meggie Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 three times now I have bundled the kids up and walked a mile down to the grocery store. Then I buy Tuna or Hamburger Helper. I know :ack2: right? *sigh* The good news is that we're walking two miles and actually getting some fresh air. The bad news is that it's all processed garbage. We've also been buying V8 drinks, not the 100% juice kind. I put a little in their water in an effort to get them to drink more (They're both extremely dehydrated) I know it would be easier to wash some pots and pans and dishes and make something. But I'm tired of washing dishes and I'm tired of cooking all the time just to hear "I'm hungry" 20 minutes later. Also, three nights ago I made baby girl cry it out. After that one night, she's slept through the night every night. Ok, someone hand me the bad mommy of the year award. And give me a kick in the pants to not be such a slacker. (If anyone else has any other confessions of any type, feel free to do so here. No judgment from me :D) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I don't think either of those things even belong in the bad Mommy category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Its gets easier when they get a little older and don't need so much from you all the time. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 You have to work harder than that to win the Worst Mommy of the Year Award here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I don't think so either. Sometimes, processed food is called for. I haven't had a dishwasher (other than myself!) for over 6 months. I use paper now, after not having paper plates and napkins in the house for 2 years. It's not forever. It's for right now. You do what you have to do. And obviously, your little lady was ready to sleep through the night. It's okay. I've made both of my kids cry this week. Ds11 thinks he has too much school work when really all I'm doing is challenging him a bit. Ds8 missed all but 4 out of 20 spelling words. It's so hard for him. He just put his head down and cried. And, yes, I'm still making him work on them. I'm such a mean mom. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I decided I could not give anything up for lent this year because it is roll up the rim time. I had planned to give up tim horton's coffee. BUt it is just not Canadian to give it up during roll up the rim. I won a free coffee last night from it :) Last night we had fast food for dinner, at 9pm because daycare child got picked up late so no time to even make a sandwich for dinner before scouts, we drove away before they did. Dinner was fast food, and my coffee (see above) and the chocolate bar I bought at the gas station on the way home because it was a very long day and I did not want dishes to wash at 10pm(we have never owned a dish washer so I have always washed by hand) Also I suck as a cook, though I still do it. I never learned how to season properly so I use club house seasonings and oxo to season things, which means I am probably getting too much salt and artificial stuff into my kids and I don't care. Oh and one of our favorite lunches is stove top stuffing and canned creamed corn. I don't serve that when I have daycare kids, but the kids love when I serve it otherwise. Oh and we use processed foods all the time. The other day was meat pies for lunch, the day before that was fish sticks and fries(and veggies but they weren't processed). I have 6 kids to feed a hot lunch to and very little time to cook it, processed foods are life savers. And guess what I am not feeling even a little bit guilty for using packaged foods, or seasonings, or serving hmaburgers last night, not sticking to my plan to give up tim horton's for lent, that one I feel a little guilty about, but not enough to change my mind lol I will figure out something else today to give up that is still a sacrifice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PIE! Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My confession: When 6 month old dd is nursing, I'm on the computer. Yeah - we should probably be bonding or something. Oh well. I need some sanity time too, and it's my only somewhat alone time during the day. And my kids love food from a box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Oh honey, processed foods are a way of life in this house. Especially now that dh is laid-off and our income is cut in more than half. Yup... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 :hurray: I hereby award you 'Clever Creative Mommy of the Year'. I admire people who always find a way, no matter what :D. I agree with Thescrappyhomeschooler, it definitely gets easier as they get older. Best wishes Cassy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2cntrykids Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My confession: When 6 month old dd is nursing, I'm on the computer. Yeah - we should probably be bonding or something. Oh well. I need some sanity time too, and it's my only somewhat alone time during the day. And my kids love food from a box. You're still bonding with her:001_smile:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My confession: When 6 month old dd is nursing, I'm on the computer. Yeah - we should probably be bonding or something. Oh well. I need some sanity time too, and it's my only somewhat alone time during the day. And my kids love food from a box. It is still bonding! I did that with my youngest the whole 3 years she nursed, heck I did it at my mother's when I nursed her too, I would plunk down in front of the computer and type away 1 handed :lol: It still counts as mommy closeness to nurse while online, no one expects you to spend the whole nursing session staring at her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It is still bonding! I did that with my youngest the whole 3 years she nursed, heck I did it at my mother's when I nursed her too, I would plunk down in front of the computer and type away 1 handed :lol: It still counts as mommy closeness to nurse while online, no one expects you to spend the whole nursing session staring at her. I agree with this. I was always doing something when nursing, be it computer, or tv, or reading, or talking on the phone, ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 A few weeks ago I actually left my house with the single purpose of getting fast food drive through just so I didn't have to make a mess :o Yesterday after a fantastic morning of feeling like a "great mom" (ok, maybe it was only like 2 hours!) ;) I had a major meltdown of a momfail moment. Mom of the year? I am aiming at mom of the hour or even 10 minutes. I like to set my expectations low ;) :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 A few weeks ago I actually left my house with the single purpose of getting fast food drive through just so I didn't have to make a mess :o Yesterday after a fantastic morning of feeling like a "great mom" (ok, maybe it was only like 2 hours!) ;) I had a major meltdown of a momfail moment. Mom of the year? I am aiming at mom of the hour or even 10 minutes. I like to set my expectations low ;) :lol: :lol: You know it is funny, I was rewarding my oldest boy for every 20 minutes that he was "good" as in did not have a meltdown/attitude. After a few days of that I realized I needed a chart for when I am not nagging, yelling or having a mommy meltdown. Seriously I would be lucky to get a gold star for every 20 minutes. I have done much better since realizing that, but it is a work in progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Also, three nights ago I made baby girl cry it out. After that one night, she's slept through the night every night. :party::party::party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We were given an Xbox with a Kinect and I'm using those games to give my son an hour of focused physical activity right now, because it is cold and I don't want to bundle him and the baby up to play outside. Plus, she hates being worn and her stroller, so I'd have to hold her and watch him while he begged me to actually play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It's not forever. It's for right now. You do what you have to do. Yes! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Please, mine are grown and I won't feed them anything but Hardee's after church. We have a 90 mile drive back and I don't want to cook or crock pot it on those days. We do not bond on the ride home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball mom Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Nope, no bad mom award for you. You are surviving and being creative. That is a good thing. Last night my kiddos ate those ramen cup of noodle things for supper. I just plain didn't feel like cooking and no one would tell me what they wanted so I didn't cook. About 8pm they came thru and said "can I fix this?" Sure!! I do really good fixing decent meals most of the time then I go through spells where boxed food is all we get. It's life, you just gotta deal. Today for lunch we had box mac & cheese with bits of cut up leftover steak in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Hey, Chuck made it through okay and now you'll both be better for it. :grouphug: Oh, and I just want to say that it is so cool to "know" another girl nicknamed Chuck. :D As for the other, while there is room to improve your diet, you don't get the bad mom award. Some idea for when you don't want to be in the kitchen all day: Paper plates. Yeah, I know. But the argument that they conserve water helps. It is a ****ed if you do, ****ed if you don't situation. Just use them and don't feel guilty about the trees. Or this spring plant a few trees in your yard. Healthy finger foods. Things you don't need to cook such as fruit and veg. Try to process (peel and cut up) some after shopping. Then again in the middle of the week. Use a food processor if you have one. They make great carrot chips as opposed to cutting up carrot sticks. Cheese is an easy and filling snack. PB&J never hurt anyone who wasn't allergic to peanuts. (If you have one with a peanut allergy, butter and jam is an excellent substitute.) Ham or turkey roll ups are kid friendly and a good source of protein. So there is a quick meal that covers all the basic food groups without having to resort to junk food. There is no law that says all meals have to be hot. Oh, add some hard boiled eggs to the list of finger foods. Quick and they keep for a few days in the fridge for a quick protein snack. Cook in large batches. If you are making chicken tenders, double the amount. Use the extra for a meal later in the week. If you use the chicken tenders, a loaf of crusty bread and salad (or cut veg) you have a meal in under 5 minutes. Serve it on paper plates and clean up is minimal. Around here the crusty bread and salad is a staple. I buy the bread and freeze it on those weeks I'm too overwhelmed to bake. PS: Dd is a CIO survivor. Edited February 22, 2012 by Parrothead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) I don't think either of those things even belong in the bad Mommy category. I don't either. I'm not a fan of crying it out, but I get that desperate times call for desperate measures. And I love Tuna Helper! When I read your post, my mouth watered :lol: Here are mine. I've been avoiding going to the grocery store because I wanted to use up more of what's in our pantry/freezer and save money in our grocery envelope. That resulted in us eating dinner out or having takeout every night last week :blushing: And some breakfasts and lunches too! Bizarrely, though, we still ended up with more in our grocery envelope than ever before :confused: We are broke, and we're looking at our liquid cash running out in September--but I'm still driving to visit family in NC in April and letting DH go on his already planned trip to Vegas (free air and meals, with my awesomely fun uncle--he offered to stay home, but I didn't have the heart to tell him no, he works so hard :(). I purposely bought a huge bag of Tyson chicken tenders at Costco yesterday because they were cheap and mostly all natural and the kids will love them, even though I know that Tyson is one of the worst offenders WRT how they treat their poor chickens. And I'm not sure if I feel more guilt over buying it or over how stupid I feel for feeling guilty for buying it *sigh* I'm sure there are more, I just can't remember them right now! Edited February 22, 2012 by melissel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Oh honey, processed foods are a way of life in this house. Especially now that dh is laid-off and our income is cut in more than half. Yup... Oh :grouphug: You just made me feel so much better about something. Thank you for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I agree with this. I was always doing something when nursing, be it computer, or tv, or reading, or talking on the phone, ... When DD6 was nursing, sometimes I used to go nurse her on purpose so I could put some TV on for DD9 (3 at the time) and just go lay down and rest and read for 15 minutes :leaving: Please, mine are grown and I won't feed them anything but Hardee's after church. We have a 90 mile drive back and I don't want to cook or crock pot it on those days. We do not bond on the ride home. :lol::lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggie Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Thanks everyone. I just woke up from a much needed nap. For a completely separate reason, I haven't been able to sleep as much the past few nights. I wish I had time to comment on everyone's post, but I still have to go make that dang Hamburger Helper soon (I think the boys were scrounging around and eating Pop-Tarts while Chuck and I were sleeping. Yup, we bought Pop-Tarts for breakfast).:lol: You have to work harder than that to win the Worst Mommy of the Year Award here. Well, I hadn't really connected the two when I posted, but the food and the CIO were essentially the straws that broke the camel's back. I've been so tired and so stressed for so long, I've been a witch. A really big witch for far too long. It got to the point where I had a mental breakdown and confessed to DH that I thought I ought to leave him so that he could marry someone who would be a better wife and mother. I went into counseling soon after. The food just makes me feel like I can't do anything right. I have so many balls to juggle: cleaning, homeschooling, patiently dealing with the kids, working, patiently dealing with DH, exercising and loosing weight, and cooking. It seems that I can only manage about 3 of those at a time, the others will inevitably fall and then it's not long til everything else does too. Then we have to pick up all the fallen pieces. My confession: When 6 month old dd is nursing, I'm on the computer. Yeah - we should probably be bonding or something. Oh well. I need some sanity time too, and it's my only somewhat alone time during the day. And my kids love food from a box. I've done that baby girl's entire life. :grouphug: It's the only way I could get her to eat because if I did it downstairs, she'd rather watch the 2 year old's antics. :party::party::party: Thanks, I know I should have done it awhile ago, but my last thread on CIO made me feel so guilty even for thinking it. I know there were many supporters of it, but I figured I could make it awhile longer. Hey, Chuck made it through okay and now you'll both be better for it. :grouphug: Oh, and I just want to say that it is so cool to "know" another girl nicknamed Chuck. :D As for the other, while there is room to improve your diet, you don't get the bad mom award. Some idea for when you don't want to be in the kitchen all day: Paper plates. Yeah, I know. But the argument that they conserve water helps. It is a ****ed if you do, ****ed if you don't situation. Just use them and don't feel guilty about the trees. Or this spring plant a few trees in your yard. Healthy finger foods. Things you don't need to cook such as fruit and veg. Try to process (peel and cut up) some after shopping. Then again in the middle of the week. Use a food processor if you have one. They make great carrot chips as opposed to cutting up carrot sticks. Cheese is an easy and filling snack. PB&J never hurt anyone who wasn't allergic to peanuts. (If you have one with a peanut allergy, butter and jam is an excellent substitute.) Ham or turkey roll ups are kid friendly and a good source of protein. So there is a quick meal that covers all the basic food groups without having to resort to junk food. There is no law that says all meals have to be hot. Oh, add some hard boiled eggs to the list of finger foods. Quick and they keep for a few days in the fridge for a quick protein snack. Cook in large batches. If you are making chicken tenders, double the amount. Use the extra for a meal later in the week. If you use the chicken tenders, a loaf of crusty bread and salad (or cut veg) you have a meal in under 5 minutes. Serve it on paper plates and clean up is minimal. Around here the crusty bread and salad is a staple. I buy the bread and freeze it on those weeks I'm too overwhelmed to bake. PS: Dd is a CIO survivor. Yes, we are back to styrofoam plates and plastic forks. I've bribed myself with a nail polish at the end of the week if I can do one load of dishes every single day. At first the bribe was if I could keep all the dishes clean. Then if I could do two loads a day. Now it's one load a day. There's definitely lowering expectations here. DH has also suggested we go back to baby steps, so I've been trying to keep the kitchen table clean all week. It's been nice having a clean table and at least some clean dishes. Even if the rest is a disaster at least I have those :D All your ideas is how I generally try to manage, but things kept falling apart more and more as my mental health declined. My hope is that with her sleeping, I can get some sleep and not be so crazy. And yes, I love the girl named Chuck. 10 bonus points to whomever knows where all of their nicknames come from. Anyway, I have some friends coming over on Saturday to make freezer meals. Hopefully it can help me get back on track. And a big thank you for anyone who said it was ok to eat from a box. Before children, that was all I did. I think they'll be ok for a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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