Deck the halls (or the wine) as the Fledglings head into December.

[GoingGoingGoth]

Huge thanks to Blue for leading the thread throughout November (and to SC for such a copy and paste-able OP )

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.

Flylady link is here

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):

1. start or repeat baby steps

1. repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

1. 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!

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 daily and doing the babysteps is a good way to start. Some of us (mentioning no names!) can have scary looking lists but don't let that worry you! Do what you can, anything is better then nothing, and don't judge yourself against others.

If all else fails, a + the power of three technique + a bit of support on here can work wonders!

Oh and don’t let it put you off if we appear a bit cliquey – some of us have been on here for years – but all lurkers, intermittent returnees, oldies and newcomers very, very welcome!

Linzer

We need to have a 'welcome back' party!

Come in and sit down

Thanks Toffee, just what I need!

Just flick the duster over the naughty corner bar Linzer Some of the newer members are not so well verse in the Fledglings ways and the naughty corner has been a bit empty recently

ta da
work
make snowflakes
collect poorly ds from school early
deal with upchucking child - fingers crossed it is mucus rather than stomach bug linked
training - ouchies
make more snowflakes (some more successful than others and not been using a pattern and ironing won't save it so it will just be curly and that pattern not used again)

Sorry, bit distracted here...

Linzer! How lovely to see you!

Get well soon to your DS, Bitchy.

Hair-washing survived...

Just popping to post links, will hopefully catch up properly tomorrow.

LINKS FOR TUESDAY 16th DECEMBER

Babystep 16 is to read one of the daily emails, testimonials, Morning Musings (!) or Ask Flylady Questions. There's probably some good stuff there under the twinkly crap.

Tuesday is planning day

This week we are in Zone 3:The Kitchen

Today's mission is to clean the bathroom bin, followed by another 5 minute Stash and Dash

The Launch Pad is here

Christmas Mission 12 is to do your posting (I'm actually doing this one, presents only not written cards yet)

Yay, Linzer - welcome back! How are things? I'm definitely in the naughty corner at the moment.

Lovely to see so many familiar names still here! We're all fine here - well, apart from DH who is at home with a touch of the man flu bad cold - and looking forward to the break over Christmas; six days left of school and counting... It's been a long term here, with the only break since 1st September being just one bank holiday (we missed out on another two plus two school closure days thanks to them all falling at weekends), so the DC are more than ready for a break now.

Thanks for the extra , Toffee and Blue! I did actually indulge in a real glass last night, breaking my alcohol-only-at-weekends rule as we somehow managed to have half a bottle in the fridge left over from the weekend.

Bitchy Hope DS is feeling better now and fingers crossed that it turns out not to be a stomach bug.

WhoKnows I shall join you in the naughty corner until next year for the time being at least.

Goth Hello! (Don't think we've "met" yet.) Thanks for the links; will have a proper look at them later.

Must get back to my Christmas cards; every year I feel like I'm being organised by starting early, and every year I'm still writing them up to the last minute and beyond. DH managed to write all his yesterday morning. I asked him how this was possible. "It's because I have no friends." (Actually, it's because people here don't tend to write them - you would certainly never give a card to someone you see fairly regularly.)

Sorry Toffee, have just realised I didn't answer your question - I have to admit it's the chat that I've missed and that has tempted me back rather than my house being in chaos (although it could certainly do with some help too!). And I heard that the thread is fairly quiet atm, so I thought I'd get back on board before the January madness.

Well, we had a dramatic start to the day: we were all woken by the most enormous crash from downstairs; it sounded as if someone was smashing their way into our house. We ran downstairs to discover that the kittens had somehow wriggled into our understair's cupboard in the dining room, opened the door and knocked the microwave down (we keep it in the cupboard): broken glass everywhere! Amazingly, the kittens are unhurt, but it took me an hour to clear up and hoover up all the glass, which had gone everywhere.

And now the heating and hot water's not working .

Hi Linzer no I don't think we have. Welcome back I'm a bit sporadic in my Flying and not sure how long I've been on the thread with these lovely ladies.

Toffee hope you get your water & heating back soon. How strong are your kittens! Microwaves are heavy. Hopefully your day will get better.

Did some successful flying yesterday, including realising i'd got DD a 2nd copy of Artemis Fowl, so re-wrapped one of her book stacks and past it on to another parent.

Today we're heading back to the Art Village to tidy up after the weekend and pack some stuff for the move. Also got DD's Christmas Concert this afternoon. I've also had 2 fillings this morning < numb face

Linzer Hi! I still think of you when I think of Playmobil (I recall all yours was lined up splendidly in the cellar) ....and I finally went to Vienna for a short trip with ds2 so I can now imagine your everyday surroundings a bit better

this morning
I still have a streaming cold. Dh has kindly taken ds2 to the Germany Exhibition at the BMuseum. In the interim I have to do all my Christmas shopping

Yesterday afternoon was a complete fail - a friend came over and we chatted for several hours and ds2 just watched telly (although admittedly it was a general knowledge quiz programme of some sort)
By 4pm he was desperate to play some sort of boardgame with family members - unfortunately dh was still at a business lunch, and the two returning children was only in the mood to do zilch. By 8pm ds2 was ranting that he just wanted us all to play a nice board game - sadly out of synch but entirely my fault for letting him watch too much telly in the afternoon (after the excesses of chemistry experiments)

Ds1 then went off to a Confirmation meeting kicking and screaming that he didn't want to be confirmed and that he would blame me if his GSCE results went down as a result . Only to return smiling like a Cheshire cat because there were fifteen flouncy 14/15 year old girls (all of whom he had been at primary with but not dared to talk to since) and only five boys (he also knew) It was very kind of dh to take him to the meeting - although dh complained that the head catechist said I don't need to introduce the catechists as you will know who we are (Dh thinking No, I don't know who any of you are ???? not a regular churchgoer) Having his Dad there made all the difference to ds1.

Okay then Christmas Shopping (online and otherwise) and more coffee/drugs.

Morning everyone, I've been lurking rather than posting no flying to report

DS currently poorly and coughing himself awake at night so he and I are zombies today.

Ta da:
Dishwasher
Hand washing up.
That is all....

I always think it is a relief to think that the cats would be able to escape if they were stuck somewhere by hook or by crook. I come down in the morning and one cat is sitting on the fridge (vantage point to zap intruders), on cat is under the sofa (on the central heating pipe) and one cat is outside trying to get in the kitchen window and drink milk from the left over cereal bowls Completely contrary.

Ds was up most of last night and when he was asleep he was lying on me so I still didn't sleep. Thankfully he allowed me to catch up with a bit of sleep this morning. However today has been a very slow day that has barely seen me leave my bed as every time I have tried I have had a pityful ds curl up for a hug. He has now managed to eat something but not a lot. Have to say that flying has been non existant today.

Toffee goodness knows how you managed to be so calm. I think that start to the day would probably have reduced me to tears! Hope the rest of your day went a bit smoother.

linzer have you had much snow yet?

Sorry to hear you and DS are having a bad day bitchy, hope you're better soon

My DS is two tomorrow! Can't believe how quickly that has gone... Unfortunately he is also still unwell, lots of coughing and wheezing and all he has wanted to do all day is sit on my lap and be cuddled. Cuddles are just lovely, but wish DS didn't have to be sick in order for me to get them!!

He has just fallen asleep so now I can get on with some flying, starting with making a birthday cake for tomorrow

Today
sympathy to all poorly people - it really does make it impossible to do much

however, thanks to paracetamol and caffeine I managed to get out of the house finally at 2.30pm to buy some presents - found the guitar for dd, some stocking filler books and some appropriate odd presents for ds2. Also some toddler presents for nieces and nephews.

Nitcombed dd's hair again - it has been 4 years I think since she had nits but someone in her class evidently had them. I am now combing every three days - it is like nitcombing Rapunzel - impossible.

ds1 did his Science coursework practical today [sigh] seems unconcerned and can finally spell hypothesis

Sausages and boiled potatoes/broccoli for dinner.

Ds2 and I played two rounds of chess. He is quite good and enjoys thinking he is better than me (he's not, but I'm pretty bad)

LINKS FOR WEDNESDAY 17th DECEMBER

Babystep 17 is the infamous Early Night!

Wednesday is anti procrastination day

This week we are in Zone 3:The Kitchen

Today's mission is to clear out the medicine cupboard, checking expiration dates, throwing empty bottles and wiping down the shelves. Plus another Stash & Dash, putting things away today.

The Launch Pad is here

Christmas Mission 13 continues the Anti Procrastination Day theme.
Mail packages and cards prepared yesterday;
Pick up your dry cleaning.
Checked you grocery list to make sure you have everything you need for your holiday baking.
Are there any more gifts that you need to run out and buy?
How about a holiday centerpiece for your table?

A mixed day here, fillings went smoothly, got loads done at the Art Village, got to the school Christmas concert on time. But DD looked grumpy when it was her class's turn.

So we commented about it on the way home and she tells us a boy had slapped her just before hand! DH went ballistic, (which is why we usually keep him out of the loop on these things) Obviously I'm bloody furious too, but then have to deal with him rather than comforting (and getting the story out of DD who'd zipped up)
So I'm heading back into the school tomorrow morning (hopefully without DH) The teacher did see the incident, the boy who did it is friends with the boy who'd been calling her stupid, and has separated them. I just feel a bit helpless. I know it's not the teacher's fault, but I don't want Dd to have to put up with it. Her teacher is also leaving on Friday, so I want it highlighting to his replacement.

On a positive note, DD seems fine now, we had a lovely evening and she's written her Christmas cards and is looking forward to the school party tomorrow.

Sorry to hear that Goth - my DH would probably be the same. Glad DD is OK tonight.

Toffee - that sounds awful, hope your hot water etc is working again. Our worst "woken by a cat" incident so far was just after we installed our cat flap, which we lock overnight. Big cat hadn't worked out what was going on with it and was using her paw to try and get it open when she got her claw stuck in it, I was upstairs asleep when I hear a terrible screaming from downstairs and had to rescue the poor thing. No damage to her claw luckily. I hope nothing too precious was broken.

Linzer - lovely to have you back, it's great when Fledglings return to the nest.

Sorry to hear about poorly Fledglings, DHs and DCs, there is such a lot of it about at this time of year. I accompanied DD's class to church today for the school carol service, the class TA whispered that she had a sick bowl in her bag should anyone need it (luckily they didn't) and I have never heard so much coughing and sniffing in one place before. Christmas parties tomorrow and they break up on Thurs thank goodness.

Flying wise - the DCs and I did quite a bit of tidying tonight, otherwise not much. I have finished writing all the cards that need posting, and mine for colleagues (I'm not in after Thurs). Sainsburys shop and coffee with friends this morning, made some biscuits for DD to take to her Brownies party tomorrow night and that's me done for the day

Still no heating or hot water here . The house is freezing, except for in our sitting room where we have a log fire. We are all going to bed with hot-water bottles tonight - even the cats. I hope they're going to be ok in their unheated room: they do have a cat bed and fleecy blanket to sleep in and I hopefully their own fur coats will keep them warm enough.

Had a phone call promising the plumber would be round tomorrow.

Funny day today. I should have been busy getting on with stuff, but couldn't seem to get motivated and, I must admit, the cold put me off spending much time in any room other than the sitting room. Managed to write a few more Christmas cards at least.

DS2 attended his CBT appointment at the clinic, instead of at home, so that was an achievement.

Sorry for all those with sniffles and sickness bugs. It's so miserable. I must admit that one advantage of being out of the school system at present is that we are not bringing any bugs home anymore and haven't had any illnesses yet this winter (have probably jinxed myself now).

Happy birthday to MiniGrey tomorrow. Hope he's feeling better by then.

WhoKnows - your poor cat! Hope he wasn't put off using the cat flap.

Goth - that is just awful. Your poor DD. She should not have to put up with this and I hope that the school will sort it out. I remember my DS1 being picked on daily by a boy in the year above at primary school. I told his teacher (who happened to be newly qualified), but the name-calling continued. The next year, he had a different teacher (very experienced) and when the name-calling started again, I went straight to her. She had it sorted out by the next day and that boy never, ever called my son anything rude again. On the contrary, from that point on he used to politely say hello to him! I always wondered what the teacher said to the boy. This experience really showed me that the way the teacher handles the bullying - and how important she thinks it is - makes all the difference. I hope the school take it seriously.

Swan - well done on present buying in spite of your cold. Hope you are feeling better tomorrow.

Bitchy - poor DS . Really hope he's on the mend by tomorrow.

Linzer - glad to hear the chat has tempted you back here .

Night all.

Finally have a chance to catch up properly now that DH is back at work; having him around seriously curtails my MNing time!

Toffee Oh no, what an eventful start to the day. Hope the plumber can sort out the heating and hot water asap; it would be awful without either of those, let alone both at once.

Goth It must be at least several years since I last posted on the thread - my Flying motivation left me and I was struggling to keep up with the chat IIRC - but it's good to be back. Sympathies on the fillings but glad to hear it went OK; I really need to do something about one of mine as it's suddenly started hurting, but I think I'll probably leave it until the New Year as I'm a coward I don't want to risk having it redone and it then getting worse (which happened the first time I had it done) when I'm back in the UK.

Swan We still have a cellar full of Playmobil and Lego! The DC have stopped buying Playmobil now (getting rid of it is another matter), but unfortunately the same cannot be said of Lego... DH has to shoulder a good part of the blame; I dread to think how much he's bought in the run-up to Christmas (he's keeping one set back but had to buy it as it was a bargain; another set is a Christmas present to himself ).
I was thinking of you the other day as DS has just started his first communion classes, thinking you must have it all out of the way now - but had completely forgotten about confirmation. It never ends, does it?!?

Grey Happy birthday to your DS; hope he's feeling better today.

Bitchy Get well soon to your DS as well. No snow here yet, thank goodness - it's still a bit warm here at the moment, and it generally comes after Christmas. Am keeping my fingers crossed we have as little as last winter.

WhoKnows Glad to hear the sick bowl wasn't needed; my heart always sinks when I hear that D&V is going round the class. One of the girls in DS's class came into school last week (I was there for the English lesson) saying she still felt a bit sick - she'd been off school the previous day with some kind of sickness bug - and the teacher wasn't at all happy, but said there wasn't a lot she could do unless the girl got worse.

Talking of English lessons, must plan tomorrow's - am just teaching DS's class now that the DDs are both at secondary. Thought I had a "long morning" as DS has a reading workshop straight after school, but DD1 reminded me that she's finishing at 12pm today as she doesn't have PE. According to her, it's because her teacher is going to the cinema at 1pm. (Possible, I suppose, if she's taking a class there.)

Morning all!

Yay Linzer It it so lovely to have you back!! [SC here btw] How are you and dh and the kinder? Can't believe your dds are already at secondary school! Hope the transition went well!

(Your post about your dh and Christmas cards made me cackle btw; my dh is exactly like that too!)

Big waves to eveyrone (especially the poorly ones)

[Cackles hysterically at thought of sorting table centrepiece]

Sorry to have been awol from thread for a few days. Utter chaos here. Dh has flu but won't stop working so is getting gradually worse.

Survived mahoosive ballet weekend where dd did really well at her end-of-year presentation [proud ma emoticon] and very sweetly, a friend in a more advanced class turned up to watch. So we in turn felt we should reciprocate at her presentation. Then dd was roped in to help the following day etc etc. Was really lovely though!!

The school is doing its best to drive all their pupils and their parents in to the ground as they do every Christmas. DD has had a week and a half of exams (lots of them), given a presentation, made a present for a classmate - which has taken hours, participated in a poetry reading and carol concert and the filling and distribution of shoe box parcels, we've helped at the Christmas market, attended a special Christmas Mass with carols and lunch afterwards, attended a Confirmation meeting and a school progress meeting, and dd's gone on expeditions to two museums and the cinema and tonight is the big theatre event (modern interpretation of the nativity) for which I've made costume. By the time it is over tonight, she will have had a 15 hr day. Utter madness. DD was crying for two hours last night because she was so tired (and she's at the top of the school; heaven knows how the little ones cope).

I'm all for rigour and resilience (which the school are extremely keen on) but there is a limit. Had a bit of a contretemps with the teacher over a certain aspect of this yesterday afternoon (she was trying to get dd to do an extra class in the middle of 15 hr day!!!) Very unusual for me to kick up a fuss because my default position is usually to always support the teacher but enough is enough. (Crap at confrontation so felt all shaky afterwards - wimp emoticon.) Not helped by the fact that I have some sort of stomach complaint (not a bug, my colon has decided to tie itself in to a knot and I've been given pills to untangle it). And my brother and his family are arriving on Friday swiftly followed by dsis1 and entourage. Oh and my cleaning lady (sod's law) can't come as usual this week! Arrgggh!!

Oh and did I mention that there was a fire in the flats two doors down last night (no one hurt thankfully) and we were woken up by sirens and blue lights and shouting at 4 am which went on for two hours?

Want to sit and rock quietly in a corner but still sorting parcels, wrapping presents and writing cards and baking. Feel a bit grim though!

Goth that's awful about the slapping incident - hope the teacher deals with it effectively

Oh no about the hot water and heating Toffee!! That must be awful in this weather! I like the way you seem to be more worried about your cats than yourselves though!!

Sorry to hear cold still mouldering on Swan you've had it for ages now - do please take care x

Happy birthday to your ds Greymalkin I hope he recovers sufficiently to enjoy his presents !

Hope you have caught up on a bit of shut eye Bitchy and that your ds is feeling better too

Crikey Whoknows that storm certainly must have been exciting when your ds was born!!! Glad all survived to tell the tale!! (Not sure I would have liked my mil marooned with us when about to give birth either!!)

Speaking of birth....

Engels¨ hope you are doing OK and that your ds is feeling better

Castle hope you are taking it steady!!

Big waves to Blue Alice and everyone else I've missed!

Btw, while I think about it, has anyone volunteered to take on the running of the (traditionally scary) January thread? I will be away from 28th to 4th visiting fil & sil but happy to help share the load thereafter. Also very happy to do Feb.