August Always Adds Pocket Pressure, Frugal Friends Thrive Thriftily

[Wolfcub]

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Ahh thank you Wolf they come as a pair now
Criky Life that IS a great price

Love mumbob!

Lunch was nice with the dcs. Noisy. But they were well behaved.

I also love mumbob

That is terrific value Life I paid more than that just for my hallway a couple of years ago! Suburban semi, not Versailles. Bloody London prices. And it all needs doing again after the kids have made their mark, literally.

Thanks. I wonder is it worth it as we are selling but I figure it's what we would have spent on holiday and will hopefully help sell.

The bathroom and 3 bedroom will be ok. One wall a bit scuffed but it will be fine. Carpet shopping for the bedroom today about £100 for an off cut

Oops spendy day yesterday as I did an online supermarket shop (£90) then stocked up on some other foods we buy online - a Doves flour box and some chutneys, curry pastes etc for an independent shop we like. I wanted to be prepared for the new term with plenty of food!
Ds needs trousers. 3-4 are too short (he isn3 and a half!) but 4-5 are much too long so I either need to find a shop where sizes come up big and get 3-4 or a shop where they come up small and buy 4-5. Any suggestions? It's been so much easier with him wearing shorts all summer!

Snuggles do you have an m&co near you? Ds is long of leg and I always found them to have the best leg fit

Thanks Wolf, there must be one in town. I'll find out. Next sizes always seem generous but all over so they would probably fall down all the time too!

Snuggly I read a new book to DD last night and realised where your mn name comes from 😂😂

Can’t help on trousers. DS has a long body and short legs so I’m always taking them up. It’s an annoying job at the end of every summer this week

I bought the iPad 🙈. But actually feel very at peace with the decision - I think it will be the right thing. I hope he will be happy and excited. All he has actually asked for is two Flat Stanley books and a BFG cake. Which I now need to figure out how to make. And I must clear the credit cards - it’s been an expensive month with holiday too. Ouch.

Today I have to do a lot of cleaning - the house is grim. DM is coming for tea with the kids too so I need to make meatballs. And right now I’m putting the thicker duvet back on the bed and looking for my slippers - I’ve been freezing for the last two nights! Summer duvet is all packed away. Goodbye summer!

So we've had our first Covid test this morning for ds2 who has a cold with a cough. I feel fairly confident that's all it is but I know he would be sent home from school and what if I was wrong? School need copy of negative test e-mailed to them before he can go back. We are all housebound until result comes in.

Sea I think you made the right decision. I remembered that I had actually bought my dc half price tablets in the boxing day sale and much as they liked them they buffered a lot and didn't have access to as many apps so I ended up buying an ipad for ds1's 10th birthday in the March then ds2 got one in July, so the bargain I got wasn't a bargain at all.

I've been freezing lately, especially my feet. Might need to pack away the Birkenstocks and get the boots out. For some reason I don't really do shoes.

That sounds a good price for the decorating life and promising on the house viewings that there will be suitable houses out there.

I washed and dried the summer duvet a couple of days ago. Warmer duvet back on as I was cold too sea but still sleeping with the window open for now. I need to get DP to sort out the new WiFi code for the central heating to work when the temperature drops!

My ear is still all bunged up, but appears to be getting better. It’s annoying not being able to hear.

Chipping away at tidying the house here. It never seems to end. But the plastic craft table has now gone away and we can see floor again floor was grim where it had been

And all the back to school packing bags etc to do. Swimming lessons start soon so need to find all the bits like swim hats and spare hairbrush so it’s all there. Hair cuts for the DC tomorrow.

Love mumbob 😍. I assume they’ve decided the move is now permanent?

Oh no born , hope you get the result back quickly!

Shower maintenance guy has been and gone. He basically replaced the shower head - I could probably have done that myself. We have very hard water here so the shower head keeps clogging up with lime. Call out charge was €70. He didn't charge for the shower head.

I treated myself to a home made breakfast of poached eggs on toasted brown bread with avocado on the side. Delicious and a fraction of the price I'd have paid in a cafe or restaurant.

DD's trousers have been altered and I've collected them - €12. She's just realized that she needs yet another school book. She thought she could get her one of her history books second hand but that fell through so I'll have to head to Easons again. I've just priced it and it's €23.20. I'm not sure why we've to purchase so many books when we're paying for a book rental scheme?

I need to pay my car tax also. I'll have to go rooting for my car insurance policy. Before you can pay the tax online, you have to enter the insurance policy number.

My brother did a big clear out and filled three bags of books he no longer wants. I'm going to have a look through them and pick out the ones I want to keep. I actually prefer reading on my kindle but I'm not going to decline the offer of free books. Looks like I'll have lots of books to curl up with during the dark winter nights.

I was reading the 'Strictly' thread and it got me all excited for autumn/winter.

Right, I'd better go make some work calls. In case anyone thinks I've been skiving, I started work at 7.30 and took a break for a quick trip to the shops and brunch.

That's funny about the book Sea!
Hope you get a negative result soon Born.

Winter duvet back on here too. Taking the summer one to the laundrette is one of this week's jobs. My most urgent job for today is to find my work pass!

There a Strictly Thread? Interesting!

Born we’ve had colds and the Dc are now coughing so I called the covid line yesterday. They said that as their coughs are wet/ chesty and not continuous we don’t need testing / isolating. But I’m nervous school won’t see it that way!

That's interesting Sea DS's cough is productive which is not typically covid. I think in high school they just hear a cough and send you home as there are so many of them. To be fair it is a good going cough he's got although bizarrely he doesn't feel unwell at all. I on the other hand feel as though I'm taking it off him and feel a bit miserable and achy. I think I might need to do a test myself. It's so confusing as the rational part of me thinks well if he's negative so would I be but then I think what if I've got something else and pass it onto a vulnerable patient 🙈

I was thinking I'd of gone for the iPad sea you can still limit how much time ds spends on it. Dd had a tablet at around that age and was only allowed on it for an hour a day (longer on weekends.) I'm still quite strict on screen time now and she's 14!!

Dd has spent the day changing her bedroom about, it looks nice. Is there a way of getting those annoying blue tack marks off walls? Really don't want to repaint if I can help it!

Dd has settled a bit, she is now accepting meal and snack times. I think being very routine driven has helped with this. Not heard anymore from Camhs though 🙄

Going out for dinner tonight to make the most out of the last day of Eat out to help out!

The decorator I spoke to yesterday said not as and always pick white tac.

£2.87 lunch, £9 primary, 11 wilko, £140 carpet fitted, more I can't recall.

Had a cathartic day garden tidying and peeling off lead flashing

Day out, £1.60 parking, £11 row boat , £6.60 ice creams, £10.98 2x fish and chips, bread and butter and cuppa

Psyching myself up to change ds's bed and gloss the last 10ft of skirting

Pricing up carpet cleaning now. £95 for 3

That seems a decent price Life.

Did the skirting, and undercoated the door frame. Didn't make ds's bed. Need to do it in the morning in case the joiner comes to hang the new doors.

Evening,

We have got the decorating bug here too. End of the dining room is plastered and primed. DD has a career as a painter & decorator if the art doesn't pan out. I stripped the kitchen wallpaper with the help of dd. Dh and DS were sent to the tip & the supermarket to pick up school trews.

Curvy - I wouldn't be happy with ex stepping out with my cousin. If he has any sense he would duck out of the family gathering.

em where has the time gone?

I am nesh so we never get rid of the winter duvet and the lightweight quilt combo ... In winter I add the 3 season sleeping bags, PJs and hot water bottles. During the really hot weather I might have stuck a foot out the side.

In awe of you doing your own plastering Unescorted

£149 garden centre on plants for garden which Dh has just finished planting.

£45 b&q.

Busy day here. Breakfast out out with a view.

Then shopping. Then painted garden table (third coat and tomorrow will spray varnish it) helped dh plant. Made dinner. Bath kids. Bed.

Making decisions for redecoration here. Lemur wallpaper for hallway being one. Going to buy the rolls soon and keep them until ready to use as don’t want to mis out!

No worries curvy! And thank you I will have a look at both of them.

wolf we usually go to go outdoors so I’ll have a look there, especially if there’s some discount.

Oh mrs you reminded me I need to book our flu jabs! Love mumbob

sea it does sound like you’re doing the right thing, every child has different needs. DS1 needs zero screen time, he’s happy to play on his own and can wind down by himself but DS2 finds it easier to wind down by playing a colouring game on the iPad or watching tv. So it’s definitely something you asses by child.

That sounds like a great deal life!

snuggly DS1 is 5 in September but is in 7-8 trousers but they can be big on the waste for him it’s a bloody nightmare to buy for.

tayto I’m on loads of the Christmas threads, I’m super excited for the colder weather.

born I hope you get the results back quickly!

That’s great news about DD girlie!

Lovely pic em!

We’re experimenting with a new bedtime routine, we tried DS3 in the box room but he didn’t settle at all. So we’re staggering bedtimes, so DS3 goes at 7 and is settled, then DS2 goes into the spare room to calm down and read and then bed for him at 7:30 and then DS1 has time in the spare room before bed at 8. It’s working well tonight, DS3 settled well and we got some grown up time with DS1.

We had a lovely holiday, it was really great to get away for a bit. I’ve put away the extra money we didn’t spend to go towards some clothes for the DC. Went to IKEA today but didn’t buy anything just looked at the nursery things. And then went out for a meal which cost £41.33. DH is back to work tomorrow and I need to get cracking on labelling the school clothes. We got DS1’s school shoes today and he got quite upset, I think he’s quite nervous about being in his own and not having his brothers as they’ve always been together at nursery, I’m just hoping we can make him a bit more excited.

wolf it is not me ...although I did the bathroom a few years ago. DD is the plaster this time around. It is like icing a cake, but from the shoulder. crumb coat, top coat slapped on and then left to harden ever so slightly. Smooth with a spritz of water and just like royal icing you have to hold the spatula at a the right angle and keep the strokes smooth.

em you should work for Jersey tourism. That looks beautiful