Flying into September - a new term for the Fledglings

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Welcome to the September Fledgling Flylady Thread.

This thread is for people with CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome). We follow Flylady, the website with a mission!

All are welcome on this thread, experienced flyers and newcomers alike.

We try to follow the commandments of Flylady as we run our homes, loosely anyway. In between there's lots of chat and support as we go through our daily lives. We have coffee, cake, and a naughty corner for those who want to chat but CBA with their house some days. However you follow it, this thread is designed to make your life a little easier and more fun.

For those who are new to the system (and those needing a refresher), there are several aspects to the system:

1. Babysteps. These build a routine. Some are really useful, some are downright odd and some are, quite frankly, there to be ignored. They build a good foundation though.

1. Decluttering. Flylade is evangelical about clutter. In order to feel good about our homes we need to ditch the clutter. Flylady divides the home into zones, week by week and repeating monthly. As well as babysteps, we have to declutter in the relevant zone. Once that is achieved we move on to...

1. Missions. Also in the current zone, these are targetted tasks to tackle one particular aspect. One a day, they vary month to month.

1. Deep Cleaning. Once we have completely decluttered (some of us seem to be stuck permanently on that stage) there are deep cleaning lists for each zone. Achieve that and your house will be spotless!

One last thing - the Flylady website encourages us to subscribe to her emails - one word - DON"T! You will be overwhelmed by them. Instead come to this thread every morning and the relevant links for the day will be there waiting for you except when the thread leader has been on the

A big thank you to Bitchy for last month, and also for doing this Sunday's links as I am off camping.

the words student finance still chill my soul and it has been fifteen years since I graduated. Not looking forward to dealing with it all again with my DC.

Ta Da
Pegged out washing
Wiped round kitchen
Washed up breakfast dishes
Aired beds
Wiped round toilets and bathroom
{Went to work}
Sorted out DS1's football kit ready for training
Got rid of flowers that were going over and dropping pollen on my windowsills, washed out vases
Dusted living room
Swept kitchen floor
Ran carpet sweeper around living room
Brought washing in
Ironed
Put clothes away
Put uniforms ready for tomorrow
Sorted out PE kits for tomorrow
Ran round in circles picking up DC from school then ferrying them to various after school activities
Cooked dinner
Washed up (DS1) and dried dishes (me)
Wiped around kitchen
Put a load of washing on
Filled in hundreds of forms for DS1's football team registration and wrote corresponding cheques

I didn't get round to typing up the PTA minutes, maybe tomorrow...

He survived! And better than that... So did I! The next step is taking the bus tomorrow, I'll wave him off from the front door- he's just 9!!

Anyway now all my dc are back to school I feel normality term time stuff can resume. Dd, mindees and I go to some fab groups which I crave really for the adult interaction. Childminding is very lonely.

Tomorrow's to do

Help ds1 get out the door
Hang wet washing
Hoover downstairs
Tidy playroom
Go to toddler group
Pick up mindee from his first day at school. (Preparing to blub!)
Go for lovely meal out
Pick up a pizza for babysitter
Get back on iron tablets

How did everyone else's dc first days go? :)

Boys aren't back at school till tomorrow, so we had a lovely last day of the holidays out and about with my parents in the morning (apart from a very fraught lunch ) and then shopping with my mum in the afternoon while dad looked after the boys. Easy salad tea too. :)

Tomorrow will be a shock to the system, especially as there'll be saying goodbye to grandparents to add to the first school run of the year. Erk!

PA - sympathies. Have some more .

NN - glad it went well and hope you enjoy getting back into routines.

Glad you had a good day too, Ellie.

Knew I shouldn't have googled that, Toffee, but glad DS2 got some sleep in the end and had a good day. When I was little a night like that always hit me a day or two later so hope tomorrow goes OK too.

Hope you're feeling better Bitchy.

Better go and make sure I know where lunchboxes etc are, I guess.

Big waves to all. Night!

Waves to all and hello to more new people.

I am actually here but things so insane I?ve not had time to post lists and it can be summed up by mainly fighting faceless officialdom, a lot of faceless officialdom, and a lot of fighting. Oh and trying not to kill anyone, including those I care about.
Everyone still alive therfore mission semi acomplished.

PA sorry, it's never ending.

Badvoc the cheats minimum effort method here: hydrogen peroxide and baking powder.

Baking powder first, then add hydrogen peroxide, then cover with more baking powder. Go do something else for an hour.

The stronger the hydrogen peroxide the more effective.

Still to do
wash up when ds finally finishes dinner
write up last bit of HE diary
get ds into bed
listen to friend
sleep

Oh PA hope things start to look up soon.

Badvoc I'm a big fan of Oven Pride, if your oven is ok, you could just do the shelves overnight, it just lifts off. Although I think I'm going to try Just's method next time.

Done
Morning routine-now includes scraping condensation off bedroom windows!
Such a nice day, so beds changed
Laundry on
Washing up
Dry laundry away
Laundry hung out
Unpacked the last box!
Washed crockery and squeezed them into cupboard
Up to date on paperwork
Coveted another job application
Accompanied DH to dentist
Collected DD from school
Supervised homework
Put pedals back on DD's bike
Took DD to Woodcraft Folk -she cycled for the first time! I am so proud of her, she's not fallen despite going really slow and has managed about 100m before her nerve breaks
Dinner
Wash up & SS

Completed not coveted the job application! And I previewed, thank god it's not for a proof reader

We survived today quite well,

twins enjoyed their respective first days in different schools, although dh was kept waiting for ds2 to come out out for 30 mins as they had given wrong time, so was not best pleased to be standing on broiling tarmac playground at 3pm for no reason.

We have a new telly ban in place to try and get everyone into a better termtime mindset, so it was quite relaxing this afternoon as there were no ARGUMENTS about who watched what! so simple... all played Badminton and mooched instead

Dh had decided that ds1 was not doing the homework the English Dept set on the last day of term, so I then had to tone down his sarcastic letter denouncing the system("the homework you so kindly set") that he was planning to send in with ds1 in lieu of 6 holiday tasks... I was thinking about what was wrong with the wretched project - basically it was just too long and too complicated - why can't they differentiate for different students instead of getting our backs up?

Ds2 has had his first homework of Secondary. Draw a poster about Respect. He enjoyed it, but refuses to write more than a sentence - am beginning to see the advantage of posters for homework - at least they are not essays!

done
quite productive - supper cooked
kitchen cleared
bought loads of veg from market
poster
rewwrite dh letter to teachers
long busride to drop off dd
padlock for ds2
stewed plums
compost
changed two sets of bed sheets
wash in

Toffee you will manage brilliantly without dh, and it is nice to hear their news when they come back!

oh PA and Just I had a grrrrrr session with bank, not being able to get through, kept on hold etc, muddling up accounts etc - I was so furious and that was only 30 minutes of my life, so you must have nerves of steel. Just talking to stupid people on phone rather then face to face is enough to make one very very fed up

NickNicks - hurray for your DS! That's great news. Completely understand about the loneliness of childminding, as I did it for a couple of years when DS1 was little. That was one of the reasons I gave it up, to be honest, and I suspect it's why so many childminders give it up to become TAs.

Badvoc - no idea about the cooker, I'm afraid. Need some tips on that myself, in fact.

Bitchy - hope your aches and pains are a bit better this evening.

ellie - well done to your DS! Must be such a confidence booster for him. I'm hoping that all our practise with Times Tables will help DS2 cope better with Maths this year.

Jemima - wow, that is such a busy day. Not surprised you didn't get round to the PTA minutes.

Blue - best of luck tomorrow. Thanks for the good wishes for sleep tonight. DS2 fell asleep very easily tonight, so I hope he'll be ok tomorrow.

Just - so sorry you are still fighting the faceless officialdom. Sorry to be stupid, but where do you buy hydrogen peroxide to clean the oven? In the chemist?

DS1 and I have been discussing scary ghosty things. I really wish we hadn't done that whilst DH is away because my imagination is running away with me now. DS1 is fine - it's just me!

Am sitting here typing and browsing until DS1 falls asleep, then hope to get to bed at a decent time.

Evening all

Bit late checking in today again (starting to become a habit).

Ta Da

Unloaded dishwasher
Cleared dining table and kitchen after breakfast.
Reloaded dishwasher.
Hung out washing.
Made beds.
Cleared hotspots.
Dusted.
Vacuumed hallway, living room, dining room.
Mopped kitchen and bathroom.
Deep cleaned bathroom.
Clothes shopping for DH and DD.
Friend popped round for tea n chat, so nothing else done until time to collect DD.
Tea time with DD.
Bath, books and bed with DD.
Brought washing in.
Cooked dinner.
Cleared kitchen.
Sorted clothes for tomorrow for everyone.
Bags ready.

To Do

Sort recycling
Shine sink
Put dishwasher on.
Clear surfaces.
Check to-do list for tomorrow.

X-posted, Swan and Goth.

Glad your DC survived their first days at school, Swan. I was fine about DH not being here until the ghost-story session .

Impressive list, knitwitch.

Thanks Toffee

Funny, I had one of those days when I didn't feel I'd accomplished very much, looks much more impressive written down!

However, DD (who has never been good at sleeping) has woken up again, so the To Dos are on hold ....

Yeah, went out. ds was nice and calm this evening which was nice. He was in bed before i left. Got back later then I had hope and now running late for bed. Going to take some more pain killers tonight and hope for the best. Tired though so that is always a good sign.

Hope you all manage a good night's sleep!

Late check-in here too, sorry for no personals, but it is so late.

Ta-da!

School run achieved smoothly (DS has been moaning like mad about going back). Then gossip with a friend, then work, then back to school. DS came out looking a bit glum, he has been put in the bottom group for reading, I feel a bit shocked too, but I know why, his comprehension is pretty poor, so we need to work on that.

Let them watch telly for half an hour while I did some tidying
Finished making DS's school memory book for last year
DS emptied the DW, and we cleared up the kitchen together
Went for another bike ride - DS has only learned to ride this summer aged 9, so I want to capitalise on current enthusiasm and light evenings to get him up to speed
Home for dinner
Cleared up
DD washed up.
Back out for another bike ride with DH
Home for baths, fruit and milk and a bit more telly, then reading and bed.
I am planning a strict lights out at 9 policy for school nights, it.was 9.15 tonight because they wanted to show the school memory books to their teddies but we are working on it.
A lot more tidying done
Two hours OU work (interspersed with random internetting)
Time for bed.

Who asked about DHs pulling their weight? I have had to spend a long time training mine, his mum did everything for her boys (at least she has the grace to acknowledge this was wrong to me and the DSILs). He did live away from home for a few years before we moved in together, but only in halls of residence and shared houses where I suspect minimal housework got done. It didn't seem so bad when it was just the two of us, he was able to run the vac round, do washing etc. But once the DCs came along it was all downhill, I took voluntary redundancy when youngest DC was 3 and had a year as SAHM, he abdicated all responsibility at that point, and it stayed that way even when I went back to work (p/t) 2.5 years ago. We had a showdown about 2 years ago (I made it very clear I wasn't going to put up with it indefinitely), and agreed that he would do the kitchen every night (we used to take turns) and a few other jobs in return for me not nagging and moaning. Which was OK up to a point, but he was getting up from the kitchen table on his nights and leaving all the dishes until just before bedtime, not a great example to the DCs, so more words were had. In fact, that has been my most successful tactic, the bad example to the DCs, it has also worked on getting him to put clean clothes away, pick dirty ones off the floor etc. Anyway, this time last year I had a major operation and he had to take over completely (with help from DM and DMIL). He has done more ever since and I am generally fairly happy with the split now, considering he works much longer hours than me. I have also refused to organise the replacement of his car (I have always done all the finances, holiday organising, house maintenance organising, car related stuff). His car needs replacing now and I have decided it's not my problem. Although I will want a final say in case he opts for something totally impractical. Essay over.

Links for Thursday.

Babystep - say something nice to yourself!

Mission clear all the coats, bags, shoes that are culttering the hall.

Daily focus Thursday is Errand Day.

It's been a long day.

Ds was back at school today then I travelled With dd to the uniform shop to exchange a skirt. We then had a bit of girly time at Cheshire Oaks including lunch at Cafe rouge before heading back to collect ds from school.

So very behind on housework but its my last day with dd before she goes off to her new school.

Ended up in the park for an hour after school mostly do dd could catch some of her junior school friends after their school.

Got home to find id lost the name tags. & ds s spots socks. They eventually turned up and mil remembered shed put them inside a carrier bag & moved them into another room so she could Hoover up for me whilst fog sitting

So
Ta Da

Uniform bought & labelled
Stationery labelled
Shoes labelled
Dance accessories labelled
Backpack & dance bag kids out ready
Uniform laid out ready

Kids showered, fed & in bed.

Early start for dd tomorrow.

Thanks Toffee, think your magic worked
She's sleep again, so off to bed myself now.
Night everyone.

Right I'm here, I haven't been quite keeping up with the thread, because this week has been a nightmare of settling my little boy into nursery again, getting unpacked, meeting friends, spending time with DH who I haven't seen since early July, etc.

I have that horrible feeling that I don't know even what I have to do, so my first thing to do will be write a to-do list! Plus the week runs Sunday to Thursday here and my husband works shifts so I don't know where I am or what day it is most of the time!

But I'll be back later with what I've actually done.

Quite a successful day yesterday - both children came out of school with big smiles on their faces with DS delighted that he has a new teacher and that he is 'a boy' - have heard rumours that he is very young so that may not be far from the truth :)
Much anger/frustration/annoyance at the school gates because they have major building work going on, gates/entrances have changed and people don't like it - stayed out of it as I can't see what else they can do and after experiencing the disruption our tiny extension has caused (and is still causing) I feel rather sorry for school.
Some people just need to get a life

Whilst DC were at school I got some work done, made blackberry sorbet which is gorgeous, did some washing, downloaded the 400 photos on DD's camera and changed my FB picture to reflect GNR :)

Today:

• 30mins work
• All up and out with packed lunches
• Long run
• Bath and breakfast
• More work
• Morning routine including shiny sink (its only 5th )
• Make dinner
• Diving for DS
• Guides for DD we think (need to check)

SC - hope DH's op goes well.
Hope everyone has a good day

Morning all. I have had the crappiest night's sleep ever, I gave up and got up at 5. It's going to be a long day.

Urgh, it must have been the night for not sleeping. I've been awake on and off with horrible earache that nothing seems to fix. Gave up just before 6 and went out for a run, but have come home feeling really sick - probably because I took ibuprofen on an empty stomach and then jiggled it around running.

Anyway, To Do
Peg washing out
Wash Up
Wipe round kitchen
Clean bathroom and toilets properly
Put my running clothes on to wash

No after school activities tonight (hurrah!) but I need the boys to make a start on the mountain of homework that they have been set already

It was a non-sleeping night here too, despite exhaustion

No ta da lists from me, it?s enough that I?ve done the tasks without making another task of writing it up too (this may be a rebellion over having to write up Home ed!)

Jemima hope you feel better later

Ellie sorry about lack of sleep, but I love the fact you actually miss your form over the holidays.

Swan have you ever seen frayed steel cable? That?s what my nerves look like. (and probably PA?s too) I sometimes think they bank on frustrating you either into submission or losing your temper so they don?t have to deal with you anymore.

You might want to check ds1?s teachers actually know how to differentiate for him, and have time, and the school?s not running an ?inclusivity? policy of giving all kids the same regardless of appropriateness.
When I asked ds?s teachers direct for differentiated homework, several were very honest and said they?d no idea how to do it for him and didn?t have the time anyway. They also said he didn?t understand the lessons properly so there wasn?t any point in him doing homework anyway.
Senco?s response to it all was to want him taken off h/w all together so he wasn?t getting stressed and punished for not understanding, but allow him to slide through school just picking up what he could.

Lack of differentiated hw was what lead to discovery he wasn't getting differentiated lessons or real help either, just TA attention and 'inclusion' by being in the classroom. (when he wasn't sent of to sit somewhere quieter or let stay in the loo for hours)

It opened up a can of worms, but just in time to stop him sinking completely. Hopefully not the case for you, but for us no h/w differation turned out to be the visible part of a much bigger problem.

Toffee yes chemist for hydrogen peroxide, they may ask what you want it for or will only sell one bottle, but if you want the stronger stuff or bulk then it?s over to hair and nail product shops, especially Afro Asian ones.

SC also hoping all goes well today.

Bitchy hope you?re in less pain.

Waves to everyone but must plough on

To do

Scrub bath
Washing
Washing off line
ironing
Call re medical supplies
Get Lib books put in car
move vehicle
Shopping
Fill bird feeder
Go water friend?s plants
Respond to tribunal email
Check emails
Call re statement
hoover
Prep dinner
Take books to library
Pay fines
Pay money into bank (if any left over)
Register vehicle with TFL
Let shared vehicle friend know theirs removed
Fit H ed around everything
Call MEI about maths software licence
Try and find art exam centre
Home ed prep
Research Arduino based synthesiser
Write up H+S sheet after exploding LED incident!
wrapping
recycling
Replace borrowed nails
Listen to friend early
Write up H ed diary
Dinner in peace
sleep

At 3am ds and I were playing cards ellie due to the reappearance of his night terrors. I hadn't managed to drop off into proper sleep before that point. Thankfully after the games ds went back to bed to read and I fell deep asleep which of course meant I over slept this morning.

Ta da
ds to school

now going to have a shower and actually get up rather then just throw clothes on and run.