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.

Right then, so far -

4 hours of paid work done
online christmas grocery shop done

everything else not done

Finally have time to catch up with the thread over lunch (must admit I've been lurking but haven't allowed myself to post till I'd got this morning's work out of they way), although DD2 has been a nightmare ever since she got home from school, bursting into tears at the slightest thing, so I'm not sure how far I'll get with this post.

Sorry to hear you had a bad day yesterday swan. I remember the DC refusing to eat a moussaka I'd made not long ago - mind you, they refuse most things. However, I refuse to become a short order cook (as advised in all American parenting magazines), so they can have a piece of bread if they don't like the dinner. Or starve.

ellie Sorry to hear you couldn't make it to the childminder's. I am so glad that schools never seem to close here due to snow; I need my child-free mornings to preserve my sanity.

Deck Thanks so much for DD2's Christmas card - our first! It has pride of place on our "Christmas shelf".

Toffee Sorry to hear you're not feeling great; is your DH able to look after your DC as he can't get to work? The translation is coming along slowly but surely, but I don't think I'll want to see another Christmas recipe again after I've finished it!

feetheart Hope you had a lovely time this morning!

SC It's strange how a DH being away can change the whole balance of the household, isn't it? How long will yours be in Lisbon for? I always look forward to my quiet evenings pottering around (and spending time on MN without being glared at!) when DH is away, and was very annoyed that I had to work on Monday evening!

Am going to try to get some proofreading done with the DC around this afternoon, which is generally a recipe for frustration. DD2 also has her appointment at the paediatrician's to have her heart murmur checked, so am keeping my fingers crossed that it's nothing to worry about (but don't feel half as worried as I was, as it actually seems to be quite common).

I think DD2 is in need of my undivided attention now, so am going to do some arts & crafts things with her - although probably should get her to do her homework first. Will be back later!

Thanks I've escaped! To asda i am procrstinating o know but I feel better for getting out tryo to catch up proper lyater

done
school stuff bought for PTA
also lunchboxes, wide necked flasks etc, but now they tell me school dinners have resumed, as gas restored. Very relieved, but a bit out of pocket

todo
emergency piano practice
supper is pasta bake - can anything go wrong with that I wonder?

Pasta is always good, swan. However, the last pasta bake I made had mozzarella in it and DD2's friend announced that she only ate Parmesan. (I even had to wash the fork that had touched the mozzarella.) It's plain pasta in this house from now on, with sauce for those who want it.

I've got a job!. 10 hours per week, fully flexible back in my old line of work which I'd given up any of hope of. Managed to drive the 15 miles to it and back this morning via sainsbury's, fire is roaring, Ds is feeling well enough to play on the wii and dh has gone to work, probably not much Flying here today.

Dd had a fit this morning because she wanted what she referred to as "eggy pasta with bacon" in her lunch box - I said in very tentative tones, do you mean you actually like Spaghetti Carbonara??? She brushed this aside, oh yes, you know that stuff you do with egg and bacon, I really like that
Oh and smoked salmon if you have it..or parma ham...
[Anything fancy as long as it's not Moussaka!]

MrsD Fantastic! Just the right amount of hours too, not to feel shellshocked...

Well done MrsD!!!!

Its taken me an hour to get home - should have took 20 minutes, now I have just under an hour to crisis clean before I go to pick DS up.

DH is off work tomorrow

I'm past being upset now, if it wasnt so bloomin snowy and cold I'd go back out to potter about in some garden center.

Kick me kick me - I jjust want to be planning festive menus and xmas crafts

That's great news MrsD - well done!

Spaghetti carbonara did not go down well in our house last week, swan - neither DD2 nor the DDs' friends ate a thing. I was to hear that DD2 ate salmon and couscous at a friend's house last week; I'm not sure I would even be able to get her to taste it at home.

Linzer - I'd lie to DC's school friends re mozzerella vs parmesan given half a chance! I am also a much meaner mummy than you as mine don't even get the offer of a slice of bread

Coffee and cake was lovely thank you (and very good value especially considering the setting). Nice to just sit and chat though DH was a bit more distracted by work than I would have liked. Of course this morning the phone wouldn't stop ringing though I did get him to put it on 'silent' whilst we were there

So far have:

• Morning routine - done
• Put on decent-looking clothes - done
• Despair as don't have smart warm clothing - not too bad though ribbon came in handy, thanks SC
• Scoff cakes in luxurious surroundings and chat with DH - done and very enjoyable it was too
• Wrap presents and dig out cards for party today and on Saturday - done

Need to do bit more on list and mop kitchen floor but am being distracted by waiting to hear about World Cup bid! Not even big footie fans in this house but would love to have chance of taking DC to another BIG sporting event (been saving for Olympic tickets for nearly 3 years now )

Better do kitchen floor - ho hum

MrsD - well done you, great news. When do you start? And what is your old line of work (nosy parker emoticon needed )

namechange - do a couple of 15mins over the next hour then get DH to HELP tomorrow. I would usually have to throw a bit of a strop to get that to work here but now its usually a 'planned' strop

Right today has been mad. I will have ds home tomo and probably monday until i have spoken to the school. I am not happy with the situation. Which means tomo could be interesting.

Spent the day sorting that out. But have just blittzed ds' room for him so he can have decorations when he gets home. he will be pleased. So hopefully a calmer evening will be had.

morning all! busy already i see

i haven't looked out to see if we've had any fresh snow, that can wait until we open the door for the school run!

work today, so shorter list:

dw
wm
work
cubs planning (has moved from 'sometime' lol)
box of linens (ditto)
get cubs stuff ready
deliver scout popcorn
put dance shoes in all dc's school bags for school play
budget (didn't do yesterday, but can do at work today )
ignore lace up shoes done

see, i've done one already!

i had such a lovely day yesterday. tying up all the loose ends, getting a bit organised, and catching up with you lovely lot. i didn't know how much i had missed you until i came back! (my house has missed you more...)

right, got to light fires under children or they'll be late for school.

Consider yourself kicked, namechange! It's surprising how much you can get done in an hour if you put your mind to it. I find that using a timer helps me to stay focused.

feetheart The coffee sounded lovely; am still very ! Did you go anywhere we'd have heard of? Our wedding reception was afternoon tea at a posh hotel in London and although it wasn't cheap, it was surprisingly affordable.

Officially start at the start of Jan but might get started a bit sooner. It's in Quality Assurance, which is what I did for the last 5 years or so in my old company. So bye bye to being a SAHM, I have enjoyed it though, so not without a pang (for those of you not around whn I joined I was made redundant about a year ago from the job I had been doing since before the DCs we're born and decided to stay at home for a year or so till DD started school).

Not sure what impact it will have on my Flying, but so many of you combine work wi home I will rely on you for inspiration!

I suggest you look elsewhere for your inspiration MrsD , but many congratulations!!!

Not much flying done here today . Took ds2 out in the snow to sledge and play, whilst dh took our older son on a long walk in the countryside. Then ds2 and I built a snowman in our garden. Having done the snow stuff, I suggested a film this afternoon. This was meant to give me time to get stuff done, but with a film on and ds2 snuggled up on my lap, I couldn't make myself. Have set ds2 up with a Xmas sticker book now so that I can get on with tidying up the kitchen and cooking. Err - just thought I'd check the thread first .

Think I need to get the timer out. Oh, and a quick kick up the backside might do the trick too....

PS Congrats to MrsD!

Hope you don't mind me popping in, I'm desperate to get back into flying, when I do it the house looks great and I feel really organised but I don't seem to keep it up for more than a couple of weeks. Also I find that DH does more when he sees me doing more of the obvious stuff he notices (vaccuming, dusting etc), rather than cooking, washing up, washing ironing etc which happens unnoticed in our house.

I'm doing a Uni course, on top of my 30 hours a week job and looking after DD, so some organisation is needed.

Keep thinking I'll get into it after Christmas, but really I've got lots of Uni work to do before then and the house needs a good sort out before the PIL come on christmas eve, I'm getting that CHAOS feeling again.

Does anyone use the system to plan in study? I'm struggling with motivation and getting behind (thankfully I've been able to take some extra study leave this week because of the snow so I'm feeling a lot better about it)

Any advise on how to keep myself motivated with flying and also how to use it to schedule in study would be appreciated - or should I start a new thread?

Oh, I don't know PA - I find it quite frustrating inspiring that everyone else on this thread manages to combine paid work with flying much better than I can!

Just back from paediatrician, who doesn't think there's anything to worry about as DD2 isn't showing signs of any heart problems. We've got to go back for an ECG next week just to be on the safe side as well as an abdominal ultrasound as DD2 has been complaining of stomach ache a lot recently. I had to laugh when we got there, though - we hadn't been to this paed before and it was a typically Austrian set-up; we had to take our shoes off at the door and put on slippers or crocs.

I need to get my timer out now too, Toffee - the house is in a state, yet somehow I seem to find myself back on MN.

We finally have some snow, ds has been off school and dp couldn't roof in it, so we've had a really lovely day but absolutely nothing FlyLady about it and I'm going to wrap some presents tonight so it won't get done then either! We will have to see what tomorrow brings... Hope everyone had a lovely day

Hi TeaOneSugar, x posted with you before. This thread is great if you're looking for motivation; we all struggle to a greater or lesser degree, but everyone is very encouraging. I also find that the embarrassment of posting the same list day after day spurs me on to get on with things!

It certainly sounds like you've got a lot on your plate with your job, DD and studies. I'm not in quite the same boat, but I work freelance which means I often end up working in the evenings and weekends and work is always there, so I often feel guilty as there's always something I could be doing. In some ways it's quite like being back at university (the main difference being that I now get paid for it!).

Tbh I'm struggling to fit everything in at the moment, but most of us seem to go through periods where we're not doing as much flying as we'd like; there's always plenty of coffee and cake and wine on the thread to keep us going through those difficult times.

Just remember it's all about babysteps; cleaning your sink is a great start. Even if I only manage to get a couple of room rescues done some days, it still makes a big difference to the way the house looks - and to how I feel. Before I started flying, I would just neglect the housework completely as soon as I had any work to do; now, however, I've found that some of the babysteps (making beds in the morning, laying out the DC's clothes at night) have become ingrained and really do make a difference.

go to pub done

I did all my morning list but I'm beginning to realise that anything I write down to do 'later on' is a work of fiction. Oh well, I did get the stairs, landing and hallway hoovered which weren't on the list (was on yesterday's not done list).

Had a chat about housework in pub with DP - TeaOneSugar - yes! He's noticed how much of the invisible stuff needs doing every day since he's been off with man-flu and says he wants to help more. I'm trying to encourage him to take on one or two jobs regularly and take responsibility for them so I don't have to think about them so much.

Congrats, MrsD on your new job!

Plentyofparsnips - you sound like my kind of woman!!(re pub!) I have 3 teenagers too so know the frustration of STUFF everywhere!!!
Had a very odd day - walked to Tesco with DH and the road was PACKED with other people lugging back food on sledges all saying 'hello' etc! Found 2 snowsuits for my much younger nephews so ended up with an inpromptu snowball fight with them. Came back to find 6 teenagers building a very precise igloo out of snow bricks they had made using tupperware cake boxes and kitchen knives - itis superb and will probably last all winter! They are out there now finishing off the roof.
My mum's plane was diverted to Heathrow and we had to literally TELL her to stay in London as it is IMPOSSIBLE to get back here! She thinks she can pop down on the commuter train with her ballet pumps on pulling two massive suitcases with her and get home, aged 72!!. I've told my stepdad that 1. they have to go latenight shopping and get snow boots 2. enjoy stay in London and take advantage of the theatre etc!!
Lastly, my poor neighbour rang in floods of tears as she was stuck in with a 9m and 3yo - the 9m had just fallen off the changing table.Thank God she phoned as the baby was fine of course but she was in a terrible state. So they all came round here and then I went with her and was mother's help for the afternoon....
What a day!
Flying?? What's that??

PA - lovely to hear from you!xx
MrsD - well done you!