Warning: anxiety frustration rant.
Well, eldest was supposed to go to school today but had so much anxiety overnight he hardly slept. I got up a few times overnight and he was awake almost every time, laying there worrying, trying to cope. He told me he feels like his world is all crumbling apart. We’ve moved him back to weekly sessions to try to help him cope. I feel so frustrated for him. Miniest was woken frequently during the night by all this and is exhausted this morning so staying at home too. I’m on the bus going to work and I feel kind of flat inside. When I was a kid my homelife was so shit that being bullied at school was an escape lol. I learnt to dissociate from a really young age. Nothing seems to be consistently working at the moment, and I feel like that mum in The Babadook.
Edit: Mr P got up , had a smoke and went back to bed after learning that he didn’t really have to take anyone anywhere or do anything, and I’m jealous of him. When I wasn’t working I had time to support everyone and the kids had no problems. I know it’s not my fault, having to go out and earn the family income, but it makes me feel hollow somehow and I feel like it is.
Good call on not forcing him to go. Just keep working with his mental health team, figuring this stuff out takes time as an adult I imagine its nearly impossible as kid.
Thanks Tiny.
Edit: you’re right about it being hard enough for adults let alone a child, I’ve known quite a few people who just never managed it and fell into substance abuse or alcoholism.
so many hugs
if possible throw as many household jobs Mr P’s way, even if it’s just organising the kids
Thanks Seagoon 💜
Mini will be okay, school is school and it isn’t the be all end all for his life. It sucks so bad that you’re holding them all together, and barely have time for yourself. You are amazing, kind, strong, and overall beautiful. You are doing great! You’re being an awesome mum! I’m sorry it’s all crazy at the moment, but your kids love you, and so do we!
Completely agree. You give a shit about your kids and your family, and from your posts here it sounds like you’re doing a bloody amazing job at keeping the show on the road in some trying circumstances.
I don’t have advice on how to make things better or easier, I’m still working out this parenting gig for myself and my son is only four-and-a-half going-on-thirty, but I know that you’ve got this, you rock.
Thanks mystic, I really appreciate the kind words. I read everyone’s responses quickly whilst shoveling my lunch down and it made me feel so positive and optimistic. Parenting is so hard, as you know, but when you manage to navigate through some choppy seas you feel like a king!
Aww thanks Spud! I think the mornings especially get to me sometimes, and feeling overwhelmed turns into feeling flat and defeated 😔 not a great way to bounce into the day!
It’s so hard when you just want to make it better for your kids and you can’t. It’s hard too when you don’t feel like you have consistent support from the people around you. But you’re more than doing your bit, and someone does have to bring home the bacon and keep a roof over heads but I get it, its the hardest job on earth and I see you.
Thanks Eagle, it’s nice to feel seen 😌
It sounds like Mr P is volunteering for impromptu homeschooling and childcare duties
Edit: Is it possible to get some of those Naplan math workbooks and the like so he isn’t falling behind? I dunno, taking the view that it might be a low pressure way for him to face the schoolwork at home on his own terms, and ease the shock when he goes back. You can also point at them as tangible proof you’re doing something
That’s a great idea, thanks Melba. I have seen those NAPLAN books around in the past but haven’t connected their presence to our current situation in a useful way 💡🙆🏼♀️
No worries, I hope it helps him keep his hand in without overwhelming him. They look expensive at Officeworks but a bit cheaper on Thrift Books. Perhaps you can find some old ones on Ebay, or free legal PDFs? Perhaps by getting past papers from tutoring sites or some such. I googled ‘naplan books pdf free legal’ and saw stuff like that but I’m not sure which are legit. There’s also ‘free study material for homeschooling australia’ to try.
If all else fails there used to be Educational™️ computer games. When I was little they used to be things like Math Blaster or Lost Secret Of The Rainforest but surely there’s something more modern.
Also seriously work together with the school and see if you can get some leeway on this (if you haven’t already) because unless he’s attending or being homeschooled there could be strife. Even if Mr P is feeling really unwell he could rest on the couch while Eldest works his way through something, and Eldest can get a reward for each completed page. (The reward heavily depends on his age.)
But even if Mr P can do that much definitely access social workers and/or respite care in any way you can, whether it be through the council, Human Services, or Peter Mac. Perhaps see if one of Miniest’s friends can sometimes have her over for sleepovers to give you and her a break. You’re going through some heavy stuff and nobody is meant to do this much alone.
You might also be eligible for help at home
Thanks Melba! I love how you do your research on a response. I’m lucky in that the school aren’t concerned about the academic side of things at all. Their focus is just to get him to the school at this stage. The student welfare person and his therapist came up with a plan where he’s just coming to school, having a chat with the wellbeing team member and then going home. They’re aiming for 3 days a week where he does this, at the moment. The goal is to successfully have him do this at least once before the school holidays, so they’re really prepared to take “baby steps” with it.
No worries. That’s so good that a low pressure way has been found to step back in
Just saw a car driving around with “#SackDanAndrews” written on the back lmao. Who’s gonna tell her?
Let me! Let meeee!
Go for your life! Even besides that she seemed to be off with the fairies. Was drifting like crazy through her lane…
Dan still living in her head
Rent free!
Happy WA Day, everyone!
Unfortunately, winter arrived in Perth this week and swamped out the city’s planned festival. Honestly, we’ve had showers every day since Tuesday, and the temperature has even dropped below 20° during daylight hours.
At least we have Monday off this week.
Im from WA originally. You reckon it will work to if I ask my boss for the day off to celebrate?
Please submit your birth certificate, a supporting letter from a WA resident, and an application fee of $200. Your application will be processed in three business days.
😭
they’re disrespecting your cultural heritage if they dont.
It’s a cultural holiday, your work ought to respect that lol
Happy WA Day to you too. 😊
Just a reminder that during covid, it was possible to eat well and healthily for a week for $75, with some snacks and non-essentials thrown in, too.
How long until we stop taking it up the arse?
they could at least use some lube of lower interest rates/rent/slowing imigration/boosting the building industry. Getting a bit sick of taking it raw.
That’s the thing. With food and housing we can’t really boycott or go without and it’s not always possible to go to a competitor (assuming one exists).
There was an inquiry and legal recommendations but good luck https://theconversation.com/yes-australias-big-supermarkets-have-been-price-gouging-but-fixing-the-problem-wont-be-easy-229602
Facebook marketplace update:
Was given a home address for pickup and discussed payment options and the when and how.
Was only about 500 metres out of my way to going home so it was easy.
Seller had the item ready and let me inspect it for any damage when I asked and I paid after I was satisfied with what I saw via Pay ID as discussed.
Have come home now and tested it and it’s working 100%.
Success!!!
Glad that worked out. Sounds like they were genuine as well.
One of the classic marketplace scams when you’re a seller is they say they want to buy, but want you to payid them money and they’ll send the difference back
The sounds weird as a scam and makes no sense.
I have seen the business account PayPal one floating around before as well.
Anyway I was the one buying so thankfully that wasn’t an issue. I was more worried about sending the money and they couldn’t confirm it.
Anyway I’m glad it all worked out well.
The classic one when you’re the seller is they say they’ll pay with PayID and their partner will pick it up.
Then they say they’re having complications with PayID and if you send them $1000 or so, they’ll send the difference back.
I think it’s a failure of the banks for not teaching people how PayID works properly so now it just gets exploited by scammers
dealing with a cunstomer who doesn’t understand what the fuck he’s supposed to be doing and rather than listen to someone who does know what they’re doing and can give them nice and easy instructions has decided to get belligerent.
Fuck I hate these ones.
Ah cuntstomers, the bane of any client/customer servicing role 🤢
I rarely get the outright cunt kind, I tend to do mostly back of house and either deal with likeminded techs, or people who know exactly how far out of their depth they are and trust what I’m doing. But this dude…oh I wanna jam a squirrel in him.
It’s a free country
Yeah but squirrels are hard to come by in this country
Yeah, but you could probably substitute a ring tail possum, plenty of those around
good lord. I did the usual laundry/ toilet / kitchen / dining Monday clean, then turned around and deep cleaned the kitchen / dining room including the microwave and oven, scrubbed the floors, steamopped, took a bunch of stuff to charity, did my half hour walk with weights, then made a bunch of macadamia and white chocolate chip cookies.
has someone been feeding me smack?
So I took a drive out to Pakey East yesterday. I’ll be honest, i was critical of the whole thing! You’re telling me you wanna live even FURTHER out than pakenham? But, honestly: the station was imperssive. And from the new estate you should be able to see the mountains in the distance… it actually looks kind of cool. Course the connecting roads are all dogshit, and there is no sign of a new school or woolies or whatever. From the 1 time I’ve been there I can say pakey deffo needs at least 1 more Aldi.
I drove out there to have a look this morning, too. I didn’t mind the station honestly, it’s definitely nicer than original Pakkie. Nobody’s bothered to update the roads or entrance on Google maps yet, so when you put it into the maps it tries to take you to the industrial area on the other side where there’s no entrance.
I don’t think there’s any plans to rename the station to whatever name is chosen as the name of the new suburb though. I would’ve thought they’d’ve picked a name before opening the new station, but I’m not a mathematician so I guess they know best
I think it IS just East Pakenham, isnt it? The industrial estate is very much just a part of Pakenham anyway.
The station is, but the naming commission rejected “Pakenham East” as a name
https://creating.cardinia.vic.gov.au/pakenham-east-precinct-naming
fair! Wouldnt really wanna use the name pakenham if you had the choice not too.
Argh!! Hung out with mates and played with their little one yesterday and now they found out she has head lice.
Do I need to get one of those combs thngos and do a check? Is there a good precaution treatment I can do? Parents of the DT help?
full wax
Haha. Not in winter!! It’s too cold
ffs, now I’m itchy.
Parent here and Miss Seagoon had very long hair.
Nothing works better than treating hair with chem warfare agents, treating all the bedding, doing lots of vacuuming
And having someone else carefully check your hair strand by strand. Yes, just like monkeys do.
Oh sorry. The psychosomatic itch is real! Thanks
Don’t panic. Dealing with headlice is a rite of passage for parents. Happens to all of us. If it’s any consolation, headlice prefer clean hair to dirty hair. There are no precautions that I know of other than living in a sealed bubble. Which isn’t living and the kids won’t learn much.
If you are unlucky enough to find them on the kids/pets/carpets, buy a fine tooth comb (try Chemists Warehouse or Kmart) and a biiiig bottle of cheap conditioner. Apply undiluted conditioner generously to dry hair to immobilise the lice, then comb out the nits & eggs. Rinse. Repeat the next day and again in a week’s time. Wash all bedding on hot or with bleach added and tumble dry. That includes pillows and doonas. Vacuum madly in all directions including the mattresses and curtains. Dispose of the vacuum dust in a sealed bag immediately. Treat your pets for lice too.
You may need to repeat all this a few times roughly a week apart depending on species and whether the kids are getting re-infected at playgroup or whatever. The idea is to get rid of all adult lice and then any eggs that hatch before they get old enough to lay more eggs. If you’ve still got them a month down the track, ring nurse on call or your gp for nasty chemical help.
There’s a few things you can do. Cover your hair in conditioner, get a fine tooth comb, comb the nape of your neck and wipe the comb on a tissue. Do this a few times. If you have lice, you’ll see it on the tissue. Move to other parts of your hair. Repeat in 7 days.
If you have a fringe it’s important to check there too.
Or you can use Quit nits
Cool thanks. I will do the comb thru first to see what’s what.
Yeah that’s it. Just do the first recommendation (its easier to do it in the bath). If you do find some then use the quit nits. Its very effective.
Mrs just text saying she thinks shes coming down with something. 5 minutes later I’ve got a sore throat. Ruh Roh!
you’re parents of a wee bairn, you’ll be tired so you catch stuff
hugs and get sleep
I only woke up once last night instead 4 or 5 times. So it’s worked. Didn’t realise how badly I needed a good night’s sleep.
same, I’m still sleepy tho
I got 13 hours which is crazy. Guess I needed it badly.
I don’t know what the official temperature is, but I don’t like it.
Breakfast 🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🫓🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙 🍗🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉🔋
Lots of beef and onion dumplings please
🥩🧅🥟🥟🥟🥟🥟🥟🥟🥟
Toast and vegemite please. And a cup of coffee.
🍞🍯☕️
Oof ouch owie. Just forked out quite a lot for Melbcat’s vet care. Thankfully I had emergency money saved. We’re now waiting on a test to come back to see what bacteria the uti is because she’s resistant to a few antibiotics now 😔 I wish I’d managed to get her in sooner
Poor melbcat. Fingers crossed it’s one that’s easily treated
I hope so too. She gets stubborn nasty ones and it doesn’t help that there was a delay 😢
Any ideas on how to get cat pee off a backpack? Washing machine? Or hose it down?
I’d put it in a pillow case and tie it with a rubber band and chuck it in the washing machine.
That’s an awesome idea!!! I never would have thought of that in a million years.
but hang it dry on a rack
