“Haley inspired me to write the song. In life, bless her little baby heart, she can’t do anything. She’s totally helpless in every way. She can’t hold her head up, she can’t sit up, she can’t roll over, she can’t scratch if she itches, she can’t let you know if she’s in pain. It’s just a miserable little life she has … But, I always feel like it’s such an honor to take her places and be her representative on this earth and say, ‘Oh, hey, she’s with me.’”
Have I ever told you the pride my husband has for all that his youngest son is?
Colin’s words make me think of Reed and the proud that, in this case, is really love in different packaging.
Parker’s Daddy is always talking about the day when Parker is healthy enough to meet the world.
I may have mentioned before how the world could use some of the amazing that makes up this kid’s soul.
You watch.
And if you cry, that’s okay.
It simply means you get it.
I’m going to see if I can download this to my iTouch.
Cause I’ve just found me a brand new theme song.
And…uh….no, I still haven’t figured out how to resize a YouTube video.
When our first child, Bailey, was born Reed told me to be sure and save the outfits she outgrew so that they could be passed on to the next kid to come our way.
Me, being who I was then, replied that I wasn’t about to hand down anything. Why, it wouldn’t be fair to make the next baby wear used stuff.
Brilliant, no?
My, but how the not too bright have wised up.
A few months ago Reed came home with a HUGE bag filled with clothes that would be perfect for the 14 year old. I’m saving them for him for back to school next year.
Well, except for the two shirts that still had price tags on them. Those became part of this year’s Christmas booty.
Yup, you read that right. I wrapped up two, brand spanking new, hand me downs to give my son for a Christmas gift.
Was that a collective *gasp* I heard?
Get over it.
The rest of the country is.
The recession has opened up a whole new way of thinking:
Used is good.
But free is best.
I’ve shared my love for yard sales. I love bringing home my cheap scores. But, free, in the form of hand me downs rock. my. world.
And it’s not just my world doing the shaking.
There has been a change of thought that reflects a new attitude when it comes to conspicuous spending for kids.
No longer is it necessary to spend a fortune to prove how much you love your kid, or validate your parental skills.
Celebrated by groups such as The Compact, today’s economy has presented the perfect reason for any of us not to break the bank when raising our children.
(Actually, these days it’s not a good idea to break the bank for any reason.)
And when I say ‘us’, I mean all of us. Not just those of us trying to get out of debt or afford a medically fragile kid with special needs.
The glut of consumerism embraced in years past, is simply no longer hip. Rampant spending is no longer a symbol of how cool one is.
The nod of respect is now being given to resourcefulness, making do, and doing with less.
So hold your head high when you buy used and shop second hand.
And thank your lucky stars when someone loves you enough to gift you their hand me downs.
Parker is just entering into the world of pretend play. He loves to wear his hero cape, drive his little wooden cars, and cook in his kitchen.
Yup. He cooks in his very own kitchen. We start ‘em out young at our house.
So when Melissa and Doug asked if I’d be willing to [...]
One of my biggest worries is how to take care of my medically fragile son with special needs in case of an emergency. It’s taken awhile, but slowly I’ve been able to do a few things to prepare and plan in case of unexpected events.
Instead of simply matching colors, we are matching things that are a certain color.
We’ve added a step to the process.
And Parker is handling it like a pro.
There are several ways you can do this.
Parker likes to put things in.
Remember, that each time you switch up the process, you reinforce the concept.
Which [...]
