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.

carpe DS and I have just demolished 2 doughnuts each. There is one left in the box which I should save for DH. Or I could just dispose of the evidence...

Ta da
post office
supermarket

Dispose of the evidence

Ta-da:
3 loads of laundry washed and on the line, 1st 2 back in.
Dishwasher reboot
Playgroup with 2 DCs
Ordered bookcase for delivery tonight
Shopping delivery delivered needs putting away

Hide the evidence, btw!

Hi to Jolly.

Not getting much done today as DS2 is at home with some kind of virus. As a result, the floor is covered with train track...

Currently waiting for the boiler man to come and have a third attempt at tracking down the drip. Sigh. He was due half an hour ago so daren't start anything. More sighs.

done
sorted ds1's room out so it could be hoovered, stripped bed, and dusted it, including ceiling edges, dusted his desk
stripped bed in ds2's room
put washing on
hung washing out
planted spinach
planted chive (seeds)
sprinkled thyme in the paving crevices (not sure if that will seed but still, I seemed to have some spare)
watered garden a bit
drove sons to school (arguing alas)
had friend for a quick lunch and chat when she picked something up
took cat for booster
tidied utility so it could be cleaned
cleaner remade two beds, hoovered downstairs, hoovered two bedrooms, cleaned kitchen, and cleaned utility

oh yes, bought big garden broom, new loo brush and a watering can with a rose attachment.

todo
garden rubbish to dump
sweep paths
defrost something for supper (meatwise)
collapse for quick nap/read
look at catechism for tomorrow (last session)
children returning at 4pm then I have to be all energetic and switched on

Ds1 is doing a 20 mile walk in June so I can see he needs to have some practise walks planned before then, and perhaps I should join him [eek] If he does slow buildup from 2 to 5 to 8 miles over a few weekends it may not be an impossible object.

Walking sounds funswan . I'm struggling with exercise right now though walking seems to be okay...must start gentle swimming again.

ta da
wash away
2nd wash on
dinner prepped (steak and mushroom slow cooking in oven for pie, potatoes peeled)
Hoovered
washing up
evidence disposed of

Been so busy, I haven't had time to pop in this week, but hope you're all ok.

Having friends round for dinner tonight, which has prompted DH and I to finally declutter the dining room .

Spent the afternoon inside [ cutting out fabric to make a banner for our woodcraft folk group. Just have to sew it together now, luckily it's not needed until August.

Also Done
Hung out 2nd lot laundry
Collected DD

Now waiting for DD to get dressed so we can go get her some shoes

I have a bitchy special kinda horror ta da list. I also have no time to post it Busy busy busy.

Right, got all my list done not hard! and DS agreed to a rare nap, so that was a bonus. The downside was he's only just dropped off to sleep, so not sure how the morning will be.

DH is taking him out to the park and then shopping tomorrow, so I'm getting a whole morning to myself to chill. Might dig out a film with hunky men and non-explicit violence to watch (X-Men, Iron Man etc)... so any recommendations welcome!

A busy but productive day here.

Three loads of laundry washed (2 last night one this morning) and line dried.
Kitchen table relocated under DD's sewing pile.
Dentist for me.
Coffee with friends
Shopping including drop scrap gold at jewellers for valuation
Lunch
Opened mail - won £50 on the Premium Bonds
Swimming
Hour at the allotment.

School run
DCs to dentist - both behaved well and were praised for good toothcare (massive contrast to last year when they behaved appallingly and DD needed two fillings)
Home
More tidying
Dinner
DS to local church youth group and me back to the allotment for another hour.
Home
Need to get the DCs to bed in a minute.

Was going to do the ironing but I might leave it.

I'm loving the allotment, it is so peaceful up there, but sociable too, several of my neighbours and friends have plots on the same site. New people have just taken over the one next to me and they seem very nice too.

Links for Saturday 17th May

Babystep 17 is the one we all dread ignore getting to bed at a reasonable time.

Saturday is Family Fun Day.

NO MISSIONS as it's the weekend.

Just off to do the ironing, will be back later with Summary or in the morning, if I forget

Miss, Miss, Miss. I have a good excuse for not doing the baby step tomo. honest

carpe hope you feel better soon.

Today was sunny so two hours were spent in the park!

I like the sets of three idea! Big plans for tomorrow

1. Library visit
2. Study for upcoming exam
3. BBQ if it's sunny

House can take a back seat since I was so good during the week, as long as I can see the floor and we all have clean pants I'm going to enjoy the sunshine!

ds sent home from school at 11am yesterday as his cough was so bad and he was a bit tearful with it :( so productivity was out of the window. He went in today but I did take him to a drs appt late morning just to check no chest infection as he has been up and down for a few days and she thought he was okay - just a viral thing which will sort itself. Breathing still a bit noisy but he went to sleep ok.

I did get a few jobs done yesterday and today:
Change ds sheets and do a load of washing
Ironed about half the ironing pile
Collect underpaid letter from PO - envelope was too thick for a normal stamp
Buy ibuprofen for ds
Buy newspaper I'm not going to read to get free lego for ds
Buy cheap starter kit of "loom bands" for dd as there is a bit of a craze at school and everyone is making bracelets (had never heard of them until she came back froma birthday party with one a couple of weeks ago)
Took dcs to swimming lesson

whoknows my neighbour was talking about his allotment today. He said he had espaliered blackberries in avenues [wow!)

further dones
didn't manage garden rubbish but I did walk two big bags of clothes to charity recycling at Morrisons
cooked supper (fish and baked potatoes and salad)
dh played another enormous game of Monopoly with the sons lasting for 3 hours
I read more Roman Mysteries to ds2
chatted to dd, she was actually doing her rather tiresome trick of gym in the corridor at 9.30pm
chatted to friend on phone

Feel much better for sunshine and being outdoors this morning, although it made me sleepy by 2.30 and I had a short nap.

There would appear to be a wasp nest in the vacinity of my office. I can hear constant buzzing. THis is a problem as my office is open plan to my bedroom. Arses, Arses, Arses. I guess that means that my week of rest will now be a week of pulling out the office to try to locate the sorce of the buzzing :( :(

SUMMARY

WhoKnows won with Ernie! But not enough to take us all away with her. Camping in Oxfordshire sounds lovely. And sorted her jewellery box out. Hope the dentist went well. We don't have an allotment since we moved and the waiting list for the local one is 20 years! But fingers crossed we're on the list for an 'urban croft' via the Locavore shop we volunteer at occasionally, will only be a small plot, but just to do some growing will be lovely.

dizzy not knowing my MIL's address is a regular thing, I can't believe how often she moves.

Trazzle so pleased Joe is doing well and I'm sure the house will be tidier once the new bookcase arrives.

Mummy is up to date with her laundry, and did a good toiletry clear out. That sounds like a productive 1st week back.

Engels has had a busy week at school, and house work can wait when the sun is shining. What doughnuts?

Carpe bribed DS with doughnuts, who had a nap! Hope you feel better soon.

jacks got loads done! And included a dance class

Bitchy had a laid back relaxing day...yeah, right. And says she's got an excuse for not having an early night tomorrow.

Blue's turn to have the virusy child. Did the boiler get fixed?

Swan blitzed DS1's room and did some gardening. Thyme is paving slabs is lovely, you get the smell as you walk on it

Toffee popped in to say hello and has had help decluttering from DH as they have guests tonight. Hope you are having fun.

jester had 2 hours in the park, that's the right idea. We keep on top of the chaos so we have time to do fun things without fretting. (Allegedly)

newlark is another one with a poorly DS. It's definitely going around. DD is also into loom bands, thanks I didn't know what they were called and she can't remember.

And finally, after the banner making, we picked up DD from school and went into the city to get some summer shoes for school. She's only got 5 weeks left and as she hardly wore the last pair of 'proper school shoes' I've let her have some baseball boots, and now feel like a bad mother, but they are red and other children wear similar and she loves them. We then went to Pizza Hut for dinner, so the fast day went out of the window.
And then when we got home the cat had been sick again! It's around the time he should be fed, so I'm wondering if he thinks I should have already fed him and so he's playing up? Am keeping an eye on him and he's been fine for the rest of the day.

Hallooooo!

Well there's & on the counter, hope you are all off having fun. Just about to head out, grab some breakfast and then spend the afternoon as a volunteer at a local market garden

Well, since I've been slacking all week (running from appointment to appointment), I won't feel guilty to be on a "mission" today to get loads of things done.

ta da
Second coat of paint on patio table and chair (yes, should be chairs, but only have one! Will be getting a few more soon!)

Pulled up some weeds and poured boiling water over a large number of earwigs (that scattered from the weeds). Ew.

General tidying up in the back garden while the DCs were playing.

On my third load of laundry in the wash, second load hung up to dry, first load just finishing up in the dryer.

Washing up done.

Took out rubbish.

to do

Take DCs to library.
Bake cookies.
Make jelly.
Make chicken pie for tea tonight (which means make pie crust - sigh - it's been awhile so need to plan plenty of time to mess it up and start again )
More decluttering of the dining room.
Fill in some dents in the wall that had been hidden by wallpaper removed recently.
Take DCs to chippy for lunch (promised them this morning we'd go)
Put loads of laundry away.
Paperwork. (does it ever end?)

Progress in general:

• I found a nice sofa in a secondhand shop for £40 that I quite like. This particular charity group can take away my old set and deliver the new set so I'm sorely tempted to do this. Voila - new furniture (new to me anyway!) that will match my wallpaper at a relatively low cost.
• I've decided to revamp DC2's dresser in his room. I'm redoing his room (paint and wallpaper and posters) anyway over the next couple months, and this will be a good time to do it. So now it's just a matter of specifically how to do it - other than replacement handles on it, as that is DEFINITELY needed!
• I've managed to get done a medical appointment this week that I'd been procrastinating over for months, got my haircut, sorted all ongoing prescriptions and have them all up to to date and organised, redid my budget, upgraded my mobile, and copied some photos that I promised for the DCs as they wanted to hang a few framed photos in their rooms. And managed to have tea with one friend, go out to lunch with another friend (on different days, of course) and then have a nice lunch out by myself this week.

All that, and my "to do" list keeps growing and growing! Going on holiday with the DCs this summer, so that list is now forming, although I've picked up a few things already.

Lurgy still in progress. Flying minimal...

Carpe Sorry. Hope you're feeling better soon!

I do have a question - I have a light bulb in a ceiling fan fixture that is loose and wobbly, so when the fan is on, it does that little "clinking" noise constantly (which, I might add, drives me to distraction). I've at present simply taken the light bulb out of that socket and just left the other two light bulbs in. Is it a big deal to just leave the socket open? Or is that a "bad thing"... I'm concerned about the DCs maybe swinging something metal up there and getting electrocuted... then I think "what in god's name would they be swinging that was metal? And how good an aim would they have to be to get it in that small socket opening?" And then I begin to think I'm paranoid... Thoughts? (on how safe it is, not on how paranoid I am!)

I am sitting in the garden soaking up the sun & listening to the birds
Had a very early night last night so evening routine was not done but quickly sorted this morning (Thank you fat fairy!)
Ta da list-
dw on
duvet in wm
bil's divorce sorted
dressed
fed
gardening for tomorrow planned

to do-
garden centre
throw duvet over washing line
mil's for tea

enjoy the sunshine!

Alice - can you fix the fixture so it doesn't wobble? It's usually just a couple of screws although please turn the electricity off first just in case.

Right, house has been scrubbed down, polished up and a mountain of food prepped for today's party, which I will be leaving early bad hostess as I have a long standing evening engagement which means that I will not be leaving until at least midnight. Party day here.

Right now, however, I am off to get ds' glasses fixed at the opticians. he helpfully sat on them this morning

have a lovely lovely day!