And what the hell is THIS crap? - Blessed Homemaking

[Koala]

On children and sin: blessedhomemaking.com/2011/10/children-and-sin.html :shock:

Short version? Don't leave your children unattended w/ a bunch of candy grabbing sinners. YOUR roll (that's for you Kendal :D ) is to be your child's friend. :roll:

[anniebgood]

When I read the OP I had this vision in my head:

[Lainey]

But first, she puts on her ankle weights so she can think of it as a "marathon" cleaning session and not have to take a break. And I was all like, WTF, who takes a break in the middle of doing the dishes? It isn't that hard.

Er... :oops: *whispers* me

[nuri]

Er... :oops: *whispers* me

Same here. ADHD sometimes means I take multiple breaks while cleaning a room. Even in a single task. Otherwise, it'll never get done.

[Beeks]

Same here. ADHD sometimes means I take multiple breaks while cleaning a room. Even in a single task. Otherwise, it'll never get done.

Well what are you waiting for - try that GAP diet! ;)

[annalena]

I mean, I can somewhat relate. I hate all chores and housework because I am a control freak and always have to proof to myself I only do stuff when I REALLY want to do it. Which makes it exhausting, because obviously I am not thrilled to do the stuff and then have to work against myself.

I would happily live with a private housekeeper/chef. Very happily. I can imagine a lot nicer things to spend my time on that grocery shopping and cleaning.

[theologygeek]

Grocery shopping = Blech Shopping for anything else besides food = Heaven

I had to go grocery shopping yesterday and still haven't made it there yet.

[oscar]

Same here. ADHD sometimes means I take multiple breaks while cleaning a room. Even in a single task. Otherwise, it'll never get done.

I don't have ADHD, but I do have neurological issues that interfere with normal focus. Ankle weights, a filled backpack or a weighted lap blanket help me stay on task. If this woman has stumbled on a tool that helps her with sensory integration...well, it's nice that she's passing the tip along to others. But I am still not trying that GAPS diet.

[annalena]

Well what are you waiting for - try that GAP diet! ;)

Thought it was GASP. Or GAPS?

What is that all about, anyway?

[Beeks]

Thought it was GASP. Or GAPS?

What is that all about, anyway?

Yeah it is GAPS. I googled and this was my first click: gapsdiet.com/GAPS_Outline.html

Before mocking it too much I do have to say (and I'm sure I've said here before) that my son had various autism-like symptoms and he follows a special diet. It helped him IMMENSELY. A year ago he did not interact at all and had horrible bowel/digestion issues and was sick constantly (sometimes he'd only go a few days between illnesses). As soon as we removed the allergens from his diet he stopped getting sick, stopped having diarrhea and constipation and slowly lost almost all the symptoms of Autism. He's also had lots of early intervention and currently attends a theraputic pre-school, so I'm not saying it was all due to the diet, but at least the physical stuff seems to be cured by the diet (and he does still have issues and delays, so again, not saying he was magically cured or anything). I really don't fault anyone for trying a special diet if they have a child with these issues. What I don't like is telling everyone else that they need to try it too.

[nuri]

Well what are you waiting for - try that GAP diet! ;)

Been there, done diets, the focus goblin still comes and gobbles up my attention span at about 2. (hence why I am posting now...microbreaks at work!) :lol:

[Beeks]

Been there, done diets, the focus goblin still comes and gobbles up my attention span at about 2. (hence why I am posting now...microbreaks at work!) :lol:

I know lots of people who'd tried a million diets with their kids and seen no results. My own, totally unscientific opinion, is that sometimes "gut issues" or food allergies can cause symptoms that mimic the symptoms of autism or add, etc. In those cases, fixing the diet makes a big difference. But if there is a true neurological disorder then changing the diet will not have a big impact.

When we changed my son's diet, we were already aware of food allergies with him, so we simply tested for further allergies/intolerances (ones that don't cause such obvious allergic reactions - with the ones we already knew about he got hives and they were confirmed by skin tests) and removed those from his diet too. It just made sense for him. I don't think it makes sense for everyone.

[nuri]

I have seen, on occasion, a better/different diet improve a students "symptoms" of autism and adhd (quotation marks because I can't think of a better word), but never cure them or cut them out entirely. A friend put it best, a kid is going to do better when they feel better.

[oscar]

I know lots of people who'd tried a million diets with their kids and seen no results. My own, totally unscientific opinion, is that sometimes "gut issues" or food allergies can cause symptoms that mimic the symptoms of autism or add, etc. In those cases, fixing the diet makes a big difference. But if there is a true neurological disorder then changing the diet will not have a big impact.

When we changed my son's diet, we were already aware of food allergies with him, so we simply tested for further allergies/intolerances (ones that don't cause such obvious allergic reactions - with the ones we already knew about he got hives and they were confirmed by skin tests) and removed those from his diet too. It just made sense for him. I don't think it makes sense for everyone.

Moreover, if you're a kid on the autism spectrum whose ability to communicate is limited, and you are being given foods to which you are allergic or intolerant, you're going to feel like crap and be miserable, and that's likely to be reflected by your behaviour. When the offending foods are removed, there's a good chance some of the behavioural issues exacerbated by your discomfort will abate and you'll be able to engage more productively with the world around you. This could look a lot like, "This diet cured my child's autism."

[oscar]

nuri beat me to it and said it better!

[maybeizfundie]

Oh my.

I love grocery shopping. Or any shopping. :D Well, except the money part. I hate seeing prices go up from week to week.

Either she's depressed or agoraphobic or both, or she is trying way, way, waaaaayyyyyy too hard to add overwrought, overspiritualized overtones to everything she blogs about.

[CelticGoddess]

Awwwwwwwwwww! I feel all special now. My head...it's swelling up like a balloon! :mrgreen:

As for the blogger, I didn't read the blog. I was just going off the snippets you posted. If she actually thinks she can cure schizophrenia with healthy food, then she's an idiot. She might be a depressed idiot. But definitely an idiot. Maybe she's depressed because she's an idiot? :think:

And GAPS can cure austism, and dyspraxia (which is just clumsiness, according to her.) Oh but if it were so simple, we wouldn't have a homeless problem this country, y'all. We could cure all the schizophrenics, no parent would have an autistic child and dyspraxia and childhood clumsiness would be a a thing of the past.

[alba]

She writes about how mothers can "leave" the home by watching tv all day, gossiping on the phone, Facebooking or....

And all I could think was, "Bitch, please! You're writing whiny posts about grocery shopping and curing Autism with GAPS, writing horrible sixth grade poetry, and taking online surveys to get free appliances!"

Did you notice that the end of that entry had a link for subscribing by email? How does she expect mothers to stop becoming slaves to email and blogs if she encourages that vice?

To return to the OP, am I the only one who thought she had a really clunky writing style? Seriously, I think that annoyed me as much as anything else:

I must do the meal planning for my husband and children [...] There will be a lot of vegetables, meat, nuts, and bones to purchase. From these I will make several soups and other meals.

At first I thought it was just archaic, but it's more than that, it's almost deliberately awkward.

I made the mistake of investigating the blog further. The poem in this post is delightfully horrid: blessedhomemaking.com/2011/11/let-me-be-homemaker.html . There's no sense of meter or rhythm, just pathetic attempts at rhyming.

I'm going to stop snarking and attempt to form some legitimate criticism now. She posted an entry about women as homemakers (blessedhomemaking.com/2011/11/so-you-think-you-should-go-to-work.html). I agree with her comment that being a SAHM is a full-time, difficult job, and a woman shouldn't feel guilty about not contributing financially to the family if she and her husband have agreed that she will stay at home with the kids and he will work (though the same of course applies if the father is staying at home and the mother working). However, she's rather condescending in arguing that it is a woman's 'proper duty [to be] a wife, homemaker, and mother'. Not all women are cut out for specific careers, and motherhood, particularly stay-at-home-motherhood, is no different.

[MaroonMandy]

And GAPS can cure austism, and dyspraxia (which is just clumsiness, according to her.) Oh but if it were so simple, we wouldn't have a homeless problem this country, y'all. We could cure all the schizophrenics, no parent would have an autistic child and dyspraxia and childhood clumsiness would be a a thing of the past.

Umm...wow? :?

[Boltingmadonna]

Lainey, nuri, oscar--oops! My bad! I have been educated. I have my own quirks, definitely. The thing that bugs me about these bloggers is not that they have their own ways of doing things, which is totally okay with me, but that they all write about them as if it's God's own truth. They can't go "hey, I found I can work better if I wear my ankle weights." No, they have to make a whole THING about how it's all about making housekeeping a blessed experience because God loves a happy housekeeper even if she spends her spare time on the fainting couch soliciting attention. Anyway, putting down my fellow snarkers was not my intention, so please accept my apologies.

[dormouse]

I admit having dreaded grocery-shopping more than once. I live in a third-floor walk-up, I'm tiny and I have fibromyalgia, so carrying those 10-pounds bags of potatoes or 5-liter bags of milk is not fun. Right now, I have a good job so I just have groceries delivered, or go to Costco and take a cab home, but when I was working minimum wage or was unemployed, I couldn't afford delivery or cabs. And it seems like the cheapest stuff is always the heaviest (potatoes and other root veggies, flour, etc.)

But I would never, ever act like this blogger. I would find a solution. Either let go of a couple items to afford delivery, ask my MIL for a ride to Costco and use her membership card, or do one small trip per day to buy one or two items each time.

[oscar]

Boltingmadonna, no worries - I wasn't offended by anything you said, and it was thoughtful of you to come back and clarify what you meant.

[nuri]

Boltingmadonna, no worries - I wasn't offended by anything you said, and it was thoughtful of you to come back and clarify what you meant.

Yes! Thank you. I love the honesty in your statement, Bolting.

[synchroswimr]

I hate grocery shopping too. Fortunately, my husband volunteered (no, really, he did!) to do the shopping after work on Fridays. I update the Grocery Gadget app on my phone, it updates on his, and I make sure our reusable bags, veggie bags and bulk food tins are in the hall closet. Ta-Da! Groceries and my amazing husband appear around 6:30 pm on Friday!

[LilMissMetaphor]

She's like the depressed love child of Lina and Sarah Maxwell.