Home PS Mommy thread with toddlers 12-36 months

[ChinaCat]

Hey mommas. Making my official "debut" on the toddler thread. I guess since O officially turned one, is pretty much "toddling" around now AND my babycenter emails now say "Your TODDLER, week x", means I need to move it on up!

This thread seems a lot slower- I know it's not the same as the newborn thread, in that we don't have constant questions or milestones, but I loved using the newborn thread as a place to chat, vent, get support and just sort of "document" what's going on with O. So I hope you ladies don't mind some chit-chat.

I do have a question though. Any moms with skinny mini babies? We had O's checkup and he's still super low weight-wise. I find it frustrating b/c he eats ALL the time. He's just a super busy baby (aren't they all?) and I suspect has a high metabolism. Both DH and I have pretty good metabolisms and both of us were skinny kids. So I'm not really worried. BUT it is hard to ignore that he doesn't gain weight at a good pace. My doctor isn't overly concerned about it. He's a really slight man himself and said he was like O as a kid. He said LOOKING at O, he's not worried, clearly he's thriving and looks healthy and round. But he can't ignore the numbers. Anyways, long story short, we have to go back in a month for a weigh-in. So I'm on a mission to fatten this kid up.

Any tips? What do you guys feed your kiddos if you are trying to get them to gain? O pretty much eats anything. Though I tend to give him really healthy foods (fresh fruit and veggies) I guess it's time to add in some butter and fattening things.

Avocado, peanut butter, put butter & syrup on his pancakes, cheese, yogurt. Any other ideas???? The ped mentioned shakes, but I'm not sure how to go about that. Also transitioning him to milk, which should help.

Also- this is just a vent- he asked me all of these questions about development, like can he roll a ball, walk, etc. I answered YES to every single one EXCEPT whether he said "mama" & "dada" correctly. I consider correctly to mean he looks at me and says "mama". Yes, he can make the "mama" and "dada" sounds and does all day long, but he is not addressing me and he doesn't have "words" yet. Which I think is quite normal for 1 year old. (We're talking 1 year and like 1 week old here). So after all of the questions, he said something like O's development was "okay" and kind of made a so-so face. Now, I'm not super-sensitive, I don't think my kid's a genius and I didn't expect him to be "wowed" by O doing the things that all babies do. BUT he's certainly not behind. And even if he is a bit behind verbally, that's pretty normal at this age. The spectrum is so huge with this stuff. My vent is simply that doctors should know better and be a bit more sensitive. If I didn't know better, I would be very worried that O was behind. I like this dr and he's just kind of like this, but still. I did have a moment of, what I'm I not noticing, what if O is really behind and I'm such a bad parent that I didn't notice? Just a little frustrating.

Other than that, all is good. He's at a funny age, goes around growling at everything. (He's very into his stuffed animals, especially dogs and lions. Hence the growling ). We are taking him on his second flight over Labor Day which I am now worried about after reading JanineGirly's experience! The first time we took him, he was crawling but nowhere near walking and it was relatively easy. Now that he's walking, I am regretting not getting him a seat. Oh well.

Oh- another question- did your little ones get chicken pox vaccines? When did they start giving those?

Oh and BLEN- leaving the doctor's office yesterday, a little guy walked in as we were leaving, and he was wearing really cool-looking blue glasses that looked similar to George's. They were super cool and the little boy was adorable. Just made me think of you!

 

[Sabine]

Yay China for moving over, and happy birthday to Oliver!

I was just thinking HOW slow it's been here lately!

Shame on your dr. for his reaction to O's not speaking yet. Our dr. was kinda similar...asked, and when we said no, said something like, oh....long pause....well I guess we don't need to worry until 15 months. Um, yeah, you REALLY don't need to worry till 15 months, and even then, not really. Anyway, Jacks ended up having his first word a few weeks later. He was trying to say others, but he just started walking a few days ago, and now I can tell he's totally focused on that.

China, one more thing...where did you read about Janine's flying experience? I just posted a flying post, and I didn't see hers, or is it back on this thread?

Blen, so cute about George loving the water.

As for me, I really enjoyed my weekend away, although it was more exhausting than I could have imagined. Dh has been slacking lately with helping out, and I know it's because he's got a lot of studying to do, but it gets old really fast when he can't even do one little thing that I ask him, like to take out the garbage on his way out in the morning the day the garbage is picked up.

We're also having nap issues, but I think once we transition to 1 nap consistently it'll work itself out, but I don't want to do that quite yet because in 2 weeks he has a dr. appt. at 1 pm, so I want to make sure he gets a nap in before the appt. (that was the only appt. available all month, and this is the allergist we've been waiting to get in to see for a while). I think our main issue is that he's been eating lunch at 1, and he doesn't seem to want to eat earlier even if I cut out a snack, so then he goes down for a nap around noon and wakes at 1:30 hungry.

 

[janinegirly]

just a quick one--but wanted to reassure CC and Sabine about flying..don't think my experience is the rule! My DD did not enjoy the plane, but I think she is also at that fussy age of 2. I don't know that an extra seat would have helped (although wouldn't have hurt) and my plane was also ridiculously crowded. We flew 6hrs two times over the course of 5 days so was particulary challenging conditions.

There are great tips here (FHH) on things to bring and how to survive flying alone--maybe try searching previous threads?

PS Sabine, I described *my* experience in Dreamer's thread about sibling ages -- kind of slipped it in there! Oh and I didn't buy the Go Kidz for the car seat but I think they are great. I'm sure others will chime in on your other ques..

CC: my LO has always been on the lower end for weight..but she does not look skinny at all and eats lots of fattening foods daily (avocado, whole milk, oatmeal, yoghurt, cheese). Sometimes it's just their build plus those % guidelines are relative to other babies...not necessarily the goal,etc. I think at 1 they do become more active as well,etc.

 

[MustangGal]

CC - welcome! It has been slow here, I think a lot of us work FT, and some have been on vacation too. Maybe with some new blood we can get things hopping again. The doc is really trying to get you worried! Kyle still doesn't say mama at 18 months. He does say dada, and a few other words, but less than he should be at this age. My pedi wasn't worried since he's fine in all other areas, and said we'll see what he's up to at his 2 year appointment. Kyle has also been in the 15%-25% for weight yet 60% for height since he was 4 months old. He doesn't look *thin*, just not rolly-polly. Since he's been gaining along the same curve the pedi is fine, just says he's active, which he is. Whole milk, yogurt, avocado, and meat might help some.

Sabine - We did a 2.5 hour flight when K was 15 months and survived just fine. There were 2 of us, so that helped, but I think you'll be fine on your own. DH modified the straps on the car seat so that he could put one over his shoulder through the airport (he just pulled it out as long as it would go). The airline should provide you a big plastic bag to check it, at least Alaska did for us. We gate checked the stroller both ways, took the car seat on with us on the way there, and checked it at the counter on the way back. They don't charge you to check them at the gate or the counter, but I don't know if the curb might have an extra fee. If it's just 1 hour flights I think you'll be Ok not buying a seat for Jacks, and you can try calling the morning of the flight to see how booked they are and guage if you'll have space for the car seat. If you don't have many future flights planned, it's probably not worth buying the Gogo Babyz thing.

So Kyle now says more please (which sounds like mop), and no, and cheese, and race car, yet still no Mama! Do I not exist?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I have lost count of how many flights T has been on. I would guess 40. They are all different. Sometimes she is an angel, sometimes a devil. I try not to fly during nap/crabby times. I bring LOTS of snacks and distractions. I pick the back of the plane (noisier). Honestly, I think it is luck. When other kids are near or really friendly people it is wonderful b/c they will flirt or talk with her. That really helps.

Weight: I was under the impression as long as they stay in their % there is nothing to worry about. So if your kid is always 10% that is their "normal." My pedi only got worried when she dropped from 25% to 5% in one month.

I am really behind. School has started, I feel so old on campus! Plus I was having issues logging in. I dropped T off at the new daycare today...she was crying when I left. She kept asking me to hold her hand. Poor kid. She is shuffled around. I am praying she gets used to it b/c I am not sure how long I can handle the mommy guilt. She is talking like crazy. She tells jokes, stories, makes up songs. My siblings explained "she is a real person now" when they saw her last week. She is STILL sassy and strong willed. Doubt she will ever grow out of that but thankfully she is a very sweet and sensitive little girl. Beyond all else she is a happy kid. Nothing is better than that!

 

[Shoopy]

Hi Everyone

First off, puffy congratulations

Thank you soooooo much everyone on the tips! Sophia's tummy is a little better. We cut out most cheeses and offer her pear juice throughout the day. She seems to be back on poop track

Big boo to the temper tantrums.

MG-LOL. That's awesome that he's saying those words though!

HoT-Thanks for the info! Good for me to have for the future

CC-O has been active for a while now, right? I think that if he is eating well, I would just say he's burning it all off I'm with Sabine on the comments from the doc about his "development." I think that's totally normal for his age!

Nothing much going on over here. Sophia had some pictures done and I realized that I have a really tall kid lol. No one believes she's just 14 months. When my friend posted the pics on FB, her friends all commented that they thought she was closer to 2

She's eating a little better. We have just been shoving food in her mouth and if she likes it great, if not then we try something else. FI made turkey meatloaf yesterday which she loved so she's having some of that today for lunch. We've given her chicken breast, she'll tolerate a few bites. Loves sweet potato fries. And she LOVES bread!!! Seriously loves it.

Here are two pics from her 1 year photos. I think the majority have seen them on FB. She looks so big! (hopefully these won't be huge, not sure how PS resizes photos).

 

[Tacori E-ring]

fiery, HOW ADORABLE! She is beautiful!!!

 

[MustangGal]

Fiery, I didn't get around to commenting on FB, but those pics are awesome! And she does look much more mature than her age. I was at a baby shower over the weekend, and another little boy came in and started playing with K. I thorugh he was 2, he looked so much older and bigger then my midget, turns out he was only 3 weeks older.

 

[Shoopy]

Thanks Tacori and MG

 

[janinegirly]

lovely photos Fiery--what a little lady !I'm always amazed at how photogs get little ones to pose! OR is mine just extra fidgety (and wanting to snap the photo herself..)

 

[ChinaCat]

Fiery- Seriously, what a great poser she is! She's just beautiful. And TALL.

Thanks everyone for the comments on weight/talking. I totally know that he's fine and that not talking at age 1 is NORMAL. Especially from hanging around these boards, the spectrum is so wide. Well he's always been at like the 5% which is pretty low. But he just didn't gain very much b/w last appt and this one. Though like Fiery pointed out, he's super active. And he also had a pretty serious case of diarrhea for about 2 weeks, which I forgot about, so there is a chance that he lost a bit of weight there. I think these scales are pretty BS, personally. I mean, clearly he's SMALL, there's no mistaking that, but he's healthy and thriving, which is really all that matters.

The kiddo is going to love this though, Operation Fatten Up O consists of lots of butter and syrup so far! Though he seems to think that the syrup belongs in his hair.

Janine- I knew there was some crazy flying schedules going on there, and honestly it didn't sound like C was being bad at all. Reading it though made me realize how much harder it's going to be now that O is walking.

 

[lili]

Fiery--
Sophia is a sweetheart!
the second pic.
She looks like you.

 

[dcgator]

OMG Fiery, S is TOOO CUTE! I just adore that sweet little smile . And yes, she is really tall, but that just means she will be quite a beautiful young lady.

 

[PenelopeJane]

Hi mommies I am lurking but wanted to say welcome to toddlerhood to China! Let the rollercoaster begin....Axel is 16.5 months and definitely on the "slow" side of verbal skills and my pedi gave me a LOOK that made me worry. He will be evaluated at 18 months but hasn't made any progress really so far. I'm really shocked that he doesn't utter a single word (other than the usual 3) since he understands soooooo many of them, kinda frustrating. Anyway, O is young, I wouldn't worry.

fiery, Sophia is such a little doll!!! That 2nd pic makes my heart melt.

Welcome back Tacori! T definitely sounds like she is her own person. Sweet, sensitive and sassy--you are a lucky mom. That's gotta be tough that she cried, but she'll get used to being shuttled around, it's only preparing her for life later and being away from you in preschool, kindy, etc. Good luck in school this semester!

Mgal, any luck weaning K from the paci?? No suggestions since I didn't take P's away til she was 3 and it was obv easier since I could talk to her and explain what was going on and she OK'd it hehe.

Sabine, you just reminded me of why I don't miss the 2-nap schedule...I always had to adjust something to accomodate the 2nd nap or worry about the eating schedule and it's so much easier with 1 nap esp with P being in school. Axel naps for 2-3 hrs and wakes up right when we need to leave to pick her up from school. Glad you enjoyed your weekend away!

As for me, I am loving the new routine/schedule we have! I get one-on-one time with Axel who seems calmer and less high strung now that he has the house (and me) all to himself. Not to mention 2-3 solid hours of time to myself while A naps to prep dinner, clean, read a book (which I haven't done in a long time!), work out, and just relax. I had ZERO 'me time' this summer so i'm really enjoying it!

 

[Blenheim]

Fiery - Sophia is quite the little lady! I can't believe how she's just posing like that. She's gorgeous.

PenelopeJane - it must be great having time to yourself again.

MG - George also has yet to say Mama. We now have puppy, Daddy, Papa (grandpa), up, ball, duck, bye, his version of "night night", and a vroom/siren-like noise, but no Mama. It's like our boys are trying to break our hearts.


I am contemplating weaning George. He is not ready and it would be for purely selfish reasons, but I think I'm okay with that. After having one too many people mention to me that laser eye surgery was the best decision that they ever made in their entire lives, I have booked an appointment to see if I'd be a good candidate for surgery. I would love to be able to wake up and not need glasses or contacts, especially if we're going to go through the all-night wakings with another child. Right now, I can't even begin to make out the big E on the eye chart if I don't have glasses/contacts... It's pretty bad. But you have to wean at least three months before surgery as the hormones can affect your vision or the shape of your eyes or something. So I'm going to see if I'd be a good candidate if it weren't for that, and then get through the move (closing in under 2 weeks now!) and into a normal routine again, and then I think it may be time.

 

[MustangGal]

Blen - I looked into laser eye surgery a couple years ago, and they told my that your eyes can change during pregnancy, and may not go back. I was worried that it would screw up my surgically adjusted eyes, and decided to wait until I knew I was done having babies.

PJ - I haven't progressed any further with the paci, he's been going through a "wake up at 5am or earlier" phase, so I'm afraid to cut any more off it. Maybe next week I'll chop the end off.

 

[Blenheim]

MG - But I waaaaaant it!
I'm wondering if vision change (or lack thereof) in a prior pregnancy is a good predictor of whether it will change in future pregancies. My vision's been stable for several years now. I'll need to talk to the doc about what he thinks.

 

[MustangGal]

Blen, I think it was more to do with swelling, as in your eye balls can swell during pregnancy and change your vision. Mine didn't during my pregnancy, but I also didn't have any swelling. Since each pregnancy is different, you never know. It's worth getting the evaluation done though, you can ask about your corncerns, maybe it's gotten better since I had mine done 4 years ago? My vision also isn't really that bad, so I didn't want to risk it. I do have to say the evaluation process was intersting!

 

[Shoopy]

Thanks ladies!

PJ-I hope the 18 month appt goes well. Glad the new schedule is working out so well!

Blen-good luck with your decision and what’s that I hear about a #2?

I think we can finally stop with the purees all together. She isn't eating much when we try to give her a big meal so we're going to offer her food throughout the day to make sure she gets her calories in. We're also offering her a lot of food during the day so that if she doesn't want her dinner, it's not a big deal. But she can handle table food so no more making it easy for her. We just need to figure out a good variety for her so that she doesn't get bored.

Any labor day weekend plans? We may be visiting my mom although it's still up in the air. My grandfather passed away yesterday and she's feeling down. I'm sad and at the same time kind of indifferent as mean as that it is. He wasn't a very nice man to me and especially not a nice man to my mom. I also hadn't seen him in about 12 years. I'm sad more at what could have been and I think that my mom feels the same way.

Wonder where Tgal has been lately.

 

[Blenheim]

Fiery - No, nothing to announce!! Although, to be honest, the only real reason (other than the potential of laser eye surgery!) that we're holding off now is because I'd prefer to secure a promotion at work before making a pregnancy announcement. I've heard unofficial rumors from good sources that I'm formally under review for one but that I may have issues getting it at this time because of an unspoken rule that you must be at the company for at least a year before getting promoted. While a pregnancy shouldn't technically get in the way of a promotion, I don't want to risk it since they could easily point to how long I've been with the company for their reason for deciding against it. Plus, our new house budget includes daycare for two kids and so we temporarily have a lot of extra money to work with as far as home improvements go, and I'm kind of excited about making some changes to the place. But... I will admit that baby fever is kicking in. We're tentatively saying that we'll TTC next summer, but if the doctor says I'm not a good candidate for surgery at this time and if I get the promotion within a couple of months... well... what kind of excuse is money, anyway?

I'm so happy for you guys that Sophia's doing so well with table foods now. I know that was a source of stress for a while. And my condolences about your grandfather, even if you have mixed feelings about it.

MG - thanks for sharing your experience and your decision process. It will be very interesting to see what he says!

 

[Dreamer_D]

What the heckadoodle doo! Fiery and China and Sabine have toddlers now?? Where is the time going?

I can't believe how big all our kiddies are getting. I call parenthood the freight train to the grave, time starts going so fast once a kiddo is born.

Our big thing is trying to decide when to TTC for number two. Part of me wants to do it now, part wants to wait another 6-8 months or more. I am trying to lost 15 more lbs before we TTC (I lost 11lbs already! ) to make pregnancy easier and the recovery, hopefully, easier. But who knows, we may just throw caution to the wind.

I have two graduate students starting next week, the new semester starts, and I need to finish a grant proposal and a manuscript, so after a veeeeery lazy and laid back summer, I am in for a busy fall!

Here is a photo of our little cutie butt from when he was about 16 months. They did a photo shoot at his daycare, thank goodness, or we would have no professional photos at all!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Screeching tantrum babies Hunter started this when he was about 12 months and still does it once in a while now. I made a decision early on that "Mom always wins". By that, I mean that when he uses that type of communication, I do not let him get what he wants and I do not respond in the way he wants unless he uses better communication.

Basically, there are some things that are optional in his life -- lots of things actually -- but when something is not negotiable, it is NOT negotiable! Period.

For example, if he does not want to put on his shoes and decided the way to let me know this was to writhe around like a maniac screeching and moaning, I would pick him up and sit him in my lap facing out and hold him firmly with one arm accorss the chest and one around his lap and say "I know it is frustrating, but this is not an option honey" and then I would sit still and wait until he calmed down. When he was calm physically, but maybe still crying a little, I would put his shoes on and say "Thank you so much honey, your cooperation is so helpful" and then let him down to run. He did this three times and then stopped. When he learned there was no choice about that (or diaper changes or the car seat etc) he just did what I asked.

Another example is when he was eating he decided that banging his hand on his tray and screaming was the best method to get some food. So we decided to substitute another behaviour in place of that one, we taught him to sign more and then we would interrupt his screech by signing more and saying "more" and giving him the food. As he figured it out he would do the sign. Then when he would screech or bang, we would say "more please" and then he would sign more and then we would give the food.

If he wanted to be picked up and was screaming and being a little stinker about it, or wanted a toy and decided to throw himself on the floor and "cry" because he could not have it or I did not give it to him fast enough, then I would say "say please" and he would sign more OR I would leave him to have his little tantrum and go do something more interesting and invite him to do it, and he would give up pretty quick. But I would NOT give him the thing he tantrumed for under any circumstances.

Admittedly I am a hard ass about this stuff because I refuse to be emotionally bullied or controlled by my child, and I am doing him no favours by teaching him that those bad ways of communicating are the right way to do. I can honestly say that by being 100% consistent and never giving in, he learned very quickly for most things. The toilet though is an ongoing issue

So that is what we do, maybe won't mesh for anyone else but it works pretty well if you have the resolve! It is a full time job being 100% consistent and being aware always of what undesirable behaviours you are reinforcing or rewarding. But I think the effort pays off.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Thanks everyone for the comments on weight/talking. I totally know that he's fine and that not talking at age 1 is NORMAL. Especially from hanging around these boards, the spectrum is so wide. Well he's always been at like the 5% which is pretty low. But he just didn't gain very much b/w last appt and this one. Though like Fiery pointed out, he's super active. And he also had a pretty serious case of diarrhea for about 2 weeks, which I forgot about, so there is a chance that he lost a bit of weight there. I think these scales are pretty BS, personally. I mean, clearly he's SMALL, there's no mistaking that, but he's healthy and thriving, which is really all that matters.

Hunter did not talk until he was 14 mo AT ALL, maybe a couple signs is it. Now he is way ahead of the norms. Don't borrow trouble, worry when you need to and not before.

Flights: A car seat saved our lives because Hunter would nap in it. Without the car seat, well it was horrid -- drying maniac for hours.

 

[Dreamer_D]

So Kyle now says more please (which sounds like mop), and no, and cheese, and race car, yet still no Mama! Do I not exist?

haha! Hunter took forever to say Mama! No where near his first word. I think he had about 30 words before he even said mama. Now he says it all the time, it is really sweet. DH spent a lot of time teaching him and reinforcing it, though. He would say "Where's mama?" and then point at me and wait until Hunter said "Mama!" and then we would all clap. DH likes when Hunter says those things, but without him teaching, I think I would still be the nameless one!

 

[Shoopy]

OMG Dreamer look at Hunter

 

[mrssalvo]

fiery and dreamer...love the pics!!! beautiful children!!!!

 

[ChinaCat]

Dreamer! Hunter is a DREAMBOAT. And wow, O could be his little brother. I am not kidding, O looks so much like H in those pictures. The exact same hair, coloring. etc. AND he makes that exact face in the first picture. I'll have to post a picture from home tonight.

 

[Mara]

Hi Mommas!!

I just wanted to pop in with a quick question--I posted this in Newborn but figure all the Moms here would know since it's 12m+!

--Is it 'normal' for the baby to vomit during bad teething? The last 3 days J has been sporadically vomiting really small amts (like spitup amts) along with crazy crazy puddles drooling, he has a teething rash near his mouth, super fussy bouts, knawing on his hands. He doesn't have diaharrea, is eating normally and as active as ever--so I don't think he's sick. I know it's vomit because it smells like vomit (huge UGH!) as opposed to just spitup. I figure it's prob teething related, I have read that all the excess saliva can really upset their stomachs, but figure I will ask.

I also may just email my pedi to ask but figure collectively you gals are as good if not better!!

TIA!!

ETA..Dreamer those pics are just DREAMY. Love the up to something. And Fiery you know I love Miss S!

Oh and fiery ditto the prune puree or even a little prune juice mixed in with water. Also plum puree (which is fresh prunes basically!); and pear are all good for poop. J will sometimes get constipated with too much oatmeal in his breakfast so we have to make sure his fruit levels are pretty high.

 

[Shoopy]

Hey Mara! Yes throwing up while teething can be normal, as can diarrhea. Poor things swallow so much saliva. Sophia is a great teether but she has thrown up in the past because of it.

 

[Pandora II]

Wow Fiery, Sophia is gorgeous - and how did you get her to pose so beautifully? She's so grown-up and I agree she looks much older than she really is. Which isn't always a good thing as people expect them to act older than they are capable of.

DD - Hunter is a cutie, such pretty blue eyes. And I'm glad someone else has had the 'Mama' problem. Daisy finally said it last week - I mean even kangaroo came first and she's been saying Dadee for months... I did just melt when she said it though

Thanks for all the tantrum advice. I'm being ultra-strict and I think it might be starting to have an effect... fingers crossed!

Had some good news: Daisy tested negative for Hereditary Spherocytosis which I'm thrilled about, however she is a bit anaemic so I need to check that out and get some paediatric iron supplements when I see the haemotology consultant on the 14th. I'm guessing it's because she's so not into food and is still mainly breastfed.

I had her measured at the baby clinic yesterday - she's 20lbs 40z and 29 inches which puts her at 9th centile for both. I discussed the food thing with them and she's being referred to a paediatric dietician just to check everything.

Just out of interest does anyone know anything about the recommended dosage of Vit. D - I believe the APA are about to bring out a paper. My mother has MS and there's a lot of research being done into the correlation between vitamin D levels in both the mother during pregnancy and during childhood and the risk of developing MS. She's very keen that I get Daisy on a high dose asap, but I'm having problems finding dosage information for young children and in my experience most GPs don't tend to be up on the latest research unless it's a specialised interest of theirs.

Otherwise, all pretty good here. D has now learnt to go down stairs safely which is a big relief as she's very 'into' stairs. She's also learnt how to take her clothes off which is very cute at bathtime/bedtime but not so much the rest of the time

DH has finished his probation period at work which is a big relief, and things will hopefully inmprove with the awful colleague - he made a complaint to HR about her yesterday as she did some pretty awful and very unprofessional things while we were away on holiday. I've never seen DH reduced to shaking and saying he just wants to curl up in a ball and cry himself to sleep before, and he was having nightmares and sleeping badly while we were away. He's the calmest, most un-shakeable person I know so to do this to him it is obviously getting pretty extreme. Anyway, with any luck she'll resign or something - otherwise I'm going to google 'voodoo dolls' , I seriously want to wring her neck!

Here's a pic of Daisy from my BIL's wedding on the 14th... eating bubble mixture