Jennifer

>>>>But, my reality was that the time I spent in the
kitchen or cleaning
house was time away from my kids unless it just
happened to be a time
when they felt like joining me in the kitchen. And,
when I had three
kids under 6 years old, I was tired a lot. When the
kids didn't need
me, I needed to sit and rest.

Still, I think a happy unschooling home is more likely
than not to be
a messy one. And I think anybody with a bunch of
little children
should give themselves permission to use disposable
dishes,
convenience foods, and household help. And they should
not feel
guilty about needing these things.>>>>


Thanks so much for this Pam. I always particularly
love posts from you folks with teenagers because you
have a perspective I can't have yet.

My oldest of three kids is six, and we have had a
housecleaning for four years now. I often feel
uncomfortable about it; kinda like, "I'm not bringing
any money into this household; the least I can do is
cut expenses by doing the housework myself." I feel
the same way about going through the KFC drive-thru,
etc.

I've recently been re-reading a book that I really
like, yet at the same time it always makes me doubt
myself. It's called the "Complete Tightwad Gazette."
The author has six children, washes all the dishes by
hand, hang-dries all the laundry, and cooks all their
meals from scratch. (And she did that when the kids
were young as well.) It just blows my mind.

I also take a short nap every single day. It's good to
hear other people with small children were/are tired
as well.


Jenny





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Meghan Anderson-Coates

*********the "Complete Tightwad Gazette."
The author has six children, washes all the dishes by
hand, hang-dries all the laundry, and cooks all their
meals from scratch. (And she did that when the kids
were young as well.) It just blows my mind. *************

I bought this at a yard sale to take some ideas from it. My dd saw it and started leafing through it. She turned to me and said, "Mum, this women is nuts!". <g>
I have to agree with her. Some of the ideas are really good, but sometimes she goes too far! As usual, I will take what is useful and leave the rest.
I believe she was/is not a homeschooler. She talks about school supplies, kids lunches and after school activities. I wonder what she does with her small kids while she's doing all this. Oh! That's in the chapter about duct tape <beg>.

Meghan


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Fetteroll

On Jun 3, 2007, at 1:06 PM, Jennifer wrote:

> yet at the same time it always makes me doubt
> myself. It's called the "Complete Tightwad Gazette."
> The author has six children, washes all the dishes by
> hand, hang-dries all the laundry, and cooks all their
> meals from scratch. (And she did that when the kids
> were young as well.) It just blows my mind.

And how is her relationship with her kids now? She may have saved
lots of money but did she pay the price in other ways?

It's not a given, of course, that her kids felt saving money was more
important than they were. It could be she had a personality that
could draw people in and all her kids were crazy about the lifestyle
because of her personality and theirs.

But the same lifestyle would not have the same effect on every
family ... because of the personalities involved.

I've now been sitting here for two hours. (I took a little break to
go to the bathroom and get some cereal that I ate at the computer.)
I've produced 3 posts. None of them particularly long. I suspect
Sandra wouldn't take nearly that long to produce the number of words
that I did. She's fast :-) It isn't like I haven't practiced! ;-)
I've been answering posts for nearly 11 years! My speed is what it
is. I think and ponder. and reread and rewrite. It's how my brain
works. I can either accept that my speed is uniquely my own and that
my need for prolonged concentration is my own. Or I can beat myself
up because Sandra can send out the words (at least I'm guessing)
three times faster than I can and can do it when she knows she only
has a few minutes to read and respond. (There's more choices, but
that would just muddy the point ;-)

It's a faster route to happiness to be aware and accept our own
unique talents than to beat ourselves up because we don't have
someone else's talents.

Joyce

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Sandra Dodd

-=-I've produced 3 posts. None of them particularly long. I suspect
Sandra wouldn't take nearly that long to produce the number of words
that I did. She's fast :-) -=-

I was thinking how WONDERFUL your posts were, Joyce, and how I should
make a page to put them on so they can be referred to, and then I
thought we can just recommend that people go to the archives and read
just your responses. <g> Quality over quantity. I'm fast, but not
as thoughtful.

-=-I think and ponder. and reread and rewrite.-=-

And people's lives are improved by reading what you write, Joyce.
You can state something clearly and logically that's swirling around
inside me without taking form. I love to read what you write. Thank
you for writing and posting.

Sandra

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Fetteroll

On Jun 4, 2007, at 9:13 AM, Sandra Dodd wrote:

> I was thinking how WONDERFUL your posts were, Joyce, and how I should
> make a page to put them on so they can be referred to, and then I
> thought we can just recommend that people go to the archives and read
> just your responses. <g>

Thank you!

<blushing>

Joyce

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