Just need to vent.. not an agry vent though

[Mynyel]

I am just feeling overwhelmed!

 

There is so much to do. The house is a wreck. I mean a wreck, not just a few misplaced things. Laundry on floors, toys everywhere, floors need to be mopped, dishes done, laundry done, toilets cleaned, table cleared and that is just the beginning. How does it get so out of hand?

 

Schoolwork.. ugh! We haven't done any in the last three days. We did it for a week before that and it had been two weeks with no school work before that because of illnesses.

 

We are looking to move and we are having a difficult time finding a rental.

 

I am behind on work because work was out for a couple days, and I am trying to make it up.

 

Ds9 is behind in math. He can do multiplication but hasn't even memorized his basic addition. My fault but just more on the pile.

 

My blood pressure is up (140/100 range) and I don't have a Dr. appointment for 3 weeks. I am trying to to stress, I don't want mu BP up anymore.

 

I am trying to lose weight and am having a very hard time. I walk three times a week, it is what I can squeeze in, and still not losing any really. I might ask the Dr about that along with my BP.

 

I need to prioritize the kids school work but I also need to work. I work 24 hours a week. It doesn't seem like much but it seems hard to get in.

 

The dogs need their shots and grooming. Bills need to be paid. Groceries need to be bought.

 

I don't know where to start or what to do. My house is so disorganized, because of lack of space, that I can't ever find anything.

 

Thanks for listening and if you have any help a all that you can offer... please throw me the lifeline.

[scrapbabe]

:grouphug:Sending big hugs. My house is a wreck too....all the things you mentioned in your post. I've had health issues for the past three years which have made it difficult to get exercise at all. I used to workout 5 times a week for an hour. I can barely walk 20 minutes on the treadmill now. My kiddos are a bit behind in math too. Right now I'm just putting one foot in front of the other and moving. It might not be quickly, but I'm trying to move forward one teeny tiny step at a time and be satisified with my small progress. I'm so sorry. Hope things get better soon.

[Ohdanigirl]

:grouphug::grouphug:

 

I know how you feel. I worked part time a couple of years ago while homeschooling, and it is hard. I really suggest you make a list in order of importance, then decide what others can help you with. Even the kids can help. It may not be done the way you do it, but it is better than driving yourself nuts.

 

You may only be able to hit things once a week, but just embrace what you are able to do. I remember I would just throw the laundry in the car and do it before work, I must have been crazy, but it worked at the time. Also, flashcards may be boring, but they are fast. You can also try having your ds holding them up for you, and maybe even messing up sopme times and having a laugh over it. It can take the stress out of it for both of you. If you are against flash cards, maybe 15 at a computer math site. I have seen many mentioned in the past.

 

Hope you are feeling better soon. :grouphug:

 

Danielle

[Hockey Mom]

:grouphug:

 

I'm right on that bench with you.

 

Currently, I have head-in-the-sand syndrome. I have my boys doing school, but that's about it. And even that is a struggle.

[Senorita Tuna Fish]

Just like the previous poster said, you have to put one foot in front of the other. If you need to make a plan at night of the things you want to accomplish the next day and let it only be a few things not too much to over whelm you. Make sure you do your priority stuff and then add one extra thing like gathering the laundry all in one place, the next day you can seperate that laundry, the next day you can start doing the laundry and keep going day after day until it is done and then move on to the next task. I know exactally what your going through. I'm kinda in the same boat but I have started and the process is slow but it's going and getting faster everyday! Major :grouphug:'s and prayer and happy thoughts coming your way from me.

[3and3]

I could have wrote this same post. Except ALL my children are behind. If I was to put them in PS they would be at least 1 yr behind. And I am not working I am a full time student so that I can work from home next year.

 

I would try the flashcards or computer drill for math. I am going to commit to making lesson plans each Sun with checklist for my older kids.

 

Another thing I am going to try is checklists for chores. Kind of like flylady I broke my house into 5 zones for Mon-Fri and am assigning each of my olders chores in those rooms and even a list for myself. I am hoping this will help me not feel so overwhelmed with the cleaning.;)

 

I have not figured out how to tackle the laundry monster yet.:glare:

[In the Rain]

:grouphug:

 

When I am completely overwhelmed with house cleaning, I set a timer. Everyone cleans for 15 minutes. After that, I give new assignments and we clean for another 15. After that, they get 15 minutes to rest. The cycle starts again.

 

All of your kids could help with this. Give the 3yo a damp rag to wipe up spots on the floor, or wipe down the baseboards. You could also set him loose on doors with a magic eraser. It is a little helpful, and should prevent him from making further messes while you clean. The older kids should be able to make a serious dent in the problem. Maybe you can spend one block of time making calls to set up appointments.

 

My outlook generally improves when the house is tidy.

 

As far as missing school due to illness, I am no help. :tongue_smilie: We've had a really bad winter, so I feel your pain there. :grouphug:

[Jenny in Florida]

I'm right there with you.

 

My house . . . well . . . it's pretty much always a mess. We moved from 1800 square feet and four bedrooms to 1300 and three bedrooms over the summer, at the same time my daughter finished school and came back full time. The location of this house is much better for us, but I'm finding the lack of space more of a problem than I anticipated. There is literally one wall of the master bedroom that is lined floor to ceiling with boxes we will probably not unpack as long as we live here, and there's still stuff just everywhere.

 

I'm not the world's best housekeeper to start with, and this house has me defeated.

 

My son is doing some schoolwork every day, but it's never enough. We're so, so far behind that I've lost hope we'll finish even 80% of the stuff on my lesson plans before summer. And every single day is a struggle. It's non-stop tension and "discussion" about whether he's done "enough." Toward the beginning of the year, I opted to take the radical step of tossing most of my plans for all but three subjects and just letting him explore on his own. I hoped it would alleviate some of the stress we were having every day. But, it seems, instead, that he will consistently do about half of what I assign. So, now that I'm assigning less, he's doing even less than he did before.

 

He is, he estimates, another week from finishing the Spanish class he was due to complete in mid-December, just to give you an idea of where we are at the moment.

 

I feel very hopeless about the whole mess. Before our Christmas break, I fully intended to send him to school in January. My husband worked with our son to put some new rules in place and then talked me off the ledge, but I now think it was probably a mistake to give in on this.

 

I, too, am trying to lose weight. Actually, I have lost the weight I planned to this time, but I'm now completely terrified that I won't be able to keep it off this time, either. I never have before and have spent every decade since my mid-teens losing and gaining and losing . . . I've never, every been able to maintain a reasonable weight, ever. And I clearly see myself sabotaging the process, but I can't seem to get it under control.

 

Bills. Ugh. My husband took a pay cut last year in order to transition from a contract position to full-time, permanent. It was a great opportunity for him, and he's much happier at work. Unfortunately, this happened to coincide with my son's choir planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to England this summer. So, on top of the regular bills, we're struggling to make the payments for that. We're currently four months behind, and I can't really see how we can catch up with it. We've made cuts -- including each of us trading in our cars for vehicles with lower monthly payments -- but it doesn't seem to make enough of a dent. I've started looking for a part-time job, but haven't had so much as a nibble.

 

I don't think I can offer any lifeline, unfortunately. Life just sometimes is yucky. I try to make myself remember other times when life was tough that things did get better and to believe they will this time, too. I mean, honestly, I've been MUCH worse off than I am now. But there are days when it just takes so much energy to remember that.

 

At least you know you're not alone.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Jenny in Florida

[Perogi]

Wow. That does sound like a lot! For about 8 months last year I worked 20 hours a week and it was HARD. Even though my kids were younger than yours and didn't require as much "schooling" as yours would.

 

Over Christmas break I realized that I was also feeling overwhelmed and like many things were "falling through the cracks". I took the time on the break to reorganize. I made lists and lists and lists and implemented new schedules in January. Here are some of the things that are helping:

 

Chores - enlist those kids!! Surely the 14yo and 9yo can do at least their own laundry? In our house you start basically doing your own laundry around age 7, with some help, so by 9yo it's independent. I would suggest that the 14yo could do your 3.5yo's laundry as well and that your 9yo could at least fold the towels if you get them washed.

 

We also have a chore time every day after lunch (just since Christmas break) and I'm amazed at what a difference it's making. There are actually a lot of chores that kids can do! Mine collect trash from the cans around the house, wipe out the bathroom sinks, tidy their toys, load/unload dishwasher (with some help), set the table, wash windows/doorknobs/light switches, organize the entry closet, dust, etc. With my 3 kids that's 3 more chores getting done every day!! It really adds up. Try to make a list of things that you think your kids could do and assign at least one thing every day to be done at the same time every day - everybody working on chores at the same time.

 

Meals - I cannot function without a meal plan. I made a simple 4 week meal plan (just dinners). Now I know what to buy at the grocery store and I don't have to try and think of a good meal every day when I'm already busy teaching and doing other house management tasks. With my schedule I know that I have something ready to go that I will have the ingredients for and that is balanced over the week - so we're not eating pasta 3 days in a row, for example. I've also coordinated the schedule to reflect our weekly appointments - the kids skate on Mon night so I have a crockpot meal every Monday.

 

With school, is there anything that you could switch to that the kids could complete more independently? There are a lot of fun computer games to help with math facts - mathrider.com, TimezAttack, etc. Or you could even consider a completely computer based math curriculum like Teaching Textbooks. Khan Academy also has great math videos that are free and teach the concepts very, very well.

 

The other suggestion I'd have is to have the kids tutor each other - have your 14yo teach one subject a day to your 9yo and have your 9yo spend a slot of time reading to your 3.5yo every day. Everyone benefits from that.

 

Some of this stuff takes time to figure out and implement but so far for me the dividends are very, very worth it.

 

Good luck, mama. Try to stay calm and take care of yourself - hopefully your doctor will be helpful.