Craft Addiction

I have to admit it - I am a craft addict. I think it mainly stems from coping skills created to deal with ADD. A typical behavior of those with ADD/ADHD is incomplete projects. Being I have to complete a project at some point related to work, crafts I do not. It becomes my balance and subconsciously it allows me to deal with this.

While that is not the only reason, I just like crafting. I consider myself a fairly creative person. Through crafting I can enjoy that creativity. I often start with a project that I throw myself into fully then stop because I get bored. Eventually I pick it back up so I store my crafting items.

If you see my crafting area, you will wonder why I have so many. I know I do. I am currently on 3 crafting projects. One is baby shower items, keychains, recycling items into usable accessories. Soon this list will be birthday party art pieces (my niece is having a candyland theme and her family is going all out!) and I will pick back up my bow making as my youngest niece will have enough hair to wear them.

I have the itch to make Christmas ornaments but not sure I have enough time to make the amount I would need for family gift giving. Being I am fidgety (another ADD/ADHD trait) I need to always have something to do with my hands. Helps my husband stay sane. Blogging also helps with this. Blogging also helps with the 30 thoughts going through my head at any one moment.

So back to where I was... with so many crafting projects and the need to always have a project on the table I consider myself an addict. I can't be without a project even if I am not actively involved.

I am hoping next summer to begin a play area for my nieces and nephews to include a play house, fairy garden, and a few other tid bits I am thinking through. This will take about 2 yrs to complete and allow me to expand as I get the itch.

I would like to purchase a shed of some sort to store all my crafts neatly and also give me a mini workshop outside of the house. Ever heard of Man Cave? Well this would be the Woman Cave.

So who is with me? Any other crafting addicts out there?

Grey before my time

There are moments as mothers we think quietly to ourselves that we are not doing the best we can for our children. Those times may be when they are screaming at us for not getting the right cereal, refusing to clean their room, throwing a tantrum in the middle of the store, a failing grade at school. Parents of special needs children may encounter this feeling several times in a short period.

I am the parent of a teenager with severe ADHD and a few learning disabilities. There are times I know he can't help doing what he does but I get to the point where I feel as though I have not done enough. I sit back and know its not my fault or his fault for that matter. That does not dissolve the feeling of failure.

A youtube video was recently posted displaying an incredible outburst by a teenager who lost his online game privileges (you can search for mom cancels warcraft account). Everyone kept commenting how it was staged and was not real. The main reason it was believed to be fake was because nobody could believe a teenager could be that angry. The sad part is my child has been that angry and emotioanl at times. To me it was reality hitting me in the face. To others it was hilarious and fake.

Even when I look back at the times I am ready to pull at the hair dye to conceal my age, I am reminded of all the wonderful things I am proud of. I am proud he is outgoing, creative, silly, intelligent, a good cook. I hear from parents how he is so polite and well behaved. Those are the moments I am reassured I have done my job.

I am not the perfect mother but I do my very best. I am there when he is ill. I am spending the night when he is in the hospital. I am there to cheer on his sports and plays. I am there to watch the moments he is proud. I am there when he is sad. I am there to dust him off when he falls. I am there to support him when he is standing tall. I will be there when he goes off on his own. I will be there when he brings that girl home I don't like. I will be there with a box of tissues on his wedding day. I will be there when he believes he isn't the perfect father. I will be there to remind him it is ok and he is a great father.

Today he may not realize it but I love him more than anything. Tomorrow he will learn I wasn't the evil troll who restricted his 10pm curfew and why I did it. Next week he will see the tears I shed, not because he was a bad child, but because I am so proud.

He will tell himself he will be a better parent than I but one day find himself doing the exact same things; saying the exact same things. For me that is the best compliment. For me its because he has learned why I did what I did and wants to pass that on.

Teachers make it diffcult for some WAHMs

I am finding my sons teachers do not understand the concept of a work at home mother. I cannot be the only one they have ever come across. The comment I get often is "since you are home all day...". What!? Yes I am physically home but that doesn't mean I can drop everything at any moment. I am a working mother just like those who work outside of the home.

This year seems to be especially difficult with many teachers as it is. My son has ADHD and as he enters puberty it almost amplifies the symptoms making it difficult to work with. Medication can only do so much and I will not over medicate so teachers do not have to accommodate his needs. This is where the comment comes in most the time. As if my being home all day will allow me to take him to school each day and go to every class.

I have never had so many teachers work against me in his moving forward in his studies and personal growth in his 10+ years of schooling. I believe some teachers feel (coming from various other comments) ADHD is something you grow out of by the teenage years and he should be able to better control himself. I am sorry but that is not the case. He is doing far better than I did in school at this age but I sometimes fear he won't be able to complete school in a regular setting with such resistance from teacher thinking old school that overactive, inattentive children have no self control and comes from bad parenting.

The other problem is teachers do not get the education they need to understand and work with such disorders. What about these children with autism? Yes many children with disorders are placed in special education but many are in inclusive classes. We all have the same goal. We just go about it differently. That goal is for our children to be at their best and get the education they deserve. Many other disorders get more exposure for what they go through and receive more accommodations, compassion, and understanding than my child who has a disorder as well. I too suffer from this disorder and every day I struggle to stay focused. I learned to adapt and most do not see what I go through.

Don't misunderstand. I am not saying mothers working outside of the mom need less support or children with other disorders should be ignored. I am just trying to wrap my head around the idea I am seen is a stay at home mother not a work at home mother and my child chooses not to control himself and stay focused and control impulses like other children.

We need ADHD awareness. It is real. It is highly misunderstood and greatly misdiagnosed. This is why we need the education and awareness. We need the funding for better research. We need the funding to better educate teachers, parents, health care providers. Where are our walks to raise awareness and donations. Where is the education so doctors are not passing on a prescription and sending us on our way. Where are the teachers that have been well taught.

There are great doctors out there. There are great teachers out there. There is just not enough. We had one up until about 4 yrs ago. His pediatrician was fabulous. He was well versed in childhood and adolescent ADHD. He worked with us. Never against. We had some great teachers in elementary school who understood and worked with him. He thrived. It wasn't until middle school (7th grade) and the loss of our doctor that he had since birth. Children with ADHD do not do well with too many changes. They like routine and habit. That is why they follow the same patterns over and over. Its what they know.

Now I just need to get next years teachers on board and hopefully squash the resistance we have felt for so long. He will be a 10th grader next school year, learning to drive, following with a job to start in the summer before 11th grade. Maybe I can finally get these teachers to understand I do work. I just happen to work from home. Maybe they will learn I have to schedule meetings just like everyone else. I can't always take their calls at anytime during non-emergencies. I can't do their job with just a phone call putting my child on the phone to tell him please just get through the class without her calling me again. And maybe I can keep teachers from punishing him for what he has no control over and using a zero as punishment. Until then I will campaign to change their thinking of WAHMs and ADHD.

Its been awhile

I know its been awhile so I better get updated pretty quick.

My personal online time is getting cut very short these days. Even my working time. I have to get everything done by a certain time so I can get dinner started and leave the computer to hubby for his homework. He has been trying to get some homework done at work to allow me extra time on the computer. Soon this will not be a problem when he gets his laptop the first week of Feb. This is when the student loan balances are dispersed for the term.

Our son has ADHD and seems we are going backwards. This is what was expected when he hit puberty. He is a bit of a late bloomer with puberty so its starting to hit a little fast. That isn't the problem though. The problem comes in with his obsession to steal items. If we have goodies in the house he will steal it even if he has his own set of snacks. I have gone as far as feeding him 4 full meals in a day then add snacks. That does not help. I have taken all sugary snacks out and he will still find something to steal. Nobody can figure out why he does this. It doesn't happen at other houses such as his grandparents. Just ours. We have used the techniques offered by Dr's and counselors but still nothing. His medication seems to be at the right dose. Right now it appears we just need to ride it out.

I am in the process of organizing a moms group locally for moms like me. One with older moms or moms with older children at home. There is at least one mom group around here but all younger moms with younger children. I just don't seem to fit in. While they discuss preschool coming in the next couple years, I am discussing college coming in the next couple years. I know to some that seems strange but I can no longer relate to potty training and learning the ABC's anymore. I relate to driving school and studying for the SAT's.

I am very proud last night though. I created a recipe that turned our right the first time. When I start a recipe, it is always off a bit and I at least need to make it once more to tweak it. It was a ravioli covered in a cream sauce with mushrooms and bacon. Although perfect I am going to make a variation in the future that includes finely chopped baby spinach in the sauce. I will put up the recipe by Monday when I make edits to my chicken scratch.

If you have never had fresh spinach you are missing out. I hate spinach growing up. We were fed the cooked spinach in the cans. It is not pleasant. Fresh spinach is very different. It is not as strong and a bit on the sweet side. I still have a hard time eating it in salad because of my younger years but I can cook with it. I hide it in spaghetti and nobody knows the difference.

Ever since I was young I always liked to cook and invent recipes. Sometimes good. Sometimes bad. That experimenting paid off and I do quite well in my cooking. It must run in the family. My younger brothers both have the same love of cooking and creating their own recipes. One is in culinary school to become a chef. Not long after he graduates I plan to open a store and throw an opening party. I told him he is already hired to cater.

I think I am caught up for now. I hope this finds everyone well.

See you on the blog side :D