My hubby just called from the bike store. He's outfitted our daughter with a pink helmet and pink sunglasses.

She's only two but she can ride in a trailer on the back of the bike for about two hours before she gets bored or tired and then falls asleep. Usually these trips include a playground half way through the ride so she's happy.

I didn't think I'd be the type of mom who dresses up her child in a matching pink helmet and sunglasses, and I never expected my hubby to do it, but she wrapped him around her little heart in a New York minute about two years ago.

I'm... more

Upon posting about our Adoption Party yesterday, I've come up with some folks making the suggestion that the children we met are possibly affected by attachment disorder.

According to 3rd hand hearing from their SW, the children do not have attachment issues, but it is the "common knowledge" of many adoptive parents that there is at least SOME level of attachment issues with any adoptive child.

Well, I still stand by my opinion that after 3 hours of skating and talking, that I view it normal for a child to express they'd want us to adopt them being we got along SO well.

However, the consensus on that one particular board says "no".

So, I sought out resources... more

The National Adoption Center (the primary adoption authority in Ukraine since 1996) loses authority over adoption on April 30, 2006 to the new State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child (SDAPRC). These are both Ukrainian government departments. Ukraine adoption is centralized and 100% controlled by the government.

Good-bye Scooby-Do hallway in the National Adoption Center (pictured above).........

Translation for anyone who doesn't watch Scooby-Do cartoons. A group of 4 kids (young adults) and a dog named Scooby-Do try to solve mysteries.... more

According to My Insightful Spouse, rumor has it the Stork has touched down in San Francisco and at least one packet of referrals has been delivered to an agency in a Western State With A Professional Sports Team Named After Horses And What I Think Is The Highest Baseball Stadium In America.

So it looks like tomorrow, I'll be looking at a referral for the latest family member.

I read an interesting article about a doctor, who, many years ago as a resident, had a habit of taking long, detailed histories of his patients. He also is a novelist, which may explain his interest in detail.

His patient was an older lady with respiratory problems that were growing worse and worse, to the point where they feared she might expire. Of course they checked out the usual: pneumonia, allergies, ashma, etc., and nothing turned up.

However, in the course of his long history taking, he determined that she lived next door to a magician, who kept birds (pigeons, I think)... more

One of the things I enjoyed most in Ethiopia was the shopping. I am a penny-pincher at heart, and had no trouble finding lots of bargains while there. The traditional dresses my little girls are modeling in this picture can be found for $10-$15.

The background fabric in both pictures is a large tablecloth that came with 12 napkins and cost around $40. Other textiles available include gorgeous hand-woven headscarves which come in stunning colors and patterns and are often worn by Ethiopian women.

Other things that are affordable include baskets (in the $3-$10 range for... more

As many of you know, I am in the balance of trying to raise my 16 year old daughter. Most of the time I amaze myself at how well I handle her and the situations that arise. However, man did I mess up this time. Last night my daughter and her friend were out visiting friends. She missed her curfew. So by 10:30 P.M. my husband, little daughter, and I decided to drive around and check out a few place where she might be.

We have had a lot of nights lately where my daughter has run away and stayed gone for a week or more until we or the police found her.

Exactly one week ago she got in to trouble and we had to go pick her up at the local hospital at 3 in the morning. She received... more

We often hear that people are too busy these days - too over scheduled, over worked and whatever else. We hear that we need to take a breather and stop and smell the roses. I tend to think it goes further than that.

I was driving back this morning from a weekend away. It was about six am and twelve degrees outside, but it was breathtaking. Over the next hour, as I drove through the mountains, I watched the sun rise. I really can't remember the last time I did that. I happened to be alone in the car - my husband and daughter were coming back separately - and I had a three-and-a-half hour drive to myself to do some good thinking.

And I realized that I'm in a great place in my... more

Most people seeking to be healthier, whether pre-conception or otherwise, know enough to clean up the diet: throw out or limit the junk, transfats, dyes, and try to eat organic and hormone free. But did you ever think of what's entering your body through your everyday slather of hand lotion, spritz of perfume, or lipstick?

When I was little, I used to think human skin was just like saran wrap, some inert substance that kept the bag of innards and blood from falling out. Skin, however, is much more than that. It's the body's largest organ.

People rarely think... more

My daughters are getting older, and I am finding that I am the one who is starting to feel the compulsion to initiate The Search. I don't know that I've ever read about that anywhere. Adoptive parents who feel the need to Search, not for their kids'sakes, but, for their own.

I am quick to point out that this desire is qualitatively different from a willingness to have an open adoption. I did not want that and I do not at all regret that choice. But, I love my kids so much. So much, that I am starting to feel the need to know more, to experience more, about them.... more