You've come along way baby!

Well, today I went with Natalie and Hailey to a Dr’s appointment at Children’s Hospital. Hailey has to have her hips x-rayed periodically to make sure that they are not being affected by the way she sits (W style) this is a common and comfortable position for kids with C.P. but it can dislocate their hips so the Doctors keep a close eye on her. I am very pleased to report that Hailey’s hips are perfect. I am also very pleased or rather amazed by Hailey’s behavior with the Doctors today. She let them do whatever they needed to do without a battle. She actually smiled for the camera (or should I say the x-ray machine) she watched silently and cooperated while they made a new cast for her legs, (she wears A.F.O.s to help her with ankle/leg support) she let the Doctor feel her spine and check her reflexes. All of this without a single peep out of her. I couldn’t believe it! Just last year I wrote a post about her screaming every time she went to the doctors. She would even scream when we pulled into the parking lot at the hospital. I have to admit, I never thought I would see this day with Hailey, ever! But, i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again. “Hailey never stops amazing me”

ipad give away

A great opportunity to win an ipad for your child who has special needs. Head on over to Marissa's Bunny Marissa suffers from infantile spasms and her dad Mike is launching a foundation to support kids with disabilities and his boss is donating the ipads. The give away is based on Merit, so visit his blog for the details. Good luck!

A new look for "KIDZ"

As many of you know, I have been doing a little writing in my spare time (which by the way, is really non existent). I write for a few different special needs sites. You may recall me mentioning in a previous post that I write for Kidz. This site is an amazing site that celebrates the ups and downs of raising children with special needs. The posts on this site are a collaborative effort of 12 bloggers and 1 fearless leader Tara. The Kids Krew contributer’s are all amazing woman who have children with different abilities, who share their knowledge and resources with thousands of readers each day, some who are veterans in the special needs community and other’s who are newbies and looking for as much information as they can possibly find to help them understand their child’s diagnosis. This past year Kidz received “The Top Blog Parenting Award” and has over 20,000 visitors each month! It is both an honor and a pleasure for me to be part of this effort that helps so many children around the world. On this site you can expect to find uplifting stories, poems, songs, activities, ideas, friends and resources. We are excited about the new design of the KIDZ site, so be sure to check it out. If you know anyone who may benefit from this site, please share the link with them www.kidzorg.blogspot.com I know it will help them, just as it continues to help and inspire me.

A small dose of the " Medicine of Music"

After playing with balloons at a physical therapy session with my mom recently, I thought...what a great way to get Hailey to move her arms more, so this weekend I had a long overdue sleepover with Hailey. We had so much fun, we always do. I bought a couple of latex balloons at the iparty store and we started hitting them across the table. What a cheap, fun exercise, just listen to Hailey’s laughter in the second video, this does not seem like therapy at all and it is a great way to keep her moving.
If you listen carefully to the first video, you can hear a song playing in the back ground. It is a song I sent away for some time ago and was personalized for Hailey. It is from the songs of love foundation. This incredible foundation writes songs for children who face severe medical challenges. If you have a child who qualifies for this program, she will receive a cd in the mail within 4 weeks. Hailey absolutely loves this song, she loves that she hears her name in it over and over again. She cannot ask for it verbally, but in her ever so special way she asks for it every time she comes over. She smiles and gracefully extends her arm in the direction of my outdated cd player that sits on the kitchen counter. If for some reason we miss what she is pointing to, she will begin to sway and dance in her chair until I say “Oh, I know what you want” (insert Hailey’s smile here) you want to hear your song.
The mission of the Songs of Love Foundation is to bring healing music to chronically and terminally ill children across the country. The foundation is a national non profit organization. To date, Songs of Love has written more then 19,000 songs for children in more than 500 hospitals across the country and throughout the world. The pool of artists has grown to more then 350 songwriters, lyricists, instrumentalists and vocalists who have experienced the excitement of being able to give back with the talents they were given.

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.
-Victor Hugo

A Valentines poem for my Sweet Tart "Just because"

You have my heart there is no doubt,
my fragile flower, I can’t live without.
my heart is yours, as well my soul
I love you more than you’ll ever know.

A little girl, with long brown hair
her smile it spreads from ear to ear.
her words unspoken, I don’t care
I know she loves me, i’m well aware.

Her future holds no certainty,
but then again who’s does
i’ll just take it day by day
and love her just because.

xoxo Copyright by Janet Harrold

Exceptional Family

A lot of you may recognize this beautiful family as Zak, Nathan and Renee Charlan from Exceptional Family T.V. “EFTV” Is my favorite online destination to visit for news and current resources and advice for children with special needs. Advice given from other parents of children who are living the “Exceptional” life. I credit this family for their humble approach and ability to expose their private lives to benefit others. I personally would like to say thank you for giving us a voice and a connection with each other, and for all that you have done to facilitate this “Exceptional” community.
If you would like a 16 X 20 oil painting of your child email me www.harrold.janet@gmail.com 100% of the proceeds go to Hailey's Conductive Education