn't for the high cost in land rent we would be trailer trash right now Instead we inherited our current plot of land early from the MIL and we paid to have a house built on it. Land is expensive here, and the house was relatively inexpensive to have built. Thats great to be nearly debt free I just paid off our car and its a great feeling. The only debt we have now is the house, but technically thats not a debt.

Jelr- There are no major traditions that take place here on Good Friday. The stores are still open and many people have to work. On Easter Sunday most places are closed though

What is everyone doing for easter for their LO's. I'm setting up a plastic easter egg hunt for Kira. I have 12 really large plastic eggs and I'm stuffing 12 different hand puppets in them and hiding them all over the house. I hope she catches on and searches for them! She's also getting a chocolate bunny and stickers.

I'll take a picture of my fridge later Kira is napping now and I'm laying with her so she stays asleep a nice long time! No fever today, so it must have been those teeth making her feel bad.

 

[Shiv]

Spidey - looking forward to seeing your fridge. Glad Kira's fever has gone an dI hope you and DH have a fab few family days off.

Cleck - I am excited about the possibiity of you Corey and Emma all living together, even if it's in a trailer It's kinda romantic!

 

[Mary Jo]

oh no, Cleck, really sorry to hear your news, that sucks. any idea when you'll hear definitively so you can make plans? I really hope it works out well for you all and that you'll be able to live together again permanently. what would the job in Illinois be? and how far is that from home?

this economy is just awful. how many of us just here have had our husbands lose work? seems like most of us. you may remember Chris lost his job last summer when the company he'd worked at for 5 years went under, it was a scary time for us because we had hoped to TTC and move house, and we'd had to have put them on hold, but he was really lucky and found a new job after being unemployed for only 3 weeks. and this job is probably going to be a lot more stable as he works, doing graphic design, for a national medical professional body (I'd put the whole name only I wouldn't want it popping up in a google search), but it's for a profession that I doubt is going to be under pressure from the recession! (anaesthetists) really hope all the changes our guys are facing turn out for the best, even though it's beyond stressful while we're in the middle of it. for a variety of reasons last summer was pretty horrendous for me and C, but now I hope things are on the up. touch wood.

Spidey, please post a pic of your fridge! and the contents I LOVE nosing at other people's houses. we will definitely be taking before and after pics of our new place!

jelr, heh, don't worry about not knowing about freehold and leasehold, be glad you've never had to know! I wish to god I never knew about leasehold, it's not been something I've enjoyed or would want to do again.

Shiv, thanks it's definitely a bargain for London, for an actual house, even though it's only got 2 bedrooms. it's only barely in London, though, we're in zone 5, so it's going to be more expensive for Chris to get to work (he works in zone 1 and goes in on the train and tube). I think if the house was in real good condition it would sell for more like £225k. it was originally on for £210-£230k, and we presume that the seller had a higher offer but that all fell through when the survey and damp report came back, so it came back on the market. C had a call from the agent, this was the day after we'd decided to pull out of the other flat, and the agent assured us the buyer would accept £210k for a quick sale. obviously we'd been messed about a lot and were really far on with the sale of my flat, so a quick sale was exactly what we hoped for so as not to lose our buyer, so we offered £210k and it was accepted. other houses in the street are on at £230k. because our seller lost a buyer, all his papers, etc, were already with his solicitor, damp report had been done, so things are moving pretty fast. I'm hoping this is one of those times when things work out the way they're meant to, and all the stress around the other flat will have been worth it if it meant we then found a better place.

as for good friday traditions, I don't know of any really, apart from eating hot cross buns, which I haven't done this year. the weather is really throwing me off from even remembering it's Easter, I don't remember it being as hot as this ever in April. I know Easter is late this year but even so. pubs are definitely open as normal, and I have never knowingly not eaten meat on a good friday, but I'm suspecting that might be a catholic thing anyway. Chris is off work as it's a bank holiday (as is Easter Monday - and also this coming Friday for the royal wedding, and the Monday after that for May day), so his work is closed. however if I regularly worked Fridays I'd be working as usual, as my place operates as normal throughout the year, including Christmas if it falls on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

I've actually eaten quite a lot of meat today, a double cheeseburger for lunch (working on my food baby) and sliced beef and chicken (with salad) for dinner. we went out to look at wood flooring, and have chosen an engineered wood rather than a laminate, in oak. then I persuaded C to take me to Ikea - he initially refused point blank, but we were only 3 mins drive away at the flooring shop, so I got my way. I didn't mention it before we went out because I knew he'd be bolshie and moody and refuse, and maybe even refuse to go to the flooring shop as well. I can see where he was coming from because Ikea on a bank holiday sounds like hell, and I agree, if it had been mid-afternoon probably it would have been, but we went out early and were there at 11am, and it wasn't at all busy, we even parked the car right near the entrance. we weren't there to buy but just look at some stuff, bedroom furniture for Adam, a bed, and wardrobes for us. didn't look for wardrobes in the end as we're not sure of how much space there'll be for them, and we didn't like the single beds (want to get Adam a proper 3ft full length single so it can be used as a spare adult bed if necessary), but we found some nice bedroom furniture for him this Stuva range, which I think we'd get in white or beech. think we're going to get this Mothercare bed, it's on special offer right now so I might ring up and find out when the offer ends, we don't want it right now but we'd deal with another box hanging around it it meant we got over £50 off.

I'm another who's nervous about ditching the sleeping bag, think I can safely say we won't be doing so for a while yet as I only just spent £38 on a 1 tog 18-36 month one jelr, Adam has had a pillow for a couple of months and he loves it, he was clearly enjoying sleeping on our pillow when he came into our bed, and he started pulling a soft toy under his head, so I figured it was time. I think he started sleeping a lot more peacefully and soundly when we did. also not looking forward to the looming dummy battle, he also likes one in his mouth and one in his hand, though he's usuall ok if he loses one as long as he can still get the other. I really wanted not to have to buy any more, I have bought so many over the last 20 months, but I don't see an end in sight any time soon, and I've had to throw a few out because I found teeth holes in them, so I think I will need to be buying more, grrrrr.

speaking of sleeping peacefully, I am pleased to report that last night went well, not that we did anything to engineer this, it just so happened this way, and Adam stayed IN THE COT till 7.17am, when he decided to leap over onto me. such a relief to get an unbroken night. I just wish I'd gone to bed earlier myself and had a better sleep but I was silly and stayed up past 1am. not presuming it'll happen again tonight, it's really really warm, warmer than last night I think. part of the problem is we're loath to open the window too much because that renders the blackout blind useless, and will result in him waking at stupid o'clock on account of the early daylight; also we have no fan because it's gone, along with a load of other stuff, including all my maternity clothes, to my friend's basement. we put it there months ago when we started decluttering big time for selling the flat, presuming we'd have moved by the time we needed these things again. well, I've never needed the fan in April before, so I don't feel terrible about it, but we do need to get it back!

Spidey, I have no idea what we're doing for Easter, an egg hunt sounds like a lot of fun though hope Kira enjoys it. I don't think Adam would understand it this year. maybe I underestimate him, though! maybe if it's still warm I'll get him an icecream. I got him one today, a Fab bar, and offered it after dinner, and he ate most of it, along with quite a fair bit of Chris's white Magnum. he's never really had ice cream before but it's safe to say he loves it. oops. BAD MUMMY.