While I cant say that I have read every adoption related book, I certainly have read many.I have also read many parenting books. I tend to shy away from books that say they are the end all be all to parenting or this is the right way to parent and your'e doing it all wrong type of books. I don’t think there is one way to parent effectively; it’s not an exact science. I love learning new tools and trying out new techniques. Here are some of my favorite books on Adoption & Parenting.

Parenting... more

I love signing with my daughter. She is talking so much now and some may wonder why we continue to sign with her even after she has learned to speak. I started signing with her when we came home from Russia when she was 16 months old .She was not speaking. It was one of the best things I ever did for her because her language blossomed. Some claim that signing hinders a child’s language development and that has not been the case with us and in fact it has helped her. Her teachers encourage signing and sign at school. Livi has dropped some signs upon learning... more

I wrote last week in my running on empty post about how exhausting this attachment parenting work is and how sometimes I feel like I just don’t have anymore to give. My daughter & I have been hunkered down in our home due to extremely cold weather and we have been getting on each others nerves. It’s really hard to find time to take for myself… when I do have a moment- such as naptime I’m usually getting caught up on laundry, housework and before I know it my girl is up rearing... more

I made a big change over the weekend; I went back to my natural hair color… but someone forgot to tell me that my natural color is so dark. For the past decade I have been a slave to the salon getting expensive highlights every 6-8 weeks to maintain a blonde shade. I was sick of it so I did something drastic. I went in, paid too much money and said take me back to natural. While you’re... more

I’m following up my two part Supporting a pre-adoptive parent Do's & Don’ts series.

It was much easier coming up with the Do's for this series. I struggled with the Don’ts. I think it was hard coming up with don’ts because I truly believe most people mean well when offering support & advice. I don’t want it to seem as if you need to walk on egg shells around your adopting friends. I think its better to be supportive than quiet for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing. I think the intentions are what matters.

Don’t

This is a two part series focused on helping you help the Friend or Family member in your life who is adopting. The process can take a long time and some people don’t know if they should say anything or do anything until it’s a sure thing. Many people did not show us support until we got our referral or after Trip #1. We could have used support long before the referral arrived. I do believe that some people just don’t know how to offer pre- adoptive parents support. For the Adoptive Parents to be… it’s a very real process from the start. The most frustrating... more

My daughter loves this series of That’s not my_____, Usborne touchy-feely books. They are very simple and meant for a much younger child but the bright pictures, and repetitive sayings are very endearing. The “That’s not my lion” version starts out with a little mouse looking for his Lion. The Mouse says, That’s not my Lion… his nose is too fuzzy and each page has something that is telling the child reading the book why that is not the Mouse’s lion. The child can feel the soft ears, the rough paws, the fluffy tail, the shiny teeth and the shaggy mane.... more

Book Review: The Girls who went away by Ann Fessler

There is so much I want to say about this book. I hope I can articulate everything I want to convey and do it justice in my review. This book has stuck with me, I can’t shake it. The stories are forever in my memory and I have changed as a result. Im an avid reader and I cant say the same about too many books in recent history.My perspective and thoughts about adoption & birth mothers has forever changed. This... more

In all of my work with adoptive and foster families (myself included), I remain frustrated. Prospective parents NEED access to adequate training and ongoing support to build successful families!

Of course, there is no way to train sufficiently for every possible issue a child or family may have. I understand that. A family often cannot tell the issues they will face prior to their child’s arrival. Will all adoptive or foster children have difficult problems? No. Yet many do.

In our first foster placement (later turned adoption),... more

Happy New Year. It’s a whole New Year, a fresh& clean slate. Here are a few of my parenting goals, goals not resolutions. I like to set goals for myself… both short term and long term. These goals in particular are mighty important to me and I look forward to sharing my success and slip-ups along the way. Here is to a Happy & Healthy 2007 for all.

Have Livi evaluated for her sensory issues… buck up and join the IEP/IFSP world and begin the process of advocating and getting the help we need. (Remember Im privy to the inner... more