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!

But you went in, so look on the bright side, fuzz. Well done for going in at all.

Hope you have a good day home educating .

another very flammable evening..despite everyone eating the food (fishcakes ) now we are into why isn't ds1 doing any revision territory having made such a big declaration at the beginning of term about how he had turned over a new leaf..so soul sapping..

dh and I bickering about how best to approach the problem. Anyway we had a long talk this morning and decided it was all about "tone". Snidey I'm so disappointed etc sarcastic comments don't really help encourage do they?

Back in the Real World, ds2 is being rather charming enjoying putting his train together and generally being quite relaxed.

Dh and I are determined to try and be more team spirited about the house. Don't know how long this is going to last First step is that we are going to do the washing up together after supper in the evening to show solidarity and "togetherness" to the children, and hopefully reduce the backlog in the utility room which is smelling vile, what with the laundry the catfood and the dirty saucepans. I confessed I usually felt so depressed after supper and someone being prima donna-ish that I just wanted to go to bed and hide and he said he could see why. Anyway we agreed that we would clear up together to try and improve momentum.

fuzz they are home educating when they are playing..you do know that don't you???? even when fighting they are learning something.

Thanks :) I'm glad I went in as it meant we could move stuff forward with occupational health referral and stuff. And they saw me struggling which I think, when it's an invisible illness, is helpful.

DD is incredibly rather grumpy today but we've got some stuff done, more after lunch hopefully. DH is working an extra hour today due to staff sickness, he's trying to take some of the huge amount of leave/owed hours off but no luck. Sigh. He's got an interview on Monday so keep your wings crossed please Fledgelings :)

In other news DS started Beavers yesterday. He's so proud that he's been given Beaver Bear to look after for the week... of course it would be on a week when we don't have anything interesting planned. If it was next week he could've gone to rock climbing and trampolining club FFS :o

That's true, knitting :o and actually DD asked for some card to make price labels as they were playing shops. Was hoping to get out for a walk today but meh, rain. Tired. Blah. I've got the laundry on though yay. For the rest of the day it's our blood topic, might look up some stuff about beavers and dams due to aforementioned Beaver Bear, and I really need to do some proper maths with Numicon or something as DD is really struggling with some arithmetic stuff.

I'm having a 'loads of food in the fridge but don't want to cook anything' day... really need to do a full inventory and meal plan properly next time. Fallen off the wagon somewhat. Craving a takeaway like crazy!

Clearing up together is a good idea. DH and I really need a kick up the bum, we are so worn out ATM but need to put more energy into maintaining some form of order (not least because now I have a couple of regular pupils having their lessons at our house!) and I think putting some effort into it will breed more energy IYSWIM. I feel so guilty not putting enough into it, DH is brilliant about it and always understanding but it's too much for him ATM as work is wearing him down. I don't want him to not be allowed to be tired too!

Well done for going in when you were not feeling up to it Fuzzpig

knitting your discussion with dh about everything sounds like it has the potential to be productive.

SC Thank you for all the links and the round ups.

House if full of people and it seems stupid loud after the peace and quiet of the last two weeks. Week full of school open days and afterschool activities. I don't wanna do anything other than hide under my blankie. Why is sod's law such that the week when you are most tired seems to be the week you are most busy?

Ta da:
rubbish and recycling
morning routine inc dd lunch, animals, dw, wm, more thorough s&s than usual
school run
cleared paths for window cleaner who appeared unexpectedly
general tidy up
tidied dd's room (horrendous!)
stripped two beds
wrote and posted condolence card
washed gym kit and hung up
washed ballet kit and hung up
mended hem of new school skirt
name tape on school shirt
1h. 50 mins typing sent through by dh
e-mail to online company about complicated order
dog walking
school run
made one bed
hwk supervision
cooked, served and tidied up supper
tested dd on Latin verbs (much easier from French!)
15 min tidy of boudoir

To do:
carry laundry panier down to basement
make other bed
iron and pack gym kit
evening routine inc animals, setting up machines on timers for morning, laying out clothes etc
early night!

Reasonably productive day. All set to do boudoir and then window cleaner arrived a day early and totally turned schedule on its head. Lovely to have shiny windows again at home and in the office but too ashamed to let him in boudoir again so windows disappointingly grimy in there. Still, dd's bedroom is a lot tidier than it was although it was no fun at all wading through Playmobil.

DD finagled her way out of supervised hwk study and proceeded to be very rude when I asked her to break off from doing hwk at home for 2 mins to help me carry a pile of bed linen downstairs to laundry. I lost my temper because I was so taken aback by her eye rolling and general attitude. Was still cross when I cooked supper and consequently produced hideously watery pasta sauce and horrible water logged broccoli.

And boudoir still a teeming pit!! Running out of energy now and still have a few things to do, so going to post links for tomorrow and start again on here in the morning.

G'night all!

Thanks Can'tsee (and for much needed virtual sustenance!).

[Sending some [tea] and over to you in return].

Sadly it is an unwritten rule that school meetings have to fall on evenings when one is most cream crackered and its raining.

Sending positive thoughts to your dh for Monday's interview Fuzzpig!! And glad home edding going well. And that occupational health referral forthcoming. Could Beaver Bear play shops too?

Good luck with the new 'esprit de corps' chez Knitting! Re: ds1 and hwk - have you tried bribery?

Waves to Toffee and everyone else!

Here are tomorrow's links:

*

The baby-step for tomorrow, Wed 23 Sept, is here. Add a "get home from school" or "get home from work" routine to your day.

We are in Zone 4 this week: The Master Bedroom (September 20 – 26) : here.

If you have finished decluttering in Zone 4, here is the detailed cleaning list for the master bedroom.

Wednesday's mission is here swiping dust off tops of doors, tops of windows and down door hinges.

The daily focus for Wednesday is : anti-procrastination. Do something you have been avoiding!

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 in the Flightplan: www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120.

Small steps everyone!

*

very productive day SC. I would treat your dd with kid gloves atm - she sounds as if she is working very hard. Broccoli in this house is frequently soggy

good evening here, only a tiny hint of a meltdown from dd (she wants us to extend the loft so she can have a big sleepover NOO)
and supper went well, with lots of clearing up done by dh and I; honestly I think it is just the atmosphere that stops me tidying most of the time not the actual work involved. Anyway felt cheery and able to approach task with positive attitude

watched a bit of Magic Flute with ds2 - he really is in a nice mood, albeit a tendency to usual sidetracks computer and cereal. I'd forgotten Magic F is so diverting. P P P P ppppppp P P PPPP Papageno. that was meant to be late night home ed. Meanwhile downstairs ds1 and dd was enjoying educating Cardiff sorry at this angle cannot do shift key. It struck me as I watched it that all the teachers are basically my age or a bit younger. There is no need for me to find teachers frightening, really no need They are like kindly fellow parents ( I tell myself)

ooh Blanket Stitch SC I used to have a craze for that..coloured embroidery thread with different coloured felts -

Waves to all. Distinctly CBA about flying at the moment - it's very hard to have any motivation in this state of limbo.

Still, have done quite a few errands/admin type tasks in the last couple of days. It's DH's birthday today, and the quantities of glitter that fell out of the cards the boys made for him at least prompted me to get the hoover out, and then do the rest of the floors too. And we went out for lunch, which was nice.

knitting Can't beat a bit of Mozart. listening to a lot on our school commutes at the moment, will have to dig out the Magic Flute CDs.

Eugghhh! Good morning! [dark and raining here]

[stirs cauldron and puts a large vat of special brew on naughty corner bar for those in need; leaves out stacks of hot buttered toast, honey and freshly squeezed oj for everyone to help themselves]

Right: animals fed, bed linen retrieved from wm and now in td. Load of towels on. Bathroom s &s'd. Stove "dressed" (it's stainless steel and the only thing that works is wash with washing up liq and water, then white vinegar, then a bit of oil to prevent smears), dd off to school with ironed sports kit.

Lots of comings and goings today. I have to be at volunteering in precisely one hour's time. Just have time to walk dog beforehand.

Then lots of running around errand-ish thing and must make appts I have been avoiding (it being anti-procrastination day and all of that).

Blue I think you are entitled to slack off from the Flying atm given the circumstances. Reserve your energies for spanking new house!! Good you had a break from it all yesterday (save for the glitter!) and belated happy returns to your dh!

Knitting yes, I am conscious I should be treating dd with kid gloves at the moment but (a) I don't have your kindliness and patience and (b) she has been relieved of all chores (dishwasher, table laying, rabbits, loo roll distribution) for the first month of new school (this may be extended to Christmas if she is really exhausted) and the circs were such that I thought she should have jumped in and leant a hand without being asked - never mind refusing when asked (ie I was trying to maneouvre a far too large and unwieldy load of dirty bed linen downstairs and couldn't see my own feet) and finally (c) there is a bit of me that says "hang on, you have recently received new pencil case, new stationery (half of which was unnecessarily new!), new uniform, new ballet kit, new pjs, new winter coat, new shoes, etc etc - normal I know - but I never had half of those things when I was a child (had hand me downs from my sister!!) and I think she ought to show some appreciated. Harrumph!

oops, posted too soon ... appreciation!! I know I should have been pleased that she was engrossed in her hwk though rather than telling her off for not helping. We were both at cross purposes and I should have seen bigger picture .

Blue and Knitting Once had the misfortune to attend Ken Russell production of MF in London: lots of giant (20 ft!) sequin covered phalluses and women in bondage gear .

Have a good day everyone!!!

well a stunningly beautiful morning..we are off out later to Home ed social club but need to try and fit in some science before. French club sent some homework for him, practising vowel sounds - this hasn't gone down well with ds2 alas - you never SAID THERE WOULD BE HOMEWORK. Ah well, as it clashes with the tutoring classes I am setting up for him next week that may be the end of our shortlived flirtation with French

Dd is doing well in Spanish though so that is something.

SC I think they just don't like "random" when it involves their cooperation. Too much effort required to process/think on your feet.
Dd has been telling me that all her friends' mothers wash their sheets for them. I am standing firm on that one as she does very little else housework wise. Otherwise everyone is very unhelpful except in small things which we have habituated them to through tremendous effort and reinforcement Absolute no random requests for help are tolerated even if I was falling off a ladder

Wing flaps to all!

I'm seeing the doctor later and am going to finally agree to being signed off for a while. I've been resisting for ages even though they wanted me to. I was too idiotic stubborn.

I'm hoping that with work being officially out of the question for a while, I can start actually getting other things sorted without worrying quite so much about preserving my minuscule energy levels. Today it's laundry, the living room and also I really need to start our housing form (we have been on the register for a few years, but we've been advised to apply for a higher band because of medical needs).

No home ed planned today though as DCs at childminders, but might get them writing a haiku about beavers (the animal, not the club! We researched them a bit yesterday) in the afternoon... not putting that in the Beaver Bear diary though, would be far too 'performance parenting' :o :o

Incidentally SC the DCs did take a photo of Beaver Bear playing with the toy till! :o

I love blanket stitch too :) I used to really love embroidery, my mum is awesome at it. Might have to set up some home ed sewing lessons (ooh, I wonder if she would be happy teaching a few kids at a time? She's being forced to retire soon, due to sodding library cuts - might be a way for her to earn a bit of money?)

Seriously...I am shite. I think about posting nearly every day and then don't. Because I am shite not because i don't love you all. Flying is non-existent because i am shite...more survivalist to be fair.

To be brutally honest excuse for lack of flying and lack of posting is, in a pathetic way, that I appear to be rather busy.

School is good but hectic as ever and I confess to being slightly caught up in a teenage state of relationship happiness . I know this may make people want to vomit] but I care not. Lots of time spent with DP means life is even more hectic than usual and stbxh is being even more of a twat than usual.

Will attempt to be good....promise!

Have spent anti-procrastination day procrastinating madly and done practically nothing. Hey ho. SC gave me official permission to slack off, so ner to the Fat Fairy!

***

The baby-step for today, Thurs 24 Sept, is here the useful bathroom daily swish and swipe.

We are in Zone 4 this week: The Master Bedroom (September 20 – 26) : here.

If you have finished decluttering in Zone 4, here is the detailed cleaning list for the master bedroom.

Thursday's mission is here tidying up your bedside tables.

The daily focus for Thursday 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 in the Flightplan: www.flylady.net/c/fp.php?tzm=-120.

Keep decluttering everyone!
***

Yay! Great to have a definitely-definitely-non-shite Ellie back here among us and great to hear bloke with shiny buttons still shiny ifyswim!

Hands Blue large and points her in direction of hammock swinging between two palm trees in beach-themed naughty corner! [Will be along with cocktails at six.]

Fuzzpig good you have been signed off work officially (and well done for keeping going as long as you did). Hope you can now rest properly and build up a few energy reserves

[SC resists temptation to compose a beaver-themed haiku.]

Btw, wrt to your ma and teaching children to sew, I did a wee bit of it at dd's primary school for a while. DD have to be at least 9 yrs I reckon so that they can get on on their own, and even then required level of input from teacher is quite high. For that reason, you can't teach too many of them at a time, so possible not economically viable at that age, but maybe for older tweens/teens it would be good.

Knitting good your dd is enjoying Spanish! And that she is washing her own sheets. Thinking about it, I think you are dead right about 'random' requests (although hope would not apply literally if you were falling off a ladder!) It's the 'tremendous effort and reinforcement' bit where I am falling down I think. Need to do better.

Slightly chaotic here in terms of comings and goings today. Going to try hard and not be distracted from clearing boudoir although I'm not good at getting things done when their are lots of people in and out of the house.

Have a good day everyone!

there are

bugger can't get beaver haiku out of my head now!!

OK, best I can come up with whilst sweeping out rabbits!!!

Trenchant teeth meet bark
Wet architects lay down roots
A winter construct

(But doesn't have requisite 'twist' or 'surprise')

Anyone else?

Morning

Sickly household: both boys and DH ill with sore throats and temperatures. Neither boy wanted to miss school (extraordinary!), but clearly too unwell to go.

I'm still feeling fine, but waiting for the lurgy to strike. Maybe I'll be lucky.

Ha, that's genius. I had to google the word 'trenchant' though :o we didn't write ours yet, ended up in a mad rush with the doctors etc. Spent a fortune on taxis too.

Today it's gymnastics which I always look forward to as the parents sit outside the hall (not literally outside thankfully, it's at a leisure centre) and chat.

Then DD is getting a visit from CAMHS. Dreading it and looking forward to it at the same time. She is incredibly anxious and needs help. It's even causing her to wash her hands all the time and she is terrified of germs and being sick.

toffee there was me hoping that one or other child would come down with something and that Dh and I wouldn't have to get out of bed so early but unfortunately they seem fit and healthy atm, so no pj days yet Very good that neither wanted to miss school in your house.

Total chaos (mess wise)here still. All in good spirits though, and two off to school with right equipment. Already done an hour's driving and made pancakes for late breakfast as cereal all gone.

Have done a science experiment with ds, separating mixtures (have been boiling coffee down to residue and chromatographizing ink - however ds2 denied there was any water in my distillation container. I said there was a drop, and he said that wasn't scientific evidence .

Off to SALT now and then Judo.

Fuzz poor dd. And poor you feeling so ill, I am glad dr has signed you off now.

Ellie you are a ray of romance in our dimly lit lives. Sorry that ex is being trying.