With you pregnant and with Anthony giving so much to the board and his other ventures, plus toddler care now is the time to do it! It is going to get so crazy with two little ones. The teens are 18 months apart. It is so hard and so much work. I could not even wrap my mind around doing what I did with those two and have a teen in the house to boot. It is a pain with them and 1 toddler. The 8 yo is hyper and bounces off the walls, but that is about it. He is still young enough he listens. He sometimes picks up living area. Gathers dirty clothes upstairs.

I have got to the point of I am no longer anybody's maid. I tried bribing, but they have been cut off allowance for about 2 weeks and told them if I have to yell and throw a fit for them to do what I ask I am not paying for it. They take way to much advantage with me when I am a down slope.

The birds have 3 areas. Ducks and geese in one yard, hens in the hen house, and the roosters, guienas, and turkeys free range. My son gets it done in 15 minutes. Girl can take an hour to feed, goofing off to the extreme. The kitchen is hardly an issue as I clean as I go rinsing off dishes, and not to mention a hardly ever cook anymore, it is heat up easy things or one pot meals, so why does it take forever? Tidy living area. And try to push one load through a day on laundry so it does not back up. They get a bathroom each on the weekend. Split between two teens it is not bad or more than they can handle. My son can and will do it all in 45 minutes, girl drag drag drag... Thing is it is still all the same stuff I try to do during the day just help me play catch up, except laundry, I just don't do it. The toddler unfolds and runs off with everything, there has to be someone else to entertain her or take her outside.

I used to give my son double allowance to do his sister's share since it took less time for him to do it and he did a better job than both doing things. I just hate letting her skirt by. But I may go back to that.

For some reason when they were little I had the crazy notion that they would be easier to handle and not as messy when they got older, then reality set in as they became teens. Even the toddler will put some of her toys up, and puts her panties away and loves throwing trash in in the can, takes her dishes and puts them in the sink and puts her clothes in a pile downstairs where the downstair basket belongs (it seems to keep coming up missing)... If a 2 yo can do it. You know what I mean!

Yes the sock battle... lol
See, I'm on the other end of this... I'm the sock stealer...

But let me defend myself...
boyfriend has never, ever washed socks... ever
As I've been unemployed for the last year, I haven't boughten myself new socks in forever. (imagine thin thin small socks)

So when I'm sitting here... feeling all clamy and cold,
I run upstairs and grab a pair of his big fuzzy newer socks
he doesn't care though, as I wash and refill his sock drawer. hehe

Besides, me bumming around the house isn't gonna make his socks any dirtier than the 12 hours they will spend in his work boots.
and seeing as he wears a size 14 shoe, they are more like winter stockings for me,
bahahaha

veiled, I'm totally with you on this one.
My mom stopped doing my laundry when I was like 12!

I'm really quite baffled when I hear teens can't even do their own laundry!
It's not like she has to wash it by hand or anything! Just dump into machine and turn on... lol

You should see our resident students - it's hysterical!!! There are so many ex-white t-shirts already and they've only been here two weeks!

Caught one microwaving a pot noodle with the spoon still in the other day.....They haven't got a bloody clue. I could use a microwave and washing machine when I was 5. Early starter I guess!

I managed to those chores and more and my parents were extremely anal about every thing being perfect. If not I would get my ass kicked. I mean the towels had to line up perfect, all the rags had to be laid in same direction, not a single crumb any where in the kitchen, when they were pissy they would move things on the counter and scream about any they would find... I swear when I was a kid any thing in the house you could eat off of. And after I got older I did stay like that and could keep up, then with 4 kids HA! I am happy to find a towel and big chunks are picked up off counters and floors.

Ohhh you don't even want to get me started on the microwave... She spent a year at least banned from it. Seemed to like the light show. She does it on purpose! Started a fire in my ex's just built home while she was visiting with the damn thing!

My husband is the sane one and I see his face turn beet red and him saying like this AM I do not know how you don't kill her. It is the arguing and back talking with him that sends him flippy! I have to actually break it up.

Like the cat this AM. I was going to have momma cat fixed after her litter. OK I did not know how damn fast a cat could pregnant again (kittens are still little kittens) Well, I was too late and she has another litter on the way. I have told her over and over do not put a flea collar on the cats. So I see momma with one on this AM. I know who did it, the girl. I ask why in the hell does that cat have one on??? She said because it was in my lap so I did. And How many times have I said not to? She say twice (it was more). I said fine so you blew me off, did you bother to read the box or directions? Of course no and then she reads it. I said now does it say DO NOT put on a pregnant animal? So collar is back off. And then we have a fight about a green jacket. She cannot wear green to her school. Son is in high school she is still jr high. He has no dress code hers is strict. I had already told her two days ago to wash the grey one she is allowed to wear, she blew it off. The fighting about it I could not figure out which jacket to tell her to shove up her butt. I did not, but boy did I want to tell where to stick those jackets.

She has already announced this year that she doesn't want to make good grades or try to excel, "not her thing". Fine. I am not going to push her to be like bros to be in advanced but can we at least do the basics??? I just keep telling myself get her to 18 with no kids or drugs... and you will have done all you can and then some. And if I do not tell hubby half the shit she pulls she may make it to 18!

Yep, know what your saying about cleanliness. Bub tidies after himself, enjoys it like a game, teenager leaves crap everywhere, thinking its everyone elses problem to pickup after him. Ha... ain't he learning the hard way.

Gacks. I've had three hours sleep, had to spend the night at mum and dads with my brother (yay joys) and may be putting my dog down in half an hour.

All in all, a great day, and it's only 11 am.

OMG GR'ass!!
Did something happen to your dog? or is this a planned vet trip?
Sounds like a lot of stress.. way too early in the morning for me!!!

We don't even have our dogs yet, and I am dreading the day when one has to be put down from old age... let alone one of the cats we have dieing. Kerrie does not handle that well.... it will be a month or more of mourning... I am already preparing myself for it, years in advance.

Yep, I am supposed to be the sane one in the house but I'm with your husband on this. Its groundhog day and they still just don't get it. Like water restrictions, big continent not really lots of water, big droughts everywhere......apparently water restrictions don't apply to teenagers. There are people in this country living off 70 litres of water each a day (that's eating, pooping, washing the lot) and having water trucked into their rural properties. I feel like dragging his ass out to the country to live for a month and see how he goes then. Really gets my back up because I grew up in the country and get the concept of how precious water really is.

Better than that I got told last night by said teenager 'that its not my job to do my washing'. Apparently, even though we are on school holidays, you can do a load of washing at 10 pm at night and just throw it in the drier. I said to him, ever heard of the sun, you know its free!! Aah, its just too much for brain.......better get onto that uni assignment anyway.