Today was therapy with Dr.  Pattie.  The appointment was moved to Monday because of a conflict Tuesday night. Anyway,  Emmett decided to extra cute tonight and I wanted to share this with you all.

I was talking with my mother this afternoon and she mentioned an interesting conversation she had with Gavin yesterday. Gavin is prone to just sorta say whatever he's thinking and out of nowhere he'll involve someone in a conversation he's been having in his head.  Most people find themselves quite confused because Gavin assumes that they have been listening to his internal thoughts and so speaks with them as though they should know what he's talking about. The reality is that they have no clue as to what he's talking about. Anyway,  Gavin kinda did this to my parents yesterday.  Out of nowhere he started talking about his meltdowns.  He told them that he hasn't been having them and went on to explain why. He told mom that he's not…

The Lost and Tired family has been struggling with extremely violent meltdowns from one Gavin Alexander. We have been trying different things with little benefit.  These meltdowns are a manipulative tool that Gavin uses only when he's being held accountable for a choice he's made. These meltdowns hold the entire family hostage and need to stop. Out of desperation I have made the consequences of this behavior more severe. We don't hit and we don't spank.  We believe in a nonviolent approach to discipline. That said,  there are ways of making the consequences more painful without causing physical harm. In Gavin’s case,  I told him that with every meltdown he has,  I will remove something from his room,  beginning with his Teddy Bear and favorite blanket. Since the implementation of…

Something that we are trying to reclaim in the Lost and Tired household,  is a sense of normalcy.  While our lives will never be normal,  we can still work toward a more stable home life. Normal is back very subjective term but to me,  I feel like it should it means that my family is living a safe,  happy and comfortable life. We are making a significant effort to do more things that would be deemed family oriented. Things like story time and trips to the library.  Perhaps even taking the kids fishing or to the zoo could be a good experience. For right now,  I want to focus on little things that are actually attainable.  So,  story time is where we are starting.  **Thanks for reading**      …

Lizze and I had a brief reprieve from the boys this afternoon. While it wasn't very long,  Lizze and I got out to the park so she could take pictures. She actually did pretty well and the short walk was nice for her.  I think the fact that she was taking pictures helped to distract her from the pain. She loves taking pictures and is entering some contests. I would love to get her a DSLR Camera.  They are a pretty big investment but if she really enjoys this and it gets her up and moving than I think it's worth it. Perhaps I can pull off a miracle for her birthday, our anniversary or even with tax return next year. As I'm writing this,  2 of the 3 boys…

Many of you are aware of my wife,  Lizze's, health issues.  If not,  please check out her incredibly honest blog Daily Mommy Survival. She's very open about her personal struggles and really has an awesome blog. This afternoon,  I simply wanted to update you all as to the current status of her 5 month old migraine and the pending procedure to attempt to relieve her pain. Lizze has literally run out of medications for her migraines.  Nothing works and nothing makes a dent in the pain.  She doesn't eat much anymore due to the constant nausea caused by the migraines. The last option available to is Botox and occipital nerve block.  These are newer procedures for extreme and unreadable migraines. The procedure has been approved but it won't take place…

Since introducing a more aggressive approach to Gavin’s behavioral choices,  he has been making better choices. We have gone a complete day without a single meltdown. There were at least two situations yesterday that would have previously resulted in a very aggressive meltdown. However,  upon reminding Gavin of what would happen if he chose to have a meltdown,  he very quickly and easily shut it down. This is very encouraging,  however it's only been one day.  My hope is that he can continue this positive trend into the future.  I pray for the day we can treat Gavin the way we do the other boys.  Up to this point,  there has always had to be different rules for Gavin because of his behavior. Hopefully,  this is a sign of things…