Mum2one - next chapter - baby steps make big strides

mum2one

Bedroom decluttering took a rest for the weekend, - mse weekend, went to a foor fayre on sat (national trust - members), was good I brought a cushion cover for £10, it was fab got split screen VW campers on - and some local beer and cider to go towards dads bday prezzie.

Today, - dad took DD to a local dogs homing centre, they had a fun day.

Money wise - Spent £25 on Sat - good considering the prices charged, but as £10 was bday presents, dont feel to bad. Gave dd £5 for today.

listed some items on local facebook sellers, - sold coffee table within 2 mins of it being listed, thats being collected tomorrow, - just need to push the rest...

Plan this week..

Got open evening DDs new school - see the uniforms...work out what i dont need with logos on!

Finish the bedroom, - got to be done by Wed - new bed coming (essential spend, and it was in sale - do feel guilty but shouldn't do)

Balance budget for July.. not too bad as most of bills have come out, DMP is 11th - just remembering that its in bank now - DO NOT SPEND

opticians appointment - mean new glasses, - have to be mse...

Try to get round to listing on ebay on Thurs (10 day - get 2 weekends in)

Rest, relax, - those are 2 words that dont always go together xx

lobbyludd

hello M21, you won't remember but you ued to post on my old thread, and now I'm back with tail between legs and a new one to try and get debt-free .

my eldest starts secondary in september too - I'm still reeling from the uniform costs (available from only ONE shop, great, how is that not against some sort of competition rules?). Went to the parents open evening and head spent opening address mainly asking for cash and directed us to the direct debit form in the newsletter .

hope things are going OK for you, insurance and building works doesn't sound too good?

mum2one

lobbyludd wrote: »

hello M21, you won't remember but you ued to post on my old thread, and now I'm back with tail between legs and a new one to try and get debt-free .

my eldest starts secondary in september too - I'm still reeling from the uniform costs (available from only ONE shop, great, how is that not against some sort of competition rules?). Went to the parents open evening and head spent opening address mainly asking for cash and directed us to the direct debit form in the newsletter .

hope things are going OK for you, insurance and building works doesn't sound too good?

Hello stranger, i remember you, as both our kids same age... we've got the parents evening tomorrow for secondary school... think were not quite as strict with the uniform, - order the jumpers from tesco, but its all the pe kit, mouth guard, shin pads, football boots, - they want you to have school logo pe kit... sure there was regulations brought it that schools had to be competative and parents could shop around, - they did away with the school uniform grant (for benefits etc) but trouble is schools managed by the govenerors etc - no local authority like there use to be.

its def been been fun and games withe the builders, - starts again end of month when they come to re-do kitchen.

Debt free - think that be a miracle day.... have to hunt your diary. Where has the time gone. xxx

mum2one

Can't sleep, so back to the boards... been a wierd night, we had the meeting at DD's new school, the meet the teachers etc, this is going to sound so daft but I just felt I was losing her to the big bad world...
Wasn't helped by having to explain again about the situ with the ex, the court order, the hassles, her allergies, I know the files get transferred from primary to secondary - but I didn't want DD walking into wack of questions etc. I spoke the head of the yr, there going to put wheels into motion to ensure everything ok, and the lady said she'd make sure that Dd had a "free pass card", so if stuff gets on top of her, or its a diffficult time, she can show the teacher the card and have 10/15mins chill out time. Its dragging it all up again, just frustrates.

Spent £17 2ngt - hit sales for dotcomgift shop - got a few nick nacks for Christmas presents, - had a nice surpise earlier - when de-cluttering found some 4 sets of books brought for xmas prezzies- put them in a suitcase safe... hadn't put them on xmas list so managed to clear a few gaps.

hot chocolate and back to bed... x

mum2one

better day today, some gd news on sourcing uniform front, Tesco now do the school logo and its half the price of the school supplier, so that be one thing ticked off list.

found £10 Wilkos voucher in special purse - so given that to DD so she can get all pens, calculator and stationary ready for school.

done the online review for my dmp and increased my payment by £4 a month, - thats knocked a whole month off my projected date - now june 2023, instead of the July... so offically less than 10 years to go! xx

springdreams

mum2one wrote: »

Hello stranger, i remember you, as both our kids same age... we've got the parents evening tomorrow for secondary school... think were not quite as strict with the uniform, - order the jumpers from tesco, but its all the pe kit, mouth guard, shin pads, football boots, - they want you to have school logo pe kit... sure there was regulations brought it that schools had to be competative and parents could shop around, - they did away with the school uniform grant (for benefits etc) but trouble is schools managed by the govenerors etc - no local authority like there use to be.

On the school jumper front it is worth checking with the school uniform suppliers whether the kids at the school your DD is going to actually wear them. At my DS's school it is not cool to wear a jumper, so none of the kids do. Fortunately the supplier of the uniform (also only one supplier and bits requiring logos, special colours etc) told me this before I forked out for the jumper.

For the blazer, if you don't know this already, choose one where the sleeves reach the tips of her fingers when she hold her arms against her sides. That way the blazer may last 2 or more school years. No one told me this when I bought my DS his first blazer, so I ended up buying one each year. I will however be using this guidance myself when I buy his next (and 3rd) blazer when he goes up to year 9 in September.

If it is not too dear buy a spare tie - they may get detention for not wearing full school uniform, so it is best to have a spare if possible as these items tend to have legs ...

You can get the shin pads, footy socks and footy boots quite cheaply from Sports Direct - they usually don't need to be a specific colour (except the socks) or brand. Your DD should try both shin pads and footy boots on as footy boot true sizes tend to vary from brand to brand, and should generally be a size bigger than her usual shoe size for comfort and to accommodate the thick footy socks. Likewise, she should try the shin pads on, as she is more likely to need small adult rather than junior because if I recall correctly your posts in other threads suggest that she is not an average size for her age.

P.S. if you end up with Nike footy boots (sometimes they are on offer / in a sale bin) be aware that they smell like cat pee once they have been worn for a while and I have yet to find a way to eliminate the smell.

mum2one

Springclean - ur a lifesaver, thank you for the tip re bigger football boots, I got a pair of shin pads from a car boot for £1, they look in good conditon, she has to have a mouth guard, will have a good peep on sports direct and take her up to the local one,

- good bit don't need blazers or a tie, but they have wear the school logo jumper.

Weird thought but there was no aprons recommended - in my time you had to have white apron for woodwork/metal work, and a material for the cooking... guess that may be a bombshell to come!

xx

springdreams

If it turns out that she does need an apron they can be bought quite cheaply off of eBay - just do a search for school apron :money:

My DS needs an apron for D&T and for art, so it would be unusual if your DD does not also need one. Maybe the school supplies them at the school your DS is going to.

mum2one

DD finished school yesterday - literally feel where has the time gone, shes gone out with one of her friends today so plzed shes getting some fresh air... thou sure any excuse to avoid decluttering her bedroom!!

Decluttering process on my room - all have left to do is put stuff in bed draws then its tidy...

Just spent the afternoon sorting out the lovely list of school uniform, hit sports direct - football boots, gum shield, football boots, trackie bottoms, fleece, football socks, 2 prs shorts, and 2 coats and a wet jacket(£120)

Tesco - school sweatshirt - got 2 - there half the price price compared to the school supplier (£15)

Asda - 2 x trs, 2 x shirts, 4 polo shirts (£35) - better value

Unfortunatly the credit card has had to take a bashing - pay it back over 2 months - then my lovely csa (£20 a month - when it arrives!) - that pay the Asda bill

Left...
PE shirt - need to get from "offical supplier" - £17.

Got..
Swimsuit
Trainers (2 prs for £20)

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Wierd as theres no aprons - checked the website, asked the school and they said not needed... so guess we're wait and see.

Just so surprised at Asda how much of the school uniform was sold out, whether there get more sizes don't know, but luckly managed to get what I needed

--
Financies - There getting there, all bills are paid for the month (just BT and Sky) but the money ready and waiting, seems the most orgainsed I have been for a while. xx

springdreams

Well done on being so organised. :beer:

I too have most of my DS's uniform for the new school year - only thing he needs is a blazer, but I learnt my lesson before from buying some things too early as they did not fit by the time my DS went back to school - he had a growth spurt, and is of that age where he is having several of these - so this time I will buy the new blazer a week before school starts. There is also no benefit buying it too early as it has to be bought from the specialist school shop due to it having the school badge. They don't tend to have any offers ... He will also need new football boots, but again, these will wait until the start of the football season, also due to the aforementioned growth spurt. He is now in adult sizes and those attract tax, so are more expensive to buy than the junior ones he was in the season just gone. Sports Direct don't offer refunds, only store credit, so I would rather wait a bit and get the right size closer to the time (and he tends to want the latest fashion colours ... so best to wait until those have been introduced for the new season).

Quite a lot of shops will only start getting the back to school stuff, including uniforms, on display in August. So anything you did not manage to get now will be available later on. There will also be price wars, so there should be plenty of offers around in August / September. :money:

I hope Miss Hoodie has a great summer break.