Admittedly, I've not been having a lot of really good days lately.  I'm completely and utterly overwhelmed, with a dwindling sense of hope.  Unfortunately, I can't allow myself to succumb to these feelings of despair because I have too many people relying on me. I have to find ways of snapping myself out of this, so I can find the strength and courage to soldier on. One of the things that I try to do is make it a point to find something that makes me feel happy. My family obviously makes me happy but sometimes, I have to focus on something just for me.  This will probably sound a little strange but I absolutely love The Penguins of Madagascar cartoon.  We have a few of the multi-episode movies and…

This vicious dog concern has been a problem for most of 2013. Honestly, we've had problems with stray dogs coming on to our porch and into our yard without our knowledge, for years. Our backyard is completely fenced but it opens right up onto our front porch, with no gate to keep out unwanted visitors. We had a few instances where we've let the dogs out, only to be surprised by a dog hiding around the corner of house.  Maggie and Bella are good with other animals but that doesn't mean that other animals are good with Maggie and Bella. A year or so ago, we had a pack of dogs roaming the neighborhood, killing cats and scaring people. They made their way into our fenced in yard at one…

In my last post I was telling you everything that was already weighing heavy on me.  Now I'm going to tell you what happened that's got everyone freaked out.  Shit went down in our constantly deteriorating neighborhood that if I hadn't witnessed, I wouldn't have believed. Unfortunately, not only did I witness this but so did the boys. Lizze had just gone to take a nap and the boys and I were in the living room. I happen to look out my front window as I was talking to my Mother on the phone.  She was going to hang out with the boys, so Lizze and I could grab a nap. Neither one of us had been to bed yet.  I was too stressed out to sleep and Lizze has…

I'm at my wits end right now and need to purge.  I'm just writing to try and calm down.  I'm already stressed out to the max and today has pushed me over the edge.  If you have anything negative to say after reading what I'm about to share, please keep it to yourself. I'm literally purging because I need to calm down before the kids get home. This is my reality. This is my life.  I'm not asking for anything and you certainly don't have to read any further if you don't want to. Most of you have found some meaning or inspiration in reading about our lives and our struggles.  While that always amazes me, it also feels good to know that something positive can come from our struggle.…

OMG......  It's so incredibly and cruely ironic that all I look forward to doing during the day is going to sleep and yet when the time comes, I can't. Lizze and I are both too stressed out to sleep and of course, Lizze also has all the menopausal things hindering her as well. In four hours one of us has to be on our way to get Gavin to Akron Children's Hospital for his IVIG Infusion. I don't think that there's any wiggle room on this, although there may be some.  If we absolutely must, we could probably get him in early next week and that would still be within our window. It's going to come down to simply one thing.  Can either one of us safely get behind the…

In a few short hours, Gavin will be on his way to Akron Children's Hospital for his monthly IVIG Infusion. Lizze will likely be taking him this time because it's far easier on her to go than stay home will Elliott and Emmett. The E's and I will be hanging out in the morning, while Lizze and Gavin pay their visit to the outpatient infusion lab. We are quickly approaching the 3rd anniversary of Gavin's primary immunodeficiency diagnosis and his very first IVIG Infusion. Come the first week of January, it'll be 3 years down and a lifetime left to go. The keyword being lifetime. Finding out when your son is 11 years old that he no longer has a functioning immune system is devastating. There is no cure and…

I wanted to try something a little different and even unrelated to the main topic of this site. The Lost and Tired family is a family of very little means. As such, we don't get out as often as we would like to.  Having said that, I thought it would be really cool to demonstrate all the amazing things you can show your kids, without ever leaving your yard. It's cost effective, fun and educational, all at the same time. I'm calling this little mini-series, Backyard Adventures. What I'm going to do is attempt to show you some of the really cool things that Mother Nature has to share with us. All of these things will be found in my own backyard, literally.  I'm going to use this and try…