Read more about the article Did you know Santa can use the @vivinthome cameras to ensure not a creature is stirring?
My thoughts / Vivint Gives Back

Did you know Santa can use the @vivinthome cameras to ensure not a creature is stirring?

I wanted to take a second and share something that might benefit some of my fellow Vivint Smart Home users. Frankly, this would apply to any smart camera system but I've only experienced that with Vivint Home and that's why I'm focused on that. When it comes time to ensure that the kids get to sleep on Christmas Eve, so Santa can arrive, I inform my kids that we let Santa login to our Vivint Smart Home system to make sure they're sleeping. Santa does this by logging into the Vivint app and taking a peak at the kids room, through the Ping Camera, making sure they are sleeping before he arrives. We've found that this helps to kids remain focused on going to sleep and at the very least,…

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December 26, 2017
Read more about the article Depression Confession: Week 1 of Paxil withdrawal
Confessions / Depression Confessions / Depression Management / Medications / My thoughts

Depression Confession: Week 1 of Paxil withdrawal

It's officially the beginning of the second week of withdrawal from Paxil. What I've been doing is taking 40 mg/day on one day and then 20 mg/day on the next. I've completed the first week of this four week phase and it fucking sucked. You'd think I was withdrawaling from something hardcore and illegal but it's just an antidepressant called Paxil. I've received tons of messages from people who have gone through the same thing and understand how awful it is. I really appreciate all the feedback and support. Many people can withdrawl from Paxil without any issues whatsoever and there are others, like myself, who go through horrible withdrawal. It feels like the worst flu I've ever had. Having said all that, I seem to have come through the…

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December 26, 2017
Read more about the article His IVIG infusion had him in tears tonight
Gavin / IVIG Infusion / My thoughts

His IVIG infusion had him in tears tonight

We officially put Christmas behind us this evening and began the sorted journey of getting back to our normal routines. In Gavin's case, that meant he had to do his IVIG infusion, which he does every Monday and Friday. Unfortunately for Gavin, his IVIG infusion didn't go so well. He started the process about 6 PM and immediately hit a few bumps in the road. The first infusion site needed to be replaced because it wasn't working and the second infusion site was leaking. Both of these scenarios are nightmare scenarios for Gavin because it involves more needles and more pain. To make things even worse for him, the procedure ended up taking almost 6 hours. This put Gavin several hours passed his self proclaimed bedtime and that had him…

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December 26, 2017
Read more about the article A better Christmas
Feeling Blessed / My thoughts

A better Christmas

We had a pretty amazing Christmas this year. Lizze and I got to bed at a somewhat decent hour of 2 AM, right before Emmett woke up. He ended up sleeping between Lizze and I because it was the only way he was able to fall back asleep. Our morning went smoothly and the boys all had an amazing Christmas. Everyone is happy and we spent time with both sides of our family. If I'm being completely honest, I don't think I could have imagined a better Christmas. We're all exhausted and will likely spend most of the week recovering from the busy weekend. The next few days will probably be a bit on the rougher side of things as the kids begin to decompress from all the festivities. I'm…

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December 25, 2017
Read more about the article I’m doing okay today
My thoughts

I’m doing okay today

I'm having a pretty good day. I was sick for a little while but I'm up and moving now. I don't want anything to do with food but that's okay. We're currently at my in-laws and having a nice visit. The idea is to keep things brief because the kids are already on edge and we need them to sleep tonight.

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December 24, 2017
Read more about the article Holy Shit! Can you say overstimulation?
Autism Parenting Insight / Meltdowns / My thoughts

Holy Shit! Can you say overstimulation?

Lizze and the boys came home well after bedtime and my God were the boys wound up. Elliott and Emmett were bouncing off of everything, while Gavin was like a walking zombie, desperately wanting to go to bed. Elliott was somewhat manageable but Emmett went from hyper to raging. It was painfully obvious that while they had an amazing time, they were also completely overstimulated. Poor Emmett ended up having a massive meltdown a little bit after 10 PM and it was a doozy. I don't think he even understood why he was so upset. Mr. Elliott will usually try to help cheer him up, only to make things infinitely worse. Thankfully, Elliott stayed out of it for the most part and I give him credit for that. Emmett was…

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December 24, 2017
Read more about the article Is this a new hallucination or just a dream?
Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

Is this a new hallucination or just a dream?

Gavin's been doing okay as far as his Schizophrenia is concerned. We see the obvious symptoms every single day because they've never been completely controlled. Thankfully, Gavin's hallucinations are not as dark as they used to be and they used to be really dark. I never know what to think when he tells me about a dream because it could very easily be a hallucination and he simply wouldn't know the difference. Today he informed me that he'd just saved Christmas from the clutches of evil. He didn't go into any further details, so I'm not sure if it was a dream or a mission. Color me intrigued because it's different than I normally hear from him and I'd actually be interested in hearing the rest.

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December 24, 2017
Read more about the article I had the house to myself
My thoughts

I had the house to myself

The family is at their Christmas party for the evening. I was really pushing myself to go because I knew we how important it was to Lizze. I'd mapped out directions and dragged myself out of bed. I had layed down because I felt like I was gonna puke but after a few hours, I was feeling better and thought I'd be okay to go. Unfortunately, after about an hour or so of moving around, I wasn't feeling good again. I was stilling willing to push through it and at least make an appearance but Lizze insisted that I stay home and rest. Apparently, I looked about as good as I felt. Anyway, I'm not sure when everyone will be back but I haven't had the house to myself in…

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December 23, 2017