Flinging our way through the chaos: February’s Fledgling Flyers

[LinzerTorte]

Welcome to the February edition of the Fledgling Flyers' thread.

If you're living in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome), this is the thread for you! We follow the tips on the FlyLady website in an attempt to restore order to our homes, but advise against signing up for the e-mails; all the information you need is on this thread.

Each day, I'll be posting the links that will enable you to do any of the following:

• start or repeat babysteps

• repeat babysteps and do 15 minutes a day decluttering in the current zone

or

• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.

More information about the babysteps is here.

So please join us - there's always plenty of chat, , cake, encouragement and the occasional to help us on our way!

Apologies for essay, ti anyone who gets through it!

life the thought of leaving house on any proper excursion not appealing at moment either...however, did get very bouncy ds1 out on a bus ride to the shops and walkaround.

Otherwise a pretty dismal day, lots of quarrelling, coughing like creaking joists and DH exhausted by having to be all things to all men..the board games are the last straw really...
I finally got to watch "Call The Midwife" 8pm on Sunday usually a bad time to watch telly, except at Half Term

Whoknows that sounds like a perfect "visual" antidote to fussiness. Whilst I was making the fish cakes I noticed that ds2 who is extremely fussy about herbs and "bits" whilst refusing to allow any parsley into the mixture did at least allow it into the saucepan where I was poaching the fish...There is a sort of trick to getting him interested in new food tastes.
Actually the fish cakes were not nice, tinned fish works much better and the flour was a mistake... although they stuck together well

Chitchat I hate all these Feb lurgies, they are destroying all attempts at productivity. Hope you can take it easy tomorrow. My living room is a mess, I am trying to take a deep breath and not let it spoil tomorrow. And just tidy things bit by bit.

x-posts Slow yes it does sound as if she is comign down with something, or perhaps just very very overtired? Earache? Dose with calpol/nurofen even if undiagnosed and see if helps?
Hope tomorrow goes well. Cake for several lunchboxes could be flapjack perhaps or just a plain choc victoria sponge traybake thingy? those would freeze in portions wrapped in clingfilm.

Slow
Q. What can I use to get nasty watermarks off shower glass? aparently washin up liquid can work but never tried it and it sounds like madness.

Q. Before your child(ren) came down with chicken pox was their behaviour really odd?

Q. What cake which is reasonably cheap can I make on a Sunday and use in lunches all week? It'd have to make 8-10 portions smile Fairy cakes of any flavour and extras freeze well. can take one out in morning and it will be defrosted by lunch time

Hth

Slow I second Swan on using baby paracetomol if she seems miserable. I do with my 16mth old after a few conversations with different doctors. I decided it wouldn't harm if I started on a half a dose, and took it from there. Even for teething it can make a huge difference, and you never know if they have blocked sinuses or a headache if they are coming down with a cold.
Don't think either of mine had other sypmtoms before the blisters appeared for chickenpox. But there are so many things going round at the moment..

Bitchy
A vinegar
A yes (i am a pro when it comes to cp, my 2 have had it 3x between them!)
A banana loaf is good, v easy and marginally healthy really (got the recipe from cbeebies website)

No list here yet. Going to some museums this morning, then see how the day pans out really. Will be back later though.

Oops, slow not bitchy (it is still early)

I'm new to this and I got a bit carried away and subscribed to the emails....with 10-12 per day how does anyone get anything done??
Anyway is this suitable for someone who has no clue whatsoever of how to clean, bedrooms never see the light of day and don't know what the bottom of a sink looks like never mind how to shine it? Or are you all quite domestic goddessy anyway?

Morning all,

Lifebegins Hope you're feeling better today and good luck with the decluttering (I think I need an imminent move to another country to force me to declutter).

ChitChat Sorry to hear you're feeling ill too; look after yourself and try to take it easy.

slow

1. A vinegar and water solution.
2. No - the spots were the first sign (I'd been keeping a very close eye on DD2 as chickenpox had been going round at her nursery and I was worried we wouldn't be able to fly back to the UK for our summer visit)
3. Would second Dedalus' suggestion of banana loaf (although would make brownies if it was for me )

swan My dad would always refuse point blank to play board games with us; they just weren't his thing. We have so many; I really should make the effort to play them with the DC more often. I keep telling myself that it will get better once I've got rid of some of the clutter and stop feel overwhelmed by everything surrounding us; I don't feel like I have time to stop and just play at the moment, which is not a good thing.

Ta da:
Handed in summer holiday form at kindergarten (just made the deadline)
Bought lunch vouchers for kindergarten (had to make a special trip to the town hall as they're only sold at kindergarten once a month, which just happened to be the day that DH did the school run - and he didn't notice, despite DS telling him )
Bought top-up for DD1's phone
Bought bread from baker's

To do:
Lakeland order (ridiculously excited about postage now only costing a flat rate of £7.50; I'm still recovering from how much the P&P on my last order cost)
Send cheque to Phoenix trader
15 mins on tax return
Print out passport renewal forms
Enrol DC for Montessori and creative workshops
Morning/afternoon/evening routines
15 mins decluttering

Welcome weedoll. The first thing I would advise is to unsubscribe to the e-mails; you really don't need them as all the information is on this thread.

As you're just starting out, I would recommend focusing on the babysteps. You can just jump in where we are (as FlyLady says, you're never behind) - today's babystep is here and is to choose one of the missions in this week's zone: the bathroom.

If you do want to go back and do some of the earlier babysteps (there are a few that you can quite safely leave out), the most important ones IMO are to shine your sink, practise putting out a hot spot, lay out your clothes for the next day, start writing down your morning and evening routines and start decluttering.

I don't think any of would claim to be anything like domestic goddesses btw; that's why we're here.

Hello!
No time to read through but big waves to everyone.
So far I've done home blessing am dressed and dd2 is dressed!!!!!
Can't quite believe it myself!

Lauren I noticed your post and I'm really sorry you are going through a hard time. The only thing I can say, that I truly believe, is that when we go through dark times, even though it may not seem like it at the time, something good will come out of it.

I hope you are getting lots of support from your friends and family.

Will read through later.

lauren hope you are ok?

morning everyone, I am off swimming with DD in a couple of hours, will walk dogs first.

Hi all, waiting on mindees so I'll come back tonight to catch up on everyone!

Well XP didn't come get his stuff yesterday and is coming today for clothes but needs to find somewhere to live before he takes the rest of his things I keep veering between being resolute and determined to crying and thinking I made the wrong decision by not stopping him! He hasn't even said bye to DD. he isn't her father but has been in her life since she was 4 months old and pretty much took on the role of a father to her! It's thinking that I'm letting her down that's hurting the most!

Thank you to everyone for all your well wishes and offers of support, it means a lot to know I've got a sounding board here!

To do:
Mindees and DD to park with dog
Food shop- clean out fridge
Hoover
Home bleugh- needs doing
Friend round to check up on me later!
Sweep and mop kitchen floor
Mission and zone cleaning- need to look this up!

BBL

Hello all,

Slow - I second giving you DC some calpol. If the DC had a bug which I then went onto catch I would then feel so guilty about how they must have felt, knowing how bad it affected me. It was at that point that I decided that if they looked off colour and acted weirdly that I would give them a dose and see if it helped.

Teething takes ages, they could have colds, have hurt themselves playing, anything really!

And cakes- any cake that doesn't have a fresh cream icing can be frozen and would last the week. An especially neat trick that I've been shown is to put a butter icing in the middle of the cake, and none on top. That way you can wrap it up to freeze and it will LOOK as good as well as TASTE as good as it did before you froze it.

I feel marginally better this morning - still dosed up to the eyeballs with medicine though. DH is being a miserable git and we've been at each other's throats this morning - he can truly be an ae at times. FIRST time he is helping with any of the decorating and he started laying down the law as to how he expected it all to be done over the next few weeks - I just told him to piss off and he's stomped upstairs.

Off to put a load of wash on and to sand the bit of the floor that I puttied and then to give it a coat, will then take the DC out for a few hours to some holiday activities - and if DH is still being a misery he can bloody well stay at home and keep painting.

laur you are NOT letting DD down at all.

Lauren - I'm so sorry! You are not letting you DD down, you are staying strong for her and being a good role model.

Oh Lauren . You sound very brave. Would it be possible to cancel mindees and have some time off (can anyone have DD for a bit?) Hope you can take care of yourself a little.

Hope all those with poorly DC are coping.

Today:
car to garage for MOT done
house bleugh
change beds
laundry
buy food and fake tan
collect car

Lauren if you still get on in neutral surroundings maybe that would be a good balance over next month as a test? If he really is committed surely a trial separation wouldn't be too much to ask? Anyway I don't think children like arguing My children love their dad but I think the arguing has not been a good way to live

Oh dear, obviously feeling a bit self pitying at moment! When others are in worse sits, Dh very kind and nice, and Linzer plays board games for hours on end - he is determined to get them to enjoy them!
Apalling headache, done
some family email on situation which seems irresolvable so we all talk around it endlessly

Dd has a party today
done
bought present
there is tissue paper in cupboard

so I need
her to make a card
get dressed
find out cinema times to take other kids too?

HALF TERM HALF TERMMMMMMMMMMM Jollity and joy now where can I find it?

Chit sorry Dh is being what my husband is in decorating situations useless There are many different permutations of useless, plain useless and doesn't bother at all (Dh) or over officious/fussy/meddling, or worse still the ranting raving lunatic who tries to put together something from Ikea and starts cursing because he doesn't understand the instructions..That will be me today I fear !

lauren Tbh i would say have the mindees is good. It will give you something to focus on and stop beating yourself up. It is very easy to do in the breakdown in a relationship. No you are not failing dd. You are doing the best you can under the circumstances. Things would be worse for dd if you tried to stay together for the sake of dd and you would end up resenting the situation. It is hard and it will be hard now. But eventually, and it might take a while, it will be better. promise. Just be strong. And let others help you if you need it. be it by looking after dd so you can do something like have a soak in the bath/go out with friends (cinema/coffee etc).

Not a good start to the week. But 1st load of bedding is on. half the washing mountain is folded. About to jump in shower, get up and then pack and leave. Long day today. will see you all tomo.

Lauren be strong and keep going. Bitchy is talking a lot of sense - I know, I've been there with XH. The worst thing I did was to let XH back, then a couple of months later he left again, and that really unsettled the DC.

I can?t keep up with all the folks on here! Today we?re planning out a week of getting on top of everything from state of home and car, to education, and getting us back to where we were towards the end of Jan, (ever the optimist) orthodontists in a bit, and then investigating filing systems before attacking home and coursework.

Lauren you are so not letting your D/D down. If you stop someone from leaving against their desire, you are nearly always condemning all of you to the relationship disintegrating bit by bit until enough damage has been done that all can let go.

If the relationship is rescueable, it wont be by taking away choices.

I still quietly love my ex to bits, but there really is no mileage in loving someone who doesn?t feel the same way. It is a slow silent torture that limits your future and leads to resentment.

Weedoll any domestic goddess would run screaming from here. :D

Droitwich thanks for the container info, Chit chat be warned, I managed to get one yesterday. Come back middle of week to see if we have more please. Hope you?re better soon.
(Btw my poundland has taken to slipping chocolates into your purchases and then trying to get you to take other items as the ?refund?. Four times in a row is too coincidental.)

Afraid I don?t know how to put them on here as links, but Tesco?s have ventilated clear boot boxes and sweater boxes both @ £2, and Morrison?s medium underbed clear storage boxes with folding (black) lid for £4, if it helps anyone.

Slowburner
Glass- My ultimate method of getting all glass clean is a few drops of sulfumic acid (available diluted from commercial cleaning supplies) into the water. Leaves everything streak free.

Chicken-pox- Whole family is minus normal immunity to chicken pox and get?s it repeatedly until we build some immunity, and yes poor/unreasonable behaviour before each bout, and that includes me! (Actually whenever youngest is unreasonable I can be pretty sure he?s about to be ill. If only I could remember that!)

Cheap lasting cake- Bread pudding?s wonderfully cheap, and you can make different types within the same loaf by adding different dried fruits through it. Mine end up cutting it lengthwise though!

Just popped in from the other babysteps thread --in need of motivation--

Slow if you want to make traditional round cakes, you can slice them, then place greaseproof paper between each slice, and then freeze them. So you only need to take out the right number of slices that morning.

Haven't had time to read all. My second child-free Monday today. Have achieved an impressive amount so far. Unfortunately mostly for the Nursery Committee, and not to do with Flying. Still as long as it makes me feel positive, I'm more likely to fly as well! And I did manage to get my morning routine completed first .