December's Fledgling Flyers: Christmas time, swish and swipe and wine, flyers sing to the fat fairy rhyme.

[elliepac]

Welcome to the December Fledgling Flying thread.

From the 1st of the month we shall be decluttering and taming the chaos using baby steps, missions and zones. A great big thank you to DEM/DID who looked after us last month and did a fantabulous job

We are not strict followers of the fat fairy and take some of the babysteps wearing shoes indoors with a pinch of salt. Also advise against signing up for the fairy's emails.

All are welcome, jump on board for one of our three methods of chaos attack:

1. Baby steps
2. Baby steps and 15mins decluttering in current zone
3. Re-inforce the baby steps and daily mission

This month the fat fairy is gearing up for the feastive period. So I shall also post the christmas mission for those who wish are brave enough to look.

In here the motto is:

*"No perfection! Do what you can, but be realistic about what you can do."

Happy flying.

Morning all. Had a very lovely day yesterday for the most part. As it was just us it was very relaxed. Dc's loved their presents. Ds cried when he got his xfactor tickets, bless him. It was the first year where dd has also been truly excited and it was lovely seeing her open her presents and getting all excited. She spent most of the day dressed as peppa pig thanks to a dressing up outfit and it is fair to say that I am now loving in peppa pig land we have that much stuff but she has been playing with it beautifully. Dinner was very tasty even if I do say so myself and the afternoon was spent watching how to train your dragon and snuggling. All started to go a little pear shaped later on as dd was complaining of ear ache so gave her medicine and put her to bed. At this point realised that that was the last of the medicine so had to go out to the local 24 hr garage and get some more and she then woke back up drying in pain until ten and has been up on and off throughout the night. I think we might have to visit out of hours doctor today.

House is a tip but nothing annex today so am going to clear up steadily.

Happy boxing day everyone!

Typos, typos! Sorry.

just coming on to say a slightly belated happy christmas to all - am at my mum's with kids and brother and his family - other people doing all the cooking and tidying up (my mum is the opposite of me when it comes to housework and keeps chasing me out of the kitchen!) and kids have loved Christmas so it's been nice. Sorry to hear about all the illnesses, dp is going down with man flu here too, it's part of the whole Christmas jollity isn't it! Back home probably tomorrow depending on weather.

Glad you all had a lovely day yesterday, everyone.

Ellie - sounds like a very happy day. Hope your DD's earache is soon cured. Can be very painful

Systems - your mum sounds great! Can you send her over to my house?

Today is my lazy day, so I am still in my dressing gown. I have tidied the kitchen, swished and swiped in the bathroom and put a load of washing on, but apart from that - bugger all! This meant I could spend some time with DS2 helping him make bouncy balls with his new bouncy-ball-making kit - a very messy business, but he was happy.

My throat is very sore today, so I am a bit worried I am coming down with DH's fluey thing. At least Christmas is over now.

Just off to soak in a very deep, hot bath and apply an 'anti-stress' face pack! Then it's paper plates and leftovers for lunch. And I am looking forward to the new 'Upstairs, Downstairs' tonight with the original Rose in it. Anyone else of my unmentionable age who remembers the original series? I used to love it.

Have a lovely Boxing Day everyone.

Just taking a quick break from packing to catch up with the thread. We're leaving just after 7 am tomorrow so I really need to have everything packed today - in theory we shouldn't need to take too much, as we have most of the clothes, cosmetics, etc. that we need at my parents', but it still all seems to add up (I'm onto the third suitcase now).

DD1 has opened all her birthday presents, DD2 is in a foul mood thanks to last night's sleepover - but has improved after being sent to her room to calm down - and DS is being his usual deafening self. DH has disappeared; I think he may be trying to book in online for our flights tomorrow.

swan Hope you have a good journey tomorrow too.

systems Your mum sounds very similar to mine; I'm never allowed to help with the cooking when I'm home.

Toffee I remember Upstairs, Downstairs! I used to be allowed to stay up late to watch it as a special treat. (I was, of course, only a toddler when it was on ). Hope your sore throat doesn't develop into anything.

Toffee I think you may be younger than me (45)
yes, of course I remember..though to tbh it seemed very 7o's and dated even then..lots of wringng of hands and runing off with the housemaids

oh linzer I'm going at 7am too
and I have
organised catfeeder
decluttered under my bed (now or never)
assembled piles of cr**p to take to holiday cottage for further fun and frolics (move mess somewhere else I say...)
eaten lots of lovely leftovers
deepcleaned kitchen last night

dd also in bad mood..dh has realised it is necessary to take everyone to park, much as he wanted to read his book...no escape from park outings here

looking forwardt o lots of wintery walks in Eire, I think we do need to be somewhere where we can go outside as much as possible.

Toffee eat bunch ofo parsely, and two cloves of garlic, and lots of water, it really does zap the sore throats. Have a nice rest today too.
Ellie fingers crossed you can solve dd's earache, Peppa Pig Land sounds very sweet

Merry Christmas Fat Fairy Fans!

Have just popped in to say hello and that I will be flying properly again in the new year.

Take care all, have a good one!
x

Thanks for the tip, Swan. I have plenty of garlic, but no parsley, unfortunately.

Am really not feeling too good now, so I think I am coming down with DH's fluey thing. If I can stay in bed and read or look at MN, it might not be too bad.

Have had a very lazy day and done the absolute minimum in the house. I have done washing up and one load of washing, and I put the rubbish out. Then I served reheated leftovers on paper plates for lunch, with cold turkey and ham and lots of chopped tomatoes and carrots. It was absolutely delicious. Even DS2 - possibly the fussiest boy on the planet at present - tucked in.

Was ordered to go to bed at 4 by my concerned MIL and only woke up about half an hour ago , when DH brought me a cup of tea.

I can hear the children racing around downstairs. I meant to take them out for a runaround today, but changed my mind as soon as I stepped outside because it was so bitterly cold. Normally, DH would drive them somewhere, but he can't at the moment, obviously. At least they have lots to occupy them in the house, with all their new books and toys.

Does anyone know if Flylady has anything on organising paperwork, by the way? I have found the odd mention of it on her website, but I wondered if she has a 'programme', like she does with the babysteps? Our paperwork is in such a mess. I used to file everything properly, but after two babies, moving house and various building projects, I have lost control. My filing system now consists of piling papers and envelopes in a corner of the kitchen until it overflows, then putting it all in a carrier bag and losing it in our bedroom . I think getting to grips with it should be my new year's resolution.

Bye for now.

Have you seen Flylady's Focus on Paper Clutter, Toffee? Not exactly a programme, but it does contain quite a lot of advice about dealing with different types of paper clutter. Sorry to hear you're not feeling well - make sure you get lots of rest (MNing in bed is allowed ) and hope you're feeling better soon.

Evening all,

Made it safely to ILs, all the cousins have been playing together all afternoon, have just sent them upstairs with DH in the vain hope they might go to bed soon.

Toffee when I first started Flylady about a year ago I had a major overhaul of my paperwork and it is now much more manageable, I will come back on later and tell you all about it. It was well worth the effort. I am bracing myself to sort out DH's stuff next, I do all the house, cars, children and my own stuff, but he just shoves all his bank statements etc in boxes ad infinitum.

Happy Boxing day everyone, hope you all had a lovely day.

We had a lovely walk along the shore cliffs with pil and dogs as well as little ones, more calpol and leftover lunches here. Been a nice day and have steadily eaten enough to fill a car!!

ellie love peppa pig imagery. DD has also been running around dressed at Princess Peppa Pig the Ballerina DS has alternated from spiderman to buzz lightyear.
linzer,mrsd and swan have lovely time both of you visiting family.
toffee hope you had a nice lazy day and you are starting to feel better. mine has been lingering for 4 days but mainly bit chesty and cough now less aching!!

Tomorrow is catch up day and get somewashing going again day!

humungous festive waves to everyone

oh dear dd has had a mega tantrum this eve and earlier..

Toffee paper work sorted as follows:

3 big boxes, place round comfy chair with remote control and bottle of wine. Get each bag or box of stuff on your lap and sort it into keep, recycle or shred boxes. This may take several evenings but hopefully will produce a few happy trips down memory lane as well as a lot of why on earth did I keep that moments. I have kept anything relating to tax for 6 or so years everything else you can be as ruthless as you like.

Then, get rid of the recycling, put the shredding to one sided and sort the keep stuff out into piles. What I ended up with was about 10 categories of stuff, I have made a box file of each and put them all on one shelf, as follows: current tax year stuff, previous tax year stuff, ditto for financial stuff that isn't tax related, eg bills. Then a file each for pensions, the car, each DC, memberships etc, health stuff, house related stuff, receipts and guarantees, personal letters etc. The financial stuff for 2 to 6 years ago was archived to q concertina file in the attic. I intend at the end of every tax year to move the stuff from 2 years ago off the shelf and therefore only ever have two years worth on the shelves.

If I had floor space, I would probably get a filing cabinet instead of my box files, but I haven't.

Final step is to shred all the other stuff and make sure I do the filing reasonably regularly from now on monthly seems about right.

Thank you for your help with paperwork, Linzer and MrsD. I like your recommended plan, MrsD - particularly the bottle of wine that accompanies it. And Flylady's post is exactly what I want to read and couldn't find on her website - thanks, Linzer.

This is all because I asked DH if he thought I was more efficient these days (since discovering Flylady) and he said, yes, but there was a large hole where my organisation of paperwork should be. He doesn't claim to be any better himself, but I really think at least one of us should be in control.

I have just updated my 2011 -12 'Organised Mum' family calendar, so I am feeling particularly well organised this evening (not including paperwork, obviously). Also ordered the budget book. I'm not sure if this will transform how we manage our budget, but it's worth a try.

Am feeling a lot better since my long sleep, two Paracetamol and Codeine and a couple of glasses of Prosecco. Am not tired now because I slept so late. Watched 'Upstairs, Downstair's', which was great fun for all those who like a costume drama with plenty of good storylines and great characters. I spotted straight away that the maid with bright red nail varnish would end up with the footman. Next episode tomorrow - whoopee!

See you tomorrow.

Morning all,

Just flying by while I have my breakfast... we're more or less packed and ready to go in just over an hour; just a few last-minute bits and pieces to take care of and the DC to wake. It will take us 12.5 hours to get back to my parents, so I'll be glad when the journey is out of the way.

I expect I'll be popping in to see you all while we're away - to keep up with the chat if not the flying.

Toffee Glad to hear you're feeling better.

MrsD Your paperwork system sounds great. I really must organise mine in the New Year - I do have folders with various different categories, but struggle to find the time to actually put paperwork into the folders.

Nettie Sounds like a lovely day.

Waves to everyone else; I'll try to check in again soon!

Morning everyone. Thankfully dd seems better now and earache appears to have been a transient thing. Had another lovely chilled out day yesterday. Watched loads of films, played and had roast beef dinner. I did do some tidying up of toys but that was about it. Slightly more strenuous lost today. We have a big family gathering at mum's this afternoon with sis, step brothers and my auntie and uncle is have together cracking this morning so am actually going to list post.

Washing on done
washing up from last night
general tidy downstairs
Sort out homes for Xmas presents
Bathe children and me

If anyone is interested the babystep for today is to meal plan although this is the one time of year when a lot of people do it anyway!

Have a nice day everyone!

morning. My plans for the festive peroid have been changed by weather and poorly child. There is no chance of flying here as am a guest. So will be sorting out the project that needs to be done and two of the christmas presents that didnt get done on time. And relaxing. Might even read one of my new books.

Wishing you all lovely days!

or not as i forgot half the bits have done what can. now to find that book.

I have a plan of action for the new year.

Have been in bed all day. So has DH. Not sure at which point something counts as flu, but we are both very poorly and have to keep going to sleep. Very achy. Thank goodness for paracetamol and codeine. MIL is being a star and has looked after both boys all day.

No flying today, but I have decided that my new year's resolutions are to organise our paperwork and keep a budget book (have just received the one from Organised Mum). Also, to continue with the decluttering. Am tempted to order Flylady's decluttering kit - three pop-up bins, marked 'keep', 'sell' and 'throw away'. Or something.

What is your plan of action, Did? Hope you managed to relax and read your book, and that your poorly child is getting better.

Ellie - glad DD's earache is better. I meal plan at the beginning of every week now.

Am going to attempt to read a story to DS2 (in my very croaky voice), then go back to bed.

My plan of action is a list of what has to be done with deadlines, what i want to get done. And how i think i might achieve it. Just got to think about the where do i want to be in a years time part. Although I am not sure i dare to dream.

Good to have a plan, Did - and to dream.

Very quiet here today. Where are you all?

Still feeling rough today, but I did get up with the children and did my morning routine so that I wouldn't fall too far behind. I have:

unloaded the d/w
shined my sink
put dry washing away
put today's washing on
swished and swiped in the bathroom
put the wet wash in the tumbledrier
swept the floor
put away shopping from Tesco delivery
revised my meal plan thanks to short 'use by' dates
had a bath and washed my hair

Have just taken some Paracetamol and come back to bed. Still feeling very achy and tired. DS1 is on the computer; DS2 is making a 'Christmas world' out of his wooden railway track, Playmobil people and sequins.

Hope you are all enjoying relaxing family time.

Toffee - very impressed at that list when you are feeling ill. Mine isn't half as long and I think I can be classed as well again now

I have:

• Had breakfast (and fed DC and DH)
• Helped DH wash-up from last night
• Cleaned out cutlary drawer
• Got DC to do some homework (mean Mummy apparantly but they did enjoy it, was mainly drawing/colouring)

Really should get dressed at some point and MUST do cat litter and sweep kitchen floor as both are well overdue!
Need to get a few bits of shopping too though won't be a disaster if I don't.

Still at ILs, so not much to report here. Going home this afternoon. We left the DCs with GPs yesterday while we braved the sales, DH and MIL have taken the DCs sledging in the park now while I pack our stuff, the snow melted a lot here last night (West Mids), hoping it will have gone at home too.