The Secret In the Sauce

First, I heard about the ABC's yesterday: A - Attitude B- Believe in yourself C- Courage to do what is right This is so pertinent in  conducting your life based on the fact that you only have control of yourself and how you are going to influence your own destiny. Yes, it is our choices that determines our destiny. Yes, I do believe that everything happens for a reason and that stars align and fate brings people together or situations happen (bad and good) and it is our reaction to what is brought our way that makes us or breaks us, has us progressing or falling behind, becoming stronger or weaker. I heard recently that if you aren't moving forward you are indeed moving backward and I think that is absolutely true. Today, I guess I'm feeling decently strong because this situation with Preston is a test and how I come out of it is up to me - how I react, my attitude. This can make me stronger or make me miserable. It is so stinkin' hard and alot of days I am so anx...

My husband came across an article yesterday that is absolutely fabulous. It isn't anything new that I had heard before but some points jumped out at me as reminders of what I really need to be doing. I'm surprised I haven't come across this site before but it looks like a wonderful resource. More than anything I am saddened but also feel less alone in reading the comments that people make. I'm not alone in this struggle and so many people are exhausted and don't know what to do to help their kids and help bring some more peace back into their homes. That is why it is so important that we reach out to each other and help buoy one another up. It is SO hard and so many nights I throw my arms up in exasperation and am completely unsure of what to do next. The article at http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/879.html  mentions that "a certain percentage of kids externalize the anxiety and depression they're feeling," says Larry Silver, M.D., a psychiatr...

I had a chance to speak to Preston's Neuropsychologist today. The two items that stood out the most to me in our conversation were the following: 1) Do not engage 2) There is no cure for this neurological condition. It MIGHT improve as he gets older. He MIGHT outgrow it.  Or not. In the interim, the goal is to learn how to manage it gracefully each day and aim for more good days than bad ones. We talked about re-visiting medications, particularly a few non-stimulant medications. I haven't looked into these yet but my mom did and after regurgitating all the comments she read from the mom's of these kids  I thought, "why add a few new problems to the already debilitating disorder for possibly slightly better behavior for a few hours out of the day?" Ticks? Tourettes? Continuously upping dosage? Honestly, I don't think going back to medication is in the cards for us. I thought again about the fact that ibuprophen was probably the biggest i...

I love airplanes. I'm not a tomboy by any stretch but I love real macho stuff - guns, monster trucks, tanks, military strategy, airplanes. I also love to wear my heels and slinky dresses and go to the ballet; what can I say? At any rate, it just so happens that my husband is a pilot. In disciplining our kids, I get to hear lots of  metaphorical stories from his flying experiences. I love them but they are confusing and though my kids dare not roll their eye balls to his face (as they shouldn't) I know they are doing it in their brains. I remember my brother and I always looking at each other with a pained expression in our faces when our dad would start lecturing us and he re-told stories many a time; that's when we'd joke about "here comes lecture #17." At any rate, one thing we hear about alot is 'new day new jet.' If I understand it correctly, it essentially means that yesterday's problems with the jet don't go away; it is not a new jet...

I'm sure most people have heard of the 'love languages.' It suggests that how we attempt to show our love to others is how we would want to receive it. So for a wife that writes love letters to her husband, she hopes for the same in return. For that husband, he may feel unloved because he needs gifts to feel loved - the wife's letters go unrecognized because that is not his love language. I think this is true of most things. For the most part, we treat others as we would like to be treated. We do things for other people in the manner that we would look to receive from others in return. I make sure the house is spotless when my husband returns home from a trip because I expect the house to be spotless when I return from a trip. Of course, most of the time I am disappointed because it isn't done the way I would do it. And that is the tricky part. There is a subtle line here because I expect my son's homework to be done well, but what he considers good and what I...

About six months ago I started nutritionally cleansing my body. I was amazed at how my body started letting go of my excess weight and how my energy levels went up, my happiness level went up (as dumb as that sounds, so true!) and other issues I've dealt with my whole life started to subside. I didn't understand the accute details of what was happening in my body but the following article shed alot of light on the subject. If you want more information about the cleansing, check out www.bodyalive.com/brittany . As intro to the article, the deep cleanse consists of two days where you have a pre-made drink or powder four times a day and specific snacks to keep your metabolism up. I'm cleansing right now and on cleanse day two which is why this article popped up on my radar. I'm not posting any pics for this one; the information is golden. Good stuff! Fat Burning Versus Sugar Burning: This information was derived from a lecture that was conducted on the Power Team Saturd...

Back to the grindstone. Literally. I got put through the grinder yesterday and today and I don't think there is much left to grind. I'm a bone skeleton picked dry by circling vultures. Christmas vacation had its ups and downs but was mostly very positive. But back to the grindstone for me managing Mr. Preston and Preston pushing me to see if he can get me to break. Have I mentioned yet that kids with this disorder are intentional 'button-pushers' because it stimulates their brain? Not good news. My biggest fear is that despite no meat left to be picked after Preston's 'ring in the New Year grinding', Preston will find those small tidbits that are barely there and finish me off. I know I sound so dramatic; I get that from my mother. (insert picture of me raising my glass 'Gulfstream Restaurant Waiter Guy' style). Yesterday, on the initial grind, I was the picture of patience. It was amazing - I was in a different place. If I was a bearded man, th...