Part 2 - If you're house is cluttered and you're Mad as a Hare, join March Fledgling Flyers and get it all square

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

This is the second March Fledgling Flyers thread, all newcomers are welcome.

This is the thread that follows the Flylady website (loosely) for getting your home decluttered and your housework into routines, whilst dispensing tea and chat freely.

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.

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!

I did manage to find a mob cap at a local fancy dress shop, but they didn't have a pinafore, only bloomers - dd wasn't impressed!

The pinafore isn't brilliant, but as dd isn't likely to want it again, I can send it on if anyone wants it, plus mob cap. However, dd wants to keep my Mum's old tartan shawl . I did manage to get frills sewn onto the pinafore.

I don't expect my work leaving date to be before November, but I'm now going to compile a "Howto" book as I'm sure that there'll be some difficulty in filling my post due to recruiting restrictions. Not that I'll actually be bothered about that once I've gone.

Actually, a plan of how I could make a bonnet has just popped into mind, involving cardboard covered by fabric........no, it can stay in my mind now, I don't need it! (Sadly, I'm that sort, I can often think of how to fix something...)

Today's craft session was rather more frantic - 40 kids and only 2 of us plus a few Yr 6's. Yesterday was 22 kids and 3 of us! Survived though, only 3 more to go (and a major wrapping session in Reception tomorrow)

Too tired to read much but Toffee - if you go by train to London (not sure where you are) you can get 2 for 1 at Aquarium. Send DS to pay for himself if he'll do it and you and DH go 2-for-1. Will save you about £19. If one adult and DS do it it will save you £14! Got both DC in free at half-term doing this saving us £28. Also, if you are anywhere near Euston, you can get a Millies Cookies voucher from Money Saving Expert website and get 12 cookies for price of 6 - snacks sorted :o Probably other Millies but we come into St Pancras so Euston closest.

Need to do washing up and go to bed.
MUST do some work tomorrow before doing craft session so need kitchen to look respectable.
Night night all.

Fun after five years of Lego/duplo hell, someone gave me a tip. Spread an old cot sheet on floor before they start/train them to spread old cot sheet, then it is very easy to clear up, and tip back into box.

I am still trying to persuade dcs to put their clothes in the laundry pile, it is relentless. Ds1 is the very worst offender;I think he feels cosy wth clothes strewn around, like some elemental life force at work....

done
washingup
uniform round up and wash
sink
hang out doormats
wipe table for umpteenth time
wrote some urgent things on wipeboard

Nettie what is Charmed? What other dramas on telly are worth watching? I don't seem to watch telly at all nowadays, and not because I'm reading a book either...[gloom]

x-post Feet I know that frantic feeling with school volunteering, and one just feels cross that there is not enough other parents to spread load with...You sound so dedicated to organise so many things for school.
Only I've wimped out entirely in last three months (Santa's workshop was last straw and Christmas Fete. I just feel I have to get things running a bit more smoothly at home before I volunteer for anything else, or my children suffer from the total chaos. Two volunteering activities are causing enough trouble at the moment with dh. And library will re-open soon, so waiting for the callup on that.

Evening all,

Well, everyone seems to have been super busy today! Me included I guess, although nothing terribly interesting. Work this morning (I get home from the school run with 15 mins to spare before leaving for work, I have been making myself do my chores instead of MNing and it is working very well). So didn?t need to do much when I got back this afternoon, went for a run and had a shower, collected DCS from school, played for 45 mins before ballet, ballet, tea, outside to blow bubbles and run around before bedtime routine. It all sounds quite idyllic, but DS has been quite foul a lot of the evening, think he is morphing into Horrid Henry, he?s all talk back, don?t care, general rudeness. He?s gorgeous in-between though, like a little split personality boy at the moment. Never mind.

I?m feeling a bit tired to do a full round-up, but today?s highlights were

Swan?s DS performed well in his music test

LadyinPink held a fab party ? I so wish I was like that, the whole thought of children?s parties makes me feel like a nervous wreck, I struggle to do them for birthdays.let alone extras like Easter, so well done!

Darts ? has been doing some great costume making

Feet ? has been brave and undertaken craft with 40 children

Nettie is looking for a cleaner

Scatty ? hope DD has a lovely day tomorrow.

Lost?s knee is in a bad way, sorry to hear about that.

Babystep

Mission

Meant to say, Nettie - well done, look as though you have properly got to grips with the links. My top tip is to save the Babystep and Mission pages into your bookmarks, then you can open them in a second tab and cut and paste the URLs into MN. With the Babystep one, I bookmark Day 1 Day1 and then scroll down the bottom and click on the actual next day babystep before copying. The mission link is the same every day.

Heelllloooo!!! Gosh, you've all been busy again!

Just popping head in to say hello. Off to mainland to do a load of shopping today with DD3 while DH takes DD4 to the hospital over there.

Watch out bank balance, here I come.............

Morning all,

I'm still struggling to find my motivation and am having to force myself to get on with my routines. The missions and decluttering are being sadly neglected at the moment, but I just don't seem to have the time despite work being very quiet - I honestly don't know where the morning goes. And as for getting on with anything when the DC are around... well, I've just given up.

Nettie I love the Lakeland compost crock - it looks so much better than our old compost bin (a blue plastic container with a brown paper bag in it). It's a little smaller than what I'm used to, but it's probably not a bad thing if I'm forced to empty it a little more often; I think it will probably hold a day's worth of compost.
I found the big wheel quite scary btw, but the DC loved it!

PA Enjoy the shopping - am very . I wish we had some decent shops here (although I've been doing far too much online shopping recently so it's probably a good thing that we haven't).

Morning everyone. HOpe all OK.

Just trying to ascertain whether I should be hanging my washing out inside or outside this morning...glorious yesterday but apparently the weather is changing

2-weekly (more like 4-weekly atm) ironing lady coming this afternoon in my absence

I don't know what to pack either - winter woollies or spring clothes

Before I go - a million thanks to Whoknows for handling the thread so capably this month and looking after us all. And it was not an easy one to handle with so many newbies at the beginning! Don't know how you kept track of everyone! (Will be noting your book-marking tip for June)

Thread seems to have calmed down a bit for April - good luck anyway Nettie!

Hello PA - enjoy your shopping trip!
Hope your knee recovers soon Lost
Respect re: craft session Feetheart - 2 adults to 20 dc is a tough ratio for that sort of thing
Think'll I'll steal that Lego sheet tip for playmobil Swan
Congrats on your free bit of floor Funambulist and glad you are feeling better
Waves to Darts and Toffee
Nettie hope you don't have to clean the caravans by yourself
LadyisPink Easter party sounds lovely - I'm in the middle of prepping Easter gardens (in baking trays) for school activity
Sorry your work situation is so tough atm Scatty
Waves to Linzer, Ihate, Ellie and everyone else I've missed!!

I'm off. See you next week on the new thread thread!

whoknows I know that feeling - what could be more idyllic than a nice afternoon with one's children Some days I am amazed how well it all goes, and then another day it's all a struggle.
Both dss are behaving like your ds (if that's any consolation) very aggressive outbursts, followed by the most reasonable sweet manners.
Dd, ironically, has become charming apart from refusing pointblank to practice [aargh] and picking fights with brothers...

I think in our house we are suffering from not sharing evening meals. I think it would give the children far more chance to chat in a civilized setting to dh and each other about their day, and generally calm down. I've discussed with dh and we decided we really have to have Family Supper, which he so far has resisted on the basis that
a)he doesn't like the same food as kids,
b)doesn't want to eat at 6.45. (he likes to eat at 8.30pm...
c) it will interfere with bedtime routine

Now they are older, I think they can wait till 6.45 -7pm to eat supper, and can eat a few more interesting things so we wil try it 5 nights out of 7!!!Here's hoping.. Although the meals have to be a bit more special I fear - tablecloth, candles, water jugs, condiments, pudding - that sort of thing!!!! only way to get dh on board....

Done
recycling out first thing due to re-organised recycling section of Steptoe's Yard (aka patio)
dcs to school in clean uniform
wash on
breakfast cleared
laundry upstairs
beds made
saucepans away
what's for dinner? Vegetable chilli with courgettes and kidney beans, rice, yoghurt/cucumber relish, avocado, grated cheese, flatbreads - pudding pineapple upside down cake. After school snack flapjacks. - oh yes, tonight we are all doing different things so we can't have family supper but maybe dh can eat with boys....

todo
piano practice, new song practice
take in recycling boxes and put away
sweep front garden again
compost in two pots to start with
sow one packet of seeds (sweet peas in loo rolls)
make cake, flapjacks, chilli
buy tin of pineapple, avocado, coriander from corner shop
piano lesson x 2
Beavers helping at 6.30
Brownies dd - pickup at 8.00pm

avoid getting bogged down with housework except essentials!

Swan I think you are a very patient wife!!

I put my foot down with dh and said "we are eating at six" as I can't cope with two sets of meals in the evening. I tried it but his hours are so unpredictable that I often ended up cooking specially for him and he didn't make it home, or the plane was late or he was sucked in to business dinner. So I got fed up!! (Also eating late does ouralready burgeoning waistlines no good at all.)

We're lucky though that the office is close enough for him to go back to work again after supper if necessary. He makes it maybe three/four times out of seven nights.

Over here, lots of French/Italian/Spanish families do the bath/bed/pj routine before supper and then they all sit down to eat together at 7pm (one of dd's friends refuses to eat supper with us unless she has had a bath first - so ingrained is this habit). This doesn't suit dd though as she's always starving straight after school and even though we have a snack, it's a constant battle to stop her eating before main meal. Also she usually has massive energy surge after food and I don't want that happening 10 mins before bed.

A Finnish friend of mine fed her dc their main meal straight away after school at 4.15pm-ish. I tried it for a while when dd was younger and it worked surprisingly well but it's a bit lonely for her eating on her own with her ma staring at her across the table so we changed back!

Right, really am off now ..all ready .....just waiting about for colleague.

Toodle-pip

Not many decent shops here either Linzer

I'm sorry I'm a terrible flier this month but I have been so busy at uni and school and with DD that no time to post. Have a week or so of a lull so hoping to get sorted again before the madness starts. I hope you'll allow me back.

Have been ill all week with a sickness bug, has meant a missed exam, a missed concert and two missed school appointments to look around prospective schools for teaching posts. Am on the mend now though so today is catch up day.

Jobs to do

• Washing x2
• Shopping - Esp cereal, bread and writing paper
• Pet shop for cat food
• PC shop for ink cartridges
• Ring school about job advert
• E-mail school about another job
• E-mail uni to re-arrange exam
• Revision prep
• Print out maps etc for geography lesson tomorrow afternoon
• Pick up DD from school
• Make toy story cookies
• Bins out and re-cycling out
• Post office to post book club book

That will do for now - I'm sorry I haven't caught up but may have time over a cuppa later

All the more excuse for spending money at Lakeland then, SC. Have just checked and the revamped site is online at last (have been checking regularly since yesterday evening - ages ago!), so I can finally place the second part of my order to use my voucher. They sent me another 5 pound voucher with my delivery (which I can also use over the phone) so I have the feeling that I might be placing another order before June.

Am very excited as BF has asked me to be godmother to her DD but also very disappointed that we won't be able to make it to the christening as it's the day before school starts. I'm trying to think whether there's any possible way we might manage it, but I suspect DH won't be keen on travelling anywhere on the last day of the summer holidays (despite the fact that the DDs will only be at school for about an hour on the first day - and at church for most of that time).

Makingchanges Sorry to hear you've been ill.

swan I constantly feel guilty about the fact that we don't eat together as a family during the week, but I eat with DH when the DC are in bed (he doesn't get home early enough for us to all eat together). At least I don't have to cook a separate meal for him as he get a hot meal at work and makes his own supper in the evening (just bread, cheese, cold meats, etc.) - I usually get some leftovers out of the freezer for myself unless I've cooked a vegetarian meal for the DC that day that I can just reheat.

Swan you speak with great wisdom regarding the Lego but I'm ashamed to say that the concept of putting it away - ever - is unknown in this house. Each of the DCs has a "Lego base" of incredible complexity in DS2's room. Each one is really a mini city with conference rooms, monuments, cafes, housing (and in DS2's case an undead army . The children have been building and refining them for years and I don't think that they could quite cope with the idea of tidying them away.

I am trying to get DS2 to agree that loose Lego can be put away and to prevent the bases expanding further. Which is tricky, as whenever they have any money they spend it on more Lego. Visiting children, and adults can hardly believe it. The adults are either horrified (if they have no or younger DCs) that they might ever have that much plastic in their house or, I fear, think that I am a hopelessly indulgent mother.

I am strict about some things. They are all in bed by 8pm, always do homework and music practice and firm limits are set regarding both tv and computer time. But I remember the amazing games that I played with my many siblings that went on for months and how much time we spent living in our imaginations and can't bear to sweep it all away.

I suspect that I will never have a truly tidy home. However I've managed to get quite a bit done so far today.

done

Swish and swipe x 2
Hot spot x 1
Declutter (more decluttering of living room shelves. I have thrown away lots of colouring pencils. Nothing wrong with them, it's just we have far more than we need. This is real progress for me. )
Washing machine on
Hang out washing
Put dry washing away
Dishwasher on
Shiny sink
Changed sheets etc on DS2's bed
Mark DS2's maths

to do

More of house blessing
School paperwork
Put DS2 and DD's school certificates up on the "wall of glory"
Get ready for pick up (including 2 sets of music lessons)
Bring outgrown uniform into school for second hand sale
Buy Summer uniform for DD at school uniform sale
Buy more thank you cards for DS1
Go through maths with DS2
Book and pay for DS1's music next term
DCs tea
Our tea
Put bins out
Lay out clothes

funambulist You've made me feel better about the Lego city in our cellar (at least it's usually kept hidden away from visiting adults, if not the children!), where we also have a Playmobil city. Virtually all the DC's money goes on Playmobil or Lego, they always ask for Lego/Playmobil as presents (plus they get more presents than I would like - c.f. my post about Easter presents) and I always worry about how indulgent we must look. (Actually, I worry about whether we're being too indulgent full stop.) However, I am also fairly strict (7 pm bedtime here, but I'm probably a bit too lax wrt TV!) and there are far worse things for them to be obsessed with than Lego and Playmobil. Or so I keep telling myself.

Funabulist - Lego sounds absolutely fabulous! Mine are mess makers without a plan/narrative! Worst of both worlds...

done
veg chilli
snacks
started cauliflower cheese for tomorrow
recycling boxes back in right place

SC enjoy your trip. Well done for putting your foot down.
Linzer mine are just getting to the age where I can only blame their appalling table manners on the fact that they never see how civilized people eat. Dd really loves a meal to be an occasion, and ds1 hangs around in the evening anyway whilst we are trying to eat a deux so it's just not working atm!! Not to speak of the saucepans [grr] and table wiping..

Linzer you've made me feel better too! I do find that lots of other parents are amazed at how well my three play together and how well they get on. When I was tidying up DS2's room last night DS1 (aged 12) explained that the Lego Queen in a car at his base belonged to DD (8) but that the Queen was visiting DS1-land. I was quite pleased that he was still happy to play games like that with his little sister.

My lot love Playmobile as well, though Lego has been in the ascendant recently as they get little plastic packets of Lego figures (the packet is opaque so you don't know which one you're getting) as a treat - and from a very kind mother of of one of DS1's friends who brings them every time she sees us. Do you have them where you are?

Morning everyone

DD is at her grans and I will be braving going in to work with the baby for a meeting this afternoon.

Haven't really had chance to catch up with the thread I'm afraid as computer time is a definite no from DD at the moment when she is around, and when she isn't I am usually asleep!

Trying to do a little around the house today, but not going to overstretch myself too much though if i can avoid it as I'm feeling pretty tired!

Washing * 3 (2 done)
Dishwasher
Online shop away (done)
Hoover upstairs
Hoover stairs
Make tea
Do tummy exercises
Take rubbish out

Oh and straighten hair, put on makeup and proper clothes in order to go to work

Re lego my cousin used to have an entire lego room in the rafters above the garage when he was a boy.

funambulist Yes, we have those little Lego packets in Austria too - needless to say, the DC have bought plenty. It's good to hear how well your DC play together as it gives me hope for when my three are older (they're 9, 6 and 4) - or have they always played together well? Mine do play really nicely together on occasions, but also go through phases where they drive me mad with their constant squabbling.

Linzer my three squabble as well, but on the whole seem to like each other more than most siblings do. When one is away the other two really miss them and the boys are very sweet with the youngest and play along with her conviction that all her soft toys are alive. Eldest struggles with remembering all their birthdays, there are about 20. "But how can you forget their birthdays when you're their uncle!" DD cries indignantly. I think that squabbling and bickering are all part of growing up with siblings. I think that really they know that they are lucky to have on site playmates.