womanofdulwich

CHrist- talk about jumping to conclusions. I did say it was my experience only. I have come across maids in central London who are not UK passport holders and they sleep on the floor in the kitchen. I have also come across Phillipino Maids who are not exploited- they are paid a good wage, but send a lot of their money home for their families. I have lived in Dulwich for 20 years and have never come across a maid.

Dully ,those countries are the limit of my knowledge. I know in Dubai the work visa set up means there are a lot of non natives who work for relatively low wages that they send home. I have never met anyone in this country with a maid, other than Arabs/ Africans and they have been in Central London, the maid travelling with them betwen their various homes. This is just me experience. Usually their maids are from places like the Phillipines and they have left their children and parents behind and send money home. This is just a reflection of my knowledge/ friends. Maybe it is the word maid? with all its connotations. It is a word generaly associated in this country with the upper classes and their country homes, or from asia/africa /middle east. I'm all for help on the house, butI would have to pay the market rate to someone that has the right to work here.

Saleha Hello? where are you talking about maids? Maybe in somewhere like Dubai- but not in western europe/australia. This is East Dulwich after all -

Make soup and puree it so they cant identify what they are eating. Also spaghetti bolognese type sauces with blended veg.Maybe if they can get involved with choosing at the shop or what you grow that will help? I think because of the vitamins they cannot exist on dairy and wheat products alone. If the puree does not work then maybe you can try a multi vitamin instead. Have you made castles and volcanoes out of mashed potatoes etc etc with sweetcorn and baked beans in etc( my mum did and so did I). Also sausages split open with little green men ( peas inside). Worked for me anyway ;-)

I think it depends on how much money she has!! I work with a 29 year old who has broken his screen twice in 2 years. He can afford to mend it. Maybe you and daughter pay- how much each depend son her spending power and your relationship.

It is much easier to make a big "roasting pan" cake and then cut out the number you need. No fear of any of the excess cake being wasted if a no 1 cake just cut in down the middle and sandwich together if you need to. The cost of makiing a bigger cake than you need and eating the spare bits is much cheaper than the cost of hiring a tin,

I think it is worth bearing in mind that if you actually work as well as look after children , especially if more than 2 days a week, then it is worth getting a cleaner for 2-3 hours a week. Our mothers did not work and do everything else by themselves. Children create work in terms of cleaning and if you know that your floors and work tops are cleaned once a week - and work clothes are going to be ironed for you, then this really does make a huge difference. There is no shame in having a cleaner, especially when the going rate at ?9-?10 an hour, you are not exploiting anyone. Also re play pens- you need to use them before your baby starts to crawl so they are used to it.

I recommend a great book called The Family Manager takes charge by Kathy Peel.published BY ebury Press. You will know a lot of the stuff in it, but lots you wont and all useful.Also makes you realise what you do do.

I cant stand Gary Crowley et al any longer. You dont realise the intelligenrce of Danny until someone covers for him this long. What is everyone else listening to?

of course full babies like adults sleep longer plimsoul. Have you never tried going on a diet yourself and woken up starving? Believe me if you dont eat enough it catches up on you and you wake up in the early hours and prowl the house for food.

Radnach, I think you have done really well to last this long. My sons are 15 and 19 andback in the 90's we were advised to start weaning at 4-6 months, which worked well with getting a full nights sleep. We were only allowed 6 months maternity leave, ant this worked really well, so that by the time we went back to work we were just doing morning and evening breast feeds if we wanted to. I think sometimes women sacrifice too much to hold the line that they are still exclusively breastfeeding ( but I am more selfish than others). Good luck with the baby rice. I think it is a good time for your partner too. (tu)

i would ask the estate agent you bought through.

I think a childminder would suit you better-especially if you wanted say 9.30 to 3pm- so they could "fit you in" around school age children and it would not be so difficult to get out hte house at that time.

accept that boys are different to girls. They are wired differently. I have spent a lot of time getting the huff with girlfreinds that excused their sons behaviour by saying " oh well,they are boys" - while I felt they should pick things up if I remind them ( nag) enough, etc etc.

i think the thing to be careful about are costs.whilst i and many others have had pay cuts in thepast few years, things like my ticket to work has gone up by over 10%, vat and petrol etc also gone up-and I think you need to keep up with these costs if you can.

Bob, does that only work if you are a man? I am going to speak to Ian there tomorrow- do I need you to sort it for me?

IF YOU Can connect with a cable to a pc- you open it up on the pc- then cut them from the camera (as opposed to copy) and then delete on pc ( but depends on the kind of camera operating system so can t be more specific)

THE VELODROME, BURBAGE ROAD

Danny Baker- not sure how he is getting on, but I miss him on the radio. Lots.

A few of my family went there as a treat and they loved it too. It is more expensive than Roche on Lordhsip Lane but I hope they are a success.

i feel a star chart coming on..................

maybe if you went swimming that would be a better place to try- he would want to get dressed to get warm and go for a nice drink afterwards?

north londoner- its not Dr Who ;-)

I'm not sure an au pair would be the first person I would turn to to look after a baby. I would like for a nanny/ childminder with a first aid qualification and pref own car too. Friends who have nannies who are looking for extra money are a good bet.

Despise is not overated. I despise an mp who fiddles his expenses.