December already! Fledgings will sleigh the pre-Christmas clutter (and eat all the mince pies)

[GoingGoingGoth]

If 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 along the way.

This little-and-often system is designed so that you can follow a series of steps and routines each day (which gradually become second nature) in zones of the house which are designated weekly; defining and minimising housework - which in theory should leave you with loads more time to do someting more interesting instead!

At the same time it is intended to reduce that panicky "rabbit in headlights" feeling when you are overwhelmed and everything needs doing all at once. No problem if you miss a day or two; just jump right back in and it will all come around next month again!

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 steps and routines using a three-pronged approach (dependent on the stage everyone is at):

• start or repeat 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.

[And if you are really enthusiastic and have finished decluttering - you can go on to detailed deep cleaning in each zone.]

More info here on getting started and Flying lessons. Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings. Don't be put off by the barf-tastic language of the site - the underlying system is sound!

Thanks to BlueEyeshadow and SlimChance for the November thread.

All welcome!! And remember that December is the new January!

Oh, poor you, WhoKnows. There's nothing like an influx of Christmas stuff to bring on a decluttering purge.

My boys haven't ever realised that they can get up earlier for FC so we had a respectable 7.30 start.
Had our visitors come later today than in previous years and wow, it was so much better. Dh, I and dc had the whole morning together before Dh and I did the hosting thing. A perfect Christmas Day.
Boys spoiled rotten, so they all went to bed happy!

I think I can top trump everyone on the strange surprise present........ I receive a 2ft wooden spider!! Which surprising I love but it is to a very unique taste.

Hope you all had a great day too.

Oh my, that present would finish me off, Merry! I hate the eight-legged creatures. Hopefully, you aren't an arachnaphobe.

I got a surprise present too, from DM, the book I gave her last year-gifted back to me. She did the same to DS last year.

How on earth did you keep a straight face, WhoKnows?

Happy Christmas everyone! Hope you've had a lovely day.
I am on the winning pictionary team! Woowoo!

Up at silly o'clock to chase girlcat and her mouse out of the house (at least it wasn't 3am like yesterday when DH had to chase her round the house first!) Decided slow-cooked gammon was ready, took it out of cooker and decided I might as well deal with it so slathered it in honey and mustard and just waiting for it to finish roasting - Christmas madness
Lovely day yesterday - far too many presents but good food, good company and happy people.

DS and I have a race this morning - 1k for him 5k for me. It's a local Boxing Day one that we only found out about recently. No prizes, medals, etc apart from the person who comes up with the best excuse, in advance, as to why they are going to run badly
Think I have persuaded DH and DD to come too and cheer though DH is muttering about geo-caching
After the exertions I am planning a lazy afternoon.

Hope everyone has a relaxing Boxing Day.

Bloody hell feet I am in awe of you. I am planning on a slow shuffle from sofa to sofa today. Think I am that full of food am physically incapable of running. Enjoy! nutter

Aaah Boxing Day. A day where I am planning doing nothing apart from lounging around in my pj's. Wr have SIL and DN's coming round for breakfast but luckily they are not the sort where one needs to stand on ceremony so pj's can stay on and DH is cooking it so I can relax.

Had a lovely day yesterday. Very relaxed although am sympathising with you whoknows as far as the whole 'house too small for presents' business. They are all stacked up in relatively neat piles in the living room right now. And actually house is surprisingly tidy/clean (apart from, lie toffee, our bedroom).

Children were spoilt by all concerned. Hits of the day were DS's kindle ( he was reading at 9am on xmas day) and a bloody recorder Dsis got DD. It makes a quite horrific noise. It is DN's 1st birthday at end of January and I am going to find the most irritating noisy toy I can. Cutest moment of the day was giving DN a cuddly iggle piggle and him launching himself on it as it lay on the floor and giving it a big kiss.

Anyway, am going to catch up on some tv I missed yesterday. Have a relaxing day everyone.

Ellie - a drum might fit the bill, a really tinny-sounding one

Think I will be staggering round as still weighed down by HUGE roast dinner. DS, however, will hare round and try to beat all comers inspite of some of them being at least 4 years older than him!

Good luck Feet very inspiring.

Operation House clean, and left over food use. Will be in force today. Going to make a turkey curry and a turkey & ham pie to put in the freeze.
Bubble and squeak with ham for lunch for our meat eaters!

Dh has been down stairs tidying for the last 40 minutes, so I better join him, he try to wake me at 8, but I needed another 1/2 hour!!!

Ds is being a bit of a nightmare today. Clingy, whingy and whiney. It is easy to forget that he is so little when he is physically so big. And 8 is one of those awkward ages between being grown up and being a kid anyway. Need to find an open supermarket today need to pick up a few bits and bobs that I didn't realise I needed until 8pm on christmas eve.

Hope you are all having good days. Am about to let the child lose on my computer. finges crossed it still works when i get it back!

Morning all (just)

feet you nutter! Geo-caching is a good idea, we've one in our local park and one day I will persuade the family to do it.

Merry a 2ft spider. please no pictures.

About to head out for a walk, once Dd is dressed. Need 3AA batteries for her new fibre optic light (rookie mistake) and we're going to feed the ducks in the local park along with half of the neighbourhood

BBL -do people want links for tomorrow?

Been geocaching and got four :-)

Have horrendous sinus problems today, lots of pain along my cheekbone and behind my eye-anyone got any remedies ??

Oh no, Blue. Are there any chemists open near you? I don't know what would help, but I'm sure a pharmacist could give you something.

Feet - am in awe. That's all I can say.

Ellie - yes, a drum!

Bitchy - hope the computer is ok and cheers your boy up a bit

Castle - well done on being on the winning team!

We all slept in till 9am this morning . This is unheard of, particularly for DS2. Twas lovely .

Just back from a walk in the fresh air, under bright blue skies. DS1 wouldn't come (has gone back into the computer zone, so we need to nudge him out on his new skateboard at some point) and DS2 just wanted to come home and play with his Lego (lots of whinging), but DH and I enjoyed it.

Now eating leftover turkey with reheated stuffing and roast potatoes and some cold marinated gammon. I love the fact that our fridge is stuffed with food which requires no cooking .

DH and I have been enlisted to help DS2 make a Lego film today. Then it's 'Gangsta Granny' on BBC1 this evening - DS2 loved the David Walliam's book.

Hope you all have a happy day.

Blue - I can really recommend this sinus rinse. it's a bit gross but helps if there is a lot of gunk. Can get them in chemists. If it is just inflammation, it's harder, but ibuprofen, olbas oil and heat help. I also find lying on my back on the bed with my head hanging off the edge gives temporary relief.

Just seen DH and the DCs off to the ILs, wish I was going with them now, seemed like a good idea before Christmas that I would stay here, look after the cats and crack on with my OU work. I feel a bit flat. Actually, I always feel a bit flat on Christmas and Boxing Days, don't know why, all the build-up is better than the actual event for me, it's nice, but I don't know, just can't put a finger on what's missing for me. I think I miss the huge family parties of my childhood. And I've got a headache.

Anyway, beautiful day here, took DD to the local hunt meet this morning (they meet opposite our house, so no big trek), she likes to go and see all the horses. Back to get DH and the DC s packed, DH was getting a bit stroppy with them. My mum is coming round in a minute to pick up some things she forgot to take home yesterday. After that I am going to take myself for a walk, it's lovely today.

I am out, but Blue, my hubby swears bychicken soup

Hi, everyone [.
We've had a very quiet Christmas this year -partly not to stress Ds2 and partly because we are amazingly lazy!. We had a big homemade lasagne for lunch instead of turkey...and a roast dinner today. (But I think next year we might have to resume turkey duty, because even though they don't eat most of the accompaniments that I spend hours preparing, they do like to see the spread!) Ds2 burst into the tears when I lit the plum pudding because he was scared it would explode...this unfortunately led to a fracas because ds1 said he was a baby [oh dear..... No-one in our house eats plumpudding (dh ate a mini slice) but I think they liked that there was one...

Dh and I are still finding it difficult to reconcile two traditions. This year I explained to him that the twins found it very hard to have Christmas start properly on Christmas Eve (we open a few presents then because it is the German way) and then wait for the rest till Christmas Morning. Dd was convinced that the others had more presents [on Xmas Eve] than her and was very upset that the godmother and grandma had chosen presents for her she really did not like at all (a manicure set and a bracelet kit) Dh then told her not to be spoilt, which made things worse... Luckily on Christmas Day itself she cheered up as all her stocking presents were perfect....and hair straighteners saved the day I think it is all jealousy of her brothers that kicks off. We always have difficulty with her at Christmas - it is a bit like living with UXB. Maybe she needs to see more people to feel comfortable. Today she has spent hours tidying her room to accommodate all her new possessions, completely without being asked to, which is first for her.

The boys's rooms are dreadful. I've given up on my room - it just won't go away!!!

Next year I think we need some old ladies to defuse the situation!

James Bond car given by ds2's godmother was the biggest hit. Two lego sets already completed. Ds1 is entranced with Glee boxed set and Dd has spent a lot of today and yesterday curled up in bed with the cats reading since she opened a pack of 4 books from her godmother. She is also wafting clouds of scent wherever she goes. Her favourite gift has been the hairstraightener . She has also written all her thank you cards already due to the excitement of new stationery.

Ds1 and I delivered some more cards around the neighbour hood yesterday, and he regaled me with the plot of World's End, which one of his godfather unfortunately gave him (sounds the most inappropriate film ever) which he now watched twice on his DVD player... He is in a very chirpy mood, loving just doing nothing and wandering off to spend vouchers occasionally...

Ds1 and Ds2 and their Dad have gone on a long walk to the cinema to see the Hobbit 2, so all is peaceful and have

done
read some new books
loads of cooking over last few days
and a BIG TIDY in last few hours
Call The Midwife
Downton
and Dead Poet's Society (late last night) I feel a bit tellied out

A typical meal chez Swan with ds2 has been that we cook a feast, ds2 sits down...decides the smell (today it was Brussel Sprouts) is upsetting him and runs off after two bites. It makes dh very fed up, and he is concerned that ds2 is regressing, but I think it is just that Christmas is a trigger for ds2 and he feels very agitated through most of it because he is not quite sure what any day will bring, activity wise or meal wise. When we embark on a familiar activity he settles down but the rest of the time he is quite stressful to deal with, just like having a eleven year old sized three year old.. who needs a lot of supervision and entertainment. Exercise is the only solution I think, but that requires his portly parents to exercise too alas..
Feet wise decision - you will feel fantastic for days afterwards as the endorphins kick in!

Dh gave me a lovely pair of Reindeer pyjamas. They are very cheery at breakfast. I've enjoyed all the cooking this year, it feels so relaxed to do it when you are not worrying about tidying up all the time for guests.

That sounds like a lovely Christmas, Swan and it sounds as if your DC have had a wonderful time (ignoring the normal, in my view, upsets).

Sympathies on the food issues with DS2. My DS2 also has a thing about smells and will leave the table rather than sit near any smell he doesn't like. DH and I are enjoying chomping our way through the Christmas leftovers, but the DC have had enough of it, so I am making them chicken nuggets and chips again .

WhoKnows - I would probably feel the same as you if my family were going away, but it will be good for you to have time to yourself once you have adjusted to being alone. We also went to watch the Boxing Day Hunt leaving this morning. I don't approve of it in theory, but it was a wonderful spectacle. Ended up humming the 'Flambards' tune on the way home...

Managed to get DS1 out for the first time in days this afternoon, as I suggested I walk him down to the skatepark to try out his new skateboard. He was very excited, but found his new skateboard hard to use, then refused to skate once we arrived. I told him he had to practise on it to get used to it, but he made all sorts of excuses, then sat down and refused to budge. I was so frustrated. I can't bear the way he gives up so easily, even though I know it's down to lack of confidence.

I'm scared he's sliding back into his old ways of never going out and daunted by the prospect of all the effort it will cost me to get him out and about again.

Ended up coming home early.

DS2 has spent the afternoon making Lego films with his animation kit. Then we watched 'Gangsta Granny' this evening, which was wonderful and very true to the book.

Minimal Flying today. Might tackle our bedroom tomorrow.

We struggled to get DS to stay at the dinner table yesterday too, he doesn't like any component of Christmas dinner so he had a plate of pasta and garlic bread, the rest of us were all helping ourselves from serving dishes so he was finished before the rest of us had really started and he just cannot stand staying at the table once he has finished eating, always wants to go and get himself some pudding as soon as he is finished his main. He is better if he is allowed to play with something or read a comic but as he gets older it is more of a problem, he really does need to be able to sit at table on certain occasions.

Toffee - I don't really approve of the hunt either, if it wasn't literally outside our front door we wouldn't go. It is sociable though and Dd loves the horses. Flambards went through my mind too, I loved those books.

Toffee - just rereading about DS1, maybe the disruption to routine that Christmas brings is adding extra stress to him (Swan - sounds like this may be true of DD too). Although my DS doesn't seem too fazed by it even with his AS, it affects me, the flat feeling I was talking about earlier is I'm sure in part to the change in routines, I'm often the same for the first day or two of a holiday. As for the frustration about giving things up too easily, yes, that is me and my DS all over, I used to get really angry with him, but I have started finding it easier to cope with in the last year or two, as I have realised it isn't just him, lots of other children are like it too. I've found that if I apply pressure it is counter productive but if I back off he is much more likely to give something a go again of his own accord, but it does really try my patience. Learning to ride a bike was like this, I used to lean on him quite a bit about it, then backed off and he has done it of his own accord finally at age 9.

WhoKnows - it's so hard to know when to be kind and supportive and when to get tough, though, isn't it? I don't want to demoralise DS1 by being too hard on him, but then I don't want him to just give in to his anxieties, especially as he gets older. I was much more sympathetic when he was younger, but I feel that, at 14, he needs to show a bit more fight. But, as you found, applying pressure today was counterproductive and only upset DS1 and made him dig his heels in further.

You might be right about the Christmas routine issues, of course. Maybe that is why DS1 is hiding staying in his room all the time at the moment. We hardly saw him on Christmas Day, apart from lunchtime.

Thanks for the suggestions, ended up over the hospital for the out of hours doc who could find no infection. In the meantime we discovered that I had mistakenly bought decaffeinated coffee, I am a hardcore 12 cups a day at least coffee girl, my symptoms are classic caffeine withdrawal so I've had a couple of ordinary coffees and some painkillers and it is easing. It has scared me into committing to coming off the caffeine though but slowly.
In other news Just to make you laugh, DS1 and I had an argument and he called me a bitch. The reason was that I refused to look after his dog when he gets evicted from his flat. The reason that this is daft is he doesn't have a flat yet from which to be evicted for not paying his rent and he doesn't have a dog yet for me to look after if he did get evicted. Ah, the workings of the Asperger mind. All good now and he has apologised.