So many adoptees grew up in an adoption vacuum; make that, an adoption-positive vacuum.
If we were lucky (and you know we were, we were rescued by adoption!!), then we had an adopted sibling with whom to share family life growing up.
As happens so many times, a sibling experience can end up being quite different than another’s, even if the kids are close in age (especially when they are no). Adopted or not. Check out Deanna’s recent post, When People Dismiss Your Story for a heart-breaking Read more [...]
I just wanted popcorn for the kids.
Plain with a little bit of salt.
Popcorn is nearly fat-free, and if my children want to eat half the bag in one sitting, so be it. Hey, it’s high in fiber!
Hello, my name is Laura, and I keep track of my kids’ No. 2. I admit, I am mildly-but-constantly concerned about the “state of poop” of my offspring. Gross but true. I will go out on a limb and state that I am not alone in this.
A normal bag of popcorn in Serbia weighs 60 grams (2.12 Read more [...]
Oct 17 13
Vital Methods for Managing Bipolar
How can you manage bipolar? Is it possible, or are you doomed for a life in and out of hospitals, or medicated to the point of numbness?
I'm so pleased to have Becky writing a super open and honest post about how she and her family deal with her bipolar-ness. I asked her:
How do you keep yourself in check? Since you said that you are cycling into either mild or less-than-mild depression and mania each month, how do you catch yourself? Keep yourself from getting to the point where you might need Read more [...]
Oct 7 13
Chats with my Little Girl: Strippers
When Danica was two-and-a-half, we visited a Bulgarian ski town that had several strip clubs. These establishments featured images of the performers, or at least pictures of some performers, not necessarily the ones inside. I get that.
Nevertheless, I’m talking life-sized posters of scantily clad girls wearing what only can be described by this astute writer as, stripper heels.
Perhaps you catch my drift.
To my observant toddler, these women with long wavy hair and lots of make-up were Read more [...]
Doctor, are you sure I need these drugs?
What about the side effects?
How do I know that I really need them?
Can I be sane without them?
If you've ever been to therapy--whether with someone who prescribes drugs or not, you've likely faced these questions. Today Becky Johnson and I discuss our take on the issue. We've been talking about the love-hate relationship people have with prescription medications; here's the next installment.
Laura -- At the end of our last conversation, Read more [...]
My daughter recently saw an ad for plastic surgery on TV. Did you know I live in Europe? It was graphic by American standards, with only certain naked parts blurred out.
Emphasis on "certain."
The next day, I figured out what she’d seen based on the following conversation. Remember, Danica is five-and-a-half years old.
Danica: How big will my tsi-tse get?
Me: Baby girl, they are called “breasts.” [The word she used in Serbian is a common term, similar to “tits.” It’s Read more [...]
The "Baby Veronica" case has triggered so many adoptees and first moms, never more so it seems, than this week.
You see, adoptees are an empathetic resilient, strong, smart, fiesty and sometimes snarky bunch.
Even though we might not have a verbal memory of our relinquishment, we feel/experience/re-experience tremendous loss when we see a child being taken away.
A child who did not need adoption.
Yes, I'll repeat: A child who did not need to be exposed to the trauma of adoption.
This Read more [...]
Sep 23 13
Does Anyone Use Crisco Anymore?
People have been asking me, “How was your vacation?”
The first thing that always comes to mind is that it wasn’t as bad as I expected.
This is the photo I chose, as opposed to one with the woman posing with her fingers like a gun to the head. That's an improvement, right?
The children may have been jumping on my head only most of the day, as opposed to their previous track record of successfully jumping on my head the. entire. day.
So this meant that I had time to …
Read?
No.
Write?
Heck, Read more [...]
Sep 19 13
Hey Adopted Girl–Yep, It’s Ryan Gosling
You're welcome.
And finally, the best for last:
P.S. If you're deeply religious, begin repentance in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... now, no more "naughty" photos, for a while, I promise. Read more [...]
Sep 16 13
Why Kids Need to be Pushed, Sometimes
Hi. My name is Laura Dennis and my kid is a professional drowner.
What with our seaside vacation functioning as a mini-Serbian community--albeit among the Russians in Montenegro (with one American, i.e. yours truly), it goes without saying that I receive all sorts of advice about my children and their swimming habits.
First, there is the constant yelling about changing wet swim bottoms. … the moment, the very moment a child emerges from the water, he or she must immediately change out of Read more [...]
