Trying to take the stress out of the debt - little steps

Triggles

Ah, morning seemed to come a bit early today. *yawn* DS3 wasn't keen on going back to sleep after his feed at 2:30am. He wanted to smile and look around and be held. Lovely during the day, not so great in the middle of the night. But eventually he nodded off back to sleep. DS2's nappy gave way during the night and ended up down the leg of his sleeper (bad tape on nappies should be OUTLAWED! :mad: :rotfl:) and ended up with wee all over him, his sleeper, and the bedsheet. Argh! Extra laundry that will have to be done right away this morning. I need to buy another sleeper like this one (to the cost of £9.50!) so we have a pair of them. It's a good kind that we can put on him backwards so he can't take it off and strip out of his nappy in the middle of the night. Prevention and all that.:rolleyes:

Ok. Baking today will be bread pudding with raisins. I think I will need to go to Sains and pick up another sleeper and some cheap bread for the bread pudding, so instead of doing my grocery shop tomorrow, I may just do it today, rather than drive there twice. Save petrol and hassle that way - I'd prefer not to shlep around the supermarket twice in two days! Not my idea of a fun time! I'll probably pick up a few more of those small cartons of ready made formula to get through the rest of the week, then I'll start reheating the bottles again and not using the cartons during the night. My back is slowly improving, so I'm going to continue taking it easy during the night and allow it to get better.

I think I will set up the dining room table for DS2 to paint this afternoon (depending on what time he gets up from his nap). Paint shirt, water-washable paints, and a long unrolled sheet of paper taped to the table, and he's all set. While he's painting, DS3 can snooze happily in the reclined seat of the high chair, and I can do some cleaning/organising in the same room and finish straightening up the paper cabinet. If I plan it right, he will finish up just about the time DH is up for the day (he works nights and sleeps during the day) and he can take DS2 for his bath immediately afterwards.

Ok, DS3 is back to sleep after his early morning feed, DS2 is up and changed and playing in his room, listening to his Wiggles CD. So now it's time for me to get a couple things done - get dressed, do hair/makeup, start laundry. Then I can take the DS2 downstairs and get breakfast started for him and coffee for me!!!! Quick check of ebay and off I go.

Back later with an update and any new stuff I need to do. I like putting it in here - it keeps me on track really, which seems to keep me on budget better as well as more organised. It helps me feel more accountable for getting things done and following through on financial stuff.

Triggles

Eeeek! Found what I think is a millipede on the sofa! I hate bugs!! Now I'm going to have to take apart the sofa (cushions, etc) and clean it completely or I'll never be able to relax on it! *sob* I hate bugs!

clarabella23

When my DD was still waking in the night, we used to make up a bottle just before bed, piping hot, then wrap it in a tea towel and put it under the pillow so it would stay warm until it was needed. Do you think that would be any btter, as you are still using the water hot enough to kill any spores? We never had any problems with this, and all of my family has done it.

Triggles

Oooh clarabella - that is a good idea! I hadn't thought of that. That would most likely do great for the feed at about 2-2:30 am! Thank you so much!! I may try that and see how it goes. It doesn't hurt it to be out for a few hours that way??

Triggles

Just got back from grocery shopping a day earlier than planned. No big reason for the change of day, just felt like getting it done and over with. Spent a little more than planned, but had to buy sleeper for DS2. DH suggested I buy 2 of them as they'll be hard to find later in the season, if we end up needing another one. So that was £20 right there.

Just put DS2 in for his nap. I'd normally rush around getting some cleaning done, but I'm going to take a little time to relax today. Nice cup of coffee and a biscuit, maybe. THEN I'll rush around getting some cleaning done. :rotfl:

Lemon_Tree

i'm the same about housework but i've not got the excuse of children for the state of this place sometimes. It's true though that it's aways a struggle to find the right time to wash the kitchen floor.

clarabella23

Never had any problems with ours from keeping it out! Can't see how any problems could come from it, suppose its just like keeping food warm in an oven till your ready to eat it! And I am just the same about the kitchen floor- I hate doing it, and I always think my DD is gonna kill herself the way she comes running through the kitchen on the wet floor!

Triggles

As far as the mopped floor is concerned, I think probably the best time would be in the evening, after the kids are in bed, so it has overnight to dry. It's just that by the end of the day, I'm tired and the last thing I want to do is mop the floor!:rotfl:So I put it off and it doesn't get done. Again...

I had a pretty long night last night. DS2 woke up repeatedly, crying, and I think he was having bad dreams or something. Between him and DS3's nighttime feedings, I hardly had any sleep at all. And I'm just too tired to do much. *yawn*

I have taken care of the essentials - laundry done, sterilising solution for bottles done, bottles done, kids up/dressed/fed (and now taking naps), ebay checked, email checked/answered. A friend of mine has now cleaned out our storage unit in the states, so we no longer have to pay for that. :TThat's about £200+ per year we don't have to pay anymore. And quite timely, as it was due in two weeks! She is going to go through the stuff and send me what we'd like to keep and then selling the rest. What a relief to get that taken care of!

Lakeland order came this morning, including a can crusher (at DH's request - our recycling bin is overflowing!), flexible laundry basket (my request as I'm tired of dirty clothing in a pile on the floor!), and a nifty little multitool gadget from their Christmas catalogue that is a Christmas present for DH from DS2 and DS3.

DH & I have already bought "our" Christmas present/anniversary present. Since our anniversary is in the beginning of January, we usually decide together on something we'd like to buy for "us" as a couple that we wouldn't normally buy. So we are big Doctor Who fans and got a great deal on the first 3 years of the recent series. It sold for about £68 each year when it first came out, but we got all 3 for £35 (total), thanks to good prices on WoolworthsEntertainment and Amazon, also using our Amazon vouchers from Bingoport! :jWe will then buy each other a gift technically from DS2 & DS3, so we have a "surprise" gift as well. We don't spend that much on Christmas presents for each other. We're more looking forward to just spending time together as a family - much more important to us! (And yes, the Doctor Who DVDs are hidden away with the other presents we've bought - we can't watch them until after Christmas!)

Oh, and DH has now organised a place in the rear of the house, within our rear garden, to secure his bicycle, so that's going outside and out of the dining room this weekend!! Yay!!! :jIt's his main transport for work, so it had to be secure so it isn't stolen. (not to mention that we can't afford to replace it right now!)

It's getting a bit chilly outside now - DH even mentioned the "h" word! (you know, HEATING) :eek: I hadn't even thought of it, but now starts the ongoing battle to avoid turning the heater on for as long as possible! I'll dig out the jumpers and warmer clothing. And I've already warned everyone that there'll be no waltzing about the house in short sleeve tshirt and bare feet and whinging that it's cold!

Triggles

Up during the night, doing the baby's feed. I've been mulling over the idea of bottles. I noticed that Asda's baby sale right now has 6 (or is it 8?) bottles for £10, the Tommee Tippee kind that we already have. Now, do I buy some? It'd be nice to have more for convenience - could do bottles once a day instead of twice. Or is it a waste of money when I can just do the bottles twice a day. *sigh* Although logically speaking, at some point I may need to replace a few bottles here and there - and this is certainly cheaper as they are normally about £8 for 2. DS is only 7wks, so those bottles will have to last awhile. Argh - decisions, decisions. Got to decide today, as I'm going right by the Asda, whereas normally I don't. I'm not making a special trip to Asda's for them, so it's got to be today if I get them. That's if they still have them.

I'm also still trying to decide whether or not to resume contact with my eldest sister. We have a massive falling out a few years ago, and she recently sent me an email basically offering a truce. I suppose the "still hurt" side of me says "well, that's easy for her, she was the one that was incredibly rude and horrible, and I was the one that was hurt and embarrassed by it." I can't honestly decide if I'm ready to open that line of communication back up again. There's no question that she's a manipulator. And why is this an MSE issue for me? Because regular communication with her will probably stress me to the point of needing expensive counselling! LOL DH, of course, thinks that if I am not comfortable with communicating with her that I simply shouldn't. Maybe it's a man thing - it's far too simple and straightforward for him that way. Me, I feel guilt, as I know my parents hate that we're not speaking. But surely that's not my problem, right? I don't know...

DH has decided to put a radiator cover on the radiator in our bedroom, as it's right next to the bed and he doesn't want either of us to roll over and burn ourselves on a hot radiator, as obviously we will need some heat in the room. I understand it will have an affect on the amount of heat into the room, but not drastically, and we'll be under the duvet anyway, so a little decrease in the heat won't be a big deal (except when we first get up - brrrrrrr!).

Oh, good, I'm finally getting a little sleepy again, so I can go back to sleep. Lots to do tomorrow, and I will need energy to get through the day.

Triggles

Just a quick note - picked up a few of the chickens at Tesco for £2. Might pick up a couple more if there is room in the freezer - I'll have to double check later. We usually have a roast chicken every other Sunday at least, so these will come in handy! :j

I decided to go ahead and get the bottles at Asda, so will be stopping there today on the way to getting DS2's hair cut. Asda has their baby sale on right now, so will probably pick up some baby wipes as well, as we will definitely use them and I have a £1 off coupon for them. DH is staying home with DS3, so I can pop into Asda and out again with minimal fuss fighting crowds.

A note on child trust funds. I've noticed that some offer vouchers (there's one through Baby Bonds, a stakeholder account for example, that offers £30 worth of Mothercare vouchers also). Are these worth putting the money there? Seems like they're all pretty much the same. We won't be putting money for the baby in it - we prefer to open a separate account as we don't like that once they hit 18 (?), they can empty out the child trust fund and spend it on whatever they want, rather than university or something beneficial to them. I don't want to be putting money aside for years for him, only to end up funding a really big party or something! :rotfl: