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 …

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 …

March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness month and I still catch myself thrown back four years ago to that jolt, that hammering of the gavel that carried into our existence Charlie’s “official” diagnosis. In so many ways it was a good thing. In so many way I dreaded its arrival. Sharing that moment when we “went public” on Her View From Home and with Meg for a little five-year review. What power has naming something given …

I’ve traveled a lot in my life. I’ve been lucky to do so. And every time I take a trip or make a move, it feels like a fresh start, like capping a dried out pen and cracking open a new one. But there have been times when the magic just didn’t happen. I couldn’t shake my old self enough to embrace the new. When I became a mother, I thought my new shiny pen …

I am the worst at taking a break. Ask my husband. When something needs to be done or falls under the tagline “Jamie’s job” I can’t let it go. Somehow, over the years, mothering has fallen under this. It’s not like I look at my kids like a job, but there’s so much heart/time/prayer/life invested in them that I find it hard to step away. But I’m thinking I need it. To be a better …

Dear Charlie, I did not think we would get here. By “we,” I mean your dad and me and by “here,” I mean a place where we get to call ourselves your mom and dad. We didn’t think we’d get to be parents at all. It took us a long time to get you. But in case you’re wondering, you are SO worth it. You make every minute of life livelier even though you scared …

You guys, I’m tired. I’m so tired of all the things we should not do as parents. I’m tired of the judgey stares for letting the twins eat Sonic instead of homemade snacks at the playground. I’m tired of the maximum minutes of acceptable screen time shrinking. I just want to play fast and loose a little bit with the mom rules. So, in honor of gentle rebellion, here are my 5 parenting rules I’m …