Putumayo Kids Music

I love Putumayo CDs, just love them. If you have not heard of these you have to check them out! I think for the last year everytime I had to buy a gift for someone under the age of 10 I would get them a putumayo kid's CD. A friend got me started last year and since then I have been slowly trying to add to my own collection and so far have the following discs:




They are all great, but I really like listening to the African dreamland and African playground ones the most. I think most adults would enjoy listening to them even if they don't have kids home yet. I also think it is neat how every disk features songs from different countries.

You can check out their kids catalog here: http://www.putumayo.com/en/putumayo_kids_cd.php

and if you click on a CD you are interested in you can listen to clips of the music. You don't have to purchase them on their website though, you can get them in Chapters or online from Amazon.ca (for around $15). Don't worry I am not getting kickbacks for advertising them - haha (I wish), I just really think they are a great way to celebrate learning about different cultures through music.

They have adult CDs also: http://www.putumayo.com/en/shop_main.php

Would you place children with these people?

Matthew you are in a museum, don't touch the artwork!
Do you see one donkey or two? I see two.
trying to take a bite of an oscar mayer weiner car is a totally normal thing to do.

Alexi Murdoch - All my days

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Knock on the sky and listen to the sound.

Zen Proverb



This is a nice reflective song, very relaxing. I am a very reflective person, but my material is getting old. You can only think about the same things for so long. I’m sure once there is a little one in the house there will be little time for reflection – yah, bring it on! Soon. Please. haha (-:

Recipe for Joy

For every free e-card sent to friends and family from November 16th to December 31st, Kraft Canada will donate $2 to Food Banks Canada. *For a maximum total contribution of up to $50,000. For more information: http://www.egreetings.com/recipeforjoy

Toddler Adoption

Matthew and I are in the process of changing the age request identified in our homestudy from 0-10 months to 0-3 yrs old. This has been a decision that has been in the making for quite some time now. I think our initial reason for choosing 0-10 months was mostly out of fear that we may struggle, or our child may struggle more adjusting if he/she was a bit older when coming home. With all of the time we have spent waiting since then it has given us an opportunity to read about toddler adoption, talk to other families who have adopted older kids, and as a result our feelings about it have changed.

Yes there will be different challenges to face (the book above is really good at outlining what they may be), but I am confident with the right support and resources families created trough toddler adoption can be very happy and well adjusted. We met with our homestudy practitioner about a month ago and she helped us submit a request to change our age range to the Ministry. I just found out last week that the document is now sitting on someone’s desk at the Ministry and they expect we should hear back regarding approval in about a week.

I am just finishing up this book today. It was one of the few books I could find that is only about toddler adoption (if anyone has heard of any others I would love to know). So when our referral comes now it will be a really big surprise because it could be a boy or girl, a baby or a 3 year old – wowzers!

Dead Aid

(10 min clip)
Click on this link for the full program:
http://fora.tv/2009/06/05/Uncommon_Knowledge_Dambisa_Moyo

This is an interview with Dambisa Moyo that I just watched online. It is a bit long (34min) but she shares a very interesting perspective of why she thinks aid in Africa has done more harm than good. This past summer on CBC radio I heard her having a debate with Steven Lewis who is very pro-aid. I'm not sure I know what to think, it seems like a very complex issue and there are very good points being made on both sides. I guess if the solution to poverty was going to be easy they would have had it sorted out by now.

Fun Stuff

Bead for life:
Click here to check out the "Bead for Life" website. This is a picture of the pack of glossy paper beads I purchased online. They also sell very nice necklaces etc. This is a projet that provides work for women in Uganda. They also have a lot of other projects on the go like health programs... Click below to watch a video that shows how they make the beads. http://www.beadforlife.org/video/4DVDRoll.html

I purchased a bag of loose beads, hmm now what to do with them? Below are my first two tries at making earrings.

Little Travellers:

Click here to go to the "Little Traveller" website. My cousin gave me the little one below in the picture. They are very cute little pins that you can put on a shirt or coat (about the size of a safety pin). This is a project from South Africa to raise money for HIV/AIDS. Your little traveller comes with a booklet and the idea is to write down all of the places he/she visits. On their website they have pictures posted that people have taken all over the world with their "little travellers", very cute! http://www.littletravellers.net/your-photos

So far my little traveller has only been to Ingersoll Ontario, how sad )-: I will have to remember to pin her on the next time I go out.

Retainer Agreement

We got the retainer agreement from our agency on Friday and Matthew went to the bank and had it sent in the mail by the time I got home from work (good work Matty!). This is the last hurdle we all need to get past and then things should be back on track for our adoptions. I really hope people send them in fast, we have all had enough waiting that is for sure.

Another family we know through adoption in London Ontario is setting up a transracial parenting group that will meet every few weeks to chat. She sent out some resources for us to have a look at and I thought I would post them on this blog because they seem quite good.

Click on the links below if you are interested:

An online booklet on transracial parenting and the white privilege checklist. I have not read the full booklet (it is 48 pages) but it looks like it has lots of info on skin and hair care etc...

Guilt free snack time

Two new things I love that, no kidding, are good for you !

(I have such a sweet tooth that this almost NEVER happens):
Ok, they don't quite taste like potato chips. But they are crunchy and salty and full of goodness. These ones are seasoned with curry (-: I guess you can make them at home as well, but I have yet to try this. These ones I found in a health food store. There seems to be lots of recipes online if you search "Kale chips".

This stuff tastes darn close to chocolate milk, and has no cholesterol, fewer calories, and is also very good for you. Yum! It can be found in the grocery store and I have started to have a glass every morning before I rush out the door.

15 months

So I have not been consistently posting our waiting time over the last few months, but I have not forgotten – haha (like that would be at all possible). So we are now at 15 months waiting for a referral (and 20 months since we started the whole process). But the surprising thing is that I don’t feel as stressed about it now as I did just before the bankruptcy happened. Why? I don’t know. Maybe you get used to the waiting after a while and become numb to it, or maybe it is just because I feel more confident now knowing that really good and hardworking people are doing their best to get the agency up and running. Whatever the case, I am looking forward to watching the next few months unfold.