ADHD, Birthdays, and Being Wildly Extra

I don't know how to do "simple"

What I imagine I look like

If you know me in real life, you know this already:I do not do “simple.”

My ADHD does not understand the concept of low-key. I don’t half-commit. I don’t tone it down. I don’t gently tiptoe into things. I leap. Fully dressed. With power tools and frosting.

And this year? This year I leapt straight into holiday-season birthday chaos with two kids whose birthday parties land 4 weeks of each other. During Christmas. Because of course they do.

The birthday tradition they look forward to.

So picture this:

Pokemon-themed treats.

Sonic decorations.

Custom cakes.

Color-coded snack stations.

DIY chaos.

And me — running on four hours of sleep, caffeine, and whatever executive functioning crumbs my brain could locate that week.

So many decorations

Now stack that on top of:

• A full private counselling practice

• Three kids

• A marriage

• Being a student

• Being a daughter

• Being human

• And caring for my dad with dementia five and a half hours away

I coordinate his medical appointments.

His housing.

His bills.

His safety.

His grocery needs.

His care team.

And now — the sale of his home.

Thank God for my amazing friend back home who has stepped in as his cleaner, care helper, house coordinator, and honestly my lifeline. Her cleaning company and her team have been at his house weekly since August. Packing. Cleaning. Fixing. Painting. Coordinating plumbers and carpenters. Holding things together when I can’t physically be there. Humans like her are the glue in this world.

And somehow — somehow — in the middle of all of this — I still decided to go full Pinterest Mom on my kids’ birthdays.

Why?

Because they’re only little once.

I don't normally do frosting, fondant is more my jam... This is more of a 'Temu" Sonic, but hey I tried! LOL

They don’t see my 4am mornings or my 11pm nights.

They don’t see me baking in the dark while the house sleeps.They don’t see me answering emails with one eye open.They don’t see the exhaustion sitting in my bones.

They just see the magic.

And honestly — that part is worth everything.

I leveled up with a round cake

The ADHD Superpower No One Warned Me About

Before my ADHD diagnosis in March of 2025, I didn’t have language for this kind of intensity. I thought I was just “a bit extra.” Turns out there’s a neurological explanation for why I can hyper-focus an entire birthday party into existence while forgetting where I put my phone twelve times a day.

ADHD is chaos.

But it’s also creativity.

It’s energy.

It’s vision.

It’s intensity.

It’s building magic out of thin air.

The problem isn’t the ADHD.

The problem is the cost of running it nonstop.

For the past two months, my days have started at 4am and ended around 11pm. That’s not hustle culture. That’s survival mode with a glue gun.

We won't talke about the fact that the third ring explored into three pieces and I had to ask ChatGpt if I can use hot glue on styrofoam

And I won’t pretend that I’m thriving physically. I’m tired. Deep tired. The kind of tired that sits behind your eyes.

But emotionally? My cup is full.

Because my kids’ faces when they walked into those parties?

That’s fuel.

Chaos, Counselling, and Carrying Too Much at Once

Some weeks, I move between being a therapist, a mother, a daughter, a student, a business owner, and a crisis coordinator for my dad — all in the same day.

One hour I’m holding space for a client’s trauma.

The next I’m coordinating a plumber five and a half hours away.

Then I’m baking.

Then I’m emailing.

Then I’m folding laundry.

Then I’m trying to remember if I fed myself.

There are days where my nervous system feels like it’s juggling seventy tabs open at once.

And yet — here I am — still choosing to show up loud, bright, tired, and incredibly imperfect.

The Part My Kids Never See

They never see the nights I collapse into bed.

They never see the spreadsheets.

They never see the worry.

They never see the mental load.

Happy Birthday Girl and some custom made T-shirts

They just see:

Mom made a Pokemon cake.

Mom planned games.

Mom laughed.

Mom was there.

And that’s what they’ll remember.

Gotta love a theme

For the “Extra” Moms and the Quiet Observers

If you’re a DIY mom running on vibes and caffeine, I see you.If you’re watching the chaos from the couch thinking “absolutely not,” I see you too.If your brain runs fast, if your heart runs deep, and if your energy runs on dangerous levels of determination — you are my people.

This is the ADHD superpower no one warned me about:

The ability to make magic while quietly unraveling a little behind the scenes.

And somehow still finding joy in the middle of it.

Where are the cleaning elves?????

 This space is where calm meets chaos, where cozy meets courage, and where we learn to live gently alongside our loud minds. Whether you’re navigating mental health, ADHD, parenthood, exhaustion, creativity, or all of the above at once — you belong here. These blogs, these products, and this brand are built for real humans doing their best in messy, meaningful lives. You don’t have to have it all together to be worthy of rest, humor, comfort, and connection.

If You’re New Here… Hi, I’m Ashley

Welcome to my cozy, chaotic, mental-health-meets-creativity corner of the internet.

I’m a Licensed Counselling Therapist in New Brunswick, who also happens to design ADHD-friendly, emotionally relatable, sometimes hilarious products inspired by the stories I hear in my counselling office and the life I live as a mom, wife, caregiver, and human.

If this is your first blog of mine—hi! I’m so glad you’re here. You can find all my products on Etsy, more of my writing on my website, and behind-the-scenes chaos on Instagram.

This is what blog post creation looks like at 5am, while everyone is still asleep and the Sonic decorations are partially intact.