“Debt is normal. Be weird.”

[Deleted User]

So sorry you had such a scare with DS1 but glad he is on the mend.  Hopefully you've managed to get a bit of rest now x

browneyed_girl

Thank you all for your messages.  DS is definitely getting better, so much so that it’s now a real fight to get him to take his inhaler!  He’s currently sat painting whilst I take a break from housework and DH has taken DDs to their tennis lessons.  These were already paid for a few weeks ago and are really good value (I think) - £3 each for a 45 minute session.

I’ve had a chance to catch up on a bit of sleep and get to grips with spends over the past few days.  Wednesday was indeed a NSD (yay!) but somewhat marred by DS’s hospital visit.  

Thursday saw £27.47 spent on food items that we arguably could have managed without, possibly aside from the lunch items DH brought me whilst in hospital.  Once we were able to take DS home, we also let him choose exactly what he wanted for his dinner, which necessitated a stop at Mr T.  This was when all those sugary items just jumped into my trolley of their own accord - shame on them. 

Friday is DH’s first day off in the week so he always picks up a few bits and pieces for the evening (usually pizza and cider), which I think is totally justified when seeing how hard he works.  Total spend £17.11.  We also had to pick up DD3 from her sleepover at Nanny’s house (planned before DS’s hospital visit, but really helpful that it coincided with that as DD3 has behavioural problems and is difficult to manage even when I’m not sleep-deprived and dealing with poorly children).  Fuel spend of £25 to account for DH having to drive backwards and forwards and round in circles.

Final spend of £6.99 on eB@y item that was necessary and would have cost at least £20 new.  Overall, not really happy with the level of spending on food, but planning has not been a priority or even a possibility whilst completely exhausted!

Back on the MSE wagon today though - am currently finishing the meal plan for the week and putting together a shopping list after checking what we have in the cupboards.  I’ve got lots of batches of soup in the freezer which I’ll be using during the evenings that DH is at work, so I’m mostly focusing on plans for kids’ meals.  I know it would be more cost effective for everyone to eat the same thing, but DD3 is incredibly fussy and it’s difficult to find a meal that everyone will eat together.  I don’t actually put anything on the shopping list for my meals as I tend to use leftovers or put something together from whatever needs using - I quite like the challenge and I’ll eat just about anything!  Not cauliflower though - it tastes like feet and I’ll never think otherwise so no use trying to convert me!

Lots of housework to be getting on with, as well as lists of extra tasks that I’m probably being a bit optimistic about if I think I can get them all done this weekend.  Still, go hard or go home!  I hope everyone else has more exciting plans for the weekend!  

CRANKY40

I'm glad to hear that ds is on the mend. If dd3 has behavioural problems she is probably just a sensory eater. I have one of those too and they do get better, well slightly. Mine wouldn't eat anything that needed much chewing until he was about 8 and has never had a fried egg because "they look wrong".

browneyed_girl

Quick update whilst I sit down with a cup of tea.  Biscuit choice today (for those as addicted to the naughty little things as I am) is a jam and cream sandwich.  Like a jammie dodger but soooo much better!

Already had a couple of wins today.  Bought a 3 month gift subscription for my brother’s birthday and noticed the site were advertising a discount code for 25% off - instant £9 saving!  I’ve also found Clubcard vouchers worth £7.50 to take when I do the shop at Mr T later.  I have in the past saved these up and exchanged them, but I think I’ve exhausted all the options that were actually of any interest to us.  They should instead help keep us in budget this week after an appalling recent food spend!

Our current weekly budget is £80 for groceries and this usually isn’t too difficult to stick to when using a combination of Lid! and Mr T.  I hate food waste (or waste of any kind really) and I find that I can get very creative to use up bits in the fridge if needed!  We are a vegetarian household which also makes for a happy shopping bill - I sometimes look at prices of meat in the supermarket and wonder who can even afford it!! 

Looking at the meal plan today, kids are going to have pizza wheels (using a puff pastry sheet I have in the fridge, leftover pasta sauce and cheese), HM chips and whatever veg needs using up (the carrots have definitely seen better days...).  DH and I are treating ourselves on his second (and last) evening off until Friday with leftover pizza and HM potato wedges.  Given that we have all this in the house, I’m actually thinking that the shop could wait until tomorrow, which then gives me a chance to defrost the freezer later (one of those annoying things on the to do list) before stocking it up again.  Must check with DH that he’s not in dire need of anything...

browneyed_girl

CRANKY40 said:

I'm glad to hear that ds is on the mend. If dd3 has behavioural problems she is probably just a sensory eater. I have one of those too and they do get better, well slightly. Mine wouldn't eat anything that needed much chewing until he was about 8 and has never had a fried egg because "they look wrong".

Thanks @CRANKY40!  DD3 definitely has an issue with textures and really struggles to try anything new.  Won’t touch a single fruit or vegetable, never had an egg and sticks rigidly to her ‘safe’ foods.  The only way I can get anything good into her is through smoothies (which shows she at least likes the taste of fruit), but even then if there are ‘bits’ or anything resembling texture in them, she will refuse them point blank.  Fingers crossed it gets better!

CRANKY40

We have a matching pair ha ha. Ds says that raspberries are too hairy and strawberries have too many pips. Bananas just make him gag. We have tried new things over the years, usually standing next to the bin. The routine is sniff first, then lick, then take a teeny, tiny bite which can be spat out if necessary. I am not above hiding things in pasta sauces as he likes the taste of veg better than fruit. 

He's 16 now but when he was small I used to have to take the burger out of his cheeseburger if we ate out so for a long time he just had warm cheese buns. I don't know if this helps but now he is older he explained to me that if he eats something that he doesn't like he can taste it for the rest of the day no matter what else he eats whereas other people can eat something that they don't like then eat something else to take the taste away. He also learnt to swallow tablets fairly young in case he needed antibiotics because nothing banana flavoured was ever going in through his mouth in liquid form. 

browneyed_girl

I love the trick of hiding veg in pasta sauces @CRANKY40.  Unfortunately, DD3 seems to have got wise to it, as it’s now one of the things she avoids.  She used to be completely unable to even touch some foods without extreme anxiety, but we’re slowly getting round this by having her pick fruit and veg from MIL’s extensive garden.  She seems really interested to see where it comes from, but unfortunately is yet to take the plunge and actually try eating something!  At least she doesn’t mind her daily multivitamin! 

Glad to hear that your DS has improved with age - it gives me some hope to cling to!

browneyed_girl

So, DH has just left early for work in the hope of finishing at a more reasonable hour.  Cue sitting down with a cuppa and a biscuit (chocolate covered malted milk today - not something I would have picked but DH thought they looked nice and he’s not wrong!)

Big shop has been done this morning at Mr T - total spend of £52.02.  DH forgot the vouchers (classic DH), but I’ll use them next time.  £27.98 remaining from food budget for a top-up shop on Tuesday/Wednesday (usually £12-18) and whatever DH needs for his Friday treat.  In theory, shouldn’t be an issue but the kids have been making an extra effort to eat everything in sight whilst off school - I swear DD1 has hollow legs!

DH also filled up his car today for the week at a cost of £81.50.  We both have quite big cars as a necessity with four children and fairly long commutes each, so our weekly fuel budget is set at £130.  Really wish this could be less - it seems wrong to spend more on feeding our cars than ourselves!

In other news, we have had a return for an item approved, which I need to package up this evening and post tomorrow.  That should see £95 arrive back in our account in the next week or two  In a further effort to rid the house of clutter, I have also picked out a number of toys that I have then sanitised and packed up to take to the paediatric assessment unit at our local hospital.  I noticed during our recent visit with DS that they had a very limited selection which failed to keep DS entertained.  Apparently, they had to get rid of a number of the toys that couldn’t be sanitised properly, so I’ve made sure all the ones we’re donating are easy to wipe clean.  

Need to go and prep food for the kids’ dinner shortly - veggie stir fry tonight.  I’m going to concoct something from the leftover pastry in the fridge for myself - possibly some mini vegetable pasties to go with a salad.  Task of the week is going to be using up whatever I can from the freezer as it really needs defrosting.  I have had to remove a tray from it this week just so that I could close it properly!  Such a shame that I’ll be forced to eat copious amounts of ice cream!

browneyed_girl

Ooh, almost forgot to mention that I have cashed out £10 on one of my survey accounts today  .  Going to add it to the EF once it lands in my account.  If I get the £30 cashback I’m expecting soon, it could be at £200 before the end of the month

WinterWarrior

I LOVE chocolate malted milks…mmm
well done on the cash back. Poor you having to eat ice cream…we like ours with smashed up wispa or twirl on top 🤤