It's February - Fledglings are Flying (let's face it there's not much else to do).

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Here we are on the February 2021 Flylady thread - this time last year we were just starting to realise that the world was going to change in a big, big way. The Fledgling threads have pulled us all together and been a great source of comfort and distraction from it all.

This is a friendly housekeeping thread based (loosely... Extremely loosely sometimes 😂) on Flylady's housekeeping system . Welcome one and all, lurkers and long-time posters alike. Join in, hang out, but above all remember you are not behind, just jump in where you are.

The beauty of Flylady is that you don't have to flatten yourself trying to get your house clean to begin the routine upkeep; the first - and only - thing she asks you to do is to shine your kitchen sink. Routines - morning, afternoon and evening - are built gradually through her Baby Steps. To those, you add a Daily Focus and a weekly area to concentrate cleaning on. By the end of a month, your whole house will have had some attention. If you miss a bit, never mind, it'll come round next month!

For this month, I'll be posting daily links to the Launch Pad on the Flylady site so you can follow the daily focus and cleaning missions. You can sign up to receive emails from Flylady, but we suggest you don't - she sends masses, which will clog up your inbox and drive you insane into the bargain.

Because this thread has been running a while, there are some acronyms we use to make life easier
S&S - swish and swipe, round the bathroom to keep it acceptable daily
LOL - load of laundry. No, we don't find washing that funny!
Ned - born of a typo, a mythical being who assists with laundry mountains
The pointy stick ----> to motivate people
PO3 - Power of 3, if you can only face a few tasks. People often find groups of 3 tasks stack up over a day!
The Naughty Corner - where we head when it's all Too Much. Usually stocked with fresh coffee, fluffy throws, delicious snacks and the opportunity to sit quietly with friends or build a blanket fort and sulk in it if you need to.

During the Pandemic, we have also been using the KCC or Keep Calm Corner, invented by long-time poster / thread leader SC. This is a regular dose of memes, questions for discussion, random trivia etc to distract us from the rest of the world. All contributions welcome!

Remember - No Fledgling Left Behind!

Sing - Phew great your dh got a negative result!

Thank you, Mc and butta

Hope - lovely how you guys got together

That- how your pain is better today?

Up- hope you have a lovely day with your dd
I am all fine thank everyone, need to take antibiotics and drink lots of water. I feel better today think its because i am drinking more fluids.

Tadas
Breakfast
Lol
4 school videos

I've done another load of washing and folded another dry load
2rows of lock down crochet blankets done for today

I need to menu plan this afternoon and I'm hoping to add in some new things,I promised myself some colouring today and to move more,so going to go up n down stairs 5x followed by back stretches

I am also trying to drink more fluids Dancing. Unfortunately that has just meant more trips to the loo

Your lists never fail to amaze me Zoo. Glad DD2 co-operated with the walk this morning.

Hurrah for negative result Sing! A quiet day is definitely still required today though, you know, to get over the stress of it all

So far we’ve had a walk along the beach for half an hour (was aiming for longer but DD ended up submerged in a rock pool 🙄), done some colouring, and had some soup for lunch. A bit low on the ta das.

DearZoo hoping you are not going to lower the tone of this thread! I had to read that sentence twice because I though DP had surfaced and I think you might have called him that or similar once or twice.( in my lost thread)
I am also amazed by long lists and then up she wonders why she is tired🤣

Sing fantastic news you must be so relieved.

Hope you have a lovely day and lovely story.
Dancing glad you are feeling a bit better and yes to lots of fluid, soup, lemon barley water, yes, Zoo I had forgotten all about it. The worst is the toilet trips. Flushing through best though.

Butta sorry Elijah is poorly. Maybe get some Vitamen C. I used to give mine one every day in winter to ward off colds etc even though they ate lots of fruit.

Walk along the beach oh how I miss those. Still we have a lovely village to walk in and could go to a not so nice beach about 12 miles away but trying to stay in Covid free village. Lovely today but freezing (literally) all day yesterday. Forecast snow again.

After much deliberating we bought a Rhino greenhouse. I am sick of looking at greenhouse brochures. I chickened out and went for the 6x8 as I think the 8x10 wouldn’t have looked right where it has to go. We have a trellis fence and arch and I think it would have been too close to the arch. This way I can add two cold frames if I wish and would like a picket fence around veggie garden but don’t tell DH🤫

Right I am setting timer for jobs this morning. I cannot do breakfast wash up and work top wipe plus table in 15 mins. Took about half an hour but I did make pancakes, bacon and maple for breakfast. DH was just coming in from moving a ton of logs so was delighted that his wonderful wife had made this and a large pot of tea( didn’t let on I woke up thinking/ dreaming about pancakes).
Starting on bedroom now and swished and swiped bathroom to go back in after toilet cleaner. Yes, whoever asked still liking the brush so far. You can clean it easily after you know what.

Last week was Sunday 1:1 for me couldn’t get motivated but today much better. Had more sleep the last four days thanks.

17 minutes to change the sheets and remake bed. She must be a whirl wind. Maybe she just has a bottom sheet and a duvet cover to change. I have a light quilted LA throw and grannies recovered eiderdown plus four pillows and cushions. Don’t change all four every time as one side not slept in as DH and I sleep better apart.
Right clothes to put away and vacuum carpet. Thinking I might take a picture of my book case the before photo as it is still in my bedroom. If painter doesn’t say he is coming this month I will have to paint it myself. I could use some of the money to buy a long professional pole for the stairs the rest I can do.
Procrastinating aren’t I?

waders The friend is now in her 80s and does know. But the hilarious thing is we didn't realise she was matchmaking - we thought it was a chance introduction. It wasn't until we were married that she 'fessed up. She was on her way to a lecture when she bumped into me and she saw dh off in the distance at the coffee station so she skipped the lecture to introduce us. That was a real sacrifice for a mature student, I think, because her time was precious and she had loads of other demands. She said later she was delighted she had intervened as cupid and that it was the best bit of work that she'd done in a while!

The other thing was that dh had already had lunch when I invited him but said nothing and had to face a very puzzled dinner lady for his second lunch of the day!

That’s adorable 💖 what a fab story!

Very lazy day here. Had thought we might get the Caglets to do a little work but nah.

We did spend some more time watching Miranda - introduced DS to one of the less rude episodes and he was in hysterics :o

Such a sweet story hope!

Curled up on sofa with a heat pack on my back, i have now resorted to a codeine as well as the paracetamol

Hope the pain killers work :(

DH is feeling a lot more human now and is going to take the Caglets for a walk. I am absolutely thrilled to have the house to myself for a bit TBH.

I’m setting myself a challenge in my bujo of the 28 days of February (it is rather pleasing that it also starts on a Monday!) to actually look after the house a bit more. It’s going to have four bits to colour each day:

• Open a window (been so bad at airing the house lately)
• Tidy one Kallax square or Trofast bucket (boudoir, landing or living room - there are far more than 28 in total!)
• Throw away 3 things (not counting actual rubbish, but things like clearing out fridge and cupboards, outgrown clothes etc)
• Clean something (as in, something other than what I would do anyway so eg sweeping the hall and wiping the table after dinner don’t count)

I would say I’d try and declutter things that I want to charity shop or sell - but I can’t currently think where they would be stored! So I don’t want to create new piles elsewhere. Which is a bit annoying as it means things like books we may not keep are going to have to stay on the shelves for now - I just don’t have the headspace to deal with that yet, so I’m prioritising throwing stuff out first.

Afternoon!! I completely missed the new thread starting! Thanks ED and thanks waders! Like the name change!

Yesterday was not a good day, we were all arguing I felt tired and stressed all day. I've got a day off work today so feeling much better.

Sorry this is a v quick post as need to do maths with dd now and we wants the tablet

Be back soon!

That should say ds wants the tablet!!

Hey foxes sorry you had a bad day yesterday. I think it’s really hard for tempers not to fray when we are all at such close quarters. People used to ask me how DH and I didn’t drive each other mad when he had to stop work the first time and we were both home full time for a bit, but it was absolutely fine, we loved it TBH! This time has been very different though, it has felt like quite a strain sometimes despite the fact we are the same people - there is so much more stress and anxiety around and virtually no opportunities for being individuals. It’s a lot of pressure.

ta da so far
🌊listened to audiobook
🌊LOL
🌊squished a bit of recycling
🌊came up with housework targets for the month
🌊quick step workout
🌊piano

Can’t believe it’s nearly 5pm already!

I’m so tempted, when I sort the trofast buckets with toys in, to put the sorted buckets in our room so Cagletini can’t mess them up again 😂 I know that defeats the point if she can’t use them, but just for a couple of weeks until it’s all sorted 😂

sing you are right about tempers fraying. I need to make more of an effort to take myself away from everyone for a bit like go for a walk by myself but I just don't seem to prioritise it, I know you can all relate to that!!

My ta das today
Ds packed lunch
Took ds to nursery
Dishwasher on
LOL
Washing up
15 mins tidying craft stuff in dining area where it had been dumped
Quick stretches!
Made cookies with dd - she did most of it by herself!
English, phonics, spellings, maths with dd
Collected ds
Play doh with the dc
Emptied bins
Watered plants
Ordered photo frame
Took recycling out
Quick tidy ds bedroom
Phoned the bank
Finalised kitchen details with dh! This was a source of stress recently as they had sold out of our colour choice...but all fine now just waiting for final quote then we can officially order it!
Made spiced cod burgers for dinner

sing kids do get in the way of toy organising don't they?!?

Sing do it and call it toy rotation so they seem fresh and new again eg do some and stash tidy boxes, when enough tidy switch out for untidy boxes and stash until sorted. Toy rotation was something that save my sanity with a high input child cos could keep getting new, and he got bored easily.

Speaking of which ds recently said to me - mum do you remember what that woodworking program was that you used to put on the tv when you took a nap? Yes ds, yes I do. Because it was 4am and there was nothing else on and I didn't think you were paying attention to it...
Apparently he has gone hunting for it on youtube.

ta da
Ds bloods
various procrastination
Sorted out information for signing up to a craft project (not woolly hugs)
Some study
lots of youtube/internet procrastination.

And i just realised that I should probably go cook tea...

You are a chatty bunch! I should have made the title "Fledglings are Flying and Chatting (not much else to do)".

Busy day at work today, first time I've been in for a couple of weeks, so I had lots of printing and filing to sort and few other jobs that can only be done on site. Had to take my turn cleaning as well, we are sanitising all the shared touch points twice a day. It was nice to be back in though, I am starting a new project soon. Not much flying, I woke up at 5, couldn't get back to sleep and am shattered, so I am going to do the links now and put the laptop off.

Tuesday

Babystep 2 - get dressed to shoes, that one seems more unlikely than ever at the moment. Get dressed to pyjamas, slippers, jogging bottoms, whatever you feel like so long as you are warm and comfy.

Launchpad. Tuesday's mission is to put out hotspots in your porch, hall and dining room (or whatever your equivalents are). In other words tidy up those little surfaces where clutter gets dumped.

February's habit of the month is to declutter for 15 mins a day (I know, not so easy with no charity shops at the moment).

Tuesday's Daily focus is Planning. Maybe for the summer, when things will seem easier and we will hopefully have more freedom.

I definitely prefer chatting to flying. Well, chatting to you lot anyway! As discussed in the last thread, the other parts of MN are a bit scary at times. Although I am on a few nice support threads, this is the busiest and chattiest!

I have fulfilled my daily challenge for the day:
✅windows opened - living room for a couple of hours
✅throw three things - jars of stuff that won’t get used thrown away from the fridge
✅clean something - downstairs door handle areas cleaned because OMG so grimy
✅sort one square or bucket - trofast tub of wooden animals and play scenes cleaned, checked and put away (and hidden, thank you for the toy rotation idea hills :o)

DD1 put a wash on, I need to sort clean laundry now as some of DS’ got mixed up with ours... hoping it hasn’t been affected by Cagletini happening near the basket/DS’ clothes pile as I rather foolishly left it unsupervised while sorting the toys. Argh.

Well, I jinxed that didn't I?

I agree about other parts of MN, I hid the AIBU topic a few years ago and it has improved my MN experience immeasurably.

I started feeling a bit unwell after I posted earlier, a bit light-headed and shivery, but a couple of hours on the sofa under a heated throw has sorted me out and I'm wide awake again and feeling normal which is a relief.

Sing - glad the test was negative, we were talking about self isolation at work today as several colleagues had to do it last week, very hard.

Foxes - where are you getting your kitchen from? We are going round and round in circles with designs.

Hills - its amazing what they remember. DS was talking about stuff that happened at his nursery the other day.

That hope you get some relief from the pain.

Half - that's a lovely story about you meeting DH. I met mine at work, I was in the messy tail end of another relationship when we met so it was another year or so before we got together. We don't do much for Valentines as we have a birthday in the family fairly close either side plus one just gone in Jan and Shrove Tuesday, Mothers Day, Easter, its all a bit non stop in the first few months of the year here. So maybe an M&S meal deal but more likely one of us will be at football with one DC and the others at swimming 🙄, obviously not this year.

I totally can’t be bothered to do anything for Valentine’s Day this year 😳 I think lockdown has killed the spark 😂 and it’s just hard to get any time to ourselves at all even without lockdown tbh. Might try and find a new movie or show to watch together though (difficult as very different tastes) and maybe we will have a nice dinner late together if the kids eat earlier.

ta da concluded
🌊finished putting our clothes away
🌊future friended for clothes for me and Cagletini for tomorrow (today, now...)
🌊set up my housework challenge tracker page
🌊set up a grid in my sketchbook for a drawing challenge - 28 ruler-width squares, I’m going to take a close up photo of something each day and then draw it. Forcing myself to finally use the fancy coloured pencils I bought with my prize money, and realising that coloured pencils are in fact waaaay out of my comfort zone 😳 I normally draw in fine liner pen. But anyway I’m hoping this will make me take a little time out to draw mindfully. Drawing is one of the only things I really focus on (you’d think piano would be another but my mind can actually wander quite a lot while playing 😫). Enforced me time. Ha!

I’m hungry and should really sleep as it’s back to nursery runs tomorrow and I am already feeling like I can’t be arsed.

ED I was talking about memories with DS3 on the phone. I mentioned when he was in hospital as a child and asked him if he remembered. He said, “ Was I in a tent thing I remember some sort of tent does that sound strange.” I then explained he was very ill and he was indeed in an oxygen tent at four. I didn’t tell him he nearly died. DH of course was away so I had all the worry. I don’t remember who had the other two I think it might have been my friend Ann. He was so little for his age and was wearing clothes for 18mths -2years. I kept one that he wore to school to show him when he was older which he is now so I must get the box out sometime. It was around his birthday and he got a PoundPuppy ablack one with three puppies that went inside. I think we have the mum and two pups left. It was rather cute and he was aloud it. I can remember him getting upset and clawing at the plastic. His hearing wasn’t great then and he must have been very frightened. I was in a bit of a daze as I was worried he wasn’t going to live. I had enjoyed him best as a baby and we were very close. The other two were at school so I could enjoy him.
Foxes DH was starting to annoy me when I was cooking. He gets in the way or he starts suggesting how to do things but he doesn’t actually know. I am by far the better cook but he doesn’t look up a recipe and follow it and sometimes puts really random food together. That annoys me. So yes sometimes a bit techy here. Sing I can relate to having the house to yourself especially as the last few years I have had 16 days each month before DH retired. I liked it when he went walking. He isn’t going at the moment because the weather isn’t good. I am concerned about accidents as the hospital is struggling we have the highest number in the county I think just now. Someone has set up pamper parcels at the moment for staff and asking for nighties and things for patients.

So I did my bed today and spent about half an hour putting clothes away. Vacuumed the floor. I was going to do the stairs but it ran out of power.
Cleaned kitchen again.
Made nut roast with vegetables. While I was doing that I made sweet potato and squash soup for tomorrow’s lunch. It has garlic and smoked paprika in it so should be good. Trying to have a few veggie days.
Washed up as I went so not much to do later.
BF phoned as she was coming to post box so showed her veg patch and I walked back SD in the lonning. DH brought some black currants for her and picked me up but we had a chat first. It was really cold and stinking as the lad nearby had just been muck spreading. Clears the nostrils. It was good to see her her youngest DS has had an awful week both at work and home two deaths and an anniversary of a co workers death and I heard tonight of another. A child the family know has sadly lost his fight yesterday. Can’t say to much more as he has been on national tv in the past. Very sad.
I had felt a bit better today.
We are supposed to be getting snow around 3am up to 20cm on high ground. Chickens were shut in early. It turned bitter about four.
Take care everyone.

Sing that might be a good idea for the KCC. A drawing a day.

Hi everyone....i am back....dragging my huge water bottle along....( i hate drinking water because yes i agree Zoo that i have to run to the loo more...)

Thank you for the barley water zoo.
Much needed.
Gosh you have done so much in zoolets room!

Sing- brilliant tada lists. Sorting...best to hide organised toy boxes.

Hills- sorry to hear you were not feeling well. Hope you are ok now?

what was the woodworking program?

I have been sort of planning in my diary. They only thing i cant figure out is when to do housework...if i do school work 9.30am onwards....then i lose the will to live by the afternoon.
When do you all do your housework? In a big chunk or in small bits?

Ed- i love this thread for the chat and advice. Its been so helpful to me as irl all i meet are perfect house mums. That if they saw mine, they would start screaming.

Its annoying as i was really cracking on with the house and made great progress. Now i have stopped due to stupid school work.

But i hv noticed if i do the bare minimum, it helps keep the okish....
Tada
Lolx2

Took the kids out on thier bikes, and we enjoyed the fresh air. I need to do more excerise as i look like a beach ball now. ⛱🏀😳

Foxes- sorry tempers were abit frayed. I dont think we are meant to see our other halfs so much....its not natural!...(.its what i shouted one day to my unmarried sister...who just looked me with sympathy)...as my Dh asked to work from home (this was before covid). Whhhyyy!

Spiced cod burgers..mmm that sounds lovely!

Hills- so sweet of your mature student friend!

Valentines will probably be a M&S meal for 2. Dh really likes them and with 2 kids under 6....its the most romantic thing we can do for each other. There is no alone time here. The kids have to sleep next to me. Dh had to have so many hospital visits and waited months for operations then recovery times plus he has insomnia so i got kicked out the marital bed. (Gasp, clutches pearls!) People irl have a big problem with this.

Sleeping in separate beds is lovely because, i can go sleep when I want.
-Nobody will say I was sleeping and you woke me up.

• i dont have to put up with flashing gaming gunfire while trying to sleep. Most annoying. Or listening to stupid youtube clips.
• no boys smells.
• win for me

Valentines- my 2 kids will probably want to organise a party with cake, sandwiches and crisps. Decorate the cake with love hearts...and play party games.
My 2 are funny.

Sorry for rambling sooo much.....Mmmm...cake...i really could do with some.....
🍰🎂🍪< puts a selection of cakes in the calm corner.>

That i hope you are feeling ok.