Fledglings Fly into July!

[BlueEyeshadow]

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

A huge "thank you" to SanguineChompa for leading us throughout June!!

If your 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, support and wine 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:

• 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.

All welcome!!

Apologies for starting the thread so late - it took SC lobbing the duster at me to make me remember it's July tomorrow (and I've blatantly cut and pasted her OP too)!

The first baby step is to shine your sink! See here for the Fat Fairy's tutorial...

No mission because it's Sunday. But here's the flight plan for established flyers

Thanks very much for leading us last month, SC, and to Blue for taking over this month.

Ellie - I read your post about telling the DC - it must have been so hard for you all, I'm sorry. I hope keeping busy and seeing your mum helps today.

DS1 went to stay with his best friend yesterday and hasn't come home yet , so the house is unusually quiet. We did lots yesterday as we grabbed the opportunity to take DS2 out (difficult when DS1 is here because he won't come out), then brought MIL home for the afternoon. I should be sorting the house out today, but I have lapsed into lethargy. Am aiming to do a crisis clean, then sort the playhouse (which has turned into a storage shed for bits and pieces ) ready for the summer holidays.

Off to make a start. Reluctantly. Would rather curl up on the sofa and read the paper....

DH out at supermarket with DS so I stood on the scales again, and only .4lb (157.6) up on last week; this after breakfast and lunch, so I think I may have been too quick this morning.

Either way, still put on so joining sc in the naughty corner of body clutter.

But good news! DBIL is coming up for about 3 weeks in the summer so yay! I'm so pleased as I have missed him since he's been married - it was made clear to me that I was "not required" by his wife. It'll be nice to have someone to help out for a bit as well. Starting the countdown (and starting the tidying!) now

finally we relaid the mini-patio, which has been a morass since we stole some bricks from it two months ago.
And finally cut back the honeysuckle on back hedge

Dd was invited round to her friend to make giant paper flowers, and I joined for a bit of OT with a cup of coffee and talk with friend/her husband. My flower looked a giant cabbage. Must do more craft, it really is very therapeutic, whatever the result

Have avoided home, another row/long talk with DH. All very wearing. We finally cheered up and decided a pond might be nice, eventually.

Nothing else achieved, but patio is a weight off my mind. Just the rubbish at end of garden to go then 5 bags of builder's rubble, 2 flowerbeds to sort out and a raised bed to build...

Boys glued to screens, although they mowed lawn this morning.

SC Such a heartstopping feeling when doors left ajar
Don't worry about kilo, it was probably a scales blip anyway or perhaps you wearing something a bit heavier, leaning wrong angle etc. It can come off as quickly as it goes on.

I notice that the food itself doesn't matter, as long as I have it at mealtimes. And drink only water/tea/one coffee. And have at least one walk a day, even small walk. I think the danger with snacking is that one really has to think about what one is eating, and loses track of how many calories one is actually consuming, whereas at one sitting it is difficult to eat more than the right amount. I had a day like that when nominally I was eating healthy snacks, apricots, nuts, a piece of bread, and no proper meals, and I completely lost all sense of my appetite and whether it was too much or too little. I am not using MFP, and it has made no difference to my motivation.

Thanks for the warm welcome :0

More washing done but it will have to be the last load tonight, i've run out of washing powder. opppps

Need to get everyone ready for heading out tonight plus the livingroom needs done before my mum brings back DS.

Evening all.

Sorry have been aabsent for the last week or so. Last week of term was as always ridiculously busy. Determined to start flying again (and now I have 7 weeks holiday I can MN keep up with flylady).

Ellie am really sorry to hear your news. I recognise the situation you described (things were the same between my ex and I after 7 years) but cannot imagine how hard it must have been to tell LOs.

Well, managed to have a bit of a declutter yesterday. Threw away the most hideous photo frame that my sister gave me 4 years ago. Have been looking at it on the dresser for years thinking a=how disgusting it was but put up with it because it was a present. No more!!!!! It's in the bin! DS has now worked out how to pull himself up to standing so nothing on the coffee table is safe - decluttered now! Ditto windowsills!

Must go and weigh myself. Wise words swan - snacking is my downfall!

put on 1.5kg

And! I've been for several runs, started, then did another, and another..Ds1 can't run at all, he gave up in tears. Ds2 ran with me every step of the way
So I suppose I've done 1km to beat the depression , and that's something, although the aim was to get ds1 running. That didn't work

Hello *Jacqui". Also done loads of washing, though none put away as yet

Engel what an efffort it costs us to throw things away. Well done, and dont feel guilty. Ever. She wanted it to please you, and it has for four years (or not) I think the contract is absolved.

Never weigh yourself in the evening Engel!

am definitely getting on the scales first thing tomorrow morning.

it's not even like she's going to come round and ask where it is swan as I live in Holland and she's been in Oz for the last 2 years!

Hey hey all
Late sign in apologies, super weekend with friends from London. Had been a little nervous as house still DIY disaster zone and dd is gorgeous but full on! Lots of fun, topped off by dd now being out like a light! Let's hope it lasts the night.
Have just shined my sink and cleared work tops so starting as I mean to go on!
Body clutter wise, will weigh myself in the morning, not hopeful, have fallen off the mfp wagon as was so upset that the first week I did,had been really good, exercise and no snacks and put on nearly 2kg. Pah! Might start again this week as now it's July. Which in my family this year, means it is the start of a new year as the last half has been pretty rotten.

ellie thinking of you Hun. New year for you too aye?

Nice to meet new faces. My plan this month is to graduate from the cupboard under the stairs(where I was sitting being a bit shy) to at least the naughty corner!
See yous tomorrow!

I've done my sink. . It looks lovely.
Now, I've looked at next few baby steps and I already dress to shoes and don't really need post it reminders plus my family will think I'm bonkers I just need telling what to do and when. Am I in the right place?

List update!

Would like DH to cut the front grass if he can. he didnt
I need to buy ds2 some new plimsolls. done
Pack all the school kits for next week half done
Lay out tomorrow's clothes done
Put all the clean clothes away done
Hoover stairs and hall not done but will get done in the home bleugh tomorrow

How have you all been?

ellie how are you and the dcs?

Welcome jacqui

Waves to toffee, SC, blue, nettie, Engels, swan, foad, who knows, carpe, more cats, PA, OFM

And anyone else I might have missed!

See ya tomorrow!!!

Cross posted hi kiwi and must tidy

musttidy you are definitely in the right place! bet your sink is shinier than mine

Evening all. Well, I have survived and so have the dc's. We have all had a moment here or there, ds in particular but that is to be expected. Today has been as hard as yesterday because it is about. Slow realisation of what is happening. I miss him.. I can just about cope most of the time but when I see him I go to pieces.

On a positive note, he must have been one messy fecker as my house is quite tidy, that and a combination of a need to keep myself busy. Washing has been done, dc's rooms tidied and plans being hatched to declutter.

I am absolutely knackered and bearing in mind tomorrow's Monday that is not a good thing. I am also pooping myself a little bit about the financial side of it. I have done sums and just about manage but I will be buggered if anything breaks.

Anyway, onwards and upwards to iron some uniform. The joy never begins ends!

Oh yes. It's never been so clean. I'll have to regrout now though as pulled all the scuzzy stuff off .

And welcome to the lovely new ladies. Apologies if my emotional trauma means i am the most selfish poster around, me, me, me.

ellie hope work tomorrow goes ok. Well done on tidying up. Hope you get a good nights sleep. Thinking of you.

Today ive tidied up the whole house but now at the end of the day you would not know had some chill time, ran 2km exercised for 30m total and went to a garden party.

Tomorrow hoping dh will get dc up and read and take ds to school.
Whilst I
Dw/wm
S/s
Put away clothes
Room rescue my room
S/s bathroom
Clean sink
Go to the school Olympics opening ceremony.
Post another album of photos on Facebook after heavy editing as they are of a dream men strip night at work.

Think that will do although I may try and do a programme on Terence the treadmill tomorrow night.

Hope to be back soon. Have a good day everyone

Good evening all!

Welcome to WisteriaWoman, musttidyup and Jacqui and welcome back to Nettle and NickNacks!

Wow, only two weeks, PA? That?s come round quickly! Exciting or scary? Or both??

Glad M. Renard hadn?t got the bunnies, SC - must have been pretty worrying?

Toffee - great that your DS1 is out and about with his friend. Hope you managed the shed playhouse.

Carpe - pack the scales into the naughty corner!

Swan - good going with the patio, and the not-snacking! I think that?s the benefit of MFP for me ? it helps me to be aware of what I?m eating, both in terms of avoiding snacking, and portion control.

Engelsmeisje - well done on decluttering the photo frame!

kiwi - Happy New Year!

musttidy - yay to shiny sinks!

((hugs)) to Ellie. Don?t worry about venting on here.

Waves to foad, OFM, Linzer if you?re lurking, and anyone else I?ve missed.

Will do links tonight and bodyclutter round up tomorrow? Night night!

Babystep no. 2 is the lace-up shoes! Getting dressed to shoes. Not all of us bother with it, but if you want to see the reasoning behind it, check out the link.

We?re moving back into zone 1 tomorrow ? the entrance, front porch and dining room. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is the area around the front door.
Flight plan has details and reminders of routines etc.

Lovely weekend here, got a text from DMIL yesterday to say that the Olympic torch was going to be 2 streets away from them this morning and did we want to come over, so we decided to be spontaneous and go (it's 100 miles away), went up yesterday afternoon and had a nice time there. The DCs really enjoyed watching the torch go by - it isn't going to be coming very near us and it will be in the middle of a school day so we were unlikely to have gone.

Then back for unpacking, tidying up and a some visitors this afternoon, a friend who was just Flying by and her DS who got on very well with my DS, all in all a very good day.

However I have four machine loads of clean washing tipped all over my bed so I'd better go. Week off work this week to catch up with everything, so I'm probably going to put out clothes for tomorrow and tip the rest on the floor .

Hi everyone! Thanks SC for helping me get the ball rolling and also want to send mucho and a friendly hug to Ellie, you sound so together, and are so brave to deal with it all as you are. Hope you continue to be strong.

I have been checking in silently for the most part, knowing I'm likely to get derailed the minute I finish writing my to do list. DD1 (terrible two) has turned into a monster overnight and i have been at my wits end. Anyway, am vowing to get better at sharing lists and what's going on this month, without boring you all with my clueless mummy woes. So impressed at everyone's efforts!

Roll on Monday, a new week and a new, improved flyer/mummy!

Good evening. I have spent the weekend rediscovering my inner woo. Yeah probably best not to ask. it has been a mad weekend and much fun has been had. Although the only flying that could be reported would be the leaving of a tidy hotel travel lodge room behind us when we left. I have sensibly ignored the fat fairy's instructions on unpacking as soon as you get back and gone for the upload pictures and pass out approach. Back to reality with a bump tomo. Knives first.

Ellie good luck tomo. Will be thinking about you and your brood.

Nettie thank fuck you are back. You have been scaring me with your rl adventures although if I may I might need to pick your brain about something. i seem to have managed to accidentally volunteered myself for something.

PA 2 weeks? 2? weeks? Bloody hell. Waved at you from across the water today. Didn't have time to grab a ferry despite what ds would have liked. I'd say perhaps another time but you are disappearing to more exciting climes.

SC see I told you that if we banned the naughty corner we might all be more productive

Right list monday morning:
up and out
leave ds' pennies for school thingy
early training
individual training
go try to find person to talk to about thingy
try to discover car under a weekend's worth of inhabitance not literally although it almost feels like that
laundry
emails
paperwork
ring and check when need to be where.
early night

right must must must sleep. see you far too soon tomo. night.

Evening ladies!

I'm not strictly a *new flyer, signed up to the emails a couple of years ago, got sick of receiving them and blocked them! Ready to get back on the wagon though, this house is in CHAOS!

Must read up on morning jobs... :)

DS was up at 5. DH was "on duty" but didn't realise DS was cold and hunting his water bottle - which DH had helpfully removed the night before. So now, we're all up.

Open the other hand, DS is munching happily through 2 rounds of toast, and DH has managed breakfast, so it's not all bad.

I have no idea what I need to do today - given the school hols have started, I need to rethink my routines as we no longer have things on certain days. Roll on three weeks time when DBIL is up to help entertain the monster! However, it is pouring with rain, so I'm a bit scuppered with DS. Think I may actually have to put the phone down and interact

Right, off for a shower and dress - but DW is empty and coffee is on and washing organised - so that's my routine done by 6am! Will probably be back later to catch up properly.

Ooo im very jealous Carpe I can't wait for the school hols here. Still 3 weeks to go.

Today's list

Clean and tidy under sink - handy man coming to fix the drawer so must be presentable.
Dust downstairs.
Declutter handbags - am focussing on where decluttering is needed rather than the non existent hall I'm supposed to be doing.
Mop kitchen

Plus the general tidying that comes from minding - today a 3yo a 11 month old plus almost 2yo dd.

Bbl