Where do I start ???!!!

AGGhhhhh where do I start, My Little boy was ill Monday, I had it all worked out the kids went back to school Tuesday, and I thought if he was still under the weather he could lounge on the sofa and Ill catch up with my blog and let you know of our first camping adventure over the Easter holiday, but we are now on Thursday, Monday/Tuesday Owen was ill, then Holly Joined in Tuesday evening, Holly and Owen both ill Wednesday either end of the sofa, Holly back to school Today and Owen is still not 100% sleeping the last of it away I think - I hope - and through all this Aimee is getting fed up becasue Holly had a day off school and she still had to go in, Aimee moaning cos she had to go in and Holly moaning cos she Couldnt- go figure that one out ?? in the meantime I am up to my eyes in sicky children and sicky washing - thats not even mentioning what is in the nappies !! wondering what to clean up first, and deciding that the washing can go on first then clean the kids up, poor washing machine wonders whats hit it and I am thanking my stars that we got the added warrenty on it and wonders if over use is ok as an excuse if it blows up??? and in the meantime what am I doing??? - I dont know all I know is that I am meeting myself coming backwards and hoping it will pass soon : ) when it does I will get myself back on track and let you know of our holidays- hopefully tomorrow x

Daddys birthday present

It is Mark's (my Husband) birthday on Tuesday 14th and I dont know about you but a homemade gift that the children have thought about and has taken the effort to create means so much more to me than any amount of shop bought presents and luckily Mark is of the same feeling, we do buy each other a present but we also try and get the kids to make something, we find that it gets them to really think about the person that they are making it for and the look of concentration on ther faces and watching them bursting to tell the recipient when they see them is priceless.

So that is what we were doing yesterday, put the baby to bed (only so much 'help' you need!) the we sat down to make the present and we made a loving memory jar cost was minimal which in the current climate is always grateful.




Needed

Pretty Jar £2

Paper Couple of sheets £ minimal

Ribbon £1

Memories £ priceless

With a drink and a snack to get the kids concentrating we sat down and all thought of the things that we love about daddy and the things we love to do when we spend time with him, each child noted about 5 down as did I and filled some in for the baby.

We then typed them out spaced out on sheets in a pretty font.

cut them into strips about 10cm wide each one with a memory on and whose its was

roll up and tie with a piece of ribbon into a scroll

put all the scrolls into the jar (I added a few of his favourite sweets (which happen to be love hearts - quite apt ) for good measure)

then everytime he is having a hard day or having a bad day with any of the children he can take himself off and remind himself that it is only a phase and that we all really do love him - which we do LOTS x x

budgeting planning

One of the additonal tools that I have implemented, is I have started to carry along 2 small notebooks, 1 for day to day spending, (or you can adapt your day to day diary for this) one of the problems that I personally have is that I have an amount of money in my purse and by the end of the day it has been frittered away and you spend the next half hour or so trying to recall where you have been throughout the day, that is where the notebook comes in when you have paid and are waiting for your change just make a quick note on how much the purchase was, you may get some strange looks from other customers but as far as I'm concerned you probably wont see them again (unless they follow you around to see what you are writing!) and you will then have at the end of the day a concise record of where your pennies are disappearing to.
The other notebook is what I do my menu planning in. One page, menu for the week, next page shopping list, and next to the items I write in a rough costing of how much each item is (or how much I want to spend up to) with being on a tight budget this gives me the scope to adjust the list to fit in with the budget. Finally when I get home, - and this may seem a pointless and thankless task - I go through the receipt and then list by each item the actual cost, and then to list seperately items that have been bought not on the list, this is where I normally find all the extras that have slipped into the trolley which is where of course all the extra pennies slip away. Although this may seem time consuming, its a task that only needs to be done as often as you shop. and if you are living to a tight budget or trying to pay off debts - or in our case both it needs to be done, make every penny count, and as the saying goes look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.