The single track road - life on a different path

liltdiddylilt

You would get up to a maximum of 70% of the money back from WTC childcare, so you are definitely better off!!

Less hours = definitely less stressed mummy. Am very proud of your super pro-active approach to everything. who knows.. you might just have saved your job by reducing your hours anyway

You are doing, and will be absolutely fine. You know all the tricks in the book.

What time does O go to bed. Could you maybe start up some sewing after he is in bed, to generate extra income or at the very least make amazing presents for family and friends? If you can do it whilst you watch TV that would be excellent!

And does O like lentils? Or, if you're prepared to wash them, boil them for 10 minutes by themselves and then add them to things like chilli, bolognese, shepherds pie etc, would he even notice? Jelly loves hers and it is a great way to get extra protein into her without her knowing as she isn't a big meat fan. It also makes one pack of mince last for days and days on end if you're happy eating the same thing even Him eats them xx

MeandO

Hmmm, I may just try the lentils, Lilty. :cool:

He's REALLY fussy, which stem from a food = pain issue when he was a baby, so it is understandable, but oh-so frustrating.

He will barely eat any home-cooked meals without gagging or just point blank refusing, but he has got a little better lately. I might make a bolognaise and pad it out with lentils as he doesn't much like the texture of meat, unless it's an M&S spag bol/meaty pasta kid's meal which are extortionately priced. :rotfl:I do buy them though, just because they've got lots of hidden veg in and are low in salt/cr&p etc and I know it's something he'll eat.

He's ok with wraps/bread/yoghurts/cereal/bananas (rarely) etc, but anything cooked, especially meat/fish/veg and it's a no-no. He will stomach potato waffles and the occasional roast potato. Oh - and CAKE - the boy would survive on cake if he could!

It's been a real struggle which has reduced me to tears numerous times, but I try not to let it stress me out these days, we'll get there eventually.

He's ready for bed by 6.30pm/7pm most nights and doesn't sleep well if he's up much later as he gets overtired. I'm not much of a tv fan, in fact, I barely watch it, so I usually use the evenings to get any orders made and ready for dispatch or to tidy up, sort paperwork, do a bit of baking or sort the budget etc. In the busy months, I literally work most of the night getting orders out, so it's tiring, but worth it.

MeandO

Forgot to mention, some more orders this week have brought in around £35, so that has gone straight into the new shiny account I've set up solely for the business funds. It has a debit card facility, so I will be able to pay for postage and materials etc straight from it, rather than using my main account and getting it all confused as I have done in the past.

I need to read the gas meter tonight for my energy switch, also need to dig out all my paperwork I'm currently trying to sort and plough through 'laundry mountain'.

MeandO

Quite a productive evening here I suppose... Washing mountain has (almost) been conquered; I've helped the ex pack up and move some of his stuff, so there is a little more space in my garage and I've de-cluttered every one of my kitchen cupboards (he has A LOT) of kitchen gadgets:rotfl:). Although it has made me realise I desperately need a new set of knives as my current set has gone rusty - don't think they were the stainless steel they claimed to be... :mad:
Will take a look at the budget tomorrow and see if there's leverage to buy some this month as I've wrapped the others for throwing away.

I've sorted out all the paperwork I need to take to work with me tomorrow to update/fill in/ amend/use to apply for tax credits etc.
I've also read the gas meter in readiness for my new fuel deal.

Ds was quite difficult and I was a bit stressed tonight. He's struggling to listen and take anything on board at the moment, I know he's only just 4, but tonight he started cheeking me and answering back - what on earth am I in for!!! I'm sure it's linked to the behaviour of a classmate of his who is a little £*%} and who seems to have a lot of influence over the other children. We have already has to speak to the teacher about him and they are very good, but at the end of the day he is just a child, despite being a 4 year old bully :mad::( will have to keep an eye on that situation methinks.

Right, I'm shattered and off to sleep, goodnight all xx

Levi-

hi you, thanks for your post on my thread to see how things went:)
glad you had a productive evening--you really seem to pack a lot in to your evenings, i salute you:) seriously. you more or less do another full days work on your own business after doing a full days work at work AND looking after a kiddo by yourself..
hope your blues pass soon too.. the work thing actually sounds pretty positive and i have a good feeling that you're gonna be fine!! and if not, well, you're already on the right track to getting all the help you need meanwhile.
sorry O seems to have entered his teenage years prematurely LOL.. i do worry about that and so much more now that they spend a lot more time with influential peers. I hope it is just a phase for O! But yeah good idea to keep an eye on it and if need me.. distance him from that little troublemaker where possible and talk to the teacher again if needs be! I hate to think of them being 'corrupted' especially at age 4 :undecided - sleep tight, xxxxxxxxxx

MeandO

Yeah, I'm a bit of a work-horse in the evenings Levi, I'm the sort of person who gets bored very easily and I really don't watch tv much at all - once in a blue moon in fact - mostly because I sit on my bum in front of a big screen aaaaalllll day at work, so I like to be a bit more active in the evenings. Luckily Ds is an early-to-bed-er, so I do get an evening to myself which is nice at times.

My house is a mess at the moment as the ex has been piling stuff up in the smallest spare room (which I also run my business from). He's started to move stuff now, so I can't wait to get in there and get it organised once again, so I can focus on expanding the business a little more. I'm very much a tidy house, tidy mind kind of person in that I hate clutter, it drives me nuts!

So today I have got ALL the paperwork I need with me to plough through all the stuff I need to get done, starting with the tax credits application. I did forget my wallet though, so had to turn around and go back to the house as I needed to fill up with diesel this morning (£51.54 spent there :eek:).

Tonight I'm going to help the ex move a few more bits and pieces, although we have a mate coming to help with the heavy stuff tonight, and then make a big batch of soup for work lunches. Hopefully finish the last of the washing and then tidy up a little more. Oh, and start reading THE book.... it's made it to the side of my bed Levi so I'm getting there! :rotfl:

Have a good day folks

xx

MeandO

Grrrrrr... :mad::mad::mad:

I will spare you all of the lengthy (spanning 2 years!) details, but I've just found out my gas cannot be switched to the new supplier, due to my pipelines being owned by some independent company who they can't deal with, so I now have to 'switch back' and hope the next company can deal with them.

Breathe Jo, breathe.....

Concentrating on the positives, I've sorted the tax credits application, changed my details with the water supplier and setup the single discount with the council tax.
The forms for my life insurance are signed and ready to go and I've arranged an appointment for some house repairs (by the builder and under warranty, so free ).
I'll tackle the energy suppliers tomorrow when I have the meter details to hand.

MeandO

Just applied for a 0% BT card to transfer my existing balance to as the 0% has run out (and I didn't want to be applying for new credit during the remortgage process). Fingers cross I'm accepted.

Another order came in today too, so a bit of work to do over the next couple of nights. It's all going straight into the business account too, so it's nice to see it mounting up and sitting there.

liltdiddylilt

Hello you!!

Blooming heck you get a lot done. You make me look positively lazy!!!

I am very proud of you for the pro-activity in getting all the forms, council tax reduction etc etc sorted out. You are doing so well, and once ex has moved out, you will really be able to think straight and get yourself on an even keel with it all, no matter the outcome at work!!

Yay for an extra £35 of orders! And a business bank account. Super smart. Is it actually in the businesses name, or still your own? Some smaller businesses tend to keep business accounts in their own name to stop charges.

Thank you for your support this morning too. You are lovely.

And P.S we are so alike!! I too am a tidy house,l tidy mind girl. Same with my work desk. And I cannot sit still, and rarely watch TV. If it wasn't for Jellytot/Him I wouldn't have a TV. :rotfl: and I wouldn't miss it a bit. Mines less about not staring at a screen all day and more about not actually being able to sit still for more than a few minutes, combined with being very embarrassed at half of the tv programmes that are on. I am delicate.. lol.

Sending you many big hugs. Soon you are going to be in an awesome routine with O, just you and Him. Jelly is amazing on the nights Him isn't here. In bed at 6pm, awake at 7am. I have the evening to potter, wash the pots, and do exactly as I please. She also has food = pain issues and is seriously fussy so I am actually amazed that she will eat the lentils, but it seems she doesn't even notice them because they are pre-cooked and soften to mush in the bolognese, adding bulk and protein, but not much else really. am a huge fan!

Lots of love. xx

MeandO

And I cannot sit still, and rarely watch TV. If it wasn't for Jellytot/Him I wouldn't have a TV. :rotfl: and I wouldn't miss it a bit. Mines less about not staring at a screen all day and more about not actually being able to sit still for more than a few minutes, combined with being very embarrassed at half of the tv programmes that are on. I am delicate.. lol.


This ^^ is me.... you sure we're not related?! :eek:

I wouldn't have one either if it wasn't for the little person who would disown me and go live with his Dad if I took away access to the Octonauts! :rotfl:

Business account is not technically a business account because, as you rightly said, they charge fees and generally don't leave you alone. I found this out many years ago whilst on a different mini-business venture. It's just a second bank account with Lloyds, but all of my paypal and Etsy payments are linked to it so they go straight in there, and it has a separate debit card so I can keep it isolated from my main bank account.:)

And yes, as sad as the whole 'split' situation is (and believe me, I think it's worse when things are so amicable and you still have genuine concern for each other ), we both just need to get our lives sorted now. He's started moving stuff in to his house and was going to do more tonight, but realistically it'll be a couple of weeks until he's living there I think.

Oh, and I found LOTS OF lentils in myfood cupboard last night, so you know what I'll be doing evenings this week

Have a lovely afternoon xx