Last Wednesday my kiddo was wide awake from 1 a.m. to about 5 a.m. As I rubbed his back I was certain he was drifting off to sleep. My eyes fluttered closed, but it didn't last long. Jackson jumped up, got in my face and said, when I get older I need to drive a dune buggy. This folks, is how his ADHD brain works. I couldn't help but giggle, even though I was dying to go back to sleep. A few hours later, I woke up relieved to have a day at home with nowhere to be. To be honest, I Continue Reading
The Day I Stopped To Make Paper Airplanes
Today I took the time to make paper airplanes with my kid. I didn’t even know how to make a paper airplane (at least one that could actually fly), so I did what any good mama would do - I Googled it. And by golly I made a pretty sweet plane that actually went pretty far once the wind found its way beneath the wings. We decorated them with our favorite colors - his blue and mine purple - and added stickers that spelled our names. He wanted to have a paper airplane show. So he set Continue Reading
Special Needs Parenting: It’s All About Adapting
For the past two weeks Jackson has attended Camp Communicate. It's an intensive speech therapy camp for children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech. I saved every penny from my photography sessions this year to cover the cost of camp, because it isn't covered by insurance. I had such high hopes for the last two weeks. As a special needs mama I should know by now it's best not to let my expectations get too high. I wanted Jackson to have a fun two weeks, make progress with his speech and have Continue Reading
Why His Last Day Of Kindergarten Is Bittersweet
My Facebook feed has been flooded with pictures of kiddos graduating from kindergarten. They have the cap and gown and the little certificate that says they finished. To be completely honest, I think kindergarten graduations are a little silly - but all the photos have actually made me a little sad. I don't have a photo of Jackson graduating from kindergarten. It's another reminder that our story is different. It's a reminder that public school kindergarten was just too much for my Continue Reading
Special Needs Parenting and Self Care
Special needs mamas, let's talk about self care. The other morning Jackson and I were sitting in the car waiting for speech therapy to start when he decided to crank up the rock and roll and play air guitar. It wasn't even 8 a.m. and he was jamming to Van Halen! ADHD y'all! I haven't had a night away from Jackson in months. John and I haven't had a kid-free getaway in more than a year. There's two reasons for this... We can't leave him with just anyone. Jackson's anxiety makes Continue Reading