jmcseals SEALS

I'm having one of those moments. I'm missing those days of homeSCHOOLING.
I miss the schedule of it all. Knowing what the majority of my day will
be like. Playing 'teacher' and making lesson plans. For some reason, I got
a lot of *oomph* out of that. Some feeling that I was 'doing the right
thing' or something. I can't really verbalize it. I think I'm even
overexaggerating.

Our van has been down for a looong time. It won't be ready for at least two
more weeks, so we are very house-bound. We are antsy. Full of cabin fever.
Needing to get out. It's hot and humid. Dang humid. We have some
atmospheric smoke thing going on and two of the kids have asthma, which has
been terrible this week, so even getting outside has been near impossible.
As a result, my kids are doing things they normally wouldn't dream of doing.
Getting into the fridge and spilling an entire gallon of milk on the
floor. Pulling all the books and videos off the shelves. Ethan figured out
how to unlock the door today and ran next door to my great grandparents
house! I was sitting in the living room nursing Chloe. Didn't even hear
the door open. It was terrifying.

I think it's just stress, really. My husband has been gone for weeks and
won't be home until next weekend. I lost $300 in my house, somehow, and
can't find it anywhere. I even dug through the trash, which had been at the
curb for at least two days. It was full of maggots. I stupidly made RICE
for dinner and when I sat down to eat, I immediatly envisioned a plate full
of maggots and felt an instant wave of nausea and ran for the bathroom.
What was I thinking???

I just can't shake this feeling that if I were playing school, that my days
would have a lot more structure and the kids would be more occupied,
deterred from getting into everything but the attic, which they'd probably
do right now if the string hadn't been stuck inside last time we opened it.
LOL

Ok, so tell me I'm being dumb. Tell me this too shall pass. Give me some
wonderful bit of wisdom to carry me through the next two weeks before I go
curriculum hunting in my garage! I *know* you can do it! <bg>

Jennifer

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In a message dated 5/9/03 11:25:53 PM, jmcseals@... writes:

<< when I sat down to eat, I immediatly envisioned a plate full
of maggots and felt an instant wave of nausea and ran for the bathroom.
What was I thinking??? >>

Can you play happy music, make scavenger hunt lists for the kids
(co-operative hunt, and put down there "cash" as a thing to find--you could
draw pictures), and really clean out your kitchen cabinets? Maybe organizing
spices and plastic lids would keep you from wanting to teach a lesson on
helping verbs.

Did you use the money for a bookmark?
Is it stuck in the watch pocket of some pants you left under your bed?
Under your bed randomly otherwise?

How could a curriculum REALLY help anything? Adding unhappy kids and a
more-guilty mom to your existing circus of confusion can't be right.

Sandra

jmcseals SEALS

<<Adding unhappy kids and a
more-guilty mom to your existing circus of confusion can't be right.>>

Thanks. :) It isn't right, I *know* that. I think it's just the believing
part that's eating at me. I like that. Circus of confusion. LOL It's
like I'm having some strange sort of out of body experience. ;) I'm in some
dream world, watching myself sitting at the kitchen table with my June
Cleaver apron on, teaching my perfect, smiling children some perfect,
smiling lesson and inside I'm screaming for her to wake up, wake up! This
isn't really happening! That show ended eons ago. It was a SHOW!! OH, OH!
That commercial! Jane, Michael, breakfast! Thank you mother dear.
Switch to reality. Michael runs in in his cape and Jane grabs some instant
breakfast while rushing out the front door...

Oh good lord, I'd better shut up. Forgive me, it's 4 in the morning. I
don't always work right at 4 in the morning. I should go back to bed.

Tomorrow (today) is a new day! The circus doesn't last forever! I hope I'm
not the only one who has odd moments like this. Or maybe it's better if I
am. <g> It's been a rough week....

Jennifer

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[email protected]

In a message dated 5/10/2003 1:26:01 AM Eastern Standard Time,
jmcseals@... writes:

> Ok, so tell me I'm being dumb. Tell me this too shall pass. Give me some
> wonderful bit of wisdom to carry me through the next two weeks before I go
> curriculum hunting in my garage! I *know* you can do it! <bg>

(((((((Jennifer)))))))

I wish I could help. Is van in the shop? My dh is a mechanic, is there
something he may be able to diagnose?
As for the funds I hear ya when I loose money I find it when I dont need it
as much.
Curriculum isn't going to fix cabin fever. It may actually be an even worse
time to break it out.
Can you all watch movies, snuggle up, cook, play games? When we get loads of
snow here I get the same way but then another day comes along and looks
better. I would say just be sure and have some you time and breath...



Laura D



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

sorcha_aisling

Jennifer,

I know where you're coming from right now. We're stuck inside
because of weather, it's completely humid but the air conditioner is
making this horrible rattling sound so it's either sit here sweating
or listen to *that sound* that I swear is driving my blood pressure
up.

The kids are on completely different sleep cycles and they both want
to be with me, which means I'm up around the clock. And my husband
has been gone all week and won't be home for at least another week,
maybe longer.

So if my posts have seemed a bit inconsistent and I seem to be losing
my mind, it's because I AM losing my mind. And I've been daydreaming
about curriculum because some part of me thinks this whole thing
would be easier if the kids got up at seven in the morning, did some
chores, sat down at the table and quietly worked for a few hours, and
went to bed at like eight or something (yeah right! Reality check:
they're two and five!).

I even joined Flylady again for crying out loud. Flylady annoys the
heck out of me, but I needed a little bit of order in my life right
now. I rearranged furniture all day yesterday and cleaned out two
closets. I'm working on cleaning out the walk-in closet today. I
know when my husband is home and/or the weather clears up, things
will be easier. I know part of their behavior this week has been
missing their dad and the other part has been being trapped indoors.
But I am seriously losing my mind here. So I'm not much help, but
I'm in a parallel place.

Sorcha

Tammy in MS

------------I rearranged furniture all day yesterday
Sorcha--


lol.. that's exactly what I do when I get pent up energy, especially before
I got a computer.. happened so much hubby gave up on the complaints about a
year into the marraige..now he's not surprised with anything i do..lol

Tammy T.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

sorcha_aisling

>>>.. happened so much hubby gave up on the complaints about a
> year into the marraige..<<<

My husband used to comment on my rearranging the furniture, but I
said, "Would you rather move everytime I need a change of scenery?"
I think by now he's been married to me long enough that he doesn't
even remember that some people put furniture down when they move in
and leave it that way forever.

Sorcha

Olga

Jennifer,

7 children and a curriculum...........I am sorry...can't type
more..........laughing too hard ;)

If you could coordinate that and LOWER your stress level we will all
support you on your campaign to run in the presidency next election.
Relax, because your kids are being kids. I have two, and that little
one...grrrr...he keeps me on my toes and no amount of curriculum will
change him :)

Olga :)

--- In [email protected], "jmcseals SEALS"
<jmcseals@m...> wrote:
> I'm having one of those moments. I'm missing those days of
homeSCHOOLING.
> I miss the schedule of it all. Knowing what the majority of my
day will
> be like. Playing 'teacher' and making lesson plans. For some
reason, I got
> a lot of *oomph* out of that. Some feeling that I was 'doing the
right
> thing' or something. I can't really verbalize it. I think I'm
even
> overexaggerating.
>
> Our van has been down for a looong time. It won't be ready for at
least two
> more weeks, so we are very house-bound. We are antsy. Full of
cabin fever.
> Needing to get out. It's hot and humid. Dang humid. We have
some
> atmospheric smoke thing going on and two of the kids have asthma,
which has
> been terrible this week, so even getting outside has been near
impossible.
> As a result, my kids are doing things they normally wouldn't dream
of doing.
> Getting into the fridge and spilling an entire gallon of milk on
the
> floor. Pulling all the books and videos off the shelves. Ethan
figured out
> how to unlock the door today and ran next door to my great
grandparents
> house! I was sitting in the living room nursing Chloe. Didn't
even hear
> the door open. It was terrifying.
>
> I think it's just stress, really. My husband has been gone for
weeks and
> won't be home until next weekend. I lost $300 in my house,
somehow, and
> can't find it anywhere. I even dug through the trash, which had
been at the
> curb for at least two days. It was full of maggots. I stupidly
made RICE
> for dinner and when I sat down to eat, I immediatly envisioned a
plate full
> of maggots and felt an instant wave of nausea and ran for the
bathroom.
> What was I thinking???
>
> I just can't shake this feeling that if I were playing school, that
my days
> would have a lot more structure and the kids would be more
occupied,
> deterred from getting into everything but the attic, which they'd
probably
> do right now if the string hadn't been stuck inside last time we
opened it.
> LOL
>
> Ok, so tell me I'm being dumb. Tell me this too shall pass. Give
me some
> wonderful bit of wisdom to carry me through the next two weeks
before I go
> curriculum hunting in my garage! I *know* you can do it! <bg>
>
> Jennifer
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

[email protected]

In a message dated 5/10/03 9:34:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
treegoddess@... writes:

> If you broke out the curriculum you'd just make yourself (and the kids!)
> crazy trying to make them sit at the table to do some asinine busy work.
> You don't want that.... you're just getting Space Madness.
>
>

And if you did break out the curriculum you would just have to pack it away
because it is summer vacation. So I guess you could do "school" for the next
three months and your children would never know. LOL

Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

zenmomma2kids

>> Ok, so tell me I'm being dumb. Tell me this too shall pass. Give
me some wonderful bit of wisdom to carry me through the next two
weeks before I go curriculum hunting in my garage! I *know* you can
do it! <bg>>>

Okay Jennifer, ::STEP AWAY FROM THE CURRICULUM!:: That's it. Nice and
easy and no one gets hurt. <g>

It's not the unschooling, sweetie, it's the circumstances. You're
having a rough patch. You're out of sync. The universe is telling you
something, but it's not to sit your kids down and force feed them
some spelling words. Try to remove the whole schooling thing from the
picture and see if you can figure out what the the message might be.

Are there places in your life that might need more attention? Do you
need to slow down? Focus more? Take care of yourself a little? Forget
about school. What's going on in your life?

If you're feeling the need for more structure, than maybe write up a
schedule for movie watching, park outings and lego time. Get some new
books from the library and set aside a time to look at them with the
kids. Make the gooey slime recipe that someone posted and play around
with chemistry. Pull out the cards and board games and play, think,
learn.

This too shall pass.

Life is good.
~Mary

jmcseals SEALS

<<You're being dumb! ;-) Your silliness is coming through in your
posts and I'm picturing you like Ren (as in Ren & Stimpy) getting Space
Madness talking to the bar of soap like it's an ice cream sandwich. LOL
Snap out of it, Woman! hee hee>>

I could just hug yer neck right now! <bwg> Thank you. :) I'm trying
desperately to hang on to my humor so I don't completely lose it. (I'm
actually hearing Ren's voice while I write this!) I have space madness!
I'm stuck in this space and I can't get out! ARGH!

Normally, it wouldn't be this bad, but my great grandparents were BOTH in
the hospital all week and I'm facing two facts here. One, they won't live
forever. How does a person live this long without figuring that out? It's
really tearing me up. Two, we have to move and I won't be right next door
to them anymore. I love being *right there*. I mow their yard, clean their
house, take out their trash, make sure they take their meds. I like knowing
that while I'm here, they can still have the most independant life possible.
Now that we are moving, my family is talking about hiring someone to come
in. I know I can still help even when we move, but it's not the same as
being here, in this house, right next door. Reality is slamming me in the
head and I just don't like it.

Just too much crap to deal with all in one week. I feel much better today,
though. I'm going to clean my house, top to bottom and get ready to start
packing. At least that will keep me busy and give me a good excuse to NOT
push my silly desires of teaching onto my kids. Well, I may teach them some
organizational skills and packing abilities. <beg>

Anyway, thanks, you and Sandra made me feel MUCH better. That means a lot!
It really gave me the oobie goobies (our slang for butterfly lovie feelings)
to hear you call me Jen. I haven't heard anyone do that since my brother
died. Good memories. :)

Jennifer

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jmcseals SEALS

<<Is van in the shop?>>

Yup. My husband refuses to pay to have everything fixed by them, so they
are doing half the load and he'll finish the rest when he gets home. (I
have a conversion van and they charge an arm and a leg to do engine work
because they have to pull it out through the inside of the van. Pain in the
rump.)

Thanks for the hugs. I'm glad I dumped here. I just *knew* everyone would
make me feel better! :)

Jennifer

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jmcseals SEALS

<<I am seriously losing my mind here. So I'm not much help, but
I'm in a parallel place.>>

Sorcha,

It does help! It's nice to know I don't have to be *perfect* all the time!
<bg> I know, it DOES *sound* easier on days like this. I have the same
problem. My kids are in a huge funk right now with their sleeping habits,
too. I was a big stickler on that with at least my younger five, but I
really let go once I started feeling sorry for myself. They are falling
asleep in the late afternoon and staying up very late. I woke everyone up
early (earliER anyway) this morning and I'm putting them down for a nap when
they finish watching cartoons. Hopefully, just getting my little ones back
on a reasonable schedule will make a huge difference. It always does.
Haleigh and Nic keep their own schedules, but they are older and don't need
'babysitting' as much. In other words...I trust that they won't dump the
contents of the fridge if I'm not awake!

Hang in there. We've only got a week left (hopefully here, too..we're never
exactly sure) and hubby will be home and life will be a little easier,
right? <g>

Jennifer

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jmcseals SEALS

<<nd if you did break out the curriculum you would just have to pack it away
because it is summer vacation. So I guess you could do "school" for the
next
three months and your children would never know. LOL

Pam G.>>

I LOVE that idea! I'll take you up on your offer! <bg>

Jennifer

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jmcseals SEALS

LOL! Okay, I'm going to share a little of my mean, sadistic side here. ;)

When we are out in public and I get those idiots who say, Are they ALL
YOURS??!?!?!?!, then they say, I bet you homeschool, too, huh? and laugh
like it's some big joke. I just suck it up and tell them, yes we do
homeschool. (No mention of unschooling for these nincompoops.) Then they
ask me if we use some curriculum, like Konos or something, I guess, that
they can all do together. I say no, I tailor everything to each of my
children. "You mean you use SEVEN DIFFERENT things for each child???"

OK, first of all, they are sitting right in front of me. Six of my children
are six and UNDER so it would SEEM pretty obvious that most of them don't
need schoolwork, even to the MOST schoolish, right??

So anyway. I just keep up the dramatic frenzy and say "Yes! They are all
working on different things at the same time!" Then they start oohing and
aahing because I am "superwoman", 'amazing", "a better mother" than *they*
are. Mwahahaha!

I use those moments for big ego power trips. <beg> I mean, hey, I wasn't
lying, righ?? Sometimes, I just love idiot remarks!

Jennifer


7 children and a curriculum...........I am sorry...can't type
more..........laughing too hard ;)

If you could coordinate that and LOWER your stress level we will all
support you on your campaign to run in the presidency next election.
Relax, because your kids are being kids. I have two, and that little
one...grrrr...he keeps me on my toes and no amount of curriculum will
change him :)

Olga :)

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Olga

Jennifer,

just curious, but how old are your little ones? I used to want 6 and
I have gone down to 3, although dh still wants 4 which is most likely
where we will end up.

Olga :)

--- In [email protected], "jmcseals SEALS"
<jmcseals@m...> wrote:
> LOL! Okay, I'm going to share a little of my mean, sadistic side
here. ;)
>
> When we are out in public and I get those idiots who say, Are they
ALL
> YOURS??!?!?!?!, then they say, I bet you homeschool, too, huh? and
laugh
> like it's some big joke. I just suck it up and tell them, yes we
do
> homeschool. (No mention of unschooling for these nincompoops.)
Then they
> ask me if we use some curriculum, like Konos or something, I guess,
that
> they can all do together. I say no, I tailor everything to each of
my
> children. "You mean you use SEVEN DIFFERENT things for each
child???"
>
> OK, first of all, they are sitting right in front of me. Six of my
children
> are six and UNDER so it would SEEM pretty obvious that most of them
don't
> need schoolwork, even to the MOST schoolish, right??
>
> So anyway. I just keep up the dramatic frenzy and say "Yes! They
are all
> working on different things at the same time!" Then they start
oohing and
> aahing because I am "superwoman", 'amazing", "a better mother" than
*they*
> are. Mwahahaha!
>
> I use those moments for big ego power trips. <beg> I mean, hey, I
wasn't
> lying, righ?? Sometimes, I just love idiot remarks!
>
> Jennifer
>
>
> 7 children and a curriculum...........I am sorry...can't type
> more..........laughing too hard ;)
>
> If you could coordinate that and LOWER your stress level we will all
> support you on your campaign to run in the presidency next election.
> Relax, because your kids are being kids. I have two, and that
little
> one...grrrr...he keeps me on my toes and no amount of curriculum
will
> change him :)
>
> Olga :)
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

jmcseals SEALS

<<What's going on in your life?>>

Oh lordy! It would be much more simple and sweet to tell you what ISN'T
going on! LOL

Guess what I did?? I put my old curriculum boxes in my grandparents car for
their next trip to Good Will! I bet there's thousands of dollars out there,
but I can't be tempted in my dumb moments. My husband is a little miffed
with me about it, but WOW!!! It felt really GOOD! And at least I know
someone who chooses that route but doesn't have a lot of funds will get some
help.

Life IS good, Mary!

Jennifer

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zenmomma2kids

>> Guess what I did?? I put my old curriculum boxes in my
grandparents car for their next trip to Good Will! >>

Good idea. You could also list them for sale on eBay. I sold an old
Math-U-See curriculum and got back most of my money. (Of course it
was practically brand new!!)

Life is good.
~Mary

Heidi

--- In [email protected], "sorcha_aisling" <sorcha-
aisling@i...> wrote:
> >>>.. happened so much hubby gave up on the complaints about a
> > year into the marraige..<<<
>
> My husband used to comment on my rearranging the furniture, but I
> said, "Would you rather move everytime I need a change of
scenery?"
> I think by now he's been married to me long enough that he doesn't
> even remember that some people put furniture down when they move in
> and leave it that way forever.


Me! Me! Me! LOL The couch goes THERE. The chairs are THERE, and
THERE. Here lies the computer. etc. When we moved in here, I had a
hard time with moving my hot pads to a drawer in a different location
relative to the counter space. They'd always been in the right hand
drawer, but my oven in this house is nearest the left hand side. It
took a friend pointing it out to me, for me to move the FREAKIN hot
pads! L

HeidiC doesn't like change

[email protected]

In a message dated 5/10/2003 1:15:18 PM Eastern Standard Time,
jmcseals@... writes:


> Guess what I did?? I put my old curriculum boxes in my grandparents car for
>
> their next trip to Good Will! I bet there's thousands of dollars out
> there,
> but I can't be tempted in my dumb moments. My husband is a little miffed
> with me about it, but WOW!!! It felt really GOOD! And at least I know
> someone who chooses that route but doesn't have a lot of funds will get
> some
> help.
>

Jennifer, are you crazy?? Put it on Ebay. Maybe you'll make enough to get
some cool computer games, or new toys, or clothes, of fix your van, or
SOMETHING and you'll be helping out other homeschoolers much more by listing
them this way. I would never think of getting homeschool books at the
Goodwill, and they may go to waste there. If anything, contact your local
homeschool group and donate or sell them there.

Nancy


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]