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countrymom
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| Posted: Dec 07 2015 at 12:40pm | IP Logged
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Managers of their Homes, Mothers rule of Life....
has anyone successfully implemented these strategies into their homes?
Baby is 6 months and i feel most days like I am spinning my wheels. Life just goes as it pleases most days and I feel like I have no control over my home. Something has got to give!
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: Dec 07 2015 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
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I got MROL and enjoyed it and wished that could be my life but for my family WAY to much structure. MOTH, was a similar disappointment for me. However, from each of these I did get a few "nuggets" that I implemented....my kids are teens and I am still spinning my wheels and life is doing its own thing  My prayer every morning, and I have been doing it since the kids were infants, is for the Lord to bring me to the things I NEED to do this day, and for his help to forget the rest...
Hang in there, and honestly, enjoy these times...they are not little for long....really!!! Bare minimum: clean-ish bathrooms and kitchen, decent food, clean clothes and lots of love! 
And if all you do is hold a fussy baby all day....and throw food at the other kids....so be it! God's got you!!
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Anne, married to dh 16 years!, ds,(97), Little One (02), and dd (02).
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 07 2015 at 2:30pm | IP Logged
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Anne is soooo right. A great deal of life is spinning wheels and things never quite getting finished.. but that's ok.
MROL is much nicer deal with for adapting the structure. I know because I wasn't repelled by it and too much structure like MOTH is impossible for me.. it's not the way I function. But if you remember that MROL is just how *she* does it.. and you can change it up to what will work for you.
But with young kids mainly you're herding cats and playing catch up.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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countrymom
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| Posted: Dec 08 2015 at 7:21am | IP Logged
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This blog Large Families on Purposereally at the same time intrigues me as well as makes me terribly depressed and feeling like I am navigating a sinking ship. Part of me really wants to put things like this into practice and then my natural self (meaning my wounded by original sin self!) just cannot commit to anything beyond a loose routine.
This lady is a protestant, so she does not even have the graces of the sacraments, and she seems to have it so together! Strong faith, daily academics, lovely organized tiny home, co-blogging husband, well dressed, disciplined children (10 of them and a set of twins!) and a positive attitude, not to mention a van that can haul all the children around.
And here I am with the graces of the sacrament, just trying to hold my head above water and be cheerful for the children so they don't run screaming the other way when they have the opportunity to have their own large family someday 
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 08 2015 at 9:18am | IP Logged
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OH don't compare your nitty gritty life to life on a blog.. it's sorta like being in love or being in love in a movie.. Real life isn't picture perfect. Different people are working on different things.. different sets of personalities make some things harder or easier. The thing is that your attitude will influence your children more than a picture perfect life. Love.. love for all the children and the blessings they are will influence your children on their future choices more than your housekeeping.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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CrunchyMom
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I agree that the home in Large Families on Purpose is inspiring, and I did spend a few days perusing her blog a while back trying to see just how she does it all. But have you read about her philosophies on infant care? It is very regimented. I am not trying to judge her or anyone else who parents this way--mommy wars are ridiculous, and we are all doing our best. But for me it does not seem natural or in the baby's best interest. It isn't like she does *everything.* There are lots of things I do that she doesn't, but our priorities are different. I won't bottle feed just so my house can be tidier, I won't expect my 4 month old to sleep 11 hours at a stretch at night, nor will I ever expect a young infant to only feed every 4 hours or view my ability to soothe my baby as something to be overcome. I do get tired and frustrated and make dry jokes about it to my husband or cry as I feel like all I do is nurse the little ones while the laundry and dishes pile up, but ultimately I make sacrifices in the efficiency of my home because I think it is better for my babies.
Her home is very pared down, which goes a long way to making it easy to maintain. This is great. I listened to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and I really wish I had been more diligent in getting rid of the excess and clutter before this pregnancy knocked me off my feet. BUT, in some ways, her home feels sterile to me. I don't see a lot of room in her home for independent learning. I like having lots of books for the kids to browse and explore, and that is kind of messy. In her home tour, I remember noticing an absence of books. Of course, many people regularly use the library and are able to keep their home library at a minimum, but again, it is a matter of priorities and choices.
She also uses school in a box style programs and is very check box oriented. Again, nothing wrong with this morally, but it is a method that is neat and tidy and feels constrained to me.
She is VERY organized, and I think there is a lot of nuggets that can be gained from her experience, but I am not her, and I'd wager you aren't either. I know we do better with routines in general, but implementing a MOTH style schedule would really crush my spirit, not bring me joy.
Sarah Mackenzie just reshared one of her posts from last year about loop scheduling for task management. It is more my speed, and I think I could benefit from implementing some of her ideas without feeling stifled.
Another post I have revisited over the years, specifically related to Mother's Rule of Life, is this one by Jennifer Fulwiler. She speaks of the rule followed by the Missionaries of Charity and how she applied it to her own efforts to make a family rule for herself.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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countrymom
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| Posted: Dec 08 2015 at 10:07am | IP Logged
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thank you so much for these links Crunchymom and to all the ladies who responded. I just desire some sort of order, but perfect monastic order is not what my family is cut out for It is so appealing to me, and if I did not have all these children, it is probably what my life would look like!
You are right, I do lots of things that a life in a tidy suburban home does not include. Chickens, pigs, steers and all the mud and boots and aprons and etc that goes along with it! And my big huge hairy German Shepherd dog...myddy paws and hair everywhere! also, we LOVE art, and I am not talking art class, I am talking full art area corner in the basement where the children can do what they please. That equals MESS.
I could never have a schedule for the baby, it seems so wrong to me. I guess if it works for you that is good, and they must do something like that in orphanages....
You would think after 19 years of mothering, I would not be second guessing myself this far into the game. But I still do! I still get so discouraged and feel like I am the biggest homeschool Catholic mom poser on the planet.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 08 2015 at 10:11am | IP Logged
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So I went and found an old post of mine about MROL.. I hadn't read it recently but I remembering liking it and not using the full scheduling.. so I found an old post and this is what I said. I think you might find it a helpful book.
Quote:
Definatley read A Mother's Rule of Life. I personally wasn't looking for someone to make a schedule for me. So I read it and skipped the chapters on the actual scheduling. And found the book really wonderful in helping me think about things. One of the biggest things for me was that I could use larger blocks of time in a schedule instead of scheduling each individual school subject for instance. I could just block out the parts of the day for "school".. and then within that time have a list of things we'd do. But then I didn't feel trapped or like to pull out my hair figuring out if we needed 20 minutes or 30 minutes for math and which subjects would fit into one of the blocks etc.
So anyway.. I'd read it skipping the chapters on the specific scheduling.. let yourself think over the ideas, figure out some priorities etc. And then if you still want help on the actual scheduling go back and look at it. That way you'll feel less trapped into following the schedule her way.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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JodieLyn
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I also want to suggest one other book. Not because I think you're ADD but because I found a lot of information in the book that isn't mentioned elsewhere. It talks about different ways to organize and different things that work for different people. Like if you're visual having things put away in a file or drawer means it's truly "out of sight out of mind". So I think some of the ideas had a lot of merit whether or not you're ADD. ADD Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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countrymom
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her" Daily Schedule for the Missionaries of Charity…If I Had Created It"
made me laugh so hard, I had tears in my eyes. Actually the whole post was SO ME! Her day she had that made her crack was like my day monday 
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Erin
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countrymom wrote:
| Part of me really wants to put things like this into practice and then my natural self (meaning my wounded by original sin self!) just cannot commit to anything beyond a loose routine. |
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Countrymom
I think right there is the key point for your search for what fits for you. Do not forget to take into account your own natural self, temperament, family temperament, family culture, unique situation, whilst you are searching for the right fit for you.
You can glean, you can be inspired (or not) but only one glass slipper is going to fit.
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: MOTH, MROL
