The Friendly Frugaleers, watching the pennies as we wait for sunshine!

[Cagliostro]

Hello, all welcome!

Waiting for my appointment. Ooof it's warm here.

Dh has been given a telling off at his work for not coming with me to appointments. I'm not bothered. Should I be? He's been for the scans and will obviously be there for the "outing of the boy"

All done. All good. Am now 75kg! So have put on two stone. Which isn't bad.

Dh bought me a sandwich - yay!

em DH only came to the 'big' appointments i.e. the one where I was getting a scan and then another one near the end stage. At one stage (when I was further into the pregnancy) I had appointments every fortnight. There's no way he'd have got that much time off work. Maybe if you're a private patient your appointments run on time but I was a public patient so I was always waiting hours - hours to see the nurse and then waiting again (a shorter period this time) to see the obstetrician.

I'm a public patient tayto but I've been lucky in that, aside from my booking appointment I've been able to choose times which suit me. I've always gone for a lunchtime one - mostly so it's less disruptive for work (even though I am allowed to go to appointments whenever, and still take a lunch break) I figured coming in at 9 leaving at 10 then leaving again at lunchtime is just too much.

I'm not bothered dh hasn't attended. There's not much for him to do. Realistically I'm doing it all.

Have just had a nosebleed. Another sign that pregnancy is super glam. Sigh. Apparently totally normal though so not concerned.

Have just received a form to make a payment into my pension. Usually I do this in December but figured it's better to do it before I go on leave so I don't forget. Tomorrow is going to be a spendy day... bye bye £6k (for now - I'll get it back when I'm retired....).

And have received two emails from hush today. "Dear em look at what we have. Go on. Have a look. Just a look. No obligation to buy. Just click here. And look. Oh and incase you do want to buy, here's a code for 10% off. Go on. Just a little look won't hurt..." resisting so far.

Must get back to work.

I only take Dh if I won't be able to drive after & vice versa. People have jobs to do at the end of the day.

£3 Aldi.

Em I had fortnightly appointments and monthly scans. Dh came with me for the 12 and 20 week scans but that's it. I'm a big girl I can do that stuff on my own!

Yep. I even went and had my endoscopy on my own.

So full after my lunch. £27 for me and the dc. Was so good.

Oooh humous! Looks awesome wreck.

I know. I don't feel dh needs to be there. (Only benefit of him coming along is that he buys me a sammie after...!) he's invited to them all but no pressure. I'm a big girl so can do it on my own. Just thought it was odd he'd been getting pressure from his work to accompany me.

I've hit the 330 (almost) slump.

Same here with DH, big scans and birth.

He hasn't ever come to a school appointment or a doctors or anything for either DC. Don't get me wrong, they are his world, but like wrecked says, I can handle all that stuff, I just see no point in him trying to rearrange stuff at work to listen to the same things I am hearing.

Caveat is that obviously we have the company to consider.

If there was serious medical stuff, of course that's different.

We have procured a pony for a couple of months so DD can compete. This one is an all rounder so we can jump and do other stuff too. Box needed fuel so £80.

Thats good about the pony need will this take you through to the end of the season? What will you do about your dpony when he's fit again (next year?) will he still be sold?

Watched the JO last night, will be making the frangipane tart, I am an almondaholic.

Just spent £24 on maccy d's for lunch. Your lunch looked fo much nicer wreck !

4 miles on my new blades, and we trekked round the big park in Carlisle that I've never been to only lived near it for 18 years lots of smooth tarmac, so will try it out for skating soon.

My spiralizer has come, so we're having left over bologanaise sauce with courgettie tonight as an experiment. I take it that you only cook it for a few seconds (steam it?) or it would be mush.

Oh, and Lakeland blueberry and pomegranate licorice is utterly devine and almost gone

Spends yesterday: £4.85, on buses and a bottle of water. £43.50 will come out today, for the Sainsburys online shop, which came yesterday.

Enjoy the last day of your holidays, Life.

lonely I've actually never cooked courgettie. When I've had it I just make the bokognaise sauce and once cooked I throw it through the courgettie. dh wouldn't let me have a spiraliser so I buy it sometimes

A friend of mine does sweet potato or butternut noodles and deep fries them. Mmmm.

I didn't watch JO last night but that's ok the agenda for tonight (while I'm sorting paperwork, making pension payments, etc etc).

It is 29 degrees here. My feet have puffed a bit. Aaaaah. Tomorrow will be wearing sandals.

I cannot wait for the cooler weather.

Tried every shop on my way to the car for rissotto rice. Apparently it's unavailable everywhere on island in the two shops I visited

My science grant is turning out to be interesting. It's meant to pay for bits of a sort of invention thing that I am to build.

It turns out though that the order process is so cumbersome that I'll be lucky to receive the parts more than a month before the final exhibition where the finished wotsit is to be shown.

It's just as well I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing. If I'd been planning to wing it, then I'd have been in trouble.

Baby-wise, my dh comes to all appointments. I think it's a personality thing really. We just like to hang out and do things together and he has a job where that is okay.

em we'd be given an appointment time e.g. 10.30. Then you'd turn up to discover that hundreds of other people (ok I'm exaggerating but only slightly) had been given the same time. There were two nurses to see all the patients. After waiting about an hour, the nurses would go on break at the same time.....

Home now. Washing on. Stressing for tomorrow.

My dh did the scans and nowt else. We tag team the school and doctors crowding on who can get time off

I'm not keeping up here at all ((waves)) I've not forgotten you guys

What's happening tomorrow lifelong?

Interview for my job

Good luck Life. You will smash it I am sure. Have faith.

It's definitely what works for the family involved re visits etc isn't it?

Thanks Lonely. We've got her until the end of the season. The owners then want to sell. It works for them too, as DD is a more experienced rider than their DC, so makes the pony look 'better' iyswim? Easier to sell and adds possible value. She's a tad bolshy if given the opportunity I feel, but an extremely willing pony. Just needs to know who is in charge, and it's not her! Our own pony will be back next season, we will see how DD copes with A Levels to see when we sell him.

Skates look great and 4 miles is awesome. Must be so much fun!

I did my first run of my new program today. 4 miles at 8.30 mm. Bootcamp tonight.

All that being said, our best mates DF has just been put on end of life care and DH dropped everything today at work to pick them up the airport. He seems to have rallied a bit though, which is good.

Oh need sorry to hear that. Is that your friend who is poorly herself too.
I hope so but I don't feel very prepared and there is a lot of competition. What will be will be.
Not looking back in august. Will restart September as still have school shoes and trainers to buy

Oh that's awful need it's great that your DH could be there for him though. Really makes a difference in times like this and I'm sure it is appreciated beyond measure

Best of luck life!

Had a nice lunch with friend today, we tried a pub I'd seen on a bus route. I'm really glad we did go just us as I'd planned to try it with the Caglets but it turned out to be a rather fancy expensive sort of place and not the cheap family pub I thought it was. Lovely food but the kids wouldn't have enjoyed it.

Free science resource today. DH found a tiny dead frog so it is now under the microscope! :o

I can't actually remember if DH came to everything with me the first time, I know he always came to scans but probably not always the rest, certainly not DS (his was the most low maintenance pregnancy). He didn't get to attend the early scan this time round which was sad TBH as I was so full of panic (convinced something had gone wrong) but mum came instead. He's not come to any antenatal/consultant stuff, and may not make it to the last few scans, but I'm not bothered, obviously it's nice if they can be there to see them or hear the heartbeat etc but it's all just routine stuff now. He's a really hands on dad and it's when the babies arrive that it really counts!

Through work I meant BTW, he would definitely come to scans if he was off (Caglets are old enough to sit in waiting room alone). But antenatal if he's off it makes more sense for him to stay home with them really.

Very best of luck with the interview, Life.

Cool thing happened today! I received a copy of one of the books I edited. It has my photo and mini biography on the back too! :o