Pointy sticks at the ready... and a few choc biscuits and brews too.

[carrotsandcelery]

Scout Hope it's not anything really bad. .

So Today's Ta Da's:
made beds
breakfast
get dressed
dc to school/nursery
shopping list done
shopping done
nursery run done
lunch
wash up x 1
hoovered throw and put it in washing machine
small amount of drying up done.

I'm stopping a few minutes early. I've reached a natural stopping point and I want to go to TS up so we can go to the tots group this afternoon.

I have spent the last 45-60 minutes having a declutter of a corner of the living room and part of the desk (that goes into that corner). I can't move the tent () out of the way so will have to get MrScout to put it up in the loft tonight. We're not going camping this year with the Guides/Seniors so it can get out my living room! (To be fair the desk chair is hiding it but it's in my way!) I have a basket of things for donation, started a new bin bag and have a carrier bag for recycling. Have found a nice collection of unused envelopes of varying sizes/padding and some partially used notebooks (which I've torn out the used bits and now have some pads for TS to draw in or for me to write my lists).

I can't, shouldn't and don't blame MrScout for all of the clutter (even if he is a huge contributor to it!).

On one of the desk shelves I found a card I had made for my now-deceased SiL and never got a chance to mail. My SiL was lovely and she made my brother so incredibly happy.

Ah Scout {{sending hugs}}

aw scout youre doing well today
blackcat another productive day honey
carrots you're a social animal

ive spent the hour well(i think)
15mins decluttering my room(filled box bits kids toys-need a wipe and return to proper homes)

put new covers on duvet (proud emoticon) and new thick fluffy fleecey type blanket...looks inviting and draws eye away from the mess

room rescue front room

washing out/on

made little zoo snack and cleared up the after math

i justy have time to empty kitchen bin before walk to friends house and toddle off for the kids

by the way scout you say internet strangers....they dont come much stranger than me!haha

are we having a quick go 4-4.30 blackcat?

I better go and hang out my throw. Not really sure if it will dry outside but it might get a bit of the wet out of it. I will hang it over the banister later.

Then I will have a before school run .

Yes 4-4.30 sound good --if the DC are good--

I have been really badly behaved and have sat and watched 15 kids and counting. I didn't even do any ironing while I did it It made me cry so now I will have to go and clean my face up to do the school run.

My excuse is I thought I should have a quiet rest before the onslaught after school (pathetic I know )

Aw Scout (((big hugs)))

Everyone has done so much today. I will have to go like a train while the boys are playing to ease my guilt.

carrots Flylady always says remember to have a break too . Hope it all goes well with DS and friend.

Zoo are we meeting back at 4.30 then I will have to get dinner on.

((hugs)) to scout, sounds like you have been really busy today too!

I'm having a in the living room with DD2 watching her put a very soggy rice cake in & out of a box She stopped her afternoon feeds with me yesterday so she also has a big girls sippy cup of milk which she occasionally gets very excited about!

I quickly vacuumed everywhere downstairs as part of my house blessing & then I thought I'd give the living room a good vacuum as I'd seen it was this weeks zone (thanks for the mission reminder carrots). I thought that as I'd gone to the effort of pulling the sofa & chair out, I may as well wipe the skirting boards behind them, and the god awful dado rail thing, and then vacuumed the ceiling to get the cobwebs, and inside the lamp shade (then wiped it), then vacuumed the cat hair off the curtains (just one bit where they jump up onto the windowsill), and then wiped the windowsill (I cleaned the windows with DD1 at the weekend), then vacuumed & wiped all around the TV & the cabinet the wii etc are on. Then vacuumed & wiped the fireplace & mantlepiece.

If you ignore the corner where they toy mountain is, it looks lovely & clean!

Right, had better play with DD2 for a bit before making her tea and bracing myself for DD1s return from pre-school!

bessie
carrots 15 kids was great!hows things with the playdate
blackcat what have you managed to achieve?

By the way whats for dinner?

I did some more washing up. Then I made a coffee and that was that.

I am tired (up at 4.40am) but will try to make myself do some more before and after dinner.
As I am feeling lazy tired I was thinking of doing Fish fingers, chips and beans.

What are you having?

Bessie well done on the living room.

at least you managed something blackcat.tea breaks arent a bad thing

we got spring green and basil risotto followed by choc muffins and choc custard(classic cold day comfort food)

i cleaned cooker top and then stopped to get warm!

i will try and pop in later-dp meant to be popping in after work and dpends what time he leaves

hope you all ok

got visitor 1st thing tomorrow,but should be about for the 1o'clock club if anyones buddying

Oooh, did someone say ?

Risotto sounds nice zoo might have to see if DD1 can bring herself to eat one of them!

Oooohhh, ..... can I make mine a hot chocolate?

TS is having pasta twirls with fancy sauce. For MrScout and I I'm torn between tacos and spag bol. Have stuff for both and both on the menu for the week. I fancy tacos but suspect MrScout would prefer spag bol.

Oh a sounds perfect as we have run out of milk here. I have just had a cuppa soup to warm me up but I am greedy

Ds's playdate is going brilliantly so far but I am always waiting for it to fall apart. Dd has the big sister to play now and the mum has been held up at work so the playdate has been extended. They are all delighted but I am worried we will have pushed our luck. Yikes! I have to say though, if they were always like this I wouldn't worry about them at all. Fingers crossed.

We are having a vegetable lasagne for tea. I just improvised with the veg we had in the fridge so it is onion, garlic, carrot, red and yellow pepper, courgette and tomato. Luckily I can just turn the oven down until the guests are collected. I wish I had cooked more and I would have just invited my friend to join us for tea. It must be tough going to work late and then come home with 2 tired and hungry children and have to start cooking a meal. Once again I take my hat off to working mums. I did it with one child and found it hugely stressful.

Ta Da No 2

I have folded laundry and put away
hung next load
unloaded dishwasher and reloaded
cleaned the work tops
made a phone call I had been putting off
decluttered a corner that was collecting activity bags and cleared all the rubbish out of each bag
tidied the table again
put away a tiny shop
posted ebay parcels
made tea

I need to do a bit of ironing. Do you reckon it is ok to iron with 2 boys bobbing around like maniacs (well they are actually looking at a book together just now but they were bobbing about manically 10 mins ago)?

I think you'd better sit down & put your feet up carrots, just to be on the safe side

Toddler's gone down a few minutes early so going to spend 15 minutes playing computer games checking my email then I'll go clean up his dinner and start dinner for MrScout and me.

carrots How did the rest of the playdate go?

I'm very impressed with everyone's efforts today!

bessie I came to the same conclusion and curled up with the laptop for a wee while

I am so Ds's friend stayed until 6.45 so the two boys played for 3 1/2 hours without a cross word If I had been confident and blase about it it would have been a nightmare. I am really for him.

He has another wee boy coming tomorrow after school (his social life seems to be like mine just now - like a desert with tumbleweed rolling through and then crazy). I don't know this wee boy at all. Infact I will only know I have the right boy because the teachers still hand them over.

He did come to his birthday party but they had so much safety gear on you couldn't really see them and he has been at another party that ds was at but they all played upstairs in the house while we chatted downstairs so I have no idea what I am dealing with. Eeeek!

I know he is a good lad though so I suspect it will be ds I have to watch again, not the visitor.

Thanks for the hand holding. I would never have thought a playdate would be a big deal but when your ds has problems it is very tricky indeed.

Anyway, Ta Das No 3

Put dirty dishes in the dishwasher
Hung up dd's outdoor gear to dry as she had an activity day today

Ds is currently decluttering his soft toys - his idea not mine It seems I am to put the ones he doesn't want on ebay - he is clearly hoping to make a bit of cash

Im so pleased for you carrots
risotto was lushalicious-will post recipe tomorrow
just reporting in briefly to say have cleaned up the debris of dinner and am now spending some time with dp

hope you all have a good evening
"see" you tomorrow!

Well done, MiniCarrots! Excellent news, carrot.

I think I might go to the grocery store for the few bits I forgot to add to the weekly shopping. I just need a few minutes "peace."

Scout I can remember going for a drive in my pjs when ds was about the age that ts is. It is lovely but takes a lot of doing. Time out is crucial. I also took myself off for the odd overnight as well when I was having a particularly tough time. Even when dh was willing, sometimes they will only go to them if you are not there.

I am in tears here with happiness thinking of ds having so much fun with the wee boy who was round today. It was lovely to hear him laughing and squealing. I had no idea his problems had upset me so much until I saw a hint that they might not affect everything all of the time

Carrots I am glad everything went well with DS and friend.

I am pretty tired now so am off to bed soon. Hoping I will wake at a more sensible hour tomorrow.

"see" y'all tomorrow.

I love, Love, LOVE nighttime grocery shoppig. Only needed a couple of forgotten bits but wandered around free of a trolley and, more importantly, free of my boys (TS & MrScout). I looked at magazines and at clothes I'll never buy (I dropped 2-4 trouser sizes during the first round of treatment and while I've put on 25 of my lost pounds my jeans, which are two sizes smaller than when I started, are still too big I dare not buy any new clothes for a while!) and at Scout toys (books, cookware, etc). I bought some "boots" boxes to go with the "shoe" boxes I bought the other week. Tomorrow duplo and brio and miscellaneous toys will have new and proper homes. YAY!

Proud mommy moment to share: This evening, after dinner, TS asked for "Daddy Gig" (Peppa Pig). I told him yes, just a minute and I'll sort out the tv. No other instruction or request. And without me asking he went and put most of his brio trains & cars into their plastic shoe box. THEN he went and took the tracks and put them on top of their cardboard box (he can't get them in the box since right now all of the track is stacked into one of the boxes his set came in). I didn't ask, he just did it. And while this might not be a big thing normally, he's only 2.3 and I've never really done much "let's put the toys away" with him yet because most of his toys didn't have a proper home (everything used to just be chucked into one big box). Just a week of trains and track having a home and he's doing it himself.

That's brilliant Scout. Well done TS. These are habits that will make his life soooo much happier in the long run.

I am off to bed. I am half asleep on the sofa and making my neck ache by trying to stay awake.

Sleep well everyone.

Pointy stick for me in the morning as I have to get everything done by 11am