canela

I won't.... I'm just changing the direction of the jumping....

after 15 years in the charity sector I have decided to jump ship. I just can no longer survive on 3 month contracts, and fed up of working all hours to keep getting more into debt... so I'm looking for a job in the private sector, but have absolutely no clue how to start. Do people think such a change is possible? Surely there are loads of transferable skills - but is the culture too different, and will they just throw the CV in the bin???

i have a wiper with enthusiasm but poor technique. not fun...

Streatham - St Leonards. don?t go myself but have several friends who like it for themselves and little ones.

Canaries depends a lot on where you go regarding weather at this time of year. Islands like La Palma or La Gomera or North Tenerife will be coolish, but South Tenerife is guaranteed to be pleasant and warm - tho not really hot. we lived there for years, and rent out our old house for holiday lets etc. you can see pics etc at http://www.spain-holiday.com/rentals/accommodations/properties/12925/San+miguel+de+abona/15/Tenerife/3/Canary+Islands/San+miguel+de+abona.html and happy to answer any questions. is completely off the beaten tourist track and a little gem.

after first child I was desperate for a 2nd as I really wanted him to have a sibling. it sounds weird, but it took having a 2nd child to realise that actually he would have been fine without one. don't get me wrong, they get on and have a lot of fun now..but those first few years had their ups and downs. just like it took me having kids to realise that life would have gone on if I hadn't had them... the urge of the biological clock is very strong and it becomes all pervasive in your life. i found that just as strong for the second as for the first.

just see it as practice for the teenage years

interesting post what you say to your child about death is obviously going to be coloured by what you yourself believe. i have had long conversations with my son from the age of 4 onwards about death, God, souls etc - and he has had a bit of a mishmash of ideas based on my own, my partner's and our little forays into religion. now i am wondering whether he would benefit from talking about these things with others too, and so we might wander off to the quakers someday. we already go to buddhist things (as I said, it's a mishmash). Some people - including children - are just really interested in this stuff. One of my earliest memories is playing God and Buddha on our climbing frame. I was blessed with a very understanding Anglican vicar for a Grandfather who taught me that everyone has their own variety on belief (he didn't go for the Virgin birth...). I also remember asking my Mum to teach me how to find my third eye and how to meditate. Although she is very anti-religion herself she did the best she could! if your child is asking then he has noticed death as something that goes alongside this thing called life he is just starting to get to grips with. not easy for anyone. i do laugh at some of our conversations though. my son is of an investigative bent, and we once spent an afternoon discussing if vegetables and fruit had souls! i don't pretend i know the answers....

how about a gentle stroll in sydenham woods?

My daughter might be offered a place at the Little Fingers Montessor in Dulwich Hall. I'm due to go and see it next week and would really like some feedback from anyone with any experiences of this nursery. Particularly as I have heard the admin side is not that good. (It is the same as the new nursery hopefully starting in Barry Road) Any info much appreciated!

would like to agree total sympathy for anyone suffering sleep deprivation...it can make you feel completely deranged. both of mine have been what is classified as "bad sleepers", and at 6 and 3 are still waking several times a night. in response to what Saffron said about an anthropological approach, my family is not english and my kids were born overseas. co-sleeping was seen as completely normal and most people i knew did some form of it. i remember i read a really interesting book that i've helpfully forgotten the title of (sorry!) which made me re-examine my own ideas of what constituted a good night's sleep. the book made the argument that only in the western world are we "obsessed" with getting a solid 8 hours. in lots of other countries people sleep in shifts, have siestas, etc. i found it really helpful to realise that my kids' sleep patterns were completely normal for their age in a natural environment (i.e. having not gone through sleep training...) as then i didn't resent it. i just concentrated on ways to make sure i had enough sleep to feel good. mostly that included going to bed early when i could, relaxing on house tidiness when the choice was go to bed or tidy, getting a weekly catch-up lie-in at the weekend, and co-sleeping in some way or another. if mr canela gets fed up with little bodies in the bed, we de-camp to the kids' bed instead. i don't have them in separate rooms or beds - they share a double futon so i can get in too when needed. i think looking at your own attitudes can make a difference as it means you don't wake up angry - which makes it pretty impossible to get back to sleep. i also became a coffee addict tho.....

thanks for the tip. i must admit the management style doesn't inspire huge amounts of confidence....let's just cross our fingers!

Hi Just wondering if anyone has had any info through about this nursery? I have spoken to Parveen and she said she'd send an email out but haven't heard anything yet. I really need to know if they are likely to have places or if I should look elsewhere. It's right round the corner so I would really like to get in!

if it becomes a stand-off of wills she probably won't want to do it if she knows you want her to..... try laying off a bit and inviting other kids over for a sleepover who you know already dress themselves in the morning. peer pressure works better.

mmmm, don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but my 6 year old still wakes every night and comes into bed with us. when i ask him why he says he is scared of the shadows. he shares a room with his sister which has helped, and so has a night light. i've just got used to it but it drives mr canela crazy. one thing i did was put him and sister into a double bed together so at least when i end up in their room - as i do most nights - i get a decent night's sleep. another thing we did was do loads to make their room nice and safe and special. so we put "magic" toys in which help you sleep and give you safe dreams. and we find that staying with him til he falls asleep had a calming effect on the whole night. so it's maybe just one waking up rather than loads. basically, he just doesn't like being alone at night time and i don't know if there's that much you can do about that...tho i'm sure a sleep consultant would say differently so maybe good idea if you are going crazy. good luck.

i had a ring sling which i used on hip from nine months and i found so convenient as you could pop baby in and out so easily

when i was a girl my mum replaced my Sindy's head with an Eagle Eye's Action Man head that she'd found on the pavement.....

mmm, i just got stopped by a mum who ranted at me for full on 10 minutes about how my son was mean to hers at school?? not letting me get a breath in to put the other side of the story. one of those mums who can?t believe their little precious would ever ever tell a lie?.

we have a big sofa that has seen better days but could easily be used for many more days. we got it from emmaus ourselves a few years back. anyone know any numbers for charities looking for household items?

ha ha ha! i can remember that from when i was a kid. tho our parents were a bit more laissez faire. used to put all the kids - about 20 of us - in one house with the older ones to look after the little ones. then they'd all go party in another house a few streets away. one year we made the terrible decision to surprise them by turning up at midnight! just imagine, a gang of 20 wee ones - including some really wee ones! - in their pjs walking down the street, all happy thinking of how surprised mummy and daddy are going to be. i can still remember how not-at-all-happy they were to see our little faces at the door!

what do parents with children do on new years? toss a coin to see who gets to stay up...

Just in case other people are in need of some winter sun..... you can have a look at our place in Tenerife at http://www.spain-holiday.com/rentals/accommodations/properties/12925/San+miguel+de+abona/15/Tenerife/3/Canary+Islands/San+miguel+de+abona.html We had 5 very happy years there and never went near "the masses". I'm very happy to give tips on local things to do via PM.

Hi We lived in Tenerife for 5 years and I had both kids there. It is wonderful for kids. easy, safe, shallow beaches,loads of pedestrian areas, everyone very child friendly, great ice cream... we still have our house there and rent it out for holiday lets. it's off the beaten track in a little village but only 20 mins to the beach. i'll send you a pm with details...

i didn't know there was a new montessori opening - does anyone have the contact details?

i've been doing the experiment to see if it's cheaper to just have a mobile. it was all going fine until a couple of calls to the bank. now i've been calling them via Skype on the mobile.....but it's not great.