Friendly Frugaleers Ambling into Autumn, watching our wallets and the weather!

[Cagliostro]

Hello! All welcome as we continue trying to use our money wisely!

Houdini is not cooperating with tablets but she isn’t trying to chew the bandages off.

NSD today. Used a gift voucher for afternoon tea, present to DH from stepson, very nice.

adora your poor puppy looks so sorry for herself! I hope the infection is subsiding.

We just had full on hysterics and hyperventillation, because....wait for it....dd2's longest nail just snapped off. It truly did not help that dd3 was heavily involved. I'd calmly sent them to bed an hour earlier.

The sobbing has just stopped.

Sadly I can't escape to watch the tob. Such a shame as I'm a Froomy fan.

Blimey, busy day on this thread!

I’ll have to try to comment to people tomorrow, too tired to think now. Nanny was lovely and I offered her the job (it’s only 1 day pw at the mo, all she’s got spare and okay with us for now as my mum will help some days and I’m hoping to work just 4 days). But I’m not sure she’ll take it. I will feel unreasonably hurt if she doesn’t - it’s like my children being rejected! She seemed intrigued by DS, and seemed to like him, but I guess ASD is a bit to take on. She also seemed nervous that I don’t yet have a job but... chicken and egg!

DS goes back tomorrow. Hoping dd will have a decent nap so I can catch up with a bit of doing nothing during the day before I have to pick him up. No apparent nerves or tension with DS at all - may be a good sign but most likely means he doesn’t really understand that he’s going tomorrow, and to a different room /teacher. I’ll be nervous picking him up... that’s when I’ll see what state he’s really in!

And I’ve done a ton of batch cooking today but still haven’t labelled any school clothes 🙄.

Hi labrador. That sounds very stressful.
Did you catch the post a few pages back about a starting point re direct debits, credit cards etc?

Up early as hoping to get a good chunk of work done today. I need to I've got loads of half finished bits.

Nsd planned today. Although if these Sainsbury's moleskin trousers for ok I will order more of them

I have a hospital appointment today but will park at my friends house round the back so I don't have to pay ridiculous charges. So should be a nsd.

My overdraft is STILL there. It's been over a week now dh gets paid today which is good.

Just noticed a hole in one of my favourite tops it's one of those small ones at the bottom front. So annoyed.

Wreck hope the appointment goes ok
Welcome Lab
Sea fingers crossed on the nanny

Morning everyone. Been awake since 5.30 with Youngedt who is now snoozing in my bed . At least it means I’ve had breakfast in peace. She was only up once in the night too so feel a bit better for a better night. It did take almost an hour and a half to get her to bed last night. I ended up sobbing on the stairs knowing how much I had to do and that oldest one would be so late to bed on first day back at school . It’s times like that I really find being on my own tough. I really don’t know if she is too tired and that’s why she doesn’t settle (although that’s never been an issue before) or not tired enough and needs to drop her nap. I’m not sure she’d manage til bedtime though.

Still new day today. Should only need to pop to the shop for nappies. I have chicken in the fridge waiting to be turned into chicken pie for tea otherwise it will go to waste. Managing to keep tracking spending in my phone against the budget I have set myself which is a little less than I actually have so I can try and set a bit aside for Christmas/emergencies. Off to get ready for work. Hope everyone has a great day.

How long have you had it Wreck?
If its Boden or similar they are good at refunding and you can set up an alert on ebay for the same one.

8 hours of lovely sleep sorry I went up earlier about 9.30 and it seems to work better .I had been waking up at 4-5 .
Mind it is a bit darker in the mornings.

Sorry Mischief bit of cross posting there !
If its any consolation they will never get up when they are teens!

How old is your little one mischief? We've had such problems recently with long bedtimes and the nap debate!

I'm in my dressing gown spending money on amazon (£32.12 - and thankyou for the tip upthread about double checking postage - saved me £5) when I have 3 children and myself to get ready and am supposed to leave the house in half an hour

Quite I can't afford Bowden for myself it's a hollister one but I've probably had it a year now. It's just so comfy and versatile.

Yes mischief how old? There's a really tricky stage where they need to drop their nap because they're not going to bed properly but at the same time they struggle to stay awake all day. I always went with the drop the nap option.

Dont know if this will help but with mine they chose stories,then had bath, teeth etc with NO mucking about or No story.
They never missed their stories and it cut the messing around time right down.
3 bedtime stories with them firmly tucked in

We are testing ds’s get yourself ready for school list. I am enabling full independence!

Welcome Labrador. I hope he doesn't get 50:50, it's a lot of toing and froing even when you only live within a short distance of each other.

I have just discovered that my debit card was being used fraudulently! Over £500 in various purchases 😱 Thankfully because I am so frugal now I checked my online banking and noticed it before it went any further. Bank will refund. They have cancelled my card and I will have to wait up to 6 days for a new one - that will be very very frugal.

Welcome Labrador

Born good grief, thank goodness you caught it

mischief that limbo between dropping naps is a nightmare, isn’t It?

Finally got both kids back to school today, woohoo! Couple of hours houses stuff, then off to do some proper work at my dads. Also got to get some pound coins for dinner money and take back at top I picked up in Morrison’s yesterday but I don’t like now I’ve tried it on.

Hello, I am alive and so is DH and baby, haha. I started formula feeding recently which whilst I'm absolutely gutted about not being able to breastfeed I also wish I had cut my losses after like a week or so instead of us all suffering so much for weeks and weeks and weeks . It never improved for me and the doctor at the hospital clinic just said it was probably the shape of her mouth and "some babies just aren't designed to breastfeed" . It's sad that I can't get the time back but if I have another well I won't make the same mistake next time around that's for sure.

Things are suuuuper stressful though still unfortunately. We moved house a few weeks ago and there is still loads of painting, assembling furniture etc to be done which doesn't seem to be getting done any time soon as DD is a very clingy baby and DH is back on placement now, and we keep getting friends from other cities visiting us every weekend to see DD! I also finally had my PIP tribunal yesterday for the claim I put in September 2016 - and it got immediately adjourned because the judge said the DWP didn't provide any sufficient explanation or evidence for their decision so they are going to write and ask them to write submissions to the court and send a DWP rep next time. Which is horrific, I literally burst into tears when they called my name and I had Josh with me and my legal rep. Now I have to wait many more months and then go back a second time and this time I will be questioned by the DWP rep as well as the panel. I am sure they will turn up because this is now a high value challenge for them given we are already looking at two-years of backpay and my previous claim I got high rate care and high rate mobility which is around £500 a month so...!

Hope everyone is well and enough whinging from me, will have a quick read of the last two pages or so to see what you are all up to!

Aw hello Meadow! So glad you’ve come back to us, I was thinking of PMing you but didn’t want to think I was stalking you .

Sorry to hear about the breastfeeding, I really do know how upsetting that is. I have said it before but with DS I did literally everything I could and drove myself batty about it. I was a mess and it really stopped me enjoying his first few weeks. It wasn’t exactly an instant relief to move to formula because I felt dreadful about it but that feeling gradually receded and it was such a huge improvement once feeding stopped consuming every minute of every day and we could get on with life, including enjoying each other! And it didn’t do him, or our relationship, any harm whatsoever.

Crap about the tribunal too . I really hope you get a good outcome in the end.

How’s the new house, apart from disorganised? Is it going to be good once it’s all sorted?

DS was fine getting ready and going to school but once he was there he made a beeline for his old classroom and was in floods of tears when we had to hold him back. I’m sure he’ll be fine once the day gets underway but I expect the mornings will be sticky this week.

DH has gone out for the day - he hardly gets any time to himself for his hobby so I’ve sent him off. Dd is hard work as she wants to walk round and round the house holding onto my hands - it’s back-breaking stuff!

Spends yesterday:
£2 supermarket

Spends today:
£2 work canteen

I hope you start to feel some relief soon @girlie.

I'm still working on my new budget; I have a weakness for clothes for DC so I think what I'm going to do is set a reasonable budget for them from the joint account, and then if I want to spend extra, I will have to do it out of my own personal spends.

Meadow Hey!!!!! So nice to hear from you xxx

Formula feeding was the best thing for us too. I lasted 6 weeks breastfeeding I think which is already apparently longer than a lot of people. But it meant I could hand ds over to dh and get some time. It wasn’t all on me. Which if I’m honest was a relief.

New house?! Exciting!! Good luck with the unpacking x

Today is a crazy day here at work. We (my client) is buying a plane. So I’ve just had my colleague tee up a payment for $12 million....and I’m arguing with customs that there should be no duty to pay on its import. I’m right. The law says so (because of the type and what it will be used for) But they won’t accept it. Grrr. Anyhoo. First world problems. This is why I love my job.
I’d better get a go on the plane though!!!

Spends today: £25 M&S for a voucher for aunt for her birthday. Dm asked me to buy this for her so will get the money back.

Will probably have to do a food shop as dparents are running low on things. But will do that later. They’re home tomorrow evening so tonight have to clean!

Lost a big post there but yes to formula feeding, both of ours thrived. Theres no right way and you have to be kind in those early days

Won £50 on premium bonds first month holding any so Im chuffed

£20 top up shop, £10 lunch out with DD

Off to a friends for a play date this afternoon so dinner in slow cooker

kind to yourself*