Mistakes in Motherhood

Those who are on my facebook have heard this story… and they may see it again when this feeds to my page, but here is the full story in full. My day started off a little rocky this morning (as demonstrated by my earlier rant), but this morning when I went downstairs to start some laundry I BLEW my stack.

See, Austin and Chris, who are almost 13 and 11, have chores. Their main chore is to feed the animals, but they are also required to help me with laundry and dishes. Most days, the most I will ask them to do is start a load before school, and fold it and put it away after school. I also am very strict about sorting (darks, whites, and reds) and I wash everything on cold, except whites. This weekend, with me being busy getting Bobby ready, I asked them to do the laundry, and did not have time to help; so I was planning on catching up this morning.

When I came downstairs, it was utter chaos. Mount washmore was overflowing. The three hampers were packed with a mixture of all colors and stacked up to twice their height… there were no less than 4 baskets with wet or damp clothing, all of which stunk like mildew and cat pee. My dryer was empty, my washer was full of stinky clothes, and all my light colored and white clothes had been bled on by the dark clothes. I easily had 10 loads (and I am talking HE/front loader loads, not top loader loads). I think they were just starting the washer, but then never putting the clothes in the dryer. I also had about a foot of wet clothes piled in front of the washer.

More than an hour later, but less than two hours later I finally had all the clothes sorted, a load in the dryer, another in the washer, and I am having to use double the soap, bac-out & vinegar in each and every load, with bleach in my light towels/rags & my 100% cotton whites. I have washed, 6 loads of laundry already today, and I still have about four left. I tossed all of Austin & Christopher’s dirty clothes back in their room, I was too mad to wash it… but here is the stunning part of it… Bobby has been gone 3 weeks, I wear my jeans twice before I put them in the dirty clothes, but we had 10 loads of clothes to their 1…. so it looks to me like the kids are picking out their own clothes and only washing it.

Needless to say, I was either going to send them to boot camp or shake them up a bit, so I went on strike. I told them they are on their own for everything I did for them in the past. They have to cook their own meals, wash their own dishes, wash their own laundry, etc. If they want to use my stove or my washer or dishes, they need to “pay” for it, not with money, but with “hassle time chores” as my sister calls them. Basically if I have to do your work, you better do something for me. So they got to clean Matthew’s room, tidy the house, hand wash pots & pans, etc.

Tonight for dinner they made themselves baked potatoes and leftover stew, and I ordered a pizza for Matthew and I. I am really hoping that they get how much I do for them soon. I don’t like them being in trouble, but I just cannot carry the weight of doing absolutely everything in this house. I can’t spread myself four ways picking up every crumb they drop, and expect to have time to do the important things like help with homework, take them to the park to play, have family game nights, etc.

I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, I have only about 2 1/2 loads of laundry to start, one of which is my bed sheets, which I am dreading. They smell like Bobby, and I just cannot fathom washing his scent out of our bed. I have not cried about him leaving, but just the idea of washing our sheets makes my eyes well up with tears.

Oh, and as a cherry on top. Both kids have detention this week! Austin for being late to a bunch of classes “due to GI issues”, which sounds hokey to me. And Christopher because he “got a 4 out of 14 on an assignment”, which sounds even hokier to me. I think I have a couple phone calls to make tomorrow.

2 Comments | In: People, Places & Things, This is how I roll | tags: Austin, Bobby, Christopher, Domestic Diva, Family, House Stuff, Insanity, Me, Parenting, Ranting, Sons, Tirade. | #

I will call it “Drop off your damn kid like you have a brain, 101″.

Austin goes to a charter school, it is an amazing school, it is free, but it comes with a price. The price is that it is a commuter school and most parents must drop off and pick up their kids. I think there is something about this parking lot that turns normal people into complete idiots. The school parking lot is designed very well, I think my 3 year old could figure out how to navigate it, however some parents seem to regress to the wisdom of a newborn babe as soon as they cross the thresh-hold.

The parking lot is laid out simply:
You enter, you pull into bay A or B depending on which one is empty, you pull your car up to the front of the line, you kick your kid out the door and leave.

Simple huh?

Yeah, one would think so but this is what I see on a daily basis:

• Bay A is full, Bay B is empty, and cars are backed up to point C so no one can get into bay B because heaven forbid we let our little prince or princess walk TWO full freaking car lengths more to get to school! Let everyone behind us be late, we MUST wait to get to Bay A!
• Kid sits in the front seat, backpack goes into the trunk, so in order to kick the kid out of the car, we must make a fiasco of kid out, unlock (or pop) trunk, rifle through the crap in the trunk to find book bag, binder, lunch pail, coat, etc. What happened to putting your coat on, your crap inside the backpack and put your junk on your lap or feet so mom or dad can pull up and you can move onto class.
• This is my favorite, I love it when mom makes a HUGE production of sending her baby off to school with multiple hugs and kisses and the line is backing up around the block. I feel like screaming “GET A ROOM!!” I can understand this if little Johnny is going off to kindergarten for the first time. But this is middle school! for shit’s sake people, your kid is TWELVE! You are humiliating your kid into lifetime therapy!
• I love it when cars stop directly in line with the door instead of proceeding down to the end of the line. This prevents about 6 more cars from entering the drop off line and slowing the whole process down.
• Same goes for the people who stop one or two car lengths between the car in front of them. We are not driving at highway speeds here, 15 second rule need not apply. Guess what, at ZERO miles per hour, you can be less than a foot from the car in front of you and STILL be able to stop in time!

I am sure more topics to my class will come up as time goes on. Props will include gestures and words not suitable for young children, so if you wish not to attend, pull into the first available bay (yes B is just as good as A) pull up all the way to the numbered line, kick the kid out of the door with no more than a wave or a “have a good day” and then GET OUT! If you do wish to attend, please arrive between 7:15-7:35, and behave like your IQ is the same number as the temperature is outside. This seminar is complimentary and includes a free birdie, multiple four letter words you may not have ever heard combined before, and if you are lucky I may just get out of my car and smack you upside the head!

Have a nice day!

8 Comments | In: This is how I roll | tags: Austin, Lame-o, Public Service Announcements, Ranting, School, Tirade, Vehicle(s). | #