• Apr. 8, 2007
Not the best day ever
This day is definately not going to be remembered as one of our best days ever. First of all, we've been dealing with tummy troubles. I thought we were pretty much over everything on Saturday but then dh started feeling badly again. We decided to cancel our Easter dinner. Luckily, my bil and sil offered to have the family up to their house. Pretty nice for it being last minute and all. So at least we didn't leave our families "dinnerless" on Easter. We figured we'd just take the day easy and make sure everyone was on the mend.
Then after everyone enjoyed their baskets this morning, the baby threw up all over the place again! She had been ok for almost 24 hours. And then dh said he kept feeling worse and worse. And then my 12yo started up with the nausea again! We ended up skipping church this morning :(. There were just too many of us feeling sick. So we watched an Easter dvd about the resurrection from the eyes of a Roman soldier stationed to watch over Jesus' tomb. I think it was based on a Max Lucado short story.
We decided we were still going to attempt dinner for just us. I had ham to fix (which I do pretty well if I do say so myself....I have a fake HoneyBaked Ham recipe that tastes just like the real thing). Also, my dd had made blondies for dessert on Saturday so we had that covered. I had fresh green beans and also was planning on making sweet potato with a streusel topping (yum). Well....things sort of went downhill quickly.
I was not very patient, first of all, with anyone today. We are entering day 6 of sickies that mommy has had to stay up with every night, so I'm a bit sleep deprived. Starbuck's can only do so much :). So I was just kind of cranky all morning, especially once I realized we were starting a second round of sickness. I had to go to Meijer to pick up some more Gatorade for dh and a few other things, and I told the kids to dry the dishes I had just washed, put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and start preparing the beans (snapping the ends off and tossing the yucky ones and place in the colander). I was gone about 50 minutes. When I returned home, I found my darling children in front of the TV, my clean dishes still sitting by the sink and dirty dishes still on the counter and the beans still in their bag. When I walked in they jumped up and said "Oh, we didn't know you'd be home so soon!" Uh huh.
So lots of hollering ensued from my part. That was just sort of my breaking point. I had no idea how I was going to get dinner done, my house was still a mess and I felt like I had made zero progress on the whole day.
After everything calmed down, we ended up having a really good talk. I've decided that this week, we are doing no TV. This isn't as a punishment. We all need to realign our priorities I think. With the new baby, I've been very inconsistent with discipline. If I'm in a good mood, or if I can't be bothered, I let things go. Then on other days, the same behavior will cause me to flip my lid. The kids are confused and I'm a basket case. So after having a quiet time today (in my car.....at Meijer...no kidding!) I decided that this week, I'm going to not focus on academics, but on building character. Not that we're not doing school, it's just that I'm going to be willing to put down the books and deal with attitude if need be. Even if that means we hardly cover academics because of it.
I have those charts from Doorposts....the "Go to the Ant" and "Blessings" ones. I bought them at our convention a couple years ago. They are still in their plastic. Hmmm....wonder why I am having problems? My goal tonight is to go over them and come up with set consequences for behaviors and then implement them this week.
Let me just say....I have terrific daughters. They have really great hearts and are for the most part really well behaved. I think our problem is that they are not making wise choices with their time and efforts unless I'm on top of them. They haven't developed that discipline. And I haven't really helped. I need to help them develop that because it's a killer not to have it when you are an adult. I should know, I struggle with it so much! I shared with my girls that when I was a teenager, I would spend up to 4 hours a day on the phone just chatting with friends. My mom never really said much to me about it because in her mind I was a good kid and I made good grades. So I guess she never really felt like she had an excuse to limit my phone time. The problem is, the consequence of me being on the phone all the time wasn't the grades, it was the habit of wasting time. I had a hard time being productive. I was (am) easily distracted from tasks at hand. I also developed a "taste" for being entertained. This is what my mom didn't have the foresight to understand. She figured that since I made good grades, talking on the phone couldn't be that destructive. But it was.
I think they really understood what I was talking about (at least the 12 and 10yos). If anyone thinks of it, please pray for me this week. We just really need to turn things around before it's too late. I think all of this is still redeemable. I just pray I can stick to it! Oh, I also promised the girls that I was going to cut out my tv this week too. I pray for the strength of character to keep that promise. It could be really hard when they are asleep and no one is watching.....:)
Happy Easter to everyone! I think we're going to do a "do over" Easter next weekend. The dinner at least. No extra baskets!
Comments
• Apr. 9, 2007
Untitled Comment
Posted by 2peter318
It's always encouraging to hear about other mothers with the same issues to deal with. Dd is doing o.k. for an 11 almost 12 yo with her time. But, ds, who is learning disabled on top of it, not doing good at all. And I know that part of it is my lack of consistancy. He always complains and whines when he's asked to do something. I've tried talking to him that he doesn't have to like doing the things he's asked, but that he needs to do it anyway. Hasn't worked. I've tought of having him write out, I will not grumble and complain, however may times everytime he does. But for some reason, I haven't started it yet. Lack of consistancy. :( I will be praying for you.
JoAnn
• Apr. 9, 2007
Hi
Posted by homeschoolhighlites
Thanks for adding me to your friends list (I added you as well). Hope your all doing better now and that you have a great week ahead.
Amy
• Apr. 10, 2007
Praying that you all have a peaceful week
Posted by MOMflippedisWOW
You poor girl! It's hard to keep the calm when everyone's sick including yourself. Sometimes it helps to just regroup. I'll keep you in my prayers this week that you all feel well again soon and can get back on track.
Blessings,
Vicki
