Neighborhood kids always @ my house

[sparks]

When our daughter was in middle school her friend came home on the bus with her on fri. and we insisted she go home on sun. Pretty much for three years. Kept toothbrush and things @ our house. Went wherever we went. It was our house or our neighbors 1 mile down the road. Never met her Dad in all those years! Now they are 27 years old. Still great friends and we love her @ our own. Turns out her home life was not so great. We feel like we gave her a chance. Her Mom was very nice but oppressed.

 

[me&thegals]

I must have been grouchy when I posted my first response I totally agree it is nice to have a haven for other kids who need it. I also pretty vigorously protect our own family time, as it seems that between work and school there is not nearly enough of it.

I guess I would just set boundaries: You can come from X time until Y time, then we need to do our own work and school work...

 

[Mattemma]

I would just let everyone know(adults and kids) that you can not have any visitors until 4,5,or 6pm. I think a good time for kids to visit would be right after their after-school snack,but before dinner! It is getting expensive to feed just the family,and adding visiting kids daily is just to much.If visiting times would vary I would just let them know when they come-now isn't a good time,so come back in a hour or 2.Best wishes.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

In one way, I feel blessed, but in another way, I just don't see what the parents think. They all seem to like and trust me. Its like I'm all there big sister or something......and I am something like godmother to all the children. It is true that I am godmother to the oldest child born to my family, so all the other children that followed heard her calling me Nanny or heard my own children call me Momma. In fact my grandnephew can't figure if I'm Momma, Nanny or Rhoda. My grandmother had a similar situation because of being the oldest's godmother.
Maybe they are just drawn to my 'simple' lifestyle.....parents and children.
Well today was thrown out the window as far as education went. My oldest child must have had the day off, because before I was even finished my last shift at work, I found out from DH that she was coming home and taking her little sisters to the beach. I can't go to the beach (fortunately my children aren't quite as light compected as me), so I was bummed out. Then I got a text from my godfather's wife....who I did the least little favor for a few days ago (put some repairs on a damaged crocheted blanket made by her grandmother), and she wanted to take me eat out later in the week, but it was almost lunch time and I figured I didn't have kids anyway, so I told her what I was up to and.......hey, I had a date. Now ask me if that felt weird. Me with NO kids....
I had given her 3 dozen eggs when I had my son deliver the blanket and she insisted on paying me for it...overpaying. She gave me 20. Then we went to a religious store she knows I go to sometimes and I got some fresh reading and joked with the cashier that I happened to have $20 on me right now. And she gave me a little metal bookmarker. I don't know what to do when someone does things like that for me.
I wanted to teach, but I guess I can get spoiled every now and then.

 

[Beekissed]

Sounds like a GOOD day. And, yes, getting spoiled very once in awhile is a good thing too....sounds like you muchly deserve it!

 

[Blaundee]

I have good neighbors and I do want my kids to have friends and some of them are relatives and I'm honored that they feel at home at my house and I love them, but my Lord......don't their parent's know that I have an outside job and have 5 children, farm animals, gardens and school to tend to and I don't have much time to do any of those for too long, without other's suffering?
And what I don't understand from some of them is......I had homework when I was in school. Don't they? And when I sent my older kids to school, I missed them, cuz they were gone for like 6 hours from me @ least. Don't they want their kids to be with them at least an hour for a snack and to maybe check their bags?
Today I was trying to make the 8 year old do her spelling, while I was slaughtering 2 broilers and before I knew it, I had 3 children that I had not given birth to and pretty soon a squabble broke out.
I've been hesitant to lay down the law because I appreciate it that I'm the neighborhood mom and that my kids have close friends but there has to be a way to let these people understand that I have to have at least 2 hours after public school lets out before I can be SuperMom.

My mom had to deal with this when she was raising us lol She finally set certain times when neighbor kids were allowed to come over and play, and they quickly learned when to come play and when not to.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I try real hard to do all the really hard stuff when the public school is still in progress.
If I have chores to do, I might put my kids doing work they are able to do without supervision. It works best if I give a time limit....otherwise DD thinks she can goof off.
We've had a really rough year and half. We've lost 4 family members and I'm trying to help my injured father, which have all cut into my time. I seriously have to get cracking on some serious homeschooling before we fall too far behind. Once we on a good roll, we good.
I really have to win the lottery, so I can quit my job and tend to this stuff full-time, but I keep forgetting to buy the darn ticket, so my chances are slim.

 

[Blaundee]

I try real hard to do all the really hard stuff when the public school is still in progress.
If I have chores to do, I might put my kids doing work they are able to do without supervision. It works best if I give a time limit....otherwise DD thinks she can goof off.
We've had a really rough year and half. We've lost 4 family members and I'm trying to help my injured father, which have all cut into my time. I seriously have to get cracking on some serious homeschooling before we fall too far behind. Once we on a good roll, we good.
I really have to win the lottery, so I can quit my job and tend to this stuff full-time, but I keep forgetting to buy the darn ticket, so my chances are slim.

I totally understand, especially the caring for & losing family part. BTW, watching you take care of your parents will be something your kids will remember & appreciate, even if they aren't too into it right now.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Considered posting a new topic and maybe I should have, but its related, so here I go.
House was too noisy a few days ago, so I took the girls to the library for their lessons and DH went with us, but he got aggrevated and I had to bring him home and I went to church, rather than the library to continue with their lessons. Absolutely no inturruptions. Our priest had suggested we use the church's rooms and facilities to teach the children, so that we'd have access to whatever literature the church has, all the art work and for the children to feel close to the Lord and at home in the church. DD 9 was having trouble with her spelling. She kept missing around 6 of her words, so we took a break from spelling and went into religion and we were reading the parables and we got to the one about the vine and the branches and she was reading from the bible and I said, did you hear what you just read? Whatever you ask the Father, in My name...... and so I said, lets finish this religion lesson, and you go and speak to the Lord, alone and ask him for wisdom and help with your school work and I will teach your little sister and when you come back, we will get back into spelling. You know, she missed 2 words, but got the bonus right, so that would still be a weak A and today she took the same test and missed one, but got the bonus right, so that would be an A+.
I think I will go to church to teach the girls often.