Quail_Antwerp: Words from the Barnyard...

[Quail_Antwerp]

I found my silver appleyards 10 minutes down the road!!!! She just put eggs in the bator yesterday....I told her I wanted 6! I will see how many she ends up with and let you know if maybe she would ship them if you want. Just let me know! Hope you get everything done!

OH that would be wonderful! Let me know!

Bee, I'd be happy to come to your porch!

Free, I just like to tease LOL I like some black teas, if they have some flavoring...French Vanilla is my first favorite, followed close by Mango tea.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

It's July 1, and but it doesn't feel like a hot summer day out

I'm ready to have my house back. To myself, for just my own family. My nephew is starting to wear thin on us. He started out really good, giving a hand when we were doing the farm stuff, etc., but he's gradually started to get lazier and lazier.

He also seems to feel a sense of entitlement to use some things, without giving us consideration.

For starters, Ernie and I had an old van that only had seating for 4. This is not the van that was wrecked. We hadn't used this van in over a year. Our nephew asked us if we would sell him the van. We knew it needed some work, so we told him he could have the van in exchange for 2 rolls of woven wire, which is what we need to finish our pasture field. We figured it was a good deal, and it would mean he would get the van for roughly $350.

Instead of buying the woven wire like agreed, he purchased a $250 stereo system for the van We were a bit surprised by that. On top of that, the van was still in my name when he did it. I was a bit upset and told Ernie I wasn't signing that van over to our nephew until he had purchased 2 rolls of wire. Then our nephew said to Ernie (keep in mind, this was last month, so before Ernie's surgery), "I don't think you should worry about getting the fencing right now because you won't be able to put it up once you have your surgery anyway." uh HELLO!!!!!!!! Surgery or not, we still needed that wire!!

We came to the conclusion that he no longer had the money to buy the wire. This led to him offering us his $800 flat panel television in trade for the van...Yes, I took it....which leads to the problems we're having now.

Nephew has another flat panel television in his room (he had 2). He has his game system in there, and a ton of movies, etc. He used to sit in his room and watch movies or play games all day...until he beat all the games he owns that is. He never watched movies in the livingroom unless we asked him if we could watch one of his.

So the flat panel tv he traded us is in our livingroom now. I mean, why not, right? I hooked up our DVD player and the xbox for Ernie (not that he ever gets to play it!) and figured we now have a nicer tv than we did have. I also made him put it in writing that he gave us that TV for the van before I signed the van over.

Nephew seems to feel he can choose to change the tv channel or watch movies in the livingroom now whenever he wants to, whether we are already watching it or not! Several times Ernie has got up to go to the bathroom, or go get something from the bedroom, and our nephew just assumes we are no longer watching the show that's on. He then either changes the channel or puts in a movie!!! It's very frustrating!

On top of that, while we were in the hospital, he was constantly online during the day. I couldn't get through when I tried to call home. I ended up calling a neighbor who came up to the house and read him the riot act for being online when Ernie was in the hospital. When they had all first moved in, I had told my nephew he could use the internet after 9 pm, not before. Well, apparantly while we were in the hospital (and I just found this out) he decided he didn't like my ISP so he signed up for his own ISP, and since we can only get dial up here, that's through my phone, too! Not charged to my phone, but still he had to use my phone number to get it. So now he seems to think since he's paying for his own ISP he can get online anytime he feels like it! Which is why he was online during the day while we were at the hospital.

Last night just really ticked me off. I was on here posting, but I can do 2 things at once, so I was watching a special on MJ. Without asking me if I was watching the tv, he puts one of his movies in! He has brought his ps3 out to the livingroom (again while we were in the hospital) and hooked it up to the tv and plays his movies in it.

So I was disgusted, logged off, and told Ernie I was going outside to check on things. It wasn't even 8pm yet. I got the kiddos ready for bed and then headed outside to check on chooks and make sure the coops were shut. Before I was even out the door he was online!!!!!! So he was monopolyzing my TV and internet at the same time. Worse, he will stay up on the internet until 3 am or later!!!!!!!

We wanted to shut our internet off, but it doesn't do any good to do that if he has his own ISP now. He'll still have access. We've discussed shutting the phone off temporarily.

Yes, I realize we should tell him that he needs to stop, but the problem is, he's admitted to being sneaky when he wants to be, and we've seen it first hand. He's very sneaky. We've seen him watching us out the window when we go outside, and we've no clue what he's doing in the house during those times.

I know kicking him out is an option, but he has a 3 year old daughter here as well, and I have to consider her, too. I'm trying to stick it out because supposedly he's going to be moving this month. That has me worried, too, because he's planning to move in with some of his former army buddies....and I don't think any of them are married from what he said...so that has me worried for his daughter.

Yesterday I went outside to start digging posts for the new pens I'm hoping to have done on Friday. I was also burning trash. He comes out and stands and watches. Granted, Ernie was watching, too, but he's not physically allowed to do anything, so he's excused. While I was burning the trash, nephew was text messaging someone and them back to him (on his $400 phone he purchased since being here, but he has NO JOB but you know, we have to have a $400 phone!) Then he asked Ernie to borrow some wrenches to work on his van with. Ernie has just minutes before made his way back to where I was, and it takes Ernie 2 times as long to walk somewhere as it does me or anyone else. Ernie told him he'd have to find the wrenches, as he wasn't sure where they were. Nephew stood there like he expected Ernie to go right then! Ernie ignored him.

After a bit, Ernie did go get the wrenches. Nephew came back after he was done working on his van. I went on to dig the holes for the fence posts, and again, he watched. I was getting uncomfortable because he was standing super close and Ernie was watching, too, so it made me nervous.

Well, I snapped. I screamed, "I don't need an audience!" Which got my point across somewhat, because he went back to the house. Unfortunately, Ernie thought I meant him, too, so he started for the house, too.

He (nephew) used to be really good at helping. He used to ask us if we needed help, now we have to ask him or tell him, "hey, we need you to do this." Yes, he did help with Ernie the first night and the next day, but that was pretty much it.

Now, he did wash some dishes yesterday, which is only like the 3rd time since he's been here. He only did those because he heard me fussing at Ernie who was starting the dishes. I didn't even offer to help him with the dishes. He washed and rinsed.

Sorry for venting, again.

 

[Farmfresh]

Vent away Quail we all need a place to do it and this IS your place.

It was always amazing to me, when I worked at the Alternative School, how people could not afford money for school supplies, their children's clothes or dental care and yet ALL of them had a nice TV with cable, and multiple expensive cell phones!

We NEVER could afford cable when the kids were at home and now we have the online Netflix which costs under $10 a month!

I would be concerned about the little girl as well. She would be the reason to put up with lots of bologna from the nephew. Where is this kids mom? Or is she worse than her living with a house full of army buddies?

I am glad Ernie is feeling well enough to walk around a bit. I am sure that is helping him feel better mentally too. I don't think anyone gets well around a hospital.

 

[Farmfresh]

Oh and I was going to tell you about a tea that I found. It is herbal. We have a gourmet shop near us. It is HIGH dollar, but they do have good (fairly reasonable cost) teas and coffees. My new favorite is Blackberry Sage. Yummy!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Vent away Quail we all need a place to do it and this IS your place.

It was always amazing to me, when I worked at the Alternative School, how people could not afford money for school supplies, their children's clothes or dental care and yet ALL of them had a nice TV with cable, and multiple expensive cell phones!

We NEVER could afford cable when the kids were at home and now we have the online Netflix which costs under $10 a month!

I would be concerned about the little girl as well. She would be the reason to put up with lots of bologna from the nephew. Where is this kids mom? Or is she worse than her living with a house full of army buddies?

I am glad Ernie is feeling well enough to walk around a bit. I am sure that is helping him feel better mentally too. I don't think anyone gets well around a hospital.

She was actually taken from her mother by the state, which is how he got custody.

I feel like I'm always complaining as of late. I don't mean to be.

I need to also let ya'll know that after this week, I might not be on everyday. We've decided to have our phone and internet temporarily for a bit. You can all take a guess as to why. Ernie said I can skip down to the library 5 miles from us a couple times a week to say hi, or post to ya'll, but I'll sure miss ya'll while I don't have phone or internet!!!

 

[Farmfresh]

We will sure miss you too!

 

[BeccaOH]

I need to also let ya'll know that after this week, I might not be on everyday. We've decided to have our phone and internet temporarily for a bit. You can all take a guess as to why. Ernie said I can skip down to the library 5 miles from us a couple times a week to say hi, or post to ya'll, but I'll sure miss ya'll while I don't have phone or internet!!!

ACK!

How we talk every day???

 

[Dace]

Shoot Quail...sorry to see you leave us for a bit. We'll be waiting

Sounds to me that the nephew is not acting his age. Maybe he needs a concrete list of chores just like a little kid. Perhaps he is not really sure what is expected of him.

Live with army guys...with a 3 yr old? Bad plan!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I need to also let ya'll know that after this week, I might not be on everyday. We've decided to have our phone and internet temporarily for a bit. You can all take a guess as to why. Ernie said I can skip down to the library 5 miles from us a couple times a week to say hi, or post to ya'll, but I'll sure miss ya'll while I don't have phone or internet!!!

ACK!

How we talk every day???

Ok ok maybe I should have stressed that we MIGHT be shutting it all down...it's motivation for some people ya know?

I honestly feel like I'm the one being punished...No phone, no internet, what did I do??????!!!

eta: Normally I am not afraid to assert my back bone, but in this case, there's a child involved and I don't want her to get hurt!

 

[Dace]

Can you let the child live with you while he finds a job and sorts out his priorities?