Remember, remember the fledgling Flyers: dusting, and decluttering a lot..

[DarknessSoothes]

Come one come all, fledgling reunite. 1st of the month and we survived the fright. Bonfire month and lets burn though the housework to prepare for the festivities of December.

As from the 1st we will be babystepping, mission and deep cleaning our way out of the C.H.A.O.S. (can't have anyone over syndrome).

For newbies and those who need reminding here is the principles behind the babystep system.

The basic is this:

1. Do the babysteps.
2. When you do the babysteps with consistency add in the missions
3. When you are doing the babysteps and missions as a habbit tackle the deep cleaning.

This thread is a mishmash of people at different stages. The lists can look long, but look carefully, some of us are reposting lists and parts of lists from day to day.

Our motto is this: Do not strive to be perfect, Progress is progress and anything is better then nothing and my personal favourite part of the fly lady system is you are never behind, just jump in and start from where you are.

So on that note here we go. With much thanks to Ellie who lead us with amusing roundups last month.

Day 1: Babystep 1 - How to shine your sink

Mission here - this will update overnight ready for the early fledglings

Tuesday's reminders are here: It's planning day

And for those of you who are eagerly awaiting christmas here is the flylady's crusing into christmas page. Personally i did some of this last year and done some this year and it does take a chunk of the stress out of christmas.

Well now that I have suitably scared you, see you all tomo!!

Crikey Linzer snack duty sounds a bit full on!! (Or is it one of those marvellous German/Austrian collective kindergartens I keep reading about which is run by the parents?) Enjoy your child-free morning.

I am actually much reassured by the fact that your dd said everyone else in her class read out their speech! DD was doing most of her 'ordinary' hwk Sat morning, then it was ballet, followed by various other errands, then an evening out, and she had a party from 2pm to 6pm yesterday. So that just left a few hours after church yesterday morning for her to practice (what we she had written). Fortunately we had made an Imperial State crown and sceptre earlier so the plan is she will dazzle everyone with the props in the hope they won't notice she is reading from her cue cards!!! I had no idea presentations such as this were party of the curriculum at 8 yrs of age. Very good prep for later life I suppose but couldn't help inwardly groaning when dd mentioned that "we will be doing lots more of these Mummy".

So glad party went well Toffee and your dss had a good time. I'm just like you - love all the preparations but find the actually event intensely stressful (especially when trying to explain things in three languages!). Hope the clearing up isn't too onerous [SC places large 'reserve' sign on largest pillow in naughty corner for Toffee although should really be in not-at-all naughty corner (parties are hard work)] More at the ready when you arrive.

Wishing you safe trips Darkness and PA

Blue do we live in the same house by any chance? My dining room table permanent craft spot too.

Nicknacks wishing you a productive mindee-free morning!

Well I'm working from home today because we have men in who are repairing our outdoor blinds (a feature of old, continental houses) and who are hopefully going to pack more wadding in behind the frames in an attempt to stop bitterly cold winds strafing the playroom ...atm if we want to sit and watch tv in the evening we have to wear coats!!

House needs rescuing after full-on w/e too and everyone seems to be on the brink of colds so want to go and buy some broccoli, pineapples and mangoes. So list is looking like:

ta da
morning routine, inc dw & wm, s&s, boudoir tidy
a bit more thorough clean of kitchen

to do
clean/tidy/hoover downstairs
clean out gps
recycling
make banana cake (loads of specimens blackening in fruit bowl to use up)
quick supermarket shop
finish school uniform ironing for week
more laundry
office laundry
'work'/work from home
30 decluttering mins home office
write list/planning for tomorrow
med appt (school run a bit late)
hwk supervision
supper
evening routine
early bed
exercise which didn't get done yesterday

Huge waves to everyone - hope you all have a good week!

party of the curriculium

part of ...

SC No, not collectively run, but it's quite common at kindergartens here for the weekly Gesunde Jause ("healthy snack") to be brought in for the whole class by a different family every week. At least we have slightly less to buy now that the max. class size has been cut from 28 (there are now only 20 children in DS's class ), although it also means that it now comes round twice a year rather than once.

DD2 has also informed us that she has to give another talk - more work for DH, I suspect! At least we don't have to translate it. DH has even said that he thinks it's too much to expect 9 year olds to give a talk, but I don't feel like I can start complaining too much about the Austrian school system as per usual as I remember having to give a talk at school myself at the same age. Or rather not giving a talk - I was painfully shy so just couldn't do it and I don't think the teacher expected me to, either (I had to get a friend to ask the teacher for me whenever I needed to go to the toilet). I do remember him putting the timer on and waiting "just in case" though, while I sat there in silence!

SC our primary encourages presentations although they are less particular about the written work. They do a lot of assemblies and plays.

My home office (a table in the playroom) sounds like your home office. I was debating whether to sweep the whole lot into two bin bags and hide it under my bed for a while just to make me feel better.

This morning, as usual I am feeling seriously stressed at the thought of the cleaning lady who will be here in five mins. There is so much washing to put away, and she doesn't know where any of it goes. The dcs have turned the front room into a shop. Steptoe's Yard is worse than ever. And I need to clean the bathrooms before I can let her in them And to cap it all dd has wet her bed. And I need to be somewhere at 10.15. Not going to happen.

Done
Drove ds1 to school so he could sleep till 7.30, and nearly ran someone over on the zebra crossing whilst I was arguing with him
stripped bed
washing in
washing downstairs
breakfast cleared
newspapers rescued

curriculiu?? [sigh] curriculum

Oh dear, that sounds like a rather stressful morning Swan Think you are brave having a cleaner on a Monday ... I need at least four days to clear paths in the clutter work up to mine coming on a Friday! Hope your day gets better and here's some in the meantime ...

Tis good that the dc are made to stand up and speak in class but sympathies for your shy nine-year-old- self Linzer that sounds like agony! (Esp silent waiting bit!)

Don't remember ever doing anything remotely like it at my prep school though apart from the odd elocution class and appearing as a ballet-dancing cloud on speech day! I agree with your dh though, at a young 8 yrs, dd finds it hard to organise all the papers/pictures/props necessary in correct sequence to give a presentation. Never mind picking out what is pertinent and what is not from a very broad subject. But I suppose the first one is always going to be problematic ...

At least healthy snack is only weekly/not daily! I know from experience that prepping crudites for 20 takes quite a long time!

Better step away from the screen and try and do something useful. House is freezing as men are in and out front door all the time and have main window out of its frame.

Morning all!

Have done all the errands, had a cup of coffee, and now it's time to go and pick DS2 up from playgroup again! Had a real struggle to find him a healthy snack this morning - so glad it was only for one child!

Afternoon!just a quick one off the phone so no personals!

Ta da so far:
Weekly home bleugh- all of it!
Wash dried and shined sink (twice)
Took kids to painting tots, got covered in paint
5 minute room rescue, front room
Swept and mopped kitchen
Cleaned sofas
Accepted tumble dryer delivery
2 wash loads
Sorted out a bag of baby clothes for pregnant friend

Left to do:
15 minute room rescue my room (when DD is in bed)
Bath DD
Hoover (again)
eBay stuff (still not done!)

Glad the party went well Toffee - they are very stressful things especially at home so well done you

Went back to the gym today as thought i had better do something in case i seize up completely and got talked into doing an abs class now my bloody torso is killing me - will I ever learn probably not .

Have done

Food shop
Bank
Took piano stool and chair to upholsterers
Office work (loads of it done today - yay)
Watched DD drama productions rehearsal
Cooked dinner and washed up
Emptied bins

That's it i'm afraid.

Won't get much done tomorrow either as have a friend round for lunch and then i have to go watch DD in her netball match.

Hope you are all okay and catch up soon

Another busy day. Took DS1 to his CBT appointment at 8.30, then home for a snack and off to school. Had one hour to finish getting the house presentable for stepmum's visit, so threw everything into our bedroom and hoped she wouldn't go in. Our bedroom is such a tip now .

Visit from SM went ok. Lunch out. Grabbed extra party bags from home to distribute to the children who couldn't come yesterday, then time for the school run. Am putting DC to bed early tonight and then planning on getting an early night myself.

PA - good luck in Wales

Linzer - I could never do public speaking either. Still can't.

Lauren - yes, I took lots of party photos!

SC - thanks for the pillow. The party was hard enough in one language - I can't imagine how you manage with three. Mind you, it did feel as if the children were speaking another language to me sometimes.

Swan - I think the binbags under the bed idea sounds great and will definitely cheer you up. You do realise you will forget all about the bin bags though (if you are anything like me, that is)?

Blue - I remember making a lot of tea when we had builders in too! What are you having done?

Lady - actually, we held the party in a church hall this year. All DS2's parties have been at home before, but we felt the children needed more room to run around now they're older - and they certainly did.

Off to get the children to bed asap now.

hello all! can I come back if I humbly grovel and beg forgiveness for abandoning you all for so long????(offers round large tin of choccies)
I see a few names I know from before...and some new ones too.
Life has been very full on for the last 4/5 months. I wont tire you with all the details, but I have been a bit worn down and feeling fragile....but am trying (again!) to regain control of my chaos!
Work is totally crazy , boss now on second mat leave, once again no cover so I am totally overwhelmed.....still trying to juggle that with 6 dc , house , oh and Christmas LOL
On the plus side I have FINALLY won first battle with LEA who have given in and are now doing a statutory Assessment for a statement for dd3.
I have finally bought a new oven (which saved me having to clean the old one LOL) which doesnt incinerate everything!
and.....despite life's chaos I have almost finished my Christmas shopping.
Oh, and I did my half marathon in Sep which was really fab
so.....anyone want to summarise the highlights of the last few months?!?

Evening all!

So glad to hear you all think your homes are hell holes too!

I have a piece of furniture which we no longer need as we have bought an upgrade. A friend has said she'll have it if we're planning on getting rid but for some really shit reason, I'm finding it hard to take her up on the offer. Why and WTF?

Didn't get as much as i'd hoped done today but i don't feel too bad as the essentials are done, DD got some one on one time with me and I didn't get dressed until the afternoon school run (DH did the morning)

So tomorrows list looks much like todays! I have also got my own list of missions to see me through now until xmas as we are hosting it here this year and certain things need to take priority.

Pay DS's school trip deposit
Fill out school photo order forms and write cheques
Post photo forms
Surveyor round to look at front door
Collect DS1 from friends house
Arrange DS2 to go to his friends house one night
RSVP to birthday party
Start writing xmas cards (mission)

Hope you have all had wonderful Mondays!

X posts with OverflowingMum Welcome back!! Sounds like you have been v. busy. Glad to hear you've made headway with the LEA and v. jealous of the new oven- mine is getting a professional clean on Thurs but that is a compromise from DH as i wanted a new one ready for xmas.

Summary- We've all chatted far more than we've been flying and copius amounts of and have been consumed!

OFM! Welcome back. No wonder you've been too busy to come on here. Well done with the LEA. I am thinking I will apply for an assessment for DS soon (he has recently been diagnosed with AS), although he is fine at school now, they can't guarantee the same level of support longer term and it is only going to get harder as he gets older.

We have lots of new people, a very popular naughty corner for slackers, what else? A new word - to nesbit, which basically means to put things off. Lots of other stuff, but will let everyone fill you in on their own stuff.

Quite a productive day here, managed all the home blessing apart from hoovering, embarked on yet another round of decluttering, went to the loft to put some toys up there as a holding point for getting rid of them and also to bring at least the same amount of stuff down again and actually get rid of it, only to find a wall of about 20 box files that DH had sneaked in from work right next to the hatch. Hmmm. Anyway, the car is loaded up for the tip tomorrow, I have a plan for all the Playmobil, train tracks etc which will free up more storage downstairs, and a huge pile of stuff siting next to the computer for Freecycling.

Also managed to find another babysitter for the Christmas do that was on the wrong week, help at school and help at Beavers.

Toffee - glad the party went well, I am another party-nervuos-wreck person, always need a stiff drink afterwards, ours are both soon after Christmas so I will need to start thinking about them soon.

PA - hope the training goes well.

Swan - sounds like a tough morning, hope the day improved.

Lady - no pain no gain I suppose, hope your abs feel better tomorrow.

Thanks for the Blue

SC / Linzer our school does a lot of Show and Tell, where you bring things in to talk about, but not (so far) pre prepared talks. However DS has to do his first in a couple of weeks time I see from the h/w timetable. H/w is a sore point here right now, I am really struggling to get either of them to do it (other than reading, times tables, spellings), they have a sort of termly project for each class with weekly tasks, my two both hate it even though they like the topics. It sounds as though a lot of the other families are having the same problem, I was wondering whether to talk to one of the teachers, but I don't want to sound like a moaner. They don't mind the worksheet sort of stuff but hate the creative things, even DD who love making, only wants to make her choice of things, not theirs.

Waves at everyone else, must get DCs into bed now.

Welcome back, OFM! You gave me some fab advice when DS1 was going through that awful time at primary school and I often think of it and you - thank you. Nice to have you back. No wonder you haven't had time to join in here - sounds like your RL has been a bit - er -busy! Well done at winning the first round with the LEA - that can't have been easy. And congrats on your half marathon. As for working and bringing up six children ... .

WhoKnows - DH and I both needed several stiff drinks after the party .

Nicknacks - is writing Xmas cards today's mission? I must get started. I can think about Xmas now DS2's party is over.

Toffee Not the official one but my own Xmas missions to help me get it all done and not leave a mad dash at the end! I sympatise with the late birthdays. In December I have DH, DS, DM, our wedding anniversary, plus 6 more friends/frieds kids to send cards and gifts to. Argh!

Whoknows We have the same problem in this house, DS's i am are not particularly keen on the project type of homework but don't mind reading/ worksheet type things. What yr are your DC's in?

DS is in Y3, Dd in Y1. DS struggles with his imagination anyway, but the bottom line is that they don't want to do school work at home. I don't blame them TBH.

oh ffs, i just typed out the longest bragging post and it was eaten by cyberspace. my list was pages long.

well, quite long anyway. and nearly all done!

the summary is: painters in, painting happening, house clean (in context) and all the hassle of the last two weeks has paid off as our non-profit has had the first grant proposal accepted. yay us!

be thankful for small mercies, the original post was much wordier.

now i can go and read the thread, as it had dropped off the bottom of my active convos over the weekend, and you will all have had lots to say.

Hi OFM just off to second Scout run now.

not much has changed around here...

the homework has got worse that's all I can say
as has the swearing

SCused to be someone else with SC in her name.

How are all the little ones getting on? and the big ones too. I hope dd likes Secondary and littlest is happy. Fantastic you have done the Xmas shopping, so impressed!

We have exactly the same problem with DD1, WhoKnows - was just talking to DH about what a struggle it is to get her to do absolutely anything in the way of revision etc. without shouting at getting quite strict with her. Her piano teacher asked to have a word with me today; apparently she's really struggling with reading music, knowing which hand is which etc., while DD2 is soaring ahead and she hopes she's not getting too frustrated. If she's in the right frame of mind, she can be very motivated and lovely to be with but if she's not, she can be the most awkward child imaginable. She struggles socially too, doesn't really have any close friends and is very envious of DD2, who (despite being quite shy in many situations) has plenty of friends at school and is always being invited to parties etc. We're thinking about taking her back to see the child psychologist in Vienna as I'm wondering whether it's just the dyslexia that's causing all the problems or whether there's something more.

OFM Welcome back! Great news on the LEA. And well done on your half-marathon. I've been taking a break from running thanks to a dodgy knee, and am suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

NickNacks You sound very organised wrt Christmas. I must start thinking about it soon, but I've been burying my head in the sand.

Having said that, I've just ordered my very first Christmas present (a digital photo frame for my parents, which was suggested by DH as he was so pleased with the one I gave him for his birthday - thanks to a suggestion from Toffee ) but otherwise am still in denial. DH has already bought the children far too many some presents, although we do have to buy presents for them from his parents as well (my MIL doesn't "do" shopping) so we really need to get them two sets, plus DD1's birthday is coming up as well. I was hoping she'd decide to go to the pottery studio again as it was so unstressful (if that's even a word) last year, but she informed me today that she wants to have her party at home this year.

Have just finished off the bottle of Glühwein that we won on the tombola on Saturday, but unfortunately thankfully it doesn't seem to be very alcoholic at all as I've got to get back to work now.

Hello all, especially OFM . I am a rather haphazard flyer myself these days so you're certainly not alone! Darkness soothes used to be someone else too. In fact several someone elses - I enjoy trying to 'spot' her each time I come back after falling off the thread

Anyway, this time I have fallen off the thread because I have actually been doing housework . Dh took DD and DS out for most of the day yesterday and when they came back in DD gasped and said 'oh, my house is beautery thank you mummy' and gave me a great big hug I don't think DH put her up to it

I still have quite a bit of paid work to do tonight, so can't manage a long post, but hello to all including SC, ellie, MC (are you in Sheffield then? I work just next to Meadowhall), Linzer (I am in Christmas denial too), Darkness (I am v jealous of your skating prowess. I used to go to Bradford ice rink every Friday night as a teen. Loved it but am rubbish now as have hypermobile knees/ankles. God it was grim looking back though), PA, toffee, lauren, swan, nicknacks, whoknows (enjoying your blog, glad you're starting to feel better) and everyone else I have definitely missed

Nicknacks I have a lovely (tidy, organised) friend who has quite a lot of my offloaded furniture Tbh it looks better in her house for some reason, I wonder why

I know what you mean though, who wants to have people complaining that something is slightly musty, or wobbles, or that the hinges fell off, or worse...I don't want to be responsible for some disaster...

done
Scout pickup
another load of washing
final lap of homework, read ds1 half the book of Daniel
cleared supper
and am now about to do a prophylactic uniform wash, just in case I can't find any tomorrow
off to bed...

Whoknows It is strange isn't it, it seems such a good idea to make project stuff, sometimes library books have lovely ideas in them for Celtic, Roman artefacts etc, but I think children just hate being told to Do things, unless it is in school. However, being told to make a nice model right now with ds1 instead of writign an essay does sound tempting

Push that makes me want to cry. How sweet; they appreciate tidy rooms don't they?

swan it seems so. Apparently there is lots of space now for playing with glitter and glue

Evening all.

Toffee - we're having the patio wall rebuilt in the garden as it was crumbling away. Actually, I'm not making that much tea, because the builder is our neighbour's son and his mum is supplying a lot of it!

Lady - hope you feel better tomorrow! Are you stretching/cooling down properly? Not that I'm remotely fit, or anything to comment really!

WhoKnows - glad you found a babysitter.

Madwoman - yay! Sounds good. :)

PMPY - aw, that's lovely!

Waves to everyone else. May be around more than usual tomorrow as I'm not sure if DS2 is well enough for toddlers - will have to see how he is in the morning ...