CalicoKat
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Posts posted by CalicoKat
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Thank you for your huzzah's and encouragment!
I'm thinking about what else I do that I can give to them.
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ohhhh maybe I need to fire myself!
I had a really great day. Three kids + myself all have clean clothing and the laundry room no longer required a breathing apparatus to make it in an out with out wheezing and watering eyes.
:D
It was really bad.
Don't wait until you're standing in a stinky room full of filthy clothing realizing there's just no way one person can handle it all to quit.
Do it now. :auto:
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"Laundry today or naked tomorrow!" is one of our most popular Uppercase Living vinyl signs, lol. Congratulations!
:DLOVE IT!!!!!
I'm going to get this posted in multiple places around the house.
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blocked/unlisted "private caller"
don't pick those up! Anyone important will leave a message. IF he leaves a message then you have something to give the police who can bypass the blocked information.
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I am checking today to make sure they all know how to run the machines. Walking them through expectations, clean out lint trap, how much soap, what setting to put the machines on etc..
Tomorrow the big kids are on their own. They've got their assigned laundry day and they'll get to do their own linens (towels & sheets) too. :D
Bing bada boom, I'm down to a manageable amount of laundry! Mine & the babies.
DH "fired" me earlier last month and started doing his own. :auto: I felt bad until I realized I can quit too.
Living in the country makes more dirty laundry than one person can manage for this family of 7. At least 2 outfits a day times 7! Not counting all the towels and bedding from my night time wetters.
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the mind is willing but the body isn't?
I have so much I need to do. I have lists and ideas and plenty of time this weekend to accomplish possibly all of the jobs. I think I'm going to get up and go take care of ___. But then the body is ready to collapse back in the bed.
How do I get moving?
I don't. I give myself a melatonin and deal with it all later.
:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
Be gentle with yourself when your emotionally wiped out.
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Once a week DH takes the kids to Awana (church program) Our church serves a weekly dinner before hands soooooooo I get the night off. :001_smile:
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:iagree: Small house. Teens. Catch it when you can get it. I don't like the not sleeping part nor the middle of the night breath part. However, we just don't have the privacy for a real romantic date warm up;).
:iagree: only one teen, but this is usually when we can guarantee all kiddos are sleeping.
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I've been working toward minimalism. My biggest frustration though is that my kids aren't gentle on anything. And if I only have the bare minimum of something, they break/wreck it then I'm SOL.
We've taken the approach of not replacing damaged items., because cash isn't flowing regularily. It gets painful around here at times.
Can't figure out how to make my kids more careful, graceful, thoughtful with their belongings except to allow them to wreck it and go without for as long as I can manage.
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We've been homeschooling for 7 years now, and you'd think I have figured this one out by now, but apparently not....
I need a plan to more clearly, but tactfully, communicate that I am not a stay-at-home mom with unlimited free time on my hands...and no, you can't just come over and have coffee and chat.
I guess I am feeling a little more pressure this year, as my older kids are needing more academic structure, more consistency with everything, and I'm also teaching a small group reading class in my home.
And yet...the phone never stops ringing (at least I don't answer that...) and friends and family continue to stop by, or ask to come by...and even my homeschooling friends want my kids to come over, or their kids to come over, in the middle of the week.
As a homeschooler, I enjoy my freedom and flexibilty too. However I need a better strategy for saying "no", and for keeping things consistent. Any ideas?
"Schools out at ____. So we'll be free to play at _____. I started talking like this when plans are being discussed so that folks got used to the idea that I do have other committments. My mom stops by 1 min. after schools done most days. :D Love to see her but I should have planned some extra time to allow for cleanup.
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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
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I put my stuff on the schedule and then I add in the extra curric. stuff. I need to have time to exercise and I need a night off (no cooking, no kids, just me, myself, and I)
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He's 14. He can't stand me. There is just this constant tension and animosity between us. He talks back to me all. the. time. He says hateful things to me.
This morning I got onto him (used a stern voice, not shouting) because I had to ask him repeatedly to brush his teeth. He just kept disappearing down the hall and not doing it. He wouldn't clean up after he ate breakfast -- it took three reminders before he finally did so while grumbling. There were a few other small things. He kept talking back to me. "It's not my fault that I didn't do it the first time. I'm a kid. That's what kids do!" "It's not my fault you had five kids. You shouldn't complain when you have to clean up after us!"
This has been going on for a year and a half now. Sometimes it escalates -- once I slapped his face when he said something particularly hateful and he told me if I ever did it again he would hit me back. That was a one-time thing -- I don't go around hitting my kids. I'm not proud of it. I completely lost my temper that day.
Today I told him that something has to give. I don't know what else to do. I am so tired of fighting with him all of the time. It's not even about his school work because he does that well and willingly most of the time. It's the dynamic of our relationship. It hurts.
I told him that if we couldn't find a better way to relate to one another then perhaps it's time he went to school so we could at least get a break from each other. He said, "Oh, great. You don't even want me around!" I said that I do but that I don't want him to hate me and I feel like he does. He said that I was right. I asked him what he thinks about me and he said "Nothing nice. Nothing that I can say. It's all just curse words." Then he said that there are a few good things about me but that I ruin them all with my personality.
Ladies, I am so hurt. I am crying. I yelled at him to leave my sight. I threw a glass across the room in anger after he left. He stormed off and slammed his door.
Of course I want him around. I've devoted ten years to homeschooling this child. I said as much. I just want each of us to be happy and we're obviously not.
I spend so much time and money on activities for my children, on making sure they form same-age friendships, on getting them out of the house and into the world. We are not isolated.
My little boys heard us arguing. They saw me crying. Ugh.
I don't know what to do for my son. I can't go on like this. I don't know if school is the answer, he excels academically with homeschooling. He likes his school work for the most part. We've had a good school year thus far. It's our relationship outside of school that is suffering.
I don't know if this is somehow related to my dh being his step-father. He doesn't know his biological father at all. My son hasn't asked about him in years. My mother likes to play armchair psychologist and she thinks that he has pent up rage due to being a stepchild. IDK.
I've only got four more years left with my son before he heads off into the world. I don't want him to hate me or hate our time together. I am so broken.
When my daughter 11 told me that she hated me I said, "Good, then I'm doing something right. I'm your mother, not your friend. Someday when you're grown it may be my privilege to be your friend. But right now I'm your mother first."
That seemed to reset things a bit around here for a while. It bugs me that she hates me but truly that's not what's important. I hated my mother when I was that age too, for many years! It wasn't until I was out of the house for a couple years that I saw how great a friend she was to me. She still is today. She's my best friend and I treasure that friendship.
Don't give up yet. He knows how to push your "buttons." Don't let him.
:grouphug::grouphug:
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And 2 chicken breasts......now....what do I do with them???
We are a grain free family....so my stuffed breads, and my fried rice are OUT. I stirred some of it with kale last night....but now, I have all this cooked chicken and am like :001_unsure::001_unsure::blink::blink:
So please...before dinner time...point me in the cooked chicken recipe direction....my family will thank you!!
de-bone them and add in a jar of salsa. I eat it this way, my family puts it over their current fav. carb. (potatoes, rices or in a tortilla)
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This is a long story, so I'm going to just give highlights. If you need more info. just ask. ;)
When I was married I was very conservative, etc. Before I got divorced I kinda broke away from the church (not from God) and have been trying very hard to make my own opinions and decisions. We still go to church, etc., but I'm trying to make decisions based on what I believe. My children have never celebrated Halloween and I have never celebrated it. Last year on Halloween their dad asked me to bring them home from school so they didn't have to dress up or be left out at the party. I did what he asked.
Soooo... fast forward to this year. This year the kids REALLY want to celebrate halloween. Their dad would not approve at all, but the kids live with me. :confused: This is why families are meant to be together forever. Grr...
I can't take them out of school this year and I don't want them to be the only ones left out. I don't know what to do. If I celebrate halloween with them their Dad will probably not be happy about it. At. All.
Any ideas how to have my own mind, but also not rock the boat too much???:bigear:
1. Tell the kids that if they make this a big deal then their dad will probably figure out how to put a kybosh on the event next year.
2. Keep the costumes simple and benign.
3. Throw away xtra candy within 24 hrs for your own sanity.
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Is a mess. We bought a fixer and wow is it a lot of work. So now that we have been living here for a couple of weeks the dust has settled enough for me to realize a few things.
No storage. No coat closet (an area under the stairs can have a rod added but it is small), no linen closet, no towel closets in the bathrooms. The two actual bedrooms have small walk in closets but the upstairs where 2 boys will sleep has no closet.
I do however have square footage. Roughly 2000. Dh has knocked down a few walls. The kitchen and eating area are in the middle of two big living areas.
So I need some creative ideas. I'm thinking of some big decorative trunks for sheets and blankets. I have an armoire for the boys upstairs....where do I put my towels?
I have a plastic cupboard for my linens down in the basement next to the washer.
IKEA has a bunch of free-standing closets that might be nice for the upstairs.
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A year ago today I suffered an ectopic pregnancy where I lost my right fallopian tube. Previously we'd waited 9 years for a pregnancy before being blessed with little Lily, who was a complete surprise. Five years before that we'd adopted five kids from foster care. When Lily was just a little over a year old I was pregnant again. I was so excited. All of a sudden my infertility seemed a thing of the past. Two babies in two years! WOW! When it ended up being ectopic I was devastated.
Devastated to the point of I could not open my Bible for months. I was talking to God, but most of it was questioning and angry. Today I am still hurting so much and I have to make a physical choice almost every day to have faith and trust in God. I'm back to Bible reading and prayer, but a lot of it feels like I'm just going through the motions. I can go for weeks without writing in my prayer journal.
My problem is I feel so guilty feeling this way. So many women long for one kid, one baby. I have 6 kids and a great successful pregnancy story! How dare I have my pity party! (That is sincerely how I feel!)
I feel so empty. My womb aches in a way it used to before I had my daughter. I've dealt with two very early miscarriages since the ectopic, which totally does not help.
I just feel so bad and wonder why I can't just be content with what God has already given me. It stinks because I did feel content before the loss. I remember at one point thinking that while I would not mind more kids if this was all I got I'd be ok. Now, I just keep thinking, this can't be how it ends!
I just don't know what to do.
:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
Infertility sucks.
The verses that give me comfort. Jeremiah 29:11 and Psa 113:9
Those are facts. Still the sadness overwhelms at times, but I have to remember the facts and not let my feelings get the better of me and life.
:grouphug::grouphug:
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Fired.
:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:
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We are using SOTW 4 with MFW. We have our wall maps, a globe and such. But we are left hanging a bit when we are doing our mapping this year. We are very visual and I think an atlas in book form or something would be helpful in finding locations, etc. Suggestions?
We're doing the same! I put my wall map on the table and covered it with a see thru plastic table cloth. The map is right there for them. They can touch it without me yelling. :001_smile: Which they do when singing those songs every day.
What week are you on.
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So we moved the horses to the pasture that you can see from the house. This morning the kids were busy doing their math when ds looked out the window and says, "Mom, why is Ringo sitting on Destiny?" :ohmy:
DD 13 giggled, "Is that what mating looks like?" :svengo:
Uff Da, that's way too much before 8 a.m. for this mom.
Evidently our mare (Destiny) is in heat. I didn't know that geldings would do that. Should have known because we have dogs & cats that are neutered.
Recess was declared and now the horses are in separate pastures. My more artistic children are illustrating their work with "Nature drawings."
How long will she stay in heat?
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I tried making pizza sauce yesterday from fresh tomatoes. While it tasted good, it wasn't quite right. So if anyone has a good recipe for making pizza sauce without using canned tomatoes or sauce or paste, please share.
:lurk5:
I'd love a pizza sauce recipe too!
I make ketchup and a blended sauce with garlic & basil for soups.
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I wouldn't tell either. It's spooky having people who know you IRL see what you write online. It's always different from what you'd say face-to-face - whether some people think so or not.
There are some folks I knew online first and then met IRL, though. And at least one of them is on this forum too (and knows who I am here). I don't always remember about that, but I try to behave myself for the most part.
Although I try not to say too much most of the time, I've been guilty of a few vents that could get me in trouble if my IRL folks knew about them.
What about Facebook? I realize not everyone does FB for this reason, but many people do.
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I do not share my forum username with people I know in real life. I prefer to keep these separate.
Sounds like the moms you met don't want to do so either. I completely understand.
Yes, this is what I assumed. But why do you feel this way? There's a whole load of reasons I've come up with but they're mostly negative.
Laundry -- Today I gave notice to my family.
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
They can cook. I'm thinking of menu planned cooking next. They all like to get in there and make their own for each meal.