Read more about the article Trying to safely manage parent visitation during the #COVID19 pandemic
My thoughts

Trying to safely manage parent visitation during the #COVID19 pandemic

The boys are getting incredibly anxious about seeing their mom tomorrow. It's been about 2.5 months since they've seen her in person. This has been by design and out of necessity because of the COVID19 pandemic. Lizze and I discussed this when we first went on lockdown and we agreed that the safety of the kids had to come first. Gavin is immunocompromised and there are people in her house who are at high risk as well. We needed to protect those who cannot protect themselves. This isn't her being an absent parent or me withholding the kids. We chose this particular path because we believe it's ultimately in the kids best interest. We didn't start this sooner because for it to work, everyone in the house must remain quarantined…

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May 19, 2020
Read more about the article Choosing The Right Assistance Dog
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Choosing The Right Assistance Dog

There are lots of reasons you may have considered getting an assistance dog. Autism, PTSD, anxiety disorder, clinical depression or several other mental or physical health conditions. An assistance dog provides a therapeutic companion to help with tasks or just to keep you calm and secure. They are really good at assisting people emotionally and socially but can also help with daily chores. This may include fetching your medication, loading the washing machine or bringing you items you need. Some dogs can even help you to get dressed. They can help people with physical, emotional, social and economic functioning.

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May 19, 2020
Read more about the article I have mixed feelings about this
COVID19 / Lockdown / My thoughts

I have mixed feelings about this

Today is the last day of self-quarantine before the kids get to spend some time with their mom. Assuming all goes well today, the boys will spend Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning with their mom and grandparents. I have mixed feelings about this and I wouldn't be honest if I said otherwise.. I've kept the kids safe for 74 days and the idea of changing what we're doing right now is scary. I'm thrilled they get to spend time with their mom. I thrilled for them and her because I know how important this is. I worry because we have no idea when the next time will be and it's going to be great while they're there but very difficult when it's time to leave. I'm really hoping the kids…

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May 18, 2020
Read more about the article A strange thing has been happening
My thoughts

A strange thing has been happening

A strange thing has been happening for the last few days. I've been going to bed a bit earlier, with the help of melatonin and getting up at the crack of dawn, without setting an alarm. I know I expressed reservations about taking something to help me sleep but I don't really have another choice at this point. I need to sleep. It's roughly 6:30am and I've already been up for almost an hour. Not only that, but I feel pretty good. I'm working on getting the kids in bed before 10pm because it's obviously best for them but also, it's the only way I get any sleep myself. I really, really want to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. It's healthier and if I'm up before everyone…

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May 18, 2020
Read more about the article A couple of quick updates
General Update / My thoughts

A couple of quick updates

I want to take care of a few housekeeping type things and I'll keep this brief because I might actually be able to go to bed early. In order to improve the user experience with this blog, I've decided to remove native ads. They don't generate much more than $100/month and they really bog things down. I generate revenue via other avenues and I feel like this is best for my users. I'm finally in a position where I can do this without really hurting myself. If you listened to the most recent episode I released, you already know this. I've decided to take a break for a few weeks. I've put out 21 full episodes in the last 21 weeks or so. It's a lot of work and it's…

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May 16, 2020
Read more about the article I’ve managed to keep my kids safe and healthy for 70 days
COVID19 / Lockdown / My thoughts

I’ve managed to keep my kids safe and healthy for 70 days

Today marks day 70 of COVID19 lockdown for my family. It's been a long journey and I'm afraid we aren't even almost there yet. I'm preparing to remain locked down as long as it takes to keep my family safe. Yes, it's a massive sacrifice but the alternative is unacceptable to me. We have made some progress in one area and I wanted to share that. All visits had stopped due to lockdown. Gavin's immunocompromised and Lizze has high risk people in her house. I approached Lizze about finding a way to make at least one visit work. After some discussion, we decided that if everyone in her house locked down for 14 days, and at the end of that time, everyone was fever free and healthy, we could allow…

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May 15, 2020
Read more about the article We had an adventure today
COVID19 / Day Trips / Family Fun / Lockdown / My thoughts

We had an adventure today

I'm really tired but I wanted to share our adventure from today because it was a very big step for Gavin. I took the kids out to Quail Hollow because we all needed to get some exercise and I was hoping that do to the size of the park, it wouldn't be very crowded. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. Quail Hollow was packed and most people were not social distancing or wearing masks. We almost didn't stay but it was a decent drive and while Gavin wanted nothing to do with it, especially after seeing the lack of COVID19 awareness. I decided that we were already there and while the main trails had lots of people, we could keep to the outskirts of the park. That's what we did. We found…

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May 14, 2020
Read more about the article Are you looking for fun things to distract your kids with?
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Are you looking for fun things to distract your kids with?

I mentioned recently that I wanted the kids to get involved in things that weren't battery powered or attached to a screen. Well, wish granted. Zen Laboratory reached out and wanted to sponsor a review of their Jumbo Slime Kit. They retail for about $30 and they sent one for each of the kids. While I don't personally like playing with slime anymore, it turns out my kids do. I did a quick unboxing to show you guys what comes in the box before the kids tore into it. Check that out below. https://youtu.be/MWdYz9VuAWI Honestly, there isn't much you can say about slime other than I used to love playing with it as a kid. Gavin isn't into it but Elliott and Emmett love it. They've been playing with it…

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May 13, 2020