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!

DS loved pushing anything in a pushchair.he also loved wearing orange heeled play shoes with orange feathers..dd2 friend mum saw him one day and said her DH would explode she let him play with nights and dress like that(to which my response was let him then)..
Dancing and 💪for the utility room.hope headache and chest pain are better.
I need whip at least partial house into shape this morning and will do gifts etc at lunch
Dd2 spent most yesterday in bed as had period pains from hell and near fainted help drag shop home,bless her
DS/lil zoo are now demon cluedo players free they got the hang of it at dd1 house!(we have it,but attempts left D's stating can't be X so must be y...he's better at it now!(lil zoo struggles say who thinks is in case it's wrong)
Right,I need stop scrolling and DO something!!

That how's the spd lovely?

dancing hope you are okay

My ds asked for my little pony toys one year, we had a few comments from people, I couldn't believe it!

I also remember when dd got her first toy buggy she just used to push a tape measure about in it 😂

that, sing toddlerhalfhope had a little blue pushchair in which he transported his Matchbox cars. Santa brought him a play kitchen one year. I showed him the sink, oven and hob with real sizzle. He looked thrilled and then ran off and put his cars into all the spaces. He had wanted a car garage DH said but I had the idea that the kitchen would be a more social toy. We try to present parenthood as a joint endeavour and not just a woman's thing.

:o at tape measure etc in buggies. I think with DS it was mostly cars although I do have a lovely pic of him at the bus stop with George Pig in there.

Only recently woke up 😳 having taken meds when I woke up around 6. Oh well, it’s Sunday (right? Must check... think I lost track around November) and I must say happy Valentine’s Day to DH (and prob send him back to sleep as he was up for the shopping). We agreed not to get each other presents this year as we’ve been paying for so much for the house, but I did get a dvd for us to watch together (King of the Hill season 8 :o) as goodness knows we need a laugh.

Must get up and shower and see if the Caglets are even awake! 😳

Today’s plans: mostly Recover From Yesterday. Need to balance recovering from burnout (was quite tearful and “stuck” yesterday) and not stopping altogether as we finally have a full week to make decent progress! In any case toys still need washing (only did one load so far, they came out fine!) and I need to bag up the clothes properly in case they are collected tomorrow - will be separating out some to donate to nursery.

waders that's lovely, heart shaped waffles I never seem to get round to doing anything like that !

I did make a cooked breakfast for us this morning though, a veggie one so not too unhealthy, the kids weren't interested though they stuck to their cereal!

I'm struggling to get going this morning. Got lots to do but its so chilly in the house I just want to sit under a blanket. I know if I start moving around I'll warm up.

Dh is busy doing the wiring for the kitchen. We have finalised the plan and just waiting for final quote then we will order it (this was meant to happen weeks ago but unfortunately stock issues meant we had to change a lot, I may have already said all this so please ignore me if I have 😂)

Sounds lovely waders and I'll take the coffee too

Ta das because I actually did manage to get up and on with it and I feel much warmer for it!!
Made a carrot and beetroot cake which is in the oven...never made it before so 🤞 we all like it
Have done quick tidy of living room / some upstairs
Dishwasher is on
2 X LOL
Recycling taken out
Kitchen sides wiped

Next on my list is pilates, meal planning, and various other bits of housework. Also really want to do another walk like yesterday.

Best not sit down for too long or I'll stay here again!

Guys, i did a bit in the utility room
Then felt ill and lay down for 2 hours.
Dd made me a beautiful rainbow heart- well card- pic attached!
Ds did a get well dance- made me feel so much better.
Showerred. Dressed till shoes.
Cracked on with utility room- done! (Pic attached) 💛💚💙💜🧡💖

Foxes- beetroot and carrot cake sounds ace! Please let us know how it comes out!
Love the ds my lil pony and tape measure! You cant beat a tape measure for entertainment for young 'uns.

Waders- heart shaped waffles...mmmm yum.

Sing- sending you a big hug! Its ok, you have been doing so much, its understandable to feel like this. 💛

Well done dancing looks fab and I love the card!

And thank you. I am still not great today, but did at least channel my ugh feelings into some drawing which has helped a bit. Not been remotely productive otherwise. Oh well, it’s Sunday I guess.

In the interest of being positive:
yesTaDa (it’s really catching on!)
✅shower
✅put yesterday’s drying on again after taking cool-dry-only blanket out and hanging it up
✅towel LOL
✅DW (hadn’t filled it last night as too tired after sorting the cupboards)
✅moved some books from Amazon wish list to library wish list
✅booked icollectclothes collection
✅got both Caglets to do their laundry
✅lots of sorting of BRCs - put some toys/household stuff into categorised tubs, some rubbish/recycling, then put aside what’s left

DH has taken Cagletini out for a walk as she was stir crazy and driving me mad with her grumpiness (although I don’t blame her at all). I am going to try playing the piano for a bit as I haven’t in a few days, or watching something funny. Definitely a self care day. Glad I’m not worrying about school/HE tomorrow.

dancing the cake had come out really well, you can taste the beetroot but it's not overwhelming and the texture is very nice

This is the recipe if anyone wants it, I did 100g carrot and 100g beetroot just because none of us are that keen on beetroot in general (dh likes it but only pickled!) I'm always trying to find new recipes to try with it, as some of you know because I've asked you all previously I think!! We often get it in our veg box, I am thinking about saying we don't want it but it's so good for us and we do like it in some recipes , just not our favourite. www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/beetroot-cake

Ta das
Lunch sorted for us all, with dh help
Pilates workout
Another LOL
Went for a long walk , about an hour I would say, feel good for it but now don't want to do any of the other chores because I've run out of steam...

Must at least try and get the meal planning done.

Hi,
One of mine had a pushchair Ds3 and he pushed Sarah ( small, black doll that we picked up at a sale ) whom he loved very much and I have kept. Sometimes piglet joined her. He took them to the local shop (Scotland) and Toddlers.
Missing the chat about Germans. I have never been there but would love to go especially down the Rhine and to the Black Forest. I used to childmind before and after school. So I did away with the dining room( we mostly ate in the kitchen anyway) and it is a through room between the kitchen and sitting room with a bit on either side of the doors. So computer desk wide understairs and a couple of metres the other with about a metre and a half across. I worked every second Saturday Managing a crèche and when the top area was being rented to TKMaxx we had to move. The owner kept one set and I purchased the other set of shelves. I believe they were from IKEA wooden shelves with two drawers on either side. So we had that on one wall and toys and games in boxes on there. Some space to play but they were allowed some in the sitting room and painting , baking was on the table.
I had different ages but all primary from school about 3 minutes away.
One of the families who I minded until they moved were German/ English dad. Mum very particular, job in Education. Dad in NHS. I got on really well with them and boys. We went swimming a couple of times and there are lots of cubicles but mum stayed in main bit and after swim stripped off starkers not even a towel. I was a bit taken aback. So were a few others. So that explains why. I thought it must be a cultural thing. She had some lovely decorations and traditions and we were privileged to get a Stollen homemade every year and afternoon tea and a walk and in summer a garden lunch. It is my fault we lost touch as they sent a letter to all their friends around Christmas/New Year and I didn’t always reciprocate so we were drop from the list. I could kick myself now.
It was lovely hearing about the stay in Germany. I love hearing about other people’s trips and experiences.

I did a bit of the RofD yesterday but I got distracted by some things including could I was a Cabbage Patch doll. DD found one at a local car boot for about a £1. I bought one for Christmas when she was about 2 and wanted one. A school friend had about 40. Her mum was a wheeler dealer in lots of toys and later proms etc. Apparently you can wash them but shouldn’t with the rarer ones. She is 80’s has the signature but is pretty filthy so I will have a go tomorrow. DD thought she looked sad to be put on a car boot stall. DD fiercely loved her dolls and teddies.
Tomorrow she is having a gentle bath and hair wash.

We are having a lazy day today. I never do much on a Sunday unless Sunday night but we bought a bit of turkey in M&S dated yesterday so we had it last night. I would risk another day for red meat but not poultry. It was delicious.

Dancing sorry he was like that. It was just the sort of comment DH would make. I get blamed for all the clutter but it isn’t all mine. The pushchairs are the children’s I don’t think you would fit in! I would be tempted to sell them without telling him. Or give them to a charity if you can afford to do so. Leave the subject until he notices.

We don’t celebrate Valentines any more. There is a reason. That is all I am saying.

I am a bit lost on how to proceed with R of D so having a day off.

I think we should all have an 🥰 ILove Me day today.🥰

Foxes we like it pickled (though it doesn’t like me now) but have you tried it roasted?

I have seen a Brownie made with beetroot but haven’t tried it yet.

Where has the day gone?!
Having a quiet day today, baby is being a hungry caterpillar and is pretty much constantly attached to the boob (and then falls asleep for his contact nap, the only way he naps in the day at the moment). So I am sitting on a sofa with my breastfeeding pillow, baby, and a book.
Did manage to put on LOL with bedsheets.
Need to sort out the aquariums today as well. The rest can be done tomorrow I guess.
Pic: Valentine's spirit chez Mc.

Dancing very impressed with your utility! Looks great! McTiny is doing well, thank you 😊 I already had to remove infant booster from my baby carrier yesterday. My baby is growing so fast. Scarily fast.
Sing Hope you are recovering well.
Foxes oh, I never tried putting beetroot into carrot cake. That's a good idea! Will try it out next time I make it.
Butta how are you doing, lovely?
Red Room of Doom can definitely wait until Monday.

red I'm having a famentine day- loving my family well not all day cos I am human and they are teenagers who mostly are gruff with sentiment

Aww zoo that’s sweet. I can quite imagine DS being just as cuddly in 4 years TBH. He’s really affectionate which is so nice except when he leans on me as he’s all elbows 😂

I didn’t play piano but put Disney+ on while I had the room to myself and had a nostalgia fest with old Winnie the Pooh cartoons 😳😂

The only productive thing I’ve done is... erm... nothing. Oh I put a towel wash on. Yay.

Oh Zoo that is lovely.if any of mine had been home I might have done something. I suppose I should have sent the boys a card. I don’t usually but I guess this year is different. My boys always give me a hug when they leave. DS3 gave me a really big, long hug last time - Christmas. He is the one who usually gives an embarrassed, quick , half hug.

I am going to make our tea in a minute. Flattened chicken breasts in a mild curry sauce and rice I think. Or roast potatoes though I think we may have finished them last night they were lovely and crunchy. I usually only have two pieces but I think I had four. They were smaller than usual as the roast was 50minutes. Tonight’s meal will take about ten minutes to cook.

Thanks everyone. I had a lightbulb moment to stop the books falling off the bookcase. Its a thing that stops rugs slipping! Its looks like this...pic attached.

Sing- i love it that boys are so huggy and . My ds definately is a hugger.

Zoo- i love hearing about fametime! 💖💖💖

Mc- enjoy the mummy time. Bf and being stuck bf is hard but you done the right thing, you made yourself comfy.

Foxes- your cakes sounds amazeballs! I want to make it as dd loves beetroot!
Roasted beetroot definately sounds the best.

Red- starkers...at the swimming pool...😳 yes that would explain things. Definately a cultural thing. Love hearing about your after school creche. Love the toy storage.

Dancing that’s a genius idea with the books! What’s that rug stuff? We will want some massive colourful rugs in the living room when we put the flooring down (where is good to buy rugs?) so anything to stop slippage would be good :o

I’m still waiting excitedly for dinner. No clue what it is. I’m regretting the lack of chocolate though.

I feel a bit more human now.

dancing sorry your 'd'h was being a dick. Hopefully he's made it up to you since then. The card is lovely 😍
Some productive days have been going on since I've posted last.

We had brunch today with my ILs, we all went out for dinner last night with our significant others so got together today instead. I made some chocolate covered Strawberries.
I'll be back later with a ta da list (hopefully)
🍒👋

Wow hazel they look amazing!

I’m in dire need of the pointy stick. I really must bag up the clothes and I haven’t sorted my/DD1’s meds for the week either. Right now the thought of moving and doing stuff is filling me with dread I’m really tired but feel too skittish to sleep as well.

Sing- I havent got a pointy stick sorry.
I am so glad its half term, no emails from school! 🤸‍♀️
Are there many clothes to bag up? Sorry to hear you are feeling skittish Sing. Do you have any herbal teas that might help? Sending you 💤 sleepy vibes.

Hazel! Your choco covered strawberries look delicous! They look like valentines.
Hope you had a wonderful dinner out.
Yes, hubby has tried hard to make it up to me by trying to keep the kids away from me for 20mins. He did a quick shop. And he orderd a lovely take away. He even stacked the dishwasher. I have been polite all day but I havent fully forgiven him.

🍒🖐to everyone. Hope you all had a lovely evening.😊

Dancing I'm glad to hear he's trying. You're right in not fully forgiving him just yet, the way he was with you was uncalled for. He needs to step up his game.
I made coffee bombs and hot chocolate bombs today. The coffee bombs had Bailey's in one, Kahlua in the other. Hot chocolate bombs had hot cocoa mix and marshmallows. We had to try them out! I was going to do milk chocolate as well as white chocolate, but after making 6 of them I was burned out, so only did white chocolate. They were delicious! Now I know what I'm doing for the next time, it shouldn't be so bad. DS saw the hot chocolate bomb, which is what he was going to have, and took a bite out of it 🤣 he was not expecting the powder! So I made it for him with hot milk poured on top of it, and it turned out really good.
I have zero motivation to do anything else. I want to start packing and sorting through stuff, but the boxes are out in the garage, plus not sure where the packed boxes will go.
Thank you for the strawberry love! They didn't last long.
I thought I was going to have a list of ta das ha! Nevermind.