Fledglings “March” 31 steps away from CHAOS and mess towards domestic success...

[sanguinechompa]

... well, a shiny sink at least!!

Welcome to the March 2012 Fledgling Flyers thread. Park your mops, buckets and microfibre cloths here!!

A huge "thank you" to Linzer for steering us all through February - not a small achievement Linzer considering your school run/teaching commitments and with your dh travelling so frequently.

If you're house is a mess and you are strugging with C.H.A.O.S. (can't have anyone over syndrome) and S.T.U.F.F. (something that undermines family fun) then this is the thread where we (loosely) follow the step-by-step Flylady housekeeping system (in our own, unique, relaxed style) with lots of chat, whinging (in my case anyway ) and support along the way.

We advise not signing up to receive the Flylady e-mails as you will be inundated! All the information you need will be linked here on a daily basis.

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's tips on restoring order to our homes, and as we are all at different stages we will be using one of the following methods:

Here you can, for one month:

• repeat or start baby steps

• repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

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

More info here and here!

All long-standing members, intermittent returnees, lurkers and newcomers welcome!!

Today

Library work as mum has rung to say I'm not needed today
Ds1 still at home - what shall I do with him, need to think of proactive homework for boy with soreish throat..

Still feeling long term effects of fall last week, knee incredibly stiff but not ligamenty ifysim (*Toffee) shoulders and arm hurt, and incredibly tired! I've walked miles in last three days... Next week is going to be much busier so I need to recover this week.

I think my mum likes being surrounded by similarily challenged carers as my father is completely deaf, my brother horizontal with chilledoutness, my auntie can hardlly walk (bad knee) and is blind in one eye, and I'm, in mental fog, and generally erratic...perhaps this all makes her feel much less disabled and a bit more normal

Tbh with the original birds and bees talk I unintentionally did it when he was 5 1/2. Let him have a good science book about the body that he had asked for for a long road trip (was about £2 so good value) but didnt even consider it would cover reproduction. in detail. So we have kinda got past the how babies are made. We are more into the relationship side of things these days. But imo this is harder to discuss then the factual aspect of how babies are made. My parents had a you do not discuss this ever rule growing up. Ds has big communication issues as it is and I know that in order to ensure that we can discuss stufff and it not be a major trauma a little and often is going to be the best way forward. Communication before the teenage hormones kick in and scramble his brain even more. It is more deflection and answering of questions. But his timing for these conversations can be a bit off.

As for tiger rolls. These are seseme seed rolls, made with seseme seed oil to give the roll a nutty flavour and then glazed with an egg wash, applied in a strippy mannor gives it its tiger name. i just glazed the whole roll cos i am lazy. very nice though. finished off for breakfast.

Not sure what i am going to do today. Tons that can be done, tons that should be done.

SC I find drip feeding the birds and bees stuff has worked alright...Often questions are asked, and then it is right time to give detailed answers. But I did try and cover puberty a while ago at a very simple level for all three. Dd now does not want to have babies! Tis more difficult with ds2, as his behaviour can be very inappropriate, so I have to be very careful and at the same time very straightforward. I basically said to him, no kissing till you are 14 (as he has a tendency to go around kissing everyone as it is and nothing else allowed until you are 16 if ever...Find your wife first...

Done
library work...much talk of inventions, but I just sorted out books as a teacher was in charge today, thank goodness.
need to buy dd her birthday outfit (new clothes at last) and a shop cake.
Guides this eve for first time, and she has to dress up as a famous person for that too [sigh] and will want to be someone different again..[triple sigh] And it's World Book Day next week, so more dressing up..

I told ds that if he was catch having sex to a girl under 16 i would first kill him and then hand him over to the police as it was illegal. well aware this might come back to haunt me later

*caught

Hello!

SC if I sound organised, it's definitely under false pretenses!

Linzer - that sounds hopeful at any rate. HOpe this afternoon goes well.

Bitchy - tiger rolls sound fab. Sainsbury's have changed the name of their tiger bread to giraffe bread because some kid wrote to them and pointed out that it wasn't stripy!!

DS2 is very clingy and under the weather today. He's still refusing a nap though, so I think I'm going to take him out in the pushchair and see if he falls asleep in a bit. ATM he's watching the Muppets on DVD.

We've done Aldi shopping and put it away, and the washing is on the line. I think that's about all the flying I'm going to get through today.

See you later! Waves to all and runs...

Ho hum. DS2 fell asleep on the sofa - I said he was tired! The part of my plan which involved getting out in the sunshine has been foiled, but at least he's asleep...

When my DSs were 9 or 10 I got a couple of books on birds and bees out of the mobile library for them to read, just to make sure they'd taken all of it on board. They came back in horror - 'You didn't tell us we'd get spots!' All the rest of it was fine, but not the acne

Honu - in answer to your question: I was thinking about this on my way to the meeting and realised I had no physical impression of either WhoKnows or Swan. As a result, I had not the faintest idea who was who and would not have recognised the 'odd one out' if I'd had to. WhoKnows and I introduced ourselves by our real names so we identified each other quickly. I recognised Swan as soon as she started talking because she spoke as she writes and she made me laugh, just like her posts make me laugh (Swan - I loved your description of you waving the ragged A-Z at the taxi driver ). They were both as likeable in RL as they are on the thread and I was really sorry that we didn't have time to chat away from the meeting.

Just back from an all-day school trip to a local castle. I really think it's ridiculous to expect six-year olds to cope with a whole day at a castle. It was too long for them to maintain concentration, although they did very well. They were very sweet and several of them treated me as their mum and wanted cuddles during the day . I was very proud when my DS was the only child to know who had invaded Britain and built the castle ("the French"!).

Yet again, I haven't had time to do any Flying at all today. There is so much going on that housework seems to have slipped right down my list of priorities (sacrilege! Fancy saying that on a Flying thread). Am going to cook a roast dinner tonight because I think we all need it (particularly DH, who is still zonked out with the chest infection). Reluctantly, I'll produce a 'to do' list:

Put roast chicken on
Sort kitchen
Laundry
Check DS2 has uniform for tomorrow (might need to wash a shirt and trousers)
Finish cooking roast dinner
Family dinner (attempt to keep DC sitting at table for longer than 5 minutes)

Bedtime routines
Before-bed routine - lay clothes out, etc.
Bed at decent hour (need to catch up on sleep)

Quick update before evening of ferrying children.

Work - could have got more done!
Laundry - dry, iron, put away - done
Handwashing ditto - still looking at me from the (f)utility room
Dinner - so shopping will be needed - DC done, DH and me to do between journeys
Plan for Mother's Day lunch for Mum - us, dad, and 6 others (siblings/family) 12 altogether - it's in my head, perhaps I should write a list?

Re birds and bees - there are boy and girl books by ?Dorling Kindersley that are great for information for 7-10/11 year olds and some fun drawings - the boy one has drawings of 'boys bits' of every shape and size.

Ta da list:
docs
x-ray
morning school run
lunchtime school run
feed child lunch
afternoon school run.
watch 1 dvd

Plan of action:
early night and crappy tv

Hi everyone,

Been waylaid for the last day and a half with a sudden planning emergency - uproar over an attempt to get something 'pre-approved by Council' before lodgment of a Planning application - and therefore before residents/those affected have any chance to object. Significant implications for myself as a resident and for DSs' school and nursery so I've been running around liaising with people.

Now that I've established that for once I have a truly legitimate excuse for very little flying - I need to also make excuses for tomorrow . Won't actually be in very much at all tomorrow so very little flying to be done tomorrow either.

Tada list
Toy tidying with DS2
Passport photos for DS1 and myself
Mini Shop
Lots of running around

Time to get DSs off to bed now!

Hi all.

PA poor brother. Family dynamics always a challenge in these situations.
swan glad your Mum is ok and you are all able to make her feel 'normal' .
linzer glad HT was reasonable. Seems like a very thorough process (my ds def would not have been let into a German school ).

bitchy LOL Birds + Bees talk. DS wheedelled the whole thing out of us when he was 4 as a friend was pregnant. DD is nearly 7 and has shown no interest.

Done:
work
routines
booked out of school club for summer term

To do
fish DD out of bath.

swan HAPPY BIRTHDAY TWINS (for tomorrow).

Scatty twins are 10 today. I think when I started posting on Flyladies they were six , admittedly that was Nov... Part[ies] later when I am able to schedule them in..sleepover was first bit of celebration.

too tired to post much.
Have cooked vegetale risotto for DH, rice and bacon for kids
cobbled together Mrs Pankhurst costume (vote for woman) for Guides
taken dd to Guides
been to Parents' meeting for ds2, his teacher is so fantastic Ds2 adores him and behaves brilliantly for him. Otherwise handwriting terrible. But I knew that.

everyone except Mrs Pankhurst is watching football again

Chitchat I am glad you survived what sounds like a very frightening fall earlier - sorry if I am misposting..

Love all the haphazard approaches to the birds n bees. I was asked outright by DS when he was about 7 , "Come on Mum, how are babies REALLY made?" - instantly realized he would no longer be fobbed off by the "special cuddle" story. DH immediately left the room. So I took a deep breath and explained very simply what goes on. Thoughtful face. "You know you can ask me anything" says I, earnestly trying not to repeat the generations of don't ask, don't tell that have gone before.

After a long silence, he said, "So why are sperm whales called sperm whales?"

"Not a clue, ask your teacher".

He still thinks I'm a fool. :(

Evening. Hope you have all had a good day.

Feetheart hope your dd is feeling better today. Well done re crafts and respect to you for completing a half-marathon! That is really brilliant going on top of all your other commitments!

Toffee hope you had a good school trip! Hands over

Oh poor you Honu - I think you can put Flying legitimately to one side atm - rubble is tough to deal with at the best of times Have you got anyone supporting you while all this is going on?

PA that's a v. exhausting respectable list you have there - glad a bit of pampering was included! Sympathies re: the inflexibility of bank managers. The only way I could retain a bank acc in UK and live abroad was to give them my sister's address... totally, utterly, ridiculous in this day and age ...

Linzer¨ hope derm/gynae appts went ok. Sorry you have to wait until May to find out what will happen for your ds in Sept ...but glad head teacher was able to offer some reassurance. A neighbour of ours has a lovely little boy who is very shy (complicated by lang issue - he is Flemish going to French speaking school) but within a couple of months of starting maternelle, although he wasn't confident enough to engage with whole group, he had found two little close friends (also quite shy) and they created a small 'band' for themselves and are now feeling much more secure. Hope you and school can come up with a solution that suits your ds anyway.

Justgettingonwithit I hadn't realised you were still prone - poor you - here's to a speedy recovery and hope you got to the bottom of the scaffolding mystery...

JWIM well done re conquering of limescale! Your mother's day lunch sounds lovely ...good luck with the planning!

Swan happy birthday to your twins - I hope they had a lovely day!! And great to hear that your ma is feeling a bit better. Arf at 'similarly challenged carers' seriously think you might be on to something there

Thanks for advice Bitchy re rolls and sex education!! (Will look up a recipe - they sound absolutely delicious!!) Sleep well tonight!

Swan/Bitchy/Honu/JWIM thanks - understand best scenario is drip drip of information as it is asked for, but I completely bogged the most important question when it came. Need to sort this out. My parents never discussed it either - I was eleven when I found out (from school friend whispered in library!) so want dd to be better informed. Think I will buy her a book and take it from there ...

Arf at your dd no longer wanting babies Swan and your ds sounds so lovely and affectionate. Arf at threatened police involvement Bitchy! And arf at spots Honu!! JWIM thanks for Dorling Kindersley tip - will investigate!!

Blue sorry your ds2 under the weather - hope some extra sleep did the trick!

Toffee I think you were all v. brave to meet up in rl (I'd be horribly nervous) . It's such an unusual situation isn't it (knowing one another on here but not really knowing one another). And sort of situation where one is not sure of correct etiquette (do you mention things already discussed on-line or do you file that under 'written under blanket of anonymity' and start afresh? So glad that it all went well though - you are all such a lovely lot - couldn't fail to really!! Couldn't agree more about overly-long school trips btw - tis one of my bugbears - complete absence of common sense!! Well done to you and your ds (and hope he is not too tired tonight).

[Hands Chitchat official Flying waver documents!!] Sympathies re planning applications. We had to rally and deal with one when I was in UK (that involved the land at the back of my late mother's property). You really do just have to drop everything and tackle it ...Hope outcome is what you want...

Scatty arf at your precocious 4 yr old!!

I've had a fairly busy day (a) because more plaster dropped off the ceiling this morning and it needed attending to and (b) had loads of errands (including big supermarket shop, tracking down specialist supplies for office; meeting a friend for lunch + art materials for dd's latest school project) - and stayed out a long time because it was too sunny and lovely to come home.

National day of mourning tomorrow for the victims of the awful coach crash DD was meant to be going on a day trip but they have changed it to half day out of respect for the families - and the school are holding a mass in the morning.

cq and arf at sperm whales question!!!

Who would have thought it? (From Wikipedia)

The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale (odontocete) having the largest brain of any animal.

The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head.

Back with links after Masterchef!

Help! Where did the week go???

Baby-step number sixteen for tomorrow, Friday 16th is: ignorable (imo)

here (reading testimonials/e-mails from Flylady site) so, if poss, just keep maintaining routines everyone!

If you want you can read reminders instead (Quite useful!)

Mission for tomorrow here clearing/cleaning bathroom surfaces

Last day in bathroom zone tomorrow, detailed cleaning list included here

The daily focus for Friday is here - declutter car and purse day

Have a good one everybody!
*

May be away for a bit. Turns out major building works are starting here and I have to clear out half an overcrowded flat, and remove greenhouse and pot garden pronto. They say letters were put through the front door but they had no names on them and it looks like someone recycled mine.

I?m trying not to panic, but no idea how I?m going to manage it or where on earth I?m going to put everything.

Sanguine, :( I wish there was a way of taking the pain from those poor parents.

Just how awful! And how inconsiderate of landlord / whoever not to make sure you knew! Do you have anyone in RL who can (a) come and help and (b) lend you some space, both indoor and outdoor, to store stuff? I am immensely grateful to neighbours who are storing several large items in their garage, and also to those who came and helped me move other difficult pieces of furniture from room to room.

I have decided to designate Friday evenings as vacuuming and dusting time as, with the best will in the world, my house now has dust lying everywhere. At least I should get 2 days worth of benefit if I do it then.

Good morning. Sympathies to those undergoing renovation ructions ...

Justgettingonwithit Oh no!! That seem rather unfair - when you had no idea - and it's such short notice. Good luck with the packing and hope the disruption isn't too onerous (sounds as though it is fairly major though). Failing all else, perhaps you and your neighbours could club together and find a communal space to store stuff temporarily?? Maybe??

Poor you Honu that sounds like a bit of a nightmare . Would it be too awful to adopt a "dust it all at the end" approach?? How long is it all going to go on for? (Glad to see you have a little help on hand btw).

I'm feeling frustrated this morning because I'm ahead with work in the office so I was intending to get cracking in house this morning but I woke in the night feeling all shaky and a bit wierd. (Very odd feeling faint lying down!!) Anyway, going to try and carry on as if OK and hopefully it will go away ....!!

Ta da:
um, I'm dressed

To do:
morning routine, inc s&s, wm, dw
major tidy up in boudoir
major tidy up in sitting room
wearily survey crapola in hall (cleared two weeks ago but has returned) and try and shift
more washing
finish off dd's motivation charts (haven't finished 'em yet)
prep fish goujons + potato wedges
clear dining room table hot spot
put away clean washing

Hope you all have a good day ...

Just I don't believe it. Storage can be very cheap though, it is the moving that is the difficult bit. Is there anyone else in the same boat in your building?

Dd was soo tired this morning, and it was a struggle getting her to school as one thing after another failed to meet her standards Ds2 as always, behaves beautifully when dd is acting up Ds1 went to school bright and early, but that required quite a lot of prodding too, wash, dress, find his stuff, drip feed him breakfast and drinks, sort out his pencil case, remind to take PE kit etc etc.

I am still shattered, and unlike you SC don't have a particularily clear plan of action, just surrounded by unfinished jobs. Made a stew yesterday eve in slow oven, then forgot about it, till we woken by the glorious smell of gravy - it may be edible but I'll think about that this afternoon..

Hey ho, better start with sorting out the dressing up box/laundry, and maybe I'll find Dd's school trousers which got mislaid somewhere on Wednesday

Various people have rung up to ask if Ds2 is having a birthday party (puts head in hands) as apparently he has mentioned it at school...

sc - Hope the day of mourning is of some comfort and that your 'faint lying down feeling' doesn't return.

To those with building works to deal with - my best wishes - I found just gritting my teeth and ignoring the chaos was the only way to go in the end with a massive clean up when we moved back in.

Masterchef viewing somewhat disrupted last night when we found water leaking from bathroom above - had only just started - leak from pipe to cistern - so turned off water there and towel on carpet has soaked up the drips by this morning. Nice plumber (just did shower repair) is coming to sort this morning.

Morning routine done and second laundry load in
Work - started but lots to do ready for Monday back to back meetings
Shopping for weekend
Dinner to decide and make ?Thai Green Curry
Children ferrying about after school

Happy Friday all