I have been a Mom for six months. Six months ago I became a Mother to a 16-month-old toddler. Some days it feels like I’m an old pro at it. It all comes so naturally, I have a good understanding of my child, we mesh well and it’s a fulfilling job. On these days I feel like I’m doing great at meeting her needs and our days run like a well-oiled machine.We breeze through the day and I handle her tantrums and issues with a calm grace.

Other days I feel like I have so much to learn and it all falls apart at the seams. I let my toddler get... more

As bloggers we are a very fortunate lot here at www.adoptionblogs.com. We have a large and well known venue to blog from and we can be easily found. We can read about a wide array of adoption topics, express our opinions on one another's blogs, take a cue from someone else's writing, all just by showing up on the site to see what folks are writing about. However, there are tons of adoption blogs in the blogosphere that are easily overlooked because they lack the platform that we enjoy. Still, their authors write... more

Knowledge is power and information is power. So information that actually makes one more knowledgeable should be a double bonus. Here is a link to a pretty snazzy site that I believe will fit the bill. It is full of resources on all things child welfare related from abuse and neglect, to foster care, to adoption. The information is straightforward and easily understood, clearly written with the end use consumer (most likely a layperson) in mind. I have written before that one can become easily overhwlmed by the information that is available on the internet about adoption. However, this Child Welfare Information Gateway site seems to offer... more

Dear Sybil:

You don't know it now, but boy are you in for a ride! You think you know that already, because you think you know everything, but there are things waiting for you on this parenting journey that you can't even begin to imagine. You are going to be profoundly disappointed by the hurtful questions raised by people that you assumed would be supportive of your decision to adopt. Don't work yourself up into a fit about it. It's not their decision, it's not their life. In the big scheme of things, what they think and how they feel doesn't matter. Funny thing... more

Today I had lunch with a friend and colleague that I have not seen or talked to in several years. I hate it when I lose contact with a person whose friendship I value. Still, sometimes, it happens.

The woman that I reconnected with today is one helluva clinical social worker and an adoptive mother of two boys whom she adopted as older children. She works with children with attachment issues. She and her twin sister are also adoptees, transracial adoptees. She has also experienced search and reunion with her biological family. THWACK! Do you hear that? That's the sound of... more

I love, love, LOVE my in-laws! I don't know many married folks who can say that and mean it, but I really do. They are not intrusive, critical, or mean spirited in any way. You have never met a more supportive, loving, accepting bunch of folks. At least, that has been the pleasure of my experience with all of them.

When we all get together the conversation is always positive, supportive, encouraging, and damn funny. They are eager to hear about what is going on with us, they are supportive of our new endeavors, and respectful of our hopes and dreams as a family. They... more

I'm feeling the need to lighten up the tone of things here on my blog. At least for the time being. All of my topics lately have been so serious. I'm all for keepin' it real and writing honestly and facing reality, blah. blah. blah. But my goodness, after a while, I would think all that emoting and processing would get to be a bit much. Heck it could be enough to make people wonder if adoption is even worth the apparent headache that it can bring! Ha. Apparent. I slay me. I'm on a roll now.

Several months ago, I wrote a piece on my... more

While surfing the internet on the desperate hunt for useful resources for my readers I came upon this site. Ta-da! I felt as if I had struck gold. There is so much information out there on the web, and in bookstores, and in the libraries. Most of it is useful, some of it less so. But, this particular site is an internet talk radio show just on...adoption! How neat is that? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the most technologically savy person in the world. So, if the entire adoption world is already familiar with this site... more

I have blog envy. I didn't even know such a thing existed, until I started following all of the exceptional writing here at AdoptionBlogs. I've discovered that my particular blog style is very linear, and some would say, concrete. I think it. I write it. I post it. But, I am challenging myself to grow and stretch. I have been practicing how to use new and different features over on my parenting blog and now I'm ready to try to fly my wings here. I still have a long way to go though to "run with the big dawgs" like Nancy, Bill, Moose and all the others who make me absolutely green with envy. Ha. But, I'll figure it out. Who knows, I might even learn... more

I've been pretty busy researching links and sites lately. Here are just a few to stop by and visit.

http://adoptionshop.com/c9/magazines.html

http://www.adoptshoppe.com

http://www.adoptivefamiliestoday.org/aftmag.doc

http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/parents/index.cfm

http://www.adopting.org/rwtell.html

http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/adoptive_parenting

... more