April's Fledgling Fliers: there's no fooling the Fat Fairy this month.

[elliepac]

In a blatant steal from last month's thread:

So here we are, April already.

So for those who don't know the fledglings is a long running thread. Some of us seem clicky but that is because we have been chatting on these threads for nearly half a decade makes everyone feel old we quite like fresh blood though so feel free to jump in and join us.

Three key 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.

If you are new then trying to spend 15mins decluttering and the babysteps is the most. Some of us Bitchy can have scary looking lists. One word of advice ignore them. Do what you can, anything is better then nothing, and don't judge yourself against others

Wow, speedy thread. Thanks for the welcome :D
The washer drier and dishwasher have been working hard, I sorted some old baby clothes, hoovered and planted tomato seeds. I have not shone my sink...

Big waves to everyone, especially newbies and returners :)

Have done practically no flying, but achieved various other important matters, so that's the main thing.

Tomorrow is going to be mad, yet again.

Sorry to hear about SATS stress, ellie. DS1 has KS1 SATs this year, but I think the school try to keep them from it as much as possible. Hate hate hate them too.

Swan - keep reading your post as being about spaghetti!

Another non-flier here!

Ta Da

• Popped to shop to buy milk/bread/etc
• Washed the pots and shined sink that I didn't do last night
• Sat through performance #2 Put in complaint to try to get refund over cap flowers sent to Mum on Sunday (ongoing)
• Started co-ordinating dates so DH and I can go on an archery/crossbow/shooting experience day
• Cooked tea
• Sat through performance #3

I am never sure about Roald Dahl's morals. In this version of Snow White the "dwarfs" are ex-jockeys who bet all their money away, so Snow White steals the magic mirror so they can find out the name of the big race winner so they can back it and become millionaires. Therefore it seems crime does pay!! They were all fabulous though with hardly and fluffs or forgotten lines.

Bollocks I've forgotten to 'fling' anything! And now it's bedtime.

Morning list:
Make beds
Hang out washing
Do a washload for dm as her wm has broken
Dw reload
Kitchen sides wiped and shink shined
Hoover downstairs

Good morning all.

Hope your boys are feeling better today Toffee and that you are not overdoing it Ellie. Also that you are recovering Goth and anyone else who is ailing.

Fil has rallied a bit thankfully.

Not much to report Flying-wise yesterday. Too tired/stressed to achieve anything much apart from routines & laundry and weather was so glorious after school run, that I allowed myself to be unduly influenced by Just's description of a cabbage and flopped on the lawn while dd tackled a "show-jumping" course (on foot) around me, constructed from bamboo sticks and flower pots. But even that momentary peace was disturbed by low flying security helicopters (huge security conference going on at Nato at the moment).

We then took advantage of dh's absence to eat a very simple supper (cold chicken and broccoli with slabs of good brown bread and butter) that took all of five mins to prepare and clear up. I must say, life is so much calmer and simpler when dh is not about!

Tried to get some sense out of dh, dsis's and nephew with regard to Easter holiday plans/travels but only one of them vaguely organised - grrrr.

Sewing Bee viewing disturbed by something black and furry moving at speed across the play-room floor. To my horror thought it was enormous spider, but rather relieved to find tiny mouse who had obviously got in from outside and then didn't know what to do with itself. I didn't know what to do with it either, so released it back in to street.

Major tackle of boudoir required (yet again) this morning and sadly think I must venture in to dd's bedroom the land that time forgot and change beds.

DD's exams in the main over thank heavens, aside from Flemish tomorrow and Fri for which she doesn't really have to revise much, so going to do your Pi activities this afternoon and make rock cakes- (no school Wed pm) Honu - will report back!

Pushme [waves back] - good luck with the decluttering!

Dizzy would love to get in to archery properly! Congrats to your dd on successful performance!

Mercury think you are being unduly hard on yourself as ever. I forget all of those sorts of things without having the demands of a pressured job as well.

Ellie huge sympathies re: dc and testing and inherent stresses involved. Tis all a huge PITA.

A warm welcome (or welcome back? - sorry) to Brices!

Swan hope dd feeling better and ditto re: DIY shop rage. We have a similar shop here called Brico, which drives me insane. Stock woeful, customer service virtually non-existent.

Love the namechange Bitchy! Think is is our Blue who is the blogger!

Well done re: baby clothes decluttering themoneyone!

Big waves to Just Eustacia and everyone else!

Had better get on with it [groan].

That sounds good slack. You don't sound very slack to me, btw! Hope everyone feeling more on form today - happy flying! No DC at school yet, but already starting to freak out about assessment. Wish I had the energy to home school, but think the kids and I need a break from eac other!

ta da
DW and WM on
DC bedding changed
DC to nursery
grappled with internet banking

to do
keep DW and WM going
tackle laundry mountain
consider ironing and decline
change our bedding
weed front garden (my mission instead of wiping front door - we live on a new estate and it's constantly covered in builders' dust so little point)
Paid work
Change DR
Forms to nursery
Stuff to charity shop
Sort some will stuff

SC - You saw a mouse! Made me think of . It was my DH's favourite song when he was a little boy. (Bizarre video, mind you - and definitely not good for anyone with a mouse phobia). Glad to hear your FIL has rallied.

Ellie - sorry your DS is so stressed by SATS. I remember revising the work with DS1 and then watching, with incredulity, whilst it was all disregarded at secondary school and he was retested all over again. It was so unfair on the children. I hope you can reassure your son. And glad to hear that you are on the mend (but, still, you should take it easy).

Just - interesting to know that your DS was at the same stage as Swan's boy and mine at 13. I agree with you about the impact of the education system on children like ours. Very impressed that you mended your own computer, by the way .

Like the new nickname, Bitchy .

Welcome to themoneyone and Brices .

Waves to Blue, Goth, WhoKnows, Mercury, Pushme, Eustacia, Dizzy, Alice - and apologies if I've missed anyone out.

Spent all day yesterday glued to the computer, either doing paid work or finishing off my first OU assignment. Finally sent the OU stuff back just after midnight, when I realised that I was simply rewriting endlessly and just had to stop!

Have woken up to a free morning, which means I need to catch up on Flying. There are an awful lot of room rescues to get done here.

Oh, and the boys are much better, thanks, SC.

Morning.

Insomnia kicked in last night. My eyes are dry and sore this morning but nothing coffee won't fix. Was rather productive as did complete the craft project. As i count anything after midnight as the next day I have a ta da list which is as follows:

Pull out knitting projects. Take stock of what have and how to complete and clear.
Crochet 3 10x10cm squares
look properally at abandoned cardigan and what needs doing
find pattern and wander wtf I meant when i wrote it down (it's my pattern not someone else's so this is a bit of a problem iyswim)
knit 3 more rows on the back of the cardi
sort out the issue of too small shorts.
play hunt the lunch box
speak to ds' teacher and school run
have a proper look at what needs doing and write a proper to do list.

However, as I am below par today I am going to ignore the writing paperwork part of the plan for today. I am going to mess about with wool or nap for an hour, or both. And then go tackle the busy doing part of my day with work and ds' training.

Morning all.

Today's babystep is the ever controversial dressed to lace-up shoes.

The mission is here. And involves scrubbing dirty marks of stuff.

Today is anti-procrastination day. The best day of the week to procrastinate .

Have a good day everyone!

Apologies for lack of round-up. Feeling a bit crappy this morning so am going back to bed. Back later.

I'm always dressed to shoes (although not always lace up, but that's neither here nor there ). Not fond of doing the school run in pj's.

Today I'm doing a bit of catch up paperwork, then some DIY (cleaning up a wall to get ready to wallpaper), and then some tidying.

ta da
school runs
washing up
clothes in washer
bank checked
shelf tidied

and coffee... always....

hope you feel better soon, elliepac

ellie hope you feel better after a rest and a nap.

[taking a quick break to inhale some caffeine] anyone?

Take it steady Ellie

Big waves to Alice good luck with your list and with the craft projects Bitchy

Thanks for cheery mouse song Toffee! But eugh to mice in 70s bouncy barnet !!! Glad boys feeling better! And congrats on OU work done.

Sympathies over building dust themoneyone Given up calling window cleaner or cleaner down front of house blinds/front door. Construction going on down street for months and then just as that finished, they started doing the building opposite.

Right, 30 mins left in which to strip beds before school run.

Bit livelier today

Done
Beds
Packed lunch for DD
DD to school
Post office
Laundry on
Ironing
Lunch

DH has said he'll take DD to Woodcraft tonight which is great because I'm really not to up to listening to 25 kids running around the park

Goth am I right in thinking you live in Glasgow? If you do, can you recommend a cheap hotel near the railway station. And how easy is it to get from there to Tollcross International Swimming Pool?

Afternoon fledglings.

Morning list was completed apart from hoovering.
So to do
Hoover downstairs
Towels in wm
Sort dry washing
Finish maths assignment
Dinner
Ds to disco ( I hope)
Tidy desk so I can find things
Drop off db washing
Catch up with thread

BBL

SPAG is spelling punctuation AND grammar Blue

Today I have...
gone to sleep
driven ds1 to running club so he can just scrape into the D of E selection
put out laundry to dry

had a delightful coffee morning with two friends, oh I'd forgotten that!

washed two loads
and thrown away at least 10 things
reloaded dw
cleared up breakfast
recycling and rubbish

got up very early so I didn't miss the rubbish collection
swept the garden of magnolia petals
cooked dd lunch of fried chicken and noodles
chatted to dh
bought groceries

feel very very tired now despite 20 minute kip earlier. Need to go and force ds1 to write a letter to King Malcolm re: reinforcements against Macbeth... Don't think I can stand any more homework for a while.

And it's the dreaded Beavers tonight.

dizzy I'm afraid I don't know about hotels in the centre, but there is a bus (240) that runs from near Central Station to Tollcross, although taxis are reasonable priced here.

Will ask around, when are you coming up.

Glad you enjoyed the mouse song with accompanying terrible 70s barnet, SC .

Fed up with CAMHS and teachers today. DS1's psych has put us forward for family therapy. We don't want family therapy - we want help and support for DS1.

Started out with great ambitions today, but these were all scuppered by the above. So I haven't achieved much at all - apart from DS2 and I managing to cook some exceptionally chocolatey cookies. I'm sure none of us will eat our dinners now especially me as I cleared out the bowl but at least we all enjoyed it.

That is ridiculous Toffee. I am sorry you are not getting the support you need for ds1.

I have completed my list
I'm shattered today. Im waiting to hear all about ds disco. Then once dc are in bed it will be a bubble bath and much needed early night for me.

Oh dear Toffee that would make me want to scream with frustration. Why can't they focus more on the CBT?

FTs are usually very non-judgmental, possibly more so than a lot of other health professionals and they do come with a bag of tricks, a few of which can be useful in supporting YOU. That is the good thing about them. The bad thing is that if you have a child with very fixed ideas the whole concept of FT is wasted. I think our FT very quickly saw that ds2 was not going to cooperate, he was far too impatient. Which was good in a way, as it clearly wasn't something to do with our parenting. What she then discussed was ways to deal with his natural impatience (we had stopped including him by this stage) and ways we could pre-empt his reactions. I felt she wasn't an ASD specialist though, and was reading her way through textbooks and workbooks before she met us. Possibly you have already made the emotional journey that she would take you through, already and no need to go over it all again, and waste more of your precious time. I think sometimes they just go round in circles referring and ticking boxes and not actually DOING ANYTHING. It is like being in a Kafkaesque nightmare starting again with yet another concerned individual asking the same old...

Migraine. House a pit. might be Friday before I resume and then it is short day as kids break up.

Hope you are all well and ELLIE not overdoing it

x

Toffee have they also made some provision for your DS1? Surely they must realise that regardless of whether or not you have family therapy, he still needs specific support.

Ellie hope you're feeling a bit better.

eustacia Hope you're feeling better as well.

I got some of the wall cleaned off, but not all. I'll have to do some more work on it tomorrow. But a little progress is better than none.