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!

WhoKnows - I have, by the time I was up and functioning it was 9 am and if you don't ring between 8 and 8.30 am there are no same day appointments left (especially for grown ups - they'e usually quite helpful when the DSs suddenly fall ill). They'll call me if they have any cancellations (doubtful) or I can wait until after 6.30 pm and ring the after hours service which is quite easy to be seen at (usually have good doctors who I can undestand , or wait until 8 tomorrow morning. Tonight I can at least go on my own without the DS, tomorrow I would have to drag the DS with me which would NOT be fun!!! (Although DS1 does love playing with the toys in the waiting room, only gets stroppy if he doesn't feel he's had enough time to play!)

Just an update to keep me on track- ill be back when DD is in bed for personals and an update on XPgate!

whoknows you in your 20s sounds exactly like me now (I'm 24 and this is my first house) so its reassuring to know you never looked back!

Lists...
Mindee and DD to museum done
Home bleugh done
Hoovered did this am- will do again when DD is ready for bed
Paperwork
Sweep and scrub kitchen floor
Scrub grout off front step done
Wash down doors done
Laundry- first load is washing
Put DD laundry away
Living room hotspot done
Friend round for gypsy weddings
Zumba
Kitchen hotspot
Washed up and dried- and shined sink done
Walk dog
Go to bank

Best get cracking all mindees are gone and DD is napping so I'm off to do kitchen hotspot and paperwork

BBL!

Quiet on here tonight, hope everyone's ok.

Lauren I met DH shortly after chucking out exDP, exDP also met someone fairly quickly and moved in with her, they stayed together and had DCs, so it all worked out for everyone. Wasn't easy at the time though.

I'm on the IPad tonight so not great for scrolling up and down and doing personals, but have read all your posts. I've just made an apple pie using my early birthday present of a Kenwood mixer, enjoying that with a glass of red sparkly wine and Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. Dh has just stomped off saying he can't bear to watch it. Quite a busy day so glad to relax, DD and her friend were quite trying on the drama club - ballet run (friend is a handful and was quite rude to me). Anyway, not much Flying, just basic routines but Dh is having a half day tomorrow so he's getting a to-do list. Enough of my waffle, night night.

Quite a successful day teaching-wise (the little ones were far better behaved than last week) but not so much FLYing-wise. Thought I might have a bit more time to catch up tomorrow morning, but I've just looked at the calendar to discover that I'm supposed to be having coffee with a friend at 8.30 am. However, said friend is notoriously unreliable - if she's actually remembered, I wouldn't be surprised if she cancelled at the last minute, so I shall definitely phone her before I leave tomorrow.

We were hoping to have the bathroom in by this evening, but there have been problems installing the toilet so the plumber will have to come back tomorrow and the tiler on Thursday, as a couple of tiles had to be removed. I'll be glad when it's all done and dusted.

ChitChat I just teach children (aged between 5 and 8) atm, although a friend has asked me whether I could give her conversation classes, which I may be starting soon. A friend of mine who teaches business English says that it pays far better than teaching children. I'm sure I'd still find all the preparation very time-consuming, however (my problem is that I'm too much of a perfectionist), and if I wanted to earn more money, my best bet would be to look for more translation work. I seem to have fallen into the English teaching - or rather, been persuaded to do it - and, although I'm feeling much more positive about it today, I'm still not sure whether the amount of time I spend on it would be better spent on something else.

**

Wednesday's links

Wednesday's babystep is to add making your bed to your morning routine. This babystep really is worth doing; it's amazing how spending just a couple of minutes making the bed can make such a difference to the room.

The mission is all about wiping down surfaces: the front of your bathroom cabinet in the bathroom and the computer screen in the home office.

Wednesday is anti-procrastination day. Your reminders are here.

Linzer - at coffee with a friend at 8.30 am!! I know mornings start earlier in your neck of the woods, but even so!

Waves to all. Have had very nice Valentine's dinner, between DH cooking and Sainsbo's posh ready meal, and quite a lot of so not much flying done. But routines are still just about there, which is the main thing.

Chitchat be firm and stay in bed as often as you can, even if it means handing over the minute dp comes home (hope he's off tomorrow btw) and dong nothng except essentials/watching tv all day. I have three friends who soldiered on (this is over last ten years, they were the type that always just soldiered on, ironing, cooking, rushing around and never stopped) and they came down with pneumonia, pleurisy. And in the end they were ill for much longer. The lurgy going round is v nasty atm. Dd just relapsed again today after yesterday's party and friend round - all too much for her.

But I feel better (after doing sod all, I think that helped
Dcs behaved pretty well most of today (lovely time playing with ponies and origami x 10000, more horrors in the social skills dept though from dd and ds2 with friend over, and a bit of shouty ds1 but I managed to send dd over to her friend for an hour in afternoon whilst I went to dentist (3 crowns and fillings needed next appt[£882 [ouch] to give outing to ds2, who behaved like the most charming companion.

I sat with him in cafe afterwards thinking what a delightful little boy he was, and filled with positive thoughts, only to return home to ...shall I say the full complement of children....Downhill thereafter....Dh in foul mood, dd in foul mood. Dd had to be carried upstairs on my back in the end when she lay down on the kitchen chairs and tried to sleep there... Ds2 treating Dh like personal minion, and Ds1 bouncing around as usual like a St Bernard puppy...

However, I cooked some delicious couscous with spicy lamb sausages

Lauren hope you make the right decision. At 24 there seemed to be a bewildering no of choices.

gosh what a long tedious post
skip to

Flying wise
swept floor
cooked supper x 2 (for tomorrow
defrosted meat for tomorrow slow cooker
arranged play mates for tomorrow
arranged visit to park ? can I face it? for tomorrow
wiped worktops
washing x 3
loo scrubbed again
2 children bathed
ds1 some homework
dentist appt and more to follow
origami skills updated
made decoupage box

got dcs to do some chores

cleared up ponies! and not much else

Lauren I meant life choices, though of course I know see there was also a bewildering choice of men (although this was not so apparent at the time Youth and Beauty have a lot of answer for [speaks as old wrinkly]

Evening [waves ashamedly due to lack of contact]
I'm steadily baby stepping still, and adding extras in too.
Love this thread

We are all suffering from colds / flu type symptoms today so no extras... Other than a curry

Have had a wobble, grief wise, and I'm missing my dog like you wouldn't believe. Going to ring a bereavement helpline tomorrow. I keep reverting to habits and getting all teary when I remember she's no longer here.

Hope that doesn't sound silly

Oh MummyNic you made me cry! {{hugs}}

Ta da:
sleep.

to do:
sleep.

Wednesday's list:
function.

keeping things easy for a few days.

MumyNic- of course it doesn?t sound silly! Pets are a part of the family, especially with their unconditional love. I howled when my poor cat had to be put down

Bitchy - think I will copy you To Do list!!! Are you ok? You don't sound well.

Swan - it does feel nasty ? it?s been many, many years since I was down with the flu this badly.

DH is back at work today. I was due to catch up for lunch with DS2?s Godmother so that she could enjoy some family time with the DSs during the school holidays, but instead she has offered to take them for the day and to keep them overnight ? bless her socks!!!!

So all I need to do is get them up this morning, fed, dressed, pack their things and drop them off around 10 am, then I can come back home and collapse into a heap on the sofa, and watch crap day time tv all day.

Morning all,

ChitChat How lovely of your DS's godmother; I hope it gives you the chance to catch up on some rest and that you're on the mend soon.

MummyNic (hugs) Of course it doesn't sound silly; as ChitChat said, you've lost a family member.

Just back from coffee with friend (who did remember and was only 10 minutes late, which is practically early for her - I wouldn't really count it as late anyway). Unfortunately we'd forgotten that the cafe where we'd planned to meet is closed on Wednesdays, so she invited me back to her house on the spur of the moment instead. She always gives the impression of being quite stressed and chaotic, so I was surprised and slightly depressed at how tidy her house was, esp. considering that she hadn't been expecting visitors.

Got back home to find most of the DC's breakfast things still on the table, washing covering about half the living room and generally just lots of stuff lying around, so I was very glad that we hadn't decided to come back here. It's motivated me to get the house into a more respectable looking state, at any rate, so must get off the computer now!

Linzer I went to a friends yesterday and was depressed at how her house looked seeing as she has children the same age as mine and works til really late twice a week. Admittedly it wasn't a surprise visit, but I could spend a month tidying my house and it still wouldn't look that good :o comfortably cluttered I would describe our house (erm, on a good day) :o

No list today, just having a quiet morning with the kids, they have been playing really nicely (shock!) So have managed to get the dishy on, do some laundry and clear a couple of hotspots.

I don't think I am even ready for baby steps atm, but decided that if I just change a couple of things it will really help. For example, I have started putting my clothes out the night before, trying to go to bed with the kitchen cleared and using the timer for doing things.

I do really need to declutter, going to IKEA next week to get some more trofast boxes and some lids so that I can go through all of the toys and organise them a bit better, put some lids on some boxes and get them into the loft for a couple of months then switch

Ta da!
Stripped beds
Laundry on
Morning routine
Deep cleaned bathroom
Room rescues upstairs
Found new battery for timer

To do:
Room resuces downstairs
Ironing
Re-make beds
Put clean laundry away

Hope you can get some rest Bitchy and ChitChat. Off to put the kettle on. anyone? Can make it a lemsip if necessary!

AArgh! My Mother arrives tomorrow. As much as I love her, her house is show home stylee, so despite me being on top of things here, I still have 'that' feeling of "Oh God" and my eyes are finding little cobwebs that need removing and skirting boards that need a wipe. Not too bad considering what it could have been like, had I not been flying every day.

Best get some music on and get started.

Not doing too well here, but did manage to change the beds yesterday.

I think small list are the key for me at the moment so todays must is to tackle the ironing mountain.

Will be back for catch-ups later

things not going too well here alas
I've already burst into tears this morning because I couldn't find the lead to the computer

visiting child must think I'm a lunatic Dd has already attacked ds2 and basically I need to get everyone out of the house, which seems quite impossible. They have just been playing hide and seek and every room seemed to be booby trapped with mess and things being crunched underfoot. dd has just been doing pastels with her friend - how charmng you might say, and it was, just added one more thing to the mess pile though..whole table strewn with chalks and paper and finished drawings. THERE IS NO SYSTEM TO THIS HOUSE, no-one knows where anything goes, and I could spend the entire day chasing children around asking them to put things back and being in a perpetual rage (which I am anyway Doesn't help that builder still hasn't come to hang the kitchen cupboards, so they are littering up the place.

Any attempts at anything else organisational are doomed, tried ringing plumber to organise sink, need to ring bank...

PARK!!! and more lemsip first

Ds1 is being absolutely sweet though, he has just given me a hug and is making a circuit with the visitor with foil and sellotape.

But it is a beautiful day, washing on the line for first time in ages, and hellebores blooming.

chitchat bless ds' godmother. rest up and hope you feel better.
I am ok just suffering from lack of respite breaks and ds having over a week of up every hour nights. Nothing that sleep won't cure. Have respite now so making most and resting/sleeping and doing only essential stuff.

Sounds like a good plan, Bitchy.

swan Poor you, I know exactly how you feel. I have days when it all gets too much - had one a couple of days ago, in fact - and having all the children underfoot definitely doesn't help matters. Lovely DS1, though.

Neenook Yes, small lists are definitely the way to go - I limit myself to lists of three items when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Jax Good luck! You might find FlyLady's information on crisis cleaning useful.

Blue Yay for functioning timers!

Dedalus Glad it's not just me - my friend has three DC the same age as mine and works about the same number of hours as I do, so I've failed to come up with any excuses for myself. Focusing on decluttering and just introducing one or two new habits is a very sound plan; far better to do it that way than to crash and burn.

The snow has changed into pouring rain here, so I'm expecting a phone call in the next 10 minutes from the DDs asking to be picked up. Must get on with some work until then... was waiting ages for it to arrive and then realised my work e-mail wasn't working - which wasted about half an hour, but at least I've got it now.

Hi all. Everyone seems up to their eyes in half term chaos (me too!)

swan I feel your pain! Your DC do sound very creative though .

Worked yesterday (DC went to the holiday club which they much prefer to hanging out with me!)

last night dd drove me demented with her demands, the whole not sleeping thing has got beyond a joke so I have gone all tough love and banned her from the computer until she starts respecting the rules (I will sleep in her room if I must but not in her bed). Consequently I have access to MN .

Done:
swimming with DC
DS to Star wars with DH
DD and I walk to shops to buy food
made muffins with dd

To do:
book football
laundry
banking (car cost £500 )

laurie you sound very sorted, good for you!

Hiya all just a list im afraid, didn't make it back on last night my auntie never left until 10:30 pm despite several clues thats what i wanted from 9 onwards!

Had mindees all day, they left at 2:45 so just started cleaning from then, this week I want to deep clean each room room by room as its my pre ofsted council visit on Monday so I want everything clean

Lists...
Washed up done
Dry dishes and put away- shine sink
Hoovered front room thoroughly- pulled out sofas and chairs and lifted rugs done
Washed daido (sp?) rails in front room done
Wash windows on inside
Sweep and scrub kitchen and hall floor
Put chair in garage
Pull out tables and chairs and clean walls behind
Deep clean micro wave
Clean fridge
Sort and file away paper work hotspot

If I get through all that today I'll be happy!!

BB with personals (hopefully)

thanks for the 'crisis list'

I am on it! Just popped in to say boiler man has been - we had a leak on a seal which dripped water onto fan... ergo no fan no heating/hot water. We are down for first call tomorrow morning with the same chap. So tomorrow morning should have hot water and heat in the house. 5 days! 5 days!

Need to fit in a gym/swim trip so I can have a proper shower and hair wash again.

we've been to the park
played football, and other running around games

I persuaded got tough with dcs and they tidied up a bit more (visitor so good at tidying!)
now ds1 is having a strop about homework and has been ranting and wailing again without doing more than ten minutes of allotted hour, saying he's finished and doesn't need to do more

visitor is now off to Athletics, tried to persuade ds to go but he became more and more hysterical about his life etc so that was a bit of a lost cause. I think we both need valium or sherry cream buns

lauren what a List - sure Ofsted will be very favourable.

scatty I give dd lots of love, read story snuggled up to her etc, stay in there whlst light off etc, and then I depart if she goes on winding me up! And she is quite good at now getting the message that she can go too far, and goes to sleep without further ado. I so still cuddle her to sleep 50 percent though of time, but she never wakes in night. Be strong - I think once one gets to breakign point in one's own particular circumstances it shows the system isn't working. I'm tryng the tough love now with ds and thehomework - it is soo difficult to enforce because he just does homework to pathetic minimum (questions answered with "I don't know") and says he done it or can't do it, and I'm being mean... DH just says, he must do it, and he can't understand why I find it so difficult to enforce, some chink somewhere is clearly giving ds the idea he can rant and wail. who knows

Swan in my house "you stupid, useless, piece of shite" can often be heard as I go arse over tit over some random object, and I am sat here at the moment not able to see the sitting room floor due to the toys covering it, so don't worry, you are not alone!

Have just had confirmation that my super tidy friend is coming over on Friday (eek!) She is lovely, but will not go out if she has ironing to do (bonkers) so a real tidy is needed tomorrow! Might need to drug DS so I can though.....:o