Oh sugar, sugar.

            I often joke that someone has slipped my boys crack when they’re acting crazy.  Lately, they’ve been crazier more times than not.  And I’ve been absolutely drowning in what I have now dubbed “The Summer of Misbehavior.”  It’s kind of like the Island of Misfit Toys, only inside my house and not nearly as fun.

I’ve never been sensitive to the effects of caffeine or sugar, not that my kids have ever had caffeine in any form other than chocolate.  But when my mom visited last week and watched my kids’ behavior spiral downward over the course of an afternoon, she mentioned her own sensitivity to it and how it makes her buzz.  It never occurred to me that I was the one providing the “crack.”  I was my kids’ sugar dealer.  Therefore, the following day, we made sugar completely off limits.  And a miracle happened.

Well, miracle might be a bit strong; the boys were in no way perfect.  But they were much more manageable than any other day in recent history.  There was significantly less hitting, throwing, playroom demolition, and early evening Thunderdome activity.

When I started adding up all of the poolside popsicles, trips to Cupcake (Ok, a lot of these trips were made because of my obsession with cupcakes), outings to YOBE/Yogurt Mountain/32 Degrees, and Kate’s wonderful baking skills, I realized we are a family of sugar addicts.  And detox is not very fun.

After leaving the Children’s Museum yesterday afternoon, the kids and I automatically started walking toward Cupcake.  It’s how we always round out our museum trips.  But a block away from cake-devouring Heaven, I realized the mistake, and stopped them short.  I had to decide if it was worth the fight to tell them no and listen to the complaints all the way home, or let them have the sugar then deal with the fallout for the next three hours.  Ultimately, I opted to drag them screaming back to the parking garage without the sugar.

It’s not that I will never allow them to have sugar again, but I will definitely be more judicious about its distribution.  If it’s a rainy day and we’re going to be trapped inside for hours on end, there will definitely be no sugar.  If we’re having Sunday Funday or heading to Charles Towne Landing for a long walk, it’s probably ok.  I know there are sugar-free alternatives and we might give some of those a try too.  But in general, the daily treats of summer are a thing of the past.  At least for the kids…