Goal - 3 debts paid by Christmas

maman

Glad to hear the tests are over triggles. I'd definitely make a complaint about that pregnancy thing if I were you buttalk it through with the consultant too (as you'll probably get some bland letter back from the complaint and he'll have to answerface to face). It's the total illogicality of it that got to me.

I'm very envious of your Christmas preparations. Have you seen those little individual Christmas cakes made in empty tins (like soup cans etc). Some people make them for gifts for single people. I thought the boys would find them cute. I've never made them myself but I'm sure it'll be on the net somewhere.

Hopefully life is a little easier for you now there's only DS3 at home?

Triggles

maman - that is a cute idea - the little christmas cake tins! I wonder how the baking directions differ? If I remember correctly, DeliaOnline website has a recipe for mini christmas cakes. I just love how the house smells and feels all Christmas-sy when it's baking!

I 've been a bit lax in posting recently. Lots of things going on. Will get my brain organised and post more later today.

maman

Found this

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/579055

on google but I'm sure there are others. Obviously you can use your own cake recipe but I just wanted to show you it can be done in bean cans;)

Hope you're having a good weekend.

Triggles

maman - thank you! That is brilliant!! I think I may make some of those and wrap them up for family members and friends that we normally like to give a small gift to. Perfect!

Had a good day on the free bingo - won £30 yesterday and £20 today! So that £50 is going towards the MOT in January, as we got the car in the summer and it shifted our budget just a bit (the MOT for our old car was due in March, so it's a bit earlier than normal!). A little less pressure right after Christmas!

One Christmas cake baked and given to MIL today when she came over for coffee. This way she can feed it to what she likes, as we don't generally put tooooo much alcohol in it - since DS2 always is nibbling on it once it's been opened and cut. Can't have him tipping over sideways now, can we? :rotfl: The next will be baked tonight, and the last tomorrow. We were going to do it all in one day, but funnily enough, we noticed that the downstairs was nice and warm when the cake was baking all evening, so we figured just do one each evening (tonight and tomorrow) and no need to put the heater on! :rotfl: Silly us!

Huge pile of ironing done. Laundry - one load drying, one load washing. Good grief, the number of clothes we go through is ridiculous - but with DS2 in school now, we have them to wash as well, even though I try to keep it down to a minimum, he always manages to get them a bit dirty so it's a clean uniform every day! Rarely does he manage to wear something twice. And then into playclothes as soon as he gets home - although that can be reworn the next day for the most part.

The weather has been rather wet lately - the only clear day for hanging clothing out was a day that I couldn't get it done! :rotfl: Wouldn't it figure?? And Monday is supposed to be clear again, and we're going in to town to get a few errands done. Hopefully I will be able to get a load of clothing done first thing in the morning and get it hung up before we go on the school run, so it can dry.

We've had the heater on two or three times, but not for long periods, generally only to take the chill off things. I probably wouldn't have done that if I could convince our 1yo DS3 to keep his socks on!! But he takes them off and then gets cold little feet! And I can't keep him in a sleeper all day (well, I suppose I could, but he has regular clothing - might as well use it!). And he's trying to walk, and shoes are too clumsy for him right now.

Chicken kievs for tea tonight, with some potatoes and veg. The kievs were on sale at Sains - DS2 likes them so I like to pick them up occasionally. Probably tinned potatoes and carrots (both basics - DH & DS2 like the carrots) and steamed broccoli (one of DS3's and my favourites). That way DS2 and DS3 each get a little of the "other" veg, but still eat some of the one they like.

I sent the letter to my bank regarding the overdraft and asking to stick to the original agreement for repayment (£50 per month and no fees/interest added), and they have sent a letter saying for me to call them within the next 7 days. I would prefer not to call them - I know that it's their way of putting pressure to pay more. I think I will send them another letter stating that I would prefer to deal with this in writing, and that I am happy to stick to the original agreement and would like them to confirm this in writing. I may have to point out that I pay for this out of my household money (I am SAHM and don't work), and that if they are not willing to agree to this, then I may have to simply allow it to be included with DH's DMP (as his name is on the account as well) and they will get paid far less. I was paying it out of my household money as I wanted to get it taken care of as it's the only bill with my name on it. ArrrggghhH!

Triggles

I really need to sort my "get ready for winter/Christmas" list, so am going to post it here:

Done so far:

- completed christmas shopping for DD, DS2, DS3, DGS1 and DGS2
- hung up fleeces behind regular unlined curtains in DS2 & DS3's rooms (and wow do they make a difference!!!)
- got out the winter hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, jackets, jumpers and packed away the summer clothing
- started stocking up on essentials in case of bad weather, etc, in case we can't get to supermarket (tea, UHT milk, sugar so far)
- already replaced front door (bad seal on the huge glass panel) with new door that will keep heat in better
- purchased new winter coat, hat, and gloves for DS2 as last year's was all too small for him this year (packed away last years winter kit for DS3 to use when he's old enough to fit it!)

Need to do:

- stock up on other staples (flour, cereal, oatmeal, tinned veg/beans, crackers, biscuits, tinned fruit, loo roll, tuna, etc)
- get remnant purchased and fitted to upstairs landing
- put extra blankets in DS2's room and our room
- purchase one more heavy sleeping suit/bag for DS3
- start addressing envelopes for christmas cards and sorting who to send cards to this year
- organise christmas gifts for DS1 & DIL, MIL, SIL
- organise gifts for DH from me and from the boys (need to sit down with DH & review spending limit as we always set a spending limit to avoid overspending - we'd much rather take longer to look for a more thoughtful less expensive present for each other than give each other flashy expensive gifts that perhaps mean less)
- look up some new slow cooker recipes - plan on using hte slow cooker much more this year! one of our goals!
- keep an eye out for inexpensive candles (clearance if possible!) - we use candles a lot in the winter - pretty and give the impression of a fire and thus warmth - so heater on a bit lower and we don't notice it as much - plus we think it's nice to have a relaxing evening with some candles burning on a candle dish in the fireplace!
- sort through toybox and get rid of toys that are missing parts or outgrown or falling apart to make room for a few new toys at christmas
- hem blackout curtain that doubles as a doorway curtain for our living room in the winter to keep the heat in the room - last year I pinned it up, but this year I really need to actually hem the silly thing! We don't have a door on our living room, and don't really want one in the summer, but this is a good inexpensive solution for us. Will probably hang it up soon!

Not sure what to do about our living room window. It's huge, and a fair bit of cool air comes in around the edges - it is double glazed but I think the seal is not so great - and we cannot afford to have it fixed and council won't replace it as it's not "broken" which is fine - I understand their reasoning. Putting a fleece backing on the curtain will help in the evening, but not sure it'd do much during the day when the curtains are open - unless it at least cuts out any air coming in from the sides. Will have to think on this. Can't leave the curtains closed during the day - too dark!! (and then we'd just waste electricity using the light all day!) Plus - how depressing to have the curtains drawn all the time! If I thought DS2 & DS3 wouldn't touch them, I'd make a draft excluder for the window ledge, but they'd be pulling it off constantly and while I considered attaching it with velcro (stick on to the window frame and sew on to the excluder), I'm not sure it'd work. Definitely something to discuss with DH.

I'm sure there's more, but it's a start.

maman

Wow!!! You are super-organised for Christmas, I'm amazed that you manage it with so much else to cope with.

I did notice the cheapie drugstore chain 'Savers' had tea lights that seemed to be reasonably priced and there's always the £/99p shops. The trouble is that many of the cheaper ones have a dreadful perfumed smell. It's not that I don't like perfumed candles, just hate the cheapo smells. I buy most of our candles from Ikea so I want to compare prices before buying any more.

Triggles

I haven't actually looked in Savers recently, thanks - will keep them in mind. I've seen some in poundland, and actually did purchase a lovely cinnamon scented candle there a few weeks ago. The tealights in our local poundland don't seem to have any particular strong scent to them, so they're generally my easiest and least expensive option. I try to check for season changes as well - just before and just after Christmas the candles go on sale in places like Asda.

I bought a rather large stock of Yankee candles on clearance about 2 years ago, and I'm just finally coming to the end of that now. I do watch for sales on their website, but refuse to pay full price as it's just too dear. I do love their candles though.

DH & I are going to have a "cash only" couple of months. We have a tendency to let money get away from us using the ATM or the debit card. So one allotment of cash coming out for various expenses each week, and that's it. When it's gone, it's gone. I'm going to organise what needs to come out of that allotment each week and try to keep a running tally so I can see where we're overspending (although I have my suspicions! LOL).

We're thinking of buying a slow cooker for DS1 and DIL for Christmas. They both are working at the moment, and they are trying to keep their grocery budget low. So we figured it would be something they could throw inexpensive cuts of meat into for a lovely meal, as well as just popping ingredients into it and having tea ready when they get home in the evening. Plus as their schedules can be a bit wonky, we figured it would make it easy to have separate mealtimes and leave the rest simmering for the other, so they both (as well as their DS) have a hot meal. I realise it doesn't sound like a "cool" gift, but it's much more affordable than buying separate gifts to cater to their interests. And we like to buy things they can use, rather than just "stuff" if that makes sense. (Plus every time we ask them what they could use or need for Christmas/birthdays, we get a rather vague answer and they're not altogether certain themselves. Good grief, but adult children can be difficult to shop for!

Triggles

We've had some things turned upside down in our house this week. More from an emotional (and medical I suppose) standpoint than anything, but still managed to throw things in disarray. But we've got past the initial upset and are now focusing on dealing with things and coordinating care. It has thrown me a bit off course financially though, as I haven't truly been focusing much on money, and have dented the budget ever so slightly. Thankfully not too much damage has been done, and we can absorb it next month, to a point, but will need to be quite careful this month.

I found a few more items (mainly baby clothing) that I could ebay, but to be honest I am not prepared to do it at the moment, so we've packed them up carefully and tucked them away right now and will deal with it another time. I have one or two other items that I will freecycle, as that is quick and easy.

We've had to source some ear defenders for DS2. He uses them at school, and they seem to be helpful, so we're going to get a pair for at home, and one for the car, to be used if needed when we're out and about (or to be used as a replacement if the pair for home breaks for some reason). We've had a pair on Amazon recommended that are roughly £6 per pair, which isn't too bad, as I've seen them for £10-15 elsewhere.

Tried to put egg mayo made at home in DS2's lunch on Monday, thinking that he might not notice the difference when eating at school with other kids and distractions.... nope. He noticed and wouldn't eat it. He has a thing about food textures and for some reason will only eat the egg mayo from Sainsburys. He calls it the "shiny egg mayo." He has some food peculiarities, so he mostly has egg mayo, tuna mayo, or bread-butter sandwiches for school, although we're slowly working him into cheese sandwich by putting very very small amount of shredded cheese in the bread-butter sandwich.

I saw a beautiful electronic piano online today (was torturing myself browsing, eh?). But over £700!!! Not that we're planning on buying one at the moment... but once all the debts taken care of and when I've saved enough money? oh yes!!! I miss having a piano dreadfully, but we've no room for a large upright, which is what I'd really like. Plus an electronic piano would allow me to play in the evenings while kids are asleep upstairs and use headphones so they don't hear it. I used to play organ for a huge Catholic church in the states for a few years (5 masses per Sunday, plus extra holiday masses) - lovely money and easy for the work, but just not in a position to do that now due to the children and DH's work schedule.

We were incredibly lazy tonight and made tea with curly pasta noodles, spag bol sauce, and shredded cheese. No meat. DH's idea, which surprised me, as DH is not a "no meat" meal kind of person!! But we all liked it and it was quick and easy. And cheap. Not bad. Lamb mince thawing for tomorrow night's tea of shepherds pie.

I watched Cash in the Attic recently. The family was selling some of their expensive antiques in order to buy a pony for their 3yo as it was high time he had a pony of his own. :eek: Really? Is THIS the type of people that need cash?? As they were prowling through their HUUUUGE house with stables and land, looking for things to sell to raise £1000 all I could think was "oh please... £1K is petty cash to them!!" I've noticed a lot of their programmes are like this recently. I'm not impressed. Although to be honest, I can't imagine anything in our house that would do well in an auction! :rotfl:

Same goes for that programme where they see 3 different houses and do a trial run on one of them. Can't remember what it's called though. All these people with vast budgets wandering through a massive kitchen saying "oooh it's rather small....." make me want to scream. I like DIY SOS where the people seem normal and the budgets are more reasonable. Gives us ideas as to what we can do with our own house. We're still trying to get things done in the hallway and stairway but have been temporarily derailed due to circumstances. And god knows what we'll do with the fireplace. I love having a working fireplace, but we need to get it "finished" as it's just barebones and in need of a touch up. Ah well, that'll have to be for another day, I think.

Sooo sleepy, but I think it's stress, as I've been fighting it for days. As soon as I get to bed, my eyes will pop open and I won't be able to sleep. I've got a few good books I can read so that may help.

DH has decided it will help his depression to take up a hobby again... which I encourage wholeheartedly. He likes to read, so he's going to the library and getting a card, so he can check out a few books. I think it will do him a world of good to immerse himself in a good book for a bit each day. I love reading - it relaxes and destresses me.

Well, wandering off to bed to see if I can sleep.....

maman

Sorry to hear that things are tough for you triggles. Like you I Know OH is really a meat person but he also loves his veg and happily eats anything I put in front of him.

Agree about some of those house programmes. OH and I are always amazed how some of the *****(insert rude word of choice) that get on to Location manage to earn so much money.

DS2 may be picky with his food but at least he isn't just eating rubbish. What does the school say about his need for ear defenders? Is it to do with his ears specifically or does he react badly emotionally to noise?

It's Friday tomorrow, weekend to look forward to:T

Triggles

No, that's true, DS2 generally has a good list of healthy foods he will eat for snacks such as apples, bananas, grapes, and pears, but for hot meals he is incredibly picky - it's a texture thing for him - he won't eat things like mashed potatoes (although he'll eat chips) or scrambled/cooked eggs (although he loves egg mayo). We're trying to introduce new foods to him here and there along side familiar foods, so he doesn't feel pressured but has the opportunity to try them. I bought some corn on the cob today at Tesco, as it was buy one get one free and looked good. We figured he may enjoy that, as it's finger food.

The ear defenders are because he is oversensitive to loud noises and constant background noises that generally don't bother us, like the school bell, the humming from lights, or just a generally loud base level of noise in the classroom (kids, music, and such). The ear defenders mean he isn't walking around with his hands over his ears or curled up in a corner trying to avoid the noise.

I found a couple miscellaneous small items for Christmas, so purchased them today. Just a couple stocking stuffers, really. And purchased a book for DH as he wants to do some more reading - although I think he's mostly going to hit the library for books, but I thought I'd get him one to get started (was £2, but one that I thought would really interest him).

I'm trying to figure out how to get around the school water bottle. DS2 has a dreadful tendency to chew on the bottle cap - it's plastic. And he uses his teeth to open and close the little cap part which makes it worse. We've reminded him often to use his fingers to open the cap, but obviously can't do anything while he's at school (although I did mention it to his teacher, who said she would try to remind him if she saw him chewing on it). The school wants them to have the water bottle, but they're £1 each, and we've already replaced it twice since the beginning of September. At this rate, we'll be going through about 2 per month. I suppose £2 isn't that traumatic a price to pay, but still would just like him to stop chewing on the cap!!!