bkkmei

I bought plain white long sleeved tops from Next before. Boys section, though. Also if you look under 'underwear' at the usual outlets, you may find more choice

Risotto with chicken & sweet potato - I make a huge batch with a pressure cooker, eat some, put some in the fridge for later in the week, freeze some. Griddle fry trout fillets, with couscous mixed with sweetcorn (& peas) Stir fry chicken with noodles and some greens Beef stew with rice or tortilla wrap Chicken & sweet potato stew (add ginger, cinnamon, honey etc. for a tajine effect) with rice or couscous or tortilla. Pizza - for the first time I actually put my own toppings on a bare pizza base. Good fun, cheap and still tasty! My eldest only eats sweet potato, sweetcorn and peas for veg willingly. So I sympathise about fussiness! I like the Hairy Bikers books too - actually I got the diet ones although I'm not on one, but find them really good.

Hello there is another thread here asking a similar question: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1174442 I would get some smartish black cotton trousers - cords? chinos? - and ask the school if that was OK. Honestly, they can't let your child suffer due to the irritating material normal school trousers are made of!

I had the same problem last year. In the end, I even ordered the girls SkinKind trousers from M&S which just about fit! But those look out of stock too :( I also made him some (very simple) trousers, so not sure if you have a sewing machine lying around...? Hopefully your school is quite understanding, and maybe if you find ordinary grey cotton trousers (chinos, cords?) until M&S restocks?

Hi, I think there are some pants which are specially made for nighttime training. They look and feel like ordinary pants but maybe have some element of waterproofing and some optional padding. If you google night time training pants,you might find something which will help ease all your washing? I made some for my 5 yr old in the end, just cos he needs 100% cotton.

I would like to recommend Fernando for any garden labouring / hedge cutting needs you may have. Fernando was punctual, polite and had very reasonable rates. He cut our front garden hedges this morning and worked hard in the heat to make the crazy hedges look tidy and respectable, clearing up the cuttings afterwards. I would gladly ask him to help me again for any general gardening and hedge cutting jobs. You can pm Fernando through his user name Fernando Pinto.

I used Feel Good Contact Lenses. I've only bought from them once and they are fine. Will re-order from them. Think I chose them because I only wanted 30 pairs of disposables.

I'm not sure the Horniman water pump is working... when it was on last summer, it was marvellous fun - it had made a huge sandy puddle in a part of the pit and my toddler loved wading through it with his shoes and socks on! Then about a week later, my husband said the water pump wouldn't switch off and had flooded a large part of the sand pit...

Sorry, no special tips - my 5 year old still has major meltdowns, usually in public! But honestly, I don't think the other mums were looking on in disapproval, perhaps in relief it wasn't them. Can't believe your neighbour came round and was so 'helpful' with her advice.

My sympathies! I also felt sick as a dog during both pregnancies. Ginger helped, and crackers. I also ate a lot of junk food. And I think having protein like ham helped. There is an acupressure point you can find yourself - if you search on youtube for acupuncture points for nausea you may find some useful videos on how to find the point. It's on your inner wrist, between the tendons, about 2 fingers width from your wrist joint. I found it helped to just press on this point for a temporary relief from the nausea.

Oh, definitely Jon Snow!! And how about Alcide in True Blood???!

Got this from http://www.theschoolrun.com/12-no-sew-costumes-world-book-day Willy Wonka Dye your child?s dressing gown purple, or buy a cheap one to do this if you don?t want to ruin their own. Get a top hat (or make one from posterboard) and stick sweets, chocolates, candy sticks (or just the wrappers) all over it. Make a golden ticket using gold card and have them carry a tub of sweets around (if you ask their teacher, they may even be able to hand them out at the end of the day!). My 5 year old insists on going as Charlie, so that will be one golden ticket and a couple of sweet wrappers then!

Have to 2nd/3rd suggestions for: - Game of Thrones - True Blood - The Wire - Glee - Band of Brothers - The Killing Also: - The Office (American version) is sooo good - especially from the second series onwards - Inbetweeners (might be able to catch on 4oD to see if you like it) - Misfits (ditto)

* If you don't specifically meal plan, but buy loads of meat/meals, write the 'use by' dates on a note on your fridge so you can see what might need eating first. * freeze bread, freeze milk. * Another vote for topcashback. I get paid back in Amazon vouchers for an extra 5%

I always think boys names are so much harder than girls! James? (know so many people including us who used it as a middle name, but think it's lovely in its own right) Alexander - a great one to shorten or spell differently: Alex, Lex, Xan, Sasha... I also liked Leif Love Pip too! Isn't one of the key tests to imagine shouting the name in a crowded playground to see how good / bad it sounds? :)

Hiya If you are passing through Bangkok in and out of Thailand then the local (mostly ex-pat) mums & babies group rents out travel cots and car seats. They also have playgroups, usually at ex-pat nurseries. The group is called BAMBI and the website is: http://www.bambiweb.org/services/resources http://www.bambiweb.org/services/playgroups You can also find baby mosquito repellent made by Johnsons in Thailand, and I found this pretty effective for my son, and also for myself actually! There are also Boots branches in Thailand. And I thought the best nappy brand was Mamy Poko. Also many of the shopping centres in Bangkok e.g. Emporium, Central etc. have dedicated children play areas & small soft play rooms. Nice to get away from the heat sometimes! Not sure if you are bringing a double buggy... the pavements are not up to much, very bumpy, many gaping potholes... Thais absolutely LOVE kids. They may want to touch your babies. And waitresses will offer to whisk your little ones away while you're having a meal - can be very nice if you want a few minutes peace. I used to live in Bangkok so if you have any other questions you can pm me :)

Hi similar incident to Pugwash's. My mum could not locate her bag when she got off the train to visit me. Whilst phoning to cancel cards etc. one of the credit card companies called her back to say somebody had contacted them cos they'd found her bag with my mum's credit cards. He left his telephone number and my mum managed to get her bag back with most items inside. This lovely guy saved my mum a lot of hassle by doing this and it was a big relief for us. He said he would've handed the bag into the police evantually, but just wanted to try this method first, and indeed it was much quicker.

This is all sounding so familiar (sausages / cheese / beans / bread)... My eldest boy gags/throws up when there is even a hint of green veg in his meal and only with extreme bribery will he eat anything vaguely healthy! But I have managed to introduce one or two things in by a) making them a bit sweeter, and b) involving him in the cooking process. For example: sweet potato scones, carrot & courgette muffins (I can cook recipe - we played the game first on the cbeebies website, then he wanted to make them), pizza rolls... Well he has just turned 4, so it is still an ongoing slow project! At the really tough times, I remind myself how much I hated tomatoes / lumps in orange juice etc. when I was small!

My 3 year old's first visit to the dentist was to Bunmi - she was lovely and he did everything she asked (quite a feat!). After that, I also went to Bunmi for my teeth :)

Cuppa tea has given some great advice above. My son is, well let's say he's regularly described as a 'live wire' by complete strangers, and has in the past thought it tremendous fun to knock smaller kids over for no reason. Effectively trying to discipline this in public (although of course discipline should be consistent wherever you are, but sometimes it is difficult) plus having a young baby in tow, is tough. So I have to agree: - somebody needs to keep an eye on what the kids are up to. It's very difficult to sit back and relax with a cup of tea! - mutual territory is helpful. My son got tremendously territorial over other kids playing with his toys. One of my friends would bring over one of her son's toys to any playdates, so that there would be a real 'sharing' of toys - a great idea. Also, if possible, diversion is a good way to defuse a situation if you see it coming. E.g. instead of being aggressive with your son, your friend's child could maybe mock-wrestle with an adult as an outlet. Or an adult suddenly switches to a stupid voice like a robot "Let's - play - a - game - now" "That - was - not - good" I have to say, I had no problem with another adult telling my son off if it was warranted, and sometimes he listened and obeyed more. We also put in a few simple rules down for playdates e.g. sharing toys, no pushing/fighting. We repeated them again and again, had to elaborate a bit, stuck to them and did naughty step. Think we're starting to see the benefits now, partly also as he is approaching 4. My son used to be very rough with his (smaller but same age) cousin, but they get on like a house on fire now. Hope it works out on the playdate!

My 3 year old got chicken pox a few weeks ago. When it was clear what it was, I got myself vaccinated as I've never had chicken pox. An ex-colleague of mine had chicken pox as an adult and was laid up in bed, miserable, for 6 weeks! Perhaps there were additional complications for her, but the thought of all that misery, and I was straight down to the clinic (I went to Samedaydoctor in Wimpole Street - GBP95.) So far so good, cross fingers I don't have chicken pox. My 10 month old has it now though!

Where we used to live, I was a mosquito magnet and got very paranoid about them. The best indoor solution was definitely an electric fan. The best outdoor solution was mozzie repellent and covering up. The best after-bite solution (as mine used to swell and itch terribly) was to cover the bites with plasters! Looks a bit silly if you have loads of them, but pretty effective.

Just wanted to add my thumbs up!

I found it all a bit confusing. The first HV told me the check could take place any time between 8 months and 1 year and I should book it with my GP. But then another HV told me the check should take place now (at 8 months) and make an appointment at Townley Clinic. When she filled out the red book, it was all under the 1 year review page.

Hi 8 month check last week - managed to get a BookStart bag! As well as the checks described above, They also check the 'down below' bits for boys.