As a foster and adoptive parent for 14 years as well as a birth parent for 25 years, you might think that I have seen or heard it all. It is true that I do not shock or surprise easily and when a child tries to shock me, I usually reciprocate. Sometimes I help or go along with a joke. Thus, my children are likely to tell me or ask me just about anything. Yesterday, my 18-year-old son asked me to help him with a dare. His boss has resigned and today is the going away party. His boss is balding and some coworkers thought it would be funny if Shea cut his hair to look... more

Having a toddler at home is so amazing. There is never a boring day, as new discoveries become the norm for each day. My adopted daughter, who just turned 19 months, is utterly fascinated with her belly button. Yesterday, she played with her belly button for at least ten minutes as she sat on her potty chair. She would squeeze it between her fingers, make it into a donut shape, and then bend forward trying to look inside the hole. Then she would laugh hysterically, slap her hands on the cheeks of her face, throw her arms in the air, jump up, and hug me. Then she would sit down... more

Are you ever embarrassed by things that your children say in public? I know that I used to be. I don’t think that I embarrass very easily anymore though, not after 25 years of parenting, with 14 of those years with special needs children. One of my husband’s friends came over one evening to help him process a deer. They were working in the kitchen and chatting. I took the four year old into the bathroom to have her brush her teeth and get ready for bed. The bathroom we were using opens into the kitchen. In quite a loud voice she announced, “Aunt Julie, you have a really big butt.... more

Ok, so I live under a rock. Honestly, I live in this little sheltered world of my own rather oblivious to the daily goings on of the world around me. Sometimes, when people tell me a joke or refer to something, I just don’t get it. Sometimes, the meaning will come to me, eventually weeks later. About the third time, someone asked me if my daughter was mixed, it finally came to me what they meant. It happened over a period of about six months. Three different black women, who I only see on Tuesdays during the school year, asked me if my daughter is mixed.

The... more

Because our home is out in the sticks, we have only had DSL internet service for about five months. We were the first home on our road to get DSL, prior to that, only dial-up was available. Of course, we were satisfied with dial-up back then, because we didn’t know any better. DSL has made schoolwork, research, and blogging at our home so much easier. Funny isn’t it, how after just five months of using something better, faster, and more reliable we feel almost paralyzed with it gone. We are suffering from the internet blues at our home this week.

One... more

William Tell, also known as my son Lane, went bow hunting on Wednesday. Apparently, his father had borrowed his quiver earlier during this bow hunting season and had not returned it. Because he didn’t have a quiver to hold his extra arrows, he didn’t take any with him. Now there is sound ADHD thinking for you. Two bucks approached his tree and stopped within shooting distance. One was a six point and the other buck only had one antler with four tines, perhaps the result of a duel.

Lane can barely move in his tree stand because his father has bundled... more

This morning I was helping Ty, our eight-year-old son, do his third grade schoolwork. I broke a cake donut in half and dipped the end of it into my coffee. Ty asked me what I was doing and I told him. He looked at me as if I was nuts and responded, “Are you some sort of cop or something?” I laughed really hard. I’m not sure where he picked up on that stereotypical idea of a police officer. Perhaps it was from watching television.

Amigrace our 15-month-old daughter has discovered her bellybutton. During bath time or diaper changes, she repeatedly puts her finger in her... more

Perhaps the hunting has caused an increase in the testosterone levels of the brothers bringing out their primal aggressive tendencies. Traipsing through the woods lugging a tree stand and bow or a gun while dressed in camouflage just might have that affect. Maybe carrying cases of cereal to the basement from the back of Super Dad’s truck caused one of the brothers to snap. I guess we may never know for sure what caused this crazy and bazaar behavior. All I know is that Buck called me to the kitchen in a panic yelling that his brother had turned into a cereal killer.

I... more

Little sister turned 15 months old this week and she has a lot to say. She has been watching and listening to her older siblings and her mom for over a year now. Sometimes you can tell whom she is copying by her tone or the way she says a word or phrase. Previously, I remember my toddlers always wanting to talk on the phone because I did that a lot. Little sister always wants to type on my computer. I wonder why…

I couldn’t help but laugh the other day when our four year old was throwing one of her screaming, kicking, snot blowing episodes. Little sister... more

When I was a young child I was very thin...oh those were the days. To eat what you wanted to eat without any fear of gaining an ounce was how my life used to be many moons ago.

Now I am truly convinced that all I have to do is look at a piece of cake or pie and by some magical, scientific law that I haven't yet figured out, it gravitates right to my rear or thighs.

This past week, I told Micheline that we needed to go get in the car to take her brother to speech, and she headed... more