I think every parent waiting for a child to arrive has moments when they wonder if they are truly up to the task of bringing a new child into the family. Will the child settle in well? Will you get to sleep all night ever again? How will you keep up with the things that need to be done, when chances are you feel like you are barely keeping up with them now?

In the process of bringing home ten children, four via birth and six via adoption, here are some of my best tips for simplifying those first few months of adjustment time after your child comes home.

1. Lower your standards, at least when it comes to housekeeping. Decide on which top 3 tasks you will try to keep... more

Deciding which country to adopt from can be a weighty decision the first time around. Deciding where you will go for your second (or third or fourth or more!) adoption in your family can be an even harder decision. Now you already have a child or children at home and your family dynamic is much different than when it was just one or two adults starting out on an adoption journey. Taking into consideration what is best for your current family will help make your decision easier.

First off, I have to mention that I think Erin over at the transracial adoption blog said what is in my head best in her post here:... more

I am so impressed with the multitude of avenues people are utilizing to spread information about the possible crisis in Guatemalan adoptions. Emails, phone calls, faxes and letters are being sent to the DOS, Presidents (Bush & Berger), senators and congressmen, newspapers, embassies and even to famous personalities like Oprah.

Petitions are going around (sign here), but according to a friend with connections to the government, letters are much more effective; must be something about an old fashioned... more

Recently a reader left this thought-provoking comment on a previous blog:

I rock my daughter every day, but one of the issues I have trouble with is that there are times when she has been very destructive or very oppositional or whatever and will then say to me, "I need you to rock me," and I know she does need this, but at times I just can't do it at that point because I feel so angry at her. Often she is able to ask to rock before... more

When adopting from Viet Nam, your dossier is the large group of documents that is sent over to Viet Nam. In this post I will list some of the basic documents that will make up your Vietnamese dossier and explain what each document is. Your adoption agency should help you through compiling your dossier and guide you through any questions you may have. There will be other documents (powers of attorney for your agency to act on your behalf, etc.) as well as photographs required; your agency will tell you what is required when you get to this step in the process.

Home Study... more

When adopting from Viet Nam, your dossier is the large group of documents that is sent over to Viet Nam. In this post I will list some of the basic documents that will make up your Vietnamese dossier and explain what each document is. Your adoption agency should help you through compiling your dossier and guide you through any questions you may have. There will be other documents (powers of attorney for your agency to act on your behalf, etc.) as well as photographs required; your agency will tell you what is required when you get to this step in the process.

Home Study... more

There is much developmentally that LuLu has never done. One of those things has been putting together puzzles. Early therapeutic and intervention suggestions were to introduce puzzles into her environment. I remember one of her shower gifts after arriving home was a set of wooden puzzles just right for toddlers with animals, alphabet and common objects. LuLu never used them. Despite any attempt to engage her in the activity, she wasn’t interested.

Once, while cleaning out the attic, I found a life-size Barney puzzle that Kay had used. I excitedly presented... more

One of the things that drives me the most crazy (yes, I am crazy) as a parent is incessant chatter from my kids. I am not alone in this, nor am I alone in having kids that do this.

Chatter is very common in kids who come from a traumatized background, or who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). I’m not talking about the kind of talking where the child actually relays useful information to you. I’m talking about kids who will tell you everything they see, hear,... more

Holy smokes! It's the end of September? October is in two days? I think I'm caught completely off guard because of the heat that has permeated most of this month. Finally, thank goodness, the temperatures are beginning to resemble something fall-like. In fact, we're headed to the Pumpkin Patch today! We're excited!

September was a busy (very, very busy) month on the blog. We covered a lot of ground including two different book... more

Russia's new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, got off to a strong start in his new job even as the head of Russia's upper house of parliament was indicating Zubkov could be a candidate for another job.

According to news reports, Zubkov made a trip to Penza oblast, warned the governor of Arkhangelsk oblast that economic development in the region wasn't keeping pace and wagged a finger at Russian banks for not lending enough to industry. But the week got off on an interesting foot when Reuters... more