April 04, 2008

One of Those Weeks

Going, going, going, .... CRASH. That would explain the last three years week we've had. There were some great moments, but we are fizzling out hard on this extra-curricular-to-the-extreme schedule (that's what I get for over-scheduling my month). In all honestly - we could use a swift kick in the rear for slacking on our weekly routine, too. Too much to do and too little discipline = not a good mix.

Our co-op had a meeting this week to plan for next year and I was in no mood for thinking of next year. I was thinking of everything that has gone wrong THIS year. I had been having visions of school buses whisking away my children so I could get some perspective earlier that morning, actually. Of course, I wouldn't "go there", but I do have those thoughts from time to time.

Tuesday, we got up at 5am for a field trip in another city and didn't go to bed until 11 that night. Unbeknownst to me, we were low on our funds before the trip. You wouldn't even believe the amount of overdrafts I got while out of town for the day-trip. Overdrafts stink even worse if you have the money in your savings account to cover them and you just FORGET to check the balance. Chalk it up to stupidity... but that won't pay the car note, will it?

Then there was the little 'accident' that happened on the dining room carpet (OH, it was bad, people). The cat knocked a small plant off of my dining table that we were planning on putting in the flower gardens and hadn't gotten to yet. Morgan tried to clean it up herself. Only, she didn't know that loose dirt is easier to get up with a vacuum - so she rubbed it all in to the carpet with a sopping wet rag.

OH, YES SHE DID. A big MUD puddle where I used to have beige carpet. It is the biggest carpet stain I have. ever. seen.

So having a meltdown this week wasn't that strange. The amazing part was that the meltdown wasn't over the money or the carpet (although I did think to warn my husband about those things before he got home Thursday). My moment of madness was over the general chaos that we have been experiencing due to our lack of routine. Our behaviors and habits have slipped into disintegration-mode. Especially mom's.

The solution? We had a "pow-wow" today. We have those from time to time during the school year. More in the past year two years than ever, it seems. We started our meeting with a few tears and apologies. Then we played a game where each of us told the rest of the group (mom, grandma, Morgan, and Kaden) one thing that was positive and one thing that was negative about each other. We are going to use the list as a springboard towards positive behaviors and goals for the future. By the end of this discussion, we were in stitches - laughing together. It was time well spent. My mom said it should be considered "Psychology Class" or a "Teacher Conference Day". I agreed.

Then we talked about our rules and asked the kids to come up with their own punishments for the rules - since my son thought being grounded on Saturday was worse than death. They came up with some great ideas that mom hadn't thought of before. The rules are more for Mom and Dad, really. With a rules chart on the wall, we can let the kids punish themselves so we aren't the bad guys. And if they don't get in gear - now we know what they consider "worse than death". I figure this is good information for later. Hopefully I won't have to use it on them.

Our crazy week and the emotional day we had has left us plumb tuckered out. Only after our pow-wow did I discover that Morgan has been suffering from silent sinus issues all day and did I notice Kaden's sneezing. Both of them needed medicine - poor things. That means the evening will end quicker than later! We might all be in bed before the sun sets tonight. Kaden is veging out in front of the X-Box, Daddy is surfing the net, Grandma is on her way home, Morgan is fast asleep on my bed, and I'm fixing to chill out for the rest of the weekend. I don't want to go anywhere or do anything this weekend. I think we all need some down-time.

I don't even want to go downstairs. Because that huge carpet stain is down there. Maybe we can have pizza delivered by pulley? That would be a great Science Project...


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14 comments:

Mama Kautz said...

I love how you are so real! I hope you have a wonderful down weekend

Anonymous said...

If it makes you fell any better, and it won't (I don't even have carpet-hallelujah!) We came home from east Tx. w/ 4 overdraft fees.

Anonymous said...

I mean Christy, not c. and that's B as in Bryson. I'll get it straight one of these days...

MommyLydia said...

Yikes. Money issues are the pits and yes, its worse when you have money elsewhere that you just didn't transfer!

Barbara Frank said...

Hope you get some rest this weekend. You might be interested in one of the articles in my newsletter this month:

http://www.cardamompublishers.com/take-control.htm

Take care,
Barb

Anonymous said...

Yikes! You need to stay in bed and have some Chipolte delivered :) Did I spell that right?

We had many of those days last year. This year I backed away from all but two extracurricular things -- 2 playdays a month with the group and family field trips when we've cleared our schedule. Whew! That helped us tremendously.

Hope your weekend to regroup helps all of you.

Kathy D.

Sweet Woodruff said...

((((hug))))

Anonymous said...

Try Folex on your carpet. They sell it at Home Depot and Lowes. It will even get out spaghetti stains!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh no! Hope things get a bit better. Our week was a bit hectic too...something about Spring bursting into the middle of lessons, I think, for us.

Jen said...

Thank you for your honesty. After my own crazy week, it's nice to know there is someone else out there in the midst of trying(sometimes unsuccessfully) to be the best mom ever.

Anonymous said...

Can you link your savings account with your checking account at you bank so any overdrafts are covered? Yes, I know by experience!

robin@www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcmyworld

Judy said...

I appreciated your honesty. I have those days (or weeks) sometimes and I forget sometimes other mothers are real and have those kinds of weeks too!
I hope that this upcoming week will be a better one.

Sprittibee said...

Katey - :) Thanks - we did have a great weekend.

Christy - I actually went to see a banker and he gave me my fees back. God is good.

MBR - Thankfully, this time, God provided a miracle! ;) Having a refund was exactly what we needed.

Barbara - Thanks for the link!

BFM - We actually didn't go out to eat this weekend for a change. We ate at home and saved money - and we ate at church today twice (once for potluck lunch and once for small group... I made home made enchiladas and Kev made guacamole). Interestingly, this year has been so busy because I allowed myself to over-schedule. It was kind of like coming out of the forest of isolation in Arkansas into a circus of mayhem here in Texas... since the last two years we have had little to no extra curricular things on our list besides field trips. Here in TX there are so much more opportunities and I just couldn't say no after us being away from home for so long. Next year we will KNOW OUR LIMITS. ;)

Thanks ALLYJO! I needed that.

anonymous - We used a Rug Doctor from the hardware store and it worked great. Kev did the entire house and was BEAT Saturday. I stayed outside and did the flower garden instead. I had some plants to separate and the weeding and mulching and watering needed to be done. When I came back in, he had done the entire downstairs and said it took him over an hour to get just that ONE stain out (and four boiling buckets full of water). I helped him do the upstairs, too. The carpet looks brand new now!

Dana - Yeah, Spring is very distracting this year. I'm almost thankful that it hasn't been a great year for bluebonnets. I'm having a hard time containing myself and sticking to the books.

Jen - Yeah, I figure I need to be honest - because when I'm having a bad day, I feel like a hypocrite if I come in here and write a post about homeschooling and I'm STINKING at it for the moment! ;)

KCmyworld - Yeah, I did have the bank connect my savings and give me overdraft protection when I went in to talk with the manager. Of course, it isn't all the time that they refund money, but if you aren't habitual about overdrafts, they will sometimes do you a one-time favor.

Judy - Thanks for the well-wishes. I'm looking forward to this week. We started it this evening (we did our morning chores the night before and are going to get in bed by 10). The weekends get me off track pretty bad. Our weekday bedtime is moving up to 9:30 and we agreed to get our chores and showers done before bed so we aren't lagging in the mornings. I want to get up with Daddy at 6ish and get school started by 8 and finished by 4. Then the kids will be rolling in the free time. Their beef was that they weren't getting enough free time and my beef was that we weren't getting enough school done with all our "places to be and people to see". Looks like this new schedule has potential if we can keep it.

Dianne - Bunny Trails said...

I so understand, Heather. A number of years ago, hubby installed new carpet in our living room/dining room and about 3 days later, our youngest (probably 3-4 at the time) go a ketchup bottle out of the frig and squirted it all over the carpet while other kids, the neighbors, and I were outside!! I have NO IDEA what possessed him to do this! Fortunately, I got it out - somehow - before hubby came home! It's funny now, but it sure wasn't then! :D

I pray that God gives you a chance to rest and regroup! :D

 

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