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

[Cagliostro]

Hello, all welcome!

Hello all, I am lying out on the sofa in a food coma! Just ate a ridiculous amount of spag bol and garlic bread was sooooo good though!!

Am letting dd stay up to watch Harry Potter if she makes me a cup of tea

LSD 50p on a drink, went to a fun day at a local park but made dd take her own money to waste on raffles etc. There was a climbing wall there which was free and dd made the most of that!

50p loaf of bread.

Just checked bank balance. It could be worse but we'll have to be super careful unt DH gets paid.
I still have some maternity clothes I could sell but they're all warm wintry stuff so probably better to wait a few weeks.

Feeling a bit fed up tonight. Think I need a change of scene and more adult company. Feels like it's all about the kids at the moment who are lovely but I need to do something for me. Not sure what!

You need a spa day snuggly.

Oh hotel WiFi.

Need your do need to message me your holiday details as it sounds awesome.

Not keeping any budget or tracking spending.

Is lonely on holiday too? There was a cycle race near us before and they put a power bank right opposite our house (given how rural we are it was quite a novelty). The people running it were lovely and gave the dc left over flapjacks and biscuits. The cyclists just threw their banana skins on the road though

Nice dinner. Have given dparents some of the fish - were not going to eat it all otherwise.

Just entered a competition with feel unique on Facebook - to win some clarins goodies.

Dm just asked what I want for my birthday (not until oct but she likes to get things early). I've asked for vouchers for shops and also clarins. She bumbled off to the loo and was taking a while so I went to investigate. Turns out she was snapping pics of the clarins stuff I use. So she knew what to buy #legend

Dh spent £12 at the shop on chicken salad and crispies.

i just spent a stack of money on usborne sticker dressing books. They cost a lot but they're a bit of a life-saver when I've got the lurgy and have to look after ds alone all day. Also amazon prime, which is great.

Just checking in.. We have had DGSs staying all weekend.. but its been no spend! (except for my cheap 'escort child' ferry ticket to take him back and car park today) . How? lots of fun in the garden and on the beach and DS took him out all day yesterday)..

Tired though - we grans can forget how full-on 4 year olds can be !
so early night for me and ill post more tomorrow

Hope you all had a good weekend ..

Hello! I've been out all day, just catching up.

Same night as usual Need but thanks for asking. It's a bit better at the weekend because DH does one of the night feeds so I get a 4-hr stretch of sleep. I've been on fire today as a result of all the sleep!

100 thanks for the advice about Omeprazole. GP did mention it but said to try Gaviscon first as the other is quite strong stuff. I am trying the gaviscon but it's hard to tell if it helps as I have to guess which feed she will take most if and use it then (says max 6 doses per day and she has a lot more smaller feeds. So far so random, no idea if it's working and i'm about to run out!)

We've had a better day though. Yesterday the toilet training was a bit traumatic because DS is clearly constipated. He went really often, nothing happened, and in between times he squirmed a lot and soiled lots of pants and trousers (11 complete changes of 'bottoms' in all!). Today we were due to meet some friends for a picnic in a London park. After much dithering we recklessly decided to go and DS was pretty good (few changes of pants but no big accidents). And the weather was glorious, company good and we had a lovely picnic... I made brownies and smoked salmon sarnies from what I had in so no big spends, just crisps and dip. DS was thrilled to go on the tube and had a lovely run around. DD was fussed over and admired and given some lovely gifts. Only downside was that I saw some photos of myself - BLOB BLOB BLOB . I have to do something about that, I can't even blame the baby for my extra chins

Glad you had a good day Cag - any news on FIL?

You are getting really serious about this running Need! Step away from the clothes I am a hypocrite

Someone asked about student loans - I think ingeberal they do affect mortgages. They usually take into account the cost of servicing that debt.

Snuggly sorry you've had a bad day and I know exactly what you mean about loving them but needing a break. Hope you find an outlet soon.

I must look back to see what I've forgotten but right now I'm off to sleep.

More water in the garage - ive contacted my usual plumber, hope he can find the source and that it isn't £££.

Night night

NSD for me until ten minutes ago when I spent €20.50 on a 10 pack of tailwind. It's an endurance fuel enhancer for running, I don't use gels or even food/snacks when running & think I need to change this. Have need or holly heard of it or used it?

We had a day of dh cutting grass & doing jobs outside & me sorting out dc's room & ours. I can see our floor again I said to dh we could get cleaner for an extra hour every second week to sweep & mop both bedrooms upstairs & he agreed. Will be €6.50 extra weekly but will ensure we need to keep floors clear of clutter too

After that we'd a late lunch & headed out exploring sites at next village to ours & then dh paid for dinner le yum

Need that view is amazing
Em well done to your dh bringing home all that fish, gutted I hope
Your dm is very thoughtful

Scarlet hi there have you been through your bills to see what you could scrape off?

Tayto found letter from bank will take pic of conditions for you

Snuggly book club, running club, jazz night what's your thing?
Seacow your dd is only small & things are full on with your ds too, your figure will come back too, don't be too hard on yourself

I'm back - I've had my 90min allotted sleep, thanks DD!

Lonely i am glad you are happier with your new phone and that DH 'got it' and was understanding about your disappointment (which is fair enough). But a good result in the end.

em I've never known a Kiev where the butter doesn't run out! If anyone knows how to stop it I'd love to know!

Sunny hope you feel better soon.

Unusually, this evening DD slept in her buggy for a couple of hours while we tidied up and ate dinner together. I enjoyed getting things done but said to DH that I was rather missing her too. He said i have Stockholm syndrome

christmas I think the stockholm syndrome is totally true, especially with babies who are really hard to sooth. I used to get about an hour off a month, after working 24/7 normally, and I'd spend it looking at baby photos.

My DH's speciality is chicken kiev, so I can ask him if you want to know. I just know that he hits chicken with a hammer a lot when he is making it.

I'm knackered from not eating and drinking, and looking forward to a day of child care. I wonder if 7 is a good age to teach dc to be kind to ailing parents? Zzzzzz

Oh I'd love a spa day! I don't think it's happening for a while though. I'm going to arrange an evening out with friends just for a curry or something. I'm considering joining a local choir. I'm not a great singer but there's no audition it's a just for fun thing and I do enjoy music.

Have put the heating on for an hour! House was freezing. Cat has been complaining
since 4am and I was cold under the duvet. It's good actually cos it reminded us the controls are really dodgy and to get it seen to before he winter.

mammy sadly no - the fish weren't gutted. They were still very much wiggling around. But I dealt with them - one of the "man skills" ddad taught me. Tonight's dinner I think will be couscous salad with paprika fried mackerel and salad. The bass has been frozen (for some reason Mackerel don't freeze well (I think it's because they're quite oily) and the other fish has been allocated for a lovely curry.

sunny see I didn't hammer the chicken flat I kept it in it's been original shape. I have seen recipes where the chicken is sewed up once the butter is in but who seriously has time for that? I think Jamie olivers Kiev recipe gets you to wrap the chicken in bacon but I didn't have any of that...next time maybe.

Either way it was tasty as.

life, will message when I get back, just phone and IPad over here. Hope you are having fun.

seacow!! Give yourself a break re how you look for at least these next few weeks until DD settles. Do what you need to do and eat what you need to eat until that time. You've got somewhat of a full plate at the minute (no pun intended), once the early months settle down, tackle what you need to tackle. It's easy for me to say, and quite trite, but I bet you don't look as bad as you think. Your posts always come over to me as coping fantastically with a high needs DS and a small DD that is unsettled, I think you should give yourself a bit more kudos for that than you do. Any news on DS's appeal etc?

mammy, how far you running in one go, time-wise not distance? I'll be able to judge better then. I've looked at the brand though, it wasn't an energy product I was familiar with so I had to google and for running, it was on some of the ultra running websites I know of so its definitely out there and used. Especially in the cycling world, so lonely might be of some assistance too.

Amazon prime is a great thing isn't it Sunny?! Would any of your friends have DS for the day, maybe one of his classmates? We used to do this a lot when the DC were little and we needed to work or whatever.

Em that is such a thoughtful thing of your DM to do,what a lovely person. Can I send her a photo or two of my favourite products please

Sorrento today for a bit of shopping and meandering. We are finding a lovely balance between lazing at the villa, then having a few hours out and about exploring.

Em, Harissa works well on mackerel too.

Sorry seacow, I didn't reply. I am serious about my running. I was before I was injured but doubly so now. That's partly because I was out for so long and I realise what it meant and partly because it's easier now the DC are older.

I also think it will bridge the gap brilliantly as the DC start to go to Uni. You know me, I'll miss them terribly, especially DD but I'd rather have my life nicely in place and busy and try and stick with looking for the positive changes than dwelling.

need sure - send pics!! Haha! Dm is good. She knows that while we both have good jobs our money may be reallocated to different things soon and also knows that we probably (or I probably) won't feel like going shopping with baby boy for a while. So she's keeping me stocked up.

Oooh sorrento. I loved it there. So pretty. We found a great restaurant which served not your typical Italian tourist food (buffalo, wild boar Ragu etc...) I can't remember the name but it had like a red circle with devil horns as its logo. In the main square there was a shop selling produce with the same logo...

Had the nicest freshest pasta dish there too - just linguini, olive oil black pepper and sorrento lemon zest and juice. Yummmm.

Also if you walk through the streets there was a shop selling Christmas decorations. We were there in May a few years ago and in a bit of a limoncello haze I found it on our first night then couldn't find it again. Dh was convinced I'd made it up. Last day there we stumbled upon it again. And I ended up spending a fortune on beautiful blue glass Christmas baubles.

Seacow I got Stockholm syndrome when we came out of scbu

Sunny when I was ill last week my dc let me stay in bed all day and dd(7) made her and ds(4) lunch. She also got me drinks. They played board games downstairs and watched films in bed with me.

Need have a fun day exploring.

We're going to the local NT place with a friend today and having a picnic so should be a nsd.

Wreck your kids sound great. When I was three a used to pour coffee for my dm from a flask if she was ill. My ds is not so much like that but is doing sterling work today.

Em My dh says that this is how to make chicken kiev. Mix the butter with the herbs and put that in the fridge so it is a cold hard lump. He says put the chicken between two layers of cling film and hit with a hammer until it is flat. Then take the cling film off and wrap the butter in the chicken and seal with egg, coat the whole thing in egg and then breadcrumbs, then fry in butter. I asked how much butter and he couldn't remember. He says either deep fry or just shallow fry in half a centrimetre maybe. He says definitely not just a tiny spray of oil that coats the frying pan. Proper butter he says.

I think this is one of these recipies that is sponsored by the pensions authority.

Ds and I are trying follow your advice and keep me warm and stationary in bed to get better faster. Hoping that works.

Sunny the Caglets loved those usborne sticker dressing books, the favourite was unsurprisingly the Greek myth one! They cut pages out of it and used them as posters :o

Thank you seacow FIL should be having an angiogram today so will know more then!

Got specialist health visitors coming today to talk to us about what help is available for kids with autism. In terms of the NHS it is "fuck all" (money) but there's lots of charities who do events and stuff I think. Will be talking about DD's sleep too.

Also we found some non-plumbed fridges with water dispensers!!! They have a tank in the door. So exciting! However the problem is that we aren't sure if they will actually fit through the door/awkward little hallway of our tiny house. We are going to investigate. We will need to leave a fridge behind anyway (white goods were provided but the LLs already have the washing machine... it stopped working but they took it home anyway ). So we are thinking another option could be to get a used one for now - just a normal upright fridge freezer which would still be a little bigger than what we have now - and then get the fridge of our dreams :o when we actually move. Frustrating though. Damn hallway has caused no end of problems moving stuff in here.

Sainsburys Tu is supposed to be 25% off tomorrow.

D"I don't want a dressing gown"H now wants a dressing gown. I told him he needed a new one. I'd redeemed 1000 points on a pizza express coupon so I'm frantically doing surveys to make up for it.

Our fridge has a water tank. You're not allowed to put wine in it though 🙄

Oh the only thing with the tank is that it means you can't fit a six pint bottle of milk in. It's not a problem for us as we don't use much milk but just worth considering as you'll soon have a milk monster caglitini