Gentle readers, I am taking a little vacation from the blogging world for a while. Not only do I have 9 days before I start my first full-time job in over 7 1/2 years, but I really need some time to refresh and recharge my batteries. I have a couple projects that need my attention and I think I'm getting carpal tunnel in my right hand - a little time off from the mouse seems warrented!

I will be leaving this blog (Adopting from Russia) for good come January 1st. Hopefully someone with a more recent (or maybe in-process) Russian adoption experience will take over. I will be keeping my other blog, Hoping to Adopt, however, as I feel like... more

This is the time of year for giving, right? My husband and I have a policy about giving: we only give local. That way we know who we're giving to and exactly where the money goes. My small business, however, gives anywhere BUT local. I give 5% of my profits to charities connected to the kids in the Russian orphanages.

Since my business is small, I also have small profits (hint, hint: buy... more

There have been several recent happy news articles about Russian adoption - I supposed because of Thanksgiving, National Adoption month, and perhaps the lack of unhappy news articles to report on (a little snarkishness, sorry).

Here's a nice one: "From Russia With Love - Sisters are Reunited" A Utah couple has adopted 4 siblings, all girls, from Russia. First they adopted the younger girls, then, when they found out about the older girls, they adopted them as well.

Here's... more

Some of our bloggers have been writing about things they're thankful for throughout the month. I would like to jump on that bandwagon today, the day that is most thanks-focused for the year. I would like to publicly count my blessings.

I am thankful for my family. My husband and my two boys are the reason I exist. I really have a great husband in so many ways! I soooo lucked out there. He wasn't my type, but we got together anyway. Oh, I'm thankful. And my boys -- I can't even really write about it, I'm so thankful I have them.

My... more

This is how Little J went to school this morning.

I only had to ask him once to get dressed. I wasn't about to complain when he came down like this!

At school his teachers laughed and commended him for wearing closed-toe shoes. For the past week he's been wearing his sandals. We've been having a cold snap, too...

Pick your battles, right?

I have been following the story about Putin's proposed financial bonus for Russians who have more than one child for the past couple of months now, and I just found out that it's been to the Duma and passed on its first reading.

Interestingly enough, the proposed financial incentive includes both children who are born to Russian citizens AND children who are adopted by Russians. I hadn't heard the second part of that before and I think that's very, very good news. I've... more

Continued from part 2.

I'm writing about a great article I found in the International Adoption Articles Directory, called "Oppositional Defiant Disorders," that talks about the difference between ODD and attachment disorders, although many of the behaviors overlap.

Here's how he explains you can tell the difference between the two:

Children with ODD are most effectively treated with a program that begins with paying attention to and reinforcing... more

Continued from part 1.

I'm writing about a great article I found in the International Adoption Articles Directory, called "Oppositional Defiant Disorders," that talks about the difference between ODD and attachment disorders, although many of the behaviors overlap.

What is most interesting about the article, however, is that Dr. Art explains the similarity... more

Sharlene's recent post about ODD got me thinking about my little bundle of love, Little J. Little J has some of the characteristics of a child with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). He is almost 4 1/2, but sometimes he acts like a 2-year-old screaming "no!" at normal requests that shouldn't elicit such a strong response.

Imagine the scene. I am the uber-mom, calm and collected (HAHAHAHA...I do try):

"Little J, it's your turn to set the table." "No! No!... more

I just googled myself and I got 10,500 hits. I'm famous! Ha ha - actually, I've just been on the web a long time and I happen to almost always use my real name. I think that accounts for the googling results.

I found a link to an essay I wrote a while back about Little J's homecoming. It's called "Vegetarian Comfort Food" and it's on Inmamaskitchen.com. I wrote it about my mom and the casserole she left in our fridge when we'd gone on our second trip to Russia.

I... more