Renovations and Repayments.

heartbreak_star

Congratulations on the job placement! I think you'll be fantastic

HBS x

Debsnewbudget

Well done Alex on so many different fronts x

hiddenshadow

^ this Congrats!

gallygirl

Wow Alex, that's great news :T.

maman

AlexLK wrote: »

.....for the moment I've accepted a place as a trainee primary school teacher for the next academic year. :eek:

Delighted for you. It'll be an experience!!:eek:

Watty1

Great news Alex

AlexLK

Thanks, all. I'm looking forward to it but am a little apprehensive.

After a good first day of the month, it all went a little downhill yesterday and today. We've spent money on an evening meal out yesterday as Mrs K managed to get home from work at 7pm and a cafe lunch today. As we've planned our meals for tomorrow and have enough fuel in the cars, it should be a no spend day.

My son seems to be particularly excited about Christmas this year despite my wife and I setting aside a very small budget for it, so I'm hoping he won't be disappointed.

littlegreenparrot

Firstly well done on the job. It will be probably be both more rewarding and harder than you expect.

I'm sure that what he's excited about is the atmosphere and spending time with you, not about the things.
Buy some sparkly paper and make paper chains and paper lanterns, get some Christmas cookie cutters and make biscuits he can share with his friends, or to hang on the tree, make a gingerbread house together. Plan a film night at home with a Christmas film and homemade popcorn.
Is there a local town that's made a big effort with lights this year, or has a Christmas market? Go for a walk, have a picnic tea, then go there to see the lights. See if he would like to help plan a day out between Christmas and new year.

I don't really remember the things I received as a child at Christmas, but the feelings and particular family traditions we had were everything. Make it lovely and exciting, he's not going to be sat there doing the math!

tootallulah

Great news about the teacher training - perhaps one day you will be an academic education specialist. You sound really motivated and happy long may that continue.

£10,000 spent getting your house up to scratch sounds really good to me - I must confess that I am supporting the new bathroom in solidarity with Mrs K!

I hope you have a great build up to Christmas I agree it is the traditions you remember as an adult, very rarely the 'things'.

AlexLK

littlegreenparrot wrote: »

Firstly well done on the job. It will be probably be both more rewarding and harder than you expect.

I'm sure that what he's excited about is the atmosphere and spending time with you, not about the things.
Buy some sparkly paper and make paper chains and paper lanterns, get some Christmas cookie cutters and make biscuits he can share with his friends, or to hang on the tree, make a gingerbread house together. Plan a film night at home with a Christmas film and homemade popcorn.
Is there a local town that's made a big effort with lights this year, or has a Christmas market? Go for a walk, have a picnic tea, then go there to see the lights. See if he would like to help plan a day out between Christmas and new year.

I don't really remember the things I received as a child at Christmas, but the feelings and particular family traditions we had were everything. Make it lovely and exciting, he's not going to be sat there doing the math!

Thank you, LittleGreenParrot.

I think you're probably right about the job. I'm sure I'll have found out by this time next year as I don't start this project until September. Whilst I am really looking forward to it, I've agreed with my wife that if it makes me ill I won't go any further with it. I am expecting to work hard and for it to be challenging, though. I've told my son as he is going to have to go to my cousin's after school from September and we're going to try this 2 days per week in January. He took it really well but made me promise I won't work away or work the hours my wife does. Didn't really take a lot for me to promise that. :rotfl:

You've given me a few ideas, there. He was wanting to do some baking this weekend but we haven't had chance to as we've had a fish tank delivered and have been moving furniture around to accommodate it. So, I think biscuits for his school will be on the agenda next weekend. We were also talking about going to the cinema at some point. I do think he'd enjoy a film evening at home too.

Certainly have a plan to go to a Christmas market and we like to drive to the local towns and have a look at their lights. He'd love a Christmas picnic in the Landy, too. He'd love to help plan a day out. Thank you for some brilliant suggestions.

tootallulah wrote: »

Great news about the teacher training - perhaps one day you will be an academic education specialist. You sound really motivated and happy long may that continue.

£10,000 spent getting your house up to scratch sounds really good to me - I must confess that I am supporting the new bathroom in solidarity with Mrs K!

I hope you have a great build up to Christmas I agree it is the traditions you remember as an adult, very rarely the 'things'.

Thank you, tootallulah.

I'd probably really enjoy that and have already started looking into completing another part time MA after the teacher training course finishes. One day I may take something further! :rotfl: However, not too concerned about that for the moment.

Not doing great with motivating myself to make some money at the moment but everything else is OK. Do need to work on this again as my only income streams at the moment are music teaching (don't really teach enough for this to pay well) and my salary from the business.

:rotfl: Re. the bathroom. We are hoping to get it done by the time I start teacher training in September.

On the subject of Christmas traditions, our elf has come out of hiding today. :eek: :eek: :eek: