We had just met the doctor, then we were taken to a playroom on the second floor of the orphanage where we waited, trying to be patient.

Then the door opened and in walked one of the caretakers holding a little boy in her arms. "Eta Yura," she said. This is Yura.

He came right to us. He wasn't shy at all. Now I know that he had attachment issues but then it was wonderful. After a minute or two the caretaker and our translator left and we were alone with him. I felt really excited and nervous. Was this our son?

Our video from that... more

I just got a warning at a non-adoption and non-parenting related bulletin board for telling people they were saying ignorant and uninformed things about ADHD. I suggested they read non-biased books and websites about it...and apparently some people thought that was insulting.

Sigh.

Well, maybe I should not have suggested they were ignorant. But they were. They were parroting myths about ADHD that are widespread and just plain wrong...

Like this:

ADHD is caused by bad parenting. No, it's a neurochemical imbalance.

ADHD... more

Here's the newest rumor: two Minsters of Education in Russia have resigned, or asked to resign, or have been removed from their jobs.

Apparently one agency (with NGO status but waiting to be reaccredited) has informed its families about this resignation and has told them it could impact reaccreditation. So, if this is true it will probably create another slowdown in Russian adoptions.

But we don't know if it's true or not. There's nothing in the news about it, as far as I can tell, and on this thread (Re-Accreditation - Ministers Resign! )in the FRUA... more

Oh, I couldn't resist the rhyme! But seriously, scabies is a serious topic and is quite common in orphanages.

For a really thorough article about scabies go here. It's by Alla Gordina, orphan doctor extraordinaire, and it will tell you how best to treat it.

Scabies is a mite and it spreads through close contact. People who have skin infections (eczema, psoriasis, allergies, etc) are more prone to infection.

(Just... more

The other day Jan, one of our Adoption Search bloggers, wrote about Darryl McDaniels (of Run DMC) and his Angel in Adoption award. He's a big name, who's done some big things for the adoption world, but I've found out about another Angel in Adoption connected to the Russian adoption community - not so big a name and not so public a representative, but whose contribution has made a serious difference.

Faith Allen... more

Okay. So this has almost nothing to do with Russian adoption except for the fact that the one book I've published so far has to do with Russian adoption and another one will be out in 2007. Oh - and I've just sent out a story that is based on a traditional Russian folktale. But I've been blogging like a crazy woman the past couple of days staying completely on topic! and I feel the need to talk about the rest of my life.

I also happen to know that many of you out there harbor a secret desire to write a book and get it published. I happen... more

I just found an interesting article by Gary Direnfeld, a social worker, called "The first few years of school." It's about finding learning problems early on. He says behavioral problems (where otherwise there weren't any) is one sign you child may have learning differences:

Children who surface with behaviour problems early in the school year and in early grades, may have an undiagnosed learning disability that increasing educational demands aggravated. There... more

So - I was lurking around in the FRUA chat board and I came across a thread about how to save money, either before or after adoption. Also, on another list that I read (and lurk) there's been some talk about saving money, organizing, and taming the chaos of life.

Oh, how I love these topics! I gravitate towards them even as laundry piles up on the floor and bills go unpaid.

It's all about household management, people. Efficiency and effectiveness. I feel I could lead the way. I am specially qualified for this as my mother has a PhD in Industrial Engineering, which is essentially the study of efficiency and effectiveness, and she has passed... more

We climbed a mountain this past Sunday. It was a small mountain, but a mountain nonetheless.

I am VERY proud to say that both of my boys climbed all the way up and all the way down (3 1/2 miles round trip) without a single complaint!

Someone should nominate us for one of those real-life miracle shows! At one point we were at a trailhead that would lead us back down the mountain so we asked if anyone wanted to turn around and Little J said "No way! To the top!"

Awww. His first mountain.

And (almost better than the mountain) Little... more

Looks like an entire country has gotten caught up in the NGO problem that has swept through US agencies over the past several months. New Zealand, apparently, has put all adoptions from Russia on hold while the one agency that can help New Zealanders adopt from Russia deals with its NGO status and reaccreditation. Apparently up to this point all Russian adoptions done by New Zealanders were done independently (with agency facilitation). Since independent adoptions will cease at the end of the year that agency will have to go through the accreditation and NGO status.

According... more