I thought this was something that might benefit other families so I decided that I would share it here on Lost and Tired.  If you are a regular reader then you have probably already seen many of the videos I have posted pertaining to my oldest son, Gavin, and his meltdowns. For many years we have been dealing or rather, trying to deal with these meltdowns. Over the years they have become much more aggressive and potentially dangerous, not to mention disruptive and often times destructive. When he has these meltdowns, he is essentially holding the people in the house hostage. He doesn't seem to show regard for how this behavior negatively impacts the people around him and that is something that I'm trying to address. I have always said that I…

It never seems like Christmas without snow,  at least here in Ohio. Mother Nature was a few days late when it came to the snowfall,  but better late than never...right? Incidentally,  this is the weather that truly keeps Lizze down. The cold weather is really bad for her arthritis and her muscle pain.  She really needs to live somewhere like,  Arizona. Any of my readers reside there? Posted from WordPress for Android

Alright,  the day has already started to go downhill.  I went into the bathroom this morning and found a mess.  It had all the hallmark signs of Gavin being responsible.  I simply asked him about it and he immediately began,  what I'm going to call the Monkey Dance. He began jumping up and down,  all while dramatically flailing his arms above his head. All I did was ask him if he had made the mess.  His response,  aside from the monkey dance,  was to say,  "probably yes and probably no".  I said to him in reply,  "Gavin,  you either did or you didn't".  All he would say,  while continuing to jump around was,  "I don't know, probably yes and probably no". I get why he was answering this way.  He…

I posted something earlier about "breaking the cycle".  In order to try and get everyone in a better place,  I decided that we would all go out to dinner. My goal was to remove everyone from the chaos long enough to hopefully break up the tension and allow everyone to get into a better place. Well,  we went out to the local Chinese buffet tonight. I would say it went well but that wouldn't exactly be the case. I think that overall,  they did pretty well considering. Gavin demonstrated once again that he has no filter. He talked,  in a very loud outside,  about needing to go to the bathroom.  He also used alot of detail,  enough so that it was disturbing to those around us trying to eat. Elliott…

Today's Victory is brought to you by Elliott and Emmett.  Despite all the fallout from the holidays,  they actually got along for a little bit this afternoon. They were playing Sonic Generations together on the PS3.  They were taking turns and working together to get further in the game.?? It was a pleasant change from the rest ofnthe day. Great work boys.  Daddy is so very proud of you both for working together instead of fighting.  Keep it up.  :-) UPDATE: Someone had asked about PS3 games I would recommend for kids. I replied to the comment but also thought I would add this information to the post because it may be helpful to more people .   You should check out the games, Flow and Flower. They are really organic…

I was wondering how everyone's holiday went?  At the Lost and Tired house we are seeing overstimulation out the wazoo.  My kids are all running around like chicken's with their heads cut off. Gavin has been completely out of it and I don't know how to help him. He almost seems manic but his Lithium level was just test the other day and everything is fine. He's back to having to tell me every single thing that he is thinking about.  I've told him many,  many times now that I don't need to hear everything that he's thinking but it doesn't seem to work. When I say he tells me everything,  I mean everything.  The constant talking is maddening and I truly mean that. All the boys,  in general, have…

OMG,  my kids are beyond overstimulated.  Everyone is at each other's throats. It's like a cycle,  in the sense that the more the fight with each other,  the more overstimulated they become.  When things get this bad,  I typically try to break that cycle by removing everyone from the situation. Tonight,  I think that it's one of those times where I need to get everyone out of the house and out to dinner. We do this,  only on the rarest of occasions because it's not an easy task.  However,  desperate times call for desperate measures. In a few minutes I will get the boys packed up and help Lizze out to the car.  I think Chinese food is in order and I hope this helps to break the cycle of…

T'was the night after Christmas and all through the house not a creature was string except me because I can't freaking sleep.  :-( I'm exhausted but Mr.  Elliott Richard has been puking his guts out for most of the night. He'll sleep for a little bit and then start tossing and turning.  That is an indication that his tummy is hurting him again. If he wakes up he will likely puke again,  or at least dry heave,  which to me is even worse. However,  if I rub his back and pat,  he falls back asleep and doesn't get sick.  So I guess I'm on call tonight,  so to speak.  My litter man is truly miserable,  and ifnthis helps him to feel better then it's well worth the sleepless night.  I…