Fledglings assemble for the nurturing November thread!

[foxessocks]

Thank you to EerilyDeleted for being an excellent leader on the October thread! Time to put your feet up for a well earned rest now!

This is my first time running the thread so sorry if the links below don't work I'm learning as I go!! If they don't I'll come back and try again

If you are struggling with C.H.A.O.S. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) and S.T.U.F.F. (Something That Undermines Family Fun) then this is the thread where we (loosely) follow the step-by-step Flylady housekeeping system (in our own, unique, relaxed style) with lots of support and chatter along the way.

The FlyLady link is here Don't be put off by the twee language of the site – we all agree that the underlying system is very effective.

This little-and-often system is designed so that you can follow a series of steps and routines each day (which gradually become second nature) in zones of the house which are designated weekly; defining and minimising housework - which in theory should leave you with loads more time to do something more interesting instead.

At the same time it is intended to reduce that panicky "rabbit in headlights" feeling when you are overwhelmed and everything needs doing all at once. No problem if you miss a day or two; just jump right back in and it will all come around again next month.

It's up to you, but we advise not signing up to receive the Flylady e-mails as you will be swamped with marketing nonsense. All the information you need will be linked here on a daily basis.

From the first of the month, we will be following Flylady's steps and routines using a three-pronged approach (dependent on the stage everyone is at):

• start or repeat baby steps
• repeat baby steps + do 15 minutes a day decluttering in the current zone
• reinforce baby steps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering.
• And if you are really enthusiastic and have finished decluttering - you can go on to detailed deep cleaning in each zone.

There are three key points to keep in mind throughout:

• No perfectionism allowed - this is harder than you would imagine and many of us on this thread struggle with this one.
• You are never behind - just start where you are and anything you do is progress.
• It didn't get into a mess overnight, it won't get tidy over night - accept it will take time to get on top of things and you will be happier.

If you are new; then trying to spend 15mins decluttering daily and doing the baby steps is a good way to start. Some of us (mentioning no names) can have scary looking ‘ta-da’ lists but don't let that worry you. Do what you can, anything is better than nothing, and don't judge yourself against others.

If all else fails, a brew + the power of three technique + a bit of support on here can work wonders.

Here's the launchpad for more experienced fledglings Launchpad.

Don’t let it put you off if we appear a bit cliquey, we really aren’t. Some of us have been on here for years – but all lurkers, intermittent returnees, oldies and newcomers very, very welcome.

SingToTheSky put together a glossary of the many weird and might-seem-a-bit-cliquey terms. We have been going a long time but we always love newbies - hopefully this list will help you settle in.

KCC - the Keep Calm Corner, invented by our lovely Fledgling SC back in March, where the OP posts nice diverting links, memes, questions etc to distract us from the pandemic.

Ta Da - instead of a to do list (which is of course welcome too) we often post our achievements, with accompanying jazz hands, in order to celebrate the positives, however small they seem! Sometimes if we want to share an embarrassed giggle/commiserations we also post a ta didn’t - the stuff we didn’t get done!

BRC - Bag/Box of Random Crap. These are usually formed when we are panic tidying and shove anything in “to sort later” which is also known as a stash and dash .

Power of Three or PO3 - the idea that if you’re feeling really unmotivated/overwhelmed by your to do list, you just choose three things to do, and then post when you’ve done them.

DLMS - didn’t lose my shit - in other words, somehow stayed relatively calm despite a stressful day!

SS/S&S - Swish and Swipe - this is one of the key parts of the morning routine, a quick once over of the bathroom.

Home Bleugh - Flylady's Home Blessing routine

And a few basics:
LOL - load of laundry
WM - washing machine
TD - tumble dryer
DW - dishwasher
HSL - hallway, stairs, landing

And finally "The Naughty Corner" - this is for Fledglings who perhaps didn't get done what they had planned for the day but are in need of a comfy seat, pile of cushions, tasty snacks, stiff drink and friends to chat to

Chilli and pumpkin mousse sound so good hazel
All this talk of Xmas cakes reminds me of happy memory of my mum- it was my job to quarter the glace cherries and roll in some of the flour.i was too smallscrawny to be much use trying to stir the cake once flour and fruit were added,but I do remember everyone got fingers in the bowl for a lock of cake mix once in the tin and the smell of it baking.im not a rich fruit cake lover.my dad hated marzipan and icing,so we "shared" a slice or two over xmas

Lovely Christmas memories Zoo. That’s the sort of thing I’m hoping for DD. We had lovely Christmases growing up, but my poor DM was certainly not a baker (she’s more from the ‘pierce film lid and heat for 3 mins’ school of cooking bless her, although she could nail a Sunday lunch).

I’ll have a look at the Delia one too thanks Bower if that’s an easy one. I’ll miss nuts out too I think, not a massive fan of nutty cake. Your village sounds a lovely friendly place. Everyone knows everyone in our town too, but we don’t stop to chat as much.

Wish I could pop over to yours Hazel, sounds like I’d be well fed

Mc a power of 3 is a big achievement in the cluster feeding days. Once DH went back to work I was winning at life if I managed to eat, do an LOL and set the DW off bonus points if I’d managed to go to the loo and didn’t have to chuck baby at DH on his return and run

DD woke as DH left again so had me up at 6 and we are currently “enjoying” Prime’s ‘Non-stop Halloween Songs’. Will need to acquire coffee very soon I think.

Morning!

Quick links for today - I went to bed really early last night because I was so tired , just caught up on all your posts. There are some great lists!

flight plan
It is renew your spirit day and no mission because it's the weekend
New zone for the week ahead is the kitchen

I managed quite a lot yesterday and the house is definitely looking better, kids rooms are tidy, bathroom cleaned, our bedroom is a bit better. We did a zoom call with family and I ordered a friend's baby a present.

Up hope that your dh doesn't have to work quite so late today? Those Halloween songs don't sound fun at that hour!

Zoo sorry about your walk having to be cut short ☹️

Hills loving your Xmas cake suggestions
I never do a Xmas cake because MIL always bakes one for us so I don't have to! She makes beautiful cakes. I like baking but I really don't do icing!

Hazel pumpkin cheesecake mousse sounds really good!

MC you're doing great, you don't want to overdo it , it's exhausting!

Bower enjoy your baking day, I always bake on Sundays too, find it very relaxing!

I'm going to make another batch of root vegetable soup today. And I think a lemon and lime cake.

Another KCC recipe
This is the soup I made, I like it because you can use whatever root veg you have, I made one with squash, beetroot and swede last week which was really nice although obviously an alarming shade of red! Today's will probably be parsnip, swede and potato or carrot.
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/root_vegetable_soup_14910
I added chilli flakes at the end to give it a kick (once the dc had tried it and decided they didn't like it!)

What are your favourite soups please (both home made or tinned because always handy to have some in the cupboard!)? Also what are your children's favourite soups because I can't get my two to enjoy any soup really, they just dip the bread in and eat that. I thought all kids like Heinz tomato soup!!
But tbh I haven't tried them with any soup (apart from the above) for ages so maybe it's time to revisit some!

Good morning.

I randomly woke up at 6am and having been taking a gentle morning. Currently arguing with the printer which microsoft over wrote the original printer drivers and now refuses to talk properly with the thing. Printer works fine. Microsoft however is an arse that doesn't like back compatibility and is helping to drive the need to replace perfectly good things with newer things

I can't scroll back atm due to any changes in hand positioning means the printer terminates printing, so forgive the lack of personals. I will try to remember to come back to it later.

Soup wise - chicken noodle soup (i have a sorta recipe for this if needed- it is crock pot soup), and the instant packages of pumpkin soup from Asda's Caribbean section. Teen is not a big soup eater, it's a texture thing combined with the fact that 90% of soups have milk in them.

Right need to focus on what needs to be done today...

Laundry
more folding
more sock pile doom sorting
fold and distribute the old towels (we have several spots they are stored in for quick grab something moments, also where most likely needed)
make sure there is toilet roll in the bathrooms
paperwork filing
wash up crockpot and get stew on to cook
assemble components for bujo that were missing and see what else want for next years.
Also sort through seed planting schedule - I want a clyde's garden planner at some point.
Create to do list for week
Oh nearly forgot - rescue kitchen...

Another night of broken sleep. I don’t know what is going on. Sorry some have had early mornings.

Hazel pumpkin mouse cheesecake sounds interesting.

Zoo lovely memories. I can remember getting that job too.
Up yes I found it easy. Soak the fruit then get flour &spices sieved and mix butter and sugar. I left the butter out for a couple of hours so it was soft and it creamed in no time. I do have a Kenwood now to do the beating. It didn’t curdle at all. I might make that recipe again for DS1 as I had forgotten the crystallised pineapple for the other recipe. I do have tinned. I have never tried it with tinned.it might not keep. Plan b he can have Delia’s and be grateful. I have seen any marzipan in the shops. Mind you I have only been in two shops.

Soup. Mine always loved Heinz tomato soup with snippets of toast. I can’t stand their minestrone.
I like Baxter’s for tinned soup. Love the broths. I try to have some in the cupboard for days I feel off.

Homemade: I think my favourite is Jewish Chicken Soup. My aunt used to make something similar mmmmm. I think I might make it this week now you have given me the idea. The recipe I use is from the Covent Garden book of soups. I bought one book , given one and found a third in the charity shop. I still haven’t made them all. The other one in there is Tomato and Basil. My kids loved it. I only made it when tomatoes were cheap. I also used to make Minestrone it might have been dad’s recipe as I have hand written it in a cookbook I made.

Being Scottish my dad and aunt made wonderful soups. Oh another Cullen Skink which I can’t have now because of the milk. My aunt made a fabulous one. Dad’s cook in the pub was fantastic at making soup and we often had this on the menu. We sold two huge pans of soup nearly every day in autumn and winter. We weren’t that busy but any tradesmen working in the village used to pop in for lunch and have a bowl of Mary’s soup/ broth. Dad and Mary had been friends whenever he went on holiday there as a boy and she told us tales of their adventures. One was about sailing an old tin bath across the bay and having a picnic the other side. I think they were about 8 & 10.😂

up my dad always laughed and said mum couldn't boil water when they married.her first attempt to cook was a burnt chop,crunchy mash and hard peas.she cried and dad are it anyways saying was lovely(so the story went)❤️she occasionally made cakes with greens cake mix,and could do pastry ok,so made gorgeous sausagemeat pit and jam tart in a Vic sandwich tin with eval milk after lunch on Sunday(only day we had puds) or lemon meringue pie from a packet.ah,happy days!

Kcc only D's will eat tinned soup -has to be Heinz veg,pref big soup.NO ONE in zoo house eats tomato soup of any kind we all despise it(backs away carefully)
Zoolets happy combos-
Quick Pea and watercress(2big handfuls peas just covered in water.add stock powder and little onion powder.boil for couple of mins.add small handful watercress.stir off heat to wilt and blitz til smooth.add more water to thin if nec(peas sweeten and thicken it so petit POIs are a good choice rather than cheapo ones that can be a bit "mealy")- I started off with spinach and slowly sub in the watercress as D's not a peppery flavour fan initially)

Rooty soupy-large handful each of chop carrot,sweet potato,swede or squash,parsnip and peppers.tsp cumin,little garlic or onion.blend and top croutons and toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Carrot n corn- carrots,onion,sweetcorn,sage and stock.blend.serve top grated cheese/mini bits cheese on toast/toasted cheese sandwiches cut into fingers

Pink soup-
Equal amounts roasted carrots and Beet's with bit roasted red onion and thyme.blitzed with stock and top dollop thick(soy/coconut) yogurt(and chopped hazelnuts if feeling fancy/not to everyone's taste)

Shrek soup
Parsnip,bit potato,white beans and spinach with onion or garlic and stir in spinach to wilt at the end before blending(they not chunky soup lovers)

And my favourite is squash and sweet potato soup with fennel.a "you are what you eat"recipe but nevertheless delicious!

Tada
Pop local shops bread n milk
Blitz D's room/under his bed(he helps but is not able decide where to start/what to do and if I don't sit in and help he's back n forth asking what next as can only do one sentence at a time.....)
Enter girls room n ask where floor was,why curtains pulled(both in headphones faffing on laptops) no answers so threw bag for rubbish and recycling in there and left them to it.if don't get cleared up be trouble as black bin day tom and no point half filling bin on Monday,once emptied,I Will Be Spitting Fire...

Time to make lunch-
Diced roasted potatoes with thyme,carrots with cumin,chickpeas with salt and pepper and maybe touch smoked paprika,courgettes with garlic,croutons and toasted sunflower seeds

Busy days for you two Woolly and Hills. Hope it all goes to plan. Printers are so frustrating.

DH should be home mid afternoon Foxes. I’m
glad, it doesn’t feel like a weekend at all without him here.

Soup. DD is obsessed with Heinz tomato, and will eat homemade but prefers it to be smooth. Any other tinned soup is turned down for not being tomato.

My go-to easy soup is red lentils or yellow split peas and veg stock, with leek, potato and carrot (grated and chunks) and then whatever else we have in. Swede or sweet potato have both worked well. My favourite is celery and Stilton - which is odd because I don’t like either very much normally. The soup is gorgeous though. I’m inspired to make it again soon. The easiest one that DD will eat is frozen peas, softened onion, mint and stock in the slow cooker overnight then blitzed in the morning. I’ve added ham to it before too.

Ta Das:
🐦 beds made
🐦 DW set off
🐦 LOL in
🐦 more clean laundry carted upstairs
🐦 supermarket - got Christmas cake ingredients. I am now committed.
🐦 usual Sunday family phonecalls
🐦 ordered DH’s Christmas present
🐦 decluttered a pile of DD’s various craft projects from home and nursery. Binned the scribbles and I’m going to photograph the better stuff and include them in our next photobook.

Now cake and tea in the name of spirit renewal.

I will definitely have to try some of these soup ideas. Forgot to say, the pea soup gets a dollop of cream stirred in at the end if I have any in. I think my DM has actually got worse rather than better Zoo. She fed us quite well (although did use jars for bolognese, curry etc) but now we’ve all flown the nest her and my stepdad live on m&s convenience stuff. She says she’s never ever made a successful cake

Bower Morrison’s had marzipan in. Sorry you aren’t sleeping

Hello could I join you ladies? I went back to work after maternity leave last week. I’m struggling to keep up with work, a baby and housework

Welcome Isabelle of course you can join us! Take it easy, start with the baby steps and add a little at a time. You'll soon be in a routine and it's easier to manage. How old is your little one?

KCC
I grew up on Heinz tomato soup. Nowadays I make my own (it's not the same in the US so I'm not so keen). I serve it with toasted cheese sandwiches, the way I grew up eating the soup. My DS likes it okay, mostly eats the sandwich. DD doesn't like it, says is the texture. We all love cheddar broccoli soup. If DD isn't having any I'll use some chicken stock in it, but usually she does so I just use cream to thin it out. We all like butternut squash soup, other than DH, but without an immersion blender I wasn't able to blend it completely smooth and he didn't like the texture.

My pumpkin cheesecake mousse didn't turn out as good as usual - I added too much cream 😭 plus I used my stand mixer instead of my hand mixer so some cream cheese stayed at the bottom. Grrrr. It will still get eaten, although thinking I might try to fix it by adding more cream cheese and pumpkin.

No plan yet for today. Although it seems I need to put a grocery pick up order in for later today. My gel isn't lasting as long this time either on my nails so may need to redo them. sigh 😕 I'm in the mood for a Christmas movie, we woke up to a light dusting of snow. But DH says it's too early and before Thanksgiving. I just need to have him distracted so I can take over the TV 😆 🤣

glittery I hope your FILs house isn't as bad as it has been, although I feel that might be wishful thinking. Hopefully you can fit some relaxing in today as well (what's left of the day over there).

Don't you just love technology hills? 😆 don't blink either or the printer might explode!
bower sorry to hear about lack of a decent night's sleep. It can really take its toll.
zoo my mum didn't really know how to cook either, my dad taught her. He was a very good cook, I loved his Yorkshire puddings and golden syrup tart. My mum did learn from him though and is also a very good cook. Baking runs through her blood, with her uncle owning a bakery, and was found in the kitchen with the mixer running when he died.
up I do like to make sure everyone gets fed well, so yes, you would be taken care of!

Sorry I missed your update glittery that must be really hard for you and your DH to see your FIL live in such a state. Try not to overdo it. I do know how you feel about too much caffeine, I have done that too and it really doesn't feel the best.

Welcome isabelle! The more the merrier

Just a quick one from me tonight as I'm feeling a bit frazzled this evening! Quick links and hopefully I'll catch up properly tomorrow. Sorry!

Flight plan

ta da so far
🤯brain training apps
🤯weighed in, self care stuff
🤯home ed planning
🤯5 min tidy in hallway
🤯5 min sorting more Tupperware (then found some more tubs which I’ve paired up)
🤯sorted presents with DH
🤯a few online orders of needed things
🤯got Caglets doing laundry
🤯took Cagletini to the park for a walk
🤯bujo stuff

Sorry that didn't work
flight plan

Sorry it's being really weird!!

Anyway, also, Monday is home bleugh (for anyone new that's the weekly home blessing hour where we do things like hoovering, mopping, follow the link for the full list! We call it home bleugh because that's how we feel about it! A lot of us split it up over the week)

Tomorrow's mission is to clear out under your sink!

what a day lovely!for yr6 that's huge amount homework imo
so sorry things are becoming so hard with FIL.
Hills I REPEL all forms of tech...
Hazelsyrup tart😋😋😋😋😋
Sing I hope I'm not only one with way more lids than tubs of n plastic pots?!
Isobel welcome aboard!

Welcomeisabelle!
Woolly that sounds like a tough day 😖💐

We are soon ordering Nando’s for us two, since we can’t go anywhere to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary 💜

So the teen has just chosen to fail GCSE art rather then do the work. It has been a day.

ta da
Laundry - one black load, one white load, one mask wash and one wool handwash
Convinced printer to print half the stuff needed
started the prep for the 2021 bujo and finish Nov spreads up.

I am waiting for teen to get out of the bath so i can paint his nails and then i am crashing. Sleep is needed. Night

Hello, thank you so much for your welcomes, I was a bit nervous about joining such a long running thread but you’ve made me feel really at ease.

glittery yes I might start with the 31 baby steps, do I just do one a day and nothing else or do some of the other flying? Sorry if that sounds silly.

Hi hazel I think you just answered my question to glittery lol!. My little one will be 8 months old on the 10th, so he’s still only tiny.

Evening all,

Sorry, not kept up with the chat. Welcome on board Isabelle are you working full time?

Look! Remember last week I painted my nails on Sun eve and predicted they would only last a couple of days. Here they are a week later, no chips! I have just stuck on a fresh layer of topcoat to make them shine again.

Soup - I like Heinz tomato (with toast and Dairylea), no one else here likes it though, the DCs won't touch it. DH likes Oxtail, DD likes Baxters Minestrone, DS doesn't like any tinned soup at all. We aren't big soup eaters TBH.

Homemade - I like broccoli and stilton, leek and potato, Thai curry flavoured soups (DS likes these too but DD doesn't), French onion (no one else likes this), Minestrone (we all like this), carrot or squash and coriander or cumin etc. DD makes herself "pasta soup" - a veg stock with dried pulses and tiny pasta shapes.

Hi ED I work 9-3 Monday and Friday term time at a nursery. DS is at my nursery (but I work in a different room to the one he is in).