I feel like I have put my overwhelmed, exhausted and unmotivated butt into gear today, at least a little.  I gave both boys tubbies this morning and went to the grocery store.  It's so nice to be able to leave Lizze and the boys at home, while I make a quick run to the store. Both boys are still struggling quite a bit. I think that until we get them in a better place, there won't be much time for rest and recovery. However, the very fact that we are even living in this moment means that we have made progress. Even if only temporary.  My goal for today is to end the day with the house a little more organized than it was when we woke up. While it…

Gavin has been moved out, at least temporarily.  What now? How do we begin to move forward? How do we start to put the pieces back together? These are all things that are racing through my head today.  I think the initial response to the reprieve was one of rest.  However, we have to figure out how to move forward and where to begin. That seems to be a stumbling block for me. Our lives are in a state of dishevel, how do we chose where to start? The only thing that I know is that we have to make sure Elliott and Emmett get what they need to recover from years of their big brothers behaviors. As of today, they are both struggling to process that Gavin is not…

This question may be more difficult to answer or it may be very easy.  Regardless of how tough it is to answer, it's so important to focus on as much positive as you can. Trust me when I tell you that this isn't always easy.  There are plenty of days that I really,  really have to look to find anything positive.  Others days seem to be filled with positives.  What I thought we could do is share our child's best qualities or qualities that we most admire. Share your thoughts in the comments and share this post so we can get more people in the discussion. :-)

I posted about this before but I wanted to share this because I'm really having fun and so is Emmett. Elliott got an Angry Birds game while he was in the Hamptons this past summer. Emmett has sorta taken it over and Elliott's been really good about that.  Emmett and I spent many afternoons building our own levels and using our imaginations.  For something as simple as this game is,  it really is a lot of fun.  We take turns building levels and flinging the Angry Birds at the egg stealing, green piggies.  I would highly recommend this game as it will pass the time, encourage use of your imagination and have you spending time with your kids.  :-)

Lizze has been worse for ware these past few weeks.  Today has been one of the worst fibro days she can remember.  Even if she hadn't shared that with me,  I would know it was bad. How would I know this? That's easy,  every animal in the house is piled on top of her lap. They always do this when she's in great amounts of pain.  In the picture below, Maggie in under the blanket and Bella is one top of Maggie.  Cleo is there somewhere as well.  They always make her feel better. 

It's officially been a week since Elliott began him #ADHD medication.  After speaking with his doctor, we have decided to add a second dose everyday.  This is known as a maintenance dose. Basically, #ADHD medications don't last very long in the body and in Elliott's case, they ware off by about 3pm. The way that is address is by adding an additional dose to be taken just prior to the first dose waring off.  Typically, this second or maintenance dose is half of the first dose.  All this does is help to prolong the positive affects of the medication so that Elliott can derive the benefits for the rest of the day.  So far,  everything is working really,  really well.  He's much more relaxed and focused.  He seems happier and…

Monday will be 4 years to the day,  that I officially adopted Gavin.  We affectionately dubbed it gotcha day. It's always been sorta like a second birthday for him.  Sadly, it's doesn't appear that we will be celebrating with this year.  It's really sad that things have come down to this. I very clearly remember standing before the judge and answering her questions and swearing an oath that I would raise Gavin as my own and take responsibility for him, from that day forth.  Sometimes,  I wonder if I lived up to that promise or if I'm somehow breaking it because of the direction things have taken since that day.  I have loved Gavin from the day I met him.  We became so close and I always looked at him…