A frugal life is an easy life!

If you enjoy reading your daily newspaper, you won't believe how much better it can be to read them with hindsight, weeks, sometimes months later on down the line.
I buy just one single newspaper every other week, the times. I only buy the Saturday edition (as I am not a big reader) which usually takes me a full week to get through, with all its magazines and pull outs.

Last week I was reading a piece about baby development, some doctor with a book out I suppose, talking about how babies shouldn't be expected to do certain tasks at certain ages.
One that stood out for me was that in the author's opinion, children under three years should not be taught to hold or use a pen/pencil. Once at this age they will start to develop these skills or should be taught.
Of course every child is different, but sprog2 here is currently approaching 20 months old and has been handling a pen/pencil correctly for the best part of 6 months now. Another skill that I am personally impressed with is that sprog2 only appears to draw on paper. Be it a magazine/old catalogue or a clean sheet of paper that I got out.

Should the thought of scribbling anywhere else, such as a wall, occur, I get "baby eyes" prior to starting. Sprog2 can recognise the sharp end of a pencil, putting four pencils back in its thin pencil box every mealtime helped with that, whilst being used as a distraction so that she would scoff her cheesy pasta stars or cottage pie.

Another barrier I am fairly pleased about, is sprog2's approach to animals. To be more exact, our two house cats who only potter outside when we are all in the garden.
From torrorising them into a mad frenzy to get away, sprog2 has been visited by said cats, even hanging around her as much as possible when she plays in the front room.
Sprog2 is just discovering "gentle" and how not to stroke a cat with the force of a blunt instrument used to knock a door in.
The cat's tail is used as a convenient lead, sprog2 twitters away to herself as she takes the cat for a walk?
I'm fully aware that if I wasn't in the room there's a good chance the cats would lash out, but for now, sprog2 is slowly getting used to them being around her and the novelty of making all of a cats fur stand on end is wearing off.

We can no longer leave the key in the front door as now sprog2 can insert a key, twist it, and open the door!
I found this out when she deliberately locked me out as I put the rubbish out. All babies get to a stage of escapology, whereby they watch exactly what you and others do, then mimmick the actions. How much longer before we have to hide the keys?

Sprog1 asked me today what I would do with an £85 Million pound lottery win?
My answer was simple, I'd give most of it away.
Imagine the good you could do with it, I'd keep about £10 Million for my family and I, dishing the rest out.
Walking into my sister's house and handing her a cheque for £1 Million would be the icing on the cake, she's the kind of person that has never had nowt, but would give you her last penny if you were struggling.
I could buy land by where I live, knock down the buildings on it and put in place a skate park, a bmx track, a zip line and a stack of park rides for the local kids, who have seen their area destroyed by constant buildings that sit empty for the most part.
I'd include an outdoor stage and have special events throughout the year, imagine a mother and daughter day/weekend event, with stalls, fair rides, all the park activities with take that doing a gig!
I'd also build a sports club and set up a playing field, with netball/basketball court, tennis courts in grass and concrete, a cricket wicket. I could leave the football posts out, with nets, etc.
The whole thing would be fenced off and have security, with free access to children who live locally and a small token fee for children coming from further afield.

I would involve all the local swimming pools, in return for a donation to improve their facilities, free access was given to anyone under 16 and over 60 who lived in the area. I'd have them full of apparatus and big inflateable toys, I'd pack them out.
I would redevelop my local area as much as I could, along with local businesses, making the area one of THE most family orientated places to live in England.

Sprog1 said he'd probably move away or go on holiday.... wasted it would be on him, wasted.