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!

Yes, I suppose squabbling is entirely normal - I remember my brother and I also used to drive my mum mad with our arguments - but I wish that my three would do it a little less!

Have now posted my Lakeland order, but have just noticed on the website that P&P is now free on orders over 20 pounds, not 50 pounds - so I didn't need to add those extra items to get free postage after all...

Mastered new song
problem is I have to go into the kitchen to practise (where piano is not) in order that neighbours don't hear the awful squalling sound I make before I know song properly

Now a bit of piano..

squabbling makes me feel sick - I think I need to develop a thicker skin, and let them get on with it, as I think they know I'm listening and want me to intervene - the problem is the howls always sound so very serious

it's raining - the garden needs it

Strange thing is I can't remember squabbling with my siblings at all (all three of them) though my brothers fought dreadfully. And now at 45 want to pick fights with them all the time....a sort of delayed attention seeking perhaps

swan Yes, I try to ignore/stay out of it as much as possible, but it's hard to ignore the howls when it sounds as if one of them might have been impaled.

Sneaking in from work on my phone.

S/s done
Dw emptied breakfast stuff cleared
Work attended. New karaoke equipment installed-much singing done

Still to
Wm
Td
Dinner for me. Dc ate at nursery and dh working tonight and prefers afternoon sleep to eating.
Remove all stuff out of dresser ready for mil old dresser arriving tomorrow
Clean leather couches
Dd parents evening
Iron clothes [boo] for tomorrow
Sort out lunch for tomorrow
Lay out clothes

All this talk of sibling rivalry. Gosh I remember it well (one of 7 children) from giving dead legs to silent elbow fighting over space on the kneeler at church. we all muddy along well now so I keep reminding myself there is hope.
dh finds it incredible how determined to annoy each other the dc are but he was an only and had noone to fight with.

Better get back to work. See you later

nettie LOL at Karaoke and kneelers!

I think I need a list now:

done
music lessons x 2
top up groceries
half supper in the oven
long walk in rain
healthy snacks for kids, and avoided cafes so far this week

todo
bake pineapple cake
bathe and pj two boys
get dd ready for Brownies
have supper on table for everyone so I can go to Beavers and leave dh something to eat
prepare extras for supper, chop avocado, coriander, grate cheese
switch off the telly and get dd to plant her seeds!
another load of washing
put clean laundry away which is on landing
sing dd my new spooky song to motivate her and get her to do violin practice

cup of tea first I think

oh dear and I emptied handbag onto kitchen table in search of keys/money (found them luckily) but I need to do handbag fling bogie so horrid in there..

A bra, a swimsuit, a Burda catalogue (light reading) a passport, several unopened football stickers, dates, loose change, crumbs galore, M & S vouchers I always forget to use . Need new handbag, this handbag is too big!!!

it continues a padlock, a lost library card, an unpaid gas bill, several loose addresses, a spare oyster card, a spare address phone book incse my phone is out of credit, a sample SATs paper (half)
no money though...what a surprise...

Sorry swan but i did have to snigger over the contents of your bag.

Lego is stuffed into boxes here. There is so much and ds is useless at playing with it. He declared this week that he is a science magnet and imagination is for babies. However, as he is still young (6yo) i refuse to sell the lego yet.

have been useless the last few days. But have found some wish to do something today. Have collected the washing at the bottom of the stairs. Ds has done some tidying in his room and has decided to ditch the curtains and have the old blind back up until i can get the new blind made. Its on the to do list and has been for a while. Just havent got that far yet. Still trying to get my curtains lined

random 15mins being spent doing this and that today but no real progress anywhere.

swan My bag is always full of items for every eventuality - except that one thing that I really need. Today it was a book (spent too long at the playground, and am paying for it now as DD2 is overtired and being very difficult).

Nettie Testing new karaoke equipment sounds good. My Japanese friend has her own karaoke machine in her basement - hours of fun once you can get over the initial embarrassment!

swan the contents of your bag really made me smile. You're not Mary Poppins by any chance?

Not sure what has happened tonight but:

Sort bed out for onions done
Soaked runner beans and sweet pea seeds just need planting
Spent 30mins with ds tidying in his room done
Put up extra desk in ds' room done
washed ds's windows with window spray stuff only so still streaky but better
Wiped down plastic sheet on ds' bed done
Wash ds's bedding done
remake ds' bed just about to do
water plants done
Cook vat of mince base ready for freezing for cba to cook meals done
fed ds more food than I imaged he could eat done and i predict a growth spurt in the next week or so
Put back up the pictures taken down when decorating room and were not put back up due to needing laminating as much as could find blue tac for done
Ironing pile done - but now washing again so expect a new mountain awaiting me tomo
washing third load about to go on
Sort out plans for tomo in process thank goodness for text messaging!

Wow Lost you've got loads done today! Well done!

My to do list is looking better as well.

More of house blessing done (hoovering, mopping and magazines)
School paperwork done but then forgot to give it in to the office.
Put DS2 and DD's school certificates up on the "wall of glory" done
Get ready for pick up (including 2 sets of music lessons) done remembered DDs music bag this week
Bring outgrown uniform into school for second hand sale done
Buy Summer uniform for DD at school uniform sale done
Buy more thank you cards for DS1 done and he's written them.
Go through maths with DS2 no too much homework
Book and pay for DS1's music next term no
DCs tea done
Our tea not yet just me again tonight as DH working very late again
Put bins out done
Lay out clothes done DCs but not me

to do

Packed lunches for tomorrow
Hot spot x 1
Clear up after tea
Lay out my clothes

We have had such a lovely day with DS1. He was so happy to be with me and DH without his little brother there who, much as he loves him, can be very demanding. We all enjoyed the aquarium, although we managed to miss the octopus, which was one of the things DS particularly wanted to see. Not sure how we managed to do that . Anyway, he didn't seem to mind too much. He was so exhausted on the way home that he fell asleep on my lap on the train (so did I, come to that ).

He seems so young at the moment. It just shows what a strain it must have been for him to try and fit in with his peers at school. Freed from those expectations, he seems more like a nine-year old than an eleven-year old - and much happier for it. I have been reading about how immature dyslexic children can be because they are working so hard to keep up in other areas ( Linzer - does this sound like your DD at all?). It's lovely to see DS so much happier and really able to enjoy and learn from things.

I still feel a terrible case of 'cba' at home. However, I have invited a friend over tomorrow morning which has galvanised me. This evening, appalled by the tip that I was living in, I:

tidied the sitting room and put DS2's toys back in his room
hoovered the sitting room
polished the brass door handles and front-door ornaments
polished the mirrors and window with Windowlene
wiped the shelves, mantlepiece and picture frames in the sitting room
hoovered the hall, kitchen and dining room
washed the kitchen and bathroom floors
cleared the dining-room table (a hotspot)
delegated unloading d/w and reloading it to DH
delegated dinners to DH
drank

The good thing about Flylady is that, after a while, you know which bits of the house to focus on.

Linzer - it sounds as if you are suffering a case of 'cba' too. Do you fancy a challenge, like Foot and I did one month, ie. trying to stick to the Flylady routines and report back? It might help us both out of the cba rut. At the moment, all I want to do is home ed with DS2 and surfing MN - which isn't keeping the house very tidy!

Right, time to get DS2 to bed (ahem - late). I have read through today's thread but - apologies - have no time to respond.

good evening

swan at handbag contents
lost gosh well done you. hope you have a nice peaceful night.
toffee sounds lovely, your ds sounds like he has had a lovely time

huge waves to everyone else.

updating list

Wm-done
Td-done
Dinner for me. Dc ate at nursery and dh working tonight and prefers afternoon sleep to eating.-done
Remove all stuff out of dresser ready for mil old dresser arriving tomorrow-nope
Clean leather couches-partly
Dd parents evening-yes
Iron clothes [boo] for tomorrow -nope
Sort out lunch for tomorrow-nope
Lay out clothes-done

aw well never mind tomorrow will be better more inspired, mustnt forget to set up new thread too.

I have just been rootling in the dumping ground that is my office and I know have two boxes of mags to go through tomo. perhaps i should save that for tuesdays when i am stuck in the sauna doing nothing being supportive mummy.

I know its a little early but just in case i didnt get time to start it tomorrow here it is next months new thread.

Aprils Thread

Toffee my ds1 desperately needs some special time atm. I've just been chatting to him about WW2 and reading to him. He was like a desert flower soaking up the rain. He is very much a 9 year old not an 11 year old (well he is still only 10 till end of April
I think you will remember your Aquarium trip. I bet the house looks sparkling too! Supper just takes up too much time doesn't it?

Today has been quite productive in the sense that I stuck to my plan and got most things I wanted done including the tablecloth, dcs music practice, the condiments and the singing, and Wednesday night was less of a muddle, despite the singing lesson (which is usually now on Thursday) Ds2 had a tantrum about football the minute dh walked in the door which didn't help, (DH hates hates people screaming as he walks in the door from work but luckily ds1 then played with ds2 at the eleventh hour in the mudpatch garden... as I swanned off to help at Beavers...

No seed sowing though, I'm still saving loo rolls for my sweet peas

I've helped at Beavers, and praised/facilitated 20 different Mother's Day's cards and played Dodgeball as usual [limps home], read extensively to two kids, eaten chilli, tidied two bedrooms very fast...

CBA about finer points of kitchen though and just have to hope there is uniform tomorrow..

Evening all,

A bit of CBA here too today, but never mind.

Toffee - glad you had such a nice time in London.

Swan - wow, what a busy day. Do you really do candles and tableclothe every time you eat with DH . We do try and eat together when we can, maybe once a week for all of us, 2 or 3 times for me and the DCs, but DH arrives home anywhere between 5 and 9 and usually doesn't think to ring and tell me he will be late till about 6 o'clock, it is hard. Also we like different things. Hmmm.

Your bag made me smile. I have a huge, beautiful beaded shoulder bag, which holds my purse, phone, pen and paper, but also easily accommodates two water bottles, assorted sports kit, dolls, crayons, notepads, Ipad, spare clothes, it is like the Bermuda Triangle in there. The only problem is I am developing a chronic shoulder ache, so need to sort it out.

Nettie - thank you for starting new thread, LOL at karaoke

SC - have a good trip

Waves at everyone else, and goes off to do her last set of links.........

Swan: I have somehow managed to soak over 40 sweetpea seeds so will be drowing in them if they all come up. why the toilet tubes? I have just stuck the seeds in a compartmentalised seed tray.

Thursday

Babystep

Mission

Swan - I love your description of your DS 'like a desert flower soaking up the rain'. I'm glad to hear my son isn't the only eleven-year old who seems younger. Or maybe children are expected to grow up too fast these days. I played with toys until I was at least 14 . Maybe I was very immature, but nobody in my family paid any heed and I never felt wrong for doing it. I was perfectly happy and grew up in my own good time. I don't understand what the hurry is. DS came home from school, shortly before I took him out, complaining that his peers were discussing porn films at lunchtime and it made him feel yucky. I'm sure none of them knew what they were talking about, but they all felt under pressure to pretend. Poor children.

And I love the contents of your bag .

Nettie - thanks for the new thread and for taking over as next month's thread leader. I'll pop over to the new place in a minute.

Lost and Fun - your long lists put me to shame. You have both achieved so much today! You too, Swan. I don't understand why I have lost my enthusiasm for Flying at the moment. It's just so....dull! I want to be a lady of the manor, with staff

MakingChanges - sorry you have been so ill. Hope you are on the mend now.

Thank you to WhoKnows for being a brilliant thread leader. Only one more day to go, then you're off the hook!

Am off to plan things for DS1 to do tomorrow ('What I did at the London Aquarium' springs to mind ), then I must, must, must go to bed at a decent hour. After I've washed DS2's school shirt, that is (have run out - how did that happen? And I didn't find out till half an hour ago). And found some socks. Where do all the socks go? None of us ever have any socks .

Goodnight, Flyladies.

Updated list before bed

• Washing x2 - Done
• Shopping - Esp cereal, bread and writing paper - Done
• Pet shop for cat food - Done
• PC shop for ink cartridges - Done
• Ring school about job advert - Done
• E-mail school about another job - Done
• E-mail uni to re-arrange exam - Done
• Revision prep - Kinda
• Print out maps etc for geography lesson tomorrow afternoon - Done
• Pick up DD from school - Done
• Make toy story cookies - No DD wasn't good enough
• Bins out and re-cycling out - Done
• Post office to post book club book - whoops

Good morning

Today's list

Get up
Dc bath/breakfast/dressed/nurseries
Dw
Wm
Td
Me dressed
Sort out cards for df birthday on Saturday.
Sink shine
Couch cleaning
New dresser filling
Lay out clothes
Gym
Dinner
Bed

Hope you all have a lovely day