The home study unnerved me the most during my first adoption – after all I had looked at this person as the “one” who would say I was fit or unfit to parent a child. I think EVER inch of my house was cleaned and my yard looked picture perfect. During my second and third adoption – I had the amazing experience of a wonderful social worker who talked and worked as a team with my husband and I! I guess the use of the Internet really paid off in that case (I had posted and asked about a local home study coordinator) and was directed to this wonderful person.

There are a few things everyone needs to remember about the home study --- your agency may have policies and procedures in place... more

Little J is up and raring to go. He's been up since 6:15. I've been up since 6:05. I had ten minutes to "work" at the computer (read: look at my e-mails and google the old friend who was in my dream last night) before he started yelling down the stairs for us to come up and get him. Apparently there was a monster up there so he needed us to accompany him out of his room.

It's now 6:45. He's stood next to me the past half hour and TALKED to me. Well, really more like BADGERED me. He wants breakfast. I tell him he has to wait until I get a little work done. He wants to tell me about the monster. I ask him to please be quiet - it will take 10 minutes. He chases the cat around and I have... more

I'm ranting today.

Over on the Older Parent blog I ranted about book banning, and here I have yet another bee in my burkha. I began to feel the itch of annoyance when I came across this story out of Pakistan.

The National Assembly of Pakistan has passed the... more

Continued from here where we started with, "There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance."

And now, for a little history, which can, by the way, also be put in book form. 1873 - The Comstock Law, also called the Federal Anti-Obscenity Act. This was to stop soldiers from getting 'obscene materials'... more

Continued from here where we started with, "There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance."

I'm not going to waste finger time on why book banning is bad or why these specific books are not bad. I will, however, beg, plead, beseech and implore anyone in Shiloh or Fond du Lac, or anywhere else, to do whatever it takes to stop people who would so happily remove part of your child's brain. Do NOT... more

"There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance."

Goethe said that about 200 years ago, and few truer words have been spoken since. A couple of news items lately have me contemplating the wisdom of Goethe, shaking my head at how little we've learned since his day, and quaking in my boots at the great potential for disaster modern day pinheaded idiots are working so hard to achieve.

Let's start off in Shiloh, Illinois, shall... more

Thanks to my handy dandy Google News alerts I came across a published letter written by some adoptive parents who's child is now a grown adult.

This letter from adoptive parents was featured in a recent “Ask Amy” column which is similar to “Dear Abby.” It was so sweet and heartfelt; I knew I must share it.

Dear Amy:

This is an open letter to all birth mothers... more

This Thanksgiving will hold many treasured memories for me. I was blessed to have my Grandma Bears, my best friend Christie, My son and his family, April and a few other friends with us at our table.

My husband cooked most of the meal and I am more than Thankful and Proud of him. He did a fine job and he even did dishes too.

But the greatest thing I will remember is my son asking if he could give the blessings over our Thanksgiving Dinner. I listened to each of his words. This was a reflection of his thankful heart and he spoke from his soul. This is the first time I have ever heard my son pray out loud. As a child we prayed together but he would never pray aloud.

So... more

Now, thirty years later, it's almost in style for mothers to whine about what a miserable lot mothering can be at times, not to be confused with, miserable all the time. In less extreme circles, it's okay to admit that mothering is neat, but it just ain't all that it has been made out to be and there are drawbacks. I think as a society we are less inclined to shove mothering off onto young women like we used to and we are more inclined to encourage them to think long and hard before making that leap.

I think older parenting, in the community... more

Yesterday I wrote a post where I took the position that older parenting isn't always such a great idea and it is definitely not for everyone. Obviously, I thought it was a good idea and I still do. I am an older parent with three young children. All three of us older mommies who write for this blog don't have a single complaint about being an older mother. Okay, maybe we might have a couple but in the grand scheme of things they hardly outweigh our satisfaction, our contentment, our pure joy with being older moms.

But, just because it has been a great, grand,... more