Right at this moment I am grateful for:

1) The spring sun sparkling on the green leaves outside my window.

2)  Working from home today! I don't FEEL like going into the office, so I don't have to.

3) The fresh blueberries, vanilla yogurt and plain cake donut that is waiting… Read full post »

I am about to make a broad generalization that has proven true for me thus far:  alternative health care (eastern, integrative, holistic, etc) works better than western medicine.

I have convinced my daughter to more regularly take the GABA supplement our integrative clinic recommended and I alre… Read full post »

My daughter woke up as a two-year-old today.

She cried, screamed and wailed like only a toddler can. Her shrieks sounded like "waaaah, waaaaah."  At one point, she kept repeating "I'm hungry, I'm hungry" while her breakfast was right in front of her. I believe she repeated it for a solid… Read full post »

I have written the beginnings of about a dozen posts in the past several months, but can't seem to finish any. My outer life is going fairly smoothly at the moment (knock on wood) and my inner life has been focused on love, shame, god, and other such things I can't… Read full post »

1. Your main trait: curiosity

2. The quality you like best in a woman: humor, creativity

3. The quality you like best in a man:  honesty

4. Your main flaw: selfishness

5. Last time you cried: When Davy Jones died, of course! Well, the day after while watching snippets of the… Read full post »

The astoundingly mild weather we are having is causing me to leave the house regularly and have fun-- something that is unprecedented for me in February. Instead of winter blahs I feel pretty good.

After Penny's bad week, I picked up her up from school on Friday and declared a Night of… Read full post »

Since the last post, things quickly improved at my house--big time. Penny wrote me a note (about 50% of our communication is through notes) that said "Let's have a Magnificent Return of the Christmas Spirit Day (MRCSD)!"

That night, we baked a batch of cookies (peanut butter w/ Dove dark… Read full post »

I am not good enough of a writer to accurately express how crappy this Christmas season has become.

The smells of almond extract, vanilla and other cookie deliciousness are not here.  Most of our favorite holiday movies are unwatched. 

The frazier fir in the living room is mocking us.

There… Read full post »

Autumn is lasting longer than it usually does in these parts. The blindingly yellow trees on the boulevard keep waking me from my trance and that is a good thing.  While taking a walk, I picked up an overturned leaf then gasped when I saw its brilliant orange hue against its… Read full post »

Fall seems like a good time to confront our demons. 

If all of my comforts were stripped away:  dark chocolate bars with lime & chilis, inane sitcom reruns, corn chips and salsa,  the five pillows on my bed, giant trees outside all of my windows, advil for my aches &… Read full post »

I'm getting ready to hit the open road.  Packing up the kid, the dog and heading for the ocean--hopefully today but no rush, because I like to do things slow and easy.  In fact, sometimes I move so slowly it appears that I have not moved at all.  I have been… Read full post »

I haven't been spending much time on OS because I have discovered the trauma mommas online community - moms who adopted kids like mine.  I've been lurking there a lot, learning some new ways to cope. Some moms are great at it - using humor to stay positive, other moms seem… Read full post »

Bluestocking Babe gave me a great idea for a post to have on top of my page while I take a several-week hiatus. Looking at my blog stats was a fun way for me to procrastinate from my school work  -- so here you go-

Caroline Marie's Blog in Review

Last Year's… Read full post »

Staying sane in stressful conditions requires:


1) Noticing daily what can make you pause, breathe deep and smile.


I have my beloved creek and this view from my front window:


 


What regularly makes you pause and smile? 


2) Calming, mind-numbing creative outlets in times of turmoil.
 

&… Read full post »

My regular readers must think that either I or my daughter have Multiple Personality Disorder.  Sometimes I post about her as if she had a trail of cartoon bluebirds following her, and  other times I hint at the hellishness of living with such an emotionally unstable kid.

Both are true. &nb… Read full post »

photo source

Well, I calmed down anyway.

Janie's post has inspired me to share with you the prayer that Penny and I say together every night when she goes to bed.

In the 9 months it took between my letting the authorities know I wanted to adopt Penny and her… Read full post »

                               photo source

Today I had a complete meltdown.  If I lived in an earlier decade, I would have been one of those woman hauled away due to a "nervous breakdown."  A… Read full post »

Recently, I discovered the world of blogging foster/adoptive parents of severely traumatized children.  Their posts validated my feeling that my situation cannot be compared to "normal families."  Unless you're in this boat, you cannot even begin to comprehend my life.  

Between 20,000… Read full post »

Photo credit 

 Penny and I watched Easter Parade with Judy Garland and now we keep humming "In your Easter bonnet..."

We have the best church ever in our neighborhood.  They have this world famous giant-puppet theater put on a wonderful easter service with a very cool Jes… Read full post »

I Wait 

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."  Louisa May Alcott  

Stuck in endless winter with sick dog, sad kid, dying car.

 … Read full post »

Oh my!

The book project for my daughter's birthday is really turning into something amazing and wonderful and beautiful and

incredibly labor intensive!  

First, I am overwhelmed by the letters and stories coming in from family and friends.  Many of them are making me cry they are so be… Read full post »