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my mother’s gift

I was too young to fully grasp my loss when I left that hospital alone. I was a beaming 23 when I brought home my first baby. A little older when my first daughter took her wobbly steps. I felt ancient at my youngest’s cancer bedside. Next year I am the mom of a high [...]

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Invisalign Teen Celebrities: then my daughter’s head exploded in a shower of glitter

Trying out Invisalign aligners as the mom of a teen wearer has been a different challenge from having them as an adult. As if you need reason besides the nearly invisible appearance and the ability to remove them WHENEVER, Invisalign now has a group of Teen Celebs that are singing their praises. Or I guess texting their praises. [...]

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the dog’s obsession

We got a puppy when Buffet had to be put down. Our family has been going through enough changes and rough patches that Peter and I wanted to make this pet transition as easy as possible. This is Dug. Dug is half lag, half sharp-pei. He’s ALL puppy. He goes and plays and runs and [...]

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Invisalign: year one down

We’ve been at this Invisalign thing with Nathaniel for a little over a year. We’ve had the occasional bump in the aligner road. Nathaniel has forgotten his aligners on a food tray and had them thrown away. He forget to get his next set from the orthodontist and his teeth had started to move backwards. [...]

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being enough parent for my kids

We’ve raised monsters. Amazing, incredible monsters. It’s such a weird line I walk between being as firm as they need and as lenient as they deserve. These kids have been through thing that would break most adults. Cancer. A come. Strokes. A life transformed to deal with a handicap. Now they have parents going through [...]

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High School Orientation

We went for “Freshmen Schedule Orientation” at Nathaniel’s soon-to-be high school. Otherwise known as “Did high school girl always look like THAT?” and “ENOUGH WITH THE BOUNCING!” day. I’m thinking of strategies. Stealing his cell phone and broadcasting a text message “thanx 4 ue support with this Herpes outbreak.” Jsnking his Facebook account and leaving [...]

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don’t you wish your girlfriend drove like me, dontcha!

I am the most awesome wheelchair driver in the history of wheelchair drivers. My family calls me “Galaxy Quest” for good reason. Watch between minutes 2:00 and 3:30.

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Invisalign – can your wallet afford more than one kid?

At Rachael’s last dentist checkup, the dentist said , “You can go for your first orthodontic appointment.” She’s 10yo and still losing teeth and that was a time recommended to US to wait. But we also have this child number two expecting Invisalign in her mouth. Honestly, after seeing the effects + benefits that Nathaniel [...]

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when mom gets sick

I spent last week wrestling with death. Arm-wrestling, apparently. Pretty sure it would take me part of the time. Praying it JUST WOULD part of the time. But, for better or worse, here I am. Still alive. Not dead yet. And the awesome thing about being handicapped is that I have a live-in named Jackie [...]

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Bertha

My right hand is “Sheila”. My right foot is “Captain” The new motorized wheelchair is “Bertha”. Yes, the kids named my new wheelchair. I’m getting a motorized wheelchair after not wanting one for so long. I’m keeping my manual wheelchair for when I’m in the house. To push myself. Get what exercise I can. I’m [...]

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this proves my son is a genius

Sometimes you look at your children with pride and think “I MADE THAT!” Then sometimes your kid does something that makes you wonder if it’s possible they were dropped at birth by the doctor.

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the “in case” letter

A few years ago I wrote a letter to Nathaniel and Rachael apologizing for all the failures they suffered through Peyton’s cancer treatment. It was an important letter because I wanted the kids to know that I was aware of how I’d let them down. But it didn’t mean I loved them any less. So, [...]

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when cocktails aren’t a good thing

When time comes, I will buy Nathaniel a case of beer. I know that regardless of our warnings and the statistics, the truth is our kids will want to learn the drinking truth for themselves. I don’t believe that a “magic” age comes along when kids suddenly become ready for the responsibility that being able [...]

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