philiphenslowe

Thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to reply to this post - I really appreciate hearing about your experiences. I've got a lot to think about x

I am currently on maternity leave with my second child and I've done the sums + I will actually be paying to go to work when I return. During term time I will just about break even, but during school holidays I will be making quite a bit less than my childcare costs. If you were in this situation would you stay at home and look after your children yourself for a few years until they both started primary school? I asked the same question on Facebook and most of my friends seemed horrified that I was considering leaving a gaping hole in my CV. This seemed to be far more important than spending time with my children. In my current job there are no training or progression opportunities + I've been doing the same job for over 5 years. I had always planned to completely retrain and change careers once I had two children in school. I was previously a live music events manager and I left a career a loved because it was so family un-friendly. Does anyone have any experience of becoming a stay at home parent? Pros & cons? What are the implications of becoming a SAHP - ie pension contributions, National Insurance etc? Is it really so unacceptable to take a career break to look after young children, then retrain and start a new career? I will still have 25-30 working years ahead of me. Thanks x

snowboarder Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bribery. My three year old is currently not > allowed his advent calendar chocolate if he comes > into our bed. I've only had to enforce it once. > Not sure what my strategy is post December 24th is > though...😃 I'm doing this with my son to get him to wear his eyepatch. No idea what I'm going to do after Christmas!

http://www.marksandspencer.com/3ft-pre-lit-wall-mounted-tree/p/p22241415 This is what we bought last year. I know my 2 year old son would pull the tree down!

Black London taxi + we had a Routemaster to take our guests to the reception

Does anybody know of a shop where I can try out buggy boards? I have a Bugaboo Bee + I can't decide between the Bugaboo board and the Lascal. I recently saw somebody with a Bugaboo board + a Twoo seat, which looked great but I'm quite short and I don't know if I'd have enough room to walk behing the buggy. My son will be 2 years + 4 months when the new baby arrives + I'm planning to do a combination of buggy/sling + buggy/buggy board. I also have a Maclaren Triumph, but I don't use this very much. Having said that I'm guessing it would be good to have the option to use the buggy board on both, so perhaps the Lascal would be better? I've spoken to Tommy's on Rye Lane + they don't have any to test. Kiddicare is usually very good for these things but they don't sell Bugaboo products. If anybody can recommend somewhere or give me your personal recommendations I would be extremely grateful. Thanks x

I was at the one over the road at St Anthony's School - we used to go over to Christ Church quite a lot though. Can't remember the name of our pack now, but it was late 1980s + I was a Sixer in the Sprites.

Laimon is lovely, but it's quite hard to find - http://uk.laimonfresh.com/ And this is great if you like rhubarb - http://www.cawstonpress.com/our-juices/sparkling/sparkling-rhubarb/

Ah, thank you - that would make sense. I had my last child with them and didn't have any problems with the message system before. I'll call the surgery to double check.

I think I might be calling the wrong number - 020 8299 5696 It goes to their answering machine, but as soon as I try to leave a message I get cut off. Can anybody help? Thanks

I had one of these made for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary - http://www.55max.com/products/photomontage-canvas I know a lot of places made things like this now, but the quality is amazing. I got mine over 6 years ago + the prices have come down a lot since then. Everybody who comes in to the house loves looking at all the different pictures and now my mum is no longer with us it's a lovely reminder + something really beautiful to keep.

I can't make it today either, but looking forward to meeting you all soon x

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > vgrant Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > kings on the rye > > > Johnny come lately. Haha - this made me laugh. People have no idea where I mean when I say the King's Arms + Heaton Arms

My son is currently at nursery 3 days a week in Forest Hill. We'll definitely have to take him out as it costs a small fortune + there's no way we'll be able to afford it on maternity pay. I'm quite worried about entertaining an active toddler who's used to being at nursery + looking after a newborn at the same time. Also, breastfeeding + potty training...! I'm off work on Fridays - usually go to the Horniman Triangle in the mornings. Also free Monday afternoons 2-3pm for a coffee (I look after my elderly dad in ED while my son goes to a relative). All-in-One Fridays in Darrell Road could be a good option for a meet-up. x

I'm also expecting my second in early February. My son will be 28 months by then. Not planning to do any classes this time round + would love to meet some other mums x