My thoughts Archives - Page 57 of 1481

My kids visit their mom this week and I have nothing planned for myself

I took the kids hiking today. We found a new trail, where we don't run into anyone else, which is why we don't have masks on in the picture. We had our masks with us in case we came across other humans but we didn't. The kids are going to see their mom this week and I don't think they could be any more excited. Assuming everyone is still healthy, the kids will go to school on Wednesday and I'll drop them off around 2pm. I have absolutely nothing planned for my time while the kids are gone. It would be ideal for me to have a list of things I want to accomplish but the reality is that I don't get breaks very often right now. The kids will…

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September 20, 2020

Shoe shopping online for my #autistic son

Let me just start by saying that I hate shoe shopping for Emmett, even in the most perfect of circumstances. I love Emmett to the moon and back. The issue is not that I don't want to spend the time or money, it's that sensory processing disorder makes finding things like shoes, socks and clothes difficult at times. Although, as he gets older, he's doing so much better. It can still be frustrating though, for both of us. I've talked about this a million times before but people suffering from SPD, and I use the word suffering on purpose, face challenges that the rest of us can't even imagine. In Emmett's case, he's very sensitive to things like texture, taste and smell. He doesn't like the feeling of clothes on…

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September 20, 2020

Akron Children's Hospital / Gastroenterology / Gavin / My thoughts

Gavin keeps losing weight

I've not talked about this in a while but as it's become a problem once again, it's time. Gavin is losing weight after maintaining for a most of the year. He's not losing crazy amounts of weight but he's lost all he's gained. We have an upcoming GI appointment and we're going to discuss the issues with his current labs (Bilirubin) and what, if anything we need to do. This will be done remotely since the labs were already done and it will be safer for Gavin. For his entire life, gaining weight has always been a problem. For much of this year, he was maintaining at 140 lbs and today he's down to 130 lbs. This wasn't overnight but it's where we are today. We've been tracking this forever…

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September 19, 2020

Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

Therapy is helping me become better

I had therapy yesterday and I feel like I'm making progress. I'm the picture of imperfection and I'm the first to admit that but the last to forgive myself for it. This last year has been incredibly challenging for me and that came after the hardest six months of my life. Losing my last two grandparents was so hard and I hadn't yet found my footing when my marriage imploded for a second time. That began a journey I didn't ask to go one but it was something I had no control over. Ensuring the kids got through all this has been my number one priority and honestly, that came at my own expense. Then COVID hit and our lives were turned upside down once again, just like everyone else.…

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September 17, 2020

Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts

My kids cooked me dinner and I’m blown away

One of the things we've been working on during lockdown is life skills. I try to make the best use of all the time we have available to us and it's paying off. First of all, while Elliott and Emmett are both on the autism spectrum, they're incredibly high functioning. Aside from anxiety, SPD and ADHD, they do very well. The reason I point that out is because when I work on life skills, there's a difference between the way I approach the boys and the way I approach Gavin. They're two very different situations. For the last few weeks, Elliott and Emmett have been learning to cook. They never really showed much interest until recently and have picked it up very quickly. Elliott's big thing is scrambled eggs and…

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September 16, 2020

Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

Finding something positive in the remote learning chaos

There are a million reasons why this school year is a nightmare for so many students and families. Parents are struggling to find balance and that included me. I don't see how kids are going to receive the quality education they both need and deserve. That being said, remote and distance learning are necessary evils, for lack of a better term. COVID19 is very dangerous and we're taking this on in order to keep our kids safe, while protecting our teachers and school staff. I get why everyone is frustrated because I'm frustrated, as are my kids. I understand the sacrifice that many parents have to make in order for this to even have a chance of working. I'm not independently wealthy by any stretch of the imagination and I…

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September 16, 2020

My thoughts / Today's Victory

I’m really proud of what we accomplished today, even if others don’t get it

I've not talked about this much but I've started working out again. While I really, really want a treadmill, I'm making do with some free weights and a set of BowFlex kettlebells. There are some serious cardio exercises that can be done with kettlebells. Anyway, I was feeling pretty good today and so I suggested we go to our favorite outdoor location, Quail Hollow. We didn't have a whole lot of time because the boys had therapy but we got in a short hike. Elliott's eyes kill me here. He was goofing around and that's a positive thing. I mean the drive was longer than the hike but the boys got to take some awesome pictures and we found some cool little creatures along the way. We set out with…

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September 15, 2020

My thoughts

I taught my kids something today

We took on an impromptu project this afternoon. The screen door to the balcony off my bedroom was probably original to the house. The balcony is actually called a sleeper porch but we've never used it for that. It's just a nice place to sit in the spring and fall. Anyway, the screen was brittle and had large holes in it. A few months back, I had ordered replacement screen but I never got around to it. With the temps dropping down into the 40's at night, I like having the door open. I decided that I would show Elliott and Emmett how to replace a screen. Gavin was otherwise occupied and wasn't interested in helping until after I had finished. 😂 It took a little while because everything was…

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September 15, 2020