Second Time Lucky

amycool

Muser1 wrote: »

Aww nearly 5 is an amazing age! She won't need loads of clothes, I'm guessing she will wear a uniform for school? Get her some well made shoes and a pair of wellies, and a rain mac for the first term and then a decent coat for when it gets colder. We use Dec4thlon for our kids school coats. Very cheap, good quality and nice and bright.

We are still careful with the heating, ours have thick dressing gowns and fleecy pjs (primarni/tk maxx) which keep them snug in a morning and they both have their own blanket for tv time. Mostly they run round the house like loons so they are warm enough!

Most importantly parent how you and oh want to! Don't let others make you feel like you should do it their way.

So exciting!

You are totally right - I mustn't feel pressured by other people's spending. I know that a certain member of the family and also a friend will no doubt say I am tight constantly, as they spend a small fortune on their kids, but I'll just have to ignore it. I have to think that being available at home for her, and having time to spend every school holiday with her, is worth far more to her than having loads of toys. The good news is that she loves imaginary play - which costs nothing! :-)

As a kid we only had a small gas fire in the living room and I don't remember ever being cold. It was only when I became a teenager that I felt the cold. We always joke that if you're cold, just put a niece/nephew on your lap as they're always boiling!

amycool

I have ordered a washing machine at last! I was originally going to get a 10kg drum one for £319, but then realised that we don't have much room for drying clothes, so getting a drum twice the size of what we have now would be pointless. So I have spent £199 on a 6kg washing machine. It has a 15 minute quickwash, which I like the sound of. The quickest wash on this one is 1hr 15!! The shop tried to sell me a £4.99 a month product but I was having none of it.

Bought some paint and some carpet tacks at the weekend to finish off DD's room, and the curtains and bean bag arrived too. I'm just umming and ahhing over whether or not to get some wall stickers and which ones. It looks a little plain at the moment.

I've put in a claim for the £10.50 cashback from the lottery. I wouldn't have minded losing it if we had won, but not a penny! It's tracking at £0.00 at the moment.

I'm up to £36 on yougov but not getting anywhere with the others.

This month I MUST switch internet and phone provider.

turtlemoose

Fantastic news about your girl being placed with you - do you know when you will get to meet her yet?

LauraJo

Hello!
I have just read your diary start to finish (why not its my last week at work so I'm on a skive!)
Firstly - massive congrats on the adoption - it was kinda cool seeing the story develop in one afternoon!
Secondly - crack on with the driving text - you'll need it now! After many many years of driving ive just taken my CBT bike test so know what its like to be a learner again! I was petrified taking my bike out but once I pretend i'm in charge of the road and everyone else can s0d off - it helps! Try it on your next drive!
Your lecci monitoring made me laf - less mention of it now its summer!! I wont let my OH read it as he'll be even more stingy with the heating in winter!
Finally your OP's are fabulous! You'll certainly be able to tell the new mini one about being good with money

debtfreeoneday

I've only tried Bastiste and though it's pricey, it's worth it and gets me through a day when the hair really needs a wash!

I'm looking forward to my two starting school in that I don't have to buy as many clothes now..

amycool

turtlemoose wrote: »

Fantastic news about your girl being placed with you - do you know when you will get to meet her yet?

Thanks Turtlemoose - still lots of unknowns at the moment but we're hoping for October. It's a bizarre situation - one day you can't wait and want her home TODAY and other days it's scary and you need more time!

amycool

LauraJo wrote: »

Hello!
I have just read your diary start to finish (why not its my last week at work so I'm on a skive!)
Firstly - massive congrats on the adoption - it was kinda cool seeing the story develop in one afternoon!
Secondly - crack on with the driving text - you'll need it now! After many many years of driving ive just taken my CBT bike test so know what its like to be a learner again! I was petrified taking my bike out but once I pretend i'm in charge of the road and everyone else can s0d off - it helps! Try it on your next drive!
Your lecci monitoring made me laf - less mention of it now its summer!! I wont let my OH read it as he'll be even more stingy with the heating in winter!
Finally your OP's are fabulous! You'll certainly be able to tell the new mini one about being good with money

Thanks a lot LauraJo! The gas and electric tend to be the same every week during the summer so I have become a bit lax with checking them! I sometimes manage that mindset when I drive, but mostly I'm nervous. I went through a period of thinking, "I'm pretty much ready for my test" and then we started more difficult stuff and I'm back to "I am never going to pass this!". I'll keep plugging away though. I'm not really a giver upperer.

amycool

debtfreeoneday wrote: »

I've only tried Bastiste and though it's pricey, it's worth it and gets me through a day when the hair really needs a wash!

I'm looking forward to my two starting school in that I don't have to buy as many clothes now..

I was one of those weird kids who liked my school uniform. Never having to choose what to wear is bliss for me!

amycool

:mad::mad::mad:

I'm a bit cross today. I've been with a certain Yorkshire-based phone and internet company for about 4.5 years now. When we moved house I could have got a cheaper deal elsewhere but thought it would be less hassle to just move with them, and then switch once I could be bothered. When I phoned to move house the lady said our tariff no longer existed so she moved us onto the cheapest option available and kept the original price. There was no mention of a contract as far as I can recall.

Yesterday I found a good deal with Sky and felt pretty pleased with myself. The monthly payment would be the same but with £70 cashback and a £100 giftcard. And only a 12 month contract.

Just before bed I foolishly checked my e-mails and PN are charging me about £55 to switch as I am only halfway through a 24 month contract!!!!! As if I would have agreed to a 24 month contract when they weren't even giving me any incentive to stay with them!!!!

Annoyingly, I checked my old e-mails and sure enough, there is mention of a contract. Obviously I was in the middle of moving house and hadn't bothered to read the e-mail properly.

I'm trying not to get too cross as it's just money and I'll still be in profit, assuming no more fees pop up. There's no way I can prove that the lady didn't mention the contract and they will no doubt say "it clearly states in the e-mail...." so I don't think it's worth the stress of trying to fight it.

I guess I'll have to be more careful in future.

In work news, there's good news and bad news. Weirdly, I was actually hoping for redundancies so that I could quit work and have a little lump sum for luxuries once we adopt. So the bad news is that redundancies are happening, but not for my payscale. The good news is of course that my library is staying open! :j:j And most of my friends won't be losing their jobs. There's still more news to come apparently so things might not look so rosy, but right now, I'm really chuffed. There are a lot of lovely people who rely on the library and it would have been very upsetting to see it close.

So a pretty bad day for money! I've also been eating like a pig of late and have consumed ALL of the sweet treats in the house. I thought, "maybe I could make a cake for dinner" but we had no ingredients. So I spent £3 on more sweet treats from the discount shop so OH won't be mad at me. I also bought some strawberries for health. :rotfl:

debtfreeoneday

Sweets v strawberries - it's all about balance!! I like it!

Still might be worth a try with the phone company, the worst they can say is no?

I hated my School uniform, I don't think I have anything of that colour in the house and couldn't wait for it to be stripped off at the end of the day.

One set of grandparents arrived yesterday and bought soooo many clothes for the little people, so that is me done for Autumn for tops, fleeces and leggings - just need trousers for little man I reckon.

Do you have a timescale for the next part of the process yet?