Who wants to join me for a school holiday fly thread?

[carrotsandcelery]

I am hoping to develop a new routine for the school holidays which gets me through the basics, encourages the dcs to do a bit, and leaves me plenty time to mumsnet play with the dcs.

Anyone who would like to join me please sign in below.

Ideas how to achieve this are also gratefully appreciated.

Not doing as well as I thought Carrots only put two eggs in my favourite cake I didn't notice until it was already cooking, it's out now but doesn't look right ifswim.

DD's play time turned into going back to friend's house, which has just turned into staying overnight. Can't say I'm surprised as they love my nieghbour, she's so laid back and they never have to tidy up after themselves in her house, tut tut.

OH is home, extremely stressed so I'm happy for DDs to stay overnight.

Come on in RG, we all gets bits done as and when. No judgy paints on this thread

That should have been judgy pants, not paints

:o Talking of paints, i really should think about painting my skirting in the hall. It isn't dirty, but looks it because of a bad paint job by previous owners (we've been in this house 5 years!).

Welcome aboard rg. We all follow our own routines as we all have our own varied pressures. List what you have done and you might be surprised or motivated by someone else's endeavours as lucy pointed out yesterday.

My dd comes home today so i am considering baking to celebrate her return. Granny may have stuffed her with rubbish all week though so i may not be doing her a favour. Maybe a welcome banner would be better.

Ta das:
Got up
made ds warm weetabix
made me a
Ran and got in cosy bubble bath

Ta Das:
washed and dressed
dw loaded and on
wm loaded and on
tiny bit of decluttering - things are gathering on the kitchen table again

Oh I see. I like that idea.

Today I:

• Fed myself and dd
• dw loaded and on
• Took dd to ballet/disco
• Took dd to swimming straight after at the gym (where my friend was waiting for me so it was really a chance to have a coffee and a catch up)
• wm loaded, on and now in dryer
• dd fed and now just about to chuck her in the bath and out her to bed.

Then it's wine time!! (for me, not dd!)

Hello everyone. I know it is Sunday but here goes.

Ta Das:
washed and dressed
wm on
dw loaded but not yet full
hoovered
s&s main bathroom
gerbils cleaned out
guinea pigs cleaned out
garden poo scooped
mini shop done

Ummm? I think that's it...

Hope everyone has had a good weekend, not much flying here, again

Yesterday I got up early-ish (for a Saturday) to put the dustbin out, intended to walk dogs but ended up doing housework instead.

Today's Ta Das

Breakfast after OH had brought me coffee in bed and bloody well woke me up!
WM on
DW on, not enough last night to put it on
My bathroom
Walked dogs
Drinks & snack on way back (around lunch time)
Emptied DW
Brought in dry washing, folded towels & sheets
Dinner
Unblocked downstairs loo
Watched DVD with family
OH fed dogs, having given puppies a whole day's food at breakfast
Sent DDs back to bed 3 times each
Now waiting up to do Tooth Fairy duty and identifying which ornaments to put away to help sell the house.

Tomorrow is a holiday here, don't know what's on the agenda yet but I do know that DD1's first question will be "have you got the tickets yet?" going to a new amusement park with school friend's later in the week

Monday To Do:

I'm taking flexi leave today to finally finish my assignment.

1. Finish assignment and send it in - must be done if I do nothing else today.
2. Deep sigh of relief - the summer starts here
3. 30 Mins room rescue in DD's room.
4. 15 Mins Detailed Cleaning in the lounge - if I have time.
5. Take DD to town after school - treat myself to a book for finishing my assignment (and maybe a piece of cake)
6. Buy a new toilet brush and long handled duster - the glamour !!!!
7. Brownies presentation night.
8. Evening & Before Bed Routines.
9. Bed

Good luck with the assignment tea. What are you studying?
Adora, where are you moving to?
We are just formulating a plan. I am trying to persuade the dcs that getting dressed would be a helpful start.

Now you've caught me on here when I should be working , I've just got back from taking dd to school so a cup of tea and a 5 minute break is in order before I hit the books.

I'm doing an MSc Management, it's a distance learning course, in my "spare time". To be fair my boss is very supportive and I get 2 days study leave a month, but I struggle to get stuck in to actually writing the paper until the deadline looms, there's always so many other things that need doing.

Yikes! That sounds scary Tea. Now get back to work. 45 mins hard slog writing and you can peek back in

My house is a tip after the weekend. Theres a pile of washing on the lounge floor thats needs ironing, theres muddy footprints in the kitchen, theres dishes in the sink, theres a bin in the kitchen that needs emptying, theres germs in the toilet that are reveling in the fact that it hasn't been cleaned for 3 or 4 days, theres toys on the stairs and lounge and the kids rooms look like a bomb has hit it. Best start the housework me thinks

stephlib report back and let us know how you have got on.

I have stolen an idea from my friend Scout's Pinterest. We bought a cheap pack of wooden pegs today and we are going to write all the jobs onto the pegs. The dcs want to make a name plate each (from the cardboard in the recycling) and to make two washing lines under each name: one for the pegs waiting to be done and one for the ones done. It might motivate them to get things done for a wee while. Thanks Scout.

Hi carrots....i've reached a self designated pit stop from housework, aka lunch. Done fairly well but still seem like a lot to do yet so the end is not in sight yet. My checklist so far is....

1. pile of washing on lounge floor - still there :(
2. muddy footprints on kitchen floor - floor mopped :)
3. dishes in the sink - washing up done :)
4. overflowing bin - bin changed :)
5. germs in the toilet - toilet squirted with harpic :)
6. toys in the lounge and the stairs - toys cleared away :)
7. hurricane clear up in kids room - not done :(

in addition to the kids rooms and the ironing, i need to take some old clothes to the charity shop, walk the dog, do afternoon school run, make tea, wash up dishes from tea, and bath kids :(

Hows your housework coming along today then carrots?

Yes please!

Today I'm going to clean the bathroom, sweep the kitchen and hall and mop all three. I have DD2 running around so declutering is not an option.

Hi all :)

ta das so far

• everyone up, breakfast'd
• done the morning school run
• done dishes and cleared up kitchen
• wiped over and domestos'd both toilets
• hoovered downstairs

Hi all,

I'm just having my lunch break. So far today I have:
made beds
done school/nursery run
Convinced DD to sit on potty chair. Rewarded her with chocolate!
hoovered all of downstairs.

Monday To Do:

1. Finish assignment and send it in Tick
2. Deep sigh of relief Tick
3. 30 Mins room rescue in DD's room. No time
4. 15 Mins Detailed Cleaning in the lounge No Time
5. Take DD to town after school - treat myself to a book for finishing my assignment (and maybe a piece of cake)
6. Buy a new toilet brush and long handled duster - the glamour !!!!
7. Brownies presentation night.
8. Evening & Before Bed Routines.
9. Bed

I'm not going to get near the lounge or dd's room today, but my assignment has been finished and sent in, I just need to blot it out of my mind now, there's nothing more I can do until it's been marked, fingers crossed it scrapes a passing grade - sounds a bit negative but when you're studying, working and parenting a passing grade is enough.

I would really like to use the holiday (I am a teacher, part time but usually work the full school day every day - just don't have to do much/anything in the evenings) to establish some good routines that become so routine I hardly think about them. I have been flying on and off for several years now and I'm now at the point where I pretty much fly auto-pilot with the cleaning/decluttering/tidying stuff.

I really, really struggle with the 'what's for dinner' thing though. I spend and waste a stupid amount in the supermarket for a family of three (often over £200/wk includes a fair amount of wine), throw away stuff, don't have anything in (had to dash to supermarket before school today for packed lunch stuff, then went in again this pm, often eat unhealthily despite loving the healthy stuff, don't have set mealtimes and I'm overweight. I have excuses, of course. DH like to eat late and he is a 'fussy eater' (I usually leave him to sort himself out and I often have a series of snacks rather than dinner). I don't have enough kitchen cupboards (doing a small extension next year to solve that). I'm just going to have to work with that though. I find tackling this completely overwhelming at times so I think the baby steps approach is needed.

1. Clean fridge (I have already mucked it out)
2. Update freezer inventory
3. Deal with paperwork on fridge door and make room for shopping lists etc
4. Make and pack son's lunch for tomorrow

Tea well done finishing the assignment.

stephlib that is a lot done now that wasn't done this morning. Yay!

laura welcome to the thread. Good list to make a start on.

lucy good start - keep it going!

zlist you are not alone. bessie26 is an expert when it comes to menu plans and healthy eating so maybe she could help out. She is on the chat thread that most of us here are also on "chatting and stepping" or something like that. Please feel welcome to come in and join us there too. That invite extends to all the new "faces" here.

Cats WELL DONE to little kitten. That definitely requires celebration.

Ta Das:
washed and dressed
weekly shop - got dcs to do it but supervised
bought pegs in local hardware shop
fed dcs lunch
unloaded dw and reloaded
cleaned worktops
looked at clothes airers and sighed - I will do it today or you have permission to boot me
hung around a friends yard etc while dd got to know her loan pony - big step for us (had a great time helping to groom the pony but I am now filthy)
tidied out handbag - full of bloody tissues after yesterday's accident. Bleurgh!
gave bathroom quick once over
nagged dd about finishing unpacking as she STILL has stuff in the hallway and got home on Saturday
washed the hair of dd's hair styling head a few times

Place is a tip and we have one of dd's friends for tea. I must at least make the kitchen table hygienic.

Thanks carrotsandcelery - I will join you over in the 'chatting and stepping' thread! I look forward to 'meeting' bessie26 and everyone else over there.

1. Clean fridge (I have already mucked it out) done - pulled it out and did sides and top as well
2. Update freezer inventory not done - decided it was next to pointless as one already on fridge clearly hasn't been used, might need to re-think that
3. Deal with paperwork on fridge door and make room for shopping lists etc done
4. Make and pack son's lunch for tomorrow done

I think that is me done for today as I need to do ironing this evening and I cannot possibly justify going to the supermarket for a third time today!

I did my fridge last week, so it should be okay for a day or two now, although with DDs off school it seems to get messy. Mine can't be the only ones who get jam on the fridge shelf, surely

So, this morning

Up and breakfasted
Dogs fed
2 load is finishing in WM as I type
Sorted out DD2's "pedicure", she is adverse to trimming her own toe nails

Just about to have a bite to eat before venturing out, need to de-crumb the work surface before I can prep sarnies (bleedin' kids). Will update later.

I have decluttered and cleaned the kitchen table so we could eat and then cleaned it again now that we have eaten. Dd is currently covering it in cardboard and sellotape.