With the fun of summer comes millions of annoying insects including mosquitoes. Mosquitoes not only bite and leave itching welts but they sometimes transmit serious diseases to their victims. Some diseases transmitted to people by mosquitoes are West Nile virus, malaria, and dengue fever. Your pets can get life-threatening heartworms from these nasty pests, as well. Here in the United States our risk of contracting diseases from mosquito bites are low. We can use insect repellents to help discourage their nasty bites and protect our pets with... more

Many years ago, a darling sibling group was placed in our home by the Department of Human Services. The sisters were seven and 13 when they arrived. Honestly, they couldn’t have been any cuter. The seven-year-old child had always been treated much younger than her chronological age by her birth family because of her special needs. Therefore, she still enjoyed snuggling, hugging, and kisses, which was nice. She also always wanted to take drinks out of my cup even though the only thing in it was green tea or water. I have gotten used to this over the years since nearly every toddler... more

Yes, there are many positives of being a large adoptive family. Unfortunately, this week I have been living through one of the negative attributes of a being a large adoptive family. I wrote about Rotavirus going through our family and affecting everyone a couple of weeks ago. This week, it has been the 48-hour flu bug. We kept our granddaughters Saturday night, knowing that earlier in the week, they had the flu. Apparently, they were still contagious. They are 12 months and two, Amigrace, our toddler, is 20 months. Being toddlers, they frequently sampled each other’s sippy cups,... more

The adopted brothers are currently three and five. The same family adopted them each at birth and they share the same birthparents so they are brothers by birth and by adoption. The boys have always been on the active side. Their parents rarely take both of the boys anywhere together unless both parents are going so each can keep an eye on one boy. Some older birth siblings have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD.) Since the boys really enjoy rough housing their dad and adult brothers have been teaching them wrestling moves. Their now... more

I actually like having pets and we have a house cat. Unfortunately, here I am once again blogging against them. I previously blogged about cat dander causing asthma attacks. However, over the years of providing foster care, I have found that traumatized children usually bond with animals rather quickly. I have seen children show affection to family pets who are not able to show affection to another person. Now in the news, a house cat was discovered to... more

Imagine living with eight children, five of whom have had rotavirus for the past two weeks. While Super Dad and I tried to stay healthy, it was just a matter of time until the rotavirus spread to us. It is hard to avoid contracting a virus from sick toddlers who don’t cover their mouths when they cough, have chronic diarrhea, and sleep in your bed when they feel sick. It has been over two weeks since SD and I have been able to sleep all night. Little children always seem to run the highest fevers in the middle of the night. Worried parents stay awake after giving them... more