Blogger's note: Victoria Walter, an awesome mom who claims she'll never be a "super mom" penned this mini-essay, and gave me permission to share it with you. It's sure to make those of you parenting challenging children giggle.

Morning. Here I am, having just "celebrated" a birthday that leaves me somewhere between fifty and death, running down the aisle in Safeway with a 30 lb. 4 year old on my back to keep her from whining while I do the weekly shopping.

We stop to scoop out frost... more

I have received comments from readers and friends, that one of the main reasons they enjoy reading what I write, is because it makes them feel more normal. We all have bad days, and even the most patient person in the world can get frustrated and irritable with the day in and day out of living with a special needs child. That is why finding a support group is so important. You need to find a support group or at least supportive people who also have special needs children.

Nobody else is going to understand what you are going... more

Children with learning disabilities may have difficulty remembering to bring all of their belongings home from camp. A pile of white socks all look the same at the end of the week, as do underwear and towels. I make a point of writing my child’s name, grade, and destination on each piece of clothing and anything else taken to camp.

Yes, I write it on every sock, every pair of underwear, every swimming suit, and every washcloth. Well, you get the idea. I also affix address labels with our complete address to disposable cameras, fishing poles, shoes, suitcases,... more

Our lawyer has set up "Last Will and Testaments" for many families. He has updated ours several times over the past 15 years, usually after we complete each adoption. During our most recent update, he advised converting our will and transferring our assets to an unbreakable living trust.

We agreed, but then set out to explain the individual needs of each of our 10 (at that time) legal children. Since our oldest children are 24, (not twins – 27 days apart) and our youngest child isn’t even one-year-old yet, we couldn’t have one regular trust fund.

He determined that at the time... more

Super Dad loaded up the car early yesterday morning and took LuLu to Florida for four days. (Yes, this is my REAL birthday present.) The two of them have never traveled solo before, so this is a really BIG deal.

After my initial Snoopy dance around the house, I settled into the quiet surroundings to work hot and heavy on blogging, ATN conference and trying to figure out what to do about the quagmire our due process tribulations have become.

I did take an afternoon break to go to the movies with Kay. We saw Knocked... more

One of the most beneficial parts of spending our entire life’s savings (and all our future savings as well) on our due process hearing is that for the first time we had professionals who were actively focused on identifying and exploring the extent of LuLu’s disabilities (beyond the attachment disorder and related psychological issues). The evaluations conducted were amazing. One of the most astounding epiphanies for me was to understand the extent of her processing disabilities (sensory, auditory, vision and language). There’s a lot of pedagogical banter... more

I posted recently on how I knew that my daughter was attached to me, when, indeed she had previously been unattached, or had much dysfunction in that area. I mused that I wished I understood why some kids healed and others didn’t…why some kids' attachment problems seem like things they “can’t” over come and some seem like they “won’t” get over them.

A reader posted that she didn’t believe there was a difference between “can’t” and “won’t”… that children with attachment problems... more

I received one of those unsolicited emails that I nearly deleted without opening yesterday. Something made me open it, I’m not sure what, but I’m really glad I did. Because I found this terrific game that you can download free and print on your home computer. The game board is a little flimsy on printer paper; however, you could glue it onto cardboard.

It is called “Welcome to Stump Your Family!” It's a fun downloadable board... more

You should stay at home as much as possible so you don’t miss any phone calls. If you must leave the house, do so only for short periods of time. Many social workers will go to the next name and phone number on their placement list, rather than leave you a message or try your alternate phone number. This is especially true if the potential placement happens to be an infant with very few special needs, whom they can easily place.

It is imperative for you to have a cell phone, and never turn it off. Give your home number and... more

On Sunday will be my birthday! (Hence the name Julie…born in July.) I will be 25 years old (again)! As has been the case for quite a few years, birthday celebrations have been subdued and scaled back from perhaps what they might have been if we didn’t have medical, therapy, attorney and educational bills looming large over our heads.

So how do you have a “Happy” birthday without ruining the budget?

1. Get someone else to throw the party. This is easier if your birthday is close to a major holiday. As long as I can remember my birthday... more