Frugaleering, cakes and baby talk

[Taytocrisps]

Just starting off a new thread as the other one was getting full.

www.hotukdeals.com/vouchers/iceland-stacking-codes-saving-19-min-on-40-spend-inc-delivery-2806623 £25 free food at Iceland delivered.

Asda are doing their 3lt slow cookers for £9. I've had mine 10+ years. I use it as a giant soup maker this time of year. You can do the veg in oil for an hour & then add the pulses etc for 2hrs top.

Love That sounds awful, I remember deserted railway car parks in the winter.

MORning. Since we’re all raving about JO... the rustic gnocchi was le yum.

Tonight’s dinner is the gnarly peanut chicken I think (it’s on the list for one day this week anyway).

I git s bit cross with dh yesterday. We’d had dinner, I was having a lavender bath. Ds started crying. I could hear dh getting a bit annoyed about it. “You’ve just been fed. You can’t want anymore...” I yelled from the bathroom he should change him...got out of the bath 15 minutes later and ds was still crying and hadn’t been changed. Sigh.

We had quiet words. Dh said he’d been working all day and how was he meant to know... am letting it slide this once. We’re both getting used to things he is tired and is working. But I pointed out that I had been up with ds every night etc and was also tired. And that sometimes Ds doesn’t want feeding. He wants changing. Or a cuddle. So try those as well.

He’s made me a cup of tea and toast in bed this morning though. With a bowl of cut up fruit.

Should be a lsd today. I’m down to my last half pack of Maternity pads and had asked dh to swing into boots on his lunch. But he’s going to the gym so won’t have time.ds and I are going out in the car to the west of the island where there’s a small boots with a car park.

We may also swing by the riding stables to say hello.

Men

Free Lindt chocolate on shopmium for new accounts. The codes KFGMHKGK. I got it off the save the student website. Free Gu puddings too.

I know... I’ve let it slide this once. If he says it again I’m going to ram a whisk up his arse be a bit cross and/or upset.

He’s just got in the shower and I think is hinting at a lift to work. It’s raining... I would but we’d need to leave now to have any hope of getting him there on time. Although in reality it’s a 10 minute drive traffic is so bad especially in the rain it usually takes almost an hour...

Okay, I'm feeling better about my baby years now. The whisk sounds like the way to go.

Flu jab for me today. I have my fingers crossed as last year's knocked me over for a week. I'm hoping for maybe four days this year.

Morning all! Just debating whether to take baby DD to the doctor's. She sounds terrible but I think she's blocked up rather than on her chest. She slept well (all night!) and is playing, smiling and feeding as normal.
My instinct tells me she just has a cold and that going and sitting in a hot waiting room with more I'll people won't help but she sounds like Darth Vader!

Supermarket tonight. Shouldn't be too expensive as I've planned to use up stuff from the freezer and cupboards but typically we've run out of things like washing powder and catch food.

Morning all. Should just be travel and food today.

Bit concerned as my fasting sugars are creeping up. So I need to phone the diabetic clinic I think.

I think that if she's happy in herself and feeding, then maybe give it a bit more time Snuggly No temperature?

Em The gnarly chicken was utterly amazing, we had it on Saturday night. So good. I suspect you might need to grit your teeth with each other at times in the next few months (not an excuse for bad behaviour obviously), it's a tiring and stressful time having a newborn and young baby.

Cheers Fluffy I'll take advantage of the chocolate offer.

Do I need a flu jab? I feel left out

Loads to do to today but slept really well so full of energy to do so!

Oh and Creme waves hello to you all.

And hope you are okay Cag.

whisk That just made me snort my coffee! .. Ah, Em things will be up and down.. You seem to be doing really well though . I am sort of envious though reading how much your Dh is involved.. Sadly my exh was not at all engaged inthe idea of pregnancy or baby.. and I did it all on my own . He left when DS was just a couple of weeks old.. .. Actually dreadful as that sounds - and yes he was an utter bstd and I had stuck withhim far to long - It was in fact the best thing he ever did for us! .. my mistake was ever telling him he was the father at all

At home today...am in the middle of a huge sort out.. DGS and DS coming this weekend.so I have to shift the piles of stuff in spare room out to charity shop today

Ive been thinking though (especially as I now have several coats which are just too small and can hardly bear to put them in charity shop bag ) I do so need to get moving myself!..

Am so, so impressed with the amount you do need .. really. I 've allowed myself to become so lazy.. I think its because I feel stagnated at work ... and feel that I am on the brink of a new life just waiting for it to happen.. But I need to get out and make it start happening now dont I?

Deep thoughts for 9am.. But i suppose retiring is just another of those big life events where you start to look at yourself differently just ike motherhood is ..

I'd better look at that Jamie book it all sounds Le yum.. -

Laska That's really kind of you, thank you. It's really touched me. I'm no hero though, I would sometimes like to be able to switch off more as it can be a negative trait too. I think you do tons, you always seem to be busy. I agree, you possibly feel unsettled because there's a lot of lfe change about to happen and that can make you feel excited, but anxious too.

Right - just to validate what Laska has just said, I've booked the doctors, dentist and vet and WIN WIN WIN I've got a full refund from repaircare.co.uk for their appalling service. SMEG are coming tomorrow to fix for free.

Really chuffed with myself today!

Now off to do my personal training session.

Which was £140, so I might buy new trainers in celebration

No temperature Need and she's been rolling all over the place and beaming at me this morning. She's asleep now. She had a bit of trouble getting off to sleep but I just popped in and she's breathing normally but coughing a bit.

Em I think a few cross words are inevitable with all the tiredness that a little baby causes. Our worst arguments have been whispered at each other in the middle of the night! I think daddies have to find their own way a bit too.

Just ordered books for DH and the babies for Xmas. They were £4 on Amazon which sounds very cheap but means I've already spend £12 just on 3 stocking fillers.

Snuggly I think you're right. I think dhs can miss being the centre of their wives lives too, and feel uncared for after a baby is born. I think it's a big adjustment for them reallise that they need to step up.

I’m trying my absolute hardest to make sure dh doesn’t feel “neglected”

Little things I’m doing which I know are appreciated - as ds is awake for feeds at 530am I sort out catface after hes been fed and then put kettle on. Dh’s alarm goes off at 7, and for the last few days he’s woken up to a hot cup of coffee on his nightstand.

Dinner is now my domain too. So he’s been coming home and dinner is practically ready and on the table. I’m like a 50’s housewife. Except a bit messier.

Dh has stepped up majorly. Before Ds arrived he organised the kitchen and made things accessible. He did all the laundry so when we came home the hamper was empty. I’m managing one load a day. And he deep cleaned the house. No idea where he found the time...

Yesterday was a bad day for us. He stayed awake with ds until 4 am. Then went to work on 2 hours sleep. So he wasn’t at his best.

I’m looking forward to the gnarly peanut chicken need everything we’ve made from the JO book has been delicious. That said, everything we’ve made from any of his books has been tasty. In ministry of food, there’s a cream cheese mint bacon pasta dish which is tasty and so comforting.

In other news - I’m wearing my new from eBay joules top. It’s got fox hounds and hunters and horses on it.

Ds is asleep. Well head out this afternoon I think.

There's an offer on Pringles in Tesco for Now Tv sports passes, the sour cream flavour is scanning at a £1 but the shelf price says £2.25. Dh likes watching the F1 so I've bought enough for the three exclusive races left in the season. 12 packs. Luckily Dh likes Pringles.

So,

£12 Pringles
70p sage for stuffing.
£1.38 roasting bags.

Need Flu jabs are all the rage. I've had viral infections that have been so bad, I don't want to find out what real flu is like.

fluffy that's a good offer!

LSD today at £3.55 again for the bus.

Yesterday DH spent £10 in M&S on steak and flowers.
Also £12 in Holland & Barret.

My delivery pass from Sainsburys has ended so now delivery is back to being £5 a week! I better sort that out ASAP as it's a huge expense.

We've been busy... had nothing for lunchbags this morning, so got dropped at the coop while dp took dd2 round to big school, we met back at the primary carpark, suffice to say the little ones have never had such extravagant lunches! £13

Then we went scrumping. 4 trees, two bags for life filled! Golden delicious, galia, cookers and big ones that are red inside. Will put up a pic later. These trees are roadside trees, it's taken years to find them. Then we went back for the other logs. They were still there. They are now in the shed. We left two big logs as we feared for the suspension!

We are also on the cusp of a big decision business wise, and like you laska we have this odd sense of being in limbo with a maybe better life round the corner as it were. But we have to be sure.

em yes your dh should have done the nappy, he should have known; but, for context, I barely showered for the first few months as I couldn't leave dd1 with my ex, as this was classed as 'foisting' her onto him against his will. She screamed blue murder when not held, so I just held her all the time. A 15 minute bath would have been out of the question, as I simply could not physically bear the screaming (it wasn't crying).

It's funny what we learn to accept as ok. My ex was a very hard human to live with, but I had this wonderful wee baby (who screamed all the time, she wasn't planned btw), was quite wealthy, and I just 100% took over as the grown up mummy figure. I just took his shit and bad behaviour. It helped that he was away 10 months if the year! Unfortunately when I couldn't take any more I was already pg with dd3. I look back now and cannot believe it was me.

Long post, sorry for my musings!

lonely My son was like that too. I didn't get a bath with soap until he was ten months old, and that was when I found out that my tail bone had snapped off during the delivery.

Em you're doing great. Hang in there.

Hello!

Need you are a force to be reckoned with

Girlie I did buy quite a few bulbs but not thousands! I got them from Waitrose (someone on here recommended - Fluffy or Sunny maybe?) and I specifically wanted some suitable for a shady border and also dwarf narcissi and grape hyacinths for several massive troughs just outside my patio doors. I am looking forward to my spring display!

Baby DD's snoring kept me awake last night but we are friends really. She's still very vomitty and wants to be held a lot but as she is spending more of the day awake it is gradually getting easier as she is happy to bounce in a chair or kick about on her jungle gym for 10 min stints - enough for me to load the washing machine, wash some bottles or even have a wee . She's also gone down in her cot at 9ish for the last two evenings so DH and I have managed to eat at the same time . Long may it last!

I am glad things are going well Em. Sunny, don't feel bad that things seem easier for others (Em or anyone else). Even easy babies have their difficult times,whether it be colds or teething or whatever. I bet there isn't a parent on here who hasn't felt that they are wading through fog at times. It's an intense and life changing experience for everyone, I truly believe, but thankfully more good than bad!

My DH has been fab... he has picked up so much of the care of both kids from the minute he walks in the door after work while i quickly try to cook and do the chores that elude me during the day! However,we haven't really spent much time nurturing each other, as we are both low priority compared to just 'getting through' at the moment. I hope we can put that right soon. I've decided that what we want for Christmas is some quality time together in the spring so we're going to ask for my mum to look after the kids for 1-2 nights as our Christmas present so we can go away. Not far, just a country hotel with good food and birdwatching for DH A chance to chat and have a lie in. And a hotel breakfast . Badly needed.

Anyway, I've had a frugal win today. I have sold some of my maternity clothes to a local lady, so that was £30 in. I still have a mountain left - giving it all away to the charity shop now. I want my space back!

Cag I'm going to try and ship those baby clothes off to you Monday or Tuesday. I sense your time is getting near!

Operation Reclaim The Spare Room continues!

Frugalness is being offset by the need to buy a new dishwasher. I have decision paralysis as I don't know how much to spend. DH has a funny scheme at work - as a long service award thing this year he gets to buy something (or could be split over more than one thing) to the value of £2k as a gift from work. He just submits receipts to work and they will reimburse him. So we could buy a really good dishwasher with some of that (eg a posh Miele). Or spend less. The tricky thing is that ideally I'd like to look at dishwashers before buying because I don't want to buy one that I later find has some annoying characteristic but most shops only hold a small selection on display. And I can't quite be bothered to go to actual shops anyway. While I dither our dishes are not clean...

I want that JO book now. We are having a salmon laksa tonight made from some paste I made from scratch previously and froze. Cooked down with coconut milk and spinach. I keep wanting to call it a salmon Laska now

Cross posted with Lonely - sounds like a big decision is afoot, hope it goes well for you

Christmas - It's interesting that you mention the snoring with your dd. That was a red flag for us with ds. He had adenoid trouble coming on at this age and it hit with a fury at 5 months when his nose sealed shut completely.

We found out later it was due to wheat intolerance, and he must have been getting the wheat through my milk as he was ebf.

After he had his adenoids out at 14 months he breathed silently and it was really eerie to be sitting in a different room with the baby monitor and not knowing whether he was breathing or not, just because he was doing it really silently.

It might be good for you to keep an eye on that snoring. May be nothing, but good to keep an eye on it.

Thanks for the encouragement about my baby years. It's been really hard work and I'm glad others don't have it so hard. I wish for ds that it had been easier though.

Ds went to the shop. Yay! £16.45 on maternity pads, vitamins and iron supplements (spatone). Annoyingly I only took a £20 with me and the vitamins were on a threefa. It came to £20.73. So I had to put one box of vitamins back. I didn’t think to use my points on the card either. D’oh.