Sunday, April 27, 2008

Flower Pictures....

So here are the pictures of the lovely flowers Mom sent me. Aren't they lovely?!?!?! As I said, I was suprised by them when I got to work on Thursday. They smell beautiful, as well. Which is rare. Seems like most of the scent is bred out of professionally grown flowers any more. But these smell beautiful!




That's a green, bead lariat around the vase. I don't know if Mom planned that, but I love green. So that just seemed extra appropriate. *grin*

Anyway, just wanted to share my pictures of my pretty flowers with my friends.

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Thank you for all the encouragement yesterday. Yeah, Ashley, Tay's actually 10-1/2. She hit puberty early and it's hitting back hard. There are definite times when it's possible to just hug away the angst. Yesterday, though.... That was a breaking point. Her attitude with her sports is one of all-or-nothing. And I've gotten so fed up with her nastiness towards myself and the hubby following any practice or game that she feels didn't go well..... Well, as much as I love to watch her play, I won't be going any more. I'm on the receiving end of her bad attitude 90% of the time, and I can't keep doing that. And I told her as much yesterday.

Thank you for all the support. It does kind of help to know that other folks have gone or are going through the same kind of torment with their children. Unfortunately there's also the thought that she's only 10 and this could last another 10, 15 years..... *big sigh* How will I manage to NOT strangle her?? And homeschooling, as we've decided to do?!?!?! What the hell have I signed us up for?!?!?!?!

Anyway.... Gotta get around to everybody's blogs, so I'll go ahead and sign off now.

Have a Blessed Day!

3 comments:

Sian said...

My eldest is only eight and she is as stroppy as can be at times. I dread to think what she is going to be like when the hormones kick in!

whimsical brainpan said...

You have a great Mom!

I wish you much patience and wisdom in dealing with Tay.

Wendy said...

I have five kids - four of whom are girls. The oldest is a boy. My husband thinks girls are easier, but that's because he didn't see all of the "attitude" and disrespect thrown my way by my (now adult) oldest daughter. He wasn't here, and she really did change her tune when he was home ... not that he didn't get an earful when he walked through the door (just so he'd know why I was pissed :).

My second oldest daughter will be eleven in May. She has her moments - mostly directed toward her sisters, but also toward me, occasionally. When she's being really disrespectful and unkind, she loses privileges, like playing Toon Town on the computer. Usually, she's a real joy and a wonderful kid. Her worst moments come when she's been around her friends. When it happens, I make sure that I let her know, under no uncertain terms, that she has crossed the line, and she needs to jump right back on the other side - toute suite! She usually does, and I attribute it to homeschooling. In fact, we homeschooled my adult daughter, too, and I think things would have been much worse if we hadn't.

I don't know how to say this without coming across as sounding like some crazed control-freak, and so I'll just say it, but the fact is, when you're homeschooling you have a lot more control over whom your children spend time with and what things your children are exposed to. If I think something is inappropriate and goes counter to our family values, we won't do it. You can't have that kind of control when your children go to school. But also, since we homeschool, I'm usually with my children, and so we have the opportunity to discuss things that have happened right away.

I would encourage you to not stop going to your daughter's games. I understand how she makes you feel, because, believe me, been there! But at the same time, she really does need you, and she needs to know, that even when she's messing up (i.e. her snotty attitude), you'll be there for her. You may not want to, and sometimes I wish I could just slap my sassy-mouthed daughter right across her smug little face, but I won't, because that won't fix it, and it definitely won't make me feel any better. What I do is let her know that she has hurt my feelings with her words or with her attitude and that she owes me an apology. I just let her know, "Hey, I'm a human too, and I have feelings, and I'm sorry that your game went poorly, but it's not my fault, and you won't take it out on me." Then, we usually talk about what happened and why she's feeling bad. That usually works, but, boy, my blood will be boiling while I'm saying my speech (in quotes above :).

It's definitely not easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is :).