By Jillian Lauren In some ways, tour is anarchy- the boys are up late dancing to crazy loud rock music, giving each other dinosaur tattoos with face paint, and smuggling forbidden Fruit Loops into their bunks. They spend their days scootering around parking lots, chatting up the other bands, riding questionable attractions in sketchy roadside […]
By Jillian Lauren Woke up this morning in Atlanta, though the view from the bus window looked exactly like the one in Tampa, Miami, New Orleans, Houston… Cloudless blue sky, sun turning the asphalt into a skillet, rows of trucks, camps of buses, sweaty crew guys with creative facial hair heaving around huge road cases, […]
The Next Family has partnered with Family Equality Council and our premiere sponsor, Babble for a Beach Party in honor of International Family Equality Day! Parents, kids and parents-to-be are all welcome for music, dancing, beach games and a performance for the kids. Lunch and swag bags will be provided. There is no cost to […]
By Jillian Lauren Would you walk up to a pregnant woman and tell her about your friend’s cousin’s daughter whose infant died of a rare disease, offer her the unsolicited tale of your hairdresser’s daughter’s home birth gone wrong, tell her about every mother you know visiting her teenager in rehab, etc.? Would you walk […]
By Jillian Lauren As many of you know, Scott and I are in the process of adopting through LA County DCFS (Department of Child and Family Services). As of a few weeks ago, we’ve got our stamp of approval, so we’re officially certified and ready to do this thing! We got a call last week […]
By Linda Grant Conceptually, I knew what I was getting into when I made the decision to adopt a child on my own without family nearby for support. But not until I was in the throes of the day-to-day care of an infant, did I realize how hard single motherhood really is. There is no […]
By Jillian Lauren I’m sitting at the very far corner of the coffee shop this morning, because I still smell vaguely of the skunk that sprayed our dog for the fourth time in a month. We’re calling the movie of our life right now, Skunkageddon: Revenge of the Rodents. We hired a company to humanely […]
By Carrie Goldman Presenting Portrait of an Adoption’s most amazing list of activities to do at home with sick kids. Thank you to all my awesome readers who sent in their favorite ways to comfort and entertain sick kiddos. Here are over 60 fun ideas for you. Enjoy! Listen to audio books while cuddled under […]
By Jillian Lauren The minute we walked off the plane in Addis Ababa this morning, the distinctive smell hit me- some mysterious mixture of frankincense, burning trash, eucalyptus, coffee, and bodies. It’s profoundly human and otherworldly at the same time and lets you know unmistakably that you are in Ethiopia- this glorious and […]
By Jillian Lauren On the final afternoon of our adoption trip to Ethiopia, we participated in a goodbye ceremony, after which we would be bringing Tariku home for good. Never again would we have to leave him. By that time, I was beyond exhausted. My spirit of adventure was wearing thin and I was so […]
