STRESSED

It has been a pretty rough month for our household. I'm not able to work at the moment, so we only have 1/2 the income we are used to. Nate is being walked all over at work, or that's how I see it. Every couple of weeks they are nice enough to give him a week off, unpaid. His checks are only approximately $30.00 to $50.00 per week. We're having a very hard time making ends meet. If it weren't for Gramma we would not be making ends meet now. It has been lovely getting to spend more time together as a family, but it is so taxing wondering if we are going to be able to make it the upcoming week. Thank goodness Trinity doesn't understand our situation enough to fret over it the way Nate and I are. I wish there was some way that we could stop worrying so much about the money issues. I fear that the stress is going to drive us apart. I do not want that! I've been stressing out more than I ever have in my life here recently. I have a severe case of cabin fever with no job to go to, so that ups my stress level even more. I'm also stressing out way too much over what might be wrong with me. I'm also stressing way to much over my brother staying with Nate and I. My daughter is sleeping with us, on a cot, or in her upstairs bedroom, because he has taken over her room down here. We have NO privacy. He has taken over Nate's x-box and our TV. He doesn't clean up his messes very often. He is supposed to be helping out with some household chores (i.e.: mowing the lawn, helping with the dishes, helping sweep and mop since I have a very hard time doing it, cleaning up after himself)but he hasn't done those in a long while. Nate gets so fed up, he just goes and does them himself, so he doesn't feel like smacking my brother for staying up all night on the x-box and then waking up and taking over the TV all day. He is making us stress out way too much! I guess, that's it for now. It does feel a little better getting some of these things off my chest, but now I fear that my brother will find this post and WWIII will break loose in my home. But maybe that is what will need to happen. I have tried to reason with him about his status here, about how it was only supposed to be a for a couple-few weeks and now it has been almost 3 months. He really doesn't have anywhere else to go, and he has no job, he is banking on getting SSI, but that is at least another 6 month wait- and I refuse to support him anymore. The only reason we've dealt with it this long is because the only way he will get to see his daughter is if he's here so Nate and I can help watch over her as well. My brother doesn't possess very good parenting skills. *sigh* So, while I love spending time with my niece, I am at my wits end trying to take care of her father because he would rather revert back to being a child rather than growing into the man he needs to be for himself , his daughter, and for my household's sanity.