Share the Sugar!

Hey, readers!

I'm so thrilled with my new blog design.   My designer made me a button code, which is located below my profile info on the right, which you can copy and share on your blog.       Thanks!

Affordable Ways to Adopt

Check out my latest article on the Krazy Coupon Lady's website.   :)  

Happy National Adoption Month: How You Can Celebrate

You can celebrate National Adoption Month by...

1:   Asking your library to create an adoption-book display.

2:  Participating in your local foster care agency's birthday buddy program (where you purchase birthday gifts for a child in foster care).    (This would also make a fabulous Christmas project). 

3:  Donate items or money to local crisis nurseries, children's homes, maternity homes, etc.

4:  Spread the word about your adoption support group.

5:  Start the process of becoming a foster or adoptive parent. 

6:  Support foster parents.  Take meals, offer to babysit, buy some items their children might need.  

7:  Offer to speak as an experienced adoptive family at your agency's family training sessions.  Share what you know about adoption.

8:  Purchase adoption or diversity-minded books (see my resource list) for your child's school, the local library, or to your local agency (to give to new adoptive parents).  

9:  Host a drive for an organization that supports women, babies, and children.

10:  Include adoption in your Christmas letter.    

What ideas do you have? 

The list of possibilities is numerous!

New Blog Design + Info You Can Use

Welcome to my new blog design!  Thanks to Fran at Small Bird Studios for her time and energy.  Did you know she offers a 20% discount to bloggers who focus on adoption, infertility, and child loss?

Here are some interesting links I've come across this week:

1:   Did you know Adoptive Families magazine is having a Halloween photo contest? 

2:   Notice how often a black person is the sidekick but rarely the main character in books, television shows, etc? 

Eye-Opening Reminder

A friend recently posted a link to this article on Facebook.    I wasn't to excited to read it, mostly because someone has commented that she needed tissues after reading.   I was just getting my day started and didn't want to feel sad from the get-go.  But I went ahead and read it.  

You should too.

I'm a busy mom of two "babies" (a toddler and an infant).   I work part-time at a university teaching writing (so you can imagine the preparation and the stacks of essays I have to grade).   I also write part-time for various publications, and I'm in the beginning stages of writing an adoption book.    I do most of the household chores, make homemade meals (because nutrition is very important to me), and run Miss E to and from preschool and tap/ballet class.  I prep grocery lists, coupon, and do the Christmas and birthday shopping.    I try to sneak in moments of personal joy and relaxation---reading a book, exercising, blogging.  This occurs while my husband works long, hard hours in the financial industry, providing for our family.    Then he comes home and we take care of the girls, eat dinner, put the girls to bed, try to spend a bit of time together, before starting over again the next day. 

Sound familiar?

We are busy.   Every day is a new adventure.

And in the midst of these activities and jobs and tasks, we so often forget to just stop and cuddle our babies, or start a tickle war, or head outdoors to play on the swing set.   

Some days, I stop in the middle of doing everything and think, "What am I doing?"  And more importantly, "What am I not doing?!?"  

As I get closer to the big 3-0, I look around at those whom I grew up with.  I think about their choices now---and so many of those choices, and the way they respond to hardship, and their mannerisms, and the way they raise their kids---so much of it is based on how their parents treated them.

And the weight, the monumental role of being called "mom,"  hits me, to be cliche, like a ton of bricks.  

Parents, we have a big job.   One that never gets a day off.   One that makes or breaks a child.   One that requires so much patience, self-control, sacrifice, understanding, love, and wisdom.

This article says all that is on my heart today.   I hope you will take time to read it, reflect, and think about what you can change to become the best parent you can be to your current and future blessings.  

Christmas Letter

Do you write one?  

I never used to be a fan.  Mostly, my family received letters that went on and on about how great the kids were (how many baseball tournaments they were in...and blah blah blah).   However, I do remember this one couple who always sent a letter that was at least three pages long.  The letter was incredibly detailed and though it wasn't meant to be, it was funny.

While we were waiting to adopt, I wrote my first Christmas letter.   This helped us announce our plans to adopt to those who didn't already know (particularly older relatives who don't use the Internet).     After that year, I just kept writing Christmas letters. 

I now love receiving the letters as well.   December is an entire month where it's fun to open up the mailbox and see what treasures are inside.   

If you want to write a letter that gets some (planned) laughs and smiles, follow these tips:

1:  Reflect on the past year.  What made your family smile?  Cry?  Laugh?   Snap a million photos?   Make a list. 

2:  Draft the letter.  Then go back to it a few times, revising, before you print and send.   This gives you time to add details, delete lines that you realize make you sound like an idiot, and correct mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

3:  Details matter!   Give specifics about each family member.   Did he/she go on any special trips?  Did something hysterical happen?   Were any interesting milestones reached?  A new hobby?   Let personalities shine!   (If your kids are old enough, have them write their paragraph in first person, letting them say what they want).  

4:  What's going on in your adoption journey?    This is always a topic of interest to friends and family.   Your letter is an awesome opportunity to educate others on adoption.  Share a blog URL or an article or a story about visiting birth family. 

5:  Print your letter on some fabulous paper (preferably the paper you bought last year on major sale after Christmas) and send, along with a fun family photograph.    (Your Christmas photo doesn't have to be each of you in matching sweaters.   Think outside the box.   The more creative, the better!)

Can you tell I'm ready for Christmas?        

"That's so retarded!"

I hear this phrase ALL the time.     It disturbs me greatly, because I have a few family members who are developmentally delayed.  I cringe to think that someone would ever say this phrase in their presence.

Here's a fabulous blog post on the topic.  Please take a moment to check it out.

This PSA, selected by my students as one of the three options they may choose from for a analysis assignment, further explore the issue of saying, "That's so ____" ("gay," "retarded," etc.). 

Our children are listening to us.   Whether we utter these phrases or whether or not we stand up to those who do...they are listening, learning, and will repeat.