Author Archives: april.

That’s what our geneticist said several times last week, in reference to Ulysses, “the lights are on in there.” Because that was the big worry, see. Before he was born it was near certain. Everyone we spoke to made sure we were prepared for the likelihood that our baby’s brain development had been compromised. And [...]

What’s the bravest thing you did today? I mucked about in my front yard garden for a few hours, with the baby on my hip in my old trusty ring sling, and if you don’t think that’s brave, you’ll just have to trust me on this one. Every time I leave my house I have [...]

Sooner or later, anyone with a special needs child is going to hear or see that short essay called Welcome to Holland. I’m not going to share it here, you can google it and find it easily enough. I suggest you read it, if you haven’t already, before you continue reading this entry. I am [...]

When the children run through the sprinklers and the hose, when we linger for hours on the front patio, when the baby is magically entranced by everything he sees, when the dog doesn’t bark too much, when the husband comes home from a bike ride exhilarated and glad, when I sit on the sunny front [...]

Please forgive that crappy photograph, it was taken in low light with my phone, while The Baby hung out in his bouncy-bouncy chair and I tried to cook dinner or something, I don’t remember. The reason I wanted to use that photo in this entry is because it’s the only one I could find that [...]

What if I told you that I was wrong about Springtime? What if I changed my mind, and wished we could go back to winter? What if the sunshine feels like chewing hair and I want to spit it out and draw the curtains? What if I’m not strong enough? Today my son cried because [...]

Somebody, come hold this baby of mine so I can write a blog post! He is five months old now, can you believe it? And he rolls -both directions!- over and off of his safe little quilt in the time it takes me step away for one quick chore. But mostly the floor is not [...]

I am sorry for all the people who do not have a girl like mine in their life (even if I know that she’s one of a kind), if only because I cannot imagine my life without her. She hangs out in the kitchen while I cook, drawing. If she’s not reading she’s drawing and [...]

I don’t think I would have wanted to have seen the movie after reading any reviews, so if you haven’t seen it yet and plan to, it won’t hurt my feelings if you want to skip this blog post. Let me say right off away that my girl and I liked the movie. We enjoyed [...]

When things are running along as regular around here, I keep a basket of picture books in the living room. Remember, we have a lot of children’s books. It’s easy for so many gems to get overlooked or forgotten, for new books to be shoved onto shelves, unread for months. I like to pick out [...]