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- #3,551
tortoise
Wild Hare
My pasture is so bad my sheep have been leaving the pasture every day. DH gave them a round bale (!!!) and they're staying in now. No idea where they were getting out! 
Daydreaming while waiting impatiently!
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- Thread starter
- #3,552
tortoise
Wild Hare
Nope. They've been out 3x today. My dog is helpful bringing them in. I can get them to them barn alone but they'll bolt past/through/over me. They don't do that to my dog. He's not trained for herding (yet?), just being a good farm dog. He is on a long line. I muzzled him today- I was annoyed enough with my sheep I considered letting him harass/chase them to the barn. Wasn't necessary.My pasture is so bad my sheep have been leaving the pasture every day. DH gave them a round bale (!!!) and they're staying in now. No idea where they were getting out!
baymule
Sustainability Master
I have my sheep dry lotted. They go through a 4x5 round bale in a week! It’s 100F and up, scorching hot, no rain, grass is crunchy. It’s will be 103F today and the next few days.
If I had to go chase them down, that would annoy me. LOL
If I had to go chase them down, that would annoy me. LOL
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- #3,554
tortoise
Wild Hare
DH fixed the fence. Sheep are stuck in.
Kittens got their first bath.
I'm worried about my kids and school.
DS16 didn't get into the alternative high school. IDK that I can afford boarding school. Inpatient treatment is out of reach. I won't tolerate virtual school again. His computer misuse is too serious. So that leaves homeschooling. And he won't participate in homeschooling and can't have computer access. Textbooks at his level don't come with answer keys or teacher guides. (The publishers give login information with a *classroom set* of textbooks.) So I can't realistically homeschool him either. Mostly I can't be in the same room with him, and he can never be unsupervised. If he's not in a physical school I can't work. I can't volunteer. I can't just be myself.
DS8 is not making progress on daily routines. He is stuck on bathing, brushing his teeth, sleeping and eating.
I ordered a couple things to help. A wireless bed shaker alarm that I can control from my phone, and a pokemon sleep tracker. It's a button that sits on his bed and detects movement, and syncs to an app on my phone.
I ordered a color changing toothpaste that turns from blue to pink while brushing. Hopefully that will motivate him to put his toothbrush into his mouth?!
IDK what to do about him not bathing. He will get in the tub fine, but he won't wash. He'll play in the water for hours. Not cool, he has 15 minutes to get it done bc there's only so much time between supper and bedtime and only 1 bathroom.
Eating is another huge problem. When he's hungry he morphs into the most annoying ADHD kid. And he won't eat. I'm going to have to set boundaries around meals. Like "if you walk away from your plate, you're done eating." IDK. Food rules can be so toxic!
Kittens got their first bath.
I'm worried about my kids and school.
DS16 didn't get into the alternative high school. IDK that I can afford boarding school. Inpatient treatment is out of reach. I won't tolerate virtual school again. His computer misuse is too serious. So that leaves homeschooling. And he won't participate in homeschooling and can't have computer access. Textbooks at his level don't come with answer keys or teacher guides. (The publishers give login information with a *classroom set* of textbooks.) So I can't realistically homeschool him either. Mostly I can't be in the same room with him, and he can never be unsupervised. If he's not in a physical school I can't work. I can't volunteer. I can't just be myself.
DS8 is not making progress on daily routines. He is stuck on bathing, brushing his teeth, sleeping and eating.
I ordered a couple things to help. A wireless bed shaker alarm that I can control from my phone, and a pokemon sleep tracker. It's a button that sits on his bed and detects movement, and syncs to an app on my phone.
I ordered a color changing toothpaste that turns from blue to pink while brushing. Hopefully that will motivate him to put his toothbrush into his mouth?!
IDK what to do about him not bathing. He will get in the tub fine, but he won't wash. He'll play in the water for hours. Not cool, he has 15 minutes to get it done bc there's only so much time between supper and bedtime and only 1 bathroom.
Eating is another huge problem. When he's hungry he morphs into the most annoying ADHD kid. And he won't eat. I'm going to have to set boundaries around meals. Like "if you walk away from your plate, you're done eating." IDK. Food rules can be so toxic!
baymule
Sustainability Master
I don’t know how you cope with all this.
murphysranch
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Deep sigh....I have no suggestions for you! I just don't know....
- Thread starter
- #3,557
tortoise
Wild Hare
The pokemon sleep tracker works for DS8! He put himself to bed *on time* for the first time in his life! Curtains closed, lights off, earmuffs on (noisy hamster problems), eyes closed. Yaaas! Pokemon cards and app play for rewards.
He also *ate supper* today. Shocking! I'll take it! We have tex-mex on Mondays. He picked out tortilla pouches at the grocery store. Stupid gimmick, but whatever he actually ate something.
No idea on DS16.
He also *ate supper* today. Shocking! I'll take it! We have tex-mex on Mondays. He picked out tortilla pouches at the grocery store. Stupid gimmick, but whatever he actually ate something.
No idea on DS16.
flowerbug
Sustainability Master
yes! every part helps.
i've always found it a mistake to turn eating into a power struggle, especially for growing kids because they are going to be hungry and will figure out something to eat sooner or later (unless it's a severe case of some kind of other issue).is there a way you can take DS16 away for a few hours to do something he would like for fun and make the trip long enough that you can just talk to him and listen about whatever? i mean one-on-one. some things i'm curious about based upon my own past would be things like is he angry about something deep down that he's not able to really understand well? don't go all heavy on him, but see if you can find hints of what is driving some of his behaviors. i went from 10yrs old to 25 before i figured it out and could defuse it and it drove a lot of my worst behaviors.
murphysranch
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Hurray for small steps!! Good job finding that app, Mom!!
- Thread starter
- #3,560
tortoise
Wild Hare
My family went used car shopping yesterday. DH picked 3 models based on towing capacity and fuel efficiency, and I narrowed it down to 1. Unfortunately it was the more expensive option. But the others would cause chronic pain from the way the seats are shaped. So now we'll wait until we find one with the right features, mileage, and price. There's one that fits, so if it's still there on DH's next day off we might get it quickly. Could be months of shopping/waiting. IDK.
I'm still working on paring down all my obligations, especially the maddening ones like cleaning up after my kids and dealing with their lack of daily routines. I decided to skip 4-H next year. I just can't fit it into the kids' schedules. Maybe if they miraculously start doing what they've been told, but I can't imagine that happening anytime soon. I threw away half-done 4-H projects and put 4-H shirts into a storage tub in the basement. I donated bags of craft supplies, and threw away bags of trash. I'm so over this. I hate it so much!
I still need to clean my basement. Again! DS8 roots through boxes and strews it. Half of my basement is knee deep! Feels like we just went through a major cleanup! Feels like all I do in the basement is clean a monumental mess. IDK how much of it I can throw away. Most of it is useful and gets used. Canning supplies, dog training equipment, camper supplies, seasonal clothing, etc. I might do a hard purge of games - just the ones that end up on the floor over and over and over...
I'm still working on paring down all my obligations, especially the maddening ones like cleaning up after my kids and dealing with their lack of daily routines. I decided to skip 4-H next year. I just can't fit it into the kids' schedules. Maybe if they miraculously start doing what they've been told, but I can't imagine that happening anytime soon. I threw away half-done 4-H projects and put 4-H shirts into a storage tub in the basement. I donated bags of craft supplies, and threw away bags of trash. I'm so over this. I hate it so much!
I still need to clean my basement. Again! DS8 roots through boxes and strews it. Half of my basement is knee deep! Feels like we just went through a major cleanup! Feels like all I do in the basement is clean a monumental mess. IDK how much of it I can throw away. Most of it is useful and gets used. Canning supplies, dog training equipment, camper supplies, seasonal clothing, etc. I might do a hard purge of games - just the ones that end up on the floor over and over and over...
