Read more about the article Never take breaks for granted 
Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts

Never take breaks for granted 

I'm pretty sure the boys will be going to Lizze's parents today. There hasn't been any confirmation yet, but we'll make do either way. If the boys end up going, Lizze and I will get some time to ourselves. We've been under a great deal of stress this week. There's no one thing that's really weighing on us. It's more like a combination of things. The point is, all this stress has introduced some tension into the mix and that's not something either one of us want. Getting a break would mean that we can have some time, outside of all this Autism and Special Needs parenting stress. These breaks, are good for us, both as individuals, and as a couple. As I always like to stress, not everyone is…

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July 22, 2017
Read more about the article I’m very concerned 
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

I’m very concerned 

As Gavin begins to struggle more and more with life, I find myself in a position once again, where I'm unsure of what to do.  Yesterday was a bit rough for Gavin. I had to make changes to the way he was doing things and he didn't take it well. Lizze and I never nitpick any of our kids, especially when it comes to Gavin.  While we don't nitpick, there are times we have to correct him. These kinds of corrections are usually the result of safety concerns. Sometimes these corrections are an attempt to avoid him breaking something, or accidentally hurting someone, himself included. Gavin would never do either of those things on purpose.  What I'm finding is that Gavin is less able to deal with these or any…

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July 22, 2017
Read more about the article Received 2 absolute blessings today
Blessings / My thoughts

Received 2 absolute blessings today

Sometimes, we are totally blessed by the things that happen in our lives, and today was one of those days.  As we approach the end of the month, things get tighter financially. I was settling in for a week of tightly managing our grocery budget, when some amazing news arrived. Actually, we received two pieces of good news.  The first piece of life saving news came in the mail this afternoon. Apparently, we overpaid our auto and home owners insurance by a relatively significant amount, and State Farm issued us a refund check. Surprise... ☺  About the exact same time, I received an email notice that Google had made my monthly deposit. This was a surprise as well because according to my records, I missed the threshold for payout by…

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July 21, 2017
Read more about the article My body is shutting down
Elliott / My thoughts / Sleep Issues

My body is shutting down

I just survived a really long night. Unfortunately, Elliott didn't sleep last night. He wasn't able to fall asleep and still hasn't fallen asleep.  My body is shutting down, and his is bouncing off the walls.  Lizze is sending me to bed, and she's going to work on Elliott taking a nap. I'm leaving this super short because that's all my brain can put together. Zzzzz

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July 21, 2017
Read more about the article I’ve chosen to focus on the blessings 
Blessings / Emmett John / My thoughts

I’ve chosen to focus on the blessings 

Last night ended with more tension than I like, but before that, we had a decent evening.  I took everyone to the park and we walked the track. We had to sorta improvise a bit because there's major construction going on in the park right now. We had to map out a new path and that required walking on a gravel trail for about a quarter mile.  Walking on gravel is just fine for everyone. Everyone that is, except Emmett.  Emmett will only wear crocs and only do so without socks. Every tiny piece of anything that touches his foot, requires the foot cleaning routine.  We walked about a mile and a half last night. However, it's was more like a mile and a half of line drills. I would…

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July 21, 2017
Read more about the article I made it through without losing my mind
My thoughts

I made it through without losing my mind

I haven't been able to jump on the treadmill today, but I've been pretty busy.  Gavin and I had to go get his new glasses this morning. Emmett came along because we needed to pick up a few groceries, and he wanted to make sure I got the right cereal.  Gavin loves his new glasses and that's always a good thing. He says he can see better. ☺  Emmett's happy cause we got the right cereal, and I made it through all of this without losing my mind. lol

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July 20, 2017
Read more about the article I know he’s miserable 
Emmett John / Fever Cycle / PFAPA

I know he’s miserable 

Emmett is very clearly in a fever flare. He's in a horrible place, and seems to have lost his ability to talk without screaming. He's been screaming all morning.  I know he's miserable, and I don't blame him for any of this but it's not easy to maintain the mindset, when there's so much screaming.  I wanted to share a time line of sorts, that show his temperature as a fever flare is overtaking him. 

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July 20, 2017
Read more about the article If not for the kindness of others
Family Time / My thoughts / Photography

If not for the kindness of others

I wanted to share this, in case you missed it in a previous post. It was mixed in with a bunch of others, and probably deserves its own post.  We haven't had a family picture taken in forever. While this isn't a professionally shot image, it's still special. The only reason we even have this is because of the kindness of a stranger.  I really like this picture and I'm grateful that the kind woman offered to take it for us. ☺ 

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July 20, 2017