It's August - can the Fledglings keep FLYing with children underfoot?!

[BlueEyeshadow]

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to August's edition of the Fledgling Flyers,
Meine Damen, Mesdames, Ladies! (although any Herren, Messieurs and Gentlemen would be very welcome too, I'm sure, and apologies for the show tunes now lodged in everyone's heads ...)

If you're trying to keep out of CHAOS over the summer holidays, with the dear children creating havoc all around, then pull up a chair, roll up your sleeves and join in the fun.

Fly Lady's website is here, but we don't recommend signing up for the emails unless you want an ironically cluttered inbox. I'll post the links to the information for every day this month and try to keep up with all the chat.

There are babysteps to get you started on forming a routine, and missions to do once each room is decluttered and, as the Fat Fairy says, it's amazing what you can do in fifteen minutes. We'll be starting August in the entrance, front porch and dining room, and sifting the sense from the cutesy language. :)

I notice from the archive that it's the thread's second birthday so I'm sure there'll be cake as well as plenty of , and - virtual, so no calories - along the way. Finally, a big thank you to CHB and Swan for leading us heroically through a hectic July!

Afternoon. today will be spent handling a difficult ds.

Hope you all have far more productive days.

Aagh! The morning's gone already!

Done
Washing
Boys to CM
A couple of bags to charity shop
Got distracted on the way to collect PC and spent £££ in Bravissimo
Collected PC
Washing on line
Tried to set it up again
Discovered keyboard jack won't fit anymore
Coffee while browsing keyboards online
Currys for new keyboard
Set PC up with new keyboard

And now it's time for lunch!!

To do this afternoon:
Work & related emails.
New website text
Declutter spare room/office
Dusting
Filing

Better get on...

Eh up my lovelies ...

Hope those of you in the UK are all safe and sound ...

Am v. impressed by all this efficient post holiday unpacking/washing and putting away of clothes! Bravo everyone!

Had a very productive start on Monday but I must confess to going through a bit of a slump atm and not making the most of dd's 9am - 4pm absence at pony club every day this wk. To use Swan's terminology, scuzziness is spreading, especially in usual areas of boudoir/home office. (NickNacks thanks but pls note - my lists may look good and I'll have about a day a week where I really put effort in - but unfortunately I'm not remotely consistent!!)

Why is it, when I the time, I don't want to do what I am supposed to do? And vice versa when I don't have the time!

I have kept going with the laundry, and I've also cooked (and eaten) rather too much yummy food ...and spent long hours with my nose in a book (Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel - brilliantly written as ever but a bit of a disappointment after Wolf Hall).

Hang in there CHB
Well done on the video-smuggling front Swan
Hope you track down the source Fuzzled
Top marks for Flying high Toffee and good to hear that EOW was full of good ideas
Thanks for links and round-up Blue and enjoy your child-free day
MC hope your interview goes well - same for yr dd's appt
Whoknows treasure hunt sounds great! I find Food Focus website very helpful but only stuck to writing out daily food intake for about a week at most [weak-willed emoticon] Well done on floor clearance!
Really sorry to hear about your dd3 PA but good to see there is a team of consultants who can lend support once she turns 18.
A warm welcome to Wocka

Huges waves to Messy Ellie Linzer (top marks for decluttering on holiday btw)

please note???

Sorry, I'm in office memo mode!!

SC trying but today is one of those days where you need/want a padded cell. Ds is in full proper meltdown. It is going to be a long day. he has to go rest between bursts due to being ill. Its my only saviour today. I hate days like this. :(

Judging by the trail of destruction tomo will be a crisis cleaning day :( :( :( So much for us doing something fun before he goes away again. :(

It's nearly five here CHB so I'll pour you one

Thanks. hope your day has been ok. Escaping to training tonight it will help i hope.

Cheers CHB and hope training proves therapeutic ...

Well three miracles have occurred this afternoon ...

1. I've got to the bottom of the ironing pile (only ever happens once in a blue moon)

1. I've got to the bottom of the bill-paying pile (office) ditto

1. I had unexpected guests for tea and didn't have to dash around madly tidying up and apologising

In fact a fourth miracle has occurred because dd is now playing happily with a friend leaving me free to post on here!

Hoooh-haaa (as Al Pacino would say)!

Hope you get some rest tonight.

Swan - our Christmas tree is still in the garden too. I also see no prospect of it being removed before Christmas.

Not much Flying today, went running while the DCs were at tennis club, then picked them up and took them off for a picnic lunch and visit to Winchester for the dreaded school shoe shopping expedition, which was achieved fairly smoothly although at great financial cost. ILs arrived mid afternoon for a few days to look after the DCs, I'm at work tomorrow and Friday. Need to do a quick tidy up of the spare bedroom for them, also clear half the hall as our new front door is being fitted in the morning. Also really want to tackle a bill / filing mountain, which realistically isn't going to happen tonight.

Linzer - book arrived today, thank you, it looks good and I haven't read this one before.

Hello everyone.

Am feeling exhausted by the DC, particularly DS2 who is in full-on whine mode at the moment. He and DS1 are either arguing or play-fighting - and the latter always seems to end in tears. And no matter how much we do (met up with friends at playground this morning, home to cook lunch for us and MIL, out on an excursion this afternoon), they are still bouncing off the walls when I get them home.

Plus, they are both exhausting me by challenging all my decisions all of the time. When will they learn that I'm in charge?

DH has gone out tonight, so my intention is to get both DC to bed as early as possible.

As a result of holiday stress, not a great deal of Flying has gone on today, apart from me doing a complete wash and completing the whole cycle - wash, dry (on my fab new washing line), hang up. No ironing required.

Will try to do the mission later.

CHB - sorry you are having a difficult day with DS. Forgot to say, btw, that your trick with bicarb of soda on the DS's wee-stained carpet has worked - no smell! Thank you.

Swan - my DH attacked the garden with shears in the Spring, then left the branches piled up on the grass for months. The garden looked like a warzone. He only dealt with the branches - with much grumbling - after pointed comments from my mum.

Fuzzled - good idea to have a bit of 'me' time when your DS naps. I used to take a 15-minute nap myself. It was the only thing that kept me sane in those sleep-deprived years.

Blue - enjoy your new PC.

Still - I think you cba because you are making the most of your 'me time'. And quite right too. Enjoy it! at the four miracles.

Makingchanges - how did your interview go? And your DD's appointment?

Time for more 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' now .

Well, hello all.

stillchuckingit - well done on the ironing - want mine now?
Toffee - glad you're getting on with the new line and lack of ironing. Shame it's pissing it down here so all mine is hanging up inside.
CHB - have a on me!

So, looks like the rug was the culprit. It's sitting in the dining room now, and the dining room niffs, but the living room is clear. It is a washable rug tho, but too big for our washing machine so I need to source a drycleaner/laundrette that will deal with it; think I'll also ask them to do all our throws as they do fit, but don't tumble and take ages to dry.

My ta-da list looks like this:
Up/Dress/Breakfast - done
Washing - done
Tidy round living room - done
Freezer cleaned (DH job) - done
Sneaky nap with DS - done
Dinner, bath and bed for DS - done

Not a bad day overall, and the nap helped a lot

Tomorrow it's a trip into the big bad city to do a bit of shopping, and visit my work before I start work again on Monday after my maternity leave/holidays finish.

I was hoping that my maternity would mean that my house was shiny and spotless, but sadly this was not to be Still, hopefully with FLYing I can get it into a good state so that things get easier and easier and the house cleans itself!

Ah, well. PJ's on, cup of tea, good book and proms on Radio 3. I'm turning into my mother!

evening all
have been a bad flyfriend this week

Life is just taking over again....sigh...
Have just been so ridiculously busy...have been going to bed later and later just trying to get done what needs to be done...and also been going into work early and leaving late to keep up there....why aren't there more hours in the day ??????
ANyway, as a result I'm totally knackered, and feeling that horrible slightly panicy overwhelemed feeling again
add to that that we're off to Ireland on Sat, I'm working tomorrow, but off Friday. I have done NO packing/organising as yet. dd4 needs some new clothes (suddenly has none ) Have to finish filling in form for statemet request for dd3 (pages and pages of it) as MUST be dropped off by Friday...work is just CRAZY with some really poorly kids in......and all I really want to do is have a day in bed with my book...oh well!

will attempt to check in when I can when in Ireland (there for a week) and will make a resolution to FLY better and be much better FLYfriend on my return!

swan just catching up on thread ....I actually did not consent to DC being weighed/measured at school.(then again I also opt of of Health Visitor Screening etc)...but then I'm awkward!
BMI is really NOT a very accurate measure of body fat compaosition (although we do use it work) but I am also very aware of what too much focus on weight and body shape in teenagers can lead to. That said obviously I'm all in favour of not being overweight, and a genrally healthy balanced diet/lifestyle etc...but I also agree that a bit of chocolate in moderation isnt a bad thing! and yes, shape does totally and dramatically change for many kids during puberty...
I would not worry too much. General sensible healthy eating, being generally more active (once he stops fracturing limbs!) etc should all be fine without stressing over it.

Apolgies my post is going to have two parts to it, feel free to jump to the second half!

RANT
DH is a police officer so you can guess how fun our life has been the last week. We aren't in London but are in the south east so some of his team have been sent up to help. Not only were we in Tottenham last Sat (but escaped in time!) but all DH's shifts have all been extended to 12hrs and he's shattered. He's working 2pm - 2am and then sleeping all morning. I'm working 8.30-6pm (am a CM) so trying to either stay out of the house or keep the children quiet is proving hard work.

We are going on holiday on Monday- thats if his annual leave doesn't get cancelled in the meantime! - and we don't have a single day off together to pack and organise. I'll have to do it Saturday but with the DC's underfoot it will be awful. Plus a christening on Sunday to get everyone ship shape for. Hey ho whats a girl to do!

Normal Post
Anyway, I'm just about keeping on top of the flying. Babysteps are in place and not faultered yet and missions have been done as far as i can (don't own a microwave so i pulled the WM out and cleaned behind that instead! YUCK!!). I'm keeping on top of the laundry and putting aside bits we want for holiday so i don't have to madly wash them again before we go.

SC Well whether you are consistant or not you are one up on me- I don't iron!
Swan Another DH here who chops back the trees/hedges/bushes and leaves the branches piled up in the corner of the garden for months on end.
Fuzzled Gald you found the source of the smell!
Toffee My DS's also love Charlie- in fact any Roald Dahl is a firm favourite here.
CHB Hope you have even a mildly easier day tomorrow- you sound exhausted. :(

See you all tomorrow all :)

OFM as usual you are a lesson to us all getting so much done. Enjoy Ireland, and don't let your dcs jump off the hay bales (unless of course they are like panthers) I don't know if you saw on the thread that my ds2 has Asperger's dx now . It all feels quite odd, a bit like coming out of the closet, telling everyone (well not everyone) that he has it, and seeing their reactions, especially when they are not well informed about what A actually is and treat news as bad news. Hope statement flies swiftly to its target, you at least will know how to fill it in.

I've had a horrid day trying to tackle the house, entirely self inflicted I know see - I should have just given up after two hours and gone to the park, but I was going slightly crazy with the squalor and beginning to feel that Can't Have Any One Over Sensation.
Also met neighbour whose children seemed to be having a lovely time, friends round, sleepovers, which for some reason made me thoroughly badtempered at my own disorganisation. She even has artificial grass now [grinds teeth]

done
changed over chest of drawers between Ds2 and Dd, so that he now has seven compartments to make getting dressed a bit easier, and dd can actually open her door wide Big bag of clothes decluttered ds2.
hoovered everywhere
removed mountains of rubbish from our bedroom, still have to do final tidy.
moved piles of novels and cookbooks downstairs from dd's room (must find a place for them elsewhere) ditto ds2's room which used to be my study, and has a whole shelf of grownup books in it.
tidied kitchen
served two meals
mowed 3/4 lawn ( a good way of releasing stress)
felt very annoyed with the children whenever they didn't do exactly what I said however, it paid off in the sense that they were forced to lay table or there would have been no supper!
forced dd to draw somethign to send to her friend
forced ds1 to go on a walk by himself
ds2 was quite good really and just played with lego, and watched cbbc quite peacefully
and there seemed to be very little fighting between brothers for some reason.

SC yes very odd isn't it, I felt a perverse longing to clean, never feel like that when the children are out of the house all day...
CHB today I didn't confront ds2 at all, in fact nothing happened today to disrupt his train of thought and strangely enough he obviously quite enjoyed the boringness of just playing in sitting room all day! It remains to be seen if he will go to bed though.
Blue setting up computers is so frustrating. Well done on charity shop bags.
Toffee glad to hear I'm not only one, I mean not glad on your behalf, but I felt a strong sense today that I had to assert that I was in charge, but it is of course difficult to do this tactfully. I actually used the bogeyman of the rioters to warn the children how they would end up if they didn't respect others...
Whoknows I suppose there is always 5th November.

nicknacks and Messy just to say how much your husbands' work is appreciated. You must be proud of them. We need them.
nicknacks sorry it has been so stressful trying to get away, just lucky you got out of Tottenham when you did, can't believe what anarrow escape you must have had (just in terms of it being a shock to be there, and additional stress)

Oh dear, holidays do seem to cause a lot of stress in run up don't they; I'm sure it is not meant to be that way.

Anyway back to tidying.

xpost OFM, thanks, back to tidyng

Evening all!

Toffee - I could have written your para about the exhaustion of dealing with DC today. They were fine for the CM but went into full-scale craziness as soon as we got home. I ended up completely losing it and then feeling guilty and generally useless? Hey ho.

Still, I got my work and dusting done, but no filing or decluttering. How about everyone else?

Toffee was FLYing high yesterday ? glad the routines are working for you! Today she was worn out by DC but managed lots of laundry.

swan was falling over trees but has snuck children?s videos out of the house and has done lots of cleaning and tidying.

SC was bemused by the imbalance of time and will-power but had four miracles this afternoon.

CHB was escaping to training. Hope it helped.

WhoKnows survived shoe-shopping. Well done! Have some ?

Fuzzled ticked off all her list and had a lovely relaxing evening.

OFM is busy! Wishing you more hours and a good break.

NickNacks is keeping on top of FLYing despite all kinds of stress. Yes, you and your DH are definitely in valuable professions! I hope life calms down and you are able to get away.

Links:
Babystep ? I reckon this is a skipable one. Anyone actually done this? Does it help?

Mission (when it updates): Cleaning out the pantry or one kitchen cupboard.

***

Tomorrow is my other work/house bleugh day and I?ll see if I can squeeze in the mission too. Night all.

Morning all,

Have been lurking but not posting recently as very little FLYing going on here and even the decluttering has ground to a halt, although I've promised to help my mum with some more later today.

I was supposed to be going to London tomorrow to meet DH, who's flying over tomorrow afternoon and spend a few days there, but we've cancelled our trip due to the recent events. I thought it would still be OK to go but DH wasn't happy so I gave up trying to persuade him.

Have been far too many late nights recently (no DH around to make me feel guilty about MNing!), so really must try to stick to the early nights babystep. I got up at 6 am this morning to go for a run, but took one look at the weather (rain seemed imminent) and went back to bed! After a couple of lovely sunny days when we first arrived, which lulled me into a sense of false security, the weather has returned to its normal summer self: grey, windy and rainy.

Waves to all - must go and get up as I have an appointment at the

Thanks for the roundup blue

I fear today will be another exercise in behaviour management. need to get stuff packed for ds' hol with his gps.

Training was a disaster. Ankle is officially fucked. But as i am having to take yet more time off training I will be having loads more time to work through my project list. Soo many half done projects that need finishing off. So many projects waiting to be started.

Hope you all have productive days!!

So pleased this is the mission as I planned to do this anyway :)

Have a good flying day everyone! :)

Desperate to know where Linzer's appt is....................

Sorry to disappear mid-post - I would like to say that my appointment is top secret and I was dragged away from the computer before I could reveal what it is, but the more mundane reality is that my keyboard suddenly stopped working mid-sentence and all I could do was post my message and restart it.

Anyway, the sentence was supposed to read that I have an appointment at the bank at 10 and I'll then be staying down in town to do some shopping before I have lunch with an old school friend.

CHB Sorry to hear about your ankle.

Nick Hope you are not too disappointed! Good news on the mission.

WhoKnows Glad to hear the book arrived; I really enjoyed it. I'll send the next one at the end of next week.

So much for getting both DC to bed early last night. Ended up watching 'I, Robot' with DS1, but it was worth it because he enjoyed it so much. However, he is now pestering me to let him watch 'Alien vs Predator' . No, no, no!

Woken early this morning by DS2, demanding that I read more of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. I feel a bit like that character in 'Handful of Dust' who is kept prisoner in the jungle by a man who wants him to keep reading Dickens to him. Anyhow, I have finished the book now and it was nice to see how much DS enjoyed it.

Today's list looks like this:

B/fasts done
Get dressed done
D/W done
W/M - going to give myself a day off washing today because it's too rainy to use the line
S&S done
Check emails and MN done
Tidy DS2's bedroom
DS2's friend here at 10
Online shop - school stuff, etc
Lunch
Missions for yesterday and today
Ring library to renew books
Dinner
To school-uniform shop with DS1 (10% off tonight)
(DH put DS2 to bed)
Before-bed routine

Good to see you, Linzer! Hope you have a nice lunch with your friend.

Hi everyone
thanks swanriver. My heart is in my mouth when there is trouble, but we have been very lucky so far, tg! He is expecting things to kick off here after a football match or something, but majority of people with blackberries are not teenagers and they arent really into twitter so suspect the would be rioters wouldn't be as organised here.

Did the usual yesterday and today, dw, wm etc but decluttered in bedroom too, and am going to do more now in a few.feel much calmer going to bed when the room is tidy,like the hard work can be seen right before I sleep or something.

Went to a family party last night, was great to see family home from America, and other family scattered around the country. Was awkward when a relative who doesn't like me turned up, but we left shortly after. DD1 stayed with my mum last night, so she's not here yet, DD2 is having her nap so off to do my decluttering :)
talk later guys.