may God bless you
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may God bless you
Sorry no advice. Just :hug:'s. That would be overwhelming for anyone.
Hun, there are some things you have to let go of. There are some things you need to talk to your DH about. You have alot of kids and if you are the only one taking care of the house - either you turn a blind eye to the mess, or DH stays up and finishes everything WITH you before he goes to bed.
may God bless you
Well now you have bubs 4 and 5. Things are different, not everything can stay the same. If you can't get everything sorted in a day without superpowers you might have to realign your expectations. Unless you can find the fricken dishwashing fairy - that biratch was supposed to be here week ago and she never showed up.
may God bless you
Your mum probably didn't do as well as you think. I used to think my mum worked miracles, but now I realise the house was barely clean, meals weren't always fantastic.. I think she rarely vacuumed. BUt tables were always clean and clothes were always ironed.. I guess she prioritised those over clean carpets and dust free window sills? Perhaps u can try to tturn a blind eye to grimy tables and messy rooms?
You aren't your mum though. What did she do? My mum is awesome at keeping a spectacular house and it takes all of my being to even CARE about it. It's not genetic.
I never thought I would be at home taking care of a kid with special needs but I am. I thought by now I would be back in my high flying big ass money job again.....but I'm not.
So what do I do? Change what I can and be at peace with the things I can't.
yeah that!:
plus to help make life easier. Take a basket from room to room with you and pick everything up. Put it in the basket and leave it till you can get back to it. I hate mess but my house is so messy, it drives me insane. but I have chosen to just chill. I can either be on my feet all day cleaning cleaning and then recleaning due to kids making a mess or I can do a fast tidy up in the afternoon (or morning depends on mood) Also when I see the kids have dropped something where it shouldn't belong I call them back and make them pick it up, it would be heaps easier if I just picked it upp but they need to learn they can't just drop stuff
now don't get me wrong I too have days where it is all just so overwhelming. And my Dh is so lazy lol. I honestly don't think he has ever cleaned the bathroom since we had kids, I have a go at him for it all the time though :) He does cook dinner most nights though and helps with baths ect. but its not enough and I tell him so but he still hasn't changed.
Anyways not sure if any of that helped but I hope your Day today is better (oh and ps just clean up the food mess and leave any other messes until monday when most of the kids go to school) Also I would be questioning that laptop. I think 2600 min is ridiculous and they can do it cheaper.. Why can't they go the little ones that you can get for under 1000
Big hugs hun. Perhaps you could sit down with hubby and let him know how overwhelmed you are. Work out some little jobs that he would be happy doing each day, he commits to them and then it doesn't matter how long it takes him to do those jobs as long as they get done that day. I would pick something like cleaning up DS's room before he goes to bed and the dishes, if it takes him 40 mins to wash the dishes that's ok, just put it out of your mind as one of your jobs. Also are the older kids doing any chores? When I was 12 I was doing a simple dinner for the family once a week and my brother and I took turns each night, one night I washed the dishes the next night I took out the rubbish and vice versa for my brother. Doesn't have to be a huge job for it to make a difference to your work load.
Also I agree with re-assessing your goals. Before DS started walking and running the house was absolutely spotless to the point of ridiculousness. I now have realised that doing the floors every second or third day is much more reasonable than expecting myself to do them every single day. In actual fact since I made that decision DF has started doing the floors occasionally. Not every day but maybe once a week or so. I also sat down with him the other day and said I can't go to uni, make a baby, look after Orlando and keep the house perfect and meals gourmet everyday. He's turned around and started cleaning up after himself more and making sure to help out when he's not at work. Also with the nappies. Tell hubby if he wants the money they are going to bring in he needs to take the kids for a bit each day so you can sit down and do them because if you keep trying to do it all at once you are going to end up with a sewing machine needle through your finger!
I can't imagine doing what you do and I think you're amazing, but I also think you forget alot that if you don't take care of yourself there will be no one to take care of your family.
xx
Hun, you are doing an AMAZING job, anyone would be overwhelmed with the daily work that goes into a large family. I don't have a large family so not sure if my ideas will work and hope some of the mums with large families can also come in and post. Just one idea...have a family meeting, explain the situation as much as is relevant to your childrens ages, work out a chore sheet, with jobs for the 12, 9 and even 5 year old can do one thing a day. Can the kids have their own tidy-up areas - lounge, playroom, sons room to do each day, hubby can have a some chores....I think delegation is the key in large families, I am sure that is the only way they used to be able to do it in the 'old' days. Are there some jobs on your list that can be done every two or three days instead of every day. I always think whatever chore I get done, is a chore I get done rather than focusing on all the work that I don't get done each day. Your doing great Squidipa.
xxx
It is tough some times I really get that - I have 5 kids too & I am on my own.
As the others said you do need to let go of some stuff.
What helps me is this: I cook all the meals for the week on a Monday - so for 4 hours I cook (obviously with loads of interruptions!). So then I know that all the meals are healthy, taken care of and it's all organised. This saves money as I meal plan.
Each child is responsible for their own room and another room in the house. There is no TV no computer access until this is done. That's it not negotiable.
Meal times everyone puts their own plate in the dishwasher. One child wipes the table and placemats. One child packs the dishwasher (pans etc) and the other does the benches.
I vacuum the house after dinner so that it's all done for the next day.
DD6 job is to put the bath toys in the basket and take the dirty clothes to the laundry - she also feeds Pat (cat) & Gloria (house dog)
She has to make her bed in the morning and keep it tidy.
DD7 unpacks the dishwasher in the morning and makes her bed.
she sets the table at night
she cleans up the loungeroom before dinner
DS9 he unpacks the dishwasher in the afternoon
packs it at night
feeds Doug (outside dog)
takes out the garbage bins to the road once a week and washes out the inside bins
keeps his room tidy
helps to clean off the bench in the mornings.
All 3 put their lunch boxes in the dish washer when we get home from school and they all help me to pack the lunches. Its' a team job.
So, that's what I do but it's different for all families. My kids get pocket money if they do their jobs with kindness - for me this means not whinging, not complaining and helping each other when required. As I said - no jobs done or a messy room and it's no tv or computer for 24 hours...
They all put their folding away sometimes (often I do it whilst they are at school) & sometimes we all sit down and one folds the undies, one pairs the socks etc etc.
It works here - I hope you can find an answer for your family... :hug:
may God bless you
Oh squidipa you could be in my house lol. I never have a clean house EVER. I have to prioritise what gets done that day whether it is the dishes or the clothes washing or cleaning the bathroom or sweeping and mopping the floors. My mum also had a very clean house but she is soooooo anal lol and I have never been big on housework. I know that under the rubble it is actually clean and it will be again I just don't try to do it all in one day. I don't meal plan as I don't have enough time to cook for 4 or so hours in one day but having 2 kids with diabetes we have regular meal times. We also sit at the dining table to eat and that gives us some family time. Have you tried to place a plastic sheet under the high chair that way when it gets dirty just take it outside and hose it off. My DF is also lazy in the housework department but he sure whinges about it when the house is messy. We have days then when he is all gung ho and tries to do it all and I watch as he melts down lol.
We have tried giving the kids chores and paying them pocket money for it but they don't care. I'm going to have to really organise them though as it is not really teaching them life rules.
Big hugs to you love as I totally get where you are coming from
may God bless you
i do get ya ,,,i get the melt downs as well ,,, wat makes it worse for me is we have had our house built 6mths ago ,, perfect as every new house is when u first start out now,, i look at it an think this place is going to be trashed in the next few yrs as it already is ,, messy rooms,,, dirty walls .// did i mention bombed rooms ,,, dirty floors , bathrooms all the rest , but i just d wat i can . i like to try to have my kitchen clean ,as itsmy main feature when u walk in the house , i t try to get on to the kids with the jobs that are randomly asked eg, bins, dishes, animals clean rooms ..
any little bit helps me ,, so just keep at them thats all i do ..
i tottaly am with you thoughxxxx
may God bless you
Squid, my mum makes up a huuuuge batch of meat sauce which she puts a big bag of frozen veg in. She makes it up to be fairly plain and then divides it up. She then defrosts one lot for dinner and either adds tomatoes for a bolognaise sauce or lasagne; a gravy to whip up a pie; beans & chilli for mexican. Anyway, just an idea - it gives you a head start on dinner!:
Oh and, just so you feel better, I moved into my house a month ago and still haven't washed the floors - there's a lot of tiles and honestly I just couldn't be bothered!! There's still loads of unpacking to do but DH will be home in 3 weeks and HE can do it....in the meantime, Robert has started to crawl so I could always attach a mop to him! :ROFL: I keep the cleaning to a bare minimum and it's only me, DS1 (15) and DS2 (8 months) at home.
And I forgot to add in my edit...... you're doing a FANTASTIC job Squid!! Don't forget to take some time out for yourself - even if it is only 2 minutes!!
may God bless you
I know this is an old thread, but I thought I might still pop in and offer advice?
As I'm on my iPhone I cant see the ages of your children, but when I was young I had my chores to do, which if I didnt do, I didn't get my pocket money or privileges.
I used to: vacuum 1-2 times per week, set the table and pack the table, clean my room and take out my washing to the laundry.
My mum n dad used to check my room, but didn't have ridiculous expectations, so if it was a LITTLE messy, that's ok, but it's just general, iykwim?
I was the only one to vacuum, unless there was a specific mess that needed cleaning, and 1-2 times per week is enough even tho it does get abit gritty towards the end of the 3-4 days. But like another poster has said, maybe that's something you can turn a blind eye to slightly?
Maybe give DH specific chores he has to do (I know it's frustrating when they're slow lol, but at least it's something less for you!)
I'm all for getting the kids to help, so maybe give them weekly chores to do and if it's not done then punishment for the next week or something?
Maybe also to help YOU, make a WEEKLY chore list instead of daily? that way it can help you prioritize what things can wait, and what needs to be done that day, with the reminder there is always tomorrow :)
Or if daily, maybe clean the rooms at the end of the day rather than during and put up with the mess so your not double handling ITMS? I know how irritating it is to clean and then 5 mins later have everything messy again.
Anyways, I'm babbling abit now.. I hope I've helped somewhat... :hug: i understand your frustration though :(