Fledglings don't makes resolutions in January, they fly through the babysteps.

[BitchytheGreat]

So here it is the dreaded January thread. The thread of resolutions and good intentions for the year that you are lucky if you see through to the end. Welcome to the start of 2014!!

A quick note for newbies, this is a long running thread. We do like new blood around here. However, we do ask you to be respectful that for a lot of us just getting off our arses is not going to help and to avoid suggesting this. We all know life is more complicated then this. So here we do things a little differently. A little bit of flying and a lot of chatter and moral support. Feel free to jump on board and join us in flying.

For those who are new to fly lady she recommends a three step program:

1. Get those babysteps into a habbit
2. Get rid of the clutter.
3. Get that deep cleaning done.

Don't worry if you think you not doing it right but not getting up to it. Some of us have been here for years and we are still decluttering. Because clutter has a nasty way of multiplying if you take you eye off it, especailly if you have kids.

Fly lady ethos tells us a few things that I want you to remember:
No perfectism this is harder then you would imagine
You are never behind just start where you are and anything you do is progress.
It didn't get into a mess overnight, it won't get tidy over night accept it will take time to get on top of things and you will be happier.

So jump on board and lets get started.

Oh and I forgot the proper introductions. "I'm Bitchy and I shall be your guide to the fly lady system for January" better buckle up as things normally get a little crazy when it is my turn to take control. good luck

Glad you managed to get your DD in to school this morning, SC. I was all set for battles with DS1, told him briskly that it was 'Wednesdayitis' and took his temperature to show him how well he was - and discovered he did have a raised temperature! So he is in bed for the day even though I may have been tempted to pretend to him that his temperature was normal.

Whispers - sorry about your difficult night and about your worries about primary school. The waiting to find out is horrible.

Swan - what a frantic morning . Glad to see 'nap' on your 'to do' list for this afternoon.

Blue - great that your DS is back at school. Hope training goes ok today. The zip broke on my boots recently and I was able to get it mended by a local cobbler. Not cheap, but less expensive than new boots. Worth a thought - unless you just want an excuse to buy new boots .

To do

Morning routines
Work with DH
Make veggie lasagne for us and friend in need
Washing
Ironing
Deliver lasagne
School run
OU work
Evening routine

Wow this thread is zooming along,

SC at Oscar winning DD, it's when they forget and start limping on the wrong leg.

Toffee & Whispers hope your DCs pick up soon.

So pleased we don't have to worry about senior school places yetalthough I think it's mainly catchment area here in Scotland. It was with the primary, which made it so much easier than when we had to apply for places in England.

Done
Beds
Pack lunch
Dd to school
Dry laundry away
Fresh laundry on clothes horses
5 min room rescue in bedroom
Windows

To do
Make celeriac & leek soup
Make squash risotto
Crocheting, I'm starting a blanket

Sorry i have been a bit awol. Needed to do some serious r&r kinda stuff. But as it is anti-procrastination day I am back. Will sort out a new thread as we are unlikely to fill up 50 posts before the school run later.

Otoh I am being very busy to make up for not doing a lot the other days helped by the fact that yesterday was basically lots of sleep so feeling almost human today

ta da
Provide ds with a cooked breakfast
school run
letter for school
birthday cards written and sent
boil up hand warmers
collect washing up from upstairs
clear bench in kitchen
make up two batches of Jelly
pass on phone no#s and details for up coming exciting plans
15mins decluttering in my room
find out where to pick up new logo'd school uniform
sort out meal plan for tonight
physio - batch 1
catch up on the internet world (mn/fb/twitter etc)

About to sort out emails and other stuff going to be a massive list day. Be warned...

That's typical isn't it Toffee - I might have been tempted to disguise temp on thermometer too. Have sent DS in dosed up - he has a cold and woke up last night with a bad headache (first one since coming off migraine medication in the Autumn). I was sympathetic but he was perfectly able to eat a decent breakfast and play on the tablet this morning so well enough for school in my book (mean mummy emoticon needed!)

Sorry for those of you having primary school angst, we have secondary school angst ATM - won't know if DD has got into her preferred option until 1st March and she is worrying. We have 3 within walking distance but aren't in catchment for the closest one that most of her friends will go to.

Ta da:

• All up and out
• DS showered, bed stripped and stuff in wash
• Washing up
• S&S x 2
• Chicken out of freezer for dinner tonight
• Some work

To do:

• Lots more work - Weds is usually the day I work all day
• Ring school re new cardigan for DD (thanks for reminder Bitchy)
• Order bread maker :)
• Start thread on favourite bread-maker recipes
• 15mins in our bedroom which is a DISGRACE
• Do something about hideous tenant situation in rental flat (rather than putting head in sand )
• Set up meeting with fabulous rental tenants in friend's house that I manage

That will do for the moment, need to do more work...

ta da
Provide ds with a cooked breakfast
school run
letter for school
birthday cards written and sent
boil up hand warmers
collect washing up from upstairs
clear bench in kitchen
make up two batches of Jelly
pass on phone no#s and details for up coming exciting plans
15mins decluttering in my room
find out where to pick up new logo'd school uniform
sort out meal plan for tonight
physio - batch 1
catch up on the internet world (mn/fb/twitter etc)
Deal with emails
unblock kitchen sink drain
Make Jam tarts
1 load of washing
ironing
Sort out stuff needed for meeting this afternoon
15mins more in my room
find diary and start sorting and updating
Discuss sports teams etc
2nd load wshing on
Dance around the kitchen like a loon to music
try to get in contact with ex re contact for next few months
Speak to ex.
Sort out plans for ds' birthday party
Book holiday

Wow Bitchy, jam tarts and a holiday. Excellent Ta da list :)

just in case here is the 2nd thread for January

Sorry for all suffering all forms of school angst.

Ta Da

HMRC battle- ds's right to work while being level 3 educated, 95% won!!!!!! Thud. even though I know the law, after a month plus of head banging I was running out of hope that they could manage to understand their own rules.

(Last 5% is a letter confirming their own rules for their less well trained staff so they stop wrongly applying other rules to us and accusing us of wrongdoing, then upholding appeal post nervous breakdown. That's blood out of a stone time, it seems.)

One wheelchair ramped table for removal of Christmas tree built! (big job in itself)

Decoration boxes lined up
Power saw obtained
Black sacks obtained

Have so far failed to get through to Dr, but may need a lie down after the above anyway!

To do power of three time:
Coffee
pain killers
apply pirate scarf to head/eye and finally catch up with it being mid January! I may be some time..

just power saw sounds most alarming - hope you are not going to take it to the next Motivation meeting! Hope that went well yesterday.

Well done on HMRC - Dh is still battling for his code!

Feet my dd was desperate to go the same school as all her friends. She has. But now has ditched all her old friends and made new ones. Two friends she still chats to on way home, but I would say she has a new life/personality in her new school. So it didn't really matter if she had gone there by herself...the quality of school is the thing. And her school is too far as well, but she still doesn't seem to mind that either.

done
tidied master bedroom and hoovered, changed sheets, made a big bag of dirty laundry Looks passable but needs rejigging in long term.
groceries for supper - chicken and baked potatoes, and coleslaw (never got round to defrosting the freezer chicken)
helped at Beavers
exercise
picked up ds2 -e xercise
looked at ds1's homework briefly and then gave up thinking it is no point saying anything.
Anyway I'm so busy composing speeches by Grendel's mother I have no time for GSCE supervision

Ds1 enjoyed his run. He said three of them (out of 20) were so slow the teacher had to give them a short cut in order to get back in time for registration He wants to do another run tomorrow...it has taken me 4 YEARS to get him to try running, since he broke his leg so badly. I cannot quite believe it!!!!

Just read Elmore Leonard comments in an old Guardian. Apparently when writing you should only use an exclamation mark every 100, 000 words. And always "said" in dialogue, never anything more elaborate like ranted or screeched. And never start with the weather.

I have put my son down for a school further away, a different one to where his friends are going (he will be the only one going), also different to his older sibling. I just think this other school is a better fit for him. It's all very worrying.

Ta da
Filled new filing cabinet by clear out old cupboard and three drawers
Filled one bag of recycling
2 bags of rubbish
3 bag of charity.
Sorted humongous book storage, getting rid of all learning to read and toddler books.
15 minutes declutter in bedroom
Mini cab service for school run
Rugby
Street dance
Three different dinners set to fit around all after school actitives.
Bed at 8 with a snotty nose and lemsip watched 3 backed to back The great interior design challenge

Not much flying planned for tomorrow as have a 5 mile run and then a funeral.

Did get the work sorted, and made a start on training prep, but now waiting for feedback. Done some tidying up this evening and had a minor row with DH about it too.

Even had time to go and buy some new boots - was rather glad of the excuse, Toffee and zip is purple so might be even harder to replace.

Well done to your DS on the runnning, Swan and at the writiting tips.

Just - sounds like quite a few achievements there.

Agh, not sure which thread to be posting on now. Oh well.

Oh dear. The naughty corner is so comfy.

Oh Bitchy one look at your ta-da list has me in despair.

~~thread is closed~~

done
dh has gone away to Germany on business
so this morning I have managed to get
TWO children out of the house, washed breakfasted and with the right PE kit
dressed, up at 6.30am
Ds2 is still singing to himself in the kitchen over his fried eggs, now have to walk him to the tube. Last week he got some homework which was "a step by step illustrated guide to painting". No, we are not doing that. Luckily he was away that day, but we still received the notification of it. What can they be asking for, must have been explained in the lesson? That is a question which you surely cannot answer in half an hour of homework

I cannot quite believe I am going to have the house to myself from 8am onwards!! Ha Ha Ha I can now reorganise all sorts of things without dh noticing

oh yes, new thread, I remember, will relocate