fledglings falling out of the nest thread

[IceColdBitchy]

Ok So a new year a new thread.
You know the ropes flying the fledgling way.
Decluttering 15mins at a time in each zone.
Babysteps and missions.

Sunday is renew your spirit day and seeing as today is new years days I hope there aren't too many evil hangovers in existance.

Babystep 1: shine you shine. yes we know this one but do you shine it the fat fairy way? cant remember? check here

And for a treat as it is sunday no mission.

Oh and can i just may 2012 bring you productive decluttering and flying so your houses step closer to those of your dreams and house work no longer be that evil monster that dominates.

Honu Two of my timers (including my favourite) were from shops here, which wouldn't be much use to you, but I also bought one from Lakeland. It's probably expensive for what it is and I haven't tried it out yet so can't really comment on it. It's too big to put in your pocket, however, and I don't think it vibrates either. Otherwise, I sometimes use the timer on my phone and the HomeRoutines app also has a 15 minute timer.

Lifebegins Good luck with the decluttering. I find childhood/sentimental items among the hardest to declutter.

Have been to Aldi and managed to pick up lots of cheap laminating pouches as well as the hanging wall organisers, so that was an added bonus. If only I'd known, I wouldn't have ordered the pouches from Amazon yesterday (the pouches themselves were cheaper, but postage from Germany really pushed the price up).

Now about to make a and do some last-minute preparation for today's school English lessons.

Sympathies on the lack of sleep, ChitChat. Hope you can relax a bit after you've finished mopping, scrubbing and moving furniture...

Yes, I'd forgotten that I can configure the noise that the timer on my phone makes when it finishes. If I wanted to, I could set it to Bark or Duck and scare myself witless.

Morning all!

linzer and toffee I'm fine with joining monster thread! And thanks for offering to lead linzer!

Hope ds is feeling better chitchat

To do:
DD to jingle tots
Hoover
Walk dogs
Contract signing with new mindee (makes me full again)
Today's mission and yesterday's
Put DD clothes in storage and dust her room
Laundry
Pick up dog poo
Friend coming to visit

BBL

Thanks for offering to lead next month, Linzer - I must have missed your previous post. I knew what you meant when you pointed out the typo, don't worry. It made me smile.

DS1 has taken his second tablet effortlessly. However, he says he'd much rather not take the tablets and just not go to school . I daren't venture onto the home education pages or I'll be flamed. Anyway, we are having a very nice pretend home ed day today. I asked individual teachers at his school to send me some work for him so he doesn't fall behind - and they have ! And this is after I was told they wouldn't be able to do this. So DS1 now has to learn all about sequences and function machines (I have looked up the latter and am bewildered. It just looks like a way of complicating adding and taking away to me!). And Roman gladiators. I'm going to be so popular with him when he finds out.

Off to the library with him in a minute. Am not meeting my book targets this morning (tsk tsk). Or my Flying targets, come to that.

Doing WAH job so only popping in while report compiles.

Day has not been good - see here for the reason.

Kindof put me off doing anything else today, but I need to make up a menu and a shopping list, so will do that when job is done.

May be back later when not feeling sick and shaky.

Flying - sending and s your way.
If it helps my DH managed to break DS's leg when he was 3.6 They were messing about doing climbing/balancing stuff and when he let him go he was a bit too high I think - result - spiral fracture of tibia, 8 weeks in plaster and DS happily telling everyone who would listen that "Daddy dropped me"!
Think DH will always feel terrible about it but life happens. DS (now 6) is quite proud of his broken leg story

Another weird night last night but DS1 seemed fine this morning and has gone to school. So, have done:

Aldi shop and put away
Laundry washed and dried
DS2 to 2-year check
Popped in to neighbour
Lunch

No flying though, and DS2 is currently refusing to have a nap despite his eyes being red-rimmed with exhaustion. He's normally a very good napper too. Grr.

Feeling better.

DS is still napping (3 hours now!) but his teeth are bugging him so Calpol probably responsible.

Have GUTTED (f)utility room so I can get in and sorted the locked cleaning cupboard so I can find things. Big bag of rubbish for the tip which I'll do on the way to the supermarket so DH can't reclaim anything

Also managed to do a towel wash and after lunch will do a cleaning cloth wash as utility room was mankier than I thought! I still need to mop in there, but need to hoover first so will hoover once DS is up and then mop this evening when I do the kitchen if I can be arsed.

Supermarket this afternoon - oh joy!

Hiya all!

Hope your ds got some work done ok and without too much angst toffee

flying I'm on my phone so can't follow your thread but based on feets anecdote (which made me by the way) would it help to hear that DD (1) is sporting a black eye after banging her cheek on Monday? I've had it checked out btw just incase!

Ta da:
DD to jingle tots
Hoovered
Had a meeting with home office person doing a crime survey( I got free stamps for this )
Contract signing with new mindee
Napped when DD napped

So not much flying!! Paperwork later too so flying fail! I'll open up the naughty bar!

Toffee, function machines and (wait for it) inverse function machines are precursors for learning how to solve equations a year or two down the line .

I now know why Flylady wrote about body clutter (not that I've read it, you understand). Flying is like dieting - you miss a morning routine / eat chocolate, then don't do home blessing / go out for a piggy meal - and the whole thing falls apart. I have boxes of part-sorted stuff (not clutter) everywhere, and flying has just flown out of the window.

Hi Flying

erm.... I managed to let my toddler put her hand on a hot electric hob while cooking because I was holding her in my arms and distracted (it had been a particularly rough night with her and it was in the early hours while I made her porridge).
Cue rush to A&E, then referred to specialist burns unit, rush there, and weekly trips for dressing hand for 4 weeks, while they had to peel her skin and cream it each time - cue much screaming.
So. Imagine. My. Guilt!!!!!
The very nice nurse said not to be offended if social services called as it was normal procedure, actually they never did.

Didn't put this on your other thread as I don't want to make too public! Also it will make me quite easily identifiable.

Sounds to me like you are more worried than anything because of that nosey friend of yours than anything else. Well don't worry, even if it does come to that I think health professionals would probably have the sense to dismiss her claims.

Anyhow...
Linzer and Toffee
I think that's a great idea about the thread. It does feel a bit silly now that we are over the initial shock of the monster thread to continue... The more the merrier! (But more confusing, probably!!!)
Thanks for leading!!! I promise I'll have my turn one of these months.

Re: Flying
Well, still feeling rough and didn't sleep again because of cold, But I did that hour yesterday which made a massive difference.

Love the 15 minute thing... I got loads done in an hour!

But now I'm going to bed.... I hope.

Evening all,

Tiring day for various reasons - I ended up teaching for half an hour longer as DD1's teacher was off sick and there was no one to cover for her, had the usual nightmare with DS and the ice skating lessons (have decided to let him off the last two weeks as he's obviously not enjoying it and I'm fed up with the teacher's comments about how clingy he is), the usual rush between ice skating and first communion, and then work to fit in this evening. Have just rewarded myself for surviving everything with so feel slightly better now!

justonemore What happened to your DD sounds very similar to an accident my goddaughter had last year, when she managed to pour a hot pot of tea all over herself. The burns looked just awful on the photos, but you can hardly see anything now. Horribly traumatic for all concerned, though - the parents as much as the child.

Honu Boxes of part-sorted stuff sounds awfully familiar. Sometimes I'm just tempted to throw it all away. However, the two part-sorted boxes I can see from where I'm sitting contain a lot of paperwork that we'll no doubt need at some point in the future.

lauren No need to be about napping while your DD napped - very sensible, if you ask me.

Flying Glad to hear you're feeling better now. I read your other thread earlier and can only second everything that everyone else has said. I think we've all been in similar situations and can empathise, and I'm sure it must have been the shock as much as anything that made your DS cry. You can't prevent every single accident (I've been standing right next to the DC when they've hurt themselves, just unable to intervene as everything happens so quickly) and it really does sound like you prevented a worse injury. The fact that you're beating yourself up over it shows that you're very far from being a crap mum.

Blue Hope you got your DS down for a nap in the end. Mine all gave up their naps at 2, but if he's already exhausted in the early afternoon it doesn't sound like he's ready to do so yet.

Toffee Roman gladiators brings back memories of DD1's test on the Romans. Sequences and function machines sound very advanced to me; I already struggle to help DD1 with her maths, although my excuse is that they seem to do everything in a completely different way here.

Re next month's thread, does anyone have any objections if the two threads merge or is everyone OK with it? Like I said, I'm happy to lead - I've actually quite enjoyed knowing which zone we're in this week and what the missions are.

**

Links:

Tomorrow's babystep is to think about what you're making for dinner either as part of your morning routine or as part of your before-bed routine the previous day.

The mission is to spend 15 minutes decluttering your dresser. Was it you I was discussing the meaning of the word "dresser" with, Cheerful? IIRC it's a chest of drawers, not a dressing table. At any rate, we just have a chest of drawers in our bedroom so that's what I'll be decluttering tomorrow.

Friday's daily focus is to declutter your handbag and car. And don't forget that Friday night is Date Night.

I don't think I've posted this week's pamper mission yet, which is all about hands and nails this week. Definitely something I need to do, as my hands are always very dry in the winter and my nail polish is horribly chipped atm.

**

Linzer you are brilliant to have survived all that and still be here to do links!

have just about survived putting children to bed, not their usual routine. Twins started cutting each other's hair, ds wanted me to read King Arthur stories, dd then insisted on preparing ds2 and herself sandwiches for a picnic in their rooms...Oh dear, tomorrow will have to be stricter.

done
ds bag packed
PE kit taken in today [yay] for tomorrow
guided reading
violin practice
piano practice
fun and games

now I need to tidy up

Flying many many accidents in our house, (including ds1 three fractures) but I agree worst is when you accidentally drop them or they bang against something. Now that I know all the awful things that can hppen to my own children I have become absolutely paranoid about looking other people's kids. Especially in supposedly idyllic[ahem] woodland settings where there are rocks and trees.
Hope you feel better now and have looked after yourself this eve.

Toffee ds loves listening to Hans Zimmer Gladiator music, since he saw the clips in his history class. Dh was shocked as he thought it too brutal to show 11-12 year olds, but I suppose the Romans just are ...

Evening all. Have survived a very boring meeting so just about ready to crash in the naughty corner!

Linzer - fine by me to merge the threads, and thanks for leading! Yes, dresser is American for chest of drawers. I did get DS2 to have a nap in the end, by napping with him! Means I didn't get anything done with the time but I think it did me good too.

Too tired for any more so waves to all. I'll just open the and leave the bottle on the bar...

Linzer - they do maths differently here now too. I did a 'Keep up with your Child'-type maths course at school last year and it was like learning it all over again (and I was pretty bad the first time round ) I couldn't even blame my age as all the young Mums were flummoxed too.
Going to send DH when they do it again - bit of an 'I did maths at Uni therefore I know what I'm talking about' usually goes on which just confuses everyone, God help us when we get beyond primary maths!

Up far too late but have just spent over 2 hours on the phone catching up with an old friend from college. We haven't chatted for a few years so LOTS to catch up on. Its brilliant when you can just slot back in to a friendship again.

Need to get to bed now so good night all, I hope you are allowed to sleep by the other people in your lives/beds :)

Up at silly hour, but going to bed after I've done the links.

Honu - thanks for explaining the function machine thingy. If it's preparing children to learn something else later, it makes more sense. On it's own, it just seemed silly. But then I failed O level Maths (twice ), so what do I know?

Feet/Linzer - I had to learn some of the new Maths when I was doing home ed with DS1 last year. I actually found it made far more sense than the Maths I was taught at school and I was able to do calculations in my head that I had struggled to do even as an adult.

Glad you caught up with your friend, Feet.

Blue- well done at surviving the boring meeting.

Swan - DS1 has already seen 'Gladiator' . I had no idea! I think DH thought it would be educational for him .

Justonemore - that's a terrible story about your toddler - you poor things. Sorry you are feeling unwell - hope you feel better tomorrow.

Off to update links on the other thread, then to bed.

Sodding ironing board (v. old, wooden, well loved) fell to bits on me 4.30am! Needed lightning reactions to catch iron (fortunately no burn), skilled searching techniques to find flat-headed screwdriver (kitchen even worse tip now) and luckily not too much IQ and deftness to effect repair. However, NOT a soothing mindless task for the early morning.

Just popping in before I start work for the day. It's freezing - well, below freezing - here today and my fingers are still defrosting.

feetheart / Toffee Interesting to hear that maths is taught differently in the UK now too. I really struggle with the way in which DD1 does long division and multiplication; I can work out whether her answer is right or wrong, but can't follow how she got it! And even simple addition, where they add up to the nearest ten first, was beyond me initially. I dread to think what it will be like once they start secondary school.

swan I keep telling myself I'm going to be stricter with the DC. I do feel quite strict by Austrian standards (insisting on please and thank you isn't very common here, for example), but need to be a bit more consistent with consequences for actions, etc.

Blue Thanks for clearing up my terminology question. I struggle to remember exactly what a dresser is every time that mission comes round! (I seem to remember you came to the rescue before.)

Honu Oh no, not exactly the kind of incident you need in the early hours! Glad you escaped without injury, at least.

My to dos for this morning:

Finish paid work
Find old ballet shoes for friend (in one of about 15 big bags down in the garage, about 30 m from the house) - she said I shouldn't go to any trouble, but I'm going to have at least a quick look for them
Locate Sammy the Snail for today's English lesson (otherwise, find an apple as a substitute)
Morning routine

Finished! Before I head to bed at 2:30 am :
-Dishes done and sink shiny
-Floor swept
-Surfaces wiped
-Everyone fed
-DS dressed and at Tae Kwon Do on time
-Laundry done but not put away :(
-Coupons sorted in the KrazyCouponLady-approved 30 categories, and put into binder

What I have to do tomorrow, aka four hours from now:
-Get up and get everyone out of the house in a reasonable amount of time, especially so I can stop by the gas station for a coffee
-Be finished with work at noon, run home and pack
-Meet friends for lunch and then continue on to other friend's house for a weekend awwwaaaaaayyyyyy! :o

Morning!

Just a list dump as I'm on my phone, not feeling too great but it's my day off so I'll post a list and see what I get through!

To do
Go to staples and pet shop
Clean out rabbit and Hoover shavings
Clean bathroom
Dust
Fix Hoover
Hoover up
Dust DD room
Put her clothes in storage
Today's mission
Declutter desk in bedroom 15 minutes

After DD has gone to bed:
File paper
Start 2nd part of ECM portfolio

BBL!

Morning all - lovely and bright here but very slippery - DS ended up on his backside twice on way to school

Busy day here today catching up with stuff as I have no other commitments until school pick-up. Am trying to work out how much I can do in front of Australian Open semi match :o:

• Check bank accounts
• Sort money and phone calls re rental properties
• Menu plan and shopping list
• School Assoc invoices
• Phone calls to book appointments
• Event insurance enquiries
• Sort airing cupboard and remove old towels (have finally bought nice new fluffy ones - simple pleasures :))
• Stuff to Refuge - this is turning into a weekly trip and encouraging my decluttering
• Food shopping

Best get on......looks like match may not be as much of a distraction as I though/hoped. Pull your finger out Andy.

Morning all - firstly, a big to everyone for their support. DS was absolutely fine when he woke (after a 3 hour nap ) and there was no mark and he's been really huggy and it was a good afternoon in the end. He's teething again this morning (urgh! to the nappies) so has been Calpoled to within an inch of his life so hopefully he'll sleep.

Now, a bit of a brain dump, as (barring DH and a checkout woman!) I've not had adult conversation for a few days, and I need to vent. Feel free to ignore the following!

Didn't make it back on last night as DH poured wine and it was just nice sitting and chatting. Sleep training is definitely helping as I was able to relax once DS was down, and then he slept through until 4.30, then woke (think he was a bit cold as temperature plummeted last night) for about 5 minutes, but allowed me to shush/pat him back to sleep. I then went back to snuggle DH (and not like that - dirty minded people ) and dozed for an hour or so, then got up early, managed to shave my yeti-style legs and got almost all my WAH work done. We're now going to try sleeping downstairs over the weekend and see if the pattern holds. Once a night for 5 mins I can definitely cope with, and if it's 4.30, I may not sleep, but I can meditate, get up early and get stuff done so DS gets more of my time. It's not going to work is it?!

After gutting the utility, I've decided to paint it (surreptitiously, DH doesn't know my plan) as it hasn't been done since we moved in and after a shelf fell down, it's really looking a little tired with marks everywhere. I've ordered this to cover the bits on the wall where the shelf supports fell down. So I think I'll be painting it a sort of beige colour - mocha or similar type name. The main kitchen is a sort of sunshiney yellow/orange, but it's a different room, so it shouldn't matter should it?! T'is magnolia (as most of our house is - we did it when we first moved in) and I'm bored of blah, but don't want extreme. Any recommendations would be good.

Anyway, off to grab a and chill, as all my jobs are done - if you ignore the washing pile that I'm working through today.

Have a nice day!

just a quick post Flying love the yeti legs I find mine keep me warm at this time of year...
and one waking at 4.30 which can be shushed back in 5-10 mins sounds completely Reasonable and acceptable to me. Glad you were able to relax not worrying so much about the waking.

In a utitity I think you can do anything that takes your fancy, except possibly red, which is too exciting...Didn't they use to paint pantries blue to deter flies?

not really getting very far here, although I have tidied the kitchen and tidied up downstairs. A bit. As long as I'm not being effficient I feel fine, the minute I start thinking efficient thoughts I feel extremely anxious. Very odd. Mindless tidying may be way to go.

PS A good tip is to find some virtual or RL pattern of material or wallpaper which has your yellow in it, and see which colours tone. The properties bit of Mumsnet has lots of paint recommendations usually, just start a thread saying what colour is your utility room?