Knomester

Thank you both. Mellors - I looked into the Family Railcard option before booking but you have to confirm that you have a child over 5 before buying which I can't to because Baby Knomester is only 2. It seems so ridiculous. Do they actually expect a 2, 3 or even 4 year old to sit on their parent or carer's knee for the whole journey? I'd rather have the option of paying a nominal amount just for a seat reservation! Fmm - I have found the number for travel Assistance and will try them next. If all else fails I'll speak to them when I arrive at Stockport tomorrow and try to at least reserve for the journey home. If all else fails I guess I'll have to upgrade to 1st class when I board the train on Sunday and pay the ?15 (which is a bit of a kick in the teeth when I've already laid out ?65 for the return journey...no cheap tickets travelling on a Friday / Sunday!). I'm not quite sure how I am supposed to manage an energetic 2 year old, buggy and all of our bags to wander up and down a train to find unreserved seats!

Just resurrecting this thread as I find myself travelling up to Manchester with Virgin this weekend with my toddler. We're leaving tomorrow morning (when it should be quietish) but travelling back from Stockport (first stop out of Manchester) at 2pm on Sunday (usually pretty busy and train already quite full as most people board at Manchester). I have bought my ticket and they have given seat reservations. I don't have to buy a ticket for my toddler as he is just over 2. I've called to try and reserve 2 seats together as a back up to be sure that we have somewhere to sit together (there is no way he could sit on my knee for the whole 2 hour journey or stay in his buggy). Virgin are refusing to book him a seat as he has no ticket and won't change my seat reservation unless I pay ?10. Has anyone come across this and/or managed to reserve 2 seats (1 for ticket holder and 1 for child under 5 travelling free)? Thanks

Ooops...clearly have food on the mind. Dutifully edited!

I agree wholeheartedly with Ted Mex and Sidhue. We enjoy the woods for unstructured nature play with our toddler and friends.

Thanks nikki73. My recipe ideas come out of my head! Fritters are super quick and easy to make. If you send me your email address by PM I'd be happy to email you a basic recipe. I've not got my sugar free flapjack recipe to hand because I've been working on improving it, but I should have it ready in a couple of weeks. Plain popcorn is a favourite snack in our house too, I'm just never sure how filling it is unless eaten in huge quantities! Keeps my toddler occupied for ages though so I'll be packing a bag of it to take on our train journey up north tomorrow...

In addition to those already mentioned, I also found some nice (and affordable) things in Next, JoJo Maman Bebe, Gap and Mamas & Papas (they do good deals when the sales are on). Also New Look for cheap basics like tracksuit bottoms for around the house, leggings, bump bands, etc.

Agree with all of Fuschia's suggestions! Also fritters are great as they travel well and are just as good eaten cold (e.g. sweetcorn fritters, courgette & cheese, pea and feta, spiced carrot & spinach, etc). In the same way, little falafel or patties (sweet potato & chickpea or spicy beans) work quite well. They can all be made in advance in bulk and then frozen. To vary cheese scones you could try adding grated root veg (e.g celeriac) and spring onions or some herbs. They also freeze really well and can be defrosted quickly in the microwave. Savoury muffins or mini muffins? Cheese biscuits are an alternative to the organix biscuits you mention. You can make and freeze the dough and then slice off as many as you need and bake them fresh the night before. You can also make flapjacks without any added sugar or sweetener using bananas and pureed dried fruit for example. Would they pass the 'no unhealthy choices' rule?

You could try JoJo - I've bought them in there before (although not for some time).

Here it is Bonfire2010 - http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,570543,580290 I hope your friend and her baby are OK. If she has any questions please feel free to contact me via PM and I'll try my best to help.

We have the ones with the magnetic keys, but when the cupboard doors are open when we're all in the kitchen, Baby Knomester goes around switching them to the 'unlocked' setting..! Also because we've stuck them (rather than screw them into the wood), he has pulled all of the doors so hard that most of the locks (or parts of them) have fallen off. I have to smile - I do love the way they work these things out...

There was a thread about this recently: http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,926757,926994#msg-926994 We took baby Knomester to GK on Melbourne Grove which was recommended in the thread and they took the time to cut his hair properly (although they didn't seem to understand that a 2 year old might not be able to sit in a certain position for a long time...). They would have blow dried it too if Baby Knomester wasn't so terrified of hairdryers!

Cupboard locks didn't last 5 minutes in our kitchen... How they do it amazes me. We gave up on stairgates for the same reason. Thankfully he can't open our windows (yet) but I did notice the other day that with the aid of one of his many climbing tools (basically anything he can manoeuvre to stand on) he could be out of the front door in a flash. Time to keep the front door deadlocked during the day. Thankfully he doesn't try to play with (or eat) things like dishwasher tablets. Perhaps because he helps with everything around the house so knows what they're really for? Who knows, but it reminds me I must move the bleach out of the bathroom as that's only a matter of time (childproof lids are not so childproof...).

I'm not a big fan of going out for a Sunday roast as they never seem to live up to what you can cook at home, but sometimes it's nice not to have to cook! I like The Paxton in Gipsy Hill because it serves a good roast and is also family friendly with plenty of highchairs. The Victoria is also child frindly and has a separate play room for when little ones need space to run around. I've not had a roast there for a long time but they used to be quite good. Maybe the new Cherry Tree (what was The Vale) might be worth a try?

Mandy, you're welcome to give our beco gemini a try when we meet up next Friday morning - remind me to bring it with me. I still carry Baby Knomester in it and he was 2 last week. Otherwise there is a sling library where you can try them and you can hire from Slumberoo to try them out before you buy.

Thank you all for signing. I'm sorry to hear that so many other mums and babies have suffered with tongue tie problems, but I'm pleased that my post on tongue tie and related issues helped some of you.

Broad beans, sweetcorn, edamame and artichoke bottoms in our freezer (in addition to peas of course!). Also tend to freeze left over pulses when I've only used part of a tin so they get added into meals too. When Baby Knomester was little I also used to make batches of sweet potato wedges and freeze those so they were ready to eat. Same with any veg really - I'd cook extra when we were having it and pop into bags in the freezer (good way to make sure veg isn't wasted too). Not been able to order edamame from Ocado recently for some reason - always out of stock - but they sell them in SMBS on Lordship Lane.

I have a Facebook account that I rarely post anything on, but which I use to check how friends and family who are dotted all over the world are getting on. I used to post photos of my toddler on there occasionally, but recently got a bit scared about privacy and deleted all photos of him, so my account is a bit of an empty shell now. I have various twitter accounts which are linked to my blogs. I don't use my real name on twitter or on my blogs and never have done. I think twitter is a good way to connect with people who have similar interests to you who you might not otherwise have chance to meet or get to know in the 'real' world. I have made some good friends and contacts and I also find it useful for keeping up with things that are going on locally by following local organisations, restaurants, shops, residents and the twitter accounts for the local parks for example. Like Saffron, I don't follow celebrities and I don't work in an industry where social media is required or even desireable. It's solely for my own personal interests. It can be incredibly time consuming, but then similarly there are days and weeks when I never look at it. I guess you can make of it what you want to!

I came across this petition today which seeks the correction of tongue tie in newborn babies within three days from birth. I know I'm not alone in the Family Room in having struggled with feeding a tongue tied baby, so thought there may be a few of you who might like to sign... http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36614

Hello Belinda The Dulwich Natural Childhood Group website might be useful to you: http://www.naturalchildhood.co.uk/

Baby Knomester loved his 1st birthday party too! It was a family party for about 20 people, including his 2 great grandmas. Food, cake, unwrapping presents and lots of laughs. He wasn't at all phased by the number of people and dmolished more than his fair share of his chocolate monkey birthday cake!

Like Pickle's daughter, Baby Knomester has been exposed to the pox twice (that I know of) now but he's not had them yet.

Like hellosailor we use metanium and Weleda calendula nappy change cream. We used to use the Weleda one every night as a barrier cream and now just use it if he's looking a bit pink but nothing needing metanium (he's 23 months now). To be honest, he hasn't suffered much with nappy rash and I do think that the Weleda cream has worked well in that way as a barrier, epecially overnight when he has a wet nappy on for 12 hours.

I'm guessing it's the same house on Dunstans sharing their music with us again this evening...?

Tanzania and Zanzibar. A few days on the coast south of Dar where there was nothing to do except do nothing, then the most amazing 4 days on safari in the Selous National Park and finally a few days in Zanzibar with the last night in Stone Town. I wouldn't bother with Zanzibar again, but I'd love to go back to Tanzania. Adored it.

Me too Molly... Wellies and raincoats may be on the cards again instead then! At least Baby Knomester and his Daddy have had lovely weather for their trip to Crystal Palace to see the torch today.