Review: The @Jabra_US Elite 85h Active Noise Canceling Headphones are AMAZING

Before we get started, I want to thank my friends at Jabra for enthusiastically supporting my efforts to raise Autism awareness and sponsoring this review. All opinions are my own. One of the things that many Autistic kids/adults have in common is something called Sensory Processing Disorder. While I won't get into the details of what SPD is, I've embedded a link a few words back, that explains everything you need to know about SPD. For many with Autism and/or SPD, sound can be very painful and overwhelming. Aside from limiting exposure, which isn't always possible, noise-canceling headphones are the weapon of choice. I'm very grateful that only one of my three kids on the Autism Spectrum struggles with noise sensitivity enough to require the use of noise-canceling headphones. I've…

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Trying to help my kids with some outside the box thinking thanks to @StarkParks

I was chatting with my friends at Stark Parks on Twitter this morning and I was reminded about the new Mindfulness Walk that was completed a few months ago. This is a walk through nature and it consists of 10 stations where you can stop, self-reflect and focus on your mental health. Ten stations promote relaxation, focus and awareness, reflection, and embracing the present moment. Examples include a zen sand garden, a musical instrument, stacking stones, and a labyrinth. It's beautiful and I've been meaning to get the kids out there all summer but it kept slipping my mind. I know the boys are having a very difficult time right now and I thought it might be the perfect time to help them unplug. Everyone was excited to go but Elliott. He was…

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In other news

In other news, Gavin's IVIG Infusion went well. I'm still batting a thousand in the IVIG infusions that don't leak category. Gavin's happy and it also means less pain for him as well. His infusion went pretty quick today. It took less than an hour in total and that's always a good thing. Sometimes it can take four hours or more and that makes him very anxious. Today's infusion was a success and I think Gavin did a fantastic job.

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What a difference a haircut can make

Over the weekend, I was able to get Elliott a major haircut. He hasn't had a haircut this significant since Gavin's wish trip to Florida, and he wasn't happy about it then. His hair was getting out of hand and much harder to maintain. We stopped by on the way home from our train ride on Saturday and got it done. He was remarkably cooperative but his hair was cut shorter than what he was comfortable with. In order to quickly diffuse the situation, I pointed out that he had the same haircut as Season 1 Sam Winchester. Since he was dressing up as Sam for Halloween this year, his frown, quickly turned upside down.. Check out my handsome young man.

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We were able to escape our lives for a little while yesterday

Yesterday was a really long day. It was spent on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, and it was pretty amazing. The boys and I had never ridden on a train before and we can now check that off our bucket list. We arrived early and rode the train to the end of the line. On the return trip, we stopped at the small town of Peninsula, Ohio (population 500). The train would pick us back up about 4 hours later. During that time we were able to explore this beautiful little town and spend time as a family. We had a fantastic lunch, before visiting an art gallery, gift shop, ice cream parlor and a few other little town stores that lined the main street. It was a really nice…

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I’m so incredibly excited about today

I want to close the day on a positive note. I'll talk about the rest later. The boys and I have an early day ahead of us. You may remember I mentioned last month that my birthday present this year was tickets to take the kids on a scenic train ride. We're super excited, as none of us have ever ridden a train before. It's like a stroller for big kids. 😂 We will be spending the day on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Here's a brief video about what we're going to experience. https://youtu.be/qpWfKf3oGv8 It's about an hours drive from our house and we have to leave super early. My parents are coming with us and that's awesome as well. This will take most of the day from what…

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I feel like shit right now

The boys have mostly recovered from a very difficult morning. They were very quiet when they got home, which normally, I'd be throwing into the win column but they were quiet for the wrong reasons. Eventually, the quiet turned into screaming and yelling because Elliott and Emmett were at each other's throats. They just sorta turned on each other. We're now finishing up dinner and I'm taking everyone to the park. I feel like shit right now because this whole thing has me physically and emotionally exhausted. This is a lot to deal with, especially when I have my own emotional struggles I'm working through. That really doesn't matter because there's a greater good being served by pushing myself a little more than I'd like to tonight. These guys need…

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My heart is breaking for my kids

The kids got off to school, but Elliott was already struggling before he left. To his credit, he went anyway and I'm proud of him for pushing himself. I know it's not easy for him or Emmett but it's only been a month and they need time to heal. Being Autistic, likely means that this will be even harder for them. Gavin and I went walking with my Mom after dropping the boys off at school. I think she's about 2 months post knee replacement now and this is the first time I've been able to walk with her for a long time. We used to meet every day and walk a few miles but her knee was so bad that she couldn't. She's doing awesome and we walked 1.5…

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