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!

hills hope you're feeling better

Nice to see you back zoo

Scream. I can't do logic puzzles but I love me some crosswords. Sounds like a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

honey sounds like it's going to be a few stressful weeks. Take care to look after yourself.

ED that Feb post sounds like me.

Still that's an impressive list.

🍒🍒👋🏼👋🏼👋🏼 to everyone else.

Got to go cook.

That could have been written by me ED . To be fair I can imagine the adults would probably be harder work than the little ones, who just all walked in and lined up.

River swimming would count as Fly lady’s “loving movement” and therefore it’s a big ta da in my book.

Deep cleaning of the highchair was my most hated job mc. We gave ours away and I’m going to make sure I find one with fewer books and crannies this time round!

Hope things are calm Chez Zoo and you’re now resting those aching joints.

Ta da:
🧹 peeled potatoes and made Yorkshire puddings and gravy
🧹 are far too much Sunday lunch
🧹 dozed on the sofa while making occasional enthusiastic pretend licks at DD’s play doh “Ice cream” creations.
🧹 put away some more clean clothes
🧹 dusted bedroom and landing
🧹 carried random crap from bedroom and out it away in correct locations
🧹 dug out wintery maternity clothes that I’d sorted a few months ago, bunged in a drawer and forgot about. They are ready to go in with the next LOL.
🧹 made a start on sorting the kitchen post-roast.

Now sitting with a cuppa while DH sweeps up the play doh. I still need to iron work and school uniform, prep overnight oats and meal plan with DH. I’ve delegated the rest of the kitchen sorting to him. Feel more in control than I have for a while. Let’s hope it lasts!

so many typos

Main achievements in the last hour:

• homework with DS
• DLMS* - both Caglets very distracted, although at least only DD1 is grumpy. I have retreated from the computer desk in fear of my life. But I’m trying to be firmer about when homework gets attempted.

Euwww I do not miss cleaning the high chair!

po3.5
❗️Check how DD1 is getting on with her history homework and get her to wash her whites for school
❗️Bit of planning/looking for birthday/Christmas presents for Cagletini
❗️Try and decide how DS should proceed with maths for the rest of the term

*DLMS, for any newbies, is “didn’t lose my shit”. The admirable and often difficult achievement of not actually killing people who annoy us.

In fact, 'didn't kill anyone' is a tada in itself.

Following on from the can rotation, I had a bash at the kitchen, which deteriorated rapidly last week for no obvious reason other than I kept falling down various rabbit-holes.

Made a big pot of lentil and fridge-bottom soup, then realised the fridge-freezer needed a good tidy. Rather to my shame I had to put some stuff in the food waste bin, so my next move is to be more careful with the online delivery order.

Four LoLs on pulleys. Tomorrow's LoLs sorted into piles.

LOs on way home, so quiet cup of tea now in order.

Evening all!

It has been a long day.

Ta da:
🍁 Dog walk
🕸️ Cooked chicken in white sauce, packed as 4 double portions, cooled, labelled, frozen
🍁 Poached pears from the garden
🕸️ Phone call with DM
🍁 Saw DS2 who popped in to play Pokémon with his smallest brother 🥰
🕸️ Ran completely out of oomph and went to bed for two hours
🍁 Got up and made roast lamb, roast potatoes and carrots, broccoli, peas and broad beans. DD made gravy. Apple crumble from the garden for pudding. DS2 and GF ate with us, it was lovely.
🕸️ Helped DD remake her bed (cover on the weighted blanket is a bugger) while DH tidied kitchen
🍁 Sorted and handed out 3 LOLs

Ta didn't
🤷🏼‍♀️ Either chutney - not enough cider vinegar and no star anise!
🤷🏼‍♀️ Get DS3 to change his bed

Just wondering if I can be bothered with a bath, or if I should just go to bed. Supposedly back to work tomorrow.

Willow- that is a long list - not suprised you needed a nap! Hope you have a good day at work tomo.

Zoo- hellloooo zoo!

Up- I found the ikea highchair that absolute best- simple design - easy to clean. I was quite emotional when i had to let it go.

Kalxon alert!
I shined my sink - 1st time in a long time. It looks so pretty.

Trying to be more organised for school so

Tadas
🐘 washed/dried all uniform on friday evening.
🐘found bits of uniform missing
🐘7am sat was in supermarket and did a family shop with all packed lunch stuff.
🐘cooked peri peri chicken wings - i have never made that before so it was interesting - dh and my sister liked it.
🐘visited my ddad.
Sunday tada
🐘put missing uniforn in the wash/dry 3 loads.
🐘Spend a whole day doing h/w with the kids.🤦‍♀️ but glad its done.
🐘Nearly smash my own brains out, trying to get ds to do 8 x3. Ds gets very upset. I give him a hug and he tells me he struggles alot with timestables- i feel bad.
🐘Make fajitas for lunch- win.
🐘Go for bike ride in rain.
🐘Make kids packed lunch while they eat their tea.
🐘Get them to bed for 8.30pm.
🐘Go and load dw.
🐘Hand wash stuff.
Kitchen looks much nicer now.

dancing have you tried doing something active while he's learning his tables?

1. Throwing and catching a ball with you as you recite the times table
2. Having mats/cards randomly on the floor with eg 8x3 on one card and answer on another card and he has to match them up and put them in order OR he hops on to the correct card as you shout out eg8x3? Take it in turns so he shouts out and you jump/hop to the correct card?
3. water, lots of bubbles and ping pong balls with the times table on them and he finds them and reads them out.

Tbf, scream probably has lots of ideas.

8x3 is the same as 53 plus 33 or 80- 2*8
TIMES tables were the worst!

I haven’t caught up properly but I will have a think about the times tables etc.

Turns out I am teaching at 9am tomorrow 🤣 wasn’t sure but pupil’s mum has confirmed she’d like twice weekly from this month rather than next, so that’s good financially too. Haven’t specifically prepped for the lesson yet as short notice but we are mid topic so should be fine really.

Should really sleep now. I had such a productive start to the day but have really flagged this afternoon!

strike the 80- 23 I always fuck up my 8 times table. But i am lucky that 83 is 24 and something that when i read the fricking thing and engage brain i can do. 7 times table is fucking awful too. I blame the error on times table induced trauma as a child --not even kidding, the head would have been disciplined under ofsted these days for the practises then-

Dancing have you tried the musical times tables? I had ten pupils with SEN and we managed to learn some of tables this way. I also made A4 laminated number cards for them to hold up when it was their answer. I would just learn the first five until concrete then start to add the next two so it isn’t so daunting. Hope this helps.

Willow don’t forget you have been quite ill. The family are letting you do too much. Glad to hear you went for a lie down.

Zoo great to hear from you.
Honeybadger it certainly is. Looking at you DH!

Scream a bit late starting but I bought a small sketch book from the Range it has white, brown and black pages.

MrsTidy sounds like a good day? I might make DH some lentil soup. He likes it but I don’t. I don’t know why just never really have liked it. BF makes the best. I do one with onions, tinned tomatoes, carrots and not too many red lentils. Our kids loved it.
Up sounds good. How many weeks are you now?

I have been back to choir today. Just as we were finishing I saw my old boss. He didn’t know I had resigned. He was upset for me, found it unbelievable. I got abit upset he was surprised I wasn’t working. It was good to see him and his wife. I guess it is still just under the surface. DH took me to the pub where we discovered the chef is leaving which is a shame but his niece is doing well. He is taking a step down for family reasons. We said we’ll go to the restaurant some time.
I ended up having scrambled egg when we got back.So lovely and cosy in my bed I have my flannelette pj bottoms on.

👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋🍒👋to everyone.

Chinese children learn with an abacus.

Red- its understable you were upset. It stays there for a few years. I am only just coming to terms with things 8 years later. It does heal.
Musical timetables sound fun- ds was singing a number blocks song- i am going find it!

Yup- Thank you so much for the timestables ideas! I am going to write them down. They sound so fun.
Hills- i never learnt my tt at primary school as my class were chosen to do free learning. No structured lesson. Except on friday morning a maths teachers came in. I was like a lesson in drowning. My brain went foggy. People ask questions and its too foggy in my brain to understand. I think my ds is that same so i really, really want to support his learning.

☕ hot teas and coffees are in thermal mugs and cups in the naughty corner.

Must get kids to school on time today so i had better get myself out of bed now.

🍒👋everyone

Wonder if an abacus would help him too.

I grew up doing maths solving a problem and writing the final number wrong. At secondary school the deputy head was lovely and taught me the 9x t on my fingers as she saw week after week i was failing on my quick tests. My other teacher nearly pulled his own hair out saying...how cud u do all workjng out correct and final answer is wrong . A superb college teacher didnt give on me and supported my through maths gcse to pass. Funny thing is...i like maths....maths doesnt like me. Its like the numbers jump or move around when i say them. If i type them...i can get the correct.

Today is sponsored by I Don’t Want To, You Can’t Make Me and Sons Esq.

Except I do have to do the things.

Cagletini is almost ready for nursery, DD1 is awake but not up yet as she has her first counselling appointment on the phone at 11. Ideally we’d get on with lots of stuff in the morning but with my lesson too it is a bit hectic so I think I’m just going to write it off.

po3.1
❗️Eat breakfast
❗️Set up PC for lesson
❗️Get dressed and make self vaguely presentable

Dancing, were you ever assessed for discalcular?

Ditto here Sing

Dancing, DS3 is similar, he can do the complex abstract maths but can't do times tables / mental arithmetic and is perfectly capable of saying the right answer and writing it wrong. It's not clear if it's dyscalculia or cognitive dyspraxia, but it's definitely there.

My sister learned her times tables by singing them - you used to be able to buy tapes / videos to sing along with . One year, we went 1,000 miles from the top to the bottom of France, on holiday, singing our times tables all the way down and all the way back. Gosh, were we efficient at them by the end!

Right. I was supposed to be having an exciting haircut today, but my hairdresser has flaked on me again so I'm only getting it coloured. I am sad, I've not had the full colour-and-cut for 23 years, and now I'm not either.

Hey ho. To do:
🕸️ Swap LOL over
🍁 Get DS3 outside for "PE"
🕸️ Back to client work
🍁 Make shepherd's pie for this evening

I'm sorry all the emotions rushed back Red. That must have been hard.

Scream, Hills totally understand the I Don't Want To, You Can't Make Me.

Honey if you have a stressful few weeks ahead, remember Flylady is about surviving, not piling more pressure on yourself.

StillUpSpooking hope your got your jobs done and DH took over the kitchen!

Yup glad you are surviving, I have been idly following your decluttering thread (while not actually doing any decluttering).

🍒👋 to zoo, Mc, AbandonHope, ED, THOSE, Famous, foxes, Hazel and everyone else.

Woohoo lesson done. All good. Will need to get better at planning in advance now I’m teaching this pupil twice a week!

po3.2
❗️Send homework (just completing something from the lesson so minimal effort)
❗️Set up invoice document
❗️Try and be vaguely social with the family and work out what’s happening today, DD1’s appt, home ed etc

Good morning, got a friend coming over today so been flying round the house this morning

Done
Cat fed
Bird feeders washed & birds fed
Laundry on & hung out
Yesterday’s laundry ironed
Vacuumed
Mopped
Bins & recycling emptied
S&S
Home grown chillis in the freezer

Just off to pick friend up from train station then hopefully a crafty afternoon

Goth, dammit, I knew I'd missed someone in my name-check. Well done on getting all that put of the way, hope you have a lovely time with your friend.

Scream well done on the lesson, hope DD1's counselling is going well.

Session was a tad pointless TBH it was more like the assessment before going on the waiting list properly. She was relieved to be off to school the second the call finished!

Feeling a bit overwhelmed and tired now but lots to do.

po3.2
❗️Make and eat lunch while watching comedy with DS and trying to relax a bit
❗️Maths with DS
❗️Tutoring admin

Bloody hell. I am done in. I keep forgetting everything and then remembering other stuff I haven’t done.

Why have I taken on a job as well as this life I’m barely managing some days 😩😳🤦🏻‍♀️

po3.3
❗️Watch something on my phone while Cagletini is calmly watching Bolt
❗️Eat something
❗️Write out present ideas