How do you share difficult life changing news with a young child? That’s a question I’ve been thinking a lot about since we received T’s FASD diagnosis in January. The hubby and I shared the info with the school right away as it would better inform the way they supported T. We’ve held off onContinue reading “Sharing A Child’s FASD Diagnosis with Them”
Tag Archives: love
Mother
A few weeks ago, T randomly asked about his birth mother. We don’t know what prompted the question but we took out his adoption book and showed him the one photo we have of his mother. We asked him what he was thinking and feeling but he was quiet. Then he moved on to hisContinue reading “Mother”
Ice Cream Truck
Like a child hypnotized by the Pied Piper, so was T to the melodic chime of an ice cream truck. On Thursday afternoon after daycare pickup, it was sunny and beautiful, so T and I hung out in the playground before heading home. The melody of an ice cream truck appeared out of nowhere. TContinue reading “Ice Cream Truck”
Heaven and Hell
“What does heaven mean?” T recently asked me during bedtime. I believe in God but am apprehensive about organized religion. I had a hurtful experience with church in my teen years but I still believe all paths lead to God or however one calls them. I believe that those who politicize or weaponize religion causeContinue reading “Heaven and Hell”
Escape Room
“What am I escaping from?” asked the exasperated dad after the resort staff asked if he wanted to try their Escape Room game. The staff asked another dad, walking quickly with a kid in tow and he asked, “Do I get to escape from this?” He looked at me with T in one of hisContinue reading “Escape Room”
Finding the Bright Spots
Perfection is the enemy of progress. I thought about this expression by French philosopher Voltaire after T broke his four-week streak of perfect spelling tests. T’s teacher recently introduced Words of the Week; six words given on Mondays that he practices for a test on Fridays. T crushed the first four weeks and we postedContinue reading “Finding the Bright Spots”
Bedtime Stories We Loved: Volume 3
Reading to T as he rests his head on my shoulder is a joyful way to unwind. We’ve been reading at night with T since we adopted him at 14 months. As noted by the American Library Association, young kids that are frequently read to are more likely to recognize letters, have word-sight recognition, andContinue reading “Bedtime Stories We Loved: Volume 3”
Helping Kids Navigate Difficult Change
Change is hard for kids. It was heart wrenching to see T process an unexpected change this week. Change is harder for kids such as T. If you hang out with the hubby and I, you’ll notice we give T ample warnings – 10, 5, 1 minutes before we move to the next activity, especiallyContinue reading “Helping Kids Navigate Difficult Change”
Writing Birthday Messages to the Future
Sometimes, you’re blessed with a day overflowing with love that you bottle it up for the future. We had one of those days this week when our dearest T celebrated his 7th birthday. T excitedly counted down the days till his birthday since it entered single digits. If you want to teach a kid aboutContinue reading “Writing Birthday Messages to the Future”
Cousins
Magical moments in parenting happen when you watch your child connect and click with another. As much as I’m still complaining about not having a quiet break to myself during my time off work, it was nice to have given T time with his grandparents, Aunt and cousin in the East Coast. He was particularlyContinue reading “Cousins”
Post-It Affirmations
An accidental discovery inspired a morning ritual to help send T off to his day on a positive note. Recently, T was rummaging through office supplies in our cabinet and found post-it notes. The hubby then drew a word art of T’s name on it. T loved it and carried it with him everywhere, includingContinue reading “Post-It Affirmations”
Making Marriage Work in Special Needs Parenting
This Monday, we celebrated an amazing human’s birthday: the hubby turned 41. He took this week off work and I joined him for downtime on Monday. It was the first time we had to just the two of us in forever. When we started the adoption journey, a former manager told me to avoid adoptingContinue reading “Making Marriage Work in Special Needs Parenting”
Love Is Half the Battle
“Love is a wonderful healer but it cannot undo brain damage.” When starting the FASD journey, I came across a parent’s testimonial that struck a deep chord. Sarasota-based Kathryn Shea wrote a compelling story about raising her adopted son Seth. Stories like Kathryn and Seth’s made me feel part of a larger whole, less lonelyContinue reading “Love Is Half the Battle”
When Kids Feel Sad
The best and worst parts of being a parent is feeling your child’s emotional highs and lows. Little children carry big emotions that they often do not yet have the life experience to process. When T has a super high, excited or proud moment, we all celebrate together. On the flip side, we’re in theContinue reading “When Kids Feel Sad”
Daddy vs Papa
During a recent nap in our guest room, the hubby came in and flopped himself next to me. The hubby and I were both exhausted but I told him to go find his own hiding spot before T found me and ended my quiet alone time. After that moment, I thought with amusement about howContinue reading “Daddy vs Papa”
Enjoying A Last Burst of Summer
We took advantage of an unusually warm weekend and soaked up the sun and outdoors. The weather forecast gave me the will to get through what felt like a long week and it looked even better as the weekend came upon us! Early November is an interesting time as Autumn gives us one last burstContinue reading “Enjoying A Last Burst of Summer”
Finding a Younger Brother for T
Ok, before everyone gets excited – we’re doing no such thing! But if it’s one thing the hubby and I have observed and spoke a lot about during the past six months of lockdown, watching T play by himself at home and in the playground, or seeing T sit by himself in the back seatContinue reading “Finding a Younger Brother for T”
Taking and Embracing the Detours on Life’s Journey
Parenting a child with special needs has taught me the journey is often times more important than the destination. And more interesting, rewarding, fulfilling and one where you will be stretched, bended, tumbled, spun around, flung, chewed up and ultimately become all the better because of it. I reflected on this during the long drivesContinue reading “Taking and Embracing the Detours on Life’s Journey”
Finding the Roaring Spirit of Adventure in Thunder Bay
We arrived in Thunder Bay close to 10 on Sunday evening. T screamed, “Why does it look like this? Where’s the thunder?!” The scenic adventures that unfolded over the following three days of our Summer 2020 family roadtrip more than made up for his initial lack of enthusiasm. First stop on Monday: Beautiful Kakabeka Falls,Continue reading “Finding the Roaring Spirit of Adventure in Thunder Bay”
Camping in Our Backyard
The hubby and I were not going to let a pandemic take away our family camping tradition, so we pitched our tent in the backyard this weekend. It was also camping week at homeschool this week. T’s teacher gave a series of camping-themed learning activities, from books and poems, to math exercises, and more. TContinue reading “Camping in Our Backyard”
My Life With T 