I love Parents Magazine. I love the quotes from kids, because it’s true…kids say the darndest things. I skip the “Ages + Stages” section, mostly because none of it applies to Charlie and I’m okay with that. But mostly I love this magazine because they usually have something that applies to special needs, for us off the grid parents. My go-to for most things extra special is always Parenting Special Needs Magazine (I am their …

April brings Spring and new life but it also brings Infertility Awareness Week, something I am ever mindful of. When I read “Grieving a Miscarriage: An Illustrated Discussion” in the New York Times, I found myself transported back there, to that moment when we lost our child, our would-be-first. And then I found myself embarrassed to be so sad about something that happened so long ago and at such an early stage in the pregnancy. …

Hide the kids’ music. Stuff it behind the sofa. Put it in the freezer. Throw it out the window if you really need a therapeutic release. I’ve got some better tuneage for you that the kids will love and you will too. In the name of sanity and getting your groove back, here are my best suggestions (and playlist!) courtesy of Parent.co.   What’s your favorite or least favorite kid’s song? Save Save Save Save

You’re going to have to bear with me. The husband is out of town and I’m writing this during naptime (even though no one is napping). I can hear them above my head throwing large objects at the door and the walls. I’m in the throws of it. Literally. My daughter just threw up on all over herself and her car seat on the way to the zoo…and then again three times on the way …

If you’ve lived in the world of special needs parenting for more than a millisecond, you will have heard of the “Disability Paradox,” the notion that people with disabilities tend to report their happiness levels as equal-to or greater-than everybody else. I will be the first to admit this truth in Charlie. His birthday video will testify. Truthfully though, the term always irked me. Why does his happiness have to be an anomaly? So, in …

Embracing the Spotlight. A Sunday Thoughts Link Up. LUKE 22:54-62 54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man …

Travel is hard with kids…more an “adventure” than a “vacation.” But even an adventure can be more than its worth when you have a child with special needs who must miss routines and the therapies that are crucial for development, for releasing energy, for having fun. So this one’s for all you special needs parents who want the to get the most out of your hard wrought traveling. Here are my 16 ways to sneak …

Snow in March isn’t pretty. It’s wet and heavy and nobody cares about it. We don’t want to dig out the sleds or the snowsuits. But it’s melting and the daffodils are up and the buds are budding and the robins are tweeting and the light is brighter and longer. Sandals are replacing shoes and socks. The mower is giving you the eye from the garage and the grill is beginning it’s siren song. So …

I don’t know why I can’t just do it…can’t just make my mouth move in the shape of the words “I’m sorry,” when it comes to my husband. My face freezes up like a screen saver on the fritz. With the kids, it’s no problem. I do it ALL DAY LONG. Half the time it’s a “sorry-not-sorry” turn of phrase for them, but we’re working on it. They have to hug it out too which …

I loved going to visit my grandparents in the summer. I didn’t even mind the eleven hour drive to Oklahoma. I stretched out in the back of out van as big as a whale and read books listed to jukebox hits with my mom. This was before iPhones and vans with handy dandy DVD players. It was awesome. Fishing off #9 landing and picking okra in the garden and sleeping in the same bed as …