To Tell The Truth - Please Stand Up

Adventures in Life, Parenting & Real World Navigation Through the Eyes of a Former Foster Kid, Current Foster Parent

The Many Voices Foster Care, Adoption & Child Advocacy

Rage Against the Minivan

Friday Finds: Summer Neutrals - 1. Safavieh PAT7013A Vernon Rocking Chair 2. KOUBOO 1050029 Wicker Pear Pendant Lamp 3. Whole House Worlds The Grand Tour Golden Hammered Table 4. Modernica...
16 hours ago
Families R Built with Love

Book Games - Apparently when your kids get to a certain age it is increasingly less cool to take pictures with/of them. However KC was ok with me taking a picture of ...
17 hours ago
Lost Daughters

Adoption and Child Separation at the Border - On June 1, 2018 Rebekah Henson published an important thread on Twitter critiquing the hashtags #FamiliesBelongTogether and #KeepFamiliesTogether. The frame...
18 hours ago
John Raible Online

Free our kids, free our minds - As heartbreaking as it is to listen to the cries of refugee children who have been forcibly taken away from their parents, we should remember that the forc...
1 day ago
Sunshine Girl On A Rainy Day

Developmental Relationship Framework - The Search Institute first created the 40 Developmental Assets, and has recently been exploring the Developmental Relationship Framework.
2 days ago
[Birth Mother,] First Mother Forum

Human rights going down again in New York; Sometimes anger is justified and this is one of those times!!! - Lorraine testifying in 2015I am so f&^cking angry and upset. This is not a regular blog post but instead I want to tell you why I am so angry, Dear Reader...
5 days ago
CHILDMYTHS

Is Facilitated Communication a Potentially Harmful Treatment for Children? - Not long ago, I published an article about potentially harmful psychotherapies for children in *Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. *I was more tha...
5 days ago
The adopted ones blog

What the first mom study said to me - I didn’t have time to delve deeply into the first mom study in my last post. Today I want to talk about what it said to me, but before that, I want to rei...
1 week ago
the5parkers

Becoming Kaleb's Friend - I feel the need to write about Kaleb. He came into my life at a point when I wasn’t ready for a teenager. (To be fair, I don’t think anyone is ever ready ...
2 weeks ago
Transracialeyes

Crocodile tears for immigrant children. - What do you make of current efforts to slam the current “administration” in the US for having separated immigrant children from their parents? The disgust ...
3 weeks ago
Daniel Ibn Zayd

Resisting Extirpation: Revolutionary Adoption Activism - The Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture (ASAC) Conference this year will feature sessions of The Adoption Initiative, which is usually a separat...
3 weeks ago
Cherub Mamma

I went to court today - Court was held today for Whiz and Rex. It was supposed to be a hearing where parental rights were terminated. Up until Friday of last week, all Auntie Carl...
4 weeks ago
Scooping it Up

Visiting the DMV With an Immigrant, Transracially Adopted Child - Recently I went with my anxious teenager to the DMV to take the test for her learners permit. We arrived expecting lines and nerves about her test. But wha...
4 weeks ago
Sideshow Barb

Bathe My Path in Shining Light - Oh hey, Mother’s Day, it’s you again. It’s still a shit time, even 20 years later. Fortunately I haven’t spent the weekend sobbing in many years, but my th...
5 weeks ago
The Declassified Adoptee

Philadelphia Police & Starbucks: Shining Light on Racism - Original Image from Google Street View / Philly VoiceCoffee shops like Starbucks are a "fueling" station for me as a human being trying to exist in a hect...
2 months ago
Foster 2 Forever - Adopting Children through Foster Care

Free Video Series for Foster/Adoptive Parents - Free Video Series for Foster/Adoptive Parents Tried everything and nothing is working? Feel like your living in total chaos all the time? Thinking about ...
2 months ago
Fostering Attachment

Annie E. Casey ~ Endings and Beginnings - This information about helping foster youth navigate transitions should be required reading for every foster parent and caseworker - especially those who w...
2 months ago
Fosterhood in NYC

The February 2018 Update is... - that there is no update. Really, are you at all surprised? We’re doing well though. My attorney wants me to put the blog back up and start writing ag...
3 months ago
Stellar Parenting 101

The Wall - I hit the wall hard on Friday night and I woke up Saturday morning just as miserable as I had gone to bed. So I . spent the entire day in my hiding in my ...
4 months ago
Exile of Xingnan

Voice Clips - I sent up a request on the Chinese subreddit asking if anyone was conversationally fluent in Hokkien/Mandarin to see if they could translate (or get the gi...
4 months ago
Crash course in parenting - Life as a foster mom

Therapy - Well. Y "finished" therapy, but we can go back if we need to. I feel like things are going so much better overall with him. The therapist said she felt li...
4 months ago
Land of Gazillion Adoptees

Do ferrets make good pets? - Ferrets have this adorable face that you can’t say no to. They are loving animals that like warm places and to sit on their owner’s lap. However, the t...
4 months ago
kimberly gonzalez

Where There’s Smoke… - finished transcribing a Supernatural fan fic i started writing over the summer today. it comes in at about 4.5k words so far, but there’s still …
5 months ago
FAMILY PRESERVATION ADVOCACY

Mothers as "Relinquishers" - Revised 12/21/17*Open Letter to MADDeline Hauter aka Julie,* Julie, you and I have gotten off to a bad start and I would like to remedy that. I have been a...
6 months ago
"Neither Here Nor There..."

- To Worship You I Live "...it's by Your will, and for your pleasure I exist"
7 months ago
Finding Christopher, Finding Myself

Another Milestone ~ 8 years and 8 months in the making! - Another milestone in my reunion with my firstborn happened last weekend. (It only took 8 years and 8 months!) For the first time ever, all of my children ...
8 months ago
Adopto-Snark

The Logic of Compromised Attachment - Originally posted on elle cuardaigh: by Rich Uhrlaub, excerpt from ASRC post, “Wild Dogs in the Basement: The Enigmatic Male Adoptee” The Logic of Compr...
8 months ago
I Was A Foster Kid

- https://davethomasfoundation.org/
9 months ago
And other ideas and thoughts ....

Still coping with a difficult, aging parent. Still sane. I think. - I'm taking a break, well, a physical break, from tending to my mom today. Mentally it's tough to completely turn off when acting as caregiver to a parent w...
10 months ago
Love Is Not a Pie

Introducing Becca - Hi everyone! I'm back! Sort of. Let me explain. Many of you know me as a Rebecca Hawkes, but in real life most people know me as Becca Bryer. Rebecca Hawk...
10 months ago
Mother Issues

seeds - Sorry I disappeared again. It wasn’t a good time to talk about what’s going on because still nothing is resolved but sometimes I want to talk anyway and I’...
11 months ago
Indigo Child Khara

Even adoptees in good homes suffer the trauma of loss - Being an Asian adoptee in Norway, I did not have the lottery luck of ending up in a good home, which is a fact that has adversely shaped my life from child...
1 year ago
Fleas Biting

Another day, Another Seizure... - Epilepsy never gets any easier. Or easier to write about. Awesome had another big seizure this morning. The second one this week. I find myself, as alwa...
1 year ago
The Not So Secret Life of an Adoptee...Shhhhh they might hear you.

College Scholarships for Adoptees - *Did you know that there are scholarships available for adopted and foster children?* Many of these scholarships cover tuition cost, living expenses, c...
1 year ago
Pound Pup Legacy Feed

Americans adopted this South Korean man when he was 3. Now 41, he’s being deported. - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/10/28/americans-... Adam Crapser was born in South Korea, but, when he was 3 years old, an Americ...
1 year ago
welcome to my brain . net

All Parent Blogs in One Place! - If you are looking for all of my blog posts pertaining to therapeutic parenting, you can locate those on my coaching site. Neat and tidy. I'll see you over...
1 year ago
Parenting Your Adopted Child: Tweens, Teens & Beyond

Parenting and Partnering: I Hope You Dance - Do you dance? I do, although not as well as my husband. I can work through and memorize the steps and patterns, but the fluidity takes some time. In fact, ...
2 years ago
Writing My Wrongs

Wallowing in Grief - Yet another great piece on grieving from Tim Lawrence at his blog The Adversity Within. Link to full post below. A few of my favorite quotes also below. ...
2 years ago
Once Was Von

10 Cara Mengatasi Rambut Rontok Secara Alami Yang Praktis dan Mudah - Cara mengatasi rambut rontok secara alami seringkali menjadi pilihan yang dilakukan oleh banyak orang karena dianggap mudah dan terjangkau, selain itu ju...
2 years ago
Letting Go of Mie

Tuesday's Tears - Mie, the Trauma Survivor -
2 years ago
Just What The Hell Am I Supposed To Call This?

Manfaat Buah Jambu Air Bagi Kesehatan Tubuh - Manfaat Buah Jambu Air Bagi Kesehatan Tubuh – Buah jambu air adalah buah yang sudah sangat familiar di Indonesia. Buag ini dinamakan jambu air karena di ...
2 years ago
Our Little Tongginator

Chinese New Year Chapter Books for Older Kids - There are many lists about Chinese New Year books for preschoolers and young elementary students, but very few highlight chapter books for middle graders a...
2 years ago
Taste of Kimchi

가는 말이 고와야 오는 말이 곱다 - I am Korean born. 한국어 탄생. 입양인.
2 years ago
Adoption Truth

Shout It Out - So, between taking my sweet Granddaughter to Disney World and getting into our family place at the lake, I’ve spent most of September barely on social med...
2 years ago
Foster Parenting Adventures

IEPs and children who have experienced trauma (post 2 in series) - *Problem* *Traditional behavior charts which include positive motivators (such as sticker charts, extra free time, treasure box prizes) and negative motiv...
2 years ago
Rileys in Uganda

Guest Post: David Smolin shares his experience as a speaker at this years Christians Alliance for Orphan (CAFO) summit - In CAFO’s own words their summit “inspires and equips Christians to care for orphans with wisdom-guided love. The CAFO Summit has become the national hub...
2 years ago
noah baby

How to Clean a Toilet - Cleaning a toilet is very important task for the household to spend a healthy and active life. Dirty toilet causes bad smell and produce a number of germs ...
3 years ago
my fascinating life

Near and Far - Here's what Christmas was like when I was a child in Australia: presents in the morning around our family Christmas tree, then over to our grandparents' h...
3 years ago
One Inch of Grace

How to Braid Blond Hair - I wrote the following as a guest post for another blog several months ago. It was never published there, so I wanted to share it here instead. Before our k...
3 years ago
Mothering4Money

School Supply List 2014-2015 - I currently have 7 children, 5 of whom will be in public school this year. Their combined school supply list is forever long. Good thing I buy things on sa...
3 years ago
A Family of My Own

Small Update - I mailed my Dad’s Father’s Day card, which included my letter to him asking him to adopt me back, today. Now I’m nervous, but it probably won’t even get to...
4 years ago
Wandering alongside my Little Wolayta Warrior

Letting go of The Hard. Good night. - Why couldn't I just leave it here, unfinished? I don't know. Yet, it haunts me. This year, I become aware, one of the things I really needed to do was "Let...
4 years ago
Ain't That Sherific?

They Just Don't Get It . . . - I have decided to take my son out of school at the end of this year. For years I was intent on the fact that he would be in school as long as they allowed...
4 years ago
FosterWee

National Guinea Pig Day - Blitzen and I took the day off of school and work to celebrate the day. And a really weird thing happened – we had an amazing time. Blitzen and I have ne...
4 years ago
Fostering Thrifty Families

Great Deal on gDiapers Hybrid Cloth Diapers with Flushable Liners (LIMITED TIME) - One of my favorite ways to be a thrifty foster parent is to cloth diaper! For our family it's been a fantastic way to protect our foster babies' tender tu...
4 years ago
I Will Pull This Blog Over!

Not the White Christmas I am Dreaming of.... - In light of the totally and complete idiocy surrounding the new debate about whether a FICTIONAL character is black or white, (and the subsequent white was...
4 years ago
SocialWrkr24/7 : Eyes Opened Wider

OAB Interview Day!! Meet Ashley... - Oh how I love Open Adoption Bloggers - especially the Adoption Interview Project. Meet Ashley from Blessings in a Basket! I loved getting to know Ashley...
4 years ago
The Daily Bastardette

Daiily Bastardette moving to Word Press - After a couple years of talking to myself about it, I have decided to transfer *The Daily Bastardette* from Blogger to Word Press. The final straw came...
4 years ago
Production, Not Reproduction

Well, Hello There - Hello! How are you? I miss writing here so much! But that is not what I am here today to say. [image: Adoption Blogger Interview Project 2013] The Adoptio...
4 years ago
Out of the Fog

Cross Post From My Reunited Cricket Blog: Stop Saying That!! - *STOP SAYING THAT!!*
4 years ago
Fantastic Lies

Party Animals - *I understand this post is almost a year over due, but the theme of this blog is better late then never. * All I wanted for my bachelorette party was to ...
4 years ago
Fostering Awareness

She's 4!! - Happy Birthday Bri!!
4 years ago
The Luckiest {Unlucky} Girl

Luca's 3rd Bday - I was there the day he was born. I can not believe this little baby is THREE years old. (Click to Enlarge) Someone please tell him to stop growing...
4 years ago
Life in the Grateful House

Trauma Doesn't Tell Time - Robyn Gobbel, LCSW, wrote a blog post regarding trauma, implicit and explicit memories. I don't know Robyn but now I'm seriously crushing on her. Here is...
5 years ago
Percolated Paradox

Guess who got a job? - Me. That's who! My background check was finally fixed and the transitional living program offered me a job. It will be a night job that doesn't pay enoug...
5 years ago
Foster Mama & the kiddos

Oh My it has been AWHILE! - Well... by the looks of things around the blog I got busy :) I can't believe it has been since August that I last updated on our journey. I don't have time...
5 years ago
In Writing Motherhood

Up Close and Personal: Adoption Motherhood - What do we take? What do we leave? What do we publish and invite the world to disparage? Before I was a mother I was a writer for 20 years. And then I met...
5 years ago
My Tsehai

Orphans, Orphanage in children's movies and books? - If you are a member of the adoption triad you probably know of Disney's need to kill off a parent in every movie. We avoid any movies that I know have a ne...
5 years ago
FormerFosterTalk

Defining Ourselves for Ourselves - An Alumni Sister asked, “how do we learn to define ourselves for ourselves and learn to not see ourselves as cases but as people?” Learning to define yours...
5 years ago
AdoptionTalk

Culture, Christmas & Adoption - Somehow, in all the years I've watched Miracle on 34th Street, I've managed to miss this scene until this year, where a Dutch girl comes to see Macy's Sa...
5 years ago
It's You and Me Kid!

First holidays together.... - Tigger, S, and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were with my parents and my relatives. S's relatives have all moved out of state and this was his first...
5 years ago
Our Foster Family Tree

Musings of the Lame: Life as a Birthmother: What's Wrong With the Adoption Tax Credit? - Please hop on over to Musings of the Lame, where Claudia has made it easy to let your law makers know that we will support a bill that HELPS FOSTER CHILD...
5 years ago
the fiddlehead report...a day in the life of the Rikkers

Back to school= quiet house - Back to school 2012 that's deserving of a blog post! Really, my house is quiet. The tears of sending Jack off to Kindergarten have passed. I have a mome...
5 years ago
Adopting Special Needs

Moving - I have moved this blog to http://adoptingspecialneeds.wordpress.com. I hope you all move with me!
5 years ago
The Burden of Thought

See ya. - Well, I’m done. This blog has run its course. It got to be more of a burden (har har) than something I wanted to spend time doing. I had all sorts of thing...
5 years ago
I'm Still a Good Mother; A Birth Mother's Journey Through Open Adoption

Absence Makes The Heart Grow........ - "Absence makes the heart grow founder". Does it really? Or does absence make the heart grow curious, empty, confused, or just plain hard? I never truly und...
6 years ago
Always in My Heart: An Adoption Journey

Finding Myself - Have any of you seen the movie, "Runaway Bride"? Well, there's a girl who has been engaged multiple times and ends up running off during the actual wedding...
6 years ago
From Foster Kid to Foster Parent

Labels Change. “Foster Kid” to “Foster Parent” - Fifteen years ago, if you would have told me that I would one day be a foster parent, I would have laughed in your face. I wanted to be so far away from th...
6 years ago
Insert Bad Movie Title Here

Reminder - I moved to: http://insertbadmovietitlehere.wordpress.com Thanks for following!
6 years ago
Words of weary memories that I can always see

Recognition. - My biosister, Nicole, is a teenager and is 5 months pregnant. Obviously, when most people find this out, they are curious to know if she will place her ...
6 years ago
workshop for beginners

Moved - I've got myself some new digs. If you want to follow, email me at: dandiesinthesunshine@hotmail.com
6 years ago
Rita's Rituals

Saying Goodbye To A Pet Is Never Easy - I lost my first baby, bandana boy, sooo sad. The decision was hard. And even though it may have been obvious, the loss of a pet is never easy. I still r...
6 years ago
Seventeen Pillows

Dealing with death and dysfunction - My maternal grandmother passed away last week. No condolences are necessary as I didn't know her. I wanted to know her. I tried to know her, but she was...
6 years ago
Adoptive Parents Speak

Just Sayin - In regard to some of the comments I am not and will not post Defensive behaviors can be the result of a: * Challenge to private or public perceptions of ou...
6 years ago
Home

Moving Day - Tomorrow is August 29th, which is the deadline I set for myself to launch the newly designed site for Home (if I hadn't set the deadline I may have procra...
6 years ago
Yoon's Blur

Farewell to Yoon's Blur - So, I know I just said I was going to take a break. But I have decided that, yes, it is time to go. No more "breaks." This is it. In light of all the "bre...
6 years ago
May I Have a Word?

Musician Suzanne Vega Finds Her Birth Father--Her Blood Sings - Suzanne Vega's adopted. Sort of. At age 9 she found out her daddy wasn't her real daddy. She was also shocked because that meant she was White. (Adoptive d...
7 years ago
Jacquinn Speaks

My 30 Day Dating Diet - ----My 30 Day Dating Diet Journal---- "Embrace and appreciate your woman's mind." Tony Gaskins said. The immediate thought that rushed to my mind upon hea...
7 years ago
Screwed Up: My Story

From the Beginning - Are you a new reader? Then may want to start here. See my main blog HERE. Screwed Up: My Life Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII P...
8 years ago
Tubaville

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Full Circle

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La Bicicleta

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And Then There Were Seven

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The Anywhere but Here Girl...

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Caring for Other People's Children

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Home

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The Chronicles of Munchkin Land

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The Warrior Princess Diaries

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The Mom With Brownies

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Joy's Division

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I'm A Foster.com. Life before, during, and after foster care.

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iAdoptee

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The Adoption Counselor

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Insert Bad Movie Title Here

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From the Past into the Future

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Elaine's Blog

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Last Mom

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Whispers of a Former Foster Child

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Gold to Refine

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Real Daughter

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Angry Adoptive Mom

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Real Daughter has moved to wordpress

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Musings of the Lame: Life as a Birthmother

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Life After Foster Care

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Relearning to Fly

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