Family and Parenting
Step Families – Our Family Story as seen through Ian’s Eyes
October 14, 2016
The number of siblings I claim to have varies on any given day depending on what best fits my story. Sometimes it's three and sometimes it's five but I consider both to essentially be true. Until moving to Seattle at the beginning of high school, three was the only option. When my mom remarried I...
Rise in Prenups Requested by Parents
September 28, 2016
Many young couples are facing serious difficulties when it comes to entering the housing market. With student debts high and the cost of housing skyrocketing it may come as no surprise that more and more couples are getting assistance from mom and dad to make their first home purchase. While par...
Who Gets the Embryos?
September 23, 2016
We live in an amazing time, when couples of all shapes and sorts can come together to form a family. These bonds can be beautiful, diverse and complex. Take for example the issue of frozen embryos, a technology which has opened the gates to parenthood but also resulted in thorny ethical and legal...
Whose Turn is it Anyway? – Guest blogger……….
September 17, 2016
In our home both Mom and Dad have to work full-time to pay the bills, and this is likely a matter of fact for most households with children. But what happens when Mom gets a call from the school that Susie has a fever and needs to be picked up? Mom has a full day of clients scheduled at work, so ...
Emergency in Child Welfare
September 15, 2016
A couple weeks back we highlighted an article which told the story of a California family that fought CPS for the return of their children and ended up being part of a lawsuit against the state. That article used that family's story to shed light on greater systemic issues with the child welfare ...
How One Family Fought CPS
August 31, 2016
Huffington Post recently featured an interview with Jessica Weisberg, the author of a thought-provoking article in The Atavist which contrasts the efforts of a California couple who fought for their children back with the endeavors of an attorney who devoted his career to suing CPS. Randy and Dan...
Post Hurricane Katrina – Where are They Now?
August 30, 2016
As our family does every year around this time, we think about Hurricane Katrina and its impact on our family. While sitting in the hospital the other night with Eric, we spent some time reminiscing about what has occurred since the storm. First, our location has changed, and changed and change...
Mom, I’m Fine, I was in a Fender Bender and Have a Small Laceration
August 29, 2016
OMG - This was the understatement of the year for me. It's Saturday night (Sunday a.m. about 2:00 a.m), I have been in Seattle for a total of 3 hours, I am awakened by the familiar ring of my son, Eric, (each of the 6 kids has their own ring, of course) but I can't reach the phone, as I am still...
Why are Foster Parents Offered More Services than Birth Parents?
August 17, 2016
In a ruling aided by an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief from the ACLU of Washington, the Washington Supreme Court recently reiterated the State cannot take away a parent's rights without first providing services to help the strengthen the parent-child bond. Consistent with the legally...
Step Families Take Time and Space to Gel
August 10, 2016
As we sat around our dinner table last night discussing a variety of topics ranging from Trump's hateful rhetoric to a discussion around racism/classicism to the cost of a loaf of bread in Washington DC, it became very clear to my husband and I that our "little" (well not so little as we share 6 ...