1 year ago.

Maddie is starting to get used to her different schedule of school being out.  One MAJOR help is that after 8 years of waiting, we finally have been approved for the medicaid waiver which among other things, allows us a few hours on the weekend to have a respite provider to keep Maddie busy. Rachael is her name and she’s really bonded with our girl.

Maddie at 4.

The summer has been tough for Maddie as she misses school, but she is starting to get back to her normal self. She had a great Monday and to celebrate we go to her favorite pizza place, Marcos!

The Walls have been closing in on us this past couple of weeks.

Summer continues to be difficult for Maddie, just like it is every year. We have plenty of strategies to try to keep her from meltdown, but they are often as impenetrable as the 1985 Bears defense. Her big thing now is to focus on thing that she stresses out about and then when that is solved she is off to the next stress.

NOTE: Most of our newer happy Monday videos will happen on Sunday night, as it’s become too difficult to get them done on Monday morning. This one shows how she was most of the afternoon on Sunday. The last part of video before she sings Happy (you might have heard this song–we have at least 3000 times) shows her this Monday morning before camp still struggling.

Here’s a positive to go off on.  She had a great day at camp on Monday. Let’s hope the rest of the week goes better.

For parent with developmentally disable children summer vacation is a double-worded profanity. I know I say other 2 word profanities more often from June-August. Maddie loves school, this is why these videos are called Happy Monday. She needs the structure. Today we look at some of the more mild elements of the past week. Today is truly a Happy Monday for me as Maddie started camp!  I love her, but I need a break after a long week and I just can’t give her the type of schedule she craves that a special needs camp can do.

Summer is here.

Maddie begins summer vacation. That’s a tough transition for her. Happy Monday today has us looking back at a field trip to Victory Field in Indy.

3 year old Maddie looks in to her early childhood class on her first day of school.

A very happy Monday edition as last week Maddie had a orientation trip as she moves up from elementary to intermediate school for next year. Bus ride, new classroom, basketball hoops, and lunch in the cafeteria. Best day of the year for Maddie? Might have been.

The other day Maddie came home in a bad mood and proceeded to fixate on one question: what is for dinner? I finally responded with Chicken. Not the answer she wanted, but you can’t have pizza every day. She was out of control until I got the camera out to film her behavior.  This short video shows my girl’s autism outbursts, but is also funny and at the end shows her sweetness again. That is how I would describe my girl. Unpredictable, funny, and sweet. 

Staying active is the key to Maddie’s happiness.

Beautiful day to visit the biggest sporting venue in the world.

Maddie’s Mom perfectly framed.

I hope all Mom’s had a great day on Sunday, but today is a special shout-out to the Mom’s who care for a child with a disability. There is no more difficult job than to handle the constant ups and downs of a child with special needs. You do your best work behind close doors without credit going your way, but I promise you that those of us that do know you, truly respect like you no one else. Maddie (and our family) has one of the best Mom’s and we are very lucky for it.

Maddie had little interest in any type of indoor entertainment until the iPad.

The iPad is the first device that Maddie can use by herself.  She doesn’t like tv shows or movies, but she loves youtube music videos and apps that help her learn. She can work a mouse, but the iPad she can maneuver herself.  Let’s learn more today about it.

2 years ago.

In a past video Maddie went to JC Penney to see her friend Lynn, who works in the Cosmetic Department. We had taken it because Maddie talks A LOT about working at the store. JC Penney saw this moving video and decided to send Maddie a gift card. It was a great surprise and definitely needed, as our girl continues to grow taller and we seem to go clothes shopping every 2 months because of it. Maddie decided to share her gift card with her brother and sister, so we see a little snippet of our shopping excursion.

Maddie and her great friend Madison.

This is one of my favorite Happy Monday videos. After the plug for our upcoming comedy fundraiser show that Maddie is hosting, we see what makes the Special Olympics so incredible for families like ours.

Click here to buy tickets to Saturday’s fundraiser show.