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!

In shock after buying uniform for primary school - £40, for the compulsory logo'd stuff (plus the school colour PE socks which he won't be wearing for a long time as the smallest size is an 11-1, he is a size 9). I've bought a couple of pairs of trousers, still have to get: shoes, indoor shoes, plimsolls, coat, PE bag, book bag, PE shorts, jogging bottoms, PE sweatshirt. School is a very expensive business!

Toffee DH is very used to me doing everything, I did most of it while we were both working, and do all bar the really heavy DIY now. I was hoping he would help out a bit on his own savvy, then started asking for specifics to be done, now I just think I'll have to shuffle things round so I can get it all done. On the upside he is going to be taking DS to school 3 mornings a week, so I can start work early enough to be there for pickup in the afternoon (NB. school is less than a 5 min walk from here, but I can still imagine DS being late!)

I don't know if I'm going the Flying thing right, but I've sorted a system that works for me (or did until I started work, so I'm revising it now!)
WHBH on a Monday
Zone cleaning or decluttering 15 mins a day Mon-Fri
Zone mission Mon-Fri or when it fits into the zone cleaning

I have a cleaning list for every zone, so aim to do x many things off that list a day, lists are in plastic wallet, and I use a dry erase pen to tick, then clean off at end of week (or if not everything is done, leave it on so I can see where I need to start next time).

I break the rules by mixing the decluttering with the zone cleaning - I feel happier that way as I know that the areas which have been decluttered in a zone are cleaned regularly, and hopefully stay "nice", which gives me more impetus to carry on with the rest and helps to keep the clutter building up again. Eg in the bathroom a couple of the shelves still need decluttering, but I have started this week zone cleaning, and will complete my zone clean list, then declutter what I have time for at the end of the week (at least one of the shelves). I've found that if I keep on top of the bit I've done and hotspot regularly, its less likely to deteriorate during the month.

Room rescues - I rr every room on a Monday before I WHBH. Takes 5-10 mins per room, just to shove things away, put them where they're supposed to live etc. Then I alternate RR living room and kitchen during the week, as they tend to be the worst affected areas, and others if needed.

Here endeth the housework essay - sorry

Well I kind of came to a grinding halt after my last post so my final ta da list today isn't as impressive as hoped .

Ta da:-
More washing
More putting away
Playing in garden with dc's
Dinner cooked and cleared away

It is a lovely summer's evening here so we are going to dsis's for an hour and then on to BF's for a coffee. Maybe I will get a lie-in tomorrow if I wear them out tonight .

ihate i have come to the realisation that whilst i love dh dearly, after 13 years of living together, he is never going to be a domestic god. I just appreciate it when he does it. To be fair he does a very physical job so some leeway granted there. I do lay the blame squarely at his mother's feet. He is her baby boy and he had never lived away from home before he moved in with me and she did everything for him, ds will NOT turn out like that. He is way better house trained now but i live resigned to the fact i will do most stuff. It's easier now i have stopped trying to change him . Having said that, when he does it he does a far better job than me

Back later maybe!

Thank you for the housework essay, Ihatecobwebs. DH is pestering me for the computer, but I intend to come back and study it in detail later!

Ellie - yes, MILs have a lot to answer for. But now that I have two sons of my own, I can see how it happens. I must do some more house training for the good of my future DILs.

Toffee I got all the way with this before, had a complete control journal, the works.
As I understood it, you do your morning routine, you do zone detail cleaning, plus the daily missions and then the days tasks, like monday being home blessing, tuesday menu planning, wednesday anti-procrastination, thursday errands, friday date night etc, but it is alot of work.
The detailed cleaning lists would surely take longer than 3 15min sessions to do.
I adjusted the method to suit me, so originally, I split the weekly home blessing tasks and did one a day, plus detailed cleaning, mission etc etc. It worked well for months, I had lists for everything and was so unbelievably organised.
It all went to pot when I returned to work and I didn't have enough time to do anything at all, which is where home blessing on a saturday came in.
I'm back at work again in september so there won't be time for all this work so I am trying out new routines now to see what will fit best.
I do either the mission or 15 mins detailed cleaning. Rarely do both.
I don't RR every day, but first thing, I run round and make sure everything is in it's rightful place.
Before their evening bath, my ds's (2.6yrs and 4yrs) 'tidy' their toys, but this means picking them up off the living room floor and chucking them just inside their bedroom door, so instead of a RR I kind of do a flat rescue which takes about 15 mins.
I then run around with a duster and a mop again on a wednesday too.
Will stop going on now! Sorry

Well my rather uninspiring done list which looks nothing like flying is as follows:
car to mot
several inches of scarf knitted
finish quilting of 2 quilts.
Make binding for 3 quilted items
attach binding ready for hand stitching to finish quilt x1
Finish topper for quilted runner
Cut and applique pieces for new quilt project
collect car

About to head off for some tea and to cut the pieces for another project to get done tomo, before tackling a mile and half of handstitching of binding.

You have all been so productive it is scarey. Bar is most definetly open. Come and join me for a post flying drink!

Good evening all, popping in whilst i can as dh is going to nick my computer in a mo.

Updated list
Move washing on two days in machine stuck on uneven load=putrid stinky washing- still doing
S/s-nope
Bedmaking-yep
Washing swimming stuff-yep, wet in washer waiting for tumble drier
Reply to friend whose dad hopefully with be out if hosp following treatment for lung cancer. Poor sod but doing much better- done he is home safe and sound and glad of a bacon butty and coffee.
research birthday presents for 5 year old son who wants everything but nothing if you know what I mean.-nope
Look at whoknows website for lovely plant-nope
Gym- first time in ages!!! - in debate.
Bought first pair of school shoes, best to take dh with me as kids always get better shoes when he is there to choose.

Also visited the zoo and ignored dh protests that it was boring advising him that kids liked it and thats why we were there. Followed by pizza hut. (slow cooked meal still slow cooking) Dh advised it wouldnt make any difference if we left it till tomorrow it would still be minging
DH is an ass sometimes but im letting him off as his mum is ill.

cobwebs oh yes nothing worse that having dh hanging around unhelpfully. Hope school uniform shopping went ok.
fuzzled my dh does just the same thing but he lifts it off the floor and fills up empty washbasket. I refuse to do it call me mean but why should i? No objections if it makes it into the wash with everyone elses clothes.
sc ooo daughter out of bed wrong side=disaster in this house. I keep telling myself its because she is a totally horrendous three. Even more exasperating eight sounds like something to look forward too. Hope the rest of the day was a bit better and runner beans were delicious.
silverymoon is a women who knows what she is doing. Home bless happens gradually over the week here. hmmm detailed cleaning. i think i better think about that one. ihatecobwebs is our list queen i dont know how she does it.
ellie lol at boring updates. Ah yes the bittersweet feeling of happily playing siblings=messtorm in this house too. From one room to another and another.
blue my ds is mad on baby jake too. I have never watched it (when tv is on i do housework:-babysitting ) Is it really awful? Is it as bad or worse than rastamouse?
chb sorry ankle is lousy pain causing thing. Hope you found a nice film and did all that funny stuff you were talking about.
toffee sorry ds has tonsilitus but at least you got meds now. Poor lil fella. Lmho at ds wanting to play burgulars and karate chop his mother. (maybe karate isnt the bed after school activity to start my son on in september)

Hiya to messy and swan hope you both had good days.

Right better run. Ive done a poll on facebook about whether to do Laundry and office paperwork with wine or gym with water. off to see results and get on with the task at hand.

Have lovely evening.

Silvery - thanks for your Flylady summary - that is what I suspected. Which means that, no matter what she may say, doing her routines takes time. And we don't all have that time, particularly those who are working or who have demanding children under five. Or five (or six, OFM) children. Or just demanding children. Hmm. I suppose it might just work if you shared the tasks with your DH and family...

Nettie - DS2 desperately wants to do karate. I want him to do dance! He is actually very good at dancing, and my ambition for him is nothing to do with not having a daughter or the fact that my mum is a ballet dancer, honest .

DS1 has perked up a lot since his sleep this afternoon. Has managed to take two doses of ABs and some Calpol and has just drunk a glass of Complan, which cheered him up hugely. He is even starting to talk, although he sounds very odd and you can tell his throat is still swollen.

CHB - any of that left? I'll join you in the bar tonight.

I shall join you in the naughty corner bar this evening, CHB - not that I feel particularly naughty as I'm not at home, but the bar sounds very tempting (esp. considering that I've only had a thimbleful of wine over the last 11 days ).

Toffee Glad to hear your DS is on the mend.

Nettie Lovely to see you back. A DC who wants everything but nothing sounds very familiar...

Welcome to SilveryMoon.

ellie of your summer weather. It's cold, grey and drizzly here - just for a change.

cobwebs I also break the rules by mixing decluttering, the missions and zone cleaning depending on what I feel like doing; I tell myself that spending 15 minutes in the current zone is the main thing.

Blue The DC have discovered Baby Jake since we've been back - DS is particularly enamoured.

SC DD2 is an absolute nightmare after sleepovers - usually so sleep-deprived that she's in a foul mood the next day and we can't do a thing with her. We've said a number of times that we're going to ban sleepovers unless she can behave the next day, but haven't followed through yet...

DH and I are off to a nearby (well, 1.5 hours away) buzzing metropolis tomorrow for a day's shopping in lieu of our trip to London. I am sadly excited about going to a non-Slovakian Tesco's. DB is driving us and wants to leave at 7 am.

Just a quick update as am on phone so no personal messages either

Today has been reasonable good. Most items on my to-do list ta-da'd Only cupboard and dining room not done - sadly actual work spilled over into DS's pm nap.

Still, good day with DS and am hoping for a good nights sleep - but not convinced about that!

New Tricks, pj's and a nice - middle age doesn't come itself!

Well, having just scanned the thread, I find myself in agreement with Ellie on just about everything tonight. DH is one of 4 brothers whose mother freely admits that as a parent she did everything for them as it was easier than getting them to do it (she does always apologise profusely at this point, at least she's not saying that's the way it should be). My 7 year old DS is rapidly turning into Kevin the Teenager as well (IT'S NOT FAIR!), he can be foul.

Well, the electrician managed to finish all his work in one day, so now we just have to put the furniture back and get all the clutter back out too. I really need to get rid of some stuff instead of just putting it all back out. Had a very busy day at work too and been out for a run, very tired

Plenty of to go around but am afraid if you want cocktails you are mixing your own.

Meant to say Cobwebs - don't leave school shoes too much longer, as you go through August the queues in the shoe shops get longer, the tempers get frayed and the choice gets much more restricted as they start selling out.

Before I go any further, can I tell you all that I LET SOMEONE INTO MY HOME TODAY!!!
Yes that's right, my mum dropped dd1 back home and instead of standing at the door, we walked into the hall. Now she didn't come in further than that, but it would have been ok if she had. WOO HOO!

I actualy got more done today then I had planned to.
wash and dress done
swish and swipe done
empty dishwasher done
put on wash (x4) done
empty wash (es) done
get dd1 back from my mum's done
try and do a bin myself done, dp did
general tidy up of sitting room done
clear out of the far side of the kitchen table done

I also did 2 hotspots (mantlepiece and kitchen corner)
Put away clothes and towels
Hang up wet clothes
Dust tv and photos
Iron bed clothes, to change tomorrow
Cleaned up after dinner
Dishwasher filled but not ful enough to go on
Evening routine is done, everyone (including dp) is in bed, and I've been snoozing on the couch for the past few hours little while

to toffee, swan, fuzzled, ellie, nettie, blue, cbh, linzer and who knows, Glad we all had mostly a good day. Monday is the hardest day I feel :)
Bedtime for me guys, delighted with my clean apt and getting out of livinig in CHAOS, which would not be happening with out all your encouragement (cheesy moment :o)

Wooooohooooo messy, it's a good feeling when that happens . And all of thar good feeling is down to you and your hard work. Well done'

whoknows everyone should agree with me all of the time .

toffee glad you have a diagnosis for ds. Hopefully he will pick up soon.

chb don't be too hard on yourself. You are injured and have an official sick note from flylady. I will show it to blue for you. . You do know that my current impressive lists are only temporary. I am mainly doing all the cleaning i should have done over the last school year now so i can stop come September . I have officially given up on decluttering, i have been on this thread for 2 years..... It ain't ever going to happen .

We have had a lovely evening here. Dc's and i went to dsis's for an hour or so where dc's picked apples and played in the garden and then to bf's for another hour or so to drink coffee in garden and gossip. Lovely.

See you tomorrow!

Round up time again. Hmm, looks like no early night tonight. Oh well.

Right, ellie was glad to wave DH off to work and posting motivational lists while her DC played nicely. :)

Silvery joined us with some very impressive lists - definitely a pro FLYer

Fuzzled was also DH-free, working, flying and child-caring.

messy was making up for lost time and let someone into her home! :)

PA was suffering the aftermath of a plague of locusts hungry teenagers. Hope you had a good afternoon out.

nettie was amazed at the powers of the Fat Fairy and her all-seeing eye . DS1 thought the zoo would be boring too, so now he goes round saying ?I thought the zoo would be boring and it wasn?t, and I thought the country park would be boring and it wasn?t? etc etc. Hope it sticks!

CHB reminded us of the educational value of the Wii and has done lots of craft projects.

cobwebs survived uniform shopping

swan abandoned the house to enjoy the weather with DC - sounds like a plan! Hope drama went well too.

SC was suffering post-sleepover grumpiness but still did the house bleugh - impressed!

Toffee was alternating between ill and beanish DSs - at playing burglars! Hope the ABs kick in soon.

Linzer joined us in the bars and was looking forward to the giddy thrills of non-Slovakian Tesco?

WhoKnows agreed with ellie. Glad the electrics all done now. Hope the sleep does you good!

As for me, shopping was a nightmare, and bedtime not much better. Spent the evening making chutney which was moderately successful, and have rescued the kitchen. Need to get hold of some more jars now so can use up the rest of the tomatoes. Hmm.
Tomorrow I need to do work in the afternoon which means I?ll be in the office and might get round to the missions in there?

Speaking of which, here are the links:
The Babystep is eminently skippable if you?re not getting the propaganda e-mails.
Mission (when it updates): Bathroom - washing off grubby marks and Office - clear the right side of your computer.

Yawns. Better go to bed. Night all.

Bad night here. Pain, emotional conflict adding up to far too little sleep. I am going to be defeatist and say flying or pretty much anything today is going to be a write off. Sorry.

Hope you all have productive flying days and life treats you all kindly today.

On phone again this morning but will list at work time as laptop is booted then and it's much easier!

But just had to post {{hugs}} to CHB (and sod the MNet etiquette re hugging and apologising!

Hope pain gets better soon.

Good morning everyone

moan alert moan alert dh turn this morning and he got straight up and laid on the sofa!! Grr
blue unfortunately it was dh who said zoo was boring!! Dont think anything will change him! Thanks for roundup

My list
Console dd whose brand new first ever china bowl has broken at breakfast aw
Get dressed
Bathe dc
Prepare swim bags
Make jelly/cupcakes with dc
Did both side of office table last night so going to gather up some junk in there for charity shop and do a drop off.
Read prepared last will and testament to send back to solicitors!
Make bed
S/s
Empty dishwasher/wm move laundry on
Tidy up dc bedroom (everyday room rescue)
Take dc to swim lessons interspersed with two hours on beach or playpark!
Home for slowcooked meal and tatties
Run to ww to see how much failed by this week
Run to hairdressers

I think that will do!

Hope you all have a fab day

I am lurking, Flying a bit and enjoying the holidays :)

However DH and I tackled the garage at the w/e and did a proper job on it. It is now clean, clear, clutter-free and organised
DH is so pleased that I may be able to persuade him that decluttering the rest of the house is a GOOD THING. This is, possibly, a big step forward - note lots of caution here, I have been fooled before!
I now need to get on and ebay stuff (a lot of stuff!) so we can tackle the loft. DD is on photographing duty today so I can start to list things.

Need to work first so best get off MN - DS still asleep, DD tucked up in our bed reading Terry Prachett. I'm with you SC on the difficulty of 8 yr old girls, I hate to say it but with DD I am starting to suspect hormones .
God help us as she is feisty enough without them and I have lost the plot badly three times already this holiday

A cheery good morning all round!

Early start for me today. I have already done job number 1 (well, I am here still, but just posting on here, then off) and heading off to job number 3.

Some mightily impressive lists going on yesterday. Puts my measly one to shame!
at the thought of the school uniform shopping that you all seem to be a million miles ahead of me with! I am seriously considering being a real lazy-arse and just doing it all online, but then I know a lot will have to go back and my stress levels will spiral. Oh and the shoes!! How DS and I hate shoe shopping!!! Nightmare time. DS gets really funny about doing these sorts of things too, as he hates to be reminded that he will be going back to school and the summer holidays will end. Hey ho, not for todays worry l;ist, I will do it some other time.

Toffee - hope DS is perkier today.
SC - Hope grumpiness has abated!!

Ok, so list for today:
Done job 1
Go to bakery before driving to job3
Drop some stuff off at home on way
After work:
DD1 has requested Steak suet pudding for tea, so put steak in slow cooker first and make rest later.
IRONING!!! Mountainous load MUST be done today
Try and prise DS and some of the DDs out for a walk in the forest this PM.
Swimming tonight
Washing x2

Right, off I go. Have a good day everyone,

O, I missed a lot yesterday.

Toffee if ds2 does ballet, I suggest you bribe another mother to send her son too. It is the lack of other boys that puts them off, rather than the ballet itself.
Ds2 has done ballet twice (aged 4 and aged 9) To some extent it has been a waste of time and money but on the other hand he does now do elaborate dance routes which encorporate [ahem] balletic moves, so he must have learnt something! Dh and I were watching Dirty Dancing yesterday night - Dh never dances, he asked me what the point of film was. [Patrick Swayze I asked him whether he used to dance around to music as a teenager when there was no one to see him. He was nonplussed - I'm a man, why would I dance around the room? Thank goodness both my sons like dancing round the room (embarrassing or not)

Good news, Ds2 loved drama. They did a play about Space with lots of sound effects. Another 3 days.

SC and Feet[very advanced reading Terry Pratchett by the way, Ds1 has to read Truckers for his Ss reading list and he finds it hard]
DD argues constantly. Yesterday she was awful, partly because I tried to get her to walk a few miles in tandem with Ds1 and she kept lying down in the road doing the dreaded "I'm tired, I can't walk" "I'm hungry" (here's a sandwich) Nooo don't want a sandwich, I want chocolate. She was deeply traumatised by my homecut hair and started screaming at me in the hairdresser's

However, all is well now, she's had a haircut, I've had a haircut, ds1 walked a long distance, ds2 had an excellent day yesterday, and kitchen is tidyish.

Dd is off to all day birthday/swimming party today.

I must now organise Ds2 to get dressed/egg sandwiches/drop at Drama.

Morning.
CHB Hope you're ok.
Had a lovely lay in after a crappy nights sleep.
Suppose I'd better compose today's list.
Not sure if I CBA to do anything though!

Right, here we go

TO DO
Make beds
Shower and dress
Swish and swipe
Boys to get dressed
Tidy away (miniRR's)
Washing machine on
Sort clean clothes
Tesco (just bread and loo roll)
Post dvd back to lovefilm
Ironing
Games/writing tasks
What's for dinner?
Clean kitchen
lay out clothes
Hoover
wash down bathroom
27 fling boogie in boys room.

That'll do and depending on the mood of the children, we will either go to the park, or play some games here and get all the toys out.

Best get cracking then and stop being such a sofa-dweller.
BBL

DS1 has woken up with only a slightly sore throat and a voice that works. He says he has his mojo back . Can ABs work that quickly ? It's lovely to see him cheery again. Also managed to get prozac into him last night and this morning, as his OCD was getting out of control without it.

No plans today, as I had to cancel everything because of DS1's illness. Hopefully, this means I can get stuff done in the house.

Today's list:

Get up done - thanks, Feet
Get dressed
B/fasts done
S&Swipe done
W/M on done
D/W - unload and reload with breakfast stuff
Kitchen hotspot
Shine sink
Put clean washing away from yesterday
Hang wet washing up
Phone dentist (re DS2's lost filling)
2 Kitchen missions from last week (did today's mission in the bathroom at the weekend, funnily enough, using Magic Eraser, which is very satisfying)
Plan meals for rest of week
Shopping - buy chicken and veg to make chicken soup for lunch
Take DC for a walk if DS1 is up to it
Make soup
Put dry washing away
Get DS1 to try on school uniform to make sure it all fits

CHB - sorry you are feeling so rough. Take it easy if you can.

Nettie - looks like a busy day ahead for you. Poor DD, breaking her bowl .

Feet - congratulations on decluttering your garage. It's a good feeling, isn't it? Hope your DH catches the decluttering bug now that he's seen the results.

PA - I have done most of the uniform shopping online, apart from stuff like the blazer which I needed DS1 to try on. I bought DS1's current size in trousers, plus one size up, and am hoping not to have to do any returns. Hope you enjoy your walk in the forest this afternoon.

Swan - glad DS2 is enjoying drama - and you are getting a bit of a break from one child at least. And I see DD is out all day too, so a break from two. Re: ballet: absolutely right. There is a dance school near us and it's all girls in the classes. It's very frustrating. My mum said there was only one boy in her ballet school; he went on to become a professional dancer. He must have been very sure of his vocation to stick at it.

I have found a 'street dance for boys under 8' class nearby and I'm going to try that as a start next term.

DC are both having a bit of screen time, so had better make the most of it and get on with my chores. See you all later.

Morning, SilveryMoon - I spent so long composing my message, in between children interrupting, that I missed you. Your list reminds me to make the beds, which I'd left out. Thank you. Makes me feel particularly organised when I do that (never bothered before my Flylady conversion). Hope you manage to get everything done and have a nice time out as well.