GCOakley

you know you are a real Mum when friends/family etc ask you if you have a baby wipe in your bag

being from a latin american family I can confirm it is perfectly normal to have chocolate milk and chocolate in many different forms for breakfast. adults as well will have hot chocolate instead of coffee as it wakes you up just the same. for me, it's not normal to have hot chocolate in the evening and i never give it to my children then as i find it keeps them awake.... all things in moderation i'm sure.....my cousins' mum banned sugar from the house and my cousins confessed how at a young age they used to take the little sugar packets from cafes, dilute in a bowl with water, and keep in a hidden place behind the toilet to go and sip from on the sly!

great - come and say hello if you go along! I'll be teaching the Belly Dance workshop at about 1:00...

Brighton Big Mothers Sunday is an event with pampering, yoga, cake etc on the 18th November. Loads of workshops, it's specially designed to be a relaxing day for pregnant ladies and mums. Looks really good. I'm definitely going - hope to see some of you there! http://www.brightonmums.com/mothers-discovered-at-big-sunday/

any thoughts on the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich or the Plough by the library? I need somewhere that can cater for 3 generations....

I just wondered what the going rate was for babysitting these days? any ideas welcome.

she has a bank account from our house here via an international account scheme that lloyds do, but she's not been here that long. they did mention the deposit, but to be honest i really don't want to do that as i never trust them that i would get it back again....

Our newly arrived au pair has been told by Carphone Warehouse that she won't be able to get a phone contract until she's been here for 3 months. Can anyone shed any light on this? She really wants to get her phone sorted so she can chat etc and I don't really know what to advise...being a bit too old for this phone malarky...

sounds fun

Hola1! Are there any families out there who have a Spanish language connection and would like to meet up? We are a bilingual English/Spanish family, kids 6 and 3, and I would love the kids to have the chance to speak Spanish with other children as most of their social life is in English. I'm just thinking of meeting up in a park/cafe to start with. Let me know if you're interested.

Hi - could anyone update us on what the current arrangements are? I'd love to come.

I lived overseas when the kids were little and found it weird sometimes to be speaking to my kids in English when everyone else was speaking Spanish. Sometimes I had to really concentrate to make sure I kept it up. But the effort was worth it, and now we are back here my partner only speaks to the kids in Spanish. We keep the one language per parent rule, but i would never tell off a child for answering back in a different language as then you only build up resentment. If we want to promote one language we do lots of games etc. You need to make it fun, and just part of your family life. Don't worry about the rate of development, remember by the time your kids are teenagers they will be bilingual - or pretty near - so take the long perspective.

Hello. I'm looking for ideas for weekend activities for a 6 year old boy, and 3 year old girl. I'm just wondering if anyone knows of anything to do with wildlife, walking or a nature kind of feel? Basically, I don't really want to send them to a class as I think they get enough of that during the week, but as the weather changes I feel the need to have something up my sleeve other than trips to the park. cheap is good too!

one of those wrap around baby slings or ring slings. all natural fabric, natural dyes etc, you can get some lovely patterns. they really help the mother and baby bonding, and are just wonderful if - like me - you have a baby that doesn't like going in a pram.

remember that if you go somewhere hot like spain, greece etc, you will all want to be having a siesta anyway, so little one may be more perky in the evenings. having lived in hot places for many a year i can tell you that it's far better to have a sleep when it't hot and have the children up til late...than have an overheated and grumpy toddler in the middle of the day. do what local parents do....have a big lunch and then in the evening go to the plaza, square, whatever, and have a coffee or a beer and a snack whilst little ones run around.

Hi I have used a childminder and found it works really well. My advice would be to go and visit lots yourself so you can get a feel for different set ups, and choose one that is your style. And one as close as possible to your house or work so journeys are easy. I think Nanny Penny seems well set up for babies.

When I moved into Southwark the council told me to put down 17 schools on the list and "we'll see if we need some more later". I put 3 and got the 2nd choice. I'm not sure they have up-to-date info always. Make sure you keep insisting, especially once term starts. We moved mid-term which seems to be easier as there are always some people who leave during term-time due to parents getting job transfers etc.

I'd say just use 'please' and 'thank-you' consistently yourself, and remind him as often as you can. But beware of making it a battle of wills, as that will just move the focus onto a tug-of-war between you and he may just dig his heels in for the sake of it. He is still really young and I'm sure he will get it. My 6 year old knows how to say it most of the time. I find he's pretty canny and has worked out when it would be unacceptable not to say it, i.e. at granny's house! I don't think a child under 2 can really understand the concept of being poite, he'll just know it's something you want him to do.

I use our bike loads to ferry daughter around. I think she's too old for a front seat but a back seat would be fine and easy for long distances. If you have to go on a busy road I wouldn't recommend a trailer or front basket, especially at school hours. Just get a classic ladies bike and get the seat at a bike shop. The seat should last for years, and I've had my classic ladies tourer bike for over 20! In terms of rain, you need waterproofs but it's also worth working out your public transport options for those really rainy days when it would just be too much.

my friend had this problem with her 2 year old daughter and it did clear up when she was about 5. might be a long shot, but she used to use raw onion - sliced and put in rings on the child's neck and also on the bedside table. she found this helped with minor attacks. for serious ones she used to take the child to the hospital but there was nothing they could really do except keep an eye on her.

As an ex-Woodcrafter I went along to this with a happy heart....but it isn't actually run by the Woodcraft Folk. They've contracted it out to London Play, and to be honest it was pretty lame. Just thought I'd share this in case others are getting their hopes up. did inspire me to find out about local Woodcraft groups tho!

embrace the chaos is my motto... and every other saturday i'll take the kids to the park or wherever for whole day and hubby turns up the music, gets himself a beer and cleans the house. he is cheaper and more fun than an i-robot!

one week fast track. worth every penny to not have to cancel flights and holidays. i have waited ages on the postal system. also, if there is any problem with the application i.e. the photos not being correct which happened for my baby, on the fast track appt you can still get it sorted on the same day.

My sis got given a video from the midwife - 5 ways to comfort a crying baby by Dr Karp. In a moment of stress with her daughter and all at our wits end, we put it on and followed the steps and it weirdly just worked. I think they were swaddle - tho you could leave it out if he doesn't like it side position - i.e. hold him lying on his side not upright - apparently more like the womb swing - strong rocking motion shush - saying this very loudly in his ear s...? - not sure what this was, but basically hold a hairdryer near his ear. apparently is like noise in womb. was amazing. she just kind of turned off and went to sleep. after that, we used to go straight just to the hairdryer. just for the first couple of weeks, obviously she weaned off it! good luck!

I had a similar situation. I ended up just following her cues. I just left the potty on the floor in the kitchen and told her where it was, and left her with no nappy or clothes on bottom half - it was summer. she got on with it on her own. she had a brief regression when we moved house and started wanting to wear a nappy again. so we just did that for a few weeks and then she took it off again. it worked for us as there was no pressure on her and no hurry.