Memories of Gussie

I fondly refer to my mother as the queen of cliché.  She passed away when I was five months pregnant with my first daughter.  She was an amazing woman.

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Our Perfect World

Lately, I’ve wanted to connect with more people and be more social.  I’m just coming out of hibernation that a dear friend calls “being in the trenches.”  She labeled this phase of my life for me one day when we were discussing how difficult it is when the kids are young and very needy and we parents don’t have much time to take care of ourselves and our own needs.  Many parents can relate to not getting a shower for several days or not stopping to pee until we are about to burst, because we are so busy being parents.

So, it occurred to me yesterday, after a long discussion with my husband, how we have changed and have different needs for who we want to connect with and how we want to spend our time.  Of course, most of our priorities have changed, now that we have children of our own.  I still want to spend my time with people who want quality relationships.  I have never been one to enjoy “small talk”.  In looking around for a way to connect with other people of like mind who are O.K. with my “spirited” kids being around, I finally decided I needed to create a way to find these people in my community.  I know they are “out there”, but how could I find them?  The first step was to create a “Meet-Up” group on the internet.  In the process of creating the group, I had to define what the group was about.  Here is the description I wrote:

“In Our Perfect World, kind, compassionate, socially conscious people come together to share deep, authentic friendships based on mutual support in raising our children, building our businesses in the community, and building a better future for all of us together. We are not just “tolerant”, but we celebrate diversity of race, sexual orientation, religious/spiritual beliefs and practices, differing abilities and more as long as it is kind, non-violent and supportive of others. We are building a community within the community of mutual respect, support and love and creating relationships within the community where everyone wins. Family/kid friendly events and entertainment, art, music, dance, poetry, science, social connection, business connection and more.”

I’m using the idea that if I create it, they will come.  I have scheduled a preschool aged children’s play date as the first event.  It will take place at a wonderful local park called Matteo’s Dream.  I can’t wait to see who shows up!

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What have i become?

A woke up early this morning, with the realization that I have become an activist.  I have many friends who are activists.  One even chained herself to trees so they would not be cut down.  I never thought of myself like this until now.

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A HemiKid’s Birth Story

CHASA (Childhood Hemiplegic and Stroke Association) just posted a beautifully written blog post called “When That Feeling Hits“.  I still have a tear in my eye after reading it.  While you are there, check out the rest of the website and if you can, please give a few dollars to this wonderful organization that helps those of us who are raising children with hemiplegia, hemiparesis or childhood stroke.

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Have a Little Compassion for Chloe

This is for the people out there who think they know what is best for my Chloe and don’t really understand her challenges.  You see, Chloe has several sensory processing issues going on all at the same time, that cause her as a mere “almost three year old” to melt down much more often than other kids and cause her to have what looks like really bad behavior, but is really her inability to cope with the input to her body and brain.

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Nurturing Siblings of Special Needs Kids

I just found out about this article from Shannon, a mom of a child with cerebral palsy: 9 Strategies for Nurturing Special Siblings.  Let me know what you think.

You can check out Shannon’s blog here and her Facebook page here.

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Tips for Back to School for Kids with SPD

Someone just posted a great link for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder so I thought I would share it again here:  http://sensorysmarts.com/back_to_school_tips.html

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What About Erika?

My oldest daughter, Erika, seems to be doing  well.  And I do mean “seems’. She is four years old.  She seems quite intelligent, she does age appropriate play, comes home from preschool with cute art and traced letters and numbers.  She knows all of her shapes, colors, letters and numbers.  She can recognise her name and a few other printed words.  She asks really interesting questions.

So why do I say that she “seems to be doing well”?  Because she has twin sisters with special needs who were born when she was only fifteen months old.

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Guilt Steals Prescious Energy

Like many parents of special needs kids, I have had to navigate the thoughts and emotions of guilt about my part in causing my kids to have developmental delays. I know that for some parents or caregivers, there is a clear and direct cause for these challenges in their children.

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Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)

Sometimes when a child has behavioral challenges, it is not just psychological.  It can also be caused by something being “off” physically.

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