Bella has popped 2 more stitches and there appears to be some infection.  Thankfully, everything seems to be healed enough that there's no gaping, open wound. I had to rebandge her again and she will be wearing the cone of shame again as well.  I'm not sure when she got into the stitches but most likely while we were sleeping.  We haven't left her alone since her surgery. Hopefully,  everything will check out okay in the morning and she won't need restitched. **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Autism Help Forum Look for "Autism Help" app at the Google Play Store This was posted via WordPress for Android, courtesy of Samsung's Galaxy S III. Please forgive any typos. I do know how to spell…

OMG..... The kids are not listening. That's not entirely true,  Emmett is listening,  for the most part. Elliott and Gavin are not vibing today and that's causing some challenges.  Gavin will say something to Elliott,  which upsets him.  Elliott comes to us and tells us what Gavin said.  Gavin denies everything and says that "Elliott misheard him".  That's pretty much history goto answer anymore.  Everyone always "mishears" him.  This whole thing sets into motion a string of events that continuously feeds off of itself. The whining,  yelling, fighting, bickering and constant denial of responsibility makes life unpleasant.  Lizze is not having a very pain free day.  She's in the middle of a nasty flare up,  thanks to the recent weather. Is there an end to this in sight?  Yes there…

As special needs parents,  life is never really easy.  It's hard to have to make some of the decisions we have to.  I know from personal experience that it doesn't always feel good either. Often times I find myself struggling to do what I know is right because it won't be understood. I'm not looking for the approval of others but when well intentioned people don't understand,  it makes things more difficult. It raises doubt and that's something I already have enough of on my own. What people don't seem to remember is that kids don't come with instructions.  Most of the time,  parents find a way to navigate through the challenges they face raising their children.  However,  special needs parents aren't so lucky.  More often than not,  we find…

It's really weird.  I need a break but when I get one,  I spend the time missing my kids. That's pretty messed up.  Damned if I do, damned if I don't.  Anyway,  I woke up a little while ago and forgot that they weren't here.  I went and checked on Elliott before remembering that they were both at grandma's house tonight. I guess I'm just missing them right now.  :-( Yesterday morning,  the boys and I were goofing around with my phone and took some random pictures.  This one happens to be my favorite..as well as the current wallpaper on my phone.  :-) **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Autism Help Forum Look for "Autism Help" app at the Google Play Store This was…

Elliott and Emmett spent the night with Lizze's parents.  Gavin was in kind of a weird place tonight.  He almost seemed manic.  He was moving around and speaking at a thousand miles an hour. This is very typical of a manic phase.  We were worried about lithium toxicity and the problem may actually be the exact opposite. Tonight went on without incident and Lizze and basically vegged out on the couch.  She worked on her blog and I work on Skyrim. Absolutely nothing was productive tonight and I'm okay with that for now. The boys will be back in the morning, so I'm going to try to get some sleep before that phone call comes,  telling us that they are on their way. Truth be told,  I miss my little…

I have no idea what the hell is going great on but Gavin is straight up,  looking right through Lizze, as though she wasn't there.  He doesn't have any explanation for this.  He claims that he just forgets to ask her for things. Something doesn't feel right about this. It just weird me out. Maybe it's just a phase,  and it's only this creepy because his lack of emotion.  Perhaps it's completely innocent and nothing to worry about.  It just doesn't feel right.  I mean,  when you pair this up with the way he treats her when he does actually engage with her,  it's just not right.  I think we are going to have to focus a bit more on this in therapy.  For right now, I just do everything…

This afternoon,  Emmett got his shoes on, all by himself.  He even put them on the correct feet and everything.  I'm so totally proud of him and excited to share this accomplishment. Fantastic job Emmett,  Daddy is so friggin proud of you.  :-) **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Autism Help Forum Look for "Autism Help" app at the Google Play Store This was posted via WordPress for Android, courtesy of Samsung's Galaxy S III. Please forgive any typos. I do know how to spell but auto-correct is working against me.

Let me start off by saying that I'm not saying this is the case, it just feels this way.  I'm saying that it's eerily similar. I'm looking to see if anyone else has shared this type of experience. I have been noticing lately that there seems to be a certain pattern to Gavin's behaviors. I haven't pointed this out to Lizze yet because I'm not sure I should.  Although,  she'll be reading this at some point so I might as well. For those of you that don't know,  domestic violence is something that we,  in the Lost and Tired family take very seriously. Both Lizze and Gavin are survivors of domestic violence at the hands of Lizze's ex-husband (Gavin’s biological father). He was physically and emotionally abusive towards Lizze and…