One-on-one parenting for the busy mama

Through a series of random and unforeseen events, I found myself with the ability to spend some one-on-one time with Braeden this past weekend. With three little kids, a full-time job, and only one me, it feels almost impossible sometimes to have individual time with each of the kids. Unfortunately, most of my one-on-one time […]

Adventures in Cerebral Palsy

I’ve written a lot about letting go of some parenting dreams and expectations when you’re parenting a child with special needs or different abilities. The milestones shift. The path diverts. It really is like heading off on an adventure through the fog; sometimes, the fog engulfs you, stings you, leaves you battered, and other times, […]

Would I still have taken the same path had I known its destination?

Every now and then I find myself thinking about life and how strange it is, how you think you’re heading in one direction then the course veers and you go with it, unsure at first, slowly taking steps until you get comfortable and break into your stride.  When I was 20, I was told I […]

Oh that invisible weight on my chest? That’s just the crushing loneliness 

Ever since becoming a mum, I have been the happiest I have ever been. I love watching my little people grow and I find them hilarious. They’re my homies, and we have all kinds of crazy fun together. But, I have also never been this lonely. I think there’s a reason you’re meant to have […]

We’re two and a half!

It seems like only yesterday that the two tiniest babies I’d ever seen squiggled in their isolettes, learning how to breathe, move, and live. In a flash, they’ve become little people, with big personalities. Raegan may be one of the nuttiest tiny humans I’ve ever seen. She has her own flair and way of doing […]

Little ray of sunshine 

I would say that I generally fall under the umbrella of optimistic. Not so much that I live with my head in the clouds, but not so pessimistic that I can’t see the forest through the trees. When I first heard that Ella could have cerebral palsy, I mourned, but I also could not accept […]

Yes, I am staring at your child

The other day, I saw a girl out walking with her parents. Doesn’t really seem like anything out of the ordinary, and yet it was extraordinary. This little girl, probably about eight years old, was walking holding onto her mum’s hands, who was hunched over behind her, and rocking some lovely AFOs. Most people might […]

Tales from the exhausted mama

Once when out with the kids, I turned to my friend and motioned towards the kids, saying, “And THIS is why I’m so exhausted.” Her response was, “How could anyone not expect you to be exhausted?” I suppose it’s true, most parents walk around like exhausted zombies, constantly complaining about whatever stage their kids are […]

In celebration of nurses

There was a time I never really gave nurses much thought. Not that I didn’t care, just that I kind of took them for granted, that when you got sick, nurses would just be there, much like you take oxygen for granted. But when my girls were born just over ten weeks early, I spent […]

Happy Mother’s Day from the other side

According to marketing execs and those in advertising, what mums really want for Mother’s Day is to sleep in followed by breakfast in bed and completed with a lavishly over-the-top designer gift that will instantly make her feel like the hottest mama on the block.  Of course, for any of that to be possible, one […]