Frugal Friday – Cinema Trips

As a parent, one of the most expensive areas, are family days out.
In the past, like many others, we have spent a small fortune on a day out.

I remember taking the Mini Man and Little Lady,  along with Mr N, to the cinema.
It was their first experience there, so we wanted to go the whole hog – 3D, popcorn, sweeties. 
We done this when Finding Nemo was brought back out, as the pair love this film.

So for 2 x adult tickets, 2 x children tickets, not forgetting it was in 3D, 2 x popcorn, 2 x large juice and 2 x bags of sweets, anyone want to hazard a guess??
It cost me £87 odds!
I nearly choked and that was before anyone popcorn went into my mouth.
There and then I decided that would be the last time I would pay full price for the cinema.

What do I do then?
We go to Movies for Juniors/Kids AM, whatever one is showing a film we would love to see.
The beauty of these sessions?  It only costs £1.35 each for a ticket.   Suits me fine, thank you very much.
They are on at weekends during term time, and most days during school holidays. (Your best bet is to check online and see if the sessions are on and what is showing)

Sweets.  What about the goodies? I hear you all say.
Well, it’s simple really,  and it was Aunt Kaak, who told me to do it.
We hit the shops such as,  B&M, poundies, etc and grab lots of goodies.  Rarely does it cost us more than a fiver.
Bargain!

So we have went down from £87 to £10.40

Do you go to the cinema? What are your cinema saving tips?
We would love to know.

X

Lets Go To Primary!

This year we have had quite a big year involving changes,  and we still have a couple more to come.
One if these changes is , my Mini Man starting Primary School.

I, naturally, am quite emotional about this,  and I am sure most mums would agree, that it’s a big deal.
My Mini Man however,  is ecstatic and cannot wait to start.
So much so, that he has placed a sticker in his calendar on the day he starts and is ticking the days off as we go.

The next paragraph is from the Primary 1 himself.
I am a bit scared, because I will nursery.
I am happy too, because I am a big boy now.
My teacher is Miss Hendry and I like her and my class.
I wonder what we will do in class?

We are lucky that we stay a 5 minute walk from the school and nursery.   Maybe not so lucky when its pouring it down!

The Mini Mans big choice, according to him, is whether to have packed lunches or school dinners.
When I was at primary, I always had a packed lunch.  It was in the rare occasion I had a school dinner.
We have decided between myself and the Mini Man, that 1 day a week, if he wants to, he can have a school dinner.
He is happy with this, and that suits me.

Do your children have school dinners or packed lunches? Or both?
We like comments here, so comment away 🙂

X

To Have and To Hold

We done it.  We finally done it!
At the start of July, myself and Mr N got hitched!
I am now officially Mrs N.

And you know what?  I could not be happier.
They all say that getting married doesn’t change anything.  It’s just a bit of paper.
From my point of view,  I have to disagree a little.
Yes it may only be a piece of paper to some, but to me it’s that final piece of commitment.
We have been together 10 years, have 2 children, and a house for the last 8 years, but I feel that no one can come between us now.
Not that they could before,  this just cements that fact.

I also feel more grown up, and yes it is a bit silly.
I am 29, 2 children, 2 dogs and a mortgage, yet now,  I feel more grown up!

We had an absolute ball on the day, and everything went to plan.
Even the weather behaved itself!
We had glorious sun, there was a moment when we thought the heavens were going to open, but fortunately they didn’t.
We literally had the perfect day.
Great weather, great company, great venue, great food. 
What more could I ask for?

X

How Time Flies……

I cannot believe how much time as went by since my last post!
And so much has happened.

I decided to take a little break from the Blog front to focus on my wedding.
The wedding has been and gone (it will be 6 weeks this Saturday) and we are now in the run up to the Mini Man joining Primary 1 and the Little Lady starting nursery.

More of these to come in Blog Posts 🙂

We also had the arrival of a good friends Gorgeous Girl, nelieve me she is a little cracker!

I am back on my healthy eating routine, unfortunately Pina Coladas do not count towards your 5 a day.

Meal Planning Monday 03/03/14

Can you believe it is March already!  This year is coming in far too fast!
It’s my mini mans 5th birthday this month and only 4 months until my wedding!
Can someone slow down time for me?

Because we are still doing our healthy eating, I am takibg inspiration from The Hairy Dieters again.
If you haven’t gottheir books, where have you been by the way?, I would recommend getting them,  some fantastic stuff in them.

Here goes

M   All in one pork and rice
T   Soup, unsure what yet
W    Haddock fishcakes
T    Baked potatoes
F   Meatloaf and tomato sauce
S    Chicken korma
S    our usual Roast

Thanks to Mrs M for hosting the weekly linky, take a swing by her page go see what’s cooking.
X

Meal Planning Monday 24/02/14

Welcome to my Monday Meal Plan!
With a big thanks to Mrs M for hosting this linky.

I am getting back in the swing with my meal plans, and cannot believe that I let them slide for so long.
They are helping me stick to my healthy eating and keeping shopping costs down,  which we all love, don’t we?

Here goes:

M  Chicken cordon bleu – low fat version
T   Homemade Lentil soup
W   Creamy Haddock
T   Pann Haggerty light
F   Mince & vegetable pie
S   Turkey Burgers
S   Roast dinner

We are taking inspiration from The Hairy Dieters this week.

We get out fresh fish from John and the gang at Delishfish.  Pop along and have a look, the fish is the tastiest we have had in a while.

Don’t forget to pop along to Mrs M’s to see what else is cooking 🙂

X

Calling All Adventurers (and mummies/daddies)

Here at Follow my Line HQ, we have been invited to a Top secret event, hosted by the wonderful Ella’s Kitchen.
Alas, we cannot go, as this event is being held in London (hopefully you will have one in Edinburgh at some point)
I bet you can imagine how sad we are to miss this 😦

I can let you into a little secret though!
Are you in London on Wednesday 26th February?
Are you free between 10.30am and 1pm?

Well if you answered yes to these 2 questions,  read on my little Adventurers,  and don’t miss out!

Calling all adventurous little ones…

Baby and toddler food experts, Ella’s Kitchen, is creating a totally incredible, edible experience for little taste explorers to enjoy.

Created to celebrate the launch of the ‘my little BIG meals’ range, the super-secret taste adventure is designed to introduce little ones to a world of scrummy fruit and delicious veg, and features a whole host of fun things for little explorers to taste, touch, smell and discover.

 
The incredible edible event opens to the public at The Horniman Museum and Gardens, London on Wednesday 26th February from 10.30am – 1pm and is free of charge for parents and little ones to explore.

 
WHEN? Wednesday 26th February, 10.30am – 1pm

WHERE? The Horniman Museum and Gardens, Victorian Conservatory

ADDRESS: 100 London Road, Forest Hill, SE23 3PQ

CLOSEST TUBE: Forest Hill

Sounds exciting right?
Get along there and join in the fun.

Let us know how it is and be sure to have some fun for us.

X
 

Frugal Friday – Lists

Lists!
I love them.   Never used to, in all honesty, if you were a list person 10 years ago, I would have thought you didnt get out enough.
But, oh, how times have changed, I have a list for near enough everything.
Meal plan, shopping list, freezer and cupboard list, you name it and I probably have a list for it.

My freezer and cupboard lists are what I have in them and this helps keep shopping down through the week.
I work my meal plans around what I have in them, so as not to buy a lot at the shops.
Since doing this, I have saved roughly £7-£10 a week.
Over a year that could be a saving of upto £520!

Here are a couple of my lists, the freezer and cupboard ones do get quite messy (all the crossing out and adding on)

Do you use lists?
What do you use them for?

I would love to hear about your money saving, frugal tips, so share, share away 🙂

X

It’s The Little Things

Sometimes in life I am easily pleased, and right now it is the little things in life,  that are making a big impact on me.
And 9 times out of 10, theses things come from my Mini Man and Little Lady,  and occasionally Mr N.

Take for example,  today, the Mini Man came home from nursery and handed me a piece of paper.  On it was his name, a heart, and I am not going to lie, something else that I had no idea what it was.
And naturally when I asked him, he looked at me as if I had no brain.
“Mummy, you’re just stupid.   Its your heart and our home. I put the 2 of them together becsuse you fill our house with love”
Once he had said that, I forgot all about being called stupid, but felt , my heart swell snd my eyes well up.
I thanked him for his amazing oicture and gave him a cuddle, his response?
“Calm down mummy, it’s just a picture”
He has such a way with words!

Then there is the Little Lady, she is a bit more forward with her compliments.   And they range in size, depending kn what mood the little devil angel is in.
“I can’t see the telly mummy”, when I am giving, or rather trying to give, her a cuddle.
All the way to – “I love you more than macaroni and cake” and believe me thats a whole lot of love. 
Her latest one is, I don’t like you….. I love you.  But beware the signs  as she only does this on the now and again, or, dum dum dum, when she is after something, more than often something sweet.

I remember, way back in the day, when Mr N and I first met,  we used to leave little love notes dotted sbout, in bags, sandwich tubs, you name it.  

Aaaa young love!

What are the Little Thkngs that make you smile?

X

Meal Planning Monday 27-1-14

Well fellow meal planners, I *hangs head in shame*, have not taken part in the Meal Planning Monday in a while.
All this is about to change 🙂

I hope you ‘orrible lot have been sticking to it though.

Here goes:

M
Homemade Mince and Tatties

T
Homemade Leek and Potato soup

W
Chicken curry and naan bread

T
Some sort of fish, not sure yet, whayever takes our fancy

F
The Mini’s will be at granny’s tonight, may persuade the Mr to take me out!

S
Beef Tacos

S
Roast beef

I am using up items in my freezer, cupboard, you name it, to help save some money.

I am in the process of setting up another blog for my recipes, so once that’s up and running, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Thanks to Mrs M for her Meal Planning hosting.

x