Guess Who’s Back?

Guess Who’s Back? Back Again. Leah’s back. Tell a Friend! Sorry if that song is now stuck in your head on repeat for the rest of the day. 

You guys! I have missed you so much. No, really! I have missed my 7 dedicated readers like something fierce.  This summer is over. Q is back in school. I am back in the office. We are back into a routine. We are back to “normal”. Now that I can breathe again, I realize that I haven’t been very active here on the blog. I know you all are sitting by anxiously awaiting my regularly scheduled weekly blog posts and I just let you down week after week. I apologize. I’m kidding!!! I know you were just as busy with summer and didn’t even notice I only updated the blog like 2 times! (Side note: While I wasn’t active on the blog, I was pretty active in our HMMC Facebook group. If you haven’t joined us yet, you should! We are a fun group of virtual mom friends!) Let’s play catch up!

Me: Now that school is back in, I am finding myself again. During the summer, I work from home and keep Q. Essentially doing two jobs at one time. This makes for a long, busy, and tiring summer (hence the lack of updates on the blog. No time or energy for extras.). I spent the summer playing medicine roulette trying to find the perfect happy pill for myself. I am happy to report that I have found *the one* (sounds like I am talking about a lover…I’m not but the perfect happy pill can be just as important!) and I am getting in a better head space day by day. My psoriasis has been out of control this summer so I am on some steroid cream for that. (If you suffer from psoriasis, please email me and give me your tips and tricks for keeping this sh*t under control!) Between the steroid cream and the lack of self control surrounding my fridge, I gained some weight this summer. However, since we are back to the routine, I am back to the grind. I am avoiding potatoes & sodas as well as doing IF and limiting my alcohol intake. No real success to report, YET but stay tuned. I did get to escape for a few days for a much needed girls weekend with some of my very best friends. We ran over to Chateau Elan. We over ate, over drank, and over sun bathed. It was just what this momma needed to get through the rest of the summer! While the days were long…sometimes reallllllly long…the summer really flew by. I can’t believe I have a first grader now. Speaking of, let’s catch up on Q.

QMonster: Q is a first grader!!!! He still LOVES going to school which is a huge win in my book. He was READY to go back. He spent his summer annoying his momma, eating us out house and home, and taking care of his new puppy (Marshall Piston–He’s black and white like Marshall from Paw Patrol, duh! Anddd Q is obsessed with engines so Piston. Also like the Piston Cup from CARS the movie.). Q also spent a lot of time out doors. Between the beach, water park, and lake, Q got his fair share of vitamin D. Medically, things are about the same. We tried upping his ADHD medicine but ultimately at the last minute (literally, day before school started!) we decided to take it back down. I did read a book that has changed our parenting strategy. I read 1-2-3 Magic. I HIGHLY recommend this book. The author, while a psychiatrist, is also a parent so he writes as if he were talking parent to parent NOT doctor to parent. This book called me out and made me reflect on how I was parenting and realize that I could do things a lot easier and see better results. While not perfect (yet!), we are implementing the strategies from the book and I really think this could be a key that unlocks the door for us. This book also made me realize how important a good morning and evening routine is. I have been working really hard on a routine for Q including reading to him every night, setting aside specific time to play and talk about his day, as well as a functional allowance system.  I am hopeful that the strategies his SPED teachers learned over the summer , the new routine, and the money system will all mesh together and produce the results we have all been looking for. (I have so much to say about 1-2-3 Magic that I will probably write a separate post about it in a few months when I can give honest feedback on how it worked long term.)

JHub: For Jimmy, Summer is just another day in paradise. His routine didn’t change too terribly much. He spends about 50% of his time on the road traveling for work. He spent a couple of Mondays with Q so I could work (Huge shout out to our Nonie who kept Q most Mondays this summer! You’re the best, mom!). Summer is kinda boring in Jimmy’s world. Sports are at an all time low. He’s more of a fall and winter guy (He’s one of THOSE Alabama fans) so his fun is just getting started.

While this update is kinda boring, it feels good to be writing (typing?) again. I have been doing some blog and FB group planning so be sure to stick around and see what all I have coming up. (Hint: over on FB I am doing several giveaways!) My next blog post is going to be really sh*tty. Literally its a sh*t story that burns my cheeks just thinking about it. It’s so embarrassing that I’ve said I wasn’t going to blog about it. But, whatever. That’ll be out next week. If you don’t want to miss it, you can use the subscribe option via email at the bottom of the home page.

Alright. I am back. I feel like Back To School time is like a second chance at a New Years Resolution. Like a company’s fiscal year. It’s my personal Fiscal Year and I have big plans, new routines, and goals set for this 2018-2019 year! I hope that, like myself, you survived Summer 2018. Teachers, Tag You’re It!!!