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.

Morning all.

It's a very rainy day, just staying indoors. I hope u have I blessed day 🙏

Earlier today, I felt apprehensive because I had a disturbing dream. Now, I feel a lot better because I told myself that everything will be alright. From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. I am a forward-thinking person and I strongly believe that things will be better.

Visiting my kid's nursery tomoz for my 3 yr old to start in April.

Happy it’s the weekend, and I can enjoy some quality time with my son. I’m still anxious about his transition to high school. I’m waiting for the council’s SEND panel to decide whether he’ll get a place in the autism base at the feeder mainstream school where his friends are going. I guess I’ll just have to be patient; these things take time.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to warmer weather and sunnier days.