Getting Desperate

I love summer, I love not having to rush from place to place, I love the warm weather, I love vacations, etc., etc.......BUT I could really do without the non-stop fighting. It is out of control. I feel that I have been a complete failure as a mother. I don't mean to be such a complainer, but it has NEVER been this bad. I feel that I am constantly yelling at one kid or another. My 17 year old niece, Ashlee, is staying with us, and I am convinced that after staying with us she will be going home really appreciating her own family! Poor girl, I don't know how she can deal with us! Anyways, the part that is overwhelming is the tattling. The kids tattle when someone does something not to them, but to another kid. So, someone gave me the idea that everytime they are about to tattle, instead of telling me, to write it down. This morning I woke up to it....the yelling, the teasing, the chasing, the broken glass! I had had it. We went to the store and bought what we call "tattle journals". Our first day has not been exactly successful. Poor Charlie, who is one of the worst tattlers can't write yet. Luckily, Ashlee was his scribe and helped him out. George would freak out anytime anyone wrote anything about him. It was just one of those days....again! I admit it, I threw a tantrum and FREAKED out. Not a proud moment, but it is a quick fix for when I am at my whits end.....I think it scares the kids a little bit. At least it got Curtis to ask what he could do to help me out. Luckily I had to teach a Turbo Kick class and then train a client. It gave me time to recover a bit. I finally got home around 8:30. I announce to Scott that I needed to take a short break as a mother, and he got to do kid duty tonight! After showering and eating, I finally sat down. The boys brought me their journals. I've always had a good idea of how these kids treat one another, but now I have written proof. George is not the easiest sibling to get along with, but I don't blame him when his two older brothers gang up on him. They are mean! So, I started reading their "tattle journals". Curtis's consisted mostly of George doing things to Charlie....only one thing George did to him. James's was the exact same. So, the rule is, you only write about offenses against you! The best was when I opened George's journal and it started with, "James is writing lies about me in his journal" . Poor George. I'm discovering that George is a very smart kid. I am also finding out that George freaks out a lot due to his older brothers's torture tactics. I don't know how great these "tattle journals" will be, but it at least gave me a good laugh at the end of a stressful day!