Let's get this new year started off on the right track. One of the most neglected areas of life in a family is mommy and daddy free time.

There are so many excuses why you can't afford a date night. From cash flow to a good baby sitter. So it is time to find reliable people who can watch the kids. It is nice to have a few of these people on stand by for date nights. So if one is busy. Another will be able to step in and fill the gap.

For larger adoptive families this is a must. Mom and Dad need personal time to keep the close... more

One of my favorite times of the day begins when I wake up my family. With the wonderful smell of a home cooked breakfast. The kids come in with sleepy eyes and I hear the "Ummmmmm" sound radiating out of their smiles.

"Bacon and eggs please with toast, no butter mom." "Two eggs and all the trimmings mom." Usually follows that request.

On weekend mornings I try and make biscuits and gravy also. That's when it gets fun because usually Angela has friends sleeping over and most of them have never had a large breakfast. They are... more

Have you ever had one of those days that seem like a perfect example of Murphy's Law. If it could happen it will happen?

Well on those days I don't think counting to 10 works very well. Before you get to the number 10 someone is off doing something else that will make you livid.

Our house is usually a busy house. So sometimes on days like that not even going off into my bedroom works very well. Someone will just come knocking with another issue.

So I run away into the bathroom. At least in there I am sure to get at least five minutes of peace before someone else asks "Who is in the bathroom."

Only bad thing is ....Who wants to breath deep in a bathroom... more

Getting back into the swing of routine life after a long summer, is hard on everyone. No more late night movies or cartoon marathons. It is time to retrain our bodies to get enough rest so that we can be awake, alert and learn in school. It is often hard for children to sleep when it is still light outside. One way to help the children get used to earlier bed times is to pull the blinds or hang darker curtains on the windows. This will allow the kid's to know it is time for sleep.

Getting dinner routine back on schedule is... more

Just like a walk back in time. To a place where people have simple lives. There is no Playstation or Television. No telephone or creative lighting. No electricity at all.

There are no cars and no trucks. Just black carriages and horses. White houses and dark curtains. Children dressed in black and white. Little girls wear bonnets still and little boys wear hats.

Back to a time when people are polite and speak when spoken to. A time where the whole family works the farm and how hard you work ensures your food for the winter.

Where the house smells so good from the fresh baked breads and home made pies and cookies. Where chickens provide breakfast... more

One of the things that every mother be it a biological parent or a foster parent or an adoptive mom has in common is grief when they loose a child.

Of course Biological parents grieve much longer if they loose a child be it to the state and loss of parental rights or infant death. But foster moms and adoptive moms also experience a great deal of grief if they have a child placed into their home for a matter of time and then for some reason the child is moved to another placement.

There are a lot of different ways that we grieve. One of the most common is... more

From toddlers to teens. Observation is still the best way to understand their motives. As a parent we often watch our children play around the house. We catch each new movement they make and each new word they say. We observe their pattern of learning.

As the kids grow older we still observe them when they are doing things. we find that their words do not always back up their motions. So we really get to know our kids.

Usually a good mom or dad will always catch on to what is happening around them and their child even before "all the... more

Let's take a minute and talk about positive parenting. Every day I bet someone out there could tell us a story of some awful experience they have seen. Where a parent is just way out of line with their child and has parenting issues.

How many of us listen closely enough to catch the good stuff? Who do we know that we could tell good parenting stories about? How much better did the children respond to positive parenting verses negative parenting?

Well I would like to give you 5 basic tips for positive parenting.

1.) Never speak out... more

Teaching children to occupy their own time is a valuable lesson. However, you have to find the happy balance between alone time and parent child time.

The summer season is a good time to choose a day and plan a project for you and the kids to do. I call our special time "Mommy and Me" time. Of course it is just as important to have "Daddy and Me" time also.

So far we have managed to plant a flower garden. Bake blueberry muffins and cup cakes. Cook a breakfast. Go to the park. And, see a Movie together.

We spent the early evening this week seeing "Garfield,... more

As parents we all wonder at times if our children are up to the same development levels as other children their age. That is a normal question among good parents.

Of course we tend to brag a little when our child is better at this or that. We immediately pick up on something our child excels at from amongst other children.

It is all part of being a good parent.Shy children are not anti social. It does not mean they are not smart or behind the other kids in the learning curve. They are just not as verbal about what they do know.

One... more