June's Fledgling Flyers:"two flyers are "blooming marvellously" : here come the rest doing their flaming best"

[elliepac]

Welcome to the June edition of the Fledgling Flyers where we are going to attempt to restore order in our houses, chatting 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 June 1st.

Apologies for not catching up with everyone, but just wanted to come on and wave bye-bye to everyone.

All packed and sorted Just off out the door to collect DD1 from the boat, home to hoover throughout, then early night for everyone as we have to all be up before 5am tomorrow to get the boat and head off.

Email today from our friend who's getting married saying its raining there!! If I go all the way to Greece and have foul weather I will not be happy!! Heatwave here this weekend I hear. Maybe I will "miss" the plane and wave everyone else off and tan myself in the garden instead!

DH excelled himself last evening in the stroking bike department. I managed to keep him busy doing that until all the packing was done, to keep him out of my way. Sending him out tonight for a few last minute bits, so we have a chance of heading off without a major fallout. Containing the excitment of 14 year old DS is not so controllable. Imagine a four year old on Christmas eve, with birthday rolled into one, having eaten a tube-full of blue smarties and 2 litres of Red Bull. BUT taller than me (not hard TBH) and a muscley frame and you might understand my frustration!!

Behave yourselves while i am away and "see" you all next week

Have a BRILLIANT time PA* - hope it lives up to expectations you all have a wonderful holiday

We will try to be good - don't promise too much in the way of Flying but will keep up with the prevaricating chatting.

Have a fab time PA!

Right have been more productive then planned and will have to get cracking as i have best part of 7kg strawberries to destalk, check over and put in pot to jam. Want to get preped tonight but suspect will do it tomo morning. Hayfever is so bad can barely see screen. Need to find the anti-histamines.

home you have lovely evenings

Have a fabulous time PA

Too much work to have a very productive flying day. By the time work quietens down, it will be the summer holidays - and I find it equally impossible to get much done (esp. decluttering) with the DC around. Even sink shining has gone by the board this evening as an urgent job arrived earlier late this afternoon that has to be finished by 9.30 am tomorrow.

DEM 7 kg of strawberries is v. impressive. The DC keep asking to go to the PYO place but they were quite rude to me there last year when my plastic bags started leaking all over the place (I didn't realise you were supposed to take your own containers) so I am still boycotting it.

Toffee It sounds like your Mum is a great help - lucky you. I have no idea how I'll manage to work during the summer holidays; I'll probably just have to take the entire nine weeks off (not sure whether this is feasible, however, or whether the job I'm working on atm will really be finished by the end of June - I suspect not).

swan I wouldn't feel qualified to offer advice on bfing, weaning etc any more as so much seems to have changed over the last few years (or maybe things are just done differently in the USA/Austria). I'd never heard of BLW before I joined MN and introduced solids at around 5 months - possibly even 4 months with DD1.

MiniM I need to sort out my wardrobe/clothes drawers too - I was hoping to do so this week but work keeps getting in the way. One of the problems is that the weather has been so changeable here recently that I've got a wardrobe full (to bursting) of both summer and winter clothes.

Back to work, anyway - have already had a much longer break than I'd planned (must control tendency to waffle on).

After a very unproductive day at work today I have this evening

picked up dc
played with dc [brownie points emotion] (always so proud when I do this and really enjoy it)
put away dc clothes
got dc clothes and bags ready for nursery tomorrow
dw emptied refilled
chicken cooked
wm on
td on
baby present wrapped
floors swept

now chilling gonna try and sort out ironing pile then bed.

Linzer gosh well done with work! I don't know how you manage with rush jobs! I'm terrible if my plans change
dem oh jam making extraordinare. I will be asking for tips if our fruit trees produce a crop this year!
pa have fab time hope weather holds out
toffee wow so brill to have your mum there and so helpful I'm as of you as I am of ellie brilliantly helpful DH. Long may they both work very hard for you all!
mm love the clothes clearing
swan yes aibu very distracting I try to steer clear! It's why I love this thread so much everyone muddling through and very positive.

Hope everyone has lovely evening and a nice sunny day tomorrow

DEM - 7kg strawberries, that's a lot of jam, sounds yummy

Think I got through most of my list though it didn't contain much Flying:

• Morning routine - mainly done
• Newsletter in to school to copy and distribute - done though made 2 mistakes in it (poo!)
• Car Boot banner and posters up - no and yes
• Work - done
• Pick up DS and friend from different pre-schools - done
• Lunch in garden - done
• Play, watch tennis/football, do some gardening - done apart from gardening
• Pick up DD at half-time - done, she had a BRILLIANT time, as did at least 200 very hot, sweaty kids
• 15 mins in bedroom - did 2 mins, does that count?
• Pie for dinner leftover from Sunday - done
• Ironing in front of tennis/football - done though need to do more tomorrow
• Collapse into bed - soon I hope.

Another busy day tomorrow though again not much time for Flying

Off to bring in washing and water garden before bed.

Evening!
I've done:
-routines
-been to work (and nice and quiet it was between 3 and 5!!)
-come home and had tea
-gone to Guides camp meeting
-collected DD1 from band
-back to Tesco for Guides picnic stuff for tomorrow night
-dropped stuff off at Guide hut so I don't forget it tomorrow
just got home!

And then I wonder why I don't get anything done in the house

Off to bed now - see you all tomorrow

Morning all,

DIdn't get round to posting last night as was snowed under with work. Did manage to mini house rescue downstairs and bathroom and do some washing. DH was off duty last night as he went to the pub to watch the footie! (and got v v drunk).

So apologies for no round-up but here are the steps . Today we are incorporating a Swish and Swipe into our daily routine. It is no word of a lie that I love love love this babystep.

Today's mission is here.

Have a lovely sunny day .

Good afternoon everyone

ellie hope you get a wee bit of a rest soon!
missb gosh looking at you I'm a bit in awe and fear at what getting out of toddler land will involve!!
feetheart well done oh and thanks for revolutionary idea of watering garden! Maybe that will help my sunflowers a bit

so far this morning I have
dw on
td on
wm on
bins and recycling out
finished my dreaded mailshot and all dh could say was can I make sure stamps are put on envelopes straight
done lotsa invoicing
just about to post squinty stamped letters and go to
town to go to jewellers
bank reconcilliations
filing
picking up dc
bath dc
bed dc
gym!

Hope you all have a lovely day x

Hello ladies!

I'm going to be lazy and not catch up with everyone, but I am back to flying. Its amazing how good I am feeling, and DD is generally letting me sleep (its DS that got up at 4 the other day!).

I'm back on my minimal daily flying routine, and H is doing the bigger stuff at the moment, but I'll be fine with the lot soon enough, so long as DD lets me keep getting some sleep!

I'll be back on form with the decluttering - and sorting through baby clothes now I know I can car boot them (and a load of clothes that are way too small as I lost weight while pregnant!)

Right now though, I'm enjoying a sleeping DD and a DS at nursery, and relaxing

Chairmum enjoy your relaxing!

nettie there are definite advantages in getting out of the toddler stage. For one thing, you can go out without taking everything bar the (shiny) kitchen sink. For another, you can leave them behind And most of the time, they are good company, even though they do feel they should have the final say on your clothes and hair and indeed anything you do

I am about to leave work, shoot into home and then out to Guides. Glad it's a nice evening as we have planned a picnic.

Minimal flying but Dh is embarking on a big paper declutter

Chairmum it is official, you are superwoman glad it is all going so well x

Evening everyone,

well unfortunately I left my marks scheme at work so can't do any marking tonight...what a shame, I am truly devestated. Busy whirling around getting ready to go away for the weekend tomorrow! Take away ordered, maintenance flying done, washing on line and DW on and that will have to do!

How is everyone else doing?

mm quite rightly pointed out that chairmum is indeed superwoman, flying with newborn is mighty impressive!

chairmum so lovely to hear that you are doing well and getting some relaxation . Well done for getting back in the routines!

missb i wistfully dream of a day when i can leave mine behind .

nettie another super busy day for you, i too wonder about leaving toddler land...soemthing i would quite gladly do at the moment!

Everybody else has been very quiet today! I ope it's because you are all enjoying the sunshine . Dem i did think of you today when i was behind a car with your mn name as a reg plate .

As mentioned earlier, I am popping off again this weekend, so I will post links to babysteps tomorrow afternoon. Have a good weekend!

No flying to report here. DS has a nasty cough so I'll probably keep him at home tomorrow, which means I won't get much done tomorrow morning either (neither work nor flying wise).

No time for individual posts I'm afraid, but hope to catch up with everyone tomorrow.

ellie I'd be happy to post the links on Saturday and Sunday morning again if you'd like me to.

Today's babystep is reading. The fat fairy would like you to learn how she developed her routines so you can peruse over a coffee or ignore, your choice .

The mission for today is here

I am also going to post the babysteps for the weekend tonight just in case I don't get time tomorrow. There are no missions because it is the weekend!

Saturday's babystep is meal planning. Something that I actually do, even if it's a quick jot up in my head of what I am going to cook .

Sunday's babystep is REST. This is one we all struggle with from time to time, getting an early night is hard sometimes!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

x-post with linzer...poor DS, hope he is feeling better soon. Thanks for the offer of the steps...I was one step (geddit) ahead of you though! If you fancy doing a round-up, please do so, if not I shall round-up in style on Sunday!

ellie I'll do the round-up tomorrow and on Saturday then, although I don't think I'll manage to make it quite as entertaining as yours. Have a lovely weekend away!

Have a fab weekend Ellie

Another short post from me illustrating a distinct lack of achievement on my part

Evening all,

Re leaving toddlerhood behind, we've definitely gone beyond now (DCs are 6 and 4), and I have slightly mixed feelings (eg I love having no puschairs cluttering up my house but I miss having some way of getting all the bookbags, lunchboxes, water bottles, shopping etc home - DCs scoot everywhere so can't carry much. We do seem so much less cluttered now, no cots, stairgates, prams, changing stuff, lovely. The DCs are great little comapnions for me and each other but we all fight quite a lot. I am certainly feeling a bit wistful about DD starting school in September. .

Linzer - hope DS feels better soon. I though of you tonight when Slovakia beat Italy in the World Cup - the commentator said there will be celebrations in Bratislava tonight, imagined everyone coming out of Marks and Spencer with their ready made curries and pizzas....

Ellie - have a lovely weekend.

Chairmum - doing well, good for you.

MM - never mind lack of achievement, there's always tomorrow.

MissB - you couldn't get your DH to tell mine to sort his paperwork mountain could you?

Waves microfibre cloth at everyone else.

Today:

Can't remember, but busy. Have just spent an hour and half gardening, love these long evenings. The DCs played nicely together in the garden from 3.30 to 7, could hardly believe it, not a fight, no intervention from Mummy required (Mummy was busy watching football tidying and hoovering). Oh yes, made cakes for school summer fair tomorrow too.

Might not post for a few days, busy, busy, and away Sat night, have a lovely weekend everyone.

Evening all!

Just a quick post as it really is bedtime!

RL getting in the way of mumsnetting and flying atm but I hope to catch up with you all tomorrow!

Night,nightx

Nettie - at DH and straight stamps, don't think mine would even dare think that as he knows the sort of response he would get (and where he'd have his stamps shoved!)
I am assuming that your battles with SAGE are for the family good?
I have been on a very steep SAGE learning curve over the past 6mths, attempting to take over all the admin stuff to allow DH to get on and sort out other people's computer problems (he started up on his own last August) As my baseline was very low it has been hard work but some things are getting easier though I was defeated by my second attempt at bank reconciliation today and had to get DH to help. There's always next month

Chairmum - I agree with the others, def ChairmumSupermum Glad its coming together and DD is letting you sleep

ellie - have a great w/e, going anywhere nice?

MissB - nice night for a picnic, hope it went well

Not sure how much I've got done apart from work so will list it to make myself feel better (I hope)

• Morning routine - mainly
• Strip DC's beds (and remake when I realised they needed to get into them this evening )
• Work
• Fail to take boy cat to vet again as he escaped again - 3rd attempt in a week and all cancelled because of disappearing cat
• DS to Tumble Tots
• More Car Boot Sale banners up (though late as sale is on Sunday!)
• DC to park on bikes after tea as DS has just got rid of his stabilisers and is desparate to cycle round and round and round the park at every opportunity
• Made buns for surrogate grandma's birthday tomorrow as she wanted some in case visitors called but was too tired to make any
• Made biscuits for school office staff as they have done lots for School Assoc recently and I want to keep them sweet

That's not bad at all, shame house hasn't benefited and is descending into chaos again.

Off to water garden and go to bed

I think it's going to be a long night! dd first night in her cotbed, she was so excited! She kept running to it and shouting ninight and then she was practising falling out of it and laughing her head off when she did fall out then shouting again again! So sweet! But she bit unsettled!

++hi-jack alert++
feetheart oh another sage newbie woohoo!! Love it! We just had an update installed which means I've lost all my reports and letters! Spent all day yest just trying to format one letter. And let me tell you stamps being squinty least of letters worries about professionalism!! It's ok cos I grumbled to his mum when she came in and she made faces as if to say tosser!!
Well done on bank recon not bad! I have been doing them since last may and once a week since Christmas but I still have to askfor help! Didn't finish mine today!

chairmum lovely to see and well done on taking some time to chill and some time to fly!
mrsd ooh that sounds lovely much more pleasant than gym. Think will buy army size back pack to carry everything in when no buggy! Have a lovely weekend.
linzer hope ds feels better soon
ellie such a shame leaving marking structure at work no luck on potty training? Or is it other more tantrummy type aspects making you want to leave! Have lovely weekend with not much marking.
missb oo sounds lovely I really need someone to tell me what to do ESP hair/clothes you do make it sound lovely

bank reconcilliations-bit stuck
filing-most
picking up dc- remembered this one
bath dc-oops better do in morning
bed dc- done after fashion dh wanted me to cancel gym in case he couldn't cope
gym-done beetroot face

not too bad but I forgot to water sunflowers! Oops

sleep time night all

My wonderful mum has gone home . I think she's looking forward to getting back to her own quiet house, but we are all so sorry. She has been invaluable - looking after the boys, doing the school run, cooking, washing up...She even tidied up one of my kitchen cupboards, which has never ever been organised. Now I am faced with work deadlines and children. DH has to work tomorrow, but has decided to take the boys into work with him, so that I can work at home. Dunno how that will work out, but I'm not complaining.

Computer very slow this morning, so whilst I was waiting for it to warm up, I did my morning routine, including making the beds and swish and swiping in the bathroom, stripped the guest bed and put sheets in the washing machine and cleaned the windows.

MrsDinky - my son is starting school in September too. Had an open evening last night and met his lovely new teacher. I can't wait for the extra time this will give me, but I'm also concerned about how DS will cope. He is such a happy little boy and I don't want school to ruin that (DS1 has had a hard time). Oh well, must just wait and see. He'll probably love it.

No time for more chat, but big wave to everyone.

Afternoon all,

Just popping on while waiting for sis to finish her hospital appt and we set off! Hope you all noticed that I have posted the babysteps for the weekend in my post on Thurs night as am away this wkend at the seaside . linzer is kindly going to do the round-ups in my absence although to be fair, it is very quiet on here today. Hope everyone is ok!

I was thinking that it is that time of the month where we think about next month's thread. Any ideas anyone? I will carry on as leader if everyone wants me to although to be fair I am very bogged down with work so might struggle with lengthy round-ups, so if anyone is harbouring a lingering desire to take control of the feather duster, please speak up! Otherwise I will continue on into July, although I will say now I won't be able to do August as am away for two weeks!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!