Getting shot of the mortgage sooner than 2049!

Bluegreen143

@Baileys_Babe I’m no use, if we home educated I’d join them in sleeping late 😂😂😂 not a natural morning person at all myself.

I’ve set reminders on Alexa in addition to my actual alarm - eg my alarm 6.45 for my shower, Alexa tells us at 7 to wake the kids, at 7.20 to go downstairs and the one downstairs tells us at 7.45 to get our coats and go (Monkey needs to be at nursery at 8 as they all have set drop off times now to reduce parents meeting each other). But I’m not actually getting up at 6.45, I’m snoozing and so it’s having a knock on effect on everything else!

Welcome @pepperwand! Lovely to meet someone else on here at a similar stage! I’ll check out your diary too! Would be amazing to knock 10 years off, wouldn’t it. I’d secretly like to knock 15 off so it’s been halved but probably quite unrealistic!

Bluegreen143

Oh meant to say, as Bambi has been fine since lunch yesterday nursery said just to bring her in for her 1 hour first session tomorrow (I’ll be staying with her) and then we can do the two further sessions Thurs/Fri, meaning she can do normal hours next week as originally planned 🙌🏼

Though over dinner, when Red said to Monkey “Bambi has her first day at nursery tomorrow”. She started shaking her head and shouting “no nursery, no nursery” 😬😬😬 so now I’m slightly concerned. I think she will love it as she’s so sociable, but she is quite strong willed too!

Baileys_Babe

Neither OH nor I are natural morning people if left to it OH would get up around midday.
I worked when ds was small and I used to drop him off before 8 am I have no clue how, but I did start to dress him whilst  he was asleep 🤣

I hope everything goes well with nursery and Bambi settles in quickly 🤗

Bluegreen143

Thanks @Baileys_Babe!

Meant to say, I made chicken burritos for dinner - they were lovely but also a big success story with the kids. When they build their own burritos it often ends in them (particularly Bambi) mainly eating wraps and no filling. I only had 5 left so had to make sure they were properly shared out, so I filled them properly full of the chicken/veg mix, rice & cheese then rolled up and wrapped up in foil to serve with broccoli.

Monkey ate his whole wrap including the rice and veg!! (He doesn’t normally eat rice or cooked veg and is inconsistent with chicken). He kept saying how delicious it was too. After an initial tantrum about her wrap being full and just pulling apart the first 1/2, Bambi sat and calmly & happily ate the whole second half including filling (ie once she realised that 1. just as with every day I wasn’t giving her anything else and 2. Yes, I was going to enforce our rule of “you need to leave the table if you are crying or in a tantrum” she suddenly calmed down). 

Baileys_Babe

That was a great success, particularly with ds. Well done on being consistent with dd, it will be worth it in the long term but it can be very hard when you are in the thick of it.

Bluegreen143

Took Bambi for first settling session today at nursery. Just an hour, and I was there - tomorrow she does 2hr solo. Must say she did VERY well. We had 45 minutes in a room ourselves with the key worker who was half getting to know her and half chatting to me about her routine, what she likes to play with etc. Bambi was happily amusing herself the whole time with the slide and various toys. At that age, Monkey was stuck to me like a limpet whenever we went anywhere (he’s really confident now though) so it’s reminded me how different their personalities are. For the last 15 mins the keyworker took her through to the playroom without me and after coming back to me once, Bambi then spent the whole time playing happily and didn’t want to leave (actually threw a tantrum in the car home!). So we don’t know exactly how she will take it on the next session but early indications are good. 

She did make me laugh as she asked to use the toilet twice while we were there (normally she goes about every 3hr so I thought we’d be safe) and the wee room we happened to be in was as far away from the staff/visitor toilets as it’s possible to be (no parents allowed in the actual playroom and their toilets for now due to covid) so the poor woman had to traipse up and down the stairs with us twice. The second time Bambi didn’t even need to go once we got there so I think she just enjoyed walking about and seeing the rest of the nursery 😅

Did some garden work for the first time in ages today - divided and replanted my rhubarb. Think I’ve left it VERY late as I had totally forgotten about it until this month and the ground was frozen solid for the last few weeks. Oh well, it’s done now, and if it kills the rhubarb it’s no great loss as the stems were all weak and thin anyway (which is why I wanted to divide it).

Making veggie & bean pasta for dinner tonight so nothing too exciting but at least a guaranteed winner with everyone in the house 😆

joedenise

Glad nursery settling in session went well.  I'm sure she'll be fine tomorrow.  She sounds like a quite confident toddler.

You were definitely late dividing the rhubarb but I'm sure it'll be fine.  It's usually divided in about October/November IIRC but it's a while since I've done it as mine got dug up and the ground concreted over a few years ago so we don't have any now.

Our dinner was similar to yours tonight - veggie pasta in a tomato sauce which I sprinkled some cheese on top and melted.  Very nice it was too and so easy.

Bluegreen143

@joedenise, she is very, very confident and feisty. So different to her brother who has always been very obedient and was an extremely clingy toddler. 

Slight frugal success as found out today that Bambi needs indoor shoes for nursery and at first thought we would need to go and buy some as she only has one pair of boots and one pair of wellies. But I found a pair of wee flat trainer things in her size in our hand me down box of things friends have passed on, so no spend required 🙌🏼 

pepperwand

Sounds like Bambi did really well, my second was a horror settling into nursery. He refused to eat there for the first week and made me feel like the most awful mum in the world..... I was dreading week two and he was completely fine, has loved it ever since! Little monster just wanted to make me feel guilty I think 

Veggie stir fry for Mr Pepper and I tonight, children have already eaten as they get fed a tea at nursery around 3.30pm so just need a lighter meal in the evening on nursery days which means us adults can have what we want.

Bluegreen143

@pepperwand that made me laugh! Monkey went to a childminder for a while when he was one and I was working, and he cried at drop off for about 2 months 😬 was traumatising to start but then the childminder would text me literally 20 seconds later with a picture of him smiling and playing 😆

So sad but I’m deeply excited about Red’s payday tomorrow, not because of having money, but so I get to play with my YNAB budget 😅 

Red’s work are encouraging him to apply for a manager’s role that’s come out, given he has management experience, but he isn’t keen which I totally understand. It would be a jump from £31k to £35k but it’s not as big as it sounds, he currently gets overtime/on call which he wouldn’t as a manager.

He’s also done the manager thing in his old industry (care) several years ago and (while this position wouldn’t be as much stress as his old job) that job made him very ill - he was managing a team of 50 people with very little support and ended up with an anxiety-induced breakdown and quitting his job with nothing to go to. I was on mat leave with Monkey and it was quite scary at the time, though worked out OK. It makes me so angry that the pay, conditions and stress levels are so awful working in care as it drives out passionate, talented employees like Red. Now in a different industry, he’s on a full £10k more a year with almost no stress and doesn’t need to think about his job at all when he’s not there!