Mooloo's little tapestry of life, 2016

Hard_Up_Hester

She could also still be responding to her week away.

dktreesea

Maybe you could take her to the shop? She would have to agree to sit still and not disturb you all day, otherwise the deal would be off. She would soon realise how boring this would be.

Children, I find, have good instincts when it comes to baby sitters and whether a sleepover feels safe. Why can't your children babysit her, well, those who are nearby at least? You do enough for them; how about some quid pro quo?

elisamoose

Do you have any friends with teenage daughters? My DD1 looked after a girl of that age starting when she was 14. She looked after her at her home , taking her to the park etc.The girls mum knew I was around the corner if there was a problem and the girls was in her own home and could play with her own stuff.

greenbee

I think Hester is probably right - this could well be a response to having been away with her mum for a bit. Hopefully she'll settle down soon.

Savvy_sewing

greenbee wrote: »

I think Hester is probably right - this could well be a response to having been away with her mum for a bit. Hopefully she'll settle down soon.

Yes I think that is probably it. She's had sleepovers plenty of times before. She was fine there from 9am -2.30 today.
I don't know any of the childminders that do a Saturday. All those I know don't, and couldn't recommend any.
I used to take her to my Eldest, but that means driving 48 miles a day, and until last week I wasn't able to do since the old car broke down. She would do alternate weeks. I had to pay her. I also used to be asked to babysit hers on a Tuesday tea time, but it was too much for me and too tight a turn around from work.
Ds has no transport and I wouldn't leave her there, the place is a mess. Hence Saturday is usually a babysitter.
But finding one that is either reliable or that DGD likes has been a problem.
I occasionally take her to work, but I don't get any peace.
I will keep looking for options. But it is important that I work on a Saturday.

I have come home to another 17 pages of calculations, and another adjustment to my Council Tax.
These are for this years calculations, and this time it says that it's because my family premium has been added from 4 July.
So where did that get lost? No idea.
The week 4th -11th still do not take in account my child care costs!
Giving me an excess income of £57.88
However from 11th July they allow £40 for my CC and although my income has gone up by £22 my excess becomes £37.43
Then week commencing 18th changes again as my tax credits dropped.
Going forward my excess income becomes £2.57
Then low and behold it drops to an income that is actually below the allowance.
It's all very complicated. But I'm certainly learning how things are calculated.
The bottom line means that this years tax has now reduced from £122 a month, to £66, and now it's down to £45 a month.

There are still no figures adjusted for the huge 2014-2015 bills that they are threatening to take me to court over.

Perhaps those figures will be sorted out eventually!

Almost-free

After everything you're done for eldest including free babysitting, she expects YOU to pay HER to look after DGD? Seriously ? I am beyond speechless!

ETA BTW- it's against the law to pay her unless she is a registered childminder, family or not.

Savvy_sewing

Almost-free wrote: »

After everything you're done for eldest including free babysitting, she expects YOU to pay HER to look after DGD? Seriously ? I am beyond speechless!

ETA BTW- it's against the law to pay her unless she is a registered childminder, family or not.

Not quit sure that's correct, as I pay babysitters who are not registered, but it did annoy me.

I should really be doing the housework etc, and it's 11am and I'm only just up and breakfasted.
It's dull and miserable weather which doesn't help my mood.
But I must at least put a wash load in.

Feral_Moon

Mooloo wrote: »

Not quit sure that's correct, as I pay babysitters who are not registered, but it did annoy me.

I should really be doing the housework etc, and it's 11am and I'm only just up and breakfasted.
It's dull and miserable weather which doesn't help my mood.
But I must at least put a wash load in.

I'm feeling rather the same today so what I find useful is to break down tasks into 5-10 minute bites. So, for example, I might unload the dishwasher whilst waiting for the kettle to boil and make a start on re-loading dirty items.

Once that's done I can wipe down the work tops and then go sit down with my coffee, feeling slightly better that a task is done. I also try to ensure that if I leave a room then I take out with me any dirty pots or rubbish. Similarly if I go upstairs, I take up any clean laundry and vice versa bring dirty laundry down, even if it just sits in front of the machine for now.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you any of this as you're super organised anyway but often when we feel low and overwhelmed it helps to have a gentle reminder of the simple things. Take care and don't be too hard on yourself Mooloo. You've got a huge load on your shoulders and need some "me" time to recharge xx

elisamoose

Blood relatives are exempt from the the Ofsted requirements to register as a child minder as are baby sitters between 6pm and 2am.

Savvy_sewing

Well we didn't achieve much. DGD was thrilled that Molly41's daughter came to see her while we were at the Classic Car display in the park.
She was her first babysitter, my original carer when I needed one. DGD classes her as a member of our family.
This evening we were going to have the little girl sleep over again, but again this time she bailed. The two are not destined to have sleepovers!