Featured

Dads Are Superheroes Too

Dads of kids with special needs are often forgotten in the special family dynamic. I’m lucky enough to know several fathers of amazing kids with special needs. These dads are the best of the best. They go above and beyond typical parenting. Just like moms of kids with special needs, the dads have extraordinary jobs put…

Read More

Finding Your Mom Tribe

What is a Mom Tribe, anyway? And how do I find one? Well, a Mom Tribe is a group of women who count on each other; whether it’s sharing the carpool duty for after-school activities, bus stop hovering, helping out when one of the group is sick, and just generally being a shoulder to lean…

Read More

Mommin’ Ain’t Easy

The Overwhelming Moments of Motherhood Most days I feel like I have it together…pretty much. I get up, get my kids ready for school with the help of my awesome husband, get breakfast ready, make the coffee, get myself ready for work, and send everyone off for their busy days. I’m no different than millions…

Read More

Badges of Honor, Crows Feet and All

Almost 40! Some folks would have you believe that they never change. They don’t age. They will do everything they can to stop the ravages of time. I’m not one of them. The truth is that everyone is changing. Everyone. Some say they’re the same, but that’s not completely true. We’re all aging. We’re all…

Read More

I Just Started Running…

So, I’m about to be 40. Well, in about 7 months, but still. I’m looking at 40 and it’s staring me down. I’m counting the gray hairs and feeling the cold in my bones. My back hurts, my ankles hurt, and I’m not as skinny as I used to be. Honestly, I’m fairly comfortable with…

Read More

Jamie and Laurie – BFFs!

Last summer I was scrolling through Facebook while Jamie and Ri watched a show. I came across a post by the Laurie Berkner Band. If you haven’t heard of them, you’re probably living under a rock and probably not reading this right now because you don’t have wifi under said rock. The Kids’ First Concert!…

Read More

Life’s a Beach

So today I’ve spent about three hours trying to write. I’ve written a few paragraphs and then deleted them. That’s not what I wanted to say. Then I wrote a couple sentences and didn’t like those. Out they go. I’m stymied. I’m stumped. I’m apparently out of words that mean something besides what I’m currently…

Read More

Christ-like?

I’m struggling. I used to know my beliefs, and I was sure about them.  You know what I mean?  How you’re so sure of everything when you’re younger?  There is no gray; everything is black and white.  It’s either this way or it’s that way.  No middle ground.  I was so sure that God had…

Read More

13 Signs You’re a Mom of a KWSN

There are many things that let us know we have special kids who happen to have special needs. Since some of our friends and loved ones don’t know a lot of them, I thought I’d give them a little Cliff’s Note into what identifies us.  If you agree with any of these or would like…

Read More

From One Child to Another

I’ve heard my friends talk a lot about how different it is to go from having only one child to having two or more.  While that’s very true, it’s even more true when your first child has special needs.  To add another child into the mix can be terrifying, exhilarating, and overwhelming.  It also adds…

Read More

Hold On, Pain Ends

Today is Wishful Wednesday and that means that I’ve been sitting here thinking of wishes, listening to my heart.  What’s on my heart today is the struggle we all face as Modified Mamas.  The struggle to be the same people we were before our kids were diagnosed.  That struggle, that pulling at your very being,…

Read More

Enough is Enough for Me

Thankfulness.  It’s something we should all strive for.  If we think we have nothing for which to be thankful, we have a sad life, indeed.  Whenever I start to feel down about something, I try to remind myself of the things I have that are amazing.  For instance, when I feel down about my weight,…

Read More

My friends know too much.

It’s Thursday, Mamas and Papas.  You know what that means: another post about the things for which I am thankful.  Today, I’d like to tell you about my friends.  I have a lot to be thankful for, but they are right at the top of a really long list.  I have Florida friends, and I…

Read More

Things I’ve Learned As a Mother – Updated

Oatmeal and peanut butter are hard to clean up. They both stick to everything they touch. “No” doesn’t always mean “no” to the child who hears it. Selective hearing is a real thing. Kids say exactly what they are thinking, especially when you don’t want them to. Potty training happens when your child is ready;…

Read More
Brandy Eckman

Wishing for Talking

There are days when I wish more than anything that my son could talk.  He is 10 years old and is non-verbal.  I know I’m not alone in wishing this.  A lot of Mamas and Papas out there have never heard their child utter a single syllable.  Some of us have heard our children speak…

Read More