It's the clutter shouting "Mayday" as the Fledglings spring into action

[GoingGoingGoth]

Copying last month's thread.

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.

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, we won't be judging you.

I am afraid you have toffee

Today has been silly busy in a manner that would give the fat fairy palpatations. Everywhere now looks like a bomb has gone off. Ah well at least i have been busy. Plenty of coffee has been drunk, child is driving me mad as only a 9 yo boy can, and progress looks to be non existant whilst i have only just sat down for a break with a hook and some of that bloody wool. I might be back later or I might just pass out in a corner as soon as ds has been sent to bed!

SC dh was very much written off at school as a low achiever and went into the middle sort of school (not the Gymnasium type) (this is the German system. He ended up with a 2:1 in history from King College London (admittedly started when he was 23). His brother went straight into academic top school and got much the same (albeit a German university) My theory is that you can take a child to an highly academic school and it doesn't make any difference to their essential ability or work ethic, that remains innate and will come out regardless of whatever pressure is put on them or otherwise. I think in the end dh ultimately did well academically because he liked reading and finding out things. But he was considered a dunce in terms of his school performance until he was about 18!

Bitchy assume ds got back safely from two junctions yesterday!

Well, the social tsunami was just about manageable.
Yesterday I did
catechism
organised lunch
memorial service
fetched dd
dd to my cousin's house
went with two girls and my cousin to drop dd at Charlie and Cho factory
went to Balham for 18th birthday party, saw some old friends
and arranged to go to the Veronese exhibition (taking courage in my hands and actually booking a meetup)
back to pick up from Charlie and Choc in Covent Garden
home at 1100pm

All fine, quite jolly really, but collapsing today.

Afternoon all, Happy Birthday Blue more &

Had a humongous lie in, but woke to realise sun was shining, and by the time the laundry had finished it was raining
Got DD to tidy her room, but she had a strop as I insisted random empty cardboard boxes get cleared out. She's happy now as we've spent the last hour doing her "glow in the dark" science kit, so she's made bouncy balls, plaster of Paris insects, snow and started growing some crystals.
THAT should give me enough points to allow some peace to finish my crotcheting.

Just because it's here I'm also going to say that I must start on my this week.

BBL late with links and stuff.

I've done most of my list plus a couple of extras.
Just have to finish the baskets and persuade ds to finish his homework (nearly done).
Sink is clean . I will shine it after dinner is cleared away tonight. Also need to get back into the load of laundry a day habit.
Which zone are we in next week?

Wishing you a belated happy birthday, Bitchy . Not sure how I missed that - so sorry.

ta da

Lunch
Spent too long doing plans for home ed
Washing up
Laundry
Tidied kitchen
Swept kitchen floor
Put all recycling stuff and bin bag out
Mopped kitchen floor
Cleaned cooker top
Started tidying DS2's bedroom - tackled Lego
Took DS2 to friend's birthday picnic in park. We both struggled socially, although I maybe put a better mask on than DS2. Exhausted by it now.
(Sympathies with your social tsunami, Swan).

Need to cook dinner, then doing more tidying up, especially in DS2's bedroom, where DM will be sleeping (floor covered in Playmobil, Lego and books ).

It's ok toffee i was feeling very morbid about the whole thing this year. It has kinda morphed into just feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work I have in front of me to get my life on track.

Have been doing more suff but not really settling in one place. With is both a good and a bad thing. Need to tackle ds' room by have currently lost the will to fly. Must put his clothes away before bedtime though so he has a bed to sleep in.

Happy birthday blue and happy belated birthday bitchy

I have achieved very little today but we managed swimming food and now everyone's in bed so I'm counting it as a success!

I feel I must point out though that this morning's rat was courtesy of one of our assorted cats and that rats are not a normal feature if our kitchen!

Bitchy to me it sounds as if your life IS on track, just maybe it is your track rather than anyone else's. Happy Birthday

Toffee I hate it when socialising becomes an ordeal, but I feel a bit guilty about complaining because yesterday was alright really, partly because everyone I met I actually knew..It is having to break ice all the time that is tiring, also noise when I'm so deaf

done
laid out uniforms for tomorrow
helped research Kilmanjaro
helped ds2 write about a dream for The Tempest (dead wife and graveyards
took two kids to Mass
returned Chalice which I had accidentally failed to put back in Sacristy after catechism practice on Saturday I kept remembering that line from Joseph, one of you has stolen my precious golden cup..etc etc.
Made lunch
Made cooked breakfast
looked at seedlings which are not coming up desperately seeking greenhouse!!!!

not a very productive day, and I've done no cleaning or tidying whatsoever or taken any exercise (ditto kids) apart from walk to church and back.

Links for Monday 12th May

Babystep 12 is to delete any Flylady emails.

Monday is Weekly bleugh

This week we are in Zone 3, the Bathroom and an extra room If you are a masochist, here is the detailed cleaning list

Today's mission is to clean around the back and sides of our toilets. Then wipe down all the surfaces.
If you have a Laundry Room, you have an extra job to declutter all of the laundry supplies hanging around.

Don't forget May's Habit is to keep moving

SUMMARY

Carpe was coping with ManFlu, I know they have it but we're the ones who suffer. Hope you catch up on your sleep tonight after the unsuccessful nap.

dizzyday pushme & jacks followed the power of 3, pushme had an unwelcome visitor thanks to her cat.

SC fell asleep during Eurovision, I bet that gave weird dreams! And is still up for running the thread in June

Blue got a nice birthday breakfast.

droitwichmummy hopefully found her dining table

Bitchy did not sleep well and is probably running on

Toffee had a birthday party and then 3 hours to crisis clean.

Swan saw as many people in 1 day as I could cope with in a year!

And finally, I have a fairly happy DD after the room cleaning crisis. And I got half my weekly bleugh done

Dining room is looking much better, everyone fed and now in bed. Packed lunch made for mini for tomorrow, first day stopping for lunch at nursery. It does at least mean I get a decent break to get on with housework.

Morning all.

Had the most lovely weekend. Impromptu visit to the caravan decided upon on friday night with BF and her dc's so flew up first thing Saturday morning. Weather was shite but had a lovely time walking to the beach/paddling in torrential rain,jumping in muddy puddles a la Peppa Pig and generally having fun. Back to the grindstone today.

Had the most lovely week at work last week culminating in a delightful leavers assembly for my form who are Year 11 and leaving me. They are the most adorable bunch of teenagers you could ever hope to meet and i have been their form tutor since they were Year 7. Man am I going to miss them. We took lots of photos in a special form period and reminisced and got a little emotional, even the 7ft 'cool' lads. Days like that are why, despite Mr twatface Gove, I fecking love my job. Back to normality today though and back to full time for the first time since i returned. Although am on a trip with lovely Year 10's to Lincoln Castle so should be a good day.

Flying wise I have done none. Got back from the caravan yesterday afternoon, cooked a massive sunday lunch for BF and family and went tobed. This week my aim is to try and get back in to my routines. DS has his sats so other main aim is to try and make sure he doesn't get too stressed.

Happy Birthday blue.

Have a good day everyone!

Had a great weekend here - we had 2 of DH's friends round and their 2 children who were beautifully behaved. They are going to be DD's fake Godparents so it was lovely to see them. For the first time I can remember in 9 years, DH contributed to the cleaning and tidying both before and after! Result!

Sympathies with the rat... We had to get a live mouse out of the house twice yesterday - not easy to even do once! I also managed a bit of hooking. It's been ages so was thoroughly enjoyable.

Today I have to take DS to the hospital for his 2-monthly check up. I'm fairly sure he's ok but the nerves are always there...

This afternoon his new Reception teacher and teaching Assistant are coming over to see him. Glad the house is already in a reasonable state! I'm just going to shut doors on the rest. And then back to insanity workout tonight after a day off yesterday - boooooooooo!

Happy Monday everyone!

Morning everyone!

Have decided to do my list while on the train to work each day.
I started a routine of putting dw and wm on delayed start overnight so they had just finished when I came down this morning. Just need to keep it up.

So when I get home I will do
15 mins in bathroom - declutter & mission if there is time left (memo to self - get swish & swipe into routine)
turn up DS school trousers
dw
wm
any ironing
put washing away
shine sink
bed on time

I am out tomorrow night so I will have to decide whether to do that mission tonight or on Wednesday.

Have a good day

Just flying by to say I am still here! Not really flying or posting, just damage control. 1st trimester is creeping along and so far seems I have a sticky bean. 7w yesterday!

Big wing flaps to all and will be back on when I feel more human!

Morning all

Diet day today which is just as well as I accidentally ate all the food in the world yesterday!

Sympathies Ellie - I don't want to go to work either!

First 3...

Washing on
School
Work

Haven't really caught up but we have SATS here too this week ellie.
DD not stressed as school seem to have been sensible and I have drilled it into her since last year that the results are for school's benefit not hers. School are doing special SATS breakfast all week and I have let DD do the menu plan for the week so we are living on fish (good brain food and her favourite :)) I have even said she can plan puddings which we don't usually have during the week so all emphasis here is on food not tests :)

Really need the 'power of three' to keep me focussed this week as I have a phenomenal amount to do and the possibility of camping at the w/e.
We finally got our rental flat back on Saturday but it is in a HIDEOUS state (tenant moved out, sublet, turned it into a bit of a doss house and when he had bled it dry abandoned it. Have had no rent for approx 6 months and it will have to be gutted and completely redone before it is in a fit state to either rent again or sell ) There may be much angry Flying/running over the next few weeks!

So far I have:

• Been for a run
• Everyone up, fed and out (some earlier than usual)
• Washed a load

Next three:

• Hang out washing
• Order Karcher (thanks Whoknows:))
• Ring utilities/council re flat

Good morning!

An enforced calming down of proceedings today as dd is unwell with some sort of virus/sore throat/headache/listless sort of thing so is off school. So have had to cancel tutor and re-arrange the stuff at the top of today's list.. such as renewing my carte d'identitie, banking, eye test and getting my glasses fixed... Dh is flat out so can't baby-sit. So am back on here having never really left

Bit gutted tbh because dd's school attendance has been excellent of late and don't want to spoil our record. Hoping it was just that the weekend was a bit much for her. Sat = loads of hwk followed by solo at Communion Mass in front of 300 or so (which, if I am allowed a quick proud motherly boast, she absolutely nailed! )) followed by friends' scouts bicycle display ... then on Sun: early mass, brunch with friends, theatre to see Irish dancing/singing, then choir (although we went to choir we didn't actually make it inside as she was starting to feel unwell at that point).

A bit like Swan though, I really enjoyed all the weekend's social activities despite slightly dreading them all initially!

Owing to my previous procrastination/dithering have so much to do this week it makes me feel quite tense/ill thinking about it all (3 siblings + various other halves, cousins/nephew arriving Friday night). Just need to stop panicking and get on with it. It's only close family who are coming and none of them are remotely bothered about the state of the house really, but I would feel so much better if I could tame it a bit before their arrival!! Also, needs to run efficiently as catering for so many ... .

Engels congratulations at passing the 7 week + mark! Great news! Take it steady! (Flying can wait!!)

Blue and Bitchy hope you both had great birthday weekends with lots of and !!

Trazzles really great to read about your lovely weekend with friends after you've been through so much!! Good luck at the hospital this afternoon

Feetheart that sounds awful about your tenant - what a horrible saga it's been for you

Glad to hear you had some much needed r & r over the weekend Ellie and hope all OK with going back full time this week

Swan thanks for consoling info about your dh and his schooling. I agree with you about work ethic/inate ability emerging independently of school and poss later on. (I think some dc need to develop a broader and more in-depth first hand understanding of how the world works in order to be able to make sense of the subjects -otherwise studying the structure of an amoeba or a mathematical theory can seem too abstract/arbitrary ifyswim). In dd's case and her prospective school (i) all the schools here are very rigorous with boring old-fashioned teaching methods and so that just has to be endured (which is why I am whinging again!). The one we have chosen is (we hope) smaller, and more comfortable pastorally speaking than most and has - unusually- fantastic art and art history dept (ii) I went to a school which was excellent for first two year and then went in to terrible decline. All the good teachers left. Standards were abysmal. Hopefully, have made up for it since through tertiary studies but still have huge gaps in my knowledge to this day. I was utterly miserable there - you were a pariah if you wanted to learn - so there is part of me that secretly wants to insist on academic rigour for dd even though I hate the stresses it places on her! And dh is insistent on rigour and testing no matter what the attendent pressures. Poor dd really, having all her parents bagage imposed on her! But having thought about secondary school over a few days, I feel happier that it is a good choice for dd - if we she can get a place of course - esp. as it continues bilingual French/Dutch immersion and if not, we will debunk to UK and I will buy a horse!!

Arf at secreting chalice about your person!! And your Sunday was extremely productive imho! (PS some of my oldest friends live in Balham btw!)

Carpe hope you have managed to catch up on sleep!

Ooh Goth hadn't realised we have emoticons!! PA should be here to see those!

Big feathery waves to Pushme DroitwichMummy jacks365 Honu Just Alice Whoknows Mercury and everyone else I have missed!

Right, had better go and tend to my patient and tackle the chaos ...starting with cleaning out that ruddy hamster again

Have a productive week everyone!

Good luck to all of those whose dc are sitting SATS btw!

Sorry I've been a bit under the radar lately. Just busily plodding away at decluttering and general stuff.

Wading through the chaos just to say hello to all and then I'll get back to work at it. I've made a pretty good dent in reorganising a few things and I'm trying to take care of some paperwork today as well, so I'd like to think it will result in a fair bit of productivity today.

Hope everyone is well. I'll check back later tonight with my list.

OK first three took waaaaay longer than they were supposed to - well the 'ring utilities/council re the flat' did
However I have also:

• Emailed solicitor about flat
• Emailed nice council tax debt collection man about flat
• Phoned industrial cleaning company about flat

Next three:

• Lunch
• Check applications/references for another rental property
• Pay electrician

SC oh I can see now! I also have my baggage, very academic school with v high standards, where I felt most of the time I didn't know what was going on everyone was so brainy sporty and musical. Enjoyed it, good friends, but did v badly in my Alevels..My parents of course did very well from dud schools and both went to Oxford as entirely self taught and self motivated..and now spend a lot of time shaking their heads at how little I seem to know.

sorry dd is ill, and you must be very proud of her solo, thank goodness she went out in a cloud of glory.

My friends in Balham live in Ramsden Road (if that's any use

done
persuaded ds2 to go to school in spite of losing the car, sorted out a history crisis, took him on tube to school and left him outside the gate so he didn't lose heart
money counting for 3 hours
long walk to pick up car where I had left it in drunken haze on Sat (not actually driving it you will understand, just too tipsy to remember I had parked it next to the tube)
confirmed tennis lesson for dd
hung out some washed sheets

todo
get through rest of afternoon, including tennis lesson
tidy kitchen for the Maths tutor
deal with children and make supper (what?)

Tbf Swan if my life was on track then I would not be unpicking the last ten years of life to restart again entirely. It is soul destroying and everytime i think I have finished despatching the failed PGCE stuff I find yet more to be destroyed by it all over again. I also wouldn't be in a situation which is as it currently is. I am not a happy bunny and right now clearing the back log of 10years of hell is the only way I can see to move forwards so that is my focus. Then perhaps I can start to properly move forwards and be living life. But right now? Yeah.

Swan Hark at you losing the car owing to mild intoxication!!! (Must be different friends btw as mine live in Hydethorpe Road!!)

It's so interesting isn't it how some people manage to do well despite dud schools. Wish I had! (Also did badly at A-levels.) Also wish that I had been self-motivated like your parents (still struggling with that now tbh ).

Hope you are OK Bitchy

Keep going Feetheart and Alice!

Struggling a bit here as dd demanding lots of attention but so far:

Ta da:
morning routine inc dw, wm, s&s, rabbits
cleaned out hamster
played hangman with dd
sorted new window cleaner for office
admin e-mails
1 phone call to friend
1 e-mail to friend
more party arrangements for dd
lunch for dd and dh and tidied up
more laundry
paperwork tidying in office

Loads more to do (boring tidying/sorting)

Am being productive and snapping at people. People have got fed up and gone into hiding. It is working for now. Am about to go have a massive bonfire and cull some more paperwork. Will be nice and satisfying!