Pickle

Thanks to a jetlagged 21 month old I've been up for hours and we've seen CeeBeeBees start for the day... new crush for me is one of the Tikabilla (sp?) presenters, lovely - have never seen it before (although not planning to make a habit of being up at 4.30am!)

Son is Pickle, daughter varies depending on whether she's naughty or nice... tends to get called "bubbie", which we need to change now that she's nearly 2, and Millie Monster is the most common :-S

In my opinion you don't need special equipment - I have a steamer which we were given as a wedding gift and used it once for preparing vegetables then never again as it involved too much cleaning up! I used to cook all the kids food in our standard pots, and the microwave at times. The most useful thing you could have is a hand blender, great for purees and I still use mine a lot for blending soups etc. The little Tommee Tippee pots with lids (Sainsbury's do an equivalent for less money!) are great for storing little portions of food in the early days, and I find I'm still using mine 3 years on to keep snacks in for the children. Have fun!

Difficult situation to be in. As hard as it is, I agree with SimonM - I take the view that it's nice that you get to say goodbye, where for most people the death of an elderly relative or friend, while not unexpected, comes at a time where you don't get to say those final words. It sounds like you have been an absolute pillar of support to this lady over the years, and I'm sure your continued support would mean a lot to her, despite that fact that you're not comfortable with her decision. Assisted suicide doesn't sit easy with me, however it's her decision - no doubt one that she has spent a long time thinking about, and not a decision she's reached lightly. Try to be strong, it sounds like you have a lot of support from your husband and friends which you will need over the coming weeks. No doubt you will get many words of wisdom from the EDF once everyone else wakes up. P x

Happy birthday to baby Snowboarder :)) As a forum reader from afar at present it always makes me smile sitting here in the evenings when I log in and notice new posts in the family room before the other sections of the forum are awake. This time next week I'll be an ED resident again, yippee!

Great, we'll be up for that. Our house won't be finished when we return, so I'll be coping without a kitchen and needing to be out of the way of the builders as much as possible - I REALLY hope the weather is nice when we get back, having enjoyed the warmth of the sun here for the last 5 weeks.

I had a tough time getting breastfeeding established first time round, but decided not to go to the workshop 2nd time - like others I really didn't find it very helpful, and figured that I'd succeeded in getting bfing established first time round so would be fine 2nd time. I found it much easier second time round, and the workshop wouldn't have been useful at all so I'm glad I didn't go.

Our daughter has been a keen stair-goer from an early age... she's an adrenalin junkie too. We don't have stair gates, right from the start our mantra has been "backwards backwards backwards", and her older brother also goes down the stairs backwards which helps. At 21 months she's now absolutely fine going up and down by herself, in the earlier days I just made sure she was contained if I was leaving her alone.

Yes Fuschia, I know what you mean - your two seemed so much bigger/older the first time I met you. She'll be 2 in June - you'll notice a big difference in her when we get back, she's gone from baby to little girl in the last couple of months. It still amazes me that she can talk, as in my head she's still my baby :) Friday afternoon plan is a good one. I feel like I'll be starting from scratch with our weekly activities when I get back, am completely out of touch with what goes on and when!

My daughter is 21 months, would be keen for meet ups Tuesday or Thursday mornings when my older boy is at nursery - that would fit in well with you Lorraine, so let's get something arranged once I'm back :)

I also highly recommend Lorenzo, he took gorgeous pictures of my two kids back in November.

The number raps are hilarious, I love the slightly sheepish looks they both have on their faces while they do them (I bet their friends hassle them about it in the pub!).

Just "bits" here too, although my 3 year old son is obsessed by the fact that his sister has "two bottoms"!

Fuschia, how dare you diss Mr Maker (6). He's my CeeBeeBee's crush, I think he's lovely. Justin, not so much. I have visions of romantic liasons with him involving him stopping every minute to show you how to sign... Snowboarder, nothing wrong with Home and Away! I record it religiously, have got the omnibus Sky +'d for my return, and am watching it here in NZ (although frustratingly they are about 4 weeks behind the UK, so I'm only just seeing new episodes this week).

I would love to go to the supper club, was reading Suzanne's thread the other day and thinking it sounded like a fun evening. As much as I'd love to venture to the Clapham Grand, Inferno's etc. I fear my mad days of snakebites, shots and snogging random strangers on the dance floor are behind me... ;-)

When I was pregnant with my 2nd child I really wanted to find out the gender (I felt I needed to bond more, as was busy looking after my son and didn't feel like I'd had much of a chance to focus on my pregnancy). Mr Pickle didn't want to know, so at our 20 week scan they wrote the gender on a piece of paper and gave it to me in a sealed envelope! I read it almost straight away, and for the next few months had fun keeping it a secret. Mr Pickle never tried to trip me up on it, which helped, but it was quite funny going through the motions of choosing both boys and girls names when I knew I only needed one for a girl. So while it wasn't a surprise for me, I still found it quite exciting watching his reaction when our daughter was born. First time round we didn't want to know, but a consultant looking at some slightly unusual results on our scan blurted it out! Good luck with whatever you decide. Wishing you a happy and healthy pregnancy. P x

I couldn't agree more! This part of the forum has a very welcoming feel to it (most of the time!), and lots of people sharing great information. I'm an official addict - hence I'm logged on while on holiday in NZ :-$ I've met loads of the ladies who post on here, and all are lovely! So nice to be able to walk around East Dulwich and regularly bump into people I know through the family room.

I'm back on the 2nd... 16th good for me. Don't mind where we go, as long as there's a glass of red wine with my name on it!

I used a bottle of fancy organic baby stuff we were given when my son was born, then moved to the lavendar scented bubble bath when he was older. 2nd child syndrome kicked in when we had our daughter, and her first bath involved her being dunked in the big bath full of lavendar bubbles after our son had got out :-$

... although I must say I'm just a smidgen jealous of all those lovely perky ladies shown in the later examples. Life hasn't been kind to my chest (which rather than being of the saggy variety is now simply non-existent) :-$

Love it!

I didn't even realise it was UK Mother's Day this weekend! It's already Sunday afternoon here in NZ, and it's not Mother's Day here till May, so looks like I'll be missing out this year (hubby is in London, and I doubt he will remember, and kiddies aren't old enough to arrange something by themselves!) :( Have a lovely day all x

Soup is my way of getting veges into the little ones too. My son happily eats most vegetables in their natural state, but daughter only eats asparagus and carrots! However she'll happily eat soup with all manner of goodies blended into it. I supplement it with bread/crumpets/cheese on toast etc. and it makes a nice easy lunch or tea.

Iain! Missed you too, was wondering where you'd got to - thought maybe now you don't live in ED you were shunning us ;-) Hope the move went well and that A & little E are doing well. Will get in touch once I'm home to come and say hello, would be great to catch up. P x

12 weeks old already? Gosh that has gone fast! I'm away until Easter, but will be desperate for a drink and a bit of socialising once I'm back and over the jetlag, so count me in for anything that gets organised for April. P x