If your nest is cluttered and getting you down, join February's Fledgling Flyers and turn it around

[pushmepullyou]

Welcome to the February Fledgling Flyers' thread. A very big thankyou to ToffeeChristmasCake (who will presumably return under her non-Christmas name ) for seeing us through the thick and thin of January decluttering.

All flyers and fledgings old and new are very welcome - we have a fairly relaxed attitude to flying and take some of the babysteps - such as getting dressed to lace-up shoes - with a pinch of salt. We also strongly advise against signing up for the FlyLady emails.

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's tips on restoring order to our homes, using one of the following methods:

1. Babysteps
2. Babysteps + 15 mins daily decluttering
3. Babysteps + daily missions

Following the babysteps helps to establish daily routines and build a weekly plan.

If you are overwhelmed by the mess in your home, start with just one thing: shine your sink. It's amazing what you can achieve by just doing a bit at a time!

Pleased be warned that my month's leadership comes with a bit of a caveat as I am due to have DC2 at the beginning of March so there is a chance I may disappear mid month! Thankfully Toffee has very kindly offered to deputise in the event of the unexpected appearance of DS .

Apologies to Toffee (and by extension Ellie) for blatant intro plagarising and thankyou to Nettie for the thread title

See you all in February!

afternoon all

swan so sorry to hear about FIL. I hope all news is good and he makes a good strong recovery. your description reminded me a lot of when DH heard that FIl had been rushed into hospital a couple of years ago when they diagnosed his brain tumour....even down to Dh trying to book last minute plane tickets with screaming DC in background...it was a very stressful time. It does make it harder when PIL are "over seas" and adds to the stress of an already stressful situation. I hope your managing OK, take it easy and cut corners where needed - I had to do a lot of that when Dh was travelling back and forth over that year before FIL passed away.

star waves hello!

toffe good luck this afternoon. I'm with your DS though in not liking psychologists just now ( well other than the fab ones I work with LOL)Remember to stand your ground, and very importantly remember when it comes to your son, YOU are the expert, no matter what anyone else tries to tell you!

PMPY good luck with paid work mountain

well...have done bits this morning, not quite as productive as hoped ..but still!

update:

6 dc up, dressed and breakfatsed done
reboot laundry done
write shopping list done
on-line banking done (not as bad as feared!)
tidy d/room kitchen post breakfast done
school run done
shopping (small ammount)done
home done
snack ds2 done
utilise new Curious George DVD to entertain DS whilst placing big on-line grocery shop!!
sticking with ds done
lunch me and ds done
ds nap?!?...crossing fingers!
tidy/dust our room
tidy/dust girls room
sweep downstairs floors and mop
laundry reboot
school run

now need to do on-line grocery shop...and keep fingers crossed DS has actually gone to sleep (quiet so far!)

BBL

swan sorry to hear about your FIL. I know the feeling of being far away and it taking ages to get there. It must be uber stressful for you and your DH.

thanks everyone for lovely messages - beginning to realise I need to organise my weekend and not "drift".
toffee yes I think we'll be just the same when we are old(er) My mum certainly is heading that way refusing to delegate the slightest thing - one of her favourite phrases is "I could have debrambled that hedge in an hour"/"painted those railings"/"bought a new bathroom for £50"/ (delete as appropriate)

list
finish piano practice - lesson
supper - sausage casserole
tidy dd room again
hoover our bedroom - which has dried mud all over it???
money for builder
pay for Sayers Croft x 2
sort out leftover tiles
restore front room to sanity

Swan I've been trying to fit some exercise into the day (Not going well the house is now a tip.)
I can't make tommorow now sorry as I haven't got the car it's gone bust DH will get fix it by next week (more money!)

Sorry to make it in the distant future but could we do Friday 11 March. Tonight i'll figure out home to e-mail other MNetters.
Must dash need to shower (down side of exercise)and empty the W/M speak laters

I have committed the biggest flylady sin (apparently) and got well and truly sidetracked in that instead of working through my list I've cherrypicked and added other jobs! Oh well!
So:
post lettersnope
pay in chequenope
DO LAUNDRY (Mount Everest here and competing with PA!doing
IRONING (Himalayas)doing
School for a Parent Info Eve (with teacher hat on this time!!)cancelled
Find rugby kit x 2nope
Help DD bake cakes for her 7 orders!! notyet
Declutternope
But I have:
Gone to shopping centre to get some creams etc for DD's eczema-y face and raided Lakeland for essential cake carriers etc . Much more exciting...

Oh and also bought a new bra!!(In case you wanted to know )

Hello - quick update!

Decluttering has some extra bonuses attached - I've been finding all those things that I thought were lost forever

Current list of refound items:

Dh's ski glove
My leather glove
Mil's front door key
Pair of dressmaking scissors
Camera recharger
Countless coins to rewards my hard efforts

Still no where near finished but Pushme's wise words regarding the power of the 15 min declutter will encourage me that little bit further.

Help out at school Done
Dr's Appt Done
Pick up prescription Done
Birthday present Done
Go to library Done
Paperwork
Clear out fridge
Declutter a kitchen cupboard Done
15mins declutter in guest room Done
Recycling centre
Make Bread Done

OM has DD tried a little bit of hydrocortisone on her skin? I know it says not to use it on the face, but a couple of times a day for a couple of days may well do the trick, it does for DS, who still gets dribble rash sometimes (disclaimer: a nurse told me it was fine).

The other thing I use for irritated face skin is from Lush, a balm called Ultrabalm, lovely and soothing.

Swan sorry to hear about FIL, also thinking of PMPY, Feet and SC if I have remembered correctly you all have ill ILs.

Found a teabag in my washing machine today, all my whites were covered in little black specs, how on earth?!

OM unfortunately I do this all the time but it is more fun that changing bed sheets!

Ogre teabag Arghhh have you figured out how it got there?

DS1 has just got back from school and was sick as soon as he entered the house maybe he has the stomach bug too :(

Back from appointment with CAMHS. The woman was sympathetic and trying to be helpful, but my son was fighting back the tears most of the time and was in a dreadful state afterwards. I'll update the other thread rather than hijack this one.

This morning, I managed my morning routines in the end, then did some maths practise with DS1 (very impressed on his times tables - I wish I knew them as well as he does!). Then it was time for lunch, the CAMHS appointment, time to collect DS2 and home. Feel like crawling into bed and sleeping for a week now.

Ogre - a teabag in a washing machine sounds like something a toddler would do. I can't remember how old your DC are. Could one of them be to blame ?

Leo - sorry to hear about your DS. And, er, yes, it does sound as if he has the bug!

Pink - congratulations on finding lost things!

OM - at new bra

Swan - oh dear, do you think we'll talk about our illnesses all the time as well when we're old? We'll have to have an Ancient Flylady thread. Hope you hear some good news about your FIL soon.

OFM - I hope your DS had a long nap and enabled you to have a break/catch up on jobs. Looks like you are doing a lot of Flying today!

Off to update other thread.

swan So sorry to hear about your FIL; it's very difficult when parents/Ils are abroad, isn't it? My parents ended up moving because the garden was getting too much work for them but they also refused to employ a gardener. One of their arguments was that it would be too expensive, but the amount of money they spent on the move (to a house they're not as happy in) would probably have paid for a gardener well into the next century.

leo Hope your DS is OK.

Ogre I'm always ending up with tissues finding their way into the washing machine, but a teabag is definitely a new one. It's not the kind of thing someone is likely to put in their pocket...

pinkcushion Well done on the refound items. I am still waiting for my timer to turn up - think I may have to give in and buy a new one - and suspect that DD2's skiing gloves were lost outside the house (but it's too late now that the skiing course is almost over anyway).

Sorry, won't scroll back any further as I started writing my post an hour ago and will be here all evening otherwise!

Managed to avoid accumulating too much extra clutter at Ikea today, as most of what we bought was to replace old/worn out items. Also bought a bookcase for the DDs' room as their current (small) one is overflowing. For the first time ever the DC all went to the Smaland children's play area while we did our shopping, which made it a far less stressful experience than usual.

Must finish putting the washing away, persuade DD1 to do her piano practice, then start putting the DC to bed. Time for then, I think.

Can't believe I only x posted with one person despite taking an hour to write my post - I normally manage to x post with three or four in 10 minutes!

So sorry to hear how upset your DS was at your appointment this afternoon, Toffee. I'll take a look at your other thread later when I have a little more time. Hope you're able to have a relaxing evening and catch up on some sleep tonight. You've been through so much recently - don't forget to take care of yourself too.

Thanks, Linzer. I hope it doesn't seem too self-indulgent to put a link to the thread on this one. It's just that the support and advice I'm getting is so, so helpful. It keeps me going sometimes.

Pink I need to do some more decluttering, only like Toffee I don't think I can face any more decisions about what should go and what should stay.

toffee I would feel like ds that she is dredging up all the bad feelings from before, and agree that online community is the opposite of what ds wants from home ed, which is to feel unpressured. I felt the same when ds was at home, just wanting the chance to do things our way, even if in the end we used some of the curriculum as a framework; slavishly following it just caused tension. The second time ds was at home we had some set projects from school to do as it was such a short time (only two weeks), and it hung round our necks like a millstone compared to the first time when we just did what interested us over two months...

Dh has rung to say FIL out of intensive care, looking grey and pale, but awake. MIL is so relieved to have dh there for four whole days. So I am very relieved too! But tired too.

Must serve supper now
dd has done Athletics
ds1 has done choir
ds2 has made pancakes
and I have had my piano lesson all exhausting!!!

Yes, that makes sense, Swan (making DS feel pressured again). We were having fun and this option takes all the fun out of it again.

I'm so glad to hear that your FIL is out of intensive care and awake - that is a good sign. And lovely for your MIL to have her son with her.

What an exhausting and long day for you. Hope you get an early night.

oh and persuaded ds2 to do his piano practice
baked some oatmeal cookies
helped builder hang up a very large and heavy mirror in hall in new position
got builder to put up new improved coat hooks in new place in hall
admired bathroom and chatted to builder at length

paid in cheque nope
what was the other thing well whatever it was nope

star oh, I would have jumped on the 65 and come to Petersham way... but perhaps it is very very rainy and a bit short notice
well done on exercise...
By the 11th March you will have all the excitement of hearing about ds1's Secondary School application no. I promise.

x- post! thanks Toffee

Teabag update - the tumble drier got all the black specs out again. Still none the wiser, the DCs are 5 and 7 and have never put anything in the washing machine before (apart from clothes), plus the teabags are kept in a high cupboard. DH is also puzzled. All I can think of is that I am one for leaving my teatowels on the counter instead of hanging them up, I also pick them up and bung them straight in the WM which is in the kitchen. I refilled the teabag caddy the other day, maybe I dropped one on the counter and picked it up with the teatowel which then went straight into the washing machine. Boring!

Toffee - no advice really, as my DCs are younger and no one I know has home-edded, but I've got my fingers crossed for you and DS.

Swan - that's good news about FIL, you must be relieved.

Linzer - how's your head now? Better I hope.

Back later.

Empty (more or less) flying day here, as DS was ill in the night. Had an asthma attack and croup cough, and came into our bedroom at 2am crying that he wanted me to get rid of the nasty cough. So I spent the night up with him sitting in our bed (as that's where he wanted to be, and where he was calmest), debating whether to take him to A&E, call an ambulance or stay home (depending on how he was minute to minute.) He calmed down this morning, and went back to his room to play. He wanted to go to playgroup, but I veto'ed this as he started wheezing if he moved round too quickly, so I thought he was better off at home.

Morning routine - sort of done
DS watching DVD done
Slept for part of morning as shattered done
Lunch done
Took DS for play with friend done - he'd been so looking forward to it, and I warned him that he needed to be sensible or we would go home again.
Town for: mended boots, WI banking, Post Office, buying DS seeds for his garden done
Village store for toddler group fruit done
Cook tea done
S/s done
Make beds done
Washing on airer done
Meeting reports printed done
Files, papers etc together for meeting done
Tea done

To do
Bedtime routine
Washing up
Evening routine
Playgroup Committee meeting
Make bread (needed for tomorrow lunch unfortunately)
Washing in machine for tonight

Rest of stuff will have to be carried forward to Saturday, as tomorrow is already fully booked

Tomorrow
Morning routine
Make packed lunches for "picnic"
Toddler group - am on duty, so can't miss it
Drive to town (I live fairly rural so its a 10 mile cross country drive)
"Picnic" in car if we have time OR
Optomotrist appt for DS then "picnic"
Haircut for DS
Shoecheck for DS
My banking
Make tea
Tea
Bedtime routine
Evening routine
Maybed sit down for bit before bed and do some sewing

Am needed now for aeroplane repairs, so must dash

Evening all

ogre glad teabag disaster is resolved! and do your 5 and 7 yr old really out clothes in the washing machine????if so maybe they could come here and teach my 12 and 11 year old how to even manage to put them in the laundry basket LOL

swan glad to hear FIL seems to be doing well. Hope you have a peaceful evening to re-charge your batteries

star IMO getting chance for a bit of excercise is well woth a bit of mess!

toffee have replied on your other thread. Well done you and DS for getting through appointment anyway...and I suggest a large and an early night.

linzer trip to ikea sounds successful, and yay for getting to shop in peace without moaning dc tagging on!

leo poor ds...hope he makes a quick recovery.

pinkcushion yay for finding long lost items...love it when that happens!

OM am also very of new bra...I soooo need to go bra shopping...but NEVER manage to end up with the right size

well...so much for my plans this afternoon LOL
Just managed to finish on-line shop when school rang to say DD1 had a migraine and needed to come home.
She was V poorly bless her. This was the second one she has had...full blown flashing lights, awful headache and then nausea/vomiting. I used toget them a lot too, though not so much in last 10 years...bless her
Anyway...so had to get ds up , go get dd, came home, put dd to bed, made lasnge for tea, went to collect dd4
Thankfully roped DH in to collect dd2 and 3 from after school clubs to avoid yet ANOTHER school run!
But...little else achieved!

I have been for 5.7 mile run though
Now chilling for 10 mins
then...

Reboot laundry
add couple of things to on-line shop
eat...something...healthy!
Bed!

BBtomorrow

Not much flying here the last few days but been managing to clear most of my daily to do lists.

sorry only catching up now.

doric love the bread pic - it looks very yummy :)
swan really sorry to hear about your FIL.

swan Glad to hear your FIL is out of intensive care now.

Ogre The headache is gradually getting better, thanks - still there for a couple of hours in the mornings, but far more bearable than it was. Am also very impressed at your DC putting clothes in the washing machine!

cobwebs Sorry to hear about your disturbed night - DS gets very wheezy in the night sometimes too, and I know how scary it can be.

OFM Your poor DD - I really feel for her as I know how awful headaches can be (and I don't even suffer from full-blown migraines). Hope she's better soon.

I am gradually learning to ignore the mess around me (a short-term coping strategy!) and keep telling myself that things will be back to normal next week. I could really do with a morning at home - on my own - but it's the last day of the DC's skiing course tomorrow and they're having a race, so really want me to go and watch. If only I had more energy in the evenings, I could get things done once the DC are in bed - as it is, I'm trying to stick to my early nights so that I can get up before the DC, as early mornings are when I'm at my most productive.

well today I managed to

change the bedsheets in our room
hoover the bedroom
sponge down the sofa after ds was sick on it
extra load of sick washing
dw
kitchen counter wiped
lunch
dinner

Poor DS definitly has the stomach virus I hope he gets over it soon he hates vomitting and get really upset.

Had another hideous experience dealing with dd and bedtime. Had to put ds2 to sleep in my bed because she was screaming so much. She is beginning to frighten me - sometimes I just don't know how to handle the situation at all. No doubt she is very unsettled by dh's absence, and the teeth experience last week. Another candidate for the professionals I fear And me too probably She seems the most "normal" and "sociable" of my children, but I think I need to sort out something and go back to the nice lady who works with twin stuff/issues. I saw her once, and then got caught up with ds2 and CAHMS and Ds1 and his leg...Sorry just rambling

Cobweb poor you, that was a horrible night, very frightening listening to croup, especially in the small hours - everything seems much worse then.

OFM I'm sorry you didn't get your peaceful afternoon.

Nearly fell asleep on the sofa, now attempting to tidy up before bed. Uniform washed.