I've blogged ad nauseum about our youngest. His older sister was crazy about us from the first time she talked to us on the phone, but my youngest was not so sure. When we went to meet the kids, though he had fun, he had a “little pout” to his lip, according to his older sister, and my husband!

He was thoroughly attached to both of his foster parents, and still enjoys talking to them. He's a little conundrum, because he'll make friends quickly. So quickly, in fact, I... more

Celebrity Baby Blog is reporting that actor Maurice Bernard and his wife, Paula, have adopted her teen-aged sister following the death of her mother.

I remember watching Mr. Bernard on All My Children when I was in college in the early 80's. He's also native to the San Francisco Bay Area where I grew up. He's been an incredible champion of getting the word out about bi-polar disorder, which he suffers from, and though I don't have it, I have struggled with Dysthemia and... more

My kids all have varying interests: cooking, ballet, sewing and knitting...Oh, and did I mention I was talking about my sons as well?

Because I am an avid knitter, I thought teaching my oldest to knit when he was in kindergarten might help him strengthen the manual dexterity that often develops later in boys, and that in turn, would help him with writing. As it turned out, he enjoyed knitting. In fact, when he did his homeschool service project last year, he chose a knitting... more

Yesterday was my daughter's dress rehearsal for the first ever ballet recital! We had the actual performance this morning. I sat in the audience of 200 or so proud, beaming parents as their children danced to a variety of songs. Bows were lost, shoes came off, cues were missed, amid many missteps and forgotten routines. But, if you ask any parent who was in attendance, it was perfectly flawless!

Following up on the Mother-Daughter Bonding idea from yesterday, my daughter (obviously)... more

One thing are kids are very good at is conning and manipulating otherwise reasonably intelligent adults. They have to be, this is how they have survived. If they didn’t have these skills, they could be dead, or might not have been adopted. Our kids survived by being cute and smart.

There is a politically incorrect but true statement:

“The dumb ugly ones don’t make it.”

This statement is not meant to demean children, but instead it refers to kids being smart enough to figure out how to get what they need. One day batting... more

Today, my daughter danced in her first ballet recital, and to celebrate, we took her to brunch afterwards. As has been the case just about every single time we've dined in public with the kids, someone literally stopped me at their table to tell me (at length!) how well-behaved my children are and pleasant to have around. Wait-staff, too, have commented on this as well, and tell us how difficult it makes their vocation when they must serve children who are less considerate.

Now, we eat out – a lot! We dine out, seriously, at the very least, twice a... more

I rarely read something about adoption in entertainment and want to watch it for myself. You've seen me rant about Lifetime movies before and, quite honestly, even mainstream adoption movies are filled with Lifetime-esque kitsch. That's why I am sitting here, feeling surprised.

I just read an article about a play featuring an adoption storyline. And I want to see it!

Okay, so it is definitely not a happy trip down adoption... more

My daughter reminds me of me in so many ways. She's had some behavioral and emotional issues; my ADD was undiagnosed until adulthood. She has very large, expressive eyes – in fact, in pictures, it's the first thing you notice about her. Every picture of me that my mom has shows that same wide-eyed expression on my face.

I remember as a child sitting at my aunt's feet as she did my hair. I have very textured, ethnic hair, and a very tender scalp. My daughter sits at my feet, now, and also has a tender head. We use hair time as bonding time, and talk about various... more

I've been lamenting my youngest son's first lost tooth, and thinking about milestones in general. As he and I were talking in the car tonight (about the lost tooth, of course!), I was thinking about how much progress this boy has made in just a year!

When we first began our long distance relationship with them while they were still in foster care in another state, both kids had a Southern accent so thick you could cut it with a knife! I loved it and thought it was so cute,... more

My daughter lost her first tooth before she came to us. Ironically, it occurred during one of our weekly phone calls to her foster home as we were getting to know the kids long distance. So, in a way, we got to participate in that first, but it was not the same as witnessing it in person.

For what seems like weeks, my youngest son has been giving us almost hourly status reports on his loose tooth. It's been wiggly; very wiggly; really, really wiggly...you get the idea! Today, however, after many false alarms, he finally lost his first tooth! Man, oh, man, was... more