Fledglings step their way through June; yikes we'll be Flying in to summer soon!

[Singingcricket]

Welcome to the thread where we (loosely) follow the Flylady housekeeping system here to combat CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome) with a load of , chat and mutual support along the way. Quite a few of us have been on here for a while, so for that reason, we may seem cliquey, but we really aren't, and all newcomers, lurkers, returnees, regulars, and intermittent regulars are very welcome!

Every day I will post a link to the activities for "Today" which summarises everything you need on a daily basis if you want to follow the system strictly, but we tend to adapt it to suit our individual circumstances, homes and energy-levels!

Please note that, although Flylady is keen for us to check in to the website, we've recently had a few concerns wrt security, so although there is lots of useful info on the site, it's best not download it or put any of your personal details into the website for now.

More information on getting started available:
here (containing baby-steps!) but please don't hesitate to ask if you have any further qs.

There are 4 levels for Flying:
-Baby steps - good for starting a routine and overcoming the perfection crippling effect
-Baby steps and missions - basic routine + more in depth tasks
-Baby steps, missions, and deep cleaning (if you are at that stage).
You can't clean clutter so don't consider this one if you need the next level.
-Flying combined with a decluttering system (kondo/unfuck etc etc) let's be honest fly lady is good for routine but not so quick with the decluttering results sometimes.

There is NO wrong or right way of doing this, it is about adapting the system to suit your life circumstances, which will be different from someone else's, and don't be put off by the barftastically twee nature of the Flylady site, the underlying system is sound. Feel free to ignore any step or routine that doesn't suit you or your home! No perfectionism allowed!

And when it all gets too much: come and take a seat by the fire in our specially adapted "naughty" corner where you can enjoy virtual and and lots of support from fellow fledglings.

More info follows ( but again, please note we advise only looking at the pdfs and not downloading them ):

** launch pad (general info) here

** daily babysteps pdf (ignore the ones that don't suit you or your home) here

** week day missions (some fledglings find it easier to do them at weekends) here

** info about zones (explanation of how zones work) [[http://www.flylady.net/d/br/2017/06/11/please-explain-the-zones-6/
here]]

** weekly zones (a rough weekly guide to which area of the house we are tackling currently, again adapt to suit yourself) here

** daily focus (helpful guide to allocate a certain day for a certain task) here

** deep cleaning lists pdf (only attempt when you have decluttered as you can't clean clutter!) here

Oh and not forgetting "habit of the month" which for June is : drinking water!

Good luck and happy Flying one and all!

*

Btw bower I do think it's a Sniff on hands and knees job!!

Take it steadyZoo, you've had a tough week and you need a break!

Sorry emboldening failure there Zoo. And thanks, DD no worse anyway! She's eating a tiny bowl of rice.

Lisette my DH doesn't see clutter either. Any clear horizontal surface, he fills it! It's a constant battle. I'm not without blame either though! Books and fabrics are my downfall.

zoo £30 for food doesnt sound fun, can DP chip in?

bower 11 and a half weeks til due date, my four have all been born in 2 weeks before due though so fingers crossed for 9/10 weeks

zoo . Hope your DD is ok SC.

Poor DD2, I think it was all too much for her today. She spent all of yesterday evening trying to ‘be good’ (a recurring theme ). She had been really very good and helpful almost all day yesterday. This morning she was up and dressed 2 hours early for dancing which is unheard of. I think perhaps she just couldn’t keep it up and then it all sort of imploded with the lipgloss. She is in bed sleeping now and managed to have an ok bedtime. Stain has mostly come out of the carpet. Doll not expensive so could be replaced fairly easily but has sentimental value (gift from in laws) and I don’t think DD1 would have believed me if I replaced it. But we are ok now and I am drinking gin and tonic . Have spent about 3 hours dealing with red lip gloss today . Going to load some lip gloss stained stuff into the washer now.

Good luck with cat pee search Bower.

Night all. My sofa and gin await.

Aw bless her Toostressy, I think we can all identify with that imploding feeling once in while, and what a lovely mum you are ! And you have certainly earned that gin after 3 hrs of cleaning up lipgloss!

🌼 Launch pad link containing flight plan for Sun. Best to refer to it, rather than download.

🌼 We will be starting in Zone 4 tomorrow, the boudoir, 16-22 June.

How fortuitous - planned boudoir clear out for tomorrow.

Will also be trying on clothes to see what doesn't fits.

Woke up at 7:10 and thought it was a school day. Then after a bit realised it was Sunday. 😀 I was out all day yesterday and will be out most of today with a church fundraiser after Mass. need to jump up and do a few things before 10:30.

My boudoir needs it.
Couldn’t find the cat pee on good carpet. Going to try crappy carpet. Maybe just the smell from leaving it on the tiles overnight. Litter was changed yesterday and floor wiped with Zoflora so will get hot water and mop this morning. Sunday usually day of rest.

Hope you feel better today but sometimes a few tears shed let’s out that emotion and it doesn’t hurt kids to realise they have hurt you.

Happy Sunday everyone😀👋 leaves crossings in naughty corner.

Ooooo i did my boudoir last week.

For once i am ahead of the game!

My boudoir is at can’t see the floor status.

Cagletini has a suspicious rash on various body parts and is super grumpy. We’ve given her piriton which has done nothing and the spots are starting to have a slight chicken pox look to them 🤔 not sure yet though.

Same here Cag! I am about to start clearing paths in the boudoir!

In fact I saw a very interesting thread under Housekeeping a few years back (which I have tried to find since without success) in which the op, and several others, tackled their homes from a perspective of horizontal and vertical planes instead of room by room ifyswim. So they did all the floors on one level, then moved on to higher horizontal surfaces. Then did verticals (windows, kitchen cabinet drawers etc) and only then (I think) did they start on the insides ie cupboards and drawers! It made a lot of sense at the time!

Top marks for being ahead of the game I've! And good luck with clothes decluttering Lisette! I am also trying on things which don't fit me any more all the time atm .

Cag Sorry to hear Cagletini is under the weather poor thing. Hope it's not cp!

When will the UK catch up with the rest of Europe and vaccinate for it? It's nuts not to do so (imho) given that people who have been vaccinated against chicken pox are less likely to get shingles in later life. (I remember my late ma getting shingles on her hip and around her eyes and it was hideously painful.) And given that people with shingles at blister stage can pass chicken pox on to others > and so it goes on!

Bower good luck with fundraiser! Very good of you to devote a day to it when you are already so busy! Take it steady!

I skipped church this morning on the grounds that I have already done my penance (or will have done by the time today is out) given that a family member is coming to stay tonight (a week early) and we have had a busy morning getting DD seen by a doc for bad stomach cramps. They are not caused by a bug or stomach upset (she is hungry) but wait for it .. "colon spastique" (IBS) > colique> stress related! Seeing as she has had an issue with this in the past it's not entirely surprising given present circs.

The really stressful bit though is that instead of buggering off to catch his flight as intended, DH has now decided to go tomorrow morning instead, despite my protestations that everything is a lot calmer when he has gone! (I know I sound horrible but it's true.)

DD absolutely insistent to doc saying "I am not stressed" (and to be fair she does like exams once underway) . DH backing her up saying "yes they let you off far too lightly at that school, in my day etc etc ..." with me saying "um, perhaps your stomach is telling you otherwise". But she wouldn't have it, or wouldn't admit to it in front of DH. So now I've got a stress headache! Happy days!

Going to take my frustration out on the boudoir floor now!

Sorry that should have said kitchen cabinet "doors"!

Sorry again, in summary, meant to say, DD hasn't got appendicitis (which we were worried about, phew) and is feeling better having been given some sort of stomach calming, pain reducing drip infusion thing.

Oh dear SC, hope she feels better soon and that Cagletini feels better too Cag.

I like the idea of horizontal and vertical surface decluttering. Perhaps I’ll try that!

That’s an intriguing method!

Argh sorry about DD’s pains. Bless her trying to cover up the stress though :o

Still not sure about the baby. Will see how the rash develops over the next day or two - some spots definitely have the “dew drop on a rose petal” look BUT they are very small and localised.

I am really quite excited for home ed to get underway tomorrow - I wrote a list of all the stuff I want to get completed over the next few weeks and I feel a bit clearer in my head now. Knowing we have our “inspection” coming up also means we will have to be more disciplined with keeping things as I want a decent showcase of work for them (not actually necessary at all but I think it’ll be a nice confidence boost for the Caglets - and dare I say myself!

SC dd1 had acute stomach pains aged 4 and again aged 23 to which no certain cause has ever been found.hospitalised both times over night on observation...
IBS does sound like in this case tbh,poor things under ridiculous amount of stress
Dd2 has stress "tics" developing.her leg keeps spasming and jerk all over the placeit's got steadily worse last two weeks despite more attempts to sleep,relax and eating bananas(which ain't fond of) in case it's electrolyte imbalance...I will leave til school hols and if no better will get medical advice but I do strongly believe it's mocks stress causing it currently revising quotes from Xmas carol and inspector calls she needs to be sure of for tomorrow.has maths pm too

I've spent bit of time trawling thrifty Leslie's webpages and stolen some good ideas.currently have savoury herb scones cooking in the oven(oil not butter) to go with roasted squash and nut butter spread for snack.once they're ready pounced on I'm going to make some simple vanilla cookies with sunflower seeds in.apple and spice egg free muffins earmarked for later in week to pad out and brighten up the offerings available

Hope everyone okay. We've been to the zoo today and now the dc are tired out and watching a film. Only got a couple of things to get done then I'm going to relax a bit hopefully...

To do
Finish daily routine and s&s
Prep dinner for tomorrow as I don't think I'll have time then.

Dinner tonight will be something on toast or cereal as we had a big lunch
Help dd with her homework (they just have to write something about their weekend nothing huge just a sentence or two)

Oh and I was going to go for a little run or perhaps just a walk since I'm so tired! But something anyway.

Why do I get sucked into time consuming threads on here ? Then I can’t help myself and I comment on them and then get sucked in even more.

I hear ya! The internet is bad for me sometimes I think. I should really just stick to the three long running support threads on here (this is the only one I post on daily but there are two others) and a couple of specific very supportive FB groups. It really affects my anxiety sometimes, it’s ridiculous.

I’ve made another Macbeth thing this afternoon, partly to avoid talking to my parents :o really CBA today!

Trying to come up with a fitness plan too. I’m super proud of the fact I’ve averaged twice a week visits since joining, but I can be a bit inconsistent so I’d like to have regular days for specific things really eg I’m thinking gym on Wednesday evenings (I can go with a friend as she pops in while her DS does a club there) and Saturday mornings (I can leave at the same time as the others leave for ballroom, as otherwise I just sit around bored at home).

Fitness plan sounds great Cag .

Shitty day here. Girls’ behaviour has been generally appalling and we have told them no screen time over the next week in the hope behaviour improves. DH has had a horrible father’s day and we are both feeling miserable.

Plus I have got completely sucked into a thread on here where the OP got battered and am irrationally annoyed about it even though it is nothing to do with me. Have reported it twice then feel guilty about that as it is Sunday and I think the HQ team are volunteers.

Ugh. Parenting is just a total guilt fest sometimes.

Tomorrow I need to stick to just this thread.

I've been reading the thread about whether a messy house negatively affects dc! There's some useful lists/gauges on there! My kitchen and bathroom are very clean but I think I would fail on some of the other criteria (cartons on landings for example).

I know that it's best to try and achieve a sensible balance but I view Mumsnetting as the modern day equivalent of nattering around the washing well! Not something to feel too guilty about! As an expat, it's been a lifeline for me for keeping in touch with "home" too!

Sorry you have had a really horrid day though Toostressy and that you found a thread upsetting. All of human life is represented on here; good and bad, and it can get a bit overwhelming at times.

You should be really proud of your new fitness regimes Cag! You've done brilliantly! Top marks for persistence!

Oohh love the zoo Foxes! Hope you can get a better night's sleep tonight!

Zoo that's interesting about your dd1. DD has been to a&e with this sort of pain twice before too (not overnight). DD has had a very mixed day. In acute pain at times; she goes white and feels sick and can't straighten up or move. Other times she is absolutely fine! It's really horrible for her as so unpredictable! On a positive front: it's her English exam tomorrow so not something she is particularly worried about

Very sorry your dd2 is feeling very stressed too! Hope the exams go well for her tomorrow! Also that the stress symptoms diminish soon.

And for creative cookery solutions!

Oh no stressy :( kids are just damn hard work aren’t they. Any idea what triggered the extra bad behaviour today?

It’s been a bit shit here too. In all honesty it’s my parents who are more hard work these days. And my mum is staying again during the week and they’re coming to the Caglets’ dance show. I did have a nice chat with dad about fitness though, which if you’d suggested a year ago we both would have cracked up about - he joined the gym last August and loves it, he will be 70 later this year.

Cagletini’s blisters have gone but she is still a bit blotchy in places and very grumpy, she also bit me really hard on the arms a few times so probably teething too. She is getting naughty already, we are having to go back to sippy cups as she keeps deliberately upending entire glasses of water on the floor!

Just ordering a Tesco shop as we forgot yesterday. Antiprocrastinated by finally booking tickets to aforementioned show. Looking forward to some normality with home ed tomorrow I think but I’m so damn tired. Feeling my core muscles thanks to the class yesterday... turns out I actually have some! And they hurt!