Blog Traffic

Last week I pinned (on Pinterest, for those of you not yet familiar) the blog post that I wrote about my son and ADHD: 13 Things my ADHD Child Wishes You Knew. I hoped that others might find it encouraging or informative.  This morning I checked my blog traffic and was stunned:

I also have several comments from people on the Pinterest page itself, all of them thankful or encouraging. I am truly in awe that there has been such a response to that post. It's very humbling and I thank you all. I'm especially thankful for those who are in the same boat as me, because we need each other's support to raise our ADHD kids.

October Baby

Tonight Tom and I went to see the pre-screening of the movie October Baby. I wasn't exactly sure why I was going, because this screening was intended for pastors & leaders, people in the pro-life movement, or people who work as crisis pregnancy counselors. I left the pregnancy loss ministry behind at my old church more than three years ago, so I had no reason to go see this. But when I got the email from ARIN about it, and watched the trailer, I just felt like I needed to see it. I'm not sure where God is calling me, but He's had my attention lately, letting me know that something is coming.

I won't give anything away, but there were a few times in the movie where God spoke to me clearly. One of them was the use of John 8:36, which is my life verse. He whom the Son sets free, is free indeed. I am nervous & excited to see where God leads me.

In the meantime, please go see this movie when it opens on March 23rd. It is an amazing story, and so well done. Sometimes Christian movies have a great message but the acting is cheesy or it just looks cheaply done. October Baby was nothing like that at all. It was beautiful, powerful, inspiring and healing. Go!

What I Actually Do

Have you seen these? They've been very popular on Facebook lately, as everyone jumps on board to describe who they are too. (Sorry it overlaps the sidebar, but if I made it any smaller you wouldn't be able to read it.)
I sent this one to my friend Laura, who has triplets:

And all my church friends are enjoying this one....





But this one is definitely my favorite....

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

I keep hearing about this casserole. People speak of it in such reverent tones that I decided I needed to go find the recipe. I kept thinking, what is so great about poppy seeds? I like poppy seed dressing but really, it's not the seeds that make it so good, it's all the dressing surrounding it.

So I found the recipe here: Weeknight Bites, Heather's Poppyseed Casserole

And you know what? You people are KIDDING yourselves. This is not about poppy seeds. This casserole is nothing but a vehicle for full fat cream soup, sour cream, saltines and butter. There is one spoonful of said seeds in the entire thing. I am not fooled!  I mean, I'm tempted certainly, but not fooled. I'm not buying poppy seeds just so I can make this. I can stir up a pan of dairy & fat, throw in some chicken and call it Awesome Casserole without the pretension of the Poppyseed title. I'll let you know how it turns out. (You'll find me licking the pan clean, who are we kidding.)

ADHD sucks

Remember those 'behold the power of cheese' ads from a few years ago? Picture what people did in those commercials to get the cheese, and you will have a picture of how E feels about fried shrimp. He has now had two complete meltdowns over fried shrimp. Once, at IHOP because they didn't have them. (He had them there once before when they were on the Specials menu.) Then again today, when they ran out of popcorn shrimp in the school cafeteria. I had a conference call with him, the school nurse, and guidance counselor because he was hysterical about not getting any shrimp. He kept sobbing that he just wanted to come home. I ended up going to get him fast food, which I gave to the counselor in the office without him seeing me. We agreed this was a one time only food delivery, but we're hoping that it will calm him down to the point that maybe he will tell her what is really going on with him. He's told me 2 or 3 times this week that he doesn't want to go to school anymore.

I'm pretty sure I'm just going to let him live with me until he's 47, because I swear I am making zero progress in turning this kid into an adult. Part of ADHD is difficulty in modulating emotions and problems dealing with disappointment. I have a feeling that counseling is in our future.

If anyone needs me I'll be hiding under my bed.

This & That

Whitney Houston - Everyone's talking about the recent death of Whitney Houston. I can't add much to what's already been said across the web. I'm just so sad to see another person succumb to their addiction. I liked what this writer had to say about celebrities having a harder time staying clean because they don't have to worry about the same things that an Average Joe has to think about.


Alcoholic.org - "Alcoholic.org, a newly re-launched website devoted to providing help and information on alcohol addiction and alcoholic rehab programs, offers easy-to-use support and assistance to people who are concerned about their alcohol use. Visiting the website enables people to determine whether they have a problem, and it also connects them with alcoholism treatment centers."  {Quote from PRweb.com}

You Are Not Alone

"A new video campaign, "You Are Not Alone," aims toinspire and encourage the families of young addicts."

Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie), Everclear frontmanArt Alexakis and skateboarding legend Christian Hosoi are among the famous faces talking about how drug addiction has affected them in a campaign for The Partnership at DrugFree.org, entitled "You Are Not Alone."

There is another video on their Youtube channel of Andrew Zimmern, offering some words of encouragement along with his story.

You can see the rest of the individual videos here: You Are Not Alone  They are so powerful, so moving and I really recommend that you watch them. Even if you think this has nothing to do with you, please watch some of them. It's so important that everyone be educated about addiction. You really never know when someone you care about might need help.

Overheard

TC: I wish I was older, like 9 like E.
Me: I don't, buddy, I like that you're still my little guy.
TC: (Offering me a hug) Don't worry, Mom, I'll still love you when I'm big.

Television show: Will you come with us and save the day?
E, dryly: Don't have much choice.

I wonder if I glow in the dark

The Newman thing has not worked. That's all I have to say about that right now.

I had the first part of the nuclear medicine study this morning. I have to go back this afternoon to have another ten minute scan done. I survived getting the injection, which if you don't know, I don't handle well. It's embarrassing as heck but I get flushed and woozy when I have to get blood drawn or an IV put in. Thank God this was one injection and done. Then I laid with my shoulders on a pillow and my head tilted back. You have to lay perfectly still but it's only ten minutes. They want me to drink plenty of fluids before I go back to flush out the radiation liquid. They also told me that I should not hold TC on my lap today at all. That will be tough, since he's a lap-kid for sure. Some side-hugs will have to do.

Mary asked me to help her do a workshop at the women's in-house retreat. It'll be on thriftiness and organization, both of which are things that make me all warm and fuzzy inside. And speaking of Mary, our families are going together to see Tim Hawkins next month - so excited about this!

Newman!

What's the word for when you're brushing your teeth and you accidentally slam your brush into your gums causing excruciating pain? There has to be a word for that, because I seem to do it all the time.  And after I did it this week it occurred to me that I really need to stop swearing so much.  The problem is that to just quit doing something, you really need something else to fill the void. So I need new swear words. I don't mean 'drat' or 'gee whiz' or 'Jiminy Nutbars'! (which is TC's current exclamation.) (Man, my kids are weird.) I need something that I will actually use and stick with.

Today I'm trying out, "Newman!" in place of my favorite four letter word. We'll see how it goes.

Random

While we were getting E's glasses the other day a young woman walked through with long dark hair streaked with royal blue. We eyed each other up, and as she passed me I said, "Nice hair." She smirked and said thanks.  It felt kind of weird. It made me wonder if that's how celebrities feel if they arrive on the red carpet and find that someone else is wearing the exact same dress. I'm pretty sure it's exactly like that.

TC is on this kick where he talks constantly about his future house. (He also calls it his museum.) It started out with just ideas for his man cave but has grown from there. And for some reason, all of this discussion seems to come out while we're in the car. Everywhere we drive, I hear about the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the electric money machine, how robbers will be kept out, where he will sleep and how he will still love me and I can visit anytime. This has led to statements such as, "Mom, the best thing about my museum is the teeny, tiny Bigfoot. But don't touch him; he bites." or "All the animals in my museum are free, becepts the Bigfoot. He costs 150."

Glasses for E

My second child now has glasses. I'm not holding out much hope that the third won't need them also. Braces and glasses for all three, apparently!

But, how cute is this kid??

Geriatric Monday

So I'm not feeling great today, sore throat, etc., and I'm sad for a friend whose marriage is failing. So I admit to seeking out a bit of comfort food. And as I'm eating my reduced fat Wheat Thins with hummus, it hits me. I'm old. I'm really old. When did low fat crackers and whipped chick peas become my COMFORT FOOD? How did this happen?

Obituary

This is the picture that the family provided for the obituary of a local man. Seriously, how great is this picture? That look is so shifty and awesome; I love it. And it made me think that I need to be sure that someday my family picks a good picture of me for mine. Not the most flattering, where all my grandkids say 'Oh look how sweet Granny looks', but where I look awesome in an insane kind of way.  If Tom outlives me, I know he'll be on board to do this for me.

And then my tombstone could read like, "Phoebe Buffet: Buried Alive".

I know, who thinks about this stuff? Stay at home moms who have been stay at home moms for more than a decade which is clearly too long, that's who. 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

Random & Cranky. You've been warned.

Theresa reminded me that I've been silent for nine days here. It's good that she reminds me, because I get myself up in my tree and am too busy festering to come back down.  There's just too much life going on lately. I know I have to accept life on life's terms, but frankly I'm sick of life interfering with my peace & quiet.

No answers on my thyroid yet. The ENT didn't seem to think that my symptoms or test results were any big deal, which ticked me off right off the bat. He said we could repeat the ultrasound in six months. I said, ummm, no. So he said I could get the nuclear medicine study, which I agreed to and just have to call & schedule. The nodule is too small to biopsy, and the questionable tissue on the parathyroid doesn't seem like a big deal. He said that the parathyroid controls your calcium and my calcium levels are fine. So good news, but also doesn't get me the answers I'm looking for, so I'm just feeling frustrated.

E is still having a rough time at school and I'm still talking with the guidance counselor often as she tries to get him to tell her what all is going on with him. We both feel it goes back to his social issues and not having friends at school. He told her that he didn't take his meds today, which was odd since I stood there and watched him take it. So either he was lying to her, or spit it out when I wasn't looking.  She also said that he told her that every day when he wakes up, it's already a 'blah day'. It makes me worried that he's depressed, but I also know that he hates waking up because he doesn't sleep well, and is always so tired.  My focus lately has been on spending one on one time with him, talking with him. We snuggled under a blanket and did his devotional book tonight. He seemed to enjoy it. I've also been playing more games with him lately, to get him to interact with us more. (Farkle is a favorite!)  Tom heard something on the radio recently about a social skills class for kids at a local hospital, so I'm looking into that for E. I also bookmarked some information about cyber schools for him, should it ever come to that. I'm just trying to stockpile ideas and resources, but at the same time I feel like I haven't got a clue how to parent him or help him.

So there it is, cranky that life isn't going the way I want it to. I know I need to get over myself. Tomorrow is another day. It is what it is. You have to have some rain before you get the rainbow. yadda yadda. I get it, I know. I swear I'm trying. I'm just really super good at being cranky.  It's my father's fault really.

OH! But in good news I've lost 21 pounds total and feel like a rock star when I put on jeans in a smaller size. I'm already dreaming of what it will feel like after the next 20 come off. :) I may need a new tattoo to celebrate that day.