Fledglings flying though July into the summer.

[ColdHeartedBitch]

Roll up, roll up. tis the month of school fetes, sports days and annual reports. In all this flurry of extra activities and with the summer holidays hurtling towards us at rapid speed, now is the time to tame the chaos before our very special chaos creators are able to help us. Fully intending to beat the Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome so that my personal chaos creator can be occupied by others this holiday. Good luck to all to are also striving to achieve this.

Starting from the 1st of the month we shall be fluttering our way to tamed houses. If you are new to the system it is recommend that you focus on making the babysteps your main focus. The babysteps will build up to form routines to help you to stay on top of the house once you have discovered it. First step is to shine your sink. But not just half heartidly, deep clean til it shines Instructions here

For the more established flyer we then progress onto decluttering. 15mins each day in alloted zone of the week. New zones each week. and current zones and decluttering instructions can be found here Zones will automatically update for July.

As for the advanced flyer, there are missions to do each day in the current zone

We have one rule we are NOT perfectionists anything is better then nothing, real life gets in the way and we have to do other stuff other then cleaning (put it on your list, tick it off and :) ), besides the fat fairy's moto is "You are never behind"

As such take the vomit inducing cuteness of the website with a pinch of salt, and join us for wish lists formally to do lists , ta da lists and home bleurghs.

See you bright and early tomo although hopefully not too bright and early.

Just a quick note to say I'm enjoying reading everyones posts. My house is still a mess but I do now have a bit of a morning routine going which definitely helps with the rest of the day.

DS is not sleeping well at the moment so am pretty tired and letting myself off doing too much until that improves.

Night night!

If you hadnt any sense you haven't signed up for the fly lady emails so won't be able to do this babystep

No mission

saturday is family fun day

Morning all (well not really)

DD has been awake since 2am - Tried to get her back to bed in her room -no chance. Then she came into our room, none of us sleeping so I went downstairs thinking DH and DD will sleep better with more room - Just meant that we all are awake but in two rooms. I've just brought DD downstairs thinking that DH might get some sleep. I've given up on sleep now.

Had a lovely afternoon yesterday at DDs fun day and picnic and then we took DD to the pub for a pub lunch (Mainly cos I needed a cold lager after standing in the heat for 3 hours) Did manage to make the Quorn chilli for tea today and a couple of loads of washing as well as tidying out the fridge but no other time.

Am supposed to be at the hairdressers this morning , think I may hae to cancel, after no sleep it really is the last thing I fancy. DD at dance class this morning and then swimming - I'm hoping this afternoon we maybe can all sleep??

Will be back when the sun has risen properly and I've gauged how grumpy we are all going to be today

sorry, everyone, lack of Roundup yesterday.
Felt rather ill after Ds1's party, so went to bed early. There were lots of too-ings and fro-ings keeping tabs on guests who were wanderng back and forth from park despite being invited to our house(!) [end of term gathering for yr 6's in park clashed with our little party) and needed to be ferried to cinema int wo sep cars. Harry Potter went down well, although it turned out 2 out of five boys hadn't seen any Harry Potter ever! Wow! Must have made the last episode mega confusing And kind mum/friend who came with me at last minute hadn't seen any HP either or read books. Restaurant worked well too.

But then returned home to grumpy husband who was fed up with dealing with ds2. (Dd had been taken off swimming by a friend)

Also received letter from Govt Measuring Programme (Dec !) six months later to say DS1 was overweight. Why wait six months to tell us this??? I went to Dr in winter and she said he wasn't, without weighing him. and offered no further intervention. In the meantime he got even fatter. I asked lady on letter why it had taken this long to tell everyone their children were fat, when I had rung and asked about result back in winter, and been told that as I had recvd no letter, no problem. But now it turns out there had been some cockup with govt agencies and systems.
He is overweight, and I need to do something about it.
It is all part of me not managing children very well, and bribing them with food to keep them sweet. He does lots of football, and every sports camp going but he drinks sugary drinks out and about when we are not supervising him (like after choir and after football) He constantly makes himself sandwiches, and is basically always eating. [fruit mostly but it all adds up]When he runs he gives up quickly, when he swims he just walks on bottom of pool and larks around.
So I feel really depressed about it. At least we are going to Ireland where he can run around all day. Appt/support dietician next term from health centre.

Added to which dh has just come downstairs and shouted at me!!!

I think I'm going to try and book tickets for next Wednesday instead, as I feel absolutely crap and I don't think I can manage to deal with the children by myself at this rate. My parents are v.busy at moment with some crisis to do with poisoned water and my sister's gone to Connemara so maybe I should wait in London for a while.

OFM how totally frustrating. Hope you get through today.

Anyway I know what answer is to my problems:
Ban all sweet drinks/crisps completely for all children
Make a meal plan/diary with Ds1 including activities to get HIM motivated without telling him off about food.

Give him swimming lessons again in Sept so he is forced to swim lengths (since he broke his leg he just doesn't try)
Force him to go jogging with me and build up running skills which are so far nil.
Ration contents of fruit bowl
Confiscate money when he sets off by himself, and give him a snack/drink to take with him so he can't buy choc etc.

Right I feel slightly better, so will return to bed, now
Thanks for listening

um, there are no cheap flights left...so will have to stick with original plan which to go this evening...Anyway...I'm sure all will be well.

I don't actually need to pack anything except passports and children, and Dh is staying here to deal with cat, so I will just close my eyes and try not to get stressed. Back in a fortnight anyway.

Swan thanks for the roundups this month, I hope your trip refreshes you, sounds like you really need a break. Don't beat yourself up about DS, there are worse things than being a bit overweight, the changes you are going to make should make a big difference.

Hope you have a lovely break swan.don't worry too much about DS. If your GP couldn't tell by looking at him I don't think he can be very overweight. Agree with whoknows that a few small changes will probably make all the difference.

Much overdue house bleurgh needed here today. At least the weather's shocking so I don't feel I'm missing out!

Hi swan. That must be very frustrating to have had a delay of 6 months in finding this out despite calling to check. It sounds like you have all the right ideas for helping DS1 get back to a healthy weight.

Can I ask how old your DS1 is?

I don't know why I've spent time thinking about this as my DS is only 4 months old but maybe because my DH and I are so sporty I do wonder what I'd do if DS was overweight or did not do any exercise. I'm hoping that I'd be able to find something physical that he would enjoy without calling it exercise. Here are some of the things I thought I'd try depending on his age / my budget.

Swimming lessons I agree are a great idea. I'd also consider: mountain biking / climbing / sailing / surfing / long family walks to the pub / canoeing / roller blading / karate / boxing (maybe?) / bmxing or roadcyling / skateboarding / dance lessons e.g hip hop / any team sport e.g rugby or cricket / rowing / tennis / skiing.

Not sure if that helps but i've enjoyed writing the list (I love a good list) and thinking of fun things to do (I'm clearly a bit bored this morning!).

Sorry swan just posted the message re sporty ideas and now feel like an interfering sporty know it all and would like to delete it. Please ignore it!

Ugh!

Today is going crap.
Dd has a pool party to go to, I need to drop ds1 off at in laws in 25 minutes. Nothing has been done. Except I've put the overnight wash in the dryer.

And now ds2 has filled his nappy and exploded all over his nice clothes. I'm going to be late.

Grrrrrrrrr

Hope everyone else is having a better day

morning all

swan hope you get sorted and off to Eire OK and have a lovely time. You will no doubt enjoy it once youre there

mc poor you re early start (understatemnt!) hope you get some sleep!

tulip hope your day improves

am feeling totally fed up and crap today
have dispatched dd2 off to cub camp (thankfully only down the road) then got phonecall to say she didnt have the required packed lunch....forgot that bit of the letter....now have re-dispatched dh with lunch, on route to taking dd1 to drama (which she will no doubt be late for now) I feel like no matter how hard I try there is just SO much to plan/remember/organise/do that I STILL end up forgetting stuff. NO ONE else takes on ANY responsibility for thinking/planning /organising and am feeling generally quite sorry for myself!

Whole wk/end of logistical nightmares now we only have one (not big enough ) car....

Was meant to be going running but it is pouring and I cant be bothered (although it would probably do me good so may force myself later) but am now hiding in bed wallowing in self pitty as I just cant face doing anything.

Will give myself a stern talking to later and hopefully motivate myself a bit more

hope others are having happier days!

pamela, thanks for your list, have to dash.

Well dd has still not been back to bed so we are now on our 13th hour of being up. Have been to dancing and swimming and now having lunch thinking that she may then sleep. She really needs to cos she is being a total grump and i now have a splitting headache.

To do this afternoon

• post office
• local shop
• a couple of loads if washing
• diary update for next week
• finish off job app
• SLEEP

now even more annoyed...
have just received a letter from DS1 school, in response to my emails of complaint about their reporting system and his grades etc ( he is actually V bright and will no doubt do v well but the communications from school are crap!) and the letter had a WHOLE paragraph talking about a subject that DS1 didn't do and calling him "Bob" (wasnt Bob, but another student's name!) so clearly she has no idea who she is even on about I mean how totally rubbish is that. You would have thought she at would at least make sure she was talking about the correct child when replying to complaint about the school's poor communication with parents !!! I feel an appointment with the Head Teacher coming on first thing in Sept.
Why is nothing ever simple....grrrrr

OFM grr on your behalf (ds ws referred to as "she" in one report from school - I suppose overworked professionals have to do a lot of cutting and pasting Hope Dh is very very nice to you today to make up for everything.

just deleted a post..
the upshot of which is I've lost my passport Will hope that Drving licence will be sufficient. Still, has dented my confidence further

Pamela your list is actually awe-inspiring [slinks back into lazy corner] I think of that list I personally have only ever managed Long Walk to Pub, and Rowing/Dancing. The problem is that most sport does involve the parent having GET UP AND GO or a decision to drop some other worthwhile activity or a lot of multiple drop off and pickups with three dcs going in different directions, not compatible with school day homework etc. But I think you are right, Sailing Canoing Rowing may be answer in hols.
What I've noticed is that since I've got better at driving my children are taking much less exercise... whereas we used to walk everywhere. I have noticeably got less fit too.. Also since I've been less confident about taking ds2 to park after school because he gets into fights, everyone has had less runnign around time.

Another grumpy Fledgling here, not content with having pranged his car last weekend, DH has just been out and pranged mine, not seriously in either case but going to cost us a fortune in excesses and increased premiums. >.

Oh dear, lots of grumpiness here today too - due to rain mostly. It's beautiful now that the boys are on their way to bed, having been stir crazy all day. Sigh.

Investigated some of the boxes of doom under the spare bed and found loads of felt tips that DS1 can use and a brand new Parker fountain pen!

Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday to make up for today.

Tops up Whoknows's glass ... That's rotten luck about both cars.

Sorry everyone is having such a crappy day. Can I join the ranks? Was really looking forward to seeing dh for two days before he takes off on his travels for another week, but all we've done since he's got back is argue (resulting in me sniffling in the boudoir for half an hour). To be fair to him, he is totally knackered, under massive stress and depressed about his parents and sister.

Reality has dawned on both of us that this situation is NEVER going away.

An effect of that is I have to let go of any hopes of ever getting this house to a state where I don't feel embarrassed and depressed when people visit. (The first horde is descending on Friday.)

Spent the morning shifting boxes out of the room where my sister will be staying. That revealed more holes in the floors and tumbling plaster. And this was the place where I was going to teach dd how to sew. Must have been mad or deluded or both to think that that was going to be possible!

Poor you Swan having to travel when you are feeling below par and after such a busy day yesterday. Hope you have the opportunity to relax a bit in Ireland ....Is your ds interested in cooking btw? That could be one way to peak his interest in ingredients etc. Your plan of action sounds great though. Do it the Flylady way - small changes. Thanks for all the round-ups!

OFM that is truly appalling! Talk about NOT inspiring confidence. It's downright insulting (leaving aside the utter incompetence) not to get a pupil's name right.

Poor you MC you must be absolutely exhausted [passes over paracetemol]

Hands out wet wipes to Tulipsia (probably too late) so hands over instead

Pamela glad your mornings are going well - good on you

Blue yes, sorry, know that was what you meant (was just a very poor attempt at humour on my part)

Terrible weather here too Pushme

Toffee hope your ds is feeling better today and cream is doing what it should, poor thing

Got to go - scrolling function is going funny - and must try and stop wallowing and do one task towards visitor prep before day is ended.

Waves to PA (did you buy anything else for yourself other than flip-flops??????? [stern look]) Arf at your resident locusts teenage boys and their pizza eating capacities ...

How are you getting on Dizzy?

Thanks for links CHB

Waves to Reastie Ihate and everyone else I've forgotten

Oh god, want to wallow, want to wallow. Can't. Can't.

renew your spirit day

set a bedtime and stick to it This is one I really need to get into habbit.

evening all
swan hope you are now successfully on your way or Eire...minus passport!(and if you've arrived safe and sound reward yourself with some )
stillchuckingit seems to be the wk/end for arguing with hubbies...hands over more .....
whoknows not good news on the car front...sympathies...have some more ...
blueeyeshadow fingers crossed for better day tomorrow ...have some more... ....
CHB thanks for links...you sound too organised to be in need of !
mc hope you got a nap...if not have some

well, spent most of the day feeling rubbish and wallowing and avoiding doing anything useful....then however decided a noce long shower wa sin order at about 3pm and had a bit of a rush of enthusiasm!
Managed to gut littlies room, sorted all toy boxes under bed, bookshelves and wardrobe, dusted and hoovered - including under beds
done lots of loads of washing
sorted towels in airing cupboard
wrote events on weekly planner on fridge and updated various lists on various whiteboards.
Then put littlies to bed, dh and ds1 were out (watching EuropeanFencing championship as ds1 is keen fencer) and dd2 is at cub camp so me and dd1 had some lovely girly time - watched the Little Princess - sniffled a bit,but had a nice evening!
Things still very not good between me and dh so need to work on that!

tomorrow I need to:
GO FOR A RUN
buy Bday cake for dd4
collect dd2 from cub camp
photocopy reports
check diary again for week ahead
sort clothes for dd4 to wear on trip for Monday
attend dd4 bday party (thankfully at a soft play place so little preparation needed!) - her bday isnt actually till 27th, but we always do party a bit early or else everyone has buggered off on Holiday!
blitz girls room
Decide how best to respond to ds1 useless school

well, that should keep me going for a bit!!
best get to bed!
bbtomorrow

I'm still awake - i don't know how!! DD has just gone to sleep after managing a one hour snooze all day. 19 hours!! 19 hours!!

I have managed 1 load of washing, cleaned the kitchen, done the recycling, sorted out, labelled and boxed all of dd's craft things and cleaned the bathroom. I've also booked dd two activities for the school holidays

I'm also really frustrated at dh who has complained about the house again. I've hardly been in all week and he doesn't lift a finger to help but feels its ok to criticise

I'm going to finish watching casualty and then go to bed, hoping dd stays asleep all night and we all wake up in a better mood tomorrow

Hope u are all having a relaxing evening

OFM not organised. broken. very very broken.

Hi all,

I actually just started shadowing for a new job yesterday. At the moment I'm up at 6, out the house by 6.40am, back at 1.30 for 2 hours and then out the house again until gone 8pm - so I've not really had time to check up here or had the will to do tidying. Those won't be my regular hours though so will get into the swing of things when work has calmed down.