Nice people thread part 3- Nice as pie

lostinrates

LydiaJ wrote: »

Thanks for the kind thoughts and words, everyone.

Have you been ok today? And the kids?

StevieJ

For anyone interested the 2nd leg of the FA Youth Cup final is on the FA site live, Man Utd v Sheffield Utd at Old Trafford, Sheffield have taken 7000 fans to OT.

http://falive.octopusmt.com/

lostinrates

I was uwillingly involved in converastion with someone who is something to do with a football club today wo was explaining that some european cup thing starts in just 4/5 weeks, costs a lot and makes no mney for the clubs involved. I asked why not fill the empty seats with kids from local (inner city schools) and laud it as a run up to sports year 2012 with the olympics and ''snare'' a lot of potential fans with the generosity of very cheap/free seats if they do this european thing. Is there a flaw in this plan? As football fans NP chaps, what would you want to see happen with ''empty seats'' at this sort of thing?

LydiaJ

lostinrates wrote: »

Have you been ok today? And the kids?

Yes thanks. The kids seem fine this evening, and I've been at work for most of today.

Y12 off on study leave, so their lessons are optional and I didn't have to prepare anything, just go through past papers with anyone who bothered to turn up (ie one girl, but I spent a long time with her). Y13 ought to have been in my lesson, but it was their day for going crazy - they'll be back to the grindstone tomorrow but today they were doing the conga round the school and throwing marshmallows at people, so they didn't turn up for my lesson either. So I've spent most of my day trying to set an internal exam paper for Y7. I decided I didn't want to start by modifying last year's, but to do a new one from scratch, but I think by the time I've finished I'll end up with somethng that's a lot easier to mark than it would have been otherwise.

Tonight's not a fun night though. I need to make my kids tidy up (which is always an effort) and find some childcare, which is the bane of my life and a constant source of stress. I've got a staff away day at my church job on Thursday, which is not a day when my kids are booked into after school club because I usually finish at 2.45. So I'll need somebody to have them before school so I can get there on time, and somebody to have them after school because I won't be back until 6pm. Then on Friday I'd like to go out to the pub with my teacher friends to celebrate the end of the first half of term, so I need to find a babysitter who doesn't mind if I stay out beyond midnight driving all my friends home. My first attmept has failed - that friend will be in London that day and can't help. I'm finding it hard to summon up the motivation to make the necessary phone calls, whch I hate doing, but I'd better get on with it. If I go on Friday it'll be the first time I've gone anywhere without kids other than work in six and a half weeks, so I'd really like to go.

Sorry for moaning. It gets me down sometimes. I know Sue has it much much tougher than me on the isolation front.

Sue, have you been able to get your SIL to have your boys at all recently?

silvercar

Bet there is a babysitting circle in your church group. Or if not, there must be families with sensible late- teens who would love the opportunity to babysit.

lostinrates

LydiaJ wrote: »

Yes thanks. The kids seem fine this evening, and I've been at work for most of today.

Y12 off on study leave, so their lessons are optional and I didn't have to prepare anything, just go through past papers with anyone who bothered to turn up

yes, even in my remote loction in all senses atm from the family it hadn't passed me by. We have some problems atm and ''our'' year 12 fro ''up your way'' has got no small part f that an is whipping herself into a frenzy. Its not healthy, tbh. Its not healthy, sustainable or good prep for adulthood/uni/career what she's ''doing to herself''. However, there is extra ''family stress'' atm of no small measure.

Tonight's not a fun night though. I need to make my kids tidy up (which is always an effort) and find some childcare, which is the bane of my life and a constant source of stress. I've got a staff away day at my church job on Thursday, which is not a day when my kids are booked into after school club because I usually finish at 2.45. So I'll need somebody to have them before school so I can get there on time, and somebody to have them after school because I won't be back until 6pm. Then on Friday I'd like to go out to the pub with my teacher friends to celebrate the end of the first half of term, so I need to find a babysitter who doesn't mind if I stay out beyond midnight driving all my friends home. My first attmept has failed - that friend will be in London that day and can't help. I'm finding it hard to summon up the motivation to make the necessary phone calls, whch I hate doing, but I'd better get on with it. If I go on Friday it'll be the first time I've gone anywhere without kids other than work in six and a half weeks, so I'd really like to go.

Sorry for moaning. It gets me down sometimes. I know Sue has it much much tougher than me on the isolation front.

Sue, have you been able to get your SIL to have your boys at all recently?

Moan away. Its such a shame I'm not closer. I enjoy helping my friend and a client out atm with baby sitting.

As a matter of interest, do any of the other teachers have a sitter/partner who could take yours too, may be ith a couple of dvds for a bit of an easier time for sitter/parent and for kids too, and be the last stop on the route of dropping off so you could scoop them up and have them tumble blearily in to bed from the car? Would yours settle somewhere else? Not ideal, I know, but might be a solution? Difficult time I guess, as lots of potential sitters are...years 11 12 and 13. If not at your school then otherwise locally.

LydiaJ

Thanks both of you.

Silvercar - babysitting circles are for couples, not single parents. People come and sit for you, and the another night you leave your own kids with your partner and go and babysit for them. If you've no partner to leave your own kids with, you can't do that. I do try to have my friends' kids during the day during the school holidays, but I always end up needing waaaay more help than I can repay.

Late teens are great and I do use them, but they have their limits. They can't cover the 3.15-6.00 slot because they don't get out of school in time and they can't pick up little ones from school and drive them home. Also, they're not allowed out very late, so having them usually means leaving before the end of the evening to get home in time for them, which means I can't be the designated driver - which is a shame because I don't drink anyway, and really love staying to the end of the evening and rounding it all off by driving everyone home. I hate leaving early.

My single teacher friends do sit for me sometimes, which is lovely. However, none of them will want to sit on Friday - they'll be out at the pub too, and although I love your idea of delivering my kids to one of their partners, I can't see it working. The ones with partners all live miles away, and the ones nearby are all single. Besides, since the accident, my kids won't sleep until they know I'm safely home, so they'd just stay awake all evening, which isn't fair in somebody else's house.

lir - I would be thrilled for you to sit for my kids. I'd love them to get to know your animals and learn all sorts of things that you could teach them. As you say, the distance is a shame.

I'll go and make those phone calls now.

ETA Have tried two more people for Friday - one has moved to Newcastle this morning! One is sorry but it's her last day of school ever and she'll be out celebrating. Just texted another and waiting for a reply. Have got somebody for Thurs am but not Thurs after school yet. Getting too late to bother people on the phone now so will try asking around some other mothers tomorrow morning when I deliver them to school.

lostinrates

I just checked googlemaps, (I used to do almost this route as a uni student when visiting my best friend) and its an hour and a half, seems the same the short way (after all, I'm almost due south from you)and the long way.

when they are secondary age they could do it, and I could put them on a no change train back to you the next day only a few years, eh? Good luck with the phone calls.

silvercar

I do feel for you, sorting babysitters was the bane of my life.

In fact when the kids were at an age that I couldn't possibly reveal on a public forum, they started demanding that they be left home alone. Given that we were often very nearby and had delightful neighbours who would be more than happy to run across to ours in an emergency, we did start leaving them at an age well below NSPCC guidelines.

More suggestions: any young grannies nearby? or don't underestimate the time that late teens can stay up until on the Friday before half term - after all they don't have to get up early again for another 10 days. And split shifts, so whoever collects after school only has to look after them until the evening sitter arrives. Or other mums who would be grateful for the money or to get out of the house?

neverdespairgirl

GDB2222 wrote: »

You haven't been consistent about this.

In what sense?