On a personal note: I have recently had the chance to speak with Karen Chung, founder and chief executive officer of Special Learning, personally. We spoke at length via phone and I'm very impressed with her work. I will be working with Special Learning going forward and I'm excited to see all the good things we can do for the community.  -Rob Gorski Special Learning, Inc. and Step By Step Launch Grassroots Campaign to Raise Money for Families Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder   The Helping Hearts for Autism campaign will raise money for families affected by autism in need of financial support during the holidays. CHICAGO, Illinois, and COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Dec. 5, 2012 – In an effort to recognize the importance of giving to those in need, Special Learning,…

I don't ever really take first place in anything very often. However, I take great pride in being first in line to pick up Elliott from school, at least on most days.  I just wanted to share what it looks like from the front of the line,  to all the people lined up behind me.  :-P I'm really a pretty big dork and get excited over silly things sometimes.... .....but seriously, I was the first one here.

Emmett has been having nightmares at bedtime on the days Gavin has to come home.  The past two relatively sleepless nights for me are evidence of that. Emmett can be challenging on a really good day.  On days were he's not feeling well or really tired, as he is today, he's even more challenging.  Today has thus far been a pretty rough day for everyone.  Lizze missed her therapy session because of a time mix up and Emmett has been, how can I put this nicely, impossible to please.  Neither one of these things alone, would be an easy thing to deal with.  Putting them together is like mixing nitro and glycerin together.  Lizze has been holding her own for the most part today. However, Emmett has been another story…

Lizze and I have come to a realization that her entrance into the @ClevelandClinic Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program. This has nothing to do with money or lack there of.  It has nothing to do with fear or lack of confidence in the program itself. The truth of the matter is the fact that Lizze will only get one shot at this.  One shot to go through this intensive program and come out the other side,  better for it. Because there is such a huge psychological component to pain, Lizze needs to be in an emotional place that will allow her to truly benefit from all the program has to offer. This is easier said than done. Unfortunately, Lizze is still reeling from the very recent loss of her Grandfather. The…

I've never claimed that my family was normal. Clearly, the Lost and Tired family is very unique and besides, normal is boring. This uniqueness carries over to the pets we have welcomed into our lives as well.  In the advent of Sam and Dean joining the Lost and Tired family, we were bound to discover some weird thing that makes them unique to the feline world and a good fit in our family.  That weird thing was discovered, shortly after their arrival.  In a nutshell, when Dean gets scared or upset, he poops.  We're talking that he literally poops, right where he is. It didn't take long for our English Staffy, Maggie, to learn that she could exploit Dean's newly discovered talent. Basically, when Maggie wants a snack, she will…

When I was growing up, I always loved to visit my Grandparents. One of the things that sticks in my mind about my Mom's parents was this bingo set. My Grandma would always let us play with these magnetic wands and these plastic bingo chips with a metal ring around them. We never played bingo, we just loved spreading the chips out and picking them up with the magnetic wand.  I don't know why I remember that so fondly but I do.  When I would visit my Dad's parents, I remember always going down into the basement and getting out this game that was very similar to shuffle board.  Basically, you slid these little puck/marble things down this track.  Whoever got closest to the line with out going over wins. …

We had Gavin home for a little bit this afternoon.  After picking him up from school, I asked him how his classday was. Apparently, that was a big mistake. I honestly don't even know why I put myself through that.  Gavin never answers my questions and when he does, he dances around the truth because he doesn't want us to know. Today was one of those days. Apparently, he had gotten frustrated in Math class.  I asked him what happened.  He couldn't remember. Lizze and I patiently listed off what we thought could have happened and Gavin just said no. Lizze called the school to speak with Gavin's teachers.  We figured that would be the best way to know what actually happened.   Our concern was that maybe he needed…