The sun finally came back out today, after hiding behind quite a few clouds and several inches of snow, both of which knocked out my internet connection! Along with knocking out the internet, the storm also closed the schools down for the past two days, so the kids were able to stay home and play in the snow and have friends over, time much better spent than sitting at school according to them both.

While the extra time off was throughly enjoyed, there is a slight problem that has not quite yet dawned on my adopted stepson. This past Friday, was the end of the quarter in school, and since there was no school, there was no way for him to turn in the... more

Yesterday, I shared with all of you how my adopted stepson, now in his teen years, had finally been assigned the family tree project in school, as well as my dismay over how and why a teacher would choose the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to assign such a task.

I drove up to his school late this morning, just before lunch time, and took a minute to speak with his guidance counselor about family tree projects, and how they can cause some emotional upheaval for children living in any type of non-tradtional family setting. Children of divorce have loss in their family,... more

It has taken a long time in his school career, halfway through high school, but my adopted stepson has finally been assigned the most dreaded school project of all for adoptees, the family tree. We had thought that we were lucky enough to escape dealing with this particular project, when he had been assigned to make a timeline of his life, during grade school one year. We had wiped our brows in relief, thanking our lucky stars that we had gotten that project instead of having to do the family tree, but alas, it has finally reared its ugly head.

We only found out about the project... more

My adopted stepson has always had a low sense of self esteem, as well as a low sense of self worth, stemming from his chaotic childhood. He was shuffled back and forth between homes and caregivers during his formative years, and then later abandoned by his birthmother, and all of it took quite a toll on his view and thoughts on himself.

He has struggled throughout his childhood to take pride both in himself, as well as in his work and accomplishments. Failure never really seemed to bother him, as he felt as though he deserved it, along with the crummy feelings that went along with it. He would revel... more

I have to say that one of my largest pet peeves would be when people do not follow through on the commitments that they make. Now I understand that occasionally life throws things our way unexpectedly that hinder our ability to make good on the promises that we make, but for the most part in my experience, it isn't life that is standing in the way of those who do not follow through, but simple laziness or poor planning and time management.

While my adopted stepson does have issues with planning and time management, I do have to say that as he is getting older his follow through is improving and is fairly age appropriate. He is a teenager, so sometimes his follow through is great,... more

In the next few weeks, we will know what my adopted stepson will be doing this summer. If his grades have come up enough, he will have a nice long summer vacation, filled with family time, lazy days, as well as a part time job if he can find one that is willing to take a young teenager. If his grades have not come up though, he will be sitting in school throughout the summer, with a week off at the very beginning and one off at the very end, thrilled about that prospect he is not.

Are we happy with the idea of summer school? ... more

My adopted stepson is a genius. I know that all parents think that their child is surely the most gifted being on the planet, but really, he’s been tested several times, and scores in the genius area every single time. For the standardized testing in the public school system he scores in the 99th percentile, and has done so ever since he began school. He is incredibly bright. He can retain facts like you would not believe. He knows more about science and history than I could ever hope to learn. He can read over something once, and retain... more

Going through the trauma of being rejected by a birth parent can leave large emotional wounds that the adopted stepchild simply does not know how to deal with. Instead of working through their feelings and emotions in a productive manner, they begin to act out; lying, stealing, as well as even being physically and verbally abusive toward others, which does not exclude his or her parents when it comes to being targets.

Many parents are thrown off completely when their child begins to exhibit such behaviors as the ones that are listed above. Going... more

Below is an article on bullying that I found to be quite interesting. My adopted stepson has had to deal with bullies in school almost the entire time that he has been in school. The instability that he faced growing up, coupled along with the abandonment issues he has from his mother choosing not to be in his life, have taken their toll on his self esteem as well as his self-worth. This has made him an easy target for bullies, and he is never at a school more than a week before he has a circle of vultures around him doing their best to break down what little bit... more

I checked this book out of our local library when we were having trouble getting and I.E.P for my adopted stepson. Once we had been turned down, I was more determined than ever to get him the help that he needed. This book helped me in so many ways, and made me aware of rights that I never knew that I had. With some of the knowledge that I was able to learn from this book, I was able to go up against the board again, who already didn’t like me for not simply ‘going away.’ Even with their prejudices that they had against me from my constant fighting and not giving into... more