Wake Up!

"Everyone, at some point in their lives, wakes up in the middle of the night with the feeling that they are all alone in the world, and that nobody loves them now and that nobody will ever love them, and that they will never have a decent night's sleep again and will spend their lives wandering blearily around a loveless landscape, hoping desperately that their circumstances will improve, but suspecting, in their heart of hearts, that they will remain unloved forever. The best thing to do in these circumstances is to wake somebody else up, so that they can feel this way, too." — Lemony Snicket (Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avo...

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Financial Advice From a Two-year-old

My youngest CoCo (2 1/2) has some speech issues, apraxia, dispraxia, childhood aphasia, what ever, nobody seems to know exactly what the problem is, they are just pretty sure that she has one. Anyway she gets a hold of a word of phrase and uses it for everything (Echolalia).  For a while it was “No, poop-butt”  “CoCo, do you want some milk?” “No, poop-butt” (as she is holding out her hand and shaking her head 'Yes!') “I want juice, no poop-butt” I assume it started because I would ask her if she “had a poopy butt?” she has moved on now she is saying “I hate____, no I love _____” “I want, I hate grapes, no I love grapes”...

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"No Pig For You Mom"

My husband is home for the weekend. Yeah! He took the girls out early to buy me some cozy PJs and some roses (that was all Amélie) to surprise me for my birthday.     When they came in the door CoCo was saying “Pig a-jammas Momma. Surprise, Pig a-jammers Momma!”    I was so excited thinking “Oh, goodie the found some Pig pajamas big enough for me.  I hope they are the kind with feet.”   But alas, it was not to be.  "No pig for you Mom!"  I got a pair of adult blue fleece pajamas a supplicated white flower pattern and a peter pan collar.  CoCo on the other hand was clutching size 3T multi...

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Foster Care Youth/Alumni:

"We are each/all guilty of one thing: being born into families that were troubled. Amidst that indictment, we have found the strength within ourselves/one another to survive that sentence and fight for better supports to strengthen our younger brothers and sisters. Let's continue to Press on." ~ Lisa Dickson Lisa posted that as her status tonight and I was so moved I just had to share it.   We were not born in to the same family.  Our  parents, natural families, judges, lawyers, attorneys and social workers  threw us together.   In the houses of strangers, and the halls of intuitions we became...

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I Am Not a Sucker

I tell my two little girls they have to go get in the car; I have to drive through the bank real quick.   Amélie (still 4 for a few more days) says “will they give us suckers?”   They certainly will!   As I get in I see they are both in the 3rd row seat, not in their car seats. I say “you guys have to buckle up in your car seats if you want to go get suckers…”   Amélie says, “That’s O.K. Mom; we’d rather ride back here than get suckers.”   What are we going to do with her?  It wasn’t a choice!...

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Begrudgingly Counting My Blessings

The recession has taught me that I could manage as a single working mother, it has also taught me to be grateful that I only have to do it for short stretches.  Everyone misses Dad...

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Extending Support for Foster Youth Beyond 18

Update October 1, 2010 PASSED!  I love this bill let's hope Governor Schwarzenegger signs it in to Law...This act of legislation has already prompted the introduction of similar laws in 9 other states.  What are we weighting for here in Michigan? Our Foster Kids deserve a fighting chance for success! “AB 12 was passed in the California State Legislature on August 31, 2010. It now goes to Governor Schwarzenegger, who has until the end of September to sign or veto the bill. Please urge Governor Schwarzenegger to sign AB 12” “I write to ask that you join me in supporting California Assembly Bill 12, a major child-welfare reform bill currently under consideration in the California State Assembly. Among its many provisions, AB 12 will better support youth in their transition...

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My Long Gone, Almost Forgotten Religious Upbringing

 Sunday Koffron (baby J), Amy Koffron (Mary) Stranger things can happen and frequently do to me.   ….I ran a crossed this article 'The effects of divorce on children' by Barbara Meng, this essay outlines and supports many of my concerns and ideas about divorce and how it affects children.  She even touches on my biggest pet-peeve myth phrase “children are resilient”... I don’t think that it would be strange that research supports my views, Duh.  What was strange to me is that I found it at http://www.catholicculture.org/... What?  My grandpa, (Died June 7th, 2001, god knows I miss him) was born and...

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Children Are Not Resilient

Kids are not resilient. They have short attention spans. That is why they can get bad news and then walk away and continue playing with their friends, that and the fact that their experience doesn’t allow them to fully appreciate the ramifications of life changes. They are easily distracted and inexperienced, not resilient. When you hear the term “children are resilient”, you can bet either somebody is dead, which can’t be helped, or some adult is about to heap a load of crap on them and expect them to deal with it. Adults will do this pretty much guilt free, after all kids are so resilient. Divorce sucks for kids, that is all there is to it. Divorce is the other event that prompts adults to sit around, shake there heads and say thoughtfully “but kids are so resilient.” No really, they...

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Mary Karr's Lit: A Memoir (P.S.), Softening My View (just a little)

I just finished *reading* (Audio Book) Lit: A Memoir (P.S.), which I appreciated as much for it’s poetic prose as for it’s honesty, humor and the occasional use of the phrase “and I shit you not…”  Her eventual coming to terms with her narcissistic all be it sober, still flakey mother I found hopeful. One thing that sticks with me is her detailed description of her “sobriety support group” (AA) and it’s kooky characters, the likes of which I spent much of my childhood with, was heartwarming. Many an AA meeting I spent sitting in a bathroom, a kitchen, along a back wall or a parking lot of some church, while my mother ruled the tables....

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I Can’t Do Everything, Just Ask Amélie

I was supposed to have a minor surgery today, unfortunately it did not go according to plan, and all I have to show for it is a prescription for antibiotics, pain pills, and an appointment to talk about plan B. Amélie has decided it is her job to take care of Mommy today. She has gotten me water, snacks, covered me with blankets (all with out me asking for or wanting any of it) and been my cuddle buddy. Jim who has been doing all of CoCo's diaper changing asked me to open the new bag of wipes for him (he had his hands full). "She CAN'T do EVERYthing -DAD!" Amélie snapped That's my girl! ...

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Homeschooling For Kindergarten

Public school in Michigan starts tomorrow. Our entire district has been restructured- the elementary schools will be K4, upper elementary will be 5th and 6th grade, middle school will be 7th and 8th grade then high school will be 9th -12th. Madeline will be starting 8th grade at a new school a few miles away instead of the one she had been attending that backs up to our house. Our neighborhood elementary that would be in walking distance is one of the several closed. All of which I am taking with a grain of salt. Things are tough for everyone these days, and we will all just have to get though this together. Budgets are tight and even...

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The Glass Castle

I just finished reading The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls, a very good read. I am still digesting some of the similar parenting philosophies her mother and mine shared…humm…Having “but you are a survivor” (of my parenting) as a parental point of pride I have always found confounding. I guess we all have to hang our hats on somethin...

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