I admit I go to great lengths to get my kids to see and learn about Russian culture, including letting them stay up late on a school night.

Yes, they stayed up a bit past bedtime last night to catch part of Dancing With The Stars. What's the connection to Russia? The professional dancers paired with the stars. Moscow-born Elena Grinenko is paired with former... more

One of the most useful things my adoption agency made me do, as I was working on my second Russian adoption in 2004-2005 was to create what I'll call a Russian Resources list: One document on which I collected all the Russia-related help I might need, from cultural to medical. If you're among the many prospective parents waiting for Moscow to finish the re-accreditation process, compiling this list can be a great, productive way to pass the time.

The object is to list everything you might need to help you and your newly adopted child settle... more

This is the story of how an adoptee from Ethiopia came to be an inspiration for feeding two adoptees from Russia. My kids.

If you are a foodie in New York City, you've probably heard of Marcus Samuelsson, the chef of Aquavit. Samuelsson, born in Ethiopia, was orphaned at three by a tuberculosis epidemic and was adopted by a couple in Sweden. There, a child of a famine-plagued nation grew up to be one of the world's most interesting chefs. I heard him talk about his early food influences... more

I know many of you are frustrated with Russia right now because of the adoption accreditation delay. But you have to love a country that gives you two (or more) cracks at a birthday-style celebration every year.

In Russia, as in many countries of Western and Eastern Europe, people get to celebrate not only their own birthday, but something known as a name day. That is the day set aside on a church calendar for remembering the saint whose name they share.

I was... more

I took my kids to see Meet The Robinsons a few days ago. My boys, who were both adopted from Russia, loved the movie. I was appalled. If I had known about the way adoption is treated in this new Disney film, I never would have taken them.

There's no way to write this post without spoiling some of the details of the film. So if you don't want to know, please click on something else.

Before I take my kids to see any movie, I read up on it. The plot... more

I've been catching up on Naomi's posts over at the Jewish Adoption blog about preparing for Passover, particularly her last-minute Passover prep tips. And so I'd like to return the favor with a few thoughts on Passover and Russia, where it hasn't always been easy being Jewish.

Thankfully those days are, largely, history. A religious news service reported this week that members of the Chabad Lubavich movement have been... more

I realize I should have gotten this up earlier in the day, but between church, Sunday school, baseball practice, checking in on a sick family member and going to a movie, the day got away from me.

I opened a box of books the other day, and out tumbled a Russian folktale, The Night It Rained Pancakes. It's a wonderful tale about fooling the political authorities, which Russians even to this day take on like an Olympic sport. (Word to the wise: Never pass up a tag sale at a library; you never know what bit of culture you will find to pass along... more

Florida seems to be a good place to enjoy Russian culture this month. Unfortunately, for the first event, you have to be there this afternoon.

Today at 4 p.m., the University of Florida's Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Gainesville will host Les Folies Russes. It's being billed as "what happens when you combine the glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas floor show with the warmth and charm of Russian folk art." The 50-member dance troupe has been touring the United States,... more

I've been searching for some time for bloggers writing from Russia. Not the politics and economics wonks (not that there's anything wrong with that), but ordinary, everyday people. The informed "everyman" that every journalist yearns to find when sent out on the street to do what would otherwise be a pedestrian story. Somebody who could tell us all what life is like every day for people in Russia. I've recently found two of them and I'd like to tell you about them.

You hopefully got to read a bit of "snowsquare"... more

My little guy came home from a playdate yesterday all excited. "We went to the park," he related, "we played on the swings, and then we got a soda."

As the cops say, "Busted".

I don't buy soda for my kids, who were both adopted from Russia, or anything else with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup as a primary ingredient. Yes, before the folks at Archer Daniels Midland get on my case, I know that there have been no concrete links yet between the latter and obesity. But water is just fine as a beverage and there is absolutely... more