We Shouldn't feel Guilty.

     So, I have been struggling with some mommy guilt. My son is diagnosed with ADHD but has many Aspergers tendencies. With that we are considered on the spectrum. I find myself feeling guilty when I struggle with him because their are so many other moms out there who have a far more stressing battle with their ASD children. My son makes great grades while others have children who can't even speak. My son will hug me so tight I can't breathe while others  have children who can't make eye contact. But something happened to me while out shopping with my Friend Susan. I realized that I shouldn't feel guilty for needing to take time for myself. A mother of a perfectly healthy child shouldn't feel guilty for needing to take time for themselves. We are nurturers by nature but neglect ourselves. THIS IS NOT OK!
      Here is what typically happens with me.. I shove it down. All the frustrations, all the stress, all the worry. Then BAM I'm yelling at my husband or calling my sister crying uncontrollably. So after a nice discussion with the hubster (thats my cute little nickname for wes) we have devised a plan. Every evening I get to leave for a bit. I work from home so this is a big deal. I need to go somewhere where no one needs something from me, if only for an hour. Now for you single moms, here is what I suggest. Find a friend, possibly another single mom so you both can benefit, and trade some time each week. An hour or two to take a long shower or to get the grocery shopping done without a distraction. I'm so excited about my me time. Last night I used it to actually do a little shopping for myself.  Tonight I plan on getting some ingredients to make Christmas goodies for my friends. If there was a font for jumping up and down excitement, I would be typing in it. I also know that this recharge time will fuel my creativity. Everyone wins. Please Please Please Please start taking care of yourselves. Your families will thank you for it.

Honor Roll? Why yes please.

Having a child with ADHD has had it's moments. Angry moments, scared moments, sad moments, guilty moments, frustrating moments.....(you get the idea). A few weeks ago I got to enjoy my favorite moments, the proud ones.

Aidan's report Card!!!!!! He has stated several times this year that 4th grade is really hard. I'm so proud of his hard work. Krispy kreme gives free donuts for every A. Aidan and I went and took them up on their offer.

He's worked so hard and was so proud of himself. His school had a celebration of success.Wes wasn't able to get out of work, but I was able to take the morning off.

Caz was really well behaved the entire presentation. She clapped every time anyone else did!!! I have to say a big Thanks to all the educators that have touched his life. He sure is making us proud.

Sugar Rush 2012

Ahhh. Halloween. My preschool class felt the sugar rush early on Wednesday. They were primed and ready for their parents by the time I left to get my own goblins ready. the weather here has been interesting because of the movement of Hurricane Sandy, but we bundled up and headed out. We went around the corner of our neighborhood and spent some time with some friends of ours for a neighborhood dinner before trick or treating. They had a great little dinner out in their garage and a firepit pulled out to the driveway. It was a perfect way to get ready for Trick-or-Treating.

This gruesome guy greeted us at their garage along with this other guy in their house.

We went low key this year. Aidan wanted to be an army man.For those of you who know us well, this is not a big shocker. Aidan is obsessed with military history.Since he has a closet full of camoflauge I decided to just get him some face paint to add to a camoflauge  ensemble that he already had. My mom gave him a glow stick pistol.

He rufused to wear the makeup. haha

Allyson's daughter is the Bride of chucky.She always makes the best costumes. Never what you expect to see on today's 10 year old girls. I love it. They played in the yard for a while until someone brought pizza.

They had a great spread of food and I'm sorry to say I didn't take one picture of it. But it was so good. chili, dips, cheese, and fruit.Then of course someone brought some pizzas and Aidan could not have been happier.

It was very cold here in Lexington. We were all bundled up. We did our Trick-or-Treating for about 45 minutes and Aidan wanted to go to his Nana's to help hand out candy So we headed her way.

Yes my mother is crazy. I  cannot deny it. The kids loved her glasses and Aidan handed out tons of candy at her house. The we went home with a belly aching Aidan in the backseat.  After the kids were asleep I made myself a big cup of cider to celebrate a succesful Halloween.

Hope you all had a safe and wonderful Halloween.

Happy Birthday Maddie

Being a preschool teacher has allowed me to become part of many lives. Many families have touched my life, few have touched mine like the Dewsnap's. I met them only a few years ago, but the impact they have had on me is amazing. Their daughter, Maddie, has grown up before my eyes, and the momma, Bethany, has been my rock when it comes to my son's education. (she is a counselor at my son's school).

This week Maddie turned six. She's practically a teenager, haha. I was overjoyed to spend some of my Saturday celebrating her birthday. Bethany went all out. The house looked fantastic and had some great little touches!

She had lots of spooky goodies. I love fall birthdays. You can have so much fun with decorations.

This cute sign welcomed Maddie's guests to her pumpkin patch. It was so sweet to see all the little girls dressed up in their halloween costumes and it gave me a glimpse of what Cazlin's future birthdays will sound like.

Even some of the Adults got in on the dressup action. The lovely Boikov family came in 80's attire. Sassy as always.

We had to leave early. Caz was extremely grumpy. I thought it was because we have been breaking her from her  bottle,  but she woke up later that night with 102 degree temperature.However, we didn't leave before getting a good picture of the birthday princess herself.

Happy Birthday Sweet Maddie. The McGinnis Family loves you with all our hearts!

crafty pants.

So while facebooking (I guess that is a verb, isn't it?) I saw some pictures on the wall of a sweet friend. Her name is Rachel and when I think of what a supermom is she always comes to mind. She and her kids decided to homemade decorations for Halloween this year. Her pictures were so inspiring that I did a few projects of my own (with a little help from Aidan.) The finished products are as followed.

The last one is a teacher gift for Aidan's teacher. I enjoyed making these so much that I plan on doing a few more things for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Its so nice to slow down and do some family stuff around the kitchen table.

Fall Fun

Oh I have been bad blogger. However, I have had inspiration in some fabulous places and now feel focused and creative. I have to tell you that fall is my favorite time of the year. So colorful and cool. We have been enjoying the outdoors here in Lexington. The outlying towns have some great farms that open there grounds to the  public this time of year. We chose Evans Orchard in Georgetown, KY.

We checked out a couple of the others, but for the price you can't beat Evan's Orchard. It was $5.00 for Aidan and we got in free. The petting zoo and hay rides are extra but Aidan just wants to pick a pumpkin and play in the play area.

They have a cool fort made out of hay, Aidan could have played in that for hours alone. He is obsessed with military history. He was saluting in almost every picture. He cracks me up. One of the cool things they have at Evan's Orchard is kind of like a barrel race. Wes and Aidan decided to give it a try.

They are both so competitive its funny.

Wes won and Aidan gave up. We had a great time and the kids picked their pumpkins. Aidan and Wes went out to the pumpkin patch to get one and Cazlin picked one from the pie pumpkin bin.

They have a pumpkin patch and an orchard. The press their own cider and it is delicious!!!!!!!

All in all a wonderful trip to the orchard. It was beautiful and affordable, which is a great combination!

Aidan + 3 sets of Grandparents =Christmasmukkah

My parents are divorced. I have a lovely bonus mom and a crazy bonus dad (much better than saying step parents, isn't it?) This makes for a very interesting holiday. For the past few years I have tweaked my family schedule to try to accomodate the grandparents. This is quite strenuous for my husband, who is a retail manager. He spends the weeks leading up to Christmas dealing with crazy people who are bent on getting the perfect present even if they have to run over my husband in the process. So the one day he really has off, with no emails or phone calls to make, he normally spends on the road. That just makes him miserable. So this year we decided that we are staying home on Christmas.

So with this in mind, my Father and Bonus mom allowed Aidan to open his gifts last weekend while we were with them. Lets just say day 1 of Christmasmukkah for Aidan. I was concerened that maybe getting all those gifts would go to his head, but before he opened his gifts he looked at me and said, "Mom, I have more presents than Dad. I'm going to give him some of mine."  I truly have a sweet boy. He made out like a bandit though. He has slept with his new angry bird ever since and lego rock band is primed and ready for when he comes home from school. Day 2 of Christmasmukkah is coming up. Stay tuned.....