ceebeebee

We use PAYE for Nannies and find them excellent. They are also one of the cheaptest around.

Thanks very much for your advice -I'm hoping for Bellenden Jo's strain of the virus rather than Molly's! It really is horrible and I still feel totally knocked out, but off to Health Matters tomorrow. Thanks all!

I was sick as a dog all Sunday night (which never happens), then spent monday feeling like I'd had 7 bells knocked out of me. went to work tuesday, but had to return to bed today when the runs kicked in.... yuk!! My 4 year old was sick once on Sunday night, and seemed immediately better and thought it was hilarious that I'd been sick too! I'm still feeling terrible and not eating (although no longer sick)... can anyone tell me when I'll feel better???

I've got a holiday cottage in Rye, East sussex which is bril for kids. Its right in the town so everything is on your doorstep, but the surrounding area is full of children's farms, steam railways, cycle tracks, castles, and of course the stunning beach! We are pretty light on bookings this year, so if anyone's interested for June or July, make me an offer. We have many returning families with kids, and its a really lovely house, complete with many toys. Here's a link to the site. Rye

God thats so much money! How many children does she look after for that? and is that before tax? We're planning to look for another family to share our nanny with, but at that rate we'd be no better off!

Try Tina who runs Babble and Squeak (you will find the contact details if you search on here). She is a speech and language therapist and she is really nice and approachable, so even if she can't help she will know where to point you.

Dear all Mums in Business will take place this Wednesday (12th May) at 8pm at Locale (Italian restaurant on East Dulwich Road ). Gillian Shonrock of REAL TSP (see link below) will give a talk on e-commerce, touching on internet marketing and search engine optimisation. Gillian?s firm works for clients such as Adams Kids, Boots, Jane Shilton and the V&A. Any mum who has or is thinking of starting a business is more than welcome to attend. Its very informal and friendly. Please PM me know if you have any questions. claire http://www.realtsp.com/

If you do go down the route of using a payroll agency (which is a v good idea by the way) try PAYE for Nannies as they are about half the price of other ones and very friendly and helpful.

er..... how do you find out which place you've been allocated? Is there a website or something?

Thanks very much Bumpy. The form has me coming out in a cold sweat... I can't believe my nanny needs public liability insurance when she's working in my home! Honestly, Ofsted couldn't make things much more prohibitively complicated if they tried! I'll need to get her a first aid cert, so thanks for the number!

I had a small and fussy one year old and now he is a small and fussy 4 year old - in most cases its nothing to worry about. He just doesn't have much appetite and the slightest thing puts him off his food, but he's full of energy, tall and skinny, happy and healthy. Like Steve says above, its just the way they are!

I want to register mine so I can pay her with childcare vouchers, but since Ofsted took over the registration from Sure Start it seems to be impossible! I got stuck in this loop with Ofsted telling me to talk to Southwark and Southwark telling me to talk to Ofsted.... anyone got any tips?

They have opera in the main restaurant, so we will be in the function restaurant to the right. Who needs opera when you can talk tax hey?? Directions to Locale East Dulwich http://www.localerestaurants.com/findus/eastdulwich/

Mums in Business will be meeting this wednesday at Locale on East Dulwich Road, at 8pm. Bev Walker, a mum who now runs her own accounting practice and previously worked as a City financial controller, will be giving a short informal talk on accounting and tax for small businesses, and taking your questions. Mums in Business is an informal group meeting monthly, please feel free to come along if you have a business or are thinking of starting one. Food and drink are available from the restaurant, but there is no obligation. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Yes theres loads to do and people are really friendly. Babble and Squeak at the Mag pub on Lordship Lane is great for babies, friday mornings at 10am. You will meet lots of mums there, new people come all the time. also try this link (if it works....) http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/396/nunhead_peckham_rye_and_peckham_guide

Glazer Delmar in Peckham

Mums in Business is meeting next Wednesday at Locale (Italian Restaurant and bar on East Dulwich Road). We will have a space reserved in the bar area. The meeting is very informal and will start at 8. I'm sorry that the last couple of times we've had to change the venue at the last minute, so this time we are definitely in Locale! Please do come along whether you have an business or are thinking of starting one. Look forward to seeing you.

Nannies do not have to be regulated by Ofsted (currently, although they may in future) and often do look after two babies at same time. I did a nanny share with another family with my first baby which worked well. The issue with childminders is that they often look after other children at various times of the day as well, so you could potentially have 2 babies PLUS older children after school or during the day which would be quite tough.

This is an (old) article from the Sunday Times on child-friendly holidays. We went to Lykia world based on this article and loved it, but I'm keen to try Pefki Islands too. Lykia world was great but a bit hectic and it would be much better for our love life if we could have an apartment rather than a room (or is that too much information)! Type ?family friendly hotel? into Google and you?ll be offered something in the region of 176,000 results. Can there really be that many? In my experience, there are plenty of hotels that claim to welcome children. What they mean is that they are not overly alarmed at the theoretical idea of your offspring, providing they?re all on their best behaviour and look like Boden catalogue models. It?s the burping, farting, shouting, tantrum-throwing, snot-nosed reality they?re not so keen on. I know this because I?m a parent. I?ve watched an Armani-clad waiter serve my daughter a Diet Coke in a long-stemmed wineglass, only to get in a flap when ? surprise, surprise ? she accidentally knocked it flying. Then there was the five-star hotel in the Caribbean where my son waited three-quarters of an hour for his ?special? children?s meal ? a lump of well-done steak as big as his foot. If we hadn?t told him he could spit it into his napkin, he?d probably still be chewing it today. But there are worthy exceptions ? hotels that will indulge your kids, tolerate their mood swings, give them things they really want and perhaps even take them off your hands for a few hours. RELATED LINKS ? Ten child-friendly hotels in Britain ? Our first self-catering holiday as a family ? Great little hotels from the big holiday firms Here are some of the best child-friendly hotels in the Mediterranean ? whether you?ve got tots, tweens or teenagers. Unless stated, all prices include flights from a London airport and transfers. For regional departures, contact the tour operator Tots (0-6 years) THE ALMYRA, Cyprus The Almyra looks like the kind of designer hotel you?d find in the South Beach district of Miami, not the low-key resort of Paphos. The look is minimalist, with immaculate white sofas, oversized chandeliers and black-slate swimming pools. Arriving with our daughter, who was 11 months old at the time, made me nervous. I needn?t have been. The Almyra may be hip, with sexy modern furniture and a sushi chef from Nobu, but its owners and staff clearly enjoy the company of young children. Within seconds of our arrival, a grinning receptionist had scooped up our daughter for a cuddle while a waiter handed us fresh juice. A lot of thought has gone into the way the hotel functions. As well as a children?s pool, a lawned play area and an air-conditioned kids? club, it offers child-sized versions of mum and dad?s towelling robes and slippers. At bedtime, children can phone reception to order (free) milk and cookies. But the cleverest wheeze is to allow parents to preorder essential baby holiday paraphernalia, such as nappies, wipes and organic food ? at local Mothercare prices ? and to provide changing mats, sterilisers, baby gyms and bouncy chairs, all at no extra cost. We found the staff delightful and the food excellent. Only the beach was disappointing ? it was unkempt, with murky water. Most guests, however, were happy sunbathing on the grass or beside the pool, which is ringed by plump day beds and white cotton awnings. And we didn?t get a single dirty look for having dared to procreate. The price: a week, B&B, starts at ?719pp in August, or ?699pp in September, with Airline Network (0870 234 9916, www.airlinenetwork.co.uk). One child under 12, sharing the parents? room, adds ?212/?192; for children under two, the price is ?45 each. HOTEL L?ONDINE, Corsica Corsica has some of the finest beaches and most photogenic coastlines in the Mediterranean, but not an abundance of family-friendly hotels. That?s why Direct Corsica?s Iain and Janet Rankin, who have been organising holidays on the island for more than 30 years, got so excited when they came across the family-run H?tel l?Ondine, in the quiet resort of Algajola, near Calvi. The hotel has just 53 rooms ? including some designed for families ? and a large swimming pool set in luscious grounds. And you?re only a few strides from a long, clean, sandy beach where toddlers can catch tiddlers in rock pools. You won?t find any Turkey Twizzlers or dinosaur-shaped nuggets at the hotel restaurant, although the chef will happily tweak his gourmet menu for younger palates. And if your youngest has gone to bed before dinner time, you can always use your half-board option at lunch. The price: a week, half-board, starts at ?420pp in August, or ?303pp in September, excluding flights, with Direct Corsica (07771 953225, www.directcorsica.com). Children under two go free. Fly to Bastia with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), from Gatwick, or Thomsonfly (www.thomsonfly.com), from Bristol, Edinburgh, Birmingham or Gatwick. LYKIA WORLD VILLAGE, Turkey When you first have children, you cease to care whether a hotel has 16 brands of mineral water and cotton sheets with a thread count of 350. You?re more interested in the length of the transfer, and whether there?s somewhere you can heat up milk in the middle of the night. The four-star Lykia World Village, near Oludeniz, might not be the sort of place where fashionistas would go on honeymoon, but it ticks all the vital boxes for stressed parents. As well as the gorgeous sandy seafront, it has a baby pool, a baby play area, a dedicated baby beach (safe, clean and shaded) and a 24-hour kitchen for feeding, sterilising bottles and heating milk. What?s more ? and this is the really good bit ? the hotel has a supervised club where you can leave children aged between six months and three years for up to nine hours a day, six days a week, free of charge. There is stacks for older brothers and sisters to do, including a water park with 15 slides and six pools, an arts-and-crafts zone and a children?s theatre, along with judo training, a trampoline, a climbing net and beach football. Staff? Charming. Grounds? Beautiful. Rooms? Clean and tidy (though nothing special). The price: a week, full-board, costs ?832pp in August (?400 for the first child aged 2-16; children under 2 ?35 each), or ?556pp in September (first child free), with Cosmos (0871 622 4317, www.cosmosholidays.co.uk). Pefki Islands Resort An unusually built hotel in 25000 m2, the Pefki Islands Resort looks like a miniature village. It is 104 studios and apartments are separated into little blocks doted around the central reception building. These apartments are all named after Greek islands. The resort also includes luscious Gardens. Two Expansive Pools with Swim-up Bars, separate Children Swimming Pools, Billiards and Game Room and Children?s Playground. Appeals to those looking for a quiet retreat in a peaceful, friendly resort. Particular for couple and families with children. Pefkiislandresort.gr PINE CLIFFS, Portugal Some resorts fall in and out of fashion, but the Algarve remains a perennial family favourite. Why? Because the journey is relatively easy ? three-hour flight, lots of regional departures and speedy transfers ? the locals are friendly, English is widely spoken and the quality of the hotels is (mostly) high. Pine Cliffs is among the best: a Sheraton-run five-star with six restaurants, four swimming pools, all-weather tennis courts, a golf academy and one of the best-equipped children?s clubs anywhere in Europe. It?s set in immaculate grounds atop brick-red cliffs, and there is even a lift to take guests down to the beach. The kids? club, Porto Pirata (www.luxurycollection.com/ portopirata), is like a hotel within a hotel, with its own pool, 18-hole mini-golf course, volleyball court, sandpit, climbing frames and cycle track. The staff are hugely enthusiastic, there?s a children?s buffet laid on from 5pm and ? nice touch, this ? the hotel runs a free laundry service for kids? clothes. The price: a week, B&B, costs a total of ?2,120 in August, or ?2,040 in September, for two adults and one child, with ITC Classics (01244 355527, www. itcclassics.co.uk). Porto Pirata costs ?70 a day for ages six months to three years, ?47 for 3-4s and ?41 for 5-8s, with discounts for three or more days.

As its a bit cold, ite been suggested we meet at Locale instead tonight (just on the end of the same parade). If you're new, just ask for Mums in Business, we will reserve an area.

Just a reminder that mums in business will be meeting tomorrow night at 8pm, at All Fired Up, East Dulwich Road. If you have your own business, or even just an idea for one, do come along and meet other mums. We usually have a chat, share ideas and discuss strategies for combining motherhood with business. Tomorrow we will also try to plan some information sessions for the coming year. Look forward to seeing you there.

Within the church there's a children's area at the back with toys and books (although its also full of notices that children should sit quietly!). If you sit in this area, you can nip out the back into the atrium where the toilets are. You leave your buggy there, and there is also a creche, you can volunteer to help in the creche!

Sorry to announce that there will not now be a meeting/social in December. Due to a ....hmmmm.... "Blonde" moment, or was it a sleepless night moment, or a hormone moment.... there was a slight screw up in the scheduling of our Christmas meeting! Sorry about this, for anyone who was planning to attend. The next meeting will take place at All Fired Up on Wednesday 13th January 2010, and after that, meetings will continue on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at All Fired Up. Happy Christmas!

Glazer Delmar. I have used them for conveyancing but they are local and have been very highly recommended on this forum. They have a family law department. Or, if you can afford it, try this lady: www.camillabaldwin.com

Mums In Business IS still in business, despite the debacle of last month! Unfortunately a member of staff at the venue was injured and we had to cancel the meeting at the last minute. I sent e-mails to everyone on the list, but didn't have access to the forum, so apologies to those who turned up! We ARE meeting next Wednesday (11th November) at 8 at All Fired Up. I'm waiting to hear if Beverley can give us a short presentation on accounting for small businesses, but if she's not available, we can have a round table and general discussion. Look forward to seeing you next week. Claire