It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

EstherH

JackieO wrote: »

Well my DD and I took her four boys to the beach yesterday ages 14,10,9,&6 and we had a great time and it didn't cost us very much at all We took a picnic and a large bottle of squash and a huge flask of coffee.Once there out came the twels and within minutes ther was a linee of four lads stretched out in a line with their sun cream on sunbathing.Half an hour of that with granny telling them to turn over every ten minutes like sausages then they all went for a swim ,or in Mikeys case a paddle.back to the towels for cheese sald rolls ,a box of pringles an apple each and a drink and then they went off to explore the beach leaving Mum and granny sitting with the towels and picnic stuff .Back they came half an hour later glowing with fresh air and hungry again.They finished off what was left of the picnic and were treated to an ice cream.more games on the beach of kick about football then the smell of chips from a local shop drifed over .£1.40 secured a tray of chips which they scrupulously shared between them selves.Then three of them buried the 9 year old in the sand up to his neck whilst he lay there roaring with laughter.Then after getting up and going to the beach tap and rinsing himself off they all went for a search around the shore for shells. back to Mum and granny for the last of the squash and then we packed up and made our way home from Broadstairs.
Cost of the day
chips £1.40
4 ice creams £4.00
total £5.40 = result four very happy, brown, but rather sandy little boys who have a lot of memories of a good day out with Mum and Granny.They were good as gold and no trouble.They know that money is a worry at home for Mum & Dad as Dad might lose his job in the local government redundancies but they don't ask for much at all.
We sat on the beach asking them where over the next few weeks they would like to go for days out and they are putting together a list of places to go.
So far it is
Greenwich Park ,very popular as there's lots to do(also doesn't cost very much)

Swimming( that too is relatively cheap at least until the end of July as the boys and I go free until then

Our local country park where there are also lots of 'free' things to do(another picnic involved)

Dover Castle (free for the boys as I am an English Heritage member and the four boys are on my ticket and my DD goes as my carer.

Library; where they are running a scheme for summer readers and if six books are read they get a certificate and medal and the chance of winning a prize

They like to see if they can find outings to go on which don't cost a lot.
What they don't know and we won't tell them is on the 13th August we have booked and paid for a house on the Isle of Wight for a fortnight .We keep it a suprise for them as they are such ggod lads and never ask for too much.My DD and I have been paying for it since last October every month and we save all of our Tesco vouchers to go towards the food bill We have about £180 odd in the kitty in vouchers which with about another £50.00 cash should cover our food bill as there are 7 of us going this year.All their ice cream cash is what I have saved from left over money from my food purse during the year so they won't go without the basic ice creams on the beach We have looked up all the different carnivals and festivals that we can take then to.Our annual holiday is very well organised between my DD and I .But it takes careful planning and downright deviousness at times so the boys don't get an inkling of whats going on.
O.K. so they won't get to disneyland or the m
Med but they are just as happy and happy kids are what family holidays are about.We shall go blackberrying whilst there and the kids love picking fruit for the crumble for dinner.If the weathers bad we can all play cards or board games .Jack (10) is writing his holiday diary everyday which I am pleased about as I said it will remind him of what he did with his time off He goes into year 6 when he goes back to school and has the dreaded 11+ in September so we try to keep him as less stressed as we can

We never had a holiday abroad with our children but we always really enjoyed our hols in this country and we have good times remembering them when we get together. Simple days are some of the best days. Your day out sounds lovely and the children are very blessed to have such a good mother and granny.

EstherH

So sorry GC. It's a horrible way to find out.

EstherH

Thanks to everyone for replies about heaters. DD moved into her own flat last winter and is on a pre-payment metre. It was freezing and with it being so cold last winter cost an absolute fortune in electricity. We started to look at oil filled heaters and another type but then it started to warm up a bit and we never went any further. Will need to get something before this winter though.

Larumbelle

GC :grouphug: What sad news and what an awful way to find out. My thoughts are with you this evening xx

[Deleted User]

Today Mum and I and the boys had a ride down to Canterbury as I had to put in my forms for my third year of funding for my History Uni course.The boys were facinated to see where Granny goes to 'school' and said did I get to go out to play at playtime:)We stopped on the way back to get some cherries from a stall, and when we got home we divided them all up between us and played cards for the cherries .Didn't last long as the winners tended to eat their winnings.Jack wrote in his holiday diary which Mum showed me when he had gone off to play cricket in the garden with his siblings

Dear Diary I went with my brothers and Mum and Granny to see Granny's school She is very old and has a stick and grey and white hair but quite clever and usually has a smiley face.She makes me SMASHING cakes and I love her lots and she always gives me lots of cuddles when I feel fed up. We bought some cherries and played cards with the cherries as the prizes,they were yummy
love Jack
p.s. see you tomorrow diary xx
That boy should go far I think, he writes exactly what he thinks.
Tomorrow his bigger brother Ben (14) is coming to lunch at my house and is going to power wash my patio for me ,in exchange I will give him and his pal a lift to the cinema and pick them up afterwards to save them some bus fares.I am so lucky with the lads although they can be scamps at times they are lovely kids who hopefully will grow to lovely young men.
Thanks chums for all your nice comments, but its the boys really who are the stars in my life ,they ask for so little, yet give so much, which finacially costs nothing but could not be weighed up against all the tea in China

parsonswife8

Lovely post JackieO
I have 2 grand daughters. Both of them little characters. They have come out with some choice bits over the years and I love them both dearly.
Cuddles with them are just the best.
:kisses3:

angela110660

crickett1234 wrote: »

Awww, thanks to all of you for making me feel better!!

Never heard of Nella Last books before... but am about to have a browse on Amazon! Sounds interesting, and seeing as I am already spending money like water, I may as well continue. Sigh! Also going to have a look at the other OS books that people have suggested on here. The Goode ones I think!

Thanks again everyone. Need to go home and pull up the drawbridge for a while I think. Nearly home time.

Thank you for reminding me of this lady - just reserved a copy of her book from the war period online from our library. Hope it comes in soon.

BB1984

Jackieo- your post about your day on the beach gave me a little tear in my eye! Call me daft, but it just brought back so many happy memories from my own childhood. I count myself very lucky for having had such a blessed life so far- long may it continue! My nan has always been a huge part of my life and we are still very close- I thank her for my OS ways!

Gailey- I agree with pretty much everything you said re politics!

Had a lovely tea tonight- omelette made with farmers eggs, and homegrown tomatoes, French beans, potatoes and salad! my first year growing so I'm really chuffed.

Keep smiling all!

BB

EstherH

Even though my dd has left home, we still go out for walks around lakes, along canal, parks etc., take a picnic and flask and have a good time. i think that when children are brought up doing this sort of thing, they will still enjoy it and your relationship will stay strong when they grow up. If all you do is throw money at them and they have to be expensively entertained all the time they can grow up not knowing the value of money. Ofcourse this is just a generalisation and there are no guarantees. You can bring them up OS and they go complete opposite or vice versa.

katholicos

Grumpycupple wrote: »

Last night we got the sad news we had been waiting for last night. My neice died of alcohol induced illness. I was really cross last night that we had to find out via facebook instead of the closer family phoning us.

Anyone would think that we lived the other side of the world instead of Scotland. My poor DD has taken it really hard that although they were grieving they couldn't be bothered to inform us properly. Spent the most of this morning supporting her and trying to not exactly cheer her up but be understanding.

So off now to look at the cheapest way to get down there for the funeral. That's if they let us know when it is.

So sorry for your loss. What a terrible waste of a life.

I know first hand how it feels to not be told of the death of a loved one. I don;t want to go into detail about this but let me just say that our daughter was 8 months old when her Dad (to whom i was engaged to be married) died suddenly aged 25 years. At the time he lived in a flat. He had not come to the house when he should have done and i had no money and no car so i bundled up my baby and went to the phone box in town and phoned his mother and begged her to go and see if he was okay.

They left it till the 2 days later (i found out later). I was frantic by this time.

It was the Thursday night when i phoned them. On the Saturday morning one of the family decided to pay my fiance a call. Noticed his car parked up but not responding to the doorbell. They broke the glass and found my beloved dead in his bed. On the Monday morning 2 plain clothed detectives came to my house. With our baby in my arms i answered the door and i just knew.

As you can imagine, it was a living hell. No one should have to find out from strangers or via a social networking site that a loved one has died. Our daughter will be 19 this year and just relating this now makes my heart ache with sadness.