Bright Ideas for 2009

Hey, welcome back to all of you who wandered off from this blog over the holidays, whether because you were away from your work computer or you had actual life things to attend to, like children and in-laws and parties and presents. It's over now, for another year, and we can sit and have a cup of coffee and catch our breaths.

Take a moment now, too, to catch up on what's been going on here over the past couple of weeks:

• Print out the first month of the Love Notes for Special Parents Calendar 2009 and post it somewhere close. It's January 5 already! How did that happen?
• Take one last long look at 2008 through my Special-Needs News in Review gallery, list of top articles of 2008, and lists of commented-on posts for January-April, May-August, and September-December. While you're reviewing those comment lists, take the polls that go with 'em.
• Learn how to set up an iTunes account for your child without a credit card but with a gift card, an allowance, or nothing at all. Also, how to set up an e-mail account that you can monitor.
• Make some resolutions ... for the people in your life who really need them.

Now that we're all on the same page, check out the top of the Parenting Special Needs homepage for a brand new feature to kick off 2009. You'll now find a different "Tip of the Day" in that top spot every day of the week, Monday through Sunday. Each will give you a short bit of parenting advice and a link to an article that goes into more detail on how to make it happen. Stop by daily to get your dosage of parenting wisdom -- and while you're there, check out two other daily updates: Today's News and Views and Site of the Day.

Time to get back to spending all our time with our nose to the computer screen again!

_{Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images}