April 2015 thread 6: our Christmas puddings are half cooked, now bring on the glow!

[BrixtonBunny]

We were getting perilously close to being full up, hope no one minds!

I meant like Mswibbles you get a breakdown of what you'll get paid on which dates very handy.

I also have a spreadsheet of outgoings. But DH will have to sub me by the end don't think I'll be able to cover it all when the money dwindles. We managed last time so have no worries about doing it again this time and now we will have 2 children we will be entitled to tax credits again. I've been playing with the tax credit calculator, adjusting my working hours etc to see if we could manage if I reduced my hours.

It wouldn't make us that worse off that it's not feasible but I'm not sure if I could convince DH it's a good idea. Then again he hates that DD is in nursery and would have her with one of us if it was possible so might be able too. Would need proper figures from payroll first though and a dragon's den worthy pitch.

Feeling awfully this morning, so wish I didn't have to work or take ds1 to school or help supervise the preschool party or pick up 5 school age kids at 1.15 or make mince pies or do some ironing! Really don't want to do anything but sit on the sofa dozing!

I got my breakdown last week... a bit sad to see those numbers

Less than £600 a month... Good thing I have been saving and DH will be able to sort out bills. I can cover my share of nursery and mortgage...

Cinnamon - hope you get a chance for a restorative cup of tea or coffee. If I were you I would sack off the mince pie making. Then again bought ones always taste nicer than mine, you probably have a better technique!

I am going to buy a jar of brandy butter and pop a large teaspoonful under each pie lid before warming them through in oven. Starving now...

We had takeaway last night, must be a theme. DH popped his head around the door as he came in and was like "takeaway?" Lol.

Not having to work much(I mean I do like half a day a week of admin stuff for the business) is nice when pregnant. Yesterday I was feeling tired so I stayed in bed and today I feel like I might have picked up a sore throat from the plane. It's a real shock too to drop down from dual incomes to one usually, but I think people manage it.

So feeling quite lucky that I don't have many demands on my time, going to watch some Christmas TV today. Once this one is born that's it, I'll never have a pregnancy like this where I can just relax and take things slow.

I do need to pickup my matB form at some point though as I will be making use of SMP while I can't keep up with the business admin.

I have my ready rolled pastry and jar of mince meat ready for Monday when I have DD all day again. After doing biscuits the other week with her and the disaster it was. I'm going to cut the bottoms and lids out first and she can wield the teaspoon! Make life easier for myself.

And now I fancy a mince pie...

We had a roast dinner last night, had friends over some had an excuse to go all out, despite filling the oven to bursting point it was mostly gone last night and DH appears to have taken everything but the sprouts for lunch! Luckily I kept a box of yorkshires and stuffing uncooked so I can make those up for today and when I can drag my arse off the sofa I'm going to get another three tins of potatoes to make a new batch of toffee potatoes and a tray of ready to go veg, so we can have a new roast for dinner tonight rather than the bubble and squeak I had planned... So much for the quick easy dinner we were meant to have tonight!

I've found Morrison's bakery minced pies to be gorgeous btw for those of us too lazy to make them :p

I'm not entitled to smp so I'll be on maternity allowance (a whooping £94 a week I think!) but with the ridiculous amount of money i'll save on travel we'll be better off before even taking into account the raised child tax credits etc and we're in the fortunate position that we have less in the way of outgoings than most people anyway

Going to go out later and buy some, anyone tried waitrose ones? I have Tesco or waitrose here but if waitrose are better I'll walk to that. No morrisons near by sadly

Urgh my ear is hurting, I must have caught something very annoying I hope it goes before Christmas!

I have sinus headache and all the students are having a party next door in the refectory, which isn't helping the throbbing in my head. I'm also getting peckish, is it too early to make a pasta Mugshot?

never too early for a pasta mugshot, I usually have a cuppa soup around this tiem to stave off hunger.
Although today i've had a spam and egg butty and a guy in our office bought me a cracker of Malteasers seen as he can't get me a drink at the works do later :)
mmmmm malteasers...

Just had to google pasta mugshots

They are for parkrun tomorrow so kind of have to smogsville but I do feel better after going outside, just tired. Had lunch and now going to iron before school run while littlies nap and then have a cuppa when home and watch doctors before commencing mincepies. I make pastry but buy a jar of mincemeat. Ds2 is very excited about making them so can't let him down!

Cinnamon, you're a good woman.

Siarie - I've only tried the waitrose ones as too lazy to go anywhere else, it's so close I basically use it as a larder. I bought too many for our advent party a couple of weeks ago so many donate a box to the food bank as no way my family will get through 36, even it they are the mini ones!

Boo I think it must be more than that, it was £125ish in 2011-12, it can't have gone down since then I hope?

I earn £104 a week, so because I'm below the £130ish amount it's 90% of my wages (because it's whichever is lowest of the two amounts) which brings me to £94 (£93.60 but I have it in my head they round up?) :(

Well I hope they round it up too in the name of common decency Boo.

Yes it £138.18 a week from 1st October 2014.

boo do the child tax credits, or whatever they're called not help top you up? or do you only get them when you go back to work?
I'm not really sure how all that works.

I've just worked out mine with our accounts director and he's said that because 37 weeks leave from the due date will take us up to the end of December next year that I can roll over 2 weeks of my holiday pay to January. So i can take 2 weeks holiday before due date/leave and 2 weeks hol at the end.
DH isn't taking any parental leave, they will just let him book as holidays which is good so that we won't be stung financially by 2 lots of parental pay.
I think it's 37weeks total but I know some is classed as Maternity and some is the new parental leave. It's all pretty confusing.

Woohoo get to go home in half an hour. Think I'll have a sneaky nap before going to pick up DD and DH.

Mmmm sneaky nap. Am in freezing cold park with DD.

On paternity leave, are the men meant to inform a new employer if a baby is due within a certain timeframe?

If for example I were to start a new job at 22 wks preg, I think I would be legally obliged to tell my prospective employer (assuming they didn't guess). But what about DH?

hiding I don't think child tax credits are taken into account for earnings with maternity allowance, but the increase to child tax credits and child benefit from bump (and not to mention DH's working tax credits because my measly maternity allowance won't count towards our combined earnings so he'll get working tax credits again) will bring it back up so we'll be better off until the 39 weeks of maternity allowance run out.

smog I believe so, I think he'd need to fill out a new form ( DH's work gave him an official looking form to fill out I assume that's normal?)