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.

Toffee - we were compulsorily water metered in July, and I am not happy, our bills have alwaye been really low on rateable value. None of the neighbours had to be metered as they are all on on joint pipes, so they are all merrily using sprinklers and hoses while we now have to be conscious of every drop. I used a calculator beforehand and think we are going to get a shock when the bills start coming in (they haven't yet). I know we should all try and use less, it's just the unfairness of being forced to have one when next door aren't. Having had one installed has also meant that a leak has been discovered under our property too, so we have all sorts of upheaval, digging and possible expense coming our way too. Sorry, that isn't going to cheer you up much! No flapjack for me then...

Ds has just screamed at me the entire way home that he is ill, too ill to go to school tomo. And when told that ill boys have to stay in bed with no tv and has been sent to bed, he is now screaming that he is well enough and will be going to school. I am currently ignoring him.

Mess up with a load i put on i didn't forgot to press start
Is it bedtime yet?

Ta Da
2 loads of washing
3 loads of tumble drying
All washing ironed and put away
Cleaned bathroom and toilets
Washed dishes
Swept kitchen floor
Cleaned kitchen surfaces properly - as per Mission
Sorted out football kit for DS1 for tonight and hockey kits for all 3 DC for tomorrow, although hockey is now cancelled so I will have to put them away again.

Now going to cook dinner. DS1 is at football training and it is pouring with rain so he will be cold, wet and grumpy when he gets home. I'm hoping his favourite dinner of fajitas will cheer him up a bit.

Is that field hockey Jemima?

this afternoon was no where near as productive as it needed to be and i ended up in ikea and actually came back with far more then i intended unusual for me Ds perked up for resting whilst i was out. Just me and him for the next 10 days. Top of my to do list will probably end up being do not kill him or shout myself hoarse.

Early night is needed. I am shattered been up too late too often recently.

Yes, all three play for the school teams.

I'm going for a bath and then an early night too, I'm starting to feel like I'm running on empty. Burst into tears cooking dinner which is a sure sign I'm over tired and that it is TOM

Never thought the day would come but right now i would quite like a mangle

Not much on the ta-da! list here either.

Basic routines, school, work. Actually, that's not quite all, I went off zone and cleaned the bathroom. Then took DCs to football training (DS plays, DD plays with another younger sister elsewhere in the park, I chat to the other mums). It was a nice evening for it, I guess I am nowhere near Jemima - hope you managed your early night and feel a bit better tomorrow.

I had a pm from NickNAcks tonight, sadly she has been admitted to hospital with pneumonia, she hasn't got much 3G reception but is hoping to be back amongst us soon. .

Bitchy - hope you conquered the mattress topper.

PA/Toffee - I have the same problem with bedroom carpet, our wardrobe is not fitted but it is massive (2m wide and nearly touches the ceiling, it was assembled there by delivery men). I guess they can cut away the old one and fit the new one round it. I can't redecorate behind it either.

Tired now, so going to post links and head off to bed.

A little girl who was dd's age, and a neighbour from birth, has died. she had been ill for the past two years. It had put a lot of our worries in perspective, despite all the children being a bit chaotic and awful this evening. We have also heard that the other neighbour's baby is ill with a chronic long term problem. I feel like we are sailing into uncharted waters, and a lot of things we all took for granted are no more

Ds2 has been very anxious today after school, which expresses itself as loud hyperactivity and rages. He denounced me for not taking him to Athletics (not near)last term. So we wrote the date in the diary for next week, and just to show his commitment he rang twice round the block Then we had a nice chat, which he interspersed with denouncing me for not letting him watch "Educating Yorkshire".
Dd has auditioned for a Glee club at school, and is practising her Chinese nos
and Ds1 is making weird noises but has now calmed down and listening to a Keane album, at least I hope he has turned it off and gone to Sleep.

I'm thinking how lucky we are to be here, safe and sound

Friday's Links:

Babystep - do one of Flylady's missions.

so that leads neatly to Mission clean your kitchen floor (hooray, I've done that already).

Friday's Daily focus is Declutter your handbag and car

Oh Swan, how awful :(

Sorry to hear about NickNacks being ill too.

Oh no Swan how awful for both those families.

Swan - so sorry to hear about NickNacks. Thanks for letting us know. And so dreadful about your neighbours' DD and the other neighbours' baby . Yes, these things make us treasure our family lives even more.

Am in bed with DS2, where I shall be all night. He is really poorly now. He woke up half an hour ago crying, with a croupy cough and high temperature. DH and I fell into our old 'dealing with croup' routine (well practised with DS1 and less so with DS2) and took DS into a steamy bathroom. He's had Calpol and we have a fan on. Might be a long night.

Hello everyone. Hope you are all OK - although it sounds as though some of you are going through tough times.

Haven't had time to catch up with thread properly yet but so sorry to hear that you are in hospital Nicknacks. Poor you - pneumonia can make you feel really rotten. Hope you get well soon

Also really sorry to hear your ds2 is poorly Toffee - hope you all got some sleep eventually.

And that is so terribly sad about your neighbour's child Swan Something like that really does shake one's foundations ... .

Trying to get back to normal here after dh's op which went really, really well (health care is incredibly good here). He went back to work for the morning yesterday and is doing another morning today. No after effects at all except tiredness and slight soreness which is great. Dsis2 came over from Blighty (again) to help which was terrific of her. She even helped me break the back of the boudoir (the one that we don't sleep in but is a kind of free-for-all chaotic dressing area because it's near the bathroom). I am incredibly lucky to have such a fabulous sister!!

Only blip is that dd fainted at school on Wed and is now off with some sort of virus. Not a good start to the term ... .

Must get on and do some cooking/tidying before my cleaning lady returns (after 9 wks away) this afternoon and we've already had a late start.

To do:
Morning routine inc dw, wm, s&s, rabbits
Empty and sort fridge
Make leek and potato soup for tomorrow
Prep supper for tonight
Tidy playroom
Change two beds
Reboot laundry
Do a bit more in boudoir (surfaces)
Go and buy Autumn trousers (once dh home)

That'll do to get me going ... BBL to catch up properly. In the meantime...

PA sorry I missed your birthday! Hope you had a good 'un despite dh's absence!

Trazzles Castle Just Honu been thinking of you!

Humungously large wing flaps to everyone else!

oh Swan how tragic, such young children...

I hope Nicknacks gets better soon!

A lot of sad news today :( Hope Nicknacks has a speedy recovery. And sorry to hear about the death and illness. It does make you re-evaluate your priorities a bit doesn't it. :(

Well it is just me and ds here now. Which is lovely in a lot of ways. We had a reasonable start to the day too. I woke up feeling rested. Which was nice, but simply caused by the fact that ds slept through.

Ta da
deal with random badly timed phone calls.
find spare trousers for ds.
put on load of washing
make shopping list and to do list

I had a look at a chest of drawers that i wanted when I was in ikea. Not entirely certain that it will do the job i want, and need to replace ds' clothes this month more so left. Need to figure it out. I don't like pointless storage.

Right going to grab my shower that i had to miss out on when the phone went earlier and then get cracking with the day. Chuffed I managed to get breakfast before the school run though. tis progress.

SC - good to see you back and to hear that your DH's op went so well. How lovely that your sister came over to help - she sounds fab. I hope your DD gets better soon. (It never ends, does it?).

Have cancelled seeing a friend for coffee this morning and DS2 having a friend back to play this afternoon, as he is clearly not up to it. We had a very restless night together and he really was in a bad way, poor thing. This morning he said, "I feel very little", in a most sorrowful voice. He is now tucked up on the sofa, watching children's telly.

DFriend is coming over later and staying the night, but she is like family so it won't be a problem.

I have stuff to do, but can't think straight this morning. I think I just have to tidy up and cook a meal before DF arrives. Am going to drag the slow cooker out of the back of the cupboard and cook a lamb casserole.

Nick pm'd again and is feeling a lot better after medication, hoping to be home today .

SC - have been wondering how DH was, glad the op went well and for your DSis.

Toffee - hope DS2 feels better soon.

Bitchy - I too need to sort out some new drawers and shelves, bracing myself for a trip to Ikea, but I do find it a bit of an ordeal.

Ta-da! morning routine, school run etc. Went to the new allotment to dig out some potato plants left by the previous occupant, 3lb of spuds later and I am very muddy and damp (steady drizzle here this morning) and needing another shower. Will make a few nice meals anyway. Off to town for an optician appt in a minute, am a bit Grrr as I have changed optician and changed contact lenses (only strength, not the brand) but the new optician is treating me as if I am totally new to lenses and I am having to keep going in for all sorts of extra checkups when I have been wearing this brand quite happily for 8 years (only changed optician as the old place was miles away near my old job). Just give me the bloody lenses!

Oh dear, lots of sadness on the thread today. Thinking of all of you touched by illness and loss

I am so glad to see Friday, although this weekend is going to be super busy as the DC's school are celebrating an anniversary and have events on all weekend which I'm helping out with. Plus it is DS1's birthday on Monday. And all I actually want to do is go to bed and sleep.

Ta Da
3 loads of washing washed
1 load dried, next load is in the tumble dryer
Washed dishes
Wiped around kitchen
Tidied up living room

To Do
Hang washing that doesn't tumble on the indoor airer
Tumble dry the rest
Iron everything that is dry
Put dry and ironed clothes away
Wipe around bathroom and toilets
Sweep kitchen floor
Do Tesco online shop

I was handed a fundraising Christmas catalogue in work this morning. Is it me or does it feel way too early to be thinking about Christmas?

I'm home :)

I had a rotten cold at the start of August which cleared but left me with an annoying cough. Went to the doctor at the time and she said it was fine but to come back if it hadn't cleared in 3 weeks. 2 weeks ago I got another cold and cough worsened until yesterday I couldn't bear it any more, my chest ached sooo much but I presumed I'd pulled a muscle from all the coughing. So GP yesterday sent me straight up to hospital- after I sorted care for the little ones with me!

When I got there they were really concerned about my noisy breathing and decided to treat it as an asthma attack (I don't have asthma!) and put me on a nebuliser for a bit. Bloody magic stuff. Then had a blood test and scan confirmed pneumonia. :( Had to go on a AB drip over night and luckily I've stayed well so been allowed home with oral ABs, on bed rest and signed off for two weeks.

Have only managed to tell parents via text but they seem ok, I'm just worried about it all now.

Thanks for the well wishes, I'll stay and encourage you all from the sofa! :)

SC very good news that Op went well.
Toffee what a sweet little boy ds2 sounds feeling "little".
Jemima are you doing too much?

I'm exhausted again. 6.30 starts are beginning to sap any reserves I had. ds2 needs a lot of therapeutic parenting atm, which is tiring too.. I have just been to CBT therapist for the anxiety problem, but I don't feel that much better just flat really maybe flat is better than anxious.

Had a debacle over a confused appt this morning with vet, (waiting for someone on the wrong day) DIARY!!!!
Then still no parking vouchers for cleaning lady, so she had to come for just two hours ERRANDS!!!!!

however I have done
shopping for the weekend food, a bit
dropped off boys at school bright and early by car
need to go and pick up again
and I suppose I could say I have delegated successfully a tidyish house.

ta da- bugger all
to do- wait in for shopping delivery, no incentive to do anything till it gets here

blue

ta da - same here

to do - no, I CBA

DH is home early after 3 days of absence - he can deal with the chaos.
I'm ill. I have man flu.

no excuse here-just feeling lazy lol

Quinoa does not clean up as she is to busy perfecting her semi-sneer

In a right mess here, and definitely naughty cornered over housework, but lots achieved however chaotically. Life just seems to be a huge roller coaster and I don’t know if we’re about to succeed and fly, or crash and burn and all I want is nice gentle uneventful sailing but it doesn’t happen no matter what I try and do to make it that way.
Swan so sorry to hear about your neighbours children, it’s awful but no life can ever been taken for granted, we somehow have to live for the now while trying to believe in the future even when there’s little certainty of much. [sad}
Nicknacks I’m sorry to hear you’ve got pneumonia. It’s a nasty thing, look after yourself and don’t overdo it. Seriously.

Zing I have no idea what that is, but a quick glance made me smile so I'm saving it for later when I'll really need it.

Just going to try and whizz round and do as many things as possible that will make weekend better and start again with trying to be organised tomorrow.