oimissus

we had this happen yesterday in a cafe, not her best friend but children from her class. I nearly cried. But at the same time, DH said a child came up to Miss Oi at drop off yesterday and said hello and Miss Oi wouldn't say anything to her, so it's swings and roundabouts!

I found that the basic Boots sippy cup (free flow, but with a fold down top) was the one that Miss Oi would drink the most amount of water from.

mine napped from 1-3, so things like the one o'clock clubs were useless for us. We would go to stuff in the mornings, say from 10-11/11.30.

we did NCT classes in Nunhead with the very excellent Becky Byrne. Still in touch with 4 of the familes we met there

we got to Amy at Kuki on Bellenden Road, she's very lovely and good with little ones.

including all her stocking bits and bobs, maybe about ?40? That's 4 main presents, plus stocking. But I am starting to think that we are not the norm, her aunt bought her 5 presents for her birthday (more than we did), and the generosity of schoolfriends with her birthday presents, whilst of course lovely and kind of them, is quite astonishing. We also have paper advent calendars, which she loves.

but is that actually the best thing for growing active children? What constitutes a healthy diet for adults isn't the same for young children. Personally I don't think salad for lunch is the best thing for children who are growing, learning and (I hope!) very active. They need calories and fat as well as everything else. I also wouldn't be happy with lunchtime staff making children finish their meals - children need to learn to recognise when they are full which may not be the same every day. If I thought someone was making Miss Oi finish every last scrap (she's not got a big appetite and is generally uninterested in food) - that would annoy me more than puddings because it's not a good lesson to learn, and would also potentially mean she had less time running around the playground which also wouldn't be good.

it's only 5 meals of the week. Miss Oi only has yoghurt or rice pud or fruit for pudding at home, so it doesn't bother me that she's getting this at school. I agree that a hot pudding is better in the cold weather. And aren't the portions at school really weeny anyway? Everything in mioderation and all that. 5 old-fashioned puds a week, termtime only, really doesn't sound that bad to me!

what about one of the city farms - Vauxhall and Surrey Quays are both in easy distance

mine never did, but then our cats have never bothered much with our tree either, so perhaps we're a bit unusual in this regard!

does anyone know if steam mops are OK on a rubber floor - we have studded rubber floor tiles and cats in and out of the garden - right now it hardly gets washed at all as I can't see the point with it so wet at the mo, but the endless muddy paw prints do get me down!

I'm surprised that the Reception children are in the main playground with the bigger children. At DD's school they have a separate playground and apparently in the summer term will start having odd days in the main playground to get used to it. A lot of schools we saw had a similar set up. Unfortunately, I think a lot of school are a bit stuck when they are forced to bulge - I know one school we saw had the classroom space, but not the hall (for lunches and assemblies and indoor PE) or playground space - but they still had to bulge. But they should still have the correct staff/child ratio.

just bought a proper, old fashioned, glittery one in the Christmas Shop on Tooley Street. The had some in Fortnum's as well, should you be passing by!

husband does Peckham to Strand in about 30 mins door to desk (going over Westminster Bridge and avoiding the traffic hell that is Lancaster Place), though he has managed it in 16 very sweaty minutes. Back in the day I could do Peckham to Bloomsbury in about 35 minutes, and I'm not very fit at all, an hour and a half sounds a lot, even factoring in that Peckham's about a mile closer.

alongside her Disney princesses, my daughter likes to play with our Tolkien action figures (something very intricate and incomprehensible was going on with Gandalf and Thorin today), plus she's got little Tintin and Star Wars figures. You can pick them up in places like Gosh Comics and Forbidden Planet. Good stocking fillers.

report it again. Sometimes the only way is to bore people into submission!

I have no idea what the legal situation is, but I stick by my dad's rules when it comes to bonfires (and I wish more people would, bonfire smoke is really pervasive!). You only have a bonfire in the evening. You only have a bonfire in the evening of a miserable day when there's absolutely no way that anyone is going to have their windows open, their washing out or be sitting out in their garden. Bonfire are an autumn thing. Didn't matter how much we clamoured him to, he would not have a bonfire under any other circumstances. Bravo Dad!

would the boy not be into Lego anymore? There's loads of Battle of the Five Armies (Hobbit) stuff out there.

DH and I both have employers who are very reasonable and flexible - I have gone from 3 full days to one full day and 3 short, so I can pick DD up 4 days a week from school - but that's termtime only, in the hols it'll be back to 3 days. My boss is fine with this which is great. DH and I can both work from home in needs be. Neither of us have to work stupid hours on a regular basis. Before she started school she was at a great nursery. Childcare is 50/50 between me and DH. The one thing that would make it better would be to be closer to family. We just have the one, though, which makes a huge difference I think.

I didn't guess she was a teenager. It might be worth her parents pointing out that most of us expect posters to be adults and that debate can get pretty - robust, shall we say? Which a 13 year old might not feel able to cope with and find upsetting.

you want to shoot your nanny???

is your OH your son's dad - in which case 50% of the childcare is his responsibility, so either he can take the day off or he can sort it out, if you've been the one to cover for every previous occasion. DH and I split it. About a week after I started a new job DD came down with chickenpox - DH covered the entire 3 weeks (3 days a week) quarantine. Because he hadn't had to for the previous 3 years when I was at home. His work benefitted from the fact that I was a SAHM - now it's their turn to bite the bullet alongside my employer. Sorry, I have zero tolerance for dads who won't step up for this kind of thing. Rant over!

there's a big difference between a child being told that they can't have something that they want and being totally ignored by someone who, by all usual norms, is selling something. The idea behind this is fine, but involving young children (surely the main purveyors of Hello Kitty ballons and the like) doesn't sit well with me. And Alice's comment was very snide and unnecessary.

Tippee Toes is great. Tiny gym at Camberwell Leisure Centre is good for the winter. All Saints playgroup in Peckham.

Frozen Frozen Frozen Frozen Frozen did I suggest Frozen?