Read more about the article #Autism Parenting: We’re all in this together
Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

#Autism Parenting: We’re all in this together

While I utilize this blog to help support my family, I do that by helping others. Not everyone appreciates what I do here and that's okay because it's probably not for them. The people that I'm doing this for, will largely remain silent because nothing needs to be said. Many times though, people will reach out privately and ask for help or share how reading my blog has helped them. Sometimes they want to share their experience but aren't comfortable doing it in the comments. Sometimes the comments here can be kinda rough and while it annoys me, it discourages others from speaking up. This morning I received an email from a parent who's dealing with what will likely be a two year old, newly diagnosed kiddo. They're worried, stressed…

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November 11, 2017
Read more about the article Did that just happen? Yup, it totally did.
My thoughts

Did that just happen? Yup, it totally did.

I had a rough evening yesterday. My stomach was upset and I ended up going to bed about 7:00 PM. I wasn't sick or anything, but I was dealing with a tremendous amount of stress and it manifested in me not feeling well at the end of the day. While Lizze was putting the kids to bed last night, I laid down in my our bed. I definitely needed the rest because I was out and aside from waking up to run to the bathroom, I didn't get up until about thirteen hours later. It was about 8:00 AM when I woke up this morning and I felt pretty goddamn amazing. This isn't something that can happen very often but because the kids were incredibly well behaved this morning, I…

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November 11, 2017
Read more about the article Well shit, that didn’t go as planned
Cleveland Clinic / Fibromyalgia / Lizze / My thoughts

Well shit, that didn’t go as planned

It's been a really long day and it's only 3:30 PM. I'm actually feeling much better today and want to give a big thanks to the inlaws for chillin' with the kids while I took Lizze to her doctor at the Cleveland Clinic. I have to say, the traffic was good and we made excellent time. ☺ Unfortunately, when we arrived at the doctors office, Lizze was informed that her appointment was at the other location. Considering we didn't even know there was another location, it was a bit frustrating. Apparently, her doctor has begun seeing patients in a second location as well. In all the years Lizze has been a patient, the appointments have always been in the same place. Lizze's appointment ended up being in this new location,…

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November 10, 2017
Read more about the article Teacher conferences: Proud and Pissed Off
Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts / School

Teacher conferences: Proud and Pissed Off

We had conferences tonight and they went amazingly well. That doesn't mean there wasn't anything to deal with though. I'll begin with Emmett because he's going to be the easiest. We met with all of Emmett's teachers and not one of them could even think of a single thing that Emmett could possibly improve upon. It was twenty minutes of literally hearing nothing but them praising everything about him. Emmett helps other students with their work and essentially tutors them when they need extra help. His teachers kept saying they wish they could have 18 clones of him. ☺ What was really cool is that they told him how amazing he is and do so all the time. Emmett is so proud of himself and he loves school like crazy.…

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November 9, 2017
Read more about the article When parents and teachers are on the same page
My thoughts / School

When parents and teachers are on the same page

The boys had a good day at school and that's never a bad thing. Elliott's very concerned about whatever this thing is that's going on between him and his teachers. At the very least, there's a communication issue and we need to button that up. I'm hoping this will prove to be enlightening because when teachers and parents are on the same page, our kids will only benefit. Unfortunately, the conferences aren't until 7 PM tonight and that sucks but whatever we have to do. ☺

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November 9, 2017
Read more about the article Grocery shopping with my dudes and learning life skills
Gallery / Life Lessons / Link / My thoughts / Unboxing / YouTube Video

Grocery shopping with my dudes and learning life skills

I meant to share this the other day but like many other things in my life, it's fallen through the cracks. The other say, I took the boys to the grocery store, along with our recycled bags. I picked them up after school and went straight to Giant Eagle. Taking kids with Autism anywhere can prove to be very challenging. Taking two of them is challenging.. lol One of the reasons I like to bring them along, is because I want them to be a part of what we bring into the house. Feeding them is becoming increasingly more difficult and my hope is that by helping me pick out the food, they'll be more likely to eat it. They actually did well on this trip. They didn't fight too much…

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November 9, 2017
Read more about the article Unboxing the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones
My Projects / My thoughts / Unboxing / YouTube Video

Unboxing the Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II Noise Canceling Wireless Headphones

Big thanks goes out to Bose for sponsoring this unboxing video and helping me generate some attention for Autism as well as for organizations that do good work within the community. Today's featured organization is Wishes Can Happen. They can be found here. Wishes Can Happen grants wishes for kids with terminal or life threatening health conditions. They do amazing work and don't get nearly the attention they deserve. The Quiet Comfort 35 II by Bose are amazing headphones in their own right. The quality is spectacular and the sound is second to none. What really sets them apart in the Autism world is their Noise Canceling technology. For kids who are easily overwhelmed by noise, this is a must have. They're expensive but the impact they can have on…

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November 9, 2017
Read more about the article Parents play a huge role in their children’s education
Autism Parenting Advice / My thoughts / School

Parents play a huge role in their children’s education

Lizze and I have teacher conferences scheduled for tonight. Unfortunately, we have some concerns about Elliott's teachers and want to hear their side of things. Elliott has been struggling with his math makeup work and according to him, he's asked for help a few times this week but his teacher won't help him. This isn't our first rodeo so we don't assume that Elliott's accurately perceiving what's taking place inside the classroom. At the same time we aren't assuming that Elliott's wrong either. We know enough to know that teachers aren't perfect and that things happen that we wouldn't think would happen. I've not known Elliott's teachers before this school year and so I have no history with them. They're newer and it's always a good idea to make every…

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November 9, 2017