Frugaleers, keeping their frugal resolutions in the new year. Keep on, erm, resoluting!?

[Cagliostro]

Hello everyone! :)

Catface is so cute! We had tears earlier because the cat ate DD's snack when she put it down to go to the loo!

Girlie that was me at La La Land totally suitable for dd, there's no sex/nudity, violence or bad language. This is what imdb say.
Spa sounds like it was totally effective for you

Snuggly I didn't realise you were pointless

Meadow your time for children will come & you'll be fine

My dc have been home with d&v, my tummy is churning, wish I'd just get ill and be done with it

I'm the opposite, Mammy. I'm almost phobic of vomiting and would rather a few days of diarrhoea and cramping, to being sick. Even when I succumb every few years, I'm only ever sick once or twice and that's it.

Fluffy, hope all is ok with your DH.

Welcome back, Confused.

Glad you had a great time at the spa, Girlie . You deserve it!

Spends : £ 9.70 travel to work.

I am the same with vomiting. I am starting to get better about it but I'm tested tonight as one of DD's friends (with whom she shared a lift) puked up mid-Brownies meeting :( so I'm just hoping we can avoid it. :(

I am generally in a much better mood today though, it's been a really lovely day meeting a new friend, and I'm on a bit of a post-tutoring high this evening. I love it so much. :)

NSD here. Top up shop of veg and bread needed tomorrow and taking DD for cake with my friend and her DD so probably a sub- £10 day. Will use cash I already have.

I'm emetophobic and it's getting worse. Whenever DD is quiet, says she feels poorly or just tired I always ask "are you ok?" and the panicky feeling in my stomach starts. She's not even 4 and she's already clearly exasperated by my constant asking. I'm not sure I can get over it now though.

Thanks for the welcomes!

Somehow the paragraphs in this post have been mixed up but I hope it still makes sense.

Ha Cath, a case of the reality of a child not being the perceived notion eh for some of the parents in your neck of the woods? I agree, a muffin and a hot chocolate saved me a few times on a rainy day in various cafes round our neck of the woods. I could be a lot ruder about Annabel Karmel than I was earlier iykwim?

Btw Cath, DN didn't get into Cambridge. Passed the interview but then went into the 'clearing' system in the various houses (I'm not sure of the correct terminology there, sorry) and no one took him. Shame. But brill he got so far and he's got other excellent offers.

Gina Ford worked brilliantly for my friend, it wouldn't work for me, but you have to find what does I agree wrecked. I'm glad it worked for you Girlie and glad the spa break was wonderful.

Run 10 miles with the club tonight. The dog is asleep on my feet. I have wine. MN. Lovely.

Intresting discussion about parenting. I am fundamentally a fairly relaxed parent because my parents didn't 'hover' much and I turned out okay (I think!). When DS was a newborn I was pretty knackered but I expected to be and knew it would pass so although it was a grind at times I didn't get into a tizz (except about breastfeeding... hideous). The only things I actively stress about now are DS's very picky eating /diet (although I maintain a serene front and stress behind his back, iyswim) and his ASD. Before that came to light I just went with my instincts on most things but ASD is a different beast because my brain doesn't work the same way at all. For a while I really wobbled over discipline, amongst other things (I want to manage bad behaviour but not punish anxiety and it can be hard to distinguish) but I feel that is all becoming a bit clearer now so i am learning to trust my instincts again. I am sure i'll never stop learning though!

Fluffy I hope your DH is okay. You alright?

Girlie glad you had a good time at the spa.
Sounds lovely.

Sorry about your DN Need , if he is disappointed. I am of the view that there is more than one right answer in life (re. careers, life partner, children or not, etc). I always think about that if I have a setback or don't get something I want (a job or whatever). And it's always been true that the road ahead carries on unfolding in interesting ways!

Welcome Confused I've joined since you've been away but was a long time lurker so I think I remember you.

Interesting nutrition info Mammy. I really need to up my game, I have slid into bad habits recently.

I can't remember anything more from up thread as DH's thunderous snoring is destroying my concentration . Was LSD, small top up shop about £10, friend paid for lunch. And I retuned all the maternity wear that I didn't like, about £120 ish.

I am about to get violent. Night night!

Have remembered one thing - Need I am at your DS's appetite! Can you buy shares in wheatabix?

Can't sleep. Again.

Fluffy I hope you and DH are ok.

Thanks all for the food ideas.

Re: babies I can't remember much TBH. It was a blur of hideous PND! Back then I had no idea I had ASD myself, and I was only 20 when I had DD. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat though, they are worth it. Understatement.

Ah confused I sympathise with the emetophobia. I have been there with the constant asking - any time they look a bit funny or cough in a weird way etc. The utter panic when they came out of school at 3pm joyfully reporting that someone had been sick and not knowing if it was a bug or something non-contagious.

I hate to say it but what has 'cured' me (well, vastly improved anyway) was simply time and the inevitability of vomiting happening in a house with two small kids. I don't get sick much still but definitely more since having them and while I worked in a library i.e. lots of public. DD got stress migraines for a while as well so puking was part of it. Anyway, sorry I am rambling but basically now that it's happened more, I really am getting better at dealing with it, simply through becoming desensitised to it. That's not to say the panic is gone but it's no longer ruling my life (it really had got to that stage - and DD was becoming similar).

I am keeping my lovely tutoring spreadsheet up to date. Date, name, subject, lesson length, cost. Satisfying and frankly surprising how quickly it adds up. It's bloody brilliant not having to use my earnings for bus fares though now that we have our bus passes sorted.

Can't sleep so have been trying to catch up on the thread. Can't really keep up with you lot though!
LSD yesterday. £1.70 on travel and £1.50 on some bread rolls. I remembered I had some soup in the freezer that I was able to quickly defrost for my lunch - so that saved me a bit.

Lifelong and Italian - The nursery we wanted to send dd to is attached to our local school. We live really close! However they are drastically changing their nursery in September so that it's open 8 - 6 daily rather than running the traditional morning and afternoon sessions. They have upped their free nursery provision to 30hrs a week and changed their admissions criteria so that people paying to top up their childcare to a full time place get priority rather than using distance to school. It works out much much cheaper for a 8-6 full time week there than it would at a private nursery. Maybe by up to £500 a month even. It makes it very attractive for families who have no intention of sending their dc to the actual school itself. We don't want 8 - 6 childcare so were too low down the list. Had we got in our childcare bill would have dropped from about £600 a month to £200 a month which sucks! We are something like 15th on the waiting list. Her best friend is 70th! We also now have to sort out what to do with dd next year instead as I'd always just assumed she'd get in. The other nurserys attached to local schools are also all over subscribed so we will probably be on the waiting list for our next closest one too.

Back on the money theme I think I am going to download YNAB too. It sounds good.

I'm hoping for another LSD today. My food is sorted but I think I'll need some later!

Some wine later.
Sorry for the nursery rant too! It went on longer than I expected...

Interesting to hear all the reactions to puking, I slept pretty much straight away at 8.45 and feel fine this morning

Hope your dd doesn't catch it cag do you find they're ill less with not being in school?

Hoping for nsd.

My dresses arrived yesterday but as I wasn't I. They didn't deliver them so I'll have to go pick them up. Helpfully the place is only open between 9-5 mon-fri. Even more helpful is that it's on my way to the stables so will be passing on Saturday when they're not open.

Payday tomorrow.

Could you fit a parcel drop box outside your flat? It would save a lot of running about. Definitely look into them for when you buy a house.

snuggly I had no idea that you were pointless! Hello!

That's great that your DN did so well Need. I hope that he finds a place he feels really at home. That's what counts.

Em bet they close for lunch too!!
I get most things delivered to work for this reason

We used to send everything to mil house.

I had another name in between but I can't for the life of me remember it!
Meeting a friend for coffee this morning then hospital this afternoon. Also need to buy vitamins and give my mum the cash I owe her so it looks like being quite a spendy day.

Ah they can't deliver to work because it might not be me who signs for it. So frustrating.

I'll have to go at lunchtime tomorrow. A nice drive to the country on the closed roads.

Thanks mammy yes I'd say they get ill less and so do I, which is a huge blessing as even a cold makes me so much more ill than usual. I think it also helps that I'm not working in a public place anymore too as I definitely picked up more there. We still get bugs but not such a faff now I guess as it's easier to stay at home and rest before it gets too bad.

I have a nice morning to myself as DH has taken the Caglets to trampolining. I'll have to meet them later while they have climbing/gym (did I ever mention Thursdays are crazy ) and then I reckon we will go to the library to hang out before heading to Badgers (via the park for a bit if it's not too miserable out there). I still feel a bit funny going to the library. I don't really miss the job anymore TBH, it's more feeling judged by some of the staff there who didn't even try to understand the illnesses I have. I have good friends there too though and anyway we will just sit in the children's bit and do some of their project work.

That's good to go back Cag. I'm really interested to realise that it was a library where you worked. I can see how you would really enjoy that. I spent ages before trying to guess what your job was and never could.

I'm off to meet my new NHS GP in a minute. Fingers crossed he's nice.

cag I noticed my dd got sick less when we changed to having an au pair instead of going to a childminders house

I've done the full range of parenting, I panicked all the time with dd1 (never put her down, spent hours getting her to sleep and then would wake her up to check she was ok, ebf on demand, cloth nappies etc), she turned into a tantrum monster, and was a bit spoiled, at 14 she is a delight! Dd2 basically Gina Forded herself, an angel baby. Dd3 was, and is quite feral. I was newly single and just did whatever was needed to get through the day, co slept, fed to sleep for naps etc. Ds has no routine, he still comes in to cosleep most nights, eats well but from a very limited range, and gets away with everything, he's 4.5 now, very spoiled by his daddy and dd2.

I think early years parenting is something to get through, which ever way you can, and if you enjoy it then it's a bonus! I think I hit about a 75% enjoyment level, all in all. Miss them being babies a bit, but really enjoying these 'middle' years.

On a frugal note, stuck at the shop on my own all day, so no sneaking off shopping. Have spent £3 on milk and biccys for the shop (will recoup from till), and even brought a sandwich for lunch. By the end of the month I think I'll only be about £600 overdrawn, last month it was £1.4k, so a vast improvement.

Gosh, long, sorry!

I had a good morning!

I saw my new GP and he was wonderful. He asked all the right question and listened and explain all the test results from my previous doctor's practice, that they'd never bothered to explain before. It was great.

Anyway, he says that's nothing nasty wrong with me like Crohn's or anything and I'm just super-strung-out and fixable, so I'm back to the listening lady.

Yay!

Gawd, it's taken literally years to find someone who would have that conversation properly with me. So nice to know we have a good GP now.

NSD so far, but I sincerely doubt that it will last.

Oooo!

Also I just got a really nasty letter in the post from that dietitian saying that she's waived the fees for the appointment and she never wants to hear from me again. Mutual then.

Yay!

Still an NSD. This is unprecedented.