Aiming high in April, babystepping our way to a cleaner house

[CatsSleepAnywhere]

Hi all, welcome to the new babysteps thread for April.

All newcomers welcome.

We have pointy sticks ----> to help get you moving and plenty of brews and biscuits on our Chat thread for in between jobs.

Please come and join us.

thanks for that carrots

as i raise them pretty alone i do feel a lot of the time im on a back foot and i can see where i want to be and struggle to cope the frustration when the little steps that will get me there are thwarted by exhaustion or the kids not tow the line.

ive been soo ill with the depression when ds was a baby i too am just discovering who i am/what i want and sometimes that feels like i am such a grumpy gus moaning under the frustration and someties angerthat goes with it

anyways enough feeling sorry for myself.i have a front room again and as suns shining i think some fresh air is in order so im off to take zoolets out for walk

I have done breakfast, got dressed, 1 x drying up and let the DC have some Easter egg.

I am off to do washing up next. I want to keep on top of it. DH is back to work today, he was very helpful doing the washing up when he was off so we are almost up to date with it so I need to push myself to keep the standard up.

Please keep cracking the whip so I stay focused.

I am leaving my living room mostly till the DC are back to school but am trying to keep walking space in there.

I am also too tired in the evenings to do anything.

zoo hope you enjoy your walk

carrots how was the report? [nosey emoticon] I hope it wasn't too bad. If you don't want to say on here feel free to PM.

Can I ask : How do you do jobs upstairs or outside when you have a young child?
Do you take them upstairs too or do you leave them downstairs for a short amount of time and keep fx ?

zoo tell me about anger, frustration and grumpiness. I am queen of it!

I have just lost it with dd who feels sorry for herself because she has so much ironing to do. I tried to point out that if she had a) hung up the stuff I had lovingly washed and ironed for her b) put her dirty stuff in the wash when she was finished with it c) hadn't dragged out so much stuff and got so much dirty all at once d) done some of it when suggested weeks ago then she would have clothes to wear now and not have a huge mountain to do all at once. She shot me a filthy preteen look. I went NUTS. Now I am left feeling like a right cow and there is a horrid atmosphere again.

It would be easier and quicker to do it all for her but if I do it will be an endless cycle and she will never learn to appreciate what is done for her, how much she has and how much time is spent looking after her (which I wouldn't mind if she didn't leave freshly laundered and ironed clothes in a heap on her bedroom floor). Grrrrrr!

I suspect those with littlies will think I am a cow too. I suspect you need to feel the frustration of a preteen to fully appreciate the horror.

disclaimer I am fully aware of the horror of toddlers and the frustrations they present. Feel free to have a toddler rant too.

RANT, RANT, RANT, RANT...

Sorry! That sort of bubbled out!

I don't think you are a cow carrots. I think there comes an age when you have to try and get them to be a bit more independent and if you leave it too late (in their teens) they will be less likely to do what you ask. I know cause I was that teen who never learned at the right time and have turned into an adult who really doesn't have a clue and am learning far too late in life.

You are doing her a favour by trying to get her to take some responsibility for her stuff. If she learns before she is an adult she will thank you for it one day (hopefully!)

Mine haven't quite got to that preteen age yet but I hope I will be trying to get them to be more independent by then.

Hi all!
Well, back from a more than manic long weekend of flying visits and activities.

Ta-da
up and breakfast
beds made
sink shined
wm on
Lollipop asleep
Muddles asleep

To do
Reclaim house from bomb that hit yesterday when we got home!
Make Herman cake
do toad in the hole for tea - not done before!!!

dd2 is i the early stages tweenager and i been through it you are most definatley NOT a cow carrots

i long for the day i can deem dd2 resonsible enough to iron her own things as she is the same drag it all out and get dirty without even wearing it and rummaging it all to a creased mass[grr]

i have had a call asking to go out with mum i know who has an autistic ds 6months older than mine.he has it high end and although quite socialble,likes being around people> he doesnt communicate much except when he leaps on you or hugs us when we leave!he does however whoop with delight as he gallops along with my dcs as we walk and chat so we are heading for local nature reserve so the kids can let off steam and she can talk

i will be back later and will need some serious pointy sticking...
the only good thing is we arent here to mess up my tidy front room!ha ha

Hi everyone, can I rejoin? My only ta da so far today is putting on the second load of washing and rejoining a Flylady thread!

Hi josie, I'm sure you can join us although I'm not doing so well myself today. I think most of the others are out and about today so might not come on the thread till later.

Cats and zoo, thank you both for making me feel better. I am at the pool. Remind me next time to eat more before i come. I was in for 2 hours and nearly passed out in the changing rooms. Ds and i are out now and having a snack in the cafe. Dd and her friend are still in. They have a limitless flume ticket so could be a while. Hi long. Lovely to see you again. How are you?

Hi carrots, I am probably on here way too much today.
I have just hoovered my living room and cleaned the base area of the fire place.

Can anyone think of incentives/suggestions to get me/you moving when having a CBA day?

I have just picked up one from another thread:
"Think of the most perfect, organised, beautifully dressed I Have It All woman you know. Then imagine she'll be round in half an hour."

Another one is: "imagine your house is For Sale and you have viewers coming today"

Can anyone add to the list?

imagine we are descending on you withsharpened pointy sticks to jab jab jabetty jab you if its not up to standard

Cats I never really cracked the upstairs/outside jobs with a little one - hence our chaos and bad habits. Neither of mine could be reliably left while I got on with stuff. I had to wait until dh was here or take them with me. Taking them with me meant I was interupted every 20 secs and that something was undone as quick as I did the next thing. I realise now that what I should have done was got them involved in doing what I was doing. It would have been done at the pace of an elderly snail but it would have been the answer. Mucho patience would be required though. It is not much wonder we struggle with our mental health!

On the ds report front it was quite a good summary of where we were, why we were there and where we have got to. It made encouraging reading and was brutally honest so I know exactly what the psychologist thinks of our parenting. It is quite refreshing to know exactly what someone thinks of your parenting - not the polite and reserved version. I think I agree with what was said too. I am not sure how dh will feel when he reads it as he comes in for a bit of a hard time. All things he knows and openly admits but I wouldn't find it easy to see in black and white iykwim.

oops! That was a half written post from this morning.

Ta Das and To Dos:

pack
load car
go to bank
drive home
go to soft play to deliver things (and let Toddler play)
get groceries for tonight and tomorrow
remake Toddler's bed
empty diaper pail
take out trash -- kitchen and diaper pail
put bin to curb
wash dishes
pack supplies for tomorrow's meet-up
unload car
charge phone
menu plan
grocery list
sausages out of the freezer for tomorrow's dinner
make chocolate bunny pops

Some give me a poke.

forgot cats about flyng upstairs /outside with littlies

i had a small box "goodies" only played with when i was doing stufff upstairs that was put within sight of me

that and "helping" put things away,laundry to be washed in this bag,standing them in the bath with a cloth while i do sink and floor

it does get easier as they get bigger in that respect as can be left unsupervised for a bit without getting into too much mischief sometimes

is her room safe for play in alone with the door open/stairgae while you do couple of things?little zoo would tolerate that if i did a running commentary what i was doing so she could hear i was still there

Ta Das and To Dos:

take out trash (kitchen and diaper pail)
put bin to curb (not doing -- forgot bin day pushed back a day)
wash dishes
pack supplies for tomorrow's meet-up
unload car
charge phone
menu plan
grocery list
make chocolate bunny pops
email mom Toddler's measurements

Apologies - I have just realised I was ranting on the ta da thread and not the chat thread. It was bad enough as it was.

Ta Das -
dw unloaded
dw reloaded
wm on
worktops cleaned
ironing pile sorted (see rant above)
washing hung
wm on again (about to finish)
hallway hoovered - serious dog fluff after the dog washing yesterday -dd
swimming bags sorted out - dd and I need new costumes
paperwork decluttered - dh (he just did it tonight without me saying a word)

Oh and 3 dcs entertained for several hours and purse seriously decluttered.

morning all!
i was up at 5 so got to work

ta das
washing on
kitchen surfaces scrubbed
tiles washed
cupboard fronts wiped
snk plughole/overflow disinfected
washing hung up
2nd load washing on
breakfast

i am now leavng the zoolets consuming THIRD bowls cereal whilst i pootle off and attack some ironing

Hi Carrots! How am I? Pregnant! I joined your last thread and then the morning sickness struck! I will persevere this time though

Hello Cats and thank you for your welcome. I warn you, I've been a bit flaky with flying of late. Maybe this will be the time I finally get a gleaming home.

I shined my sink last night with Shiny Sinks (brilliant stuff) Although it has a waste disposal so doesn't gleam for long...

This morning I came downstairs to find:

• My cat unable to get into the living room. And neither could I until I forced the door because...
• Next door's cat had pulled up the carpet next to the door and eaten all the cat food

Then we got in and as I drew the curtains I saw DD (whose slippers were drying in the utility room) was standing on the tail of a dead mouse. Or more accurately - half a dead mouse, bisected across its middle like a mini-Damien Hurst. Boak. DD picked up, soles of feet washed with antibacterial soap, mouse removed (and where is its head? Outside I bloody hope), carpet sprayed with antibacterial spray. This is the last straw, I'm getting a microchip cat flap. I'm fond of next door's cat but sod this, really...

Good grief Long that is a bit of an awakening! I hope you are not still feeling pukey with that to contend with first thing in the morning.

CONGRATULATIONS! What lovely news. How far along are you? When are you due? That is a great bit of news for me to start my day on

Ta Das:

unloaded dw
reloaded dw
put wm on

Now having my breakfast and a

Ds is happily absorbed with dd's Littlest Pet Shop stuff and dd is off making a list of what she has in her wardrobe (ie where there are gaps so she can sting me for even more clothes) EEeeek!

Zoo I am very impressed with your Ta Da list already!
I haven't even had breakfast or got dressed yet.

Hi josie How far pregnant are you, if you don't mind me asking?
about the mouse, yuk! Those magnet cat flaps are good from what I remember. (We had one at a different house). Our cat is fairly old so she doesn't go out and we are not far from a busy road.

I will hopefully come back later to post some Ta Da's.

Hi carrots X posts