Need to stop spending and chasing dopamine!

Pink_Butterfly

I didn’t go to the gym in the end. My body was still aching from when I went yesterday and I was craving a chilled out evening… maybe because it was raining so much? I ordered some birthday presents for DD1 whilst watching YouTube videos instead 🙂 so I feel a bit more prepared now. I received a £20 gift card for Sephora from one of my friends for my birthday, so I used it towards some of DD1’s presents, and then just stuck the £20 in my “fun money” pot, which has helped as it was getting a bit low 😂 I also got 15% off the order so that was a win win.

The appointment with the mortgage lender lady was ok in the end. It went on for 90 minutes which was long enough, but she was very sweet. Much better than the guy OH spoke to a couple of months ago anyway! Hopefully we’ll have some good news by the end of the week 🙏🏼

I found an air freshener the other day when I was tidying DD2’s bedroom. It said on the packaging it was for bathrooms, so I activated it today and stuck it in the girl’s bathroom. It said it was vanilla scented so I thought I’d like it as I usually love vanilla, but it was awful and made me feel quite ill! 🤮 I had the worst headache and felt sick, so I had to get rid of it in the end. I feel bad as I think DD2 received it as a gift for one of her friends, but I don’t think she remembers getting it - it was buried under a load of junk 🫠😂

My step count today is shockingly low so I’m hoping I can make it better tomorrow! I’ve got to drop off DD2 at school 15 minutes early as she’s getting breakfast there - it’s their little treat for doing the SATS tests. By tomorrow lunchtime it’ll all be over! Then the fun starts. Well, I say fun, it suddenly dawned on me this evening that she’s performing 4 times at the local theatre in the space of 10 days next month 😬 3 completely separate shows. That’s 3 lots of lines to learn, 3 lots of choreography…. I think it’s going to be too much but she doesn’t seem phased by it. AND she’s going on her residential in 3 weeks (which I’m dreading!!)! Plus there’s her sports day, values day, and then the following month she’s also got her end of school performance and her prom, so it’s a very busy time! I’m exhausted just thinking about it all 😂😂

Me & OH found some burgers in the freezer section in Aldi the other day and we had them tonight with the kids. There are no nasty ingredients in them and they tasted really good so we’ll definitely have them again, especially as they weren’t expensive!

I’m going to get the girls into bed now. OH is back at work tonight so he’ll be getting up soon and then I’ll be going straight to bed 😴

Pink_Butterfly

We received our mortgage offer today 🙂 So it’s over to the solicitors to do their thing now. Which will probably take forever 🤣

We’ve also applied for a savings account today to help with our money pots and financial goals. Hopefully it’ll help us get into good habits! 😇 I can’t wait to have savings, it’s been a while 🤣

I went next door this evening for a pedicure & eyebrow wax (which only cost me £5 as I received a voucher for my birthday, and NatWest paid me £5 the other day just for having an account with them, so it was technically free 😉). While I was there the postman delivered my dress for the wedding. It’s nice but I can’t wear a bra with it and I’m not sure how I feel about that 😂

DD2 has finished her SATS tests 😀 So happy they’re all finally done and she’s really happy too. Will give her a treat of some sort this weekend! The school are giving her ice-cream tomorrow.

New baby nephew’s mum has been in hospital due to having some blood clots 🥺 She’s been sent home so hopefully all is ok but it does scare me. She’s 34 weeks (I think) so I suppose they can just get him out now if they need to. I had 3 losses, including one I needed to give birth to as I was halfway through my pregnancy, so I always think the worst but hopefully he will arrive safely 🙏🏼 We can’t wait to meet him! ❤️ My mum has been on the phone tonight very worried about it all but I tried to reassure her.

DD1’s new bedroom curtains have been ordered so one of us will pick them up over the weekend, and then we just need to find her a nice lamp shade for her ceiling light, and then I think her bedroom will be done! Though it would be good to get a picture or 2 on the wall so will try and see if there’s anything she likes 🙂

I’m off to bed now. I’m back in the office tomorrow after 2 days at home and I know it’ll be a busy one 🤪

Pink_Butterfly

It’s the weekend! Yayyyy!! 🎉

We have DSD with us tonight as it’s our weekend with her. We would’ve had DD1 and DD2 too but I swapped with my ex so that me & OH can go to the wedding tomorrow. DSD is going to stay with OH’s mum while we are at the wedding and then we’ll have all 3 girls back with us on Sunday 💕

I was meant to go to the office today but there was a bad accident on the road I use this morning and the traffic was terrible, so I decided to work from home again. I swear there are accidents every day around here at the moment and it’s quite terrifying. People are just not concentrating, or speeding, or both 😥

After 2 days of being super lazy I finally went out for a walk today after dinner. It’s so easy to go back to terrible habits so I dragged myself out, even though I didn’t really want to! I think the cooler temperatures have made me want to stay in as I hate the cold but it’s going to warm up next week 🙂 OH and DSD came with me and we walked to the very top of the estate, which involved climbing a steep hill but the views at the top are lovely so it’s worth it.

I had a 20% off code from Very so I ordered DD1’s light shade and some pink storage bags for her room. I also ordered a new bathroom cabinet for the en suite. It’s quite big but it’s needed because me & OH seem to have a lot of products 🤣 I got a whole £1.17 cashback too… oooooo 😉

DD1’s presents have all arrived so I need to get them wrapped. I still need to get her some vouchers and a birthday card too but that will have to wait until next week I think, unless I can sneakily get them on Sunday lol.

I don’t have a lot of fun money left but that’s ok, it won’t hurt me to not spend anything for the next 2 weeks 🤣

Pink_Butterfly

Hello! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

The wedding was ok yesterday. It was a bit of a weird one for us as we didn’t know anyone except the groom (and I only met him an hour before the ceremony!), and there was quite a gap between the ceremony ending and the reception starting, so we had to go somewhere random to kill some time. We ended up in KFC 🤣 and then a very quiet pub. I need to return one of the dresses that I ordered for it. Unfortunately it would only let me return via Royal Mail and the Post Office hours clash with my working hours, so OH said he’ll try and post it for me tomorrow ☺️

While we were in KFC we decided to spend £10 on the lottery, which we don’t do that often but we were feeling lucky 😎 Thankfully it paid off and we won £33! So our £23 profit paid for the card & gift for the newlyweds 😉

I have ordered another birthday present for DD1, as well as a cake topper, some birthday banners and a badge, and a birthday present for OH’s BIL. Oh, and some more false lashes for me, seeing as I stupidly ordered the wrong ones from Boots the other day and they’re hideous 😭 I’ve got a serum that makes my eyelashes grow longer but I’m terrible at remembering to use it, so I need to start setting reminders I think 😂

This morning the girls got dropped off at 9:30am and then we went to pick up DSD from OH’s mum’s house. We had to go to the petrol station on the way as the light started flashing and at one point I was scared we would run out 😂 After we picked up DSD OH drove us to a big park for a walk around, which was really nice and boosted my terrible weekly step count 😂 While we were walking we decided we wanted to treat DD2 to something for working so hard during her SATS week, which I had mentioned before and set some money aside. We ended up giving her some options and she chose a dessert place, so we went there after the park and stuffed our faces with sugary goodness. I ordered the chocolate fudge cake and chose raspberry sauce & fresh strawberries to go with it, and vanilla ice-cream, and it was sooooo so nice! The bill was more than what we budgeted so I had to do some moving around on the spreadsheet when we got home 🙄

We’ve got the curtains for DD1’s room now so OH will hopefully put them up soon ☺️ He’s suffering massively with his hayfever today and he’s very tired so it might not be today. We both had a 90-minute nap after we did a food shop this afternoon 😂 Such grannies we are! I think the supermarket wiped us out as it was busy, and a lot of food we needed wasn’t there, and it was just a stressful experience. Also once of the workers ran over my foot with her trolley 🙄

DSD is going back to her mum’s soon. The other 2 girls are having showers and getting ready to chill out for the evening. I still need to clean the kitchen but in all honesty I can not be bothered so that can wait until I get some more energy 😆😴

Sarahwithlove

have you considered finding room in the budget for a cleaner? I know it may seem like a luxury but when you have a busy household and work full time as well as looking after kids it may be worth the extra cost to have that peace of mind and extra time as a family. I know it may set you back in terms of debt repayments but I think its important to get a good balance of work/life/debt balance. Its something I am seriously considering with all extra overtime I am doing at the moment. I had my flat deep cleaned last week and the peace of mind it gave me after because I had been so busy with everything with my dad, everything suddenly seemed a bit more manageable. I am now thinking I need to find room in budget for a once month clean for all those jobs I hate doing and don't have time for.

Pink_Butterfly

It’s funny you should ask that question as I messaged a cleaner earlier this month asking if she had any availability to do a fortnightly clean (back when I had a meltdown over not having enough time to do everything!) and she came back earlier this week saying yes! So from 10th June she’ll be cleaning our house every 2 weeks. Her prices are very reasonable to be fair and my pay rise in the next couple of months will more than cover it. She deep cleaned my flat last year before I put it on the market and she did an amazing job 😊 I would definitely recommend it if you are time poor and can afford it! Like you said, we all need a good balance when it comes to work, debt and life!

I have wrapped all of DD1’s presents and written her card. The birthday banners and cake topper have arrived so I just need to get her a voucher, a cake and some balloons and then we’re sorted 😊 I might ask my mum if we can do a tea party or get a takeaway at her house instead of mine, as OH will likely be asleep and I don’t want everyone feeling like they have to be quiet. I’ll message her at some point today. DD1 has asked to go to Zizzi with her friends over the weekend to celebrate, which suits me as I can cover a chunk of the cost with Clubcard vouchers 😁 hehe.

I met one of my neighbours who lives over the road yesterday as she took a delivery for me, and she is SO lovely! She said I must go round at some point and asked me what I like to drink. Bless her. She’s in her 60s or 70s and OH said her husband is super lovely too so it’ll be nice to get to know them 😍 I love living here, honestly - the community is just so nice. I told OH that even if we won the lottery I wouldn’t want to move from this estate 🤣

I weighed myself this morning as my eating has got silly again 😢 I do seem to have a problem with food. It feels like an addiction! I told OH I can’t have chocolate in the house as I’ll just eat it, so we’re not buying it any more. I need to go cold turkey - I’m not one of those people who can have a little bit and feel satisfied, I binge. I’ve had a couple of healthy days with food so it’s a good start. I also did over 10K steps on Monday and went to the gym last night, but to be honest I’ve been sticking to my exercise routine for about 2 months now (except last week) so that isn’t the issue, it’s food!

When I was out walking on Monday OH’s brother ran passed me, as he’s into his running at the moment. I was tempted to join him but I would’ve slowed him down 🤣 I’m rubbish at running 😉 He keeps asking OH to join him but he said his knees wouldn’t cope with it. They went to the gym together yesterday though. OH also wants to lose some weight. I think he looks great now but I also understand that he needs to feel good about himself so hopefully we can lose weight together 😊 I’m not even overweight but I’m at the top end of the healthy range and I feel uncomfortable in my clothes. I haven’t been this big in my life (except when I was pregnant). I blame OH as I eat when I’m happy 🤣🤣

9 days until pay day and the accounts are looking pretty good! OH is on a long shift now which should boost next week’s pay too lol 😉 I’ve had to get DD2 some new trainers as hers are starting to hurt her feet. It’s good timing because she needed some all white trainers for a show she’s doing next month so we’ve killed 2 birds with 1 stone there! I got her 2 sizes so she can try them on later and then I’ll return the ones we’re not keeping. She goes on her residential in 2 weeks so we need to sort out some things for that. I am dreading her going 😭😭😭 She is being a little koala bear at the moment and has been clinging onto me as she gets anxious, so I’m worried about her going. It might be good for her though, I don’t know.

My little nephew was taken into hospital a couple of days ago 😥 He had to stay overnight. They think he has asthma but they won’t diagnose him yet as he’s too young. Poor thing. He’s home now with an inhaler ❤️

Time to start work. I have already been out for a walk this morning, and emptied the dishwasher, and stuck a wash on, so I’m feeling productive! I’ll try and hit 12.5K steps today if I can, so 9K to go 😁

Pink_Butterfly

I hit 12.5K steps in the end, and so far today I’ve done 12,141, so I need to do 359 more. I’m in my pjs so it’ll be a walking around the house job 🤣

I got DD1’s cake and balloons today 😊 Instead of a voucher I have decided to just transfer money into her account because she’d prefer that. I keep reminiscing about her birth 🥰 This time 13 years ago I was in hospital on the induction ward. I was 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant so not quite due but I had gestational diabetes so they wanted her out. I wanted her out too as I was fed up of being pregnant by that point 🐳🤣 It feels like it all happened yesterday! I can remember pretty much everything about it ❤️

My brother’s gifts arrived today to give to her in the morning and my mum & dad popped round earlier with more gifts. My dad only landed earlier today and he’s home for a couple of weeks 🥰

OH needed fuel but decided to only fill half a tank as we’re getting close to the end of the month and he won’t need to fill up again until June. It gives us a bit of breathing space, which is nice! He has done some very long shifts this week but he struggled to sleep today. He slept from 1:30pm until 4:30pm, and then he couldn’t get back to sleep, so he got up and had dinner with me, and then we went on a family trip to do some food shopping (which is always more expensive when everyone joins me 🤣). He has been back in bed since 8pm but he’ll be getting up soon.

I’m going to get DD2 into bed now. I have set up her new fan as it’s very warm, so hopefully she will have a comfortable night. I’ve also set up DD1’s new fan. I am so glad we bought them a few weeks ago! Summer is about to hit 🥵 I even struggled a bit with my walks today! I really need to sort out the air con in my car as it currently doesn’t work 😭