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.

x post Blue

Agree, would wilt under that kind of pressure (imagine making a mistake that could potentially alter the course of history??!!)

congrats to your boys (and to their ma ) on their excellent school reports!!

And well done on the bleughing front!

'too' many languages ...

I've decided to do half an hour a day of tidying in our bedroom, just to get it under control again . DH said he'd do the same, so between us we did an hour yesterday and managed to clear a path to the bed.

Spent an hour ironing this morning, so that cleared more space.

It just feels endless, doesn't it?

Also managed to stop procrastinating and get round to making some important phone calls and doing some admin stuff this morning. There are still a few things left that make me panic whenever I remember I haven't done them (and yet I still don't get round to doing them ).

Am very impressed by all the tidying up and decluttering you are all doing. Hope it rubs off on me.

After a work-free day yesterday (when I would actually have had time to work), some work has now of course arrived now that I'm no longer child-free. Tbf DD1 is very low-maintenance but I don't feel like I can (or want to) leave her to her own devices all day, plus we're off out in a bit to visit a friend before we pick up DS and three others from the holiday club.

SC Sorry to hear about your disappointing day yesterday. I hope the fact that you haven't been on here so far today means you're having a more productive day.

I wasn't really meaning to complain too much about my lack of child-free time, although it does make work a little tricky; the DC are at a much easier age now - although am not sure I could cope if we were at home for the entire nine weeks. And I do have a child-free weekend in October to look forward to, even if it still seems like ages away. I think the first week was the hardest as all three of them were at home and squabbling after just a few hours; the next six weeks (max. of two DC at home at any one time and then we'll be on holiday) should be easier. I'm not thinking about the last 10 days too much.

Completely agree re lack of mental agility needed for interpreting. I shall stick to translating, where you rarely need to produce a sentence in a matter of seconds. It's a better fit for my more slowly functioning brain.

Toffee Good idea to dedicate half an hour a day to your bedroom; I really need some kind of plan too. Atm I feel like I'm tidying somewhat aimlessly and don't have much to show for it.

Blue Well done to your boys on their reports. It's all about the grades here (although they do get a grade for their behaviour at secondary) and the emphasis on achievement drives me a little mad at times. At DD2's school, the DC with the top grades in each class each were given a €25 book token; I'd far rather that effort and progress were recognised, although I suppose they're not quite as easy to quantify.

Hi all, hope everyone ok. It is so wierdly overcast and humid here that the clothes put out to dry on terrace 3 hrs previously are just as wet as when they came out of wm, and dd's confirmation cards (which are still on the mantelpiece nearly a month on ) have gone all warped and peculiar and keep flinging themselves on the floor. This is a taste of what it must be like to live in the tropics! (And have chosen today to make jam ... oh dear.)

Hear hear Linzer to effort and progress being rewarded at school. There should definitely be an improvers prize.

And think you have every right to have a bit of a whinge about school holidays, I find it relatively difficult to keep one child occupied for nine weeks - esp when we are here and entire city is closed and deserted for two months and dd's friends have gone back to their native countries - although I do get lots of breaks. I don't know how you do it with three dc which is a whole different ball game.

And as Toffee says, it does all feel a bit endless / mundane.

(Toffee I am going to swiftly by-pass the subject of our bedroom )

Not even looking forward to travelling that much as we are mainly doing oblig family and friend visits and the travelling bit costs so much that we don't have much budget left for anything else really.

And I'm afraid I haven't been much productive this morning despite my absence on here Just feel extremely frustrated with dh who said dismissively at the weekend (when I was listing a whole load of urgent tasks to be achieved before departure, some of which can only be done by him) "oh don"t worry, I will be taking Mon and Tues off next week and we can do it all then" and of course in reality he worked all day yesterday until late and has only just come home today and is still receiving calls so he might as well be at work really ...oh yes... and he has just gone back to the office [grrrrrr]

And why is it that men only seem to be able to organise things that occur 2 hrs ahead? I am trying to plan two (reasonably complex) events that take place one day and two days after our return respectively (when we will have a houseful of guests on top) and am happy to do the bulk of it but dh 'can't see the urgency' of the bits he has to do. [grrr again]

Sorry this post is another long whinge-fest ...

So, on the positive front, without the pressures of school etc, dd has transformed back in to being a total delight: enthusiastic about everything that's going on, funny, kind, helpful etc etc. No protesting. No arguments. Tis fab

Ah, that's lovely to hear about your DD, SC: she must be so relieved that the stress of the exams is all behind her.

Sympathies on the lack of child-free time, Linzer. I have no idea what that would be like, but I suspect that I would get a lot more done. I am forever tripping over children, cats or DH.

ta da

DH took DS2 out for long walk
Room rescue - sitting room
Appointment with DS1's therapist
Lunch
Washing on
Washing up and kitchen tidy up
Took boys out for a game of frisbee
Fed cats
Hung washing out (sun has come out )

About to cook dinner, hoover and tidy up. MIL is here tomorrow, so I want it all to be tidy.

Afternoon everyone.

SC you have my sympathies, your DH sounds rather similar to mine. Just doesn't get the logistics involved in organising family events and stuff in the home. It drives me crazy. And 95% of the time, all the responsibilities fall to me because he can't get his arse in gear.

I've had a pretty good and productive day:
Ta da
Fed cats, DS and me
Took DS for hair cut
Booked my Red Letter Day (Western style horse riding in the New Forest!)
Sorted big pile of papers and filed/chucked
Stripped and remade bed
Sorted washing into loads
One load of washing in
Dishwasher load and unload
Dishwasher cleaning cycle, rinse aid and salt top up
De scaler run through coffee machine and kettle
Various forms completed and enveloped ready for posting
Broken steam mop taken to the tip
New steam mop collected from shop
Pillows x4 taken to dry cleaners
Recycling put out
Cats fed
DS fed

Just sat on the sofa now with polishing his scales.

Oh oh oh!!! Forgot to add!

I won a Mumsnet competition! I commented on the thread about women who are the ultimate Femme Fatales and I've won £100 of John Lewis vouchers!!!!

Should I be sensible and save the vouchers for Christmas, or go a bit silly and get something outrageous?

Oh, well done, Grey ! Definitely spend the vouchers on something for yourself NOW!

Toffee yes there is paperwork stuff that brings me out in a cold sweat when I think about it (something to do with taxes I need to organise, not urgent but it is hanging over me) and the parking ticket I Still haven't paid..

Ds2 played out today (that phrase is very unlike me but it describes it well) he just went off on a walk and accidentally bumped into some people in the park and played football with them for about an hour and half (these are people he knows from primary) but it made me so happy that he just can slot in..And the other lovely thing is that as he didn't tell us he was going off to the park (he was meant to be walking long way round the block) both dd and ds1 were actually worried about him and wanted to send out a search party. They always behave as if he is the most irritating brother in creation so I was quite touched by this. I wasn't actually worried in truth I thought he had gone off to Macdonalds which is sometimes his default setting does that make me very negligent??

SC sounds like holidays are going very well - the most important thing is that dd is thriving. Dh is doing the same here with the sorting post garden room. Not interested.

oh no boys fighting again - they are watching child genius and it seems to be making them both rather uneasy

done
I think I swept the floor today
and unloaded the dw
and I cooked some green soup made of cabbage fresh peas and spring onion and lettuce
and semolina

otherwise just a bit of home edding and a nap

Wow Greymalkin - I would spend them right now..otherwise they lose their sparkle I once won a book on a Mumsnet thread a William Boyd - I was thrilled - something about winning.. random things. If I won a bar of soap I'd be thrilled..

I know Swan ! Something about winning something, it's great!!! We don't actually have a John Lewis nearby, so I expect by the time we make a special trip, I will have got my rational head back on.

Glad everyone's DCs are doing so well. Long may it last.

More Ta das
Folded and put away dry laundry
Hung up wet laundry
Online banking
Put DS to bed
15 minutes on my step machine
Hoovered living room and first floor landing
Cooked dinner
Loaded dishwasher
Dealt with cat litter trays
Put out the rest of the recycling

And that's me done for the night.

Waves to SC Blue Linzer DEM Toffee Castle Engles Honu Mercury Dogs Fuzzpig and everyone else I've inevitably missed

Just finished watching Child Genius here. It is very compelling (I particularly love the Chinese child and his lucky red pants!) but I am uneasy about the ethics of it so feel guilty watching it (but still do nonetheless )

Congratulations Grey on your win!! Definitely spend it on yourself!! (Get something that you have always longed for but could never quite justify in your own mind.) Definitely!! And re your horse-riding day!! And well done on your extremely productive day (you certainly deserve lots of treats after all of that lot!!).

[Helps buff up scales with a bit of beeswax polish]

Brilliant that your ds2 was so happy out playing today Swan (and that his siblings were concerned about him). He is obviously thriving under your home edding regimen.

Hope your mil visit goes well Toffee

Ta da:
animals
walked dog
dw emptied
dw filled (jam jars) and run x 3
x 4 loads of washing
washed one piece fabric
found obscure things like swimming goggles and ski gloves (don't ask)
ordered celebratory cake
posted letters and two on-line return parcels
bought suede protection spray stuff for shoes (the irony is that one is fighting off shoe sales men/women who try and flog you this stuff and then when you actually want to buy some there is none to be found )
sterilised jars in oven
made redcurrant jam
cut up home-made cake and took to office
e-mails about visits
wrote instructions to dog sitters
a few on-line purchases for our return
chemist run
walked dog again
supermarket run
tried to track down lost parcel
very complicated paperwork
more very complicated paperwork
cooked pesto pasta and tomato pasta
and we all ate yet more melon and jambon d'ardennes

Felt grumpy all day
Dh and I are really not seeing eye to eye atm. No wonder really when we never get to speak/see one another for more than 3 mins at a time without work interruptions (and that includes evening/night too or basically any other time when he is not asleep).

(You see, just had to get a whinge in there at the end!! )

Hope you are OK DEM

Waves to everyone else!

Morning all,

Been awake since 5, rooks cawing outside, they stopped about an hour ago but I haven't been able to get back to sleep.

DS's leavers assembly today, plus a hospital appointment this morning. Oh and work. Been busy organising the leavers party for the weekend too. Feeling a bit weird about DS leaving primary. Managed a good chat with DD about her report yesterday, she consistently gets Bs for effort and I'm not really happy with her attitude, but managed to keep it constructive and I think she listened. DS got As for effort pretty well across the board this year, and the expected results in SATS, so I'm happy with him. Better get up now.

Morning everyone,

[grumpy face] at being woken so early WhoKnows, hope the assembly goes well.

You had a busy day SC - it really does sound as though you do everything, I'm not surprised you get cross.

I'm feeling a little burnt out after yesterday, so will take today as it comes....

Morning all!

[Serves and (star biscuits ) on a tray with to Greymalkin and Whoknows to ease them in to the morning]

Whoknows¨hope the leavers assembly goes well! (I was worried I might blub at dd's and accordingly tried to sit behind a pillar, but parents had to sit up front, and although there were sad moments, it was all fine in the end!!) Congrats to dc on their very good marks and to your ds on passing his SATs!!

Grey dh does do a lot of cooking/food shopping and chauffering dd to things considering his work hours (loads more than many others in his profession) ; it's just his total lack of interest in his home and domesticity that gets me down. He's one of those people who could happily live out of a suitcase (and does half the time).

Speaking of domesticity, had better get on with chores.

We are about to embark on a series of rather complicated holiday arrangements separately and together (if that makes sense) involving three different countries and then coming back here with a load of visitors and more visitors joining.

Furry one is going on holiday today too Although his dog-sitters are lovely and he will have fun with their dogs I am so [sad

sorry, pressed 'post' by mistake

I will be very to drop him off as he will undoubtedly think he has been sent to yet another family and won't know we are picking him up again.

I have just assembled his bed, blankets, bowls, brush, toothbrush, food etc in hall and he knows something is happening and keeps sitting in our suitcases ... .

Wishing you courage for all your logistics, SC, and de la force [delivered in strong French accent]

Cautionary tale on the perils of not putting the laundry away: yesterday I accidentally re-washed the clean washing from the day before and ended up with three loads to dry. Grr.

But got my cushion cover sewed on 3 sides. Need a pad to go inside it now. And my friend says she can help make a patchwork involving my scraps of embroidery. :)

Today we're taking the boys to see their new schools so a mixture of excitement and trepidation here.

Thank you Blue! Hope school visit goes well and brilliant going re: cushion! Arf at washing your already washed laundry! (I managed to iron dirty laundry once believe or not!! I was about 20 mins through it before I noticed!)

And thank you to all you lovely fledglings who have withstood my endless whinging and bleatings in the past few months regarding exam stresses, parenting stresses, technology stresses, house stresses, and husband stresses

Quite seriously, what with dh tied up at work constantly, friends moving away etc, this thread has been a life-saver!! All of your very kind words, and words of wisdom have really helped!

Furry one has been delivered in to very good hands but nonetheless a bit [sniff] and I have managed to pack everyone's suitcases without strangling dh who is still working.

Going to be awol now for a few weeks but hope everyone has as restful a summer holiday as humanly possible!!

Big wing flaps to all xxxx

PS Happy to run thread (with links if that is what suit) in Sept or Oct, whatever works!

PPS [Leaves out large venison haunch for and lots of on naughty corner bar!!

Tally-hooooooooooooo!!!!

Progress has been made in the last week.
I managed to deep clean Ds1's room, pulling out the beds as best as I can and vacuuming most of the floor and skirting.
In the last couple of weeks I've also chipped away at a few hotshots in my bedroom which suffers the usual issue of being the last place to be tackled. I usually sort the laundry in there as I find my bed a comfortable height and a good size surface, but it tends to result in a left over basket usually being left in there. I've got less than half a basket on there which looks remarkably spacious compared to normal!

I often break even on the housekeeping. The natural state of the house is a consistent level of mess, but the composition of that mess tends to vary! The trouble is I rarely feel like I'm making a breakthrough. The kitchen is currently driving me mad, and a south facing kitchen at this time of year is so unforgiving!

Sorry to miss you, SC. Hope you have a lovely time. We'll miss you .

Blue - I have done exactly the same with my washing. As if there isn't enough to do already...

Grey - hope you were able to have an easier day today. Are you getting any more sleep now?

WhoKnows - how did the school leavers' assembly go? I remember a lot of sniffling going on at DS1's.

DEM - haven't seen you here for a few days. Hope everything's ok.

DH and I took DS2 out to the Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire today, leaving MIL at home with DS1. The museum was smaller than I'd expected, but had lots packed in. DS2 really enjoyed it and liked the fact he received his own 'story notebook' with his ticket. We spent a lot of time in the story centre, playing around with words and movie making. Am hoping this will encourage him to have a go at writing his own stories, something he still resists.

Not much Flying done, as a result - just a bit of tidying and washing up.

It was lovely Toffee, there were a few people crying, adults and children, everything seems a bit strange, I don't think it has quite sunk in for me yet. Back in school for more end of term events twice today and twice tomorrow, what with all this and work I'm not getting much Flying done.

Good morning everyone,

See you soon

Toffee - the museum sounds great. I loved Roald Dahl stories when we were little, although thinking back on them, they were really quite dark and scary at times!

Mrs M I know what you mean about a consistent level of mess and just about breaking even. We have the same issue [sigh]

I've had a lie in two days in a row now - DS woke me at 5:45 ish instead of between 4 and 4:30 am!!

I managed a fair bit of decluttering of random piles of paper in the living room and dining room yesterday which felt good.

Today I am going to a book signing by an author that I really like, his new book tour is doing the rounds. The last book signing I went to was by Terry Prattchet about 17 years ago, he was amazing.

Then DS and I are having an afternoon tea of sorts with great grandma and MIL.

So stuff house work, today shall be fun!

Snowed under. Builder prep, issues with school, Yr6 selection of high school process info, investigations into home ed/ statementing, poorly child, injured mother, bloody wasps in bed room, burnout. Back when it calms down a bit.