Getting shot of the mortgage sooner than 2049!

PearlRose

Hello Bluegreen143, I ran into your posts and found them really interesting and inspiring. Thanks for sharing. Just bookmarked and hope you wouldn't mind

Bluegreen143

Bluegreen143 said:

- make falafel for tomorrow (start by soaking chickpeas this morning) ✔️ 

- collect poor sodden washing I stupidly left out overnight (it was 21C and sunny yesterday but raining heavily now 😂) will need to spin again then tumble dry - decided to skip this as it’ll be dry tomorrow 🤭 ✖️

- put away the huge mountain of clean washing ✔️ 

- get to the gym ✔️ 

- send an email to get out of jury service, as am on holiday when I’ve been called - eeek, forgot but will do now 

- after school/work, take several bags to the charity shop as they’ve been sat in our room for about two weeks… ✖️ Who was I kidding 😜

- plus work, obviously. I’ve been using an excel task list tracker the last two weeks (previously had various list systems which didn’t work very well! And am pleased to report I feel calmer and more organised at work as a result. ✔️ 

- finish updating YNAB, almost done but need to do cash - about to do now 

Not terrible on the list! Will try to post a daily list and see if it keeps me motivating.

Also (not on the list but should have been!) sorted out after school babysitting for a work away day next week. Nursery are happy for Bambi to stay until 4.30pm rather than her usual 3.15/30 pick up slot (the meeting ends at 4pm so if I make sure I dash away quick this should be fine) and another mum is picking up Monkey from school for a playdate. It’s the family we went away with at the weekend and the little girl is one of his best friends, so he’ll be very happy with that solution.

Monkey seems better today, though still not eating much, so unless he gets worse overnight I’m going to send him to school tomorrow. And Red isn’t totally better, but doesn’t seem as ill as yesterday. He’s also happy because he had a big work assessment this week (practical and theory exams) and he passed 🙂 they can’t work without this ticket being renewed every five years so it’s a relief. 

I’ve been rereading the YNAB book which I always find inspires a little budget rejiggle and thinking about my goals. My current focus is to stabilise grocery costs and be mindful/intentional on wants and fun money. 

This is because we’re away twice in June, and in July we will get a very low pay because we are both taking two weeks unpaid parental leave this summer. However at least my pay will be boosted in July by the back pay for the inflationary pay rise! And both the holidays away and the unpaid leave are very very worthwhile uses of our money. I really want to align our spending with our values, and spending free, unstructured time together as a family while our children are small is the very top of our priority list.

Now I know that I’m being made permanent, in August when my holiday year resets I think I’ll sign up for buying two weeks extra holiday, which I think is basically the same as using unpaid leave, but it spreads the cost over 12 months which is nice for budgeting 😅 

Bluegreen143

Today I’ve got the gym at 7pm then going to the pub with friends after, so I won’t make too ambitious a list.

Was meant to be in the office today as Monkey is finally returning to school, but Bambi threw up in the night so needs to stay off! She doesn’t seem anywhere near as unwell as Monkey was, thankfully. She’s not got a fever and is quite chirpy this morning.

Today’s list:

▪️ Send jury duty email!!!
▪️ Do weekend meal plan and order Tesco shop
▪️ Get a washing done, and tumble dry the wet washing that’s outside as I need my gym leggings 🤣

[Deleted User]

Hello, sorry to hear you've all been unwell! Hope little ones feeling better soon.
I'm loving the lists and the organisation. Woman after my own heart! On a different note I'm glad it's not just me thst leaves washing outside overnight haha! The weather is driving me nuts and annoyingly when I'm having to put things on the heated dryer indoors I'm finding they smell damp after! I can't figure out why after 2 yrs f using it that it's started doing this! I'm now up to date with my washing but the ironing pile is out of this world. I'm going to do 10 items tonight! 
Fantastic news re work contract and pay increase! I completely agree re making time for family alongside work life. So so important for me too. Xx

Bluegreen143

Well I got my email sent, meal plan/online shop done for delivery tomorrow and got the wet washing tumble dried, didn’t do another wash but I will do tomorrow. Haha @Deleted_User nice to know I’m not alone in my washing habits!

Made very nice HM falafel and hummus to have with salad in wraps, so tasty! I usually always make beetroot falafel as I’ve failed making traditional falafel many times, but I tried a new recipe where you use soaked (but not cooked) dried chickpeas rather than tinned and they turned out lovely. Just as well as I made double the mix so I could freeze some 😁

Got to the gym too and out to the pub with friends (one of who came with me to the gym) so it was a very lovely evening ☺️

I don’t work on Fridays either, so it’s officially the weekend now 🥳

Bluegreen143

Today’s list:

▪️ Big tidy up of the whole house
▪️ Do washing & put away
▪️ Clean bathrooms
▪️ Put away Tesco shop when it arrives
▪️ Spend some time with Bambi, who doesn’t go to nursery on Fridays - may take her to outdoor playgroup or play gym session

I usually organise a playdate on Fridays but haven’t as both kids were ill this week so was unsure if they’d be well enough. They are both fine now so may pick Monkey up direct from school go to the school playpark rather than him getting the bus home.

Bluegreen143

Managed to get washing & tidying done yesterday, took Bambi to outdoor playgroup then after school took both kids to softplay for a treat (£12) as it was rainy by then. They had so much fun. I’m really blessed that they are very self sufficient in their play - sometimes I go to these places with friends and their children just hang off them annoying them the whole time and refusing to play, but I never saw mine for the whole 1.5hr, except when they wanted a snack! I chilled out and did summer planning in my notebook which was lovely. 

(That sounds terrible, I do enjoy my children’s company of course - but I’m a firm believer in promoting as much independent play as possible - it’s better for them than using screens and I do enjoy a bit of time to chill out and plan!).

Today we took the kids to a gala day in my parents’ town and left the kids with them for a sleepover. Red isn’t feeling 100% so we decided not to go out for dinner as planned, but instead get dolled up, order a takeaway and play cards all evening at home 😅

Managed to do a home workout and get a bath after dropping kids off so feel better about the takeaway from a health perspective! And as we’d planned to go out tonight, a takeaway should be cheaper than that especially as we won’t need taxis etc.

Baileys_Babe

My children are too old for soft play places (thankfully), like yours mine used to disappear and only return for food and drink. A couple of friends had children like those you describe, I used to find it trying no idea how the parents found it. We usually went to a smaller place where our group had exclusive use and the children hanging off the parents were fully involved with the group and the location. I don't know what they did in new places.

Sorry to hear Red is still not feeling 100%.

I like the idea of a child-free evening, a takeaway and playing cards.

[Deleted User]

I'm with you on the self sufficient children front, we want them to feel comfortable to explore and be creative knowing they can find us if they need us. My two are the same 6yo and 5 yo. 

I love the sound on your summer planning! I need details. I'm such a planner!!! Xx

Have a lovely date night x

Bluegreen143

@Deleted_User I love planning too!

Basically, DH and I are each taking four weeks off this summer, overlapping by a week, so the children will be home with a parent all summer (and as I work P/T and mainly from home, we can fit plenty of family time round the edges of my working weeks; though on my weeks off, DH will be working full time out of the house, but he doesn’t work particularly long hours).

So I wanted to do a bit of planning to make sure we prioritise what’s important to us this summer since we have the free time to make it happen. My list is below (this is just my list and every family’s list would no doubt look different!):

1. Getting outdoors in nature
2. Lots of time to chill out in the garden, play and each work on our own projects 
3. Lots of time to just be together (as a family, and also time for Red and I as a couple)
4. Social plans with friends in a low-key, unpressured way (playdates, casual drinks etc)

So I thought about what would hamper these things from happening and I realised that often what gets in the way is I’m rushing about doing chores/cooking/housework rather than getting out in the garden with everyone. And also that when we allow screen time to go on too long (for adult and child!) it ends up wasting good parts of the day. And if I’m not organised and we don’t know where we are going or what time, again the day wastes away. 

I decided we need a rough summer holiday routine which will apply most days, a list of summer adventure already printed out and a list of easy summer meals I can just pick from each week.

Routine:
Until 9.30ish - have a chilled start to the day. Kids play, have breakfast then watch some TV, everyone gets ready, morning chores 

9.30-1ish - a morning adventure/walk and then lunch (or take lunch out) and everyone pitch in to clean up

1-3ish - quiet time - kids play (not messy or noisy), maybe puzzles/audiobooks/quiet drawing etc and means Red or I can have some time to do our own thing, read in the garden etc

3-6ish - snack then playtime (hopefully in the garden) or doing projects like gardening, baking, crafts etc 

6-7.30/8 - family dinner, clean up, a wee walk or game, stories & bed (this is already our bedtime routine but it’s rare we fit in the walk, so may do a slightly later bedtime for summer)

Was also thinking I’ll give the kids daily “targets” to tick off (Monkey has three targets to hit every day at school which he can do at any point through the day when he has time, so he knows this concept):

- bath/shower
- tidy toys/playroom
- help with dinner clean up
- (for Monkey) reading practise with me

Adventures and projects 
I’ve made a nice list of potential adventures we can pick from each week, organised by distance to travel. And a smaller separate list for indoor adventures if the weather is bad (museums, softplay, visiting grandma or friends etc).

I’d like to gather the supplies for a few projects for me and some ideas I can do with the kids too. 

Meals
Made a list of 30 summertime meals to pick from to keep life simple so nobody is having to do loads of cooking if it’s hot. A mix things we can barbecue or if necessary cook indoors depending on the weather  (BBQ chicken thighs, burgers, hot dogs, kebabs), salad/antipasti type meals, baguettes, fajitas/burritos plus a few soup and pasta dishes as the kids love them. And some fried rice/stir fry dishes for variety.