A major misconception....

Okay, I KNOW that this woman is NOT trying to be rude, BUT, everytime I go into a store here in town with my coupons, to get a REALLY good deal (check out my other blog to find out about my money makin shampoo! they paid me to buy it! :) )

anyway, she always says "Yep, I can tell you dont work, since you have time to do that"

WEll, No I dont get paid to do a damn thing. Instead in the last month alone I have spent a minimum of 30 hours a week doing volunteer work for the school, during baseball season, I am usually team mom for 2 differnt teams, take my kids an hour BEFORE practice starts and practice with them MYSELF, before a coach shows up. (if we have a coach, last year ours quit half way through the season, putting it on us that would show up). I do all the typical things that a working mother does for her home, I cook, I clean, I wash clothes, I pay all the bills, I fix alot the broken things in the house (BR and hammers DONT mix...), I do work on the computer, I make a little pocket change, I take care of BR's 'call and do this, or find out about this' lists, I cut and file and clip hundreds of coupons a week, (which is made much easier by the ladies at www.hotcouponworld.com I can go there and see what deals they have found and steal them or modify them for my own), I volunteer with the friends of the NRA, the National Wild Turkey Federation, I help out the great aunts and uncles and grandparents when they call, During summer I pick a very large garden, I put up hundreds of packages of food, I deal with my kids horses, all the while toting a 25 pound whining brat. Oh and I manage to watch TV all day and sit on the couch.

Now I am NOT supermom. My house is very seldom picked up for more than 5 minutes, there are always at least 5 loads of laundry to be done, and I am always rushing around. I never 'run' to town. when I go there is a list of erronds at least 6 long. everything from paying a bill, to buying fishfood, or going into 7 differnt stores for differnt things.

BUT I have worked full time jobs, and to be honest, I had MORE time then. People expected less of me.

My coupons are NEVER done, I miss out on alot of deals because I cant do them until everyone goes to sleep. and now that BR is working days, he doesnt understand me being awake at 1am doing stuff for ME. (of course when he worked nights, he would call me until well past 1am to talk when he was sitting at a well filling up or unloading).

Did I mention that I get up at 5:30 to get the kids ready for school? Just this morning I couldnt decide, it was 6:25. Bow was still asleep, Rayley was still asleep, the kids and BR were gone, and I really wanted to take a little nap. Should I get a few hours of sleep or work on my coupons? I wouldnt be able to do it once the human trash compactor woke up. He likes to eat them. or at the very least, wait till my back is turned so he can scatter them from hell to breakfast.

Once the kids get home, they want to eat, I feed them, clean up, then start supper. I dont even sit down again until at least 9. when I am sure they are all asleep and its ME time.

All day long, anytime I DO sit here and play on the computer, I have at LEAST one kid in my lap. And there is usually one beside me. and they fight. kicking and screamin and punching, to see who can keep their seat longest.

I wasnt exageratin when I said I always have a kid in my arms. If he isnt in my arms, he is wrapped around my leg. Rayley talks to me NON STOP. and she is getting smart enough that I actually have to look at her when she talks now. Instead of just nodding my head and saying "really? wow!, No kidding?, your dancing so pretty, yes that picture is beautiful, I dont know, maybe tomorrow, you sing so nice, yes I am listenting"...

I am not saying that 8 million other moms dont do the exact same things I do. But just because I dont get up, get my kids dressed, drop them off at daycare and go to work, doesnt mean that I have all the 'time in the world to play with my coupons'.


Right now is actually my slow time, and this year is my SLOW year. I am only on 2 PTA boards. Next year I will be on 4. Could I cut back on this. Yes. But since I am only one of maybe 3 people that shows up for each of these meetings and does all this work, it wouldnt be fair to the other 2 ladies. and right now 4-H is slow, baseball hasnt started, and the fields are fallow.

4-H will be starting soon, and since this is our first year, I am not real sure what will be expected of me. Maybe nothing. But I can assure you that if I see a void, I will try to fix it. just like at the Christmas Party. we all went in and sat down. I had brought 3 of the kids. It wasnt long before I realized that out of 60 people there, only 3 were trying to help serve. So, I got up off my lazy rear and helped. Clean up was NOT hard. and amazingly, it was the MEN that helped the most.

I guess I could go on for days, about what I DO do, and why I am slightly amazed (not offended, cause ignorence doesnt offend me) at what people think a stay at home mom does. or at least THIS stay at home mom, but I wont, cause its doesnt do much, other than bore you and piss me off.



so on to better things. Just remember, next time you are envious of someone for having so much 'time', they might be more harried, and less put together than you think they are....

better things... yes... I promise.. :)

okay, deep breathes... LOL

OH. earlier, I was messing with the thermostat on the heater, I forgot to buy another one yesterday. and Rayley asked me what I was doing. I said "working on this peice of crap"
"Oh, marmie has one of those too"
LOL, a thermostat?"
"no peices of crap"

THis morning Bow has managed to empty out an entire box of wipes, one at a time, while I was making princess MEMEMEME a bowl of cereal. This kid is like Dash on the Incrediables.

Brett is feeling better, and stayed in school ALL day yesterday. I am glad he is doing better. I dont know what had him sick, but he managed to sleep from the time I got him home on Monday till around 7, then ate and went back to sleep and slept all night long. He was still a little pekid when he got up to go to school, but did tough it out.

And I started the process of trying to get them reinstated on the bus, I dont know that my MIL will be able to take them back and forth all the time. you never know when she will be sick, her truck will break down permanetaly or she will quit her job. I spoke to their principal. She refered me to the Assistant superentendant. I tried to see him yesterday, and he finally called me back today.

He said I had to fill out a peice of paper, turn it in to the school, and then get denied at the school level, then turn it in to him, for him to make a desicion.
It doesnt look promising.

You know what will really tick me off though. If I DO take my kids out of school and home school them. I will STILL have to pay school taxes. Because I am fortunate enough to own land. I swear, I am SOOO tired of taxes. Why should I have to pay in and 40% of americans dont pay the first red cent? No income taxes, no property taxes, no medicare/SS taxes, no road and gas taxes, no school taxes, yet, they seem to benifit from all the taxes I pay.

A flat tax is the way to go. Then I wont feel so screwed all the time.

gosh, I cant seem to get away from the soap boxes today can I?

we put up some of the Christmas decorations last night. Now I just have to find something to do with the tree. The box I had it in was wore out, so now I have to find a tote to put it in. If I cant find one soon I might have the kids make some pink and red hearts out of construction paper and hang them on it!

My grand plan, when I was under the impression that one day I would be able to build a house, was to have a wall in the living room, with a fake panel, and a closet behind it. On a track, would be my fully decorated Christmas Tree, to be rolled out on Thanksgiving, and rolled in on the 1st of January. I always thought it was the brightest idea in the world. Everytime I mentioned it BR would just nod his head, and go back to talking about what ever interested HIM at the moment. Thats his way of pretending to agree to what I like, and then doing what he wants anyway.

Same with the floors I want. If you have ever been in a really old house, not a really old MANSION, but a really old house, where they used what they had and did what they could, the floors are differnt sized boards, all put together in no particular pattern. It makes for a really pretty floor. So I always said that I wanted to take all sizes of boards, 1 X4, 1X6, 1X8 etc, in differnt lengths and nail them down, with big 10 penny nails. (possible with the roundness ground off so they were more squared) and then beat on them. a slight gouge here, a few scratches there, walk on them with spikes, hit them with a hammer, then take a watered down stain, a dark stain, and whitewash them. wipe it up quickly, just getting the stain down in the imperfections that you had put in the wood. Follow up with a nice thin layer of fruitwood stain, Then put about 30 coats of polyurithane on it. so it had some depth. Voila, you have a floor with character, and when your kids come running in with a baseball bat and are hitting the beautiful wood floor with every step you are not freaking out. Its just MORE character.

Alas, BR gave me the same "awww look, an idea from an idiot" nod and started talking about beadboard on the walls. Walls that I, by the way, want painted red. But he insists on beadboard and stain.

I am sure that he will get his choice. same with this house. I didnt want this particular trailer. But then when he dies, I will just paint everything what ever color I want. and trash the floors, and cut a hole in the wall and stick in a Chrstimas Tree.

Or maybe I will do it all while he is at work and not tell him about it till he finds it and its too late.

I find that its easier to say why I dont want something, explain it all, listen to him tell me that my reasons are stupid, then let him do what he wants, then in about 3 months he is saying how stupid that decision was. I never say a word about it.


Poor Bow, he misses his brothers so bad. Rayley has been real good with him today. Or at least better than usual. She is actually sorta playing with him. They are STILL on me, under me and beside me, but not quite as bad as usual.

Maybe I will sit here on the couch and do nothing for the rest of the day. I mean, it only took me about 3 hours to write this. between messing with them and doing other things.

Maybe I will just take me a nap. OH wait, nix that, another overflowin toilet, a princess in a tizy and Bow just emptied an entire basket of socks on the floor. ALL over the floor..
guess I should get up and get something done.

Edited to add:
OH and I just found out that I also have to come up with a new poem to put at the teachers seats during teacher apriciation week, when the PTA sends them out to lunch.

Maybe I will try to come up with some now, and let y'all vote on them.