List/Grid PARENT Subscribe RSS feed of category PARENT
Farewell And Hello
Some of you may know that as of April 5th, LIFEclectic will be closing its doors. It has been an amazing experience to write for this magazine and I am grateful to have had this opportunity. I’ve met so many wonderful, insightful and inspiring people. When one door closes, another door or two opens somewhere. That door for me is the launch of my own blog, Melanie Elliott, Mom To The Littlest E. If I…
Some Advice For Talking With An Adoptive Parent
If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I am a transracial, adoptive mom. In many circles a transracial family is also known as a conspicuous family given that the parents are usually one ethnicity and the child another. In our case, my husband and I are Caucasian and our son, The Littlest E, is Ethiopian. I’ve been a mom now for 18 months and along the way have had a number of conversations…
Adventures In Potty Training
This past Presidents’ Day weekend, my husband and I spent the entire weekend potty training our 2½-year old son, The Littlest E. It’s a rite of passage for every child and parent. For a while our son had showed signs he was interested in going potty in his little potty and it had become part of his post bath routine. My husband and I talked about it and figured we’d give it an official try. …
A Durable Power Of Attorney For Health Care Decisions Is A Good Thing To Have In Place
In the summer of 2009, my father was vacationing in Reno, Nevada and had a heart attack. He’d had one twenty years before and this time the doctor told him he needed quadruple bypass surgery. Prior to his surgery (which had something like a 98% success rate), he was asked to fill out a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions which would state his wishes if things went south during surgery. My dad’s…
The Special Bond Between Grandparents And Grandchildren
As a child, my family and I spent part of our winters and summers with Grandma Sara and Grandpa Jack (my mom’s folks) at their home in Windsor Gardens near Denver, Colorado. I have wonderful memories of them. At night, Grandma Sara used to tuck me into the roll out bed and tickle my forehead with her beautifully manicured nails while singing lullabies as I drifted off into slumber. I loved watching Grandpa Jack clean…
Watching Our Words
As parents, we all know to watch what we say around our children, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. The Littlest E is almost 2½ and is quite the sponge and mimic. It’s so cute when he sits at the dinner table trying to emulate the way his Daddy sits. He notices everything. Most of the time, it’s wonderful that he’s so observant. It’s not so wonderful when either my husband or I forget…
Lessons from Baby’s First Christmas
For the holidays, my husband and I took our 11 week old daughter, Peanut, to the U.S. to meet my family and our friends there. I tried to anticipate how to help Peanut adjust to a complete change from her daily routine of being mostly at home with me. What I was not prepared for, though, were some of my reactions. I have a difficult time still fully comprehending that Peanut is her own albeit…
Breakfast With Santa?
Last week I wrote about my son’s first experience with Santa. Saturday, we were going to have breakfast with Santa in South Pasadena and I wondered if The Littlest E would sit on Santa’s lap for a picture. Would he have a positive encounter? Since we put up our Christmas tree a couple of weeks ago and brought out our holiday books, talk of the Man in Red has been non-stop. Everyday, at least once…
LET’S CONNECT