Sashybo - Back Again

sashybo

No significant housework done today as DS & I went to visit my mum for the afternoon. My mum has had the same cold as DS & really hasn't been well but starting to get better now.

DH sent an email to the dairy so our milk delivery will be paused for a week. Still need to check the travel cot, if it's unfixable we can get a new one for £25. Fingers crossed we don't need it but not as much as I thought it would be.

I made kidney bean burgers from the first Jack Monroe cookbook for dinner. Didn't have any rolls so used mini wraps that were needing used up & had some mango chutney with them too. DS wasn't too sure but DH & I liked them, nice for a change and quick & easy to make.

Tomorrow I'll need to do more washing & will try & do the ironing after DS goes to bed. Bathrooms could do with a clean again too. Will do the big litter tray clean the day before we leave.

sashybo

Haven't posted for ages. Just got back this afternoon from the visit to the outlaws. The cats were pleased to see us (although a bit huffy) & DS was delighted when he realised we were pulling into our own drive.

The visit was actually a lot better this time, it was good to have one night at DH's aunt & uncle's & catch up with them. DS loved their dog but was a bit unsure as the dog was bigger than he is used to & a bit boisterous.

The outlaws seemed a lot more laid back & only a few things they did/said were a bit annoying. They had their friends round on the Friday & DH has known them since he was a baby so he was glad to see them & they hadn't met our DS yet.

An annoying thing though was that FIL decided that he, his friend & DH were going to the pub and the women were left at home with the baby to make the lunch. :eek: The wife of the friend wasn't very pleased about this either & did say it was quite sexist. :rotfl: MIL was a bit defensive saying well if we'd all gone the lunch wouldn't have got made. :cool: Poor DS saw the men all putting their jackets on & thought he was going out with them and was upset when he didn't get to go.

PIL watched DS for the afternoon the next day so DH & I could go out for lunch ourselves which was kind of them. They were very insistent that we had to be back for DS's bedtime though.

DS was very good in the car both ways, we did have to stop halfway both times as he was getting so bored & restless in his car seat. Overall he was great though. We did need to buy a new travel cot in the end & it's much easier to put up & down so £25 well spent.

Have managed to redeem more SB for another @mazon voucher. Trying to do more surveys to get as much extra as possible towards Christmas. We took PIL Christmas hamper down with us so no postage & MIL gave us our presents to take back too.

DH has a friend coming to stay with us from tomorrow afternoon until Thursday. He doesn't think things through properly as it doesn't give us much time to ourselves after being away & only told me after he & his friend decided dates and booked train tickets. :mad:

I'm going out with my work friends for lunch tomorrow as it's the only day that suits but can't drink too much as DS & I will be abandoned on Tuesday whilst DH & his friend go out for the day. Last year they didn't get home until after 4am the next morning. :mad::cool:

sashybo

Forgot to say DS is walking a lot more now, he finally seems to have gotten the hang of it properly. :T

I had a nice lunch out on Monday & drank sensibly so no hangover the next day. :j My friends bought a magnum of Prosecco to the restaurant as it was £5 corkage & we didn't have to buy wine. The staff were well impressed. :rotfl:

DS & I had a nice day on Tuesday just chilling out. My brother came to visit with his stepdaughter & daughter so they enjoyed playing with my DS. I made dinner for them & it was good to see them all. DS was a bit vicious though & nipped his 2yo cousin on the face then pulled her hair. :eek: Poor wee soul just said "Ow" and wandered off to play again. DS cried because he got a row.

DH's friend went home today - he is very odd in general & was his usual odd self for the 3 nights he was here. I noticed when I was tidying up the bathroom & stripping the guest room bed that he has either taken or used at least 3(!!) toilet rolls within 3 days though!! :eek:

I've been trying to do more cooking so that we're not spending so much in the supermarket/on takeaways so have tried a few different things recently. Obviously it's also healthier for all of us. Have bought a few cookbooks on kindle at 99p as have discovered that using the kindle app on my iPad makes the recipes much easier to see.

Managed to get another kindle unlimited offer at £1.99 for 3 months so pleased with that.

Submitted the electricity & gas meter readings online today. Really need to clean the bathrooms & go to Mr Al's tomorrow.

DH is hankering after a new super duper oven after seeing his aunt's new one at her house. I'm considering it as the oven the builders gave us with the house isn't great & is actually smaller than the one we had in our last flat. We would need to use another balance transfer offer though, so debt would go up for a few months.

I asked my mum for a bigger slow cooker & some towels for Christmas between myself & DH. :rotfl: A bit sad really but they're things we actually need/will use. I can give the smaller slow cooker to my brother if he wants it.

sashybo

We had our twin nieces over again today whilst my sister was working. The were a good help with DS as he was quite grouchy & clingy today. I hope he perks up tomorrow as I'm working a late shift.

Did I mention that we've been banned from eating at our desks at work now?:eek: All because they refuse to get a cleaner & we're refusing to do the hoovering - it used to be part of a job they got rid of during our department restructure & they now want us to do it but won't pay us any extra.

Apparently it's just for a few months until they get a cleaner but why on earth would they pay someone to do it if they've got us doing it for free? :cool: Our compromise was to offer to hoover around our own desks but they said no they want the whole office done! :eek: Anyway I suppose it will help me eat less biscuits at work but it's a bit childish of the management if you ask me. :mad:

House is still a sty but I at least got to Mr Al's yesterday. Bought a lot of ingredients so hoping to do a bit of cooking this week & not get into a rut with DS's dinners.

Going to my friend's house for dinner on Tuesday but it won't be a late night as she's working the next day. I'll drive & pick up our other friend on the way, she's 6 months pregnant & hurt her ankle last week so can't drive atm. Will be good to see them both as it can be difficult to get a date that suits us all due to work (2 shift workers with partners who are also shift workers & 1 Mon-Fri) & kids.

Talked to DH about having another baby, he is reluctant at best but I think he could be persuaded. The men at work have been winding him up & saying it's a nightmare having 2 kids. If I remember rightly they also said the same about 1. :rotfl: I don't know why he listens to them, he's such a worrier.

The other thing is he's saying we have nowhere to put another child (in a 4 bedroom house :eek:). We have a spare room used as the guest room & another room used for his computers & printers. I said we can move the computers ("No") Well the guest room will have to go ("Absolutely not"). :mad: I think we should convert the garage into another room (as it's not insulated) & move his computers in there with all his other crap. We can get a storage box or 2 for the garden for the more garden-y stuff that lives in the garage atm.

In DH's mind the only thing we could possibly do would be to convert the loft, which we absolutely can't afford. I said well we'd need to remortgage & use the equity as no other way we would get the money. Again "No" although he conceded there's no way we could save the amount needed. I think the garage conversion is the best idea but he's not keen.

Now feel like I can't talk about any of it & if I wait for DH to agree then we'll never have another baby. I'm 34 now so don't really want to be hanging about forever. We might try & it might not happen but we at least need to try. I'd love another & know that DH would too once he got used to the idea. He's a great dad & really loves DS and tries his best to help out.

sashybo

Have been rubbish at updating again, life getting in the way as usual.

DS hasn't been well for ages, just seems to be one thing after another. He finally got over the cold & then caught a sickness bug, thankfully the sick part only lasted one night. I missed most of it because I was out at my friend's for dinner - Poor DH had to scrub sick off the stairs & the carpet in DS's room. :eek: DS still not quite right but getting there.

Managed to get the computer game DH wants for Christmas for £16 less due to a price drop last week. I had enough vouchers from surveys to cover it so no actual money spent. :j

Have wrapped all my nieces' & nephews' presents for Christmas and have most of the rest of the presents bought. DS only getting a few things as he doesn't really need much & still doesn't understand anyway.

Have requested another £10 @mazon voucher from SB & waiting on an M&S one too. Also cashed out £21 from PA and am £1.45 from cashing out on OP so not doing too badly with surveys. :T

Made a beef stew/goulash yesterday in the slow cooker with stewing beef from Mr M's that was in the freezer. Added more paprika & some smoked paprika this time & it was much tastier. Made cheese & herb dumplings to go with it and apple crumble for dessert to use up some eating apples that were going manky. Have half the crumble left to use tonight & enough goulash to freeze and use as a baked potato topping for dinner at work one night.

Also made potato, pea & ginger curry earlier in the week which was nice in toasted pitta bread for dinners when DH was working late shifts. DS was a bit unsure but then he's still not feeling great. He enjoyed the goulash & dumplings last night.

Trying my best to actually read all of the recipe books I own and make the recipes I fancy instead of just oohing and aahing and never actually doing anything with them. :rotfl:

sashybo

My DS is 18 months old today. :eek: Where has the time gone? Can't believe how big he is now.

DS & I had a stroll around & played in the garden before lunch today. He was wrapped up in his puddle suit & wellies so it didn't matter if he got wet & muddy. He loves being outside & looking at everything so it was good to get him out of the house for half an hour.

I have to stop looking at things online, I keep seeing things I want to buy for DS's Christmas. :eek: He doesn't even understand it yet! I'm stopping because he has plenty now - a big car to sit in (paid for with survey earned vouchers), wee trucks/cars, wee people, a road rug, wooden play food, a tea set & a doll's buggy for his baby doll.

The men at work were giving me funny looks when I said I was buying him a doll's buggy. They seemed to think he shouldn't have it because he's a boy! I said well he might be a dad some day so why shouldn't he have one! Most importantly of course he loves pushing the one at playgroup so he'll enjoy having one of his own. Both of my nephews had dolls & prams and they loved playing with them.

Have bought a couple of t-shirts, a bottle of whiskey & computer game for DH's Christmas. Might get him another small thing but mostly done. :T

Only need to get a shared present for my brother & his gf and one for our friends (also a couple and it will probably be a bottle of something) and that's the Christmas present shopping done. :j I might get my sister another thing too but it will be something small.

Only the food to organise now, will need something snacky to take to my sister's as we're visiting there but eating dinner at home so only need enough for DH, DS & I.

Still trying to cook more & use up the food we have in the house instead of continually buying more. Made a kind of crustless quiche last night that only needs 1 egg, DS really enjoys it and it keeps well for lunches too.

I do need to go to Mr Al's tomorrow as we're running out of a few things, especially toilet roll after DH's friend absconded with 3 toilet rolls a couple of weeks ago. :eek:

My daft Siamese keeps trying to chew my jumper whilst sitting on my knee. He likes wool and wool like textures for sucking/chewing, must be a nice feeling for him. Strange cat.

Am 5p off payout on OP so obviously I've not had a survey there for the last few days.

Scott-Weiland

How are you doing on the survey front Sashybo???

I have started using a new ish one that I am doing canny with, have you tried an app called Qmee??? I am upto 40 quid in nearly 3-4 weeks

sashybo

Hi Scott :hello:

I've been a bit lazy with the surveys, have still been doing a few but not as many as usual. Need to get back into it so will definitely have a look at Qmee, sounds like you've been doing well with it. :beer:

A lovely sunny day here today, hoping to get DS out to the park for a run around but need to wait in for a couple of deliveries. They should be here by 1pm. *fingers crossed*

DS is just loving running about in his new wellies, he thinks he's the bees knees.

Scott-Weiland

Qmee is worth giving a look Sashy its a nice lil earner and the surveys tend to be like one poll/the shorter opinion outpost ones. And there is the bonus cash can be dropped instantly with no fees

sashybo

Had a lovely day today with DS, DH & our twin nieces putting up our outside Christmas lights, wreath on the door & then the Christmas tree in the living room.

DS was pretty well behaved although one niece & I had to go for a walk with him down the street to the play park (due to lots of angry screaming :eek:) whilst DH & my other niece did the outside lights. DS was very determined he wanted to walk & look at everything & then had a shot on the swing.

Made tuna pasta bake for dinner with the girls' help and a peach cobbler for dessert. One of the girls burnt her hand whilst we were cooking & I felt bad as it happened when I turned away for 10 seconds max. It wasn't a bad burn thankfully but she was feeling quite sore for a while afterwards.

One of my nieces brought up in conversation that a boy in the same high school as their brother had killed himself the other day due to being bullied. Think it hit a nerve with them as he was a twin & it was his brother who found him. The poor boy was only 14. Both nieces wanted to talk about it & they both kept saying "but he was a twin & it was his brother who found him".

I didn't really know what to say (they're only 10) but I told them that's why it's so important to always tell someone or talk to someone if something bad is happening to you like being bullied so badly that you think death is the only way out. I said it doesn't need to be your mum, it could be one of your grans or me or one of your uncles. I know my sister had talked to them about it too as obviously they had heard about it from their brother.

Such a tragedy for that poor boys' family, I can't even imagine how terrible it must be for them. Bl**dy heartbreaking.

Have been trying to keep up with the surveys, claimed another £10 voucher from SB so waiting on that & got one from S&S too. Got £11 through from quidco so that can go towards Christmas spends. Had another invitation to the food diary through S&S so that will get me another £10 at least. :j

Steam cleaned the kitchen & utility room floors the other day, just need to do the bathrooms upstairs. Stripped the bed this morning & sheets washed and put away. Another washing from yesterday put away & one hung up to dry.

Watched a couple of Christmas films the last few nights when DH was late shift as he just rolls his eyes if I watch them when he's around. :rotfl: They were cheesy but quite enjoyable. Even DS enjoyed watching part of one.

Have wrapped pretty much everything except DS's presents so am feeling quite organised. Need to write & post Christmas cards next week, most going to Englandshire. Will need to buy stamps. :eek: Dreading how much that will cost. :eek: