No particular number of random things about our family in no particular order and for no particular reason.

I like cold hot tea. Not iced tea - brew a cup of hot tea, add nothing, and let it cool completely. I smell all food - just in case - even freshly opened things. I fold my pizza. I live a measly three small blocks from our synagogue and will rarely get there before 10:30 (services start at 8:45am) I lied about my height on my driver's license - but only by an inch! I'm not a fan of sugar cereal, though I distinctly remember eating Lucky Charms as a treat for breakfast when I was little (from my pre keeping kosher days). I love to cook but hate to clean up the... more

Continued from previous post...

So what does this have to do with transracial adoption? With more and more parents adopting from Ethiopia all of the time (and with malnutrition also being epidemic in many other countries that Americans are adopting from), it is important for adoptive parents to understand the affects of malnutrition and to be prepared for the possibility of stunted growth or learning disabilities in their child.

While many (if not most) children adopted internationally are small for their age at homecoming and tend to catch up fairly quickly, some remain small for their age,... more

The Girls Who Went Away and Ann Fessler, its author, just won a new honor. The book has been named as one of the Top Ten Amazon Picks.

"The Book" as Dr. G. has described it was not a shocking revelation for me as it has been for some. Don't get me wrong, I love the book for the impact that it is having. It is also a well-written and researched book of great value. The book is doing a superb job getting out the stories... more

Preparations for the Rose Parade are under way in my part of the world. Driving to work shortly before Christmas, I noticed banners up for the parade. One of the streets that I take to work every day is where the floats are parked after the parade. Since I work in Pasadena, the neighborhood near my office is busily preparing as well. Grandstands outside the bank that I use were being constructed and readied for the big event.

As any year draws to a close, I reflect on what's changed during the year. With my close ties to the adoption... more

Thanks to the loving care of two Cambodian women, my kids came to me primed and ready for more of the same, expecting their needs to be met, their cries answered and cuddles and kisses to come their way regularly. Sam and Cj both entered AOA ... Asian Orphans Association, an orphanage outside Phnom Penh ... as newborns, and within minutes of arrival they were assigned nannies.

There's no stacking kids like cordwood in nurseries at AOA, no one-size-fits-all feeding schedules, no run-off-their feet workers trying to meet... more

Things are slowly getting back to normal here in our household. Thank Goodness. Don’t get me wrong, it was a pleasure and a joy to experience Christmas with a toddler, but yikes am I exhausted and Oh man was my girl over stimulated and can you guess whom she lashed out at? That would be me… Mama. On Christmas night she hit me in the face, not once but twice, nice gift huh? I broke all my attachment rules, messed with her schedule and allowed affection from people she does not know very well. She was kissed, hugged and passed around and around.... more

If you are interested in adopting from Haiti, you might be wondering what he requirements are?

• Heterosexual married couples and single women, who are living alone, between the ages of 35-50 are eligible to adopt. • No single men. • Age exceptions may be made for couples under age 35 with documented infertility. • Couples must be married for at least 5 years. • There aren’t any general religious requirements, BUT each agency is different and may have their own specific requirements. (Many agencies with Haiti programs do have a Christian requirement.) • You may adopt two unrelated children at the same time. • Families may have a maximum of... more

The NY Times has an extremely sad article this morning on the devastating effects of malnutrition on children in Africa.

The article is titled “Malnutrition is Cheating it’s Survivors, and Africa’s Future”.

Most people know that thousands of children still die of malnutrition and starvation every year in Africa and in other impoverished parts of the world, but as the article points out, little attention is paid to the effects of malnutrition on those that survive.

The article states...

Yet almost half of... more

The typical American viewpoint that an independent kid is a better kid is just plain wrong for newly arrived adopted kids. New children, whether they seek it out or not, need lots of contact with their new parents to maximize bonding. They need attachment parenting.

I am going to focus on four areas: closeness, touch, feeding, and sleeping, and talk about how attachment parenting looks for different ages of children.

CLOSENESS

Staying close to a baby is easy. Get a good baby carrier, like an Ergo or a HugABub, and carry your baby on your hip or in a baby carrier at least an hour each day. For a toddler who weighs more than 25 pounds or so, a frame-style... more

Some local parents added a few:

o If you know your advocate's phone and fax number by heart...your child might have an IEP. o If you have ever been forced into due process, state court, the district court of appeals, federal court, or the federal circuit court on a fast track to the US Supreme Court... your child might have an IEP. o If you are known as a due process queen... your child might have an IEP. o If you can quote federal statutes in your sleep...your child might have an IEP. o If you have ever requested your child's records and it took two years to receive them...your child might have an IEP. o If you have... more