Day 13

Wednesday. Really did well on morning routine. Had lots of cooking and baking to do ... now that's a challenge on its own! All the mess and dishes! And before I know it I'm overwhelmed ... On top of that my parents in law called that they would be coming over ... but thanks to my 12 days of babystepping (and the fly washing for all those years!)... well why panic ... I can do this! Bathrooms were s&s and no crisis cleaning required! I could do my cooking as planned, and I managed the dirty dishes ... because the dishwasher was emptied during my MR! What I do consider now, is looking out for a dishpan for under the sink ... I decluttered quite a bit in the kitchen lately ... and with a little planning I think I can find a new home for the cleaners that are residing there now ... I don't think that the rest of the family will put there dirty dishes in there, but it will help me on those days that I cook a lot and the dishwasher is already running, to put the rest of the dishes somewhere out of sight, so that I can enjoy my shiny sink again! I just hate washing them by hand ... I only do those things that are not suitable for the machine ... and it's a terrible object of procrastination ... so ikea, you can expect me one of these days ... and i will nicely plan my list of all the wonderful things I need to buy!

I must admit that I've been slacking a bit on the evening routines. I'm really working on the "getting to bed early" part, but since that is reaaaaally early, I don't have much time (do you hear the horns lol) after dinner, and putting kids to bed ... I do shine my sink, tidy up and chose my clothes for the next day, but the two minute hotspot ... well, I don't do them in the evening with a timer ... but I think they do are under control when I go to bed ... but two minutes ain't hard work ... I'll try to get my act together again lol.

For day 13 I had to work on Kelly's missions. Again a new challenge for me! I must admit that up till now I only did them occasionally, not to say rarely. Every week I would be very eager to read them in the "sneak peek of the week" ... but once dancing through my week ... I would let princessy convince me that I wasn't up for them, I reaaaaaally didn't have the time (horns again)or just plain wouldn't do them ... because I don't wanted to. And did I now? I did! OK princessy was giving me a hard time while I was detail dusting my rare nick nacks in the living room ... "Didn't you do this already during whb?" - "No, princessy that wasn't detailed dusting" ... sigh ;)

Anyway, day 14 I will be reading an essay of Kelly about using calendars. Well my fly calendar is hanging in the kitchen ... more on that tomorrow!

Day 12

Tuesday fun day! But I wasn't in a funny mood to start. Did go to bed early, but slept poorly. Muscles and joints were aching due to physical therapy ... but sleepy or not I got up on time & danced through my morning routine.
I already knew that routines were the key to getting things done, but I never realised or could dream that "flying" could also give me the power to let go! I learned (I think so lol) that being nice to myself really is the only way to do it. No, I don't have to do the weekly cleaning NOW if that means not getting my rest. No, I don't have to make those muffins NOW, just because I planned it. No, I can leave the laundry putting away if that means that I actually can have some me-time ...
It helps to that DH is helping out a lot, although he would prefer dropping the routines and dive in the "real mess and the real jobs" that need are attention ... BUT I've been doing my daily 15 minutes decluttering for days now, and he said "ooow ... you are getting a move on in the office, I'll have to get started on my side to catch up"!!! And I know he loves getting up to a "shiny sink" too ... He just doesn't know yet :)
Anyway the extra babystep of day 11 was putting an inspirational page in my control journal and I did! My phrases?

First got-to-do's, then want-to-do's!

Be nice to yourself!

If mommy ain't happy, nobody ain't happy!

Your body needs its sleep!

Plan before play!

And day 12? Deleting my flymails. Ouch that hurt ... I always keep some "I will read them later" ones.

And tomorrow... uh today? Taking on the "Kelly challenge" ... wow lets sneak peek lol ... ok detailed dusting in the living room! Thank God I don't have lots of nick nacks ... and even yet I feel a tantrum coming up from princessy ...

Day 11 take 2

Mighty monday! Nice start of the week, kids off 2 school without to much trouble.

MR: done (euh no! I did the decluttering during before bed routine!)
WHB: done! With special thanks to twitterladies :)
Evening routine done! (With a little help of dh, taking care of dinner clean up and , yes ánd shiny sink, who would have known lol.

And then ... downer ... no shiny star on my calender :( ... Was 15m late for bed ... boohoo ... I'm so strict! But I have to insist on the sleep! I really need it (major teary yawn proving me right as I type lol).

And today? Well, I will declutter my flymails ... !

I'm just babystepping and I 'm not obsessing .... I'm flying :) teriteritititi titeritititi .... flying :))

Day 11

Sunday! Oh, I love my sundays :) Usually dh takes charge of bf and bakes us some croissants, spoils us with some freshly squeezed orangejuice and we all get our eggy!

Ok, dh didn't perform yesterday ... I actually let him sleep in. Kids woke up early, but since I was flying through my MR ... we were all dressed and fed, laundry going ... before ten. Wow that was something new on a sunday ... where bf mostly lasts till noon! And ok, my princessy really enjoys her sunday bfs ... and although I felt a bit harsh on taking it all away ... we got a reward. I woke DH up and got everyone excited for a trip to the parc. By 10.30 ... we were in the car ... RAIN! OMG :s ... But we found this indoor play-garden ... Kids loved it and if the kids are happy ... mommy is too! :)

Flying does frees up time for play ... and that makes it all worth while ... because I must admit ... It ain't easy keeping both princessy and me happy ...

And the rest of the day? Well, Dh made up for the "lost"bf" and helped me make lunch ... mmm he made spinach .... but with soysauce and lots of garlic ... de-li-cious .... we made him make seconds lol ... Then we all went for a nap ... which was great for everyone's mood! I didn't really sleep ... I needed my "sunday renewing my spirit moment" by listening to second part of princess conference.

But then things took a wrong turn ... the perfectionist in me ... hushing her up ain't quite as easy as the princessy ... made me complete my mt washmore sunday routine, although I knew I wasn't babystepping anymore ... but anyway .... I did end the day in beauty! I earned my first star! I went to bed on time! And it felt great .... downside? I was so excited to earn my star ... I forgot choosing my clothes oh oh ... but I had to redo day 11 anyway ... I didn't put the inspirational page in yet ...

So tomorrow ... day 11 ... take 2!

Day 10

Ok, I think it was great idea to write my reflections on my babysteps on the following day ... only problem ... it's not only my household that needs focus ... my brain could do with a little dusting too ... I'm really thinking hard now to recollect what happened yesterday.

Well ... aha I can look at my tweets! lol ... OK I did great yesterday! Took a lot on though ... Got up nice and early, way before kids ... so enjoying bf alone AFTER being dressed (mascara on!),, unloading and hanging laundry, emptying most of dishwasher! I made my bed. Got kids ready. Made bread and muffins.

By noon I felt sooo great about all the things I had done ... incredible ...! I went out to visit a friend all excited and cheerful thanks to the new sense of control!
But I'm a bit cross though ... I came home rather late only to find that DH hadn't put the kids to bed yet ... by the time they finally snuggled in .... I was exhausted ... but I still wanted to clean up ... and I really wanted to do my 15m trash hunt .... and having all that done by late in the evening ... I also really wanted something fun .... the show on the inner princess! I went to bed way too late ... I did however switch off the computer, when Flylady's words about our inner child suffering from the sleep deprivation-abuse-thingy started sinking in. This is really tough.

Day 10

Ok ... In my attempt on working on my nightly-owl-syndrome ... I will from now on update my blog during daytime ... I hope it will help! I really want my stars!

So how did day ten go?Did this flybaby crash today ... is she mending those fragile wings ... I'll tell you tomorrow ;)

Day 9

Proudly presenting: a fluttering baby! The only flaw in my day: evenings ... getting to bed at a decent hour ... that really is hard ... but highly needed. I really have to get a reward system in place ... mmm ... maybe a colour typing by MissusSmartyPants ... a star for every night that I snuggled under the sheets on time .... but how many stars must I earn??? I'll look into that tomorrow!



But for today ... I did my first 5minute room rescue since a very long time ... I'm really motivated again to do it every day ... no excuses anymore! And which room did I attack? The desk! THE dumping ground for stashes and dashes of all kinds ... paper clutter from the whole family ... dust to bless the whole world ... and hopefully no biological war components :s But anyway ... I started! And 5 minutes fly by ... I can do that everyday! Why did I ever think I couldn't? It's such a CAN DO! OK, no miracle results ... no flashing before and after views ... but I don't even care ... I'm still loving the process! Peace is mine!



Day 10 I will be searching for trash for 15minutes, putting it in the bin and taking 15minutes of me-time with my favorite magazine.... ooh I will!

Day 8

What a wonderful day :) ... sunny and bright both inside and out! Of course I got up nice and early ... even time for coffee and breakfast before the family was up ... and being dressed for success of course ... I enjoyed that so much! This gives me an extra motivation to keep working on this. Was also early enough to wake aunty up, so that she could use bathroom,swished and swiped, goes without saying ;), before kids could trash it again lol!

The cleaning lady came over today. (Due to illness and operations I have not been able to take on the whole household on me ... and because I have a high risk of arm swellings I will have to be very careful with straining my arms for the rest of my life) Together we had our version of weekly home blessing. She vacuums, and mops the whole house, cleans out the bathtub and shower, does the shoes ... and most of the time we have time to spare to tackle some "zone" detailed cleaning. And believe me or not with those two LO ... the house really is happy with this second blessing!

Then of to revalidation cardio-training ... what a boost ... what exhaustion lol. But then there was a nap, OK not a real one ... kids were using me for climbing-hills game :s ... in the sunny garden! Which gave me back the much needed energy for dinner (I could have eaten the kids ... I adore them when they love what I make them something healthy AND they eat it, all of it without whining, I really could eat them lol ... ok I was hungry from cardio lol ... I sticked to the menu and just cuddled and kissed them to excess lol) and my before bed routine ... neatly copied on a new page in my control journal .... I did fine today ... For a moment I had the urge to put in an extra load of laundry in the washer ... just to get mt washmore smaller right NOW ... but NO I can take babysteps ... a new load would probably mean: or me being cranky and tired waiting for machine to end to hang up laundry ... or the beeper buzzing till morning ... no no no none of that ... programmed a load that will beep me up tomorrow morning ... one babystep at a time ... I can put in an extra load over the weekend! I can wait! OK almost ready for bed ... 15 minutes playtime and then last bit of before bed routine: choosing the clothes!



Tomorrow comes the real work: decluttering! A 5m room rescue. Ouch ... that will be hard. Wish me luck with the princess!

Not ready for day 8 :s

Ok, feeling very tired, very overwhealmed and a little sick of eating too much chocolate. I have a guest staying over tonight ... so not up to the challenge of day 8. Ok I just could say that I did it couse I already have my control journal ... but that wouldn't feel right. I really want to focus on the process. I will be taking my time for it tomorrow.

But, was dressed at a decent hour, euh sink was shining up to lunch ... and is now waiting to be shined again when I unload dishwasher (again) and can put dirty dishes from dinner there ... Ok so I need another go at my hotspots for two minutes and chose clothes for tomorrow! I can mannage that in between guestmania :)

Day 7

These posts are getting shorter every day. And so is my energy level when I'm writing them... but I don't consider this as negative ... more like a transformation for my body and mind ... I accept that it is energy consuming ... I also know that the consequences of my illness can't magically disappear ... I'll have to take things as they come. And if that means less time in the evening for writing, reading, television, friends (ouch) ... well then I'll have to accept it and build my life around what I do can.

DH is frustrated though. Funny, first I am because I want more change than he is willing to work for ... and now that I am accepting slow progress ... he is getting nervous about it. But we will work it out some how.

So how was day 7? Great! Got everything done ... still have to go and chose my clothes, but that won't be a problem. I didn't overdo myself and still got around to tidy up bedroom, and start the seasonal clothing switches. And for fun? I wrote a post for my dutch blogsite and went out shopping!

Day 8, I will be looking for a three ring binder with some paper in it. Well I already have a CJ ... I will use that one ... but start over with the routine assignments etcetera ... another babystep ready to be taken!

Day 6

Great day! Up at a decent hour, showered and dressed to shoes! Kept sink shining. Sent negative thoughts hiking. Did two minutes hotspots. I even got around doing my whb and am very pleased with the results.

And now I'm so ready to turn in early lol ... I think I will love this tomorrow morning even more than I do now!

So Flylady what's up with day 7? "Pick out your clothes" I can do that!

Purple dreams!

Day 5

Well ... I wanted focus by starting the babysteps and this blogs ... and that's what I got. Question is, was I babystepping? I don't think so ... when I do look at the negative thoughts in my head ... well they are related to me wanting perfection ... I want my house smoothly running ... and in the process I neglected myself, my family ... I frustrated everyone ... Ok I'm exagerating now ... making a nice drama scene out of it ... but it is ... I fail at babystepping.... Ok now for the positive turn. Well, I mostly only frustrated myself lol ... I don't think the kids noticed much of the whole stinking thinking I was getting through ... so I somehow managed to look out for their needs during the process ... we played, sang and had fun ... because I was using my timer, seeing that I made progress on my work, so that I allowed breaks without guilt! Another positive thing is , that I do accept the part of building routines slowly. One day at a time ... I CAN focus on those babysteps ...

On the negative again. I was disappointed in DH today ... As I am so apt on getting back on track ... and seeing DH doing some flying on his own ... I guess I expected from him the same energy and focus to get our home into shape ... and maybe if I think about it ... maybe he is doing a better job at babystepping it than I am ... he set some goals ... did a few jobs around the house and then he ... well he had some fun lol! And I frustrated myself in wanting to conquer mt washmore in two days ... ok ... and in between I tried fitting in so many other little "blessings" ... and I was blessed out. But I see what's happening ... I will adjust my expectations ... simply because ... we do have time ... I'm already blessed with two wonderfull kids and a loving DH, who really does try to help me out as much as HE can in HIS process ... without being perfect ... and neither am I ... and we don't need to be .... simply because we love each others ... and I will try taking things slower ... simply because .... the house is livingly clean ... most living areas are decluttered ... and the parts of my house that need decluttering, well they will be tackled ... I know ... and I CAN wait ...

Ok tomorrow day 6 ... I will be tackling hot spots for 2minutes ... not forgetting getting up at a decent hour, dressed to shoes, turning around negative thoughts and keeping my sink shiny.

It will be a special day ... Dd back to shool ds goes two days a week to daycare, mondays and thursdays ... and I will be starting my revalidation (powertraining and cardio under medical supervision). I think tomorrow might be the day that I will be able to put another goal into practice without much effort: going to bed at a decent hour lol!

Day 5

What a day ... good and bad. Got up early! Dressed to shoes. Kept sink shining! Didn't have time to register negative thoughts though ... I'll redo day five tomorrow ... when my brain will hopefully have had some rest from a busy day :)

One thing troubling me though ... Should I be really pleased with myself for being able to let go my strive for perfection and not absolutly wanting to do "babystep day five" ON "day five"? Or should I slap me for my strive for perfection for not being able to let go of an imperfect babystep and just being able to move on to number six?

Oh well ... just a slight positive turn of a negative thought: Im so tired ... Few minits from now ... it will be "peace is mine" as soon as i turn in, lay down my head in o o :s my not made bed ... washed, dried, carried upstairs ... but not redone covers ... ok ... a few minits more lol ... but laying down my head on freshly washed pillow case ... dreaming purple :)

Day 4

I think I may say that I flied today :) Ok, very slowly and very carefully ... I didn't go high in the sky ... but I loved the view anyway.

The day started off with a challenge ... despite the early morning rising, my kids beated me to the clock. D* they do are good at that. But DH helped me out. I could shower and dress to shoes! Ok I didn't push it and didn't put on make-up, but hey ... I havn't been putting make-up in a long time ... except for special occasions. I do like the idea ... but thát is not a day breaker :) We have to chose or battles sometimes...
The rest of the day flew by ... I managed to get lunch ready on time despite surprise visit from coworker, and call from a friend. In the afternoon I had a friend coming over with her son ... she complimented me on how clean my kitchen was! Ok the kids trashed the living room in no time. But DD helped putting toys away! Ok only for a moment. There was a confrontation in the end ... but it didn't last very long ... I even almost forgot about it! And both DS and DD went to bed without any fuss ... I think they loved their day too :) DH too I think ... he made brushetta's spontaniuously ...mmm I just love it when he makes them ... he helped clean up after dinner ... he won't say it, but I think he's trying to fly along lol.
So I have been getting up at a decent hour for four days now ... and I kept my sink shining ... It feels good to go slow. I must admit in all these years ... I never did the babysteps like they are designed for. I always jumped forward. Oh and I had all the good reasons for it naturally. This "flylady", she doesnt know me ... I can handle much more then getting dressed for the day ... I do it every day ... eventually ... and the whole shiny sink ... ok nice symbol ... but i clean tht sink regularly ... I have more important battles to win than that! Lets see what day 10 brings us ... Needless to say that I not once finished all babysteps? Luckily the Flying flywashed in one breeze of air at a time through testimonials, reading reminders, crashing and fluttering ... Even though I didn't grasp it yet ... I already learned a lot. Enough to bless my family with a home. Not a perfect one... but a loving one. I trust that we will find our way of flying. Absolute chaos ... no that is no longer the case. It has been a long time since I didn't open a door because of the state my house was in ... But how? More a continuous kind of crisis cleaning lol ... with all the feelings off being overwhealmed lashing out at me from time to time. Having been very ill and dependable of others this year, didn't help either. Routines needed changing so often ... not routines more like survival modes invented on the spot ... some lasting longer then others ... But now that I am ready for my revalidation I feel ready for the routines ... The revlidation is a slow process ... hard to accept ... but I'm moving in the right direction ... and as I am on my way of acceptance I feel that I accept the babysteps, mostly lol. But as I said ... I'm sitting here wit a smile on my face. Ok, it's way past bedtime ... That's a working point ... in general I want to much out of life ... more hours in my day ... But that's a challenge that I can babystep too I'm confident about that :)
So I did my little routines. Written them down already yesterday haha ... even when I don't want to run, ...

Tomorrow? "Write down what you hear" O joy lol ... do we want that ... I hope I don't get up all grumpy, with a headache ready to flood the world with an ocean of negativity :))

This flybaby is going to bed smiling!

Day 3

Do what we have already done ... I did. Got up at a decent hour. Got dressed to shoes, but no make-up, no moisturising ... I kept my sink shining? That's a tricky one. It was clean most part, but not always shined. But now it is! Ok some dishes waiting in there to be honest


Tomorrow: Write these things down.

Oops already done that yesterday haha ...

Anyway ... will be testing 15m-company-ready magic tomorrow! Playdate for kids. But now rest! Rest Rest! I soooo need it ... been yawning since 17h lol ... Oh I still have to mention DH ... he can be so agravating at times ... but today he started, without any reminder at two litlle favors I asked him ... ok I promissed him a massage of 5m/favor lol ... but the jobs do get done ... hope he keeps on the good work ... motivates me too!

Day 2

A job well done! Or not?

I got out of bed. Resisted the urge to hit the kitchen immediately for a coffe rush! Took my clean clothes and headed for bathroom. Showered. Put make-up on. Moisturised. Shoes on (ok still not the lace up tipe ... but they do the job for me). Ready for bed and ... my sink is shining ... ok there are already some new dishes in there ( no room for pan under the sink). But it is clean and it is shiny.

So what's bugging me? Well it's way past bedtime ... and i could do with some more sleeeeeeep! Lol. Ok not lol. And i overdid the non babystepping during the day. Maybe not such a great idea to make bread (5loafs!) and muffins and have company and declutter kids toys ... Ok ... I really will go to bed now. Tomorrow very busy day. Cleaning help in the morning ... normally we both work the house together, but with kids home for holidays ... I will think about that during breakfast tomorrow. later that day I will have to go to a controle from work, beacuse I'm been ill such a long time now (I had breastcancer, but it seems all under controle now ... starting revalidation next week).

Anyway tomorrow? Day 3! Do what we have already done ...

1. Get up at a decent hour
2. Get dressed to shoes
3. Keep sink shining
4. Read reminders
5. Read something on website

Ok ... I can do that! I hope ;) The reading part won't be a problem lol ... not overdoing it haha ... that's something else ... But I'll ad another one

6. No overdoing! NO No!

Well that's for day one! Very pleased with myself lol. Very tired. Making a fresh start is very energyconsuming I must say. But I had a great first day!

I'm going to get to bed now, after putting a load in the washer for the night ... Ah well ... just a little more lol ...

Tomorrow day two

1. Getting up at a decent hour.


2. Get dressed to lace up shoes


3. Shine sink before going to bed

Ok ... that's way more challenging then shining my sink. Keeping the living areas clean in my house, I don't find so hard (especially since I have a cleaning help every week for one morning) ... but getting dressed in the morning ... that's harder that's a new routine ... that WILL requier a mental and physical battle with the princess. Don't get me wrong lol, I love showering in the morning. I even love putting some make-up on, the shoes, ok not lace up, but they don't ever leave my feet during the day ... but getting it done before my kids are up. That's the challenge! Because once they are up, it might as well be mid day before I get a new chance at it.

Now I know this is a very important step ... i see it every day. When I do get my act together before the kids are up

1. I'm more awake


2. I'm in a better mood


3. Kids are in a better mood


4. DH is in a better mood


5. I get more done because without the PJ's I don't let Bf last till noon


6. I don't feel uneasy that someone might actually drop by before lunch


7. ...

I actually could go on lol. So I really want this to work. That's why I make it my months habit to get up at a decent hour ... it's such a day maker/breaker ... and so challenging. The princess really likes sleeping in ... putting the alarm on "slumber" ... just five more min. just five more min. pretty pleaze :c And with DH next to me with just the same sleeping prince problem ... not easy ... especially since the kids didn't seem to get these genes from us arghh ...

Anyway, I can do this, beacuse I want to ... there you have it :)

PS

DH was doing some gardening after work. As a matter of fact, without telling me about my plans for a fresh start, he planned for one too. He already cleaned up two hours in the garden yesterday. Saying to me when he stopped ... if I could do that for a few weeks, every day two hours of work ... everything around here would be finished! And ok, today he didn't do two hours ... but he continued where he left off yesterday. And when he saw me making my picture of the sink today. He said ... take one of my work too for flylady lol!

Beginners Babysteps

Why does one start a blog? And why at 23h23 pm? Because I'm a she through and through? Because clutter, chaos, perfectionism attack me like a big green African mamba (remember those Roald Dahl biographies lol). Because I get sidetracked quicker then the speed of light ... I want it for all the good and the bad reasons.



I've been a flybaby for over six years now ... fluttering, crashing, forgetting, starting over ... but once you have met flylady the change is there. Some days it hits you in the face ... some days you must really look for it. But she changed me allright. The flywash way :)



Now I know the demons I'm fighting. I want to be the perfect wife/mother/homemaker you name it ... And oh yeah, I have a princess in my little castle that has been used to rule my life for quite a bit ... And ok, I want that magical pill that would turn everything around from one moment to the other so badly ... But as flylady teaches us ... I recognise those voices ... ok sometimes they can still fool me ... but not for long ... so I will get those wings ready for some more fluttering ... I crashed one time to many today ... I will take a step (ok a lot of steps) back ... and start over. Not from scratch. I already learned a lot! :)



Tomorrow (I know lol ... but then again I'm way past bedtime lol) I'll start my day with day 1 of the beginner babysteps.



The habit that I will be working on this month, as I already was uptill now: Getting up at a decent hour!



Mmm I need a reward ... I will think about that some more ... how many star days for ... yawn, really sleepy now ...



Am I already running? I hope not. Ok, blog ready ... timer ready ... Wish me luck!

1. get up at a decent hour! 8:00 :) Check!
2. shine my sink! Check!