Festive fledglings flying through December - the Flylady thread

[TooStressyTooMessy]

Welcome to the December (dare I say the Christmas?!) Flylady thread. This is a really lovely thread where we loosely follow the Flylady system (see the Flylady website ) in the hope of having organised homes and lives.

Every day I will post a link to the launchpad which has everything you need for that day if you do want to follow the system strictly. Plenty of options to follow the system more loosely as well :).

Please do familiarise yourself with the Flylady website, especially if you are new. The Flylady is (understandably) keen that people do look at the website.

On the website there is information for beginners. You can also sign up to the Flylady emails but we would advise not to as there are hundreds of them.

We post our achievements (ta das) and our to do lists and any other general chatter about life / flying.

Information on getting started: www.flylady.net/d/getting-started/

The launch pad is also a good starting place:www.flylady.net/c/lp.php

Fly stands for Finally Loving Yourself. The general idea is that short bursts of tidying / organisation are more achievable than marathon efforts. Flylady advises 15 minute bursts is effort but you can tweak this to fit your own circumstances.

Be kind to yourselves, jump in where you are and be careful not to crash and burn!

Any newbies are very welcome .

**
Flylady also does Christmas missions which I will link to each day. They are really useful and nearer the time she does super missions which help you if you have not managed the regular missions. They are just there to help and as Flylady says... do not worry as you do not need to catch up, just jump in where you are .

Link to the holiday cruising is

here

December’s habit is usually [[http://www.flylady.net/d/habits-of-the-month/december/
pampering yourself]] which is much needed this busy time of year. This can be as simple as taking two minutes to have a cup of tea, if long pampering sessions are unachievable.

The website will update to the December missions etc in the next few days so I will link it again if it is different.

*
A daily summary (which should update automatically every day) is available on the Flylady website at flight plan here.

The link to the current zone and missions is [[http://www.flylady.net/c/sp.php#missions here].

Re. zones, do what works for you. I don’t always stick to the zones myself and do what works best at the time!

daily focus

missions for the week

Flykids mission

beginner babysteps.

The best place to look for an overall summary is the launch pad.

Happy flying everyone.

Please note that while there is lots of information on the website, from a security point of view we would advise caution with putting any personal details in or downloading anything.

Also a huge thank you to Ghoulette for the November thread.

Thanks for all of the sock ideas! Looking at spending £5 max as the other three have all had 2 pairs for £3. Asda have some ladies ones which dont look too lady like but i am just not sure if i can still get delivered. Have a nearby Aldi so may check there this morning.

I've a fiver I think.lovingly modelled by dd2...

The furry overlords (cossima and carbonelle aka cossie and nelly) thinking they are gifts

Xmas biscuits for schoolmates

SC it's a BBC good food one
Egg free(and dairy free if use of butter)

225g p flour
1/2tsp salt
2tsp bicarb
1 heap TSP ginger
1/2 TSP cinnamon
Mix tog with whisk or sieve

50g butter
100g brown sugar
100g golden syrup

Heat til sugar melts,cool a little.mix to dough
Chill half-time hour
Preheat oven 190oc/170oc fan or equivalent.line baking trays

Roll 1/4" thick.cut allowing room to spread(they did a fair bit)
Bake 10-15 mins

And the tada(so far)
Fed cats
Bleach lav
Wash on
Clear up rubbish
Clean bin
Recycling and rubbish in big bin outside
Scrub kitchen floor on hands and knees
Wipe loo seat
Sweep loo floor and wipe
Empty bathroom bin into big bin
Clean bathroom windows
Sill,radiator and skirt of bath wiped
Clean tiling around bath/shower
S+s

(Floor and littertray to do a bit later or will just end up with huge cat poo and litter trails before dd2 friend arrives...

Sort space understairs- for extra food storing
Wash out two crates for said food
Calm dd2 from panic attack
Write birthday card for friend's daughter
Find cats on wrap paper
Everybody is now up
Next is breakfast...

Lovely pictures zoo Ty for the sock pic i think those would be acceptable! Liking the brown paper style wrapping paper!

Fab lists Zoo and SC! There were some late nights last night. There’s light at the end of the tunnel though.

I love the stockings Zoo. I normally have cats on wrapping paper photos too but they weren’t interested this year. Yours are very cute.

I’ve consistently read the Christmas missions SC, does that count? Although I suppose they have served as pointers as to what needs done (baking missions totally ignored despite having aimed to make my own cake this year).

Bower it’s so frustrating losing a post. Hope you get the inhaler sorted.

Happy sock shopping Ive.

DH has just taken DD to nursery. She was excited to go and didn’t feel too warm so fingers crossed she’s ok. Touch wood I haven’t caught anything despite her coughing in my face through the night for the last week, and everyone at the nursery is already coughing away too so she shouldn’t be infecting anyone.

Right.

To do:

Up and ready
Beds made
Washing on
Shopping
Fridge cleaned, shopping put away, with DO NOT TOUCH UNTIL CHRISTMAS labels on relevant items for DH’s benefit.
Floors vacced and cleaned
Bathroom floor grout bleached
Cards delivered
Ironing
Promised my DSis a few hours of my time as she is behind on Christmas prep (she offered to have DD for a bit if she couldn’t go to nursery so I could still shop, pleased I don’t need to take her up in the offer)

Good luck everyone. We can do it!

Blimey, so much achieved in the last two days! Morning everyone, feeling very behind here (yes, I know, Just Jump In). KT, glad your DD was well enough to be dispatched to nursery! Zoo, hope your DD is coping better.

Been a mixed couple of days here. Yesterday, I had an early appointment, so I did as much of the morning routine as I could with DH still in bed asleep and asked DH to deal with the rest. Results were... interesting. No S&S, no DW rotation, dog actually finally on his walk when I got home at 11.45am (having gone out at 9). So had to catch up before I could get on with the rest of the day.

Yesterday's Ta Das

• some baking - needed a pie crust for tea time, so I experimented with grain free pastry for mince pies (I had to go grain free for the sake of my digestion about 10 weeks ago. It's been life changing but my god it's dull!). Let's just say I've got to really really be missing mince pies to want to eat them made with chickpea pastry.
• but I did get the Christmas cake marzipanned and made some tolerable grain-free cinnamon knots to freeze for Christmas morning.
• got the kitchen properly tidied and persuaded DS1 to sweep the floor
• rotated the wash DH put on because god forbid he finish the process and dry it too.
• DH took DS2 to his medical appointment - he's decided to try Ritalin for his ADHD and I am really unhappy about it, but it's not my decision. It will totally remove his appetite or any physiological signs he needs food, which means I need to timetable feeding him into my days which are already a nightmare in that respect, feeding DS3 and DD who have sensory-based food restrictions. I am going to need a flow chart on the kitchen wall.
• Once we got DH's massively overcomplicated AV system to work (just once, I'd like to press the on button on the remote and have the TV just come on!) managed to watch Muppets Christmas Carol with DD and DS3. Which was lovely.

DD is feeling very blue because her friends have shifted into graceless troll territory again. She has ASD and finds reading people impossibly difficult, so she does friendship by numbers. She has realised presents make friends happy and so spent a huge amount of time and a considerably amount of her pocket money making / buying lovely Christmas gifts for her two closest friends. Both of whom said "uh, thanks", stuffed them into their school bags and tripped off with their respective boyfriends without so much as a card for DD. I know one doesn't give to receive, but I also know she told them she had gifts for them in advance, and a Christmas card to her wouldn't have killed them. They both ignored her birthday too, despite one of them sharing the event! She is very sad and doesn't understand why people can't be nice.

Anyway. Onwards. Good luck with the 2nd interview / test today Hazel. Stressy, breathe, we can only do what we can do. Bower, what is it about husbands procrastinating and leaving things too late? DH ignored the milk order until the website closed for Christmas, so now we will have the milk we deserve, not the milk we need.

Getting very stressed in advance of my family's Christmas here on the 28th - not looking forward to it at all. Relations strained with my DSis, who can't let me do anything nice for DM without trumping it with something sparkly. Thinking I might spend the day in bed with a bag on my head.

Anyway, onwards. Today is the GreenWillow Family Christmas Outing - lunch, last bits of shopping, cinema. We have to see the new Star Wars movie, so I shall have a nice sleep for 90 mins or so. DS2 wants me to help him shop for his not-girlfriend and DS1 needs new boots. Town will be rammed, but needs must!

Deep breath. Have a good day, all!

Have not caught up yet , DD ill again but has struggled into school and I am off to the minor surgery clinic at my GP's today although not sure if they will do anything or refer me on (nothing serious, just something that has got worse).

Have not wrapped anything yet so will do some today as DD has a birthday shortly before Christmas. We've had the tree up for almost a week with only light on, not hung any decorations or got DD's down for her room. Really need to raise my Christmas game here!

Have had coffee and croissant, DD only has half a day today so hoping the paracetamol pushes her through! Will go upstairs, empty the gift cupboard, make lists of gifts and do a bit of wrapping. Have time between picking DD up and my appointment later to deal with the house. Who has the pointy stick of motivation?!

Willow that is really crap of your dds 'friends' bless her, maybe the new year will bring a new kinder friend for her!

Fingers crossed no phone calls from nursery KT!

So dd put on her school boots this morning and i noticed all of the 'leather' was peeling off. Looked a right mess. So i tell her to put her shoes on instead. "But they are the same!" she tells me. And they were! How did i not notice this Luckily Clarks have several pairs in her size in the sale so i will order some later, however this is annoying because i bought some for dc4 off there the other day and if i had bought the two together i would have got free delivery but now i will have paid for delivery twice! Ffs!

Ta da

School run and shit
Dryer emptied

Plan for the day is Christmas food shop. Aiming to do this before lunch but need to wait for baby to wake up first!

Hello all,

SC, yes it got to the stage where I knew I hadn’t got everything but had to stop or I would lose the delivery slot. Realistically I will physically have to go into a supermarket anyway to get perishables and have actually started a list for that so will have to add bits on. Unsurprisingly no I have not done any of the missions. I’m sure I would have found them useful if I had done them . Next year as you say! I also find the clean up missions helpful so will actually try to do these as have done them in previous years. KT, if you have read the missions I’m sure that counted in some way .

Bower, how lovely of you to do the carols. They are so appreciated by staff and patients (even if the staff don’t always have time to tell you that!).

Thanks for hot chocolate zoo, lovely on a day like today! In fact I might make some for real now (just in microwave, nothing exciting). Also love the pictures!

Good luck today Hazel!

That is annoying Ive. I ordered something to collect from store to save delivery (shop on my way home from work). Ordered the wrong size so had to go back to the shop. Item not in stock so have had to have it delivered and no time to collect from store now so I have also had to pay a delivery charge that I could have avoided .

Christmas ————————->. Hope your appointment goes ok.

Willow for your DD. I feel your pain with the dread of difficult family gatherings too.

Ta da:-
School run
Biscuits given to school
Small gift given to lollipop man who stands outside in all weathers - pleased I managed this as have forgotten even a card for him in previous years .
Got to vets. Cat has had blood taken and given some anti-sickness meds to settle her stomach and they want to see her on Monday. Vet thinks it is either nothing or hopefully a couple of treatable things so that is good. I love our vets so much. So I have to go back Monday afternoon, getting into rush hour and will have both kids. Aaaaaaggghh. Will worry about that later. Most important thing is she has been seen and we have a plan. Plus I can give them the biscuits and card I forgot to take today.

To do:-
I have 90 mins before I need to get going to a thing at DD2’s school. Going to have to run around and do what I can in the house and minimise the chaos. Was planning home bleugh but had to abandon that due to vets.

Everyone is doing very well!

Your poor DD Willow. Hope she isn’t feeling too upset.

Irritating on the shoe front Ive. Definitely not the time of year to be having to replace shoes.

I got the dreaded phone call to pick up at DD at 12. She’s still fine in herself but temp had shot up to above 39 so home for calpol and a quiet afternoon.

I’d completed a successful food shop first thing (so far nothing I’ve realised I’ve forgotten!), got it all put away in an organised fashion and the fridge is gleaming. Shifted most of the ironing just before nursery called and got lots of laundry put away while
DD played. She’s currently fighting sleep watching TV so I might well still get the bathroom floor done 🤞. Card delivery will have to be tomorrow and I’ll do a general clean on Sunday before I have family over in the afternoon. We have a very busy day at a winter wonderland and visit to Santa tomorrow so really hoping DD doesn’t take a dive and can enjoy it.

Glad it's not just me who hasn't followed through with missions Will look out for the clearing up ones though, thanks for the tip Toostressy! (Although can't quite get my head around clearing up when decorations aren't up yet!!) I hope your cat recovers in time for Christmas poor mite!

Wow Zoo those biscuit are amazing!! Thank you so much for the recipe. We might give them a go tomorrow (in tree shape as don't have stocking cutter!). I bet Lil 'Zoo was thrilled with them wasn't she; and her friends?! Love the cat wrapping! Amazing ta das as ever!

Those Aldi socks are really nice Zoo and tell dd2 she has really nice ankles . Hope you found some good ones in the end I've and that you have survived Christmas shop!

KTCluck I swear we have the same dh mine eats all the ingredients too! Hope your dd got through the day ok.

Oh that is really rotten of dd's so-called friends Willow - no wonder she is upset. I hope she is enjoying your family outing and that has distracted her from horrible people! The force of the fledglings will be with you on the 28th.

Hope your dd recovers soon Christmaschic and hope minor surgery went well!

Cherry waves to everyone else!

Woah! This is the first time I have sat and eaten or drunk anything since 8.30 am, however the effort has been worth it! Gone from "hopeless" to "slightly hopeful but still loads to do" in 8 hrs.

Ta da (to the sound of Christmas trumpets!):
dog walk
went to DIY shop to buy yet more curtain rail bits and bobs and screws and things (twice!)
went to bakery
emptied td
folded bed linen
washed lots of glasses by hands
emptied more boxes of china etc
filled old/new shabby furniture with glasses and china and table linen
carried six boxes of "stuff" up to roof
carried 6 boxes of decorations down!
[during this time cleaning lady scrubbed bathroom and kitchen to within an inch of their lives so can't take credit for that, she also hoovered entire staircase (very long job)]
carried [with help] chair from boudoir down to sitting room
carried [with help] chair from roof down to sitting room
delivered presents to doctors
assembled two lamps
emptied out handbag in to which a water bottle had spilled (there's me trying to be environmentally friendly and the cap doesn't fit properly or something; best leather gloves and purse drying on radiator but probably ruined!)
photocopied a load of papers
(with help) took down old nets and put up fresh ones and new bargain curtains
took down old ones and put up fresh linen net things in bathroom on tall wobbly ladder
rearranged furniture in tv room
took down a load of boxes from front hall to basement
2 x loads of laundry
collapsed table in corner and removed everything from on top
hoovered corner and wiped skirting boards
lined corner with red crepe paper
brought in tree from terrace and took all the netting off it

To do:
dust and polish piano
polish photo frames and put back on piano
sort tv room mantelpiece
supper? No idea! take away?
wrap present for chemist (he's very kind and drops things through our letter box on his way home)
hoovered, dusted and tidied up home office and reorganised wrapping station again
[with help] carried pressing machine downstairs
more wrapping (for people who are coming here and for dd and dh)
more card writing
should do some baking too but dead on my feet now!

Tomorrow: decorations!

Signing out for the evening! Mahoosive waves to one and all!

We will get there in the end!!!!!!!!

Oh dear those two lists got a bit mixed up but never mind! Also left out the nearly two hrs spent in shop of Internet/telly provider wrangling about new screen thing and new universal control.

x post sorry dd not so good KTCluck hope she is well enough for outing tomorrow!

Haven't had chance to read more than a couple plans went awry today.
Dh wanted me to do something but I was going to stay home and finish off decorating and clean the bathroom. Parcel arrived BF had sent flowers and lovely message.

She rang after I sent a message and said could I go into town with her as she felt a bit wobbly on her own so did that just back after we had a cup of tea at her house. She still isn't well DS1 has dropped two kids off one was asleep and other one should be.
I told DH he could do the bathroom.I need to show him how one day. Toilet lovely and clean.Basin ok missed around the taps. Shower screen looks like it might have been cleaned but no squeegie Shower trap not cleaned.Floor not done and mirror not done.Shelves not done but I didn't expect that. So small you literally couldn't swing a cat in it. still I suppose some effort is better than none.No decs up but kinda relieved about that. I have one hour then need to get ready and go out for meal with choir.Don't know what to wear as I have never been able to go before. Choir friend isn't in and wasn't the other day.Her DIL is very ill re kidneys. She has been here before at Christmas. Hope everything ok.

zoo they look great.Lakeland have Christmas Jumper cutters thinking sale and next year.

Toostressy our choir do it every year.We did a flash mob once that was good. Every member of staff thanked us and some joined in.I think it gave them a boost too and the chocolate of course.

Willow hmm. Milk
My DH said " it's crept up. He has been retired since October!

Bought Boots smellies for DS's x 3 now three more to wrap.Then that is it.Waiting for niece to reply as if she is going home will meet her in Edinburgh/Glasgow and get sisters then she can take them if she is going home. Otherwise flowers ordered tomorrow.Was going to send vouchers but BF son said ALL their cards had been opened! Local news someone stolen a lights charity box. Bloody hell how low.

Yeah two posts on Mac.

Today is apparently Frantic Friday. Sounds about right!

That does sound frantic, Bower and stressy and shambly. But so much done!

Family outing a roaring success, DD has cheered up no end and DS2 has bought lovely gifts for his not-girlfriend and her parents. Film was fun and we are all too full from lunch to need more than cheese and crackers for tea! I did the dog walk this morning so I'm let off this evening and I'm looking forward to a bit more needlepoint. Christmas is as Christmas does from hereon!

frantic friday everyday frantic here at mo!!
SC great list
Stressy poor puss.hope the vet can fix it easily cheaply cats are a worry,esp as they try to hide illness so as not to appear weak to predetors...

Hope poorly bunnies perk up
Lots gleaming fridges it seems on here

I hit town and got few bits,plus retail parks.
Also got weird bathroom light bulb on my travels
Drop dd2 and friend at town
Eat a sandwich
Sort some shopping bought away
Pick up dd2
Another 2hrs wrapping.my hands are literally cracked and bleeding.i get contact dermititis.theres hot to be something in wrap paper/cardboard boxes/sellotape they don't like
On plus I've broken back of wrapping.whoo hoo- earliest since I only had two as was due ds(that year by 1st Dec all presents were done and dusted,wrapped and Xmas food shop list written.never been as organised since)
Friends gifts just need a bottle plonk,her girls done
My lot almost done
Tub choc for the window cleaner is at the ready
Other small gifts have been deposited at recipients on travels today!
I sat on my bed and hollored for DH to come as I'd lob boxes and empty paper tubes to door and got trapped.he tore up into small bits for recycling and think he felt quite manly shred thru boxes

Oh my goodness. Back with proper post later but just had horrible drive into city centre. Hate driving in city centres and normally avoid it but girls got a last minute Christmas invite. Didn’t want them to miss it and not enough time to bus. Was horrible, couldn’t find car park but by some miracle found a side street then we had to RUN using Google maps to where we needed to go.

Made it 10 minutes late which frankly was a minor Christmas miracle. So now my Friday feels properly frantic. Back home now and going to eat some food!

Oh zoo your poor hands. Sounds very painful.

Glad you had a lovely day Willow .

Slightly feeble wing flaps to everyone else.