22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

I have left remortgage-man (superhero name) emails and phone messages, he will be in touch when he is less manically busy.

DH took the wheels off his car to get to something or other, to clean it out (he killed my bottle brush) and replace it. So the kitchen was full of windscreen wiper bits and car engine bits and spanners and lubes and degreasers. He has put his car back together again, but not driven it yet, so I have put off calling locksmith (again) I did ask him if he was having an affair, that he needed to do this all weekend in the rain, rather than when he is 'on strike' and was so desperate to be able to use his car - he looked bemused, realised he is a total muppet, but did a happy dance that he might be able to do more stuff to it while he is off. He also denied the affair. He is at an after meeting dinner tonight (not an affair) and rang the house this morning as he has forgotten his phone and will not be contactable (honestly, not an affair).
So, as DS1& 2 decided to keep waking me up with slamming bathroom doors and sneaking around on the landing and wandering about in their bedrooms until 1am, and I had to get up at 6. I am a grumpy-puss today.

Properly knackered. DS1 has just asked if he can go to a sleepover at his mates on Saturday and Sunday, and I said No. He has not organised his work experience - all he needs to do is make one phone call, he 'forgot' his orthodontist appointment on Tuesday, his room is a tip, I have not seen any laundry off him in 10 days, despite asking, he has done nothing about finding a part time job, and he is irritating the flip out of me. He lies in his bed all the time I am up, and as soon as I go to bed, he is sneaking around the house and slamming doors. Plus he is back to taking 3 hour long baths when his brothers need to go to bed, or when DH wants a bath. Selfish swine.

Teenagers! honestly, it is what University was invented for.

I have been looking at Utoob videos on how to fix car bits too. As DH is in the mood. I have even been pricing second hand bits. My car fixing fund is now up to £300 as I got £50 off Uguv.

Sent step-gran her choc covered raisins and cranberries. Used spy-post free stamps.

Supper was just leftovers as I had masses in the fridge. Pesto pasta now gone, 2 portions tomato pasta gone, most of the cous cous is gone, half of the curry is gone, but now I have a bowl of rice instead. It can go with the other half of the curry tomorrow or Friday. My lunch is always leftovers. Think supper tomorrow will be pasties again, we have a large piece of seitan left over, half a bowl of peas, and I can make some nice cornish pasties with that as a base and my ys pastry from the other week.

Need something easy as I am volunteering for 2 hours tomorrow afternoon.

Reading like a trojan, lots of books ready to leave the house. Not a lot of money is being spent either.

Made sticky gingerbread cake today, they can go into lunchboxes. The kids have the hump because I have not been baking, as they have not been putting their clothes away, or keeping their bedrooms tidy. There is no give, but an awful lot of take going on around here. They also do not approve of me volunteering. Spoilt little princes!

kerri_gt

On the upside DS1 sounds like a typical teenager, there was a study done once (prob by a teenager) to show their hormones at this time do strange things to their sleep patterns - think babies...but adult size. :eek:

Perhaps while DH is in car fix mode he could google a quick YouTube video and get your key out?

You are very good sending step gran her cranberries x

I've been using up pasta and sauce here too for dinner, cleared out meatballs I'd made from the freezer last night(bit disappointing as lacked flavour but were fine chopped up in pasta) HM pasta sauce and some pumpkin pur!e.

Have gone over food budget this month but a big chunk of that was buying Xmas dinner which is now in the freezer. It's also snuck up on me that we are virtually in Dec and the few snacks I've put away for Xmas can then come out, so fingers crossed the food budget next month will recover.

Well done for sorting the mortgage, we have that joy next year. I did sort out new mobile contracts last night though, although can't seem to auto switch our numbers online (prob because it's a new contract with the same provider) so will have to do that when they arrive. Got a decent deal on data but does involve claiming cashback at regular intervals, will have to set some calendar reminders.

How is it nearly Dec?!:eek:

f0xh0les

kerri_gt wrote: »

How is it nearly Dec?!:eek:

Absolutely bvggered if I know! somebody on the radio said 34 days til C-word. I thought, 'oh carp!'.
Really not feeling it right now. Will have to get my ho-ho-ho on soon.

The advent calendars will have to make an appearance next Saturday, to be put up by Sunday which means the Xmas box needs to come down. Which means ....

Top floor Tinselitus!! I hates it, the kids love it.

Pasties are in the oven pastying.

Volunteering done. It was quite busy.

Heating on and a nice cup of tea:j right now, until the house heats up properly.
Took DS1 to his work experience place after school today - got a text 5 minutes beforehand, he starts on Monday and needs a pair of steel toecaps they said today - he has to supply his own, luckily I reminded DH of an old pair (12 years old pair) of his that we could polish up for him. I mean he only needs them for a week, and his feet are still growing, so don't fancy buying him a pair when he can make do for 5 days .

So making do, and getting by without spending any money. Will stick a new pair of shoelaces in them and polish away!

kerri_gt

We did get our festive on yesterday and went to Christmas at Kew. Booked tickets ages ago and it had only opened the day before so nice to go and enjoy it when it was all shiny and new. Even got the bus instead of the tube which was an experience, esp when the bus we were on back to the station on the way back randomly terminated about 10mins from where we needed to be (shift change I assume)...20 mins back in the freezing cold then 3 came along at once :rotfl:

I usually have our decs up early but then am itching to get the money down by Xmas so I'm not putting them up until a bit later this year. I do have boozy advent calendars for myself and OH (well choc and booze) as a surprise...last time OH had a calendar he ate all the chocs on one day!

That's good about the steel toe caps, well that you have a pair DS1 can use. Ridiculous he has to supply them for 5 days. They're not cheap. Most places have visitors ones on site, surely they could have offered him a pair of those for a week.

f0xh0les

To get to my beeping seat belt we have to remove the entire drivers' seat, and the new ignition needs to be coded to the same keyfob as the doors, so the locksmith is kind of a necessity.



Tonight is chicken-style plant based product and loads of peppers in wraps with bbq sauce. Basically I cannot be faffed.

DS4 is complaining about feeling sick at every mealtime. For the last 3 days. Apart from the whinge there is no other sign of him being ill, and I have found a lot of sweetie wrappers and crisp packets next to the computer. Therefore my suspicious nature has kicked in and there is not much sympathy going on, except I know the norovirus is coming to LeShire - t'was in the paper this week, and I might have to eat my words....
Nothing has happened here.

Just not spending any money, and watching the political parties on the tv falling over themselves promising lots of shiny things. Three weeks to go and the results will be in.

DH is home now, and so the weekend begins!
Happy weekend everybody!

kerri_gt

Ok, that's prob more than a quick YouTube :eek:

Hurrah for weekends, although I have had two..,yes two, entire days off work. Today has been mainly pottering and finished writing the Xmas cards, fluffed about 5 which has annoyed me as now I'm a few short for 'maybes' on the list (i.e. Ones that are really OH remit and may or may not get written.

Presents that I have a mainly wrapped, a couple of tags to get but that's about it. Still a little shopping to do but I am determined by 1st Dec that everything that can be done, will be. Otherwise I spend all month rushing around like a blue arsed fly and the next spend the week before Xmas ill....just in time to be well enough to cook on Xmas day.

Have been avoiding much of the political farce but have you seen Maureen Lipman's 'BT ad' reprisal?

crazy_cat_lady

I feel your pain with your kids and the general lack of understanding of real life and how much you're doing. I sometimes wonder how ds ended up quite so self centred, but then remember that he is 1) 11 years old and 2) his father's son. I have had a few days of feeling as though I can't do anything right with my kids - even dd is getting in on the act.
Good luck battling norovirus. Remember that it is a supervirus and can't be destroyed by hand gels.

f0xh0les

Ha ha! No sign of Norovirus here, his brothers grassed him up, he had been to the petrol station and had a stash of crisps in his room. The kind that give him a stomach ache and I refuse to buy for him. That boy's brain came pre-programmed for snacky foods.

I woke up this morning with a very sore throat and a slight cough, so after all the politics and parkrun (8 seconds slower this week than last, but last week he beat his pb by nearly a minute, so all good) I went off on my wobbly way down to Her0n to see what was going on, and came back with lots of vanilla flavour rice milk (3 litres for £1) which is their favourite hot milk for drinks and breakfast cereals, a couple of boxes of 1nnocent smoothies (a 4 pack for £1) and biscuits and throat sweets (Army&Navy, Halls s00thers, and chest and throat ones). Drove down to Mr Ts and found some reduced sausages, bought lots of garlic and bagels and orange juice and spread for the freezer. A sticky toffee pudding(£4) and a bar of new galaxy (£3) fell into the trolley. I have everything I need for the week. Spends should be very low, and not including the child tax on Friday, I still have £93 in this week's budget. So fully expecting to be able to shunt another £100 to the car fund next weekend.

Which would leave me with £20 for the week and £425 in the car fund.

There is hummus back in the shops now, one factory closed for listeria and one for dairy contamination in the same week. DS4 now claims to hate olive oil, and refused to eat posh hummus cos it all has olive oil in it. grrrrr! fussy little swine. His older brothers are getting properly hacked off with his food foibles. It is alright for them to make more work for me, but gods forbid the smaller ones should try and do it.

I think I have broken the back of the laundry mountain again. Huzzah!
DS4 is refusing to let me shave the sides of his head. Looks like another £10 will be going out of the pot this week then.

As of 8am tomorrow DH is on strike. He is taking this to mean working from home. He might get another publication out of it, and he will work on his promotion application.

I am currently knee deep in Vampires, having given werewolves (my favourite) a little bit of a break until the missing book comes in the post (bought 2nd hand with vouchers, no real money changed hands). Lots of books are leaving the house and only the best ones are staying.

Received my 12 first class christmas stamps from the spy-post people. So I did another load of postcard entries to tv competitions. One day I may win something!

Bought two new hot water bottles from W1lk0. £5 each!! not even with a jumper, just the bottle. Those have shot up in price since the last time I was in there buying them.

Steel toe capped boots have come up beautifully. DS1 has not even bothered to come down to check on them. He starts at 8am, and has not asked me to take him in earlier or anything. I am expecting him to lurk in the doorway about 9,45 tonight and have a conversation through the gap in the doorframe. My children are anti-social. They did not use to be, but now, they are troglodytes. I am shamed.

f0xh0les

Well DS1 got up before me this morning, made himself breakfast, and was ready to head out the door at 7.00. So off he went on the bus.

Did the school run and then 3 hours humping boxes of tins up and down stairs at the foodbank. Proper knackered now, so came home, had warmed up leftovers for lunch with dh, who was confused why the back room was not heating up when he had put the heating on. I came in and was hit by a wave of heat. So I turned the radiator on in the back room for him, and it is now warm in there . Bless!

So tea and a l3msip and a bit of light tidying before picking up the kids, and then out volunteering again tonight. Nothing glamorous going on over here. I'm afraid. Just the same old, same old.

One month today it is Xmas day.

Still no news from mortgage man.

Need to think about advent calendar gifts!

badmemory

They say men can't multi task. I never used to believe it. How can a man who can safely change a tyre on a motorway, fix a fence that he moans about every time he visits (not even mine) but when the electric goes in a caravan he has owned for years has to get someone in to fix? That was last weekend, this weekend it went again when I was on my own, went to the club found a friend & she knew how to fix it, showed me & no longer a problem. Luckily it was daylight because the male idiot (he's lovely really) hadn't put the torch back where it belonged. But then he may make a good cup of coffee but seems incapable if putting that milk bottle back in the fridge.


Adorable really, best thing since sliced bread, BUT!!