Mouche’s adventures with her first mortgage (while coping with her first baby)

mouche

Oh thanks for that Pearla - I was starting to get worried about OnePoll.

tootoo...I think my problem is I love buying beauty stuff - I just don't like using it. I thought I had cured myself of the habit of buying stuff and I guess I am much better now in that instead of buying loads of stuff I don't use, I now buy loads of stuff we do use - hence the 6 bottles of shampoo and 7 bottles of shower gel in the cupboard.

Updates...

Last night’s taxi driver wanted £6 instead of 5. I told him, I make the journey every day and it’s always five pounds so that's all you're getting. The cheek! And the other drivers always pull into my drive and this one pulled up across a busy road that I then had to cross with a wriggling LO in my arms. <grump>

We had some spends last night as OH got home ‘early’ at 9.30pm and wanted a kebab. So I asked him to pick up some milk, bread and fruits while he was out as I don’t know when he’ll be available again. So another £7 odd there. The kebab came out of OHs pocket money so not my concern (financially - I did steal more than a little of it!).

I ordered some of OHs favourite aftershave for Valentine's day. I don’t know if I’ll see him at all on the day and I doubt we’ll do anything for it but I just wanted to get him something nice. The last few times I’ve got the cheapest aftershaves and colognes for him and he’s used them uncomplainingly so this time I’ve splashed out on his favourite Calvin Klein. Fortunately he likes quite an old one so it cost only £21 from allbeauty.com. I will try to manage it within my pocket money so I don’t have to touch my personal savings.

OnePoll is going ok - I also remembered I have a YouGov account - logged in after about 2 years and found I am on 3700 points - you need 5000 to get £50. So I did a few surveys - now up to 3850. I don't think I can maange both sites ona regular basis but will try to keep up with Yougov till redemption anyway.

No other spends that I can think of. Got one item ready for listing on ebay last night – I will try to do more tonight and then list them on Sunday as I am told they sell better if ending on a Sunday night. Any ideas on how to package a hat for posting?

BlueMoo

I think my problem is I love buying beauty stuff - I just don't like using
it. I thought I had cured myself of the habit of buying stuff and I guess I am
much better now in that instead of buying loads of stuff I don't use, I now buy
loads of stuff we do use - hence the 6 bottles of shampoo and 7 bottles of
shower gel in the cupboard.

I was getting worried you were describing me then!! I have a whole cupboard fulll of bath stuff - I get so taken in my the lovely packaging! I have now told myself I will not buy anything new until that cupboard is completely empty!

CK perfume sounds lovely.

Pearla*Merle

Any ideas on how to package a hat for posting?

How funny, I was just looking on top of my wardrobe at one of mine that was languishing there and was wondering how I could package it if I sold it. Probably a box is best and then stuff all around if with plastic bags/bubble wrap/papers, that kind of thing?

A box might be quite expensive to post, so maybe use Collect Plus (or similar) to get the cheapest postage you can on it?

mouche

Thank you Pearla...I have a feeling I've charged too little for postage for this. Am going to have to try and find the smallest box it will fit in and hope it goes through as a small parcel.

BlueMoo…isn’t it terrible how manufacturers con us into parting with our money for their lovely looking bottles and jars of gunk? It’s all their fault!

Well I didn’t get anything done last night as OH was home early at 9pm and we spent a rare evening talking about things other than Peppa Pig. One of those things was the fact that I locked myself out last night while going to collect LO from nursery. Due to a great deal of good luck, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been but it has made us realise we need to be systematic about what to do in such situations. In the event, instead of having to spend a fortune on late fees at nursery and possibly another fortune on a locksmith, the only extra expense for my stupidity was £2 extra taxi as I had to go to my friend’s house to collect the spare keys (that she happened to have very much by chance). I need to give them to her again and will accompany them with a bottle of something as she and her partner went to considerable trouble to make sure they were able to give them to me with minimum disruption to LO.

Had to buy lunch today and though I should have got a sandwich, I really felt like something Chinese-y, so got a ready meal instead + two spiced buns for breakfast. £5.49. Must try to bake something this weekend and get OH to cook if he’s around.

On the other hand claimed back 20p on milk through ClickSnap. I don’t buy stuff simply because there is cashback on offer but I do check receipts afterwards to see if there is anything I can claim – and this week there was! OH laughed at me for doing it but 20p is 20p!

A colleague who doesn’t have an ebay account asked me to buy something for her so I’ve earned 14 Nectar points for no spend of mine. (She paid me cash straightaway) On the other hand I think I underestimated the postage for sending a hat so I may be out of pocket with my sole ebay sale. Oh dear.

No other spends or savings to report.

mouche

Happy Monday everyone.

I had a slightly miserable weekend as wasn’t feeling too well. OH looked after LO for me and I got some rest so wasn’t too bad. Due to me feeling ill and the weather being rubbish, we most unusually, spent Saturday at home. Baking biscuits with LO in the evening was the highlight. Sunday football lessons were cancelled for LO but due to me not checking my email, we didn’t find out till OH got there with him. To make it up to them, I treated them to a McDonald’s meal and we then went to have a look at the fishes at Pets at Home. OH had to work Sunday evening and didn’t get home till past midnight so LO and I vegged at home.

So a very frugal weekend for us with no grocery shop either as not needed. We might need some fruit and milk during the week but that’s about it.

However, due to OH working so much, he didn’t have time to make anything for my lunches – so £3 on lunch today. It’s going to be a bad month for personal spends…

To all the other mums of little LOs out there – how do you manage it? It feels like I have absolutely no life of my own and I am always tired and run down. I used to read two books a week and I haven’t even opened one in six months. I used to love cross stitch – I’ve done about one line since Christmas. I’m getting fed up of having no time or energy for anything fun and that’s making me even more depressed and low. Please provide tips on how to cope – I am really struggling.

tootoo

Hi mouche

I'm short on time at the mo but will pop by later. I didn't want to read and run.
big hug in the meantime x

tootoo

Hi M
Work done and girlies in bed, so I can concentrate!

Hope you are ok. I really think this time of year is a huge contributing factor for feeling down.
I don't really have a social life as such. I'm the same as in I'd rather stay in. I do have to force myself sometimes to sew or read, but when I do I feel so much better for it. I like to give myself a project or challenge (memory quilt at the mo - lots of cutting squares which is easy to pick up and put down).
I do have dh home most nights, but rather than exhaust our babysitting bank, we tend to save the credits (!) and ask for an overnight one every other month. We then go for a little one night break and it really does help. Do you have anyone close for babysitting?
As for friends, I usually see them daytime with the girls as its so hard catching up in the evening with us all having little ones and one of my closest mummy friends works evenings.
Do you have any friends to catch up with on your dh night off?
So sorry for the ramble, I'm not sure i've helped at all.
i think sometimes even though you are tired, you have to force yourself to go out and you do enjoy it when you get there.

Feel free to pm me M, happy to chat by email or another way. x

tootoo

sorry for the rubbish comment - it looks like such jibberish now i've read it back....

poorbutrich

mouche wrote: »

Happy Monday everyone.

I had a slightly miserable weekend as wasn’t feeling too well. OH looked after LO for me and I got some rest so wasn’t too bad. Due to me feeling ill and the weather being rubbish, we most unusually, spent Saturday at home. Baking biscuits with LO in the evening was the highlight. Sunday football lessons were cancelled for LO but due to me not checking my email, we didn’t find out till OH got there with him.

To all the other mums of little LOs out there – how do you manage it? It feels like I have absolutely no life of my own and I am always tired and run down. I used to read two books a week and I haven’t even opened one in six months. I used to love cross stitch – I’ve done about one line since Christmas. I’m getting fed up of having no time or energy for anything fun and that’s making me even more depressed and low. Please provide tips on how to cope – I am really struggling.

I haven't got any tips but just wanted to say that I feel exactly the same and I don't even work the number of hours that you do! Apparently mums get fewer than 14 hours a year of "me time" and you probably spend most of that time worrying about LO!

I agree with Tootoo that this weather doesn't help at all. Could you ask DH to look after DS for a couple of hours so you can either get a lie in or go to bed early (with a book!)?

mouche

Oh tootoo and pbr…you are both so kind. Thank you so much for your messages.

Pbr – 14 hours a year sounds about right! But then again, you are a SAHM – you must have even less me-time than me! At least if I’m desperate, I can take a day off from work and relax while LO is in nursery. I don’t do this very often as annual leave is limited and must be saved for when LO is ill - but it *is* an option. OH is very good and looked after LO most of Saturday when I wasn’t feeling well. But he works even longer hours than me and it feels a bit unfair to ask him to do extra home-stuff as well. Hopefully, he will be able to recruit and get up to normal staffing levels soon and then I can restart my monthly night out with my friend (the night out where we have 2 drinks each and show each other pictures of our LOs.  )

Tootoo – you are absolutely right! Whenever I force myself to do something I enjoy even though I’m tired, I feel happier. Moping on the sofa thinking ‘I am so tired’ doesn’t seem to have that effect. So I will try to force myself to enjoy myself a bit more. After all, I do get 90 minutes between LO going to bed and my own bedtime – I will dedicate 30 minutes of that time to ME and so what if the ironing isn’t finished! I just stress myself our so much it’s stupid. The other day I was lying on the couch watching a favourite TV program while OH gave me a neck massage – bliss, right? But no, I was thinking ‘I should get up and list something on ebay or do some cross stitch’. I can’t even relax when I’m relaxing!

But it’s so nice to know I’m not the only one struggling with this. I see my perfectly groomed, perfectly dressed friends posting on Facebook about going out to dinner or going to the gym and I think – ‘What have you done with your children?! And where do you find the energy?’ And on the other hand there’s me who refuses to allow OH to post pics of her on Facebook because I look so fat and frumpy – and then I get angry with OH because his Facebook movie has no pictures of me! I’m so glad I have MSE and you two to keep me sane.

I guess what makes it harder is we have no family in the UK so no babysitting credits available at all. I have one very good friend but since I work full time and she’s a single mother, we only see each other once a month when her boyfriend babysits for her and OH babysits for me. But with OHs current hectic work schedule, I haven’t seen her since before Christmas.

Sorry for the very rambly post – I wish I could just teleport the two of you here and have a long moany lunch – I’d get it all out of my system!