Got a letter informing me that my Mandatory reconsideration for my PIP renewal has been unsuccessful and they have still awarded me 0 points. Citizens advice will now assist me in going to tribunal, she can't understand how they have come to the decision they have given the evidence I have provided. This means I have to continue on without my PIP payment for months until tribunal. Seeing PIP and disability cuts talked about as if it's a football game in the media is so frustrating! It literally makes work [un]affordable for me. I'm sick of seeing it talked about as an out of work benefit. If M.P's don't even know what it actually is, how can they make an informed vote on it. Makes me want to get myself elected into parliament! I'm sure I'd do a better job of it.

I worry about my children's future, about my funds to afford basics if I lose my pip, let alone how I'd ever manage to maintain my health, physically or mentally, if i lose my pip.

I've been remembering my childhood a lot lately, it wasn't a happy one. Poverty being a factor but mostly child abuse. I still remember the shopping list every two weeks at netto, the 7p tin of beans, or 9p with sausages and that was a splurge. £10 would just about stretch to a two week grocery but not really, normally lasted a week but was enough to stretch. I know I only survived childhood because of the NHS to patch up my many broken bones and concussions, the free schools meals that were my only guaranteed meal back then, social services failed us but the council gave us beautiful homes. I remember the layout and smells of every room, the constant lice and fleas, the attempts every few months to make the home pretty on the inside with the many broken and outdated furniture items, trash heap level freebies from local charities that we were grateful for. To be clear mum got enough on benefits to give us a bare but decent childhood but her needs trumped anyone else's, and she hated being poor, would scam money out of anyone she could only to spend it on takeaways or her hobbies or games, making a tough situation even more difficult. I survived my childhood, made it to adulthood, cos of the welfare state. Most of my disabilities I have now could probably have been prevented if I'd have been removed from mum's care in early childhood, but it's thanks to school and the NHS that I'm not more disabled than I am. All those broken bones, head injures, illnesses and infections from the fleas, etc., if untreated, could've done far worse to me.

Yet here I am, disabled and unable to work yesterday but still a valid member of my community, still doing what little I can to help others, and most importantly bringing two beautiful, kind, loving, sassy, cheeky, amazing children into the world.

Even they're still alive thanks to the welfare state. It was because of UC, charities and eventually the local authority housing that I was able to get my children safely away from my ex husband before he could land any of us in hospital. Couldn't legally get help with him, courts arenas corrupt and discriminatory as ever, but I make sure my kids never go hungry, they never fear for their lives like I did growing up, never knew real hunger. And that's largely thanks to the welfare state, thanks to charities that housed us when we were homeless, NHS that nursed us better than history would have expected (still poor care for poor people, unfair and unjust the stigma and discrimination and difficulty to get anything more than basic care but at least I know if one of us is seriously hurt or ill we'll not die, that's not a fear I have for my children), UC gives me just enough to feed my kids and my pip gives us enough that I can better manage my disabilities (such as being able to afford heating thanks to pip), and while the educational system is in dire need of an update, that's still an amazing thing for children. I loved school as a kid, loved learning about the world (and then relearning about the world in adulthood without the whitewashing thanks to the internet lol). Schools aren't perfect, feels a lot like holding pens for working parents these days, but most teachers are incredible and school gives children a chance to learn about the world and explore their identities beyond the limits of their family funds. Just that hope in childhood can help children find routes out of poverty in adulthood.

So seeing how the government, over the few governments, have been slowly destroying the welfare system on all fronts. It makes me fearful for all the other children who are only alive now thanks to a welfare state.

My gran was an east end nurse and midwife, from the blitz when she studied, til her death in the 00s. She told me the stories of children dying of polio, measles, even chicken pox. How you never knew which baby would survive the cold, gross home conditions. She said sometimes the healthiest looking babes didn't make it to a year, and sometimes the weakest born somehow made it to adulthood. She'd tell me how miraculous the NHS systems felt, how more and more services were added and included, more lives saved. Not just babies but the homeless, poor and disabled post-war vets, etc.

How quickly we've forgotten those realities. And how more and more frequently I'm seeing people slipping back into those patterns of pain, poverty and destitution. Seeing a disabled man in my area with dirty bandages for shoes, gangerous sores visable where the bandages slip. Children have more frequent infections, elderly freezing in their homes.

I'm fearful for my kids' future, but also for my community and my country's futures. There's no excuse for this level of ignorance in office. Their policies are killing people.

It is really good to hear that the Welsh

Government has said it is looking at

expanding Free school meals in line with England's recent change to it.

I appreciate the updates shared about the Child Poverty Strategy and the school meal expansion. Personally, while I welcome any relief that free meals can offer — especially during such a difficult economic period — the continued delay in implementing a comprehensive strategy is worrying. As a student and a parent, the uncertainty makes it hard to plan ahead or feel secure about what support will actually be available.

It's not just about feeding children — it's about lifting entire families out of survival mode. I hope the eventual strategy takes into account real, lived experiences of people who are working hard but still struggling to stay afloat due to unstable incomes, rising costs, or limited childcare support. Policies must move beyond temporary relief and focus on long-term security.

I am really happy to learn today that the Government will be rolling out free school meals for all families on Universal Credit whether they're working or not. This will hopefully lift 100,000 children out of poverty and shows that all of our campaigning and hard work for this change has really paid off.

The only downside to this though, is that it won't be implemented until September 2026, and there is still no change regarding lifting the 2 child benefit cap as yet. Hopefully this will be next!

Really struggling at the moment with keeping my youngest son safe. I've had to update all the cupboard locks again, add more locks to windows and garden gates, he can escape his reins and I've bought countless different ones to try as he works out how to get out really quickly. Nursery have referred him to paediatrics for developmental delays and told me to contact the dla for help for him. Which I did.

I opened the forms and just sat and cried. Why is getting help so bloody hard? I'm still waiting for a date for my own pip tribunal. Luckily I have therapy weekly through a specialised provision for adults with autism and she suggested contacting the Disability Living place where I live. So I did. And it was a game changer. The lady I spoke with on the phone was incredible. She arranged a time that we could sit down together and helped me fill in the forms for my son. Honestly she just took almost 2 hours out of her busy schedule to help me and I was so incredibly grateful.

It's services like these that are non existent or so underfunded that they are hard to access but I was so lucky and the lady there was a diamond

Loving this sun but can't be out in it long as headaches, baby now 8 month loves playing in water and icepops

I'm just glad back to school and back to normality

Good day everyone

May day was okay ,take the baby out to get fresh air 😌

Easter egg cost cutting tip (depending on how the costs, including opportunity costs, factor for you and your family) but I found the cost of Easter eggs this year is almost hilariously ridiculous (the cost of living cognitive dissonance is strong for me now, nice gone past anger or fear regards increasing rise hikes and currently seen to find most of it hilarious, probably cos I'm in denial about anger i can do nothing with lol).

But here's a far cheaper option for those who may find it helpful: you can try buying chocolate bars and sweets/sprinkles/decorations of choice and make your own Easter eggs/treats (mind blowingly novel, I know 😉). But it'll also double up as a fun family activity for the school holidays. Doesn't have to be Easter eggs either, if you can't get moulds right now, get some chocolate and some gummy eggs (or themed sweets) and make Easter themed choco-slabs.



You can also decorate toilet roll tubes Easter style and hide puzzles, jokes, treats or similar in them for Easter hunts without shelling out for pricey store brought hunt eggs (yes I know most plastic eggs are only a few quid but to a lot of us a few quid can mean days worth of food for our kids, no matter how much we have financially we all deserve fun seasonal and cultural shared experiences, it's part of human nature).

And don't let anyone make you feel bad or embarrassed for making these cost cutting options.

All kids are learning more about eco-friendly alternatives in school so if anyone gives you drama, or you feel parental guilt, remember that you don't have to be embarrassed if you can't afford fancy plastic or premade chocolate eggs for hunts, just spin it as an eco-conscious alternative if anyone trying to shame you. Making memories means more to our kids than the physical stuff we get them, can even use decorating the tubes as a fun family activity.

I weird, as I'm sure you've not noticed yet reading this, but I like to research trends amongst the rich around different seasonal events (cos I find I tend to get a wee laugh at their spending habits but also cos gives me an idea for potential trends in a few years that my kids will likely be encouraged towards as I'm the trends trickle down to poundlands offerings (the only trickle down that actually occurs in economies lol), plus I'm kinda fascinating by how they pay others to do things we do mostly for free, like homemade decorations lol - the whole "its class when you're rich and crass when you're poor" phenomenon can be interesting, from a sociological perspective lol, esp with more "fake poor" trends we're seeing from the wealthy lately lol). And this Easter there's a lot more of the fancy paper mache type hollow eggs that started slowly last few years (I saw one London based bujee store selling "painted cardboard" empty egg, about the size of a small Cadbury Easter egg, for £20! For one empty egg made of card with a printed "painted" image on it! Hilarious!) proposed as ultra boujee "green" alternatives to plastic eggs (one look at those companies and it's very clearly not as green as it claims to be lol, but calling it green means they can hike up the prices even more). So if they can use paper and card alternatives and pat themselves on the backs for it so can we. Only it'll be far cheaper and far more fun for us, cos we get to make memories and bond as families by decorating our cardboard creations ourselves. They just buy n use, kinda sad really. Don't get me wrong, it can be stressful trying to find cheaper affordable alternatives to trending options, so our kids don't feel they're missing out on cultural shared experiences of their ages, but there's soul in our cheaper less fashionable alternatives. We don't just buy, use then toss or replace. We're part of the making, using, and even reusing or recycling process which is something kinda special in a way. So however you make your family celebrations and experiences affordable for your family, that's magical.

Finally the council are allowing under 18's free to get on buses this will save me £45.00 a month in bus fares

Hey diary,

I missed you. So I started a new course to improve myself. It’s a self development program and I’m loving every bit of it. I’m hoping that it will create better opportunities for me.

Ps: I’ve healed and maybe able to share my survival journey. I’m grateful for the lessons. One thing I’m proud and thankful to God is I got a degree.

Cheers.