Adventures

 

DH; We haven't done much this Easter break have we?

Me; What? We've played in parks...

...eaten in restaurants...

...Visited the real Alice in Lyndhurst...

...fed ducks...

...completed an Easter trail...

...climbed (and rescued children from) trees...

...enjoyed 1:1 parent and child dates...

...baked tasty treats...

...celebrated a birthday...

...visited the zoo twice...

...visited several playgrounds...

...attempted "nice" group photos...

...and eaten several picnics together. I think we've done very well indeed. 

😁

X x X

Happy Easter

 

 We have has a lovely Easter Sunday here in Frugal HQ. The children have all eaten far to much chocolate than is good for them 🤣 as is the tradition!

We attended a lovely Easter church service in the afternoon at a church we hadn't attended before. It was advertised as an open invitation at our parents and toddlers group so I thought why not. There were some lovely modern hymns and everyone was very welcoming and kind. We managed a few odd looks and eye rolls as the seven of us walked in but the children behaved beautifully. Though Baby C does like to shout Eggs! At random moments today which raised a few giggles.

The children all went on a little egg hunt together with Daddy so I could enjoy the sermon in peace. 

At the end there were lots of hot cross buns to enjoy. 

I'm looking forward to going back next week.

Happy Easter everyone 

X x x

Cozy socks

 

My first make in quite a while, save for a story line I plotted after a dream I had last week. 

I've really missed the mindfulness of just sitting and creating something beautiful or useful or both.

DD3 claimed this pair of snuggly socks but I've already picked out some yarn to make another pair.

Long may the crafting bug reign within me 🥰

X x X

Visiting the Zoo

 

 

Our first zoo visit of the year! Our season tickets ran out just before Christmas but with half the zoo being closed due to the local avian flu scare we put off our visits for a little while. 

Thanks to all the lockdowns we now have enough in our zoo savings for 2 years of annual passes as we put a little towards it each month.  It means that we are not only able to support a wonderful conservation charity but we always have somewhere to take the children for entertainment. Sometimes when the 4 eldest are all in school, Hubby and I will visit for an hour or so with Baby C and just enjoy some fresh air. 

Hubby also suggested today that if we can't afford heating we can also just go sit in the hot house each afternoon 🤣 

We took a little picnic of sausage rolls, bananas and Crisps along with our own drinks from home costing about £4. Obviously our season tickets cost a fair amount for a family of 7 but a single visit would set us back £120 a time so we only need to make 3 visits in order to make a saving. We usually average between 6 and 10 visits so we soon cover that.

Everyone should sleep nicely tonight after all that lovely fresh air and walking around. I certainly know I will! 🤣

X x X

Hello Austerity April

 

 Hello everyone.

  Sorry for the radio silence again. Life just insists on being busy but mostly in good ways. We are all well and happy (most days) which in the grand scheme of things happening  across the world is something we're very grateful for.

  So let's start with a little update on everyone. As always in our house we'll go smallest to biggest.

Baby C is almost 2 already. She is small but fiesty and will happily stand her ground against any sibling that dares to cross her path 🤣. She is currently obsessed with all things doll related and learning new words constantly. 

Miss W- DD3 is almost 4! She is always a happy joyful soul to be around. We're working on getting ready for starting big school in September so lots of encouragement to be independent with dressing etc. She is going through a very creative period at the moment and produces lots of artwork each day. 

Gman- DS - rapidly approaching his 7th birthday. School have identified a few concerns with his learning and started some interventions to help him catch up but he takes it all in his stride. He is currently obsessed with all things mechanical be they toy cars, robots or lego creations he's made. 

Diddy - DD2 - almost in double figures at aged 9 and desperate to grow up. She always does her best to overcome any obstacle be they physical or mental though NEVER in the way I'd expect. I've long given up trying to figure her out and just try to sit back and watch the show. Currently obsessed with all things gaming related mostly Minecraft and Fortnight.

Miss A - DD1 - Newly 12 and not letting me forget she's "practically a teenager now" 🤣. She is learning how to navigate the modern world as a young lady which isn't always an easy thing to do. She has a very sensible head though and we often make time to have a mug of tea together and go over any worries. I'm very proud of the person she is becoming.  Currently obsessed with Tom Hollander, books and YouTube.

 DH and I are doing okay. There's been some difficulties with a neighbour which have taken a lot of time and emotional energy to deal with but we always have each others backs when one of us needs propping up. We are both concerned about what this month may bring to us and our nearest and dearest but we have confidence we will weather the storm okay with a fair few years of frugal living experience to fall back on.

 Times are tough but our family will be tougher 💪 

 X x x