Juggling, Organising, and Holding it All Together - 2011

Triggles

Brizzle - DS3 is not yet 3yo, so he's not in pre-school until the autumn. So not quite so quiet at home when DS2 is in school.:rotfl:

DH went to a different GP this time (thank goodness!), and he's been put back on his original meds. This GP thinks that as DH isn't in as bad a position as last time (better work hours, better frame of mind, recognising that he's having difficulty) that this med will be better for him this time, especially as he is in counselling now.

We sorted through some of the children's toys today, binning some that are missing pieces or not in good shape. We are moving most of them up into their bedrooms now, so the living room isn't constantly full of toys. They'll need to either play in their rooms or bring a toy down and play, then put it away and get another to bring downstairs from now on. Less mess in the living room that way!

We also sorted through the sideboard - it tends to be a catchall, so we had tons of stuff on top of it, plus a couple junk drawers to go through. We're going to move the sideboard into the living room to free up some room in the dining room to move the table into a better position. It means better access to my craft stuff so I can work on some sewing items I've been meaning to do (sink skirts for example for the bathrooms).

I've got a lovely recipe for lemon drizzle cake, and as I have some limes that need to be used, I think I'm going to try LIME drizzle cake. I wonder if it will be green? Hopefully it will taste nice. If not... well, will I admit it? of course!! :rotfl:

Another weepy day yesterday.... I chopped through a whole bag of onions and peppers in the food processor to put in individual portions in the freezer! Wow! sniff weep cry! Strong onions!! But now I have a bunch of bags/containers of chopped onion/pepper mixture to use in stews, soups, spaghetti, meatloaf, lasagna..and so on and so on. Very useful!

I'm still coordinating information and what I'll need for my windowsill garden. A good friend of mine showed me how to grow carrots indoors in 2 litre bottles (with the top cut off)!! I'm quite pleased with that, so I'm saving bottles to use for this. We eat a LOT of carrots!! :cool: Apparently they grow nice and straight, and it's easy to grow them indoors this way. I can't wait to try it!!

Summer clothing unpacked just in time for a cold snap this weekend!!! Wouldn't it figure?? :rotfl: Good thing I kept a few items out just in case. :cool:

Triggles

sigh.. okay this is going to make me sound horrid, but here it is...

DH is making me crazy. He is spiralling down again, and I swear he is trying to take me with him. Okay, maybe not... but I've had almost all I can stand right now. I sent him out to walk the dog and now he's gone to the shop to pick up a few things for dinner.

He didn't go in to work today, saying he couldn't face it and couldn't cope. Fine. But then he decided he was going back to bed for awhile and said he'd be downstairs when he was ready to cope. Um... alright. He wanders downstairs about 10am (boys have been up since 6:30am) and sits down, then snaps at the boys over a few things. I just exploded. "You don't get to excuse yourself for the morning from being a parent, and then just waltz in hours later and start snapping at people!" I grant you, it's not the most tactful comment I've ever made, but I'll be blessed if he's going to just waltz in and out of being a parent, snapping at everyone around him. I finally told him that being depressed does not mean he has the right to pi$$ all over everyone around him, especially not the boys. :mad: Unreasonable of me? I don't think so.

I'm stressed to the maximum here. We just found out yesterday that the LA has refused to agree to DS2 attending the local specialised school that would be so good for him, insisting that he continue in main stream schooling, which he is having difficulty coping with. So now we have to go through the appeal process, which means TONS of work for ME to put it all together and deal with it. DH won't do any of it - I know from experience. He won't even read the paperwork - always falls back on that "you're better at that stuff" nonsense (which, sadly, is true but that's not the point - he could at least SUPPORT me in it!). I can't just leave it to him or push him to do it, as the outcome is so important, I MUST make sure it's done thoroughly. (meaning it's not like folding towels, where he does it differently, but I don't care because they are folded, even if it's uneven or whatever)

I still have paperwork to do, but can't leave him alone with both children, as he cannot cope. Which means me going out with friends in the evening is out of the question until he's better able to cope. I am now trapped in the house, unable to do anything, including a decent clean, because DS2 needs constant monitoring (especially when in room with DS3) and I can't leave the room to do the laundry or washing up or cleaning the bathroom. :mad: It's no point trying to do paperwork until DS2 is back in school, and I'll have to do it while DS3 is napping (when he naps, which is sporadic now). Some of things I need to finish up require too much concentration to do it while dealing with children. It's also very hard to stick to moneysaving stuff when stressed/depressed, so I'm worried things will fall apart that way.

It also means the bathroom update will stall. It's halfway done right now, but DH has already started taking naps again during the day (did it yesterday - if he does it again today after staying bed until 10am, I'm going to scream). He can't self-certify for work now, which means he'll have to go back to the GP AGAIN. aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!

Forget moneysaving - I want SANITY SAVING!!!:eek:

Between the debt, the disabilities, and depression, I am not having a good day. :mad:

I want chocolate. :rotfl:

ETA - and by the way, WHAT is with the time wasters on freecycle lately?? People clamour to get the stuff you're listing, then waffle at pick up arrangements. I've had to relist things a number of times lately due to this. Almost makes me want to just haul things to the tip - at least then it's less hassle.

Triggles

I'm feeling a bit more composed today. DH is still rather erratic, but is at least making an effort.

A few things done today...

- picked up new silverware/cutlery at Argos. Set of 32 for £19.99. We made the mistake of trying even cheaper silverware already, and it was awful - bent easily and felt flimsy. I bent so many spoons I felt like Uri Geller. (yes, doesn't that date me? ) Sometimes it's better to pay a decent price than go completely cheap. And I know there are tons of cutlery sets out there that are much more expensive, so I'm happy with this.

- bought nappies at Sainsburys. Huggies are B1G1F, so a savings of £9.98, and larger night time pullups are 2 for £9 (savings of almost £3), so again a nice savings of almost £13. I could have saved more I suppose overall if I'd really stocked up. I may pop back in before the sale is over and pick up a few more. (must check online to see how long they are on sale for)

- watched Lilo & Stitch twice now this morning. :rotfl: Nope, not MSE at all, but DS3 is fascinated with that movie right now and is now on his second viewing this morning. Definitely taking him outside this afternoon to get away from the TV!

- emptied my laundry basket this morning!!! :eek: Yes, it seems a minor thing, but I rarely seem to catch up on the laundry, so actually having the last batch in the washing machine right now seems minor----a minor miracle!! :rotfl:

- council came out and fixed our toilet. Overflow valve was faulty and making a horrendous noise. The repairman put in new plumbing stuff, but left a 2 inch wide hole in the wall where the pipe was, so big hole all the way to the outside. A bit annoying. You'd think the repairman would have filled up the hole or covered it up somehow, not just left it. :mad:

Made lemon drizzle cake yesterday. Was going to make lime, but noticed the lemons needed to be used. And making banana bread today, as we have some bananas that need to be used. Hmmm... all our baking is due to things needing to be used up.... :rotfl: That's okay - that means the limes are next. :cool:

I picked up a few things for my windowsill garden on clearance at B&Q the other day. We went there to get a tool box for DH. There are tools and related items all over the place (think "man-drawer" and multiply a few times! :rotfl:), and I wanted them to be in one place and put away. Hence - tool box. Found a pretty decent one, then wandered over to the gardening aisle and voila! a few things on clearance! Very pleased!

I better go get lunch organised for the boys. Work never done.

Triggles

Much much better today. DH had a bit of a rough morning, but is in better spirits now.

We had a huge clean out of the dining room. It tends to be a catch-all. The piano is actually uncluttered, with a few family photos on the top. The dining table is cleared of "stuff" (well, except for my laptop at the moment!). The ironing is done and put away. DH's random tools have been relegated to the tool box and tucked away.

The menu plan and schedule listing for the next week is written up and posted on our cork board in the kitchen. Washing up done. Hallway/entryway cleaned up. Second load of clothes are washing now, first is drying on airers. There's a bag put aside for stuff to take to the local charity shop, which we can do on the way on school run today. Appointment made for dog's trim next week (he's looking a bit shaggy! )

I did have a panic moment last night - one of my back teeth cracked in half!! Part of it literally fell apart and came out (rather like Humpty Dumpty - that part is never going together again - too many crumbled pieces!!). :eek: I rang the dentist office this morning - no appointments available until Monday afternoon. Thank goodness it's not painful. My jaw is a bit achy, but I think it's from clenching it a bit here and there when I'm trying to avoid touching the tooth with my tongue. I'm not sure if they'll even be able to do anything to repair the tooth, as there's not much left of it. Not keen on having a tooth pulled, but I guess if that's what they have to do, then so be it.

Weather predictions for rain the next few days, which means we won't be able to get the garden mowed until next week, most likely. All that rain means it will be like a jungle back there, I'm sure!! I really want us to keep the garden in good shape throughout spring and summer so the boys can get out there and play a lot. We're still waiting on information from the council regarding the fence. They're supposed to be replacing it, but the repairman said he was going to tell them it needed to be the wood panels (as it is now), because of our dog, our children, and the fact that the garden is slanted on that side, and backs up to 3 different houses along that fence, all of whom also have dogs and will NOT be pleased if it's changed.

On a good note - we rang the council right back about that hole that was left in the wall in our bathroom after the other repairman took out the overflow pipe, and they sent someone back out immediately to fill and cover the hole. They were quite surprised that he just left the hole, so we were relieved they didn't think we were being picky.

We bought some sand timers on ebay, as these are good for DS2 for time out or timed activities (such as 15 minutes laptop time as a reward). A set of 4 of them for approximately £25 including shipping, which isn't bad - they are brilliant quality and good sized. We could have bought cheap digital timers, but then he wants to play with the buttons. The school uses sand timers, so he's used to them and likes them.

My DD brought over a few pairs of trousers that DGS1 has outgrown - but the knees are pretty torn up - he's quite rough on his clothing. :rotfl: I'm going to cut the legs shorter and hem them and use them for shorts for DS3 this summer. :cool: I am not horribly keen on paying £8-10 for a pair of denim shorts when I can have them for free.

Triggles

I'm currently trying to organise paperwork for the meeting tomorrow with Parent Partnership regarding tribunal for DS2's school placement in the specialised school. Or, I WOULD be, if DH wasn't upstairs taking a nap. :mad: Eight hours of sleep last night, so why is a nap needed?? :mad: Yes yes, depression, yadda yadda... He tried to get DS3 to take his nap early... which I told him would not work, as he generally doesn't nap this early in the day... but would he listen? No. So then cue DS3 screeching in his room for 15-20 minutes, while DH insisted he would tire and go to sleep, so DH went to bed. I went up and got DS3 and brought him downstairs as he obviously wasn't ready to sleep. :mad: And now I cannot get any of my paperwork done, as DH is sleeping in the bedroom where all my paperwork is. Ideally, he would have waited until DS3's NORMAL nap time, which is closer to .. well... NOW... but now DS3 is too hyped up to sleep, so probably won't take a nap at all! Which means he'll be cranky tonight and won't go to bed cooperatively (can't tell I've seen this pattern before, eh?), and then DH will be moaning and complaining about THAT. :mad: If he'd just WAITED like I told him until DS3's normal nap time, I could've worked on my paperwork in our room while DS3 napped, and DH could have napped (although why he needs one is beyond me) downstairs on the sofa. Sooooo aggravating!!! It's completely messed up my schedule today and means I won't get any of the stuff done that I NEEDED to get done! Now I'm going to have to go upstairs this evening after the boys are in bed and spend my evening digging through and putting together paperwork instead of being able to sit down this evening (well, after washing up and finishing up laundry and such). Why does he have to make everything so blasted difficult??? :mad:

I've got to order a couple disability aids for DS2 as well, and again I can't get this done while DS3 is tearing around, as he grabs my wallet and/or bank card while I'm trying to pay online or wants to push buttons on the laptop. I can deal with it while I'm doing this kind of thing, but not when I'm trying to order and pay for things.. too likely to make an error, which I'd rather not do. So I guess I'll be doing THAT tonight as well, instead of being able to relax.

It'll be a later night than usual anyway as the boys have a dentist appointment late this afternoon, so their tea will be late, and that means bedtime will be late. THey'll be cranky, DH will be cranky. Yup. Glorious evening ahead, I can tell.

This is not a productive day. sigh

Triggles

Parent Partnership meeting today. Just taking a break before I return to finishing up the paperwork. Wet windy day, so drove DS2 to school.

Just to clarify where DS2 was on comprehension for the things they are discussing in school, we asked him a few questions about things they've studied recently. He told us the Victorians didn't have toasters, but that "if we gave them our toaster, they could still have toast and then we can get a new one." Hmmm.. And he's vastly disappointed about not being able to go on the class trip to the castle as he wanted to see all the people living in the castle and the food party (feast) in the great hall. He thought he was going to see kings and queens there and that it was all new. I explained that the castle was actually ruins (in words he could understand), but he still thinks there will be people living there. So I'll have to show him on the internet this afternoon after school. He rattled off a bunch of "castle terms" for different parts of the castle, and what they were, but after asking a few questions, the answers are rote.. exactly the same word for word each time, so he's obviously just memorised what they've given him, but doesn't really comprehend how it all fits together.

DH is obviously feeling better today. A few growly moments, but he's helping and dealing with the boys, albeit not as patiently as he should be, so I've had to intervene a few times. I'd like to see him take the opportunity while I'm at my meeting (and hopefully DS3 will go down for a nap at his usual time) to get some more of the wallpaper removed from the bathroom. The sooner that's done, the sooner we can get moving on making it look better. I'd also like to replace the carpet tiles in their with vinyl or linoleum tiles. Easy to fit ourselves - I've done it before in the states and this bathroom is smaller than that one so less work. And with little boys who miss the toilet sometimes, I'd rather not have carpet in there!!! :rotfl:

I picked up some photo frames at Sainsburys the other day. A 3pk of very nice quality wooden frames for £2.50 (size 4x6) and 3pk of 5x7 wooden frames for £3.00. :cool: I was very pleased with that!! I have lots of photos to put up on the walls - including a few my mum is sending from overseas of my mum and dad from years ago. I love having lots of family photos on the walls.

In going through paperwork, I put aside our wills and life insurance. It's such a relief to have those done - I think we put them off for far too long. It's interesting, but I've noticed that people on the site that are putting up their SOAs often don't have life insurance on them, and I wonder - do they have none? Do they have their wills sorted? My parents always stressed to us that if you have children, it's vital to have life insurance and a current will. I don't think DH's family discussed that much, which is fine, but I know that he thought it was depressing talking about it. I imagine a lot of that is due to the fact that his first wife died years ago from breast cancer. I don't think he likes to think about our own deaths at this point, and I sure that a lot of people feel the same way - possibly think it's a bit morbid to think about it. it's not like I ACTIVELY think about it - but it's just being prepared for any eventuality, isn't it? It's only common sense to have these things prepared so that the the surviving spouse doesn't have everything come crashing around them financially as well as dealing with the death itself and the children.

I imagine that people think I'm just a bit nuts, as when I look at someone's SOA, if it says nothing about life insurance, I always mention it. You can get decent coverage for a fiver a month - it's not that expensive and it's important! We have always opted for term insurance as it's a lower expense, but still decent coverage. It helps to shop around as well - you can get general quotes for coverage online. Surely even if your finances are struggling, if people can afford money for smokes and entertainment and booze here and there, they can afford a fiver a month for life insurance?

Anyway... back to my paperwork for the meeting....

pennywisepoundstupid

Triggles i noticed yesterday in poundland they had vinyl floor tiles, different patterns, didn't look close enough to see what the quality was like though.

Triggles

Pennywise - yes, thanks! I've seen those. They seem pretty decent, but there aren't very many the pack. I think the discount ones at both Home Base or B&Q are inexpensive and have a bigger pack, but I would obviously need to compare prices (and quality) before purchasing. Poundland is getting quite versa-tile (oops! pardon the pun!!)

The meeting regarding the tribunal went well. We're putting together a very solid argument for the specialised school, including supporting letters from the paediatrician, OT, his current school and the s school. It's just really up to the LA to make the right decision this time. Fingers crossed.

I managed to get some paperwork done this morning. I have a few letters regarding debts to put together and send out, and a PPI reimbursement request to complete. Hopefully these will be done by Monday morning for posting.

Dog's all properly trimmed now, and he looks wonderful again. Now we need to get the boys haircuts done Saturday and they'll look good again too. :rotfl:(had to reschedule from last saturday)

Triggles

Ooops. Been a couple days. Let's see, catching up.

DS2 & DS3 had haircuts. DS2 usually has a dreadful time due to sensory overload, but we took his DS (game) along this time so he could play it during the haircut. Much better! And had a better weekend after than normal as well - usually he spends the entire weekend after a haircut in meltdown - he was still jumpier than normal, but not full overload this time. So we were quite pleased!! Definitely bringing that along next time!!!!

Ethical dilemma. I am not happy with Tesco and that work scheme they are a part of. I haven't been shopping there lately, but I did give DD a lift there as she wanted to pick up some heavier, bulkier items and didn't want to drag them home on the bus. While I was there, I remembered we were low on tinned tuna. So ethics aside, I didn't want to waste petrol going elsewhere and bought tinned tuna in brine. And it's 24p per can cheaper (for basics/value) than Sainsburys!!! :eek: I couldn't believe it!! We go through a fair bit of tinned tuna, and this is a huge difference!! So I'm afraid ethics are probably going to take a back seat to finance this time, and I'll ask DD to pick up tuna for me from Tesco when she is shopping.

We had a lovely treat last night. I made some bread pudding with some bread and rolls we had that needed to be used with some raisins in it. Tasty and cheap. :j With some warm custard. Yummmmm! Went over very nicely with the cooler weather lately.

I have a meeting next week with Parent Partnership and the LA to discuss DS2's schooling and the LA's refusal to approve him going to the specialised school. If no joy at the meeting, then it's off to tribunal we go. We've got supporting letters from the specialised school, the paediatrician, and his current school, and we're hoping the OT will have time to put a letter together as well. Fingers crossed we get a good outcome!

Bit of a stress overload for me lately, so am going to try to relax this evening and put my feet up.

Triggles

I'm exhausted! DH was gone for the last two days visiting our oldest DS out of town, and I've been here with the boys. Lest you think I'm just a huge wimp that cannot handle 2 small boys, I will point out that DS2 is 5yo and has SNs and DS3 is 2yo. They don't sleep much, and they cannot be left unsupervised at all. Makes life interesting. Boy, am I glad to see DH back!! :eek:

We had a very cheap lunch yesterday - MIL bought fish & chips for us all!

BBQ pork ribs in the slow cooker with rice for tea tonight. I used a lovely BBQ sauce that was called "sticky" sauce with honey in it - was on sale at Sains for £1 and was actually cheaper than the store brand. :cool:

DH is going to finish the wallpaper removal this week in the bathroom using the steamer. Hopefully we can get it painted as well and then it's just decoration work. :j

I don't know if I mentioned that we bought a new keyboard for the laptop. Some of the keys have come off or broken (thanks to DS2 & DS3) and I am far too cheap to take it in to be repaired. A little online digging found videos of how to replace the keyboard. It looks quite easy - so we bought a keyboard through ebay for about £14 and will be replacing it this week. Much cheaper than taking it in to a shop to be done!

We have one more ceiling fan to install - the one for our bedroom. All the others (boys bedrooms, living room) were installed last year. This year we'd like to be cool as well. :rotfl: Worth a bit of money to have someone else install it - I don't fancy it coming down on top of us. :rotfl: And I'm not keen on messing with electrical stuff either.

Still fighting with the council over the fence in the rear garden. They will only replace it with post and wire to mark the boundaries. We explained that DS2 has SNs and must have a secure garden, and the supervisor in their repair section basically said that's not his problem. Well, yes, we understand that but we offered to pay for the replacement wooden panels if they could simply replace the old ones, as the posts are perfectly fine. And he said only if we would sign paperwork saying they weren't responsible for the work and wouldn't be responsible for repairing or replacing it if something went wrong. :mad: So they could come out, do a slapdash poor job and we'd have no recourse!! I don't think so!! :mad: We also explained that the fence backs up to 3 other gardens (sounds big, but it's really not- it's just slanted) and all 3 of those families have dogs (which means it would then make their gardens insecure as well) and one of them is a very elderly lady. Putting up a post/wire fence would really cause some conflict in the neighbourhood as well. Still trying to decide the best way about this.