Wordless Wednesday

Trying to let them be creative with their play.  They piled all the cushions and then gathered bed pillows from around the house, and were jumping onto them from the couch.  And luckily for me, they cleaned up the mess before we had to leave to pick up the girls from school.  My kids, sure know how to be creative, and have HUGE imaginations. (most of the time).   

Taking the higher road.... a lesson learned.

Do you ever have occasion to meet the

Teacher people, that for some reason

or another just seem to "ERK" you just so?

Well, I was having one of those times,

over the course of the last several weeks.

The teacher is that of a Musical nature,

but also teaches Saxon math to a group of

students.

I was so close, and I'm not kidding,

to writing a NASTY letter to the administration

saying how this teacher isn't doing her job, and

seriously is "failing" my daughter in her educational

pursuit of acquiring such skills in a mathematical

nature that will enable her to get to college,

and upon graduation will probably not use a lick

of ....

Oh wait, let me get back on track, as I was saying

my child was frustrated with having to do homework for

this particular class, and would even start screaming

at the top of her lungs that she didn't want to do it.

And then commence into tears, and all out crying because

she claims it is too hard. So to try and be a "Good" mom,

I just tried to encourage, but seriously she wouldn't budge.

So that was that!
No homework tonight, turned into
27 
or so

MISSING
assignments.  

(there goes my Mother of the year award) 
YIKES!!! 
WHAT??!!

So since this week just happens to be Parent Teacher Conferences

which really are just a time for Parent and Child to go to the

school to "TALK" about what could have taken place at home.

I've only gone through one conference so far, and I had like

ZIPPO interaction from the teacher, except for him to tell me,

that that student is at an 8th grade reading level. AWESOME!!!

But seriously, after that conference I walked to the

other end of the school to see if I could talk with

that TEACHER whom I was getting
frustrated with almost everyday.

She happily let me talk with her RIGHT then, about the

situation, and let me ask some questions, that might

have been borderline offensive if she wasn't the

great teacher, that I came
to find out, she actually is.  I seriously wondered
what they spent all their time in class doing?  So I
was bold and just asked her, so she walked me through
a random lesson plan on her laptop, and I was
having a complete change of heart for this TEACHER.

She made sure to tell me that she loved my child. And
thought that she was an absolute joy to have in class.
And asked me to pass on that my child is doing absolutely
great for where she is at!!! 

So I feel reassured in my daughters educational

pursuits once again. And am now out to figure

out how we can qualify to "accomodate" her. She

isn't the fastest child in the class on her math facts,

but what she does get answered, is very accurate!!

Another fact to know, this daughter is like the YOUNGEST

in her grade, and the class is combined 2nd and 3rd graders.

She has started feeling like she isn't as good as the others

and this I believe is the reason why she isn't wanting to

do the homework anymore.

She is a fairly normal child, but the problem 

actually comes from having to answer so many 

fact problems (mulitiplication, subtraction, addition) 

in a given set of time, and after that time is up, 

you count how many are right.  And that is the score. 

So if you have 100 problems and you only answer 60 of 

them, and you miss one, that would equal 59/100 

See where I'm going? 

All the problems she answered were correct, but because 

she isn't FAST, she gets penalized.  And this is making 

her feel like she isn't any good.  (I want to cry for her now) 

So after talking with the teacher we feel it best to 

find a way to accommodate  her and her "special" need. 

That way she can feel good about herself. 

I'm glad I decided to approach this situation head on, 

instead of taking the cowardly approach through 

a letter.  I feel better, the teacher feels better, now 

if we can get my child's grade better....

Everyone will be happy.

Tardy Again.... And yes I said Again.

Okay so I wrote a note that said something like this:

Mr. P,

Katherine had a rough morning which has caused her to run behind today.

Thanks

Mrs. R


Not a big deal right?? It's not like she was all that late for school this morning, but this is what the note should have said....

Mr. P,

Katherine has had a rough start to her day. When entering her room to make sure she was waking up, she whined and cried that it was "FREEZING" in her room, and did not want to get out of bed. Even after I suggested she go into the living room where it felt "warmer" and that she could stand over one of the heater vents and "warm up". She screamed at me with high pitched, hurt your ears king of screaming, and so I had to think fast as to what I could do to get her up and moving. I then took away her blanket that she loves, and had been mummified in, only to hear her start her awful girl screaming once again. Sorry, but I was losing patience at this point, and really was running out of time. We continued to get the other kids dressed and ready, and were going to eat instant oatmeal this morning, but realized the time, and opted for bagels instead. You know, because they are quick, easy and portable. The perfect breakfast when you are in a hurry. Katherine was still in bed, and don't fret because she is nearly 10, and so I left her here at home while I drove the other two to school so they could arrive on time. I told Katherine before I left that she needed to be ready to go when I got back. Luckily she was, and then we headed back for the second time today already. I've told her that she doesn't get to go swimming this weekend because of her behavior this morning. Now I might still let her, but it will have to be a HUGE thing she does to earn that privilege back. We really try to get her to school on time, but sometimes, well as you can see it isn't that easy. And she was the first one asleep last night. I think things will work out a lot better if we were able to have our girls in their own rooms. But that can't happen until we move into a bigger house. But one day at time, and we'll be able to solve that problem. So because of this, she is running late this morning.

Thanks

Mrs. R.


(She was only 3-4 minutes late, but still it was a hard morning, trying to stay calm and not wanting to actually make and force her to behave.) I think I need a nap now, I'm tired from doing all that just this morning. And just so you know her grades aren't suffering, she really has great grades.

Oh sweet day!!!

Before I completely forget my thoughts tonight, I need to put them somewhere where I won't misplace them. For over a year now, my youngest child started climbing out of the crib, and pack and plays so we placed him in a twin size bed. Only he'd never stay in the bed and go to sleep like happy, good little boys do. He'd come right out of the room, and start playing again, and then I'd pick him up and take him right back to his room, and hope that he'd finally stay put. Some nights I'd even just hold the door closed until he cried so hard that he made himself tired and fell asleep that way.

Yes, I did feel awful, but what else was I to do. Isn't it my job to teach this child how to go to sleep and that it's important to do so in HIS bed?? Well, I didn't have a parenting manual for this child, but with the hind sight looking back I think I could write one, but the only problem would be ... that it might not work for another living soul again. That, of course, would be my luck.

For months I've been going crazy because this little guy wouldn't go to sleep at an early hour, and would be approaching 11 or 12 at night before he'd hunker down and sleep for the night, and I'd usually just leave him where he crashed because I didn't want to wake him up. Do you blame me? I hope not. So I've been thinking that something has to change, there has to be a way to get him to learn to sleep in his bed. Well, something is working now, and I don't quite know what to give credit too!!! But I'm thankful anyway!!!

Now I just need to get back in the productive habit after the kids go to bed. And finish up the kitchen, and fold that last load of laundry before I go to bed. But as it stands tonight, there are a lot of dishes to do, and about 5 loads of laundry to be folded in the morning. I'm pretty happy with myself, for the most part because I've been trying to keep the laundry folded everyday and not have to move it from room to room. But yesterday I didn't fold any loads up, and I didn't fold any up today, but I've washed and dried a few loads. Which means that if I don't fold tomorrow for sure, I'll be swimming in clothes pool again. Something I promised myself a few weeks ago, that I wouldn't do ever again.

But seeing how I haven't been able to "tidy" up the house my way for the last year, it's gone undone most of this time. And just got postponed until the next day. But now I'm hopeful that I can start sending my 2 year old to bed, along with the other kids, and feel like I can be a little extra productive without the whining kids at my feet, or pulling on my legs, or all the other hundreds of demands placed on the mother who tries her all to make them happy and love them all the time without trying to entertain the thoughts of "I'm gonna kill you!!!" after the 10th time of dumping out the trains, or pulling the movies off the shelf, or spilling the juice/milk whatever all over the freshly mopped floor. Or dumping the brand new bag of cereal all over the carpet, and taking lipstick to your white EGYPTIAN cotton sheets that you love with the color RED!! Cause you know that those thoughts and moments certainly do come. For some it happens more then others and for the others, it still happens. If you don't have those moments well either you are PERFECT, or you have PERFECT children or better yet you both are PERFECT. Send us your info on how you do it please.

Just when I felt like I was trying to paddle upstream without any paddles, I've all the sudden found a paddle and think I can now start making some headway in the way I want to be as a "normal" mom.
Although I'm still trying to define what exactly that is... so if anyone has any good ideas on what the "COOL, fun, NORMAL mom" is please share with me your ideas.

Wandering Minds want to know...

This darn daylight savings time!!! I hate it!! Even though, I know I get an "extra" hour this time of year. It certainly doesn't feel like it!! I was ready to put my little ones to bed about 15 minutes ago, and then realized that it wasn't 7:30pm but rather 6:30pm!! Geesh... whoever thought of this didn't take into account that it would really screw up moms!!!

Okay maybe it's just me!! But maybe they'll fall asleep sooner because it's dark already and they seem to need a few hours of dark time before they want to fall asleep. Well we will see how tonight goes, and what happens in the morning. (Monday + Morning + ????? = Who knows??)

We trick or treated last night, and bonus for us, we did it without a stroller for the first time in years!!! YEAH!!! So much easier, and faster to not worry about a toddler in the stroller. Luckily my 2 and half year old thinks he's just as old and big as his brother and sisters and walked the whole time. Mostly.

But there is one thing that I have come to HATE about Halloween, well there really is more, but I just want to talk about this one. It's the older kids that act like they are the only kids that matter and exist and crowd you on a porch, and won't be kind enough to MOVE out of the WAY for us to get down. You say EXCUSE US!!! and it's like they don't understand what that means. I guess next time I should just be RUDE AND MEAN and yell, get out of the way now!! LET US DOWN!!!

But I have a feeling, just a feeling, that that might not be the best way to solve the problem. So I don't know if this is due to a parental failure or just plain idiocy of the child. And the other thing, (same group of kids) we were walking to the next house in the neighborhood, and they saw my younger kids approaching the house, and they sprinted to the door, and nearly made my kids fall down. HOW RUDE!!! I know that my children aren't like this, even if I'm not around them. So it just makes me wonder why these kids act like this???

And they aren't even kids that live in the area, or at least ones that I know. So I can't go and talk to the parents and let them know how they are behaving. CRAZY KIDS!!!

Does this kind of behavior get experienced anywhere else, or am I just easily annoyed??

My wandering mind wants to know??

WORST MOM EVER goes to ......... ME!!

A lot has been on my mind lately. Most of which I'm keeping to myself, at least for the time being. But last night was BAD..... I mean really BBBBAAAAAADDDDD!!!

Two of my girls went to a day camp with their church leaders from Activity Days, which was fine. NOT A PROBLEM THERE!!

But, when said girls or rather the younger of the two, came home she was so tired that anything I asked her to do, or anything I said to her, triggered her into some kind of ANNOYING, IN YOUR FACE, OUT LOUD, LASTING FOR A VERY LONG TIME, NOTHING WOULD SHUT HER UP, AND NOTHING I TRIED TO SAY WOULD CALM HER DOWN, AND IF I MENTION SHE WAS JUST TIRED (she would scream and cry louder and harder) type of fits.

I'm talking major headache -- and to top that off, the youngest sister came in the room throwing a fit for completely different reasons, but a FIT nonetheless.

Daughter #1 said I care more about the computer and playing STUPID games than I care about them.

Hmmmm..... She doesn't normally talk like this, what's her deal?

So of course, I realize it's LATE, like if I tell you how late, I'd be ratted out for how bad a mom I am, and discovered that her main problem was that of being TIRED!!! She just spent the day outside doing outside kind of things, and she'd had it. I am often told by her statements like these:

" I HATE YOU!! You are the WORST MOM ever"

" I don't want you as my mom anymore, your mean!!"

And other such claims. My question is " If I'm the worst mom ever, and I'm mean, who's the best mom ever, and nice too??

I wanted to take cover and hide from all the NOISE last night but I realized she was just tired, but wonder if there isn't some truth to the "worst mom ever" nomination that I have gotten multiple times in one year within just weeks or sometimes even days of each other.

And really is it bad of me to think that someday she'll be a MOM, and the parenting won't get any easier, will it? She thinks she has it all figured out, but I don't know how, or what she plans on doing. Only time will tell, I guess.

So tell me, have you gotten the MEANEST MOM EVER AWARD, or the BEST MOM EVER AWARD??? And how does it make you feel and react when your kids say that they HATE YOU!!???

I'm just wondering....

I'm outta here sluggy buggy.

Good Mothers are a Rare Gem, Indeed!!! Cherish them Always!!

Okay so I'm a stay at home mom.
I enjoy it most of the time.
Despite all the messes, all the screaming, all the crying.
I really do enjoy it.

I try my best to do the things a "Mom" is supposed to do.
But despite all my efforts it seems that someone else...
doesn't think it's as "hard" as I make it sound.

I've got to devise some kind of plan to get him this person more involved. In all of my "mommy" duties.

I've grown up with the impression that the "chores" and household responsibilities can be divided and equally shared among the "Couple". But in my case, I'm the exception. We break that rule big time.

I'm the one who tends to the kids during the day.
I'm the one who makes them food, if they haven't raided everything before "I'm available" and ready to help.
I'm the one who tries to enforce the chore doing by the children, and helping them with homework, and making sure they read.
I take them to their doctor appointments, the library, and the store(s) they want to frequent.
I schedule or at least think of scheduling play dates.
I attempt to do the laundry and sometime I succeed.
I make the dinner, (sometimes I have help with clearing the table), and then onto the doing of the dishes, if I'm not distracted already with something else.
Then I make sure that I take time and play "rough" with them, and go for walks, and take them to the park, watch them do this neat thing or that other one.
I'm telling them to be nice, and trying to intervene before someone is badly hurt.
I suffer when they are hurt.
I give them kisses on their ouchies and hugs free of charge.
I am asked questions that sometimes make me feel "DUMB" because I don't know the answer.
I try to teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teach them right from wrong.
When they are sick, and mom isn't feeling well either, I still sacrifice for them.
I'm usually the last one that gets to eat any food for dinner.
I help them find their lost belongings, and remind them to put them away next time.
I do try to discipline them, and sometimes I'm successful and other times, well.... we'll just pretend those times NEVER happen.
When the awake during the night... I'm usually the one who takes care of their needs.

Wow!!! Now I'm tired of just thinking of the things that can usually happen during the course of one 24 hour period .... no wonder I'm so TIRED!! and EXHAUSTED !!! and wanting to absolutely nothing at all the next day.... BUT then realities hit (aka 5 little people) and the STUFF starts ALL over AGAIN.

Now I wonder how this other person could handle ALL of this in the course of one day. I'm laughing just thinking about it. So to those husbands who think your wife doesn't do much during the day. Just remember that her most important role is that of a MOTHER!! and that your kids well being should be her first priority. Messes will come and go, and tiredness too!! But your children will be small bur for a moment and then the mother will be sad again, because there isn't another to fill the spot. (This is assuming that you've decided you're done creating the family members and are now just ready to play "House" )

Support these special women, and don't MOCK their Valient efforts!!

To all my friends who are mothers, YOU ROCK!!! You are truly and example to me, and I learn new things all the time.

"Sluggy Buggy I'm out of here"

re: Baths

Okay so really, what is the minimum number of 'Baths/showers' that you need to give to your children, or at least make sure they get so that you aren't considered a slacker of a parent?

I've got 5 kids. 1 bathroom. Do you hear what I'm saying?? It takes like almost 2 hours each time I give my kids their baths. It really takes a while, and then the floor in the bathroom is always SOAKED!!! Am I really a bad mom, or even go on the limb and call myself 'NEGLECTFUL" if I only give them one bath a week??

So like I've said before, if only I had to concentrate on the bathtime... life would be doable. But again, there are more things to do then just the baths.

I'm Back .....

Okay I'm back....

I need a different place I can go, and just be myself and not care who really is reading this. Sometimes I'm sassy, sarcastic, staunch, rude... have been known to be crude, but really all I want is a place I can call MINE. Because let me tell you it isn't happening in my house at the moment. Even my room has been taken over, by my kids, my clothes, my crap, everything is EVERYWHERE.

Wasn't always like this, I kept the place immaculate and perfect
decent all the time. I knew where things were, and it was mostly put away. And if it wasn't, like I said, I knew where it was. But at least here, I'm in complete control of what goes in, and what comes out. I focus on my family in the other blog that I have, but I really want to be SELFISH for once, and have a place that is all for me. So here it is and here I go. Into the world of ... what I call MY LIFE. It isn't grand, glorious, awesome, cool, happening, or likable (my life that is and not me) but this it what I'm all about, and where I can really be me. Want to know me better this is definitely where to check back and read more on me as I get ready to blow my mind on what I can possibly be capable of.

My roles consist of (and in no particular order) : Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Niece, Granddaughter, Sister in Law, Daughter in Law, Cook, Laundry doer, Missing shoe finder, disciplinarian, Fixer upper, question answerer, band aid putter-onner (if that's even a real title), dish doer, homework helper, taking care of the crying child in the middle of the nighter, problem solver, fight stopper, bathroom cleaner, photographer (amateur at all levels), and I'm sure there are 100's of others... so there isn't any wonder that I might feel like a failure most of the time, because I don't do all of these very well all of the time. I'm lucky if I can even get a shower every day let alone ... do the dishes, or clean the toilet, sometimes I'm lucky and have dinner ready by 5pm but, homework comes next, right into the "it's time for bed" moment. And it's just so crazy busy that I have no time for ME!!

Well, now I hope to change all that. I'll complain, I'll rejoice, I'll praise, I'll nag... I'll wonder, and then I'll know that I'm still only a daughter of God, and that if I'm important to him, I most definately must be here for a reason... and I shouldn't be so hard on myself. My kids aren't perfect by any means, neither is my husband (even though he thinks it), but most of the time I am. That's right. I said, that most of the time, I am perfect. I am perfect - ly doing the things I can when I can do them. I tend to be hard on myself .. when the dishes don't get done, like they are right now, or when I have 10 loads of laundry that need to be folded and put away, and clothes all over the house that really have no business being here other than they hitched a ride in on a brown box we call "packages from Great Grandma". I try to be dilligent and get the stuff out right away if we don't NEED it, but sometimes, I forget and then I have chaos everywhere.

Aaaghhh when will my house ever look like a home again, without slaving hours upon hours and still feeling like it accomplished absolutely nothing.... SOMEDAY, that wish will come, and then I'll wonder what happened to my kids?? That will probably mean they are all grown up and not running around screaming in their underwear refusing to get dressed because they are perfectly comfortable running around practically naked because it's HOT.

So since I can't win them both I might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride, because sometimes it can be quite funny.

In my arms....

I really enjoy laying with a good book and reading. What's even better?? When my two year old wants to come snuggle up in my arms and there is no one else around and no noise and he lays down and falls asleep and starts snoring. His little body is so constantly busy that I forget how precious this little guy really is.

And with the reality eating at me that he might possibly be my last child.... my heart is trying to soak up all the love and joy he brings to me. His silly little grin, he's very beginnings of trying to talk. He's also (when he's not throwing a fit) trying to please his mom. Oh, that's me!! Lucky me . I enjoy getting to spend time with this little guy, and as I feel with all my children. I love to see them happy, and learn and grow. I can only pray that my efforts, with the help of a loving Heavenly Father will be enough to create their solid foundation .