Tip #2: Eliminate, delegate, and streamline

In her scrapbooking newsletter Tasra Dawson encourages women to eliminate, delegate, and streamline their responsibilities. Here’s Tasra’s Action Plan:

Create a chart of your roles and areas of responsibility. It might look like this: Wife, Mother, Employee, Housekeeper, Friend, Sister.

Under each role or area of responsibility, list the tasks that accompany that role. For instance,... more

This morning my son came in my bedroom as I lay sprawled on my bed, gazing at the bookcase next to the bed.

"What are you doing, Mom?"

"Just looking at my books."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just like looking at them. It makes me feel good."

I've often felt odd or weird for having such a love affair with books. Book stores are very dangerous places for me--once I go in, it's as if I've entered the black hole. I emerge hours later, glassy-eyed, pocketbook empty.

Last night I was a guest speaker for a writers'... more

Whether you’re adopting a child or are pregnant and considering placing a child for adoption, waiting for something to happen is stress-inducing, to say the least. The holiday season compounds the nervous tension, turning everyone into nervous wrecks.

It is possible to lower your stress level. In the next few posts, I’m going to be sharing some inspiring ideas I’ve come across lately.

Tip #1:

Think of three good things that happened today and analyze why they happened.

Caroline Adams Miller, a motivational speaker... more

My long-time e-mail friend, Jody Moreen, has joined the team of adoption bloggers at Families.com.

Here's the info she sent:

I am one of three adoption bloggers currently working on the blogs. I am an adoptee and the other two are adoptive parents.

Ed is the adoptive father of many children in domestic adoption and Pam has adopted two children internationally.

There are also a couple guest bloggers on the website who are both adoptive parents... more

Told from a journalist’s perspective, Love in the Driest Season is an understated, gut-wrenching memoir of Neely and Vita Tucker’s quest to foster and adopt a Zimbabwean child.

The story opens in 1997 Zimbabwe, where Neely Tucker is stationed as a foreign correspondent for the Detroit Free Press. His memoir offers a riveting inside look into the AIDS crisis that ravages Africa, the political and economic conditions of several... more

My husband and I went on a date this weekend. Before we left, I instructed our 14-year-old to make something kid-friendly for him and his younger brother to eat – mac and cheese, hot dogs, burritos, or something equally “nutritious.”

When we arrived home later that evening, I asked my 10-year-old what they had for dinner. “Brownies and chocolate milk,” he said.

Then he assured me they were homemade brownies, which of course, makes all the difference in the world because homemade brownies are naturally more nutritious... more

Good news for those who are adopting or finalizing an adoption in 2007:

The Federal Adoption Tax Credit limit is being increased to $11,390 for a child with special needs and the maximum credit allowed for other types of adoptions has also been raised to $11,390.

You can exclude this tax credit from your gross income for qualifed adoption expenses paid or incurred by your employer under a qualified adoption assistance program in connection with your adoption of an eligible child.

The credit begins to phase out if you have modified adjusted... more

This week I’ve received a couple of e-mails from people concerned about adoption fraud. Both of them asked me to alert my readers to common scams in the adoption world. Here’s a summary of their stories:

The ‘heartfelt plea’ scam Story #1 comes from a 28-year-old single mother of one who has completed her adoption home study. She has unsuccessfully been attempting to adopt independently for some time. She has also gone through social services, but has discovered that the social workers prefer older, married, wealthier parents.

Lately... more

This week we’re chatting with Melodie Fleming, an adoptive mom of two who co-wrote The Dance of Restoration: Rebuilding Marriage After Infidelity.

Part 1: Melodie’s Adoption Story

Part... more

This week we’re chatting with Melodie Fleming, an adoptive mom of two who co-wrote The Dance of Restoration: Rebuilding Marriage After Infidelity.

Part 1: Melodie’s Adoption Story

Part... more