Officer down

I woke this morning to hear reports that a Police officer had been killed whilst responding to a 999 call.

PC Andy Bramma (32) was a serving officer in North Yorkshire who had recently transferred from Greater Manchester Police. Colleagues have paid tribute saying he was an outstanding officer who was dedicated to serving the public. May he Rest In Peace.

The passing of anyone is a sad occasion. Those who are left behind suffer the pain, the loss,the grief. No one knows if they will see tomorrow, nothing is certain. Death is all part of life, a natural circle.

When my OH left for his shift earlier, I made sure he knew I loved him. As I kissed my girls goodnight and settled them down to sleep, I told them that I loved them.

Life is precious but extremely fragile and short. However, it doesn't have to be limitless.
There are only two guarantees in life, you are born and you will die. These things are insignificant really, it's the events that happen in between that define us, that make it count.

So love freely, spend as much time with your children as they can stand and never be afraid to dance in the rain, for tomorrow may never come.

Back to normal

Well normality will hopefully return to our lives tomorrow. The girls finally return to school.

For me, this means two things; returning to strict routines and being extremely busy.

So today will be spent, sorting uniforms, packing school bags and making sure I've got supplies for packed lunches.

I had planned on going food shopping yesterday, but Galaxy wasn't well enough to be left alone. So it's on my to do list for today.

We had discussed allowing the girls to go onto school dinners for the winter months, I liked the idea of them having a hot meal during the day, but the cost of two children on school meals per month is approximately £78.

I know I can feed both my girls a healthy nutritious lunch for a fraction of that cost.
Introducing food flasks was suggested. This will enable them to take soup, stew or pasta in for lunch, but I'm not sure how it would be received by the school. I'll add it to my list of jobs for next week.

My food shop this week will have to be very frugal. After receiving the vet bill of £910 (which may not be covered by insurance) eating meals constructed of store cupboard supplies and eating from the freezer will be required.

Childcare costs will also resume this week, I'm still waiting on Decembers invoice yet. Luckily the OH shift rota reduces the number of days the girls need to be aftercare this next two weeks, so saving a little extra there.

So with normality just over the horizon, wish me luck, I know it's going to be a big shock to the system.

Galaxy

Well it's been a traumatic 18 hours, our beloved dog Galaxy had to undergo emergency life saving surgery last night.

Thankfully she made it through, but it's going to be a long road to recovery.

My budgeting skills will definitely need to be put to good use over the next few months, as it looks like we may not be covered on her pet insurance.

With a bill so far at around £1000 (with extra costs to incur) there will be no treats or luxuries for awhile.

The alternative to not having the surgery was too painful to consider. We decided if she could have quality of life we would do what we could.

Galaxy is my first baby, we brought her into our lives when we first moved into our house. After last night, I don't to consider our home without her.

Restricting what I blog

Before I continue with my blog I've got re evaluate the content I post (much to my dislike)

Fellow bloggers have inspired me to take control of my life, my finances and change my view on things.
You have been honest and open about your challenges, fears and aspirations.
When I started this blog, that was also my intention. However my OH is not as comfortable with some of my posts.

He has requested I remove the post about our finances. I have to respect his wishes and so I have done as he asked.

I will still continue to blog my journey, sharing tips, successes and failures. But I can't post anything that is too personal to my family. I probably won't mention him in posts again.

I hope you understand, this blog was for me, but along the short path I have travelled I managed to kick up some dust that needs to settle.

Blogging will resume as normal tomorrow.

Time out

After my stressful day (not resolved yet)
all I needed was a hot bubble bath, candles and the voice of Otis Redding to relax me.

Goodnight

Every silver lining has a cloud

Just when I thought things where finally looking up, something comes along to take the wind from my sails.

My 2013 challenges are going great, I've not spent any money since 27th December (bus fare doesn't count) and even after all the bills of Christmas have been paid, we have enough money left until pay day to survive and pay extra off our credit card.

Then comes the blow....
I return to work today to be informed we are relocating at the end of the month. This wouldn't be a problem if it didn't increase my commute time to 1.5 hours. Now I know that may not seem to drastic for some, but for me it's the tip of the iceberg. The major issue I have is that it affects childcare.
I don't have the luxury of family support to help with regular childcare, so I rely on afterschool and holiday clubs. Our primary school only accommodates children until 5:15.

At the moment I work 2 miles away from school and with public transport I can be there in 25mins. I just take the time from my lunch break. No issues, the boss is happy. In order to get to school on time I will have to leave the new place at 3:45pm to make it in time. This isn't going to work.

What are my options?

I can't afford another car.
My OH can't rely on public transport if he finishes at 3am, so no family car for me.
It's too far to cycle and time consuming
Changing childcare is almost impossible for two children in my area.
I can't afford to give up work or reduce my hours to part time.

I feel like banging my head against a wall!
Why is it so difficult being a working Mum?

Think I'm going to have an early night and sleep on it. Hopefully a miracle will happen overnight.

New Beginnings

So the sun as risen on the first day of 2013.

Opening my eyes this morning I felt slightly excited with the challenges I've set myself for the coming year. I'm not calling them resolutions. So much pressure is placed upon the very word. I have a fresh start, new page or blank canvas to do as I wish.

Hopefully this year will lead to a new way of thinking and a new way of life.

The OH survived the nightshift and is safely sleeping upstairs. My girls are happily playing with gifts from Christmas.
I have ham roasting in the oven for our evening meal, what more do I need.

I'm back at work tomorrow, so I'm just sorting my work clothes out. I have a pair of trousers that the hem needs stitching (make do and mend)

The radio is playing in the background and I feel content. I know it's only early but 2013 as been good to me so far. Long may it continue.