Sneeaky money saving at Christmas

Everything is so expensive at Christmas" moaned a friend of mine this morning in the school playground.  Do you agree?  I don't.  At least mostly I don't.  You see all that Christmas stock takes up valuable shelf space in stores, and most shops have very limited storage space to keep things til January. Lots of these items end up on the clearance shelf to make way for premium priced cousins. 

For example a 600ml bottle of fairy should be about £2-£2.30  but thanks to the new flavour out for Christmas, cucumber and aloe has been banished to the clearance corner.They also had the more expensive but smaller platinum range of flavours too, but they were almost half the size of the cucumber ones. The frugalista in me choose to get the most for my money.

Clearance price?  50P a bottle!  I snapped up four which should keep me in suds for a good long while. 

So next time you spot a Christmas edition of a product, it might be worth looking for the old one

X x x

Poor Chilly Barbie

 A few days ago DD brought a Barbie doll from a local charity shop with her pocket money. She got a good deal paying just 50p because poor Barbie had no clothes, and some charity shop don't like to display naked dolls.
 When we got home we wrapped her in a handkerchief with some elastic bands as a makeshift dress. DD was concerned she would be chilly. Meanwhile I looked up some free knitting patterns and discovered this little gem.
 It took just two nap times to knit up and used up a few scraps of wool that wouldn't have made much else.
 Only trouble is, now DD wants a whole Barbie wardrobe knitted up for her new friend. Best get knitting eh?

x x x

Happy Pudsey Day

Happy Pudsey Day! was DDs greeting this morning when she woke up.  They have been learning about Children in Need for a day or two at school. She was super excited to get ready thanks to today being a pyjama day! DD opted for a snuggly penguin onesie with a pair of tights and a shirt underneath for extra warmth. 

 It was fun to see all the teachers had joined in, even the headmistress had stripey jammies, a sleeping cap and a teddy bear under her arm as she welcomed us this morning. 

 When we collected her at home time the teacher told us they'd had several of the youngest ones had curled up in comfy spots and had naps after lunch.  Can't really blame them myself,  when your in your jammies it's quite easy to nod off.

 We also picked 

up our first baby thing for the impending arrival. I couldn't resist this sweet little shirt in Asda. Though we have strong suspicions about the sex of BB (Baby bump) we are sticking to neutral colours for the moment.  I just love the little slogan and design.
 Can't wait for May to arrive.

 X x X

An Exciting Announcement

 Sorry I've been so quiet, but I just didn't trust myself to keep the secret.
 Baby Random number 3 is due in May 2015. I'm currently 12 weeks into the pregnancy and all is happy and healthy.
 Sooo lots  of organising and preparing needs doing over the next six months. But all that will come, for now we are at the goofy smiling stage.

 Gender guesses and advice welcome

x x

Day 5- Feeding the ducks

 It's been a hectic day here folks. I had an appointment to attend midmorning which went really well.  But it did mean we couldn't spend the whole day out. Once I was back we loaded up the buggy with drinks and snacks, before heading to our local country park.
 We spent a lovely sunny afternoon feeding ducks and spotting wildlife.
 In fact by the time we'd toddled home and eaten the girls were yawning. I had themin bed and asleep by 6.15!
 So no page completed today for your viewing pleasure I'm afraid.
 Tomorrow is going to be a big trip out though, with a special Grandad shaped guest joining in the fun.

 X x

Day 3&4 - Baking and exploring

 Apologies for the lack of a post yesterday. It proved to be a rather difficult day but I'm happy to say today has seen a vast improvement!
 For day 3 we just watched cclassic Disney movies on Sky player and baked some cupcakes from kit in my baking stash. Once the girls were in bed, I quickly followed.

Today we all headed outside for some much needed fresh air. We stomped our way through the local path, kicking piles of autumn leaves, collecting interesting sticks and running far as our legs wanted to take us.

 We brought home a pocketful of seeds and leaves to add to DDs diary. 

X x x

Day Two; Nummies and rest

 I have two very tired girls today so our adventures hhave been close to home. Hubby had apparcel to post so took DD with him for the car ride. I stayed home with Baby D and let her nap.
 As a little reward for good behaviour at the post office they popped into Lidl for a bakery treat. DD choose pink donuts (4@25p).

 After an afternoon of playing with a cardboard box we decided a nice dinner was in order. So we treated ourselves to a portion of chips from the local chippy. We served them with quarter of a quiche from the freezer and homemade pickled eggs and onions.
 It went down rather well.

 Remaining budget; £44.00

 Today's costs -
  Donuts - £1
  Chips - £2.50

 Total - £3.50

 New budget balance - £40.50