March of the Fledglings 2015

[Slingclutter]

Heartfelt thanks to Whoknows for running the February thread during such a stressful time for her (and to Toffee for helping out.)

If you are strugging 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 and along the way.

Flylady link link 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 on Flying lessons. Here's the launch pad for more experienced fledglings.

Don't be put off by the purple prose and 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 might 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 15 mins 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 brew + 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, regulars, oldies and newcomers very, very welcome!

Morning fledglings! Spring sunshine has returned thankfully!

(Hope you slept Bitchy!)

A noticeable positive change in dd's behaviour and attitude since I banned Star Stable until end of academic year ie end June!!

Bitchy/Toffee my bil has very severe SAD, he has the light box and everything.

Blue treble arf at "Plaice doo gay-nay-ral leck-lerk" . Mosel sounds lovely too ... .

Getting a bit antsy about the summer in fact ... keep speaking to friends who have their holidays all organised ... haven't started yet ... must do so! (Esp as want to make it a bit of a special one for dd; between leaving primary and starting secondary - want it to be all carefree and lovely and want her to get muddy every single day!!! ) Note to self: to

Not lazy at all Toffee: how can you say that with two boys permanently at home? That's a job in itself even without the HE!!!

Ta da:
morning routine inc dw/wm, s&s, rabbits, wrapped up cake for dd's class (end of term exams finish today).
tidied sitting room and playroom a bit
sorted iron pile for fortnightly ironing lady who is coming today hopefully (yay!)

To do:
sort out tumble dryer which appears to have died
buy a bit more choc for UK
Easter parcels
try on dresses
on-line parcel returns
put away clean and ironed clothes
boudoir
school run
dd to doc

Hope eveyrone has a good day! Have friend coming so had better get on!

oops - note to self - (and this is going to sound selfish and horrible but I've spent so many summers waiting for dh to finish work and then he doesn't and that is another year when the opportunity is lost.. .)

"be single minded and do NOT get involved in the machinations of dh's work schedule during the long 9 weeks of the summer holiday. Take control and organise it yourself and do not be swayed!!!!

Hopefully dh will manage a holiday himself this year - he desperately needs a total break - but whether he will take one or not is another matter [sigh].

I did sleep eventually but it was not enough to make me feel rested. Feel utterly exhausted today. So capping coffee at 3 cups (2 drunk to get me going this morning already) and in the office so activity will be at a more realistic level.

Good luck holiday planning SC

Ds1 has been despatched to Colorado [sob] Dh is still dropping him by tube at the airport so he is not in the sky until midday. I don't think I will stop worrying until he returns. I am sooo glad I went ski-ing with ds2 - at least I have a vague sense of what he will be up to and what the worst that can happen is (well there is always something worse than the worst unfortunately but I won't think about that now)

We've had a manic few days trying to pack his suitcase with him and find all the right gear for ski-ing whilst trying to remind him in what order to wear the items and not to wear the ski-ing bits the rest of the day or he'll run out etc etc And to WASH. And to turn off his ipod when he goes to sleep.. It is agony trying to live his life for him so I had better stop doing it right now

SC Gosh Belgium sounds idyllic - all those people bringing presents and dropping into lovely local shops Come to think of it I have "continental" friends who always bring biscuits with them when they come for a cup of tea - it actually drives me mad because I feel terribly guilty that the tea is not served with due finesse and in due proportion to the present!!!

Today
I am going to focus on taking the rubbish to the dump. Bin men left it all [grrr] and I was too busy yesterday to ring them up and complain. Loads of cardboard too which Having Not Taken it to the dump Before I have now had to take out of the car in order to drop ds and his suitcase at the station and will have to put it all back IN again [incompetent/sigh]

also achieved
sent draft letter back to Parent Partnership having edited it.
emailed Speech Therapist about ds2 for some sessions in May
went to ds1 concert last night at school. Brilliant. Ds in the background but I was thrilled to hear all the (year above ds1) Year 11's and see how far they had all come since I had first gone to concerts back in Year 7.

Bitchy I think SAD is not to be underestimated. Every day I'm sure I feel anxious and low about something or other and lo and behold a dose of watery spring sunshine and a bit of incompetent driving and I feel completely different. Luckily ds2 keeps dragging me out as there are various routine weekly "outings" that he determined to get to even when I waver.

Lovely friend been and gone (quick coffee). We've both experienced family bereavements since we last met, so good to catch up.

Bin men left a lovely "present" of moulding vegetable peelings outside of our front door this morning (someone's bag had obviously split or been chewed by foxes or something) so just spent the last 30 mins picking up revolting rubbish and then brushing the street with Dettol and water.

Have also tried on a dress I ordered on-line (for dd's Confirmation later in the year) and it fits and it is appropriate [yay!]!! So rarely am I able to buy any outfit (particularly a formal one) that fits my wierd proportions (narrow shoulders, humungous norks) that I am flabbergasted and delighted at the same time! Still wouldn't hurt to lose a bit of weight off my ample stomach however!! And such a relief to know that I have the outfit finally sorted; felt mahoosively under-dressed at dd's Communion when all the (young and beautiful and stylish) Italian and Spanish mothers arrived in beautiful dresses with silk jackets etc etc ... although one's mind should have been on higher things of course .

So ignoring the banana cake just consumed with friend I am returning to my diet with renewed vigour today. Should be able to lose a stone in 8 wks shouldn't I? Is that realistic?

Swan oh poor you! I feel physically sick when dd goes on a school trip, so really, really sympathise. And it is very hard not to worry with all these hideous things happening in the news; have to keep telling myself that air travel remains one of the safest modes of transport (dh practically lives his life on A320s) . And- wow - Colorado!! What an opportunity!! He will absolutely love it!!!! And young lads are very elastic and bounce!!

And well done to your ds1 re: school concert!

The hospitality rituals are a lovely part of living in Belgium but that is countered by the fact that, compared with other nationalities, they don't socialise very much outside of their immediate family and friends and very rarely with work colleagues ie you very rarely get past the front door!

And one shouldn't generalise, but (particularly on the Flemish side until you get to know them) they can appear a bit serious and cold. Once you do get to know them though, then you have friends for life. In turn, they say Brits are immediately welcoming and smiley but you can never progress to get to know them properly as we put a wall up beyond which few people can go!

Sorry you are feeling so exhausted Bitchy. Would a walk in the sunshine help (if there is any where you are of course!)?

Still haven't figured out what to do about tumble dryer. Whole thing is operating ie it is turning etc, but it is not generating any heat. Bum.

Morning, not much achieved here yet as we've had the plumber round to do the annual service of the boiler and solve a problem we had with some of the radiators not heating up properly. Turns out when the plasterers removed a radiator they must have closed some of the valves on the other radiators and not told us so the plumber has just spent ages getting it sorted. At least it is now sorted.

I managed to get a new mobile yesterday but I do feel a bit like I've entered an alien world of technology. I did check when I bought the phone that I can go back as often as I like for help with learning things. I'm not hopeless at technology but as you don't get a manual these days and it's all touch screen, etc I think I will need a bit of help. Looking forward to when meerkitten can help me like your DD helps Sling, she'll probably overtake me by the time she can speak!

Caulking isn't anything difficult Sling, it's just sealant for the gap that inevitably exists when you put a skirting board or door frame, etc in, especially when you have a wonky old house like we do. You don't realise how wonky everything is until you put something straight next to it.

We had wardrobes built into the wall cavity in the attic and it was only when the straight line of the wardrobe went in that I could see that our attic beams are bent like bananas! Slightly troubling when it's holding your roof up, but I guess they've already done the job for a hundred years.

Yes Sling I do speak Portuguese, although I didn't speak a word when I first moved to Portugal, that was interesting! It was a long time ago in a town in the north for the first six months, no tourism, no one spoke English in shops/restaurants, etc. Young people at uni did but not the older generation. We haven't been over for about five years though so I suspect that I'm pretty rusty at the moment.

Feeling less tired today but still a bit lazy, think I will do the 15min timer thing again and paint the caulk in the bathroom and perhaps make some progress on the set of shelves that I'm building into a tiny alcove in my study, it's literally only about 20cm wide but 2.5 metres high, it's a space that would never exist in a modern house, but I guess these little quirks all add to the character of an old house!

Hope you hear from DS Swan while he's away so that you feel less worried. Bitchy I think you can afford to take the whole day off after yesterdays impressive list!

Happy flying, will check back in to see how it's going later...

Yep we have sunshine to go with yesterday's snow. With this weather you'd think I somewhere incredibly excite. Nope just good old British weather.

Unfortunately I need a month with ta da lists like that to even make a dent in what needs doing. But it is why I craft. helps to allow me the illusion of being busy whilst resting. Struggling today due to lack of sleep and lack of physio doing A nice dose of pain to remind me to do the exercises
Work has been done, skipped errands in town but just need to pop up to the local big supermarket before ds gets home and the fun starts.

Afternoon all

Harrumph. I know dh is preoccupied with work but honestly, he came home for lunch, rushed to fridge, starting stuffing bread and cheese down his neck before evening saying "hello", proceeded to stare at the tv (Daily Politics) and glug soup without one word of conversation... and then left (again without speaking). Felt like the resident servant

Take it steady Bitchy small steps and all that.

Thanks for the caulking explanation Dogsbum! Much need for it here as this house is hugely wobbly! All the floors are sloping and there are huge gaps under skirting boards where house has sagged or tilted. (Even when we buy a free-standing piece of furniture, we have to have the carpenters in to craft bits of wood to even out the floor underneath so it can stand up straight.) Impressed, yet again, by your ability to put up shelves!! Great when you can make proper use of those difficult spaces! Good to hear you are taking breaks though!

You sound very well travelled! We have a good friend who speaks Portuguese and when she is here, she takes us to an excellent traditional "pork and clam" restaurant where there is an area out the back where lots of Portuguese labourers sit on long tables and tuck in to steaming bowls of delicious grub! It's really good!

And forgot to say earlier Swan think of all that wonderful exercise that ds1 will be getting!!

Tumble dryer has definitely died. Is it worth calling an engineer out I wonder? The dw at the office had a fault a few wks back and by the time we'd finished it cost more to fix than it would have been to buy a new one. And I find that often, once you start replacing parts, then the other parts start to go. Hmmm... .

*
Thread running

As it is approaching the end of the month, and while I think about it (and if my memory serves me correctly) I think Pushme kindly volunteered to run thread in April, but she did so at the end of January so that may not still be convenient for her. Just mentioning it in case we need someone else to volunteer ...!

*
BBL!

SC - our tumble dryer has died too. Am not bothering to get it mended - just saving up for a new one in time for the autumn.

Swan - ((hugs)) I would be just the same if either of my DSs was going away. The one good thing about having a child who won't go out is that I always know where he is and that he's safe . But, of course, we are not doing our jobs properly as parents unless we help our children explore the world with confidence, so you should pat yourself on the back for having a son who wants to explore the world independently. He will have a wonderful time, I'm sure.

No computer time for DS2 so far today. We spent the morning walking in the sunshine, admiring all the budding trees and spotting early butterflies. Practised some times tables and did some addition work later, but it has been a laidback day apart from that and DS2 has remained in a lovely mood throughout. What a change!

I am, however, going to allow him limited time on Minecraft shortly so that I can catch up on sleep. Will be interesting to see if his mood changes.

Have a bit of a social dilemma tonight. I have been invited to two get-togethers at the same time and said yes to both because I assumed they were the same thing (there's an overlap between the people). Now it turns out they are two separate events at different venues. One is a reunion which took ages to arrange and can't be changed; the other is a birthday party. I can actually make both, but I'm afraid I will end up offending both parties by leaving one early and arriving at the other one late. Argh! DH thinks I'm hugely over-thinking it and refuses to discuss it with me anymore plus he's pissed off that he has to babysit.

Anyway, am going to grab the chance to sleep now. I look as if I haven't slept for a month.

Toffee or anyone who has researched the hugely boring topic of tumble-driers...

Are the new heat pump tumble driers worth the extra money do you know?

Sleep well Toffee! And hope you resolve your social dilemma tonight! Tricky one but how nice to have an excess of invitations !!

Yes SC I would really recommend getting a heat pump condenser! Ours is bloody brilliant. It's a Bosch one I think. And actually at under £500 it really wasn't much more than a normal condenser. It is staggeringly efficient. I'm in love with it!

We scoured Which? for ratings but also read reviews elsewhere (eg there was a Samsung that had fab ratings but terrible reviews elsewhere so we ditched that one) - you may be able to use the website at the library; ours has a subscription to it so it's free for customers.

Oops, I forgot I was supposed to wait til next month to come back with my new namechange! I was just so excited about tumble dryers...

Well I tucked myself up for a sneaky nap. So far there has been 3 phone calls. shall we say sods law?

Sorry SC no idea about the tumbler dryers

Did you ask ds1 to let you know he arrived or would he forget and you worry more? I am sure he will have a fabulous time.

Have fun tonight toffee

Dogsbum you are braver than I wrt the phone. I am deliberately staying away from smart phones. It annoys other people but i don't want or need one and I would rather have a low tech phone that does what i want it to do than a high tech one I have to worry about all the time. iyswim. I do have a tablet and have found that they tend to be set up such that they are fairly easy to sort out. But you do need to investigate the settings for disabling locations otherwise it is possible to put a picture in a room in a house just from the information that is embedded into the picture. Something that is advised to help protect children from (as my mother would say) bad people with bad intentions. Will have a hunt out for the info booklet on it school handed out at some point if anyone is interested. Was really good advice on internet safety. I swear I am turning into a paranoid technophobe

Bitchy yes, would be very much interested in that - thank you! In the meantime, dd, off her own bat, is using a low-tech security initiative - ie small blobs of blue tack covering the camera lense holes on her Ipod and home tablet (not sure how well they will work once she takes the blob of blue-tack off mind you!!) but she did it before we realised. She's obviously taking all of our warnings rather seriously ... .

Is that you Pegleg?? Thank you so much for that incredibly useful info!! I will have a look at 'Test-Achats' which is the equiv of 'Which' over here, but great to have a starting point from which to research. Thank you again!

Just back from taking dd to doc's for blood test and have thrown spuds in oven for easy supper tonight with salad etc. Two loads of damp bed linen draped around house thanks to demise of td. Feeling rather weary now.

Yep tis PegLegAntoine here. I do like the name (it's a Big Bang theory reference) but it just didn't fit right!

This one is a reference to an oft-forgotten British comedy called Coupling :)

I forgot you might not have Which, hopefully you can get some useful info elsewhere. I am so so glad we spent the extra to get a heat pump anyway, just looking at the cost to run showed a huge difference. I'm not sure what time frame it was referring to but it was about £25 compared to £75ish so a massive change.

Thanks again CaptainSubtext!! Much appreciated!!

Just going to post links and run; early bed as we have a fairly busy weekend ahead. G'night all!

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Baby-step no. 28 for Saturday 28th March is here the one about looking after ourselves and getting enough sleep, proper food and drinking sufficient water!

Saturday is our last day in Zone 4 :the boudoir March 22 - 28).

(Thereafter, we will be in the living room zone for the last few days of March).

If you want to, you can declutter for 15 mins a day in Zone 4!

The detailed cleaning list (if you are at that stage) for Zone 4 is here.

No mission because it is the weekend!

The daily focus for Saturday is: family fun.

The monthly habit for March is the controversial one about getting dressed immediately on rising and wearing lace up shoes indoors etc.

For a summary of the above, see the flight plan : www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120 which should update itself daily.

Enjoy your weekend fledglings!

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Toffee glad you had your old ds2 back again today Ooh I absolutely fear those party dilemmas - then I find there were so many people going it didn't matter if I was there for only a short time. There must be others in the same boat too.

SC he sounds like he is still quite low and "holding it together" Dh is not very good at communicating when he is in "work mode" either unless he suddenly decides he is not in "work mode" (of course it is rather difficult to predict these changes of pace )

I'm trying to tell myself he will be safe. The next worry to beat is the worry that he will be unhappy or uncomfortable or in some way feel humiliated (if he is bad at ski-ing) However to some extent that is something he has to deal with (your Belgian "resilience" SC) but not really what you send someone on holiday at vast expense for is it Hopefully the D of E was a lot more uncomfortable.

Onwards and Upwards!!

CaptainSubtext! We have a Coupling box set, such clever writing on that show.

Hope DS has a great trip, Swan and that you're able to relax a little.

Flying-wise, we now have a skip waiting to clear defunct bathroom stuff, garage etc tomorrow, so that's something...

I love Coupling but the last episode of series 4 was a fecking disaster with the Jeff replacement :( such a shame.

We frequently refer to the Sock Gap and the Giggloop :o

Phew, managed both events ok. I did feel a bit bad excusing myself early from the first one, but I chose the moment when some new people arrived to distract the birthday girl, so am hoping I wasn't noticed slipping away.

Am overflowing with Prosecco . Hope I don't feel hungover tomorrow, as I have invited one of DS2's friends over for the day.

SC - yes, it was lovely to have 'old' DS2 back today. Interestingly, he turned into a monster again after a short time on Minecraft. I'm not sure what it does to him or why. Was relieved that I could delegate bedtimes to DH.

Swan - can DS1 text you to let you know how he's getting on?

Ah Bitchy a woman cut from the same crazy cloth as me, painting ceiling at 8 and a half months!

A few months ago an orange juice bottle exploded as I opened it (due to being off, me leaving it in fridge for ages) and orange bits went all over the kitchen ceiling and this was about 15 mins before going to the airport last year and whilst I've wiped the ceiling it definitely needs repainting and I keep wondering how much trouble I'll be in with DP if he catches me painting it. However, it needs doing and DP wont do it I know. He'll agree to doing it but somehow it just wont happen, he's pretty much allergic to DIY.

Your post has now reassured me that I'm not totally crazy to do this and I'm not even 7 months yet, I do also have a very small offshot kitchen so it wouldn't take long.....

By the way where are you Bitchy that you've had snow in the UK in the last week? Scotland?

I might copy you with the craft idea as way of safely keeping me busy when I'm less physically able. I can't do the range of things that you can do but I can do basic knitting. I've also considered the idea of maybe learning to sew as I've discovered there are local sewing machine classes. I can hand sew on a button and sew a straightish line at a push but that's about it. I would quite like to be able to do simple things like make a cushion cover or maybe patchwork quilt or basic blinds or curtains. I also imagine that being able to do basic things like taking up trousers or skirts that are too long would be handy with a meerkitten in the house.

Sling yes, pork and clams are great aren't they. Portuguese food is really great but because it's all so-called peasant food based on really experienced cooks making tasty food it doesn't really export, I love it though.

I'm not particularly well travelled, a did a year in Portugal as the placement year of my degree and then I did about eight months in Brazil doing voluntary work and then travelling in between studying and having to face the real world and get a job! In my heart of hearts I would love to live in Portugal but I just can't see how we could ever get it to stack up financially

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one with a wonky house! I didn't believe I could do things like shelves either until I went on a basic DIY course with a really inspiring, 'you can do it', tutor, she is my inspiration every time I doubt myself about any project.

I've never had a tumble dryer but I do wonder if it might become a useful tool when meerkitten arrives so I will be following the tumble dryer buying process closely and taking notes on all advice given. The only space it could go is in the cellar though so that is another factor for me to consider as I assume that not all machines could survive such an environment.

Bitchy I didn't understand what you meant about the photos (probably because I'm so hopeless at what technology can do ) but I would be interested to read the info booklet that you mention to find out what you mean. I'm not currently of the paranoid persuasion but maybe that will come with this new technology!...

Well done balancing the two social events Toffee, I'm very envious of you overflowing with Prosecco, sounds like a good night.

No flying today, just sitting on sofa on laptop with tv on in background. I'm going to be nice to myself today and take it easy so my only plans are local shops for paper and something for tea.

I've also bought the ingredients to make tarte au citron (I've never made it before and I've never even made pastry before, so that should be interesting/disasterous).

Me and two of the other women who did the DIY course meet up every few months, rotating between our houses and we each make a course for a meal and compare notes on where we've got up to with our DIY projects.

It's very enjoyable but as me and DP don't really do desserts my list of desserts I can do ran out very quickly. We do both like tarte au citron though so at least we wont mind eating my practice run, assuming it's edible that is. I'm using a Mary Berry recipe so hopefully I'm in good hands. I'm slightly worried that it just says use 4 lemons though as size of lemons seems to vary so much, we'll see what happens. Anyone have any top tips? I'll probably make it some time this afternoon.

Yargh! Just spent a large chunk of the morning preparing dd for complex ballet, cinema, football with friends, sleepover combo. She honestly needs an entourage of seven servants at her service!!

Dh and dd ensconsed on sofa (10.30ish) eating toast when I reminded them that dd had to have a bath and wash her hair (including preventative nit combing), trim her finger nails, wrap a present, pack her overnight back to drop off at friend's house, pack a separate ballet bag for changing there, and pack a spare change of clothes in case they get muddy in the park, then change for ballet and have her ballet bun prepped, and eat lunch, all before 1pm. (And that was leaving out the weekend hwk of reading a book!) My protests were met with much derision but sure enough, we only just got it all done in time!

We were rushing around so much at the end that I managed to spray dd's newly washed bun-head-hair with deodorant instead of hair spray!! How do people with more than one child manage it?!! I think I have become deeply incompetent over the years as it was hardly a difficult task overall (and we nearly managed to forget ballet shoes)!

Anyway, poor dh now has a rather complicated cross-town chauffering exercise of ballet, dd's friends house to drop off bag, back to ballet, off to cinema!!

Hopefully it will all be worth it as he and I will have a very quiet child-free time this afternoon and overnight (although I will be a bit on tenterhooks as dd has been so tired recently; it's not exactly an ideal agenda for her this pm, but she so desperately wanted to go I didn't want to disappoint her). I've said she can text us anytime day or night (!) to come and get her and we'll be getting blood test results on Wed apparently. And I've warned hosting parent that dd more tired than usual and to call me if she thinks dd is struggling. Happily though, she seemed fairly energetic this morning!

Hope you are all having good Saturdays!

Swan I do admire the way on here, that if anyone mentions anything remotely negative about their dh's or family members, you always manage to find a more positive, forgiving and kindly way of looking at the situation!! . I should be trying to do the same (especially in Lent!!) and I think you are right that dh is still finding life very stressful since his father's death. He's definitely worried about his sister too.

Hope your ds1 is having a blast on the ski-slopes and that you are managing not to worry too much! (Easier said than done I know!) Bet he will be having lots of fun though! Adolescent boys, open air, big mountains, lots of snow .. it's a perfect combination ... even without the ski-ing element!!

Good luck with your hard-core decluttering Blue!!

Glad you had a good time in the end last night Toffee!! Could you instigate an outright ban of Minecraft for a set period of time (beginning of summer holidays) if it's having such a negative effect? Although traumatic at the outset, think it is much easier than rationing it in some ways!! After an initial shaky start, dd has tolerated the ban of Star Stable surprisingly well (I am flabbergasted at how well she has taken it actually) thought she would be protesting much harder for much longer!! Think she knew in her heart of hearts that it wasn't doing her, or her schoolwork, much good! Alternatively, have found in the past that an addictive game like that can be used as good leverage ie you will earn half an hour on Minecraft if you do x and y. So the work comes BEFORE the gaming. Good luck!

Cheery waves to CaptainSubtext and everyone else!!

So ds is getting better at chores, but he is not great at remembering the difference between week days and weekends today started more than a little bit earlier than I intended. And he is in a grump apparently it is a grown ups job to put clothes away Not sure where he rates doing dishes and learning how to operate a washing machine but we are about to find out