Pickle

We nearly bought a house on Keston Rd (fell through due to subsidence/insurance issues unfortunately, it was a lovely house otherwise). The road itself seems really nice, and you're really handy to Lordship Lane etc. I know a lot of people that live near there and they've not had any problems.

What a fantastic result... you must be very relieved. Nice to know there are honest people out there. Get them copied to your computer quick smart ;-)

A success for us last night (adapted from the Good Food website link I posted last week): Make a sauce using chopped tomatoes, garlic, onion and chopped red pepper. Cook a pack of gnocchi in boiling water, add to the sauce along with some fresh basil. Put in an ovenproof dish, top with mozzarella, grill till bubbling and brown. Very simple and quick, was delicious with a green salad and bread, both kids loved it :)

The fireworks provided a welcome distraction for my 2.5 year old son, who was wide awake suffering from the chicken pox scratching himself to pieces! We were able to see them from our loft and enjoyed the show. My little girl slept right through them.

I haven't found it, but thought I'd give this a helping hand back to the top! Hope your MIL is OK Keef, sounds like a bad day for her, and here's hoping she's reunited with her glasses/cards soon.

I'm a stay at home Mum, have read this thread with interest as I've never had the stress of the work/not work decision and am in awe of you ladies who have coped so admirably juggling work/childcare etc. 10 years ago I would have laughed in the face of anyone who suggested I'd end up at home looking after two small children, and had all but decided that a high powered career was for me. At the time I was an accountant working my way up in a large firm (in NZ). I moved to the UK and continued my accountancy career working for investment banks in the city, and loved it to begin with. But gradually things changed, I met my now husband, started to want more from life than just work, began to resent the city culture that seemed to exist meaning that unless you were seen at your desk at 8pm you weren't working hard enough - despite the fact that to fit in the gym I opted to start my working day at 6:30am. At 30 I had something of a mid life crisis, and chucked in my job. I then retrained and spent a couple of years running weight loss classes (self employed), something I really enjoyed, but for very little financial reward. It was very natural for me to stop work once I got pregnant with child #1, and the fact all I was eating was KFC and salt & vinegar crisps didn't really put me in good stead for advising people on healthy eating ;-) Both Mr Pickle and I grew up in families where Dad worked and Mum was at home with the kids, so for us it was "normal" to make the decision for me to stay home. Neither of us have any family nearby, so we don't have a close support network of family to help out. I got pregnant with #2 when #1 was just 9 months old, so going back to work between the two was pretty much ruled out anyway. I surprised myself with how easy I found it to be at home with the kids. In all honesty I can say I love it, although I'd be lying to say I didn't have days where it would be easier to go to work. For me the key to being a SAHM is having a plan for my weeks - we go out a lot, go to playgroups/music etc (which I think is important given my 2.5 year old isn't in nursery and probably won't be for at least another year). Also important for me is having something outside of the house/family to keep me human (for lack of a better word)... I'm a musician and have a couple of groups every week that I go to where I'm looked at as a fellow musician and not a wife/mummy - in fact most of the people there probably don't even realise I've got kids, and in some ways I'm proud that I'm still able to exist on that level - if that makes sense? Sometimes I'm reminded of the life I had - when I find my old high heeled shoes and marvel in the fact that I used to be able to wear them for a whole day at work, and then out for the evening! I laugh at myself when I find myself watching the weather forecast and getting excited about the fact I'll be able to hand lots of washing out the next day. The biggest adjustment is by far not having my own money, but thankfully it hasn't become an issue and after 2.5 years I'm used to it. I do appreciate that I'm lucky to have the option to be at home. I will re-enter the workforce in some form once my kids are at school but can't imagine ever returning to the city jobs I used to have. Any work I do in the future will be home based, or certainly local. I'm lucky enough to have options (I still have my accounting qualification, there are always people wanting to lose weight, and I'm also qualified to teach flute), so I'm sure I'll find something to fit in with the children when the time comes.

Molly, definitely a wise idea to stay in isolation between now and your trip, children have an uncanny knack of coming down with things at the worst times! And thanks for the Piriton tip, I have Zirtec for my son's hayfever (can be used in over 2's) so have dosed him up on that this morning and it does seem to have helped his itching. Poor wee man is coming out with more spots by the hour, we now have a lovely collection on his face. He's currently playing some kind of wrestling game with his little sister, so fingers crossed she comes down with it quickly so we get it over and done with.

We've got chicken pox in our house (son's spots appeared today) so we're out of the social loop for a week, maybe more if my daughter catches it too... such a pain! Anyone got good ideas for keeping children/parents sane while in quarantine??

My little ones go to Little Bubbles on a Friday morning, so that timing doesn't work for us - that's a shame. Will keep an eye out on this thread though and let Mr Pickle know if there's anything else planned.

I've just spent the evening looking for more recipe inspiration and have found this site excellent for ideas, if you search for "family favourite" meals - there are loads that are suitable for little ones and look equally inviting as an adult (hopefully my link will take you straight to the family recipes): http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?filterItem=course12&keywords=&y=8&x=22&filters=occasion16 I've got a whole week of new ideas planned, and am even going to attempt a chicken pie, move over Nigella! Sophie - my 2.5 year old son is also a sandwich refuser at lunchtime (unless it's cheese on toast, which he'll eat until he's sick)! I tend to give him homemade soups (corn chowder, lentil & vege, cream of chicken etc.), risotto (usually butternut squash), macaroni cheese, pasta/gnocchi with tomato & vege sauce - generally made in advance and frozen so I can quickly microwave it when we get in from where ever we've been for the morning.

I wish I was in a quandry about whether to buy on Woodwarde or Court Lane - very nice! Court Lane is probably a bit busier in terms of traffic, although I guess that's not a big deal if you get one of the houses set back off the road with off street parking. Weekends it's pretty busy with traffic for the park and the village, people tend to park on Court Lane. Woodwarde Rd is lovely, seems much quieter, although as others have pointed out it's SE22, not SE21, so it depends on whether postcode means anything to you!! Definitely worth considering school catchment etc. if it's relevant to you.

Oooooh, I feel a bit lucky to have actually met Fuschia :) The rest of you will just have to keep guessing B)

Moos Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Molly, I think I'm probably being a bit dim, but > I'm not sure I get this. Are you kneeling on the > floor in a sort of hurdling position? Ha ha ha, classic. I decided to try Molly's advice earlier this evening but hadn't read the thread further to get proper instruction and did exactly as you describe Moos... sat with one leg behind me, one out in front pinning the monster down. She looked at me like I was completely nuts, however it did work as she was so bemused by my position she forgot to wriggle :))

I'm a Gina Ford (lite version admittedly) follower who has breastfed two children past the age of 1, co-slept for a while and use a sling. The two "approaches" can work together ;-)

Some yummy ideas so far, keep them coming! My two both enjoyed beef stroganoff with rice tonight - I pureed the stroganoff part for my little girl as figured I'd be pushing my luck expecting her to chew strips of beef with 3.5 teeth, and gave her rice with it. Toddler had his just like us, although I chopped the beef up a bit for him. I made it using an old WeightWatchers recipe I had, got it to the stage where the meat/mushrooms etc were cooked at lunchtime then reheated and added yoghurt this evening while the rice was cooking. Lovely!

Great advice from everyone. Don't be too proud to ask for help, while having a new baby is the best thing in the world it can also be a very hard, lonely and stressful time. If you think something is wrong, go with your instinct - use the breastfeeding cafes, new Mum groups etc. to get help when you need it. Explain to your partner that it's pretty likely you will phone him regularly at work with a screaming baby in the background demanding that he come home... NOW. If you're planning to breastfeed, prepare yourself for the fact that it will probably be hard, and not the soft focussed wonderful experience that's shown in the video at the breastfeeding workshop. But rest in the knowledge that it gets easier. Buy pies/tarts/lasagne/meatballs from Bon3yard on the forum - an absolute godsend for me in the early weeks after I'd had my 2nd baby and was in no fit state to cook :) Enjoy it. Having had the luxury of newborn cuddles today at my daughter's 1st birthday party I'm reminded of just how quickly the early days pass, despite the difficulties you might face they are absolutely precious moments.

Hi there, My husband is at home for the summer and I'm sure he'd also be keen to meet up with our two children (I'd like it too, means I get to stay at home without husband or kids!!).

Lasagne - I haven't made that for ages, will put that on my list for next week, thanks Liz :) Old and sensible, yes exactly. Although I still have moments where I feel like I'm playing Mum as in my head I'm not old enough for this yet ;-) However I do enjoy cooking, and being told something's yummy by a 2.5 year old is oddly satisfying!

My courgette-hating son willingly eats this one! HAM, COURGETTE & MACARONI BAKE (Serves 6) 2.5 cups macaroni 2 courgettes 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp flour 1 cup milk 1/2 cup sour cream 2 cloves garlic 200g ham, chopped parsley 1/2 cup grated cheese Cook pasta until tender. Grate courgette and squeeze out any excess liquid. Make a basic white sauce with flour, butter and milk, then stir in sour cream and crushed garlic. Add the cooked pasta, grated courgette, ham and parsley. Spoon into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake for 30 mins, 180C / 350F / Gas 4 for about 30 mins.

Roast veges are a favourite in our house. My 1 year old loves butternut squash, peppers, courgette etc. roasted and given to her as finger food - we often have that sort of thing with fish and couscous so it's ideal for the kids and quick to prepare (and easy to make a bit tastier for adults with the addition of spices etc.). Unfortunately we're limited to things without eggs as my little boy is allergic - such a nuisance! Will post a recipe to get the thread started shortly...

I don't know if anyone is interested in doing this... but thought I'd give it a try. As Mr Pickle is currently not working we have the luxury of sitting down for our evening meal as a family. My children are 1 and 2.5 so I'm trying to build up a selection of recipes that are suitable for all of us - is anyone else in the same position and willing to share tried and trusted favourites? I've got a few nice home made pasta bake recipes (from my Mum) and sausage casserole type things which have proved popular with both kids and husband alike. So far I've found the best options are things that can be prepared in advance then popped in the oven just before dinner time, less stress at the "baby/toddler witching hour" time that tends to happen in our house around 5pm! Maybe we could post on this thread with ideas? If people are keen I'll post a couple of my recipes. P x

Perfect, thanks Fuschia :)

Sounds like there are loads of people up for this, great! My kids both have a lunchtime sleep from around 12ish till around 2ish (my sanity time!!)... is it possible to arrange things for the afternoon? (the only reason I ask is that I notice other meets that have happened have been at 12, so I can't go along :'()

>:D

Count us in. Mine are 2.5 and 1 :)