Settling in for the long haul

ellenvan

Wishing your Mum a speedy recovery.

_Dolly_Rocker_

Aw that's great news - now time for the recovery.

I know what you mean about hospitals and the expenses! Christmas 2023 and 2024 my Mum was in and out and the money I spent! Sheesh it makes me shiver at the thought.

Dakota_Rose

And we’re home and settled after a turbulent few days. I feel like I’ve barely seen Mr D, the kids or colleagues this week, but of course that’s not quite true - I’ve just been balancing everything around mum’s hospital stay.

I am home reasonably early tonight and am ready to flop. Nothing a hot bath and a hot meal won’t sort out though.

Here’s hoping others have had a calmer week 😊

Cherryfudge

Just catching up on about a week of posts, and what a week that's been for you and your family. Lots of 'get well soon' wishes from me for your Mum, and 'back to normal plus a well deserved rest' wishes for you. It can be so hard having to be away from home and family, though I know your Mum will have been grateful for your presence.

I hope your hot bath and dinner helped reset the balance for you.

Dakota_Rose

Checking back in after finishing the working week and coming back to mum’s to take over from my brother for the weekend. A very cold night on the airbed was had, but I’m glad to do it. Eldest came along and has been a real help too.

I’ve had an email from the toaster hospital (Amazon repair centre) to say that they’ve found a fault with it and will be refunding me for the item. It’ll be interesting to see what amount they send as it was bought as a 2-part bundle. Either way, I’m pleased we sent it back as usually we’d suck it up and replace ourselves.

Other positive news is the change of tax code sees us with just over £100 extra in my pay at the end of the month. Feel like celebrating but don’t quite trust it. I think I will put the majority of it in premium bonds just incase I get a follow up letter wanting it back.

A sale of £7.50 on eBay will be collected by postie this morning and so that will be going to the shower fund. Last night, we bit the bullet and ordered the shower unit (and wanted extras such as taps and separate over-bath shower head) so £297 has gone on our 0% CC. I have £189.50 (£197 when sale clears) to pay off immediately and will put the rest to it when I’m paid at the end of the month. Happy to get £30 off the shower unit using a voucher code and went through TCB as usual for a little extra. We would like to replace the shower tray and enclosure, and add a new bathroom cabinet, to finish the bathroom upgrade this time. These will be done at some point in the near future. Our starting budget was ‘hopeful’ at £600 so we’ll see how close to that we can come in.

Despite the busy week, Mr D has still been working on little improvement projects at home. He has replaced the most elderly (and somewhat unsafe) light switches with new ones which has made a nice difference. The gardens are looking really neat again and he’s re-seeded areas of lawn that needed a bit of help. The cracked and slightly mouldy bathroom ceiling has been stripped, treated and primed ready for a fresh coat of paint. He’s a good ‘un. I’m sure he’s done lots more than that, but I’ve barely been home to notice.

One more week of work and then we have two weeks off. It’s been such a short half term, but a bit overwhelming and I’m really looking forward to a slower pace of life for a couple of weeks.

Dakota_Rose

Not much to report today. I’m home from mum’s for a couple of nights now and it’s nice to be back. I just wish I had longer here before heading back to work. Definite case of the Sunday blues. Mum is doing as well as we could hope with her recovery but it will be slow. She’s in a lot of pain and looks like she’s been run over by a bus bless her. Her back is extremely bruised and stitched up but it’s her legs causing the most pain. The heated cushion we got her for Mother’s Day has been a godsend.

My council tax and water bills are now both in and are higher than last year’s but very slightly lower than I had budgeted for. My car insurance renewal quote has also come through very slightly more than last year, and although I can get cheaper through a comparison site, they would want a much higher excess, so I think I will be sticking to my original provider for the extra £1 a month.

My personal spends has been depleted by extra petrol and parking this week so I’ll be hopping along to payday now. Saying that, there isn’t anything I need and I was completely spoilt last weekend for Mother’s Day. There’s still money in the family treats pot, which we might use to celebrate the start of the Easter holidays next weekend.

A quick dinner of bacon and black pudding rolls (originally meant for Saturday breakfast) followed by a bath and reading is on the agenda to finish the weekend. A mini reset is all we have time for but it will be nice nonetheless. The two youngest have a teacher training day tomorrow so we don’t feel quite as rushed as usual.

Here’s to a new week. Let’s hope it brings a little more calm and kindness with it.

Dakota_Rose

£80.99 refund has come through (full amount of the kettle and toaster bundle) today so I’ve sent that straight to the shower fund. We’ve decided to use our current kettle and a toaster we’ve kept for camping for now to save some money. They are far from perfect but are perfectly usable.

We have chosen a cabinet to replace the old one, which was here when we moved in, to help give us more storage and give the bathroom a facelift. £80 with voucher code.

Shower fund £270.65/£297 (clear on payday)

Bathroom cabinet £0/£80 (clear on payday)

Dakota_Rose

I forgot to mention that we’ve had less happy financial news with my car tax. I found my new statement in my junk email and unfortunately the higher rate of tax isn’t due to end until next Feb. The £37 saving I was hoping for will have to wait until then.

I’ve had my two nights at home and so will head back to mum’s to take over from my brother again tomorrow night. With working both days, I don’t feel I’ve really been home or benefitted greatly from the ‘break’. I do know though that however tired I am feeling, it can’t compare with how dreadful mum is feeling. Must try not to complain and just get through the week!

Dakota_Rose

I have nothing to report other than that I’m running on empty and it’s only Tuesday. Absolutely pooped!

Back at mum’s after a long day at work. She’s looking a bit brighter but is utterly fed up with the pain and lack of mobility. I can see some improvement so it’s just going to be a matter of time now I think.

I’m missing Mr D and the kids, and the little routines we have. Mr D is coming to help mum while I work tomorrow during the day time so we’ll get a little catch up as we cross paths.

Grateful for having a mum to take care of though. We’ve had some nice little dinners together (all of the convenience variety) and lots of chats. She’s needing early nights so I’m now sitting in complete quiet now with my book ready to read. That is unusual for me but I don’t predict many pages will be read before I’m ready to nod off myself.

3 more days to go until the Easter holidays…

Rhyddid2026

It's lovely how you're framing all that, well done. I hope next week is a little easier on you when you get to it.