Goal - 3 debts paid by Christmas

Triggles

Busy week this last week, as DS2 off school. The change in schedule has really thrown him and he has been up alot at night and quite over the top during the day. Back to school tomorrow though, so hopefully a return to the school routine will be helpful for him.

We spent £30 on a cordless portable vacuum today at Lakeland. My MIL has the same one and loves it, as it has a good long charge and picks up well. It'll be nice to have that for the invariable crumbs and such that seem to occur without lugging out the huge vacuum a couple times a day or the brush and pan. We've got a Christmas present purchased for DS1 & DIL, plus a few little "stocking stuffer" items for them. We just have MIL & SIL to buy for and we're done! :j

I haven't gotten a chance to go through the paperwork and budget items I wanted to this week, as DS2 was home and it just was too busy to sit down and get it done. Hopefully I'll get some time over the next few days.

I'm mulling over a playgroup situation. There are a couple in the area, but require driving to get there. We have a car, so that's not a problem, but I was really hoping to find one that we could walk to so I don't need to use the petrol. I think I'll need to do a little more looking around and see if I can find any closer. I also have to watch the time on them, as they have to finish early enough for me to get to the school to pick up DS2 in the afternoon. There was a group at the nursery attached to his school, but it's more a "baby group" and DS3 at 15 months is a fair bit older than the others who are all from 3 months to 9 months old. Some have lower fees than others as well. And others only meet every 2 weeks, seems like fewer are every week now. It's like a minefield, isn't it??

I'm going to have to colour my hair again this month. Thankfully, I have a box of hair dye that I bought awhile ago that I never used. It's still fine, and I'll use that. Since DH does the colouring for me, I can plan it for a weekend after the children are in bed. At least it's a low cost option.

I also found a "junk drawer" box put aside recently. Where does all this stuff come from ?!?!?! And what in blazes do I do with it? If I throw it away, will I end up kicking myself because I need it in two weeks?? Logic says no, I haven't used it in a year, I probably won't need it... but you know how that goes...

I'm having difficulty sleeping again and feeling more stressed again. I think it's all these appointments for DS2 and all the paperwork and accompanying detail that are causing it at the moment. I suppose it's just the worry of the unknown and making sure he's okay. We also need to update our will - that needs to be done this week, which will cost another £50. But it's something that simply needs to be done, so we'll pay it and get it taken care of. No option, really. I'm going to get all the copies sorted over the next few days and then write out the changes, sign it, enclose the cheque and send it off to the attorney's office.

On a separate note, thank goodness Spec Savers adjusts glasses free - I bought my glasses there last year, and I'm pretty sure I've been in there at least a dozen times getting them straightened and adjusted. DS3 has fast little hands!

MIL is coming over for tea tomorrow night, so it's roast lamb and the trimmings for the meal. It sounded good, and we had one in the freezer, so we figured that was the easiest course. Plus DH likes to do most of the cooking when we have a roast.... I'm no fool! If he's happy to cook it, I'm happy to let him! :cool:

I'm finally starting to feel sleepy, but DS2 is awake... and I can't go to sleep while he's awake. sigh.... going to be a long night....

Triggles

Ahhhh! Progress! I've gone through an old box that had yearbooks, keepsakes, and photos posted to me from the states (the last little bit that had been in my storage unit there that a friend cleaned out for me). It's now sorted through and packed away nicely in our bedroom. So no longer a big box sitting on top of our chest of drawers, which makes our room look so much better.

I'm happily sitting up in my "office" while DH is catching up on some recorded television from last week, DS3 is napping, and DS2 is in school. I'm going through receipts to see what needs to be shredded and what needs to be kept, as I had a huge pile of them. I truly detest paperwork piling up!!

I received something from Well Woman recently - which is insurance for females in case of cancer. It is one of those "life benefit" coverages, which means if you do get one of the listed cancers, you get a lump sum - basically so that while you're focusing on treatment and getting well, your family doesn't need to worry about money. It's certainly something worth looking at, as it's not very expensive. I'm still thinking about it.

maman

Good morning triggles. Dashing out now but didn't want to read and run. Will catch up later. Thinking of you in your lovely little office, enjoy your precious 'me' time!

Triggles

maman - thank you ! It is nice to have a little spot in the house that is just mine. Granted it's to work on debt and budgets and such :rotfl: but that's okay! I do have a corner of the dining room as well with all my craft stuff, but that's because I use the dining room table to do the craftwork (more room there!).

I found a couple coupons I didn't know I had - one for Huggies nappies £2 off. It's good until the end of the month, so I will be watching to see if they go on sale at Sainsburys, and see if the coupon and 15% discount make it a good price - otherwise I'll stick to store brand, as they work well too.

I have a ton of paperwork I have to sort through for DS2 regarding medical and school stuff. I think I will need to take a morning and just decide the best way to organise it, and then just sort it all accordingly. Have I mentioned that disorganised paperwork makes me crazy?
We used to have a shredder, but I found it was a poor design, and so we've been burning our stuff to shred in our chiminea. Hey, whatever works, right? :cool:

maman

I obviously missed some of your earlier diaries but I'm guessing DS2 might be ASD? It's very tough on you when he can't settle. Hope you have a good night's sleep tonight.

I'm off for a short holiday until next Monday. Take care.

Triggles

maman - hope you have a nice holiday. (and yes, ref the ASD)

What a day today. A friend recommended a new playgroup that is inexpensive, nice, local (within walking distance), in the late morning so no conflict with school run, and meets weekly. Ticks all the boxes. So I went today and really enjoyed it. I will definitely be going back there. Nice play area, toys, and the people are friendly.

Then I got home from the playgroup around noon, DS3 had just settled down for a nap, and the primary school called as DS2 had fallen and gotten a head injury. Never a good thing to have them say to you "how quickly can you get here?" I picked him up and took him straight to A&E. He's got a massive lump on his forehead and will most likely have black eyes. He's sleeping now, but we're checking him quite frequently tonight and may keep him home tomorrow. Had to give him calpol as his head was aching.

So not much else has gotten done as I spent most of the afternoon in the A&E. Now I'm too stressed to sleep, so will probably be up late.

Triggles

Hmmm... one of those days today, I think. But determined to turn it around.

We managed to finally get that blasted entryway painted last night. Just have to finish the trim and edges tonight. Low fumes paint, so can do it in the evening with a small window cracked open and no problems. The plan was to work on the staircase doing the sanding, however, between appointments for this and that, school things to take care of, school runs, and other things taking priority, it just hasn't been done yet. Arrrrghh! And the elderly neighbour has been ill, just came home from hospital, so we're loathe to create any more noise and disturbance for them this week either. So most likely next week, when DH is off work on annual leave. We tend to use those times to get things done, rather than go off on holiday. Much rather use the money and time to invest in something we'll enjoy all year long.

Whittled through the toy box this morning and pulled out a few items that are either in poor shape, are not being played with much, or the boys have simply outgrown. Less toys = less mess. Sometimes. DS2 has managed to bring a lot of his toy figures (dinosaurs, mickey mouse, rather eclectic bunch they are) downstairs, so they're going back up to his room. I realised it when I noticed he was lining his shoes up with his toys on his dresser this morning. LOL

We managed to find some good bargains at Poundland last week. Those quick start fire logs for one - they are usually £2-3 in other shops. So we picked up a couple. Nice for a winter evening when the living room is chilly and the boys are tucked up warm in their beds. We can have a little fire in the fireplace to warm up the living room without turning up the heat. Plus it's romantic and seasonal.

One bottle of mulled wine purchased at Tesco the other day for £2.99 on offer. We've never tried it before, so thought it might be nice. Saving it for Christmas Eve.

Think I will wander over to the competitions and freebies section for a bit.

maman

Hello Triggles

Hope DS2 is recovered from his ordeal but great news about the playgroup and progress on hallway.

I had a good time in France, temperature plummeted while I was away so needed some vin chaud to warm me up! I noticed mulled wine in Asda this morning for just £2 a bottle. No idea what it's like but sounded like a bargain.

Triggles

maman - oh, you beat my £2.99 mulled tesco wine by 99p at asda!! To be fair, we only go to asda occasionally as it is a longer drive. LOL Glad you had a good time in France though!

My birthday today and a bit of a downer, to be honest. Family was great, MIL & SIL came to visit with a cake - and between DD, DSs, DH, MIL & SIL, I received a book I've been wanting, two lovely jumpers, some neat history books (about stuff I'm interested in), chocolate, the new remastered Beatles red and blue albums on CDs, and a cast iron skillet (which sad little me has been drooling over but couldn't find a good excuse to buy). So thrilled with the lovely presents and very grateful. But only one person in my family remembered (sibling) and said something to me online. My parents didn't even bother to send a card. We've had our ups and downs, and honestly I wasn't expecting them to send one as they didn't send any birthday cards to DD or DSs, as usual. But we've been making an effort to keep communication open with them... so how difficult is it to just send a card? My mum's birthday is coming up, and I'll probably end up sending her a birthday card from the little ones, but I hate that communication is so one-sided. I think part of it stems from a major problem between one of my sisters and my parents. I've already stated I'm not choosing sides (I'm Switzerland, hey) and for some reason that places me right in the middle. Sigh. Family is far too complicated....

Also ended up discussing with a friend about abusive relationship I was in when I was quite young (as they asked for advice relating to that). It's not a part of my life that I enjoy revisiting, and it's just brought up some painful memories that have just completely taken over my head tonight. I just don't feel like I'm in a very good place right now.

Trying to be normal, and manage it somewhat... but have moments of real upset as well.

I think I need a task to focus on tonight. Nothing too mentally taxing (or I'll make a mistake on it) but something to occupy my thoughts.

Playgroup tomorrow. I enjoyed it last week. Feeling a bit blah right now, but am going to push myself to go as I know once I get there I'll be alright.

I've been a bit slack on the meal planning lately again. I'm discovering that when we're overly stressed, that seems to be the first thing to go. So I think a rework of the meal plan is in order, to use up what's in the freezer a bit. So many things to take into account:

- plan every other evening's tea to be something DS2 will eat as he has food problems
- plan Wednesday evening to be simple meal that can be eaten a bit early due to DH's work schedule
- plan Thurs/Fri meals to be something less "prep intensive" as I have to make them around a 4yo and 1yo due to DH's work schedule :rotfl:

Triggles

Alright.. operation "occupy the brain" begins...

To sort my meal plans, I need a list of what we typically have for tea (this is not a complete list, mainly because it's late and my brain's fried, but will try to put as many as I can think of) and anything in blue is something that DS2 will generally eat all or some of:

spag bol
lasagna
chicken and mushroom pie (homemade), veg
steak pie (frozen), veg (never been good at making them LOL)
cottage pie
shepherds pie
fish cakes, chips
roast chicken, veg, potatoes
roast beef, veg, potatoes
lamb roast, veg, potatoes
gammon, veg, potatoes
pork roast, veg, potatoes
chicken soup with dumplings
chicken or turkey curry with rice
beef stew
penne pasta bake
sweet and sour pork with rice
sweet and sour chicken with rice
chili and cornbread
asian pork ribs with rice
sloppy joe hamburgers, chips
sloppy joe hamburgers (with minced lamb), veg
chicken kievs, veg
mince, beans, cheese and rice
beans and cheese on toast
fish, peas or chips
bbq chicken, mash, veg
bbq pork ribs with rice
eggs with cheese, sausage or bacon, toast
ham and potato casserole
sausage and potato pie
tinned soup and grilled sandwiches
pizza
chicken or turkey escalopes, veg
cheesy potato soup
sausage and mash

Alright.. that's a start.. and DS2 will eat peas, roast potatoes, and yorkshire puddings at any roast meal. Just won't touch the meat :rotfl: which we're still working on. It's a texture thing. Believe me, the peas took FOREVER to get to favoured status! :cool: The only reason roast potatoes are touched is because he thinks they're "fancy chips."
DS3 will eat pretty much anything.

Next process... stock check in freezer to see what meat we already have in. I will do that tomorrow after playgroup and go from there.

Good. I feel a bit more myself already. I think I will go through my knitting patterns tomorrow afternoon as well. I did get a shelf cleaned off in the dining room - managed to bin a few things we didn't need and put away a few items that had gotten put on the shelf when busy tidying up and not actually put away. So I at least accomplished that today. And a load of clothes which are almost dry. And hoovering.

Plan for tomorrow:
- school run
- tidy up kitchen
- go to playgroup
- take stock of freezers
- tidy up living room
- go over knitting patterns
- finish meal planning
- load of laundry to wash, hang up to dry
- huuuuuge pile of ironing that I should have done today

Meant to mention earlier - got 2 interesting letters recently.
1- from new DCA re Halifax account, which they only had an unenforceable CCA for. So will be sending off a letter to them.
2- from old bank re overdraft. Sneaky them. Joint account, but they have agreement with me to pay £50 per month to get it paid off and they will hold off on all charges and interest, which they are doing. But DH got letter from DCA today addressed JUST TO HIM saying he needs to pay on it to DCA. I don't think so! Sending them a letter saying "hello?!?!? a repayment agreement has already been in place for ages, so you can send it right back to the bank, thank you very much!" Incredibly cheeky! Make a repayment deal with me, then hassle DH for one as well. They KNOW we are married and live together. Good grief. How incredibly odd.