Pumpkin spice and ghost abound, fledglings flying through the crazy

[HillsBesideTheSea]

Right for this seasonal thread of the Fledgings, I invite you to pull up a comfy chair around the fire pit and pour yourself a mug of something that you fancy.

We loosely follow the flylady system and her babysteps. But we have our own spin, our own abbreviations and have been around for far longer than some of us would like to admit. If you are new to these parts welcome in, we'll get you up to speed in no time. But we have rules, yes rules!

Rule 1: No fledgling left behind.
life happens. If you fall off the thread, jump back when you are ready.

Rule 2: If you wouldn't say it to someone else, don't say it to yourself
Be kind to yourself, the world is still crazy, and life happens. Just do what you can, when you can.

Right that's the rules now for the fun part. Acronyms and autocorrects!
Amongst others (and there are others but we'll have to explain as we go along)
It's all gone a bit ponty pridd - tits up, pete tong, wrong etc etc we get to thank auto correct for this
WOW wash out Wednesday - humps days often don't go to plan and get washed out
LOL round these parts it is load of laundry

Urm... Yeah about that fire pit and comfy chair... Dibs on the big floofy one with fluffy blankies... Last one in brings the marshmallows!

Definitely keeping the cobwebs as seasonal accessories, thanks for the idea Those and zoo.

MrsTidy I'm horrified for LG but how lovely that she was able to list all the women who care for her. I'm obviously sheltered, as I've never seen a dick pic and didn't see a penis "in the wild", so to speak, until I was at Uni and one of the rugby team dropped his trousers in the bar 🤢. Good luck under the stairs.

🍒👋 to everyone else, my brain won't go again.

Ta da:
Nothing

Ta didn't:
Everything

To do:
🕸️ Batch cook chicken in white sauce base for the next fortnight
🕸️ Think about getting autumn bunting up
🕸️ Hope I stop feeling sick after stupidly drinking coffee
🕸️ Consider going back to bed and refusing to engage.

Had a couple of days of catching up on overdue jobs, from replacing the flickering light bulb in the bathroom, rehanging curtains that had slid off the rail (I’m too enthusiastic pulling them open in the morning) replacing buttons on a coat, that sort of thing.

Today I’m doing the same but with my crochet work as it is torrential outside.

It’s definitely a blanket and film day today.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and gets plenty of sleep

Nice relaxing afternoon so far, much needed after a tiring morning. DH is home and pleased the exhibition stuff is mostly done, it’s been a lot of work lately. I took Cagletini to dancing and spent most of the time in the charity shop next door. Found an unopened Lego 3in1 set for £1.50 😱 so that’s providing some entertainment for me before I bung it in the general box. Also got some sand art stuff which might keep Cagletini busy for a bit later.

Also got to see DD1 do ballroom dancing for the first time in at least a couple of years - including a paso doble version of the imperial March from Star Wars. Obviously. :o I did feel a bit emotional watching her do a jive to Hit the Road Jack though, she’s been dancing to that song for years and seeing how much more she’s learned (they add in more moves as they go through the exam stages) was really lovely

@DoesHePlayTheFiddle just catching up and I saw you mentioned that you are autistic and ADHD like me :) I hadn’t realised that (or maybe you had mentioned it before and I forgot because, well, ADHD 🤣) I struggle with executive function stuff. Getting better since meds (veteran fledglings will know how much my ta da lists have improved 😁) but I’m not sure it’ll ever come naturally to me!

A calm day today, and I much appreciate the supportive posts. I asked for my posts from yesterday to be deleted, as we're dealing with the school and I want to avoid the temptation of too much speculation.

LOs have had a happy day out, and I relaxed by rotating my cans and packets and relabelling storage tubs. Watched two zombie apocalypse films, and am now about to make pizza, watch my elephants again, and wonder why we bothered coming down from the trees in the first place, to paraphrase Douglas Adams.

And I didn't need a rescue team in the depths of the cupboard! Everything was surprisingly well-ordered when I removed the top layer. I love it when four tubs can be reduced to three. And stacked instead of taking up much-needed floor space.

Zoo how good to see you back! How is it going?

Ta da:
🌟 Batch cooked breakfast muffins
🌟Cleaned kitchen multiple times, DW rotated
🌟DH shampooed living room carpet

It has been very wet outside, so haven't ventured out.

I had to venture out because I needed to post DSis2’s b’day card. Once I got out I quite enjoyed having an hour to myself. I went to the paper shopPOshut 1/2 day. Then the Range and bought a couple of things. Next I went to a mixed grocer where they have a PO open until 10pm. Had a nice chat with woman.wasnt sure ifthe Road would be flooded
It almost was.
Made a Burmese curry, wasn’t all that good. Going before I fall asleep.

My legend of a DH just woke me with a bacon sarnie and cup of tea in bed. It’s how Sunday mornings should be in my opinion.

YesTaDas:
👻 tidies downstairs
👻 hoovered downstairs and stair case
👻 tidied dining room dresser drawers which had got a bit chaotic and weren’t closing properly (they contain DD’s craft stuff, stationary, batteries, cards etc)
👻 tidied epic pile of DD’s school art. I thought she brought lots home from nursery but reception is a whole different ball game . Will photograph the best ones and gradually move it all closer to the bin.
👻 Ordered a new pair of sensible flat shoes - what a struggle. My normal fail-safe websites were really scraping the barrel and stock was poor in my size
👻 made some Christmas gift plans with relatives
👻 sorted relatives birthday gift and card and took them round.

We enjoyed a nice family lunch out and a very short walk (abandoned as it was cold wet and windy).

Today will be usual ironing and food prep and perhaps some dusting, mopping and a bathroom clean. I’m really struggling with the home bleurgh at the minute, but I think it’s knowing that we are about soon to be in chaos for the decorating and then my mat leave will start soon after that when I can do it at a more leisurely pace.

I relaxed by rotating my cans and packets and relabelling storage made me smile Tidy. I have so found my people .

Lovely you got to see DD dance Sing. My DD recently started a dance class but even at 4 parents can’t stay in the room and I really want to watch . I suspect the lowping around the living room she’s shown me bears no resemblance to the actual dancing they’ve been doing!

for your DH for carpet shampooing Mc, is he being less irritating?

for you too for all those little jobs Goth.

Lovely to see you back Zoo, and I concur in the cobweb front.

Morning lovelies. I woke up at 7 but have been lazing since. Feel a bit negative about Sundays lately - I always feel a lot of pressure to get ready for the week ahead so it never feels terribly relaxing. Oh well at least Cagletini has woken up in a good mood today.

po3.1
❗️Breakfast for me and Cagletini
❗️Actually sort my meds for the next fortnight (I keep not bothering - I take my ADHD/anxiety meds daily but then forget stuff like iron 😳)
❗️Clean the weekly planner board (although not much on it as I didn’t get round to filling it in properly this week 😳)

Right, must get up. Not sure DH and DD1 will be terribly happy to wake up yet - they stayed in the living room as DD1 was editing videos of the exhibition (her first commission - the committee offered to pay her!) and then they were joining the Squid Games hype 🦑🎲📺

When I was little i did dance class. Parents were not allowed in the room. Ditto with gymnastics, and all sorts of activities. The reason being that children behave differently when their parents are in the room.
In terms of teaching it is soooo much easier to teach when the parents are not in the room.

I am not sleeping well. I have been forgetting my vit D tablets and it is really noticeable. Exhaustion is still catching up with me.

Morning all! Dashing in quickly to say hello before I walk the dog and get batch cooking - DH did red meat yesterday (4 bologneses) and is now making the remainder into chilli. I am doing chicken in white sauce after the dog walk, then hoping to make apple, rhubarb and chilli chutney and spiced pear chutney, to deal with the glut of fruit from the garden.

Back later when I've run out of energy.

Morning There you are Zoo ! Hope ds's school place has gone ok so far.

I've had a useless week then a blow out drinks at the pub on Friday night. I woke up on Saturday thinking what is that smell? I'd managed to cook a beef stew and put it in the slow cooker and have no memory of it the next day so at least there was food.

This morning I've rotated the dw, put on the emergency load of whites (essential if ds wants a shirt for school tomorrow) and remembered to change my hrt patch a day late.

Entering into the period of formal observations and performance management etc now so need to get focussed and put all my evidence together of meeting targets and being worthy of going through threshold (slightly higher level of pay which on my part time salary equates to a very little bit extra become even littler after deductions and universal credit reducing but it's the principle). That's going to eat some time to procrastinate over and some time to actually do all that needs doing and a lot of mental energy and stress so I'm not overly confident that my flying attempts are going to get better any time soon.

Sorry - feel like I just come on and give excuses lately. 3 weeks till half term, 5 weeks done. If worst comes to worst it'll just be dw, lol, getting rubbish out and ensuring food in the house for the next three weeks then house rescue at half term.

Apologies for being AWOL so much recently. Just busy, lots to think about, still getting used to the new term's routines and all the uni application stuff for DS is taking up a significant amount of time.

Famous - congratulations on your beautiful new arrival!

MrsT - I missed what happened to your DD but seems to be the right emoji.

Those - my DS's school allows phones for use in class, apps etc too. they have the wifi fairly strapped down and 3G reception is poor so there is a degree of control also they have a specific ban on camera use. I think the younger years are supposed to put them in a box as they enter the classroom if not needed. DD's school policy is for them to be silent and out of sight at all times during the school day. Both are older secondary.

House is gradually being restored to order following the kitchen renovations, the tiler is now booked in so not much more to go on that. I am decluttering and have been tackling what seems like a deluge of admin tasks (mostly appointments, opticians, vets, flu jabs, book club choices, stuff like that). This morning I am in a coffee shop with bullet journal and Ipad, I have more or less abandoned the bullet journal in recent months but want to get it going again.

po3.2
❗️Make sure Caglets get stuff done
❗️Message pupil’s mum re extra lessons
❗️Fill in weekly planner board

DH is in a lot of pain today so is busy planning the redecoration. Luckily he is in agreement that we have to do the last details in the bathroom first (got abandoned when we had covid… or a little before that if I’m honest) as if we crack on with the living room it’ll just get forgotten altogether.

po3.3
❗️Check Cagletini’s nursery bag is ready for tomorrow
❗️Gather clean laundry and sort it
❗️Gather dirty laundry in basket

Yeah I thought that would be the reason Hills, I’d just assumed parents would stay for the dinky class plus I’m nosy. She loves it though, which is the main thing, and certainly has no issue hurrying me out

Ooh that sounds like a nice morning ED.

Honey I’ve gone lots of weeks recently with just doing the basics. Pre-Flylady there would be times when even that slipped, and I do find it’s not such a mammoth task getting back on top of things as it used to be. Love that drunk you thought if hungover you’d stomach. I’d have been delighted with myself!

We’ll happily take some of that chutney in the naughty corner Willow.

I had a little burst of energy after posting earlier:
🧙‍♀️ made beds
🧙‍♀️ LOL in
🧙‍♀️ DW on
🧙‍♀️ S&s x 2
🧙‍♀️ emptied upstairs bins
🧙‍♀️ Sorted clean clothes
🧙‍♀️ Tidied dressing room properly. Dusted it, cleaned window and frame, wiped down dusty handbag collection, decluttered and tidied cosmetics. It looks so much better and now I’m not so terrified of having to empty it.

DH has put some beef in to roast for Sunday lunch and it’s smells delicious.

Small kids are the worst for misbehaviour cos the parents are about. Ds was a perfect example of this. toad that he was. He did an activity where the parents were expected to stay. I had to stand outside the building because he just wouldn't listen to the teacher if i was watching. As long as I was out of sight he was fine.

Slow morning here. Everything hurts, especially breathing. Apparently i am shit at parenting myself/adulting. need to remember to take the damn inhaler that helps with that!

To do:
Laundry
Garden centre
Huge search on internet for teen's question's answer
Get dressed

But probably not in that order

It would probably be a good idea to get dressed before the garden centre hills that’s true… :o apart from anything else, you’d be in danger in the cactus section.

Clothes are sorted and mostly put away but I am out of breath already so I’m not going back upstairs just yet with the rest! 😳

DH has popped to Wilko, DD1 is apparently doing her only bit of homework, and DS has been sent to sand the bathroom door frame/skirting boards to the best of his ability (dyspraxic and things like that aren’t a strong point really - DH will go over it again with finer paper before we clean it)

Going to have a rest from power of threeing now and just read for a bit

Up - the dance school DD used to belong too was "no parents" even for toddlers, not just because they distract the children but it takes far longer to get everyone settled in and then out again between lessons as the adults move their chairs, chat, take their coats off, put their bags down then the reverse at the end. Far easier to let them do all that outside in the waiting area!

Saw this on FB and nodded

Ta-da
LoLed
Cleaned kitchen
Washed up
Read

To-do

Bake banana bread
Pop into parents
More reading
Make dinner
Evening routine

Will catch up later

Tada
Trail variety of shops for food,cat food and other things we have run out of
Come home and put away
Blueberry pancakes for brekkie
Wash up
Wipe kitchen surfaces
Sweep floor
Sweep living room floor
Wash both on hands and knees
Gather up rubbish and recycling from around the house,add contents bins and put out for dd2 pop into big bins as my joints are excruciating today and did not appreciate carrying the shopping...
3lol done also
Litter trays empty and scrub

Ta das:
🌟Beds stripped and remade
🌟Rubbish out including recycling
🌟Fishtanks sorted
🌟Deep clean baby's high chair
🌟LOL
🌟Rotated DW several times

Oh forgot, hoover downstairs.

Love that ED

I also saw this today, not funny but does make a valid point I think!

Right, I’ve been lazing about too much this afternoon - did some reading and a bit of craft with Cagletini though as well as spending far too long on a fiendish logic puzzle.

At a bit of a loss as to what to do now TBH so I’m scraping the barrel with some very small tasks!

po3.4
❗️Add a couple of dates to the diary
❗️Homework for tutor with DS
❗️Sort his maths books

Thanks Still - hope I find the same. And yes, there's worse things to find you did when drunk than cook a stew

Got dragged out for river swimming today when I genuinely was planning on getting more done around the house but did manage to do some tidying and sorting before I went.