There's no fooling an April fledgling flyer

[MiniMarmite]

Welcome to the April edition of the fledgling flyers where shower screens are shiny and rain never stops play.

Here you can do any of the following:

• repeat or start baby steps (again!)

• repeat baby steps + do 15 mins a day decluttering in the current zone

or

• reinforce babysteps and do daily missions if you have finished decluttering

This is what it's all about - Babysteps each day to try to get some order back into our home with LOADS of support from our regulars.

So join in! We start this thread on April 1st (no joke), but you are welcome to dive in at any point in the month.

Splish, splash, swish and swash along to reserve your place...

Shop done pizza in bread machine but forgot pop corn for film night so will have to be hopeful and walk round corner to see if they have anything milk free.

Did buy the soil for the potatoe bags though... so that is something.

Hello!

Just about surviving school holidays with little flying but have done a load of washing every day and DS has decided to sort out his toys

Thinking about doing some gardening tomorrow but the ground is still very wet so we might go to the park instead

You all sound like you are having a far more productive week than me but I have cleaned the ** fishtank. The fish keep breeding despite the filth - any one want any? Free to anyone who can catch them! Please!

Back into the breach that is the toy heap...

Evening Ladies

Not much flying here today but day off tomorrow so hope to get a bit more organised. We had lovely weather here today .

Well done on finding the bedroom floor Nettie! Mine disappears on a regular basis and I'm sure I sleep much better when it is clean and tidy.

9 weeks to go Chairmum, how exciting. Glad you are getting some sleep and are going to take up offers of help.

Well done on clearing your monstrous box PA, sounds like some feat! As for blitzing, sometimes it just has to be done .

You sound extra-chirpy today MissB hope you had a good day.

Everything feels much better when the washing can go outside on the line rather than indoors I think aberita .

Sorry you've had a tough day DEM. Things are bound to be up and down for a while. We're all here if you need to vent x.

Cleaning out the fish tank is more than enough for one day DWM!

I'm off to bed in a minute - feeling a little under the weather but think I just need some sleep .

Morning All

Today's babystep is to learn about decluttering. It is definitely worth doing it in the way suggested here to avoid getting bogged down in it and trying to do too much at once (and then, if you're me, giving up)!

It is our last day in the kitchen for decluttering and the mission.

Have a good day in the sunshine.

Morning all,

It's very quiet on here this morning - can't believe I'm the first one to post! I'll have to make the most of the sun today (more washing about to go in the machine) as we've had sleet forecast for Sunday.

I've just finished work for the morning (unless anything else arrives), so now have about two hours to get everything done - which sounds like a long time, but I know it will just fly by.

On top of the routines, I also have to do today:

Post birthday card
Two invoices
DD2 to birthday party
General tidy-up before the weekend

Must get on with things before I allow myself a coffee. Hope everyone has a good day!

Morning all

Just dashing in to say "hi" and "bye" as we are off travelling now for a bit ...

Linzertorte and MissBennett I'd love to find a hot cross bun recipe that actually works ... I've tried a couple with quite disappointing results but that could be down to my cooking skills ....

Linzertorte (sacrilege emoticon) but I ordered my Easter eggs from the UK this year from one of those expat grocery websites! I suddenly felt very fed up of sophisticated, tasteful chocolate and wanted a Toffee Crisp egg (for dh), an Aero egg (for me) and a Smarties egg (for dd!!) They were yum! Btw, we have long summer AND Easter school hols here!! One certainly has to have an action plan - fortunately there is a huge choice of activities and weekly 'stages' that dc can attend. Enjoy the sun!!

Thanks for decluttering reminder Mini-M - I need it! Hope you are feeling better today.

Well done to your ds for sorting out his toys MummyD - (the Flying is obviously rubbing off) - and to you too for fish tank scrubbing. I think you are entitled to relax a bit today after that ..

Waves to DEM - hope things sorting themselves out now you have a bit more time

Go steady Chairmum and well done on all your preparations so far

Congrats on tackling the box PA and no, I'm plain 'mouse' - dye hair just so I'm not old, grey mouse ....

Great you can see your bedroom floor Nettie - well flown!

Starting my diet "again" on Sunday PMPY - we CAN do it!! With you in spirit ...

Hi to Optimistic Elliepac MrsDinky and everyone else who I have surely missed

Not sure exactly when we are getting back - tis complicated by office and family commitments - but we will be hitting the road shortly ...

Enjoy the rest of the hols everyone ...

Stillcounting (if you're still there) - which grocery site did you use? Was the postage reasonable? My parents did send small eggs over for the DC, but I had real cravings for a Cadburys egg this year. The chocolate just isn't the same over here; I stock up on ridiculous quantities of Fruit & Nut whenever I'm back in the UK. You can't get decent biscuits here either. I have about 20 packets of choc. hob-nobs in the cupboard which I hope will see me through to the summer.
Hope you have a good trip if you see this before you go, anyway!

[Apologies for digression everyone]

Linzer No I haven't gone yet - going to watch dd do a little "show" at pony "camp" this afternoon and we are all going straight off from there ...

I use this place

it's run by a British ex-forces chap I think - always VERY reliable and speedy

But delivery (for my usual order - approx 50 quids worth of oat cakes, J-cloths, Vanish stain sticks and caramac bars ) is about £15.00. It's not cheap but I only order twice a year.

this tells you more about their delivery pricing

Enjoy your hob-knobs!!

[It should be me apologising as I started the digression...]

Thanks so much Stillcounting - just had a quick glance and it looks very tempting! Will have a proper browse later. And considering we pay 10 pounds for each suitcase (one way) when we fly with RyanAir, the delivery charges don't sound too bad either.

Right, back to flying (the non-RyanAir kind) - I'm ashamed to admit I'm only halfway through my morning routine. First task is to hang out the washing while it's still sunny (I'm desperately hoping the sleet forecast will be proved wrong).

Afternoon all,

Sorry not to have posted for a while, I tried on Monday and it never appeared (it was when everything went bold and links packed up, must have been something wrong). Then have just been busy with the DCs, then our router packed up and took 2 days for DH to sort it so no internet, which was good for me TBH, I spend far too much time on MN lately.

Anyway, I am home alone fr the weekend, DH and the DCs have gone off to Grandma's. Any normal person would be thinking fantastic, shopping, relaxing, nibbling delicious snacks in front of the telly, I am thinking, ooh I could go and hire a rug doctor and clean the carpets. The place looks like a tornado has been through it, have done quite a lot of garden jobs this week and neglected the house somewhat, so I am going to get stuck in today and maybe have time for shopping tomorrow. Then, Sunday is a big day, Wembley to see Portsmouth in the FA cup semi final (the real reason I have not gone with the others for the weekend). I am not optimistic about the result, but am going with 8 of my school friends (that means I have known them for a very long time indeed...), so it will be a good day out whatever happens. Enough of this wittering, waves microfibre cloth at everyone and off to start tidying.

Hi All

Just back from a picnic (first of the year ) and dropping in to say hello...

SC I have used these two hot cross bun recipes reliably (I mix the dough in a bread machine but do the rest by hand but you could also use a dough hook or good old fashioned by hand depending on what equipment you have):

This one takes longer but is heavenly:

books.google.co.uk/books?id=qQsSTIoWNsAC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=andrew+whitley+hot+cross+buns&source= bl&ots=oR6qtZlRxa&sig=rHPnmFjwEOS5M8hWMOhkmmybK-U&hl=en&ei=gTCS8bWHpOy0gS1w9WVCQ&sa=X&oi=bookresul t&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false I hope that link works. I use a mixture of melted honey, butter and double cream for the glaze.

I went on the author's bread making course a few years ago and it is one of the best things I have ever done, loved it.

Then, there's a good old Delia recipe, fairly quick and very reliable:

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/sweet/hot-cross-buns.html

Feeling much better today thanks - had a really good sleep!

Back later x

That's brilliant - thank you so much Mini-Marmite - much appreciated. Will try Delia one first I think (to get my hand back in) and then the other one which looks really good (no bread machine - bought bread here is good - but don't mind a bit of elbow grease!)

Yes, we are still here - dh tied to his desk - going to start cooking dinner now actually as dd hungry. Hopefully we will still get await tonight or early tomorrow.

Very proud of dd today. She had quite a nasty fall when the pony in front of her somehow managed to fall over trying to avoid trotting over poles and dd's mount made sudden avoidance maneouvre and dd ended up going over its shoulder. She did cry but she got back on and carried on like a trooper ....

If I'm not back later, we will have departed ..

Enjoy the rest of your holidays everyone ..

Sorry - forgot to say hello to MrsDinky - hope Portsmouth do you proud on Sunday!

Have a great holiday SC

Evening All

It is my wedding anniversary today so I'm just about to cook a yummy dinner while DH puts DS to bed...I'll sneak on later to post the links later but no round-up tonight as I'll get into trouble .

Have a great evening everyone and well done on all your great efforts this week.

Evening all :-)

Sleet where ru? That's ridiculous! We had lovely sunshine past two days!

I have about 6 boxes sitting unpacked in conservatory they were in the loft for 5 years and have moved to conservatory. Very attractive!! Been there 3 months now!!

Feel like failing miserably as can't keep ip with whose doing what when or how!

Morning routine is not working as fail a first hurdle of getting dressed including hair and face, barely get 2 minutes to shower in morning never mind anything else !

To make me feel better I'll just state what I've achieved yest and today :-
kitchen floor cleaned (snuck home from work to clean it!)
cleaned living room floor, bathroom but not floor! Loads washing and drying!

Going to try and either declutter kitchen or garden tomorrow!

Off to bed, wish you all great weekend! X

Morning All

It's the weekend, hurrah...

just a babystep today to help us get into the idea of using the timer when doing our tasks (and having a well-deserved break too).

Have a wonderful day (rain or shine)!

Good morning,

Cold and grey here today, but no sign of the sleet as yet. Nettie - we're in Austria where the winter has been never-ending this year, although we have had lovely sunny weather the last few days.

Today's list:
General tidy-up/blitz (contd from yesterday)
Food shopping (including shopping for DD2's Kindergarten group's "healthy snack" on Thursday)
Make a start on translating menu
DD1 and DD2 piano practice

A belated happy wedding anniversary, MiniMarmite - hope you had a lovely evening. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Good morning ladies,

Lovely sunshine here.

Didn't make it on here yesterday, so missed SC ..... maybe!! Hope you got off and really ahve a good time!

DWM - Hope you got into the garden yesterday and dont worry about how productive you are being ... the fish are being productive enough by the sound of it!!

MrsDinky - Make sure you manage to relax a bit during your time on your own and I really hope Pompey do well

HAppy Anniversary to you MM. Did you have a romantic evening?

Nettie - You are not failing at all!! I have been loitering here since August and people have come and gone, I still get confused who is who, doing what etc.

Linzer - Glad you are no longer stuck in the middle of winter!

Waves to everyone else

Today - no tennis, so need to round up as many DCs as I can and get them to a photobooth for passport photos.
Shopping
Hoover hallway
Go out and enjoy this sunshine - this could take a long time
Cook curry

Morning all.

We had an absolutely lovely time on our little break. Weather was gorgeous, lots of walks on the beach, a lovely B&B with a sea view and a trip to the mountain zoo made for a fabulous few days. Uncle not doing so great but really loved seeing the DC's as he hasn't seen them in a while.

Dh, i've discovered, is more tidy when we are not here. Came home to a really tidy house. His explanation is when i'm not there he knows he has to do it but when i am there he assumes i'll do it. Still nice to come back to a tidy house after a nightmare 4 hour drive with lots of traffic around Manchester and roadworks over the Pennines.

Back to normality today though do not have my normal mad Saturday tidy and can hopefully concentrate on other jobs.

List looks like this:-
washing on line
washing on
dw on
Mop floors
Tesco
Argos
Tidy garden
Clean downstairs/bathroom
Tidy DS bedroom

That will do, hopefully all that will be achieved this morning and this afternoon am aiming to play with DC's in garden as is another beautiful day here.

Have a good day everyone.

right today i need to start to retrieve the house from under the chaos and messy. So the plan is: take ds out for most of the day. give tea and leave the tv to entertain.

Set timer for 30 mins and tidy up. take break and repeat. AZnd yes i know it is saturday night but i need to get sorted now. it is starting to make me feel wrt the mess.

Will be back and will make more effort to know who is about here these day. seeing as i have be mia for at least two if not 3 threads.

Good morning all. No flying here today at all. Just about made myself a cup of tea to take with me before I rushed the toddler out of the house this morning.

Now I'm on my way to London for a little mumsnet meet. It's amazing how peaceful a journey can be when I don't have to entertain / restrain DS! So for today I am taking it easy and letting H deal with my ill, grumpy DS. I'll be tired by the time I get home but it will be great me time :-)

Morning all,

Thank you PA - I expect the Villa fans are quaking in their boots today.

Today

Do more rug doctoring - did front room yesterday and, wow! It's hard work getting the furniture out of the way in our small rooms so going to confine myself to worst areas.
Hang washing out
Turn off computer
Take stuff to charity dhop and take rug doctor back
Go shopping

lindertorze ah Austria I see that would explain it! Fingers crossed sun stays out for you!

Oh I'm glad pa thx for that! It's just I always do it on iPhone otherwise Id never get on computer!

I have done zero flying today. Been busy dealing with the tantruming daughter and a lovely trip to town and the castle park, fed ducks, ate bread meant to feed ducks with! Had lunch and played with DS friend. Very nice and even bought myself a winter jacket in the sale!

I've had a lovely da. And have no intentions of flying for rest of day!

Hope you all have lovely night. Can't wait for dr who!

Evening all,

Rug doctored the whole ground floor (apart from under heaviest bits of furniture) am truly grossed out at how bad I had let my carpets get, but very pleased with the results. Also took a box of stuff to charity shop and then went and spent more money on garden stuff.

Hope you have all had a lovely day, I have lost track a bit of what everyone is up to, but have been trying to read the thread and catch up, will try and catch up properly next week but realistically it might all have to wait till after the schools start back.

Waves at everyone and shuffles off to look for some icecream.

evening.

busy day here today.

Ikea and garden center done
Planted runner beans, peppers, hanging tomatoes, lettice, spring onions done
Dug over flower bed done
Empty sand pit of contents almost done
Wire pump for water feature done
Cooked tea from scratch and eaten in garden done

Havent got round to putting washing away but never mind. done stuff which is nice. tired though so hope to sleep well.