£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Chrystal

Hi TOPM

Hope your Mam manages to get there for you, and snow is lovely when you're looking at it through the window in a nice warm house, but not much fun when you HAVE to be out in it (although the DC would probably love it)

Maybe it's time to think about another small 'money pot' that you can put bits of extra in, to allow you to take a week off next Christmas? You're doing so well and hopefully things will improve further this coming year... I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 44: Day 4

Thank you for all the belated birthday wishes to go along with my other birthday wishes!

DC2's nativity got postponed due to staff illness, which is a total pain for lots of parents (luckily not for me as I can go on Thursday just as easily). Although I think it was a mad decision (there were plenty of staff who knew the play and could have done it. It's a four page script, after all! And the nativity isn't exactly ground breaking stuff, plot-wise) it's actually worked out well for us as my mum's car was completely iced in yesterday, so she couldn't safely leave. She will come today instead and we can watch DC2 tomorrow.

I had the most unproductive day imaginable yesterday, for no particular reason. Just couldn't get stuck into anything. Doing 15 minutes on different tasks worked so well for me last week, really improved productivity, I think I need to just always do that! Going to do it again today. Lots of bits of work admin stuff that need tidying up. Ooh, and I got another provisional booking, only a small one (£50-ish profit), for early January. January salary is currently up to £160 (not including that extra £50, which isn't paid yet), still a little way to go before I feel comfortable as we're going to be enormously tight in January if the mortgage doesn't come through in time to affect January's DD payment (HOW SLOW is it being?! ridiculous), but it is inching up. It will be covered by my contract work invoice at the end of the month is no other business comes through, but I would love to get a month ahead so that my invoice at the end of December is going to February's, rather than January's salary.

I'm afraid today's list is very uninspiringly like yesterday's, although I did manage to pack and post orders for my smaller business yesterday.

to do today
1. Laundry.
2. Ironing
3. Finish DH's hat.
4. Remember party food for DC2's Christmas party today.
5. Text a handful of friends who I have semi-made arrangements with for the holidays but haven't actually confirmed anything.
6. Start planning Christmas cooking - I want to try to get ahead on this, and this weekend is the only chance I have to do it.
7. Start wrapping presents.
8. Sort out after school childcare (DH/my mum) for the 2018 dates where I have work booked already.
9. Write Christmas cards.
10. Check present list and see what needs to be taken where/when (when we are seeing different people) and any handmade bits like candles or food that might need to go with the hyacinths as an extra.
11. Get DH to chase mortgage, if he has time.
12. Another hour on contract work.

To do this week
1. Finish Christmas knitting for DH.
2. Wrap some presents and decide whether to order more for family children.
3. Get further ahead on contract work.
4. Write Christmas cards.

To do in December
1. finish Christmas shopping! Almost there!
2. buy DH's birthday present while I'm doing the Christmas shopping.
3. make some more candles.
4. don't try to do too much! I already have a few client bookings and lots of work I want to do, alongside the Christmas stuff. I need to make sure I don't get overwhelmed again. Yeah, this is going abysmally, as always.
5. update debt totals at the end of the month, to ensure we know where we are as we start 2018.

Treadingonplaymobil

Tried (and still trying) to get things done in small chunks today, which definitely seems to be the solution for me at the moment - makes me feel that I am making progress on lots of things, so i don't get paralysed by indecision when it comes to prioritising lots of things that all need doing right now!

The budgets continue to limp on, still no word on when the remortgage will come through, which will enable a reassessment of our budget/SOA, feel like I'm in a bit of a holding pattern while we get through the Christmas spend-fest and wait for that, so not much happening on the mse front meanwhile, apart from desperately trying to keep some sort of handle on spending.

to do today
1. Laundry. Done.
2. Ironing. Done. Well, my mum is doing it right now!
3. Finish DH's hat. Not done, although almost there.
4. Remember party food for DC2's Christmas party today. Done.
5. Text a handful of friends who I have semi-made arrangements with for the holidays but haven't actually confirmed anything. Not done.
6. Start planning Christmas cooking - I want to try to get ahead on this, and this weekend is the only chance I have to do it. Not done
7. Start wrapping presents. Not done.
8. Sort out after school childcare (DH/my mum) for the 2018 dates where I have work booked already. Done.
9. Write Christmas cards.
10. Check present list and see what needs to be taken where/when (when we are seeing different people) and any handmade bits like candles or food that might need to go with the hyacinths as an extra.
11. Get DH to chase mortgage, if he has time.
12. Another hour on contract work.

To do this week
1. Finish Christmas knitting for DH.
2. Wrap some presents and decide whether to order more for family children.
3. Get further ahead on contract work.
4. Write Christmas cards.

To do in December
1. finish Christmas shopping! Almost there!
2. buy DH's birthday present while I'm doing the Christmas shopping.
3. make some more candles.
4. don't try to do too much! I already have a few client bookings and lots of work I want to do, alongside the Christmas stuff. I need to make sure I don't get overwhelmed again. Yeah, this is going abysmally, as always.
5. update debt totals at the end of the month, to ensure we know where we are as we start 2018.[/QUOTE]

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 44: Day 5

Morning! Busy day today - DC3’s preschool christmas party this morning, then DC2’s nativity this afternoon, then DH is going to watch the evening performance of the nativity. Won’t get much work done I suspect, but have a long list. Hmmm.

Really looking forward to the older DC finishing school tomorrow (youngest finishes today), we are all so tired! I foresee a day or two of super lazy pyjama days next week.

Going to do my 15 minute timers again today in an effort to nail some more of my list.

to do today
1. Finish DH’s hat.
2. Remember party food for DC1’s Christmas party today
3. Text a handful of friends who I have semi-made arrangements with for the holidays but haven't actually confirmed anything.
4. Start planning Christmas cooking - I want to try to get ahead on this, and this weekend is the only chance I have to do it.
5. Start wrapping presents.
6. Write Christmas cards.
7. Check present list and see what needs to be taken where/when (when we are seeing different people) and any handmade bits like candles or food that might need to go with the hyacinths as an extra.
8. Get DH to chase mortgage, if he has time.
9. Make a special ‘last day of term’ breakfast for tomorrow (it’s in the activities advent calendar - I got this cookie cutter last year and made little houses with royal icing decoration, will repeat this year).

To do this week
1. Finish Christmas knitting for DH.
2. Wrap some presents and decide whether to order more for family children.
3. Get further ahead on contract work.
4. Write Christmas cards.

To do in December
1. finish Christmas shopping! Almost there!
2. buy DH's birthday present while I'm doing the Christmas shopping.
3. make some more candles.
4. don't try to do too much! I already have a few client bookings and lots of work I want to do, alongside the Christmas stuff. I need to make sure I don't get overwhelmed again. Yeah, this is going abysmally, as always.
5. update debt totals at the end of the month, to ensure we know where we are as we start 2018.

WannabeFree

Your smalls break up for Xmas already :eek:

Mine are in until next Friday!

Have a lovely day x

Cherryfudge

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Really looking forward to the older DC finishing school tomorrow (youngest finishes today), we are all so tired! I foresee a day or two of super lazy pyjama days next week.

May I join you?

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

3. Text a handful of friends who I have semi-made arrangements with for the holidays but haven't actually confirmed anything.

Invite them to the pyjama days? Very MS

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 44: Day 5

Loved seeing little DC2 in his nativity yesterday - he was lovely, and sung a solo. He was SO exhausted afterwards though (they did it once in the afternoon and once in the evening), very teary and tired.

Off to a Christmas lunch today for a company I do some work for, so the whole day will be wiped out for little gain, but I think it will be good to cement myself in their heads as part of the team.

A short list, as I'm not sure how much time I'll have today....

to do today
1. Finish DH’s hat.
2. Plan Christmas cooking.
3. Write Christmas cards.

To do this week
1. Finish Christmas knitting for DH.
2. Wrap some presents and decide whether to order more for family children.
3. Get further ahead on contract work.
4. Write Christmas cards.

To do in December
1. finish Christmas shopping! Almost there!
2. buy DH's birthday present while I'm doing the Christmas shopping.
3. make some more candles.
4. don't try to do too much! I already have a few client bookings and lots of work I want to do, alongside the Christmas stuff. I need to make sure I don't get overwhelmed again. Yeah, this is going abysmally, as always.
5. update debt totals at the end of the month, to ensure we know where we are as we start 2018.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 45: Day 2

Good morning! Haven't been in for a few days, have been enjoying the first days of the holidays with the DC, finishing off Christmas prep and generally not being terribly efficient, which is quite nice occasionally.

Minor financial trauma on the weekend - found out we are going to see half a dozen relatives over Christmas who we wouldn't normally see. Have also been in denial about buying for my sister and her husband. They will all have bought for the DC, so I have to do something in return. Am going to make some jam, chocolate salami and extra candles this week, and have bought a couple of bits and bobs for those who jam/candles won't be right for. Tiresome though, it has upped my spending levels again! Have ended up buying for DH, our three DC, five other children and about 20 adults. I wouldn't ever have said that we buy for a lot of adults, but even on a normal year it would be around 14 (DH and my parents are both divorced and remarried, which accounts for eight of them. Plus three siblings between us). It's been really interesting to realise that, but I'm not sure I can actually do anything about it - they all give to the DC, so I don't feel able to avoid giving to them.

I am tracking the Christmas spend (and going :eek: :eek: :eek: a lot), I will break it all down after Christmas when reviewing our finances. Amazing how it adds up. Budget is not going well.

So nice to have the DC on school hols, they were all so exhausted at the end of term and even after a couple of days off they are all noticeably more cheerful and energetic.

We have a soft play party today for a friend of DC2's, so he will be paid for, but I have to pay for entry for DC1 and 3, as I don't have any childcare for them. And then pizza hut afterwards. I could live without the expense this close to Christmas, but no other sensible solution presents itself.

Need to do the enormous pre-Christmas food shop at some point - we have guests staying on the 27th/28th, so will need nice food for them as well as a meal for Christmas day. The food spend for the period from now to the 29th looks like coming in somewhere around the £200 mark, plus goose on top. It is over a week's worth of food, and includes two days of hosting, so I'm trying not to be too horrified. Plus I'm hoping for lots of leftovers!

to do today
1. Buy secret Santa present that I have been failing to do for the last week, need to post it today.
2. laundry - have done none all weekend, despite having changed the sheets, and am slightly horrified at the pile.
3. Sew up the unicorn I knitted for DC3.
4. Sew up the hat I knitted for DH.
5. pack orders for smaller business (have had four orders in the past 24 hours, always a bit of a rush before Christmas).
6. Write and post Christmas cards.

To do this week
1. Make candles.
2. Make jam.
3. Make chocolate salami.
4. Ice Christmas cakes (taking one to my mum's after Christmas).
5. Make florentine biscuits.

To do in December
1. finish Christmas shopping! Done!
2. buy DH's birthday present while I'm doing the Christmas shopping.
3. make some more candles.
4. don't try to do too much! I already have a few client bookings and lots of work I want to do, alongside the Christmas stuff. I need to make sure I don't get overwhelmed again. Yeah, this is going abysmally, as always.
5. update debt totals at the end of the month, to ensure we know where we are as we start 2018.

cocalls

If it's anything like the soft play we go to they charge for the adults too!

Can the 3 of you not just wait in the car and watch a DVD on the laptop?

Treadingonplaymobil

cocalls wrote: »

If it's anything like the soft play we go to they charge for the adults too!

Can the 3 of you not just wait in the car and watch a DVD on the laptop?

I wish! My lot aren't interested in watching films or TV when it's an option at home in the warm, never mind out and about.