Breaking new ground as a family

One of the things that we want to begin this week is some new Christmas traditions with the boys. We've never really done anything major over the holidays and especially leading up to them.  Ever since Lizze and I went through our separation and subsequent reconciliation, we've gained a new appreciation for things like this.  I'm not sure what we're going to do but when I was a kid, we used to make a big deal about the holiday TV specials. Lizze and I were kicking around the idea of making a special night out of this and having caramel popcorn or something like that. Lizze wants to do some Christmas light chasing as well. That's free and fun. :-) We want this to be less commercial and more about family.  The…

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Could he be anymore hyper?

Do you ever have those mornings where your kids are hyper and fuck? I'm definitely having one of those mornings today. The guilty party is Mr. Elliott and this kid is bouncing off the walls and anything else that has a solid surface. I've often wondered why some mornings he wakes up super calm and other mornings he just can't sit still. I know ADHD is a factor but there doesn't seem to be any correlation. So far this morning, Elliott's been jumping on and off the couches, talking incessantly, kicking his feet in the air and just about every other stereotypical hyperactive behavior you can think of. Maybe he didn't sleep well last night. Perhaps it's fallout from the holiday weekend or maybe this is just a biochemical thing. What I…

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Why teamwork is crucial to #Autism Parenting

One of the most important lessons I've learned as an Autism parent is that this shit is hard. I used to run into burning houses and rescue people from horrible car wrecks for a living. I'm here to say that all those things pale in comparison to any given day as Autism parent, at least in my experience. Having done the Autism parenting thing as a single parent for almost two years, I can say that I have nothing but respect for those who walk this journey alone because they are easily among the strongest people I can imagine. Having said that, this post is not focused on single parenting. There are huge advantages to sharing the load when it comes to being an Autism parent. If you're among those…

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Hanging out with my kids

The boys were up early once again. This is beginning to become a habit.  I got up with them between 6am and 7am. Everyone's in a good mood and that's always a great way to begin the day.   Gavin's in the middle of his IVIG infusion this morning because we didn't get to it last night. So far, he's doing great with it.   I let Lizze sleep in while the boys and I hung out watching Ant Man.  There really aren't any plans for today. My main and most ambitious goal is survival. Anything that goes above and beyond that lofty goal is just a bonus..  ☺ 

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A lengthy and important update

I thought I would share a general update on how my family is doing overall and anything new that's worth mentioning. I guess one of the biggest bits of news is that Elliott and Emmett are off of all their medications, except one for their ADHD. Their ADHD medication really helps them to sorta slow their brains down and more easily manage things in their day to day lives. Working with their doctor, we've pulled them both off of their anti-anxiety medications and pulled Elliott off of his anti-depressants. The reason for this is because most of these medications were started during the before [the 18 month period of time when Lizze and I were separated and I was raising them on my own] because their lives had been turned…

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How my son is driving me crazy

I'm going to be very honest. Gavin is driving me absolutely crazy today. It's not his fault but his behaviors are just getting under my skin today. There're a couple of newer things that seem to be problematic for him and they do seem to be of a more frustrating nature for me personally. Of course, we have the typical incessant talking, bragging about his superhuman abilities and how he's saved the universe again. These things take a toll on me after awhile, especially when I'm already stressed out a million other things. There are some newer things that he's doing or rather not doing that are adding to the mix. His short term memory is seemingly nonexistent anymore. Short term memory has never really been his strong suit but it's never been…

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It’s not as bad as it was

It's proving to be a decent day here in The Autism Dad household. We're watching a movie with the boys and Gavin's sleeping off his morning medications still.  Lizze might be venturing out into the Black Friday craziness with her Mom after dinner.  The boys and I just might go Pokémon hunting at some point but it's really cold out.  Anyway, things have been improving since this morning and for that I'm grateful.. ☺ 

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Feeling Rundown

Elliott's been incredibly animated this morning for some reason.  He's all over the place and frankly, driving me crazy. I'm feeling a bit rundown today and not wanting to do much of anything. Even though we had a pretty awesome day yesterday, it was still stressful and exhausting. I'm probably just needing to recover a bit. I hope everyone is doing well and if you're venturing out into the madness of Black Friday, be careful... ☺

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