Neuro-Spicy & Slightly Dicey
Neuro-Spicy & Slightly Dicey
Serving up the real scoop on ADHD, autism, and mom life!
Issue #1 | Welcome to the Chaos
Hey there, fellow spicy brains! 🌶️
Welcome to the very first issue of Neuro-Spicy & Slightly Dicey! I'm so glad you're here, whether you stumbled upon this during a 3 AM hyperfocus scroll or bookmarked it three weeks ago and just now remembered it exists (been there!).
I'm starting this newsletter because I was tired of pretending my brain works like everyone else's. Tired of masking my way through social situations. Tired of feeling like I'm the only mom who forgets to feed the cat, orders pizza for the third time in a week, sleeps through every alarm, and has full meltdowns right alongside my kids when everything becomes too much.
Spoiler alert: we're not alone. Not even close.
This Week's Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Medium Heat)
The Good: I remembered to actually DO our planned learning activities for THREE whole days this week. We're finding our rhythm.
The Slightly Dicey: Wednesday was one of those days where everything felt like too much - balancing school expectations, managing transitions between houses, and trying to help my daughter navigate it all while barely keeping myself together.
The Lesson: Some weeks we're crushing educational goals. Other weeks we're just surviving the emotional load. Both are valid homeschool days.
Mom Brain Moment of the Week
Picture this: I'm at Dunkin' Donuts getting my usual coffee and bagel. I order, pay, and sit down to wait for my bagel.
I sit there for a GOOD five minutes, checking my phone, people-watching, wondering why it's taking so long. Finally, the cashier asks if I need anything else.
"My bagel," I say confidently.
She looks confused. "Did you not get it yet?"
"No," I tell her, slightly annoyed at this point.
That's when I glance over at my passenger seat. There's the bag. With my bagel inside. That I apparently picked up, walked to my car with, and completely forgot about.
The cashier? Just smiled knowingly. Pretty sure I'm not her first ADHD mom of the day.
Real Talk: The Masking Hangover
Can we talk about masking for a hot minute? You know that thing where you perform "normal" all day long, and by evening you're completely fried?
This week I was driving to teach a Spanish class at my daughter's co-op. It was raining (sensory nightmare), I was running late (anxiety spike), and I was already overstimulated before I even got there. Everything felt too much.
But I had to show up. I had to teach. So I put on my "competent teacher who definitely has her life together" mask and powered through for several hours. Smiled, engaged, pretended my nervous system wasn't screaming.
By nighttime, I was so exhausted I could barely function. The next day? I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. That's the cost of masking - it catches up with you hard.
Here's what I'm learning: It's okay to drop the mask. It's okay to tell people you need a minute because you're overstimulated. It's okay to do "car school" some days because leaving the house feels impossible. It's okay to be yourself - even when yourself is struggling.
Revolutionary concept, right?
Dopamine Hunt: What's Working This Week
🎯 New favorite stim toy: A random pen I thought I lost and then found again. It has the PERFECT click and just became my obsession for the week! (Anyone else have a stim toy graveyard of "favorites" that lasted exactly 3 days? Just me?)
🎵 Current hyperfocus song: "Stargazing" - I've probably listened to it 847 times this week and I'm not sorry.
☕ Sensory win: Switching to a weighted blanket for morning coffee time. Game changer.
📱 App discovery: I finally found a timer that doesn't make me want to throw my phone. It's called "Forest" and you grow little digital trees. My ADHD brain is obsessed.
Perfectly Imperfect Win
My daughter had a really hard time this week and couldn't see past the overwhelm to believe that things would get better. In that moment, I couldn't fix it or logic her out of it, and that felt like failure.
But she did express some feelings instead of bottling them up. And at the end of it all, she gave me a hug.
Sometimes the win isn't solving everything or having the perfect words. Sometimes it's just being present in the hard moments and letting our kids know they're not alone in them. The hug told me everything I needed to know.
Next Week's Slightly Dicey Plan
I'm attempting to meal prep. I know, I know. But I found these glass containers that click in a very satisfying way when they close, so maybe the dopamine reward will keep me motivated?
I'm also going to try that "one-thing rule" - instead of my usual 47-item daily to-do list, I'm picking ONE thing that would make the day feel successful.
Will it work? Who knows! That's what makes it slightly dicey. 😉
Before You Go...
Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading. Thank you for being part of a community that gets it.
Your brain isn't broken. Your parenting isn't failing. You're not too much, too loud, too sensitive, or too scattered. You're exactly the right amount of everything your family needs.
Even when you're wearing mismatched slippers to the grocery store.
Especially then.
What did you think of this first issue? Hit reply and let me know!
Know another spicy-brained mama who needs this? Forward it their way!
Want to share your own mom brain moment or perfectly imperfect win? I'd love to feature reader stories!
Until next week, keep it spicy (and slightly dicey) 🌶️
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