Fledglings chatter and try to FLY through July

[BlueEyeshadow]

Following June's chatty thread, welcome aboard another month of vaguely trying to follow FLY Lady's housekeeping system. There are still babysteps and missions for each day and the little and often system for decluttering and keeping chaos at bay.

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 for another month we'll try to fly without daily links. The Big link you will need is the launch pad which will take you to all the daily reminders/missions/zones etc...

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

So it only remains for me to thank DEM for setting up the last thread , and stock up the naughty corner bar for when it all gets a bit much. Plenty of and to see us through.

Hi everyone,

to Engles - lovely to see you again, hope you little one is doing well

WhoKnows, sorry your DS's leavers party made you both feel sad, glad you are feeling better though

Swan on your behalf

A big hello to Toffee DEM Blue Fuzzpig Ellie Mercury SC Dogs and anyone else I have missed.

I've been on a bit of a health kick during this last week and am pleased to have lost 2.5lb and am getting back into eating much more sensibly. We bought a Nutribullit gizmo and it is so unbelievably easy to have five portions of fruit and veg in one sitting with it!

Aaaaaagghh!!!

Our house move is in jeopardy because of ()*"%^%& fraudsters who have hijacked our buyers' credit rating. Everything is now up in the air, we probably have to put our house on the market again, and it's so bloody unfair.

Oh no Blue, . What a shitter. I hope it can be resolved.

Oh Blue, that's terrible! For you and the sellers. Does this definitely mean you had lost the house you wanted?

OMG Blue that sucks :(

DEM hope you're feeling better today?

to all (I initially typed 'wages' - perhaps that'd be more helpful :o)

Not sure where to start today really, but will motivate myself with the thought of posting another ta da list later!

Wages would be lovely fuzzpig Have you done the washing up a tedious job but satisfying when done. My first job today is to hoover.

Still not feeling great but better than I was. Have to get on and get stuff done today and having the how the fuck do I fit that into that small room and it still be functional issue.

Blue I hope things can get sorted for you. Sorry it is such bad news.

Oh no blue! I think moving house and everything that goes with it is one o fht emost stressful things you can go through in life.

ta da
boys packed off to nursery
food shopping
glass to recycling
washing in td
garden waste recycled

dh has cleaned downstairs doors and hoovered (and he was the one who put the washing on)

Tackling kids clothes in a minute when I get of t'internet.

'Fraid the washing up is DH's job - especially days like this where my dizziness is way out of hand (:() - might see if DD wants to do it later though, she actually enjoys it and has her own Marigold gloves (weird kid! :o)

Their bedroom was so easy to tidy this morning :) so now their pre-playing-out checklist is:
Breakfast
Teeth brushed
Hair brushed
Eczema cream (just DS)
Dressed
Dirty clothes out (must put laundry bin upstairs)
Bedtime storybooks shelved in alphabetical order as I did this yesterday
Clothes hangers back in wardrobe
Water bottles downstairs and any other kitchen stuff like mugs
Rubbish thrown away

Sounds really long but after breakfast it only took about 15mins. They are just like me - if I told them "tidy your room" they wouldn't have a clue where to start, so tiny steps seems to help.

I now need to figure out what else is actually going to live in their room. The next target is to move the bookcase in there - at the moment it's shoved between the TV cabinet and the stairs, so we can barely use it properly - it's just a dumping ground. They want to have it in their room with all their non-fiction books; now that we are HEing it makes sense to make them even more accessible. I think that'll be our aim when we have our tidying time later.

I got a metaphorical kick up the bum this morning when DD asked if we could do some experiments today. We can't really because we have no clue where anything is and there's so much mess everywhere.

Ds is exactly like that. We have broken down check list for him. Each step and objective broken down and it also includes the oops not on the list list item

Not got anything practical done but have spoken to ds' dad about internet/tablet issues and where to go, plus what we need to speak to school about ready for later. The boring adminy type stuff is now done so need to blitz the chaos.

Thanks for , DEM - just the ticket.

DH and the agents are hatching a plan so we hopefully get everything sorted, just a little slower than before. Will need to do some mega flying soon, but going to the library over lunch for some escapism!

Oh boy is today dragging! DCs are playing so I'm going to start emptying the bookcase ready to move it.

Ran out of steam pretty quickly today. Haven't even finished core work with DCs yet. Didn't think I had overdone it yesterday but maybe I did? :(

I'm going to carry on dusting the books (but am leaving the last bit for DH - he can move the actual bookcase (partly due to the heaviness... partly due to fear of lurking spiders! )

Not really sure what else I'm going to get the DCs to do - well, they have lots of clean clothes to put away but first they'll have to tidy up the car (made of cushions, chairs, boxes etc) that they made in their lovely tidy room

Why can I never have two good days in a row?!

Fuzzpig it does seem as though you have things ticking along nicely, I'm liking your morning routine for your DC, long may that last.

Blue, keeping everything crossed for you that your move still goes ahead

Ta for the DEM

Having an ok day so far:
Washing: two loads done and hung up to dry
Dishwasher x2
Beds made x2
Trip to post office and play park
Some work for DHs company
Batch cooking
I also completely tipped out my sock/underwear drawer and threw out loads of old stuff that I haven't seen in years, never mind actually worn!

I need to catch DS in a net later for some enforced hygiene. He hates his hair being washed but in this weather it's all sweaty and full of thunder bugs. Plus he needs his nails trimmed and ears cleaned. Wish me luck...

Fuzzpig I know it sounds weird but children love playing games in tidy rooms - perhaps it is the blank slate principle - I think it is amazing that they are playing so creatively and personally I think that counts as learning so please don't beat yourself up about core lessons Maths literacy etc. They are doing all that when they play and build things and make up things. It seems to be a stage when children make endless camps and houses out of duvets and tablecloths - worse still is when they trail everything out to the garden and don't bring it in. But now looking back I really really miss that stage and it would be better by far than screens!!!

Dh and I have been ranting together about the slowness of the gardener[s] putting some paving at back of the shed.. This has bonded us slightly and dh actually said he might like to try his hand at some DIY next time rather than endure watching someone else do it.

I've swept up 8 dustpiles on the alley and patio and put lots of stuff in the skip (not enough but at least a few things that were immediately bugging me - we didn't attempt to look in the loft).

Ds2 went off to the park for most of the morning and then gatecrashed his friend (who ironically came here whilst he was out) then we had a bit of set two at 4pm when I insisted he did a history chapter with answers (very fun textbook about Oliver Cromwell and Charles I) and he did that typical thing that children do where they argue for an hour about work that will take 10 mins.. However I am glad I stuck to my guns..saying he had done lots of work because he had taken his remote control car to the park and filmed it (required editing) is not on! Dh also helped - I went for a walk around block and dh did a chapter with him and made it "fun" so we ended with a compromise.

Ds1 also playing up over work (homework) but we managed to extract 45 mins of MyMaths out of him. (loads of set homework for the holidays GSCE prep) At 45 mins a day we may just scrape trhough it..sigh. Dh has now taken them out for a bite and a walk.

set to not set two!

Blue what a relief deal is saved..crossing my fingers it will all go ahead. I'm amazed that you have concluded this whole arrangement - doing up house finding new house finding buyer for old so efficiently - most people shudder at mere thought of moving so you obviously have superpowers!

oh and I had a very productive correspondence with solicitor re ECHP. We are full steam ahead on that (in so far as one can ever be) and I have resolved a few worries I had very satisfactorily.

whoknows Issues have been cleared up, my maths was a bit dodgy

Evening all. I genuinely think I am possessed at the moment. It is day 4 of the holidays and i have spent the day working...on school work...wtf?

Ta da:-
Washing
Putting away
Tidied round downstairs
Skip trips
Written new schemes of work for key stage 3.
Dinner made and cleared away
Euros picked up for trip on Thursday
Banking

Somebody needs to slap me because i am scaring myself.

blue that is beyond awful. Sending lots of hugs/sympathy in the absence of actually being able to help at all.

Well, deal is moderately safe, but don't know how long it will take. The boys didn't know whether it was just the last day of term, or their last day at the school ever. So much uncertainty. House is now back on the market and hoping for another quick offer, this time from someone with a mortgage already in place... but it had got back into tipsville, with loads of stuff come down from the loft for sorting that just needs to be crammed back up there fast! Have done some gardening today, and more to do tomorrow. Then tomorrow is packing for holiday and tidying. Friday we clean and go on holiday, leaving the agents to show people round while we're away. Fingers, toes and everything else crossed it will all work out.

Pretty emotional today anyway, because so many excellent teachers are leaving the school, and that's all sad, awful and depressing too. :(

((((Blue)))) hope you can have a good rest tonight, take your mind off all this?

Thank you Swan - yes I think you're right, I do need to stop beating myself up over this! And they are being pretty creative. In fact when we had SS visits (we referred ourselves when I was really poorly and DH was about to have surgery) they specifically said how well they played :o :o and I totally agree about the blank slate thing. I really want them to be able to have that in our house. That's what I said to them when they were not wanting to tidy. If it's tidier, then I will always be able to say yes when they want to play with something. Not say no because there's no space/we don't know where anything is etc.

I managed to clean quite a lot of the books but that was about it beyond getting DCs to tidy up their room and put all their clothes away. :)

You have achieved more than me today fuzzpig

Ellie are you sick? or pregnant?

Blue fingers crossed for you.

ta da
move furniture
start moving stuff back
get books as far as the room, put in pile on floor
give up and take ds to cinema after school.

I should be asleep, I have an early start tomo. I am not sleepy. Tired but not sleepy. Mind is racing. I made the mistake of honestly answering on a thread that has opened a can of worms in my brain. I should know better really

DEM :o TBH I was hoping DH would move the bookcase and remove all the spiders but he's dozed off!

Re: your last paragraph, I think I might know what thread you mean - in any case, I know exactly what you feel, as I have far too often posted too candidly and my (probably AS) brain just can't handle it when it isn't responded to as I hoped. It sometimes happens IRL too and the results aren't pretty for me!

I actually recently had an MN break - not self enforced, I just kind of stopped quite soon after we started HEing - but came back really for the support of this thread and the Frugaleers thread. Other than these two, I am keeping my distance a bit more because I really can't afford to set my anxiety off again. So I'm mostly lurking, keeping to practical/superficial stuff in my posts.

I found that really helped me when I took a break from the main section of mn. fuzzpig

There was one thread I posted on today that ds read over my shoulder and commented that the op must have seriously pissed me off
The thread that has opened the can of worms is a simple one, did you make the right education and career choices. It is a worm that is mascarading as an elephant half the time. I should take my own advice, find a spoon and try to eat the elephant one piece at a time. Problem is I have no idea where to start. plus I am incredibly harsh on myself and totally beat myself up to a pulp on this subject when it gets to the point that your 10 yo tells you to get a grip and to "stop being so fucking stupid and negative", then you know you might be needing to wind it in a bit Tbh it is motivating force, the more i do everything else the longer I can ignore it. Productive procrastination. Now if you could get jobs in that I would be fine

Well, DS is no longer a primary school pupil, a monentous day. All has gone well, a fun day at school followed by a mass waterfight on the local green, a nice family meal out and a quick Pimms or two with some of the other mums from school later. Phew.

Morning all.

whoknows sounds like a lovely way to celebrate the end of an era. Doesn't seem like yesterday that that was ds and now he is about to head into Year 8.

dem I must be sick because I bloody hope I am not pregnant.

Today feels like the first day of the holidays really as DD finally finished school yesterday. She is leaving infants and moving to juniors, a move that makes me realise she is not a baby anymore in any way shape or form and to be fair, at times, i think she is more mature than DS. DS has got himself his first girlfriend and today he is going on his first date (swimming) so am running him into town soon. Have promised dd i will do some baking with her and then this afternoon coffee and cake with the two besties.

Am flying to Germany tomorrow for a few days so also need to pack for that and make sure dc's have everything they need in my absence. Busy day ahead!

Have a good day everyone.

Morning everyone

You sound very motivated and productive Ellie, enjoy your trip to Germany.

DEM and Fuzzpig I know what you mean about wanting to steer clear of active convos on MN, I find this thread a bit of a safe haven where we mostly all know each other so we can feel safe here.

glad the last day of term was enjoyable WhoKnows.

I'm still struggling with DS waking up at stupid times of the morning. I feel like the walking dead today.