Keeping on top of costs & Budgeting

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As most of  you know I am desperate to stay at home with the boys for as long as I can, so menu plan every week and we keep a close eye on our spending.

One of the things that I do have to make sure I do and which often slips through the net is to check the costs of annual payments or things that we pay by direct debit.

We have made a £6 a month saving on our gas and electric this month, just by making one phone call to our provider, who offered a better deal with no lock in.

We also make sure that we get car insurance quotes and not only by using the comparison sites, but also by ringing up a number or checking their web sites.

Other Ad Hoc Payments

Breakdown cover, often also available by your car insurance company

Mobile telephone and broadband

Land-line, many mobile companies also now offer this

Sky TV - they keep offering us 3 months movies half price

Home and Contents Insurance, shop around, you do not have to stay with your mortgage provider.

My biggest advise though is to use cash, have a budget and stick to it.  I have said before I do this with my Budget Pouches.

Writing Workshop - Untill the next night

I am anxious, trying not to think about what might be wrong

I am trying hard to banish any worrying thoughts from my mind

To compartmentalise my health worries

Separating them from our everyday life

But I am tired, oh so tired, exhausted beyond belief

Trying hard to keep up with my boys

which I do manage most day's

But my nights suffer for it

The thoughts they run free in the dark

No longer masked by the bright sunshine of the day

They invade my sleeping hours

Leaving me no where to hide

So how do I verbalise my worries?

Will talking about them make them feel more real?

I can not give them any more power than they already have

So I will keep them to myself for now

I will the night to pass, the clock to tick forward

bringing the darkest hours before the dawn

Dawn brings me my family, my reason, my being

Giving me something to distract me

I can almost feel the apprehension gripping on to my heart

The nervousness making my tummy turn to jelly

Yes I am worried

But I refuse to allow the dread a presence during the daylight hours

And soon enough the day does come

A shard of light piercing the dark night

The tiptoe of tint feet

And great big warm cuddles making everything alright

Untill the next night .......

This week I chose prompt number 5 - Pick an emotion that best represents your state of mind right now and write creatively on that theme.

The Gallery - Portraits

This weeks prompt over at Sticky Fingers for The Gallery was Portraits, how apt seen as I received these from school this week.

They don't get much more adorable than this, do they?

I am so lucky to have two such wonderful children, so some special things about my boys.

I love nothing more than my morning snuggles with Mini, he often comes and joins us at some point during the night and we love it, we are cherishing the fact that he wants to be close to both me and MadDad.;;;;;I

I love the fact that tucking Maxi in to bed is always such a treat, he is usually asleep before you even get out of the room!

It is hard to believe that Mini is very nearly as tall as Maxi and he now has size 10 and a half feet!

I am so impressed with Maxi's reading, it is coming on in leaps and bounds and he gets really animated when reading to us on an evening, the four of us sit together on the sofa and really love this time.

I also really like the fact that they are becoming part of our neighbourhood and love that they are often called on to come out and play (I go up to my bedroom and watch them out the window).

I think maybe the time is coming for the stabilisers to come off Maxi's bike.  We are only holding off, as we know that what one does the other always wants to follow.

There is nothing better than coming home to two boys who make my heart sing and make most things a joy.

They both blamanche or milky jelly.  They adore making it, which couldn't be simpler.  Dissolve the jelly in a quarter of a pint of boiling water, allow to cool but not set and then add half a pint of milk, pour in to moulds then pop in the fridge 30mins later you have this....

Perfect to serve with strawberries. 

A weekend spent in the Garden

I said that I had grand plans for the garden this weekend, well the weather was mostly kind and we did manage to get quite a lot done

Onions have been planted out, 2 varieties, Red Barron and Bedford Champion.  We have also sown some spring onions (Lisbon) direct in to the bed.

Rainbow Chard has been transplanted in to the bed too, alongside side Chinese Broccoli, which is a new vegetable for us.

We have also direct sown the runner beans, peas and dwarf beans in to another bed.

The potatoes have been planted in to our two barrels.

Our Sunflowers have been transplanted too, the boys are so excited about these and can not wait for them to start getting bigger.

We also managed to move the sandboat and the playhouse, well we swopped them round,as the sand needs to get more sun to dry out, we dug the wet sand in to the raised beds and will be getting new play sand at some point.

There is still lots to do, but I have put away the other seeds for safe keeping and for the life of me can not find them!  I have also got some strawberries and tomatoes coming, which I used Tesco club card point to pay for.  Our neighbour dropped in two raspberry canes, which we are soaking ready to plant later in the week.

We didn't plant the sweet peas out yet, as they could do with getting a little bigger. 

So my plans for this week are:

Sow some lettuce in trays

Find my other seeds (spinach, Kale, Leeks) and sow in the conservatory

Sow some radish in between the rows of beans

Sow some borlotti beans in the conservatory

Me and MadDad even contemplated putting our name down for an allotment, but part of the reason I love growing so much is that I can see it, the boys can see it and I can walk out the back door and pick something for dinner.  So even if I only have 3 small raised beds, they are wonderful.

Come over and take a look at TheMadHouse Makes - Blatant Self Publicity!

As you know I love to craft and make things, whether that be with the boys or for the boys.  They have certainly brought out the creative side of me.

So in order to help fund my fabric addiction and also to try and bring in some extra money (which we sorely need -  £82 for 2 pairs of school shoes!), I have decided to start selling some things that I make.

Now I have no idea what will sell, so I am dipping my toe in the water, but I would also like to say that I can make to order should anyone wish.

So please take a look and subscribe or become a follower on my new site TheMadHouse Makes.

I am also busy stocking my Folksy Shop too, which can be found here 

So here is an idea of the things I can and have made:

Fabric table mat with place settings - £6.70 inc postage. 

Pencil rolls - £6.50 including postage

Children's celebration crowns - £15.00 including postage

Mother of Pearl button hearts - £5.00 including postage

Soy wax tea cup candle, Jasmin scented £10.00 plus £3.70 postage

Quilted Laptop/Mac book covers - £25.00 including postage

I am more than will to work with you to personalise and choose fabric, if you are interested then please get in touch.

Spiritual Sunday - Grateful

This morning is such a contrast to yesterday morning.  Yesterday the sun was beaming in the windows, we had the doors all wide open and spent the day in the garden, but this morning it is grey, dull and RAINING, but in some ways this only makes me feel so grateful that we made the most of yesterday and really enjoyed it.

So some other things I am grateful for this Sunday.

The Rain... yes the rain.  We planted some vegetables and seeds yesterday and this rain is doing a pretty good job of watering in the raised beds.

Warm porridge with maple syrup, our breakfast of choice at the moment.

Mint leaves from the garden to make fresh mint tea with.  The docs asked me to try giving up tea for a while as it inhibits the absorption of iron, this is hard for me being a tea monster.

I am also so grateful that the boys really do seem to be really enjoying each others company and play well together at the moment.

I am also ever so grateful for whoever has nominated me in the MAD's, Mummy and Daddy (MAD) Blog Awards, celebrating the utter brilliance of British parent blogs.

Today is the last day of open nominations for the first stage of the awards, so if you haven't voted yet, then please follow this link to give your opinions and make your votes.

Dear So and So - The Hospital Version

Dear Bolshy Horrible Young Woman in Hospital

What goes around comes around and it is no wonder that the nursing staff and consultant treated you in the way they did.  Your language was appalling, you were forever off having a cigarette and missed rounds twice, you answered your phone in front of the Consultant.  Courtesy and politeness cost nothing, even if you are in pain.  You are young, you will learn.

A very Angry Mad

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Dear Nursing Staff

Thank you very much for the superb treatment I received this week, I know that you are understaffed and underpaid, but you really did make things much easier for me.  You work non stop for your whole shift and still found the time to come and sit with me and explain again about my treatment.

A very grateful Mad

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Dear Consultant and sidekicks

Again a great big thank you for putting my mind at rest regarding any possible cancer and for explaining everything to me so clearly and concisely and then doing it again when MadDad visited.  It can be so hard to explain my paranoia sometimes with out sounding like a complete hypochondriac and a loon.

An OK there is something wrong, but it's not cancer

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Dear Blood Donors

A huge big up to all those of you who regularly give blood, without you I would not be home with my boys.  I had four pints of some generous peoples blood and it really makes a difference, often a life or death one.  I can not put in words how thankful I am

Yours vampire Mad

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Dear Mini and Maxi Mad

I know the hospital is a scary place that brings back memories of a terrible time, but I wanted to let you know that I was and am so proud of the way you behaved when you visited me, you made me a very happy mummy indeed.

A besotted MummyMad

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Dearest MadDad

Well what can I say, sorry to keep putting you through these sleepless nights worrying about me.  At least it isn't cancer, we can deal with whatever it may be.  Plus you run the house and the boys better than me!

Your loving wife

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If you have a Dear so and so letter then come along and link it at Kats at 3 Bedroom Bungalow

Raffle in Aid of Cancer Research

My wonderful talented and very clever friend Abi from Bub's Bears and Mutterings from the moor decided to start a raffle for one of her fantastic bears in aid of Cancer Research

The response has been overwhelming and she is well on her way to reaching her target of £200, but offers of more prizes have been flooding in, so below is a selection of what else you could win.

 

Prudence the chicken made by Claire

A Book of weird and wonderful short stories by Abi's husband

A Tea Cosy from Kelly

Beautiful handmade cards from Al

 A stunning cushion by Amber

An amazing reversible adults apron from Julie

 

 

A handmade button heart from me!

So please, please, please make a donation and you could be in with a chance to win.  All we ask is that your donation is over £1.

http://www.justgiving.com/Abby-and-friends

I have grand plans for the Garden this weekend!

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As you know we made a start at growing our own vegetables last year and we all really loved the growing and eating of the vegetables and fruit we grew.

Over the last few weeks we have been busy planning, planting seeds inside and looking forward to actually being able to sew some seeds and sets outside in to the raised beds.

We are no experts at all, but have been introduced to a great web resource How to Grow Vegetables on the Love Your Garden Website.

It is great, it gives really clear, concise and understandable advise for the novice like me!.  We also love the BBC2 series The Edible Garden and have been watching avidly (oh how I wish I could have a back garden with no grass but boys need grass)!

I am hoping for good weather this weekend, so we can make a start on some of the jobs I have lined up for us.  Now remember that we are in the North East, so will be a few weeks behind you Southerners!

Plant out seed potatoes

Plant out runner beans and peas

Plant out chard and the onion set
Transplant my sweet pea's, hich I received from Kelly
Pot on our Sunflower seeds

These are all jobs that the boys can get involved in and they really enjoy helping out.  This year it is my plan to get Maxi to write out the plant lables, as his writing and spelling is really improving.  

We are also writing a garden journel, which I keep meaning to do, but never find the time!

So what are your plans for this weekend and how is your gardeinging coming along?

Been In Hospital

I have been in hospital a couple of nights and had to have a number of blood transfusions due to serve anemia.  I have also had a B12 injection as I am lacking in that too.

I have also undergone a number of tests, scans and x-rays, but the doctors have not yet ascertained why I have this anemia, but I am coming home and we are going to continue investigations as an outpatient. 

I am starting to look a lot better and actually have some colour, although I do feel a bit like a vampire the amount of blood I have seen over the last couple of days.

Thankfully It look all clear on the cancer front and I will be having some additional test before the consultants decides I have Pernicious Anemia, which will mean quarterly visits to the hospital for iron infusions and B12 injections.

I am so glad to be going home, to my boys and my bed.

Childrens Craft Showcase - Volcano's

I dont know about your children, but my two are now obsessed with volannco's thanks to the icelandic one.

We caught them making thier own volancic ash cloud with dust and mud from the pavement and then water on Friday evening and decided that we would have a go a making our own active volcano.

Materials

Bicarbinate of soda

Vinigar

Bottles

Hot water

Food colouring

Funnel

Salt dough is optional, mine wanted their bottles to look like mountains!

Method

Fill the bottles 2 thirds full with hot water and add a drop of washing up liquid and food colouring (to make your lava authentic!).  Add two table spoons of bicard to the warm water solution.

We popped the vinigar in to a bottle so the boys could add it themselves

So if you and your children have been busy making any crafts at all, please come and link to this page.

The First Hint of Sun and we are Contemplating getting the Tent out!

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We are campers, yep, happy campers at that.  We love camping, especially with our large tent.  There is nothing like watching the boys play wild, tiring themselves out, food eaten and cooked outdoors and a full English breakfast prepared by MadDad.

Camping is the life for me, well as long as we have alcohol and warm beds.  Last year we did small trips and also a longer one, down south.  This year we are contemplating take the tent out of the country - to France.  I am thinking of warm air, sun, open air pools, wine, cheese, bread, did I mention wine!

So with this in mind we would need travel insurance and Tesco are offering Annual Travel Insurance, even better they are offering Kids go free until 28 April when booked online.  You can also pay with your Tesco Vouchers too.

I am totally anal when it comes to packing for a holiday, I guess it comes from having two boys close together and I know you can always buy what you don't have, but why spend when there really is no need.  I have a spreadsheet which has a list of everything we could need.  Plus the camping bits remain packed in the garage so that we can go off for the weekend if the weather is kind.  This is also where having an annual travel insurance policy appeals as we would be covered even on weekends away in the UK.

We are also set up for long distance traveling in the car, as gone are the days of my youth when my mum and dad used to fill the foot wells with blankets, cool box and various other things creating a makeshift bed!  We bought a double screen DVD player and the boys love watching their favorite movies and we also have special children's headphones for them too.  We allow them to take their leapsters in the car, along with some colouring pens.

I also created an I spy game sheet for the boys, which I laminated and attached a dry wipe board marker

Some of our other favorite in-car or travelling games are:

I don't spy!

Count the cars, ie find 48 white cars

I spy colour

I went to the shops and I bought.....

So guess what I am going to be checking the Internet for campsites in France and if you have any recommendations then please let me know.

Ecover Concentrating Laundry Liquid - Review

I have reviewed Ecover products before, in October last year  and I loved them.  I have said before I am not a natural cleaner, but them who is with two active boys to look after!

 

So when I was asked to review Ecovers concentrated laundry liquid, I said yes.  Those boys certainly do put clothes to the test, in fact Mini is called "noise with muck on"!

Ecover Concentrated Bio Laundry Liquid – RRP £5.69 (500ml) – This is the first time Ecover has produced a bio laundry liquid and it’s their best laundry liquid formula to date. The popular fragrance ‘Under the Sun’ was a natural choice to help evoke the sense of summer whatever the season.

Ecover Concentrated Non Bio Laundry Liquid – RRP £5.69 (500ml) – With the fresh scent of lavender, Ecover’s Concentrated Non Bio Laundry Liquid offers exceptional washing power.

So for the science bit:

Ecover have extended their laundry range to include two highly effective and truly ecological concentrated laundry liquids EcoveEcoverEcover

  

A truly ecological concentrate

The formulas for these long-awaited products were put under the microscope by the Ecover scientists and after months of development Ecover has produced what they believe to be the most efficient and ecological concentrate on the market.

Everyone knows the environmental benefits conventional concentrated laundry products provide e.g. reduced packaging, reduced CO₂ emissions in transport and less water used during the production process. But, the biggest impact cleaning products have on the environment is what happens after they are used. So Ecover have worked hard to create concentrated Laundry Liquids which have much less impact after you’ve used them. Additional environmental benefits of Ecover’s new concentrates include: 

• No optical brighteners
• Minimum aquatic toxicity
• Fast and complete biodegradability
• No phosphates

What’s more, as Ecover use sustainable plant-based and mineral ingredients, you don’t have to worry about leaving behind residues of nasty (and unnecessary) chemicals on your clothes - or your skin - when you do your laundry either.

Results

Positives

I currently use Simply Washing, which I buy on line and we like.  It works for us.  I have to say that I was very impressed by the biological it removed grass stains and other boy muck without the need for soaking.

The smell wasn't overpowering even when the clothes were dry (we don't use fabric softener) and the clothes were left with a  clean smell for what seemed about a week.  

We live in a soft water area and didn't need to put a full measure in for each wash, so it was pretty cost effective.

The major plus for me and one of the main reasons we use Simply Washing was that it didn't aggravate maxi's eczema or mini's dry skin, which other brands do.

Negatives

The biggest negative  for me is that it isn't stocked in any of my local supermarkets, which means I would have to source on line and pay deliver costs which would push the price up.  The RRP is £5.69 for 500mg.  Also I want to live in an area where Ecover refill existing bottles.