April Fledgling Flyers: April Fools we are not, babysteps and decluttering makes our thread hot, step right in and mark your spot.

[NettieSpaghetti]

Welcome, come away in you?ll have had your . This is the April Fledgling Flyers Thread.

Thanks to WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes who was champion at leading us through March.

We are trying to stick to the Flylady © Website and her baby steps and routines to help keep our houses out of C.H.A.O.S and ready for everyday, maybe the odd visitor or two.

Check her website out but don?t sign up for emails as they are likely to inspire but fill your inbox so full we might not see you till August.

The principles are:

Babysteps (one at a time)
Babysteps and 15 minutes daily decluttering
Babysteps and daily missions.

This month I will be posting the links and leading you down the road to building a routine and keeping your house under control.

It is amazing what you can achieve in a simple babystep,15 minutes a day and a little chat.

washing 4th load on
Folding up to date and awaiting dryer
ironing up to date
My bedding winter stuff off, summer on. Unironed sheet annoying me but only just not enough to make me take it off to iron before bedtime
Make up ds' swimming kit for tuesday done and no redundant this week as ds is too ill to go
Sink bleached and shined best as possible done
Sort out training kit bag done
sort out training stuff for tomo am done
Load car with stuff for tip - cba it was raining
tip run - as above
Pop into town to buy the goggles that were promised but i keep forgetting to do done
discover lounge washing mostly tamed
discover kitchen Burried under yet more cooking stuff. will deal with tomo.
Downstairs home blessing - no home in hell.
Buy and fit new headlight bulb done
Sort out plants done
15mins in my room done x4
Cook tea for tonight done
Cook tea for tomo - just about to do
Ds to Doctors done
Pick up ds' meds done
Figure out med routine to fit in around school, sleep patterns, and other med routines done and i want to cry
Not kill ds before bedtime he has taken himself off to bed
EARLY NIGHT Not going to be early enough because i have to wait up to give ds his first dose of meds :(

Having had whinging clingy ds all weekend, it turns out it wasnt hayfever playing up but tonscilitus. And i am now plying him with sleep meds to wake him up two hours later to give him meds. The day around here is going to start at 4am as i need to make sure that he gets the meds before he starts his cupboard raiding morning antics as he lies about whether he has had breakfast or not so never sure what and when he has eaten. Which is not normally a problem. I am going to sulk and go get some icecream or something.

And then get my bed cleared so i can get some sleep. tonight.

I'm exhausted this evening - been on the go all day and had to clean up after the plumber who left the bathroom coated in dust. :(

washing and putting away - stuff on the line got rained on and damp :(
weekly shop and putting away
shine sink
swish & swipe x2
Maybe keep on with dining room if I get a chance and play with boys as it's our main afternoon in of the week. - Gave up on the dining room! Did play with the boys and mostly kept them from killing each other.

They had a sponge bath which DS1 thought was hilarious and they're in bed. Phew! DH is out tonight so about to go and collapse with a ready meal curry!

happy Birthday Ellie - hope you've had a good day.

Poor you CHB and poor DS. Hope he perks up soon. Thankfully we seem to have missed the latest round of bugs (fingers crossed).

To do:
finish homework done
school/work done
multiple parents evening done
laundry done x2
recycling done
whats for tea done

Parents eve ok. Dc seem to be improving in all previous problem areas (but now have new problem areas ). Both seem to be disorganised, but then teacher had to spend 5mins helping me look for my keys before we could go home so no hope for them there then !

BB tomorrow.

x posts blueyeshaddow nothing worse than workmen in the bathroom. Hope its finished soon.

Good evening all.

fun stuff the messy house, mastering the iphone is much more important you spurred me on to use my home apps and ive done 21 things today off it and tons more beside
swan well done on list totally agree about home bless. Thanks for your words on school, you are of course right.
linzer get an iphone, ive never had any problems with calls. You will love it im sure. Nothing left in my freezer hence the mass cook off.
cheerfulyank managed to get dressed and make uped etc all before leaving at 7.50. Still loving dc laying out in clothes trick
snot welcome back
darts so sweet ds saying that. Mine sometimes tell each other that they are the best sis/bro in the whole wide world. Always makes me smile.
my house love fartblossom nickname glad ds is ok what a lovely start to the day.
chb sorry ds is not well and that you areon meds duty allnight. Enjoy your ice cream
blueeyeshadow well done enjoy your curry
scatty at misplaced keys, I often leave car keys get dc outside to discover I put them down somewhere at pick up.

humungous waves to anyone ive missed.

since 11.30 tea break i have

get dc bathed and dressed-dd bathed tonight, ds in morning
crisis clean-partly
home bless/ strip beds-nope
Fly spot mission-done
Proper mission-done part of kitchen top
take dc out somewhere.-play park done
ds swimming lessons -done
post belated birthday cards-not yet aaarrragghhh opps forgot
to add: make bed-done, s/s-done, tidy dc room-nopes,sweep kitchen floor-done, iron dc uniform for montessori-done, sort out swim bag for tonigh-done, make packed liunch for ds for tomorrow-done

also cleaned cooker, cleared out cooker drawer, sorted out dry clothes pile. laid out clothes for tomorrow.

My friends funeral is on 14th which means we have to cancel out trip to scotland. double . im not good with change of plans and feel like its been such a long time since seen my family think it was end of nov beg of december and chances are wont be able to reschedule till 9th may. Being silly and feeling homesick at 35 [dohball emotion]

off towatch some rubbish tv and eat more hot cross buns to bolster my mood.

have lovely evenings. links coming up....

positivity man, drink it all up

sparkly clean bins just like whoknows

Right have made tea for tomo, laid out my clothes, put my washing away and am just about to wake ds for his first dose of med. Fingers crossed that he will go back to sleep. Then i am crashing. night all.

Evening all,

Mega busy day here,

School run - done
Home to hang washing out, fill DW - done
Dentist - done
Sainsburys shop and put away - done
School gardening club, 2 hours today - done
Home to get washing in, 2nd lot in dryer, prepare tea and hoover - done
Back to school - done
Home to get changed - done
Soft play - done
Home to get changed and eat tea - done
Beavers - done
DD homework - done
Beavers pick up - done
Fruit and milk for DCs - done
Reading with DCs - done
Re-fill book bags - done
Make packed lunches - done
Write and post birthday card and cheque for tennis lessons - done
Sweep kitchen floor - done
Shine sink - done (deviation from FLylady here, done once a week thoroughly instead of daily shine)
Scrub kitchen taps - done
Clean oven - done (easy as catalytic linings)
Wipe down fridge, DW, WM - done
Answer emails and check work emails for tomorrow - done
2 lots of washing put away - well, sorted an put into DCs rooms after they went to bed.

in hand.

We have been talking between ourselves over the weekend about behaviour and rewards, as a result (and thanks particularly to Toffee for helpful suggestions via PM) we have got 3 reward charts going today (me, DS and DD, will do one for DH tomorrow as he is out tonight). We each have 4 rules to stick to, every day we can get up to 4 ticks on our chart towards a reward at the weekend. Ds is working towards time on the Wii, DD hasn't decided yet but is keen anyway, they have both been on fantastic behaviour this evening and got their first 4 ticks.

Need to get ahead a bit as will have no free time to speak of tomorrow, work in the morning and helping at school again in the afternoon. Luckily no ballet tomorrow, term has ended for that, ditto tennis on Thurs.

Nettie - sorry to hear that you will have to arrange your trip home, also about your school allocation. If it's anythig to go by, when DS got his place 3 years ago, there was a significant amount of reshuffling in our town over the summer and everyone I know eventually got into their first choice school, the same with DD's year last year. Fingers crossed for you.

Linzer am tending to agree with Nettie re Iphones, having acquired one at the weekend!

Sorry no more personals, haven't actually read all the thread yet am going to scroll back up in a minute.

Evening all. Thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes. A rather uneventful day filled with work and all the usual humdrum stuff. However, got some lovely flowers from dcs, dh gave me money for clothes (quite glad he didnt try to buy them himself) and generally felt lucky to be surrounded by lots of lovely family and friends. No flying today but shall report for duty tomorrow.

Hope everyone is ok and has had a good day

I havent read whole thread but to contribute to iphone discussion i love mine a little more than dh . And i'm not even joking .

Another late night last night. Stayed up late drinking and talking with my friend and didn't get to bed till after 1am. So that was the third night in a row that I have been to bed at an indecent hour. However, weirdly, I have been full of energy today. Managed all my normal routines,2 mins on kitchen hotspot, plus two loads of laundry (including drying and putting away) and the house 'blessing'. Flyboy did his own room (although I did have to hoover it again and was not impressed with Ds using my bottom as target practice for spraying the window cleaner - he thought it was hilarious).

The only thing I haven't managed is the 15-minute declutter, but I'm really too tired to do that now.

Did lots of home ed with DS this morning and avoided opening my emails till the afternoon because I suspected I'd have work there. I did. So will have to put everything else second/third and prioritise work from tomorrow.

Have had a quick catch-up read through the thread - goodness, it's busy today.

Nettie - sorry to hear about the school place. Hope you get it sorted out to your satisfaction - so worrying for you though. Sorry to hear you have had to cancel your visit home too.

Ellie - Happy Birthday to you! You are still a youngster .

CHB - sorry your DS has tonsillitus. Hope he gets better soon and that you get some sleep tonight.

Myhouse - glad to hear this thread is helping. It has helped me enormously, right from the moment I joined. I don't feel overwhelmed and panicky about the house anymore. And sorry to hear about your daughter's poor head.

Darts - another injury. Poor DD! Glad your arm is feeling a bit better.

Fun - sounds like you are really enjoying your new iPhone. All this talk of iPhone apps is making me want one too.

Snot - welcome back. Sorry you have been having a tough time. Hope your DD is on the mend now.

Cheerful - shiny new cleaning supplies sound like a great incentive to clean!

Linzer - are you still motivated? I am very conscious of the challenge and it is making me work harder to keep up with the routines.

Waves to Scatty, Pushme, Still, Janey and Swan. Also to PA, Ihatecobwebs and WhoKnows and anyone else lurking or popping in.

Off to make my list for tomorrow, then to bed at a decent hour, children permitting.

Can I join in please? Desperately need to get house (and myself) organised. Awful moment this Saturday when a friend unexpectedly dropped in for coffee (and lunch), the house was disgusting and I was very, very

X-posted with you, WhoKnows and Ellie.

WhoKnows - I'm so glad I could help . The reward charts sound a great idea. I love the way they focus everyone on the good stuff, not the bad.

Ellie - sounds like you've had a very happy day. And you have made me want an iPhone even more now.

Good night all.

Welcome, NicwNacw. Course you can join in. I had a similarly awful moment, before I joined this thread, when I had to ask my next-door neighbour to babysit for my eldest DS whilst I took the youngest up to nursery. She is so tidy and organised and my sitting room looked so, so messy. Like you, I was really embarrassed. Until I have finished decluttering, the house won't be perfect, but sticking to the Flylady routines at least keeps me on top of the worst of it all nowadays. I'm sure it will help you.

Oh yes, I had one of those moments too. Arrived home from work to find next door neighbour hovering and saying she had phoned the police because she had been in the back garden and had noticed that someone had attempted to break in to our back door. I opened my front door and several neighbours trooped in uninvited to inspect the damage to the back door and were treated to the night before's washing up piled high in the kitchen and general chaos and I really couldn't prretend it was a burglar as the back door had withstood the break-in attempt. Oh the shame!

well, everyone has been fantastically busy here...
children do consume most of our housekeeping energies - nods to BlueEyeshadow, poor CHB and Scatty, although Darts seems to be on to a winner with hers and Toffee's ds is makng housework a dangerous sport

Whoknows I tried the reward charts last Sept. They worked brilliantly for about two weeks. I think it was my fault rather than the kids. I am just not methodical by any stretch of imagination. Still plugging away at waterbottles, homework, tablelaying, music practice, bed making and clothes in laundry pile though [ever hopeful But neither bribery nor rewards seem to have any impact on my children. So I'm trying a different approach which is just to INSIST.

Quiet here compared to most Mondays, and dd was delighted with her newly tidy room.
done
football dropoff pickup - ds2 in tears that he can't pass explained to him that if he practised he would get better - first time his enthusiasm has wavered, so far he's always been goalie

Scout dropoff pickup
supper was pasta with tuna and tomato sauce

Ds and I have been scouring streets for large cardboard boxes so that he can make a shelter tomorrow in school. They are raising money for homeless and fasting for 6 hours tomorrow in playground. Should be an eye-opener, perhaps I should fast for six hours too, just to remember what it is like.

Scatty whoever heard of an organised 7/8 year old? It does seem odd. Hope you had a peaceful evening after such a busy few days. It feels wonderful when the party is over doesn't it

Sorry, I missed the bit about the toe Darts and only noticed the lovely comments between brother and sister
Myhouse also I confused you with Blue re: A& E, that was a nasty bump

I've had lots of those moments, they really are ! That's a big reason as to why I want to get the house under control. I'd love to have people over more often!

I'm still working on cleaning the bathroom, but I'll finish it before bed. (Almost 6pm here)

Laundry done
Beds done
Dinner (super quick risotto) done
15 minute declutter in bedroom (going to take quite a few sessions!) done
Counters done

Need to vacuum upstairs, will do that when I'm done here. :)

Morning. No time for list running late:

Done already
medicate child
1 load washing is running

Will be back later.

Have good days folks!

Morning everyone,

You've all convinced me that I need an iPhone. Unfortunately, however, DH remains unconvinced and thinks it's probably just the battery of my iPod that's gone. I'm still not convinced I can justify the expense either (but I'm trying to!).

Toffee I still feel very motivated in the mornings, but frustrated at how quickly they go and how little I manage to get done in the afternoons and evenings. I really need to focus on the afternoon and evening routines - and on the decluttering too. Oh well, only another 3.5 years to go before all three DC are at school until 12.45 pm or later (the luxury!).

Welcome NicwNacw (are you Welsh?)

Tempted as I am to catch up with everyone else, I really must make a start on my list - I've already wasted half an hour on the computer.

This morning's list:

Morning routine
15 min decluttering
Mission
Recycle paper
Recycle metal and glass
Plan English lesson
Send stickers

Morning all! Back with a vengeance today after a very slack start to April and am list posting to prove it. Biggest thing i must do is washing as i have completely cleared mount washmore and am determined not to let it build up again. List looks like this:-

Work
Washing
Ironing
Washing up
Cook dinner
General tidy
S/s bathroom
5 min hotspot
15 min declutter

That will do i think. Roll on friday and the easter holidays!

Morning .

at you breaking up on Fri ellie we have 2 wks to go!

To do;
prep mulitple pack lunches
work/school
collect dd
make tea fast (sausages)
laundry
all off to DS concert
all to bed early

Ds is singing in a concert tonight (after accidently joining the choir). I think this may be a one off so I am unashamedly being proud stage mum all day .

BB tomorrow.

Morning everyone

I'm laughing at 'accidentally joined the choir' scatty - it reminds me of the time DD1 accidentally committing to running the 1500m without knowing how far it was and because it was the only event left on the list for sports day. She'll get there earlier this year! Enjoy your proud stage mum moment.

My list for today looks like this:

Breakfast - done
Wipe surfaces - done
Packed lunches - done
Swish and swipe
Make beds
Washing
Ironing
Empty bin and wash it out
15 minutes in Zone 2 - Kitchen/Dining Room
Work!
Spinning class (if I don't come back later it's because this has killed me).

I am following the Home Routines app and it seems to be going well. DH actually noticed that the kitchen was tidy this morning, which was a surprise.

Welcome NicwNacw - I am smiling at everyone's stories about neighbours coming in unexpectedly, having been there so many times myself.

Yep scatty we break up on Friday . We did have half term a week before the rest of the country though. It falls quite nicely really as we have two weeks plus one day (Easter Monday), training day, 2 days teaching and then the long weekend for Royal Wedding/May Day. I work the precise sum of 9 days in April . I love my job .

Forgot to say welcome to nicwnacw earlier. One time my mum arrived unexpectedly and I spotted her coming down the road so I actually hurried the DC's into the back of the house and locked the door so she couldn't come in it was that bad . It was after that that I instigated the 2 hour rule..she must give me 2 hours warning before turning up!

Morning all,

Sneaked on before anyone else gets in the office today....

DD's toe wasn't as bad as the yelling would have you believe. Within 5 minutes she was bouncing around like nothing happened.

SATs revision started yesterday, and surprisingly DD is all fired up for it, especially as the revision book (maths) she brought home helped me to explain some maths things she had previously had trouble with. It was really nice to see the look of understanding on her face when she twigged.

Anyway, Tuesdays are DP's day off, and it's his turn to do the housework He's already been talking about stripping and re-making beds today

So, all I'll be doing is:
morning routine done
work in progress
tea
evening routine
blood donor session