Fledglings go on summer mode, Welcome to July.

[YesEinsteinsMumDid]

Ok, so as there is no thread, and I can't remember or find a volunter for this month I declare summer mode operational.

This means:

1. You are still welcome to join and post

1. If you want there to be links and no one has posted them, feel free to post them.
2. As technical thread leader I shall be hanging out in the naughty corner bar
3. We'll still answer questions for anyone wanting information on the fly lady system and support each other. It's just a little more relaxed.

And with that, bring on July and crazy pants school holiday stuff...

I'm joining , haven't made much progress the last few days and we have visitors coming tomorrow between that and it been DDs 1st birthday in a fortnight I really need to clear some crap so that we can bring more crap in

Joining. So much crap in the house I just don't know where to start.
No motivation due to nearly 2 year old not sleeping

I'll be on countdown to the holidays throughout July (woohoo!) so I always fail aim to get the house straight before the madness begins. We are away within a few days of school finishing too so the next few weeks are my chance to get sorted and ready!

I certainly need to make a few trips to the tip as well, Missy, and I remember the amount of stuff that small children get for their birthday as well Tonis, it can be horrific to fit it all in to the house!

We are on holiday soon too. So I want the house reasonably tidy before we go.
Just put 3 bags of clothes in the car to put in the charity bins. Done the kids room and hoovered. 2nd load of washing on. Dd1 and Ds2 have teachers training days today and tomorrow.

Hellooooo!

Mahoosively huge thanks to Whoknows for keeping us afloat throughout the turbulent waters of June and wheels in case of Belgian

And humungous plus to Einstein for launching July's informal summer thread.

Just to confirm: I will be happy to run thread in September (with daily links).

In the meantime, I hope eveyrone has a great summer!

A very warm welcome to MissyMoo!

Tonis nowt like impending visits toscare me in to action to get one motivated! Good luck with the party planning too!

Cotswold/MissyMoo I experienced that "whoo-hoo" feeling yesterday as dd has now broken up for nine weeks. I tried and completely failed to get the house in order in preparation for the weeks ahead, but hope to do major decluttering now I have more time on my hands although I say this every summer. Really, really need to be more determined over the coming months!! Good luck with your pre-holiday prep!

I have decided to be totally and utterly selfish this holiday and eschew all visitors. It is only the second time I have said "no" to anyone and planned my strategy far enough ahead so that I am ready when the usual culprits try to spring their plans on me!! I know this must sound horribly unwelcoming and ridiculous when I only work a few hours a week and only have one child but last summer was just one long round of making beds, planning activities, doing laundry and cooking for visitor after visitor. I really got quite depressed and even dh found it stressful.

The house in its current state takes a huge amount of work to get it anything like visitor ready. And even my very close family can be quite hard work (for example, one family member always brings one or two friends with her who I don't know that well).

Anyway, anyway, I have decided that enough is enough. My back is only just starting to recover and and I have quavered and quaked a bit but I have said "no" that we were going to be travelling this summer and so far everyone seems quite understanding. (Although I think one persistent French friend - whose daughter stays with us most summers for English practice - I think is pretty pissed off with me.) I just think that me, dh and dd need time together as a family and a bit of time out altogether. We are going to help sil empty out her late parents' flat during the summer months and I think that is going to be enough. Sorry - just posting all this because I feel guilty I guess!

Big waves to everyone!

[Plonks down decluttering tools and timer!]

Anyone seen Knitting around?

sorry - that should have read - on the turbulent waters

Good for you sling. I never get time to myself.

Signing in to naughty corner

Big thanks to all those raising glass for my friend
slingsometimes you just have put foot down with a firm hand
We don't break up til19/20th July,but choas is already reigning
I forecast a Summer if occasional clean spells and lots naughty corner showers hiding in the cobwebs with any remnants if the chocolatei have already start melting and set up a drip of

Doesn't sound pathetic at all, SC - well done for being assertive!

Thanks for the thread, Einstein and to WhoKnows for June.

Thanks for all the supportive words! Find it hard to say "no" at best of times! Must be the Catholic guilt ...

Tbh though, sil's flat will be a big enough challenge and I am sick of cooking healthy meals, trying to clean clutter, the laundry, being everyone's organiser, all of it! I just want to be "someone else" for a while!

So, ta-da!

Morning routine, added in hoover downstairs.
School run, met a friend for coffee, work, met another friend for coffee, school run again.
Detailed cleaning of bathroom - I know it's the wrong week, but I went in there earlier and suddenly noticed that while the large surfaces were ok due to swishing and swiping, the detailed bits were pretty grotty (mostly limescale) so lots of vinegar and scrubbing plus washed the shower curtain and it all looks much better.
Laundry
Shined sink
Took DD and friend to drama, waved DS off to Scouts just as DD appeared back again. Dinner in between somewhere plus two lots of baking, a bit of sewing and construction of a playmobile house.

who knows that was an impressive list.I love building playmobil-the zoolets have masses of it.what did you assemble?
I did a few basics yesterday,place a bombsite hot spots are raging fires and laundry start trickling down the stairs again.....

Morning all

July already!
Welcome newbies, will be back later with proper post when not on phone eating breakfast.

Not much FLYing today
DS's assembly first certificate of the year, hopefully year 5 will be easier for him. We're starting to get his Stress and Anxiety under control which is good.
Winchester Hat Fair this weekend, Ds is in the school procession this year so watching that and then joining them for lunch in the cathedral grounds.

DH is home today as got attacked at work yesterday so a bit shocked and bruised - lots of TLC needed.

Hope everyone has a productive day with party preparations and preholiday tidying and organising.

Will be back on later with probably short TaDa list!

YO know that thing where kids just know when you have an insanely busy day and really need them to be in school and they happen to be off sick that day. This

Seriously pissed off with dh. DD off to camp at lunch time tomorrow and we'll be picking her up following Saturday (long round trip each way). This leaves Sunday as the only day dh and I will have together when he is not working. I have been really looking forward to spending some time alone with him (very rarely happens!) and of course he blithely mentioned this morning "oh by the way, forgot to say I am having brunch with a friend/overseas colleague who is passing through town on Sunday morning". I give up. I really do!

Have virtually caught up with washing/ironing and cleaner has given house a much needed and thorough scrub on ground floor this morning while I tackled first floor not very well. Feel very demotivated and CBA atm. Don't even feel enthusiastic about cooking! Everything is so uncertain it is hard to feel enthusiastic about anything frankly!

Sorry for misery post

Whoknows/Stilllivinginazoo DD - Playmobil assembler extraordinare - is available on a consultancy basis for a small commission She has assembled so many Playmobil buildings in her time that she can do it in her sleep/standing on her head/in the dark. Her hands move so fast it looks like one of those speeded up films

Being nearly 13 she doesn't touch or look at Playmobil during term time but has in the past returned to it during summer holidays (constructing complex equestrian centres with dressage arenas and loose boxes etc using lolly sticks, glue gun and corrugated cardboard etc etc). Will be interesting to see if it all comes out again this summer or, if this is really .... the end ... [sniff] [sniff]

Several large cups of [strong coffee] to Einstein. Sympathies (I find it very difficult to get anything done properly when dd is here. I haven't figured out why completely because she is quite self contained. I just work better on my own I guess.)

Shannara hope your dh is ok
Great to hear that your ds is making such good progress.

Big wing flaps to everyone else!

It was the waiting for the doctor's to ring and the resultant appointment that has been the problem. I needed to be in the next town over running errands which you can't do when they are supposed to be ringing the landline

Also a lot of us are feeling a bit like that SC. The world has gone completely bat shit crazy! Sorry about DH though :(

Hi guys not been on the last 2 days as been busy , ran around panick tidying and cleaning for 4 hours this morning but end result is every room in the house (bar my bedroom) is totally clean , clear and hoovered ! My bedroom will be done tomorrow so relaxed tonight knowing it's done , going to have a look at fly lady as want to keep up and not fall behind again

Hello everyone.

Sorry I was a bit quiet on the flying front at the end of the month, but time just flew.

Really busy weekend planned as it's my birthday on Monday and have family visiting, so trying to do as little flying as possible

To do
Usual Saturday morning uniform washing for next week.
Hanging it up indoors, as rain forecast later, and I don't want a repeat of last weekend watching everything drip on the line.
Cut flowers in the garden, so I get more repeating.

Have great weekends everyone.

Morning lovely fledglings!

Congrats on mahoosive Flying efforts *Tonis! And good luck with your boudoir today!

Hope your ds is feeling a bit better and doc was helpful Einstein

Having a bit of a minor hyperventilation here! I know this is terribly pfb but dd (nearly 13 yrs, only child) has just left on 7 day camp. (Was cooking her favourite supper this morning at 6 am - pesto pasta, bacon and kenyan beans - they had to take lunch and dinner with them for first day! Not worried about any of it because know organisers well (well, always slightly worried about poss of coach crash) but not really perturbed about it except for kayaking bit. There's been so much rain that the rivers will be really full and currents strong. DD is a good swimmer but has a tendency to panic a bit if things are outside of her control. Kayaking being led by outside professional org (not the church group she is going with) and I am assured that they have proper life jackets etc but 'elf and safety here is way behind that of the UK. And breathe ... . Please someone tell me it will be ok won't it .. of course it will .. yes it will... I hope. [gulp and breathe]]

Aside from that, who knew that packing for a 7 day camping trip just for one child could so exhausting? (Hats off to those of you who do it for more!) In the past couple of days we have had three trips to Decathlon, discovered all the things we have grown out of having only bought them new a few months ago such as K-way, swimsuit and trainers. When we went on the last day of June, I neglected to notice that the sale was started on 1 July and so when we returned for second time, saw fleece we had bought for Euros 30 on sale for Euros 15 [bum]. We have searched in vain for dd's walking boots and decided we left in them in the UK so had to buy new boots too We have sewn a laundry bag (obligatory) and found the sleeping bag thank God. Amused to see that she has been asked to take pan scouriers, tea towels and a vegetable knife [evil laugh mwah mwah mwah ] Rosary beads, head torch, four sheets of A3 coloured cardboard, a crepe bandage and a packet of chalk are also required .

House suddenly seems very quiet ... .

Big waves to everyone else!

Sorry, emboldening fail there Tonis!

x posts MadSprocker I here you about the rain! Have spent the past few days playing hokey cokey with the drying racks on terrace - as soon as you put them out - they have to come in again. The rain has been ridiculous here!

If I am not back on here before then, "happy birthday" for Monday and hope you have a lovely time with your family!

Thank you!

Finally, finally, "proper" decluttering/Flying progress to report!

A total fluke that dh and I spotted our communal dechets service on the way back from running an errand just now. (Each resident is entitled to 3m squared of junk to be taken away free of charge x 2 per year here.) So we rushed home, dived in to the basement and decluttered:

• a knackered ironing board
• an old hair dryer
• a broken puree-ing prong thing
• a broken iron

-an old broken kettle

• 2 broken lamps
• a knackered office chair
• a big old Ikea bag of used paint tins and sugar soap containers
• some old carpet
• an old broken video player

Even better (as we discovered waiting in the queue) is that all the junked small electricals go to a local workshop where unemployed youth have been trained to fix and mend the items safely and then they go on to various charities or public services.

Yay! A small but good start to the month!