tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post8054126302228252942..comments2023-11-03T07:29:16.334+00:00Comments on The Potty Diaries: Be warned - this post rambles even more than usual...Potty Mummyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751869800592294891noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-83522030839273241092008-08-14T13:18:00.000+01:002008-08-14T13:18:00.000+01:00Thanks RM - particularly since I was at least part...Thanks RM - particularly since I was at least partly motivated to write this by your post on jam-making...<BR/><BR/>KP - and therein lies the rub. Waists. The reason I'm going to the gym 3 times a week is to try and rediscover mine. (Who am I kidding. Rediscover? Like I ever had much of a one in the first place...)Potty Mummyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04751869800592294891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-56185396533458079252008-08-14T09:56:00.000+01:002008-08-14T09:56:00.000+01:00Honey! Believe me, I have vintage pinny's - those ...Honey! Believe me, I have vintage pinny's - those 50's waists were all about corsets and glossy magazines. In the real world ladies had WAISTS! You've seen Darling Buds?..... xxTeena Vallerinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07321578309574367426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-65443779297772017332008-08-14T03:59:00.000+01:002008-08-14T03:59:00.000+01:00Completely brilliant as ever Potty. I adored the p...Completely brilliant as ever Potty. I adored the potty intro. As to the WM v SAHM argument, it'll be around until eternity: your sons (zookeeper or not) will be dragged into the debate as will my daughters. As Iota says: that we can be all things to all men, women and children is a Myth. You do your bit as you see fit and hope to hell it's enough. At least I do. xA Mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03933820566793650208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-5789595874590957072008-08-13T20:48:00.000+01:002008-08-13T20:48:00.000+01:00Irene, I wouldn't change being here. But you're r...Irene, I wouldn't change being here. But you're right - sometimes the tedium can be exhausting... I guess you just have to move your parameters for what = excitement in an ordinary day. For me, it used to be a trip to Paris, a new business win, seeing a toy roll out of production that you thought of. Now, it's playing monsters in the garden with the boys, and a skype call with their grandparents...<BR/><BR/><BR/>Hi KP, nice idea - just not sure I'm trim-waisted enough to carry it off...<BR/><BR/>Hello Tim - thanks for visiting, and whilst chocolate eating does happen frequently throughout the day, I'm afraid it's usually crammed in when the boys' backs are turned (share it? are you crazy?), not at all matching up to those cadbury moments we all yearn for. So don't rescind the resignation - but do make arrangements for the odd afternoon off!<BR/><BR/>Hi Pig, thankyou for my virtual medal and I agree, the Olympics are fabulous. I even found myself getting into the boxing this afternoon - what's that all about? Time to find some balance and go shopping for girly stuff, I do believe.<BR/><BR/>Elsie - send her over here. I'll pass on a few home truths... (though the sad thing is, once upon a time I was probably capable of thinking - if not saying - something similar. I got mine, didn't I?)Potty Mummyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04751869800592294891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-3751382532801476182008-08-13T20:10:00.000+01:002008-08-13T20:10:00.000+01:00Bloody well said PM. I shall be quoting you for y...Bloody well said PM. I shall be quoting you for years to come.<BR/><BR/>Coincidentally, i have literally just got off the phone to a (childless) friend and during the conversation i said something like: 'the thing i didn't like about teaching was the school holidays because i would get so bored after the first week as wasn't very good at motivating myself whilst everyone else was at work etc' and she replied with: 'well, you're not working at all now so you must be constantly bored'.Elsie Buttonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03768998561385293241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-1184566319379113592008-08-13T18:42:00.000+01:002008-08-13T18:42:00.000+01:00Bra-bloody-Vo Potty M!!! a well-reasoned, tear-ind...Bra-bloody-Vo Potty M!!! a well-reasoned, tear-inducing defense of the sheer bloody tedium (punctuated with fantastic highs) of the life of a stay at home Mum.<BR/><BR/>I think you should be on the top step of the podium for that one.<BR/><BR/>and OHMIGOD, did you see the french guy take the world 100m freestyle record, and then the kiwi TAKE IT BACK AGAIN????<BR/><BR/>gotta love testosterone!<BR/><BR/>PigxPig in the Kitchenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10631525119816074013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-3319901515381026172008-08-13T17:26:00.000+01:002008-08-13T17:26:00.000+01:00...drinking coffee and eating chocolate! You mean ......drinking coffee and eating chocolate! You mean you DON'T do that all day? Help! How can I rescind my resignation!!Tim Atkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00858684167484655029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-65182891688639295402008-08-13T11:54:00.000+01:002008-08-13T11:54:00.000+01:00Can I send you a vintage pinny to complete the loo...Can I send you a vintage pinny to complete the look?! t.xTeena Vallerinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07321578309574367426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-76551951199321922942008-08-13T04:04:00.000+01:002008-08-13T04:04:00.000+01:00I think being a 'stay at home mom' when my kids we...I think being a 'stay at home mom' when my kids were little, was the hardest thing i ever did and also the most boring, not for lack of work, but for lack of intellectual stimulation. Dull, grinding, never ending, long days with little bits of sunshine here and there.Irenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05043376053971475659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-44034965016657465542008-08-12T21:37:00.000+01:002008-08-12T21:37:00.000+01:00Thanks KP. Am off now to scrub the floor in my fl...Thanks KP. Am off now to scrub the floor in my flowered apron and bake fairy cakes for the local 1950's mothers throwback competition...<BR/><BR/>Ah yes, SB. And I'm afraid the peer pressure doesn't let up when the breastfeeding stops. Busy bodies will always find a way to make some kind of comment...Potty Mummyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04751869800592294891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-32341468301835105832008-08-12T02:48:00.000+01:002008-08-12T02:48:00.000+01:00Hi Potty - good point, now that you mention it, I ...Hi Potty - good point, now that you mention it, I wasn't breast feed for more then 4 months b/c mom got pregnant w/ my brother. It just seems like their is so much pressure to breast feed. Peer pressure after high school - ha!R. Molderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18119986754283927453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-52469571786562394922008-08-11T23:04:00.000+01:002008-08-11T23:04:00.000+01:00I'm with you PM. A big squeak from over here! At t...I'm with you PM. A big squeak from over here! At the end of the day a happy mummy and daddy makes for happy children whatever the set-up for childcare. Children learn from what they see around them in their own little worlds. They need to see happy grown-ups! <BR/>I think your little boy, in his little world, wants a bride to make his children happy just like his mummy does for his daddy. I see nothing wrong with his interpretation of your example whilst he is still so young! Well done you! xTeena Vallerinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07321578309574367426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-6041811891550082182008-08-11T20:57:00.000+01:002008-08-11T20:57:00.000+01:00HI Ped, sorry, I missed you whilst I was tapping a...HI Ped, sorry, I missed you whilst I was tapping away to everyone else. You're right; the grass is always greener. If you work, you want to work part-time. If you work part-time, you want to stop. Or work more, so you can buy the alligator bag Aims pointed out. If you don't work at all, the bag is a distant mirage, and you're desparate for some time away from the kids to interact with other grown-ups. And to talk about the bag, obviously...Potty Mummyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04751869800592294891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-43176983480267074932008-08-11T20:53:00.000+01:002008-08-11T20:53:00.000+01:00Hi Tracey, very good points, especially the one ab...Hi Tracey, very good points, especially the one about paying other people to do it for us. Hope the course is going well, btw! (When you find out what you want to do with the rest of your life, can you let me know? I'm fresh out of ideas for mine...)<BR/><BR/>Hi Jeanie, you're right about ignoring the unwanted advice but of course it usually comes at the time when we're feeling at our most vulnerable - I believe that's called Murphy's Law...<BR/><BR/>Iota, welcome back! Are you home now? You're right of course about having it all being a myth (at least for normal sensitive human beings), it's just a shame that no-one tells us that when we're younger. Oh right. Actually, they did. I was just to young and optimistic to believe them...<BR/><BR/>J's Mommy, the last thing you should do is feel guilty. You are doing the right thing for your family, which at this moment in time means paying the bills. And from your blog, it sounds like you have a pretty good childcare arrangement going, so don't beat yourself up about working. Hell, you're a mum - you already have a million other reasons to do that, I'm sure!<BR/><BR/>MdP, god, your day sounds EXHAUSTING. I think I might print your comment off to re-read if I ever start to feel broody for number 3... It's SO good to be out of the baby jungle (cute as they are!)<BR/><BR/>SB, you guys really sound like it you have your situation all worked out to be the best for everyone. And as for the breastfeeding advice, just ignore it. Do what feels right for you, not what other people tell you to do. Sure, wouldn't it be great if we could all breastfeed our babies for 2 years like the WHO says (actually, no it damn well wouldn't, ow ow ow!), but really, you should do what works for you. Were you breastfed? I wasn't - and I'm OK (sort of!). Tell the breast feeding Nazis your baby's food is none of their business!<BR/><BR/>WM, I know exactly what you're saying. And I wouldn't change it. Though having Husband home to do the potty training would be nice...<BR/><BR/>EPM, sounds like a piece of advice that I don't want to hear - but know is true! You're just echoing a number of my friends with older kids, btw. Oh well - onwards and upwards!<BR/><BR/>VG, think what an insufferably smug supermum you would be if you felt you were getting it right all the time. We're only human, surely?<BR/><BR/>Aims, in Dulwich Mum's words, OMG!!! Mind you, it is alligator. If you have such expensive tastes, what do you expect? You would think, though, for that money they could make it look a little less like a school satchel...Potty Mummyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04751869800592294891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-49208775827151296912008-08-11T20:47:00.000+01:002008-08-11T20:47:00.000+01:00I try to live with the philosophy that you do what...I try to live with the philosophy that you do what is best for your family. I work part time, partly for my sanity and partly because I supply the health insurance. For us it is ideal. My kids have never been in day care. We have a nanny once a week, otherwise hubby and I juggle care of our kids. It is never easy no matter which route you go.<BR/><BR/>Samurai Beetle - The people who annoy me are the ones who share their opinion without ever having traveled the parenting path. I've had some friends that wanted to breastfeed, but couldn't and then were made to feel bad when giving their babies formula. Arghh.ped crossinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06360740233306533239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-28926736287437686132008-08-11T19:14:00.000+01:002008-08-11T19:14:00.000+01:00Just throwing this in here - sorry PM - wanted to ...Just throwing this in here - sorry PM - wanted to show you the bag from Mulberry that blew me away with the price...<BR/><BR/>http://www.mulberry.com/?gclid=CIfbsbrL_JQCFQ1gQgoddlKFqg#/storefront/c100/2605/category/aimshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12685252628734838159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-74202030148272265872008-08-11T18:56:00.000+01:002008-08-11T18:56:00.000+01:00Brilliantly written post, PM. (Working part time, ...Brilliantly written post, PM. (Working part time, I feel like I recognise a bit of both your world and that of the stressed out woman on the tube with the unrecognisable bikini line. And sometimes, I feel like I'm doing neither job particularly well.)<BR/><BR/>Samurai Beetle, I don't think the 'advice' from fellow parents ever stops! It'll be schools next, then before you know it universities and whether they've taken a gap year....nappy valley girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788949037047084412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-62309996151303472312008-08-11T18:09:00.000+01:002008-08-11T18:09:00.000+01:00I could have wept several years ago when my daught...I could have wept several years ago when my daughter said she wasn't going to bother going to college, she wanted to be an at-home mother like me!!!! Seven years in undergrad and post grad education - agh!!! Not to mention the blood, sweat and tears she never saw me put in in the corporate world.<BR/>Also wanted to warn all you mothers of wee ones, that there's a saying - "Little kids, little problems. Big kids, big problems". And it's true - they may not need you to wipe their bottoms, but they definitely still need you!Expat mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17798190669591053390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-23890585735788489862008-08-11T17:35:00.000+01:002008-08-11T17:35:00.000+01:00SAHM or WM it's a tough job. Sometimes I wish I w...SAHM or WM it's a tough job. Sometimes I wish I was a DINK again, but then I hear "Mummeeeeeeeee" ................. You know what I'm saying, don't you?Working Mumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16243697047355131343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-38025987862500366572008-08-11T07:11:00.000+01:002008-08-11T07:11:00.000+01:00And I also want to say the biggest judgement I've ...And I also want to say the biggest judgement I've received from EVERYONE is encouragement to breastfeed. It's like everyone I meet is pushy about this. It's alot to demand of ones body and I'm doing my best to keep up with it, thus blogging in middle of night as I finish pumping (not actual breast feeding b/c it takes twice as long), but it seriously boggles the mind as to how this could be such a concern to so many people as to how I feed my child. I wonder if I will get so much fuss about what I choose to feed my baby after one year. Is it going to be comments of - oh you really MUST feed the baby carrots with every meal and blah blah blah. When does the attention of others as to my decisions for my baby stop???R. Molderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18119986754283927453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-47145525441433108452008-08-11T07:04:00.000+01:002008-08-11T07:04:00.000+01:00I've learned it doesn't matter what you choose, so...I've learned it doesn't matter what you choose, some family and friends will chatter endlessly about your decision. My husband decided to be a stay at home dad for various personal reasons and I've been pestering my co-worker for tips on how it was for him as he raised 2 children. He's an artist as is my husband and work comes inconsistently but being home allows them to do projects as they come in - with the balance of handling the ton of responsibilities with children. I think it doesn't matter what other people think, as long as you are personally satisfied.R. Molderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18119986754283927453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-43935231911411583392008-08-11T06:05:00.000+01:002008-08-11T06:05:00.000+01:00Stay at home mom's are never given the credit they...Stay at home mom's are never given the credit they deserve. My hubby leaves for work at 6am, by which time I am already involved in the morning routine for the children, with changing nappies and getting breakfast. At 7:30am the older one goes to creche and I spend my morning trying to do my university work and keep the house in order and entertain, feed and change nappies for my baby boy, at 2:30 I fetch my 4 year old from creche and I play all afternoon with the two of them until bath time. At 5pm the bath time, supper time, bed time routine starts. During this time, usually about 5:30pm hubby comes home, exhausted from his days work (he works in a physically demanding job so I don't blame him for a second!), and gets to stop. At 7pm, when the kids have gone to bed, I finally get to stop being mother, and then it is time to be wife. When bed time comes, I fall into a deep sleep from which I am awakened periodically in the night to feed the baby boy. And the cycle is never ending. I take my work on holiday, I work all week end and I am on night duty every night. I love my role of mother. I wouldn't swap it for the world. But it's not EASY!!!Mom de Plumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15763454082893724945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-17032314613905028952008-08-11T04:48:00.000+01:002008-08-11T04:48:00.000+01:00I agree too that being home is best for the childr...I agree too that being home is best for the children...adding even more to my quilt..this belief, not anyone who says it, I mean.Lisa @ Boondock Ramblingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11430994283914399581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-10087775991379090672008-08-11T04:46:00.000+01:002008-08-11T04:46:00.000+01:00Right on mamma! I wish I could be a stay at home m...Right on mamma! I wish I could be a stay at home mom. I look at you lot with envy and disappointment in myself. Right not we need the money, not want it but need it.<BR/><BR/>Yet, I'm still looking for ways to be at home with my little guy.<BR/><BR/>This was a great post....loved the funny intro. Kids are funny, aren't they?Lisa @ Boondock Ramblingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11430994283914399581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5175562867822111389.post-8342025960247043892008-08-11T01:39:00.000+01:002008-08-11T01:39:00.000+01:00And of course there's the modern day myth that we ...And of course there's the modern day myth that we can have it all (career, quality time with kids, fab body, exciting social life...) IT'S A MYTH! There. I feel better now. Bits and pieces here and there is the best one can hope for. <BR/><BR/>When the children are little, it makes sense to appreciate them and spend time with them, because, as we all know, it goes by very fast. You just have to hope that you'll get some of the other bits and pieces later on, and be grateful for the ones you had before the baby years.<BR/><BR/>And I know we're not allowed to say it, but I think a lot of us feel that actually, it's best for the children. (I'm with Tracey on the day care centre five days a week thing.) And why wouldn't you want the best for your children? And why do I keep starting sentences with 'and'?Iota https://www.blogger.com/profile/08507184283437057648noreply@blogger.com