Hello Readers
Sorry I've not been about but I have been very poorly the last 2 days. After an almost 3 year remission from my Menieres disease it is back :( On Wednesday night I was up all night being sick and then yesterday morning it hit me. The thing I have been dreading and my body has felt coming for the last few weeks. A full on vertigo attack that has left me reeling. My balance is shot to pieces, my tinnitus is raging so loudly I can not hear anything, and I have the shakes and tremors. I hate this damn disease. I thought I was finally in the burn out phase and would never have to endure another vertigo attack again. How wrong was I ? So yesterday and today I have done nothing but rest. The boys and my best friend have been fantastic. The boys have helped in the house and my bestie is on stand by in case I need her help at all.The no spend week is going well. Not being able to get out and about has definitely helped with that lol.
Anyway I am having trouble focusing on my words here but just wanted to let you all know I have not disappeared and I am still here all be it in recovery mode at the moment. I'm off to watch reruns of The Darling Buds Of May whilst snuggled up in bed with a hot water bottle.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
Friday, 11 November 2016
Tuesday, 8 November 2016
Not Much To Report
Hello Readers
I was lucky enough to have 2 hours cleaning work today. I took youngest son along with me and he sat nicely and played on his tablet whilst I got on with my work. That's £16 earned towards Xmas presents this week. Although as I am having a no spend week it will get added to my Xmas savings envelope. When we got home I warmed up a cheese and onion roll each for myself and youngest son which was yellow sticker and 25p for them both. I then set about a list of phone calls that needed making and got on with some housework. I have one of my little peeps overnight tonight. She is only 3 and is an absolute little poppet. She is Autistic and barely sleeps and her mummy really needed a night off and to catch up on some Zzzzzz's so I offered to have her. She will be picked up in the morning just before I go to my meeting at the school. Tbh Readers there's not a lot to report from today as I have not been out other than to work. I have not spent any money today so the no spend week has got off to a good start and that is how I intend to keep it. I have £4 in my purse to get a hat and 2 pairs of gloves (I found another 3 scarfs so we are all good for scarfs now) if I see them when I am out and about but that is the only spending I will allow myself to do this week.
Anyway I am off to watch some Dora The Explorer with my little poppet now. Have a good evening everyone.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
I was lucky enough to have 2 hours cleaning work today. I took youngest son along with me and he sat nicely and played on his tablet whilst I got on with my work. That's £16 earned towards Xmas presents this week. Although as I am having a no spend week it will get added to my Xmas savings envelope. When we got home I warmed up a cheese and onion roll each for myself and youngest son which was yellow sticker and 25p for them both. I then set about a list of phone calls that needed making and got on with some housework. I have one of my little peeps overnight tonight. She is only 3 and is an absolute little poppet. She is Autistic and barely sleeps and her mummy really needed a night off and to catch up on some Zzzzzz's so I offered to have her. She will be picked up in the morning just before I go to my meeting at the school. Tbh Readers there's not a lot to report from today as I have not been out other than to work. I have not spent any money today so the no spend week has got off to a good start and that is how I intend to keep it. I have £4 in my purse to get a hat and 2 pairs of gloves (I found another 3 scarfs so we are all good for scarfs now) if I see them when I am out and about but that is the only spending I will allow myself to do this week.
Anyway I am off to watch some Dora The Explorer with my little poppet now. Have a good evening everyone.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
Monday, 7 November 2016
One Of Those Day's
Hello Readers
Sorry for my little rant early today but I feel so much better now for having a good old moan lol. Shortly after I wrote that post I had a message telling me my mum had been rushed to hospital but no other details. A few frantic phone calls and still I was none the wiser and couldn't get hold of my mum. It was a tense few hours of worrying about mum until I got a text from my sister informing me mum was on her way home and she is OK but has an infection which they have given her antibiotics for and told her to rest phew.
As I knew mum was OK and I could stop worrying I went to Morrison's to get the few bits I needed.....
Toilet roll
Pet food
#30DayFestiveFoodBank items for the week
I also popped to my local little Tesco as they had an item I often buy on offer at 2 for £5 instead of £5.51 for 1. I popped 2 on the counter and they rung up at £11.02. "Well that cant be right" I said. "They are 2 for £5 on your website". The chap behind the till told me "maybe the offer is only valid in the bigger Tesco stores". Huh Tesco's is Tesco's is it not ? Surely their prices should be the same in all of their stores regardless of the size. I will be writing them an email tonight as this is ridiculous if you advertise something for a price then that price should be honored regardless of the size of your store. I will let you all know how I get on.
I picked up some more items for the #30DayFestiveFoodBank today here's what we have so far.....
Please excuse the fur babies bowls and the rock collection lol. We have.....
2 Bags of rice
2 Bags of pasta
3 Packs of noodles
2 Jars of curry sauce
2 Jars of pasta sauce
2 Cartons of orange juice
3 Tins of spaghetti bolognaise
2 Packs of soap (3 bars in a pack)
3 Roll on deodorants
4 Bars of chocolate
3 Tubes of toothpaste
It's not to late to join in the challenge. All you have to do is buy one item for each of the days in November (30 but you can buy more or less as your budget allows all donations are very welcomed). At the end of November pop the items in to your local food bank to be distributed in time for Xmas.
There's a definite chill in the air here tonight so I am off to snuggle up with youngest son under the duvet and watch some old episodes of Doctor Who. Keep warm everyone.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
Sorry for my little rant early today but I feel so much better now for having a good old moan lol. Shortly after I wrote that post I had a message telling me my mum had been rushed to hospital but no other details. A few frantic phone calls and still I was none the wiser and couldn't get hold of my mum. It was a tense few hours of worrying about mum until I got a text from my sister informing me mum was on her way home and she is OK but has an infection which they have given her antibiotics for and told her to rest phew.
As I knew mum was OK and I could stop worrying I went to Morrison's to get the few bits I needed.....
Toilet roll
Pet food
#30DayFestiveFoodBank items for the week
I also popped to my local little Tesco as they had an item I often buy on offer at 2 for £5 instead of £5.51 for 1. I popped 2 on the counter and they rung up at £11.02. "Well that cant be right" I said. "They are 2 for £5 on your website". The chap behind the till told me "maybe the offer is only valid in the bigger Tesco stores". Huh Tesco's is Tesco's is it not ? Surely their prices should be the same in all of their stores regardless of the size. I will be writing them an email tonight as this is ridiculous if you advertise something for a price then that price should be honored regardless of the size of your store. I will let you all know how I get on.
I picked up some more items for the #30DayFestiveFoodBank today here's what we have so far.....
Please excuse the fur babies bowls and the rock collection lol. We have.....
2 Bags of rice
2 Bags of pasta
3 Packs of noodles
2 Jars of curry sauce
2 Jars of pasta sauce
2 Cartons of orange juice
3 Tins of spaghetti bolognaise
2 Packs of soap (3 bars in a pack)
3 Roll on deodorants
4 Bars of chocolate
3 Tubes of toothpaste
It's not to late to join in the challenge. All you have to do is buy one item for each of the days in November (30 but you can buy more or less as your budget allows all donations are very welcomed). At the end of November pop the items in to your local food bank to be distributed in time for Xmas.
There's a definite chill in the air here tonight so I am off to snuggle up with youngest son under the duvet and watch some old episodes of Doctor Who. Keep warm everyone.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
Sometimes Life Sucks
Hello Readers
Completely not frugal related so feel free to pass over this post but I need a good rant and maybe there's some of you out there who can sympathize with what I am going through. If you have ever had any dealings with Autism and ADHD then I am sure you will be able to relate.
Here's the back story.....
I removed youngest son from school when he was not getting the help and support he needed (in fact they completely refused to acknowledge the fact he has Autism and ADHD) and home educated him for 2 years. At the beginning of this year I decided I had taken him as far as I could and that he needed to be in a more specialist educational setting. I set about getting him into a specialist school or at least a mainstream school with a specialist setting. The local education authority however had other ideas. Youngest son was put into a mainstream school with no special needs provision in June of this year and it has been a struggle ever since. It all started OK and he was doing full days for the first 5 weeks until he had a meltdown. He was excluded and when he was allowed to return they reduced his school day to 12pm. This worked for a little while until 6 weeks ago he had another meltdown and was excluded a second time. He was allowed to return but only doing 9am-10.45am and was told if there were any further incidents he would be excluded permanently. Since he started school in June I have been screaming and shouting to anyone that will listen that this is not the right setting for him and that he needs to be in a school where they know and are trained to deal with his very specific complex needs. He has been repeatedly restrained in spite of the fact no one has been taught to do this correctly or safely and as a result he is often left with bruises. Finally the education authority decided to do something but only after the school spoke up and said they can not cope with him or his needs (it appears a parents opinion is worth nothing). A my plan has been started which will outline all his needs, the type of provision he needs, and name a special needs setting if that's what they deem necessary. However a my plan takes 6 months to put together and in the meantime he has to stay at the mainstream school he is at and just get on with it.
Fast forward to this morning.....
I arrived at the school at 10.45am to collect youngest son to find him pinned down by 3 adults. He was crying, kicking out, and very frightened (wouldn't you be with 3 adults pinning you down so you cant move). When I entered the room he tried to come to me but they would not let him go so I just snatched him away from them, sat on the floor with him, and soothed him until he had calmed down enough that I could talk to the teacher and find out what had happened. It appears that there were several changes to his morning timetable that caused him to go into meltdown (anyone who knows about Autism knows they do not do well with change). He has been excluded for a 3rd time and I have to go in with him Wednesday morning where I fully expect to be told he is permanently excluded as he was on his last warning. Youngest son is devastated as am I. He enjoys school and has really been making some progress since his medication was changed 6 weeks ago. My heart aches for him and I just want to make everything OK for him. I told them this would happen, that he needed a specialist setting but they would not listen to me. As a result of budgeting and trying to save money wherever they can they have put my son and the staff of this school (which is a very nice school just not equipped to deal with special needs) through hell and now it looks like we will be back where we started with him being at home all day with me until they get there thumb out of their arse and put him in a suitable setting which could take months.
OK so rant over. Have any of you lovely readers gone through similar or do you have any advice for me ? I would love to hear from you.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
Completely not frugal related so feel free to pass over this post but I need a good rant and maybe there's some of you out there who can sympathize with what I am going through. If you have ever had any dealings with Autism and ADHD then I am sure you will be able to relate.
Here's the back story.....
I removed youngest son from school when he was not getting the help and support he needed (in fact they completely refused to acknowledge the fact he has Autism and ADHD) and home educated him for 2 years. At the beginning of this year I decided I had taken him as far as I could and that he needed to be in a more specialist educational setting. I set about getting him into a specialist school or at least a mainstream school with a specialist setting. The local education authority however had other ideas. Youngest son was put into a mainstream school with no special needs provision in June of this year and it has been a struggle ever since. It all started OK and he was doing full days for the first 5 weeks until he had a meltdown. He was excluded and when he was allowed to return they reduced his school day to 12pm. This worked for a little while until 6 weeks ago he had another meltdown and was excluded a second time. He was allowed to return but only doing 9am-10.45am and was told if there were any further incidents he would be excluded permanently. Since he started school in June I have been screaming and shouting to anyone that will listen that this is not the right setting for him and that he needs to be in a school where they know and are trained to deal with his very specific complex needs. He has been repeatedly restrained in spite of the fact no one has been taught to do this correctly or safely and as a result he is often left with bruises. Finally the education authority decided to do something but only after the school spoke up and said they can not cope with him or his needs (it appears a parents opinion is worth nothing). A my plan has been started which will outline all his needs, the type of provision he needs, and name a special needs setting if that's what they deem necessary. However a my plan takes 6 months to put together and in the meantime he has to stay at the mainstream school he is at and just get on with it.
Fast forward to this morning.....
I arrived at the school at 10.45am to collect youngest son to find him pinned down by 3 adults. He was crying, kicking out, and very frightened (wouldn't you be with 3 adults pinning you down so you cant move). When I entered the room he tried to come to me but they would not let him go so I just snatched him away from them, sat on the floor with him, and soothed him until he had calmed down enough that I could talk to the teacher and find out what had happened. It appears that there were several changes to his morning timetable that caused him to go into meltdown (anyone who knows about Autism knows they do not do well with change). He has been excluded for a 3rd time and I have to go in with him Wednesday morning where I fully expect to be told he is permanently excluded as he was on his last warning. Youngest son is devastated as am I. He enjoys school and has really been making some progress since his medication was changed 6 weeks ago. My heart aches for him and I just want to make everything OK for him. I told them this would happen, that he needed a specialist setting but they would not listen to me. As a result of budgeting and trying to save money wherever they can they have put my son and the staff of this school (which is a very nice school just not equipped to deal with special needs) through hell and now it looks like we will be back where we started with him being at home all day with me until they get there thumb out of their arse and put him in a suitable setting which could take months.
OK so rant over. Have any of you lovely readers gone through similar or do you have any advice for me ? I would love to hear from you.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
Sunday, 6 November 2016
Finances And Chocolate
Hello Readers
Well my jaw has unlocked thankfully. Its still a little sore but I can talk and eat again yey lol. On the 2nd of September I had a water meter installed. I was fed up paying £69 a month fixed water rates and was sure that even as a family of 4 we could get that monthly payment down. From the 2nd of September till the 14th of September we used 10 units. I realized that this was way to much and there must be a leak somewhere. I rang the landlord and had someone come out and investigate where the leak was. It turned out the toilet cistern was constantly emptying and refilling itself and that's where the excess water was going. 1 plumber and 10 minutes later the problem was sorted and between the 14th September and today, 6th November we have used 9 units of water. I am looking forward to getting my first bill in December so I can work out roughly how much money we will save a year being on the meter instead of the fixed tariff.
Current water meter reading 19.253
I sat down and checked how we did on last months budget. As soon as I get payed I pay the rent and council tax for the month and all my household bills for the month. I then put the following into envelopes to last the month.....
Food £160
Entertainment £20
Xmas savings £30
Gifts £10
Clothing £10
As I don't have to buy Gifts or clothing every month a nice little surplus builds up in those envelopes for when a birthday or a needed item of clothing does crop up. Here's how I did this month.....
Food £124 (the £36 saved this month has gone into my long term savings account)
Entertainment £17 (the £3 saved this month will remain in the envelope. I have £33 left in this envelope)
Xmas savings £0 (I haven't bought any Xmas gifts this month. I have £270 left in this envelope)
Gifts £28 (I used the £10 budgeted this month plus £18 from my gifts envelope to cover little ladies birthday. I have £22 left in this envelope)
Clothing £10 (I have £40 left in this envelope)
So as you can see the only thing I came in over on was Gifts this month and that came out of the surplus money in my Gifts envelope. I anticipate Novembers food budget to be much lower this month as I did a big Tesco freezer shop and an approved food shop in October and thanks to all the yellow sticker bargains we have had through October we have barely touched any of it.
I made brownies today Readers I had a real hankering for some chocolaty gooey goodness and these certainly hit the spot.
The No Spend Weekend has gone very well and not a penny has been spent. Tomorrow I will pay all the bills, put money in envelopes, buy pet food/festivefoodbank items/and toilet roll, put £4 to one side for the hat/scarf/and 2 pairs of gloves we need. Once all that has been done it will be a No Spend Week for the rest of the week.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria
Well my jaw has unlocked thankfully. Its still a little sore but I can talk and eat again yey lol. On the 2nd of September I had a water meter installed. I was fed up paying £69 a month fixed water rates and was sure that even as a family of 4 we could get that monthly payment down. From the 2nd of September till the 14th of September we used 10 units. I realized that this was way to much and there must be a leak somewhere. I rang the landlord and had someone come out and investigate where the leak was. It turned out the toilet cistern was constantly emptying and refilling itself and that's where the excess water was going. 1 plumber and 10 minutes later the problem was sorted and between the 14th September and today, 6th November we have used 9 units of water. I am looking forward to getting my first bill in December so I can work out roughly how much money we will save a year being on the meter instead of the fixed tariff.
Current water meter reading 19.253
I sat down and checked how we did on last months budget. As soon as I get payed I pay the rent and council tax for the month and all my household bills for the month. I then put the following into envelopes to last the month.....
Food £160
Entertainment £20
Xmas savings £30
Gifts £10
Clothing £10
As I don't have to buy Gifts or clothing every month a nice little surplus builds up in those envelopes for when a birthday or a needed item of clothing does crop up. Here's how I did this month.....
Food £124 (the £36 saved this month has gone into my long term savings account)
Entertainment £17 (the £3 saved this month will remain in the envelope. I have £33 left in this envelope)
Xmas savings £0 (I haven't bought any Xmas gifts this month. I have £270 left in this envelope)
Gifts £28 (I used the £10 budgeted this month plus £18 from my gifts envelope to cover little ladies birthday. I have £22 left in this envelope)
Clothing £10 (I have £40 left in this envelope)
So as you can see the only thing I came in over on was Gifts this month and that came out of the surplus money in my Gifts envelope. I anticipate Novembers food budget to be much lower this month as I did a big Tesco freezer shop and an approved food shop in October and thanks to all the yellow sticker bargains we have had through October we have barely touched any of it.
I made brownies today Readers I had a real hankering for some chocolaty gooey goodness and these certainly hit the spot.
The No Spend Weekend has gone very well and not a penny has been spent. Tomorrow I will pay all the bills, put money in envelopes, buy pet food/festivefoodbank items/and toilet roll, put £4 to one side for the hat/scarf/and 2 pairs of gloves we need. Once all that has been done it will be a No Spend Week for the rest of the week.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria
Saturday, 5 November 2016
Treating Ailments At Home
Hello Readers
I woke up this morning with one side of my jaw locked in place. Its bloody agony. There is a centimeter gap between my top set of teeth and bottom set of teeth and I can not open it any wider or close it firmly shut. I cant talk, eat, and can only just drink, all be it very painfully. I have lived on banana milk and chicken soup through a straw all day. I have never had this before. I have had stiffness of the jaw but it has never completely locked on me and I really don't like it. A lot of people would have been straight up the doctors but I don't do doctors. Don't get me wrong I don't have a fear of them or anything like that. I just think if its something I can take care of myself at home then why take a doctors appointment up that someone else may really need. We rarely go to the doctors instead I have a well stocked medicine cabinet capable of taking care of most minor ailments. For coughs, colds, tummy bugs, and headaches doctor Maria prescribes paracetamol, ibuprofen, bed rest, and a healthy dose of TLC. Most ailments I will attempt to deal with at home myself before heading straight to the doctors. That said I do have a rule that if any of us are obviously in unbearable pain or if the problem has not alleviated within 3 days then we give in and pay the GP a visit. 99% of the time though it does not come to this and the problem is easily cured at home. I have been taking painkillers all day so am hoping by the morning it will have loosened off a bit and I can talk and eat solids again.
Despite being in pain I have pushed through and got on with my plan for the weekend. The house has been cleaned, the animals have been cleaned, I have seen to the paperwork, done a stock take and meal plan for next week, and I have done 3 loads of washing all drying on the airing racks as we speak.
All I need to buy for next week is pet food and toilet roll as I have everything else I need and no appointments to attend and the diary is empty so next week has been declared a no spend week. I have pulled all scarfs, gloves, hats, fluffy socks, thermals, and nightgowns out of storage and all we seem to be missing is 1 pair of gloves, 1 scarf, and one hat. Also 1 pair of gloves needs replacing as one of the pair has a big tear in it. I will keep my eyes open for replacements in the charity shops and Poundland. The electric blankets and extra duvets have stayed in storage as although it is chilly we are not quite at that stage yet.
Tomorrow I will get the clean washing put away and another few loads done and hung on the airers, check how I came in on Octobers budget and move money around accordingly, Check my water meter reading, make some chocolate brownies, and get everything ready for back to school/course on Monday.
I am off to watch old episodes of Doctor Who snuggled up in bed with youngest and middle son.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
I woke up this morning with one side of my jaw locked in place. Its bloody agony. There is a centimeter gap between my top set of teeth and bottom set of teeth and I can not open it any wider or close it firmly shut. I cant talk, eat, and can only just drink, all be it very painfully. I have lived on banana milk and chicken soup through a straw all day. I have never had this before. I have had stiffness of the jaw but it has never completely locked on me and I really don't like it. A lot of people would have been straight up the doctors but I don't do doctors. Don't get me wrong I don't have a fear of them or anything like that. I just think if its something I can take care of myself at home then why take a doctors appointment up that someone else may really need. We rarely go to the doctors instead I have a well stocked medicine cabinet capable of taking care of most minor ailments. For coughs, colds, tummy bugs, and headaches doctor Maria prescribes paracetamol, ibuprofen, bed rest, and a healthy dose of TLC. Most ailments I will attempt to deal with at home myself before heading straight to the doctors. That said I do have a rule that if any of us are obviously in unbearable pain or if the problem has not alleviated within 3 days then we give in and pay the GP a visit. 99% of the time though it does not come to this and the problem is easily cured at home. I have been taking painkillers all day so am hoping by the morning it will have loosened off a bit and I can talk and eat solids again.
Despite being in pain I have pushed through and got on with my plan for the weekend. The house has been cleaned, the animals have been cleaned, I have seen to the paperwork, done a stock take and meal plan for next week, and I have done 3 loads of washing all drying on the airing racks as we speak.
All I need to buy for next week is pet food and toilet roll as I have everything else I need and no appointments to attend and the diary is empty so next week has been declared a no spend week. I have pulled all scarfs, gloves, hats, fluffy socks, thermals, and nightgowns out of storage and all we seem to be missing is 1 pair of gloves, 1 scarf, and one hat. Also 1 pair of gloves needs replacing as one of the pair has a big tear in it. I will keep my eyes open for replacements in the charity shops and Poundland. The electric blankets and extra duvets have stayed in storage as although it is chilly we are not quite at that stage yet.
Tomorrow I will get the clean washing put away and another few loads done and hung on the airers, check how I came in on Octobers budget and move money around accordingly, Check my water meter reading, make some chocolate brownies, and get everything ready for back to school/course on Monday.
I am off to watch old episodes of Doctor Who snuggled up in bed with youngest and middle son.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
Friday, 4 November 2016
Daily Savings With A Good Measure Of Fun Thrown In
Hello Readers
A lot to share with you this evening so please bare with me while I have a good old ramble lol.
I took little lady out for her birthday treat today. As well as being known as the yellow sticker queen I am also known as mother earth, a title my best friend gave me almost 16 years ago. I love children they bring me so much joy. I have a natural knack with them. I love them and they love me. I am blessed enough to have 14 little peeps in my life who I would gladly jump in front of a bus for if it meant saving them. I have my 3 biological children, my best friends 7 children, my other best friends 2 children. my goddaughter, and my nephew. I love them all dearly and as honorary Auntie it is my right to spoil them on their birthdays lol. Little lady had a lovely day and we stuck to my budget that I shared with you yesterday aside from a hot chocolate and a pizza slice that cost £2.50 and we gave to a very cold very wet homeless chap.
Here is the 53p Birthday cake I made for little lady.....
Sponge mix 22p (Tesco value)
Egg 1p (Yellow sticker)
Clotted cream 5p (Yellow sticker)
Yellow ready to roll icing 0p (Little ladies mum had some in her baking cupboard)
Pink icing pen 0p (Already had in my baking cupboard)
Haribo sweets 25p (I used half of a bag I picked up for 50p)
I almost forgot, meet Twinkle little ladies newest addition whom she loves and adores and has informed me that she is going to keep forever because its from auntie Maria lol. Little lady loved her day out and her cake and Twinkle so my work here is done till next year lol.
This evening I had to pop to Morrison's for my #30DayFestiveFoodBank item. I decided on a pack of curry flavored noodles today. However as I have had 2 days this week where I have spent a lot (to me) of money I have declared Saturday and Sunday no spend days. As a result of it being a no spend weekend I grabbed 3 packs of curry flavored noodles instead of 1 so I don't have to spend anything but still have my daily food bank item covered.
I had a look at the yellow stickers whilst I was there (well it would have been rude not to wouldn't it ? lol). Yet again I did very well. We have eaten 90% yellow sticker food this week and with today's finds it has cost me just £8.40. Here's what I got today.....
4 Large bottles of banana flavored milk (2 have gone in the freezer)
3 Packs of pizza pockets (2 have gone in the freezer)
3 Packs of flame grilled ready to eat mini chicken fillets (2 have gone in the freezer)
1 Box of 2 scotch eggs
1 Pack of 2 cheese and ham chicken kievs
1 Large box of mixed ham
2 Packs of munch bunch yogurts
3 Chicken and bacon sandwiches
2 Best Ham and egg stack sandwiches
2 Just ham sandwiches
2 Brunch triple sandwiches
2 Cheese and onion slices
3 Steak and ale pies
2 Chicken and bacon pies
24 Hovis crumpets (12 have gone in the freezer)
2 LED tealights (Halloween ones)
1 Large tube of chocolate writing icing
Total cost £5.04
How do you do fireworks night on a budget Readers ? Here's how I do mine.....
Youngest son can not cope at a display there are way to many people, way to much noise, and strobe lighting (not good when he is autistic, ADHD, and has suspected epilepsy). He has always gone into major meltdown at these events which is not fair on him, me, or his 2 brothers. This year especially with the increase in his absence seizures I put my foot down and said we were not going to the local display. That said we have not missed out. The venue where the fireworks display is held is our local primary school which also just so happens to be right in front of our house lol. As soon as we heard the fireworks start we ran up to my room turned of all the lights and watched the display from my bedroom window. We had a front row view of the display, were nice and warm, and we didn't have to pay the £24 entrance fee that it would have cost for the 4 of us. I have spent £4 on fireworks from Poundland that we will let off in the garden tomorrow evening, 2 colorful fountains and 2 packets of sparklers. We have not missed out on anything and the total cost of our fireworks night has cost me just £4.
I am off for a spot of reading now and to put my feet up after a busy day. If you are having fireworks please be safe always remember your gloves when handling sparklers, observe boundaries at displays, and if you are having a bonfire ALWAYS check that no animals have crawled in for warmth before you light that fire, but above all have lots of fun.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
A lot to share with you this evening so please bare with me while I have a good old ramble lol.
I took little lady out for her birthday treat today. As well as being known as the yellow sticker queen I am also known as mother earth, a title my best friend gave me almost 16 years ago. I love children they bring me so much joy. I have a natural knack with them. I love them and they love me. I am blessed enough to have 14 little peeps in my life who I would gladly jump in front of a bus for if it meant saving them. I have my 3 biological children, my best friends 7 children, my other best friends 2 children. my goddaughter, and my nephew. I love them all dearly and as honorary Auntie it is my right to spoil them on their birthdays lol. Little lady had a lovely day and we stuck to my budget that I shared with you yesterday aside from a hot chocolate and a pizza slice that cost £2.50 and we gave to a very cold very wet homeless chap.
Here is the 53p Birthday cake I made for little lady.....
Sponge mix 22p (Tesco value)
Egg 1p (Yellow sticker)
Clotted cream 5p (Yellow sticker)
Yellow ready to roll icing 0p (Little ladies mum had some in her baking cupboard)
Pink icing pen 0p (Already had in my baking cupboard)
Haribo sweets 25p (I used half of a bag I picked up for 50p)
I almost forgot, meet Twinkle little ladies newest addition whom she loves and adores and has informed me that she is going to keep forever because its from auntie Maria lol. Little lady loved her day out and her cake and Twinkle so my work here is done till next year lol.
This evening I had to pop to Morrison's for my #30DayFestiveFoodBank item. I decided on a pack of curry flavored noodles today. However as I have had 2 days this week where I have spent a lot (to me) of money I have declared Saturday and Sunday no spend days. As a result of it being a no spend weekend I grabbed 3 packs of curry flavored noodles instead of 1 so I don't have to spend anything but still have my daily food bank item covered.
I had a look at the yellow stickers whilst I was there (well it would have been rude not to wouldn't it ? lol). Yet again I did very well. We have eaten 90% yellow sticker food this week and with today's finds it has cost me just £8.40. Here's what I got today.....
4 Large bottles of banana flavored milk (2 have gone in the freezer)
3 Packs of pizza pockets (2 have gone in the freezer)
3 Packs of flame grilled ready to eat mini chicken fillets (2 have gone in the freezer)
1 Box of 2 scotch eggs
1 Pack of 2 cheese and ham chicken kievs
1 Large box of mixed ham
2 Packs of munch bunch yogurts
3 Chicken and bacon sandwiches
2 Best Ham and egg stack sandwiches
2 Just ham sandwiches
2 Brunch triple sandwiches
2 Cheese and onion slices
3 Steak and ale pies
2 Chicken and bacon pies
24 Hovis crumpets (12 have gone in the freezer)
2 LED tealights (Halloween ones)
1 Large tube of chocolate writing icing
Total cost £5.04
How do you do fireworks night on a budget Readers ? Here's how I do mine.....
Youngest son can not cope at a display there are way to many people, way to much noise, and strobe lighting (not good when he is autistic, ADHD, and has suspected epilepsy). He has always gone into major meltdown at these events which is not fair on him, me, or his 2 brothers. This year especially with the increase in his absence seizures I put my foot down and said we were not going to the local display. That said we have not missed out. The venue where the fireworks display is held is our local primary school which also just so happens to be right in front of our house lol. As soon as we heard the fireworks start we ran up to my room turned of all the lights and watched the display from my bedroom window. We had a front row view of the display, were nice and warm, and we didn't have to pay the £24 entrance fee that it would have cost for the 4 of us. I have spent £4 on fireworks from Poundland that we will let off in the garden tomorrow evening, 2 colorful fountains and 2 packets of sparklers. We have not missed out on anything and the total cost of our fireworks night has cost me just £4.
I am off for a spot of reading now and to put my feet up after a busy day. If you are having fireworks please be safe always remember your gloves when handling sparklers, observe boundaries at displays, and if you are having a bonfire ALWAYS check that no animals have crawled in for warmth before you light that fire, but above all have lots of fun.
Until Next Time
Much Love
Maria xxx
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