Read more about the article It’s better than nothing and I admire his determination
Gavin / My thoughts / Self-Care

It’s better than nothing and I admire his determination

The kids got off to school okay. Turns out Elliott did not take his new medication to help him sleep. When I was putting the meds out this morning, I saw that he hadn't taken it. I don't think he did it on purpose, but regardless, I need to run a little tighter ship in this regard. I don't know if he was faking that he was asleep when I checked on him last night, but he's been known to do that. He was dragging this morning and it was pretty clear that he didn't sleep well. Either way, he made it to school, as did Emmett. ☺ On the way home, Gavin and I stopped at the park and went for a walk. Gavin can't go for great distances…

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September 5, 2019
Read more about the article The 11 year old I am not sleeping at night
Emmett John / My thoughts

The 11 year old I am not sleeping at night

It was a rough night. I don't feel like I got much sleep at all and there's an eleven year old reason for that. I mentioned this in the previous post as well. Mr. Emmett is not doing well at night. Between bad dreams and taking up the entire width of my king size bed, sleep is difficult to find. I was able to grab a picture last night and it helps to put this into perspective. 😂

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September 5, 2019
Read more about the article It’s heartbreaking to see my kids struggle so much with sleep right now
My thoughts

It’s heartbreaking to see my kids struggle so much with sleep right now

I mentioned earlier that there are currently a few concerns in regards to the kids and I wanted to talk about them in a separate post. This is that post.. There are a few issues that the kids are struggling with but the biggest one right now is sleep disturbances. Elliott was up until 2 AM last night and Emmett keeps waking due to nightmares. Neither one of them is getting a restful night's sleep and that's a major problem. Both boys are going to be starting a medication called Atarax. Atarax is an antihistamine. It can treat anxiety, nausea, vomiting, allergies, skin rash, hives, and itching. It's mild and is taken as needed, up to twice a day. Right now, we're thinking bedtime. It can be taken with melatonin…

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September 4, 2019
Read more about the article Holding onto hope where there isn’t any
My thoughts / New Beginnings

Holding onto hope where there isn’t any

We made it through the day without any casualties. Therapy went well and everyone got some one on one time with their therapist. I kept the others occupied with a game of horse. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we had those moments. ☺ There are a few concerns that I wanted to talk about but I'll do that in a follow up post later. The kids in general are resistant to talking about the separation. There's a large part of them that believes that she's coming back because that's what she did last time. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. They're holding on to hope where there isn't any. That's probably pretty normal for any kid. Kids with Autism, however, tend to generalize and that's playing…

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September 4, 2019
Read more about the article We spent the morning with @AkronChildrens behavioral health
Akron Children's Hospital / Behavioral Health / Emmett John / My thoughts

We spent the morning with @AkronChildrens behavioral health

We just got home from Emmett's appointment at Akron Children's Hospital a little while ago and Emmett's appointment went really well. There were no major changes to his medications for right now. We feel as though there is simply too much going on at the moment to judge whether or not he needs a different medication regime. While I was checking him in, he spent some time with a service dog. It was a positive experience for him and he's still talking about it. Much of the appointment was simply taking a detailed history and trying to get mett to open up about what he's going through. There was focus on two main areas of trauma in his life. The first being all the behavioral issues that Gavin experienced when…

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September 4, 2019
Read more about the article We were approached by a US Marshall this morning
My Crazy Neighborhood / My thoughts

We were approached by a US Marshall this morning

I got the boys ready for school and we were walking out to the car when a large man, armed and wearing body armor, approached me. He was a US Marshall and his task force was trying to serve a warrant for one of my neighbors. There were a couple other officers trying to get my neighbor to come to the door but they weren't answering. The Marshall showed me a picture of who they were looking for and I've both seen and spoken to this person before. Always seemed really nice and maybe a little developmentally delayed. That part was pretty obvious. Anyway, this guy had been living in my neighbors house for awhile but I haven't seen him recently. I have no idea what he was wanted for…

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September 4, 2019
Read more about the article Here’s why today will no longer represent loss in my life
My thoughts / New Beginnings

Here’s why today will no longer represent loss in my life

My day was full of ups and downs. It was full of roller-coaster emotions and some very difficult situations that I didn't want to have to deal with. As I mentioned before, today was my sixteenth wedding anniversary. It's also the day my wife collected the rest of her belongings from the house today. Aside from the kids, there's nothing left to indicate she ever lived here. That's a bitter pill to swallow, especially on our anniversary. There are so many things running through my head, driving me crazy, but I know that moving forward is the best thing for the kids and me. I also had some truly amazing moments as well. Emmett was crazy brave while receiving two vaccines today. Mr. Elliott went to school without any major…

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September 3, 2019
Read more about the article Remaining focused on the positive isn’t easy but it’s important
My thoughts / Today's Victory

Remaining focused on the positive isn’t easy but it’s important

I'm focusing on the positives today, at least I'm trying to. For right now, I have two things that I'm placing in the win column for right now. The first and by far, most important thing from today, is that the boys had a great day at school. Elliott complained that it was too hot, but outside of that he didn't have any complaints. I do know that he didn't eat his lunch and I don't like that but hopefully it's just a one time thing. Lastly, I have some cool free stuff coming from Samsung this week. Every year I upgrade to the new Samsung Note because I use it to run everything I do. The podcasts are recorded, edited, mixed and uploaded from my phone. All social media…

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September 3, 2019