The Secret In the Sauce

Kids, even the ones without ADHD thrive on consistency, predictability and routine. Well, and why limit this to kids - I know how much better I do when there is some method to decrease the madness. Please welcome back to center stage, The Food Nanny Saves Dinner , by Liz Edmunds. If there is a common thread amidst psychologists, therapists and the food nanny, it would be that dinner is supposed to be fun - there should be as few rules as possible when it comes to dinner. Admittedly, dinner-time at our house for the last couple of years has been anything but. My dear little Preston, who (truth-be-told most likely has a sensory disorder in regard to food) lives in mortal fear of dinner, has been a tough nut to crack when it comes to getting him to venture out of his comfort zone to even try new food. This has lead to bit of a struggle between my husband and I in regard to the purpose for trying new food. In the end, what is the point of sitting down as a family to chat and h...

Given the fact that my kids don't currently see me as a 'happy mom' my knickers are in a real twist over that. That is the driving force behind my resolutions for the new year kick-off in the month of January and the fact that I want my kids to feel happy themselves. Now, I have no control over anybody but myself, but as the woman at the head of the household, I can be an example and use specific methods, set up certain parameters and steer my home in a direction that will help my kids feel safe, loved and happy. That's what I want at home. I took a good look at how I am currently managing my household and identified the issues that I was saddened and disappointed by: 1) Blended family; too much contention and strife 2) Troubles with Preston's ADHD - ongoing 3) Not taking the time to do what is important to me 4) Every day gets away from me and am often frustrated, stressed 5) Not following my instincts I then did some thinking as to what I DID wa...

Oh the holidays - or in my family this year, the 'holler-days.' So, I obviously took a Christmas break, but not a break in the sense of a vacation break but more in I had to focus every last ounce of my energy into remaining calm while the fires of kid-dom engulfed my world. I told a friend the other day that I would take three months of summer vacation over the last two weeks at my house. I'm telling ya, my kids' heads exploded this year from the anxiety over Christmas. It was fascinatingly scary. Preston spent most of the time in tears over I don't know what. The other two kids went into hyper-bossy and controlling mode and sibling rivalry was at its peak. The most amazing aspect of all of this was how totally calm I stayed! Truly, it was something miraculous to behold. I was dog tired by the end of the day but the break didn't actually leave me broken. Wow, what a ride though. I can confidently say that the month of December does turn kids into crazy peop...

Every year we make the goal of de-commericalizing Christmas and focusing more on the Spirit of Christmas and the birth of Christ. And every year, we over-spend, over-commercialize and worry about our kids feeling 'jipped.' Sigh. This year we introduced Mr. Tibbs, an official Santa Scout, who not only kept a careful watch on each of us and our behavior, but also gave to me daily 'to-do's' to more fully take advantage of Christmas and what it means. More than anything, to me Christmas is about love. And the love I need to work on most is the love in my own home. It is so easy to be the nastiest version of ourselves around our family because we trust them to love us unconditionally and to be more forgiving than any of our friends and acquaintances. This year, I think we are on the right track and I realize it will take a few years of shifting that focus regarding Christmas to what it really is supposed to be: a reminder of hope, faith, giving, love and family and frien...