A bit of exercise and fresh air does the body good. Frankly, it does the mind and soul good as well. I was feeling depressed and emotionally drained today but was able to get out for my walk. I walked just over three miles and feel so much better. Exercise is such an important part of self-care. While it's obviously good for the physical body, it also helps to decompress and better manage the insane amounts of stress associated with Autism parenting. I'm so grateful that Lizze was feeling better after her nap, and I was able to go. All I have left to do is go to spend time with my Grandma. I'm going to bring some work in case she's sleeping. I can just get some things done…

I feel really rundown today, but it's mostly emotional. Lizze isn't having a good day at all, but the boys are doing okay. Gavin's been in his room for most of the day but occasionally stops down to see if there's anything he can do to help. Lizze has been down for a little while, and I'm hoping I can go walking once she wakes up. I still need to go see my Grandma and continue working on some projects for work. With everything going on, I've gotten a bit behind. I'm trying very hard not to be overwhelmed, but that's not going so well. One of the big things I'm working on is in regards to location tracking for kids who wonder. I'm really excited to get this out…

Good morning folks. We have absolutely nothing going on today. Well, Lizze has a 9 AM appointment, but that's about the extent of our outside obligations. I'm still going to go walking and will definitely visit my Grandma, but I'm okay with not having anywhere else to be today. I have a few writing deadlines I need to meet, as well as some laundry that needs to be done, but that's about it. A quiet day sounds perfect.

I need to put all the Autism and Special Needs Parenting stuff aside for a little while tonight. I need to instead focus on the very human side of my life. This is the part of my life that isn't influenced by things like Autism. It's actually rare to find things in my life that aren't influenced by all those challenges, but this is a bit different. Tonight we celebrated my last remaining Grandmother's, 94th birthday. She's actually my last remaining Grandparent period. The nursing home reserved the common room for us, and we had a pizza party and watched the Cleveland Indians play. My Grandma loves the Indians, and we all watched the game with her. She was having a rough night and wasn't sure she was up to…

We have a jam-packed day, and it's not off to a good start. I was supposed to go walking, but as I am pulling away from my house, and heading to the park, this happened. Instead of scrapping the morning, I decided to get Gavin's bloodwork done right away. Perhaps the rain will subside by the time he's done, and I'll be able to go walking before lunch. It wasn't so much the rain that stopped me from going but rather intense lightning. After lunch, Lizze has the dentist. I'll have all the kids with me in the car while we're waiting for her. It's too far for her to drive herself and it shouldn't take too long. As an experienced Autism parent, I know when I'm walking into a…

We're having a pretty decent day so far. I've spent the morning taking pictures of review items and preparing to work on the write-ups for each item. The boys have been playing together and playing together nicely. I can't explain how nice it is to see that. They don't get along very well because of them being in different developmental places. I'm thrilled to see them playing together. 😀 Gavin's been incognito for most of the day. He must be running missions and saving the world. As bad as it sounds for me to say this, I'm grateful he's otherwise occupied because if he weren't, he'd most likely be driving me crazy with his constant talking. Sometimes I need a break from his voice, and while it may sound harsh,…