Aussie Day....

Our first Australia Day....had bbq at my sisters up the road..only had to take dessert, so used some brownie i had in the freezer, chopped up a few doughnuts i had in the pantry and threw on a few chocolate things i had in the fridge..Easy peasy..Was having a bit of a crap morning, kinda wished hubby would just come home(know he cant, working, but just felt that way), and 1 minute later the phone rings, and its hubby, WOW, just when I needed to hear his voice..Felt alot better after that.  The bbq was good, the kids were nearly very good..hehe, my sister even did up a new and revised budget for me on the computer..(i have no idea how to do much at all on the computer)lol, so that was good.

A very quiet day...

Had to make a trip to Coles today...in need of milk and a couple of other things...Longlife milk was on special,,$1 for a ltr. so I grabbed 3..eggs, a loaf of bread, and i indulged by buying some soft drink for myself...(love Coke Zero), and a few slices of bacon, so that I could make bacon, chicken Mac'n'Cheese tonite..the kids love it and its a great way to get veges into them...in total I spent $15.35.  So all going well, I shouldnt need any other groceries for a week or so..Didnt have the best day today...Not sure why, missing hubby maybe, or perhaps just a down day. I even tried  baking to cheer me up and cant say that helped at all.  Im sure Ill be back on form tomoro. 

Didnt do too bad...

I did end up spending...cant deny it..Was taking the kids to my friends for a visit around lunchtime, so didnt want to go completely empty handed but also didnt want to spend a great deal..Stopped off at Coles on the way there and picked up a packet of chocy doughnuts, and a packet of 18 little lamingtons and a bottle of drink. Already had a packet of Snacks in the cupboard, so too those too..My friend fried up some chips and dinsims for lunch and our offerings for after..it only cost me $5.20 so considering the kids were fed, and fed well, and had a great day playing in the pool and with friends i think it was well worth it...  So total spend for the last 3 days, $5.20.. I also have really enjoyed watching the kids playing around the area where we live...so many children these days stay inside or expect expensive entertainment to keep them occupied.  Back when we were kids, we rode our bikes, climbed trees, played with the neighbourhood kids..all things that were fun, healthy and free..Its one thing that I love to see..them riding round the park or down the road with a group of kids..playing cricket or footy at the park across the road..I think if more kids were encouraged to play in the same way the obesity in kids would not be such a problem...as you can see from the pics of my kids they are very healthy..

Back on track....yippeeeeee

Have had no-spend days the last couple since hubby went back to work...Havent even left the house.  The kids have been playing around the block with the local kids, so theyve been happy enough not to go out.  Going to friends house tomoro for lunch and visit, so should be another spend free, or a very low-spend(may take something towards lunch)make or buy, not sure yet...want to spend as little as possible, to try and make up for the starter motor...Im still a little bitter and twisted over that one.... :-(   But as they say, 'Onwards and Upwards"..."Get back on the horse" and all those other get-on-with-it sayings.  Im also currently investigating medical insurances..which is best, cheapest and will suit our family.  One thing Ive learnt on this cheap living thing is to investigate, investigate, investigate..not to rush into any deal, or purchase but shop around.

Cars....the ultimate money pit!

Have had hubby home since last wednesday,has been  nice..although we do spend more when he is home....now onto the car..its been tempermental lately, so we took it to the auto electrician today, and just got the call to say its going to be $575, for a new starter motor to be put in...arrrrrrrr..has to be done, by geeze, how do ya get ahead when faced with these little unexpected things....and thats not all that needs to be done to the car to get it running just right...over the next couple of months its going to need, tyres, brakes, cv joint replacement...its just never ending....going to have to tighten up in other areas to cover it all....on a brighter not my girls front tooth has finally broken through the gum(probably not quite in the spot its suppose to), but it has done it...its been trying for about 8 months now...she banged her mouth as toddler and killled the front tooth, about 9months ago it developed an infection and we had it pulled so there was scar tissue in the gum which made it hard for the tooth to try and come out...fingers crossed the tooth settles into where it should be, or il start saving now for braces...

relaxing day....

Looking forward to my hubby coming home tomoro evening....Had to collect and pay for the kids stationary and school fees today..ouch...other than that which was expected i didnt spend anything else...Have been pottering around the house today...windows, laundry, bathrooms, all those exciting jobs (said with sarcastic voice)hehe, Catching up with a friend tomoro, the one with the pool, so the kids are looking forward to that...will try and get the rest of the cleaning done in the afternoon before hubby gets home...So hopes are that tomoro will be a no-spend day also..I had the house sprayed by pest control on Sunday...and am pretty pleased  with the minimal number of creepies coming out to die...my sister and i got a pretty good deal for him to come and do both our houses..its the peace of mind i like...

sorting the house day....

Spent a great deal of the day sorting out the house and garage...had the plumbers come round to sort out some leaks...happy to get them fixed...all the cardboard in the garage was starting to annoy me so, finished cutting it all up,,,,,loaded the car as much as I could and found the local transferr station...I only have 2 boxes left in the garage..one full of paper and the other the rest of the cardboard...which i will get rid of in the next day or two...I always feel better when the house is in order...The garden is looking great..the owner came and planted new plants today and the lawns were done...I do love these sorts of days....And come to think of it,,,it was a no spend day too....double bonus...tomoro I am going to have to be strong...my sister is taking me to Ikea...I havent been yet and shes been dying to show me around there....I have a pest control man coming round on sunday to spray in and out...we cut a deal with him to do our house and my sisters...i cant wait, i had to deal with two big white-tail spiders today..squishy squishy..ewwwww. Will report back how i get on tomoro...

Busy, busy, busy....

What a couple of days its been...My boys birthday is this weekend, but to fit around as many people as i could, decided to have a playday at the park ...now since living in wa i can probably count on one hand how many times its really rained...But the one day i organise something outdoors, what happens??? Rain, rain and more rain...But I am very lucky that I have made some lovely friends...one offered to have it around at hers,,,the one that has the pool under cover..and my other friends that met us at the park in the rain and then moved location to my mates.....Turned out to be a great day..the kids had lots of fun..so happy about that...then today the bedroom suite that i bought arrived...i unpacked the tallboy, and the bedside tables..cardboard, and packaging everywhere...the bed was a whole nother issue,,It came in boxes ready to assemble...Now I could have waited til hubby got back from work(next wednesday),,,but really, im not that patient...So unpacked tall the bits and piece, no instructions, how hard could it be...hehehehe, long story short, did it, all by myself...YIPPEEEEE made it too with the bedding i bought and it looks great...

Now confirmed..I cant be trusted to go to the shops......

I have now come to the conclusion that if i am going to succeed at all at this low-spend challenge I am going to have to avoid all shops....I went to Kmart today to get some bedding for the new spare bed that is arriving on thursday...That is a need and I did manage to get 4 pillows, 1 set of Queen sheets, an extra 2 pillow cases, and a Queen size quilt..plus a pair of sandles for each of kids ready for school, all this for $100.00...Then went to Coles for the rest of stuff for sons party tomoro,,,have found out that more kids are coming than previously expected so wanted to make sure I had enough...plus needed a few more things for home..baking goods mainly..I was hoping to do it on the cheap, but had two hyper kids with, so lost some of my concentration...Ended up spending $100 there too...This day has just proven to me that I should stay away from shops...if im not there it doesnt worry me and i spend nothing..Probably a good time to learn this lesson, at the start of the challenge...

Singing hot, hot, hot....

Another wonderful day today....decided last night to back to my friends house(the one with the pool) after being invited that is, today....So last night I baked some choccy muffins (again, my one egg chocy cake recipe) in muffin tins...that way not going empty handed by also not having to pay out to buy any food or drink...Thus make today a NO SPEND day....the temperature today is,well im not sure of the number, but its hot....the kids and i have taken up residence inside with the fan on...Ive been reading on and off all afternoon the SS site..I get inspired everytime I read it and all the other bloggs from my fellow SS...If we can all keep ontop of blogging and posting our failures and successes, we should all be able to get through the year with great results....Unless I melt that is and with how I feel at the moment that is a definite possiblity...singing hot hot hot...olay, olay hehehe

Really enjoying the holidays......

When the holidays started knowing hubby was going to be going away, I was a little nervous...I love my children to bits, but they can be, whats the word im looking for....a handfull...So Ive been trying to find things to do to keep them busy and occupied..The Wii is great for the indoor times and have arranged playdates and picnics at parks for the outdoor time...All this on a budget.. and today was no different..this morning they had some indoor time, then went to the park across the road...I managed to do some cleaning and other household chores while they were occupied...Then i had arranged to take them to a friends house, who has a pool set up.  We had been there the other day also for a visit and swim....Not wanting to show up empty handed I was a little naughty and went to the shops and got a couple of bottles of drink and a bag of chippies for all the kids..Nice to be able to contribute considering the fun afternoon we had, all for $9.00....We had the stuffed potatoes I preped ready last nite, for dinner tonite with spaghetti and shredded chicken on top...Ive pulled out some of the appple bread i baked the other nite and some of the savoury muffins ,,ready for a picnic lunch tomoro...add a couple of choc muffins and that should do nicely,. I keep bottles of water in the fridge ready so thats the drinks taken care of too....Im a little worried, the birthday play day I have organised for my boy is now on a day that is suppose to be thunder storms.....arrrrrrrrrr will post how we get on with that one....

use it before i loose it....

I was inspired to keep going, using up those items that were hitting use-by dates...I found some apples in the pantry, found a recipe for apple bread that required milk, so that was a double bonus...then found some baby spinach leaves in the fridge, so i now have a dozen  savoury muffins in the freezer as well...and the potatoes i had left, i have cooked in microwave and am going to scoop out the middle, mix in some more of the spinach, some sauce, a little cheese and fill the skins back up...probably have them for dinner tomoro nite with a salad...and the last little bit of milk turned into a cup of tea...a freezer full of picnic goods.. yippeee