A little sugar = craziness

I may have mentioned this before, on my other blog that I've since neglected, but somewhere along the line I (or me and my hubby) came to the realization that sugary snacks in the evening create sleepless nights for everyone in the house but the one causing the problem.

My youngest son, age 9, has had night terrors for quite some time, and about a year ago I noticed a pattern as to what set it off. Excessive screen time (t.v., adrenalin-rush movies [which, for him, would be Harry Potter], video games) and/or sugary snacks (which could be anything from Kettle Korn to cupcakes to ice cream to candy) are the culprits. We limit his screen time and he really doesn't watch t.v. much, except on weekends, and we limit his video games to two hours on weekends only.

Last night, the kids had activities at church. Hubby retrieved them and brought them home, and they proceeded to get ready for bed. After they had gone to bed, all was right with the world. Until the screaming began. K (I'm using initials, yes) started screaming and hubby went to calm him down. Eventually, K went back to sleep. This morning, I asked K what went on at church last night, and he said, "We had cupcakes." WHAMMO. That's what set him off. If only I could convince the church to have healthy snacks instead of sugary snacks.

What I really want to figure out is what can we change or what can we, as parents, do to help our child? How long will this screaming-at-night thing last? Is it a psychological thing? Does he need help? He's already on meds for ADD, so I really don't want him to take anything else. And really, I almost believe that sugar is the cause of his ADD because most foods contain some amount of sugar and studies have shown that if children ate no sugar, their ADD/ADHD symptoms subsided. And no, I don't feed him Pop Tarts and candy and cookies. We try hard to have nutritious meals and snacks at home. I don't have much control over what he eats when he's not at home.

Anyway, I'm hoping that tonight there is no craziness and that we all get a good night's sleep.

It's 2012, yessirree

Happy New Year! Guess it's a little late to say that. Maybe I should say something like Happy Super Bowl as that's the next major event for this month.

I was going to start a brand new blog where I can just say what's on my mind on any given topic but then I remembered this was here. I've got two others that are kind of in limbo, but I like the name of this and I think I'll use it more or just use it 100% of the time. If you like what you read, tell your friends. <3

So here we are in January. It is 40 degrees outside on my deck and I was outside with the dogs (so they could do their duties and most likely eat their duties because they are dogs) and it was just a bit too cold for my liking. I shall say that it was 26 this morning on the way to Costco and I was in the car but still I was cold as my wonderful hubby decided to open his window. Um.... hello?? Too cold! But he likes to have some fresh air whilst in the car.

I'm just rambling - get used to it. I tend to do that when I feel like babbling about everyday things.

Did you know that JC Penney is trying for a new image? Have you gotten the new catalog in the mail? Let me go get it. Well crud. Hubby took it. It's got a picture of a small girl's legs and feet in adult high heels. It's the February issue. February issue? ISSUE?? Like a magazine? It's basically just a waste of paper. It's thick and too busy, in my opinion. I was going to take pictures of it and post it here. If I can find it, I'll do that. But maybe you don't care. I just thought it was weird.

I'm trying the Special K 2-week weight loss challenge. You basically eat their food for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and then you eat a sensible dinner. They have recipes on their website but they are for a single serving. I usually quadruple or double-quadruple them so I can feed my family as well. The recipes, so far, are quite tasty. You can also eat as many freggies (fruits and veggies) as you want if you get hungry. I'm all over that!

We are down to one income again as hubs got laid off. That's what happens when you work seasonal. It snowed. He got laid off. He's on, oh what did his boss call it... standby! He's on standby. He's also in school, so at least he can concentrate on homework while he isn't working.

I work, yes I do. From home, thank God!!! When we had the snow last week, and the power outages, I was either able to work (or not) when I could. No need to commute (hallelujah!).

Kids are doing typical kid things. My oldest, he's 14, has a friend over and they were supposed to be "quiet" while playing in his room. I hear them now. It is 5 p.m. It is almost time for son's ADD meds. Both my kids have to take meds for that. One of my sons has ADD and the other has ADHD but I think most people glom them together and either call it ADD or ADHD but not both. The kids have to take their evening meds around 6 p.m. or there will be serious issues. I really wish there was no need for meds but what do you do? Take them off the pills and let them freak out? I heard that sugar is to blame. Do know how many foods have sugar in them? How can I know what my kids are eating when they are away from the house? I can't control EVERYTHING they put in their mouths.

Guess that's about it for now. Have a good rest of the day and Happy Super Bowl!