Lost and Tired
Breaking Autism's Silence
The “Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate Edition” Give-A-Way has begun
Sep 3rd
So I have decided to make this simple. Reply to this post with a number between 1-100 who ever is closest without going over will win. I
Here is the copy of Office 2007 Ultimate Edition. The product key is blacked out in the photo only.
will be running the contest through Sunday 9pm at which point I will announce the winner. I think this is the easiest way to do this. That is of course assuming that no more then 100 people reply. The first person with the closet number (without going over) will be the winner. Good Luck…
Note:
This copy was gifted to me directly from Microsoft a few years ago. I’m involved in many beta projects with them and receive many items they call “swag”. As such this copy does not come in retail packaging. It is the retail version just without the pretty box and hefty price tag. The copy is not installed on any computer and may be activated via internet. If the internet activation doesn’t succeed you simply need to call the 1-800 number provided and they will activate it over the phone. Some times the activation is finicky and requires over the phone activation. I will provide the instructions to the winner of the contest.
I need your help… Please..
Aug 27th
Times are pretty tough for The Lost and Tired family right now. As you know one of the ways I’m trying to give my wife and kids a better life is by writing for the Cleveland Examiner. I write about Autism and special needs parenting usually everyday. 
These articles are intended to help educate the public as to what Autism is and how it affects the family. It has also turned into a way to help provide for my family at the same time. In order to accomplish these goals I need to try to generate traffic over to my Examiner page. I get paid based on page views. I also get paid a bit more every time someone subscribes to the RSS feed or to email updates. None of these things will cost you anything but a few minutes of your time.
If you like what I write please share it. You can tweet it via twitter or share it on facebook. Not only will you be helping to spread Autism Awareness but you’ll also be helping support the Lost and Tired family at same time.
Mt goal is to have 50 subscribers by my birthday on August 24, 2010. Please help me reach this goal by clicking here and subscribing.
Thank you for all your support.
Current Subscribers: 65 8/27/2010
Fit for Autism 9/02/2010
Sep 3rd
Fit for Autism (My Path 9/02/2010) 6 miles total
I walked 6 miles yesterday. My personal best since my back injury. If you would like to join “Fit for Autism” send and email to rob@lostandtired.com
i’ll get an invite off to you right away. Everything is tracked via www.endomondo.com. My hope is that I get as many people to join as possible. The more we have the more attention we can get and the more Autism awareness we can spread. Anyone wanting to support the cause is welcomed to join. We owe our kids healthy parents and this is what I’m doing to make sure my kids have that.
Seven
Sep 3rd
Seven years ago I married my best friend. Those that know us are aware of all we have been through. Despite the odds not being in our favor we are still together and still going strong.
Lizze, I love you so much and I’m grateful for everyday you have given me. I know our life is far from easy but I know that it will just make us stronger. I love you.
Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate Edition Give-A-Way
Aug 31st
Over the years Microsoft has been very generous to me. So I thought I would share with you as well. I am going to give away a copy of Office 2007 Ultimate Edition. This is not a retail copy because I received it directly from Microsoft as compensation for my work on the Office 2007 development team. It’s the exact same as the retail version minus the packaging. This is a legit copy that is not in use by anyone and comes with the original product key.
Check back frequently for updates. I need to work out some details and I want to make sure this goes to someone who needs it.
Stay tuned……
Emmett John: The heart attack inducing toddler
Aug 28th
This actually illustrates quiet well some of the challenges facing the special needs parent. Autistic kids have sensory needs and will often do anything to fulfill those needs, even at their own risk.
I was taking a random video of Emmett John just trying out the camera and this happened. He has very specific sensory needs and he gets some of them filled by jumping on the couch.
He didn’t get hurt in this video but he does quiet often trying to ground himself.
I was taking a random video of Emmett John just trying out the camera and this happened. He has very specific sensory needs and he gets some of them filled by jumping on the couch.
He didn’t get hurt in this video but he does quiet often trying to ground himself.
Welcome to my life. Enter at your own risk
Aug 27th
On Tuesday morning we took Gavin to see Dr. R. We found out that Gavin can no longer safely take his MUCH NEEDED anti-psychotics. We knew we needed to adjust the Lithium but he needed bloodwork first. Wednesday morning Lizze took Gavin for his bloodwork and he did great. While she was gone I was revieving our business and personal checking only to find out there had been 2 unauthorized transactions the night before. This makes 3 times so far in August. After I freaked out I thought “at least we weren’t overdrawn”. Then I realized that I cut payroll eariler that week and those checks hadn’t cleared. Now there isn’t enough left in the account to clear the checks. They will probably clear over the weekend and that will be extremely costly due to the overdraft fee’s.
I thought I was going t lose my mind. Then I went to work on my blog only to find out my site had been hacked and rendered inaccessible. I found the malicious code and Stuart restored the script and I got back up and running pretty quick. Thank’s again Stuart.
So I devised a plan to fix the problem. We had been thinking of switching cell phone carriers but hadn’t yet. So I figured that now would be a good time. I returned my xbox 360 (which was bought with reward point as and a gift card) back to Best Buy and used the store credit to awitch to Verizon from Sprint. Now I could sell my Sprint phones on ebay and use that to help with our missed mortgage payment and payroll. We even have some store credit left. While I was leaving Best Buy I was going about 35mph down the road snd the light turned red. The “Lexus” in front of me had already stopped at the light. I went to stop and I had NO BRAKES. The pedal went right to the floor and I couldn’t stop and I was going slightly down hill. I had to run up against the curb to grind to a stop. I stopped just behind the very expensive “Lexus” ahead of me. I had smoke pouring out from under the hood of the car and I managed to get into a parking space and shut it off. I then remembered my tags expired on the 24th (my birthday) and that would have made a crash even worse. It turns out the brake line broke and the brake fluid was spraying all over the back of the engine block causing all the smoke. The car is most likely beyond repair at this point. There is simply to many things wrong to invest anything into it. It has over 200,000 miles and the blower just went out, the drive side door doesn’t work, the windshield is cracked and the windows don’t work. Also the kids no longer fit in the backseat. I have no idea what we are going to do now with no car. My parents are letting us use theirs for right now but that’s a temporary fix.
The trully scary part is that not 45 mins before this happened Lizze and Gavin were on the freeway coming home from the doctors. 70 mph is a whole lot more dangerous with no brakes then 35 mph. They could have been killed. Someone was watching over us for sure. I could have gone much differently.
We so desperately need a break. I really don’t know what we are going to do. I’m not really sure what’s going to happen next but it honestly scares me.
I do know that I will need a whole lot more subscriptions. lol….twitch…twitch….
Elliott Richard’s 1st day of school
Aug 25th
ER had his first day of year round pre-school today. I was so worried about how this would go but he had a great day. He likes his teachers and classmates. He didn’t like the “carrots and green stuff” that were served with lunch.
I can’t express how much relief I felt knowing it went well for him. He should do even better tomorrow as he knows what to expect. We really didn’t see much in the way of breaks today and Gavin had appointments we needed to attend. We won’t have a break tomorrow either as Gavin has bloodwork.
At least ER had a good day.
Gavin Crisis Update 8-25-2010
Aug 25th
Gavin went to see Dr. R this morning. Here’s the dime store version. Gavin can no longer take anti-psychotics safely. Dr. R isn’t comfortable with Gavin being on them for right now at least. As we suspected Gavin is EXTREMELY manic and the current does of Lithium is working. He has bloodwork in the AM to get his levels and Dr. R will adjust as needed.
The problem we face now is that Gavin will not be properly medicated. I don’t know how we are going to survive this going forward. I’m greatly concerned about how this is going to effect everyone. School starts soon for him and I don’t see that going well.
That’s the run down for where we are with Gavin at this point. I pray he sleeps tonight because I still haven’t been to bed yet because he was up all last night. I have been up for 30+ hours and my eyes no long focus well. I need to sleep tonight.
Autistic Heartbreak
Aug 24th
My heart has been broken tonight. We went to visit Elliott Richards new school this evening. Everything was went real well. Then we went into the classroom to meet the teachers. Most of his classmates were there. Everyone was playing together. Elliott Richard was off by himself and for the first time I saw him as an Autistic child. It was all I could do to keep from bursting into tears in front of him and everyone else. I tried so hard not to cry. I eventually had to go outside to get some air.
I knew Elliott Richard had sensory and anxiety issues but for some reason I never saw what was behind them. If I am to be honest, ER is my weakness. I am the closest to him. He’s my first born and he almost died it’s just a special bond you form when something like that happens.
I turned 32 this afternoon and I have been evaluating my life and what I have done with it so far. Honestly, trying to raise 3 Autistic children is an impossible task that I can’t even begin to describe. Trying to raise 3 Autistic kids and realizing that the absolute best I can do isn’t even close to enough just kills me.
We have officially outgrown the car we have. With both car seats in place Gavin has about 10 inches of space to sit. This officially means we can no longer all ride in the car at the same time. This is really going to complicate things going forward. There is no way for me to get my family the van we need. With all the out of pocket expense associated with Gavin hospital stays I couldn’t pay the mortgage this month. Autism just seems to keep taking and taking. I honestly don’t understand how or why people refer to Autism as a gift.
Especially for those of us with kids that were “typical” and then were taken away by Autism. Autism isn’t a gift and if I had the power I would make my kids better. I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t. It’s about want the best for our kids. It’s about having the best chance at life. Autism can make that all but impossible. So yes, if there was a cure I would want it for my kids. I love and accept them for who they are. That doesn’t mean I’m happy with their lot in life. I want my kids to have the same chances in life as any other child. I want them to be able to experience life at its fullest and realize their dreams.
So Autism, I hate you for taking that away from my babies. They deserve better then you. I will love them for who they are but never stop trying to free them from your prison.
Posted via my BlackBerry Bold.
Thanks Everyone
Aug 24th
Well today’s my 32nd Birthday and I now have 61 subscribers to my examiner page. I was hoping for 50 by today but you guys exceeded my expectations. I would like to say thank you to everyone for helping to support the Lost and Tired family this way. If you haven’t yet subscribed (for free) and would like to click on the “Support the Lost and Tired Family” at the top of this page for instructions.
I haven’t been writing as much as I used to. Basically, things are pretty bad right now and I haven’t had the energy to write about everything. I’m going to make an effort to fix this because even if it’s depressing to read (and it is) I want people to know what life is like for families like ours. The truth isn’t easy to write or even read but it serves a greater good.
Thanks again to all of you for your support over this past year. Please know you are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Have a great day.
