make do and mend for tougher times

stiltwalker

Sounds like you are best off out of there Kidcat. Support is no kid f support if it's making you stressed. Good luck with the coffee morning/support group thing. It sounds similar to the kind of informal support group myself and a few other parents have at the local Surestart centre. Thy provide the room and we just turn up and play with the toys! We're providing a drop in support for parents/carers/families of under 5's with additional needs - doesn't matter what from the very obvious physical disabilities that my DD (and increasingly DS) have to the far less visible global delay which seems to be an increasingly common diagnosis round here. We have been going about 3 months now and it's slow going getting people aware of us - we are currently still a very select group who are fast becoming good friends as well as sharing info and strategies. We are getting the word out and have picked up a couple of new people along the way but we are expecting it to be quite a while before we have any great numbers. I think it is an important resource though and I'm sure that in time we will be able to help many families with help/advice or just a supportive atmosphere and the occasional shoulder.

Took the kids to a play barn again today before we went to visit Grandad in hospital. He was a little more with it today, maybe because we arrived earlier in the day but it was encouraging. DD did really well in the play barn, it was slightly smaller one than we usually take her to with less challenging equipment and she was really independent on it - can see her being able to go in pretty much on her own within the not too distant future. We'll still take her to the bigger place to stretch her but will go to this new place a well to encourage independence. It' a really lovely place with all sorts to do other than climb as there is a dressing up corner, play house, brick and wooden train sets - even a bookcase full of kids books. Had lunch there too and it was basic but homemade and very tasty.

Sitting stitching another bag - still waiting for my new patterns, was hoping they were going to have arrived while we were out today, hopefully Monday - I'm really looking forward to getting on with some new designs.

grandma247

Mardatha It could be your yeast or you may need to put very warm water in the mix. I found warm water was the key with my BM. I also found the machine did not like draughts from the window either. When doing hand made bread it did not matter about temperature much but it does matter in the BM because it is all on a timer and it will start to cook even if the bread has not risen.

Popperwell

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

MRS.C - I'd forgotten about Sing Something Simple - wasn't that with the Palm Court Orchestra and on at about 6 ot 7pm on a Sunday evening? - I always remember trying to catch up on homework I had to do and trying to get it done before Sunday night at the London Palladium came on the tele. Another thing I remember is The Good Old Days, the victorian music hall with Leonard Sachs, but I thing that may have been slightly later. Cheers Lyn xxx.

SSS...Cliff Adams Singers 7pm(I think)Sunday Night at the London Palladium 8pm(?)Good Old Days was on for years, 1953-1983 great memories...

SpikyHedgehog

lisakay wrote: »

Lol at Pooky, I don't object to being bitten once in a while...

I have lurked on this thread for many a long evening while DH is working nights and the kids are in bed.

At the moment we are trying to drag ourselves out of debt and to also save up for flights next year to visit DH's Uncle and auntie in spain. We had just enough to pay for flights this year (our first holiday together) and we both know the money should have gone to paying something off, but in the end it worked out cheaper than a uk caravan holiday and we have come back refreshed and ready to tackle our money problems.

My next step is to start building up my stores again. I love having fully stocked cupboards and feel safe when I have enough in to feed us for a few weeks, but I have been running the cupboards down, trying to save money. I'm almost out of pulses, pasta, rice, passata. I'll be adding a couple of extra bits to each shop, so hopefully my pocket wont suffer to much.

And, shock horror, I have NO teabags (please don't faint!). I can't stand tea or coffee and DH only drinks coffee. If family/friends visit and want to drink tea, they bring their own teabags :rotfl:

These summer holidays have been an exercise in free/cheap fun. The local baths, with a slide, have a family ticket for £6 which covers 2+3, so my friend and I have taken my 2 and her 1 swimming twice and split the cost.
I can also share a family tram ticket with another friend and her 2 kids (my dd2 goes free), so have been to the manchester museum and taken a picnic, a full day out for the grand sum of £3.50.
I have managed to get tickets for the cbeebies concert tomorrow, again the only cost is the tram fare, split between us.
today has been a picnic on the meadows with MIL (the wicked witch , not really wicked but I like to wind her up!) and the girls (DD1 is 6, DD2 is 4). The girls had a paddle in the lake and we picked lots of perfectly ripe blackberries and sloes. Then on to a free craft session at the local park.

My next issue will be school uniforms when I get paid next week _pale_.

lisakay wrote: »

Thanks SDG, but I don't even have a tesco card! I never shop there any more, because I find it much more expensive than my usual shops. I was at ald* last week by 9.15 to get their uniform offers, thinking they opened at 9am. They didn't, they opened at 8 and there was nothing, and i mean nothing, left. Apparently they had sold out by ten past eight!!
I also found out after school had closed for the summer, that I can now only buy the school sweatshirts from the school office. DD2 will be on hand-me-downs anyway, but DD1 needs the next size and they are now £3 more expensive than the uniform shop used to be. She will be on a plain navy cardi for the first few days, regardless of what the headteacher has to say about it!

giving out (((((hugs))))) to everyone, just because i can xxx

seeing you have girls, I always see masses of girls school uniform in charity shops near me, especially the summer dresses because they catch my eye when looking for boys' clothes. Without checking legislation, the school can set colours for uniform, but cannot insist you buy the logo'd stuff, at least at primary school. In DS2's school prospectus, it lists the colours for sweatshirts etc & suggests where to get the logo stuff. But they've been fine about people including DS2 wearing plain maroon sweatshirts.

fuddle wrote: »

Ah, thanks for that.

My glasses just broke cellotape job

The opticians should fix them for you, I know 1 time when I hadn't been for a couple of years, they did ask where I got my glasses from but were fine when I said ' here!'

Tink_04

Good morning all!
No such thing as a lie in on a Sunday in our house, its very grey here at the moment. Well after looking at loads of SC recipes I've decided im going to make a curry ( one I normally make in the pan) today hoping to get 6 servings and 2 smaller servings for dd so I can freeze them and have theem as an easy tea when were all at work. I'll keep you updated on how it turns out, i thought id be better trying something i already know.
Going to pop into sa*nburys today so will pick up tinned rice pudding and custard might try there tea bags but i am a bit of a tea snob! I tried t*sco value ones at the recommendations of a thread once and they were awful! I'm swayed by people liking them to pg tips as that's what i like so will try anything once.

Have a nice day all

Possession

Off to Cadbury World with our Mr T vouchers today and a big picnic....is it OK to feel quite unreasonably excited?!

mardatha

That might be it grandma - it sits on the worktop under a wee window that's always kept open, I will move it and use warm water today and see how that does.
I got a HUGE load of soap stuff from my daughter, she decided she isn't making soap any more -plus she's moving in a couple of weeks to a smaller house (four bedrooms but 2 years old so the rooms are like shoe boxes). RV plonked it in the middle of the spare room floor and I thought ohmygod where am I going to put it ?? but it's all away, neat & tidy and sorted. I'm a very tidy person, I can't work in a muddle. Is amazing how much more stuff you get into a space when it's tidy
Wondering how many of you have microwaves and if they are a must-have.. I managed without since mine died about 5 years ago and am wondering if it saves money v heating stuff up on the cooker. What do you think?

Popperwell

mardatha,
At present I use my SC and microwave if doing a hot meal and microwaves are very cheap to run but you could consider instead of a basic microwave(if you are not thinking of a halogen oven)a combi microwave that way it can also grill or be an oven too...

In recent days I did see a chart as to how much it costs to cook in a microwave...

http://www.sust-it.net/microwave_ovens.php

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?

http://www.amothersramblings.com/2011/01/halogen-ovens-new-way-to-cook-review.html

Halogen oven seems to work out around 28p an hour?

Mrs_Chip

Morning All

My gosh I feel totally squished after working last night, we were mega busy and I am obviously very unfit. Thank goodness for adrenaline! Got to do it all again tonight.

Mar - Mr OGs Panny had to go back (in guarantee) as it started doing the same thing. We tested it too, to make sure it was not user error. They could not fix it so he got a new one!

Re the microwave - I use mostly for reheating, or quick defrosting. I could do without it. I think it depends on how many convenience meals you eat (can see it would be very useful for someone who eats from the freezer). I would say either buy a small cheap one for defrosting/reheating or bite the bullet and buy a good combi which can cook conventionally. I did have a Panasonic combi which was fab and took over from my big oven.


Kidcat it sounds like you have made he right decision, I'm sure your small support group will do well, without the emotional pummelling from the other person.

jem132

Hi all i have a well stocked store cupard and 3 freezers full to busting did loads of winter prep last year and still have most of it my DH gets paid for weekly so he has a free wage in sept so i am gona pay my Ctax a mt in advance and put £100 each on gas and elecy and still top up with usal £20 on each just to be sure and if we have a good winter well i will be ok for them in summer lol

I am consdering getting a dog never had one before and nethir has DH but we live so close to the woods at the end of our garden and i need to loose weight about 3 stone so am thinking loads of walks its a 1.7 mile to take kids to school as well 2 a day so will be nice to walk a dog pluse with DH working such a lot i feel like a single mum at the min it will be nice for the company .We went to look at a 2 year old boarder collie yesterday put have now decided a pup would be best for the kids to get used to so off to look today woopwoop .We are not going to jump in tho .We have looked at every thing and decided we can affored it so hopefully all will be well . I am going to stop smoking as well . Dh wont hes a bear when he does but i only smoke when kids are in bed or not in so theres no point really its more out of habit than addiction hopefully doggy will take my mind off it .I stopped befor when i wanted a whole new wardrobe of clothes then spent all the money i had saved on ciggs on a new wardrobe and started again silly me well today i day 1 if i want a dog i need to be fit enogh to walk it without been out of breath ..
Have a good day everyone love to all who need it xxx