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The looks that hurt

This weekend, an old friend came to visit. She lives out of state and we hadn’t seen each other in years. She brought her son, who’s 7, the same age as my little boy, Max. Except he and my five-year-old immediately jetted off to the basement to play on the Wii. I helped Max walk…

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Does your husband spoil your kids? Do you?!

I am always grateful to my husband for taking care of the kids when I’m doing some blog-related activity, like this last weekend when I did a workshop at the Blogalicious conference about blog writing. That said, he is a total marshmallow when it comes to the kids and their requests. Dave took Max to…

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Guilt about being away from a kid with special powers

News flash: I have decided to use the words “special powers” instead of “special needs” when I can. I mean, not for IEPs or the insurance company paperwork or anything, but in conversation and in posts. I explained why on my blog. In other news, last weekend I went to the Type A Mom Conference….

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Potty training: the saga continues

We have been trying to potty train Max for two-plus years now. He does OK at school, because he is on a strict schedule; he’s on the potty every two to three hours. He is going nowhere at home, partly because we have not been rigorous about a schedule on weekends. But he doesn’t even…

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The kindness of friends: how have yours helped with your child?

Last week, I got an email from my friend Rob. He said that a yoga teacher who works near where we live was going to be at an event he was planning for Saturday night that I’d be at, too. “Maybe she could help Max!” he wrote. “I’ll make sure to introduce you two.” The…

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That special kind of high you get from your kid

I put up this video on my blog last night. Seeing Max playing piano like that made my whole weekend. For those of you who are taking time on Labor Day to read this (shouldn’t you be out barbecuing?!), tell me, what’s the last thing your kid did that thrilled you? Big or small! I…

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A kid who can’t stand crowds

Max is a pretty social kid—but crowds? They freak him out. This weekend, we were at an event and we had to take an outdoor group photo. It was a very, very large group. Max started wailing at the sight of everyone standing there. My husband was holding him, and even though he was talking…

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On not looking too hard into the future, when I’ll be gone

An old college friend called last week; she was coming to town, she had an extra ticket to see Billy Elliot on Saturday, and would I like to come? Y-E-S! My sweet husband watched the kids and I headed into New York. I’d seen the movie, I love dance performances, I figured the Broadway show…

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That “You think YOUR life is so hard?” feeling

This weekend, I visited a relative who may or may not be my sister, and I pretty much felt like I could smack her. She started it! She started it! (To quote an oft-repeated refrain from childhood.) She kept stressing out. First, she got irritated at her husband because he was in the kitchen preparing…

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When’s the last time you were away from the kids?

I got to attend BlogHer this weekend, and it was absolutely amazing. I got to hang with women I’ve only known online, including fellow 5 Minutes for Special Needs blogger Janis, Jean from Stimeyland and Julia Roberts from Support Special Needs. I went to great sessions. I met a hot New York City fireman, who…

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