Funny Christmas Story!

Ha ha, I forgot to pass this one along. Autumn got a scratch and sniff gift card for Christmas.  Casey got one with a picture of a snowmobile on it.

Autumn:  Cool Jenn smell this!

Me:  Wow, it smells like gingerbread.

Autumn: Yeah that's so cool!

Casey:  Hey mom, smell mine!

Me:  Ok? What does yours smell like?

Casey: (really excited) GAS!

My son the true snowmobiler! BA HA HA!! 

Happy New Year to all of you! I wish nothing but health and happiness for each and every one of you.  Let's all make our resolutions to remember to put ourselves "on the list". 

Wintery Play Date!

Oh, the dreaded play date.  My ADHD son can be quite a handful to say the least.  Here at home everyone gets it.  We all cut him slack when his meds have worn off, etc.  But, I do nothing but worry when he is invited over to a friend's house for a play date.  Oh, what are they going to think of my wild child?
Well, it just so happens that Casey was invited on a play date today.  He and his five friends spent almost the entire afternoon outside playing in the snow, snowboarding, tobogganing, running, jumping, yelling...  Yes, you read correctly, this crazy wonderful mom invited FIVE BOYS over two days before Christmas.  I happen to know also that of the six total boys, three of them have ADHD!  I understand the method to her madness though.  I have always found that the more kids that are over, the more they occupy and entertain each other.
I was very relieved when I arrived to pick Casey up to find that both boys were acting a little wild.  The other mom didn't even flinch.  (Do you hear my sigh of relief?)  I am so thankful for this mom today!  While Casey was gone, my hubby took the girls to town to pick up some last minute things.  I had the house to myself for FOUR HOURS!  I had myself a present wrapping marathon!  It's truly amazing what you can accomplish when you are alone for a little while.
To all of you who read my blog and celebrate Christmas:  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
To everyone else:  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
What ever your traditions are I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and find time to enjoy all your blessings.

Ever Considered?

I know that this is not really ADHD related, but I do believe that there is a thread that connects all of these ideas.  I was watching a show on TV today that was once again talking about the obesity epidemic.  The woman that was being interviewed struck me as depressed.  I wondered if any government group had ever done a study on the link between all of the financial cut backs that have been going on and on and on and the growing obesity concerns.  Here's how this came to me.  For years now all types of work places have been doing cut backs.  Everyone is trying to save money by forcing everyone to work harder.  Every one's job expectations have increased.  People in all lines of work are expected to take on more responsibility and complete more tasks with no increase in the amount of time they are given or amount of resources that are at their disposal.  To me this sounds like a great recipe for disaster.  Increasing stress has got to be playing a role in increased depression rates.  People who are depressed are likely to overeat comfort foods.  Yes, I realize that this is not true in all cases, but just today when I was reading blogs there were an awful lot of you who are self medicating your holiday stress with Christmas cookies ;)
Stress/depression and overeating are a vicious cycle.  The more you eat, the more you are angry with yourself, creating more stress and thereby more overeating.  This is not a new idea, but I wonder if it has been specifically linked to increased expectations in the workplace?
This also could be a contributing factor in my earlier theory about kids not playing outside as much.  Obese and depressed parents may be less engaged with their children, logically speaking.  Therefore, the children are playing outside less and actively engaged less with their parents.  This makes me think that children might also be allowed to fend for themselves more often, and not likely to make the best choices for themselves.
I wonder if the workplace cut backs are saving enough money to cover the increased costs in the medical and mental health systems??? 
Hmmmmm...

Christmas Don't Be Late!

Three ADHD kids during the Christmas season can be a little trying to say the least.  There is the natural impatience exuberance of all of my children impacted even further by the impending holidays.  Everything has to happen NOW!!! Because it's almost Christmas!!!  No matter how I try to explain that there is still time, it doesn't matter to them. 
Tomorrow is our last day of school until the holidays.  Thank goodness (lol, and I'm the teacher).  We are in need of some serious down time.  This time of year is too hectic.  For someone who has a hard time keeping on top of things (because of my own assumed ADHD), the Christmas season is the most stressful time of year.  I love that Christmas falls in the middle of the holiday this year.  That gives me a week at home before Christmas to finish getting everything in order.  However, for my kids this is an eternity of waiting!  Oh well, I will find lots of things for them to do to help them fill their time.  Hopefully we will get some fresh snow soon so they can continue on their giant snow fort.  I know that a lot of people have been getting tremendous amounts of snow lately, but it has been all around us.  We haven't had any serious snow for days, we haven't even had a single snow day yet.
So, in parting...
They can hardly stand the wait, please Christmas don't be late...

Tornado

I have my own personal tornadoes!  They live in my house.  They only create mini devastation everywhere they go.  I swear, living with three ADHD children is like living with a constant storm in my house that turns everything upside down every minute of the day!  Everywhere I go and everywhere I look is something that they have set down and not picked up again. 
A door open here, a paper dropped there...here a mess there a mess, everywhere a mess mess!  lol
Ha ha, just a fact of life in this house.  One small negative among many, many positives!  I love my storms!

Snow at Last!

I posted previously about how much my kids love to play outside!  Since all three of them have ADHD, it's really quite crucial to their existence (and my sanity).  However, fall in my little part of Canada can be so...gross!  Cold, rain, mud, and not very much fun to be had at all. 
Friday though brought just what I have been waiting for.  We got a foot of snow!!!  Call me crazy, but I love winter and so do my kids.  It gives the whole town a fresh clean start.  Everything looks more beautiful covered with snow.  Of course there is also the cozy sweaters, fireplaces, snuggles, hot chocolate, and SNOW to PLAY in! 
Now as you can imagine there can be a little bit of conflict in my house from time to time (can you hear my sarcasm?), but on Saturday all three of my outdoorsy kids played together without fighting!!!  They worked together to build a snow fort, on a grand scale.  Each of them have their own bedrooms, they were working on making beds and dressers.  They flattened down a driveway to make parking spots for their GT and sleds.  They even started on a deck with a BBQ! 
Talk about ADHDers being creative...keep the snow coming!