Today is day 6 of Elliott's journey with Risperdal.  For those new to the Lost and Tired blog,  Elliott struggles with rather extreme levels of anxiety. His anxiety had reached a point that it was/is interfering with his life, not to mention,  driving those around him crazy.  The poor kid worried about everything and we don't want that for him. I wanted to share with you all how the first week or so goes.  I thought someone might benefit from our experience.... So far,  we have had some mixed results with the Risperdal.  Having said that,  he is having much better days now.  He seems much more relaxed and able to enjoy life. While he still struggles from time to time,  the experience thus far has been overwhelming positive. In…

  Welcome to Manic Monday. Once again Monday has arrived. Not only has it arrived, but it came baring gifts. The Lost and Tired family doesn't usually enjoy Mondays and for good reason, they almost always suck. Manic Monday is really the best way to describe the way things go for us. Monday is sort of a launching pad for the rest of the week. In other words, it sets the tone for the days ahead. When Monday has problems, it's pretty certain that the rest of the week will follow suite. Last night, Emmett started with the pretty nasty cough. He climbed into bed with us and I ended up moving to his bed because there wasn't enough room. Needless to say that no one slept well last night. When he woke…

Emmett woke up this morning with a really nasty cough.  In fact,  he's coughing to the point that he is dry heaving. We suspect that it's post nasal drip nut he has also has a fever of 101.4°F and rising. Because of Emmett's communication struggles,  we don't what's going on as he can't tell us.  Since the cough is so bad and he is running a fever,  he's going to the pediatrician this morning.  I'm not a fan of going for no reason but when Emmett can't communicate what's wrong and is sounds as bad as it does,  plus he's running a fever,  I don't like to take chances.  Since he also has PFAPA,  a fever disorder,  we just never know what's going on with a fever and the only…

In keeping with the Lost and Tired family tradition of chaotic Monday's,  this was brought to my attention this morning. Out of nowhere,  Gavin tells us,  "while I was at Grandma's house,  I was standing at the top of the steps.  I got really dizzy and I fell over.  I couldn't get back up because I was to dizzy. "  Lizze and I just stared at him in that deer in the headlights kinda way. Why on earth are we just now hearing about this.  This happened several days ago and he decides to tell us as we are heading out the door to take both he and Elliott to school. I realize he likely wasn't hiding it and that it just hadn't occurred to him that he should tell…

You may recall that Elliott and Gavin both had EEG's done a couple of weeks ago. If you remember that,  then you may also remember that we have been waiting for the results. Tomorrow morning,  the wait will finally be over. On Tuesday of this week, we will once again return Akron Children's Hospital,  Neurological clinic. We will receive the results of the previous testing. Both Gavin and Elliott have had suspicious episodes.  We do have epilepsy in the family and so we wanted to make sure everything was okay.  It's been a very long couple of weeks,  especially when waiting for answers. My hope is that we will walk away from this appointment,  knowing more about what's going on than we knew previously.  Right now, we don't know to…

Something that I think is really important to do is teach my kids to overcome their fears.  Today,  I found a baby snake outside, in Ohio and in the month of March. Actually,  Bella and I both found it. I wanted to use this opportunity to teach my kids about snakes. Everyone was afraid of it at first.  I know Gavin has had contact with a snake in the past but he was the only one. This was a really tiny snake and couldn't bite if it wanted to. It was perfectly safe for all involved.  I thought it would be a good opportunity for them to explore,  learn and gain respect for our new leggless friend. I shared some basic information with them about snakes,  how they move and…

I'm the kind of person that's likes to take advantage of every moment with my kids. Their only little for a short time..right?  Having said that,  if I could fast forward to bedtime tonight I would...  Elliott and Gavin are doing pretty well but Emmett is impossible right now.  I don't know what has gotten into him but whatever it was must have been laced with hyperactivity,  defiance,  aggression and a pinch of crazy. He is just all over the place and it seems as though he enjoys wreaking havoc on every one in the house. In reality,  he's getting a reaction from the boys and that's the pay off for him.  No matter how many times I explain to the boys,  especially Elliott,  not to react,  they never seem…

I love my boys,  I truly do.  I consider myself a patient guy but goddamn it,  I can only take so much. Right now,  I have reached a saturation point,  meaning,  I can't absorb or cope with anything else right now. The boys are each tippy toe dancing on my last nerve.  Gavin is actually well behaved,  but is in a place where he feels the needs to tell me every single thing he thinks.  It's nonstop and quite often repetitive.  I try to listen to him,  I honestly do.  I just can't do it forever and Gavin have no off switch,  volume dial or mute button. Emmett is driving everyone crazy.  He's screaming over everything and has been quite aggressive lately.  He has been hitting Lizze and Elliott today. …