The Friendly Frugaleers Keep on Chatting (and having babies!)

[WreckTangled]

New thread, everyone welcome!

Em Avoid LG, our lg is seriously brilliant but you can't get the more 4 or itv apps.

Samsung has the best apps 😩

Snuggly - I used value Paneer at £1.50, value cashew nuts and spinach on offer, cheap curry paste so it's really frugal too. I guess you could add naan bread but we had for lunch so didn't bother. It's a great book, I used it all week, most of the recipes are fast as well as having only a few ingredients. Great for you with 3 small DC.

Morning all, its my turn to have had the crap nights sleep! Have been awake since 1am being sick feel crap now and have called in sick to work as can barely move. Have said I won't be in tomos either, hardly ever off sick but still feel guilty as I know tomorrow esp looked really busy.

The dog has come on season still undecided what to do with her. I think if i'm honest that she would be better suited to living in a home with another dog and also that as much as i would love a dog we are not yet quite in the right place to have one Will talk to my mum and dd about it tonight but honestly my stress levels have gone through the roof this week and she is a good dog really. Dd is going to be devastated but Sunny you made a good point about her needing me to be o.kay as well.

Day of doing very little for me although will still need to gather up enough energy to take the dog out for a little walk at some point.

I started thinking about Christmas last night by having a trawl through the book people website. I didn't find much unfortunately. Must go on a book hunt. Books are what keeps ds busy most but just grabbing anything from the library doesn't work any more, and I've had to start buying them.

I really like the Usborne fact books (like the First Encyclopedia) and the computer books on scratch and python. I have my hunting gear on, anyway.

Got up at usual time so very leisurely breakfast for me prior to working 9-8

Very impressed by those coming in at £200 per month for food -need to up my game !
Currently £300 for 3 of us -thats with buying fruit and veg from the market and meat twice a month (farmshop) which does 3 meals each time.
Not sure whether I xan cut any more corners as I free out of date bread,batch cook etc packed lunches .

Have a good day everyone !

Our budget is £75 a month but we frequently go over not sure how we can cut back more tbh so I’m very jealous of everyone!

sunny, have you thought about the Guinness World Record Book? It's usually on offer too. DS liked it, but DN, the one who is HFA adored it. I think even now he gets one. It's good fun to read together but can be independently enjoyed too.

My budget is £50 per week each, four adults, don't worry!

That's pretty much every meal though, we don't buy coffees etc. And rarely eat out. Kids still take sandwiches to school etc.

Well, I was awake all night right up to 5am (new time, so 6am old time). Then I burst into tears and DH rescued me. First time the baby has made me cry since the breastfeeding days. Idon't know why her sleeping on her own has completely stopped in the last week but it's awful... I think we are going to be forced to leave her to cry a bit as this is completely unsustainable. I will try to read up on it in the next couple of days. Sorely tempted to pay someone to come and help but we really need to not spend the money, now we are paying for speech therapy for DS again.

Anyway, I had two hours of sleep before DS got up so that had taken the edge off it. My sisters are coming over later for lunch and to carve pumpkins - it's become a tradition. Sausage, bean and paprika hotpot with jacket spuds is on the menu, I am looking forward to it. Must get tidying and cooking now!

Girlie that's a really difficult decision re. Dog

Need you've made me feel a bit better about my Ocado bill now!

Back on the sleep deprived bench here too, although it could've been a lot worse TBF. DD2 seems to be a sleep-upright kid too. Not sure how that's going to work with her pram either . Need to get a sling sorted. Milk came in I think but a feed of over an hour (just one side) was utter hell.

Aww girlie I'm sorry you are sick and upset about the dog too, it's a hard decision but only you can know what is for the best, and much better to realise this all now before the trial is up.

for sleep deprived and poorly frugaleers (coffee/lemsip as appropriate)

Oh seacow that’s crap. How old is dd now?

Ooh and em totally go for ballroom lessons someday! DH and I used to when DD was tiny, mum would look after her while we went to a class up the road (this was before we moved here). I do miss it, sadly I can't go to the adult classes at DD1's club but if DH ever gets a job with different hours then it's on the cards. Otherwise it's missed a generation with me - my parents and my paternal grandparents all did ballroom (in fact it's how each couple met!) so it's very much in the family. :)

☕️ all round this morning by the sounds of it!

I’m off to work in a bit, helping a friend on their stand at a wedding fair. Just a few hours smiling and chatting to people, it’s something different and he’s paying me a bit too, bonus.

Christmas is there any way to get your dd to a pediatric dietician, even if privately? It sounds to me as though she is reacting badly to the formula and if you could get her onto one that works for her all the trouble would probably stop immediately.

This is why we're spending so much on food, because we had all the same problems as Christmas's dd, when ds was tiny. We gradually figured out that eating the right food was absolutely critical for keeping the family well.

This was especially the case when I'd worked 24/7 for years caring for ds and my digestion had gone wonky from exhaustion.

So I'm currently doing three completely different diets for the three people in our family, which costs a ton of money. It keeps us all on the road though, which is the main thing.

Christmas if you can find out what is causing the problem for your dd and replace it then the symptoms should settle in 24 hours. That was what happened with my ds. It was really really hard before I figured out what was causing it though.

Fook it, I give up (that one is for fluffy).

Sorry, some folk on here would love to have that budget for food, I sound like a twat.

christmas, you poor love. I’m surprised you’ve coped so bloody amazingly well for so long. No answers, but a massive amount of sympathy.

Oh cag, I remember the early agony of feeding, poor you. Xx

Chilled Sundays here. For now. Dh has ds in the living room. Ds has hiccups.

Aww em cute! 🐈 and hiccups are cute too.

Need I actually hear ya. Hadn’t gone unnoticed here

Meh I think some dc sleep well and others don’t they all go through phases. That said my sister had awful problems with her bone density it was awful her dr was really worried but since becoming vegan and going to the gym it has much improved and her doctors can’t believe it so there’s a lot to be said for what you put into your body. I’m too lazy for that shizzle. And busy.

wrecked

Who also gets word of the day award for shizzle....

Get ready for all your replies this pm, I’m now off to run a 10k race.

I know what you mean about many people not having the budget. I don't list spends here the way many do, because it just wouldn't be helpful.

We are lucky to have more money and I'm very aware of it. I really appreciate the encouragement of being on here though, so I do my frugal best at home and keep the details to myself as much as I can.

I'd give my eye teeth to be able to go back to eating regular food though.

I’m going food shopping now. With no make up on it is Halloween after all.... I just cba. Hopefully I won’t see an ex boyfriend or something

Good stuff! Well done.

Make up???!!! What’s that?!?!

LOL!

Have text the dog lady and asked her to collect the dog today if possible, I can't cope I really thought we were in the right sort of place for it but i'm not managing. My anxiety has not been this bad since dd was ill.

Dd will probably never forgive me just had a long chat with my mum and she understands, she will try and chat to dd about it before she comes home later today.

Ugh being a grown up is rubbish sometimes.