*sigh* this may take a while

savingholmes

Glad that the decorating is going well. Sorry you are not finding your studies more interesting. It is probably the pull of so many things that need doing as a working mum

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Yes, probably.  Plus, I'd prefer to find a job outside of the NHS when I can afford a pay cut and this studying is NHS specific, so feels a bit pointless.  But I'm just a grouch really!
Both OH and I are feeling 'lighter' about our finances, his bonus has really reset us and put us in a comfortable place for the coming year.  Main thing is that we don't keep our eye off the ball and continue to live within our means.

savingholmes

I am glad that you are now feeling more in control with money. Your nearly there from what I can see in your signature.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Yes, 'just' the £4k owed now, which is nice.  If not before, we'll pay that off out of OH's bonus next year.
OH and I are trying to figure out how to cover work if schools shut.  I've got a few teacher friends who seem to think it's imminent, perhaps stretching out Easter hols by a couple of weeks. 
Childcare will be a real issue as ours is linked to school.  Working for NHS, I can't work from home.  Think it'll have to be a case of OH working from home on my workdays and then he can go in when I'm off.  Tricky times, I'm sure many will have the same dilemmas

mark55man

maybe offer your teaching friends a gig as a childminder

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Haha, the thought has crossed my mind, I'm still registered. 
I'd only be any good to them the 2 days a week I don't work though

mark55man

sorry my attempt at humor may have been rubbish - I meant offer your soon to be not teaching friends a gig at yours childminding for you  while you were at work

savingholmes

Scary times. They will be doing a rerun of 'keep calm and carry on' posters soon

Isitdoable

Well done on all those payments, how amazing to see how much you've paid off!   I think we are all in this funk right now - the world feels scary and the sun never shines!

ohdearhowdidthathappen

I was on a course in London last week and it seemed a bit random as there were 50 of us from 60 NHS trusts on a 20 hour course (over 3 days).  If 1 person had it in that room, we'd all take it back to our respective hospitals.  Not overly hygienic.
I'm pretty pragmatic about the virus... after 20 years of working in the NHS, I've worked on loads of patients with C Diff, MRSA, Flu, TB etc.  Everyone around is worrying and I get it, but likelihood is we'll all come into contact with it and will deal with it when it happens. 
I don't understand the obsession with wanting to close schools... for how long? Are all the children not going to leave the house for months?  Unlikely.  All my colleagues have children, do we all stay home if schools shut?  Who will then look after the patients.  No easy answer.