Tuesday, July 14, 2015

21 Ways Special Needs Moms are Killing It at Motherhood

Thanks to an informative and hard hitting article recently released by Elite Daily, we all now know that young, cool, millennial moms are killing it at motherhood.   Phew, I'm so relieved!

I was inspired by the responses this article generated from "regular" moms like my friend Stephanie Sprenger who are also killing it at motherhood in their own unique way.  I decided to jump on this "killing it" bandwagon and write a response of my own, giving a little shout out to my particular brand of motherhood: The Special Needs Mom.

So, with a little help from my friends, here are 21 Ways (we know there are about a billion more) Special Needs Moms are KILLING IT at motherhood on a daily basis:


We've learned to keep our cool even in the most intense of situations:


 How is she still standing???



"Make it Work" has become our life motto, because adaptation is the name of this game:


Anything is possible with duct tape and zip lock bags! Make it work!


Obeying  the "suggested age range" is for weaker minded women:


A seven year old in a pack-n-play - why the heck not?


We've taken fashionable accessorizing to a whole new level:


Vogue has nothing on you!




We can pack for a trip to the hospital with our eyes closed (which might actually be a good idea given we probably aren't getting any sleep at home and for sure won't be getting any in the hospital):


It's all about the toys people!


We spend more time trying to make the doctor's office seem fun than millennial moms spend in tattoo parlors:


Wheels on the Bus for the 100th time? But of course!




And we've become experts at turning incredibly complicated medical information into reader friendly Facebook updates to keep friends and family in the loop:


So basically, here is latest...

When we say our kids are attached at the hip we sometimes literally mean it: 


No really, he is actually attached to her hip. Go buddy!!

We can add matchmaker to our long resumes because we rock at picking out perfect best friends for our sweet babes:


BFF's!

Our awesome kids are outside the box, so we are constantly thinking outside the box:


Therapy Goat


Therapy Penguin


Therapy Alligator - why not?

Our homes look like one big therapy session and we are actually kind of proud of that:


What CAN'T you do with a pool noodle?


There is nothing we won't try if it means giving our child a chance to  experience something they might love; no mountain we won't climb, no ocean we won't cross:


Anything for you, anything!


Life has taught us there are so many things we cannot control, so when we find something we CAN control, (like a healthy, delicious diet) we control the HECK out of it:




Goddess of Puree!


We are killing it in so many ways - like raising the world's most compassionate siblings:


Special needs siblings rock.


And never taking anything for granted: nothing, nothing, nothing, never, ever, ever:



Every tiny moment is monumental.


We know all too well how fragile this life is. Every single second, every single breath is a gift:

You make brave look beautiful.


In between therapy sessions, doctors appointments, more therapy sessions, homework from therapy sessions, IEP's, cooking those amazing diets, fighting with insurance companies, finding the paperwork necessary to start the fight with the insurance company in the first place, researching new diagnoses, researching treatment options for new diagnoses, and scouring Pinterest for new home therapy ideas, we still know how make time for ourselves and live it up a little:


A nap was part of the date night, I promise!

Part of what makes all this killing it possible is we have partners who are also killing it:

I picked a good one - he is cute AND he cooks!


And we have an amazing village full of other special needs mom's who are killing it too (it's most likely a virtual village, but that is just fine, we've worked hard to find each other and virtual villages are still villages!):


And sometimes when the stars align we actually get to meet in person! Imagine that.


One of the beautiful things about the villages we've cultivated is the way we love each other fiercely in the hardest of times:

Memorial Quilt for our precious Jay


We haven't just accepted this unexpected life we've been given, we've embraced it, big time!!! And we look pretty darn beautiful doing it, if we may say so ourselves!


#SNmomkillingit



What did we miss? Share your "killing it" pictures with us online using the hashtag #SNmomkillingit



















11 comments:

  1. Thanks Laurie for allowing me and JJ to be part of the awesome article!! Life sure isn't what we planned it to be, but we take its challenges and kill it daily!! #SNmomkillingit

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  2. You are killing it. The therapy goat is cute.

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  3. Love this! We don't give ourselves enough credit sometimes!

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    1. Thank you Laura - I agree! It was fun to put this together and honor some amazing ladies!!!

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  4. This is a fabulous post. You really are killing it. Love the therapy alligator

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    1. Thanks so much Alison! Wasn't that the cutest picture? I loved it!

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    2. Thanks so much Alison! Wasn't that the cutest picture? I loved it!

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