Domestically Challenged

Just when I think I am making progress...

I get kicked in the teeth. Tonight I had a brilliant plan. Mornings have been the bane of my existance, so I have been trying to brainstorm a way to survive them without all the yelling and tears.
So. My plan. Gum seems to motivate my daughter, so in an effort to be different and effective, I decided to make a deal with the devil, I mean her. So I got out the magazines, glue and scissors and we made a collage to remind her of what she needs to do each morning. Great idea, huh?
We made the collage, taped it ceremoniously to her door and she went to bed.
.............
About 15 ,@? Later my husband went into her room to check on her. He came back with a small wad of candy and a wrapper and told me that he had caught her with the candy in her mouth and the wrapper under her pillow.
To make it even better, we found our large bag of old Halloween candy stashed between her bed and the wall.
just when I think I am getting through to her.
We proceeded to tear her room apart and found raisins, an empty box of wheat thins and tons of candy wrappers. No wonder she wasn't sleeping at night.
This is the same kid who can't be left in the bathroom with a tube of toothpaste. Who can't stay in the bathroom for more than 3 minutes since she might put a role of tp down the toilet.
Please tell me I'm not the only one?!

So frustrated!

Right now I am so frustrated I want ti scream! Today was what we like to call an "off" day. I have several other names for it too, but that was the nicest.
When I took Crazyhair to the counselor last, we talked about the liklihood of oppositional defiance disorder. Um, yeah, you think?
Today just proves it. When we tried to redirect her behavior she took off running, much like the day she tried to lock herself in the bathroom when she needed to take her meds.
I love her to pieces but it is just so tough trying to survive days like this. Then I feel like a terrible mom for getting upset. I want to be patient but days like today make it sooooo difficult.
So, how do you cope?

I'll miss you, Spring Break

I hate the end of Spring Break. This break was particularly good, especially since my fab in-laws took my kids for the weekend. I did pretty good about not getting too anxious about it. We enjoyed the responsibility free weekend!

Tomorrow, I have to get my night owl butt out of bed 4 hours earlier than today. No prob, right?

An ADD mom moment

So, I'm sitting here an hour into basketball practice when I look over to the parking lot at my truck. With the drivers side door. Wide. Open.

I asked my darling daughter if she noticed the door and she said yes, ever so sweetly.

I love ADD.

Life is all about making tough decisions

Despite the fact that it's Spring Break (yay!) I have been pretty stressed out. Yesterday, I had a follow up appointment for my scoliosis.

I've had scoliosis since I was in high school, but didn't really pay it any attention until a few years ago when I noticed two things - 1. I was having more and more back pain and 2. I was getting shorter.

Funny as it sounds, getting shorter is what prompted me to finally go to the dr. That and the fact that I went in for a chest xray for pneumonia and the presiding doctor almost fell over when he saw my curve.

Suffice it to say, the curve has gotten much much worse. It actually makes my head spin to look at it and think that my spine is making letters of the alphabet. Well, yesterday I got the news that I had been dreading since I was first diagnosed - I was most likely going to need surgery.

I wasn't surprised, but I was bummed. The thought of having a rod strapped to my back is not appealing. This gave me a lot to think about.

Before this groundbreaking news, I was thinking about my eating style. For several months (maybe 7-8 total) I was eating a wheat and dairy free diet. I had had two different allergy tests, one saying I was allergic to wheat and dairy, one saying I wasn't. After a while, I swallowed my pride and tried eating leaving out the best two ingredients in the history of food.

It turns out, I felt significantly better. The last 2-3 months though, I have gotten completely away from this eating plan and I am really starting to notice the differences.

So, last night I decided to go back to eating without wheat and dairy. No more comfort eating. No more quick and easy eating. Now, I know that there are thousands of recipes out there for my types of allergies, but here's the catch - I don't have time.

I don't have the time to bake bread from scratch. I don't have time to create a crazy healthy meal made from exotic ingreadients. I commute one hour each way with my two ADHD kids. I have homework to do (which is a completely different experience with ADHD kiddos), baths to give and sleep to sneak in. I DON'T HAVE THE TIME to create this food.

So, I have made a decision to find easy ways to eat wheat and dairy free.

With the addition of the news about the back surgery, I also comtemplated how I could make it go easier. I decided (see what I mean, lots of decisions going on) that I will wait a year to do the surgery (provided the doctor says it's ok) and take the year to get in better physical condition.

In a previous life, I used to be in decent shape. With the recent health issues I have had, paired with kids and just life, the only shape I have right now is round. To combat this, I plan to do a year long fitness program to help me and my body get ready for surgery.

I'll update the plan here soon!

Yay! Spring Break!!!

It's finally here. Spring. Break.

It doesn't quite have the same meaning it had 10 years ago. Ten years ago, it meant a trip to Mexico to lay on the beach and buy cheap crap that was totally useless or heading up to camp when it was entirely too cold to be sleeping on a sheet (we didn't think we needed a sleeping bag, until we woke up and there was over an inch of ice in the back of the truck and we didn't sleep because we couldn't move cause it was too damn cold).

Now, it means not waking up to an alarm clock (besides the kids), getting time to clean my office (which, I am embarrassed to say, I haven't seen the floor of in ages).

Pathetic, huh?

The one good thing is that my inlaws are taking the kids for the final weekend. And the hubby and I get the house to ourselves for an ENTIRE WEEKEND!

Folks, this is something that has NEVER happened since we have had kids. You know what that means, right? Yup, we'll probably sit on the couch and veg out all weekend long. LOL.

I'm Baaaack!

Well, after a long break, I am going to try to get back into blogging. I plan to use this space to post helpful advice for moms in a variety of topics (including ADHD, working and stay at home moms and other mom type stuff).

If you have something you would like to have addressed, please drop me a line. Otherwise, please add me to your reader and look for helpful information soon!

Alana