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

My two are allowed to be naked provided that they stay out of sight of the front windows, don't so it with guests around and they aren't allowed to eat while naked (just seems wrong somehow). They have grown out of playing naked in the garden now, which DS particularly used to love. He would happily spend all day in just pants.

evening all
ellie sorry you are struggling a bit. glad to hear you have picked up a bit though.

just quick hello as in middle of tea time chaos.
DC all in most foul end of term moods. to top it off dd4 now has to go to bday party
very rubbish day at work. Have only been back 3 days this week and already back to feeling totally wrung out and overwhelmed
DH and I have had big argument(s) so things are rubbish there.
am feeling just very rubbish and had enough-ish. sigh
will try and motivate myself a bit....
want to get some more knitting done once ds2 in bed...then slob on sofa before early night.

sadly the weekend offers little respite with :
dd3 and 4 dancing at 9.30
dd4 to party at 12.15 (yes, another one!)
dd1 and 2 horse riding at 2.30

then on Sunday we are going off to a run... Im doing a 10K, DH,DD1 and 2 are doing 2 mile fun run, and littlies are doing the park run. It should be a good day out...but I am just longing for ONE day with NOTHING scheduled sob...

BBL

Argh :( It's a getting nothing done day and a DS gonna act up as much as possible day. He really really needs a bath but I think I am just gonna put him to bed the way he is. We have to get up and feed grotty animals first thing in the morning so I would need to bath him after that anyway. Sigh

Oh yes DS will be naked too unless he can wear his Buzz Lightyear tops. He gets it from his mother though I should admit I keep it to summer nights though after he's gone to bed. Sorry is that TMI? :o

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

Just done 8-5 in the office and will need to go in tomorrow too.

We have guests arriving on Sunday, and I had planned using Saturday to prepare.

Right now, I've opened the and DH is cooking steak. Sanity is at least two glasses away

Sorry Carpe. Can you delegate Sat prep to DH?

MsOnatopp - not TMI. I have only recently started wearing PJs because of DSs. Doesn't feel right to walk around naked when there's an almost-teen boy in the house, somehow.

OFM - sorry you've had a rough day and fallen out with your DH . I hope the weekend brings better things.

WhoKnows - Re 'playing naked in the garden' - reminds me of the first time I allowed DC out in the garden without supervision (kitchen is downstairs, so I can't see the garden when I'm busy). I could hear them laughing, so I knew they were alive (!) and happy. But when I went up to check on them, they were both naked and rolling in mud . I think DC just love being naked .

Bitchy - hope your insane Saturday is better than you hope.

Ellie - my DC are naturists at heart too .

Have managed all the batch cooking and clearing up, but haven't achieved much else. Am feeling too tired after dealing with DC all day to do anything else, so think I'll have an early night, then start early tomorrow (Dear Mother coming to stay, so am attempting massive clear up).

Evening all.

It's been a very unsettling day here - on the way to school this morning, there had clearly been some kind of accident: ambulances, police cars etc, teachers standing around shooing off gawpers. Made me feel worse than ever about having shouted at DS1 before we set off, and more terrified than ever of DS2's determination to walk in the gutter at all times. There was no explanation at the school of what actually happened though so I still don't know.

DS1 was fine at school all day, but has been throwing up this evening. :( More TMI but he's been too scared to cough properly because it hurts his throat, so I'm hoping that this is his body's way of getting rid of the phlegm.

Still, on the plus side, DS2 enoyed his playgroup party, I've finally got all the laundry put away and I can go and pick up my reserved copy of that Calmer, Happier Parenting book from the library tomorrow. Maybe it'll revolutionise everything...

Big waves to trazzletoes and Pantone.

Sorry for your unsettling day, Blue. I have a copy of 'Calmer, Easier...' etc. In spite of having had it for several weeks, I am still working on the suggestion for Chapter One, which is to descriptively praise your DC. The book is very encouraging and cheers me up no end when I read it but then I forget to put it into practise and shout instead.

Toffee - When the DCs were about 3 and 1 I let them loose naked in the garden with a load of paint and brushes, they painted each others bodies all over, it was lovely.

Blue - that is sad, hope the accident turns out not to have been too serious. Also hope DS1 recovers quickly.

, WhoKnows. That is so sweet.

I still remember an entire family tut-tutting at DS2's nakedness on a beach in Dorset. He was about three . I still don't understand how anyone could be offended by a young child's nakedness! Seems to me the most natural thing in the world.

Quick update: dishes done, living room done, fridge cleaned, supplies bought, kids packed off to ex for the night. And dog walked

EX did buy them sets, he sent them back to me by accident and they are lost to the mounds of washing . I didnt grt any washing done.

Gah! Hassling dog came to wake me up at 3am - let her out, then went to put her back to bed. Dog bed gone! Finally remembered I'd put it out the door while moving stuff around. Of course it's rained, bed soaked, puttering dog. Now happy to be at my feet as I type but I think I need to try to sleep some more before morning, even though the first birds are cheeping.

Body clutter - over all the time we have been doing this I am proud to announce the loss of 1lb! Still, perhaps that may be 5lb by Christmas at the current rate.

Ellie when my XH left a good friend who had been in the same situation said "Give yourself a year. Don't make any big decisions or enter into any serious relationships. Just learn to be yourself instead of part of a couple. At the end of the year the world will be so much better and you will be fit for it." She was so right! Both she and I had been with our XHs since our late teens and I did the most massive amount of growing up in that year. Best of luck to you.

Morning all!

The sun is shining here - is this summer at last?

I managed 2 hours gardening yesterday. I may actually achieve my goal of sorting out the wasteland/jungle areas before the summer holidays are over (4 weeks and counting).

carpe I always find that a good steak solves most of my problems

over I am in awe at your 10k and getting DH and kids along too!

morning all
well in total fed-up-ness I went to bed at 9pm last night...and actually slept fairly well so think I needed it!
feel slightly more positive today....have decided though that I am doing minimal FLYING this weekend!

and yes...miraculously the sun is shining
hoping it is good weather tomorrow (though not too hot - I hate running in the heat!) so we can bring a nice picnic for after the run...

dc seem not too bad mood....although dd4 has declared shes not going dancing (she is officially in holiday mood I think!) and dd3 is also not looking too keen...may give it a miss actually as it is the last one and they did there exam last week....

right...off to get some breakfast as I havent eaten yet LOL

hope everyone has some sun and a good day

HONU, I love that advice, it's basically what I am trying to do. Moved in with EX aged 16, so just trying to sort out who I am on my own.

BBQ this afternoon, no kids this morning so.

Walk the dog
Shower
DC bedrooms
Quick maintenance tidy downstairs
Put shopping away that's still on the floor from last night

Morning all!

Feeling a little worse for wear this morning after drinking copious amounts of last night at department do. Had a lovely evening though so all good.

Got quite a busy weekend planned. Old uni friend is coming over this afternoon and staying the night so it will be good to have a catch-up and probably more and tomorrow we have an end of term scout group bbq to look forward to and the weather has perked up just in time .

honu I agree with panton, marvellous advice. I have been with DH since I was 18 so 17 years, have never lived on my own as moved in with DH as soon as I finished uni and you are very right about needing to find out who I am as a single person so to speak. I think I have quite a good idea but time to adjust and adapt to a new world is exactly what I need to do.

Better get on as I currently have no food to feed uni friend or small children and got to try and make house presentable. Could do with gardening to be honest. As I ave mentioned on this thread several times,gardening is not something I do. DH has always been responsible for that but, although lawn has been mowed, I have weeds growing on weeds in the flower beds and the patio/drive are looking more like a weed bed everyday. Tomorrow is another day however and uni friend will just have to take the garden as she finds it .

Back in a mo with linkies. Have a good day in the sunshine everyone .

Your babystep for today is check out ask flylady. An easy one/one you don't really have to do .

No missions as it is family fun time .

I just actually looked at the babysteps today and realised I had done the morning routine without thinking . I am now feeling smug .

The toll of endoftermitis is being truely felt today. Thankfully as ds is with his dad I won't have to worry about him. As for me. Ripping up the plans and sticking to meh.

Ellie Can i come hide and yours and pretend to day isn't happening? I like to weed. it's therapuetic. Plus those evil bugger look at you funny. So they gotta go.

witchy you are more than welcome. Anybody who will do gardening is more than welcome. Come see me this afternoon instead, I am going to lounge around in the garden, drink wine, and bask in sunshine whilst studiously ignoring weeds. But I think you have something far more up your street planned.

My garden has gone to seed since I moved in. I can't start the mower (petrol pull thing) and have no idea what I am doing.

I came home from a day out last week and the WHOLE garden had been done. Mowed, weeded, hedges trimmed

Mate called to say her and her DH had formed a working party and had been there all day . I hate accepting help from people, but I was so grateful. Her DH also took the mower, serviced it and now I can start it on my own!

Normally my.parents have DS on Sat in the afternoon and I get shopping done but today I am taking him so bribes with sweets ahoy!

Excellent advice Pantone! I am still very young so things haven't been as difficult for me but I did fall apart for that first year anyway. You both seem far stronger than I was :) Decided that I will never know who I am and just to keep plodding along :o Got a new man possibility atm but will keep quiet about that for now til I am as sure as I can be.

To do
Shopping
Any housework I can cram in but that will barely anything...
Bed at a reasonable hour - you never know, it could happen...

Everytime someone writes endoftermitis I keep reading endometreotis

managed a whopping 6 hours gardening today

Done :

Kitchen sorted
Hoovered
Floors mopped
Brass polished
Bed clothes changed and washed
Beds made up
Bathroom swished and swiped
Room rescues throughout house
Stuff taken to dump (by DH)
Mum collected from station (by DH)
Lunch

DS2 is now watching a film featuring happy, funny dogs - my attempt to help him to see dogs as friendly, not scary. He's laughing, so I hope it's working. And, fortuitiously, the main dog in the film looks like the one we'll be looking after next week.

Cooking a roast dinner and drinking Prosecco now . DH and I are escaping going away overnight tomorrow, leaving my mum in charge of the boys. She is sleeping in our room, which means I have to tidy up in there. She says as long as she can reach the bed, she'll be happy.

Cheers, Toffee - enjoy your break!

DS1 has been going round like a dying duck all day. He was being sick most of the night and somehow seems to have given himself a groin strain in the process. I feel like the worst mother ever because his pathetic behaviour provokes fury not sympathy.

Hope everyone else has had a better day and managed some family fun!!