MSE Parents Club Part 14

My_Fathers_Daughter

Hi Tara - we are good. His lordship is sleeping so I have a little time to relax.

We were out last night so I am suffering slightly with sore feet and a slightly fuzzy head!


How's your lovely brood?

MadDogWoman_2

Hello,

Hugs and yay's all round

Been to church this morning, Katie is absolutely over the moon, her best friends there has given her this (her dress is pink and gold though) and this as they are too small, she saw the Cinderella one in the Disney Store a couple of weeks ago and has been asking for it ever since, so you can imagine her face when she saw it this morning.

Afternoon plans - make some bread, a carrot cake, a chicken and onion pie.

I'm doing this for Katie for Christmas - possibly not this one as it's 240 hours stitching time minimum and I've only got half of one of the pictures done so far

chopsticks

Thank you everyone. I should probably add that she hasn't walked again since :rotfl:

Hey Tara. Welcome back! :jAre you back forever?

MFD - yes it was a cruise and it was fantastic for a little one. From the moment we got on board, they couldn't do enough for us. Food was available 24/7 but they had a children's tea at 5pm every day, complete with toddler cutlery, etc. We booked (free) baby food in case some of the food wasn't suitable for Caitlin, but we didn't need it. Caitlin can sometimes be fussy but there was plenty of choice. She had paella, faggots (:eek:), crab, ratatouille (I know that's spelt wrongly!) amongst other things. They supplied a travel cot, bedding, steriliser and bottle warmer. We don't sterilise at home anymore but ordered the steriliser just in case we needed after washing the bottles in the bathroom sink. It turned out a handy place to store the bottles :rotfl:. They also provided a baby bath but we didn't need it in the end.

They have kids clubs where you can leave children aged above two years, and they have a separate room for 0-2 year olds which had lots of toys - walkers, play kitchens, books, a ball pool, musical instruments, etc. They have a night nursery and, although we didn't use it, we heard good reports about it. We had an inside cabin which meant it was pitch black, so Caitlin slept longer in the mornings. Most mornings it was at least 8:30am before she woke up.

I would do a different route next time, mainly because the weather wasn't great (only had to apply suncream to Caitlin four times the whole week), although if we had gone earlier in the year, the weather probably would have been better, and also two of the ports we stopped at weren't great.

We went from Southampton and it was easy. Get to dock, leave suitcases on side, leave car, get on ship, eat lunch, go to cabin where suitcases are. There is no limit as to how much luggage you can take, but there is a weight limit (20 or 23kg I think) for each individual piece. We managed with two suitcases, a large holdall, the purple Johnson's toiletry box, a soft suit holder and a nappy bag. Unfortunately we forgot to pick the toiletry box up from the dock yesterday which I am :mad: about, as it is great for taking away. They haven't phoned me about it yet, but I think that for the cost to get it couriered back, I may as well wait until the next Asda event and get another one.

So, in short, yes I would recommend it

salesshopper

chopsticks well done on steps.

Cafc - Landen is fantastically chubby - don't worry -easier said that done I know (see my previous worrit posts about Ava's weight)

chopsticks

Som - that's fantastic. I "liked" it on FB a little while ago, but hadn't seen it on here until just now.

How are your Xmas plans coming along?

Kindof - can we see a pic of the finished stocking? I used to do a lot of cross stitch but haven't done any for years. I'm not even sure where my threads and fabric are anymore. Probably in a box in the loft!

Becles

Sarah_Joanne wrote: »

Well done Becles on sticking with the boot camp! How much have you lost now? (If you don't mind me asking)

Happy anniversary

I'm not sure how many pounds I've lost as I don't get weighed often. It's not much though. However, my body shape has changed a lot and my inches measurements are getting smaller. Before I went, size 16 clothes were too tight and I was resisting buying size 18. I can now fit into size 14 and I've got down two bra sizes. I can fit into my pre-pregnancy stuff too :j

I bought a tight stretch velvet dress when I was 17 in a size 12. I'd love to be able to get back into that. I probably wouldn't dare go anywhere in it, but just getting into it would be good

gill_81uk wrote: »

I need some advice please...we're tentatively looking at new houses. A big priority now needs to be schools but how can I tell a good school?? Rightmove lists them and I've had a look at the very basic offstead report but they all seem to have scored mainly 1s with a few 2s...even the rough school near where we are now! What should I be looking for?

Don't just look at it on paper. You need to get a feel for the school too. Can you arrange a look around? It's worth observing pupil and teacher behaviour and the general atmosphere in the school. When I was looking at secondary schools, one looked good on paper but at the open evening, the headmasters address was poorly organised (not enough chairs so some had to sit on the floor or stand, powerpoint didn't keep up then crashed, head lost his place and waffled). Then when we looked around, the teachers seemed miserable and pupils were charging up and down the corridors with no respect for others. Such a contrast from the school the boys go to now, where the evening ran smoothly, the pupils were polite and well behaved and the teachers were enthusiastic about showing me work and stuff.

If you can't visit, hang around at the end of school and just observe how the children act coming out of school.

Gut feeling is just as important as what gets reported on for league tables and stuff.

angelcake71 wrote: »

:rotfl::j:j...:rotfl:well it looks like my secret is out!!
Yes I have just found out I am pregnant..

Congrats :j I had two children then met Craig so Charlotte was my third but his first. It's been a good experience and he's loved it.

bexta wrote: »

Sami, thanks for that. I definately want Sophie to develop a love of reading and learning.

Start now with picture books. I did with all of mine and they all enjoy books. You can also just talk about things in the pictures and say "look there's a blue car" and eventually they will point to it when you ask where the blue car in, then tell you it's a blue car!

CAFC = if you are worried, go and get him checked out. Doctors would rather have you visit and tell you there is nothing wrong, than have you sitting at home worrying yourself sick.

Yay for Caitlyn and walking :j

SugarSpun

chopsticks wrote: »

Unfortunately we forgot to pick the toiletry box up from the dock yesterday which I am :mad: about, as it is great for taking away. They haven't phoned me about it yet, but I think that for the cost to get it couriered back, I may as well wait until the next Asda event and get another one.

Have a look at interlink direct - an average sized box can be as little as £6.50 :money:

chopsticks

salesshopper wrote: »

chopsticks well done on steps.

Cafc - Landen is fantastically chubby - don't worry -easier said that done I know (see my previous worrit posts about Ava's weight)

Thank you . I don't think we've "met" before, so hi :wave:

CAFC - I haven't read back very far, so haven't seen everything you've posted (thus this may not be relevant ) but once Caitlin was on formula, she never took the amount it suggested on the box. She took quite a bit less. I was a bit worried about it, but she's turned out OK (I think :rotfl:)

CAFCGirl

salesshopper wrote: »

chopsticks well done on steps.

Cafc - Landen is fantastically chubby - don't worry -easier said that done I know (see my previous worrit posts about Ava's weight)

Well thats cheered me up no end

Im going to take the proverbial chill pill and find something nommy to eat....
And stop being a paranoid freak for now :cool:

Now Im thinking about what we could buy Landen for xmas... I know he wont know, but be a good excuse to warrant spending some money on something for him.... are walkers any good? Or anything anyone can recommend.
He'll be 6 months then....and will weigh god knows how much LOL

CAFCGirl

Thanks Chops'
That makes me feel quite a bit better. He's obviously getting something from it... otherwise he would be so fantastically chubby and constantly gaining....
I just wasnt sure if it should be by age or by weight. According to the box he's taking about the right for his age, bbut nowhere near it fr his weight... but I shall remain baby led on everything