Settling in for the long haul

Dakota_Rose

I agree @Honeysucklelou2; financial flexibility will be what we shall work towards.

It’s been a much busier weekend than we’d planned for, especially today. Mr D and our lovely neighbour were at Mum’s bright and early to build her a surrounding fence for her windy side patch of garden. As it is shared between herself and a neighbour, it’s been nothing more than a wind tunnel till now. Now she has a tidy enclosed space to store her bins and potting table etc. It’s also made her bungalow look more secure somehow too. I’m very grateful to them both for doing that as it seemed fairly back breaking stuff at the speed they were working at.

I arrived to take Mum shopping for the week ahead and to make the men some lunch. After that, it was the children to sort out and then back home to set up a shared garden dinner for the neighbours as a thank you for today. The pizza oven came back out for another run and with a trial of homemade pizza bases (from next door), they were a triumph. We all enjoyed it but time flew and then it was baths, dog walks and homework to fit in before we could properly sit down.

I am feeling happy but peopled out and am looking forward to when the eldest two finally go to bed. Little Miss has asked me to help her with some last minute revision so I am just on here while she practises some reading test questions and I’ll nip back to talk through her answers with her shortly.

We have a week of GCSEs and SATS ahead. The house feels a little more tense than I expected but we will try and keep the days ahead as calm as possible. We don’t put pressure on the children for outcomes but always hope and expect that they will try their best.

I think getting tomorrow done and dusted will be what is needed now. I hope everyone else has a calm and productive week too!

Sun_Addict

My dear departed mom always said to me at exam time just do your best. Not everyone is academic and there are other talents to pursue.

FootyFanDan

Hope the exam week goes well. We've tried to downplay them a little bit with our 11 y/o to try keep her calm. We had a bit of a wobble a few weeks ago about them but she seems a little more relaxed about them now.

Here's hoping for that productive week

Cherryfudge

All the best to the children for their exams! As @Sun_Addict says, they aren't everything, but the pressure is always there.

Dakota_Rose

Well that Monday has Mondayed hard 🥴.

We survived our day though and are all home and ready for some comfort food for dinner.

Tomorrow will be another mad one and then I’m hoping for it to be downhill from there for the rest of the week.

I am waiting for £50 to come through from my energy account. I like to have a cushion but it was much higher than I expected when I checked it at the weekend so I thought I’d skim a little bit off the build up to put towards more urgent needs at home.

Dakota_Rose

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993756#Comment_81993756

And she was absolutely right too ❤️

Dakota_Rose

Nothing much to report as it’s been a long work day today.

We had a lovely dinner of picky bits. It was a real treat and filled a tub for tomorrow’s lunch too.

£50 energy refund came through so I’ve sent Mr D his £25 back from his contribution to the velvetiser treat for Little Miss. The list of possible landing places for the other £25 is endless. Premium bonds, car loan and a mortgage overpayment were all considered but I think it’s destined for the shower fund.

We owe £440 on the 0%CC for the last chunk of the works, which I have £150 in our home improvements pot to put towards this month. With another £25 chipped off, we’d have less to clear in the next month or two. All the items arrived today (minus a few missing fittings) so Mr D has plenty to keep him occupied in the coming days.

Dakota_Rose

Another packed day of work but at least that’s hump day done. I feel like I could fall asleep standing up so will be choosing a hot bath and early night tonight. If all goes okay tomorrow, I will have an early finish to look forward to.

My car didn’t charge again last night 😠. This is so frustrating as I plug it in early evening and have charging set for the cheap energy hours overnight. It’s a hybrid, so only has a small battery and it shouldn’t take very long to fully charge at all. When full, it’s the perfect amount of energy to get me to work and back without using petrol. As it’s plugged in for over 12 hours, you’d expect that to be plenty of time to get some power in the battery. It was completely empty this morning. We’d got into the habit of boosting the charge at about 11pm as this was the only way to guarantee a full charge, but a recent read of the octoplus app says we’ll now be charged top whack for doing that. We bought the car and charger with the best of financial and environmental intentions but it’s not very reliable at all. I am so close to not spending any money on petrol this month at all, which as a commuter, is an absolute first. Anyway, rant over.

Lots to be grateful for! After a wobbly weekend building up to them, eldest and Little Miss have been so positive about their exams and taken them fully in their stride. I’m really proud of them both. The garden is enjoying the regular rainfall and home is a happy place to be. Just 7 days left at school and work before another half term break so I need to remember to appreciate it all.

I’ve started a new book, The Twyford Code, which seems like it will be an engaging read. Just need to stay awake long enough to get going with it.

I hope everyone else is having a positive week, with time for books, baths and all other good things!

Sun_Addict

Can’t beat books and baths. I can’t remember whether I’ve read The Twyford Code or it’s one of many on my bookshelves, will have to consult my book spreadsheet 🤣

Dakota_Rose

Not much to report tonight. I’m just back from a showery dog walk which we kept short on the footpaths as Dakota Dog has managed to scrape open a small growth that she had on her leg. She is due a vets check tomorrow evening so we’ll see what the verdict is. Last year we were told to wait and keep an eye on it as it was harmless. This year it’s bigger, uglier and now looking sore so I think they’re going to suggest removing it.

The walk this evening was actually quite nice. A constant fine mist of rain gave the air an ethereal feeling and a double rainbow overhead felt rather special too. Eldest joined me tonight and it’s been a while since he’s volunteered himself so that was nice.

Mr D has seemed very stressed the past couple of days. I think he’s got work building up all around him and he’s been so busy helping other people, he’s falling behind on the jobs here at home.

Little Miss has finished her exams and kept her cool all week. She was over the moon with her velvetiser gift after school and eldest’s eyes lit up as he thought this may mean we have a treat lined up for him when his are over too 😂. I don’t at the moment as it happens as it’s his birthday first.

Happy Friday Eve to all celebrating it 🤣