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

Ah foxes i see you already sorted that out. Apparently i need new glass or just more sleep and less coffee

ta da continued
👽boxing workout
👽read to DS
👽filled in ILP form and emailed back to tutor
👽5min tidying of phone shelf/mask basket
👽updated bujo

Family walk is looking less and less likely Hills. Rain is threatening and no one really wants to go. It’s the thought that counts though right? We also have a cross trainer but it is regularly inaccessible due to DH’s use of the garage to store bits for his side line.

Have been nowhere near as productive as I’d like. DH is very much in ‘its my day off and I want to laze around getting in up’s way’ mode . Ta Das so far:
✔️ Laundry hung up and another load in
✔️ DW emptied again and restacked
✔️ DD dressed
✔️ supermarket trip with DD so she could choose a toy for the local Christmas gift appeal. Nearly went badly wrong when she did not want to part with it but she reluctantly dropped it in the trolley
✔️ fridge cleaned and shopping in it while DH did the ladder and freezer stuff
✔️ spent an hour with a toothbrush and Pink Stuff on the grout on the bathroom floor. It appears to work but I’ve only done around an 8th of the floor . Bathroom is tiny but there is so much grout.
✔️ boiled eggs for lunch.

DH has gone for an afternoon nap and I’ve agreed to a game of pairs with DD when I’ve finished my tea.

Then he’s under strict instructions to help me tidy up and then keep DD occupied while I do the home bleurgh.

Zoo your list has motivated me again.

Thanks for the cake Foxes. Hope it eases that Monday feeling.

Waves to That

Oh sorry the weather is spoiling your walk Up

also ta da
burry bed in paper work
be realistic about the half finished craft projects I pulled out so in sight, in mind - put half of them away again.
Get distracted by a pair of socks and spend half hour on them
Have a mild panic over how much needs to get done
shape bread and start the cooking process - no proper over so it is one in, one out

Collected lil zoo from school
Fed everyone
More wash out,fold n put away,more in drier,More in machine

Plan for rest day

Hot shower attempting to ease joint pain
Lay quietly in my fluffy Sherpa blankie on bed with recipes/menu plan inspo

Poss do another load or two if laundry

Feed everyone later

That's probably about it!
(Ready for bed now.yawns)

Could quite easily sleep here too zoo 😴😳 unfortunately so could Cagletini, I have a feeling she’s not going to make it through the afternoon without a late nap.

ta da again
👽made a chart of all the questions in my course so I can track progress/have a visual reminder for motivation
👽rest of today’s home ed
👽5 min tidies in bathroom, landing and bedroom while playing with/fielding tantrums from Cagletini
👽aired house

I had a "danger nap"(315 til near 4 as D's forgot to wake me and he was trusted to time it)
Discovered dd2 was asleep too.oh dear.hope she sleeps later.shes now freaking out something wrong with her as never sleeps in the day.i said you are tired that's what was wrong.if looks could kill if now be in the morgue...

And teens can certainly give the looks.
I put my iPad alarm on.

Haven’t caught up yet.

Ta da
Basin, toilet, shower and screen cleaned.
Washing up done. Inside out sandwiches for lunch. Cheese and pickle for DH
Feta tomato and pickle for me.
DH and I moved ALL the books off both bookcases in the hall. DH has stripped wallpaper behind the bookcase.
DD** the builder is coming tomorrow to plaster the wall and then we are getting it painted. It looks bigger without the bookcases but we need them. No where else to put them though I hope to decrease the small one by reading all the books and taking them to the charity shops.
Finished a 1000 piece jigsaw. Lovely but the cat was really difficult. Dolls house and some toys, a rug.
Wiped work tops.
Fed chickens, cleaned out, fresh water they went to bed at four o’clock.
Vacuumed Hall.
Put clothes away
Vacuumed floor

Organising Advent windows. Re wrote it.

up shame about the weather but hope all in all your day off has been a good one

Zoo hope everyone manages a good night's sleep tonight 🤞

Today has been pretty productive really, working all day so not much time for flying but I did the basics and managed to make some blueberry muffins too (I had blueberries in the fruit and veg box and we'd used some in a smoothie already, none of us like just eating them on their own!)

KCC
I'm back on meal planning ideas 😃
Tonight we had a chicken stir fry (lemon chicken) made by dh, it was very nice, but I have to admit I'm not a huge stir fry fan in general. I wondered if anyone has any great stir fry ideas or Chinese style recipes as they are usually quick and easy. We sometimes buy the sauces so recommendations for those would be good too for those nights that you want something very easy. Home made we make lemon chicken, sweet and sour (which is the one I do actually love!) , satay sauce. We don't like black bean sauce at all. I quite like a stir fry just with a bit of soy sauce and ginger too, especially if it's beef.

Ds ate some of the chicken and he ate his carrots. Tried the noodles but didn't like them but to be fair they were those really thin noodles and I don't like them either (I bought the wrong type none of us were keen!)

I'll be back later with links!

This made me laugh

I’d really love recommendations for an easy home made satay or lemon sauce! There’s so much variation I’ve no idea what to try 😳

I’ve really flagged this evening 😴😴😴 but luckily Cagletini didn’t fall asleep so she should go to sleep properly in a bit. She needs a bath but I totally CBA

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sticky-lemon-chicken dh did this one sing the sauce was nice and quite simple I think

I have used loads of different recipes for satay so I can't remember which ones were good and which ones weren't 🤦‍♀️

I’m not a massive stir fry fan either Foxes, but I’ve realised it’s because I don’t like those packs of stir fry veg you get - there’s always a hard end of cabbage and it’s generally just a bit crap. I used to make a lovely one which was with chicken sausage (though I prefer turkey sausage) that was really easy. I’d forgotten all about it. I’ll find the recipe for us both.

Glad Cagletini stayed awake for you Sing. I’m always torn when DD looks like she might fall asleep. I have an internal debate about whether the hours peace and quiet is worth the bedtime battle. It’s usually too tempting and I just let her sleep.

I got a second wind after playing pairs:
✔️ living room - hoovered, mopped, window and TV cleaned, cleared hotspot on side table, dusted log burner, hearth and ornaments
✔️ Kitchen/ utility - everything off benches so they could be properly wiped, windowsill, splashback and hob cleaned, tupperware drawer and pan cupboard tidied up, floor hoovered and mopped, glass in door cleaned
✔️ hall - tidied, dusted, hoovered and mopped
✔️ dining room - tidied (DH as it was all his crap), patio door cleaned, floor done and table wiped
✔️ ironing for the week, clothes put away

I tidied upstairs but other than the part of the bathroom floor I did earlier I didn’t do any cleaning up there. I realised that no one but us will see it and it’s not too bad.

Bollocks, just realised I didn’t sort the returns.

Our walk happened in the end. It faired up at around 4pm so we wandered into the town centre to show DD the Christmas lights and collect fish and chips I felt much better for the fresh air and I’m ready for my 4 work days. I think.

That sound like a lovely finish to the day up!

Went a bit AWOL. Whoops.
Not much flying has been happening, just been doing the bare basics of LOLs and stripped down morning and evening routines.
DH thinks looking after a newborn baby is a walk in the park and he is under the impression I am on holidays. Have been tempted to express a bunch of breast milk and leave him to fend for himself with a baby over the weekend...getting up in the night and all.
I have been doing a bit or work, completely voluntary on my part, mainly because I started on a project right before I went on mat leave and I don't want to let it go.. it shouldn't take too long and will serve me well in the future (hopefully). DH mentioned to one of the colleagues who is involved with the project (we work in the same place, but different departments. This project is cross departmental) that it will be good for me to break up a routine, implying I am sitting on my butt all day doing nothing 😣 It could be hormones talking, but gosh, he has been rubbing me the wrong way lately!

Anyhow, rant over.
Ta da today:
🎉LOL
🎉Walk in the park

I have a migraine, off to the sofa I go.
🍒👋 To everyone!

Recipe attached. I’m sure it was this one. I used to do it with sugar snap peas.

Mc you absolutely should be doing minimal flying. Hope you and teenymc are doing well. I’d have quite happily murdered DH several times a day when I was on mat leave. They have no concept of how long the days (and nights!) are. I got over it though after the newborn days. He’s still my DH, and still alive. I quite like him again these days . Hope the migraine shifts soon.

MC agree with up

Glad you managed a nap Zoo hope it doesn't affect you too much tonight

You have been busy Bower !

Sorry no help to you on the stir fry front foxes did buy ds a chinese
dinner type recipe book the other year and have to admit that i tend to find it takes as long to prep/cook one of those recipes and anything else. Far tastier though.

Glad the weather improved Up

Hiya, it’s Flushi with a Christmas name change!. The kids are in bed now, I’ve had a very busy day, I had to go to the pharmacy to collect some meds, I’m starting some new ones and am a bit worried about the side effects. But will try and see how it goes!.

Thanks zoo it’s adorable isn’t it!. I’m sorry about the bad nights sleep.

I’m glad potty training went well yesterday!

glittery I’m not looking forward to them not letting me dress them!. I love the cute things you can buy, I wish they could stay this little forever!. It sounds lovely that you got to read them letters.

ED my sisters are tweens and they have no interest in clothes, I hope the DC never get to that stage!.

I do love Morrison’s clothes too up, there’s some gorgeous stuff for little girls at the minute, but a lot of greys and mustards for boys which I’m not a huge fan off!. Sorry about the walk!

Sorry about the Monday blues foxes I feel the same!

Thanks hills I’m currently having a bit of a flare up so have felt drained today, but hopefully will be better soon.

mc my ex DH was like that, one day I left him with DD, expressed my milk so he could feed her and went to my mums for the day. He was exhausted by the end of it and that was with a full nights sleep. I really would be tempted to do the same if I were you!.

ta da
⛄️Made my bed
⛄️Showered and did morning skincare routine
⛄️S&S in shower
⛄️Brushed teeth
⛄️Flannel washed DC
⛄️Brushed their teeth
⛄️Got DC dressed
⛄️Made their beds
⛄️LOL
⛄️Fed pets
⛄️Fed humans
⛄️Did nursery run
⛄️Work
⛄️Nursery run 2
⛄️Wiped bags and unpacked them
⛄️Put washing in tumble dryer
⛄️Made tea
⛄️Washed up
⛄️Wiped the table and kitchen/dining area surfaces and floor
⛄️Checked bathroom supplies
⛄️Bathed DC
⛄️Put both DC to bed
⛄️Put away playroom and living room mess
⛄️Shined sink
⛄️Nighttime skincare routine

Quick links and then an early night for me as I'm feeling a bit achey and tired
flight plan
Tuesday is plan and play day and our mission is to shine our bathroom sinks and counter tops

Good night!

Thank you for the recipe up! That's great ☺️

Thought I'd follow Flushi's example and go for an early Christmas namechange.

Foxes - hope you feel better tomorrow.

We do stir fries once in a while - I make sauce out of stock, a bit of cornflour, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil.

Satay sauce - a few tbsp crunchy peanut butter, a good dollop of sweet chilli sauce, a squirt of lime juice then carefully add a bit of boiling water from the kettle as you mix till it is a good texture. We often have it with samon, or shredded leftover turkey or chicken.

Thai green curry works well too, some green curry paste plus the creamy part of a tin of coconut milk.

also ta da
sort through bits and bobs unit
clear dresser top
sort through and rehome music cds, films and back up disks
warn ds of the utter shit storm hitting tomorrow
make home made pasta for a pasta based dish for tea
sort out the recycling that got abandoned in the sink
unload and start to reload DW
poke pots of defrosting things and mutter about best laid plans
transport stuffs from bedroom into office for sorting and putting away another day
add items to internet shopping list for later
Loose count of exactly how many cups of coffee have been drunk
Collect washing up from various locations around the house
Find ALLLlll the missing hair bobbles, straight pins and bobby pins apparently my believe that I didnt have any was wrong and I am good for the next month until they all go missing again
make pasta dish which took far longer than thought to do
Take pain killers as bollocked shoulder making pasta
sort teen's homework for printing with him
swear at microsoft and printer
Half hour of stretching to try to get the kinks out of my back and hip
followed by some ill advised dancing in my room only ill advised because light on curtain open and wasn't intending on audience possibilities
Sort through a mountain of paperwork
mutter dark words about bright ideas and nurse now sore hips
cook up tea leftovers for someone's lunch/snack tomo
evict more stuff to office
remove batch 1 of paperwork from my room to burn box
Empty temp tub for recycling

it is going to be a long night. Hope you all rest well and wake refreshed and ready for the day.
I'm off for coffee...

hills that sounds like a busy, painful day. Hopefully you were able to get some sleep and how feeling better.
zoo I hope you feel better for your nap, even if it was longer than you planned. Sometimes I end up with a 2 hour nap and it's a toss up on whether it makes me feel better or worse.

I've had a busy few days. I made truffles for a couple of coworkers. They put in orders for gifts. I'm thinking that they are for Thanksgiving.
Sundays ta das:
Truffles made
🍫 Dark chocolate
🍫 Dark chocolate orange
🍫 Dark chocolate peppermint
🍫 Peanut butter
other ta das
🍬 Kitchen cleaned multiple times
🍬 Cleaned bathroom

Today's ta das:
🍫 Fixed an order as a coworker wanted more than I brought in
🍫 Kitchen cleaned up, DH and DS helped after dinner
🍫 Relaxing! I didn't actually fit it in yesterday like I planned.

Sing I remember the toddler years with my 2, I'm glad they're older now!
mc if you could, totally leave him to it for a day, or a couple of days. It might be the wakeup call he needs.
I got an order in for Christmas for my truffles today (and been paid for already too!) It's a pretty big order and going to take me lots of time to get done, but I enjoy doing it. It might be a week or two of not much sleep, but that's usually how my lead up to Christmas is.

Oh I forgot to mention, I actually cleaned the bathroom at my ILs on my lunch break today. I really need to do mine tomorrow, along with a lot of other stuff, that may or may not include sitting on my arse watching Christmas movies!

Waves to everyone. Fell off the last thread.

Hi, i am still alive, been trying to catch up on the thread, still havent caught up.

I am struggling very badly with the house.

I do the school run and now make lunches for the kids to as they are refusing to eat school dinners. I am trying to start back into my cycle rides at lunchtimes. I havnt been for a week. My exhustion and pains are creeping back.

I honestly feel like I am drowning in the house. I tidy and my little ones empty more stuff out.

On the plus side I have been doing online courses in the mornjng to help me support my fraggles in Maths and Reading.

A great postive has been that I have been making time to sit down and let the fraggles read to me and shock of shocks...i am trying to answer thier questions about Maths.....i was so suprised that I didnt run away when they asked.

Doing all these extras has left me little spare moments.

DH works from home thinks I do nothing in the house. I have considered leaving him.

I had better get up and make the lunches before the mad morning start to race to school. I dont run, i hobble with oversized backpack full of lunch bags, water bottles and reading bags.

Hope you are all keeping well!