January Fledglings - Resolve to Fly!

[WhoKn0wsWhereTheMistletoes]

So, here we are at the start of 2016, poised with our control journals and ready to Fly for another year. New and old, all are welcome here, we loosely follow the principles of Flylady to manage our homes and lives, we also chat and lend an ear to whatever life throws at us.

We post links to the Flylady site each day throughout the month, with daily babysteps and missions inside that weeks zone. We also declutter. No links in this post, I'm on my phone and will do some separately, but it's time to get ready for 2016. A big thank you to everyone who has run the thread in 2015 and everyone who has contributed .

Despite being a bit under the weather we decided to put in an appearance at family birthday event and as everyone buys Meerkitten pretty dresses that we have no occasion to wear we decided to put her in a dress and put a bib on her so she couldn't trash outfit, or so we thought....

She managed to do massive poo in car seat on way to party which went over white tights and top, luckily didn't get dress. So spent party in bare legs as I hadn't brought spare tights and met several extended family members for first time over a poo filled nappy you have to laugh

Not much flying but I do keep on top of washing and washing up and I have actually done a little tidying and decluttering in the last week.

• I've blitzed the dining room table which is my worst hot spot
• Created a shelf for Meerkitten food in cupboard, which required some tidying up of cupboard items
• Paper recycling in front room, another ongoing battle
• Created space in eaves for new Xmas tree and Decs, so they are finally tidied away instead of being in several piles in bedroom

So I don't think I'm doing too badly for someone who has a Meerkitten on her face all day long!

I was full of good intentions, but last week has been hellish, with Saturday being requested to go into work (didn't leave till after 4, having started at 8). I think I worked a grand total of 50-60h, not sure, all a bit of a blur.
Only 35h to work this week, so it should be more manageable. Will catch up this week. :)

Meerkitten has an unfortunate habit of doing dramatic dismounts at times when she has finished breastfeeding, such as suddenly throwing herself off and backwards and expecting me to catch her

Well the inevitable finally happened and she launched herself off the bed, cue lots of tears the poor thing!

DP surprised me by appearing to take it quite calmly but then went out straight after work the next day and bought one of those cots that attaches to the bed as a 'baby catching' device as he puts it. A bit extravagant perhaps but if I'm honest I'm secretly pretty pleased and I do feel that she is safer now, so that is good

I've been lying awake for a few hours so have caught up on reading the last few pages of the thread, leading to a few giggles, particularly over anal glands at vets!

Sounds like everyone is very busy as usual and hearing everyone's dc related issues makes me realise how easy I've got it whilst Meerkitten can't walk or talk!

Ah all your talk of sniffles and post-feed launches really takes me back Dogs! Must say you are doing very well, it's so hard to get anything at all done with a baby around. :)

Well, our new 'mini' (not so mini!) oven arrived today, about 3 weeks earlier than expected! I've told DCs that we'll all be working on the kitchen this afternoon. I am absolutely DETERMINED not to set up the oven before the kitchen is sorted.

So, I've stuck a wash on and done a bit of home ed with the DCs, going to do more now after catching up on a couple of threads obviously :o

Ohhh but I just realised I also have scary phonecalls to make as well. And find as many library books as I can to return. Argh.

Not much done just the minimum to keep the house clean for visitors. Im so drained today 27 weeks and its starting to hit me now. It will be a long 12.5 weeks to go 😔. All organising went out the window. Still in pjs but clothes arent comfy. Might shift soon and actually start getting something done 😴

Good afternoon everyone

I've just caught up with the thread, nice to hear everyone's news.

Who thanks for all the links. Glad your DD doesn't have impetigo - I had it when I was a teen and it was nasty

SC good for you re your DD, best way for her to learn imo

Fuzz hope you feel better soon

Dogs great to see you. My DS had many poonami nappies at the most cringeworthy moments too.

Allguns and Welove glad you are still on the thread, hope you are enjoying it and finding it useful

Toffee is work still going well? I remember my Mum doing everything she could to make my brother revise for his GCSEs (he had SEN) but ultimately she had to let him get on with it. He passed them all.

Einstein Blue and Mercury are you all still liking the reading challenge thread? I always have a little jolt of pleasant surprise when I see one of the fledglings elsewhere on MN!

Today has been a nice chilled out sofa/TV day for me and DS. He stayed with my lovely in-laws for four days whilst DH and I were in Portugal and I missed him.

Some ta das
Made two beds
Emptied dishwasher
Stacked dishwasher
Rearranged an appointment
Caught up with emails
Scanned some documents to be emailed
Sold some stuff on Facebook

To do
Collect cats from cattery
Sort out dinner
Some business admin/paperwork

We have a new washer-dryer arriving tomorrow, thank God. I've got washing piled up in mountains and it's making me twitchy.

I feel like I've achieved sod all today. Had a phonecall from DH to say he's been told he might lose his job. In 2 weeks. Needless to say we are rather stressed.

On a more positive note our oven arrived. DH has thrown himself into sorting the kitchen, I managed to help a bit. Hopefully it's a bit more sensibly arranged now which might help.

Oh Fuzzpig sorry to hear about DH job. Is that out of the blue or something you thought might happen? Not that it makes it any easier if you thought it might happen.

Grey where did you go in Portugal? I lived there for a year as a student and loved it and have been back on holiday quite a few times.

I stumbled across the 50 book challenge a couple of weeks back and got the same pleasure from seeing familiar names. I also deluded myself that I might do challenge but have only managed a couple of pages of The 39 Steps since It's not looking promising

Thanks Dogs :) it's been a very stressful job for ages TBH, management are pushing him way too hard. I didn't think it would come to this though.

I thought of you earlier, I'm watching Vicar of Dibley - the episode where Geraldine takes care of Alice's baby and she has a massive poonami incident :o

Sorry to hear that, your poor DH, glass of beer/wine ready for him when he comes home tonight

I don't know the poonami episode but it made me titter to think they've tried to make such episode

Everyone was very sweet and amused about poo activity to be fair. You could even call it an icebreaker or conversation starter

:o

It'll be a chocolate and DVD evening I think. Sod the Flying (although washing needs hanging up)

Well (to borrow a line from Len Goodman) "Slap me on the bum and call me Duncan"!

Three more miracles have occurred tonight!

DD came to me before bed and ...

-spent a good 35 mins explaining the intricacies of her algebra hwk with huge enthusiasm - it turns out she absolutely loves it!!

• asked me to hang on to her lap top (which had been confiscated for various reasons) for this week and next after which it will be half term. She said she wants to improve her marks and it was proving to be a distraction

• and then she told me how much fun she had had with various friends at school and did a wicked impression of her form teacher (which I know I shouldn't encourage but it's so accurate it's hard not to laugh!)

Really, really please about this!!

Spent most of day doing admin work for dh (with a break at lunch time to attend mass at dd's school - and yes the green jumper wearing superannuated bearded gnome who jumps about on the altar strumming his guitar was there too unfortunately). Very funny because no-one seems to know who he is

Did manage a big clean out of rabbit room, recycling of plastic, and did ordinary rubbish and ironed dd's gym kit for tomorrow.

Which means it will be home bleugh tomorrow unfortunately.

Fuzzpig so very sorry to hear that your dh's job is in jeopardy which must be so very worrying for you both. If the worst comes to the worst, I hope he will be able to find something that is less stressful.

Dogsbum so lovely to hear about Meerkitten's activities including the icebreaker poonami bless her! You sound such an incredibly dedicated mother and I find it really impressive that you have had any time to fly at all so hats off to you Hope the coughs and colds are finally departing ... .

Yay Greymalkin that's terrific that you and your dh have managed to have a lovely break away

Poor you Weloveourfamily take it steady; so sorry you are having to tidy up for visitors hope you can rest tomorrow!!

You too Allgunsblazing! You must be exhausted after last wk.

And you must be exhausted after your weekend Toffee it certainly didn't appear to be very restful. Many congrats on your long list of things achieved though. And good luck to your ds1 with his revision! I know it isn't really (!) but it must be great in a way to be worrying over his exams, because it is such an achievement for him to be back at school.

Hope you managed to kick the tax return in to touch tonight Whoknows (you are certainly hitting all of those deadlines atm - )

Blue hope your ds hasn't come down with anything and everyone in better spirits today!

Mercury how are you?

Big waves to Einstein Knitting Honu Nicknacks Ellie Feetheart PA Scatty Shannara Stinch TheExMotherinLaw George Strumpers Lisawantsacat Lauren and everyone I've inevitably missed!

We had glorious sunshine here today - it was positively spring-like - nice to be out in the park with the furry one although always a bit tricky walking an uncastrated male with so many other dogs around. I have learnt now to look at their owners faces rather than at the dogs themselves. If the owners look slightly nervous or tense, then I know to change direction!

Was hoping that all this dog walking would actually have a positive effect on my figure but sadly I just feel starving all the time and am eating more than ever!

Hope the weather holds for tomorrow when a home bleugh and boudoir sort is on the cards. Makes it so much easier when I can see!

G'night all!

Forgot to say, failed to track down a haggis here but "May the best ye hae ivver seen be the warst ye'll ivver see" and all of that to anyone celebrating Burns night tonight!

Goth maybe?

reading challenge you say. Urm temporally forgotten due a craft challenge from another forum. Urm. Yeah.

Glad to hear DD had such a good day, SC. Still nothing specific afoot here, just low-level grouchiness and a tendency to overreact...

Ta da!
Remembered to contact electrician
Work
Grocery shopping
Swept floor
Wiped up muddy footprints
Choir

All the floors need hoovering, and there are more muddy footprints that got missed. Grr. Nightmare client from earlier in the year has re-emerged and been equally irritating.

But on the plus side, have an interesting new work project and plans to meet up with another school mum for coffee as part of a drive to get to know people here. Can't remember if I said last week, but went back to my old choir, which is fab and such a boost. Also pleased with myself for managing not to eat any biscuits today... !

No Scottish connections here at all, but have had a wee dram anyway.

Grey - yeah, reading challenge is good, but have stalled a little in the last couple of days.

fuzz - sorry to hear about job situation. Hope it works out as best as possible.

SC - great news about your DD taking responsibility. And you are right: it is amazing that we are in the position of worrying about DS1 studying for GCSE assessments.

dogs - love the fact that your DH bought a 'baby-catching' device!

fuzz - so sorry to hear about DH's job. Fingers crossed it's a false alarm.

Grey - thank you - it is comforting it is to hear that your brother passed all his exams in spite of his difficulties. I know that DS1 has to find his own motivation - I can't do this for him.

Hi welove. I remember that pregnant exhaustion - it's not like normal tiredness at all. And so difficult to rest when you have a child already (like you, my first son has ASD). When pregnant with DS2, I lay down for a quick nap at midday one day and woke up to the phone ringing non stop: it was 4pm and I'd missed school pick-up time . Luckily, DS1 - who was a very anxious child about a lot of things - was happily sitting in reception with the school secretary, looking at a Star Wars comic. He was completely unphased and just said, "I knew you'd come" . The embarrassing thing was that I was in the early stages of pregnancy and didn't look pregnant, so the school staff must have thought I was just incredibly lazy .

Had a long day at work today. At least, it felt long. DH cheered me up by meeting me for lunch, though, which helped. After work, I took DS1 to sign up at a local gym. His idea .

Spent part of the rest of the evening testing DS1 on his revision notes.

I've read through all your posts, but the tax return has depleted my brain power, it's done and I'm done in. Had a good day at work, but a stressful early evening, had to take DS to the GP with an eye infection, unfortunately you can't book till after 8am and he leaves for school at 8 so I wasn't able to tell him when he was going. With his AS, the two things he really can't cope with are sudden changes of plan and not knowing how long he has to wait for something, knowing what waiting times can be like late in the day I was braced for the worst as I had to take him as soon as he got in and of course at that time of day you expect them to be running late. He just about held it together, but was tearful, stroppy and very stressed out. By a miracle we were seen on the dot of our appt time, prescription was dispensed promptly and we were home again within 20 minutes, the NHS might be struggling but at times it's bloody brilliant. He was his normal self again by bedtime but it did take him a couple of hours to recover.

Links for Tues 26th

Babystep - you are not behind.

Mission - sofa diving. Hope you all find some money!

Daily Focus - planning

Thanks for the links Whoknows. It must have been the last straw having to do them last thing after a day wrestling with your tax return; so much appreciated! And thank heavens your ds's eye appt was on time - hope infection is retreating - but sorry it was so stressful for you both.

I have just finished the dreaded home bleugh postponed from yesterday and I found nothing but three sweet wrappers, a memory stick and a pencil down our sofass but one lives in hope! Richer pickings are to be found in the form of the odd 5 or 10 euro note in the pockets of dh's shirts and trousers, prior to them going in the wash (known as the laundry-maid's gratuity here ).

Thanks for all of your kind comments about dd taking responsibility. I'm really happy about it, but I can't quite believe such a dramatic volte face has come about solely as a result of one and a bit week's change of strategy on the part of dh and me. Dh (being hugely cynical by nature) scratched his chin last night when I told him about the lap-top and said "I wonder what she is up to? I am hoping it is just a happy combination of maturing a bit, being at school for a good solid continuous period without being ill and the fact that half term (end of week after next) is fast approaching and attendant tests. Don't get me wrong, I am delighted with her progress though! It certainly makes life run a lot smoother here and (rather selfishly) I feel less anxious and able to focus on other things.

Blue oh nay to difficult client reappearing but oh yay to returning to old choir

Toffee great to hear about your ds1 joining a gym and good that you were able to take some time out from your long work day to enjoy a bit of quality time with your dh and have a grown up lunch.

Boudoir is next on the agenda, might as well just shoot me now

In the meantime, have a bit of time to walk the furry ... . Have a good day everyone!

Thanks for the kind words folks

And YAY for your DD SC - especially pleased to read how she is enjoying algebra :o

Quiet day in today, am quietly glad DD's lesson has been cancelled TBH. Lots of stuff I should be doing...