Read more about the article Feeling grateful 
My thoughts

Feeling grateful 

Last night Elliott fell asleep with no problems. Emmett on the other hand had a rough time again. I don't think he fell asleep until 10:30-ish. That's an improvement over what it's been lately but it still presents its challenges. We had a slow start to the morning and a hard time waking the kids up. Truthfully, we had a hard time getting up as well but someone has to captain the ship. Having said that, once they were awake, Elliott and Emmett got ready for school without incident. In fact, Emmett put his socks and crocs on without hesitation this morning. I don't know what's different but he just woke up in a place where his shoes and socks were okay. This does happen on occasion but not very…

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January 11, 2017
Read more about the article #Autism: The Unpleasant Truth
Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

#Autism: The Unpleasant Truth

I've been connecting with so many new Autism or Special Needs parents lately. While this is such a cool thing for me because connecting with others in a similar circumstance is a positive thing. At the same time, it's heartbreaking because there are so many people out there who are isolated, scared, overwhelmed and feeling hopeless. What's become clear is that, based on my personal experience, as well as interactions with parents from all over the globe, there isn't enough support, services, understanding or even compassion. Frankly, it's not even almost enough. Somethings wrong when the fastest growing childhood developmental disability in the world doesn't have some national/international infrastructure that directly helps families seek out and obtain early intervention services. There's something wrong when parents burn out because raising a…

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January 11, 2017
Read more about the article We just received the @nest PRO learning thermostat today
My thoughts

We just received the @nest PRO learning thermostat today

Vivint was out today and they installed the nest PRO thermostat in our house. Supposedly, this will help us save 10 - 15% on our heating and cooling bill. That savings can go right to our grocery budget.  I'm pretty excited because I just love new technology and I love saving money.  The nest integrates with the Vivint Smart Home system we have, as well as with our Amazon Echo. I can simply tell Alexa to set living room temp to whatever I want and she'll do it.   I can also control the nest from the nest app, as well as the Vivint app.  I haven't had a huge amount of time to work with it just yet but as I do, I'll share my experience. I had talked about this a…

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January 10, 2017
Read more about the article OMG… He won’t stop talking O_o
Bipolar Disorder / Gavin / Manic / My thoughts

OMG… He won’t stop talking O_o

I'm so tired and Gavin just won't stop talking. Look, I'm so grateful that all my kids are verbal and I know how hard it can be when they aren't because Emmett was nonverbal until he was almost four or five years old. We were told he would never talk, so to at least some degree, I get it. Gavin is one of those bipolar kids that talk incessantly when they are manic. My God, this kid hasn't stopped talking today. He'll disappear to his room for a bit and I get a reprieve but when he comes back, and he always comes back, he's got all this stuff pinned up and then unleashes a flurry of scattered thoughts at me. He's in the kitchen right now making a sandwich.…

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January 10, 2017
Read more about the article You won’t be surprised to hear this
My thoughts

You won’t be surprised to hear this

I know you're going to be shocked but I'm exhausted this morning.  Poor Elliott was up all night with a really bad headache. Mr. Elliott woke me up about 1:30 am because his head hurt so bad that he was crying. Rather than risk waking up Emmett, I brought him downstairs, got him some Morin and made him comfortable on the couch. It took some time to get him back to sleep up it did finally happen. I'm so glad he was able to fall asleep and I was able to comfort him. The downside is that I lost a tremendous amount of sleep as a result. The boys got off to school without much problem. Now I can try and grab a nap because if I don't, I can't…

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January 10, 2017
Read more about the article BIG UPDATE: You won’t believe what happened
My thoughts

BIG UPDATE: You won’t believe what happened

This will be quick and painless because I'm planning on taking full advantage of this. After the boys did awesome at the grocery store, Elliott did amazing with his homework. We had a relatively peaceful evening before sending the boys to bed. This is where it gets truly amazing..  They both fell asleep without a single issue and within 15 minutes of going to bed. This is the best night we've had in a long time and I'm going straight to bed.. ☺

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January 9, 2017
Read more about the article We took a pretty big risk and here’s why
My thoughts

We took a pretty big risk and here’s why

Financially, things are very, very tight this month. It wasn't the best way to start off the new year but it's temporary and things will be vastly improved by next month. In order to make a meager grocery budget make it this month, we took a pretty big risk and decided to shop at Aldi's. Historically that hasn't ended well because the kids don't like the change in the packaging,  taste or texture of the food they sell. Frankly, I notice a change in taste and texture but I just deal with it because I'm not struggling with sensory issues. We really didn't have a choice this month and so we took the boys with us. We're hoping that by including them in this shopping trip, they will feel differently…

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January 9, 2017
Read more about the article It’s easy to underestimate the impact a meltdown can have on a parent
Meltdowns / My thoughts

It’s easy to underestimate the impact a meltdown can have on a parent

This morning took so much out of me that for the first time in awhile, I crashed after dropping the boys off at school. I did get some writing done prior but I was just no longer able to function and needed sleep. I feel much better now, although I'm still tired. It's pretty easy to underestimate how much a morning full of meltdowns can impact a parent. The amount of emotional and physical energy expended is immeasurable. On the positive side of things, once Emmett works through the sensory issues in the morning, he seems to recover much faster than I do and has a good day at school. Truthfully, if given the choice, this is how I would want it to go. Experiencing a sensory issue like Emmett…

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January 9, 2017