A small break does a Daddy good

The boys are gone for a day of fun with their Grandma, Great Aunt and some cousins.  They're going to be touring a local chocolate factory.   Lizze and I are really tired and will be taking advantage of the rest.   I haven't even thought about dinner yet but I suppose I should.  Grocery shopping didn't happen because our budget fell through.  I should be able to go on Saturday, so we only have to make it one more day.   I've been sitting on the porch, listening to neighbors fighting but trying to enjoy the weather anyway, cause it's beautiful.  Lizze is taking a nap on the couch but she did some writing today as well. She's opened up about the classes she's been taking and why she's…

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A break from the chaotic week

It's going to be a slower day for us.  That's not a bad thing at all because it's been a really challenging week so far.   Lizze has an appointment in the morning and when she gets home, I have to take Gavin for his bloodwork. At some point, God willing, we'll go grocery shopping.  One of my goals is to get caught up on some writing, reviews and get my monthly newsletter back on track.  It's been a few months since I've published one and I'm supposed to be doing it monthly.   Depending on the weather, maybe I'll work in the yard for a little while. My Dad and I have been working on getting the outside of the house caught up. It's a lot of work but…

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You won’t believe what I’ve found in my bed over the last three or four nights

As I get back into writing after a day or two of life getting in the way, I thought I would start off with something that's just too fricking adorable and precious, not to share.   As you know, Emmett and sometimes Elliott, just can't fall asleep in their own beds.   This is habitual for Emmett and occasional for Elliott.   I don't know what's behind this for sure but I know Emmett has nightmares and Elliott has anxiety. They can't seem to relax or feel safe enough to fall asleep, unless their in our bed.   This is especially true for Emmett.   What happens is that they will try to fall asleep in their own beds. Elliott usually can but Emmett simply cannot.   After an hour…

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#Autism Parenting is a truly unique and challenging experience, set inside the larger world of parenting in general

I sure have been quiet lately and I'm sorry for that.  The truth is I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed and writing about it sometimes feels like living through it twice. Forcing myself to write doesn't end up being helpful at all because it's writing to maintain the blog instead of writing to maintain myself. That said, I'm feeling the need to write and so here I am. I think the last thing I talked about was Gavin's current state of cognition and how it's heartbreakingly regressing once again. The summer has run its course and I think everyone needs the school routine back. Things have gotten stale and while I love my kids to infinity and beyond, we've spent a great deal of time together with very few breaks in between.…

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It’s been a rough day and this is all I have for now

I'm really sorry that I haven't written much of anything today.  I've been way to wrapped up in trying to survive the day, that writing about anything just wasn't going to happen.   Personally, I'm struggling a bit and can't seem to get my footing right now.   Gavin's a mess.  He's seriously struggling and Dr. Pattie saw that for herself tonight during therapy. Gavin had the first aggressive and self-injurious meltdown he's had in a really long time.   We had to move him away from his brothers and sit him on the floor.  I will say that he did get himself under control and I'm really proud of him for that.  He worked through it but it's just more evidence that something is wrong. Gavin hits these cycles…

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I’m really happy with my service call from @vivinthome today

I mentioned that Vivint had to come out today to replace one of the cameras because it would no longer focus.  It's the camera from Elliott and Emmett's room, so I really wanted to get that fixed. My usual tech wasn't available, so I had someone else for the first time. He was also training someone, so there was a second tech here as well. Both guys did a really good job and I was very comfortable with them in the house.  Having three kids with special needs, I get nervous when strangers come into the house because it can disrupt the day but everyone did fine. Does it bother me that a camera stopped working? Sure it does. That being said, it's technology and sometimes this happens. My big…

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Things should calm down today 

Thankfully, today is going to be pretty quiet.  I have Vivint coming out to replace a broken camera and Lizze has an appointment both before and after lunch.   There's no therapy for Gavin or Emmett today cause it's an off week for Gavin and Emmett doesn't start back until next month.   We do have Dr. Pattie tonight for family therapy but that's about it.  It totally looks like a quiet day ahead of us and I'm grateful for that after yesterday.  I hope you and yours have the best day possible..  ☺ 

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I’m exhausted, scared and overwhelmed 

It's been a trying day from start to finish.  We had victories and moments of sheer terror today. I'm going to skip the part where Gavin wandered off and ended up lost for short time that seemed like forever because you can read that here. I wrote a post about that earlier and frankly, I don't have the energy to rehash it right now.  Just check out the link if you want to catch up on that. While we were getting everyone ready for the out of town trip to the dentist, I told Gavin that I wanted to trim his sideburns.  They were getting kinda scraggly and needed touched up. He told me that he wanted to do them himself, using the new razor he got for Christmas last year.…

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