My thoughts Archives - Page 609 of 1481

I don’t remember much of today

Sorry I've been absent today. The boys spent part of the day with their Mom and I slept almost the entire time they were gone. I haven't had a good nights sleep in some time and once the boys were gone, my body just sorta shut down. I only woke up when the boys came home and don't remember much in between. I know that some of you can relate to that level of exhaustion because it's certainly not unique to me alone. Anyway, the boys and I have an open house to go to at my sisters tonight. I also have a meeting later on and I'm not sure I have the energy to get this all done but I'm gonna try. I'm working up the energy to get…

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August 8, 2015

Divorce / My thoughts

Do you ever get used to losing your marriage? A Deeply personal post from a newly single Dad

I wasn't sure if I was going to touch on this part of my life with this new blog but I'm not really sure how I couldn't. Everyone has a moment in their life that changes the the course of everything going forward. That moment for me, occurred on the night of October 14, 2014. That's the night that my wife left and never returned. I thought that we were the exception to the rule. It was her second marriage and we were a blended family with special needs children. I suppose the cards were stacked against us but I never saw this coming and there are still times I wake up in the middle of the night thinking it was just a bad dream. I know guys who've…

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August 8, 2015

Grownup Time-Out / My thoughts

This #Autism Dad had to put himself in time-out again

I'm an Autism Dad. I'm also human and a single parent, carrying the entire weight and responsibility of my three kiddos on the Autism Spectrum, by myself. It would stand to reason that I'm going to get frustrated with my kids, their Mother, my life, the people in front of me who, in my opinion, shouldn't be driving and just about anything else that endures a stress response in me. I think that's pretty normal. I sorta felt like we were having a decent day, not perfect but decent. I was happy with that. Out of nowhere, Emmett apparently reached his threshold for being able to cope with life and he's been screaming on and off, for the last couple hours. This soon pushes Elliott over the edge because,…

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August 7, 2015

Gavin / Medication / My thoughts

The role of medications in my son’s life

It was refill Gavin's weekly pill dispenser time this morning. It's my favorite time of the week <insert sarcasm>. I actually hate doing this because it's a reminder of everything that Gavin struggles with. I've got the actual process down to a science but it's relatively tedious. What you see in the picture below is just one weeks worth of his medication. Majority of the pills are actually for his physical health issues. He's on three psychiatric medications and that's actually progress because it used to be more than that. There are medications to reduce his heart rate and manage his blood pressure. There are medications to reduce the chance of a bad reaction to his biweekly IVIG infusions as well. There are also two inhalers for asthma and…

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August 7, 2015

My thoughts

Using what I have to try and channel my kids excessive energy in a positive way

Before Elliott got hurt last night, I was trying to keep the kids focusing their energies in a positive way. That's not always easy in the neighborhood we live in because of safety concerns. This afternoon, we gave the toads tank a makeover. You might remember that the boys rescued a family of toads on the 4th of July. It doesn't cost us anything more than our time because I already had the supplies in the basement. I've been using this as a chance to teach the boys about toads live and eat. Toads don't do much but they do like to eat and I take Elliott outside during the day when his anxiety gets too much for him and we look for insects to feed the toads. It really calms…

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August 7, 2015

Elliott / My thoughts

We had a really, really, really close call today

Elliott and Emmett were both in rare form today. I spent a large part of my time, trying to slow them down, in order to keep them from hurting themselves. We made it all the way to dinner time without incident but then it happened. Elliott and Emmett were chasing each other around in circles through the living room, kitchen and dinning room. I told them to stop countless times but they were pretty amped up because they were going to do some back to school shopping with their Mom and Grandma in a little bit. Next thing I know, Elliott is screaming because he tripped and fell. Initially, I thought he had just sprained his wrist because that's all he was complaining about. Then I saw his forehead and…

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August 7, 2015

Gavin / My thoughts

Gavin got a big surprise today :)

For those following my family's story, you already know just how far Gavin's come over the last year. He's made an unbelievable transformation and I quite literally couldn't be any prouder of him. He faces mental health and physical health issue that are exceedingly rare and never once complains. Gavin's gone from a destructive force to one who's efforts help to keep this family running on a daily basis. Anyway, Gavin's been saving up for this Transformers toy. He's patiently saving his money and the other day, I ordered it for him as a surprise from both myself and his younger brothers. This thing was under $10 so it was a huge deal. That being said, I knew it would mean the world to him. It arrived today and…

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August 6, 2015

Divorce / My thoughts

Potentially, the boys have an emotional night at therapy ahead of them

Update: This is posting late because it's been a very difficult day and I didn't get around to posting it after dinner. We've been trying to put a therapy session together for them with their Mom but it just hasn't come together yet. The reason for this type of session is because the therapist and I want to facilitate a discussion between the boys and their Mom. Since she left last year, she only sees them for about 48 hours a month, give or take. The reason are complicated but not something I have any control over. The visitations haven't been going so well for everyone, in particular Elliott and more recently Emmett. Emmett's getting tummy aches and Elliott simply doesn't want to have contact with his Mom…

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August 5, 2015