Fledglings are Marching into March (and tentatively inching closer to freedom): The March Flylady Thread

[StillUpholding]

Welcome fledglings old and new, to March’s Flylady thread!

For any newbies who have stumbled across us, we are following Flylady’s housework system which is based around routines and short bursts of activity to try to keep our houses and lives in order. (Sometimes we follow it more loosely than others). Feel free to join us, the more the merrier! We post our ‘ta da’ lists for motivation (no matter how long or short), and enjoy some random chatter along the way.

The link to Flylady’s ‘flying lessons’ is here . Have a read, and if you have any questions, just ask. You can sign up for emails but be warned there are lots so most of us rapidly unsubscribed.

I’ll be posting links daily to keep us all on track. Jump in wherever you are, remember you are never behind.

This is a long running thread and we’ve developed some lingo along the way:
LOL = load of laundry
S&S = swish and swipe, a quick daily clean of the toilet and sink
PO3 = power of 3. When motivation is on the low side or you’re overwhelmed just pick 3 things at a time and do them
DNLMS = did not lose my shit
Ned = our mythical mate who helps with the laundry (hasn’t paid a visit to me for a while)
Pointy stick —-> = for when a fledgling needs a motivational prod (we can be gentle if required)
The naughty corner = a relaxing haven where we hang out when motivation is low, we are on strike, or we need a rest and some TLC

I’ve just realised that it’ll be around a year since our lovely SC came up with the idea of the Keep Calm Corner (KCC) to keep us going in these strange times. I’ll try and keep the tradition going with little snippets of happy stories, memes, questions and distractions. Any contributions welcome as we enter what could be the final stretch to some sort of normality.

Thanks to ED for being a lovely thread leader for February and keeping us (mostly) on the straight and narrow, despite being very busy herself.

Right, quiet at the back there, have we got everyone? Let’s head into March...

Oh and the receptionist said I could obviously just nick DD1’s test kit for her sister too

(Don’t worry, I won’t! Hopefully the proper test will arrive tomorrow)

It is worrying how little people who work in schools etc know about the testing

After discovering how little they know about SN and SEN i am not surprised tbh. Frightening though.

Oh no Sing! Hope you get the test results ASAP and Cagletini is feeling ok. The lateral flow tests have their use in reducing spread - we use them at work and there have been quite a few people where their Covid was picked up this way before any symptoms. However they are less sensitive than the PCR tests and aren’t sensitive enough to rule out Covid in someone who has symptoms.

Today I just can't. So I am not. I love this Hills

Sorry you’ve been feeling a bit down Dancing . You’ve been doing loads. Glad you got the coffee machine sorted.

Thanks for the sympathy yesterday everyone. I felt much better after a good night’s sleep and apart from yesterday’s tiredness and a sore arm I seem to have been lucky again with the vaccine.

I know I’ve missed a few personals, I’ve struggled to keep up this week but it’s almost the weekend and I’ll be able to catch up properly. Hope everyone is well.

Last day in zone 3 tomorrow, and the mission is to mop the floor. I might put some token effort in in the morning before work or I might have an extra 10 mins in bed

Can’t recall anything else achieved this evening other than bathing Cagletini (I then handed her over to DH as she was being a madam).

Up watching masterchef with DD1 and ended up with another Big Conversation but not a fraught stressful one this time. Turns out in a way she’s relieved not to have to go to school tomorrow - so much shitty behaviour going on there ATM. She also showed me several messages from a boy asking her to flash him. And this is one of the nicer boys. She firmly laughed it off each time, and is ready to raise hell over it with her tutor when she’s back to school - none of the Please don’t say anything to him or mention it in class. Fuck it - embarrass the crap out of him. I am proud.

FFS though. 13 and dealing with this shit on a regular basis. The messages didn’t even shock me. I hate people.

Sing- oh my god! I feel so sorry for your daughter recieving text messages like this!
Its not right! Good on your daughter for being strong! Sending you a hug Sing...cos i am truely dreading my kids going to secondary school

Waders- weldone for achieving a hour to yourself its important to do that.

Up- hv 10mins in bed. Its more important to do that then mop after your jab.

I'm so tired 🥱 it's been a long day.

Ta Das:
📦 Picked up small desk we're borrowing from ILs
📦 Packed up almost everything from our huge desk
📦 Realtor stopped by the house to go over a couple of things - the inspection was today so we'll find out the results on the 29th
📦 FINISHED painting!! I ache now though
📦 Boxed up a few more things from the pantry
📦 Utilitising the plastic storage containers I got for the pantry and need lots more, but it will look good and make it easy to pack those up
📦 Swept up outside, cleaned up a lot of leaves from flower beds
📦 Added mulch to the front flower bed, need more though, probably at least 2 bags

Tomorrow (Friday, 19th) is my birthday, although it doesn't feel like it. We'll go out for dinner, I doubt anything else will happen though as there's more to do.
I will need to do my ironing and cleaning. I'm going to finish staging the house though, as well as now packing and I have to work for a couple of lunches. Our realtor is coming back on Saturday to take measurements of each room and take a picture of the outside so she can list it. There will be a professional photographer to take the interior pictures. It's all becoming so real now!

Oh and here is a picture of a Caporita, it's an older one as I didn't take a picture last night. I like Modelito's in my margarita though instead of Coronita. (They are the small bottles)

🍒👋

I meant to say work for a couple of hours to cover lunches 🤦‍♀️

Car passed MOT on Tuesday, so LOs back at school on Wednesday.

Deleted big rant. I too dread secondary.

Ddaylight now by 6am, which is so welcome.

Getting into the habit of bringing something out of the shed after each school drop-off. Yesterday was battery-driven toys that had been abandoned. One clearly beyond repair and set aside for disposal. Others all in one huge storage box on a shelf, awaiting batteries and testing.

Had a quick look round the garage workbench and shelf. DH tends to leave everything where it lands after any diy or repairs. I'm as much to blame in the house and garden. Really hoping that this is the year we both learn a different approach to Stuff.

Tidy- thats a good idea.

Ok....so.....i have done a 2nd day of looking like a very odd person, pushing the pushchair.

I filled the pushchair and handles with bags of clothes, shoes and boot to donate to a local school mum- its the 2nd time no-one was home.
Going to try again after 11am today. Just want to get rid of all these bags.

i have a sinus infection i think and feel meh. Always nice to have suffering for piercing earache and have yellow goop come out the eyes.

Which explains a few bits. I should probably ring the doctor about it. I probably wont bother.

sing times like that glad mine at all girls school.its very sad,makes me angry.oh and we'll done DD for being so fierce over it- not easy as a teen wanting to fit in and be liked

Feel crap.slept bad.huge panic attack last night(as did dd2)
DS already unhappy about school
Lil zoo still asleep (school 11-1 today) I'm tempted to say did it and not send her as be quiet and will need walking to and from and I really don't have the energy,effort or inclination today

Anyone with large sharp stick to poke me with??

Ps I under no illusions about boys online being any better.both my girls are still in ew boys phase, exacerbated by being in school with girls I suspect

Hills aaaargh have you ever tried a netipot? I was tempted this week but the idea grossed me out.

Zoo sorry about the crappy night :( I was just saying this morning how I felt lucky I was in a girl’s school too, didn’t have to deal with this shit (and of course no WhatsApp and such - MSN messenger was new in my teens). I am proud she wants to tackle this head on (while also making it clear she must not be ashamed that she couldn’t do that when her actual boyfriend in year 8 was doing similar and worse - we didn’t find out until much later, when they’d been long split up and he was walking up to her in the hall and hitting her daily... oops I appear to have gone off on a rant). She’s certainly finding her Moxie :) we are going to watch that film over the weekend with DH and she’s telling her besties to watch it too.

I’ve emailed her tutor - not to detail what happened as DD1 is perfectly happy to do that but just to give her a heads up and also to thank her for how she’s been encouraging the class to discuss what’s going on re women’s safety, including shutting down the kids who laugh about it all. I’ve also asked if the school might consider running self defence classes, maybe she will forward that to the head teacher.

Lazy morning though since we can’t go anywhere. DS has caught our cold now.

I have not sing. I have thyme, celery seed and organic honey herbal remedy tea. Which is already helping. tastes exactly how it sounds though.

I steer well clear of thyme since going to a fancy set menu restaurant on holiday as a kid. The palate cleanser was a beautiful pale pink thyme sorbet

🤢

#scarredforlife

Sorry to laugh but yes I can understand why. Unfortunately I can't take over the counter sinus meds and in a choice between horrific earache/sinus pain and the taste, I go with the taste and just drink it. The honey and celery seed do help with calming the thyme taste but when you use a whole tsp of thyme in a cup of hot water it is a predominant flavour. There are another 3 cups of the stuff in my future today. But hopefully by tomo the pain and congestion will be significantly more tolerable.

I misread a recipe for thyme and black pepper wedges once as a teen.too much dry thyme was "interesting".....live and learn!

So I pulled up my big girl pants to tackle the why isn't my washing coming out damp problemand drawing backing up into sink whilst spinning
Step one- wm filter.check.one hair grip found
Step 2 work out how to disconnect the pipe from sink waste pipe using internet pics and advice and check for blockages
Step 3 pour drain gel down plughole
Step 4 pour drain gel on outer drain grid which had loads fluff on it and a big clump trapped under it hanging down that litter pucker couldn't dislodge
Step 5 pray to all deities
Step 6 rinse extra well the plughole and drain grid as don't want poison our hedgehogs/birds

I have tentatively added lil zoo school darks- to the drum and crossed everything including my eyes.its just 4pairs tights,black pants and a skirt so not unmanageable amount if it comes out sopping.

And now we wait.....

Fingers crossed it works Zoo

zoo argh!!! Hope it works

Time to do Cagletini’s covid test. DD1 is doing hers first to hopefully be a good influence 😬 she’s excited to “do science” but I suspect the reality will be somewhat different 😂

Good luck zoo and sing

Done. That was an experience 😂 DS is letting her “play” a switch game with him now.

I have done nothing else today. Other than speak to the writer doing our testimonial about the autism charity, as she read out what she’d written for me to approve - all lovely but I was assertive about asking her to change the way she referred to something particular.

I really need to get my “get on with tasks even while feeling anxious” head in the game today. Argh

Yay for house move hazel! I hate moving house I find it so stressful but it's worth it and it's nice when it's all over with.

Hope covid test comes back negative sing.

Sorry I've been catching up in bits and pieces so all other personals are lost in my very forgetful mind.

Had a good few shifts and just as I was say chatting to the others on shift saying I had a week until my next shift I get a message to say someone in DS3 class has covid so they need to isolate and back to home learning. Not what you want to hear at 6am 11 hours into a shift before you drive the 65 mile journey home 😩 got home around 9.30 dropped my grab off and straight into homeschooling. By the time I collapsed got to sleep last night I'd been up 37.5 hours!

More homeschooling today although I have fit in a few ta-da's
😴 S&S
😴LOL
😴 cleaned bathroom floor
😴 stripped all beds
😴 remade beds for big two. The rest of us will have a camp out downstairs because I cba now
😴 dusted, polished and did windows upstairs

Also made a cake with DS3 but we haven't tried it because we had a takeaway so we're all too full.

Plan to sort the house tomorrow because my achievements today haven't even scratched the surface

Double- omg...37.5hours on the go!! You are amazing doing homeschooling too!

Zoo- i am so sorry to hear u had a panic attack. Fingers crossed the machine works on spin.

Sing- i bet that was interesting doing a test on your dd.

Hills- sending you lots of get well vibes. Sinus pains and ear infections gloop. Hope your herbal drink works!