General Chit Chat!

'No Argos my son does not want a corded telephone for Christmas he wants the God damn cars moutain challenge that I bl**dy ordered'....is what I really wanted to say yesterday....ooooh joy another flaming day staying in waiting for an order to be delivered that was wrong....and it will be another day lost tomorrow waiting for them to pick up their mistake and leave me the corrrect one!!! I could have gone to the nearest Argos and got it (but I had an online voucher so thought 'oh that will be so much easier'). According to customer services it happens frequently....!!!

Yes I'm still mad a day later !!!! Whatcha betting it is out of stock now and he won't get one at all.....to top it all its only the compromise toy that I have decided to get him because he actually wanted the Cars race track thingy but as I have already bought him other stuff and the track was twice as expensive he'll have to wait until his Birthday in March for that one (he's also probably too old for the items but sometimes you just have to go with obsessions....).

Watching bl**dy Milkshake in a morning instead of Cbeebies has caused the 'I want I want I want...' in all of them....but I was sooooo unbelievably sick of Cbeebies!!!!! I keep saying they are only adverts telling you the toys that are in shops they are not what you are necessarily going to get!

Anway...sorry for the long post.....

Phew rant over....and breathe.........

Thanks 4A - the workload is a bit daunting but am just trying to remember to breathe lol - am trying not to beat myslf up too much about the gym - i will get back to it

its just with me jumping straight into 2nd year from college - i am trying to work out whats expected of me - so the more i go in the easier that should get.

so frustrating when you get sent the wrong thing - hopfully you will manage to improvise.

Don't speak to me about waiting in 4angels!!!
Yesterday I waited in all day for a parcel i'd ordered for christmas for my youngest from disneystore USA (cost me a fortune! but it is all he talks about)

kept checking the UPS tracking page as it said it was coming, all of a sudden I check and it says 'attempted delivery and no one home' or something like that. I was absolutely fuming!!!

Rang them up and they said 'are you sure you wern't out?' of course i'm sure I waited in all day, and noone touched my door or the bell

Anyway they contacted the driver and got him to come round, turns out he didnt knock my door as the parcel didn't have a house number on it so he just drove past the road for some reason?
Got it in the end but was fuming!!! but at least it was the right thing after all that

I've found the same problem with Milkshake too. My kids usually watch Playhouse Disney which thankfully has no ads, but it dosn't start up until 7am so if they get up early and watch milkshake then I get the I want's all day.

Starbuck I've had that before as well with the delivery driver assuming we were not in because there was no car in the drive....erm hello...I don't drive and hubby is out in the people carrier they shoud try knocking anyway!!! I've also ordered things from America before, paid a premium for postage and then been hit with paying tax on the doorstep before they'll give me the parcel!!!! At least you got the parcel eventually hun and I'm sure your son will be really happy with it!!! Flaming delivery drivers eh?!!!!!

I'm sure you'll get there Irnbru..like you said its just a case of figuring out what is expected of you, pacing yourself and breathing through the pain (I mean workload really!!!)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hey 4A
thanks - I am sitting here in a bit of a panic as i am not sure i am doing the right tests, not sure if i should be doing i wish i could run away and hide in a dark cave somewhere - but am stuggling on instead.

it will all be over for the trimester soon so just have to keep plugging away


Cxx

Hey Irnbru, try not to panic hun (that's what my hubby was doing and in the end it all seemed too overwhelming), I made him print out a planner and on it write when things had to be in and which days/nights and times he could allocate to each assignment - he seemed a bit calmer after that. Are you in contact with any of the other students or do you have the lecturers' email addresses so you can clarify if you are doing the right tests. It must be hard not to panic if you are unsure if you are working on the right thing or not.

If you have the time, take a break from it and do something else for a bit as a clear head may help to come back focused and determined. If not, at least there is light at the end of the tunnel with Christmas break ahead of you.

I know what I am like in student mode and I get stressed and panic very easily, but I am sure you will do really well hun...just take lots of deep breaths and you'll get through it - sending you a big hug xxxxxxxx

Awww thanks

This one is due on Monday - then after that have got a pretty good idea what i need to be working on and when to try and get through it all - this is just one of the harder things - the main part of this research project is to find out if you know what tests to do and to justify it so they can't tell you the tests. most of the other students have been on the course for the first year and have their own cliques and i have been chipping away at being less invisible more n more of them will acknowledge me now - but don't feel i know any of them well enough to ask too many questions yet. the other direct entry students are kinda vague as to what they are doing so when i have asked they have just confirmed in a broad sense or havent started it yet - they have all weekend to work on it - i am just going to give it my best shot - thanks for listening xx

Oh it must be hard hun, especially if the whole idea is you are supposed to figure out the whole thing largely by yourself in the first place!
I think on some courses people gel and are very unaware of others maybe feeling isolated. All you can really do is like you said - keep chipping away at them, as I'm sure you would feel better with moral support from people who understand the subject. Perhaps those who are giving you vague answers are maybe unsure themselves as to whether they are doing things correctly as well and like you said if they haven't started working on it until the last minute then they are in the dark really as to how to advise someone else.

Maybe after Christmas it will settle down and the more class contact you have the more friendlier they will become and you feel a bit more confident to discuss things with them! People are definitely strange creatures!!!

I guess you just have to trust your own instinct with you assignments and do the best job that you can do....good luck hun I'm sure you will be great though!

......and I'll listen anytime you need to chat! xxxxx

Hey hope everyone had a good weekend!

We had a family meal yesterday which was hard work ....a vegetarian on a diet (me)....does not make for easy catering
Everyone kept trying to get me to have wine (which I won't have anymore cos of stomach problem) and there was only one vegetarian menu option - which I left most of and I didn't want the calories of a pudding such as apple pie or sponge pudding & custard!! I just felt it was my own fault for being so awkward...but whilst we were ther another family member thoroughly enjoyed it and decided to book for their Birthday which isn't that far off! It's hard enough sorting the kids out and getting them to sit still for their meal but when my meal was awful....oooh families eh?!!!!!!

I could go on and on and on....but I'll spare you!!!!!!!

family meals are hard enough when your not on a diet I know, but when everyone knows your on a diet they just keep trying to give you food!(well at least my family does )

As for keeping the kids at the table, To be honest the thing i'm most dreading about the holiday, having dinner out everynight oh and the plane oh and moaning about walking round the parks

I'm in the family bad books again this year for saying I want to stay home and have christmas with just the kids and hubby.

The thing is we would have to go to my grans house all day, and the kids have just had their presents and then have to leave all their toys and go out for the day. It's only a day i suppose, but I can just see Thomas moaning all day about his stuff at home and the PSP.

Plus my gran has a very extensive collection of china cats and they are everywhere, I sit there on tenderhooks whenever we go there as the two year old is in everything of course. I go and see my gran every week but only stay for about 2 hours and then go home, don't think I could handle staying there all day, and neither could the kids as there is nothing to do.

Plus there are no other kids and everyone else is older so they don't really want the kids running amok all day (whatever they say)

my mum is going to come round in the morning and give them their presents, as she likes to see them opening them and of course i'd like to see her (for a bit)

sorry for having a moan

I totally understand Starbuck - you won't enjoy Christmas if you are on tenterhooks all day...and the kids always hate leaving behind their presents for a whole day!

We've tried lots of different combinations of staying at home just the 6 of us; a few people coming to us to eat (despite our very cramped house); battling for survival at relatives' houses and catching ornaments before they fall (or removing felt-tips before they reach the wall with them ); nothing works as someone always feels they are being sidelined, snubbed or inconvenienced etc.

I must admit we usually get visitors between 9 and 12 on Christmas day and the we get left to our own devices for lunch....but what really annoyed me last year is people arriving after 12ish when I was trying to get the dinner cooked and served up!! I could have either let it spoil or carry on looking rude and ignorant for ignoring visitors.....I did the latter but felt guilty. I look forward to Christmas....but I'm always in a foul mood, argumentative, stressed and annoyed at being inconvenienced by people who only bother with us on high days and holidays!!!!

This year we have been TOLD we are going to my parents....so the ornament catching starts now!!!! It's so hard to make sure no grubby fingers touch walls and no crumbs get trodden into the carpet etc; listening to the same stories over and over and over again and everyone pretending they love each other LOL!!! so its not overly relaxing....oooh maybe we could wriggle out of it somehow LOL!!!!!

As you may have guessed I am not a sociable person....I kind of want to be but a demon inside takes over which finds most situations annoying!

I think in terms of you eating out on holiday hun you'll just have to think that hopefully they will be good and eat nicely. I am damn sure there will be someone else's kids kicking off to a worse extent than yours and failing that....when the holiday ends you will never see these people in the dining hall ever again!!! With a bit of luck they will be enjoying themselves so much that they will just eat (fingers crossed for you!)

On the flight I guess its just as much distraction as possible, maybe have in your hand luggage some inexpensive toys, colouring books etc that you can bring out a new one from every hour or so? I've never flown with mine so god knows if it works, I just remember reading it on a 'travelling with kids' type of information site! Do you take your son's PSP with you as I bet that will keep him distracted for awhile! Inevitably they get weary when you travel but again....you won't be the only one whose kids are fractious...and anyone who looks at you has either never had or looked after kids, never travelled with them, or are too old to remember how hard it was!!! Best of luck (when do you go again?)

Thanks 4angels, glad it's not just me who likes being unsociable at Christmas

We got on holiday in 48days!!! can't believe it. With Jacobs birthday in two weeks, then Christmas it'll creep up on us in no time.

And yes my son will be taking his PSP with him on holiday, it's practically glued to his hands so I don't think he'll let it go for the whole 9 hour flight which for once I won't mind.

Oh and you know my new sofa's, we'll they are being sent back tomorrow because they were awful. The leather has started peeling off it big clumps, so they're going and were having a refund and some new ones are coming Thursday. So we'll have two days sitting on beanbags!
I'm happy we at least managed to order a new set before Christmas.

Ooooh thats exciting....48 days ...are the boys really excited now?

Shame about the sofa...and having to sit on beanbags for 2 days...but at least you get a new one in time for Christmas!!!

Hope your little boy has a lovely Birthday (though I'm sure I'll speak to you before then!).

xxxx

4Angels - thanks for listening to me and understanding so well - it meant a lot to me when i was trying not to stress about it - the lecture i was at today was an exam revision session and the tutor touched over about the tests and i am fairly sure i have used the right ones - so i think i should at least get a pass but i really appreciated your thoughtful words - but man am i tired now - i literally worked through the night on it then had to go to the lecture and then drop off the essay- i daren't think how many hours of my time i have given this till i got to grips with it. I had to get something for us for lunch and i think i have consumed my own weight in sugary cakes n cookies - i feel so ill with sugar overload lol

bah humbug me three too lol - i am lucky in that we made it a rule that the world knew where to find us and they can come to ours if they want to see us hehehe - i have my mum in law coming this christmas - but i love cooking the whole works and the boys love it too - its more about the christmas dinner than pressies - so maybe i can say that it gets easier as they get older? :-) - mind you this year my sis has this grand dream of as many of the family as possible going to her house for a meal - i threw her off balance by agreeing lol so that will be interesting.

SB - what a pain about your settee you have had no end of problems with it great that they can get you get a new one before christmas - i would imagine the kids think its great fun to have beenbags

Glad you got there in the end Irnbru and its a really good sign also if your instincts were right on the tests to use. I hope you manage to get some well earned rest tonight hun! Goodness knows it must be stressful juggling Uni work and the demands of a family but you got it all done so you should be really proud of yourself!
Hopefully the next one will be a little bit easier cos you will have gained a bit of confidence and knowledge of what is expected.

You probably needed the sugar rush to get you through it, but I'm sure you'll get back to normal once your stress levels go down.

Anytime you want to get things off your chest you know where I am xxxx

....and I think you are definitely right - Christmas and family meals will hopefully get a bit easier as the kids get older! (fingers crossed anyway!!!!)

xxxxxxxxxx

Hows everyone doing this morning??
Getting the advent calendars out has made me realise it's nearly christmas, and panic about the eating side of it.
Just when I thought I was doing ok, Christmas has to come round and mess everything up!

i know what you mean, i am now going out with friends on frid night for a christmas meal in chicago rock, then got a big meal n drinks on sat night with the works night out then another big night out on the 17th too - i never get out to play and its overkill at the moment lol

- but have thankfully managed to get Sunday off for some revision so they kind of offset each other with time but not with damage to my health eating lol

Hey Irnbru, hope you enjoy your socialising you definitely deserve it after studying so hard. I'm sure it won't take you long to get back on the straight and narrow.

I haven't posted for a bit as the link to this site went dead on me so I had to go back to the original thread on the main DS site and follow the link again! Very odd! Quite often I can have problems with accessing this site but it normally sorts itself out, however not this time. Does this happen to anyone else or is it just me?

I haven't got much motivation at the moment! I've got a bit of a cold & chesty cough and feel lethargic and a bit downhearted. Weight has gone up a little bit despite not eating anymore than usual and I don't feel well enough to go on the treadmill! I really wanted to lose another 7lbs before Christmas but it isn't looking very likely now....

My youngest has had a chest infection and I have not really been able to do very much or go anywhere for about a week, so I don't think it helps when you are staring at the same four walls all the time.

How is everyone else getting on? xxxx

Irnbru, you deserve a couple of good nights out after all the studying you've been doing, have a great time!

Sorry to hear your not feeling well 4angels, I suppose with all your kids at nursery and school you probably pick up everything that goes around.

I've been lucky this winter and none of us has had a cold or anything. I am however trying to cope with a two year old's teething frenzy at the minute, the past week he has been a complete nightmare!

Dreading the next few days as we will have cake and biscuits and party stuff around for Jacobs birthday. We are not having a party really just small family get together.

Last night I sat making biscuits in the shape of Handy Manny's tools all night, and tonight I've got to tackle making the birthday cake

I've never done any sort of cake decorating, so it's a challenge. The biscuits didn't turn out to bad, I just wasted an hour trying to turn my icing into the right colour orange for Flicker the Flashlight (don't ask!!)

The things we do eh Starbuck?!! Good luck with the cake decorating and I hope Jacob has a good Birthday! It reminds me of my son's second Birthday when he was into Pingu and I made an igloo cake, with little penguin candles LOL....since then admittedly I have stuck to smarties and dolly mixtures...I'd like to be good at cake decorating though!!

Here is a piccie of the choccie cake and biscuits I made for the little one He was really happy with it, so It was all worth it.

But it tastes too nice!

http://img.skitch.com/20091204-gdpegmfbx9qasiw45meu37bgc3.jpg

Well done Starbuck - it must have taken you ages!!! I'm glad your son liked it and homemade cake tastes better than the kids character ones you get from the supermarket.

Hey just wanted to quickly say hi :-) - I have an exam at 5.30 tonight then my last one at 9.30 tomorrow morning - theni will be able to relax and catch up with everyone - great cake SB - will post again soon Cxx

Good luck Irnbru

Best of luck Irnbru!