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Our Family
As I attempt to get back into blogging, it seems helpful to give a more detailed introduction to each of the member’s of our family. Ana (me!) – My name is Ana, and this blog is all about me! I became a mom halfway through undergrad, but through the support of everyone at my school, was able to finish with my BA in Psychology and then went on to graduate school for my Master in Social Work. I am steps away from finishing my MSW, all I have left is the completion of my thesis. I have always been fascinated by how the mind works and have worked helping others as…
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Developing a routine
When Ryan was first being evaluated for autism, the question of routine kept coming up. “Does he need to follow a particular routine?” “Is he routine oriented?” “Does he thrive with routine?” I initially did not realize the little routines he followed so carefully, and how well he did when he had a routine that he could count on. As we learned more about autism and the way Ryan’s mind worked, we really discovered just how much a solid routine helped. Ryan truly thrived with a routine. Similarly to Ryan, I also really thrive when I have a routine that I can follow and stick to. It is a way…
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Panic Wednesday
I was supposed to blog on Wednesday, but I did not. I sat down many times throughout the day, and attempted to blog, but I just couldn’t finish. Wednesday was a panic day for me. There wasn’t anything that I was consciously worried about, and yet my entire body felt trapped in a state of panic. My heart and my thoughts were racing all day. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest, making it difficult to breathe. I could not think straight, and I wanted nothing more than to curl up in some dark corner until those feelings went away (which of course I couldn’t do, because…
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Back to blogging
It has been 6 months since my last blog post (through some glitch in my blog, my old posts are showing up as newly posted, but they were actually posted in June 2016). Clearly, my goal of blogging at least four times a week did not work out for me. I found fitting writing into my daily routine more difficult than I anticipated. Now, it is a new year and I am ready to recommit myself to blogging. My new goal is to have a new blog post up by 9 am, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In the past six months, I have made a little bit of progress…
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Overcoming Anxiety – A Goal Oriented Approach
It would be nice if I could wave a magic wand and make my anxiety go away. Actually, my son is pretty sure he is a wizard and healing spells seem to be his specialty, I bet if I asked him, he would try it. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no magic healing spell for anxiety. However, I find that keeping goals helps me work to keep it under control (or it could make it worse, but for now I think it will help). I have a lot of goals right now, and I think that writing them down publicly might help me keep my focus. Some of…
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Welcome
Welcome to my blog! I have blogged before and stopped over time for one reason or another. I could pick up writing at my previous blog, but I’ve decided that this blog needs a fresh start. This blog is meant to be a blog about parenthood and self-improvement, with a heavy dose of anxiety, autism and love. About the characters I am a quasi-crunchy, anxiety-filled, stay-at-home mom to two kids. Ryan (age 6) is about to finish first grade. He is autistic, happy, and just an all around awesome kid. Saoirse (age 2 months) is our newest addition. She is a happy little baby who likes bouncing on exercise balls…