Hen23's Journal~Goodbye

[keljonma]

Who says we don't miss ya? I figure your busy with life. I remember raising children, working full-time, trying to keep the house from being declared a national disaster area, and outside activities with family, school and church.... Thank God, the internet then was not like it is today! I would probably never have gotten ANYTHING done!

As far as posting on your journal - I post mostly trivial day-to-day life stuff in mine, H23. Nothing exciting... okay *may-be* I post a recipe in my journal once in a while. But most of my journaling is just for me. I admit to journaling in a word document in "real" life, and I just copy and paste a portion of it to my "virtual" life journal.

What good things are you doing to simplify the home life? Less outside the home activities? Please tell....it might help someone else.

ETA: Whine away! It is YOUR journal, after all!

 

[Henrietta23]

The main focus is on decluttering, an eternal battle with all three of us. This week I put a box in the middle of the computer room floor. Every hour I'm home I try to toss two things in it. When it's full we put some in storage in the basement (not a long term solution since that's a disaster area of grand proportions) or it goes to the dump's "swap shop" or in a box in the garage attic for a possible repeat of last year's Black Friday tag sale.
I just got the book "Simplicity Parenting" and I'm hoping to spend some time reading it this long weekend. I've read the introductory chapters now I need to delve into the how-to part. I need a magic wand. I get it, I get the concept, but I have a major disconnect when it comes to accomplishing anything long term.
I did just drop out of a church music group which, while I enjoy the music, was stressful because of the woman who runs the group. I'll miss spending time with the people in it but it was more important to reclaim that time. DS is in gymnastics still, has been since he was 2. He's not competition level due to distractability. Every year we revist whether he should continue. It's an hour a week at this point. He has fun. Not sure it's doing much other than giving him a chance to move which is good. His issues at school have to do with impulse control and focus. We've had a few people suggest switching him to Karate which is more of a time and financial committment. We've paid for gymnastics through December. We have an unwritten committment to stay for the whole school year. If I felt it was detrimental in anyway for him to continue I wouldn't hesitate to pull him out in January. We've been there long enough to understand I'd have good reason. In addition to that DS has Cub Scouts one night a week. We all go and make it a family oriented activity. Other than that and Sundays at church our lives are not particularly overbooked. He'd love to be taking guitar lessons but there's time for that. He's done tee-ball in the spring. We tried soccer also one spring and the schedule just about killed us! Never again. (Famous last words, I know!) Fortunately he is in a second grade class with a teacher who has raised not one but SIX boys! She completely gets where we're coming from when issues pop up. There have been some absolutely ridiculous things too. He (and I) got spoken to in the before school care program at his school for hugging a friend. Apparently the friend asked him to stop and he did, but the friend still complained to the director who then felt compelled to go to the school social worker about it. She knows my son from some things that happened last year (a girl in his class became obsessed with him and constantly told him she loved him and was going to marry him to the point where jealous rages occured and he has a two inch scar on his face from her scratching him). Anyway, everyone got all upset and started acting like DS is some sort of predator who's been traumatized by this girl last year and is now praying on this younger boy. Oy! I told his classroom teacher what was going on and she also thought it was ridiculous. He gets "put on the wall" at recess for playing rough. He fell while tagging a girl during a game of tag, which knocked her down, and he received an office referral for it. For goodness sake, tag is a contact sport and 7 year old boys aren't necessarily graceful. If you don't want contact on the playground, don't allow any of them to play tag. His teacher intervened on that one. My mother subs at his school and says his teacher has been going out to recess on days when she doesn't have duty to watch him, as well as the duty paraprofessionals, to see what's really going on. She has stepped in a few times and said rather than put him on the wall, meaning he's not getting any of the benefits of recess, redirect him to an area where he can play, interact and be more successful. If the game of tag is turning into a game of take prisoners, then pull him out and ask him to show you how many times he can go across the monkey bars until things settle down. It's all so frustrating not being there to see what's happening.
Wow, some rant, huh. Guess I've got stuff on my mind!

 

[rebecca100]

Sorry about your ds. Sounds like mine is about the same age. He is dyslexic from the best we can gather. I think the schools nowadays are crazy. There was a boy a few years ago who got suspended for drawing a picture of an old west gun fight. he was a good kid and very talented. His mother was a teacher there and I think that is why he didn't get into more trouble. They are looking for problems with children everywhere. The principal came out to our place while we were living in a camper right after the tornado while it was still a mess. I was terrified when I found out(we weren't home at the time). I just knew DHS was going to come after that. We had no place else to live. Me, my dh, ds, and 2 dd's(8, 7 and 1 at the time) in a 27 ft camper with 2 old mobile homes piled in a heap and the woods still full of debris. Fortunately we are lucky and she got a church group together to try to build us a house rather than cause us more problems. Then my dad passed and I inherited his old place. Now my ds's teacher wants him to join cub scouts and we said no and she wanted to know why-like we were being to hard on him by not letting him join. He went once and all they did was jump on a trampoline and ride bikes. Sounds too dangerous for a group of hyper boys and I don't know what kind of supervision is going on, so I would just rather him join a church group or something.

 

[Henrietta23]

Sounds like the Cub Scout pack we were in last year. I was so relieved when it folded and we ended up in another pack. It's much bigger but organized and the boys are learning a lot.
DS is 7, in second grade. He's bright, in a district with a lot of issues. We're considered the poorest town in the state. Rock bottom test scores. It's not that the schools aren't trying though. DS's teacher is doing a great job considering she's got 26 kids in her class and one half hour prep period, four days a week. I work in the high school and one of the other elementary schools. I see first hand that a lot of great stuff happens too.
I'm feeling today like if anyone showed up here they'd be horrified at the mess. I have one large plastic tote full of stuff, books that I really don't need, games we don't ever play. Some of the games will go on a shelf in the basement. The books can go to the library booksale. I'm trying to be brutal. Haven't quite achieved that but I've talked myself into parting with a few things I hadn't been ready to part with before.

 

[Henrietta23]

Got a box full of stuff to move out. Space on shelves to move some of DS's books out of his room and get stuff off his floor. There's a wonderful Playmobil Knights battle scene set up in there though. It's tough navigating around it....
Tomorrow is Friday, my favorite day. I work at the elementary school so I go in a little later. My supervisor is at the high school so I've got the room to myself. Not that I don't like her. She's really great, but there's something about being able to do my job without feeling like I'm being observed. I had a lot more independent time last year and I'm not adjusting as well as I should to the change. DH will bring DS to gymnastics after school. Then DS is staying over my parents and DH and I are having dinner with friends. We take care of pets (sheep, cats and now a bunny) for our priest and his wife when they're away. Another couple take care of the sheep on school mornings when we can't. They are having us all over for a thank you dinner. It will be nice to be with adults for a while.
Saturday is a NO PLANS! day. Which turns it by default into a multiple dump-run, box stuff and haul it to the basement kind of day.
Sunday is church, followed by a 2:00 birthday party for DS's classmate and her twin brother. He doesn't hang out with this girl or her brother so I'm not feeling compelled to wow anyone with a cool gift. I'm thinking a small Walmart gift card for each will be fine.
In between I have the choice of spending a few hours at the once a year Highland Festival drooling over kilts that won't fit me that I can't afford anyway and listening to bagpipe music and watching dogs herd ducks, or at the once a week farmers' market that is honoring 4-H and getting enrollment information for DS for the future. I'm torn. I'm hoping I can actually do both while DH takes DS to the birthday party. 4 hours of party is waaaaaaaay too long for me. Did I mention it's also a costume party? Ugh. Luckily my mother is sewing his costume again this year. She's just having to get it finished sooner than she planned.
Monday is another day of no plans. We'll keep it that way for now. If everyone else in New England wasn't alreay headed up north to look at leaves that could be fun but I don't want to be in a huge crowd. There's the fall festival at the orchard but that was a mob scene last year. Can you tell I want to get AWAY from it all right now, not be a part of it?

 

[dacjohns]

Go hold a chicken that likes being held.

 

[Henrietta23]

Go hold a chicken that likes being held.

Done! Kiddo is home from school and smiling. He went off to collect eggs. All is well with the world.
Until I decide I can't live without mini-Nubian goats another day....

 

[dragonlaurel]

Your posts are always interesting. I lurk some but still notice. When someone is posting all the time, you ask questions if they don't. That's human nature.

 

[Henrietta23]

Aw, thanks everyone. I really am over it all. I rarely have time to post much on other people's journals. I've got no reason to whine I know! I think I was just gearing up for the rant about the kid. I've cleared off one shelf of books and put them into storage. We're all going in with shovels and rakes and implements of destruction to sort Legos and label boxes. Most will go to the basement. One set can be upstairs at a time. If he wants to switch one goes down before another comes up. I told him it was like the library. He can check them out but not keep them all in his room.

 

[Henrietta23]

Indy getting blessed last Sunday afternoon:

62+lbs and still a lap dog: