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Being the parent of an ADHD kid is really hard

especially when some people make you feel like you're insane-

that look at you like you must be a nutcase when you say
"something is not right with my child,"

a child they only see for a few hours at a time
so they know them better,

a child they never see lose it completely
so you must be exaggerating about how bad things are,

or that question your parenting when you have to enforce rules that they don't understand

or don't comprehend that they were made for a reason
or don't get that routine and bedtime are sacred words at our house for a reason
and sugar and such are given in limited quantities
because they open the gateway to tantrums-
like making them meltdowns on speed-
that are more severe for that ADHD kid
and create a funk it is difficult for him to shake
and that funk can last for days.
Imagine days of lacking impulse control and being wound so tight you might burst
and sometimes you do burst
and it involves sobbing and screaming for hours on end
and you just can't make it stop.
That's what a sugar high does for our ADHD child.
We know the cost of a sugar overload one night means at least 24 hours of hell at home. 

No parent wants to drug their child for ADHD,

but nothing we've tried has worked long term.
We're tried sticker charts, rewards, punishments, you name it.
Nothing curbs the hyperactivity and increases the impluse control like he needs it.

We tried Intuniv, which did nothing,

then Concerta, which made his face swell up twice its normal size,

then Vyvanse which gave him migraines and diarrea,

and finally Focalin XR that worked like a charm for school,

but turned him into an emotional mess at home-

complete with fits of anger, crying, and yelling-

turning him into a child we didn't recognize.

We tried therapy and that was a fail,
and then it got so bad we took him off his meds in the middle of May.

Summer wasn't so bad-

we could actually keep our windows open

and not have to worry about the neighbors hearing him yell and scream

over things things like his brother looking at one of his toys

or he didn't like what we were having for dinner. 

He even tried new foods for the first time in forever.

It was nice to not have to walk on pins and needles for the first time in 18 months.

And then came the start of the school year and the return of rocket math.

He struggled to focus and after multiple tests could only finish half the questions

even after practicing, practicing, practicing.

Five times and he didn't progress.

The little voice said, "Maybe we should restart his meds."

And so we did. 

And he almost passed the next test. 

He was two shy of the twenty eight he needed.   

We made the right choice for him academically,

but at what cost to us and our family?

Tonight we had macaroni and cheese for dinner-

macaroni and cheese that looked different so he wouldn't try it

and it brought on a meltdown

complete with yelling so loud we had to close the windows.

Again.

Like before.

And now we have to call the doctor again
and hope the doctor will finally prescribe the right med,

the one that will work for our child,

that won't turn him into a person we don't recognize.

First Day of School

Today was a big day for our little guy.  Gav is officially an Eastwood Wildcat kindergartner.  Both boys bounced out of bed and were very excited for their first day.  While it makes me sad I can't take them on their first day of school, I am happy David can.  There are so many things moms get to do and it is nice he has this one thing to do with the boys that is all his.  (Okay, it also saves me from crying like a baby, who am I kidding?!)

Last night was Gav's Ice Cream Social and he was able to meet his teacher and classmates.  She had them go through various procedures so they would know what to expect today.  That definitely helped Gav a lot.  He was so worried about the things like where to put his bag, etc. and the practice helped alleviate many of his fears.  We also found Owen's locker and Gav got to show it to Owen today.  Talk about making him feel important!

David said both boys did a great job getting ready and to their classes.  Gav and David dropped Owen off first, then headed to Gav's class.  David was expecting Gav to be a little more reluctant about him leaving.  I think he may have been disappointed because Gav was fine!  The boy that sits next to him lives a few houses away and introduced himself.  Gav said he told the girl next to him that she'd be ok after her mom left and she cried.  He's our compassionate kid for sure!  I guess they also watched a video on bullying and he recapped it word for word.  We had a nice conversation about bullying and it put a lot of his fears to rest.  Owen was bullied in kindergartner and Gav was so worried he would be as well.  Tomorrow will be another first for Gav: riding the school bus. 

Owen's teacher is actually someone I've known since high school.  She's pretty amazing and O is so excited to have her.  We are so blessed he's had all wonderful teachers and that he loves learning.  Today he told me he was so glad to be back at school so he could learn more and earn college scholarships.  Talk about a kid that makes his momma proud!

I will say it was very odd to actually drive to work solo today.  I've been driving the Mommy Taxi to drop a kid off for almost eight years!  It was so quiet in the car with no little voices chattering away. 

They were so excited about their new LL Bean backpacks
with their names and matching lunch bags. 

Our second grader!

Gav outside school

Gav getting his bell work started

Second Camping Experience Part 2: Having Some Fun

After the drama of getting our tent site, we were ready for some playtime with the boys and went to explore.  Of course, they needed a picture in the Yogi cutout and in his basket. 



I was really bummed David wouldn't climb in.  He is such a party pooper sometimes. 

We then headed tot he playground.  This is the only almost nonblurry picture I have of the boys.  I'm still learning how to use my new camera, sigh.  Anywho, Owen loved going on the zipline like thing from one side of the playset to the other.  If he stopped at any point, David would pretend he was going to tickle him and O would wiggle and scoot himself the rest of the way across.  His giggles are the best. 
 

After playing for a a bit, we decided to go back to the site and hang out.  While we did that, Owen worked on a new page in his Writer's Notebook.  His first grade teacher Mrs. Warnock would be so proud that he's continued writing all summer long!  He wrote four stories while we were gone.  (Love that kid!) Gav thinks his big brother is the best author ever.   

Next up: Mini Golf with the Two Cheaters.

Second Camping Experience Part 1: Don't Feed the Skunks

You'll note one the the badges on my blog basically says don't make me mad, or I'll blog about you.  Too bad the guy I'm going to write about today didn't know that.  Actually, even if he did know, I bet he wouldn't have cared.   

We had our second family comping experience last weekend at the Jellystone in Portage, Indiana.  We loaded the Mommy Mobile up with all our supplies and arrived at 2:00 their time, as they are an hour behind us.  (Which is really stupid if you ask me.  We're in the same state!)   We got all checked in and followed the map to our site.  This is what greeted us:



At this point, I texted my sister in law and said maybe I'm not a camping kind of person afterall and was about to cry.   Apparently, the previous site tenant figured the check out time wasn't really a set time, and he could just stay until he wanted to leave.  Around the site, there were at least four dozen empty beer cans, a ton of trash (as you can see), a tent, food remnants, some fishing poles, and some bait.  A few minutes later, the tenant rolled up in his car (spray painted black) and was sporting what looked like a very fresh black eye and he and his friends were all slurring their words.  Needless to say, I was glad we'd called the main office prior to their arrival and they sent an employee out to supervise the clean up efforts. 

While cleaning up the tenant kept saying that he'd paid good money for him and 13 of his friends to camp in this tent:

Now, that I'd have paid money to see.  I had a tent like that in high school, and it was cramped with just two people and their sleeping bags in it!  I can't imagine how you'd fit 14 people, especially since the tenant and his friends weren't small men, but whatever.

His last parting words were that he'd fed a skunk a package of hot dogs the night before and that kept it occupied.  Um, obviously, the guy with "handie man" spelled wrong in spray paint on his car didn't realize you aren't supposed to feed wildlife if you want them to stay away.  Clearly, he was absent that day in Boy Scouts or they just didn't cover it as well as we did in Girl Scouts.  As he left, the camp employee sighed and said, "Don't feed any animals," just to be sure we knew it was a bad idea or couldn't read the camp rules that said exactly that.

The people on the site next to us didn't speak any English, but I'm pretty sure their looks said "Thank goodness you people came, because we couldn't deal with Handie Man and his friends another night."  What mattered most was that the boys were still excited about camping.  We managed to get our tent set up in record time and then went off to explore.  More on that later!
 

The boys outside our tent- that probably could fit 14!



Dreams

I love listening to the boys chatter about what they think the future holds for them. Today, they had quite the conversation in the back of the Mom Mobile. These are their plans.


1. They will both get married to pretty girls after they finish college.

2. Gavin will have three kids and they will be boys. He’s going to name them TRex, Mickey, and Gavin.

3. Owen will also have three kids and there will be two boys and one girl. He’s going to name them Owen Christopher Junior, Gavin Russell, and Elizabeth.

4. They will live in identical houses, only Gav’s will be green and Owen’s will be red. And yes, they will be next door neighbors.

5. They will both work at Disney World, but Gav will also be a stay at home dad and change all the babies diapers. (Yes, he said that!)

6. On days when Gav rides his bike to work, he will let Owen drive his Lamborghini as long as he doesn’t drive it too fast or crash it.

7. Because they have so many children, they are going to take the Wii and DSs with them when they move out so the kids have something to do. I asked how they planned to share the Wii and they are going to have a game room that connects their houses.

8. I also get to retire and live in Orlando. I get to babysit so they can go on romantic dates with their wives to drink wine, “because all moms like wine.”

9. Because David likes snow, he gets to stay at our house in Indiana and visit whenever he wants.  He also has to teach them how to beat all the Wii games so their kids think they are cool.

Cat Toys

Princess Lilly Squirt Stine is our very spoiled cat.  She was born March 23rd to Gavin's preschool teacher's cat.  Mrs. Williams mentioned her cat was in the family way and Gav was relentless asking if we could have one.  I'm a cat person, but David definitely is NOT.  I told Gav he had to convince his dad.  Suffice to say, Gav worked his magic and we brought Squirt home when she was eight weeks old. 

Squirt's a sweet little grey tiger kitty and I'm fairly certain she is equal parts cat, goat, and dog.  She listens as well as most cats (not at all).  She will eat dog food and dog bones if Alfie will share.  She will also chew through plastic, cardboard, and paper if she thinks there is a treat on the other side just like a goat.  She will eat lettuce, cake, and even mac and cheese (I'm guessing goats will eat these things; I know dogs will).  

Squirt is also not lacking in the toy department.  She has mice galore, even more balls and feathers to play with, plus two climbing things she prances around, over, and under.  She even has her own blanket and bed (something I would have liked after a certain seven year old invaded our bed during last night's storm).  I think she's living the good life, but apparently, she feels she needs more toys.

Squirt is pretty smart and figured out how to open my bathroom drawers.  She likes to climb through the bottom one and hide behind it in the cabinet to sleep.  I guess if I had two little boys always trying to pick me up when I'm sleeping, I might hide out as well.  Anyhow, she decided this week she just wasn't content with her toys, so she decided to find her own...  in the form of a tampon.  Yep, I kept them in the drawer she liked to hide behind.  (Notice the use of past tense.  They have a new home, thank you very much!)  And no, she wasn't content just batting them around the bathroom in their wrappers.  She figured out, with her goat like skills, how to unwrap them and then started hiding them in places like her bed or behind the toilet for me to find them.  LOVELY!

Being the smart owner I am, I moved the box.  Being the smarter cat, she had a secret stash hidden away and was just waiting to one up me.  How do I know?  Thursday, I heard a knock on the kitchen door.  There stood a delivery man with a much amused look on his face.  The dog and cat lounged in front of the door like they were going to attack at any minute, so I thought he was amused by them.  I opened the door and grabbed the package, just as he said, "Nice mice."  At that point I looked down and instantly turned red.  Yep, Squirt had decided to share her tampon toys with the dog and they each had one hanging out of their mouths.  Can you say horrified?!?  I don't think I will open the door for another delivery man again!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you, like many gardeners, have a ton of zucchinis to use, this is an excellent recipe.  It sneaks the veggie into cookies!  I grew up eating them thanks to my mom.  Now I make them for my sons.  They love them! 

1 cup shortening (I use the Crisco butter kind)

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 tsp salt

4 cups flour

1 cup chocolate chips (or more… I like more.)

Mix all items before the flour together well. I just dump everything into my Kitchenmaid stand mixer. Then gradually add flour until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom. Usually, my first batch takes a little longer, but then I'm able to make my last batches in the 10 minutes.  Because the cookies are very moist, wait until they cool completely before putting in your container on a cooling rack.  You may also want to separate layers with parchment and toss a piece of bread in to keep them from drying out. 

If you shred your zucchinis ahead of time, you can freeze or store them in the fridge, but be sure to drain the liquid off before adding it to the mix.  I usually freeze mine in two cup increments as that makes making the cookies easier for me.
 
Enjoy! 

Cousins!

Yesterday was a big day for the Stine kiddos.  They got to see their dads in their Uncle Steve's wedding, Addie got to be flower girl, and they gained an aunt. 

It was also a big day for me, because it was the first time the boys DIDN'T argue about dressing up!  Usually, wrestling them into anything I like causes WW3 and I just throw my hands up and say, "Whatever!"  I've been amazed lately by Owen's insistence on wearing polo shirts and then figured out he's trying to be like his dad as David's uniform for work is a polo.  

Anyhow, the kids all looked adorable in this humble mom and aunt's opinion. 

Outside our house, prewedding

Of course you have to have a silly pic

Gav, Owen, and Brenna while Addie was getting pics with the bride

Addie after walking down the aisle looking so serious

Rain Dance

My poor garden has taken a major beating this year.  The storm on July 11 left all of my tomato cages and every vegetable bent to the ground.  After doing a ton of staking, they seemed to do well.  Then this week's weather rolled around and it seemed like it was being baked under a boiling hot sun.  No matter how much I watered, it just didn't seem to be enough.  I knew it needed the kind of soaking only Mother Nature could provide and thankfully, she was happy enough to oblige.  She even let me finish my weeding before she sent the rain this afternoon. 

Right after it started to rain, the boys decided to do a Rain Dance in the drive.  It isn't often that it is 90 out and you can play in the rain!

Owen doing a combo run-skip-walk down the drive. 

Gav under the run off from the roof.

While blurry, I like this pic. 

Owen!

It has rained for about 60 minutes so far and is still coming down. I know my plants are happier. I know I am. I'm tired of dragging a garden hose around the yard!

Naptime!

I always thought it was interesting there are more crimes when it is hot out and I guess I can see why that is.  With the temp at 96 and it feeling like 110, Facebook is littered with moms talking about how their kids are driving them batty, people are posting grumpy statuses about how their significant other/friend/neighbor/et al is driving them insane.  Yep, after looking at these sorts of statuses, it is clear that when the temp goes up, tempers flare. 

Our house is no exception.  Owen has been grumpier than usual and has been taking his frustrations out Gavin.  That's making Gavin whiny and me just downright mad because I don't like whining and I like grumpy even less.  Our poor dog is ticked off at the world because he can't run around outside like usual and he can't go on as many car rides.  He gives me this look like I'm intentionally torturing him by keeping him inside.

So what's a mom to do when it is clear her whole family needs space?  She declares NAPTIME for all animals and children!

Gav fell asleep on the couch.  Don't be fooled by the sweet face.  

Alfie hid in his bed and kept giving me The Look. 

Owen was banished to his room and curled up on his bed.

And what did I do while they are all in their separate corners?  I read the newspaper and washed some dishes.  I even used the restroom without anyone banging on the door to tattle!  You know it has to be bad when you're celebrating a moment like that.  Still, I wouldn't trade this heat for anything!