Becoming an adoptive parent changes the way you deal with life and the bumps along the road on a day to day basis. If you are a person who has experienced infertility along the way, that adds another dimension as well. And unless you live the life of a hermit, you will have confrontations uncomfortable exchanges with other people who may not be as sensitive, thinking or understanding of your situation.

Living in a religious Jewish community, I feel like I am constantly surrounded by pregnant women. People are always having babies it seems - we say there must be something in the water that a bunch of us just aren't drinking. Anyway, in order to lead a healthy emotional... more

I am still trying to figure out how to best convey the message that it is not okay to dump food on the floor if you are angry. Anna is three and is still very much working on the terrible twos. When she gets angry, she will throw something, push something (or someone) or bite an object that she is having trouble with (interestingly enough, she doesn't bite people. But if a toy is not responding the way she apparently thinks it ought to, she is known to actually bite the darn thing).

Today I served her some tuna fish in a bowl. I walked out of the room to check messages on my computer and came rushing back into the room when I heard the bowl, spoon and contents clatter... more

If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour If we could find a way to get inside each other's mind If you could see me through your eyes instead of your ego I believe you'd be surprised to see that you'd been blind.

Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile in my shoes And before you abuse, criticize and accuse Walk a mile in my shoes.

-- Joe South

Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes.

-- Billy Connolly

So... more

Hey there. If anyone is making the hamantaschen from yesterday's recipe, I forgot to add that it really needs a bit more liquid - add a tablespoon or two extra orange juice.

So, my kitchen smells reeks of ground cloves. I didn't realize what a potent smell it really has until Anna dumped out the contents of an entire jar onto my floor. This is now the day after we have thoroughly cleaned the kitchen and I still smell cloves. At least it's not a bad smell, but it is certainly um.... interesting.

Anyway, as we are getting ready for Purim, I wanted to share a great recipe for Hamantaschen. If... more

There are two basic types of Jewish Holidays. 1) They tried to kill us, we won...let's eat! 2) They tried to kill us, we lost...let's fast.

(Okay, okay...there are other types of holidays. We have lots of holidays throughout the year.) Purim is the first kind of holiday, and one of my favorite. Purim is the next Jewish holiday on the calendar, which starts this coming Monday night and ends Tuesday night (most Jewish holidays start the evening... more

For us, finding out that we could not have children was both good closure and a life sentence at the same time. We had gone through much heartache, many horrible tests and several procedures. We had emptied our pockets a bit too. At the time, we were discussing adoption more and more, but really wanted to go through our options biologically first. As much as I wanted to have both biological and adopted children, I really couldn't see me being pregnant and doing all the paperwork for our first adoption at the same time.

On the other hand, it really was a life sentence when... more

Sandra over at the International blog brought up a really amazing idea. "At the very minimum, every person should plant a tree, have a child and write a book." She says it's of Talmudic origins, though I can't find the direct source. Regardless it is such a simple quote but amazingly multidimensional and evokes very deep thoughts.

I can go in so many different directions on this but I think I'll start with this story that I first heard early in elementary... more

Talking about language and respect for the past two posts brought this famous story to mind. It has been told in many forms, and I didn't seem to have a copy of it in my house. Browsing the internet, I found it on the Union for Reform Judaim's site, but it is also a great story available for children in book form called "Yettele's Feathers", by Joan Rothenberg. It goes like this...

There's... more

Staying on the topic of choosing your words carefully, I wanted to talk about swearing and name calling. Modernity has brought about many great things and good changes to our society, but one thing that has truly deteriorated is respect. Respect for anyone - peers, parents, children, elders, teachers - you name it! The art and thought behind the words we use and choose has been all but lost, but the meaning has not. Just because it may be accepted, cool or normal to use derogatory slang or curse words doesn't... more