Monkey Business

Cooper's newest pastime:

Stroller Crazy

I'm pretty sure these $10 doll strollers are not meant to hold a 30 lb toddler.  They've been sitting in them since we bought the strollers , but they've only recently started pushing each other around in them.  (If you notice that is the same shirt that Charlotte wore for holiday pictures last year.  The girl just doesn't grow.)

And here is why we rarely let them play with the strollers inside and why we also separate the kids from Scout when they are being rambunctious (Scout has a comfy bed in the office which is sectioned off from the house by a baby gate.)  Poor dog.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

How safe is your neighborhood?

Have you seen this website?  I'm amazed at what I found in our neigborhood.  Scary really.

As a parent I want to know this information because it helps me keep my children safe.  At the same time I feel a bit torn about the lack of info this website provides.  Not all sex offenders are equal.  For instance, what about those 'criminals' who were 17 and had a girlfriend who was 14 almost 15 but were charged as a sex offender?  That is obviously different than a 40 year old man soliciting a 10 year old girl.  I guess what I'm saying is that I really wish this website did some kind of ranking for the type of crime as well as listed the date of the conviction.

Another interesting point is the idea that by registering as a sex offender for life, the person is having to pay for their crime for life in the form of public humiliation.  If they've completed their sentence then they have already paid their debt to society for the crime they've committed and it seems unjust to make them to continue to pay. 

Still doesn't change the fact that I'm a parent and I'm glad I have this information.  How's that for being on the fence??

Happy Adoption Awareness Month!

November is also Adoption Awareness Month.  This year's theme is "Answering the Call - You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. There are thousands of teens in foster care who would love to put up with you."

In celebration, here are a few posts related to our adoption story:

Welcome Home Charlotte

Our Adoption Story

Gotcha Day Anniversary, Aug 1, 2009

Adoption Day, May 20th, 2009

We also want to recognize other friends/bloggers who have adopted:

Michelle (Charlotte's extended family)

Tiffany (Charlotte's extended family)

Ambyr and Joshua (they've adopted 4 of their 7 children)

Kirsten (similar adoption story to ours)

Miller Family (lots of great links/resources about adoption)

Burches Family (they're going adopting twice...two babies within a few months!)

Here is a daily list of things you can do to celebrate Adoption Awareness Month.  Some of my favorites:

• Contact local paper and/or news media and encourage them to run a positive story about adoption
• Write a thank you note to an agency or social worker and thank them for the work they do to help children.
• Volunteer your time to help children in foster care.
• Rent a movie with an adoption theme and watch it as a family
• Donate books about adoption to your local or school library
• Donate book bags and/or suitcases to a local foster care agency so kids don't have to use trash bags when moving home to home

Let the blogging begin!

Today is the first day of NaBloPoMo (or National Blog Posting Month for all you non-blog lingo savvy folks).  This is a challenge to all bloggers to blog 30 times in 30 days for the month of November.  If you are just starting out, this is a great way to get going on blogging (I'm looking at you Walt and Toni). 

You don't have to sign up for anything, you just have to post.  Every day.  You can pick a theme for the month or just blog about your daily life.  This year I'm not too worried about blogging every day, but I am worried about keeping up with reading!