Writing about life, motherhood, disability advocacy and more.

Special Needs Spotlight || Frankie

Friday, December 15, 2017

My name is Sarah and I live in Brisbane, Australia with my partner Jonathan and our two kids, Frankie (4) and Evie (11). Jonathan and I have spent the last 22 years together. Looking back, work, travel and living overseas all kind of happened without too much drama. I was working as a nurse in...

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Gift Guide || Subscriptions

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Tis the season for the gift guides + round ups across the web! I don’t know about you, but I love a good gift guide. This year, I thought I’d do a gift guide that focused on things you could subscribe to. I know there are a TON of subscription boxes out there, so I tried...

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Special Needs Spotlight || Charlotte

Friday, December 8, 2017

Hi! My name is Betsy and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio with my husband Tae and our two wonderful daughters Charlotte (4) and Lillie (2). Tae and I met in college, have been married for six years, and love taking our girls to new places. I’d like to introduce you to Charlotte. She has already...

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Make || Easy Homemade Ornaments

Monday, December 4, 2017

If you’re looking for a simple, beautiful Christmas craft to do with your kids that will also yield some keepsake ornaments, I’ve got just the thing for you. And while you may or may not have Sculpy polymer clay on hand (we had some), but either way you can same day ship that business from...

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Spotlight Revisited || Elias

Friday, December 1, 2017

Miggy here–today is the LAST DAY to enter my amazing giveaway with Alaska Airlines–4 free round trip vouchers for one amazing special needs family. Check out this post for full details and good luck! Second, if you love This Little Miggy and the work I do here, including the Special Needs Spotlight series, it would...

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My Thoughts on Wonder

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend that consisted of a lot of food and a lot of sleeping in. A huge win in my book. Over the weekend we also saw the new movie Wonder, based on the book of the same name written by RJ Palacio. I enjoyed the movie, just like I enjoyed...

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MeghanNovember 29, 2017 - 7:37 pm
I feel like we could be friends in real life. What I try to tell people all the time when they tell me I am an inspiration or that we are a wonderful family, is that we are only doing exactly what most of our friends and family would do in our situation. Do I deserve an award for being an amazing special needs mom? No! Because you know what, some days I sit on my couch and drink coffee while a nurse does my son's morning stuff. I take short cuts just like any other mom. I know every single thing about my son's medical situation, but I have to, to keep him alive, and I'm glad to. Is he an amazing kid – yes! Is he stronger than any other kid? I really don't know, because we don't give him a choice. We are trying to be a normal family with a bit of a unique situation. And maybe I am naive because my son isn't old enough yet to get his feelings hurt by other kids or adults who stare too long or make fun of him. I am glad that this movie sheds some light on physical differences. Especially the understanding that people with disabilities have real feelings. But, I can relate an understand the critique of the movie. ReplyCancel
AWTNovember 30, 2017 - 3:19 pm
Well said. I personally can't bring myself to watch the movie and didn't make it through much of the book either. The fact that the author is nondisabled and doesn't have a child with a visible difference, and that the genesis was basically an instance of discrimination against a child who does (regardless of how understandable this reaction was, or the author's subsequent reflection on it) is just a giant turnoff for me. So is the infamous use of the "R" word in the book, which the author has defended. My son is developmentally disabled and has a visible difference. The whole thing just stings for me.ReplyCancel
MiaNovember 30, 2017 - 4:10 pm
All I can say is WELL SAID! As a person living with a disability and a mother of a child with the same disability I can tell you we love our life. We are not an inspiration. We are not to be treated with gloved hands. We are the same as any other person, just trying to make it through this roller coaster life. I hope this post gets read and contemplated by all. Again, well said. I love your blog and hope awareness of differences can be embraced as just that, differences.ReplyCancel
SarahNovember 30, 2017 - 6:21 pm
I've read your blog for some time and love it. I wanted recommend a book I read a couple years ago. Ugly by Robert Hoge. It is a memoir about a man's childhood who was born with facial differences. Great read. Geared toward older elementary children. ReplyCancel
Astrin YmrisDecember 4, 2017 - 11:52 pm
I haven't read the book or watched the movie, but I'd read the author's FAQ before. What bothers me is that with her talk about Upstanders vs. Bystanders she's feeding into the meme that bullying is something kids need to "work out among themselves", with adults bearing no responsibility whatsoever.

But as for not casting a kid with a craniofacial condition, I don't think they should be faulted there. Really good child actors are rare, and finding one who also happens to have a craniofacial condition would be difficult. Check out the behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of 'Rabbit Proof Fence', and you can see the problem.ReplyCancel

Happy Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

This is the first year in a while that we haven’t done our gratitude tree. I thought about it, and the girls eventually noticed but it was a little too late… cuz they noticed like yesterday. It’s alright. Missing a year one here or there isn’t going to bring a whole tradition crashing down. It’s...

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