No longer in use

MeandO

Afternoon all, 

The house renovations continue and it's been non-stop lately. Last week I had 3 solid days of painting all of the newly plastered ceilings and walls which was hard work in the heat, but I was so grateful to OH who helped me greatly.

All of the horrible old carpets were ripped up yesterday and my lovely new carpet was laid. It feels like a new house! Unfortunately they ran into some issues with the floor in the hallway and WC so couldn't lay the hall flooring but are coming back in two weeks to do it then. I was a bit gutted, but it will be done eventually, We're left with horrible old concrete floors there at the moment.

I put shelving up in DS's room this week and applied some cool vinyl wall stickers I'd bought, so his room is more or less finished now, just the curtains pole and curtains to put back up, but I need OH's help with that as am struggling with the solid old walls.

The bathroom is due to be ripped out and replaced in two week and the exterior work should be commencing within the same timescale. God only knows when the garden will be started, I've been chasing the guy who promised to start it for me but not had much luck with that atm. It's horrendous out there atm, we don't go out there at all, it's like a waste ground out there.
I will be SO relieved when everything is done and I don't have to deal with various trades and companies anymore. It's exhausting.

We also went to see my parents for a week in amongst all this which was lovely, but sad to see them both struggling and in pain. It's pretty heartbreaking to be honest. We will be visiting them again within the next week or two.

Mrs_Money_Penny

Glad your house is coming along. It won’t be much longer and it will be as you want it. You will feel the move has been worth all the heart ache.
Sorry to hear about your parents health. It is very hard to deal with. I have been through both of mine having cancer and both in pain. It’s still hard 7 & 10 years on.
Take care xx

Honeysucklelou2

Wow, you have accomplished so much since your move! Well done!

enthusiasticsaver

It sounds like the house is coming together considering you have not been in there long and the amount of work that needs doing.  Good that the mortgage is lower too.  Sorry about your parents health issues.  It is difficult having to deal with that when you are so far away. 

Chrystal

It seems ages since we heard from you.  Hope everything's OK?  (((hugs))) XX

MeandO

Hello,

Sorry for the lack of posting, I never seem to have a spare moment these days.

In house news, I'm still chasing the exterior contractors and 'earth removal' guy for the garden - neither works have been started. It's so frustrating constantly having to chase them, especially the major work needed to the outside of the house as it's starting to affect the walls that I've had re-plastered inside the house. 

There was a delay to the bathroom but this is being done this week as I type. It's noisy and disruptive, particularly as I unexpectedly have DS this week as his Dad's partner tested positive, but hopefully all the noise, dust and various workmen coming and going will be worth it in the end. I cannot wait for the day I no longer have various trades to-ing and fro-ing.
There was also a delay on the hall and WC flooring being laid, but this is being done tomorrow, hopefully. I've yet to break that news to the plumbers who will be working upstairs, I'll save that for as they're leaving tonight...

The savings are going down as things are slowly being paid for. It's looking like I won't have enough to cover the whole garden works needed to make it useable, so I may end up having to lend a bit extra on my mortgage. Not something I wanted to do, but it needs to be done and that's the cheapest way to borrow it. It will still be a lot less than my previous mortgage and I intend to start overpaying once everything is paid for.

The gifts pot (pot 2) has gone down a bit as I have bought some of DS's Christmas gifts already. He is at an age where he is difficult to buy for, so I have jumped at the chance of buying a few main presents which I know he'll love. Now I just need to resist the urge to give them to him early and have to buy something else for Christmas! 

I had to buy some more school uniform as DS has outgrown most of his trousers and jumpers, so I've spent around £100 on those and a bigger pair of school trainers. I'm hoping we have enough of everything for now. I've also topped up his school dinner account by £30, ready for the new term. That will be ok for the month as he has a mixture of school dinners and packed lunches.

I have had a topcashback payout of around £75 which has helped this month and somehow I over-budgeted for a few bills on YNAB by around £70 so have around £100 to go towards something else. I also need a few radiators moved/replaced and a tap changed in the house which I've been quoted around £500 for. Seems a lot to me, so I will ask the bathroom guy when he's finished if he could give me a price. That £100 will probably go towards that.

We've unfortunately had a few covid scares, with DS showing symptoms the day after we did the 4 hours drive to my parents house last week. I literally had to throw everything in the car, keep as far away from my parents as we could and leave asap without a hug or saying goodbye properly and drive back. It was so distressing, especially with their health as it is now, but I couldn't risk us being there for another second. A test later came back negative, thankfully, but took the full 3 days to receive the results and DS was still not feeling 100%. He's had a few bad nosebleeds this week too which are always stressful as he has such heavy ones.
Once DS was all clear, he went to his Dad's, only for us to be told the next day that the GF was positive, so both DS and I had to have another test...

I sold two items on ebay last week which made around £30, they were posted off yesterday. I also returned a clothing order yesterday which was completely unsuitable, that will be around £80 back to the bank account and will be swept into the renovation fund instead.

MeandO

The flooring couldn't be laid yesterday as it was discovered to be damaged when the fitters unpacked it. It'll have to be re-ordered now, so expecting delays there. Hopefully it'll be third time lucky, they've been here to lay it twice already. 

The bathroom renovation is in full swing. It was re-plastered yesterday and much noise is going on upstairs today in starting to put the new bathroom in, it will hopefully all be worth it, they certainly seem to be working hard.

I got rid of an old door on freecycle the other day. I was really pleased as it had been in the garden for a while and I was already make enquiries to pay someone to get rid of it and some other DIY waste. The rest I can take in the car and tip myself, but the door was huge and heavy and there's no way it was going to fit in the car.

I've received notification that my clothing return has been credited, so there should be another £80+ in the bank again soon.

The school trousers arrived and are absolutely huge so will have to be returned or exchanged.  There is no consistency in sizing in shops anymore, it's so frustrating. The same size in a different brand only just fits DS, whereas these ones he can probably grow into around the age of 30...  

MeandO

The summer holidays really seem to have flown and I have big Mum guilt that I haven’t done much with DS and one thing I told him we would do towards the end of the holidays hasn’t happened either. I’ve suggested we plan it in for half term now, but I know he’s disappointed. 😞
He has spent far too much time in front of screens this summer, whether it be the TV or the console, but he is not one for running round outside anyway and won’t even entertain the idea of riding a bike. 😕 Feeling like I’ve failed him a bit tbh. I still find it a real effort going to various places as a single parent though if I’m being honest, it’s always hard to see families having fun together when it’s just the two of us.  My friend, who has always been in a very similar situation to me, is now expecting with her partner and they are excitedly ‘blending’ their families now. I’m over the moon for her, she deserves happiness after what she’s been through, but it does bring back my sadness to know that I won’t ever have that again and I’ll always be on my own with DS. I adore my OH, but he has made it clear that that path is not for him and I know it wouldn’t work if we did anyway. 

I just get so sad about it all sometimes, it physically hurts my heart. 

Another colleague who I liked and later he confessed the same (nothing ever happened, neither of us were single at the same time or had a clue how the other felt 🙄) has just announced his engagement to a lovely lady too. Again, really happy for them, but it amplifies my sadness.

Desperately trying to snap out of the upset, I’m not doing myself any good wallowing in these feelings.

Back to real life, the bathroom goings on were a bit of a disaster yesterday for various reasons and not much was accomplished. They have promised to get it finished next week though which seems quite ambitious to me at the moment as it’s literally an empty shell of a room with a hole through the wall to outside. 😩

 

I’ve just cashed in some more of my premium bonds to go towards paying for the bathroom too. I re-read the quote today and it was £600 more than I’d remembered, plus there will be extras to add on which will send the bill up a little. These savings are in danger of disappearing completely at this rate.

MeandO

Monday morning and DS is back in school, it feels strange not having him here today. 

We had a nice weekend - we visited some local beauty spots and a wildlife sanctuary, all free too.

The plumber is here and there's lots of banging and noise upstairs, I'm hoping that's a sign of good progress as the novelty of going to OHs for a shower and traipsing to the tiny downstairs loo in the night is wearing off. I'm so glad I didn't buy a house with a downstairs bathroom as I almost did.

I've cleared the £25.99 that was on the credit card this morning and transferred £30 to the gifts pot bringing it back up to £700. Once the tax credits are in on Wednesday I will add a little more to the savings although I may have to assign some to buying some more clothes for DS as he seems to have grown out of socks and pants lately.

Just having a coffee to try and feel a bit more awake and with it although it doesn't seem to be working so far. I have an online meeting shortly and the bags under my eyes will speak volumes of how I feel at the moment.

Drawingaline

I also have massive mum guilt over working most of the holidays and not really doing much on the smallest child's list. I also end up on days out just me and the kids a lot, hubby is working, or sometimes it's just easier not to go with him! It's like having an extra kid sometimes with the moaning and whining 😂

But the kids seem happy enough, I think we put too much on ourselves sometimes