The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

savingqueen

Talking of spiders, a weird thing happened today at the school visit. We were taken to a building away from the main school with a massive spider sculpture outside and on all the walls, doors and windows on one side were hundreds of daddy longlegs. Freaky! A bit too early for Halloween!
Glad you have a do to go to fuddle. I love the rare opportunity I get to get dressed up a bit. Gets rid of the middle-aged mumsy feeling I get sometimes... not saying that applies to you being a relative young 'un!
The weather is gorgeous here, we are so lucky this year. The longer the good weather, the shorter the cold weather and the cheaper the heating bills!
Have some cooked chicken to create a meal with - nothing planned and in a cba mood (cats woke me up a couple of times in the night and so not slept well, the little darlings) fed up with pasta, maybe a jambalaya. I am missing my freezer full of food but hanging on until I get the chance/mood to defrost it. Right off to get some inspiration...

Pooky

Ahhhh lego - the one thing they played with more than anything....and by played with I mean - left lying around to be trodden on!!

SQ - Well done on clearing the air - try and make some couple time to see if you can alleviate those nagging feelings in the back ground. Hard I know with little ones but even just a "mum and dad" night where the kids get a bucket of popcorn and a movie upstairs whilst you have a nice dinner, can work wonders.

Folio

My sister has a new job and needs to move house tothe Stratford upon Avon area, I've started a thread (sadly no answres yet) asking if anyone has any knowledge of cheap places to stay while she house hunts and any good estate agents, but it occurs to me that they are not the only things she will need to know, she will also need a boatload of help on making the move on the cheap, so has anyone here any advise please?

kidcat

Possession I will see your lego mountain and raise you a gel pen mountain! I have pulled hundreds from DD8 bedroom yesterday. I think they are breeding!


Pooky his exam results have been adjusted to the lower mark, but college have kept him on the level of course he had begun, he will need to resit the English though. He is upset about it but knows is not college's fault.

SQ am glad you got things on a better footing with oh, as Mrslw says don't worry about the future too much now, as my nan used to say don't borrow trouble. Relationships are difficult things and my old friend was fond of reminding me that as we grow and change so do our partners and often it's at a different pace.
I bury myself into whatever problem of issues are going on but my OH doesn't even know half of it.

savingqueen

Glad you are feeling better FairyP, please take it easy at the gym though to begin with.

Anyone heard from Mrs Chip lately? Hope you are ok Mrs C if you are reading along x

Pooky wrote: »

SQ - Well done on clearing the air - try and make some couple time to see if you can alleviate those nagging feelings in the back ground. Hard I know with little ones but even just a "mum and dad" night where the kids get a bucket of popcorn and a movie upstairs whilst you have a nice dinner, can work wonders.

Thanks Pooky. We only have one TV in the house and that's in the living room - we are unusual I know but we don't want TVs everywhere. We do have a lovely young couple next door (neighbour's daughter and boyfriend) who have babysat a few times but not for over a year now. The money is an issue for us as our finances get tighter and tighter but we do need some decent couple time, it's become a rarity. I will see if I can scrape some reward vouchers for a meal out soon.

I am so grateful for all your posts. I feel understood, un-judged, supported and cared for and I can't begin to express how much that means to me. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. You are good people, wonderful friends. Better stop before I start blubbing, still not started dinner.....

kidcat

SQ maybe think of some more offbeat ways of spending time together? Walking on a quiet night can be really relaxing. As for sitters maybe you could agree a trade with friends kids. In that you have their kids once a month and they have yours?

It's so hard, we have DD19 and am really grateful for that, but we still find it hard to fit tone together into the timetable.

candlelight_2013

also PIC are you OK? I have missed your posts and your blog.

Much love
Candlelightx

Possession

Folio that's my area, PM me if I can help.
Kidcat I'll see your gel pens and raise you a nerf bullet mountain. Plus whenever I find one Sapphie (the spaniel) nicks it and puts it in her treasure place under the trampoline where I can't reach. Mind you tomorrow the trampoline is being dismantled too, see I told you we were getting rid of everything.
SQ perhaps see if some parents at school would be interested in swapping baby sitting - I used to do that sometimes.
Poor DH, the first time in weeks and weeks that he's left work relatively on time and the trains in Birmingham are non-existent, there's been a fire somewhere apparently. I needed him to come and help me move DS's wardrobe too. Instead I'm going to have to go and pick him up somewhere he can get to.

Mrs_Chip

I'm here SQ, reading along but not posting - mainly because MSE keeps logging me out for some reason and I'm too lazy to keep logging back in! I have kept up with all the news, highs and lows, and it's so nice to see the thread being so supportive and helpful!

We are run ragged by the doglet, much of the day is devoted to taking him for walks, but we have made lots of new friends through the dog walks, which is a great bonus.

I promise to try to post more, I will bore you all to tears with doggy talk!

savingqueen

Lovely to hear from you Mrs C... bore us... never! Glad you are having so much fun with the doglet and new friends too, what a bonus!

Re babysitters, there are only a couple of friends I can reasonably ask with regards to feeling comfortable asking to start with, feeling comfortable leaving the kids in their hands and because of their complex work/family circumstances - in fact I can't think of anyone whom I wouldn't hugely inconvenience. All of the potential sitters have local family who can babysit and don't need to do swaps. I do have friends at the school but not many as I am old enough to be most of their mothers, and coupled with volunteering at school, I think I am not seen as "one of them" and am invisible to the majority of them despite my best efforts. I am not trying to make excuses honestly! I can ask next door to babysit (we pay them although they don't like accepting, feels the right thing to do) and maybe ask if my 2 can both play at a friend's house one weekend during the day (and of course offer to reciprocate) - usually they go to separate friends so we still have one left with us. The other option is to wait for an opportunity for DH to take a day's annual leave and spend some time together when the kids are at school. I guess we just need to put the effort in with planning.


We have nerf bullets, lego, tons of plastic action figures, marbles, many sets of top trump cards, piles of books, too many soft toys, lots of unidentified odd bits of plastic, conkers, stones, tin foil balls for the cats, stationery in all its guises and DS7 has piles of bits of paper where he makes up all sorts of games and lists..... and not forgetting those little plastic soldiers that appear everywhere. They drive me mad but I know I will also miss it all when one day they are all gone.