My friend Mitch Leppicello, LICSW, has 30 years of experience with autistic kids and their families. He's here to share some tips for managing the transition to summer.
I've had a really good day today. I re-entered the land of people who practice self-care and that feels so good. Basically, I went back to the gym after a month long hiatus. Working out is such a positive thing for me, both emotionally and physically. I wasn't making it a priority in my life and I wanted to change that today. When I got home from working out, I felt really good. I had a smoothie and hung out with Gavin and Ruby for a bit. Gavin was lost in a game and Ruby has the deer in the headlights look on her face. Lol The boys seemed to have a good day as well. Gavin got his new glasses. Huge thanks to his grandparents for spearheading that for…
So we got a new dog recently. I hadn't planned on that but I was trying to help someone out and honestly, we've wanted a second dog since Maggie died three years ago. It was one of those things that just kinda happened in the moment and wasn't really thought out. The kids are thrilled and Ruby seems to be happy as well, so it all worked out. He's a 4 month old Corgipoo and his name was Toby. We're weird about names in our house and if we are going to do this, we're going to do it our way. He needs crate trained and broken of some bad habits but we're making decent progress. One of the things we decided to do was change his name. He wasn't…
Holidays this past year have looked a little bit different than anything we have ever celebrated before. Christmas was confined to immediate family only and New Year’s Eve was a casual affair. And with Easter quickly approaching, it seems like it will be the second Easter celebration in a row that will be kept to your close circle. However, just because we can’t celebrate Easter in the way we want to, surrounded by tons of friends and family, does not mean it still can’t be fun. You just have to think of creative ways to celebrate Easter at home! If anything, the pandemic has shown us how to make doing things at home more fun and meaningful than we ever thought possible. Here are 6 fun ways to celebrate Easter…
A road trip is one of the most enjoyable ways to spend time with your family. Thanks to the ability to drive to whatever destination you like, these trips can be a fun and exciting way and to expand your experiences, and bring your family closer together. However, there is no denying that long hours in a car can make parents and children cranky. To make your family’s next road trip a success, here are some tips that will help you prepare properly. Get Your Vehicle Ready Before you even think about going on a road trip you need to make sure that your vehicle is in proper working order. The best thing to do is to schedule an appointment with a mechanic. Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels Make…
It's been a couple days and I wanted to share something before I crash for the night. This will be brief because I'm exhausted and I'll try to follow up later. The other day, I called Lizze to find out if they'd been locked down for at least 14 days. They had been and so I suggested making arrangements for the boys to go over for a few days. It's been since September and that's really hard on her and the kids. We had decided to shut visits down until COVID was under control. That's the only reason she hasn't seen them. Since the insurrection at the Capitol Building and the current threats for this coming week, as well as how much worse COVID is getting, I thought we should…
In a perfect world, we would all butcher our own meat, grow our own organic vegetables, and water them with unicorn tears. But in reality, we are just too busy. We have a job, kids, schoolwork, piano lessons, and soccer practice. This easily gives me an excuse to eat fast food and put my family’s health at risk. Though fast food can be fun for a rare treat, We know that whole foods with little to know chemical processing are the best bet. That’s where an air fryer became my new BFF. These things are so speedy. Not everyone has time to wait on the large oven as it heats to 375. Practice starts at 7 pm! This handy appliance is a hero! Mine will heat up very quickly. Some…
We're going to have a quiet evening tonight as we ring in the new year. We have no plans for anything other than maybe watching some movies and spending time together. I ordered dinner for us and it should be dropped off shortly. It's one of those days that I'm really struggling to keep my head above water. I'm frustrated. I'm overwhelmed. I'm spent. I feel like this is quite possibly the loneliest I've ever been in my life. I've mentioned before that I'm a sentimental person and this is one of those times where I feel the loss of my marriage. It's just one of those things and I struggle a bit on these days. As time passes these moments won't be so impactful and I'll make new memories.…