Bishberro

Hi Dulwichgirl, it wasn't too bad. We set up a microwave, kettle and toaster in our dining room and camped out there instead. My saviour was a George Foreman grill and a slow cooker to feed us all along with microwave rice/potatoes/veg. It was a pain not having a washing machine so I just did regular laundrette trips. The builders managed to set up a temporary cold water tap and sink in there for a while and then after that I had to do the washing up in the bath upstairs (admittedly this part was not fun). Also, they did the work in stages so although the kitchen was literally a building site we managed to keep our oven for the first three weeks which helped. I did take the kids out for tea a lot though. It was the constant dust and dirt that I found hard but looking back, it is worth the disruption. We went away quite a few weekends to stay with friends/family as well just to escape the mess.

Hi - Having started this thread and lots of lovely people on the forum showing me their side returns and recommending architects etc we had ours done late last year. It was hard work without a kitchen for 3 months with two children but the end result has been totally worth it. We spend most of our time in there now and the kids love charging around it. It is expensive for the amount of floor space you get but we did it to live in and give us a bit longer in the house rather than thinking about getting the money back when it comes to selling. We got planning permission through Lewisham and they seemed fine. Our architect was Joe from KN Designs who I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Another question here from a first-time school mum come September. Can anyone recommend a good brand of name tags to label school uniform? I can't even thread a needle so can't face the idea of sew-in ones but are there any iron-on ones that actually work and stay on? Any other first timer tips? Thanks

Hi Lisa - we've travelled quite a few times with our Phil and Teds - easyjet and BA. Both airlines let us bring it up to the airline steps but at the other side you don't get it back until you get your luggage so you might want to bring a sling for the baby. They just put two tags on it - one on the main pushchair and one on the doubles seat and then get you to fold it and pull it apart. It's always worked fine for us.

If you like a bit of Scandi-drama and missed it on BBC4 The Bridge was brilliant - it's available now on Amazon. As is The Killing which was equally great. We've just bought Borgen to take on holiday with us. I missed Homeland but the box set isn't out until October unfortunately. Nothing will ever beat Mad Men but the new series is amazing.

Saffron, I think Queenie is getting dropped off at Tower Bridge then the boats are continuing down to Greenwich without her.

Everyone we know seems to be going away from London to escape the jubilee but just wondered if everywhere is going to be like a ghost town or if there are any jubilee events/fun days/parties on anywhere over the bank hol weekend? Did a quick search but could only find the boat parade stuff and not sure it's worth braving huge crowds with pushchairs. Thanks!

Apologies for the extremely dull question but I'm meeting a friend at Eddie Katz soft play hell on Putney High Street tomorrow. I was going to drive rather than attempt the Phil and Teds and two toddlers who want to walk via two trains. So, does anyone have any tips about where to park near the high street as I'm dreading driving round for ages unable to find anywhere? Thanks!

Bonaome - we're off to Punta Prima in June - any tips? For some reason, the second week in June was an amazingly cheap offer - God knows why. I've looked into Martinhal and Domes of Elounda in the past and they look lovely but are unbelievably pricey even out of school holidays.

Chantelle, we got Stillness but we only live 200 metres away. I was really impressed by Dalmain when I went round it and would have been happy to go there as well although Stillness handier for the walk to school.

Lewisham emails have just gone out too. Thankfully we got our first choice (nearest) school.

I think I may have seen your son at Goose Green playground on Sunday. My son followed him round for a while and they had a sword fight with sticks! Alas, he doesn't have a superman constume though..

No 67 (think that's what it's called) the restaurant at the South London art gallery in Peckham. We went there the other weekend. Best food I've had in ages, reasonably priced, friendly staff. Lovely candle lit restaurant and great conservatory bit at the back if it's a nice summer's night.

all this is inspiring me to use mine. Bluesuperted, do you have a link to the pulled pork recipe? Thanks

Hi - the Yaiza is great. Unfortunately this is the one we used to go to in the past that has suddenly gone up in price drastically so I don't think we can afford it this year :-(. It's perfect for children though so you won't be disappointed.

More holiday help required. We want to go to the Canary Islands with our 2 children (almost 2 and 4) in March but the hotel we normally go to in lanzarote is a ?1,000 more expensive than last year! Wondered if anyone could recommend a good hotel on any of the islands? It needs to be somewhere that does a buffet breakfast/has a children's pool/playground/activites/be in walking distance to a beach and bars/restaurants and most importantly where we can get a suite with a separate bedroom and lounge area so we're not all sleeping in the same room - sleep deprivation always ruins a holiday for me!

Hi Monkey, I have the same problem with my 3.5 year old. He just spits it out if I try and give it to him in a syringe or spoon. The only way I have found is to put it in his cup with some smoothie or juice. If I put it in milk and pretend it's a milkshake he knows straight away what I've done. A smoothie or apple juice are the only things sweet enough to disguise the taste. But as Buggie said, just give them a small amount so you'll know they'll finish it.

After so many threads on here have been recommending Center Parcs (and not because of the Mumsnet thread!) I've decided to bite the bullet and take my 2 boys (nearly 4 and nearly 2) for a long weekend. As s first timer I just wondered which site was best (I was thinking Longleat or Elvedon) and also which lodge to go for? Is it worth booking activities in advance and is it worth paying extra to be in the centre? Any other tips about food/pools etc greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi - I'm a regular forum user and also a journalist and I'm working on a feature for a glossy parenting mag about unusual birth partners. I'm looking for women who had someone other than/as well as their husband/partner at their baby's birth - so it could have been your mum, your sister, a friend, your dad or even your older child/a cab driver/bus driver if you had an unexpected birth before you had chance to get to hospital (last few are probably wishful thinking!). You'd need to have had your baby in the past year and be prepared to have your photo in the mag. If this sounds like you or someone you know then please PM me and I can explain a bit more. Thank you!

Hi - I'm looking at primary schools for my son and wondered if any parents on here had children at William Of York and if so, if they were happy with it etc? Please feel free to PM me. Thanks

I live in a street near HOP station and it's getting more and more of a nightmare to try and find a parking space near to the house because of people parking to use the station. I know there is a campaign going to try and get resident permit parking in all of the streets off HOP including Devonshire so that might be worth considering.

Hi - I think Jo Jo Maman Bebe does cream linen trousers/waistcoats and maybe try Monsoon. My first son wore Zara dungarees and a smart shirt to his christening (along with a flat cap!) and for my youngest a few weeks ago he just wore a smart short sleeved white shirt and linen trousers all from Baby Gap.

We went this morning and completely agree with the above comments. Within 10 mins my son was soaked from drinking/running under the tap so now everytime we go, I'm going to have to bring a change of clothes. There's hardly anything in the new area for toddlers and what is there is really odd. Plus there's no fence so toddlers constantly running off and dogs were running all over it. What a waste of cash.

I went there today and one of the staff said it was open everyday during the holidays from 10.30am until 4pm.

Hi jenny - I would phone Bugaboo customer services up directly. The number is on their website. We had a broken brake on our Bugaboo Cameleon and it was a year over warranty but they were great and sent us a new chassis in a few days. We then had to post the old one back but it was all free. Def worth a try.