The fledglings try something new for June

[DarkEvilMoon]

Hello, welcome back and jump on board for June.

As the thread title say we are mixing things up a bit this month, it might work. Then again it might not. It is still a long running thread and newbies will always be welcome. Usual disclaimer still applies "Don’t let it put you off if we appear a bit cliquey, we really aren’t! Some of us have been on here for years – but all lurkers, intermittent returnees, oldies and newcomers very, very welcome"

But here is where this thread is mixing it up. No more daily links. The Big link you will need is the launch pad from here you can get the daily reminders/missions/zones etc...

The first link for the babysteps is the particularly waffly introduction to and first babystep here, through it you can get to all of the other links

Not sure this will work or the lack of daily posts will be a problem. So fingers crossed for a month of nattering and flying success...

Late to the party as usual, but....

9x table
Hold both your hands up in front of you, palms facing so thumbs are on the outside.

To do, for example, 3x9.
Count the digits facing you, from the left,
1 ( left thumb)
2 ( left index)
3 (left middle)
Since we want 3 times, put down the third finger, ie left middle

To the left of the finger you put down are two fingers, the tens, to the right of the finger you put down are seven fingers, the units, so in front of you is displayed 27, the answer.

To do 6x9 you count 6 from the left so put down the right little finger and get 56.

Goodness, that is tedious to describe - but it really works and is dead easy once you've been shown. I need to advance my technology to video!

Honu - I've heard that trick but, for some reason stupidity maybe? it has always made my brain ache. However, I have just forced myself to try it again - carefully following your instructions without switching off - and oh, it works! I will teach that to Ds2 as well.

Can you actually learn to do all your times tables through tricks, instead of learning by rote? DS2's tutor says he never learnt his by rote, although he knows them now as he's learned by doing. I never learnt mine either because it was just too boring .

Waves to MrsMook.

Yay! Well done, Toffee!

That finger method is how I still do 9s.

Well, the offer is in on the house we like, but we won't hear whether they've accepted it till tomorrow. Tomorrow morning I have to absolutely blitz the house prior to the photographer coming - no point doing it today or the boys will trash it again! Lots of viewings lined up for Saturday, so again we can blitz and then go out for the day leaving the agents to it.

Thanks, Blue

Good news about the house. Fingers crossed they accept your offer and that the viewings find you a buyer.

Have arranged a meeting about the first freelance project tomorrow. Am nervous all over again now.

Right, back to DLA form filling.

Ds has the end of school rages. It is hard work.

bugger hit post too soon. Meant to say won't be around much. lurking a bit but meh.

Have just come back and seen my typo - are you all too polite to mention it?

6x9=54 not 56

Not polite, Honu. As I said, I never learnt my tables .

Afternoon all.

Toffee - great news about the freelance work! Well done.

Waves to MrsM Blueand Honu

Hands to DEM

Had an ok day so far. DS up at 5 today which felt like a treat. Work was boring as sin with nothing happening at all.

On the plus side, the school was great and we have registered DS for when he is four.

DCat1 is off his food, very unlike him so will need to keep and eye on him.

Nowt else done at the moment. Oh well.

Am stopping the miserable DLA-form filling for today. Weird and upsetting to have to write, for instance, 'DS doesn't participate in any social activities because of his high anxiety levels'. Anyone reading it would think he was a complete nervous wreck, unable to hold a conversation, when actually he's one of the funniest conversationalists I know. But only with us.

DH went into Aldi today to stock up on cheap food. He may have bought that Aldi substitute Pimms you mentioned, Blue . Could do with some now actually.

Fab news about the freelance work, Toffee - it sounds ideal, and great to have positive feedback about your interview too. The DLA form sounds very depressing, though; actually, I remember my Dad used to have to fill it in (or something very similar) and because there's inevitably such a focus on the negatives and all the things that someone can't do, it can make for very dispiriting reading.

Yes, all three ran in the race yesterday - DD1 was determined to do it, although she felt quite ill for a short while afterwards (I think because she's still recovering from her very nasty cold and not at her fittest). The atmosphere was great and it really made me want to take part next year, but am not sure whether it's a good idea to start running again as far as my knee is concerned.

Grey Great news on the school and on DS's "late" start to the day (I remember when being able to sleep until 6 felt like a luxury - actually, it still would be during the week). Hope DCat is ok; yuck to the bird, though! Our cat used to catch birds occasionally (when she could manage it; she was also quite fat) and eat them, but thankfully only ever outside - I have a phobia of dead birds (although I think half-dead would probably be even worse, swan).

Blue Good luck with your offer and the viewings; am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Another for you, DEM.

Waves to MrsMook and Honu.

Well, today went ok but am absolutely exhausted and feeling quite stressed; I may have fallen asleep on a hospital bed this afternoon. We had to leave at 7am to be sure of getting to the hospital for 8am but after all that, pump lady didn't arrive until 9.30. DD1 now has the pump attached but is finding it a little uncomfortable - I think it will take her a while to get used to having something permanently attached to her. The other issue is that she needs so little insulin atm (she's in the remission phase) that there's a slight possibility that it may be too soon for her to have a pump. Doctor thinks it should be ok, though; I really hope so, as it would be great for her to have the freedom of eating normally again. Neighbours invited us for a BBQ yesterday but DD1 wouldn't eat anything with carbs in it as she didn't want to inject. I also really feel for her when the other two have an ice cream, for example, and she can't/won't (as, again, it would mean an injection).

I feel like I've spent half the day on the motorway, as I came home at lunchtime to pick up DS, although it was "only" a couple of hours altogether. Also panicked when I arrived at the hospital and discovered I'd forgotten my purse. Luckily I managed to find enough coins in the car to pay for the car park, but had to do without the coffee from the hospital cafe I'd been hoping to have in the afternoon. That probably didn't help with my general tiredness either. Luckily DD2 and DS are both going to the neighbours for lunch, i.e. straight after school tomorrow, so I won't need to rush back at lunchtime. The hospital provides lunch for me, but I didn't have time to eat it before picking up DS so they warmed it up for me mid-afternoon.

Off to pick up DD2 from scouts now. I really need to have an early night tonight, but at least I won't have to get up in the middle of the night to check blood sugar (DH might ).

Goodness, what a day, Linzer. No wonder you're feeling so tired. I hope your DD adjusts to the pump ok. I didn't know there was a remission phase after starting the insulin. Do you have any idea how long this might last?

Glad you got a bit of a lie-in this morning, Grey . Hope DCat is ok. And good news about the school.

Thanks both for your congratulations. Have only just re-read email and realised they want me to work in-house, which means I need to sustain an illusion of competence and professionalism for much longer .

Blue - DH and I are drinking the Asda version of Pimms. At first, we thought it was disgusting. Then DH tasted the lemonade and discovered it had been replaced with water. DS2 (who was the culprit) thought this absolutely hilarious. (I did say he was being a little b* today). Poured ourselves fresh 'Pimms' with proper lemonade and yes, it's lovely. So, thanks for that money-saving tip.

MrsMook I did exactly the same trying to sneak back in quietly recently. Glad I'm not the only one!

Toffee I know exactly what you mean about the DLA form. When we were advised to apply I felt guilty, that we didn't really deserve it, but actually when I filled the form in it really hit home that she really had a disability, not just a few quirks. And I too get sad that other people don't realise how funny and clever DD can be, because we're the only ones that see her like that. . And congrats on the freelance work, and LOL at having to maintain the illusion of competence! Sounds like something I would say.

Toffee Yes, it's called the honeymoon phase - it's when the remaining insulin-producing cells recover enough to start working more efficiently again, although they'll all die off eventually. The doctor said it can last anything from a few weeks up to a year or more, and they'd expect it to be towards the longer end of the spectrum in DD1's case as her diabetes was picked up fairly early.

Will you be able to decide your own working hours despite working in-house? Am assuming so if you're freelance. In which case, you'll have the best of both worlds - colleagues to chat to (the only thing I miss about working in-house) and a clearer work/home separation (that sounds like a bad translation but I'm too tired to put it into better English!) but more flexibility than a normal employee.

Really must get to bed now. I'm looking forward to having a bit more time at home tomorrow; I have a half-made cake in the fridge and a pile of washing to do. The only advantage of having spent so long out of the house is that there's slightly less mess than usual to tidy up.

at the lemonade swap, Toffee. Glad you enjoyed it in the end though!

Morning all

Really busy ATM which is why not been on here much, not much FLYing done.
School fête Saturday went really well, made £900 which is amazing since only small school in a poorer Winchester council estate. Have worked everyday this month, hence tiredness, money will be good though.

Toffee congratulations on job. Well done to DS for coping with school and eating. Hate the DLA form, sure mine is up for renewal soon.
Mrs Mook Hi, no problem with sneaking in
Blue Good luck with the house buying and selling.
Grey on lie in. So glad we don't have a cat as couldn't cope with the corpses.
Linzer Glad sports day was a success, always a stressful day. Hope DD gets used to her pump soon and can resume a normal life.

To Do

Loads!
washing up from last night
Clothes wash and put away- so don't end up back on the floor!
Clean bathroom, looking up I think today's mission.
Try and stick to SW diet so don't gain. Will be a miracle if I lose the 1 pound I need for my half stone award - when I'm tired just want to eat bread and cereal, both very bad!

Need to get moving
Have a good day everyone, hopefully back later will long done list.

Sneaking back in. So fed up of being so disorganised ???? Will shine my sink tonight.

This morning's priority: marking through this class of 35's assessments. Bright group so interesting, but a lot to plough through. They take 3x longer to mark than any other class.

Today I am mostly being grumpy and swearing at paperwork and the general state of my room! But first off meeting with dyslexia people

Offs *off to a meeting...

It is going to be a long day.

Good morning everyone, nice to see you back in the fold as well saturn

can roast some coffee beans for you DEM

Linzer - glad the hospital went ok. I suppose it's going to be a really long time before you all get settled down and really comfortable with managing everything. I as your DD grows older, she will have different outlooks and new challenges to face as well. Big hugs to you both.

DS up at 4:30 this morning. I managed a mos unsatisfactory nap for abou an hour on the sofa before he woke me up again. Much coffee has been drunk.

Ta da
Cats fed
DS and me fed
eBay parcel wrapped
That is all....

To do
Persuade DS back into bed for a nap
Dishwasher unload and reload
Put a Wash load on
Change bedsheets (I do this on the day DH goes away for the week, I love love love the feel of fresh sheets!)
Go into town, various errands to run.
Empty all house bins
Put out recycling

Morning all! [Necks special brew gratefully!] Good luck with your meeting and the paperwork DEM

I'm with Saturn in being fed up with disorganised kitchen and boudoir. Sidling back in to sort it out.

Good luck with the marking MrsMook! (I imagine the brighter the class, the more interesting the task.) Arf at jurassic layer of crumbs in your kitchen Still tackling laundry mountain here too so with you in spirit.

Honu dd does that 9xtable thing with her fingers! (Arf at "deliberate" mistake ) Although she was taught the method that Toffee's ds1 described down thread at school. Showing my age here but we learnt times tables at prep school by singing them over and over! I can still remember the tunes!

Crikey ¨Shannara that must be tough working straight through without weekends. You've done amazingly well to find time to help with school fete in the circs. Good luck with weight loss - I am struggling currently.

Waves to Bless Hope you are through the worst bit of the dissertation and false deadline strategy working well.

Blue Hope your offer is accepted! (Fingers and toes crossed for you.) And 'courage' with keeping the house ship-shape for all of your viewings.

Toffee congratulations on the job offer! That's terrific news!

And absolutely brilliant news that your ds1 has managed a full week of school mornings and is starting to eat there too! Well done him!
And arf at your ds2 watering down your alcoholic drinks Pls tell ds1 that I often have melt downs in the Belge-equivalent of Asda (supermarchés grandes surfaces) here (and in Ikea for that matter) there's something about not being able to see the exit!

You'd think it would be possible to submit some sort of video report of your child in this day and age - so that the DLA gets a better idea of the true character of the person represented in all the forms - it would certainly humanize the process.

Linzer I hope you have a calmer day today after dashing back and forth to the hospital yesterday, waiting around, and missing lunch etc, never mind the procedure itself - it must all be exhausting for you and your dd1. Congrats to all of your dc for running in the race (partic your dd1 in the circs) and I hope dd1 finds that the pump makes things much easier in the long term, even if it is a difficult adjustment initially. It must be really hard for her at parties and on social occasions when everyone is diving in to the sweet stuff and she has to hold back. Hopefully the pump will help with that. Good luck to her x

[SC skips over conversation about running and sports on the grounds of being a confirmed sofa slug ]

Grey oh dear to your ds being up at 5am and it feeling like a treat! Poor you! Preserve your energy and do minimal Flying while this phase is on-going. I was feeling sorry for myself having to get up 1.5 hrs earlier than normal for dd's exams for a mere fortnight. (Although did get many more chores done though it has to be said!) Totally debilitating when sleep deprivation goes on and on though, like a form of torture so go easy on yourself while it continues. Great news about the school! Hope cat ok.

Swan oh dear to your rl fledgling

Grey/Swan Furry one keeps bringing me mice he catches first thing in the morning. He is also trying very hard to catch a bee but might regret it when he succeeds! (He also goes cross-eyed trying )

Whoknows Ditto! I groan about it but I am going to miss all the primaire activities dashing about when it is over!

Big waves to anyone I have inadvertently missed!

Speaking of change above, happy to report that dd has passed both language sets of end-of-primaire exams so she can now take up her school place in Sept! Phew!

Swan you were spot-on about the school having prepared the dcs and sorted the studying timetable down to a tee. Also that French set of exams not that onerous. (Despite my concerns, I have to hand it to school, they did a fantastic job with all the year 6 pupils and they all peaked at just the right time. They had even scheduled in a week before the exams when they 'wound down' and relaxed a bit. So it appears I was a gibbering wreck for nothing )

DD's form teacher was v pleased with her and said that she did v. well in the exams considering that many of the dc she was up against spoke one of the languages as their native tongue at home. (Although to be fair - this being Bxls - many do not as well!). I'm really proud of her too if you'll forgive the maternal boast !! I'm particularly proud of her withstanding all the stress despite her gibbering mother.

I'm truly truly delighted for dd but feel strangely flat right now. I think the realisation is dawning that we will definitely be here for another six years and I (very selfishly) am nowhere nearer structuring things so that I live a little bit of my own life instead of dh's (ifyswim). Sorry, that sounds really self-indulgent as it is not all bad here by any means. Living here rather than UK is definitely better for dh and dd. But I can't help feeling a bit despairing. Tried to speak to dh about it yesterday but he doesn't remotely understand (or doesn't want to understand) and offered me more office work to do in an attempt to cheer me up

There we are, true to form, whilst delivering the best of news, I manage to get in a big whinge !!! Apologies!! I'm really happy for dd!! And she deserves a really great, carefree holiday now!

In the meantime, sorting: teachers' presents, attending school Mass/end-of-term prayer service/meeting with headmistress, final graduation ceremony, getting dog castrated and having op on his teeth, plus trying to get house in order for summer visitors [sigh] plus various doctor's/dentist's/opthamology appts neglected during term time.

Then travel bit of summer to various friends and family members and mostly fulfilling obligations of various sorts ... wish I felt a bit more enthusiastic about that too... . Being totally frank, I just want to sit in a green field with dh dd and dog (with maybe a couple of happy hackers in the distance) and do not a lot!

Big waves to all fledglings!!

Dear god SC i am exhausted just reading that!!!

Glad to see still with us! [Leaves him humungously large steak brochette on 1.5 metre long skewer.]

dog castration will be light relief DEM