Managed to get the bed stripped & re-made and sheets washed and dried. Also washed & dried the cat blankets from various cat beds.

Hoovered the whole house & cleaned the insides of the patio doors & kitchen window. Will need to do the outsides another day, the insides were dirty enough. Wiped down the outside of the fridge freezer, the inside will have to wait.

Then cleaned the bathrooms whilst DS had a nap, so I didn't have to stop every 2 mins to stop him putting everything down the toilet/ripping the toilet roll to shreds/trying to eat or drink various inedible substances.

Need to have an early night as up at 5am again tomorrow for work. Going out for lunch after work on Thursday though which will be fun.

So how do you know that your husband is highly unobsevant & really doesn't pay attention to the things around him? When he strips the bed of the clean sheets you just put on the DAY before & puts them in the wash to "help".

Came home from work on Wednesday & the bed had been stripped! I said to him I changed those sheets yesterday!! His excuse was it was dark when he got home. It wasn't, he got home at 5pm. I made him put the sheets back on when they came out of the washing. *rolls eyes* He then went in a huff because I didn't appreciate his "help".

Went out for lunch after work with most of our shift on Thursday. We got 2 courses for £10 in an Indian restaurant which was very tasty. I was knackered though as up for work at 5am & didn't get home until 10pm.

Today I'm going to a charity afternoon tea as my cousin is fundraising. Taking DS with me so it won't be relaxing in any way whatsoever, he'll be trying to steal food from everyone/crawl away every 2 mins. Just tried for 30 mins to get him to have a nap & he refused to sleep so he'll be a grumpy wee b*gger as well. Maybe I can palm him off on my mum or aunts.

That's brave! My refuse to use them if you wash them (or is that my excuse )

redo, mine don't seem to mind clean blankets but they're a pair of weirdos so probably not representative of most cats.

The afternoon tea was nice yesterday & got to see my friend and her 6 week old baby and have a cuddle. DS was all over the place & generally being a bit of a pest but I did manage to get a bit of peace as my mum took him for a while.

DS had a disturbed night as he didn't have a long enough nap yesterday afternoon so making sure he naps enough today.

So far today I've washed the front door as it was manky and have been meaning to do it for ages but haven't gotten round to it. Have wiped down a few of the internal doors as well, didn't realise how dirty they were. Want to do a bit of hoovering & try to clean the inside of the fridge.

Have cashed out £25 from 0nepoll today.

I managed to clean the inside of the fridge. DS kept trying to close the door on me though. Also hoovered the living room.

I then did a quick tidy of the garden, binning a few of the dead bedding plants etc. Still plenty to do though, might get some more heather for some of the big pots.

My sister came up for a visit & we had a quick dinner with DS before she went to Mr Al's. DS was showing off to her by pushing himself to standing from the ground.

Not back at work until Saturday so hoping to get a bit of extra housework done on top of the usual stuff. Planning to take DS to playgroup on Tuesday with my friend & her DS again. Need to put some fuel in the car & go to Mr Al's at one point too. Will get the ironing pile dispatched at one point & hopefully make a start on a sock monkey.

The outlaws are arriving on Thursday evening so have that joy to look forward to as well. At least DS will be happy to see them & they really only have eyes for him these days anyway. I'm sure I'll be interrogated about work & childcare as always. At least I can escape to work on Saturday late shift.

Managed to get up & out to playgroup this morning. DS was very moany & clingy but he hasn't been sleeping well for the last week or so, waking up several times a night. I wonder if his big molars are starting to come through.

Still good for DS to get out & see other kids though so worth going. I walked there & back with my friend too so a bit of exercise thrown in too. I always feel wiped out after taking DS to playgroups, unfortunately he doesn't agree & just keeps going.

Managed to throw some more of the dead/dying plants into the brown bin & got rid of the runner bean plants which were dying back too. Think the tomato & cucumber plants don't have much longer to go. The patio needs to be brushed & the outsides of the patio doors cleaned.

Will try to get some bulbs planted in pots & maybe some heather for the big pots that don't get moved/stored away over winter as too heavy. The climbing rose in the front needs to be secured as has grown a lot but need DH to help with that & we also need to weed out there too. DH needs to cut the grass but it keeps raining, it's getting longer & longer.

I need to clean the bathrooms tomorrow & put the clean sheets on the bed in the spare room for the outlaws. No doubt they'll moan because the cross trainer is in there but there's nowhere else for it to go.

Also planning on a DS free visit to Mr Al's & Mr M's tomorrow morning as DH doesn't start work until later.

Finally got £50 through from Quidc0 from an offer I did about 6 months ago so have requested that & will have a think about which debt to pay it off.

Did the ironing last night & started a sock monkey, doing a practice one before making DS one for Christmas. Also ordered more cat food, blinking cats always seem to be running out of wet food!

Got out to Mr Al's & Mr M's and also put some diesel in the car. Nice to have a wander round by myself. Used some @mazon vouchers from surveys to order beer & cider from the pantry so saved a bit of money in the supermarket.

My mum & sister came over for a visit for a while in the afternoon which kept DS amused. After they left I cleaned the bathrooms & put the clean sheets on the spare bed.

Got DS settled into bed & then put a washing on and did the big clean of the litter trays. Also did the usual end of day tidy, just need to hoover tomorrow & clean the kitchen properly. Need to stick a loaf on in the breadmaker as well.

Did half an hour of yoga which was good but felt very stiff as it's been so long since I did any. Just going to relax for a while before bed now, hope the outlaws behave whilst they're staying.

The outlaw visit wasn't too bad, it wasn't great but I think I just struggle with being stuck in the same house as them for days at a time.

Didn't help that DH went out for the afternoon with his dad on the first day (leaving me to entertain his mother) & came back for dinner steaming drunk. He was a pain for the rest of the night, wouldn't stop talking & just kept trying to wind me up.

I went to bed early to escape him because I really wanted to kill him. He then followed me & started an argument, saying I was being so obvious about avoiding his parents. I said actually I was avoiding you, get lost (but in a less polite way). He insisted on staying & arguing with me, calling me a psycho! He really is a pain in the butt with too much drink in him.

I'm actually still quite angry about how he behaved & it was days ago now. He just said sorry & seems to think it was fine for him to act like that. Didn't help that his dad kept laughing & that was egging him on. Even his mum told him to stop it as he was going too far. Bloody idiot.

Thankfully I had work to escape to on Saturday so I got a break from the lot of them. On Sunday we took DS to the park in the rain & he was loving the swings. I've ordered him a puddle suit so we can take him out when it's wet & not worry about him getting soaked. He loves the wind & rain. Had an @mazon voucher from SB so used that & only had to pay £4.50 for the puddle suit.

Was at work again on Monday but not back again until Sunday now. DH finally cleared out some of the garage & has listed a few things on eb@y. He'll save the money towards the new cam belt his car will need next year.

Took DS to playgroup again yesterday which he enjoyed, although he still wanted me to pick him up throughout. He kept crawling up to other kids & their parents and butting in. He especially likes the dads at the moment.

After that I had to pick my sister up from a procedure at hospital & take her home. Actually managed to get a parking space at the hospital which is usually impossible. There are pick up & drop off spaces especially for day surgery right outside it but people park there for hours instead of 10 mins so there's never any spaces.

DH came home from work as DS & I were getting out of the car so DS was all excited. DH ended up having to go to bed for a nap though as he wasn't feeling very well.

Have ordered some clothes towards my nieces Christmas presents & saved £16 as there was an offer on. The twins are now finished as they have mini body spray sets, sticker books, notebooks & an outfit each. Got a pair of leggings each for my younger nieces, will look for some tops and have already got them some duplo each.

DS already has a ride in little tikes car waiting in the garage for Christmas and want to get him some small cars/trucks. Still thinking about a wooden activity cube, he always plays with the big one at playgroup so might be worth getting one.

Need to get back to work on my practice sock monkey too so that I can make one for DS for Christmas as well. Has been ages since I made any.

I think I might make a photo calendar for the outlaws with pictures of DS on it. Will wait & see if any discounts come up but will decide which photos I want to use in the meantime. Not sure whether to do one for my mum or not, would probably have to put a few of my nieces & nephews photos in there too.

Have cashed out another £5 from one of my survey sites, will pay it off the CC when I get it.

Had my twin nieces again yesterday, first time in ages, they were desperate to see "wee chubby cheeks" my DS. One also arrived with two right shoes on. She said she thought her shoes "felt funny". My sister didn't even notice, to be honest neither did I until my niece realised.

They helped me do a few small things in the garden whilst DS crawled on the wet grass & got very muddy. I managed to re-pot a plant, plant some bulbs in a couple of pots & do a quick tidy. Still a lot to do to get the garden tidied up before winter though, just no time to do it.

We also made pitta bread pizzas for lunch so the girls enjoyed chopping the onion & garlic for the tomato sauce and said it was delicious.

Did a couple of washings yesterday & that's about it house-wise, apart from the usual flinging of toys off the floor into DS's ball pit, duplo in the plastic tub & books into the bookcase after DS put to bed.

Was at work today, 2 more early shifts to go. I bought a couple of light up spiders for Halloween decorations in the £ shop. DS loves them.

Trying to motivate myself to do some yoga after putting DS to bed then I can have a shower & an early night. Need to ask DH to put a washing of DS's stuff on tomorrow.

I finally managed to do some yoga tonight. Enjoyed it & feel better for it. Need to try my best to do more.

Today I managed to hoover the living room, strip the bed & wash the sheets and remake the bed with a different set. DH hung the sheets out on the line & did a washing of DS's stuff & stuck it in the TD. I took it out & put it away and also submitted our meter readings. I was in charge of dinner, bath & bed time as DH on late shift.

Took DS to playgroup again yesterday & he had a great time charging about. Still refusing to walk but he is very good at climbing everything in sight.

Saw my nieces again last night as it was their birthday recently & also their big brother's. They both loved the fluffy hair bands & lip balm that I threw in with their presents thinking they wouldn't really bother with them. My sister said they were chanting "Chubby Cheeks, Chubby Cheeks" in the car on the way to see my DS. Nutcases.

Still need to sort out the garden for winter, hoping to get my mum to watch DS for a couple of hours next week so DH & I can get it sorted.

Have ordered some EDT for both of my nephews for Christmas & that should do them along with some body spray/shower gel sets I already have for them.

Updated list of contents of present box;

x2 FCUK men's body spray sets (will use for my nephews at Christmas)
x1 FCUK ladies toiletry set (mum for Christmas)
x2 mini Charlie body spray sets (will do older nieces at Christmas)
x2 S&G mini foot cream tubes
x2 x1 Carmex lip balm
x1 small box of gin truffles Past BBE so ate them as didn't want to give as a present
x2 Shopkins notebooks (older nieces Christmas again)
x2 fluffy pens (random girl presents)
x2 photo frames (one for 30th birthday, one fancier but not my taste)
x1 girls t-shirt age 1 size
x12 assorted children's books (will be used for various friends' children)
x1 small Lego Duplo bus (will do for one of my younger nieces at Christmas )
x1 Muppets DVD (younger nieces at Christmas)
x4 Sticker books (x2 for older nieces Christmas)

Have also got an outfit each for my older nieces so their Christmas presents are done. Have leggings for my younger nieces so just need tops for them & another Duplo car. The boys presents will be finished with the EDT I've ordered.

We took DS to the park again today & he had a shot on the swings then we took him round to the pond to see the swans & ducks. Whilst we were there a lady was walking past with her dog who just stopped & wouldn't move, turned out she wanted to come over & see DS in his pram. The lady explained that the dog is a therapy dog who works with children & she just loves them. DS was delighted & the dog was happy for him to touch her and I got a good cuddle too - she was gorgeous & had such a nice temperament. I would love to have a dog but just feel we wouldn't have enough time for one atm.

We met a lovely friendly dog at my sister's last week too, he was so relaxed with DS and just followed him about to see what he was doing. DS was being a bit grabby, the dog was fine as a nice temperament but I don't want DS to think it's ok to treat all dogs like that so DS was removed from the dog if he started pulling at him etc. He knows to be gentle but he still thinks cats & dogs are toys so we have to keep an eye on him.

Forgot to mention that the cats started chasing each other when I was doing yoga the other night & I got kicked in the head when I was doing child's pose. Furry eejits.

We went to Mr M's on the way home from the park for a few things then came home & had an argument over nothing much. Think we were both just tired & fed up. I went & had a nap upstairs for an hour which helped a bit.

Not much done in the way of housework, just put clean towels away.

DS & I got out into the garden this morning for an hour or so. DS had to be strapped into his pram for the first 15/20 mins as I was working in the front garden & there's no fence/hedge to keep him in, just the driveway down to the pavement.

I managed to do a quick weed & tidy, planted a new hebe (£2.49 in Mr Al's) in a bare spot & removed the sweet peas which had died back. The climbing rose needs to be secured as has gone a bit wild but need DH's help with that. Still need to plant some bulbs too. I removed my Blackbeard plant as it wasn't happy & was being buried under the bigger hebes. I split it up & planted into a few containers in the back garden, hopefully it will do better there.

In the back I let DS loose whilst I sorted the Blackbeard out & tidied up in the greenhouse. The tomato plants are definitely on their last legs now. The chillies have white fly again so have sprayed all of them too.

DS was playing on the slide when it started raining quite heavily & I heard a screech. He was lying like an upside down turtle at the bottom of the slide & was not happy. Poor boy but it was funny once I realised he wasn't actually hurt. He had his new puddle suit on so just had to get him inside, wash his hands & strip it off and chuck it in the machine, it was very muddy.

We went to playgroup again yesterday morning & DS had a great time - he managed to beg some mini chocolate fingers from a lady giving them to her grandson. He then crawled around the room putting his hands up to random ladies, wanting picked up. He spends as much time smiling at all the mums & grans as he does playing with the toys.

The walk there & back gave me some exercise, especially pushing the pram up the big hill we live on. DS refused to nap more than 10 mins after playgroup even though he was exhausted. Finally got him to sleep for half hour around 3pm.

Today & tomorrow I'm working late shift so have to drop DS & all his stuff off at my sister's on the way to work. Thankfully she can watch him for a few hours both days, DH will pick him up on the way home. Need to get his stuff organised then my own food etc for work.

Our bank account looks horrendous as we are paid 4 weekly but all the bills come out monthly. Thankfully we get paid again in just over a week.

Thinking of doing a small hamper for the outlaws for Christmas with nice tea, coffee, some new mugs, crackers, biscuits & a bottle of wine in it. We can take it down with us when we visit in November & save ourselves the postage cost too.

Not looking forward to that visit, mostly because they are crazy but also because it will be freezing in their house as FIL hates putting the central heating on even when it's really needed. I'm hoping they'll have it on for DS though otherwise I'll have to put lots of layers on him & just be worrying that he's cold all the time. They also have an open fire in the living room & DS will be over to it like a shot.

Nothing much to report money wise, I cashed another £20 out from PA & will probably put it towards Christmas.

DH is working an overtime shift today & I have a rostered overtime late shift. My mum is going to watch DS for an hour or so between my starting work & DH finishing.

DH & I took DS to ikea for lunch the other day & he really enjoyed the meatballs he had. As usual he was smiling at everyone & a few people stopped to talk to him.

We bought a wee wooden table & 2 chairs for DS for the house, it was £20 which was quite reasonable. DH will build it for him over the next few days. I noticed that DS enjoyed sitting at the tables at playgroup to eat his snack so thought it would be good for him to have one at home too.

We had friends over for lunch yesterday, their two girls were playing with DS and keeping him amused. They are 5 & 6 so were trying to treat him like a doll & he wasn't having it. They kept wanting to lift him & put him in the pram. He wasn't amused at all, had to rescue him a few times.

Horrible day today, wish I didn't have to leave the house! After today's late shift I'm not back until Friday though.

I think I know the one you mean, as we had that for the children. The only problem was that DS kept spilling his juice on it and the hardboard warped. We eventually bought the plastic one and its still going strong,

Hi chanie, yes we looked at the plastic ones too, we'll probably get one of those when he's bigger. There's a good selection of stuff for kids there.

The weather has been horrible since yesterday, pretty much non-stop rain. We were both working yesterday & today we only went out to Mr Al's, DS enjoyed sitting in the trolley.

We got most of the stuff for the outlaws Christmas hamper for about £20 - a bottle of red wine, bag of ground coffee, Earl Gray teabags, dark Seville marmalade, a jar of colossal Greek olives, sea salt crackers, a tin of shortbread & chocolate orange thins. Going to get a bottle of amaretto & some whiskey miniatures and a mug each too. I'll probably put a few travel size toiletries in for MIL as well. Also ordered a photo calendar starring our DS for them.

I also bought some gel sticky Halloween decorations for the windows in our interior doors - wee skeletons & pumpkins, they were only 89p and very cute.

Will try to get DS out to playgroup tomorrow, might have to drive if it's still horrible weather. I have an appointment with the nurse later on for my smear test, not looking forward to it but it's not the worst thing in the world either. Thankfully I can leave DS at home with DH.

I did manage to get to playgroup earlier in the week but did have to drive as the rain was so heavy. DS was a bit clingy again but think it was the start of his latest cold/cough.

Smear test was fine & didn't feel much at all, it was the first since having DS so was a bit worried but it was actually less uncomfortable than the ones pre-baby. Maybe it's just the muscle memory of the extreme trauma of my giant baby exiting with the help of forceps vs a tiny smear test.

On Wednesday the weather was lovely, really sunny & warm, completely different to the day before! I walked into town with DS in the pram & was sweating.

I went to the chiropractor for my back/pelvis & she sorted me out. I was a bit sad as my chiropractor is going back to live in America & she has been treating me for at least 10 years now so will miss her. Her husband is Scottish though so they will keep a flat here & plan on coming back for a few months each year. She said she will do locum work in the chiropractor practice when she's back so to look out for her. The girl who has bought the practice is nice but it won't be the same.

Funnily enough the lady who owns the therapy dog we met in the park the other week turned out to be a friend of my chiropractor. I was telling her about meeting the dog & she was asking me questions & then was like "That's my friend!". How strange.

After the chiropractor DS & I went to see a couple of my friends for a while. On the way home I met my cousin in the street, hadn't seen him in ages so we had a chat for 15 mins or so, then I dropped in to see my mum for a while. Finally got home about 20 to 7! DS & I were exhausted!

I've been at work on earlies the last two days, my mum had DS yesterday for half of the day & he walked about 10 steps on his own when I went to pick him up. He's not repeated it since but I'm convinced now that he's not walking because he's lazy rather than because he can't.

We've actually had two dry sunny days in a row here. DH & I took DS out into the garden yesterday so that he could play whilst we cleared out the greenhouse for winter.

DS enjoyed getting wet & muddy in the grass and playing on his slide so was good for him. Hoping the weather stays dry for a few more days as the grass is sodden & DH needs to give it another cut before winter sets in. The garden furniture could do with a chance to dry out too before being stored away for winter.

So far today all I've done is hoover the living room & do a few surveys. Have been working out what I still need to buy for Christmas & don't think it will be too much more. Need to finish the outlaws hamper, get a few things for DH, my sister, tops for my youngest nieces, a small shared gift for my brother and his GF (probably alcohol) & finish my mum's present.

Need to start DS's sock monkey, buy him some small toys - probably cars & a small activity cube and a book or two. Don't want to get him too much as he doesn't need it and still doesn't really understand Christmas anyway.

Have found a local charity that is asking for gift donations for Christmas presents for children up to age 18 who otherwise won't get much/anything at all. I have ordered a few toiletry sets online for the teenagers as I imagine this is the more difficult age group to buy for/get donations. I also have some books for younger children in my gift box upstairs that I will donate. The drop off points open next week so I can drop the gifts off on one of the days I'm at work.

I like practical charity ideas like this as it's more tangible than giving money. I feel really sad thinking that there are kids who won't get anything for Christmas in my local area. I'm an emotional wreck since having DS & hearing about all the awful things that happen to children even in their own homes is unbearable. So doing something like this makes me feel like I'm helping, even though it's not much in the grand scheme of things.