All sugared up and nowhere to hide

I love my child to pieces, but every so often I count down the hours to bedtime. This used to be much easier when the kid was 7 years old because we'd convinced him that bedtime was at 7:30pm. Even if we parents went to bed at 9:30pm, we still had two whole hours to say "who the eff is Mommy?" or "whose your Daddy?".  Now that the child is 10, he's to smart to be fooled into a 7:30 bedtime. What's worse is that he has friends who can verify that 7:30 is not the normal bedtime for tweens. Crap.

Now we are stuck with a 9pm bedtime. By that time, parents are too tired to go do the whole tucking in thing. The joy of Aspergers means that stopping that ritual would be similar to dropping a nuclear bomb on Ohio. It just wouldn't be cool. So, our happy behinds are dragged up the stairs with all the bedtime accouterments to perform said ritual. As Murphy's Law would have it, the more exhausted us grown-ups are the more labor intensive the bedtime requests seem to be. When we head back down the stairs 30 minutes later, we say a prayer to encourage God to make our child fall asleep fast enough so we can watch a television show we've DVR'd in peace before we fall asleep in our livingroom.

Normally, God mocks us by bestowing an a sudden, ravenous appetite for Frosted Mini Wheats or something on our child.

The Lord sayeth "The young shall need their bowls filled with fibrous foods when the parents have discovered a plot twist on the newest episode of Bones. Thy young will call from the top of stairs until thy will is met. Mothers will have to rewind the funniest/most amazing dialogue of the entire show so that the bowl is filleth."  

I know God mocks us because the child takes 2 different medications to help him fall and stay asleep. I know the Melatonin knocks me out immediately, but its effects are no match for that power cord plugged into my kid's behind.

Then there are times like tonight. I decide that since I had zero child free time today, that I would stay up to enjoy some solitude since everyone is in bed. Except, I hear the child bouncing, the chandelier is shaking periodically and my child continues to check on me because I'm standing between him and the giant bag of Easter candy his Grand-mommy gave him. 

I don't know about other children, but something happens to mine when he ingests sugar. I cannot be totally sure his sugar intake wasn't responsible for the recent tornado outbreaks. I am sure that this sugar intake prevents him from being able to sit in a chair. I knew he sneaked candy today when he started falling out of his chair. Really. No exaggeration. Since Easter left us with about 20lbs of candy, it's still fresh on the child's mind and he thinks it all belongs to him. (Since Grand-mommy doled out the family candy to him, his Aspie mind is made up)

Next year, he's getting Doritos in his Easter basket. And sugar free gum. And some stronger sedatives because he already takes them, but his growing body will demand more next year. The meds now reduce his speed from 750 mph to 50 mph without candy, but are 70% less effective after a solid chocolate bunny. Or as his dad would put it: He's got an electric power cord plugged in his butt that is impossible to dislodge (because he moves to quickly and we can't catch him).

At that point, as parents, we need Xanax. I'm not stretching the truth here at all. My child's hyper-activity means, as a family, we require medication to cope. So, I'm putting 5 Hour Engery and Xanax in the parental Easter baskets. Maybe even liquor.

We've tried to go the sugar-free candy route, but turns out it contains sugar alcohol. You know what sugar alcohol does to your body in large quantities? Anal leakage. It has a laxative effect that is intensified for a child. I do make almost sugar free cookies with sugar free icing, but they aren't Easter candy and I don't make them all the time. I really need to start making more cookie treats with a low sugar content (I've gotten really good about making them taste sinful).

The Easter candy is officially living in my bedroom from now on. It will be doled out responsibly to the kid and hopefully to us parents. Maybe, just maybe the poor kid will be able to move through the world at a normal speed for awhile-- until the next confounded holiday or the next time another grown up in his life besides his parents thinking buying affection with a lollipop the size of head is a great idea.

I wish I had the energy to compose a really hilarious image of my child with said power cord in his bum, but alas, I have not the energy or time to do so. I'll just leave the visual to you, dear reader, and your vivid imagination. I will tell you that I think our Jesus action figure laughs at us... which may be cause to call the Vatican, except I don't want a crowd of Catholic miracle lovers surrounding my house when I'm trying to get more mommy time. Nevermind, Jesus wanted to pose: