Posted on 07/26/2006 7:17:10 AM PDT by carlo3b
Sorry, but my children bore me to death!
by HELEN KIRWAN-TAYLOLR, Daily Mail 08:00am 26th July 2006It's the start of the summer holidays, when millions of mothers despair at how to entertain their children for the next six weeks. What none of them dare say is that they would rather their children were still at school or, frankly, anywhere else. Helen Kirwan-Taylor, a 42-year-old writer, lives in Notting Hill, West London, with her businessman husband Charles and their sons Constantin, 12, and Ivan, ten. Here, she argues provocatively that modern women must not be enslaved by their children.
The lies started when my eldest son was less than ten months old.
Invitations to attend a child's birthday party or, worse, a singalong session were met with the same refrain: 'I would love to but I just can't spare the time.'
The nanny was dispatched in my place, and almost always returned complaining that my son had been singled out for pitiful stares by the other mothers.
(snip) Kids are supposed to be fulfilling, life-changing, life-enhancing fun: why was my attitude towards them so different?While all my girlfriends were dropping important careers and occupying their afternoons with cake baking, I was begging the nanny to stay on, at least until she had read my two a bedtime story. What kind of mother hates reading bedtime stories? A bad mother, that's who, and a mother who is bored rigid by her children.
(snip) Am I a lazy, superficial person because I don't enjoy packing up their sports kit, or making their lunch, or sitting through coffee mornings with other mothers discussing how Mr Science (I can't remember most of the teachers' names) said such and such to Little Johnny and should we all complain to the headmaster.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Your kids must have a factory defect. Send them back and demand replacements that work right!
The scariest thing is this women has more than one child. One wasn't fulfilling, life-changing, life-enhancing fun enough, so I guess she thought if she had more than one they could work in shifts to entertain her.
Do you know how to make a basic roast sticky chicken? It is something to do when you're home all afternoon.
I am going to copy your list and work through that. Maybe we can come up with other ideas, too. I also make a nearly plain jane roll. I saw nearly, because I like to add honey. Would like to say how much, but I just add it until it looks right. Maybe 1/2 a cup. The only time I messed it up wasn't my fault, but the fault of the oven I used. I was so upset, because that batch was the best rising I have ever gotten out of a batch of rolls. I had fellows wanting to try them when they hadn't been cooked yet. The tops burned, but the inside was fine. They were later used for bread pudding.
I have 3 girls. I always wanted 5-6 children, but it just wasn't meant to be. You know every mother needs some alone time from time to time, but to not even want to spend time with your child is sorry. God bless you. :) It is so nice to know there are normal families out there. Sometimes you just have to wonder. :)
We happen to like the olive taste. One of my kids' favorite treats is to toast French bread on the corners of the grill and then dip it in olive oil while their daddy is doing the steaks. If no charcoal is burning, we toast the bread in the toaster and then go after the olive oil. And it's very healthy for you too!
My dad gave us a funny contraption that props the chicken up on end so that it stands in the roasting pan. Sort of like beer can chicken but without the can (my kids think that cooking a chicken sitting with a beer can up its poor bum is the funniest thing they have ever seen!)
I adore my children and they are growing up so fast. 4 girls, one boy and my oldest is 17. Seems like I just brought her home from the hospital and here she is, going to be a senior in high school. My youngest is 7 so I still get to enjoy a small childs' hugs and kisses that my older children think they are too mature for.
My husband would like to have more children but I just don't have the stamina anymore that you need for the really tiny ones. He'll have to wait for grandkids. :)
Simple:
There are two ways to do it. The overnight method and my way. Clean out a whole chicken, then rub it with garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika, etc. (I don't remember the original spice combo. this is what I use, plus whatever else I feel like). Fill the cavity with a chopped onion. You are supposed to put it in a ziploc bag overnight, but I oven set it on roast right away. The oven is 250 degrees for five hours. The first half hour and approx. every 15 minutes after, baste the chicken. You can make more than one at a time and have something quick to make on busy nights.
Yum! I love onion! Guess we'll give it a try tonight!
Here is the original recipe: http://snider.mardox.com/Chicken5.html#stickychicken
You know, I was reading some of the commentary at the articles origin and looked at this line again. It reminded me of one of the last arguments I had with my mom. We have no contact for other reasons (a lot to do with my children's physical and emotional safety). But, I remember my mother being miserable when I was a kid. She was more interested in her soaps, than in me. I admit I will take "me time", but I am around my children a lot.
But that line reminded of my mom telling me what a wonderful mother she was. After years of holding my tongue I told her my thoughts. She went on about, "Didn't I do enough for you? You had shelter. You had clothes. You had food." Yes, she has told me she loves me and needs me. Usually when she wants something.
Being there emotionally counts for so much more in the long run.
My youngest goes to kindergarten this year. :( I have been so teary lately. I would love to have more too, but oh well.
Like most problems, the observer sometimes sees so much more than the participants, and this may be the most problematic undercurrent that I've observed, a great deal of special attention from dad.. For some reason, an unspoken rivalry develops between mom and daughter that is palpable, and painfully real. It's a conflict that develops almost from birth, a kind of, can I say jealousy, one that is usually celebrated, and exacerbated by the receiving dad.. It starts as a cute, "daddy's girl" thing, just a joke that festers into something more somewhere along the way..
It may have some components that women understand more than a guy does, but I have witnessed it more than I like, and have been disappointed by the outcome in my own life.. I have never seen anything like it between mom and son, or son and dad, or even son and sister.. That said I don't think you can say it has anything to do with being tied down because of the new offspring, or that two women can share a man, because it appears to be only one daughter, not girls in general.. I offer no solutions only observations I may have had a unique experience, so take it with a grain of salt.. Wow, I have always wanted to get that off my chest.. I feel better, I hope it can help.. :)
Thanks! As I said, there are so many other issues that I don't want to go into on an open forum. I really was worried about having a daughter, since I thought not getting along was normal. Except for times when she talks too much or when she doesn't pay attention (which can be said for my boys, too) we get along swimmingly. She's my little shadow. In fact, we have play arguments about who's prettier at least once a month: "You're prettier." "No. You are." "Trust me. You're prettier." "You're prettier." , etc., etc.
Well, when I was stationed at Twenty-nine Palms, I learned to cook on an iron (turned upside down in a shoe box).
Her kids will make some therapist very wealthy.
I figure a microwave will do anything but saute -- and all freshmen are on the meal plan for the first semester. I've eaten a meal in the college cafeteria and in the pickup deli in the student union, and I was surprised at how good the food is. This is a small college, and they pride themselves on their cooking (and on their in-house laundry - one of the few colleges left that provides a laundry service).
As long as she has the microwave for occasional snacks, plus her trusty Russell Hobbs teakettle for tea, hot chocolate, and ramen noodles, she should be o.k.
The only problem with that is that college life is a good transition to adulthood - where you are on your own in a sense, but still have a safety net and parents paying (most of) the bills.
When I was in school I could live off campus (3 miles away) and eat at restaurants for 2/3 the cost of the dorms. Since I cooked my own food I saved more. Your daughter might try that after her first year.
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