Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Pass the cheese

I could use some cheese with my whine. I feel like whining. If you don't like whining then maybe this post isn't for you. But sometimes a girl just has to whine.

I don't feel good. I have some sort of cold thing that is apparently going around. My head is pounding and my throat is really sore. I am so tired I could go to bed now, except that it isn't even 8 p.m. yet. And of course I feel guilty for whining when Rick was just sick with the stomach flu. He already has so much going on with his body that the flu just makes it worse. Did he whine? Of course not. Geez I suck!

I am feeling down about our finances. I am not going into detail here, but it is so stressful!!!

The girls have been less than angelic. They have decided to try to take over control of the house. Getting out the door for school in the morning is a nightmare, to put it nicely. I am not a morning person, and I really don't want to punish myself by getting up even earlier, but seriously they need to get out the stinking door!!

And their rooms....UGH!!! Seriously, I spent the entire past weekend cleaning their rooms. I am soooo not happy about that, still. It is so frustrating. I know that it is a common problem with kids, but this has been beyond a normal messy room. They hide everything, everywhere. Whether it is garbage or toys, it is shoved in a bin, or under the bed, or under the pillow. I am so frustrated. I even cleared out some of their toys. And things are organized really well, with very accessible places for everything. So if there are toys on the floor at bedtime they are going in a box and will decide what to do with them later. Yep, I know, I am such a meany!!

We got a chore chart and worked it out as a family. The girls picked their prizes for earning stars. And the stars are very achievable. They chose their own chores too. Unfortunately they haven't been able to earn enough stars to get their prizes. They were so excited about it, but then they haven't followed through.

I am just feeling like such a bad parent. Like I must have gone wrong somewhere to have them acting like this. So that has contributed to my bad mood too. It has been such a hard year and I am having a hard time adjusting to trying to find a new normal. So I guess I just need to whine. And so whine I will. And if it bothers someone, well then they can put themselves in my shoes. I promise it isn't easy.

Okay, so now I must go to bed.

Until next time,
Jaime

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hang in there. I know what you mean. My kids are 16 and 18 now and mostly grown, but I remember those days. What we started doing with our son was asking him to put things away, giving him a chance to do it, and then if he didn't, we would go in a put everything that was out into a trash bag. We would put that bag away for a set period of time. Sometimes his most favorite things went into that bag because he was too lazy to pick them up. I can't say that it solved the problem, but I think it helped. If nothing else it removes some of the clutter for a time. When those toys would finally come back out, it was almost like Christmas digging through the bag to see what he had been missing!

--Linda, Wichita, KS

PS Our daughter is a bit of a clean-freak so we never had this problem with her.

Anonymous said...

Don't feel guilty. We all need a "pity party" every now and then. You are a great mom, and eventually this too shall pass.
Remember, you have to go through a little rain to see a rainbow
-- Stephanie (from Dallas)

Denise said...

Jaime,

It's hard....marriage, raising children, keeping up a house, homework, AND a job! You have earned the right to whine a little! If you compound Rick's illness on top of all the "normal" stuff, who could blame you? You've had a tough, tough year! I go through the same feelings...often dreaming about a life all by myself where I don't have to pick up everyone else's crap and keep track of everyone elses lives. Of course, we love our families, but our work is endless, often thankless, and exhausting! You are a wonderful Mom, your girls are beautiful and well loved. They will come around eventually on their rooms if you start playing hardball, (like you said, if its on the floor at night they lose it). Maybe I'll try that too! Regarding finances..that's a huge stress for me too. I always feel like I can't make progress! Just wanted you to know that its ok with me if you whine, I understand!! Hope you feel better soon..yuck!

Shawnee said...

Whine away darling, I will bring the stinky cheese! :)