Flapping calmly through lockdown: Fledglings April 2020. Welcome to the Keep Calm Corner!

[LaneBoy]

Hello all!

Thank you for joining us, please note if we seem cliquey it’s only because it’s a long running thread - everyone really is welcome!

Welcome to (probably) the most bizarre Flylady thread yet... in which we are attempting to impose/maintain some kind of order in our homes, while also many of us are adjusting to working from home and homeschooling the kids for the first time too! Not to mention the anxiety around health and accessing food!

Of course, normally the opening post would talk about banishing CHAOS - Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome - but now we aren’t allowed anyone over anyway :o so, let’s just try and make our homes nicer FOR US. We are spending more time than ever in them, so let’s make them really wonderful places to be, our own safe little nests for our families.

Flylady routines might just help us get through this crazy time, by giving us a little structure to work from when all else is unpredictable - but as usual there is no right or wrong here. All of us follow it only to the extent it helps us - we can take ideas and make them work for us. And the key principle is, YOU ARE NEVER BEHIND. I feel like that is even more evident now, with so many of these outside pressures and commitments suddenly gone, and frankly the days rolling into one!

This is potentially a great time to declutter. Of course, Flylady suggests 15 minutes a day - but perhaps in these unprecedented times we will all do more! But we are all busy getting into our own routines now that school is out, and work too for many, and we’ve lost a lot of the outside structure to our lives. There’s no right or wrong here, we just have to try and adapt.

Links wise, I’ll just post the launch pad, and will add reminders about zones too. If anyone has Flying questions, please ask!

The Keep Calm Corner
The lovely SC came up with the brilliant idea of the Keep Calm Corner last month - this is a daily post with things to make us happy! I figured each monthly host can make this their own, and I’m a little worried my taste in art and music would not be calming to most :o so for this month, the KCC will consist of:
Some memes - either funny (we all need a laugh! Warning though - some will likely be unsavoury :o) or thought provoking/relaxation based. Do PM me (here or FB) if you have any you want to add!
A daily “ice breaker” type question - obviously answering these is entirely optional, and don’t say anything that will out you, but if you want to join in and create some extra conversations on the thread then treatment, we can all get to know each other better! Again, if you think of any questions please PM!

Thank you for settling in, and of course thank you to SC for making March such a lovely thread. And lastly, a huge thank you also to our key worker Fledglings, who are doing an incredible job of keeping things running!

Lisette

I'll settle for one of these

give me i have two boys with similar gap although mine are older now (10+12) they tend to alternate between best mates and worst enemies

You’ve been on fire todaywillow!

ta da
✅went out on family exercise for the first time (DD stayed home) as I felt well enough to! Yay!

Now have a toddler screaming and thrashing, it was clearly too late in the afternoon as she’s tired, but she didn’t go out yesterday and I felt way too guilty to keep her in another day. In fact she’s now dozed off, but it’s probably too early for her to sleep through. 🤦‍♀️

I think we will have to have a set time for the walk in the morning TBH and I’ve said to DD1 that we will all probably go.

Problem is most of it is at toddler pace so it’s not exactly proper exercise either. 🤔

will be opened shortly in this house. Doing bathtime with DD right now, then it will be my turn to put her to bed and then it will be wine time.
So glad that the cat has improved bower!
Ta-da:
✅ Cleaned windows and mirrors in the dining room
✅ made lunch
✅ lol
✅ planted more seeds
✅ took a grumpy and overtired DD for a bike ride in the park
✅ made tea

Ta-didnt
⚠️ clean out handbag- nevermind, it's not an urgent job right now

My film plans have changed for this evening. Going to do a virtual pub quiz with some friends instead! That's a new one for me but the quiz is Disney theme, so I'm looking forward to it!

give me gorgeous pic your boys❤️
That dd2 and ds15 months apart,then 18 months to lil zoo.when little were same,best mates/worst enemies.the girls are mainly enemies now,with odd few minutes they thick as thieves.ds misses how close he was to lil zoo they were like twins until puberty hit😢

Willow hurrah for unpacking,showering teens,ice-cream making and surviving shopping!
Foxes/Lisette if I drank think I'd be in a permanent stupor.but that's just me....hope you enjoy a nice glass of something tonight!

Lane I've a few,but not full shelf of shame
I read second,if there's a third Rosie book is love read it!
Bower How annoying.id be tempted eat all cake myself but I'm a greedy wench for cake what type you making?(nosey)
Chic thanks for links,will look when I get a mo

Hope I got everyone there,big waves anyone I missed or who lurking!!I fell asleep as film was boring.woke up dribbling on sofaD's had scarpered to PS,lil zoo as on laptop editing,dd2 still on phone
We have try looking birthday gifts.shes cross loads lovely tops she likes but a lot fitted/off shoulder I spent lot time saying if not great fit won't look nice and now she's discouraged and not talking to me

Dd1 text me she might be head back to work monday.loads cases in her building,I'm frankly terrified...she needs try contact doc first thing but as they aren't concerned (think a case bigger problems than should I be at work questions tbh)she feels she's letting team down.her peak flow still only 3/4 usual and steroids run out soon...

Kids want cereal.i have milk til tom/Sunday and plenty cereal so relented as really CBA tonight.i may regret this decision when I need brave a local not great at self distancing shop for more milk!

Have a great evening everyone!

lane a weathers due to be lovely ice issued decree that walks be super early as expecting local nature reserve/parks to be busy
Could you take in turns walk cagletini and others walk faster for a bit then walk back to her?or kids run off to X tree in front and back races style?

😆 Not in the summerhouse Bower - it's the schoolhouse!! Anyway got him through home schooling and he's on Easter break now.

I like the idea of breaking off actually, thanks! We were wondering last week about swapping so DS/DD1 take turns. But actually I think the walk is maybe one time we can really just enjoy being together (so many distractions at home) so I’d rather we all went. Maybe mid morning so they can get some work done first and it breaks the day up a little (our park hasn’t been busy although you’re right it may be when it’s warmer!). Definitely not after lunch as I have a feeling we would end up tired/lethargic and not bother. Maybe we could then take turns to do extra laps round the lake or whole park while the other stays with the toddler feeding the ducks. 🤔

Hopefully we can get into some kind of routine with that in the next two weeks and then DD1 can fit her schoolwork into it (it’s not set times - the teachers set the work on the timetabled days but there’s nothing “live”)

Really need to get on with making the routine board for the toddler too. Glad I hadn’t before as the nursery/playgroup pictures would now be defunct 😭

On second thoughts I have said to DH we should do the walk really early on Sunday in case the good weather drives everyone out!

Zoo St. Clements cake same as Victoria sponge found more sugar afterwards so could have made it deeper. We’ve had ‘healthy’ cake up until now. I made buttercream for middle and water ice with juice on top so should be nice and tangy. I don’t have the little orange and lemon pieces that was in mums recipe book.

DH is quite that will do me. I can never understand why people want to knock down all the wall in houses( although they build them like that in Australia mum’s last house was like that) as we love each other but it meant that everyone could be together or not but within talking distance because it isn’t a big house.

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷have a glass on me. I have had a glass with meal. I made cod wrapped in bacon, fried off left over potatoes, mushrooms and a few spears of asparagus DH thought it was delicious. Later we will have a cup of tea and a slice of cake. Puss didn’t want the little bit of cod from DH’s piece. His piece was bigger.
🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇 to all the kids on Easter hols. Ours started last Friday.

DD sent a present from Etsy for my birthday.

Zoo has she ever looked at Joe Browns might not be her taste but DD likes quirky things and sometimes found something there.

bower she knows budgets about £100 and wants few bits of Amazon,leaving £50 so trying pick cheapish things(normally goes Primark for birthday things)

She's seen few bits loves on shein/pretty little thing but company reviews are quite mixed do I'm hesitant incase sizing/quality is really crap....

How about boohoo or lasula zoo i have had bits from both of those and they were ok

I'm reading a book about the first 100 years of the mafia. It's one of DH but it was to hand when I finished the last book I was reading so to save my lazy arse going downstairs to get one of my own I started it. It's not really my cup of tea but if I start a book I'll finish it.

Your* DC are the cutest give*. My eldest 2 are 13 months apart. As thick as thieves sometimes and tearing shreds off each other at others 🙄. We're going to put our tent up in the garden over the holidays.

Wrote a little holiday planner out with the DC today. We're going to kick off tomorrow with a movie and munchies day. Pretty much what we did last Saturday except we had no food then 😂

Cineraria for the toastie machine cake i just made a plain sponge mix (1 egg, same amount of sugar, SF flour and butter) thinned it a little with a splash of milk. Sprayed the machine with oil then put a bit of the mix in them a dollop of Nutella then a bit more mix. Took about 5 mins to cook I'd say maybe longer.

Well done on the ta-da's hazel, willow and zoo. That was a very early start this morning zoo 😴

Well done on submitting your essay that. I'm getting no studying done whatsoever at the moment but we've just heard today that we actually may not have to do our final units and we'll just be given predicted grades.

Love that email meme lane. Hope you got wellies sorted.

Hope Dcat continues to improve bower.
*
Kt* I might look up that book. I am also shouty mam occasionally most of the time. I desperately need to do something with my eyebrows but I'm terrible at plucking them. I usually get them threaded but obviously can't at the moment so I'm thinking about getting some hair removal cream. My skin isn't brilliant with hair removing cream though 🤔

God luck with the quiz fluffiest. If it's the one I'm thinking of I've been doing his weekly ones but definitely plan to go in and do the special ones. I think he's already done a GOT one and Disney and he's planning on doing marvel and Harry Potter. They are all my favourite subjects so I might actually do ok on them.

Now I've written all that I can't actually think what I've achieved today but it wasn't much anyway 🤣

👋 to lisette, SC, expletive, chic, foxes stressy and strawberry if you're still here 👋👋

Seem to have switched my bold bits around somehow 🙄

zoo, Cineraria, embroidery pictures attached! It's only cross stitch, but I'm really pleased with it.

As to books - for Improvement, I'm reading The House In The Country by Nan Fairbrother, which is lightly disguised "faction" (I think) about a family trying to build their own house in the interwar period. I'm reading it by mistake - I intended to read A House In the Country by Jocelyn Playfair, which is a WW2 memoir. Oops. It's quite amusing and well observed, though.

For Amusement, I'm reading Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. I first read it as a student 25 years ago - it's Sci Fi set mid-21st century and is, rather unfortunately, about a plague pandemic in the 2050 world and a parallel storyline about time travelling historians and the Black Death. I've loved it for years, though, so I decided I can deal with it!

Fair few of us with a small age gap between dc! Mine are 16 months apart!

we3 i keep getting emails from open uni about end of module assessments but each one basically says they dont know what is going on yet so carry on as normal

That, my first 3 are 20 months apart each time... then 5.5 years to DC4! 😂

Ugh. My legs hurt. FFS.

2y2m between DD1 and DS. Then another 8y2m before DD2 :o

We have 16 months and then roughly 3 years between the others

Golly, I can hardly keep up, this thread is the gift that keeps on giving .

Books - the last one I finished was Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce, which was a real page turner but the characters weren't very likeable. I'm struggling to read at the moment, there are about half a dozen books I've started and stopped again so I am re-reading Bill Bryson's Notes from a Big Country which is funny and easy to dip in and out of.

My DCs are 23 months apart, 16 and 14. They seem to be rubbing along well at the moment, a few cross words here and there but pretty chilled. They got the hama beads out today to make rainbows for the windows.

Tada!
Ordered food from farm shop for DH to go and pick up - we now have flout again, but still not luck with yeast.
Online yoga in kitchen - realised how grotty the big appliances and kickboards were when lying on the floor.
Cleaned the above plus bin
Cleaned all door handles, knobs and lightswitches with zoflora
Lunch while watching Doctors
Zoom coffee with friends
Checked delivery tracking for PIP form being delivered
Work emails
Lots of Whatsapp chat with other yr11 parents about new GCSE announcement
Went to allotment, met a couple of friends up there and nattered (2m+), plus another on the way home, this exercise can be quite sociable if I time it right.
Unpacked, washed and put away farm shop stuff
Dinner - bacon, egg and mushrooms with sourdough toast. Think I might make sourdough starter in absence of yeast.
Crochet and watch Masterchef with DS, then Gogglebox also with DS, this is one of the current highlights of our week

2 yrs 8 mths between first two then 5yrs 2 mths between 2&3. Between 3&4 there was 5 yrs and 10 mths.

Lovely work Willow. You might like Embroiders Guild group. I went for nearly a year. There were lots of workshops usually one each month. They did some really wacky things sometimes not at all what you would expect. I’ll go again when I retire. I went because we were doing embroidery on our felts and a lot of them were good at it and didn’t need teaching. I did go back to a Readers Digest book from about forty years ago which had lots of sewing things in it. I taught myself quite a few stitches from it. You can often find them in charity shops. I find it very relaxing. I might get some out again. I would like to make some as covers for lined books.
Ta Das today
Made bed
S&S
Vacuumed downstairs
LOL
Took cat to vet
Cleaned some of the car out while there and wished I had take book or Dyson.
Made a cake
Made tea
Washed up

Oh yes and relaxation techniques. In yoga I have been taught "box breathing" - you imagine you are drawing a square. Breathe in through the nose for 3, hold for 3, exhale through the mouth for 3, hold for 3. Yes to the in breath activating the fight or flight mechanism (sympathetic nervous system) and the out breath activating the rest and digest (parasympathetic system).

The senses thing never works for me as I get muddled up how many things was I suppose to hear, I can't taste anything etc. One that does work is picking a colour (I usually choose blue as it is my favourite) and counting how many blue things I can see around me. Or how many rectangles or circles or similar.