Feisty Fledgling Flyers flutter through Feb with flair, finesse, flaws, failures, fortitude, feedback, fiascos, fabulousness, friendship and fun!

[sanschocolat]

[The fiascos are all mine btw !!]

And just for Just, February is the new January that was the new January before

If you are struggling 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 wine and cake 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 something 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!

It’s up to you, but 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!

Points to keep in mind:
(1)No perfectionism allowed - this is harder than you would imagine
(2)You are never behind just start where you are and anything you do is progress.
(3) 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.

Humungous thanks to Bitchy for steering us through the hectic January thread and for the wise three-line mantra above.

All regulars, lurkers and newcomers welcome!!

Toffee well done to ds1 for getting to Learning Centre even though he didn't go in. You must be so tired, staying up late with ds1, and then having to get up first thing for ds2's school.
Bitter arf at Forest school comment.

I've had a strange day. It has felt v cosy with just dh and I, although I admit I spent four hours talking to an old friend this morning.
done
up at 6.30am
redrafted a Fairtrade drama about coffee producers with Ds2 before school and printed out
drove ds2 to school
dw (loads of saucepans to wash too)
bin out
recyling out
laundry in
laundry upstairs
surfaces wiped
friend round for coffee at 9.40am
lay down on the sofa and tried to sleep for a bit
cat food bowls washed
made low carb omelette for lunch whilst dh had Morrisons Curry
cleared hall mess

soo tired now...just want to sleep or imbibe Coca Cola

dcs home in a moment.

I put on loads of weight this winter, so I'm low carbing again, with moderate success for last few days. I had noodles for lunch yesterday which immediately made me fall into a deep sleep, so there is a definitely a link between exhaustion and wheat/carbs. Lost I kg in two days. Hope I can go back to 75kg from 83kg, which for me is very stout!!!!!

I

fishcakes - cook some freeze some

Swan - yes, bitter laugh indeed. People want to 'fix' things and some things can't be fixed, so you just have to adapt.

I can cope with one night sitting up late with DS1, but start flagging when it runs into two or more nights. Hope he doesn't need me tonight because I'm going to an open morning for the uni course I'm interested tomorrow and I'd like to stay awake and appear reasonably intelligent and interested during the talks.

Does low carbing work well? I weighed myself the other day and was shocked at how much weight I'd put on. I have stopped drinking alcohol for the moment, as has DH, so I'm hoping that will knock a few pounds off.

Still plodding through my 'to do' list...

Hi everyone

Toffee yes agree with Swan that it's a positive sign that ds1 wanted to go to Learning Centre, even if he ultimately didn't go in. V. frustrating for you though I know. Oh dear re: forest school comment. Thanks for brew!

Swan Losing 1 kg in 8 days is amazing!! Well done!!
Similar weight struggles here! Came down from 86kg to 78kg, now back up to 79.6!! Need to get down to around 70kg by the time I see my scary cardiologist in June. Starvingly (shaky) hungry all the time and doc suggested 6 small low carb meals a day without bread. Haven't started yet as have had loads of nice food for visitors/suppers etc but going to get serious in Lent. Going to find it tough because bread is so delicious here - everyone eats it at every meal - and I can't tolerate oat cakes any more.

Sorry you are still feeling so under the weather Bitchy that must be miserable for you. Agree about picking battles; trying to do a bit of a "Fat Fairy" with dd, focusing on one issue per month. March is going to be the month when she puts her underwear in the laundry basket after use and if she manages it every day she will get a bribe reward . I'm a terrible role-model when it comes to a tidy boudoir though Sorry - no monster DVDs here.

Sorry to hear you had such a demoralising homecoming Just. Just what you didn't need! As Toffee said, work motivation prog when you have so much else on your plate = so inane it's untrue .

Goth I'm sure one more day getting dd properly better won't do any harm, esp if she is short on sleep.

Good to see routines going well Thinking101

Oh dear, sorry to hear you have succumbed to a bad cold Whoknows, hope you feel better soon. Congrats on finishing OU module! And def going to try your mackerel recipe - looks v. healthy and delicious!

I haven't done as well as I had hoped today - usual story. Just couldn't work up the motivation to start decluttering. I'm hopeless

Ta da:
morning routine inc dw, wm, s&s and rabbits
tried to do work work, but invoicing system down, as were phone lines so cleared out a load of e-mails from home computer instead
spoke to dsis on phone about arrangements for half term
bought a summer mac on line
more laundry
had yet another angst ridden lunch time discussion with dh about schools
shredded some papers in home office for 10 mins
tried to fix home office printer and failed
parcelled up baby present for friend
picked up parcel from post office and posted another
school run

To do:
more laundry
help dd with her hwk on 'Les Gaulois'
early supper

Going to post links for tomorrow now because am heading out to parish vestiare fund raising thing tonight unfortunately
Would some kind person please leave out strong alcohol out for my return?

**

Baby-step no. 26 for Wed 26th is one you can ignore about Flylady e-mails. It also talks about taking a month to establish a habit etc if anyone is interested.

We are in Zone 5: The Living Room (Feb 23 – 28) here.

Declutter for 15 mins a day in this zone!

Once you have decluttered, you can if you wish go on to detailed cleaning.

Tomorrow's mission can be found here : detailed hoovering of sitting room.

The daily focus for Wednesday is: anti-procrastination.

The monthly habit for February is still : decluttering 15 mins a day.

A summary of the above plus reminders can be found here in the flight plan which updates itself daily.

Have a good evening everyone!

*

Baby-step no. 26 for Wed 26th is one you can ignore about Flylady e-mails. It also talks about taking a month to establish a habit etc if anyone is interested.

We are in Zone 5: The Living Room (Feb 23 – 28) here.

Declutter for 15 mins a day in this zone!

Once you have decluttered, you can if you wish go on to detailed cleaning.

Tomorrow's mission can be found here : detailed hoovering of sitting room.

The daily focus for Wednesday is: anti-procrastination.

The monthly habit for February is still : decluttering 15 mins a day.

A summary of the above plus reminders can be found here in the flight plan which updates itself daily.

oops- sorry - rushing --

didn't realised I'd already posted links at bottom of last post!!

one cut and paste too many!! arrrgh!

Thank you ever so much for the links SC

I have been refused a second batch of antibiotics which i suspect is going to be a mistake got prescribed a whole of meds that I couldn't get filled as I checked before any where issued and allergic to the whole heap of them However negotiations with the doctors means that they are going to treat the pain side affect so at least I can hopefully have some sleep. Fingers crossed they are right and it is a virus. Otherwise next week and the week after are going to be so much fun. not much else i can do. They are all saying the same thing but my gut still thinks they are wrong. Ah well they are the doctors and at least i am safe in the knowledge that our a&e department and local hospital are very good if it all backfires. In the meantime tea is porridge in a pot and an early night is planned.

Bitchy Re the DVD, I'm sure you see pictures of Mike & Sully progressing through the company until they get to the Scare Floor (quite worried I remember that)

Done
Got my applications sent in.
Crotcheting
Dinner

To do
Washing up
Cut DH's hair
Watch him vacuum up
Ironing
More crotchet

Thanks goth will deal with that tomo

I have a little ta da list:
wash my bedding
email amazon re dvd
shoe lace change
doc x several
pharmacy x several
finish the last of the squares for blanket gate take 2 thank fuck
sort out ds' letter for school trip

Otoh i have rather a long list of stuff i need to do tomo. which will be interesting. Wednesday is antiprocrastination day but I need to keep the list as small and as realistic as possible:
make up ds' kit
ds' lunch
take pictures and email
hoover lounge floor
sort out layout of squares
put a load of washing on
work
sort out ds' snacks/tea for training run
ds to training
put ds' washing away
folding
iroing
put my washing away
change shoe laces that are too short for correct size
kit in washing machine

hmmmmmmmmmmm I am sure there is a whole heap of other stuff that needs to be done but for the life of me I can't think what. And not entirely sure i give a damn right now. who knows what happens tomo. Sleep is good. sleep is good. sleep is... .. going to happen and be unbroken... night.

Thank you WhoKnows and SC for your brilliant recipes, the kids will be getting their fair share of omega 3 over the next week, so they will be coming in very handy. Love the sound of Horseradish mash.

Brilliant idea Thinking101, definitely the idea of freezing them.

Ta da
Morning routine
Dc reading HW
School run
Work
School run
Dinner
Beaver run
Laundry
W/m
D/w
T/d
Meeting
Evening routine
Bed

Hoping to get some me time by Thursday!!! Shattered !!

Must sort out Twins birthday planning tomorrow!

Evening all. I'm all out of wine, so here's a restorative brandy SC - I really can't find the tumblers anywhere.

It was just as well my mum came today, as the amount of plaster I found last night sloshed about the carpet on the communal staircase was, well, a lot. 3 hours on our hands and knees with toothbrushes, and it's almost back to normal. I expected the mess in the flat, but really hadn't bargained for that.

On the plus side, the plastering is fantastic. A bath and sleep and back to normal tomorrow I hope.

Quieter Flying here today!

Ta Da

• Meals planned for the week and ingredients bought
• DD's ironing done and some of DH's inc. shirts for the rest of the week
• DD fed and taken to Brownies
• Us fed and DD collected
• Watched Great British Sewing Bee
• Pots washed and sink shined
• Family Railcard renewed

Bitchy - we have a video copy of Monsters Inc. but I don't suppose that helps you much!

Final list for today

Done
Washing up & SS
Cut DH's hair
Vacuumed whole flat apart from lounge
Made DH vacuum up his hair
More crotchet (bloody blanket)

It might dizzy where does the film end on your copy? does it have end credits or just stop suddenly?

I have lost more time then intended to the internet. on aplus note pain killers have helped and going to bed fairly pain free

That's good, Bitchy. I hope that means you get a good sleep.

Ta da, continued

School run
Bought treats at the corner shop
Phoned ASD specialist again and left another message
Booked trial swimming lesson for DS2
To chemist to collect prescription
Helped DS1 with Maths (there may have been swearing - me, not him)
Washing done
Loaded tumbledrier
Dinner
Helped DS2 make a model boat for homework, although he did most of it on his own [proud mum emoticon]
Spoke to Mum on the phone
Bedtime routine for DS2 - listened again to him telling me how much he hated school and reassured him that we were going to help
Washed school uniform for tomorrow
Watched Breaking Bad and Walking Dead
Managed to stay off the wine again
Made hot chocolate for DS1
Showered and washed hair
Prepared clothes for tomorrow
Found notebook and pen for open morning
Printed out directions
Cleared and wiped dining-room table (covered in craft stuff from earlier model making)
Washed up

Drinking hot chocolate now, then off to bed. Busy day tomorrow.

Morning all,

Have been rather slack. So much to catch up on, luckily I can read our esteemed leader's outstanding round-ups!

DS had surgical procedure yesterday so spent morning at hospital then home to recuperate. He was really distressed when they brought him round - trying to pull out IV and sensor - and has been up in the night crying. His tongue's all swollen and eating is painful. I had hoped I'd be able to send him in to nursery but no chance. He's still snoozing and have just rung in to work.

to do
watch copious amounts of classic disney and have lots of cuddles
try to get done the 3 sets of marking and reports I have to do while juggling DS
pack for weekend in UK

will no doubt be on here lots today!

Good morning all!

Thanks for snifter Humanordancer much appreciated (and needed) after 3 + hrs faddling around with tombola tickets in a cold church hall ... such is my scintillating social life.

And so sorry to hear about the inundation of plaster - it really is one of the worst things to have to clear up - so you have my sympathies. Hopefully results will be worth it though!

Yes, hope painkillers allowed you a bit of good quality shut eye bitchy

Goth arf at Mr Goth vaccuuming up his hair!

Good luck with the birthday party planning today Merry and with your open morning at Uni Toffee!

Waves to Dizzy and everyone else!

Loads to do so getting organised early. Hope everyone has a good day! Off to do morning routine and then off out.

x post

Oh no Engels so sorry your ds had to go through that (stressful for you too). Hope he is much more settled today x

Sorry to hear that Engels - my DS had to have a broken wrist pinned under GA last summer and had a similar reaction coming round, he was absolutely hysterical for about half an hour, they had to dose him up with sedatives in the end to calm him down, so then he had to stay in the night instead of going home that day, it was horrible. The anaesthetist had warned us that some children react that way, but you hope it won't happen to yours. He can't really remember it now.

Morning
Sorry I didn't get on here yesterday. I received an email about World Book Day from my mentor and got completely sidetracked by who I could dress up as. I have settled on The Cat In The Hat

Good luck with the open morning Toffee.

To do
Beds
Dw
Unload/reload wm
Put away clean washing
Clean bathroom
Cook a healthy dinner (I have slipped into bad habits)
Clear desk
Dust living room properly
Small pile of ironing
Ss

Best get off here and get organised before we are all late for school!

Waves to Mercury I shall imagine you wearing a big red bow tie and tall stripy hat from now on!

and to Whoknows (oh your poor ds, that sounds awful)

Ta da:
Morning routine inc dw, wm, s&s, rabbits
Prepare laundry for twice fortnightly ironing lady
dd gym kit
dd pony tail
quick tidy up of kitchen
dining room table hot spot

To do:
printers
think of something for supper
stop off at supermarket on way back
if time make soup for lunch
school run (half day)
clear desk home office
clear bed in boudoir we don't use
decluttering home office
decluttering boudoir
hwk supervision
out with dh?
parcels/packages
put away clean laundry
washing for Friday/holiday
evening routine

Makes such a difference now it is actually light at the beginning and end of the school day doesn't it? It was actually quite enjoyable getting up this morning!

Right, running out of the door now .... . Have a good day everybody!

Morning all.

Little flying done yesterday as had a busy day at work and was too pooped to do anything last night.

Have got pre-op assessment at the hospital this morning and then to work this afternoon. Just realised that it's only a few days until we find out which secondary school DS has got. A little nervous!

engels hope DS is ok this morning.

sc you are right about the light. It makes such a difference to my mood, particularly coming home in the light.

toffee hope visit goes well

bitchy we have Monsters University. Will look it out tonight and have a check for you

Better go and try and drag DSout of his pit.