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!!

i'm still here in the background btw - just have painters crawling all over the place and so no flying to speak of, other than clearing the decks so they can get on!
they should be finished on weds, so in the words of the immortal arnie - i'll be back x

have decided that instead of paperwork, I'm going to play with sort christmas presents, work out who I still need to pay for, and wrap

Thanks so much for all the kind thoughts everyone. Actually, I've had a good day. We took MIL out for lunch for her 82nd birthday, then brought the boys home from school to have tea with her. She seemed very happy, so I have that nice feeling you get when you have done a Good Thing .

It's my stepmum I contacted today about my dad. It's hard for her today. She kept busy too.

On a more mundane level: I am very frustrated with DS1 as he seems incapable of handing in his homework. Anyone else have this problem? I have just been sticking labels all over his school diary, water bottles and pencil case, with 'Hand in your homework!' written on them, after he brought two pieces of completed homework back home for the third time. He seems to think it's enough to have done the work. Mind you, he is 'in love' with a girl in his tutor group, so maybe he just has more important things to think about .

Linzer - six children to pick up and teach . I hope you have survived!

Blue - great news about the job!

MC - hope you have a great evening. Your daughter's birth must have been quite a birthday present for your DH .

Swan - I'm going to spend some time this evening reading through old letters that my dad wrote to his parents when he was a young man. It is sad to read them now, but they are also very funny in parts, so it's quite comforting too. Good idea for you to book in a visitor for your DD tomorrow. I have also booked a visitor for DS2 in the morning and I think DS1 is arranging something.

Lauren - I love Christmas shopping too - particularly Christmas clothes shopping for me . Can't believe you are actually wrapping presents already though. I have this weird thing that I like to keep looking at the presents I've bought until the last minute, however that is very unFlylady of me, so I will try to wrap early this year.

Madwoman - ooh, enjoy it when the painters go and you have your house back.

Must go and get DS2 into bed and remind him of the reward he'll get if he keeps quiet again at bedtime tonight (third night running - cross fingers).

Bye all.

.

Just catching up and to say to toffee that i am thinking of you today. Anniversaries like that are never easy but in time become more bearable. It is 11 years since my dad died and now the anniversary is a celebration rather than a commemoration iyswim. ((hugs))

I have had the most stupendously busy month and there is no sign of a let up. However, i must be better in December as the mother is coming for Christmas. Only 24 hrs but she will notice everything .

Toffee I have exactly that problem with ds1 - sometimes it seems to be that the teachers don't want to take it in...but I can never be sure whether ds1 should have insisted and waved it at them. Sometimes I can see he feels a bit miffed it wasn't marked/taken in after blood sweat and tears have been expended meeting deadlines. His RE book has only just been marked after six weeks and the teacher swooped down out of the blue and took it in, not even when something was due so I'm not sure what was going on there History book has not been marked for ages either. Teachers on another thread explained there is a marking cycle which can be up to three weeks.
That must be quite an emotional journey to have your Dad's old letters. I think my dad is very much aware of march of time, and he keeps showing us his old school books and diaries in an effort to remind us of his true self when he was young.
Your MIL must be so relieved that all the traumas of last year are over and she is so close.
I never dare wrap presents till much later a) because I forget what's inside, b)I sometimes need to change the contents . A cousin drops all her presents round in October I suspect that solves the problem of last minute agonisings...That drives me mad, as I've lost them by December in some cubbyhole...

oh, toffee, homework ...
i was chatting to ds1's teacher the other day and she asked if he was actually doing his homework, as she doesn't ever see any evidence of it in class.

this is the child whose target was to write everything down in his agenda, and make sure he was following his own instructions. his agenda? still completely empty.

we have to remind him about 14 times to do his homework. some days he has forgotten it and left it at school and doesn't know what it is, some days we have to argue for 45 minutes about the teacher's intentions wrt a particular worksheet. i can (sort of) make him do the darned stuff, but i sure as hell can't hand it in for him. lol at him being in lurve though. aw.

done
macaroni cheese with pancetta and purple broccoli on the side
watercress soup
strawberries and cream/Polish cherry choc hearts
dd to impromptu birthday outing of friend
dss to football

Complete mess everywhere!!! and children are now so loud that dh has given up playing Articulate with them I think it is too late for everyone and the thought of day off has tipped the balance into insanity. Dd is now screamign her head off...

Toffee I wish there was someone for ds to fall in love with.. unfortunately all boys...
ds2 has asked his favourite girl to go Go-Karting..she has not suprisingly refused

evening all

have only just stopped, having been on the go since 6am am slightly knackered!
However did manage a sursprising ammount of FLYing after work/school pick up, despite (or maybe because of?) DH not being home and having to do all the bedtime routine for all dc alone!
so have managed:

Up, dressed,breakfasted me and 6DC
half preped veg and pots for sausage casserole
Rebotted laundry
room rescuing my room
cleared breakfast stuff
school/nursery run ( which took forever due to all traffic in Sheffield being at a standstill due to spilled marmite on the M1 )
work - usual mayhem! (but was thanked for my "fantastic hard work" in recent ongoing crisis!)
school pick up/nursery pick up
home
painted salt dough decs with glittery paint with DC
dinner - sausage casserole
put up chritmas decorations in Kitchen assisted by DC !
cleared dinner table/loaded DW
re-booted laundry
cleaned kitchen surfaces
swept and mopped dining room, hall and kitchen
bathed littlies
tidied littlies room
story time
bed for littlies
found cardboard box for dd2 for school
collapsed on sofa!

swan yes I agree school routine is major stress factor

toffee hope your day passes OK with keeping busy

*blueeyeshadow_ good news about job

mc impressive list

linzer hope teaching went OK

whoknows your evening yesterday sounds like my worst nightmare! I can't even contemplate going out on a school night any more LOL (next week will be awful for me as I'm out Tue,Weds and Fri evening at various DC shows and the thought keeps sending me into panic!)

fuzzled hope ds is better today

right...waves to anyone I've missed...
now need to chill for 1/2 hour before falling into bed! At least a slower start tomorrow as I am off with dds2,3and 4 tomorrow morning, although have to go to work in afternoon so they are going to after school club....
am hoping to get some sorting done on the tip that is the upstairs before work...fingers crossed!

BBtomorrow

OK, this is not going so well tonight. First, DS2 called out that he felt really ill. I told him, very firmly, that he was not ill and needed to go to sleep. Now he's on the loo, which could take some time...

It's such a relief to hear that other people have the same issues with homework, Madwoman and Swan. I was getting so frustrated and cross with DS1, but maybe this is not unusual for a 12 year old - particularly one who is in love. (He's absolutely serious about this, btw. He asked her out twice at the start of term, but she said no . Since then, she has 'been out' with three boys . She's 12, FFS. I was playing with dolls at that age. Anyway, I am feeling surprisingly protective towards DS1 as she is now asking him if he fancies her and I suspect she is just collecting admirers Oh lord, it's all so painful to watch.)

Madwoman - that's so comforting to hear that your son is just as bad with his homework! My son has a diary, like your son's agenda, which is blank apart from the odd teacher's note and reminders from me. I have no idea what would make him fill it in.

Had no idea there was a 'marking cycle', Swan. All I know is that I reminded Ds1's tutor today that he was bringing in the homework (emailed him) and I reminded DS1 to hand it in and neither of them did anything about it, even though they spent an hour together in tutor time. I give up, really I do. It's lovely that your dad is showing you his old diaries etc, but I'm sure it unsettles you too as it's the sort of thing you do as time marches on, which you obviously don't want to think about. It's good that he's sharing those things with you though and probably very important to him.

Lol at you losing the early Christmas presents . I recently found some old Easter eggs under our bed that my MIL had given me for the boys months before last Easter .

Ellie - it's good to know that anniversaries change over time. In a way, I wish I didn't remember this date. It was so traumatic at the time - I'd rather forget it all. Still, maybe it serves a purpose to remember, even though it doesn't feel good. It is different though, even just three years' on. Not as hard, definitely.

Have finally persuaded DS2 to get off the potty (which he still loves at 6) and go to bed. He was 'reading' the 'Literary Review'! Very advanced for his age, don't you know .

Off to watch telly with DS1 now - and drink . DH is at the pub and will roll back after closing time, which means I may get a rare hour or two to myself .

OFM - I missed your post. All I can say is ... respect. Huge respect. I really don't know how you do it all. I don't think I could come home and make glittery salt dough and put up Xmas decs with 6 children after working all day. You are either very, very young (by which I mean, not as ancient as me ) or have been genetically blessed with an extraordinary level of energy.

This week is going to totally suck and i will be glad for the end of it.

Wednesday is antiprocrastination day

missions

babystep is to just keep flying Although seem to have lost a babystep somewhere sorry.

ofm yes the marmots caused us problems this morning.

Great evening but dd only just gone to bed, I am following, will catch up tomorrow.

Wow OFM amazing lists once again!!

Glad you had an okay day considering the circumstances toffeefudge

Waves to ellie darkness swan blue mc whoknows and everyone else!!

Today's list:

Clean bathroom
Hoover
I do today's mission every home bleugh so that doesn't apply
Kitchen hotspot
Recycling

That's it today, keeping it simple as playgroups are closed due to strike have a nice day everyone!

Morning all,

Just a quick post as, if I'm not careful, I'll suddenly find I've spent half the morning on MN.

Darkness Thanks for the links.

Toffee Hope your DS got to sleep OK in the end; he's been doing so well, but I suppose the odd setback is inevitable.

OFM How do you manage to get twice as much done as me with twice as many children? I'm seriously impressed.

Blue Great news on the job.

I've decided that I need to tackle one room at a time (as FlyLady teaches, of course) - hopefully that way I'll see results more quickly and be more motivated. At the moment I seem to spend all my time tidying and don't have any time or energy left for decluttering. I've been focusing on the living room today and yesterday - a happy coincidence that it's the right zone, as I'd already decided that was the room that needed to be tackled anyway since it's where we spend most time with visitors. I may even have a look at the mission , which I haven't done for weeks.

Two of this week's lessons prepared, one to go, and then I'll probably need coffee get cracking.

Toffee I know what makes my son fill in his diary. His tutor takes it in on Thurs and checks if it is filled in and signed off by parents. First three weeks it was checked every day. Detention follows if not filled in/signed off. But they have all these little odds and sods of homework so I think he would go crazy if he didn't have some record. [wishes I could incentivize myself in same fashion [blush - for some reason I still believe I can remember everything and have this superstitious dread of writing things in the right place]

Bad night sleep. Dreamt Ds1 was in a race and didn't get to finish line, whilst another child was being cheered on by all the parents According to Radio 2, all dreams are not about other people at all, but entirely about oneself, so ds1 is probably me or my parental expectations.

So, everyone is now watching telly [cheery]
I need to tidy kitchen which is truly disgusting, put out rubbish which is ditto, and rejoice that I booked my holiday tickets to Eire. Just short break after Xmas to visit gps, and B and SIL/baby (who are staying there). Have booked dd to come with me, I suspect by that point she will be glad to get away from her brothers and see babies and dogs.

Hello, don't have time to read and write but just wanted to say

TA DAH!

Ahhh, that feels good.

Will read through the posts later.
all round

Morning

At some point yesterday a bomb of toys and clothes and cards went off in my lounge so major tidying in there today. Also kitchen needs sorting and a few bits of shopping. Dd is playing with her toys that she got for her birthday and I think I might do a bit of cooking. Have a sore throat and feeling a little Bleur today so I'm not going to go mad today.

Right off to get a nice big cup of tea and to catch up

Will someone make a decision over who is going to run next months thread please. Ta.

You know those weeks where stuff keeps being thrown at you and you just don't have enough hands or copies of you?

Ds broke his glasses, he needs to be in two places at once and missing out on the fun thing he wants to do due to stupid school shit Stuff school require them to be involved in. :( tbh I have been considering saying NO to it but it would be a problem if all his peers do it and he doesn't. Extra gutted for him though.

And I have lost 2 important letters one i need for 1pm today and the other to find out where i am supposed to be and when on friday.

Anyhow popped on for this reminder for the organised ones Don't forget to find out the advent calanders for tomorrow

Hope you have good flying days.

Linzer - haven't looked at the missions either despite posting the links Just haven't time to get them done with everything else.

Right must turn computer off and get moving. C. B.. A...

I should be working now I have work to do! Why am I making a photo book for DH's grandparents and MNing instead?!

If no one else wants to, I'll start a new thread later. Will need someone to take it over from the 22nd though.

Waves to all.

I am happy to take over from the 22nd. Will give me something to do when boy free over the christmas period and wondering if this split christmas thing is a good idea Besides I think the thread will be pretty dead as everyone will be enjoying themselves too much

I know i said i was going. found one important letter though.

morning all
morning progressing OK. am at home with dd's2,3and 4 and ds1. DD1 had to go to school for rehearsals for school musical (next week) and is gutted to not get an extra day off!
I'm dropping girls to holiday club after lunch as I have to go to work....so really need to get on LOL

So far have done:
up,breakfasted dressed etc
tidied kitchen
swept floors
rebooted laundry
ds2 to nursery
4 mile run - whilst ds1 was available to babysit!
home, showered dressed
rebooted laundry
tidied littlies room
dusted and hoovered littlies room, landing and stairs
bathroom S&S

now going to:
make tuna pasta for lunch
sweep floors again!!
take girls to holiday club
go to work
home
tea???
internet stuff

right BBL

done
recycling
received 200 PTA presents for £2.50 gift stall to wrap

zero tolerance on ds1 shouting too! feel a bit more authorititive
made him make himself his own sandwich too!

dd is happily playing upstairs with friend

I am still pondering Xmas presents...better give up and do tidying instead.
and possibly get dressed

what's for lunch- taken pork chops out of freezer, with orange and baked potatoes I think and broccoli/salad.

I love antiprocrastination day, it really gets my arse in gear.

Have at long last:

Painted DD ceiling with special anti condensation paint in the parts where it goes mouldy (scrubbed mould a week ago)
Booked hair appointments for DD and me for next month
Climbed into the loft and gone through 5 binbags worth of Christmas dec's to find the fabric Advent calendar - DD would have been devastated had i not had one for her tomorrow. Have filled it with choc santas and tiny wooden tree dec's as she has her own little tree in her room; which i also had to find in the loft.

Went to the gym this morning after school drop off - seems we are the only school open today in our area (took 3 mins to drive there instead of 10 and it was raining too)Impressed with your 4mile run OverFlowingMum

Have dusted and polished the lounge/diner in preparation for dec's going up on Saturday.
Fiddled around with photo frames as they have been in a pile for ages since we have been decorating and i had stopped noticing them. Still need to hang some of them and buy a couple of new ones but almost there.

See you all soon and hope you all have a good day

My lounge is worse than first thing this morning.