Frugaleers chatting and saving in the April sunshine.

[SunnyLikeThursday]

Welcome to the new thread. This is a support thread for chatting and discussion of family budgeting.

Was it a bloke who had no understanding that you had more chance of walking on the half bladder contents after squeezing a child or 2 out.

Not to mention speaking to tax credits to see if you can get anything there. And reclaim any married persons allowance if it has been attributed to his tax code.

No unescorted that particular smarty pants was female

Girlie hard luck on washing machine

I am sure she was lovely but Biaaaatch for having a pelvic floor. Who suggests half an empty...it is a form of waterboarding.

Mammy pleased you got to wee

Em I bet ds will love nursery they sound really lovely. He will get so much attention.

You can’t half empty that’s impossible and a bit vicious I’d have wee’d on her feet

She couldn't have thought it through!

Spends yesterday €4 on two protein bars. I wasn't expecting to be so late at hospital & hadn't reach my protein goal lifelong
Ate half of one so have the other 1.5 in car so will prevent stopping at a shop on journey home this weekend.

We're going to London today. Will be spendy especially as dh has actually taken the day off to come with us

Thank you for the shoe recommendations. They are lovely. I think I might have a wee sneaky visit to the dance shoes shop again too. I do like dance shoes. I wonder if they make dance shoes especially for dancing in the rain.

Defo Clarks for shoes. I have the most comfortable heels from there.

I've fallen off the wagon mammy. Back on it today but at a funeral so lunch may be off piste.

Sounds like an awful awful time wolf. Are you seeing a solicitor? You sound like you are coping remarkably well, but remember we are here whenever needed

Glad your bladder survived mammy.

Just repairs and conversions laska.

Paid £2k off the mortgage yesterday as an overpayment. Will be the last additional payment for a while as I want to build up more savings.

Off to Southampton today. Ikea, John Lewis and Primark are on the list. Hunted out various gift vouchers and £50 from DPs at Christmas for ikea. We have a shopping list for ikea.

DP has promised he will apply for the permission to develop to drop the curb for the driveway this week. £200ish I think. It’s taken 3 months to get this far, but i’m not doing it as he said he would

Oh yes. Clarks are a definite from here too for comfortable feet. Not always the most stylish, but for feet comfort comes first.

You are all making me want to buy shoes. But I still have dreadful plantar fasciitis and hobble about even in trainers. No idea what I will do when I go back to work as I can’t wear trainers then!

Glad the settling went well Em.

Wolf I can’t imagine what sort of nuclear event can have happened (not being nosey btw) but it sounds very shocking. I think you are doing brilliantly just putting one foot in front of the other. You and DS are going to be absolutely fine in the end but you don’t have to be fine all the way along the road. It may help to have the distraction of work for now but please don’t put yourself under pressure to be perfect and keep going for everyone else.

Unescorted

I spoke to my mum yesterday about Granny. It wasn’t easy and I know mum was upset because she made an excuse to get me off the phone very abruptly (she’ll never cry in front of us). But I really felt she needed to know how ill her mum is and to be warned in case she takes a turn. Unfortunately dad is deteriorating very rapidly and so there is no chance she will leave him. Dad has now relented about allowing us to visit - he didn’t want us to see him so sick but has now accepted there are not going to be ‘better days’ so we can drop in. I can’t take DS (dog phobic and probably too boisterous for dad right now) so will go at the weekend on my own and then during the school day mid-week. Poor dd will be spending a lot of time in the car as it’s a 3-hr round trip! I think that’s basically the plan till the end though.

I was quite tearful yesterday after talking to mum but two good things: first, my sister was here and it really helped to talk about it (DH has been brilliant but he’s a man of few words and it’s not ‘his’ family iyswim): second, I spent yesterday evening going through the photos I took over Easter on my proper SLR camera when my parents visited and there are some lovely ones of dad ❤️

DSis and I are taking the dcs on the cable car thingy over the Thames today. And to get lunch on the other side. So not an NSD ahead. Spends yesterday were £2163 on our front door (! But we’ll get £2k back from DH’s employer as his bonus) and £79p on parsley for my epic smoked haddock chowder last night. Nom nom.

Have a good day everyone

Sea that sounds really hard but I’m glad your dad has agreed to visits take care of yourself too and we are all here for support. Have you looked at sketchers shoes for the plantar fasciitis some of them don’t look like trainers but definitely not high heels if your workplace requires those

You're doing brilliantly there Christmas. It all sounds so hard, but I'm taking notes on how to have the right attitude as I know this must come to us all. Take care of yourself there.

I always wear Ecco shoes, as for some reason they are just the right shape for my feet. They cost a bomb, so I usually just buy whichever Ecco shoes are cheap in the sale, and live with the interesting fashion choices. At the moment I have very plain lace-ups, but I have also had a couple of years of very stylish tall boots, and about 8 years of chelsea boots that were lovely.

It's raining here today, and I have been doing some sewing. Taking in a big jumper and a big t-shirt that were reduced in the sales for being un-popular sizes. The jumper is hugely long and very snuggly.

Nursery day 2. The day Mummy leaves ds for an hour. We need to be there at 10. We need to be out of the front door by 930. Ds chose 10 minutes ago to have a nap. Sigh. At least he’s dressed. Just have to throw a coat on (or not depending on how fussy he is when he wakes up - we’ll go from house to car to carpark to buggy with warm cozy footmuff to lovely toasty warm nursery and back again).

Mummy is meeting dsis in town. I have eBay things to post. It’s a 10 minute walk from nursery to town. Then post office. Then wander for a bit then run back for 11. Dsis May or may not spend the day with us. We might go swimming later.

Seacow you have so much to deal with. I don't know how you are doing it with young dcs too.

Pouring with rain again today. DD1 is looking longingly at the garden but it's like a mud bath!

Em My friends who had a baby in nursery didn't used to dress him to go. They just took him as he was and he carried on his day there from wherever he had left of with them. The nursery was next door, so they just had to run 10 feet and pass him through the door. I'm not sure if it works if you have further to go.

Snuggly I very much agree. I would be much more frazzled in Christmas's shoes.

lifelong I fell off the wagon Easter weekend, but unlike prior falls I tracked every morsel and I guess it was last Friday before I hit my macros again but only 3 days were over calories. Steps need to improve, but I'm really having to pace myself with that as I'm only coming back to feeling good again.
Will stop boring rest of frugaleers now!

Concert tickets can only be refunded to purchasee so will see whether he gives me the money or not I guess oh well it was too good to be true.

bacon sounds like a lovely frugal trip out shopping.

seacow I had plantar fasciitis after having ds and I got physio, 3 very painful sessions later (DD was there for one session and was only 4 and told the physio to stop hurting my mammy, she's crying and it's your fault physio said mammy what do you want me to do, I said carry on because it'll only prolong it going more gently) and a new pair of asics for running and I've not suffered since. That was almost 4 years ago, have you had any treatment?
Would love to see pics of thames from cable car if you get some without outing you.

My dsil is being induced today, soon in fact, I'm so excited to see baby on Sat when I visit their part of the country. Will be all of our family together with new addition so there had better be some photos taken.

MSE Money Tips says there's 30% off Lego in toysrus stores if anyone's interested.

Nsd

We just went to town and bought ds his first pair of glasses. Very exciting. Only £45 thank goodness. I thought it was going to be much more than that.

Nursery take two. Ds was all smiles when I dropped him off. I handed him over and said goodbye. Told him I’d be back and left. No hanging around. Quick and relatively painless. He was fine. He played was all smiles. And was excited to see me when I picked him up.

While I was gone I met dsis in town. I bought some bits for ds in next £32 and a bag from joules £35 (but used gift vouchers for all but £1.85).

£1.70 parking.

Dsis’ purse has arrived. It’s so pretty. And gift boxed. I’m a bit 🙄😱 that UPS left it in front of my door as I thought I’d have to sign for it given the value but on the other hand their depot is near the airport so if they hadn’t i would have had to go fetch it.

We’ve also been for a walk - to dparents for a coffee. Dm bought ds a paddling pool and some plastic balls (around 500...) so he has his own makeshift ball pit. He loved it! And we’ve just walked back - they’re only a 20 minute walk away so it was nice to stroll up there for a change.

Sound like a very successful day all round em

I rang hospital and got my follow up appointment at hospital for two weeks time.

So I use hot cloth cleanser with the supplied muslin cloths and this morning I couldn't find a cloth, I had spare single sports sock, I turned it inside out to use like a glove and it was brilliant for cleansing my face.