My sister, who could give Rachel Ray a run for her money, wanted to cook and throw a party while they were here. Odd request from my vantage point, but I was happy to oblige (and so were our friends). So Saturday was spent chopping and stirring and watching my sister whirl around my tiny kitchen and create such wonderful things. She is an expert at picking just the right sauce or wine to accompany the creations. Our friends piled into the house Saturday night and filled it with love and laughter.

Yesterday was a two-church-service... more

Some years it happens. Christmas sneaks up on you in more ways than one. This was one of the sneakest Christmases yet. And one of the most magical since my childhood.

I’m not sure how it happened but am eternally grateful it did. All last week my brain was in an addled fog trying to juggle my fragmented life of duties and prepare for my extended family to descend on our house for three days. Just making the grocery list seemed overwhelming at times.

Yet…once Operation Christmas (not to be confused with Operation Christmas... more

Haven’t seen any other bloggers tackle this. Just what do you do with Santa Claus? That is always an interesting, sometimes heated, topic this time of year. How much, how far, how long do you encourage Santa…or do you discourage the whole idea?

And does the fact that our children are adopted change how you handle things? Some parents believe the answer to this is a resounding “yes”. That children who have experienced the grief and loss through adoption are especially vulnerable to what could be construed as a lie about Santa. Still... more

So, how’s your Christmas going? Are you totally stressed-out yet? Or more like me, too exhausted, dazed and confused to even find the stress!!! Around here the days have been a whirlwind of cramming LuLu’s studies in with my last-minute errands, escorting the carpet cleaner and other repairmen around the house, wrapping anything that isn’t moving as quickly as possible, and reviewing my “to do” list until my eyes are blurry.

It feels like I’m forgetting something…well, today it was LuLu’s meds…all day! That so rarely happens it’s quite... more

There are many more fun traditions that I wish we were able to fit into our holidays. But since I’m not June Cleaver and this isn’t the Brady Bunch…sometimes, for whatever reason, traditions don’t “stick”. Here are some things we tried or things I’d like to try, but never seem to get around to:

1. Advent calendars. We have tried them…but alas…I can’t seem to remember to turn the numbers on our one poor little reindeer that announces ___ days til Christmas! 2. Cookie baking. This is... more

Given that we never do Christmas the same way twice at our house, with the comings and goings of all the kids and traveling to our families, it’s a wonder we have any traditions at all. But we do. Here's what comes to mind when we talk about family traditions:

1. Orange Roll Christmas Tree. I bake those canned orange-flavored sweet rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree (it takes two cans and a large cookie sheet to bake them on.) When I ice them, I place halved maraschino cherries on top of each roll – green... more

Lauri over on Adoptive Parent blog wrote about searching for Christmas traditions she could incorporate into her family and listed the top 5 she had either added or was planning on adding. It got me to thinking, wistfully, about our Christmas traditions (or lack thereof.)

I remember early on in our marriage, when the days of blending “his” and “mine” children were new. Our holiday schedule of time with the “other” parents made the March Madness basketball... more

Well, today’s “LuLu Says” is not something she said. It’s a report of a monumental happening in the life of LuLu yesterday. Yesterday was THE day. At the ripe old age of 10 years, 2 months and 15 days, LuLu is experiencing her first monthly cycle. About a year ago, our psychiatrist announced to us that she had elevated hormone levels, based on the quarterly blood draws we were doing for medications. We discussed then about how concerning this elevation was in a child so young. But I’ve since been told by any number of medical professionals that... more

I’m convinced that the more stressful things that happen in your life…the more stressful things that happen. Maybe I’m finally getting that Murphy’s Law isn’t some joke that people who have mild everyday stress share and then just shrug their shoulders. Maybe for some people…it’s an everyday reality.

Parenting special kids is stressful beyond the “everyday stress” in so many ways. Potential battles are around every corner – the child’s disorder, doctors or other professionals who don’t understand, the schools, insurance companies, opinions of family and friends.... more

Part 1 here

5. Practice social interactions. If you child struggles with social skills, practice the types of interactions your child will encounter. Practice gift receiving, for example. If your child is one who might say “I already have this!” or “I don’t like this color!”, explain to them how things can be exchanged/returned later, but that even if they don’t really like the gift that they should thank the... more