mima08

excellent! made us laugh :D mx

Great thread, can we make these into a recipe book? My go to meal is couscous with peas and tuna - depending what's in the house, I add some tomato sauce, or sweetcorn & herbs etc

Grotty - your averaging method makes me laugh - off to the poundshop now ;)

:( I just cheated on the diet weigh in - I just guessed 1.5lbs in the week. Still not bought scales, that is my excuse. But the belt on my jeans is a lot looser...

HIya, we went to south Italy last year during the summer holidays - you can fly easyjet or thomsons to Naples and hire a selfcatering appartment. We stayed in a lovely place, called Domus Cliento, about 1.5 hrs south of Naples, great appartments with a pool, nice little town about 5-10min walk. Small beach but larger ones easily accessible by car, lots of yummy italian food. We were 2 adults, 1 teenager and a baby and paid about ?2k to ?2.5k all in for 10 days.... PM me if you'd like details of the accommodation. mx

ohhhhh - nice presents! And Ruth - I could do with the medicinal G&T.... What I would really, really like is to sit and watch a dvd, lazing around on a sunday afternoon when the weather isn't great and not feel like I should be doing something else. But - the image of my one year old proudly presenting me with a mothers' day card this morning was just so very lovely :)

Poor you - so sorry to hear this! I hope you are being well looked after and getting over the shock - thank you for alerting the forum! mx

Hiya - all the comments are really motivational. I have just signed up for the Tesco.com version of w.w. - because i can link it to my online shopping (one of my biggest problem is being disorganised and never having the right food in the house). And they let you use light versions of ready meals for those (many)days where I just don't want to cook.... We shall see if it works - it looks good in theory :) mx

Hiya, I definitely don't think that anyone "should" feel guilty. Quite the reverse, we are all trying our best - so these guilt feelings puzzle me and I wish I didn't have them. I, too, really enjoy my work, and logically know that I have a great setup and it is the best way. The guilt feeling is really illogically - and to those you don't feel guilty: I envy you! :) mx

thank you all -the reassurance is very appreciated. Yes, it is a mixture of guilt and heartache - totally irrational, as I am also very happy with the current set-up.I know - that sounds mad - another side effect of motherhood ;)It just does good to hear from others and realise it's not just me to feel like this.... mx PS: I too look at my son's picture on my phone throughout the day - even though I had just seen him....:)

Hiya, little emotional outburst warning. I know there are many working mums who have some feeling of guilt when it comes to leaving their little ones when they go to work - just HOW do you cope? I only work 3 days a week and I am doing something I really love (setting up my own business) and childcare is fab - but I get regularly overcome with feeling tremendously guilty for leaving my son.....and really emotional when I see children, or puppies or kittens or...... how do others do it?

Hiya ClareC - gosh, my 13 months old has also been having MAJOR tantrums. He will get himself into such a state, turning all read with anger, tears streaming - not a pretty sight... I often think that he simply doesn't know how to break out of the frustration (and distractions often don't work anymore).... I spoke to a lady who does the developmental assessments (sorry, I forget the name) and she said because they are so young, explanations are of limited help (although good practice for you to get into the habit). Reflecting the emotions back seems to be the main thing (we also do baby signing which helps sometimes) plus of course making sure not too tired/ hungry etc.... Maybe someone has a magic solution? Or just some tips? I will keep all the tips on older kids for future reference: can see myself (still)there in 13months time.... mx

Hiya -the anticipated age range is 6-8years up to 12ish, probably the Dr. Who generation?! At the younger end, they might need a little help from the parents, but hopefully that should be part of the fun. I should also stress that it is free to play the game. So for example, if a clue is hidden at Buckingham Palace, you can find it without paying any entrance fees etc. I found a way (a bit long winded) to attach the introduction to the game to this thread as pictures (although it reduces the image quality). Any opinions would be very appreciated! Thank you! Miriam x

Dear all, I hope this is ok to ask here: I am looking for some feedback on a game idea I am trying to develop. I want to create travelguidebooks for children with a game twist. The game is a hunt for virtual treasures while on holidays, mainly visiting cities. To play the game, you have to visit popular sites/attractions at your destination. The parents select which sites they want to visit during their trip and the kids can learn about the sites and gain some general knowledge about the country they are visiting while playing the game. Once they are at a site, they have to find a clue ? this clue is needed to get access to a secret webpage. I also suggest things to do at each site, where to go next and some general things to do (e.g. in London ? taking the tube etc). I am deliberately not focusing on specific kids attractions ? these are easy enough to find on the web, but want to make general citytravel fun for kids (and adults). My first game is set in London and will initially be in pdf form to be downloaded and ebook for the likes of kindle/ipad. Eventually, I would love to make this into a fully interactive game for Pc/mobile phone, but this is a little while off.... I would love to hear from some experts (i.e kids) on whether they find this idea fun and if they would enjoy playing such a game when going on holiday. And, of course, I would be very grateful for feedback from adults on whether they would buy a game like this and any suggestions for improvements. Unfortunately I cannot attach the pdf files due to filesize restriction but could pm /email/ upload to my site for anyone who would be interested. Could make for a fun day out in the Easter holidays? I would really appreciate your thoughts! Thank you Miriam Edited for typo!

Hiya , I am so sorry for the delay in getting back, my friend was away on holiday himself! Anyway, it turns out that the precise appartment he had stayed at in NYC is no longer listed, however, the website he used was VRBO Vacation Rentals by Owners which he highly recommended. He said he used it for several holidays and was always very happy with the properties he got through it. Hope it is of some help mx

Hiya - we are a bit off learning to read yet.... but there is a great website called Brillkids with lots of resources (and a lot of free ones, rather than the expensive programmes) and a very helpful forum. mx

Hiya, i've been told about this event - not been before, but it's free, so maybe worth a try? http://www.workingmumslive.co.uk/ (hope the link works).I might be going, just to check it out.... The organisers - workingmum.co.uk have jobs advertised online too - again, i have not tried it, but looks good. Wishing you best of luck! mx

Hiya - love the idea! I am new to freelancing and business owning, but I'll struggle with Wednesdays at the moment (I have a mega cushy deal at the moment till June where I can use Wednesdays to help my business along) but would love to come to such a group. Thursday or Friday afternoons any good to anyone? What a great idea to start this! mx

Hiya, there is Zumba class at the Albrighton Centre (opposite Sainsbury on Dogkennel HIll) on a Monday and Wednesday 7.30pm to 8.30pm. Not your traditional aerobics but a very good workout. And yes, people wear whatever, it's really relaxed and quite a hoot - well, how can you not laugh when doing those moves....Good value at ?5. If there is any other aerobics going, I'd be interested, too.... mx

Hiya - thank you all for the information, very enlightening. I was surprised about the paid holidays, as normally self-employed people don't have paid holidays (oooohhh, I am finding out about that one at the moment....different story) but I guess, otherwise the daily fees would just be higher. It's great to have a benchmark, although even by judging by your posts, it seems to vary a fair bit - and those extra costs quickly add up. I am trying to find a way of making childcare economical - I am just starting out being self-employed and thus watching the pennies...Guess that's very standard, too! Pebbles - have pm'd you! Thanks again mx

Dear all, I am looking for some information on what to expect when looking for a childminder. I will be needing a childminder for my 1year old (he will be 16months then)as of June this year and just wondered about a few financial questions: - Holiday arrangements: am I required to pay when we go away on holiday? And when the childminder goes on holiday? - Sickness: I appreciate I will have to pay if my child is ill and cannot go, but what about if the childminder is ill? And what constitutes ill? Of course I would not sent my LO if he was seriously ill, but he has colds pretty much most of the time... - entrance fees etc for playgroups: are these generally in addition to the childminder's fees? - notice period: what are the standard notice periods you have to give if you wanted to take your child out? Are there other things I need to consider? thanks for any advice! mx

Hiya - I have not yet heard back but will chase again.... (might want the details too some day ;)

Hi nabz, totally second what people have said before, if you can (and are happy to) bf is sooooo much easier than bottles. Unfortunately I had tons of problems and mix fed from 3weeks, and by 4months my milk had all but disappeared. My LO did not feed any quicker than the babies of my friends who were breastfed, if anything, it took longer and the stress of being over prepared (never mind the costs of cartons) made getting out & about much more difficult. I was really jealous of my bfing friends and if anything, I thought people in ED would stare at me for bottle feeding.... (nobody did, but there is no end to my paranoia....:) Why don't you try a large scarf / shawl you can drape strategically? I am sure you will feel confident in no time - best luck mx

Hiya - I have not been with a baby/toddler but a friend of mine went with two and rented and apartment for a week. He said it was amazing, very central and so much easier than the tiny hotel rooms you'd normally get. I'll try to get the details, but in the meantime maybe google for apartments. Good Luck mx

HIya, I love the idea of afternoon groups, as my LO sleeps in the morning /lunchtime and we always look for entertainment in the afternoon. We are always missing out on groups because of the morning naps, so we will definitely start coming to some of the afternoons starting week after this- if the sessions lasted a bit later than 16.00, even better :) I don't know the area at all, but is there any outdoor space, for example for summer picnics? Good Luck mx