Read more about the article I took the boys and the dog on a hike today
Family Time / Link / My thoughts

I took the boys and the dog on a hike today

This afternoon I took the boys and Ruby to the park. We ended up going on a hike that took us about two miles. Lizze is battling the same migraine she's had for about 7ish years now. It's been a rough weekend for her and so we let her sleep. We learned one big thing along the way and that's Ruby definitely need some work when it comes to walking on the leash. Maybe I should consider getting one of these for our next hike? Lol

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May 20, 2018
Read more about the article Why it was such an awesome day
My thoughts

Why it was such an awesome day

I wanted to share with you all why this week had such an amazing ending. I've already shared one of these things but in case you missed it, check out the video below. https://youtu.be/3FRvByjO81A What follows are just a couple things that really made me feel good and helped to end the week with a bang, in a good way of course. ☺ When I dropped the boys off at school on Friday morning, I was able to get a selfie with them before they existed the car. Elliott was a bit less cooperative but that's already. He still made it into the picture. ☺ Lately it seems that our mornings are so stressful, we don't even think about doing things like this. It's just get the kids to school…

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May 20, 2018
Read more about the article We had an UNBELIEVABLE surprise today (Must See)
Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts / YouTube Video

We had an UNBELIEVABLE surprise today (Must See)

It's been an amazing day and I'll go into more detail tomorrow. I'm not feeling well at the moment and I'm going to try to go to bed early. I put together a quick video, showing you guys the martial arts promotion from today. I'm not going to ruin the surprise but what happened at the end of Emmett's promotion literally had me in tears. It was an amazing surprise and I can't wait to share it with you guys. We're so proud of both Elliott and Emmett. They've worked so hard this year, both inside and outside of the dojo. This was the most amazing day I can remember having in a very long time. I'm so proud... ☺ 💙 https://youtu.be/3FRvByjO81A

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May 18, 2018
Read more about the article I’m super excited about today
Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts

I’m super excited about today

I know yesterday was kinda rough for me and that of course, hasn't changed. I can't change any of yesterday's challenges and can't do anything about them at the moment, so I'm going to focus on today. That being said, I'm really excited about today. Elliott and Emmett both have Martial arts promotion today. Elliott's is in about an hour and Emmett’s is at the end of the school day. This means we'll be making quite a few trips back and forth to the school but it's all part of the gig. After the final promotion, we're dropping the boys off at their Grandparents for a couple hours because Lizze and I will be going to a movie. I have tickets to see Deadpool 2 and I'm really excited. Things…

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May 18, 2018
Read more about the article As he gets older, life becomes more challenging
Autism Parenting Confessions / Gavin / My thoughts

As he gets older, life becomes more challenging

Gavin spent the night at his grandparents last night and will be gone for most of the day today. As terrible as it sounds, it's a desperately needed break. Every day is a struggle with Gavin and as he continues to regress, life becomes more challenging for him and us as well. The behaviors we are dealing with each day are absolutely exhausting and while we don't blame Gavin for any of it, that doesn't lessen the impact said behaviors have. It's an unpleasant truth but as he gets older, he becomes more challenging and his behaviors more difficult to manage. These breaks are a necessity for long-term survival.

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May 18, 2018
Read more about the article Why everyday life can be so much harder for #Autism families like mine
Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts

Why everyday life can be so much harder for #Autism families like mine

I was feeling really good yesterday because I had finally been able to purchase the replacement parts for the car. I've talked a bit in the past about how we've been informed that it's no longer worth it to fix our car and it needs to be replaced. That's way easier said than done. Unfortunately, there's a 0% chance of me being able to buy a new car at any point in the foreseeable future and I need to work with what I have. It sucks but that's the reality we live in. The bearings on the fontend went bad awhile ago and aside from what I would assume are potential safety issues, the car makes an ear piercing squeal whenever the wheels turn. It's awful and it's hard to…

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May 17, 2018
Read more about the article Can pets have a positive impact on kids with #Autism?
Autism Parenting Advice / My thoughts / YouTube Video

Can pets have a positive impact on kids with #Autism?

I'm frequently asked about whether or not I think pets can have a positive impact on kids with Autism. I decided to make today's video on this very topic and hopefully it helps to answer some of your questions. Again, this is based on my experience over the last 17 years, but every family is different. What works for my family may or may not work for yours. This is intended to simply answer the question and provide you with some things to think about, prior to making a decision adding a pet to your special needs family. This is not meant to be a philosophical debate over whether or not a special needs family should take on the added responsibility of a pet. It simply discussing the whether or…

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May 17, 2018
Read more about the article @AkronChildrens Hospital called with a date for the procedure
Akron Children's Hospital / Autonomic Disorder / Gastroenterology / Gavin / My thoughts

@AkronChildrens Hospital called with a date for the procedure

I spoke last week about how Gavin is in need of an endoscopy and colonoscopy because of various potential health related problems in those areas. They needed to run labs to make sure that it would be safe for Gavin to have the procedures because Neutrophilia puts him at a much higher risk of infection. His labs came back and everything looked good. Now it was a matter of scheduling everything and waiting on the call to do so. I just got off the phone and we now have two dates. The first one is for pre-testing and that's with a nurse practitioner. My understanding is that we will basically go over everything and make a final determination as to whether or not it's safe to proceed with the procedures.…

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May 16, 2018