Me

Me

Wednesday 21 August 2013

When things don't go according to plan...

Hi everyone!

Well things have definitely not gone to plan...

We had trouble over the weekend and this meant that I was stressed and pre-occupied, so I didn't meal plan for our fortnightly shop :-(

There was no list :-(

I had to think hard and remember what I had in the cupboards, fridge and freezer...

I didn't forget anything important but we spent more than we wanted to.

On the plus side... we are lucky...

my husband is self-employed and has work and is well enough to work
we have enough money to spend on groceries
we have food in the cupboards, fridge and freezer
we have afforded to buy Daisy-May some lovely presents, cards and wrapping paper for her 1st birthday

NO MORE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS...

WE MOVE ON AND TRY TO DO BETTER NEXT TIME

Daisy is lactose intolerant and her food is more expensive. We buy lactofree soft cheese which is £1.74 a pack and alpro yoghurts which are £1.50 for four. I have bought other dairy free products in the past but they are slowly disappearing off the shelves. I have to really think about what she eats so I am quite good at remembering her shopping list.


Blogger is now allowing me to reply to comments in the comments section! So from now on, if you leave me a comment, I will reply there rather than posting my replies within a blog post.


More positive news - I have changed Daisy's room around and got rid of the bed in there. She has room for her cot (but not yet because she is too restless in the night and we want her settled first before this big change) and I made her a lovely book corner with mats, blankets, cushions, teddies and her book basket. She loves it because she is able to select books and enjoy them independently. She can crawl around safely too. I just have one area to sort out for the loft.

I have started to sort out my utility room and have lots of papers to get through (a chore that I do a bit each day). I completely cleared my ironing, although I have a small pile now because obviously I have done more washing since.

The living room has been decluttered so that some of Daisy's things are in her room now and she can access her toy boxes independently and safely now too.

The carboot pile is growing! Everything there has been labelled and boxed ready to go when we decide to do one. As I tidy each room, I seriously consider whether I need things or not and the house is beginning to look better for it.



I have several scrapbooks, where I stick in cuttings of craft projects or ideas that I would like to recreate. I had a flick through yesterday and found loads of things that I am capable of making and have the right materials for. This is my motivation to get sorted so I can have my sewing room/spare bedroom. I have loads of ideas to make it pretty and would love to have my jobs done in the morning so Daisy and I can have free time in the afternoons to have fun! That's my aim!!! This also means less time spent on the computer, so I will need to be more organised in preparing blog posts that are useful. I want to share what I do to be thrifty and also my homemade achievements. For me, it is mainly new recipes that I have developed to be cheap, quick to prepare and easy. In time, hopefully I will have some sewing to share with you too!

I won't put too much pressure on myself though because like my title says, sometimes 'things don't go according to plan' and my priority will always be Daisy-May.

I will post up our weekly menus from next week (what we've eaten this week) and eventually get around to my menu planning post. I want to write it properly, instead of rambling on. I have found these posts so useful so would love to pass on how I save money now. Please feel free to share what helps you save money as we go. I would love to hear from you!

I'm off now but all being well, I will be back soon...

Mandy x

9 comments:

  1. Love to hear what you are doing. I am slowly getting my DH clutter cleared. He hoards stuff.
    We had visitors this past two days( different families) so glad I had the place clutter free. Now the bedrooms. Lol
    Sylvia

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    1. Hi Sylvia, it's a slow process isn't it?! It must be a nightmare for a non-hoarder to look at stuff all the time. What one person thinks is useful or needed may be different from another person. I am changing because it is much easier to clean a room without stuff.

      Mandy x

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  2. Hi Mandy,
    im so so sorry that your daughter is still causing you so much pain and upset. And also that it is causing Daisy distress as well, as we all know that children, even babies do sense atmospheres and tensions around them. I do wish she would grow up and realise what she is doing to her poor daughter.
    Luckily she has to fantastic grandparents that are there to comfort her and make her feel safe and secure.
    I am almost certain that even though your daughter has rights as her birth mother the authorities (if it ever came to it) would be under no illusion as to how your daughters situation and behaviour is no environment to bring up a child and that you would have no problem in gaining some type of residence order for Daisy until your daughter was actually capable of thinking of someone else and not just herself.
    It does not appear that it will happen anytime soon so I think it is safe to say that Daisy is probably going to be with you for the foreseeable, which is as it should be as she is with the best people she could ever ask to be with.
    Do not let your daughters selfish, childish behaviour upset your household too much, and focus on the lovely sweet moments with Daisy that you will be able to cherish forever whereas her mother will never have this precious time again and is missing out on so much.

    My housework and meal plans etc have completely gone out of the window lately as the bathroom was only finished yesterday after everything going wrong that possibly could.
    It is such a relief to have things back to normal and hopefully I can get back on track the week after next when I get back from our week away in Scarborough (26th - 30th Aug).
    Take care, jane xx

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    1. The lack of official responsibility for Daisy is frustrating for us but we always wanted Daisy to live with her mummy. This is a long way off because she cannot provide anything other than love for her at the moment. Her living conditions are inadequate and I can't see how that will change unless she knuckles down and gets a job and saves up. She is useless and selfish with money so she couldn't provide financial stability for Daisy either (unless she works). To be honest, she doesn't know how to care for her now. Daisy is very different now to the little baby she left behind at Christmas. She would need a lot of support from us (which we have offered) until we think she's ready, gradually moving her in. Even then, we would expect to share her care. I am prepared to look after her while mummy works and have Daisy come to stay too. This is all in the distant future until she can stop putting herself first.

      It saddens me that she has lost the chance of those memories, all we could do was take loads of photos. Hopefully she will see the error of her ways sooner rather than later.

      We are taking Daisy to 'Adam's Farm' on Sunday. He's the one off Countryfile and it's in the Cotswolds, not too far from us. She LOVES all farm animals, especially chickens and ducks. A chance to get away from it all! The following Sunday is her 1st birthday!!!

      Glad the bathroom situation is sorted!Have a great time in Scarborough xxx

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  3. wow you have been busy sorting and clearing - Daisy is lucky she can choose her own books to enjoy now- our grand daughter is 2 today and loves to look through her books our grandson who is 18 months loves to be outside - and has recently moved home to a new house with a garden so he is enjoying easy access to his trike and outside toys - he was blowing bubbles out there yesterday. These grand children we have are such a joy and though you have serious responsibilities for Daisy she is very fortunate to having such caring grandparents as her main carers Have a wonderful day xx

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  4. Hi Mandy,
    I hope you have a lovely day at the farm with daisy for her birthday. A chance for you to get away and relax for a bit. Your husband and yourself are doing a wonderful job in caring for Daisy. It must be so hard and heartbreaking at times with your daughter. There is only so much you can do. lors x

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  5. Hi Mandy,
    I hope you have a lovely day at the farm with daisy for her birthday. A chance for you to get away and relax for a bit. Your husband and yourself are doing a wonderful job in caring for Daisy. It must be so hard and heartbreaking at times with your daughter. There is only so much you can do. lors x

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    1. Hi Lors, it's a pre-birthday treat for Daisy because of her love of farm animals, her actual birthday is on the 1st September.

      Things would be much easier here if Daisy slept!

      We've done our best by our daughter, she's rude and ungrateful but we keep on going because she's our daughter. She's apparently coming over later, so no relaxing evening for us!xxx

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