So glad DD's bedding was mainly charity shop stuff

Don't you love them? Absentdaughter wrecked her bed linen deliberately in a fit of pique. I was tempted to make her go and sleep on a bench in the park opposite our house (but didn't).

Takes me right back bags. One of my daughters had a lovely fountain pen for her birthday, and when she ran out of refills, she decided to swap the insides round and fill it up from a bottle of ink. Needless to say, the insides didn't fit and my lovely oak dining table acquired a permanent stain.

..
and your table all the better for it I expect, when. Love tables that tell stories.

bags I hope the turquoise complimented her bedroom colour scheme I remember that age very well

I didn't quite see it like that at the time butty, but it wouldn't bother me now. I have an antique low table that has lots of interesting bumps and marks but is beautiful for all that. Looks great when it's been given a loving polish before my grandsons come along to line their cars up on it.

One of my DDs always has havoc in her wake - and always did! We used to joke that she fills any available space: with her stuff, her wonderful personality, her general mess - and it's even worse now that she has children!! But I would not change one molecule of her!!

Whenever she was sick as a child she would make the maximum mess - once vomiting into a drawer full of toys (bits of lego, dolls, bricks etc.) and it took ages to clear it all up and wash everything. Her sister, in contrast, used to be terribly sick in the car but never once allowed a single drop to land in the car itself; just used a pot.

Having lowered the tone I will go to bed!

My dear sister is 75, but still manages to break something every time she visits me. Last time she did something strange with my shower and now the water will come only out of the shower head and not the tap! She was a very clumsy child too. She nearly always manages to spill coffee or wine on the carpet or settee. I guess some people are just like that! (I loved having her here though).

Greatnan Indeed some people are like that – and I am that people. As a child I invariably knocked over someone's teacup at teatime with the result that my favourite aunt threatened never to invite me again. Fortunately for me, she didn't mean it. I think it's because I don't really concentrate on mundane things, such as looking where tea things are, and I wave my orang utan arms about a great deal.

absent

I'm another. This may be why we have an odd assortment of crockery and very few wine glasses.

Bags . Thank goodness for charity shops!

I seem to remember it getting far, far worse when mine reached teenhood and started drinking. A teacher at my son's school remarked that I was the only mother he knew who carried a bucket in the car and, for some reason it was always me that did the picking up from nightclubs, not the drop off.

DD is the one in our family who you can rely on to be ill with out any notice in the most public of places,she also had a tendency not to put the lids back on crayons and coloured ink pens we had school blouses with ink stains in the top pocket from the first day back at school no chance of her looking neat and tidy,could never let her know when we where going on holiday as she would throw up everywhere in excitement,even now I daren't keep a day out a surprise as she gets over excited before we go,will it ever end I ask DGD looks at beening the same but all the boys are fine. memories !!

When my children were small we arrived at a campsite late one evening with my daughter sleeping in the back seat of the car. She opened her eyes and was promptly sick all over herself and the seat belt. We stood for what seemed like several minutes trying to work out how to get her out of the car without allowing the vomit covered seat belt to retract....and how to clean it up with only a bowl of lukewarm water....I think the car smelt forever more.

I found that a liberal spray with Monsoon perfume covered it.

Cloth nappies (towel), wet flannel (or any old rag, rinsed and wrung out many times), baby wipes. Job done.

My younger daughter was not very happy with long car trips and once vomited copiously into the hood of her father's anorak, which he was wearing at the time. He got very angry when her sister and I thought it was funny.

crimson it must be the sign of a true lady that she takes her Monsoon perfume when she goes camping

I can't even remember what we did in the end - unfortunately Bags they were all past the baby stage so I think we resorted to using towels which we then couldn't wash - thereby transferring the problem.

And Greatnan how very resourceful of your daughter, at least the car stayed clean

Why couldn't you wash the towels?

Not straight away, obviously, but later.

I never travel with kids without mess clearing equipment, and although I didn't usually use baby wipes for nappy changes (preferred soap and water at home), they were great when travelling, and they really do get rid of puke smells from cars.

Perhaps no-one else travels with a bin bag in the car for wet/dirty towel emergencies. I'm beginning to think I have an exciting life!

We did wash the towels later Bags, but campsites didn't have all mod cons in those days so I think we just rinsed them out and transferred them to the boot of the car until we got home.

Let's be honest, I am just very disorganised and a bit of a scruff. Still haven't got the hang of travelling prepared but am working on it so I can pretend to be a good granny

nightowl

PS I'm an organised scruff, if you can imagine that.

Did anyone read the Bad Housekeeping column in one of the papers [The Guardian perhaps?] by Dulci domum? My friend used to cut them out and send them to me even though she was convinced I was actually writing them. Think there were a few books as well. The name Sue Limb springs to mind. Oh, I've just googled a lot of it has been republished. Must get hold of it.

I recall an occasion when absentdaughter was little, about three, and wasn't feeling well. She came into our bedroom during the night complaining of tummy ache and we took her into bed with us. I had an important meeting the next day and as absentdaughter was very restless, I left her with her father, absent-ex, and went to sleep in her bed. Before I went I said, "Don't give her Calpol". Absent-ex promptly gave her a dose of Calpol without mentioning it to me. She was still feeling rotten the next day, so I missed my meeting after all and it wasn't until the day after that I went out of the house – just to the corner shop to buy some milk. My handbag had been beside my bed and when I put my hand in it to get out my purse, I found the somewhat putrid evidence of absent-ex's stupidity.