Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Post-natal clubs

Join our Postnatal Clubs forum to find parenting advice for newborns.

July 2010: Tantrums R Us

999 replies

Woodlands · 03/01/2012 13:01

Here you go! Sorry for crappy title. My one chance in the limelight and I can't think of anything good and I have to go and collect J from nursery right now...

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Spirael · 07/02/2012 12:21

The £40 doesn't include some things though, like nappies, soft drinks and washing liquid, which I bulk buy from Costco once a month. So it's probably not as tight as it sounds! Though I rarely buy meat, especially if it's not on a good offer, which helps keep it low.

It's slightly cheesy, Memphis, but it's not a strong flavour - not like a chunk of chedder or anything. It's a soft flavour, like a mozzeralla (in taste, not texture), because the cheese isn't very old. Texture wise, it's like a cross between firm tofu and halloumi. It tends to pick up the flavours around it more than infuse it's flavour into everything else.

I think DH and I are similar to MLISC in that we just aren't that fussed with meat, generally! I don't like red meats at all, but I do have the occasional white meat, fish and shellfish. DH likes a bit more meat in his diet, but it's still probably only once or twice a week. Apparently I've been a bad influence on him, he actually prefers vegetarian dishes now! Grin

My cupboards are not a good assessment currently, as they're probably only about half full as my kitchen size has doubled and we've not fully stocked yet.

Oh, if anyone is curious: Before 1 and Before 2. All one room, but divided by that stupid island. Now: After 1 and After 2. Not quite finished yet, but at we're finally usable again and no longer sitting on a gas leak with exposed and smoking electrics, while the cupboards held the ceiling up!

We now have a utility cupboard room, which I might be a teeny bit in love with. M loves it too... It's the only door she can open, as it has a pull down handle. She hides in there while I cook dinner, peeking out occasionally to giggle while I muse to myself where M has gone.

DesperateHousewife21 · 07/02/2012 12:30

Haha that's ok!

memphis83 · 07/02/2012 12:39

spirael I may try that then, I hate tofu as I dont think it take on flavour but as paneer crisps up I think it may work for us! I love your kitchen! the colour on the wall behind the table is great!
I think Im going to just but veg and milk next week and get my cupboards down, Ive just seen 4 times of rice pudding, I dont even eat the stuff! I want to get to the end of the month and need food in future!

MyLifeIsStillChaotic · 07/02/2012 14:14

Looks great spirael. That's reminded me, I think I will flog my handysitt on ebay this week. E just sits on a chair now and W is happy with his cheap booster seat. Handysitt's get quite a good resale price so I'd rather sell that and keep the cheap one :)

Chulita · 07/02/2012 18:08

mlisc we don't have a big gas-guzzling car, sky/virgin/cable tv or pets and we don't go on expensive holidays (or holidays at all in recent years). That's how we afford meat Grin

I'm going to post later, sat down to catch up and am so uncomfortable, going to bounce on my ball for a bit til the dc are in bed.

WhatSheSaid · 07/02/2012 18:36

Spirael your "before" kitchen is nicer than my kitchen (1950s and looks it :) )

Sorry to hear about all the sick/non sleeping babies

In an hour we are off to the airport to pick up mil and step-fil for the annual fun fest that is "6 weeks with the in-laws" but other than that all is well.

MyLifeIsStillChaotic · 07/02/2012 18:46

That's very true chul Grin

I can't afford diesel either!

memphis83 · 07/02/2012 18:49

I used to eat more meat when a chicken lasted me 2 meals but if I buy a chicken now no matter how big dh thinks this is me setting him a food challenge to eat it, I used to do big vats of food to freeze half but while it was cooling on the hob while we eat he would have gone in there to wash up and eat it! Grin

MyLifeIsStillChaotic · 07/02/2012 18:54

No butchers round here sell free range chicken either. Only two supermarkets in my town do, the other two don't.

TheSecondComing · 07/02/2012 19:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CakeandRoses · 07/02/2012 20:18

i'm beyond fucking knackered so scuse if this makes no sense.

3 hours sleep last night and that was broken. A is reacting as well to the mmr as her brother did.

i'm in her room with her now as she won't go to sleep despite having so little in the last 24 hours Hmm

really sorry about your fil trudy. really sad he didn't get to meet F too Sad

re shopping/cupboards - i spend a bloody fortune on food and wine (i don;t budget or keep track at all at the mo but i was spending £600pm on all shopping inc nappies last time i did and i'm buying more now if anything) and then end up (like tonight) too late or too tired to cook and get a takeaway.

my store cupboards are usually stocked with everything as i replace as soon as stuff runs out (we do a big shop once a week or fortnight and then i nip to my local waitrose/sainsburys/M&S a few times a week for bits and pieces during my days off) but sometimes i end up with fresh stuff like veg all disappearing before i can replace it, like now. poor F asked for cucumber and carrots with his after-nursery snack and i had neither as i didn;t have time around work today.

we don't buy any meat or fish altho dh isn't a veggie, he mainly just eats chicken when we go out.

i was just thinking earlier (before reading the thread funnily enuf) that it's a bit ironic/perverse in a way to work long hours to earn money and then end up spending more on food and stuff to make up for it. that made no real sense but hopefully ykwim. actually, it's probably not even true really as plenty of people work hard but then still have to cook.

i also spend a fortune on clothes and shit for myself, thinking: i deserve it as i work so hard - but i know it's rubbish really. we all do.

egg curry sounds vomtastic to me too, even as a veggie and a usually non-fussy eater! spirael's curry sounds lush tho.

spirael - what a bloody cheeky re the feedback from the job Shock how on earth can they say that? what did they mean?

really pleased for you re your course mlic. hopefully the start of a new chapter for you

tsc have you tried F with vanilla soya milk? tis a bit like bm i think.

CakeandRoses · 07/02/2012 20:21

sorry if that all came across wrong re shopping etc. it wasn't meant badly but i am struggling to explain myself with my tired brain.

MyLifeIsStillChaotic · 07/02/2012 20:34

£600 per month shopping?

I'm devastated if my bill is over £50 a week.

I thought you were vegan though cake, not veggie? Can totally understand an egg curry sounding unappealing to a vegan.

And I spend absolutely fuck all on myself. My mam 'owes' me a pair of jeans that she will buy me for a belated Christmas present but I just never go shopping. When I do go, I end up putting everything back. Oh, I tell a lie, I bought a top for £8 in Matalan a few weeks ago and that dress in the Dorothy Perkins sale.

DH 'didn't enjoy' his tea 'at all' tonight. He's getting beans on toast tomorrow night. No joke.

CakeandRoses · 07/02/2012 20:56

yy, i am a vegan - i meant it grosses me out even as someone who doesn't eat meat. ie it would have grossed me out even when i did eat eggs. or something. proper braindead

i won't even say how much i think i spend on clothes etc then as you'll judge me forever Wink

memphis83 · 07/02/2012 21:00

mlic what was the meal tonight? I dont spend much on myself anymore I hate buying jeans, I bought some from Asda the other week that are going back, I think even if I lost 2 stone they would be tight on my mega thighs so I normally wait til the fall apart before I replace them.
cakes £600 a month? and I thought £70 a week was bad plus a couple of top ups which have killed me recently, I throw loads of stuff from the fridge every week, its so wastful things need to change, we dont buy any booze at all.ever. though.
wss shit, I worry about the cuppa every fortnight with mil and the cuppa a week with fil that lasts 20 mins!

My dad has got to have a blood transfusion :( I have a bad throat and doc says L's cough could take weeks to shift so we cant visit him.

memphis83 · 07/02/2012 21:05

cakes I would spend on clothes for L all day long, I used to be like that for myself until I fell pg now I hate buying stuff for myself, I would love to look nice everyday but struggle to put outfits together if I found it easier I would spend spend spend! We are in London this week we wont go near Oxford street eventhough I have saved for a while to get nice things while there, but know I will come home with nothing and buy paint and wallpaper with it!

Woodlands · 07/02/2012 21:14

I saw this egg curry recipe in the Guardian a while back and thought it looked tasty:

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/25/vegetable-curry-recipes-fearnley-whittingstall

OP posts:
viksam · 07/02/2012 21:21

Poooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thats all im going to say about it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Egg curry......NO! LOL at tsc vom inside out comment!
cake sounds shitter than shit, hope you get some kip tonight.
chu if i ever get broody shoot me! sitting on the ball does remind me though and makes me go ahhhhhh............ and wish he was still i there!!!!
Right BED!!!!

Chulita · 07/02/2012 21:24

memphis hope your dad's ok and that L's cough goes quickly so you can visit!

mlisc any sign of cp in your boys or have you escaped? and yes, what did you cook for tea? I'm lucky in that DH will eat almost anything.

cake fingers crossed for a decent night for all of you, the mmr is a right bastard isn't it? needed but it properly takes them out.

spirael I have a utility sink in the kitchen and I love it, I hate rinsing out nappies/poo-covered clothes etc in the kitchen sink but in this house I don't have to.
In Glos we used Ocado a lot but the last two places we've lived they don't deliver so it's Sainsbo's all the way for us.

tsc hope you get a decent sleep today and save up some mental energy for this weekend!

Right, I've read all of your posts but I'm going to curl up in bed. Frijol is right under my ribs so I can't breathe and poking my bladder, can't be arsed to be awake anymore.

MyLifeIsStillChaotic · 07/02/2012 21:27

Oooo no woodlands that doesn't appeal to me at all looks like the local duck pond

The one in the latest edition of Cook Vegetarian magazine looks lush. There's also one in the Allegra McEvedy book I won that looks similarly lush.

I don't even spend money on the boys' clothes. I very rarely buy them new stuff and just use hand me downs. I see it as such a waste as everything just gets destroyed and doesn't fit for long. So long as they're clean, dry, ironed and without holes, I put them in pretty much anything :)

Sorry about your dad memph

Chulita · 07/02/2012 21:27

viks if he was in there you'd be wishing he was out, at least out you can breathe, walk, last longer between wees, breathe through your nose, put your socks on, snuggle in a hoodie, fit into a raincoat, sit down, roll over without feeling like you're splitting in half and a million other things Grin (and you can hand him to dh and go for a walk to get away from the wailing)

5 weeks left and I can't bloody wait

Woodlands · 07/02/2012 22:16

mlisc without holes?! all J's trousers have holes in the knees - it's the legacy of his six months of crawling and his legs not really having grown much in/since that time, so he's still in the same 12-18 month trousers he's been in for the best part of a year. I am now throwing out pairs when they are more hole than knee, but the rest still all have holes in. He doesn't really have enough pairs of trousers now (only about four pairs, plus dungarees) but I am reluctant to buy more as 18-24 month are still a bit big on him. I have just chucked one pair of 9-12 month trousers he's been wearing till now as they are a bit small now plus have holes in both knees.

OP posts:
WhatSheSaid · 07/02/2012 22:33

Yep it's a long time but as thye've flown 12000 miles I can hardly say "You can only come for a weekend".

They're not actualy staying with us for the entire 6 weeks thank God, they are doing a bit of travelling around.

Groceries are more expensive here, I have it down to about 80 quid a week and I can't get much lower - that's making everything from scratch, buying stuff that's in season, no ready meals, buying virtually everything on special etc. Stuff like Value bags of pasta (or whatever) for 20p don't exist - the cheap budget range will be pasta for 1 pound. It could be a bit cheaper if I wasn't buying so much meat but dh is one of those annoying carnivore people who thinks it isn't a meal if there's no meat. I would happily only eat it once a week or so.

CakeandRoses · 07/02/2012 22:39

re childrens clothes: i buy a proper mix of second-hand stuff from charity shops and ebay (have got some amazing bargains on hand-made stuff or quirky designers), odd bits that i spy in supermarkets (particularly like F&F in tesco atm for some really lovely girls stuff - can guarantee everyone will compliment A's stuff from there even tho tis often bargainous), slightly more expensive brands like Joules for the odd thing just cos i often tend to like the designs and i don't mind spending more on coats given they'll wear them loads.

i also have a clinical condition which requires me to spend a lot of time searching for things for A which are navy, have no 'funny' or 'cute' writing on them - 'daddy's little princess' or 'my other outfit's a poledancing one' Wink, or cartoon characters mentioning no names peppa fucking pig.

i don;t really care where their clothes come from or what brands they are but i do care a lot what they look like. not from an accessory or status POV - just cos i like looking at things that look nice Smile

F's v interested in clothes already and usually decides what he'll wear every day, accessorising with wellies, hats and beads given the chance. A's a shoe-girl.

Woodlands · 07/02/2012 22:45

interesting that you say Tesco is good for girls' stuff Cake - I have barely ever found any nice boys' clothes there. It's all character stuff/just generally uninspired. I like Sainsbury's clothes best of the supermarkets, and tend to buy the next size's basics when they have one of their 25% off deals.

I'm finding it a bit sad now that we're moving out of the baby ranges - we have enough tops in 18-24 month sizes now so when I buy anything new it is 2-3 years - definitely in the little boy rather than baby aisles!

OP posts: