My children have fallen prey to the invasion of the body snatchers!!

What is it about dirty dishes that send my children off the deep end??  Seriously?!  It's not like they have to carry them down to the creek and scrub them with sand!  We have a dishwasher that most every thing can go in.  Plus, they are only required to do the dishes once a week....yes only ONCE A WEEK!  There are seven people in our home, so we each have a designated dishes day.  I remember having do to the dishes almost everyday, and if I acted the way my children do, I would have gotten beaten!!

I have to admit that doing dishes are not my favorite chore, but if you just do them then its over relatively quick.   Here is what happens when I remind my boys it is their dishes day.  

Me: (insert boys name here), don't forget it's your dishes day.  You need to get started on them before its so late.

Any one of my 3 boys:  UUGGHHH! Do I really have to do the dishes???  

Me: yes.

Boy: But its so far to the kitchen.

Me: Well then you better start walking now.

Boy: But I don't want to do them.

Me: No one wants to do dishes, its just a fact of life.

Boy: grumble, grumble, grumble...

Then after a couple more reminders they usually at least start, complaining most of the time.

Now, my girls, this is a totally different story!  My normally sweet, well behaved girls....ok,  they aren't always well behaved and they aren't always very sweet to each other, but you know what I mean....  my girls turn into these horrible yellow fanged, crazy purple haired monsters that I know I didn't give birth to!  Here is what it looks like on the girls days.

Me: (insert girl #1 here), don't forget it's your dishes day.  You need to get started on them before its so late.

Girl #1:  WHAT??!!!  It's not MY dishes day!!!

Me: yes it is, its Thursday.

Girl #1:  Whaling begins here...   IT'S NOT FAIR!  I ALWAYS HAVE TO THE THE DISHES!!  NO ONE ELSE EVER DOES THE DISHES BUT ME!!!

Me: Yes we do, everyone has their own day, we all do dishes. 

Girl #1: Throws herself down on the ground and cries for at least 5 minutes.

Me: Are you done? Because your dishes are still in there waiting on you.

Girl #1: *still crying*  I can't believe how MEAN you are to me!   

Me: Yes, I am mean.  If you would rather wait until tomorrow to do them, you may.  However, you are responsible for all the dishes up until then.
Girl #1: *enraged* I AM NOT DOING SOMEONE ELSE'S DISHES!!
Me: It's your choice.
Girl #1:  *very dramatically*  Ugh!  My life is sooo horrible!!!
Me: Yes, apparently it is, as you tell me that every week.  (at this point, my patience is pretty much gone)
*as calmly as I can muster*  Just get up and go do the dishes.
Girl #1: still whimpering she gets up  and stomps off to get her ipod and starts her dishes.  And slowly she turns back into my child...slowly her yellow fangs shrink and her purple crazy hair lays back down and the color returns to normal..

Ok, now for Girl #2.

Me: (insert girl #2 here), don't forget it's your dishes day.  You need to get started on them before its so late.
Girl #2: *very matter of fact*  No it isn't.  (this is where she changes from my sweet little girl to the head strong, stubborn crazy purple haired monster)
Me: Yes it is.
Girl #2: *still very matter of fact* Well I am not doing them.
Me: Yes you are, you are 9 years old and its your dishes day.
Girl #2: UGH!  I am still not doing them.
repeat the above at least 3 more times
Me:  to my husband....Would you please help me with her!!!  (at this point I have totally lost all patience and I leave the room)

My husband works his magic or doesn't...  He sometimes compromises with her and just has her unload the dishwasher or stand there behind her as she begrudgingly rinses dishes or he just does them himself. (please no judging...we have to pick our battles with this one...)

As I am typing out all the drama we have with our offspring, I am thinking this is just really sad.  We need to be reminded everyday that we are so blessed!  We have a roof over our head, food on our table, a dishwasher to clean these dirty dishes!, we have each other to enjoy our meals with, and so many more blessing!!!

So here is what I am going to do.  Instead of repeating the above over and over again, I am going to post this sign where everyone can see it while they are doing their dishes...including me!

If your children fall prey to the 'invasion of the body snatchers' when it's their turn to do the dishes (or if you fall prey yourself!) try posting the above sign over your sink or in a prominent place in your kitchen.  

I will pray for you to like washing dishes if you will pray for me!! 

God is Good, All the Time, All the Time, God is Good!

Happy Washing!!!
Blessings!
Christy

Homeschooling taught by the overwhelmed!

Let me just start off by saying, today was a good day in our home school adventure!  This is what this morning looked like:

All sitting nicely around the table in our newly created school area. (notice how I have nothing on the walls yet!)  They were all getting along, no one was touching anyone else, and math was being calculated by all!  I was a proud momma!  If it were this easy, everyone would home school! Ha!

Most days are a little more rowdy than today.  You see, home schooling is a choice my husband and I made, even though I felt very unqualified.  However, God put this desire in my heart, and if God has ever done this to you, you know you can't refuse!  I have many reasons I school at home.  Probably the number one reason I home school is because I have 2 children with Aspergers.  I have a 14 yr old son and a 9 yr old daughter on the spectrum.  My daughter also struggles with ADHD as well.  These two by themselves make me crazy, frustrated and exhausted.  But, they also bring me such joy!  When I am able to help them understand something they have struggled with, when the light shines through them, you can not duplicate that happiness!
My number two reason is I want my children to learn and know the most important thing in life, to know and have a relationship with God.
No matter how much math, science, english or history you know, if you don't know and believe in Jesus then life is just not worth living.  I love taking my children to daily Mass and teaching them more about our Catholic faith.  That does not mean I don't teach them all the subjects, I just don't freak out if my 9 yr old daughter isn't able to do multiplication yet or my 14 yr old only does 15 math problems instead of all 30.  I let them work at their own pace, some things they excel in and have no trouble breezing through higher levels, and on the subjects they have more difficulty with, we take a little more time.  That way they are exactly where they should be, not where everyone else must be.  
We take time to enjoy the weather outside on nice days.  We take breaks to jump on the trampoline, and just be goofy!  

Even our dog, Marley, likes to get smart!!!  (And yest that is a winter/christmas blanket...)

So really, even though I feel so overwhelmed and scattered at times, the rest out weights it all!  So, if you are thinking about home schooling, just make sure you have the best intentions for your children and make sure that God in the decision process!  Pray, pray often, and don't worry, He is with you always!

Happy Home Schooling!
Christy

Starting over.....AGAIN!!!!

So, it has been almost a year since my last post...  The kids have gotten a LOT taller, and I think my hair has gotten more gray (although you would never know it!!!) and my desire to be a blogger has stirred up again!

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and my two girls and I went to see Mom's Night Out.                http://momsnightoutmovie.com/

 I read the book, given to me by a fellow blogger (a real one!). http://perfectisboring.blogspot.com/.  She is a friend I met through my daughter....such a sweet family!!!  Anyway, back to the book/movie! (Yes I am a little ADHD)  If you have not read or seen Mom's Night Out, I highly recommend it!!    The main character, Allyson, played by Sarah Drew, is a very stressed out mommy, who would like to be a mommy blogger.  This hilarious story will bring tears of laughter, understanding and joy!  Along with a lot of moments that I totally related to, this movie brought back my desire to blog again!

So, I invite you to follow my blog and definitely go see Moms Night Out!