The boys definitely were having a rougher day yesterday. Elliott and Emmett can be best friends or worst enemies. I suppose that's part for the course when it comes to brothers.  There is a degree of normalcy here but it's buried beneath a shitload of triggers, and made worse because of inabilities to cope.  I'm thinking we need to keep them as occupied as possible this summer. They tend to get along better when they're occupied.  Another issue we're running into is space. The boys each need their own space, and that's not easy to come by in our house. Gavin has his own room, but Elliott is getting to the age where he's needing space of his own, and outside of his bed, he doesn't have it.  Neither Elliott…

I'm overwhelmed by the kids today, not that it's breaking news, but I'm pushing through my fitness goals for today anyway.  It's days like this that tend to really sorta break me. The stress alone barrels over my self-control like a run away freight train. This is historically, a major weakness on my part.  Today however, I'm doing okay.  I had my usual yogurt medley for breakfast, and I already completed my first session on the treadmill. I'm obviously getting some writing done, and I've caught up on some emails that I needed to get out.  They boys are at each other's throats because they are each triggering negative behaviors from the other. I don't think it's necessarily intentional, but it's definitely a problem.  I've mentioned before that the boys…

I'm finding myself getting frustrated with the boys behavior. In the case of Elliott, it's a mix of Autism, sensory, Anxiety, ADHD, and being a pre-teen. It's sometimes very difficult to know what's behind the behaviors, mood swings, and other challenging behaviors.  There's at least a portion of behavior that I suspect is very typical for the age group, and yet there is a large portion that does seem to have a driving force behind it, that's outside of his control.  It's not easy to know what is what in situations like this, and that's important for knowing where to draw the accountability line.  I don't want to hold my kids accountable for things outside of their control, but at the same time, I don't want a diagnosis to be…