I gonna be really honest, this week hasn't started out well and doesn't seem to be improving at all. I posted this morning about Gavin coming home, sick and in pain. We were all set to take him to Akron Children's because Gavin appeared to be on his "death bed" for lack of better terms. We wanted to get him ANY and ALL help we could. We canceled ALL of Emmett's VERY important appointments in order to help Gavin. I was sleeping when Gavin got home (Thanks Lizze). When this was brought to my attention I went to check on him in his room. I was a medic for a long time and I have cared for countless patients. I learned to tell the difference real pain and drama. With…

Gavin just home this morning. He's white as a ghost and in pain. Lower right quadrant pain to exact. He has been on meds to help him be more..um..regular. To my knowledge, they have been working, so I'm not sure what's going on. We are either headed to Akron or Aultman as soon as we find a place for Emmett. Hopefully it will turn out to be nothing as Gavin says he hasn't eaten anything that's "non-food". Please say a prayer that he feels better and this is nothing serious. Thanks - Lost and Tired Please Vote for Lost and Tired (just click the link) and help me spread Autism Awareness. Everyone can Vote once a day :)

We shipped off Gavin to Lizze's parents tonight. Gavin needed a break and quite frankly, so did we. Elliott is spending the night at my parents house. He was SO excited to go. As crazy as it sounds, I really struggle with Elliott not being home. I'm ok with Gavin gone because he was driving everyone crazy and so it was good for everyone involved to get a break. Elliott, while frustrating, at times as well, is just different for me. Elliott doesn't stress me out the way Gavin's behaviors can. Call me what you will but I'm just being honest. I love Gavin but his behaviors take a toll on me and sometimes we need time apart. Emmett has so far slept straight through the night, for the first…

I want to take a minute while I have one to make an announcement. As many of you may be aware of, I have started a program called Android4Autism. I know first hand what it's like to NOT be able to communicate with your child. It's a heartbreaking and helpless feeling. My wife and I have experienced those same feelings with our youngest, Emmett. Emmett is severely language and speech delayed. It's heartbreaking for me as a father to struggle to communicate with my son. While he's learning new words we still struggle much of the time to have even the most basic understanding of what he's trying to say. Recently, I have turned my hobby of developing ROM's for Android powered smartphones into a way to help Emmett learn new words, build confidence…

Kellie, ignore the cricket part and just watch the very end. I'm really excited by this. :)   Emmett and I hung out at the pet store today for a little while. We had to get Crickets for Toothless, Elliott's Bearded Dragon. Emmett was very excited to see the fish, so we spent a good half hour walking from tank to tank. Finally, we had to leave so we got the crickets we were there for and were on our way home.   [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM1yP1we0zo[/youtube]

As I have posted about many times before, Gavin doesn't respond to things in the same manner other children would. So often times we have to employ "outside the box" thinking, as conventional means have no impact. Gavin had a meltdown this morning. He had it in his room away from everyone else. This time I didn't intervene at all. In fact I didn't even goes upstairs until he was done. In the spirit of honesty, this was mostly because I was just to tired to play this game today with him. So don't think it was some brilliant parenting move on my part because you would be giving me WAY to much credit today. That said, when I did go up to check on him, to my surprise, he…

It takes $3 worth of Walgreen's over priced water to flush a toilet once. :) Also, even though your kids "NEVER" remember to flush the toilet ANY other time, they will when it costs $3 per flush.... It's like literally flushing money down the drain :(  

As I am writing this Gavin is upstairs having a giant meltdown (has been for a little while) and Emmett just spilled his chocolate milk ALL over the floor. Over the past few weeks I haven't been posting as much because things are just getting more and more challenging. Finding the time to even post a quick blog has not been easy or honestly, even a priority. So, I'm trying to fix that for a couple of reasons. First, it's my outlet, a safe place to vent and share my thoughts and feelings. Second, it's important for people to understand just how "life" can impact a special needs family. So here's to getting back on track :) Remember I wrote about the van getting "fixed" about a week or so ago? It…