Parenting

Why oh why does parenting have to be so hard? When you throw a special need into the mix, all hell can break loose!
Aiden was recently diagnosed with ADHD. We've tried behavior modification techniques, change in diet (completely eliminated milk and drastically reduced his intake of sugar and artificial colors), and went to parenting classes. Nothing was working and his focus at school was getting worse, so we talked to his doctor some more and decided to start medication, Ritalin. He is on a very low dose in the morning to start, with the possibility of adding an afternoon dose when he goes back to school (he's on Winter Break).
So we started the medicine a couple of days ago and we've noticed a huge difference in his focus and behavior! HOWEVER we had a VERY difficult day today. The kind of day that made me need to run away to Target by myself after Ben got home from work.
I just don't know what else to do! I feel like an absolute failure as a mom! I don't want him to feel like he has to act out to get attention, and I know he doesn't like acting that way, but know he doesn't know what else to do.
I will keep searching for ways to help him and myself with dealing with this obstacle!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a wonderfully magical Christmas! We are excitedly awaiting Santa's arrival, especially after he (uncle Tim) called Aiden today! Hope Santa is good to everyone tonight! :)

Betty Crocker? Umm...I think NOT!!

So I am not a baker, AT ALL! My kind of baking requires a package of dry cookie ingredients and I can add the egg and oil, even then I usually manage to mess them up somehow!
Well tonight I decided that we would make gingerbread men cookies for Christmas. I got the packaged dough that I didn't even need to add anything to, piece of cake right? WRONG!! Who knew you'd need a rolling pin to roll out the dough? Not me! I don't own one!
So I get the counter all floured up (luckily I actually had four) and break open the package. I read the directions, ROLL THE DOUGH!?! What am I going to do? I know! A glass! That's round right?!? So I flour up the glass (I have some knowledge of baking) and get set to "rock and roll", but what happens? The darn dough sticks to the darn glass! Ugh...so our gingerbread men came out a little lumpy and all different thickness levels, but they sure taste good!
And the most important part? Aiden had a blast cooking with mommy! He LOVED getting flour all over the kitchen, AND mom LOVED it too!! Now I need to go REclean the kitchen!

Little of this, little of that...

So I haven't blogged in a couple months. Mainly because I only have a few followers and I feel like it doesn't matter anyway. BUT I want to get back to blogging again, so here I go...whether there's anyone who wants to hear from me or not!
So where do I start, it's been so long?!

Let's start with Aiden's 5th birthday in September. I can't believe my baby is 5! Where has the time gone? Anyway, he had a BLAST celebrating with friends at Brandi Fenton Splash Pad. It was the PERFECT place to have a birthday party! Well, minus the bees of course. Note to self, no Eegee's at a park!!




Now for Halloween, my crazy kids... Aiden is in a Toy Story kick so he wanted to be Woody, and of course my sweet angel, Addison! But her halo kept falling off!



Then we had my sister's baby shower. I can't believe my "baby" sister is having a baby in just a few short weeks!! It was a great shower and I made my first ever diaper cake! It was only 2 tiers because I was getting frustrated, but it was a pretty good start, especially since I am NOT a crafty person whatsoever!!

Now we're up to Christmas!! We've had so much fun getting ready for Christmas. This holiday truly does get more fun when you have kids. Aiden is so excited for Christmas and Santa he can hardly stand it! Even though Daddy may use "Santa" to his advantage a little too much! :)
Tonight we made gingerbread men cookies and Aiden had a blast. When asked what his favorite part was? Doing the sprinkles and eating them was his response! Gotta love 5 year olds!

Thanks for catching up with me!

Updates!

Wow am I behind in posting?! Being back at work has really kept me busy. Not to mention having 2 kids running around, one of which has recently started kindergarten!

My big boy is doing so well in kinder, and he absolutely loves it! Of course it probably doesn't hurt that his teacher is gorgeous!! My mom saw a picture of her on Facebook and her comment was "they don't make teachers like they used to!" I asked her, "what am I, chopped liver!?!"


I started a new year in school as well and we're having a great time so far! I LOVE my classroom! It's very homey and welcoming!



My wonderful husband brought me flowers for my first day of school! :)



Last update, I am on my 5th week of doing Weight Watchers! I have lost 8 pounds so far, 1 more pound until my first 5% goal! It's nice to be able to see results! I am a planner so I plan out my meals ahead of time, always take my lunch to work, and track ALL of my points! I lost 2.4 pounds this past week and had a party AND went out to dinner for Ben's birthday! I'm so excited that I'm doing so well!!

Thanks for reading all about what's going on in my life! :)

Another pound down!!

At Monday night's meeting I found out I lost another 1.4 pounds! So exciting! It's coming off slow, but at least it's coming off. I even got up 30 minutes early this morning and did a mile on the eliptical! It was HARD to get up early and get going, and now I'm exhausted, but I feel good about myself. That's the main thing right? Feeling good about yourself?
I sure hope I can keep it up, my motivation seems to be short lived. I just really want to be thinner, healthier, and happier!
I'm getting much better at using my points wisely. I feel like I've eaten all day, and I still have 1.5 points left. I also had a point left over yesterday too.
Any more suggestions for me?

End of week 2

So it's the end of week 2 on WW, but haven't weighed in yet. I'll weigh in at the meeting tomorrow. I'm really nervous, don't know if I did as well as the first week. But I have incorporated some exercising in my plan now! I'm starting slow, doing the eliptical machine we have at home. I did also order 2 DVD's by Jillian Michaels doing the 30 day shred. So let's see how much I can shred!

My new favorite snacks are:
light, whole wheat english muffins
WW yogurts (only 1 pt)
94% fat free popcorn
cucumbers
fruit salad
whole wheat pitas, or cut up and made into pita chips to dip in homemade salsa
I'm still trying to find other snacks that are good for WW, if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them!!