Anyone noticed...

[Stew....pid]

how much their home has changed since childminding ?? take ours, we always use Matt Emulsion but now in certain rooms we use silk so it can be wiped down, the coffee table that stood proud in the middle of the room is now in a corner, curtains tied out the way to stop young Tarzan swinging on them (he's a little ******) not major changes but subtle changes you have done over time and probably not realised ?

[Alibali]

I used to have a dining room with a lovely mahogony table and chairs, now I have a play room with cheap ikea storage and we eat in the kitchen. I also used to have matt emulsion, but now everything is silk washable. I used to have lovely soft carpets and fabric sofas, now I have laminate flooring and a leather sofa!!

The list could go on forever:laughing:

[jaja]

yeah, nothing left in hand reach, no hot drinks in the lounge, stairsgates on but not needed anymore, dining room is now playroom and posters up in the loo and all over the walls, yep my house has changed alot, lol.xx

[Happy Bunny]

Lol I replaced my carpet with laminate too.

Oh lets not forget the stairgates that used to come down when mine were old enough. Now they are a permanent fixture.

I can't complain much though as I have a toyroom where I can shove everything into at the end of the day and my front room is mine again.

[kel1983]

:laughing: Yes

And ive only been minding for 6 months.

We dont have children in our house but we still leave the stairgates on 24/7. We also have a toddler seat attached to the dining room chair that really doesnt need to be there every day. I am for ever finding pieces of puzzles and small toys under the sofa and behind the sofa cushions

I do take down notice boards when I'm not working though :thumbsup:

[Milli147]

House is totally babyproofed 3 days a week - stairgates, highchairs, steps, potties, piles of bibs, wipes, muslins..travel cots in different rooms....then on a wednesday night it all comes down and you wouldn't have a clue! (except for the notice boards in the playroom - I never go in there when I'm not working so I can cope with those!) It all goes back up again on a sunday night - a faff, but worth it to feel like I don't live in a creche!:D

[WibbleWobble]

my kids are grown up 19 and 24!

so we have been child free for many years.

My dining room has floor to ceiling toy storage and the soild oak table is now covered in a child friendly pvc tablecloth. Booster seats take up two chairs. All the wall paintwork is that diamond emulsion which you can wipe clean.

Phil made me some lovely 6ft long boards to put art work on.The idea was we would take them down at the end of the day/week....over a year later never been down....even for xmas dinner!

st the end of the week phil puts all the toys away which are taking up space eg the kitchen It all goes behind the kitchen door.

stair gates are everywhere!

pure silk blinds :eek: in the living room have cords which are wound round cleats to keep them away from little so and sos.

we have a wii!!!

and we have a wooden dolls house in the lounge too

i have had to sell my motorbike cos we didnt have enough room in the shed for my bike, phils bike and all the buggies i have!


dont get me started about the garden....


mandy xxx

[catminder]

Oh yes!

Toy boxes in lounge x2 overflowing with toddler toys at the moment, cupboard understairs full of toys - and I mean FULL.

Cats' litter tray and bowls in our bedroom (they like a child-free sanctuary as they get a bit nervous with all the noise)

Fridge-freezer covered in artwork (once it's on it has to stay on or I get interrogated as to where the missing masterpieces are)

Finger prints on walls

Bogies stuck to our leather sofa (I do remove these on a daily basis but they keep re-appearing)

Files, lots and lots of files, full or paperwork :censored: ( I don't like paperwork)

I could go on but I won't. I keep telling myself that if I didn't childmind the house would be immaculate but maybe I'm just kidding myself. Anyway, seeing as we've got to wait until we're 70+ til we can retire I'll just have to get used to it for the next :censored: years :eek:

[SamBaker]

OMG YES!!!!! Especially tonight!!! I have just finished an 11 hour day with 3 under 4's plus after schoolies.

1 bathroom down stairs flooded, eldest put moonsand down sink and blocked it, then littlie left the tap on, you can imagine the mess i have been left with :angry: :angry:

Oh and I have just found my hall way has had the wall paper peeled off

This doesnt include toys and mess everywhere!!

Ok moan over, where's that bottle!!!! :laughing: :laughing:

[PixiePetal]

well I have to admit to not being the tidiest person in the world :o - except for the playroom which has labelled boxes etc....:thumbsup:
I close the door on that at the end of the day so it doesn't get in way of family at all - my own kids are teens.

stairgates have been there since DD was a baby so don't really notice them and highchairs are folded down into a corner. At Christmas etc when I have time off, they go in the loft:thumbsup:

we have 2 dogs and live on a farm so not possible to be too fussy - DH drops corn and straw out of his clothes as soon as he walks in the door :rolleyes:

I have always liked silk paint - dad was a decorator, he taught me well :thumbsup:

the garden is big and I hide toys behind the tool shed when not working - the tikes playhouse is out of general sight too and anyway we sit round the other side of house when no children here :D

not too bad really - mind you I have been CM for over 16 years so just don't see the faults anymore :D

[caz3007]

My youngest is now 8, so we wouldnt need the high chair booster seats, stairgates, fire guards, changing mat, small childrens toys, I think you get the picture :laughing:

Our garden is full of toys, but my Ds does tidy it at the end of the day, as long as I can sit in my lounge and not see toys from my patio doors, I am happy. So glad we have an L shaped garden :laughing:

[funemnx]

Yup! my youngest is 19 (years not months), stairgates, sippy cups on the draining board, biscuit prints on the big floor speakers, coffee table in the corner with no varnish left on it, dining room table (forgot what kind of wood) wipe clean table cloth, and the very best steam cleaner money can buy!! :D

[Trouble]

we have a conservatory playroom with curtains so at night i put high chairs and in there and close the doors and shut the curtains !!!!!:clapping:

[glitzygal]

I have playroom, tidiest room,,,lol

my garden is like a playroom to,,,,,,,, seems to spill out every where,,,,


(hi stew, new i would see a few thread started by you,,, it will take over your life) :jump for joy:

[ORKSIE]

Hmmmm my home is a play room, laminate everywhere, in case of those lil spillages.

my garden looks like the town park!!!:panic: :laughing:

All said and done ....I LOVE IT!!!!!

BTW my kids are 17 & 19 and I am still very young, in my head anyways:)

[emmadines]

Yes, my house is a friggin mess..... :(

I tidy then as soon as they walk in its a mess...

[ORKSIE]

Yes, my house is a friggin mess..... :(

I tidy then as soon as they walk in its a mess...

Likes this :D :laughing: :laughing:

[Stew....pid]

I have playroom, tidiest room,,,lol

my garden is like a playroom to,,,,,,,, seems to spill out every where,,,,


(hi stew, new i would see a few thread started by you,,, it will take over your life) :jump for joy:

its a great forum, ive learnt more on here in 2 days of trawling than from any of the courses ive been on :) in fact the wife looks at me with that "how the hell did he know" look when i tell her things.... she thinks ive been reading books and studying :clapping: :laughing:

[Trouble]

its a great forum, ive learnt more on here in 2 days of trawling than from any of the courses ive been on :) in fact the wife looks at me with that "how the hell did he know" look when i tell her things.... she thinks ive been reading books and studying :clapping: :laughing:

wait til shes telling you off for being on here all the time but dont worry the phase of her nagging will pass after about 6 months:laughing: :laughing: and we will still be hear to help you through it :thumbsup:

[Stew....pid]

wait til shes telling you off for being on here all the time but dont worry the phase of her nagging will pass after about 6 months:laughing: :laughing: and we will still be hear to help you through it :thumbsup:

sshhhhh keep it quiet but she thinks im on motorbike forum :D

[The Juggler]

i have a jar of caterpillars sitting on my tv stand in front of the tv as we speak :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

also we have designer bashed-to-bits skirting boards. One of my mindees mums has same wooden kitchen table as us but you'd never know - her's still is the colour it was when bought - mine is bare:panic: :panic:

[Chell]

Not really as I have my ow children age 2,6 & 7. I started minding in March 2010 so things like highchairs were still around for my youngest. The only difference is I now have two high chairs, an extra fold up chair as we have an extra person at dinner time, an OFSTED certicate and an insurance certicate on the wall.

I have a good excuse for moaning at DH or getting a job done if I make out it is a risk to the children. :laughing:

[Trouble]

sshhhhh keep it quiet but she thinks im on motorbike forum :D

we can talk motorbikes if you like !!!!!

[Beetlejuice]

I used to have fabric on my dining room chairs - now they have been recovered in oilcloth lol! We've wanted to decorate and redo the floor in the lounge and dining room but it gets so trashed we cba :rolleyes:

[Stew....pid]

we can talk motorbikes if you like !!!!!

V twin or inline 4 ? im a twin man meself :thumbsup:

[Trouble]

V twin or inline 4 ? im a twin man meself :thumbsup:

me to there faster !:D

[Stew....pid]

me to there faster !:D

right so lets not talk motorbikes :panic: :rolleyes: :D

[glitzygal]

sshhhhh keep it quiet but she thinks im on motorbike forum :D



HAHAHAHAHAHHAH,,
so how do you explain the way you smile, when you find something funny,,,,,,,:clapping:


cheeky:D

[BlondeMoment]

House is totally babyproofed 3 days a week - stairgates, highchairs, steps, potties, piles of bibs, wipes, muslins..travel cots in different rooms....then on a wednesday night it all comes down and you wouldn't have a clue! (except for the notice boards in the playroom - I never go in there when I'm not working so I can cope with those!) It all goes back up again on a sunday night - a faff, but worth it to feel like I don't live in a creche!:D

I do exactly the same thing, only I don't work mondays so mine all comes back out on a monday night. You've got to get rid of work at the weekends and reclaim your home

[FussyElmo]

Not really as I have my ow children age 2,6 & 7. I started minding in March 2010 so things like highchairs were still around for my youngest. The only difference is I now have two high chairs, an extra fold up chair as we have an extra person at dinner time, an OFSTED certicate and an insurance certicate on the wall.

I have a good excuse for moaning at DH or getting a job done if I make out it is a risk to the children. :laughing:

Snap there is nothing that I have done in my house I wouldnt have done for my children :)

[boxtree7]

I use to have time to iron my house looks like a clothes horse ...

[Mollymop]

Yes I know how you feel, my house is like a nursery! I want a playroom!!!

[babs]

well where do i start, most of you have seen pic of my kitchen when we had it done before i started cm well the pvc table cloth never comes off glass table only at christmas or if i have a holiday ( holidays what are they) booster seats on chairs. under the stairs has been boxed in for more storage, office also has a travel cot permently up as i cant be bothered to pull it down :laughing: .. stair gates, laundry now a play room and my garden well what can i say its a park... and my shed is now a buggy park and have to fight to get lawn mower out... had living room deocated just before christmas and brought a rug for floor ( laminate underneath) well think ive seen rug 3 times since it went down as its covered in a fitted sheet most of the time as its a shaggy one and if a child threw up in it would be a bin job.. :laughing: my son is 19 , but i do have great neices 10 months, 2years, and 4 years so i can say i use it for them too.

[WibbleWobble]

oooh...motorbike forum!!

what do you ride?

I ride a 998cc triumph bonneville T100 in black,,,,and chrome.

her name is Mary-Jane and she is my love! She is actually OHs ..i had to give mine up to make space for all the buggies etc.

looking to get a Kawasaki ER6F ....smaller than MJ- she is a beast really. So heavy and i am only 5ft4!


but that will only be when we get somewhere with a bigger shed or garage

mandy xxx

[Stew....pid]

oooh...motorbike forum!!

what do you ride?

I ride a 998cc triumph bonneville T100 in black,,,,and chrome.

her name is Mary-Jane and she is my love! She is actually OHs ..i had to give mine up to make space for all the buggies etc.

looking to get a Kawasaki ER6F ....smaller than MJ- she is a beast really. So heavy and i am only 5ft4!


but that will only be when we get somewhere with a bigger shed or garage

mandy xxx


Aprilia RSVR, ive got 2 of those, Honda NC30 and a Fireblade Streetfighter :D
i love me bikes, a also buy and break bikes although childminding has slowed that down a little :)

[WibbleWobble]

Aprilia RSVR, ive got 2 of those, Honda NC30 and a Fireblade Streetfighter :D
i love me bikes, a also buy and break bikes although childminding has slowed that down a little :)


OH is after a Yamaha blackbird. He is a bit of an old boy now and wants to take it easy :D . he spent a lovely few weeks in ITU with multiple fractures after being T boned by a Rolls Royce pulling out:(

One of mindees dads has just passed his test,,,,got himself a ninja:eek: . only a young guy so OH will be riding out with him a bit. last night Oh had MJ out on the drive fitting the back wheel (we had a puncture at 95 on the M6 on saturday :eek: ) and this dad and his lad were sat on MJ with the centre stand down. Mum had kittens!

mandy