I've got cramps in my hands tonight. You see, I spent five hours braiding hair today. ALL the girls were in need of new styles. I started in the morning with the two year old. I did 20 or so simple hanging braids all over her head.

In the afternoon my 12 year old and I did the 5 and 9 year olds, and then in the evening I braided the 12 year old's hair. The three older girls all decided they wanted the same half-up, half-down style.

I started by making a part across the back of the head, from the top... more

Awhile back I found an excellent article talking about the issues adopted kids face in classroom settings, and the difficulty they sometimes have completing projects about their families.

Creating a Classroom for Adopted and Non-Adopted Children is from the September 2006issue of RainbowKids magazine and was written by Elizabeth Hunt.

"I hear this story all the time," says Adam Pertman of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in New York. "A teacher gives a family tree assignment, and she tries to be sensitive telling Johnny, who was adopted, 'You can choose... more

One of the challenges of parenting kids who have experienced loss in their lives is that sometimes they can have over-the-top reactions to perceived loss. Something as minor as getting a smaller piece of cake than a sibling can send them into paroxysms of misery.

Now, I’ve got enough kids to realize that most kids will complain about that type of thing. But an over-reactor does this to an extreme, and at an older age than is typical for an untraumatized child. He/she may be truly devastated when something like this happens, and his devastation may last for hours.

This type of behavior can drive even a patient parent to the brink some days. I have found that it helps... more

One of the things I had to get used to when we switched from Korean adoption to Ethiopian adoption was the fact that we would not know our children's actual birthdates. Korea is good about documenting such facts. Not only do I know the dates that our Korean boys were born, I also know the time of day and how much they weighed at birth.

For our Ethiopian children there is no such precision. Some folks do indeed learn exact birthdates. And in the case of kids who came into care as tiny babies, you'll probably get a birthdate estimate that is within a few weeks of correct. But for older kids it is a very inexact guessing game.

The various methods of estimating children's... more

One of the things that has been slightly easier about adopting older kids vs. younger ones is the fact that I feel a little bit more free to leave the new arrivals at home with other family members while I run an errand or even go out on a date with my husband. OK, we have only gone on three dates since the girls came home in August, but still-- I am sure that is three more dates than we had during our other adoptied children's first months home.

I tend to be very cautious about leaving infants and toddlers in the crucial early months when we are establishing a good attachment. Our society... more

Our second day in Ethiopia, my 11 year old daughter let me braid her hair. I made about 8 simple cornrows, going from her hairline in front back to the nape of her neck. Since her hair is much thicker and curlier than my other Ethio girls, I was pleased with this my first attempt. She-- not so much. She very sweetly said nothing at the time. But after that one hairdo, and one other simple cornrow hairdo at home, she declared, “Mom no do hair.”

Great, I thought with a sigh. I tried not to take it too personally, but after seeing pictures of the hairstyles she liked from her time in Ethiopia, I realized that... more

I haven't talked much lately about boys' haircare, so I thought I'd share my friend Connie's method for cutting her AA boys' hair. A bald fade is a good looking hair cut that is done by barbers a lot these days. For this haircut it is easiest to have two pairs of clippers.

Either you can buy a set of balding clippers or simply unscrew the standard clippers and reset the blades until the tips of the two cutting edges meet. Standard clippers also come with guard attachments. For the hair on the top of the head you may be able to use the #1 or #2 attachment, especially if the hair has a looser curl.

If the hair is kinky and tight, don’t worry about using the attachments at... more

We've been cooking so much Ethiopian food around here lately that our repertoire of Korean recipes has been neglected. Several times in the last couple weeks, our Korean boys have requested some of their favorite Korean foods. Today finally I got all the ingredients together to make kimbap.

The boys were eager to introduce their new sisters to some real Korean food. As much as I adore kimbap, I had some serious reservations about whether the girls would appreciate this introduction. They were really good about trying new foods in the first month home. But now that some of the newness is wearing off, I am hearing... more

Awhile back I blogged about my little daughter at the age of three looking around her at the swimming pool in puzzlement at the many white people surrounding her. She finally said, "Where is all the brown?" At the time I was amazed that a three year old would be aware enough to articulate such a question and I was very glad that at least she had a Korean brother to point to.

Today when we once again brought our children swimming at the same pool, the story was a little different. Along with our two Korean kids, we now have four Ethiopian daughters. Besides our kids, today there were also a dozen or so Hispanic people and one other little African American girl. In a group of... more

One of the common issues that many families face is that of giardia. Giardia is a parasite that comes from tainted water. It causes frequent loose bowel movements, often accompanied by a very foul smell and lots of cramping and gas. Our first Ethiopian daughter had a good case of it, and I suspected it right away. Unfortunately when we had her tested in the US, three different stool specimens came back negative. The lab couldn't find a thing.

Finally our doctor got tired of not being able to figure out why she was having 6 dirty diapers a day, and he prescribed a 10 day course of Flagyl, the standard treatment for giardia. Three days after she began the medicine, her diarrhea... more