Video on Mito

Mitochondrial Disease is an inherited disease that can affect every system in the body. My friends daughter, Penelope, has this disease... It can have hardly any effects, or it can be devestating.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Developmental Evaluation

This morning we had a developmental evaluation for Lucy. After not doing this when I adopted Gwenn, and early intervention would have been beneficial, I'm all in favor of doing the evaluation even if you think that your adopted child is on target.

So the news today is that they believe that for the most part Lucy is on target developmentally - for a 20-24 month old child, which is how old they assume that she really is. Now keep in mind, with a 4/24/05 birthdate, that puts her currently at 29 months - so they are thinking that she is 5-9 months younger than her paperwork states. That is in sync with the pediatrician, who is thinking that she is 6-7 months younger than her paperwork states.

At this point I've now started to think about changing Lucy's birthdate. I'm not emotionally tied to her birthdate, especially with mounting evidence that her birthdate may be either a work of fiction, or what I really think happened - the dates of another child whose paperwork somehow got mixed up with Lucy's. Somehwere out there is a child whose adoptive parents are thinking they have one of the most mature 2 year olds with congenital heart disease....

I'm not sure how I'll lean for birthdays. Right now I'm thinking about meeting in between somewhere - maybe a late August birthday (one less year of childcare) - she'll get into kindergarten early, unless at the time I feel that I need to hold her, with an August birthday I can make that decision. If she gets into school and is only a little behind folks will think "well, she has a late birthday" - but if I keep an April birthday and she is behind it would be more like "what's up with this kiddo!" I know a lot of folks in the adoption world think that you should keep the birthdate. But - if the date is fiction, or one that you have due to a paperwork mix up, let's not be emotionally tied to it - and deal with what might be best for the kiddo. I'm still in the decision making process, but I am leaning towards the date change.

This is so freaking cool!

Google errors

Well, I can't get to the blog right now. Google seems to think that I am trying to access illegeally - hopefully not a Google thing against folks accessing from MS. Nothing would suprise me... Good grief - even in China I couldn't access (view) the site, but this is crazy...

100 Best Adoption Friendly Workplaces

Well, Microsoft is #66. I'd rather see us at #16, but I'll take it. Interesting that the #1 company only offers 1 week of paid leave. I would have put JPMorgan Chase (listed at #4) as the #1 choice, since they offer great reimbursement and fantastic paid leave.

Also of note - almost all of these companies are in the east or south - Microsoft is the only northwest company, and there are 6 others from California... That doesn't speak well to companies in the western US. However, I would like some HR folks to note that Google is # 38...

Moms out there...

You've got to watch this. I feel as though she was channeling my last "discussion" with the girls...

Helping

Today was one of those days where you just find the time to help a friend. Good friends are waiting for their referral for their child from China - they DTC'd (Dossier to China for the non-china adoption folks) way back in June 2006. At this point they have been told to anticipate a referral at least a year from now - which is 2-2.5 years after paperwork submitted in order to get a referral. So - like many others - they are considering moving to a waiting child from China to expedite the process. Since they are paperwork ready they could be in China in about 6 months if it all goes smoothly.

However, one of my favorite agencies just hasn't made it easy for them - or for others in fact. They allow multiple families to review the file of a child at one time, and then if they are all interested, they get to "bid" on which family is best for the child. It actually is the reason that I moved from that favorite agency for my latest adoption. I realize that they are doing their best to find the best family for a child - but they are forgetting that the parents are their client, and the ones responsible for paying the bill!

It's such a tricky thing - navigating the adoption process - especially as a first time adopter. And so often these agencies who think they are doing the right thing are really making it much more difficult. Don't pass judgements on families who you have already approved for adoption. Don't make the road to adoption so hard - you'll put yourselves out of business. Find the balance.

So - for J & S - hang in there. Your child will come, and he or she will be the perfect one for you! It's amazing how many deadends I headed down before finding Miss Lucy. It doesn't seem to make sense, but in the end it really does.

Ocean

We love going to the ocean, and the girls had a great time. It was windy, cold and a bit rainy - and we had a fantastic time! We flew the kite, made sand castles, and collected shells. Our new au pair, Viivi, came along and had a great time I think - the girls are really getting to know and enjoy her!

We'll try to get down one more time before the nice weather is gone for the year.