Happy Mother's Day!

Last weekend we celebrated Mother's Day here in the US and for us it was a beautiful day, if not just a little over-scheduled. Starting at 8am, I volunteered for a Mother's Day 5K and Christopher got to run in the Kids Fun Run. After that, we moved onto an hour and a half of soccer and then we went to a barbecue. On top of all that, it was a very hot day for New England--over 80 degrees. For those of you in hotter regions, that may not seem very warm but considering the below zero temps we had all winter, to us, 80 degrees feels like we've moved to the desert. We drank a lot of water and were dressed appropriately, which helped.

Christopher did okay behavior wise 75% of the time but when he did not do well, he was very very naughty. He was great at the 5K but wore himself out so by the time we got to soccer, he was melting down big time. The other parents don't understand our journey so they must really wonder what the heck is going on when Christopher just starts screaming I HATE YOU!!! at the top of his lungs and then tries to hit me repeatedly. I dragged him out of the game and sat him on the sidelines to try and get him to calm down, but with only limited success. I kept hoping he'd be able to pull it together but he was just too worn out. In retrospect, I should have just given him my phone and let him relax but I would test out putting him back into the game, which didn't work so well. He full on tackled some kid on the opposing team, which of course the parents didn't appreciate. Sometimes it's hard being the coach because I should have just taken him home after the 5K. But it is what it is and lesson learned.

After soccer, I did take him home for some quiet time so by the time we got to my friend's barbecue, Christopher was a LOT calmer. She even commented on how well he was doing. It was a small, quiet gathering with very healthy low carb foods so that helped. 

It was a long day with a few ups and downs but overall, we survived just fine. Even with all the challenges and the screaming and frustration though, I wouldn't give up my life for anything because I LOVE being a mom. I love Christopher for than anything on this Earth and am so glad I finally got this opportunity to become a mom. I'm sad for him that he had to endure so much pain and trauma before coming into my life but I'm so happy that I was able to take him away from all that and give him a happy, safe, healthy home. I just wish that all children could have a happy, loving home and that foster care could always be a stepping stone to a better life.

That said, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there and I hope you are feeling as truly blessed these days as I do.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last wrote. The holidays seriously flew by! Between a crazy busy work project that my team needed to complete by December 21st and my attempt to compete with Martha Stewart in all things holiday-inspired, I needed to prioritize my to-do list and blogging didn't make the cut unfortunately. I have missed sharing our story however and am happy to be baaaack!

This year I've been working on a high profile technology project that will be going live in a few weeks. We had a big deadline to meet right before Christmas so that meant some long days. There was one weekend that I worked until 1 in the morning after working until 11pm the week nights before that. I definitely burned the midnight oil there for a bit but am happy to report that the deadline has been met and life is going to be a lot quieter now going forward. Phew.

In addition to work, Christopher also celebrated his 7th birthday in early December and I threw him a fun little party at Fuddrucker's with 6 of his friends. I decided to get all Suzy Homemaker on the event and make my own birthday cake complete with fondant frosting. The theme was to be Minecraft and I found cake decorating ideas on Pinterest for inspiration

I spent way more money buying the cake pan, fondant and food dye than I would have if I just bought the kiddo an actual cake. And I definitely spent way more time (hours) making and constructing the cake. But in the end I loved the way it turned out. It's definitely not a professional looking cake but hey, I do the best I can.

Just as we were about to leave for the event though, I found out that I was not the only one who liked this cake. Apparently the dog liked it too. When I was in the other room organizing the goody bags to give out, Christopher started screaming. I come back into the kitchen only to find out that ... the dog has eaten the cake. The cake I labored over for hours! BAD DOG!!

People asked me afterwards if the dog got sick from all the sugar and chocolate and to that I say no but I did notice the next day he was pooping green. That freaked me out a bit until I remembered that he ate the kiddo's birthday cake. 

You'd think that I'd learn never to let my dog near treats again but I'm apparently a slow learner. A week later Christopher came home from school with a gingerbread house project that he made in his class. It was super cute and Christopher was so proud of it. I put it into the dining room and pulled the chairs away from the table, thinking that would keep the dog off the table since he's just a little guy. On that front, I was wrong because later on I discovered the gingerbread house on the floor and the dog, yep, eating it. BAD DOG!! Once again though he did not get sick. Lucky me since I certainly wouldn't have wanted to clean that mess up off of my rugs.

The kiddo was heartbroken so we went to Trader Joe's and got a new gingerbread house kit and invited his friend Grace to come over and have a gingerbread house baking party with us. It was fun and the latest creation turned out well. I finally learned to close the door to the dining room so the dog couldn't get in there but the down side to that is that now we can't see it unless we go into the dining room.

I also hosted friends for our annual fondue and cookie baking party. Once again, a super fun day! I made my usual Linzer cookies which turned out sooooo yummy.

Last but not least, I ran my favorite 5K right before Christmas, the Jingle Bell Run, which is a super fun time. Everyone dresses up for the race and afterwards it's a big party with food and drink. I got to see a bunch of running friends I haven't seen in eons and enjoyed the holiday attire as well.

Christmas finally arrived and Christopher who was completely wrapped up in the magic of the holidays, was thrilled with everything Santa brought him. He really enjoyed the day and I loved hosting with a tasty Christmas dinner as well.

After Christmas I finally had some down time and immediately once the adrenaline was gone so was my ability to fight off any sort of infection and I got sick. I've spent the last week battling a really nasty cold and ended up working from home two days earlier this week so I wouldn't get anyone else sick. Everyone I know is sick so it doesn't surprise me that I got sick too. Better now than when all those activities were happening at least.

Now that the holidays are over, Christopher's a lot calmer too, which helps. The kiddo was reeeally wound up all month and that made life a bit challenging. Now he's less stimulated and more relaxed and that makes my life infinitely easier.

So now that I made it through the crazy busy work project and a whirlwind of holiday activities, it's time to slow life down a bit. Later today I go to my friend Kate's house for a post-new year's get together and it will be nice to have someone other than me hosting for a bit. Let her clean her house top to bottom for a change! Haha. No but seriously it's been a great season even if I did go a bit over the top at times. I'm not sure that I would have changed anything if I had the chance to get a do-over so that clearly says something.

On that happy note, merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) and happy new year from the kiddo and myself!

Happy Halloween!

Happy belated Halloween to all my loyal followers! And a happy All Saints Day today.

This year, my little dude dressed up as the Minecraft Creeper and I was the Cat in the Hat. We got a fair amount of use out of these costumes this year too because there were just so many events to attend. On Monday we went trick or treating at Texas Roadhouse and then inside for dinner.They had little stations set up in the parking lot where you could get candy and coupons from area businesses. On Tuesday I had the Melrose Running Club Ghost Run (yes I washed my costume before wearing it again!) and then yesterday, Christopher could wear his costume to school where there was a costume parade featuring the Kindergarteners and first graders. O course after that, there was Halloween night trick or treating. Whew. Yeah I'm tired today.

It was no small feat getting this costume together for Christopher either. He really wanted to be the Minecraft Creeper but the head mask was an adult size and I knew that it would be too big. But he reeaally reeeaallly wanted it. And he promised that he would wear it all night (right) and begged me to buy it for him. So I did. After that, I went to Amazon to buy a Creeper-themed sweatshirt I saw. After I ordered it, I waited. And waited. And waited some more. On. Oct. 27 I finally sent the vendor an email asking, hey where's my sweatshirt? They wrote back saying it was out of stock. Um, seriously? When were you planning to tell me that the item I bought and paid for wasn't in fact going to arrive??? 

So at this point, I am scrambling for back up costumes. My friend loaned me her son's old cape and Batman costume but Christopher refused to wear either. He still wanted to be a Minecraft Creeper, big head and no sweatshirt be darned.

So all I could do at this point is get him some camouflage clothes (shirt and shorts), put the head mask on and call him Minecraft. It wasn't the most well-coordinated costume, considering the amount of time I put in. I went to Party City twice! But he was happy, so that's what really matters I guess.

Christopher loved his Minecraft head when we went trick or treating on Monday night and also for the costume parade at school. However trick or treating in the dark did not work so well last night. That head came off about 10 minutes into the night and guess who got to hold it the rest of the time? Yep...me. I decided to be a kind, generous mommy and give the kiddo my Cat in the Hat hat so that he was more costume-y. And thus, the Creeper in the Hat was borne.

For the last three years, we've gone to the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Boston for some of the country's best trick or treating. I mean, where else can you walk along cobblestone streets next to beautifully decorated homes while also getting candy from the wife and daughter of our current US Secretary of State? In the picture below, that's Teresa Heinz Kerry on the right (wife of Secretary of State John Kerry) handing out candy to kids. It is not the same experience from when I was a kid, that's for sure.

This year was great because (a) Halloween was on a Friday so today we get to chill out and recharge and (b) this was the first year that Christopher didn't get completely overstimulated and was able to control himself all evening. That was huge! The last two years I dealt with a kid who would try to run away constantly or who had some epic meltdowns, which would make us have to leave immediately. This year no such problem. We spent about two hours trick or treating among the throngs of people and then called it a night at 8:30.

The weather held off yesterday but today's pouring down rain thanks to a nor'easter coming for a quick visit to New England. That means we'll have a great reason to be lazy and do nothing all day today. After such a busy week, I have no complaints on that one either.

Happy Father's (and Single Mothers) Day!

I'd like to give a great big shout out to all those parents out there playing the role of dad in any way possible. That includes fathers, grandfathers, foster dads, dad-like role models and of course...the single mom who is both the mom and dad to her kids. Yeah...I'm patting myself on the back here.

Sometimes I worry that my kiddo is missing out because I'm a single mom and he doesn't have a dad in his life. Then I remember that he did once have a father in his life who beat his birth mother, got arrested and then abandoned his child. He knew his child was put into foster care and did absolutely nothing about it, all the while Christopher suffered. This "father" let his child suffer so much that the little guy has PTSD now because of it. Shame on you "dad".

One of the things I have had to struggle with on Christopher is his propensity to hit when he's angry or frustrated. We've been working on it a lot and he's become tons better. Last summer, he would eat something with sugar and artificial dye in it (Yoplait Gogurts and slushies were the worst), pick up a stick and in a zombie-like trance, start hitting any child within his reach. It was really creepy to watch actually and got him into lots of trouble. His nanny and he were escorted out of the Easton Children's Museum by an armed guard once because of this behavior. A therapist afterwards told me that the sugar/artificial dye combo were hitting his young, not-fully-developed brain in such a way as to trigger subconscious memories and he was just reliving behavior he had witnessed as a very young child. Armed with that scary information, I changed his diet the very next day. No more artificial dye...no way. It has made a huge difference.

I've also removed gluten and processed foods (ie anything that can break down into simple sugars), had him evaluated and treated by a behavioral pediatrician at Boston Children's Hospital and he continues to receive therapy through my advocating at school. I make sure my kid gets the help he needs to be happy and successful in life.

Lastly, I've started giving Christopher an allowance for doing chores around the house. He gets a dollar every Sunday if he picks up his toys, puts his dishes into the sink after each meal and puts his dirty clothes into the laundry basket. He will also lose 5 cents per episode whenever he hits his mama. Last week was a bit rough and he only got 45 cents but this week he did much better and he is going to receive his full dollar. I actually see him thinking about hitting before he does it and that's exactly what I'm trying to get him to do. He is learning to control himself now and that is a good thing.

If Christopher had stayed with his birth parents, he would have absolutely grown up to be an abuser of women. I have no doubt about that. But because he was removed from that environment at an early age and has received the appropriate guidance he needs, he will grow up to respect women.

So all that said, I don't feel at all guilty that Christopher doesn't have a dad here. His supposed father failed him so badly and this single mom has had to be the one to pick up the pieces. He's a happy kid now and that's what really matters.

Anyone can be a Father but it takes a very special person to be a daddy.

So Happy Father's Day to all you special daddies out there. Hope you all have a great day!

Memorial Day is for Freedom...and Family

Happy Memorial Day everyone! We are just back from a weekend visiting family that lives just a few hours away in the next state over. I brought the kiddo and the dog and made an adventure out of it as always. Lots of barking, yelling, running, jumping and the occasional sounds of fighting, crying and ultimately making up. Just another day in the life.

One of my nieces is getting married in a few months and so her engagement dinner was the motivation for our trip away. I'm glad that we had a reason to make the trip because I probably wouldn't have gone away otherwise and it was nice to see everyone.

It certainly didn't hurt that the weather was better than originally forecasted because we were able to spend both days on the beach. My kiddo played with my god-daughter and collected crabs and other critters in the water the entire time while her mom (one of my best friends from high school) and I relaxed on the warm sand. Occasionally my neurotic dog barked at passing seagulls but aside from that, the beach was pretty peaceful.

It got a lot crazier once we left the beach because the kids were over-tired, hungry and way over-stimulated. So that's when the yelling, fighting and crying started to kick in. I will say I went back to my brother's house each evening, happy for my bed, for these were some long, loud days. It was great to be at my brother's because he always had a glass of wine waiting for me too. Gotta love that.

I was nervous about how my kiddo would do at the engagement dinner last night because yesterday was such a long, busy day. I was afraid he'd get there and just melt down. Smart mama that I am though, I took him back to the house after the beach, got him showered and dressed and laid him down on the sofa for an hour-long nap. We were late for the dinner but I don't care because the kiddo was in good spirits and held it together for the entire evening. Not one complaint and yes that's rare. Especially after the day we had had so I definitely recommend sleep. Sleep is good.

Christopher always brings his Angry Bird toys with him wherever he goes and last night that worked out well because it was quite the ice breaker. All the cool kids wanted to be with Christopher and his Angry Birds.

I will say, I was beyond exhausted today and the 2-1/2 hour drive back home was a bit rough. We got back home mid-afternoon and I immediately climbed in bed for a nap while my little guy happily reunited with all his Angry Bird toys.

Now it's time for dinner and I could really use a trip to the grocery store but I really don't feel like I have it in me to pack up the kid (whining and crying because he hates shopping) and go out again. So maybe I'll just hold off till tomorrow...you know after a long day of work when we'll both be tired again. Ugh.

Happy Memorial Day all.

I Love Three Day Weekends

Happy Presidents Day everyone! Today is a three-day weekend for me and school vacation week for the kiddo. The downtime feels so nice.

It's funny how three-day weekends used to be times to plan short trips to visit friends and experience adventures within driveable locations. Now three-day weekends mean I can get everything done I need to get done without completely exhausting myself.

This past week was rough because we had not one but two snowstorms so in addition to my normal crazy schedule, I also had to add in longer commuting times and shoveling to my day.

For example, here was my last Thursday, when we got 4 inches of snow throughout the day:

• Woke up at 5:30am -- 15 minutes before the alarm
• Bundled up and took the dog out for a 15 minute walk
• Back at home got myself ready for work and the kiddo ready for school
• Drove the kiddo to school
• Commuted by train in the bitter cold into downtown Boston for work
• Put in a full day of work
• Commuted (slowly) back to our town
• Went grocery shopping
• Picked up the kiddo
• Came home and walked the dog
• Spent 45 minutes shoveling the driveway in the cold and dark
• Went back inside and made dinner
• Fed and bathed the kiddo
• Read books before bedtime then tucked the kiddo in 
• Bundled up one more time to take the dog out to do his thing
• Came home, put PJs on and climbed into bed
• Was asleep by 9:30

So yes you can see why this long weekend was so appreciated. I actually stayed in bed until 8am today! Sure the kiddo came in and tried to get me up at 6:45 and then again at 7:15 but I held firm and got that much needed rest regardless of his "pay attention to me" efforts.

Also, my house is actually clean enough where I'd feel comfortable letting an outsider come visit. It's not spotless by any means but I spent enough time sweeping, doing laundry, organizing and de-cluttering that I feel satisfied. For now at least.

I've already completed my grocery shopping for the week and make crock pot meals for lunch and dinner for the next several days. Even the dishes, pots and pans have been cleaned and the counter tops wiped so we're good to go there too.

And last but not least, the kiddo and I are having fun! On Saturday we went to a friend's house and played in the park, where we built a snow fort. 

Yesterday we went sledding. And today we will go ice skating on the Frog Pond. Fun times right?

So I am glad for the three-day weekend and I wish I could somehow manage working four days a week but unfortunately this mama has a mortgage and bills to pay. I think once it stops snowing every other day (literally) it will be easier to manage the routine. Apparently we're getting another storm tomorrow, which makes me kind of want to cry. But at least I will be well rested and it will be a shorter haul to next weekend. And the good news is that the weather's warming up to high 40s during the week and that will make life infinitely easier as well. Soooo looking forward to that!

What Birthdays are Like When You have an ADHD and Sensory Seeking Child

This past weekend we celebrated Christopher's birthday. His actual birth date is December 6th but with the craziness of the holidays, not to mention the fact that I waited too long to reserve a birthday site, we ended up celebrating the big day in January. I rented the therapy pool at the local YMCA and afterwards had pizza, cake and presents in the Big Room. Hey you only turn 6 once so I wanted Christopher to live large!

I don't really know any of Christopher's classmates so I thought this might be a great opportunity to meet the parents and maybe be able to set up some play dates for the future. So i decided to invite his entire class, plus the Kindergarteners in the before school and after school program. That means in addition to my friends and their kids, I had a guest list of 30 kids. That freaked me out a little because all those kids would come with at least one parent and possibly a sibling and the thought of 60+ people at our party was a little overwhelming to me.

What really happened was that hardly anyone RSVPed at first, so I actually started wondering if anyone was going to come at all. So of course that stressed me out. Ultimately we ended up with 10 kids plus their parents so in the end it was actually a really good sized group with some great people. But I was still receiving RSVPs once I had already arrived at the venue so they sure did leave me hanging.

Unfortunately for me, I have been battling a cold for the last week and I woke up the morning of the party feeling really lousy. I didn't want to get out of bed at all. So I didn't until 12:30, when I absolutely had to go shower. I had to make some semblance of an effort to look civilized after all.

Initially I wanted to go to the YMCA ahead of time to decorate the room but I just didn't have it in me. I did make it to the store to pick up Christopher's cake, which looked really awesome. He really does love Angry Birds so the party theme was pretty easy:

Christopher is normally gluten free and artificial dye free but I let him have a "normal" cake for the party because I thought, hey how much could it hurt? Plus he had two friends coming with nut allergies and I didn't want any allergic reactions and ambulance trips at our party. It's funny. You know your own child has a severe sensitivity to gluten and artificial dye but as the mom, you cater to the other kids' needs, even though you know it's going to be rough on your kiddo. And so with that in mind, I went with a marble cake and fun colorful icing. The kids loved it. Christopher was thrilled at the time.

Unfortunately for me, the fun times didn't last. We had about 1/3 of the cake left over and like an idiot I brought the rest home so Christopher could polish it off. Waste not, want not and all that. I figured when we got home from the party, he'd crash hard from all the activity but it was the exact opposite actually. He was bouncing off the walls. Meanwhile, I was the one exhausted but couldn't lie down because I had "play with me play with me play with me" on indefinite loop being yelled into my ear.

You'd think I would have learned my lesson and just tossed that dye-filled cake. But nooo I let Christopher have these "treats" all through he long weekend. And as a result, for the rest of the weekend, Christopher was extremely argumentative, aggressive and all sorts of tantrum-y. I literally couldn't wait to go back to work on Tuesday after a 3-day holiday weekend with the kiddo where he alternately yelled, screamed and defied, in addition to repeatedly telling me he hated me. I walked into work on Tuesday on the verge of tears.

What I've learned is that from now on, we have cupcakes with a butter cream frosting. I can add cake toppers to make them look special and if I absolutely need a fun color, I can buy organic natural dye on Amazon.

Thankfully for us, the majority of kids didn't come so the 10 kids that did show represented a great number. Christopher could handle 10 kids. 30 kids would definitely have been rough on my over-stimulated kid.

Thankfully I at least have great photos so hopefully with time I only remember the good and forget all about the bad with that darn cake. Here is a photo of Christopher's friends singing him happy birthday. He's not smiling because he's just soooo overstimulated here:

In the end, it was a mostly successful party and I am glad I had it at a venue that did the majority of the work for me. If I had had to clean my house and make all the food and organize the kids for a backyard party, I think I would have cried. I do recommend the YMCA as a party venue for the 6 year old crowd and would absolutely do it again, if I were to do the whole day over.

In a nutshell, this is what I learned throwing a 6th birthday party for my sensory seeking ADHD kiddo:

1. Make sure the venue isn't too overwhelming. I wouldn't recommend Chuckie Cheese's because it's just total sensory overload. Swimming worked well for my son because he finds the water very calming. But some kids with SPD issues cannot handle the sensation of water so well. Make sure you do what works best for your child.
2. If your child is normally gluten free, casein free, dye free, organic...whatever...make sure you stick with it at the party or else you risk a major meltdown. 
3. There are GREAT ideas on Pinterest for cakes for the ADHD and SPD kiddo with the special diet, so if you're looking for ideas, I suggest you try there
4. Cupcakes are a great idea if you need to accommodate gluten allergies and nut allergies. You could make one batch of cupcakes GFCF cupcakes and one batch of "regular". Make sure they all have butter cream frosting though so that the kids don't fight for the "cool colors". Also, make sure that the cupcakes are all correctly labeled so nobody accidentally ends up with the wrong type
5. Keep the guest list small. Too many attendees means you risk total sensory overload
6. Do what you can to limit overhead noise. If you don't need blaring music, don't have it
7. No candy! Unless you want to see a meltdown happen in 5...4....3....2....1...
8. The party should not be longer than two hours. Anything more and the kiddo would get overloaded

And that's my birthday experience for yet another year. Until next year...happy happy birthday Christopher!

2013: A Year in Review

2013...what a year it was. There were some amazing moments: Like camping with the family this summer, fun with friends and Christopher doing so well post diagnosis.

There were some seriously tough times this year though and I'm not sure I'd ever want to relive a year like that again. Let's just say 2013 was a difficult year to be a working single parent.

Starting off in January when my company had layoffs and we went through a major re-org. My department was hit hard and the rest of my work year was heavily impacted...not always in a good way. I have to admit it was a really exhausting experience having to do the job I was tasked to do this past year. Long hours and lots of stress all year long really wore me down.

Another thing that was tough to deal with was the fact that literally every piece of equipment I own this year decided to break at some point. I had Sears here for both my washer and my over the range microwave. I had to replace the microwave but the washer could be fixed...for now. The repairman said it will break permanently sometime soon though. My car had to go to the dealer not once but twice (an hour away) because the horn wouldn't stop blaring. I had to have AAA out because I drove over a nail and they replaced my tire. I replaced three broken blinds through the house. My boiler had a gas leak and I had to call National Grid, a plumber and an electrician to fix it. And two different plumbers have said I need a new hot water heater. All I can say to all this is...ka-ching. My savings seriously depleted this year. Big time.

Last but not definitely not least, my son's not-yet-diagnosed ADHD became much much worse over the course of the year. Summertime was the worst. His pre-school and therapy office closed its doors so he was missing a sense of structure and routine that he desperately needed. Thinking a nanny for the summer would be good, I spent a ton of $$$ to have someone with him all day at home. What a disastrous choice that turned out to be. On day 2 he threatened to kill her and I had to come home and deal with an hysterical woman I barely knew...and also have to figure out what to do with Christopher for the ret of the summer. I was able to beg her to stay but we had some seriously tough times after that. Like the day she called me in hysterics to say they had been escorted out of the Children's Museum by armed security because Christopher was attacking children with a stick. Sigh...that was definitely a low for us. I called my son's pediatrician after that and almost had him put into a special in-patient facility for analysis because I was so freaked out. I decided not to as I thought that would be too traumatic for him and decided to wait it out because his appointment with Children's Hospital would be in just a few weeks. Thankfully that was the right decision. But I have to admit I really felt over my head on that one.

But now onto the good news. All the broken items (except for the washer and the hot water heater) have been fixed. Christopher finally had his appointment with Children's Hospital and the medication the doctor put him on has done wonders. I mean wonders. Completely different kid and I am so relieved! With work, my huge 2013 project is starting to wind down to manageable levels and I'm not nearly so stressed anymore. Also I was able to get my DCF stipend reinstated and they actually back-filled it to the expiration date, so a sizable, incredibly helpful check came in right after Christmas. 

Also we just got a major snow storm here and so school has been closed the last two days. It stinks because it is SO cold out (zero degrees right now!) but the time home allowed me to spend time de-cluttering my spare bedroom, which had gotten seriously bad. Boxes and papers piled up everywhere! I put a bunch of stuff downstairs into the basement storage, threw out several garbage bags of broken toys and old papers and now my spare room can be used as a spare room again. It feels good to be starting the new year ahead of the curve.

And finally because I've been home the last few days, I've been able to catch up on sleep and it has felt SOOOOO good! I was exhausted all year. Literally...exhausted. The last few nights I got nine hours of sleep as opposed to the 5 or 6 I've had the last few months. I'm loving how I feel right now!

So that said, I'm starting 2014 feeling healthy, well rested and positive about the future. This is a great feeling and I hope I get to stay in this mindset for a really long time.

Happy new year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, happy holidays, joyeux noel and happy Kwanzaa!

We spent the last week out in Boulder, CO visiting extended family and it was a great time. After 12 hours of trains, planes and automobiles, we're back home in Boston, ready to start "real life" again tomorrow.

Christopher goes to YMCA vacation camp and I go back to work. Bah humbug. But hey, someone's gotta pay the mortgage, right?

The week away was really nice and it was great to see family. Everyone was incredibly generous with their gifts too: My sister got Christopher a Razor scooter and a cool helmet. She also bought me a cappuccino maker so now I can stop going to Starbucks and start enjoying tasty coffee drinks right in my own home. Nice right???

Christopher adored spending time with his auntie and with his two cousins, who are close to age with him. The up side was, the kids had a lot of fun playing together. The down side was, sometimes play turned into loud, screaming chaos.

With three kids ages 5, 6 and 7, all over-stimulated, over-sugared and not getting enough sleep, even the most well adjusted child will melt down. Try having a special needs kiddo with ADHD, ODD and PTSD and as you can imagine it all got a bit insane at times. Each day Christopher seemed to lose more impulse control and the defiance increased in frequency. We tried going out to dinner on our last night there and all the boys did was fight, which made we two moms ready to rip our hair out. I'm pretty sure the other patrons at Outback Steakhouse were happy when we were done and gone that evening. Thank you come again....not.

Then there's the travel. Christopher's actually a really good airline traveler--better than I am, if I am to be honest. I get so stressed that I'm going to be late and miss my flight or forget something important like my wallet or that I won't find parking in the economy lot, etc. etc. For some reason when we travel, Christopher's the calm one and I feel like the raving lunatic until I'm safely buckled into my seat. I joked with the woman next to me in the security line that I think it's the only time of year that I wish I had a Xanax prescription. (Kidding! Well sort of...)

Now the airlines also really do not make it easy to travel during the holidays. First, everything is just so unbelievably expensive. I don't even want to tell you what I paid for those tickets. On top of that, you get on the plane and they want to charge you for "premium seats", which frankly, don't seem all that premium-ish to me. If you want to watch DirectTV, it's $8.00 per TV screen per flight. So for us, just getting to Denver it would have been $32 if I had chosen that option ($64 round trip). No thank you! I loaded up the Kindle with movies and games for Christopher and I chose to read a book. Last but not least, no airline peanuts. If you want any sort of food, even a snack, you're now paying out of pocket for it and it's pretty crappy. Needless to say, we ate in the airport.

When I booked the flight, I couldn't select my seats yet. Fine. So I waited and went back to the site last week to select seats, only to find that most seats had been chosen and there were only some random singles left. So did that mean I wouldn't be sitting next to my young child for 4 hours? Pretty much. When I got to the airport, I tried to get the United people to help me, all to no avail. It was a full aircraft, nothing we can do, blah blah blah. Finally, I had to beg the nice man sitting next to Christopher to switch with me just so I could sit next to my young child. Thankfully he did, or else I would have had to pay for those "premium seats" to ensure Christopher didn't start screaming and crying without me there. Yeesh. Honestly, next time I fly out to Colorado, I'm flying JetBlue. United just kind of stunk. So not family friendly.

Now we're home, Christopher's asleep and I'm just about ready to call it a night myself. I hope all who read this has had a wonderful Christmas season themselves and I look forward to a momentous and enjoyable 2014 as well. Cheers!

Fun Run

Yesterday I had one of the best days I've had in a really long time. I got to run the Somerville Jingle Bell Run. I was slow as molasses because I haven't had the time to run in months but that doesn't matter. I had 30 full minutes all to myself so I could do something I love. It was awesome.

A group of friends and I dressed up in festive holiday attire and all ran the race together. My friend's husband watched the kiddos while the rest of us ran. He only had them for 30 minutes so it wasn't terribly taxing but still, it was amazing.

After the race was over, we went over to a restaurant in the neighborhood and had brunch together. Christopher played with the other kids and I got to enjoy some quality time with friends. Awesome day.

In 2014 I'm going to do my best to have more social fun times like this because I just felt SO good. Running is healthy and such a great stress reliever and the kiddo had fun too.

Happy Holidays everyone!

xoxo Jackie

Happy Birthday Christopher

“When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five, I was just alive.
But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever,
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.” 
― A.A. Milne, Now We Are Six

Today is my little man's 6th birthday and he is SO excited! He woke me up at 3:55am today, ready to start his day, wondering where his presents were. I, on the other hand, was not quite so ready to start my day so the little man was led back to bed and told to sleep. Then we both proceeded to oversleep, which meant running around crazed at 7am so the kiddo could make it to school on time.

Where are Christopher's presents right now? At the store because I haven't had the time to shop yet. I took today off from work and I'm going to go to Target in a bit and pick him up a bunch of Angry Birds toys. My sister did send him a present that arrived on Wednesday and I hid it in my closet so Christopher wouldn't see it. I know for a fact he would have sneaked in there and opened it when my back was turned otherwise. 

I told Christopher he was getting clothes for his birthday, which of course made him yell "NOOOO!" so hopefully he'll be pleasantly surprised when he actually gets toys.

His birthday party isn't until January 18th, which means he gets to enjoy quite the "perpetual birthday" this year. I rented the therapy pool at the YMCA and didn't realize you've got to rent it two months ahead, since it's so popular. I figured it's better to wait until after the holidays anyway, when life's a bit less insane. That's what I tell myself at least so I don't feel guilty about putting off his party for over a month.

I will take the kiddo out for a late lunch and then he'll come home and open his presents. Don't worry...this kid will still celebrate today.

Happy birthday Christopher! Mama loves you. xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm sitting here drinking coffee and listening to my little guy play Angry Birds Star Wars on my phone, all the while procrastinating on the holiday work I have ahead of me. So what better way to procrastinate than to wish all my Internet friends and family a very happy Thanksgiving. I hope the day treats you and your family well today.

I'm hoping this coffee kicks in soon because I've got a lot to do, with only a little sleep behind me. My kiddo was so excited to go see family today that he woke me up at 5:45, raring to go. This mama is also excited but doesn't have the benefit of being able to take a nap on the car ride ahead...like a certain 5 year old I know. I can't be upset with the kiddo though. How can you be upset with someone who's so thankful that he has family now that he wakes up super early? We should all be so thankful and grateful.

Okay so on that note, I'm off to make a huge salad, pack, clean up a little bit, feed the dog, put away two loads of laundry and after reading this list, make a second pot of coffee. I think I'm going to need it.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy Halloween!

I can't believe that Halloween has actually come and gone already. Where has the time gone???

My little guy wanted to dress up as Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. However, that particular costume cost $10 more than the generic pirate costume from Target. So I just told my kiddo that he was Jake and dressed him as a regular old pirate. He was comfortable, I was $10 richer and everyone was happy. Win-win all around.

Halloween's a tough holiday for a child with ADHD. The sugar and dye from the candy makes my son SO incredibly hyper. Plus the sights, sounds and flashing lights of the night totally sends him into sensory overload and he tends to start melting down. Plus, ADHD kids thrive on routine and this was a night that took us WAY off our normal routine. It can kinda be a recipe for disaster if you're not careful.

I discovered a couple of tips and tricks for a positive Halloween experience and I will share them with you here:

1. Start earlier, not later. My son really needs his sleep and if he gets to bed too late, it's ugly for him (and everyone else around him) the next day. So for that reason, we started trick or treating by 5:15 so we could be done on the early side. We were done by 7:15 and home in bed by 8:30.
2. If you sense your child is becoming overwhelmed, make that your cue to leave. My son started to melt down and at first I tried to pull him aside into an impromptu time out to calm him down. Yeah that didn't really work. There was way too much loud activity going on around us. When the whole trick or treating experience started to not be fun for him or me anymore, then we left and went home. It was a bummer because my friends and their kids were still out and about and I personally was having fun. But if your kid's miserable, you will soon be miserable as well. Sometimes you just have to recognize your child's limitations and accept that. I give him credit because he did last for two hours but when he was done...he was done.
3. Take advantage of the Switch Witch. I want my son to have the fun experience of trick or treating but I do not want him eating 10 lbs. of candy afterwards. The processed sugar and the artificial dye makes him go absolutely bonkers. And not in a good way. So we had a visit from the Switch Witch and that solved all our problems. The way the Switch Witch works is, your child leaves all their candy at the foot of their bed and overnight while they sleep, the Switch Witch comes in and switches your candy out for a requested toy. In our case, we got an Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Tie Fighter game. My son LOVES it and he's not running around insane, making me want to scream. Once again, win-win for everyone.

Even though we got home by 7:30 on Halloween night, my son was so incredibly over-stimulated that he was awake until 10pm that night. The next day was Friday and he managed to make it through the school day okay but by the time Saturday rolled around, he was pretty exhausted. So we've had a pretty low key weekend. Lots of napping. But hey at least we'll both be relaxed and well rested for the week ahead now.