22 Foxhole East

I always found Mcr secondary schools were almost set up so that older siblings could pick up/drop off smaller ones from the closest primary schools. All terribly civilized!

I paid £101 to a ping pong club this morning - it was in the budget. All accounted for. It works out at £1 a week each, so still really cheap all things considered. Just all in one go it looks much worse than it is. Then it is £1 coaching each a week when they actually go.

I have lost my motivation. All of it. Down the plug 'ole. I know what I need to be doing, I have my lists, but my desire to do it is lacking. Because it feels like I am doing it for them, because they are coming. And DH has booked to go away the second day they are here on a course, all day. I am trying to be positive in front of the kids, but it is hard when DH mentions 'my bloody parents coming' in front of them.

God I hope I snap out of this soon. It is so not me. What seems to be annoying me is that there is nothing at all on during half term. Everything is the week after so that they are off for all the Halloween stuff. Boo! Oh well. Can't be helped. It just means I am Chief Entertainment Officer, as well as everything else for the week. With 4 kids who would really rather not leave the house...

So, basically I am not sleeping well, major stress dreams and being wide awake suddenly at 2am. Which is fine, as I don't like sleep anyway, but it gets a little bit boring with nobody to talk to, and if I get up, then I will disturb DH, and I can't come downstairs or I will interrupt DHamster's running schedule - he does not like an audience.

I think i need to start running again. I have been researching pollen asthma. I used to run at 5.30 am and it was only when I got talked into running at 7pm at one of the swe4tsh0p running club things by a friend who did not want to go alone (grrrr) that I ended up an allergic coughing mess. So I need to sort the antihistamine + nasal spray pollen barrier + blue inhaler timescale and get it right so that I can run again.
Running clears my head, and I am invincible when I can do it.
So I think I am going to try and sort out a routine again. So, starting slowly, now all those poxy plants are dying, I can start 1k a day for a week (I mean it is all of 8 minutes), until I can breathe, as long as I get up before the pollen, then work upwards until I am back at 5k evey other morning before taking the kids to school. I just have to work out the timings of the medications to get the best results. I can't make excuses anymore. I need to take responsibility.
There.
I have written it.
So it must be true.
I love this site because it keeps me accountable.
And I just said I was going to do it.

Also need to make an apple crumble and make some hummus out of the tins I picked up at harvest festival sale. As I am going to try and do this Sunday - Sunday no spending challenge thing on the NSK October board!
Which is probably a good idea as I only have £99 left in my bank account until I get £35 ctc on Friday and ChB on Monday the fifteenth, which is also DS1's 16th birthday. But I have cards and wrapping paper, and I ordered some stuff on Monday that should arrive this week.

Paying down the mortgage is taking nearly every penny I have, and I am quite glad that there are only a few months left. I am not sure I could do this every month. Although seeing that first first number drop one every month is addictive.....

Managed running two days in a row. Then got let down by laundry issues (remembered to wash my kit, forgot to dry it), a cancelled physio appt an hour before it started, had to rush a kid to school, by which time the pollen window had closed, then random kids stuff, so am back on it after a 2 day break (at least the tight chest has not appeared this morning), will head out again at crack of dawn tomorrow.

I have ordered DS2s bedroom blind, his headboard, a blind for upstairs single loo, 2 new toilet seats, a non-dairy chease board for DS1s birthday and some coat hooks to repurpose DS3s old too short skirting board into an additional coat rack in the corridor to the kitchen. Will be paid for on Monday from Child Benefit.
Sorted out all the hats, gloves, coats, and scarves ready for the winter, after today's mini heatwave. Bleached the badly behaved downstairs loo (in what is essentially a lean to beyond the kitchen) annoyingly, after not much work at all, the blimmin' thing is sparkling and shining, and I am annoyed I did not just do it before, and not just write it off as disgusting.

All laundry in the washing machine or on the line - will fold and return to owners later on.

DH was delivered to the train station this morning, for his trip back to Yorkshire. He returns late tonight - he told me the time of the last train he can get home - so it is obviously off to the pub with former colleagues after whatever this 'work thing' is. Dirty stopout.

Going to put all the stuff up that arrives before the inlaws, and use the delivery dates as an excuse for either not going out, or for leaving the older ones at home if we are forced to go out. They have requested they are left out of any 'organised activities'. Why does everyone else get to go and hide in their rooms??
I get to try and make polite conversation with strangers when we have no people in common, and have to make excuses for everyone else.

Did I mention DH is doing a runner on the Tuesday? Down to London all day. Rotten swine.

If you lot will all do a raindance for me, for the week of half term here, I will promise you a dry and sunny week for your half term.
I will also except high winds, fog, snow and blizzards in lieu of rain.
Will consider plagues of frogs - don't fancy locusts though....

Vegan Magnums -classic and Almond are half price this week - £2 for 3. In the Tosco magazine, first page, is a voucher for £1 off. so £1 for 3. I sent all 4 kids with a voucher each and a £1 coin, and I might have gone round twice. I may take more advantage of this offer tomorrow, when they have replenished their stocks. They look G/F too. Just a heads up - they also have a d/f g/f £1 off voucher for a margarita pizza, but I could not find a price for it on the freezer, so I will go and investigate further tomorrow.