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...

Morning all

We're back from our long weekend in Salzburg, which was lovely if a little too hot and full of tourists (not totally unexpected, but I don't think I've ever seen so many selfie sticks in my life). Have been unpacking and packing again ever since we got back, as DD1 left for her school trip this morning. DH has gone with her, albeit in the car - he claims he doesn't want to embarrass her, but I suspect he mainly didn't want to be cooped up in a coach full of 12-13 year old for several hours. I swear I spent hours yesterday packing all her things; I dread to think how long it's going to take me to pack for our summer holiday (DD2 is very good at packing her own stuff, the other two not so much).

SC Glad the confirmation weekend went well; it sounded lovely. I shall join you in your objective of getting back on track today - I have no excuses really, as no work (so far, although expecting something later) and DS is at school for five hours instead of the usual four.

Grey Sympathies on the sleep deprivation; it's truly horrendous. Hope you're feeling a little better today.
DD1 is doing well, thanks; she has to go to the hospital for regular check-ups (every few weeks atm, but it will go down to every few months) and will be going back in a couple of weeks when she gets the pump.

WhoKnows Hope your DS gets on well on his residential. I have to say I find it so much easier with one child fewer around, although DD1 is the one who does the least afterschool activities - and, without a car, I'll probably spend even longer taking the other two to places.

Blue House sounds exciting, although as I'm the world's worst DIYer I'm probably the last person to tell you to go for it.

Must get on... doing two loads of washing, although at least it will dry in five minutes in this weather.

Great to hear your DD1 is doing so well, Linzer, and that she will be getting the pump shortly. Hope her trip goes well.

Good luck with all those chores, SC. How did your DD's presentation go? (Sorry if you have updated and I missed it).

Blue - hmm, depends how much energy and money you have, I suppose. It has taken us 13 years to improve our house and it was very frustrating to live in at first. Lovely to see the transformation, though .

Oh, Grey, sorry .

Maggie - love the fact you applied Flylady techniques to your camper van . And well done to your DH for raising all that money for such a good cause.

WhoKnows - hope DS's residential goes well. There are residential weekends and activity weeks at DS1's new school - am hoping he will be up for them one day.

Mercury - hope your boiler was mended easily (and cheaply). Such a pain when these things happen.

DEM - sounds like you have a busy week ahead .

We had a good weekend. Invited MIL over on Saturday, which went very well. Then we were meant to go to the New Forest for a family day out on Sunday, but DS1 was overcome with panic and couldn't go. Sat and talked it over with him for ages and eventually he agreed to come out somewhere local instead. Ended up having a lovely morning on the beach in the sunshine.

Quiet day today, which means I need to get some chores done in town and do some home ed with DS2. His new Maths teacher (a student) is coming round this afternoon - fingers crossed they get on and it goes well.

The rest of the week (like you, DEM) is full on. Job interview on Friday morning .

Hi, I haven't tried to catch up on the thread but just popped in to let you know what I'm sure you'd already guessed, Meerkitten arrived early, in a rather dramatic and scary fashion to be honest. Went from everything being fine to needing to have steroid injections so that she could be delivered early by C-section due to her growth dropping off dramatically.

So I ended up in hospital on standby for a C-section slot on Sat 30th, it was all very stressful. Meerkitten is tiny due to arriving early, only 5lb 9oz, but very feisty despite her small size. She's also had jaundice and has lost more weight. So we ended up having to stay in hospital for four days. Luckily the hospital were great and because it was all so dramatic and stressful they gave us a private room and let DP stay with me for the whole 4 days. So we only got home on Wednesday.

Fingers crossed that she is starting to regain her weight when midwife comes today, she's so tiny she can't really afford to lose any more.

I've never posted a picture before but I will try....

Needless to say there is a lack of flying going on and I can't believe how much space she takes up between her moses basket, car seat, changing mat and associated stuff, the house suddenly seems to be twice as full! It's lucky that I did all that de-cluttering earlier in the year.

Me and DP are knackered but otherwise good. Not sure when I'll next post but just wanted to let you know what had happened.

I hope you are all well and I'll be back soon.

Love Dogsbum and Meerkitten xxx

OOoooohhhhhhhhhhh Dogsbum

She is so sweet!!! (And with such a beautiful tiny nose for a Meerkitten ) Many, many congratulations to you and your dp! I am sorry to hear that her entry in to the world was so stressful and dramatic but happy to hear that your dp was allowed to be with you throughout.

I hope you have good news from the midwife today and that your lo is holding her own in the weight department

Don't worry about Flying, just enjoy your beautiful baby! And sleep when you can!!

(Dh stayed with me on a camp bed for my c-section and days following, he held meetings with his interns in the hospital canteen!) so all of this brings back very happy memories!!)

OOoh I do love having new babies on this thread

Congratulations, Dogsbum!

She is so tiny, beautiful and PERFECT! Sorry to hear her entry into the world was so dramatic and stressful, but I'm so pleased you are now back home with her.

Isn't it amazing that you've produced this little person? I am still amazed at producing two little humans, even though my oldest is now 15 .

(And I remember so well how much STUFF small babies need .)

Oh, she's gorgeous!! Congratulations to you all. And yes to all the stuff, it is amazing how such a tiny person needs so much big equipment.

Congratulations Dogsbum, she's just adorable! Her birth sounded rather traumatic, hope you're doing ok now and that she starts regaining weight soon.

Toffee Sorry your day out yesterday didn't go as planned, although it sounds like you still managed to have a lovely day. Am keeping my fingers crossed for you for Friday!

Two stands of washing hanging out to dry. Coffee (two cups) drunk. But not sure what else I've been doing. Trying to contact friend about meeting up this afternoon; we usually message each other on FB but she went out after sending me a message so asked me to text her. Have had no reply to my texts, however, and I've just realised the last text I had from her was in 2013, so am slightly worried she may have changed her number.

aah Dogsbum another one admiring your little daughter
Dd was 5Ib 6oz when she was born (as a twin) by C section and it was hard to put the weight on her at first - she not only needed to be breastfed a lot but also needed her sleep (very confusing combo) Ds2 to complicate things had jaundice at the same time but was much bigger. I think dd went down to 4Ib 6oz on day 6 - it was really scary. I think we had to feed her expressed milk in bottles to keep the weight up because she was too tired to feed properly. My dd loved being a sling and she is still very cuddly.
So in the twinkling of an eye she will be a bit fatter a bit more lively and soon she'll be a crawling 10 month old. Dd is now 13 and a grownup size 12 so no-one can ever believe she was so tiny and frail.

It is such an exciting time when they first come home - tears and smiles are all part of the newness of it all. And such beautiful weather to be sitting cuddling a baby outside. Don't be too energetic

Just went to visit a school for Ds2 and talked to SEN depart.

Toffee I would be alarmed at thought of a trip to the New Forest!!! truly I would. Sea sounds much better as known and trusted destination.

The cleaning lady is back today which is making me much less stressed than usual as it is just so nice to know I don't have to think about the grimy kitchen today and someone else has made it immaculate. And I can concentrate on some paperwork and ds2's work. Need to re-insure the car! Forgot at weekend and consequently couldn't use it at all as insurance had expired...Dd was furious when I couldn't drive her to school this morning - again a useful lesson - if your mum is disorganised it is worth being more competent yourself!!!

Congrats dogsbum (can't see photo though - not sure why, on iPad mini...). DS1, although full term was only 5lb 6 due to a dodgy placenta so I know too well how anxious you must be feeling! Enjoy her and try not to get too weight obsessed - DS is now a lanky 12 year old, eats everything that's not tied down and is nearly as tall as me - a source of great delight to him

Right, today I am going for superficial tidy/cleanliness. So to the untrained eye (DS's, DH and unexpected visitors) the house looks reasonably presentable...but I know where all the grot is hidden.

Diet lunch break

Furry one is driving me bonkers today despite lots of attention! Cannot get on! He is missing dh (to whom he has firmly attached himself) and is constantly whining and unsettled despite a long walk this morning. I have also closed him out of the hall as I am fed up of him barking and hurling himself at the front door whenever the poor courier man arrives (he still has access to the sitting/dining/play rooms and terrace and garden though- where he has an outdoor kennel so he is not exactly deprived - the dog, not the courier man that is!)!

I've been on the go since 6am but it is slightly depressing how little inroads I have been able to make in to the general chaos, although like linzer I now have two loads of washing drying on the terrace and am on my second dw load and the kitchen surfaces are clear.

And I have spent a large part of the morning e-mailing people in a belated attempt to start organising the summer holidays (which start at the end of June here)! Still lots of carrying of laundry up and downstairs and loads of sorting to do (groan).

Normally I quite enjoy the post-guest period when the house is in order but this time I only managed very superficial cleaning and organisation before they arrived; so I have to clear up after visitors and still do all the stuff I should have done before they came! And guests seem to have generated about five times the amount of bed linen to wash than they actually used .

Feel totally ashamed that the holidays are nearly three weeks away and the house is still as cluttered and grubby and shambolic as ever Depressing really, but I can only go on tackling little bits here and there

Speaking of which, had better get on ... forgot it is rubbish/recycling today so have that to do as well. Although he works incredibly hard, I sometimes envy dh who can swan off and enjoy business trips/boating tours up German rivers while I am left here sorting out all the niggling details and the general crap ... I don't think he has put one empty shampoo bottle in to one recycling bag in 20 yrs - heigh ho!

Hope you manage to catch up with your friend eventually Linzer and that your dd enjoys her trip!

Goodness what a time you had when your twins were born Swan. And good luck with the paperwork today and hope the SEN were helpful.

Toffee glad that your ds1 was able to get to the beach at the weekend (if not the forest) it must be lovely for you all to enjoy a trip out together at last! And hope ds2 likes his maths tutor!

Thanks for asking about dd - the presentation went ok in the end thankfully - I am not entirely sure that the teachers picked up on the fact that dd hadn't added requisite bits but she added them this w/e so all well now (in time for exams this week and next) ie she got away with it!

Also, when we did maths revision this weekend, it was evident that something had 'clicked' and dd was much, much better at it. I must write to dd's teacher to thank her, because this has happened in quite a short space of time. Don't know how they managed it, but thank heavens they did in time for exams! (Still touching wood though!)

Big waves to one and all. Had better get back to the domestic drudgery ...

I remember that clingy dog frustration SC from dogsitting. In the end I used to surrender (rather like surrendering to crying baby - you have to do it sometimes and just give up getting things done) plonk myself on sofa and do paperwork instead watch a lovely film . Tbh the more they get used to you moving around the house and not leaving it the more they calm down down but to start with I suspect they are never quite sure whether you are about to go on an errand and leave them and that's why they get a bit twitchy and do the following and door scrabbling bit.

You've done brilliantly -you have given a beautiful Confirmation party for dd that won't be forgotten and dirty house is the price but a price worth paying.

Waiting for my ECG review with GP now and unable to settle to anything! Ds2 seems to be showing an interest in the story of Oliver Cromwell's head (the textbook is rather odd ) and listening to Hairspray at the same time.

better go and print off yet another thing. Doesn't help that laptop is upstairs and printer downstairs as I'm always retiring to bed to do any thinking or paperwork.

Congratulations Dogsbum!!!!!

The New Forest it sure be pretty over there. Mind you I seem to remember some fabulous beaches near you Toffee that you needed to be local to know about

Good luck with your appointments Swan

Hang in there and keep on babystepping SC

Feeling like death today. insomnia, over doing stuff, hayfever, dust allergy. It's a bit of conspiracy. Ds and I have the joys of homework tonight. I am supposed to be out but it is going to have to be put on hold :( Why can't i be super woman and do everything?

Also Swan what is the story of Cromwell's head?

I know about Oliver Plunkett's head but not Oliver Cromwell's!

Have come to a bit of a natural halt. Feel a bit cheered because although the house is almost worst than when I started (and yes I have pulled out more things than I can finish in a very unFlyladylike manner) I know exactly what I have to do tomorrow, have solved various worrying niggles about where certain important paperwork and things were, have paid a few overdue bills, and am now on track and know what needs doing. Basically need to spend a lot of tomorrow ironing (fortnightly ironing lady has been doing other stuff in the office recently) to resolve current clothing crisis.

Also dd has come home in good cheer - have managed to get home made tropical fruit salad down her - and she has no homework! Yay! And we have chosen her outfit for tomorrow (going off at crack of dawn to sit exams in another school on another side of town) in mufti, not uniform, and we found her missing favourite jeans which were ... drum roll .... washed and ironed and hanging in her wardrobe ... things are so disorganised around here that that it is the last place we looked

And dog seems happier now dd is back and went off to bury one of his dentastix in celebration! (He has this very funny mannerism when he looks over his shoulder several times to check we are not looking to see where he buries precious things.)

Good luck at the gp's Swan I hope everything is OK and you emerge reassured!

And you are right Swan - thank you for the reminder - I should (and am) very happy and grateful that the Confirmation weekend went well. I was actually quite looking forward to getting stuck in to all the extra jobs I wanted to do before visitors came but didn't achieve, and doing them without pressure, it's just the realisation today that the holidays are nearly upon us and people are demanding dates that has taken the shine off that a bit. But now I realise I actually have five weeks not three because we are here for first fortnight, so not as bad as I thought!

And yes, poor dog is much more insecure than we initially thought but not surprising really.

And thank you for back to basic baby-stepping reminder bitchy, it really is the only way. So sorry you are feel so wretched today. Take it steady and hope operation homework not too onerous!

Ta da
iron uniform done
walked dog done
iron my clothes for today blush done
make packed lunch done
school run done
morning routine inc animals, dw, wm, s&s, dining room table hot spots
general tidy up + home bleugh downstairs including thorough kitchen clean done
sort laundry and start done
sort linen to go to outside laundry NOPE
start doing x 15 mins in boudoir NOPE
packages NOPE
sort on-line payment and banking done
rubbish and recycling ¨done
find important paperwork done
brushed dog done
played with dog done
reassured dog tried
e-mails relating to summer holidays done
carried a load of things upstairs and a load of things downstairs done
school run done
paid office cleaners done
stack and run dishwasher again done

To do:
feed animals again
supper
evening routine
early bed

Enjoy your evenings everyone! Hope you get some sleep Dogsbum!

Friend did text in the end, so we spent a lovely couple of hours catching up over in the garden (patio was in the shade, so it was just about cool enough to sit outside). Am now absolutely exhausted, however, as have just taken DD2 to scouts, which involved pushing my bike uphill for about 15 minutes in the heat. And I have to do it all over again in 1.5 hours. On the plus side, it took me about five minutes to get home!

SC Well done on getting back on track I wish I was! Glad to hear you're feeling so positive and that DD and dog are both happy; I hope her exams go well tomorrow. A German river trip sounds good, even if it is a business trip; I can understand you feeling a little .

Talking of envy, DH has just sent me a photo of the hotel where they're staying (as well as a couple of photos of DD1 rock climbing) - it looks lovely and I wish I could have gone too, if only to get away from the day-to-day chores and mess!

DEM Sorry to hear about your plans for the evening having to be put on hold; hope you survive the homework and are feeling better soon.

swan Hope ECG results ok (have I missed something? quite likely, as I've only been skim-reading thread over past week or so).

Toffee glad you managed a day out with ds, even if it wasn't the one you planned.

The boiler is fixed and at no major expense Im feeling very relieved.

Work was very stressful today the children were all slightly mad. But I did spend a couple of hours after school giving my classroom the flylady treatment so at least the learning environment feels less stressful.

After school I picked up some summer uniform bits and helped ds write his birthday invitations.

So all in all quite a busy day. I am hoping for a much calmer day tomorrow.

Aww! How lovely, Dogs. DS1 was very tiny, CS baby, wouldn't feed for the first week etc etc, but he soon picked up and never looked back.

Big waves to everyone else. Must go to bed.

Morning all!

Just packed dd off to first morning of one language set of exams (they are getting on a train to other side of town). Told her to relax, take a deep breath and read the question. These don't count to secondary education like the ones next wk do (other lang), so I hope she doesn't give her all now and have nothing left for next wk. But there's nowt I can do now except sit and pray and get on with housework to take my mind off it!

Having cleared a load of detritus, the morning routine will certainly be easier today than it was yesterday! And it was nice coming down to a polished kitchen this morning with cleared surfaces (well they could do with decluttering some more, but relatively clear for us).

To do:
Iron my clothes for today
Morning routine inc animals, dw, wm, dining room table hot spots & s&s
Find four laundry paniers
Sort entire teetering ironing pile in to dh, dd, me and household categories
Sort bed linen to go to be service washed
Start ironing!
Menu planning
Quick supermarket run
Quick bank run
Quick chemist run
On line supermarket order
More washing
Prep healthy supper
Call bank person again
More holiday planning
Evening routine

Need to start on boudoir but doubt that I will get there today realistically.

Hadn't realised it was so hot with you Linzer! Is it usual for parents to go on school trips or has your dh gone with your dd1 to help her manage her diabetes? (Either way it is very good of him to go!) Glad they are both having fun! Pity us stuck in the city.

Good news on the boiler front Mercury but sorry your charges are displaying end-of-term-itis ... .

Hope you are feeling more rested today DEM

Waves to Blue and everyone else!

Morning all,

Just checking in quickly - sitting down at the computer once I get back from the school run is lethal, as I tend to find myself still here several hours half an hour later. Must make the most of my rediscovered motivation to get on with some tidying and decluttering while work stays quiet (job that I was expecting yesterday hasn't materialised yet).

SC Hope DD's exams go well - yes, I also have to drum into the DDs the importance of actually reading the question. Good idea to throw yourself into housework to take your mind off things (killing two birds with one stone!). The DDs had their last exams of the year last week and it's a huge relief to have them all out of the way, although it doesn't mean they can sit back and relax now; DD2 has to give a book presentation, including a poster, in German tomorrow (she's chosen the Diary of Anne Frank), which she spent most of Sunday preparing.

DH has gone with DD1 to help her manage her diabetes - parents not generally required on school trips, thank goodness! She's fine doing her injections, testing her blood sugar, etc. but still needs help with adjusting her insulin dose and carb intake. Her consultant agreed that it was a good idea for one of us to go with her as it's still such early days, but said that in a year's time she should be able to manage it all herself. DH phoned me from the lake last night where he was enjoying a beer. I wasn't envious at all. Will see if I can post a photo...

Like I said, I'm not envious at all.

oh it is so good of your dh to go Linzer, but have to say, the surroundings are rather easy on the eye!

Good luck with chores and work (if it arrives) today!

That scenery is so beautiful, Linzer. I can quite understand your DD needing one of you to support her in these early days dealing with the diabetes.

SC - I really hope DD's exam today goes well. I hope you were able to channel your worries into Flying this morning .

DS1 has done another morning at school. He was anxious again, but still went in without any trouble. He came out smiling and told me that his anxiety had turned into excitement about the lessons instead . He then spent most of the car journey home telling us about a new form of multiplication he'd been taught that morning, which magically told you the answer. Something to do with a grid...? Anyone know what he means? Anyway, he was very excited. I don't think he's talking to any of the other children yet, but at least he's enjoying the work.

DS2, on the other hand, seems to hate being asked to do any work at the moment. I read him some chapters from 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' this morning and tried to help him summarise it, so he could rewrite that bit of the story in his own words (following someone's advice, upthread, about helping DS2 learn to write stories by retelling an existing one). Oh, you would have thought I'd asked him to do something terrible! He did, eventually, complete the work, but it took much longer than necessary because he was so reluctant.

At least he has a Maths teacher now: a young student, hoping to study Maths at Cambridge. He had his first lesson with DS2 yesterday and it seemed to go very well.

DH gave DS1's room a spring clean and hoovered upstairs this morning. I emptied bins and suchlike and am now facing a large pile of ironing .

It is the japanese method of multiplication you drawn lines and count intersections. It is really cool. Although there is a grid method for partitioning multiplication that ds used a while back but the japanese method looks epic.

Today i had a meeting with camhs. It was not an easy meeting but we finally got official diagnosis. No more limbo. Not sure how I feel about it though.

Afternoon all

Congratulations Dogs so cute.

Not much flying happening!

Dd had her first induction day for secondary school. She couldn't have had a bigger smile when I picked her up
She loved it, has new friends already.

I'm the one struggling, have worked lots lately, which I'm very happy about. Unfortunately if I don't have a day to myself my sanity and ability to function progressively diminishes. I think it's a dusptaxic/ ASD thing.

Anyway DH home tomorrow so will be a bit more relaxed.
Better get kids tea as have finished mine.

Back later with better post
Hope everyone has a good evening

DEM the older they are the more odd it feels to get a diagnosis. On the other hand I liked the fact that I had years of ds without a label, even if it explains things now that he has a label. It must have been so frustrating to have so many years of trying to get help from CAMHS though DEM - you have been very brave. And ds sounds brilliant too!

Toffee ds is a reader - he will write brilliant stories - just give him time - personally I wouldn't kill the thing he loves. Fantastic news about ds1 - I think I would weep with joy if my ds1 showed that sort of enthusiasm about Maths...

Ds2 and I have had a rather trying day. We all (including Dh)went off to visit my Mum, over from Ireland, who was sweet but most annoying (we were discussing plans for her house to make it easier) and like all people who refuse to countenance change she was fixating on some tiny detail (apparently she has bought a woodburning stove and hidden it from my Dad who doesn't approve of her changing the ancestral fireplace) she is now biding her time to install it. All of which is quite irrelevant to the real problem which is that there will be no one to clean out said stove and her house is impossible (without adaptions and compromises) for her to manage at such an advanced age.. She also did that supremely irritating thing of asking ds2 a question and then turning away to fiddle around with cups and kettles and bins just when he was trying to talk to her (so that she couldn't hear a word, being quite deaf) As a result he did NOT behave particularly well and became thoroughly bored by the whole visit. I need a professional Granny figure - my children are really missing out [rueful]

Feeling a bit down really - but good news is that I have put forward the Ed Pysch report to this Thursday (the better for my SEN mediation ammunition) I missed Parks Group today and it really showed in our mood..

and we had quite a nice jolly supper eating Tacos with the children without people shouting at each other And boys have chatted and "romped" without injury. At one stage ds2 hid under ds1's beanbag and jumped out at him and ds1 although he bellowed with rage and swore was secretly quite pleased to be "jesting" at bit with his brother.

Sadly lacking at the moment - everyone is a bit prickly. Dd spent about half and hour at 6pm crying and wailing that she was hungry and didn't like any food and kicking the floor. Improved after a boiled potato and Tacos though at 7pm and a hot bath.