I know that I haven't posted in close to a week... partly because I was trying to decide what I think about the recent (kind of depressing) Ukrainian news. And I have been sick and tired. I caught a virus from my darling daughter Natasha.

So I have a lot of news to share.. I am going to start with the big brouhaha on the Adoption_from_Ukraine Email List. It centered around a woman named Mary who decided to... more

I love NPR's This American Life show. But somehow I missed a great episode.

If you have broadband access you have to listen to this show.

Act 1 is about a family who adopted a child from Romania. This child spent the majority of his time in a crib... 7.5 YEARS. Then an American family adopted him

There was a brief honeymoon where the child tried to act perfect. But then he displayed all his pain and rage. The child put... more

So I have a new animal in the house. Or rather Natasha has a new responsibility named Teddi. He is the Teddy Bear Hamster pictured left.

As I said here, Natasha started campaigning for a rat about 6 months ago. At first I refused. I have never had a pet rat and just couldn't go there mentally.

I could have shut Natasha down on the subject. I could have told Natasha to stop talking about the pet rat on... more

International Ukrainian adoption has started up again as I mentioned in Ukrainian Adoption Happening: Sept 6 Appointment.

And Starbucks Loving Mommy has another interesting post about her adoption experience so far. She has her referral and is traveling by train to the Oblast.

RUMOR REMINDER: Remember... more

I know this is slightly old, but I really like the story about the dentists who travel to Ukrainian orphanages. As I wrote a while back dental health for many orphans is very poor. For some children their dental issues become very traumatic.... more

Dr Brothers' said something like... adopted younger children will be less impacted by loss then older children. I have never found that to be true. They cannot communicate as well, but young children are very familiar with loss. And they do remember.

My earliest memories are when I was 18 months old. It was the night that my youngest brother was born. And the next day when my family went to the hospital... more

Some adoptive parents receive advice that the younger a child is adopted, the fewer issues they potentially will have. At least this has been my life experience for the last 6 years. I adopted my darling daughter from Ukraine in 2000 and have mostly stayed involved with the adoption community.

I don't believe this is a good thing to say and I have heard it a few too many times. Children under 3 year of age are impacted by institutionalization. Children older then 3 years are impacted by institutionalization.... more

OK, I figured out why I was bugged by the word "best" in Dr. Joyce Brothers, International Adoption is Not For Everyone quiz.

Here is the question with "best". Dr Brothers stated the answer to this question was true. I strongly believe it is false.

2. It is best to adopt children who are very young -- under 2 or 3 years old -- because the institutional living... more

I ran across the quiz by Dr. Joyce Brothers, International Adoption is Not For Everyone from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I found it because of Erin's blog and Adrienne's blog.

One of... more

My computer died on me.. I have limited access but should be able to start posting again tommorrow.

But first I have to share my Zorse photo. Recently I went to the Omaha Zoo (World Class Zoo) and saw a Zorse.

A zorse is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare. It is a zebroid: this term refers to any hybrid equine with zebra ancestry.

The zorse is shaped more like a horse than a zebra, but has boldly striped legs and, often, stripes on the body or neck.... more