Fledglings dreaming of a FLY Christmas - December's fledgling flyers thread

[BlueEyeshadow]

Welcome flyers one and all, old and new, to the December thread! As the advent calendars go up, let's beat the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) and FLY through Christmas into the New Year (or have a go at it, anyway...)!

We take a three-pronged approach (and a large pinch of salt) to the FLYlady system:

-babysteps
-babysteps and 15 mins' decluttering
-babysteps and missions

The website is here: FlyLady - if you haven't had a look at it for a while it's worth a gander as the design and layout have changed for the better recently.

Whatever you do, though, don't sign up for the emails or your inbox will be bursting within seconds. Or so I'm led to believe... I will post the links to the babystep and mission for each day (the first ones to follow this evening) and there'll be plenty of chat, , and along the way.

A big thank you to Darkness for leading us through November with so much fun!

Go-karting was great fun, we went in a taxi, got lost in country lanes, and I was thinking of you Nicknacks - I felt as if I was in the countryside, yet it was so near (if I drove on motorways)
Only scary bit was worrying about friend's PFB in the go-kart, and inevitably his go-kart didn't work, and when it did work, he crashed it and hurt his foot Anyway I hope it wasn't a lingering wrench, but just a temporary bash.
Next batch of children 8 year olds (a party)were incredibly good at go-karting and whizzed round the track. I asked rather horseyofficious/glamorous looking mother if they ski-ed, and that was the reason they seemed to be able to steer at speed . Oh yes, was the reply, they all ski All eight of them [dumbfounded] Am I missing something in my children's ex-curricular actvities...?(I'm not counting you Linzer and *Madwoman because ski-ing is local)
Anyway the stress of going ski-ing and worrying about broken bones (and DH hates it too).

Unfortunately we then back home in plenty of time for the Fayre. Dh rang me from the fair to say there was NO MULLED WINE on offer, and he could see that the oranges and wine were sitting on the side untouched, and my nerve broke and I was about to admit I was actually in England, and rush round and make it. Luckily then he found the stall and bought some He hates the Fair and only went because dd was in the choir; mulled wine is the only way he can get through it.
Only Four more non-religious Christmas events to go. 2 plays, 2 concerts. I pantomine next weekend.

Toffee your ds sounds like he is such a great time at his new school and has fallen in with a lovely group, you must be so relieved and proud too.

OFM I hope you are alright this weekend and didn't come down with a nasty bug. I think everyone has their breaking point, and then illness strikes.
I'm trying my best to avoid getting stressed this Xmas, it is truly ridiculous how I am beginning to dread this whole season just through worrying about all the events/planning etc.

morning.

Thanks for the round up blue.

didnt manage to get to bed before midnight last night. in fact it was a distgusting 5am before i got to bed fabulous night though. Just about to get up and get moving.

Just hoping that this month is a bit calmer then last month. House is starting to look christmasy. Decorations going up, including tree. Want to get that finished this weekend so that the boxes can go back in the loft and be out of the way.

Still got some tidying up and decluttering to do too. SO list for today looks like this:
sort out collection of stray bits on windowsil
sort out stuff for tip/recycling and charity shop
kitchen
dining room
utility room
laundry - kit from last night and the dirty laundry that came out of ds' bag which i forgot to unpack last weekend and discovered when i packed this weekend.
I also have some wrapping up to do before ds gets back tomo.

Suppose i should grab a coffee and shower and get moving. Nice to wake up smiling though.

Oh dear oh dear

apologies for being awol this week but hope you are all OK

Thank heavens for Blue's magnificent round-ups or I'd be totally lost

A warm welcome to all newcomers and congratulations to Linzer's dh and to MC for their new jobs!

I fear I deserve this thread's "most fraudulent Flyer" award ...

Have completely fallen off wagon

Cake-baking last Sunday went brilliantly (thank you for asking Swan and thanks for weighing out tips - fortunately had employed 'animatrice' who had done it all before and could help with any language difficulties - wouldn't have attempted baking with that number of dc all by myself!). But even with her help felt completely cream-crackered afterwards. Dc had great fun though which was the main thing.

Downstairs in fairly good shape. Home office and basement already bad and now suffering further from all the junk thrown in to clear halls and landings last week.

We've all got colds. Dd has just endured an entire week of exams - a lot of stress for an 8 yr old but she could have helped herself a bit by doing a modicum of revision (!) and she has one more lot to go on Monday. Cleaner off sick. Fortnightly ironing lady proving unreliable. Dishwasher waiting for replacement pump. So domesticity levels teetering on brink of total collapse!

This morning I've gone through the humiliating experience of trying on seven potential 'going out' dresses and none of them fit. (We are invited to loads of Christmas get togethers at this time of year and I always try to have one complete 'going out' outfit ready by 1 December with accessories/bag/shoes/tights all ready to go.) But cannot find ANYTHING that vaguely fits never mind flatters. Went out shopping with Trinny and Tranny attitude of "whatever your figure, you can find something to make it look good" and have come back with the attitude "oh no I can't, I look like a sack of potatoes and only radical weight loss and exercise will help"

Have also come to the conclusion that everything I need to achieve next year:

diet and fitness
decluttering of house
personal study to change career
improvement in language(s) study

will be solitary endeavours requiring humungous amounts of self-discipline

and er, I don't have any

Any suggestions/strategies/advice gratefully received!

Sorry for yet another whinge-a-thon!! Got to go and rake leaves on the lawn before all the light goes. Frantic waves to you lovely lot - enjoy the weekend!

SC Sorry to hear you've had a rather stressful time recently. Only time for a quick post now as I'm supposed to be entertaining DD2 and DS while DH helps DD1 revise for yet another test but I've found that breaking my resolutions up into smaller goals (i.e. decluttering one room at a time and rewarding yourself each time you've finished a room) really helps.

Diet - I struggle with this; my diet isn't really unhealthy but could be a lot better (complete lack of variety and I only ever snack on chocolate, biscuits and other sweet things). My aim is to start menu planning properly again.

Fitness - it may sound obvious, but find something you enjoy doing! (This took me years.) I was surprised to discover that I actually enjoy running, and found that the Couch to 5k programme really helped - again, it's about breaking things up into small manageable goals.

Personal study - maybe set aside half an hour (or even just the magic 15 minutes ) a day to work on this.

Language study - ditto. This is something else I keep meaning to do - I have an unopened Italian course (that I bought over a year ago ) and also keep meaning to brush up my Norwegian, but somehow there always seem to be so many other things to do.

How about a reward chart with stickers for daily exercise/15 minutes of study/something diet-related, etc. I'm thinking that it wouldn't be such a bad idea for me either.

SC I feel like I have been self medicating this year with cake and bread, and taken very little exercise (apart for briefly taking up running with ds1 until he broke his arm)
It is a mindset however to think one has "failed".
Also I am always struck by how beauty and glamour is not really to do with dress size. I see it in the school playground - that lowering of expectation. I am going to try to find clothes that suit me as I am now, not what suited me when I was size 12.
Anyway I will join you in trying harder. Do ask your Dh for support though, don't let him fob you off, say that you need/want time/support to achieve your goals find inner peace beattheglamBelgiansattheirowngame eat less rich food Men are surprisingly obtuse that such things actually matter to us. Dh has a habit of offering me chocolate and wine second helpings , and not realising that I don't want to be tempted

done
sorted out the dreaded yard, and swept it
Dd has designed a Xmas card for her teacher
switched telly off
Dh has taken ds1 to football match at Queens Park Rangers ground (I think)

One Xmas party so far tonight. I have refused the invite, cannot face trying to look glamorous, also feel too deaf to cope with party chatter So SC you are already very brave to go to lots of functions. Bet you are very "sortable" (is that the word?)

I don't think I'm ever invited to anything where I'm required to look glamorous. DD1's class Advent party looks like being the highlight of the run-up to Christmas.

SC I think the cut of the season has a lot to do with it. I went to a brithday party the other week and was told I had lost weight. I haven't I have actually put on weight. but i was wearing a top I had made myself so the cut worked. At the moment I look larger then I am and feel frumpy simply because the fashion numptys has it in their head we all need to be wearing the same shite cut.

I also need to lost weight. A significant amount of weight. Which is surprising with the amount of exercise I do. However, my diet is shit when I actually eat and as for sleep hahahahahahahahahahahahah and it has been proven that lack of sleep affects/effects the ability of the body to process food correctly so you put on more weight then if you had been doing the same thing when getting sleep. iyswim.

I have several goals for next year including sorting out a proper sleeping pattern, proper eating pattern. And cutting out the sodding caffine that means that I can attempt to function. it has got to rediculous proportions again.

linzer Jeg og. Jeg være ute av trening og øvelse gjør mester. Although I would settle for being able to understand and have a conversation. Perfection is not going to be achieved from this starting point. Been meaning to do this for years. .

Tired and cba creeping in. Need some more upbeat music I think.

Or should that say Min Norsk være ute av trening?

Hi everyone, and thanks blue for the round up.
Tada list:

menu plan mostly done
planned lunch for family lunch tomorrow and wrote list
up-to-date with work (DH took kids swimming)
up to date with our weekly spending records (we're writing down everything we spend at the moment, it's a surprisingly useful excercise)
sent a couple of texts I needed to send
made cakes for tomorrow and washed up
dinner out of freezer to defrost
cooked odd but yummy lunch using bread crusts, tuna, cheeses and egg and milk - sort of savory bread and butter pudding.

I feel bad I'm not sending out more personals, but I only hve time to quickly speed - read each time I log in!
This evening - do food shop, plan uni work. I need to finish the menu plan before I go shopping, but at least as it's Sat eve I'll get some good bargains!

Also, have discovered this nice blog, which, along with flylady, will help me keep on track:
zenhabits.net/

SC - good to see you back. I second Linzer's eminently sensible advice - you need to break it all down into smaller steps (very Flylady) and start focusing on your achievements, not your supposed failings.

Swan - yes, it is such a relief to see DS1 so happy at school - such a contrast with his last year at primary. I just hope the friendships continue as there is always the risk they will go wrong. Interestingly, I have discovered - through my son's CBT sessions - that his OCD habits go away when he is with his friends. The therapist links it with confidence, so when he is happy and confident (and distracted) he doesn't need to perform the reassuring rituals anymore.

I self-medicate with diet and wine too, Swan - it's my reward for rushing through every day, coping with all the stuff that needs doing. I think when you don't have much free time, eating and drinking are easy ways to reward yourself instead. When DS1 was little, I used to hide in the kitchen and eat a bar of chocolate once a day. I felt like I never had a moment to myself, but at least I could enjoy a few minutes of sugary chocolate heaven.

I'm rubbish at taking exercise, although I do walk everywhere (it helps that I can't drive). I keep meaning to do pilates or dance, but never seem to get round to it. I think the truth is that I'd always rather not bother. Thought of running, but my knee is bad and I'm waiting for an op, so I have a real excuse not to run.

I lconfess that I love trying to look glamorous. I even dressed up for DS2's Club Penguin party . I was the only mum there teetering around in heels. But I was determined to wear a new Next dress I'd bought and it was the only opportunity I had.

Deck - that's interesting that lack of sleep affects the body's ability to process food. So if I managed to get to bed at a decent hour I might lose my tummy and not have to breathe in all the time (particularly in that new Next dress)?

Spent this morning at the hairdressers, being chopped and coloured, then went Christmas shopping. Had given strict instructions to DH not to ring me up and pester me about when I was coming back, so I had a lovely time doing some Christmas shopping for the boys' stockings. Home in time to take DS2 out to his school Christmas fair. He's now playing with a toy bus that cost us all of 30p.

Must put the laundry away, then go and put dinner on. That's about the extent of my Flying today.

Abirdinthehand - just read the bit in that blog about establishing new habits - I'm going to come back and read more later. Very interesting - thanks.

Ooo will look at that blog later.

yeah yeah. I know I have a very bad habit. but at least it stayed the same for a whole month. I did warn you it wasn't a permeant name. Not sure i am too keen on this either might have to keep thinking rename thingy.

That blog looks really interesting abird - must have a proper look later when I have a bit more time.

Ouch Well personally, I would say jeg være ute av trening - but I'm sure your Norwegian is far better than mine (hardly difficult). I have been inspired to have a look at my Teach Yourself Norwegian course (written by my lovely Norwegian teacher) and have learned a useful new phrase: jeg liker hvitvin. (wrong colour)

Toffee Self-medicating with wine and chocolate sounds all too familiar - I tend to turn to the Nutella jar when I'm feeling stressed. I'm trying to cut down my alcohol consumption so that I'm only drinking at weekends (including Fridays), but DH will keep opening bottles of wine...

Anyway, had better go and help DH put the DC to bed before he comes up and finds me on the computer and gives me the look.

Ah, there you are one and all! I've been forced off the computer as my laptop conked out a few days ago. Amazing how productive I was while unable to log on! Now posting from an old, very slow mac, quite frustrating but determined to mark my spot on here again!

You lot have done some serious chatting over only 3 days!

So far I've seen Bird, Weevils, Donkey, Chitchat as newbies, so waves to all! I'm sure I've missed a few as I haven't read through everything.

But I did gather that MC got a new job, so well done!

Quite surprised at how many Norwegian speakers are on this thread?

Linzer I made the huge mistake of buying a Nutella jar for my dd1 who I thought needed a few more calories with this freezing weather (She'd be on an Atkins/protein only diet if she could have it her way!!!) but obviously I've been putting a fair bit of it away myself....

I need to work on the menu planning (still!) but will also read through the links and new habit when I get a chance.

Big waves to all, hope you are all having a good weekend, hope I haven't missed any other big news with my skim reading.

linzer i think you are probably more fluent. My dictionary might have been fetched off the shelf. And might have been put into usage.
Jeg høre, jeg forstår mer but it depends on Nynorsk vs Bokmål. I lack vocabularly and usage. Never had to, so whilst the exposure was there, usage hasn't been. need to sort that though. So i will bow to your superior language skills.

As there's no way I could have come up with the sentence you wrote Ouch, even with the aid of a dictionary, I suspect not. I may have been able to hold a very basic conversation 15 years ago but not any more. Our teacher was quite dismissive of Nynorsk and I found it highly confusing to be suddenly told that we were only learning one form of Norwegian and that there was also a second.

At any rate, I have been amusing myself this evening by finding a variety of "useful" phrases in my Teach Yourself book. Here's a good one: Trollet var under broen (the troll was under the bridge).

Do you like my Christmas nickname and do you know who I am usually? ;)

evening all
MC whoohoo for job. well done!
swan go-kartying sounds good, and well done to DH for locating mulled wine and surviving fair!
sc hope next weel proves a little less stressful....little steps remember

well I can happily report that DD1 is better, it was indeed a migraine and not a bug -phew-
I am also feeling better today after a good night's sleep, so horray!
Today has been a bit busy, limited FLYing only!
Dancing class for DD2 and 3 this morning, followed by Christmas Fair at DS2 nursery which turned into a bit of a disaster as it turned out there were lots of very nice, but very ££££, stalls selling lovely but £££££ stuff, and all dc did their usual of all demanding this that and the other all at once in very rude ways which was not really possible as it wasnt the usual 20p rubbish bric-a-brac that is at the school fair....sigh...
Then dispatched DS1 to opticians with DH....

have managed a bit of washing(not nearly enough!) and tidied endlessly yet house still is a tip (thats the trouble when it is full of 6dc all day LOL) and made 2 dozen mince pies....

need to try and get more organised tomorrow, but am starting the day with the "Percy Pud 10K Run" where I get to run 10K in the freezing cold at 9.30 in the morning and get a christmas pudding at the end of it!!!Not sure why I thought signing up for that one was a good idea - I dont even like Christmas pudding that much LOL Still it will at least wake me up for the day!

right...need to go sort a bit more stuff then try to get an early night.

BBtomorrow

Cool, I'm glad some others like that blog too - I showed it to DH and even he found it interesting, and he hates blogs!
Shopping done. Now unpack, shine sink, do some food prep for tomorrow if I can, go to be at decent hour.
First a cup of green tea - I drink so much tea tht I worked out the milk in it must add sgnificantly to my fat intake every day so bought lots of green ad herbal at the shops!

OFM - glad you are feeling better.

DS2 (6) said this evening that he didnt' believe in Father Christmas . I asked him who brought him the presents then and he pointed at me and said, "YOU!" I said: what on earth do you mean? What gave you that idea? He said he had been listening to the big boys talking last night.

He wants us to set up a webcam to video Father Christmas on Christmas Eve. He says this is the only thing that will convince him.

I'm not ready to let go of the Father Christmas myth in this household. Any ideas?

didn't

Hi JOMT (waves back)

Toffee - Deck is right about sleep, it's essential for all sorts of functions. It's funny how we all make sure our little 'uns get plenty of naps, and then we stay up til stupid o'clock ourselves. Also, skipping meals won't help if you're watching your weight, it just makes your metabolism sluggish.

Deck - I reduced my caffeine intake when I was pregnant, Kenco and Tetleys decaf versions are really good. Decaf tea is hit and miss, Typhoo's is awful but Tetleys is really good, I think you'd be hard pressed to spot the difference. I do have caffeine sometimes but mostly still have decaf, because when I went back to normal stuff I found it kept me awake even if I hadn't had a drink since 5pm.

I'm also having a posh dress dilemma. I've got 10lb of baby weight still to lose, and we've had a "do" sprung on us next week. I currently have the most amazing cleavage I've ever had (not blessed in that department), and one of the few dresses I can get into is somewhat low cut, but I'm pale and pasty and feel a bit self-conscious.

In other news, I got the kitchen tidied and the laundry done, but that's about it. I think it's nearly Baileys o'clock.

Linzer - sleepovers at age 4 - nooooooo!!!!!

Thank you for your welcomes, everyone.

So we're supposed to do a Ta Da list?

Here goes!!

Ta Da:

• Shined my sink!!! (Shone my sink???)

• finished ironing and putting away 4 baskets of clothing

-1 coat of paint on the ceiling of the spare room (sorry, need to include my decorating as it's so important at the moment and so very difficult to juggle with cleaning)

• kitchen and dining room are tidier at the end of the day then they were at the beginning of the day (at the moment that's as much as I can hope for!!!)

-Shined my sink again (although there were times in the day when it wasn't gleaming.... )

Now looking at Day 2 habits, I'm supposed to get up and get dressed straight away... but the only way to do that is to put everything in the ensuite bathroom so that I don't wake DH as I tend to get up earlier than him on weekends. Sigh.... I'd better go and up sort my outfit for tomorrow out then.

But just doing some self medicating with a glass of Rose Sancerre and some Quality Street chocolates first !!!