It’s 11:15am
Aug 31, 2006 Homeschooling, Parenting
So far I’ve
–Put two dinners-worth of pinto beans in the crockpot.
–Made Noah cry by threatening to throw away his stupid Tamagotchi.
–Flipped out and locked myself in the bedroom to pace and growl because Madison took a handful of her weird little zippy-looking building toys and tossed those f*ckers right across the room for kicks.
–Sent the children outside to play and then choked back tears when they came back minutes later because Madison peed her pants.
–Made a happy little project of taping paper all over the table so Madison could decorate! the tablecloth! for daddy! so Noah and I could start his timeline.
–Did not kill anyone (including myself) when Madison ripped up half the “tablecloth” while I went to get the crayons.
–Gritted my teeth and retaped the damn tablecloth.
–Realized Noah was more into the tablecloth than Madison so gave up the timeline ’til her nap.
–Fell off the wagon and made myself a cup of half-caf/half-decaf. And then did it again.
–Told Noah that I am serious and if we don’t figure out a plan for his tamagotchi and the computer and the stupid damn television with the stupid damn cable, he is so going to school because he thinks his life is so hard when we ask him to do one or two little things and he just does not realize how lenient we are and I’m tired of feeling like a damn slavedriver because I’ve asked him to look through the (very expensive and impressive) ancient history book we just got to let me know what he thinks of it.
–Felt guilty when he started to cry.
–Felt guiltier when I realized that I, of course, have no intention of sending him to school and I’m just pushing his buttons because the morning isn’t going my way and I am sick of him treating me like a slave driver but I could just say that and leave the “s” word out of it.
–Felt guiltier still when later he came and put his hand on my shoulder and said, “I’m sorry. I know you’re having a tough day. Let me know if you need me to help out.”
Ugh. I have (another) earache and it kept me up half the night and then I slept wrong so now my eart hurts and I have a crick in my neck and I’m exhausted and I meant us to go to the library first thing this morning but it was raining and now it’s too late to go before lunch and nap and I feel like the whole day is screwed up even though it’s just the morning and the morning is almost over anyway so what do I care.
Bleah.
But last night since I couldn’t sleep I fixed my archives (sorta) while I waited for the ibuprofen to kick in. They look bad (I hope to figure that out sometime today) but now if you click on a category you actually get to read entries in that category instead of getting a “page not found” error.
August 31st, 2006 at 3:37 pm
I hope it’s better soon. I had a whole series of days like that in August, and felt just awful about them. My babies were going to kindergarten and I couldn’t even hold it together until I had that time.
The bad-mother blues are a bitch.
August 31st, 2006 at 4:12 pm
Hoping you get some relief– sometimes it’s so nice to just write the day off as a No-Good Very Bad day and just chill out. I’ve been exactly there, when the kids are pushing my buttons and I’m cranky and irritable for other reasons, so I lash out at them and they get upset and then I’m the Worst Mother Ever yet again.
love to you and yours, even the bratty ones!
August 31st, 2006 at 4:44 pm
Noah is 10 ish, ahhh yes, she who has survived two maddening cases of the 10’s and finds herself smack dab in the middle of the next case right now and wondering how she is going to make it.
And you have 2 in there as well.
My sympathies.
August 31st, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Sent the children outside to play and then choked back tears when they came back minutes later because Madison peed her pants.
Oh dear, I’m so guilty of that one too. Ella & I were wrestling over her bedtime a few nights ago. I thought she was crying for Daddy, when she was crying for Potty. Thankfully the hubby caught it and all was well. Of course, that’s the ONE time I was saved.
Have I told you lately how much I admire you as a person & as a mommy? Well, I do. Much love to you!!
August 31st, 2006 at 4:51 pm
I hear you. Today’s is my husband’s first day back at work after the summer and I have no idea how I’m going to make it through this year. Or, frankly, through this day. Every time I leave the room they either start a fight or make a “construction site” that takes up the whole living room and *then* start a fight.
Sometimes I wish I could just skip over a bunch of this stuff and go straight to grandmotherhood.
August 31st, 2006 at 5:05 pm
What a miserable morning! Hang in there, brave mommy.
August 31st, 2006 at 6:36 pm
Dawn,
Ah, the evils of gameboy, gamecube, computer, tv..electronics…and the endless negotiation for “just one minute” “One more game,” etc….
Here is what finally has worked in our house. We told the kids that they have three hours of screen time each week. This includes ANY electronic screen. They can use their hours on Friday, Sat. & Sunday ONLY. This eliminated the “Can I play/watch every day?” questions.
Now, we do have family movie nights, and these don’t count toward screen time. But we normally reserve these for Friday and Sunday nights.
What this has done is that the entire family watches much less TV. I put myself on a screen diet after I made the arrangement with the kids. My 12 year old gained an additional hour of time this fall. He has to manage the time himself, and it is empowering for him to decide what he wants to do.
It has brought much peace to our house. I’m not the Gameboy/gamecube/TV warden constantly saying “no.” I feel good that the kids are not frying their brains.
It worked for our family. Maybe it can work for yours.
HMBalison
August 31st, 2006 at 7:09 pm
Nothing substantive to say, just to feel better and not be so hard on yourself–everyone has off days and irritable days. Today is not the day to kick coffee AND deal with everything else. Maybe tommorrow. Today, however, might just be a fro-fro coffee from your favorite place day.
August 31st, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Ah, hang in there. There have been many, many days when I could have written that same post. If it gets too crazy, hop in the car and go get an ice cream - it’s like magic!
August 31st, 2006 at 9:34 pm
Giving up coffee is HUGE. Almost as challenging as raising two children, home schooling and setting boundaries about computer games…..
Dandelion coffee is good for you and very yummy……
August 31st, 2006 at 11:56 pm
Oh my gosh - I was just trying to explain to my uninitiated son what a tamagotchi is! Didn’t realize they were actually still around . . .
Hope things improve for you.
September 1st, 2006 at 11:59 am
Argh! That is when I bundle the kids in the car and drive to the beach - no MATTER how cold or rainy and let them do whatever they want while I sit and hold my head. We’ve ALL been there. Hang in.
DS-L