September 2015 fledglings shine their sink and their lace up shoes and prepare for the new academic year ahead

[standclear]

Welcome to the September 2015 Fledgling Flying thread! Hang up your microfibre cloths and park your buckets here!!

[Sorry - I've namechanged again - but remain SC]

This is where from the 1st of the month, we attempt to declutter and follow the 30-step wisdom of Flylady (minus cutesy language and a surfeit of e-mails) with lots of chat and support and mutual motivation (and of course) along the way. (More info available here and here ) and here.

Humungous thanks to our previous thread leaders (nns relating to a planet and to a colour) for guiding us through the summer and keeping us sane throughout the holidays!

As usual we will be following a three-pronged approach - and don't worry - we are all at different stages. Some of us (SC stares at feet) -are stuck at the decluttering stage after an embarrassingly long number of years :

• repeat or start baby steps (again!)

• repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

or

• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.

And those of you who have decluttered and are really enthusiastic can throw some detailed cleaning in to the mix as well!

This is a very long-running thread so we may appear cliquey but we really aren't! All newcomers, long-termers, lurkers and intermittent returnees not only welcome to join in but positively encouraged to do so!

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Good luck!

Thanks for all the links SC

I've had an almost washout of a day here and sat on my overly large arse all day. Only ta da's are:
Fed cats and DS as required
Unloaded and reloaded dishwasher
Changed bedsheets
DS bedtime routine

Once DS is asleep I need to:
Put his car seat and stroller back into the car
Pack DS nursery bag for tomorrow
Empty all the bins and put out rubbish for collection tomorrow
Wash up baking trays
Start folding all the dry laundry
Have a shower and wash hair

So glad tomorrow is officially the anti procrastination day, I have so much to do! Errands to run in town, loads of houseworky type things, admin, lost holiday clean up and thank god DS will be in nursery!

today I have
done
home ed sports day
ds2 French (yay! small class)
a race which I came last in (mums and dads race)
cooked supper including semolina date and apple pudding
loaded dw
did recycling including food compost
emptied bin
washing x 2
read a bit of a book (I had read it already but I always skip when I first read things..a guilty pleasure to go back over things properly)
made ds2 change his bed sheets
made ds2 put away his clothes
phoned solicitor re EHCP issues
exercise, outdoors

had short lie down whilst dh at parents'meeting for ds1..he is not doing well, but report seems to refer to last term's grades rather than this which is a small consolation. GSCEs are looming very ominously.

Dd has agreed to Spanish tutor, finally, anticipating further ructions over that in due course (she suggested it, but is now of course backtracking at thought of extra work) I'm not going to have three linguistic pariahs in this house: already have two with no ear of any kind. Ds1 still seems to be stuck on Hola

SC yes yay for as many homework clubs as possible even if it means work is slightly more rushed or imperfect - at least it takes away the awful procrastination element.

Time oh yes the pickup muddles (if that is what you are referring to) SOO timeconsuming. I wish I could have had a tracking device on ds2, would have been simpler than any other form of communication as I'm not even convinced that mobiles help. Glad secondary is going well, main thing is he is enjoying it.

Good morning all! Dark and raining here and I hate to say it, atmosphere definitely winterish!

[Puts large vat of coffee on naughty corner counters with pile of freshly made croissants and an energising plate of red berries for all to share.]

Knitting a valiant herewith for just entering home ed sports day parents race!! That takes bravery I reckon!

Congrats on ploughing through such a long list yesterday.

Yes, all these hwk related issues and related procrastination are horribly stressful. Good luck with it all! I don't know how you manage it x 3

We found out last night that dd has six reports per year. And exams at end of each year in order to progress on to following [sigh]. She seems to have tests almost daily [double sigh]. Where is the joy?

She is also having to get used to a hugely increased level of hwk. Even after hwk club last night, she sat writing some French essay or another for at least two hrs. I don't know how sustainable this is. Hopefully she will get quicker at it.

But I met two parents at the school meeting who I knew from primaire whose dc are now at dd's secondary but one year ahead. One said "oh we are moving back to "x country" next year and one of the reasons is we don't think that, once dc get to certain level, that the school pushes them hard enough." The other parent said "we like the school but X is finding it very tough going and we feel they put too much pressure on the dc"

Whose to know ??

On the positive front, headmistress did put emphasis on 'each child as an indiv' in her welcoming speech (which is unusual for this country).

Greymalkin at the risk of sounding horribly purply-prose-Flylady-ish - remember to banish the negative voices and all of that! The important thing is that you did stuff yesterday so pat yourself on the back for that! Changing beds and cooking meals is not nothing!! Hope you can profit from your child-free day today but don't overdo it! (And try and wangle 30 mins or an hour for yourself too!)

Right, I am up at crack of sparrows because it's a half school day on Weds so only get a small window of time before dd comes back.

To do:
dog walk
iron school shirt
iron gym kit
morning routine inc dw, wm, s&s, dining room table hot spot, animals
volunteering
e-mail baby-sitter again
prep good lunch for dd
hwk supervision [groan]
ballet bun and ballet run
this pm - a multitude of errands including:
another dog walk
id photos
take shoes in to be re-soled
coat to dry cleaning
buy storage boxes
buy birthday card
more packages/admin
clear boudoir
evening routine

Have a productive anti-procrastination day everyone!
Encouraging wing flaps to all!

Bloody hell!

Thanks dh for "treating" dd to eggy bread this morning and leaving me with a heap of bowls and greasy frying pans and beaten egg dripped across the stove, kitchen surfaces and floor to contend with Honestly, how does he do it? You actually have to try hard to make that much mess!

And thank you dd for losing a brand new (expensive) text book and her coat in what is only the third week of term

Grrrrrr

Harrumph

actually that should have read "treating himself to eggy bread"

I'm off now, have to clear it all up upon my return

Hate coming back to a filthy kitchen [double harrumph]

Have a good day everyrone!

Hmmm - bit bad to de-lurk and then actually make a couple of Flying comments here...

I have actually found the Flyhelper app on my new android phone really helpful. I have had to make a few rules for myself (can't tick off things until they are really completed, eg 'ironing' is not complete until ironed items, iron and ironing board all put away) but it does seem to keep me focussed, and focus on boring things is not my forte.

Flylady has some essays on helping students apply fly-ish principles to their lives. I have every sympathy with the 'not getting down to doing homework' pupils - for homework substitute housework and I'm in there with them!

Thanks to you all for keeping me sane and sorry I don't post more often.

Welcome back, Honu. I think many of us have times when we just can't post much. I often skim read, but can't post because it would just take too long.

Frantic morning: all ticking over nicely, then a parent rang to ask if DH could pick up her DD on the way to school. This meant leaving 10 minutes earlier than planned, which threw everyone into a tizzy. DS1 refused to hurry up and was still slowly putting his socks on whilst DH and DS2 waited impatiently by the front door. I explained that he was making three people late (DS2, friend's DD and friend's other DD, who would be delayed if DH was late collecting her sister), but to no avail.

Fifteen minutes after they'd gone (and I was enjoying a cup of tea in peace - my first morning off the school run), the phone rang: DS1 had left his school bag in the car. Please could someone bring it in for him?

Of course, if I had been in the car, I would have spotted that DS1 was leaving without his bag, but I'm used to looking out for stuff like that.

So I then had to ring DH to ask him to come all the way back, after dropping off DS2 and friend's DD, and deliver DS1 his bag. Which meant DH would be really, really late starting work.

Will have to try and talk all this through with DS1 tonight, as he doesn't seem to grasp that his behaviour has any impact on other people and acts as if we are all being very unreasonable when we ask him to hurry.

On the brighter side, DS1 was on very good form yesterday and spent the whole evening downstairs with us, chatting, doing his homework (without prompting ) and watching a film with DH. He even had a bath and washed his hair without a battle .

And DS2 continues to be very happy at his new school and has been invited back to a classmate's house for a play one day, so is starting to make friends too.

Flying has fallen by the wayside, so I'm going to use this morning to catch up on tidying, focusing on the sitting room (cluttered) and DS2's bedroom (bombsite).

Apologies for not catching up on the thread, but hope everyone's ok.

I have done lots of Flying .

Off to collect Ds2 now (half day on Wed).

No flying whatsoever here! Ill again cancelled all my lessons for the week too, so pretty much just slobbing at home. DCs at childcare for the day anyway since it's paid for, so I have peace and quiet to spend all day MNing

F

toffee that all sounds like it is going very well, bar the morning's confusions --have you forgotten that a lot of school mornings are like that grr [(rueful). Tbh I think you need to make it clear to other parents very tactfully that at this stage you cannot afford any deviation from the routine, however simple it might seem for them for you to come 10 mins early - it sounds as if ds1 wasn't really doing anything out of the ordinary in needing that extra 10 mins as per usual routine. You are not being a control freak or cranky - it is really quite early days for ds1 and I think you were being your most conscientious self to pick up the other child. I've sometimes just had to say to someone, it doesn't seem much but I cannot do that favour again because it had too much of a knock on effect.

Have gone back to bed - feeling a bit ill but did quite a lot of home ed work this morning. Still waiting to hear about the school place..so near but yet so far - I'm not really sure what 3 on the waiting list translates as in Year 9. A possibility or a very long shot. I know in Year 7 it is the home stretch (people who were 26 got in eventually) but it is all a mystery at this stage. I suppose I will have to send another beseeching email to the oracle that is Admissions; they do issue the most cryptic responses and do not talk on the telephone.

So far..

cooked lunch
home ed
washed some clothes
put away some clothes
unloaded dw
and...gave up (having a nap before the others come home and want supper which I haven't thought about yet. The potatoes I bought on Sun are not nice so will have to conjure up something else as basic fodder.
Lentil and spinach lasagne IS a possibility but I'm not sure what they'll say about that. (tin of lentils and tin of tomatoes and frozen spinach in cupboards)

Hello all, apologies for long absence - we were away for over a month in the summer, until late August, but the DC have been back at school for 1.5 weeks now so I have no excuses any more. Flying has fallen by the wayside as work has suddenly got ridiculously busy. Must try and find time to read through the thread to catch up on what I've missed...

*
The baby-step for tomorrow, Thurs 17 Sept, is here , the now notorious "setting a regular bed-time and sticking to it" step

We are in Zone 3 this week (September 13 to 19): The Bathroom plus One Extra Room here.

If you have finished decluttering in Zone 3 and want do to some detailed cleaning, here is the detailed cleaning list.

Thursday's mission is : here clean bathroom sink, taps and counter tops.

For the 5 min stash and dash: deal with anything that needs chucking or recycling - peeling back another layer as it were.

The daily focus for Thus is: errand day.

The habit for September is developing a before-bed routine here: www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/september/ .

A summary of the above (which should update itself daily) can be found here: www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120.

Keep going everyone!

***

Hi all, just dashing through!

Hope you haven't got rained on today - terribly wet here.

Just back from ballet and dd starving and need to make tuna burgers!! (I am behind with meal planning!)

Loads to do thereafter so have posted links for tomorrow early and will catch up with everyone in the morning!

So sorry for lack of detailed personals but great to see you Linzer and Honu as well as everyone else!!

And sorry you are feeling ill Knitting and Fuzzpig

Toffee agree with Knitting about not saying 'no' to favours atm and congrats on the flying

Hello to Whiskeytangofoxtrot (are you a policeperson by any chance ) and to eveyrone else!

Back tomorrow to catch up in more detail!

Tally-hoooooo!!

Hello, my name is Bohemond and it is four days since I last posted.....

I have two fingers free at the moment as the baby is going crazy in his jumperoo and I am having a glass of wine.

I've not really been flying properly (more stumbling along the ground) but the concept of not procrastinating and getting on and doing things seems to have embedded itself. The effort with the baby has worked - he has slept through for the last two nights and is eating 3 good meals a day and napping for 1.5-2 hours morning and afternoon. This would have been a dream only two weeks ago.

I am home alone today and tonight which is nice - assuming I do not have too much wine will probably do a bit of work after dinner (who knew). Dinner is two bits of lemon sole in breadcrumbs as I can't be bothered with accompaniments!

Ta da
Sent thank you cards
Ordered photo canvas for MIL birthday
Did 3hrs work
Load of washing
Walked dogs
wiped down kitchen counters and shined sink
Booked holiday

To do (tomorrow)
Not much as is my usual day off but I have a con call with US in afternoon and an evening meeting (the latter should be interesting) and I intend to leave the place clean and tidy when I go to bed tonight with no DH to mess it up.

Procrastination list
VAT return
Respond to E mail from long lost friend who is keen to meet but I am not so sure

Hope you are feeling better soon fuzz and knitting

Don't seem to have achieved anything much today, but we were in school this morning for a "Congratulations assembly" where DS2 got a special certificate for a great start to his new school. :) So at least that's something positive! Hideous hacking cough seems to have come back with a vengeance though. :(

Hi Behemond. Good news about the baby settling into a routine. Long may it last. Tricky about the long-lost friend; sometimes they are long-lost for good reason.

Welcome back, Linzer. Good to see that you are busy with work, although the flip side is no time to keep up with Flying.

SC - that does seem a lot of homework for your DD, but maybe, as you say, she is still settling in and keen to make a good impression. Am amazed to note that my DS1 is still doing homework without being asked every evening .

knitting - you are right that it was a lot to expect of DS1 to suddenly be ready 10 minutes early. My old school routine - 15 minutes up the hill to school - was nothing like this one which now involves over an hour's journey through rush-hour traffic to get DC to two separate schools in opposite directions. We had arranged car sharing with other parents, so we had already agreed to take this girl, but her dad cancelled the lift the night before - and then her mum changed her mind first thing next day. So we felt we couldn't refuse. But if it happens again, I will explain that we can't do it at such short notice because of having to get DS1 to school first.

Hope the early night stops the illness in its tracks. Sorry you're still waiting to hear about a school place. So frustrating.

fuzz - hope you feel better soon.

A productive day today. Managed lots of crisis cleaning and decluttering, which has left sitting room and DS2's bedroom in much better shape and also means the bathroom, kitchen and landing are hoovered and mopped.

Had a fairly civilised dinner with the boys . Served gnocchi & tomato bake, which DS1 particularly enjoyed (had seconds). A bit shocked to discover that DS1's Science teacher doesn't believe global warming is caused by human actions.

Spent the evening catching up on washing and ironing, as the boys had already run out of clean uniform. Am wondering if I can afford enough for them to have a clean shirt and trousers every day, or whether I should just adjust to frequent cleaning.

DS2 still very happy with his new school. Sometimes it really is just as easy as changing from one school to another .

Evening all,
Flying fail here today, too much other stuff going on. School, work, hospital for skin test patch removal (thank goodness, it's been like wearing a hair shirt), Sainsburys, home, pick up DD, welcome DS home, make dinner, Brownies, trampolining, a bit more work, homework, Bake-off, emails and I'm done. We have meal planned this week though for the first time in ages.

Hi toffee it is tricky. I would like to see him and his family as we grew up together (mums were in ante natal together and are still friends). The problem is that we were (ahem) boyfriend and girlfriend for a while and DH has never been keen on meeting my old flames. I don't think I have ever mentioned that we were but I wouldn't want to not tell him either. The absolutely worst thing is that responding to this e mail has been on my to do list for six weeks!

Greetings to all other flyers.

The wine made me fall asleep in bake off! 'Twas only one glass.

Morning all,

Still haven't had time to read through the thread, but so glad to hear your DSs are settling in well at school, Toffee. Gnocchi and tomato bake is one of my DC's favourites too (did you use the BBC Good Food recipe?).

Bohemond Sounds like a tricky situation, particularly with it being an old flame. Yay for sleeping babies, though!

Blue Well done to your DS! Sympathies on the hacking cough; I had one just before the summer holidays which went on for weeks if not a month or more, and it really takes it out of you.

Time Sounds like a busy day - is the skin test patch for allergies? DD1 has just been diagnosed with a fairly severe dust allergy, which means taking out the carpet in her room and laying a wooden floor instead - DH has said he can do it (he did DS's room a few years ago) but isn't looking forward to all the work.

SC Hope the rain has cleared up today. We're enjoying some lovely sunny autumnal weather here; I'll try and send some your way.

Only to-do this morning is work. I'd been looking forward to having an hour longer to work each day now that DS finishes at 12.45pm most days, but had forgotten that DD1 would probably finish at 12pm once or twice a week - and today is one of those days.

DD2 had a mole removed a couple of weeks ago, and has to go to the dermatologist this afternoon for the results and to have the stitches removed. It seems to be one medical appointment after the other at the moment (just for a change ). I also took her to the optician yesterday as she's been complaining about not being able to see very well, and it turns out she needs glasses - not a huge surprise as I had to have them at the same age. She has banned me from using the word blurred when talking about eyesight as it sounds too similar to the German word for stupid.

Good morning everyone!

I fell asleep during Bake Off as well (hr ahead here)! (And I don't have the excuse of a baby Behemond ) Woke up in the middle of the night still wearing an apron!

Bit of a bummer as I needed to get more done last night before sleeping and this morning was chaos as a result. DD nearly late for school.

Because of that, and because yesterday was my 'errand' day, I'm spending all day indoors (apart from dog-walking) today (well, school hrs anyway) to get to grips with the boudoir once and for all. It's the boudoir in which none of us sleep (well, rarely, perhaps if dh is snoring), but all of us use as a dressing room because of its location next to our only bathroom. It hasn't really bounced back since the holidays and is causing us all stress in the morning.

So that is the plan today + pets + continuing laundry + paperwork (if time) + cooking Dutch pea and ham soup.

Behemond great that your baby has settled in to a routine - and that you are feeling better for it!

Good luck with your 'old friend' dilemma! I keep in touch with two old flames, but just via the odd e-mail or phone call every one or two years when there is family news (tends to be when someone dies atm!!); it's nice and we just see one another as distant friends now (I have been married over 20 yrs). I guess it depends what intentions your friend has in contacting you. And you can tailor your response accordingly!

Enjoy your dh-free time (not in that way !) I get loads more done when dh is travelling (which starts again this w/e).

**

Btw, just to make it clear, no-one need feel guilty about only posting on here intermittently!! So no need to apologise anyone! Like Toffee said, some of us have much more time than others to post, and it's lovely to see returnees pop back in to say "hello" from time to time!

So post as much or as little as you like everyone, just use the thread in the way that suits you best! Don't feel you have to reply to each and every poster - loads of posters have huge commitments such as home edding, addressing sn issues, caring etc. Want the thread to be a help not a hindrance!

Only hope that all of my our chat doesn't put you off, or put you off FLying!!

**

Speaking of returnees:

Honu it is always lovely to see you!!! Didn't know you had de-lurked and frankly doesn't make any difference!! Just happy to still have you with us from time to time!

Thanks for the tips about the Flyhelper App - will definitely investigate! (And, as ever, you sound incredibly disciplined btw.)

And will also have a read of Flylady's anti-procrastination tips for students. DD could definitely benefit!

Yay Linzer great to have you back too! (Sorry you will have to wade through acres of my whinging when you read back through thread )
Hope the return to school and work not too onerous after yr summer break! Only just getting back to grips with it all here!

Fuzzpig I hope your child-free day yesterday gave you a bit of time to recover and that you are starting to feel better. Go steady!

Toffee Congrats on all the Flying and it's great to hear such continuing fab news about your boys - they are doing so well - so happy for you all!! x Particularly brilliant about hwk and new friends! Are you finding you have a lot more time? You probably have less than you thought you would - imo school creates a whole new block of work - and parental -stress--.

Knitting so sorry to hear you are still waiting to hear about the school place. The stress of it must be taking it out of you. I hope you feel a bit recovered today. Take it steady!

Blue don't like the sound of that hacking cough - another one who should be taking it steady . And wow to your ds2 for his certificate - well done him - their new school sounds v. positive!! Hope both boys are enjoying it!

Crikey Astimegoesby you deserve a for that schedule - makes me feel quite weak at the knees!! Glad you are rid of your "hair shirt"

Big encouraging wing flaps to everyone else!

Have a good day everyone!

x posts Linzer thanks for sending good weather!!

And good luck with your work today (in amongst med appts)!!

Ahhh Toffee is ds1 doing the CO2 cycle by any chance? Global warming is a natural pheonomena and was operating from the time of pre dinosaurs due to the amount of C02 in the atmosphere varying due to absorption in water, plant usage and volcanic erruption. This was always traditionally known as global warming. Global warming in the more modern says that humans cause the earth to warn up due to increase increased release of CO2 speeding up the natural occurance. So the science teacher is right Global warming is not human caused but it is human contributed.

I lost a day to sleep. I almost feel human. Almost. Just short coffee for the caffiene withdrawl headache

Good on your for re-charging your batteries Can'tsee!! [Hands over strong coffee]