My Grocery Bills are Through the Roof!

I know you may say, well naturally you have three growing kids, a husband, two dogs and a cat, of course you will have high grocery bills. But now I am scouring the health food shelves looking for organic this and that, whole wheat and natural products, products without high fructose corn syrup and all those added, evil yellow and red dyes. No I haven't become a granola. But I have become the mother of a child with ADHD. I used to think that is was a convenient excuse for parents who wouldn't control their children and think evil things of them in my own head. And then one day I was that other parent. The parent of a non toddler who threw an absolute temper tantrum in the grocery store. Other people would stare and whisper while I tried to cajole, calm and eventually drag out a very strong 5 or 6 year old. We of course then didn't believe we should ever medicate our child, again another excuse for over medication. Sadly, after 2 years of trying different diets, punishments and many cases of wine, we realized our family was breaking and we needed help. At this point I begged on my knees for a doctor to find a medicine for our little guy (after all the blood work and such came back that he was perfectly healthy, other than this one little thing). After taking the medicine for 8 days we woke up to a child who could control himself during the 10-12 hours that the medicine works for him. Not a zombie, not altered, but a wonderful, spirited child that we knew we had but who was hiding within that horrible problem of his brain not firing on all it's pistons at all times. It's hard to be this parent. There are days I literally want to throw that child against the wall with his comments and frustrating behavior (and no I don't act on those impulses, although some days are harder than others). And then there are the days that he shines and makes us laugh and I feel horrible that we waited so long to get him help. These are the dilemmas of being a parent, nobody knows what it will be like for you, what cards you will be dealt, you just get them and have to plow on through and be the best you can. Some days that happens, and some days it doesn't and you feel like crap as you crawl into bed at night. But tomorrow is another day, another roller coaster in this crazy world of "life", and as long as I can keep my mantra that this too shall pass I know that I can get through it. So for now I scour for foods that will help him when the medicine won't, no fun cereals that contain all that sugar and dye, I have to up his protein, and try and keep him away from chocolate milk. Fortunately he loves fruits, vegetables, salmon and organic cereals or I would be in huge trouble! Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and the organic section of my supermarket are my new favorite places to be as I scan the labels for magnesium, zinc and calcium, just in case you are looking for me.

A Winter Wonderland

Well the kids finally got what they had been hoping for, SNOW!!!! It even gave them two days off of school while the streets got all cleared off. So hot cocoa, snow pants, mittens and sleds were items of the day. For me, I had three hours of shoveling snow so that I could get my car into the driveway from work, and to get Jaesen out of the driveway for work. Because even though the kids have snow days, we still have work. At any rate, it was a lot of fun, we snowboarded, went sledding, drank hot chocolate, had lots of movies and games, built snow forts and dried endless mittens, hats and boots in front of the fireplace. I love winter!

A Year in Review of the Yerger House

Ho, Ho, Ho, It's Gingerbread House Time!

And it's that time of year again, gingerbread house day is one of the best day's ever! All the kids get to go to the candy store and help pick out at least 20 pounds of candy to decorate houses with. And every year the houses get better patios, ponds, and more houses are made. This year we even had sharks in the pond! Of course a lot of the candy is consumed, and everyone loves that!!!! It is just fun to watch the kids take charge and make their own version of candyland.

Waiting for that snow....

I know everyone says that we won't like it come February, and you really aren't supposed to like it year round, but my kids have my love for the snow and are anxiously awaiting that day when the ground is covered in white and they don't have to dream about sledding and snowboarding, they can run out and do it. By late winter we will be ready for spring and the newness of that season, but for now, we are all waiting for those flakes to fall.

Tristan is 10!

Holy cow, can I really have a child who is 10? Where did the last 10 years go? There was a time I wasn't consumed with math homework, wiping noses, getting up in the middle of the night to calm bad dreams, but that was before I was a MOM! Ten years ago I was experiencing that scared, excited, please let's get this over with nervousness, and we were blessed with Tristan. A non stop talker when it's about anything he loves-animals, sports, Harry Potter-he'll talk your ear off. He's smart as a whip and has a good heart. Happy Birthday Bug! We all love you so much.

The First Snow!

There is really nothing like that first snowflake of the season. And thankfully my kids seem to have the same passion for it as I do. Last Friday night we ran into indoor soccer in the pouring, ice cold rain, and an hour later emerged into the fattest snowflakes that I have ever seen. It was that thick heavy snow that melts on you as it lands. It blizzarded all night long and we had 4 inches by morning. It was enough to sled, throw snowballs, and make a smaller snowman. It was wonderful and wet fun, topped off with hot cocoa and marshmallows, no better way to spend a Saturday morning!