Phone calls from the school during the school day are never good

Just when I thought things were finally settling down and we could catch our breath from all the Gavin drama this morning, Lizze gets a phone call. Elliott is in the school office with a fever and needs to come home. I had to drop what I was doing to retrieve him from the office and bring him home. Of course, I would drop everything to retrieve one of my kids, what parent wouldn't? Elliott isn't feeling well, but I'm glad that we were able to make him more comfortable. I'm currently waiting for Emmett to come out of the school and he's going to be a bit flustered because he doesn't like surprises. This will probably throw him off and make waves in his world for a little while.…

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We came we saw we struggled, but we survived

The appointments went pretty well. Everyone is doing okay, and Elliott was even able to avoid bloodwork. Emmett, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He needed bloodwork and ended up having to sit in line for over an hour to get it done. He was not happy about this, and I took the other kids out to the car, while Lizze waited for him to be called back. Once he was called back, he did great. It was just the anxiety created by the wait, that was causing him the most distress. We just arrived home, and he's doing much better. The rest of the day will likely be a mixed bag because he's most certainly overstimulated from this mornings events. I will not be surprised in the…

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It’s a very stressful morning

It's not been a super fun morning. I had assumed that Elliott would be struggling this morning, but it ended up being Emmett who was struggling. When Emmett gets stressed out, he struggles even more with sensory related issues. This morning it was socks. He couldn't find a pair of socks that he felt comfortable wearing. It led to a pretty disruptive meltdown and a significant delay in our departure time. To his credit, he did work through it and is feeling a bit better right now. We were lucky not to have any significant traffic issues. We left about 7:45 AM and our appointment is at 9 AM. It takes one hour and fifteen minutes to get there on a good day. We made it at 8:55 AM. 😀…

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Praying today isn’t a total nightmare

In the morning, we have to be at the immunologist. This means another trip to Cleveland, and we have to be there by 9 AM so that it will be a very early morning. Unfortunately, both Elliott and Emmett will need blood work while we're there. That's not going to go well. It's not going to go well at all. Emmett will be nervous, but he'll work through it. Elliott on the other hand, will not be so adaptive. Elliott is terrified of needles and has been stressing out for the last week or so because he remembered that he would need to have blood work done. I can see this going very badly for him and subsequently the rest of us as well. The last time Elliott had blood…

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I’m frustrated, heartbroken and unable to sleep

Life has been getting in the way of writing lately and that's frustrating. This is a major outlet for me and when it's impeded, I tend to struggle a bit more. My intention with this post is to play catch-up. I think the last time I wrote anything significant was in regards to our chaotic trip to the immunologist eariler in the week, so we'll pick things up after that. The following day, I had a doctor's appointment of my own. It was just a check-up with my primary but the results of the check-up were relatively significant, at least for me. The appointment went really well. My blood pressure was perfect and my weight is continuing to drop off. My big concern was the results of my recent lab…

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I’m not a quitter but I wonder how long I can keep this up

We had a really rough night with Elliott. He's struggling a great deal emotionally and I don't know how to reach him. He's so angry, hurt and scattered but we aren't sure why because much of what he is upset about, never happened. His perception is often inaccurate and there is no convincing him that he's misunderstood or misinterpreted a situation. He feels that he's not loved or that he doesn't matter to us and I don't even know what to say. Of course he's loved and he absolutely matters. We tell him and show him that all the time but that message seems to be getting lost and that's a problem. We've spoken to his therapist at length about this. She's known us very well since before Lizze was…

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We’re laying my Grandfather to rest this morning and this is what we’re doing with the kids

It's going to be a rough day. My Grandfather's funeral is this morning and it's about an hour away. Calling hours will immediately be followed by the funeral. It's all in one day and I guess that's a thing now. Honestly, it's better this way because it makes it easier for everyone to be there for everything and that's important. After several discussions with Dr. Pattie, my parents, Lizze's parents and some of you, we decided to give the boys the opportunity to attend the funeral. This is only for Elliott and Emmett, as it's best for all, including Gavin, if he stays back. Both boys wanted to go and until last night, that was the plan. While I was out walking last night, Elliott decided that it would be…

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Today’s #Autism parenting journey in pictures

Today was a mixed bag of really awesome, really frustrating and a bit of whatever fell in between. Overall, we made some amazing memories today. We ended up having to go through some shit to make them but that's all part of the journey, right? Of course it is... I thought I would do things a little different today. Rather than write a 1,000 words, I will share a few pictures from key moments that took place today and briefly explain why they were pivotal moments. ☺ This took place immediately after our guy time this afternoon. We said goodbye to my Dad and brother before heading to Giant Eagle for some desperately nedded groceries. I normally don't take all three boys with me to grocery store because it ends…

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