May's Fledgling Flyers: shed that clout May Flyers are out

[elliepac]

Welcome to the May edition of the fledgling flyers where we are going to merrily fly around the maypole, dusting as we go.

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

For those who are curious, these are the Babysteps, which we all hope will restore order in our homes and make our lives a little bit easier with lots of support (and chat, and wine, and a little more chat )

So please come and join us, old and new, from May 1st.

@ ellie

Gosh ellie well done on roundup that was fab !! Can I ask what age DD? Contemplating potty training DD myself just curious?

Hiya diva think I need lessons from you too!!
intravenous feel fir you honey well done today
biddy I loved powerplate but couldn't fit it in with evening schedule and gym. Enjoy mil swears by it and hypoxi machine.
dwm poor puss hope op goes well
sc totally feel you girl DH isn't away but works every weekend.

Today I have managed to

dw
wm
cleaned front door
mopped living room floor
done some paperwork
been at work
went to opticians bought ridiculously expensive glasses which I am justifying as my previous ones have lasted me for 4 years and I deserve pampering and have to wear them everyday [trying to convince myself emotion]
Ironing done put away (had help)
now all remains is to put furniture back on floor and get to bed.

Sorry iPhone got stuck wanted to wave goodnight to everyone and see you all election day

Gosh I can't keep up, am very impressed by all your lists. Not much achieved here today, but never mind, it is a work from home day tomorrow, so much more flying potential1

Thank you everybody for your congratulations . They are very much appreciated

ellie all I remember from history is that Jethro Tull invented the steam drill and the horse drawn hoe (i think ), and that is only because I made it in to a little song. Wish I had studied harder because now I find it all fascinating.

dwm also reassured by the re-emergence of the whiteboard, and to hear about your cat.

SC I am feeling the same way about Wednesdays to be honest. I often get back from work late and don't manage to achieve much.

Chairmum I think I ended up with a single pair of tracksuit bottoms by 34 weeks! Didn't really help that I ate so much during pregnancy that I was left with only the same pair of tracksuit bottoms after giving birth

DEM I did the same with my GCSEs (am also over 30), but to be fair, my predicted grades were crap!

biddy yey, well done to your DS

Enthusiastic waving to SR, Linzer, MrsD, OM and all I have missed!

Hi Ladies

Still not caught up with the thread properly but otherwise doing ok:

Washing on - done
washing out - done (plus and extra load on and out too )
tidy breakfast and lunch things - done
take DS swimming - done
prep dinner - done (easy, jacket potatoes)
iron DS's holiday clothes - mostly done
start packing - done
find malt loaf recipe - done - will make at weekend
write thank you card - done
plant spring onions - not done on account of having emergency swim nappy purchasing trip instead.
declutter some paperwork from hallway - not done
check work email - done
shine sink - will do now
bed by 10:30 - hmm, will be going in a few minutes I promise!

We're off to Centerparcs for our holiday, not very exotic but really looking forward to it.

at my historical knowledge PMPY - Jethro Tull only a rock band in my little mind!

Thanks for the great round-up Ellie and love the reminder of DEM's words of wisdom...how true...although the amount of dust in my house is often reminiscent of a museum!
Happy voting tomorrow those of you in the UK.

Night all x

Evening!
Wow - am impressed by all that has been done. And especially ellie's round up. You deserve that wine

I have:

• done morning routine

-done mission -DH got in washing I'd put out - just needs sorting now -rearranged tea menu due to lack of pesto (note to self, if menu plan includes pesto, make sure it is in house!) -been to Guide planning meeting for camp -mad day at work -hotspot in kitchen -booked tickets for DDs to go and see Westlife next week. On their own I am partly excited for them and partly very nervous. Am sure it will be OK and they are being very lovely now I might even get some jobs out of them -Guide admin and preparation for tomorrow - as I won't be there as it's DD1's jazz concert which is always a good evening out

So that's me done and now I'm off to bed. Night all

Thanks Biddy for your ideas! I like the Ed Prawn Balls! , . before you get the notion that we are the Family Von Trapp. I had 3 teens with me because: 1 was in it, 2 was watching under duress, 3 is a prefect and had to be ther making tea and taking the money! At least they did all 3 with good grace.

Ellie - what a day! You defo deserve your wine tonight. Hope DD gets the hang of potty training and your Y11s are better for you tomorrow!! I had v. funny chat with my Ds2s german teacher who is in her first year. She was pleased to tell me what a linguist DS was and then how much he chats so she has to give him lunchtime detentions which she was sure I knew all about!!! Er....no....he hadn't divulged that fact!I said if he needed them to go right ahead and give them!!(I was trying to be a supportive parent!!)You have my sympathies!!

Missb -Westlife tickets??? Lucky DDs!! They'll be fine...

Big wave to everyone else and night night!

Good Election Day morning!

Masses to catch up with on here. Everyone is so busy!!

Meal last evening ended up being fajitas, just because the family are split between the two choices and DD2 was going out (doesn't like fajitas) and DD3 would have struggled to eat toad in the hole.

Hope you wont be coping with a hangover as well as work today, Ellie. Another undecided voter here. Not long to make my mind up! I thought I had it sussed, then DH said something last evening which made me think that maybe I was wrong.

Scary list from Diva - welcome!!

Hope the cat is ok DWM. Expensive business these pets!

FOr those of you who are "over 30"!!! I say a big !!???///!!!^!!! O levels here too and waaaaayyyyy over 30 (and 40!!)

Biddy, you have had me spluttering over my cornflakes already when I read you needed "red stuff" for your doorstep - my brain only registers one sort of red stuff and I had to read twice to work out you were not throwing wine over your doorstep!

Lucky DD's MissB - and milk it for all the jobs you can, I say!!

I have been awake for what seems like hours coughing and spluttering. How annoying! Day off today and I had hoped to catch up a bit and then stay up tonight for the election shannigans. (OM very jealous of your planned party) Dont think I will be able to stay up, but hopefully I will get up in the middle of the night and then sleep after work tomorrow.

I think I am going to have to put my foot down with a strong hand today! DD2s new bike has arrived and I when I went to bed last evening she and DH were putting it together. I get up this morning and I now have DHs road bike in the hallway, his off road bike in the back lounge and now DDs bike also in back lounge. It may be a large room, but two bikes!! It also cuts into the space for my ironing/sorting pile! Have to be careful how I tread to avoid the bike ending up in the bedroom though!! We do have two sheds for goodness sake.

DH must have felt rotten yesterday as he didn't go out on his bike, he only had energy to have a "stroke" of "her"!!

Cant think about a list for today. I think I will just have to muddle around and do what I can in between coughing fits.

Waves to everyone, have a good day!!

Morning!

PA Well wine is in fact the only red stuff I've got in my house, but I don' t think it will work well on the doorstep, and I'll only be throwing it down my neck!! I don't know I suppose it's probably paint I'm after! Bikes must go in sheds!! DH cyles to work so I've managed to get rid of the bikes but not the other paraphernalia which gets dumped every night in 'bike gear hotspots'. grrr Hope the cough gets better!

MissB Lucky DDs - hope they are nice to their mum for giving such a lovely treat!

Today's List for me:
-shower (now) & load of washing
-Sink
-Mission
-School runs etc
-Pilates class - without getting giggles this time
-DS Drs appointment re: verucca (seems ridiculous but pharmacist would not give anything)
-VOTE!!
-Big food shop (yuk)
-Not stay up too late waiting for first results, although it is quite exciting!

Have a great day everyone. Will pop in this evening!

Morning all - pa I'm over 40 too (& I'm sure sc is as well - think we had a 'competition' about this is November? Not sure who won)

Didn't get much done with the trauma of puss who I will 'out' as being called Daisy. She's absolutely fine (apart from the lump) so I think I am the most traumatised by the whole thing, although DH went out looking for her last night to make her come in for bed. DS is not sufficiently 'lump aware' to be worried thank goodness.

Already got WM and DW on so today I will:
get dressed (when got Dpuss1 off me)
breakfast (when got DS off the DS)
DS to school
pop into pharmacist to order repeat prescription
vote
do some work!
lunch
iron & put away
mow lawn
more work
collect DS and DNeice from school
cook tea
DS to bed on time
glass of wine

Have a great day everyone and if you are in the UK, don't care who you vote for but get out there and do it!

Morning everyone

had major fledging flyer hissyfit meltdown. Catalyst DH lazy ass laundry pile has made it's way to the laundry basket . Then followed tirade discussion about no help, been making bed shining sink decluttering and why hasn't he noticed

Anyway I have so far
got me and DC ready for work and nursery
wm on dw on
sink dried

and I plan to
get to work
not bury DH under works patio ala missb style. (there is a driveway waiting to be relayed with concrete
send DS birthday card
vote for unknown party (eni mine minie mo) have done lot of research soul searching and got less idea now than did before!!

I hope you all have a lovely day (sorry for grumps)

Morning!
PA hope the cough gets better and good luck with bike removing activity!
DWM I'm with you in the suffagettes - just go and do it!
biddy hope you get through pilates OK

For me today:
-morning routine - done
-work - will be off shortly
-DD1's jazz cafe evening tonight
-DD2 playing in rounders match so goodness only knows when she'll get back so the logistics of last two events may become complicated defeattheirfather
-mission? I'll have a look.

ellie how you teach teenagers all day is beyond me - you have my respect (and sympathy!)

Be back later - will stay up a bit - DD2 very interested and DD1 fairly much so and DD2 very keen to watch some results

Off to vote before work!

Morning all,

I'm late on this morning as a) the Kindergarten photos have arrived, so spent a while chatting to some other mums there while I picked up and paid for my photos, and b) I've just spent a good half an hour trying to get the Internet working again (finally managed it by switching off the computer, unplugging it - a vital step that I'd missed it in previous attempts - and switching it back on.

DWM I feel very guilty about not voting, but only found out - too late - that I could have registered online to do so. Though I do have the slight problem of not knowing which electoral roll I was last registered on.

biddy How annoying of the pharmacist. We recently spent two hours at the dermatologist's for a wart on DD1's foot all because the GP had neglected to tell us exactly what we should be doing. Two hours of keeping DS entertained!

PA I was a GCSE guinea pig! I even got to write a report about the new history GCSE for a history teachers' magazine (the only time I have ever been in print). I am nearer to 40 than 30 btw .

Quite behind this morning, so must get on with list:

Morning routine
Washing (will have to put DS back in nappies at night if this continues)
Send translation
Mission (yesterday's too, as I didn't have a chance to look at it yesterday)
Decluttering (have done hall - tiny - and no dining room, so will declutter part of living room where dining table is!)
DD1 to first communion rehearsal

Nettie x-posted - can really empathise with you re lazy DH and pile of laundry (though I'm never too sure whether the pile of clothes scattered around his side of the bed is really laundry or he's just too lazy to put it away). I will join you in adding "not bury DH under patio" to my list today. He was very grumpy when he finally got back last night - not only had the DC "destroyed" his Lego wind turbine (it had fallen apart while they were playing with it...), I had also overlooked some mistakes in DD1's maths homework, hadn't practised her Mother's Day poem with her (she refuses to read it with me as it's supposed to be a surprise for Sunday) and neglected to ask her whether she needs to know her 8 times table. I am not cut out for parenting Austrian-style.

Morning all,

had a bit of a bad evening last night and ended up missing a couple of jobs but the house still looks fine, so who cares! H decided to have a go at me which really got to me. Pulled myself up this morning though!

MrsD - I love that feeling when you free up a bit more space, and I'm looking forward to the day when I don't need a whopping great pushchair cluttering up my house!

Linzer - its about expectations isn't it. Things seem harder when you were (and had every right) to expect a nice family day! I'm a mostly single parent and I find it ok to manage because I know what to expect and when I will get my breaks!

Nettie - things that you use all the time are always a good investment, especially if they make you feel good!

pushmepullyou - I'm slightly better off than that - I have one skirt, one pair of jeans, one pair of tracksuit bottoms and some light trousers for when it is hot, but I mostly live in the jeans! I'm counting down the days tho cos I lost weight in the early days of pregnancy / when I split with H and don't know what size I'm going to be once I've given birth! I'm determined to lose one more dress size by not eating entire packets of biscuits while sitting on the sofa BF like I did with DS (but still lost half a stone in 6 months or so, greedy pig!)

MM - hope you have a lovely time on your holiday. I'm jealous! Could do with one at the mo but I think it would be too much work on my own with DS!

PA - hope you feel better. I am finding the nice thing about flying is that when i have days when things don't get done the house doesn't turn into a complete tip because it was ok to start with

I've got a few bits to do today but not too much:

Done :
Morning routine (except swish and swipe bathroom)

ToDo:

• Take DS to toddler group
• VOTE! (next door to toddler group
• take DS to nursery
• phone GP to make another appointment with counsellor so I can keep on top of DS/pregnancy etc and not fall to bits!
• mop kitchen floor
• afternoon routine
• evening routine

Morning all,

Shaping up to be another busy day here. Some impressive lists to be had. Mine today is quite simple:-

work
vote
clear debris from bomb that has clearly hit house when I wasn't looking

Have a good day everyone.

Back from school run/voting. About to start work but need to update my list:
get dressed (when got Dpuss1 off me) done
breakfast (when got DS off the DS) done
DS to school done
pop into pharmacist to order repeat prescription done
vote done
do some work!
lunch
iron & put away
mow lawn raining!
more work
collect DS and DNeice from school
cook tea
DS to bed on time
choose 1 hotspot from the wide selection available and put it out
glass of wine
shine sink

If you see me on here before 12 give me a kick and tell me to get on with some work please!

Morning all. Better night last night and DD at nursery all day so hoping to clear the decks a bit. Will post a list to help motivation!

Laundry on
Ironing done
Put laundry away
What's for dinner?
Vote done
Wrap and post presents for friends' new babies
Vacuum car raining Elliepac Are you near the East Mids because coincidentally my house has also been hit by a bomb. How strange.

intravenous not so far away from you (a little bit north) so it was one mahoosive bomb which stretched miles. Bizarre .

That bomb came all the way down south, too.

Hello all, am playing catch-up again as you are all so busy.

Battling a serious case of CNBA today. [I succumbed to red wine last night as well Ellie] Thanks for steps and mega round-up last night.

Ditto with Mummy. Please could someone administer sharp and painful kick up rear if you find me back on here before end of play tonight!!

Today I must:

tidy up again
do a squillion very boring tasks that have been irritating me for days
more laundry
French study
supermarket shop
same old same old

oh and can I pls mimic Linzer and add "do not bury dh under patio" to my list as well
(have become my mother but have had enough of dh "treating this house like a hotel"!!)

So I might soap the stairs instead

Sympathies to you Linzer Chairmum Nettie and anyone else whose dh or dp is driving them spare at the moment ...

and to PA - am cackling at image of your dh "stroking" his new bike

Heigh, ho. Not enjoying being an expat today as am passionately interested in British politics but haven't had a permanent address in the UK for over 15 years and as such am now disenfranchised . [Stuffs suffragette banner in bin] Have right to vote in local Belgian elections but not quite the same!! Have just discovered that virtually every other EU member state allows their expats to vote however long they have lived away from home ...Italy even has a special virtual "constituency" for their expats apparently. To cap it all, still pay tax in UK (we work in both countries) so not disenfranchised in that regard!!

Will have to content myself with watching it all tonight on the telly. Should be an interesting one at least!!

Keep going everyone ...

Forget to say "hello" to everyone I have missed

Oh yes, and to confirm that I am truly ancient

I'm glad it's not just me having one of those CBA days, SC - I have done so little this morning and am very annoyed with myself as Thursdays are my longest morning and I haven't had any work to do either. I would repost my list to get myself motivated, but am just too embarrassed as I don't think I've completed anything on it. I don't even have the excuse of indulging in any wine last night; I just have the headache this morning...

I wish I'd been more organised and got round to at least trying to register to vote earlier (not sure if I'm still entitled to though - I haven't lived in the UK for 11 years). I too can vote in local and EU elections but it isn't the same, is it? Now feeling even more frustrated with myself!

Hi again Linzer

[looks around furtively as shouldn't be back on here yet]

Sympathies!! Like you, I didn't really dare post a proper list as I'm not hopeful of getting much done today.

I'm much worse when I am NOT working tbh(like now) as I need the structure ....I do lots of Mnsnetting tasks but not the things I'm meant to be doing!!

I think you've got 4 years to go before you are disenfranchised btw. Worth registering in case there's another election fairly shortly ...

Right, back to small steps

[Doggedly sets timer to 15 mins and kicks self in rear end]

I'm sitting on my bottom so I need to post an update to get me back on track!

Done :
Morning routine (except swish and swipe bathroom)

• Take DS to toddler group
• VOTE! (next door to toddler group
• take DS to nursery
• phone GP to make another appointment with counsellor so I can keep on top of DS/pregnancy etc and not fall to bits!

ToDo:

• mop kitchen floor (whoops not going to get done as I've got to get DS back soon)
• afternoon routine
• evening routine

Actually that's not too bad. I'll go prepare for dinner instead as DS will be tired when he gets back from nursery!