Bricks Not Books

VintageHistorian · 1 July at 3:01PM

I'm off work this week and we have begun potty training DS today, cross your fingers for us! He's running around without a stitch on, except a pair of socks that he insisted on

He managed to hold on for a full 2 hours, had a 20 minute fuss and fidget because he needed to go but wouldn't use the potty, eventually gave in but shrieked the place down, and now he seems to be getting used to the idea even if he isn't very happy about it. We have put him back in his nappy just for naptime.

OPs for June at £32.45, the bulk of which were Tilly Tidies. PA continues to be very quiet except for AI tasks that I refuse to participate in. I had an eBay sale and cashed out of Topcashback but that money is currently ringfenced for the emergency fund, and talks money goes in my S&S ISA. Hopefully PA starts picking up again soon.

Yesterday we had DS in nursery so me and Mr VH went into town. Paid in my speakers check, got a new fitted sheet from TK Maxx (600 thread count!) and some stickers from Flying Tiger for my Christmas charity donation, and then got more sunblock in Boots as DS gets thoroughly covered in the stuff and we're starting to run low.

We then popped over to M&S as last month Mr VH spotted a duvet and pillow set that we both liked (a rarity). I had 20% off with my Sparks card that was due to expire on Wednesday so we decided to go ahead and buy it. When we got there we couldn't find the one we liked at first so picked a compromise option. Then as we wandered around Mr VH spotted the one we originally liked, and there was one superking left! So compromise got put back and the right one was purchased. It was £69 but almost £14 was knocked off so we're quite happy with that.

We don't have a huge pile of bedding, just 2 pillowcase/duvet cover sets which we bought with some money gifted at our wedding, and 2 fitted sheets. One of the duvet covers has lost several buttons and some of the embroidery threads are coming off, so when that eventually needs to be relegated to recycling we can take our time picking a new third option.

(We also don't have a superking bed, we had a kingsize bed but my Mum recommends getting a duvet bigger than the bed so you're nicely covered in the winter, and she's right!)

I was looking forward to not spending much during this week off but along with new bedding yesterday (although that can come out of the home improvements fund) I have also popped out to Tesco while DS was eating lunch and spent £11! I needed a baguette for lunch and dinner, which I got, but then Mr VH asked me to pick up more fruit for DS and I spotted a yellowsticker pizza which has gone in the freezer for a future dinner.

I hate this heat. But I have washed all the new bedding this morning and put it outside to dry, it was only feeling slightly damp at folded edges after just 90 minutes!

Dinner tonight is southern fried chicken strip baguettes with baked beans. The chicken will go in the airfryer so the oven doesn't have to be on.

Have a good week and try not to melt everyone!

VintageHistorian · 5 July at 3:28PM

OPs for July have kicked off at £18.41, and I've got £8 pending in PA already after doing a 45 minute survey earlier in the week.

Potty training is going about as well as could be expected. DS is a bit reluctant to use it after a few days of being pretty good but we think we might be over-prompting him so we're trying to rein in the "let's try for a wee!" reminders today.

Back to work on Monday. Don't want to go as despite the very intense nature of potty training it's been very nice having a week with DS and DH. DS seems to be a bit more receptive to me encouraging him to sit on the potty and "try", which doesn't bode well for DH on Monday, but I'm sure DS will get used to it. He was very clingy with DH again this morning, no idea why.

I have made a huge batch of ratatouille so we have 7 portions for DS and 3 for DH, one of which DH will have tomorrow evening with roast chicken. DS will probably have half of one of his portions tonight with some rice and some defrosted chicken stirred through.

Our dinner tonight will be oven pizzas, and I'm going to try and time the baking of a lemon drizzle cake to align with the oven being on. If not then I'll do it tomorrow instead. Have a good weekend everyone!

VintageHistorian · 13 July at 8:45PM

Need to do a money shuffle tonight but the laptop is already feeling very hot. I did add an OP of just over £4 a few days ago. Most of my PA money is still pending so I can't cash that out just yet.

I was supposed to do a talk last week but after realising I hadn't had confirmation and getting no response from the person that booked me I found a roundabout way of getting in contact with the group. The person who had booked me was very ill and had had to quit very suddenly and the paperwork they handed over did not include me, so someone else had been booked instead. Disappointing as I was looking forward to having another £35 in the FIRE pot, but they have now asked if I can come and talk in 2027

Other than that, a quiet week. I got a pack of 10 frankfurters for free through an IG offer, so they'll do hot dogs one night and a pasta bake a few days later. I have made marbled cupcakes again as I'm running low on baking supplies, and dinner tonight was leftover toad in the hole. And yes, that does mean that I cooked a proper toad complete with potatoes and gravy on one of the hottest days of the year. Not sensible but I can't refuse the siren song of yorkshire pudding.

Have a good week everyone!

VintageHistorian · 26 July at 2:32PM

Finally got £8 out of PA the other day so can pay that over tonight when I do the food shopping money shuffle. Also got a £5 Amazon voucher from a receipt app so I've added that to my account. They tend to be spent on eBooks that are on a 99p offer.

I am investing £55 a week in a therapist for a few weeks. Not having a major mental health wobble but I've been having a lot of thoughts about the future that I'm struggling to untangle and deal with. Had the introductory session last weekend and have already started to put a few things in to practice that I hope will help in the long run.

DS is resisting his nap today despite looking wiped out before lunch. Mr VH is currently trying to get him to nod off but I can hear giggles so I'm not sure it's working.

Not much else to report on the money saving front. I have made some stewed cinnamon apples for DS to have in his porridge. Might try to make biscuits tomorrow if I had time.

Dinner tonight is southern fried chicken with potatoes wedges, corn on the cob, and beans. Have a nice weekend everyone!

sunshineli · 29 July at 8:36PM

Good for you for recognising the importance of looking after your health and investing in therapy. It can be easy to neglect things like this when you have financial goals, but at the end of the day being healthy and happy is the most important thing. Ps the porridge sounds delicious