The whinge thread

[Bunnylump]

Glad you had a good holiday, Maisie! Would you recommend any particular places you visited?

[maisie ladybird]

We go to North Norfolk most years and are lucky if we get a couple of days on the beach. So in past years it's been a case of where to visit, what to go and see, how do we keep the children happy and entertained, which is the hardest part (when they get bored, they start fighting, then I start shouting! ) but this year's been so different. We were on the beach every day and then strolled round the town in the evening, went to the pub for something to eat, there were bands playing a couple of evenings so we stayed and listened to them.
It's been the most relaxing holiday we've been on.

[Bunnylump]

Sounds heavenly!! And re the fighting children and shouting - BTDTGTTS!! Strangely, yesterday I re-acquainted myself with a cousin via Facebook, who has (wait for it) FIVE young boys (what a nightmare!) I dread to think what her family holidays must be like!!

[maisie ladybird]

Well, my 4 all age from 14 to 6 and trying to find something all of them can and want to do at the same time can be difficult.

BTW what does BTDTGTTS stand for?

[LAT]

(Been there, done that, got the tee shirt)

That's a big age range to try to keep happy.
We were up in North Norfolk in early June for a family Christening, staying near Sheringham. We hadn't visited that part of England for many years but have been saying we must go back again. It felt wonderfully relaxing but the downside is that it isn't an easy journey so it takes a long time to get there And we were pleased we didn't get lost as the mobile phone signals were almost non-existent.

Have you thought of visiting a campsite in France? We spent a few years doing that when ours were about 6 and 8 up to about 12 and 14. The big advantage is that there is plenty onsite to amuse all ages ( or you can just sit and read). They can practice their French buying breakfast. And we aren't campers but used to hire a large mobile home which had everything we needed. Yes the journey is longer but the ferry is part of the fun and French roads are so much emptier than British ones.

[giraffe]

(BTDTGTTS = Been there done that got the T shirt)

Ours all get on remarkably well, but there were times when any two got on fine, but when all three were present there were difficulties. I think the five years between the girls means that they don't see each other as rivals. F was always very competitive with K, but would allow L to win / have a head start as he didn't see the need to compete. On trips out to theme parks or similar they are very protective of L and know that if the three of them go off on their own one goes in front of her and one brings up the rear so that she can't get lost. (Not so necessary any more, but quite sweet to see them looking out for her.) The girls now able to interact on a more level playing field so are good company for each other. I think also because they don't have local school friends they are good company for each other. It will be interesting to see how F and L interact when K goes away in September, but I'm dreading the following year when L is left here on her own.

[maisie ladybird]

We actually stayed in Sheringham. Living in land locked Leicestershire means that the seaside is quite a drive away, so Norfolk is one of the nearest and easiest places to go, it takes us about 3 hours to get there. Just enough time to exhaust eye spy, find a red/blue/silver etc car, and all those lovely travelling games that can be played in a car.

[giraffe]

Harry potter audio disks kept ours quiet on long journeys, and when those were exhausted others that we borrowed from the library. (Carries War, Treasure Island, Jamaica Inn, Postman Pat etc)

[LAT]

In that order?

[giraffe]

Not necessarily. We used to alternate one for Lally with one for the older two. But she was pretty happy listening to what the others wanted.

[Bunnylump]

We used to end up taking either my niece and nephew or friends for our two on holiday. We also had several holidays with other families, which in some ways was good for the kids, but sometimes led to extra stresses and strains when they fell out!! One of the best was when we stayed (twice) in a big manor house in Somerset http://www.northmoorhouse.co.uk/ with three other families. It was a great place for the kids to play things like hide and seek (with a "secret" staircase etc.!) but had massive grounds for them to run around in too.

[giraffe]

Some friends are coming away with us again this year, but they don't have children. They seem happy to use ours as an excuse for doing things they wouldn't do just as a couple though.

[gill216]

www.cartridgepeople.com. Their site says first class delivery. Its first class fair enough......from Switzerland!!! GRRRR.

[Bunnylump]

I'd like to moan about my husband please (otherwise I might be tempted to punch him!!)

In the days of video tapes, he kept recording things, and instead of reusing the same tape, kept buying new ones, with the thought that he might like to re-watch what he'd recorded. (WHY???)

He also transferred some of the video footage of things like the kids when they were little, and then forgot to label them.

I've been trying to have a purge of junk in this house this week. So guess who has just had to watch through SIXTY SIX video tapes to make sure I wasn't throwing out something we actually wanted???

AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bunnylump]

Yes, me whinging again. Sorry but I need to get this one off my chest.This time: MEN IN PUBS

I just got back from the pub, went with my sister in law, to see my OH who was playing in the band. As soon as we got there, middle aged men were starting the chat up lines at the bar. Now I'm not good at being rude to people, so humoured them, and then tried to ignore them and listen to the band. Eventually I had to tell them that I was there to see my HUSBAND who was playing drums. They didn't believe me. When they finally twigged that I was being serious, one of them said "well, you could have told me straight away, I've been using all my chat up line up!" Presumably the implication was that I was teasing him. He started being quite weird with me (probably because he had had too much to drink.) I had AT NO TIME been in any way provocative or flirty (yes, unusual for me, I hear you say!!)

All I can say is GET A LIFE.

I suppose it's just at my advanced years and general state of decrepitude that this sort of thing doesn't happen any more, so I'm not used to dealing with it. But WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO??? Can't a woman go to a pub to listen to music without someone assuming they have an ulterior motive???

[SparkOut]

Have you read your signature line recently?

[Bunnylump]

Trust me, I DIDN'T have my signature line tattooed on my chest. And actually, THAT is a quote from a MAN (Robin Williams). And OMG, it's SOOoooooo true (sorry, present company excepted!)

[SparkOut]

_________________
God gave men a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time.

(quoted for being able to understand these comments when you change it!)

[giraffe]

Grrrr! Car insurance. Since a man drove into the back of my car a month ago, the insurance on our little Fox has gone up by £216 even though that wasn't the car I was driving at the time and it wasn't my fault, and I didn't claim a courtesy car or medical expenses which my insurance company tried to persuade me to claim both. So I asked how much it will go up when F passes his driving test, another couple of hundred. So I had a bit of a rant and said to keep me on the policy for now, and I would shop around when he takes his test. Suddenly I was eligible for a loyalty discount of £100. Still more expensive, but not quite as bad.

[gill216]

Try Aviva for a multicar quote. We saved £200 this year.