Frugal Friends, planning, saving and considerate spending through July and August

[Wolfcubisthefemalenominal]

New Fred frugal friends

Congratulations Em! Nice and quick, as you hoped! Florence is a great name. Are you going to use the full name day to day or a diminutive?

Snuggly exactly. So hard if you have more than one and can’t rely on all but one of the brood to follow instructions! You can only chase after one at a time, after all! Neither of mine reliably follows instructions /stays calm / can be reasoned with so it makes it almost impossible to go anywhere. Grrr. Really looking forward to next week when we are on holiday and there are two parents on hand!

Aww congratulations em 🍾 Love the name ❤️ Well done you xx

Congratulations Em, that’s a fabulous name for you and for baby

Woo hoo congratulations em!

8lb9....! No wonder I had my waddle on....!!! And 54cm long.

Obligatory pic attached. So. Much. Hair.

She is beautiful 😍 that is a good weight.

Wow that's a good weight! Hope you're feeling ok

Yes! All good here. Still in delivery room as lost double the amount of blood I did with Charlie. And am on a drip to help things contract. But aside from that. All good.

She’s got hiccups. And sounds like a guinnea pig!!!!

Congratulations @ememem84, lovely news, and a very pretty name.

I hear you @SnugglySnerd and @ChristmasSeacow, DS has always been a flight risk but he's four now and old enough to know better so I'm coming down hard on him in that area at the moment as DD is capable of running off now too and I can't run in two directions at once. Very different with additional needs and twins of course.

Looking like an NSD today as we are having a quiet day at home, just had a walk around the block earlier.

I want to order a dress from M&S but I've requested payout from Topcashback in M&S vouchers so I'm waiting for them to come through.

Huge congratulations em!
She is beautiful and such a lovely name.
Enjoy those cuddles x

She's beautiful, Em. Hope your recovery is quick.

Pleased I'm not alone in struggle with the holidays. I feel guilty because I'm a teacher. This is meant to be the high point of my entire year! I think if I could have a couple of days to myself I'd be coping better. Having said all that we've had a lovely afternoon in the garden with the water tray and bubbles and I have done very little except sat and watched. Sadly they are not big enough to leave while I do some housework!

Oh goodness 🥰 what a squishy corker she is! Well done Em, hats off to you. Florence Marie is a beautiful name xx

Snuggly and Sea I felt exactly the same last week.

I only broke up on Tuesday and by Thursday I was already on my knees (and had an awful park experience on Thursday where my two littles were running in opposite directions resulting in a head bump and trip to a&e).
However, now I feel rested from a weekend away with dh and grandparents and I've managed to tidy the house and today has felt much more manageable.

I also think my twins take time to adjust from their nanny to me and we all just need to acclimatise.

How old are your twins snuggly? I actually managed a trip to a splash park today and didn't lose either of them by standing in the middle at all times 😂 - couldn't have done that a few months back though. I actually tried to help another twin mum in the park who had baby twins - both screaming at the same time - the stress radiating from her took me right back (the first two years in particular almost broke me) things are definitely getting easier all the time

Awww congratulations em she’s so lovely 😍 fab name too, goes beautifully with her big brother’s! Hope you heal up nice and quick.

Actually snuggly I think you’re onto something there. Of course a big advantage of teaching is that you won’t generally need to pay for childcare in the holidays - but maybe in future you could organise something just for the first few days? Teaching is such an unbelievably intense career, you must be so knackered by the end of the school year, maybe actually booking in some time for YOU to recover from that at/near the beginning of the holidays would help the rest be more enjoyable as you won’t be running on empty. And please don’t feel guilty for feeling how you do!

People here read that Eleanor Oliphant book, right? I was meant to not be buying any books (not that I tend to buy much fiction anyway) while I read through my kindle, but I found it for 50p in a charity shop! That’s less than what it would cost to reserve it at the library.

I swam 550m today. That’s the most I’ve ever managed so I’m pretty pleased with that :) loooong time in the steam room after.

She’s beautiful Em

A very warm welcome to Baby Florence! She's beautiful em. I love her name.

madden I didn't realize you have twins. How old are they?

Spendy day in Dublin but we got everything we needed except for 'Romeo and Juliet'. The sales assistant was very reluctant to sell it to us because they've a few versions of the play by different authors and with different notes I could have sworn the author was William Shakespeare. I tried to explain that the school didn't specify any particular version but he wasn't having any of it and I didn't have the booklist on me to prove it. So we said we'd leave it and come back another day when there's a different sales assistant on.

Anway, this is what we spent:-

Panini/Sandwich toaster in Argos - €35.99
Navy cardigan in M&S to replace my old one (see pic) - €24
Paninis and hot drinks - €18
School stationery in Easons - €14.45
Phone charger in Currys - €10
Socks in Penneys - €7.50

Total spends €109.94

DD was free on the bus because kids are free on public transport for the month of July. She got her Vans bag and wore it home

Aw thanks guys!!!

I’m a bit emosh at present. Dh has gone to have dinner with dparents and ds. They’re coming up to meet her in a bit. Cannot wait to see ds. I miss him!!!

Had a shower. Feel much better. 😀

Not sure how long I’ll be here for. Definetly overnight. Maybe tomorrow night too depending on how tonight goes. I desperately want to go home but am listening sensibly to medical advice.

lap Elinor oliphant was a joy to read. I both loved her simplicity and hated her at the same time.

eeeeeeeeemmmmmmm! how cute is she. Hope you make a speedy recovery. My 2 got on from the moment he was born. She is still really protective of him & if they have been parted for more than a few days woe betide the person who thinks they are getting first hugs. They are now 14 & 17 so you would think the novelty would have worn off by now.

North your quilt is amazing..... I must practice more.

Congratulations em. Lovely name. Enjoy your newborn snuggles and baby snuffles 💕

£5 Aldi

I really enjoyed that book too, Laputa. It's one of the few I've managed to finish in recent months so it just be good!

I think a few days for me at the start of the holidays is a good idea actually. Nursery for two is so £££ but next year they'll get some hours funded so we could probably afford a few extra days and maybe dd1 could go to granny or something.

Madden mine are nearly and a half. How old are yours. Well done on the splash park - so brave! I always try to help people struggling with twin babies. Sometimes you just need an extra pair of hands.

I'm feeling a bit more positive after a pleasant afternoon and because they are all asleep and trying to think what to do tomorrow. The forecast is dreadful. Luckily I have a very large cardboard box up my sleeve!

Hope you get some rest tonight, Em and that ds enjoyed meeting his little sister.

*2 and a half

Many congratulations em. Very quick and so very cute. Lovely name. Xxx

Em hope you have a peaceful night and start to mend. Hope C loves meeting F so cute

😂😂 I have a huge cardboard box stashed under our bed for just such an occasion too!!
Mine are almost 3 - that 6 months has made all the difference!

I've paid for hotel WiFi just for updates. Do pleased I did. Congratulations the em family. Gorgeous girl. Well done em