The Ultimate Incentive muddles along

wendz86

I made a few friends at baby groups but only really see two which i am good friends with now. They are coming to the spa with me Friday.

I'm only at the school gate on a Friday but i talk to Poppys two best friends mums (one went to same nursery and one lives across the road) and chat to a couple of others sometimes. School playground politics doesn't seem too bad at her school though!

Cinny91

Sounds like that punishment worked out in your favour :rotfl: Shame I don't live closer or you could have borrowed one of Oscar's many Svens to complete the outfit!

You're just far too good, Birdie :A I also thought Scar was cool as all heck in Lion King

I'm not looking forward to the playground either! I'm personally not bothered but I do worry that if I don't fit in (because I'm not a very good fitter-inner) that it'll mean Oscar won't get invited to kids houses for tea, or parties/sleepovers. Which is a very important thing to worry about when your child is only 8 months old

Dinah93

Sorry for going quiet, we were out yesterday from 8am until 8pm and I basically went straight to bed. I say basically because I came in and NIM looked at me with puppy dog eyes and asked what was for dinner - my ghast was flabbered. I'd expected him to have eaten with Ben, or to cook for me tbh after a nightmare journey home, I only made croque monsieur but tbh it would be nice not to feel like live in chef all of the time.

Been reading that book Cinny - thank you for the recommendation. We're seriously considering making big changes to our lifestyle to clear EVERYTHING we owe (including mortgage) within 8 years, and then work our way up from that point in a cash positive way rather than living life in one form of debt or another. It is quite scary because it would mean not only moving, but moving to a smaller house, but we'd be in a much, much better position financially, so surely worth doing for a few years is our thinking.

Lovely day out with Grace yesterday, but OMG was it spendy - I let her lead the way, pick all the activities - I'd a next to free day planned out and we ended up spending nearly £100!!!!

I have two ebay helpers! Need to speak to them both today, but going to give it a go and see what we can make. So excited to clear the clutter and get some money in instead.

Speaking of clutter, my son has destroyed the house. Went in the shower and he managed to get 500ml of yogurt and an entire box of cheerios all over the lounge. Oh, and the contents of the odd sock box. It's sticky, crunchy and fluffy all at once. I'm sat looking at it trying to imagine any way out of dealing with it. Ever.

Finally found a space to teach yoga, slightly more expensive than I hoped, but it's lovely, warm, clean and custom built. Now I just need to try to get enough people in to start the course.

clearmydebts

Afternoon all!

No school cliques here either. Everyone seems friendly enough! Evie had a party on Saturday and I stayed so I could get to know some of the other mums. Was chatting away to 4 of them and they seem really nice.

Cinny91

I saw that on FB, it looked fun! That's the kind of thing I want to do with Oscar when he's older. Also do our own version of "Cooking Fast and Fresh with West" where we let him buy whatever he wants from the supermarket and then let him use it all to cook us tea! Pricey though :eek: I've got to admit we're meant to be buying those Merlin style passes for London (London Eye, Tussauds, Sealife etc) but I'm tempted to can that idea and go for free or cheaper things to do. It's just so easy to let the ££ build up on a day out!

I was going to ask how you were getting on with the book. It is a really good motivator and I keep meaning to listen to the podcasts when Oscar's fallen to sleep on our walks to get me back into the groove.

Sounds like Ben had a blast! I dread the day Oscar starts doing that, I'm hoping he turns into a very clean child who thinks helping me dust is a fun game.

It sounds like playground cliques might be a thing of the past, which would be a dream! I'll just have to be my own mum group other wise. Poor Oscar will become like the kid from About a Boy

Birdie85

*Dons tin hat*

Firstly - if my DH asked me what was for dinner when I got home late and knackered and he'd been in the house for hours then he'd have been wearing whatever happened to be in the fridge at the time. He has hands. He can make himself a goddamn sandwich and not eat a gourmet, cooked from scratch meal once in a while.

Secondly - as nice as your day looked, it looked way too expensive for 1 day out with 1 child. Great idea to have a child-led day, but be reasonable, she has no concept of money and it's your job to lead her within your constraints. Give choices of free activities, give options of painting pottery *or* fancy lunch, not both. Not just do whatever you please and sod the cost because what's an extra £100 to stick on the CC? I'm sorry but you're already going back on what you said last week and one day out isn't worth it. How many hours will you have to spend listing bits on ebay to earn that back now?

*Removes tin hat with a reminder that this is all said with love*

Bad news too about the youghurt/cheerio/sock disaster! Hope you can get it cleared up without too much pain. Or leave it for NIM. Or tell Grace and Ben that the one who clears up the most wins cake. Then eat the cake yourself.

We're lucky that we've not had any major messes like this... Zach's idea of a good time is sorting the washing and watching/helping me do the dishes. He's odd. He's got issues as he tells me off for leaving things out, like the hoover has to go back in the cupboard the minute I'm finished, I can't leave it in the hall for a couple of hours in case I miss a spot, God forbid! It's kind of annoying...

Oh and in his eagerness to 'help' tidy the other day he knocked my Emma Bridgewater 'Mummy' mug off the side and it broke into roughly a gazillion pieces. That was good. I hope Santa buys me a new one for Christmas!!!

clearmydebts

Birdie85 wrote: »

*Dons tin hat*

Firstly - if my DH asked me what was for dinner when I got home late and knackered and he'd been in the house for hours then he'd have been wearing whatever happened to be in the fridge at the time. He has hands. He can make himself a goddamn sandwich and not eat a gourmet, cooked from scratch meal once in a while.

Secondly - as nice as your day looked, it looked way too expensive for 1 day out with 1 child. Great idea to have a child-led day, but be reasonable, she has no concept of money and it's your job to lead her within your constraints. Give choices of free activities, give options of painting pottery *or* fancy lunch, not both. Not just do whatever you please and sod the cost because what's an extra £100 to stick on the CC? I'm sorry but you're already going back on what you said last week and one day out isn't worth it. How many hours will you have to spend listing bits on ebay to earn that back now?

*Removes tin hat with a reminder that this is all said with love*

Bad news too about the youghurt/cheerio/sock disaster! Hope you can get it cleared up without too much pain. Or leave it for NIM. Or tell Grace and Ben that the one who clears up the most wins cake. Then eat the cake yourself.

We're lucky that we've not had any major messes like this... Zach's idea of a good time is sorting the washing and watching/helping me do the dishes. He's odd. He's got issues as he tells me off for leaving things out, like the hoover has to go back in the cupboard the minute I'm finished, I can't leave it in the hall for a couple of hours in case I miss a spot, God forbid! It's kind of annoying...

Oh and in his eagerness to 'help' tidy the other day he knocked my Emma Bridgewater 'Mummy' mug off the side and it broke into roughly a gazillion pieces. That was good. I hope Santa buys me a new one for Christmas!!!

Have to agree with Birdie. It's great to have days out but £100 is ridiculous for a day out. Free activities can be mixed up with spendy ones. We would often go to the local playground which is free but get a drink and cakes afterwards, or if we have a hefty entrance fee we would bring a picnic or eat our main meal prior to it. It's not as easy on a full day out but they tend to be seldom enough.

As for the dinner scenario. I definitely wouldn't be cooking up a dinner for my OH if he'd been in the house all day! He has a pair of hands and knows where the fridge/oven is!

Tete_en_l'Air

Dinah93 wrote: »

I'd a next to free day planned out and we ended up spending nearly £100!!!!

Sorry Dinah I agree with Birdie and CMD. I was looking at the FB pics and thinking it looked an expensive day out. What happened between your plan for the day and what you actually ended up doing?

I need some of Zach's tidiness ethic!!

Cinny91

I agree with the others too, I just didn't want to be the one to say it. Also how NIM treat you was incredibly unfair. That was totally inconsiderate.

Zach has the dream mentality for me. I want a cleaning buddy, with a deep spiritual connection to the washing machine, not a little dirt factory.

Was the chocolate museum/factory really pricey? I went in to look at the price of a chocolate bar when we went in August and laughed my way out of the shop! At least, I'm assuming that's where you went!

Dinah93

£12 for the two of us at the chocolate experience, which is enough to be honest. Never been before due to the price, but because it was only the two of us we went for it. £8 for the boat trip. Lunch should have been £14 for both but I had a few drinks instead of sticking to water, and got a side order because I had a baked aubergine and thought I'd need some potatoes (but didn't really) and ended up being £26. £12 on the train ticket. £5 in poundland on some felt tips, a block of paper, some colour in Frozen figures and some chocolate each to save at the restaurant on pudding. £10 in a cafe. £2.20 on a sympathy card. It was the pottery painting that ruined us, £61 for her to do 2 little models and I painted a plate for Ben's door. Should have paid much closer attention to price tags.

For me it's like a dam, once I've overspent it's like my brain goes 'well you're !!!!!!ed anyway, in for a penny in for a pound' and just can't stop.