Add Water And Stir: Women Of Color | Adoption | Foster Care | Parenting

On the 27th episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and AdoptiveBlackMom discuss the celebrations associated with the arrival of a child to a family. Certainly events like baby showers maybe more common with infant adoptions, but such events can be a very supportive and festive event for families fostering and adopting older children. The ladies discuss their own experiences and give some recommendations for showering newly created and/or expanded families through foster care and adoption. In the second segment of the show, ABM and Mimi chat about funny episodes in parenting as told weekly through 140 characters or less. In the Wind Down, ABM and Mimi talk about Nicki Minaj’s “What’s good Miley” moment at the VMAs. Find show notes at addwaterandstirpodcast.com;  Tweet Us @AWASPod

On the 26th episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and AdoptiveBlackMom discuss the preparations they made for their daughters’  transitions from foster care to their forever homes. The occasion is marked with great celebration over the arrival and added loss for the children as they relocate once again.  ABM and Mimi share their experiences and provide some recommendations for new parents awaiting the transition. In the second segment of the show, ABM and Mimi chat about their efforts to prepare their children for college, particularly financing college.  The ladies provide some helpful info on state and federal programs designed to help foster and adoptive children afford college.  In the Wind Down, ABM and Mimi talk about their plans to see Straight Outta Compton and their thoughts on the controversy surrounding the movie related to the treatment of women in real life and in film. Find show notes at addwaterandstirpodcast.com;  Tweet Us @AWASPod

On the latest episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and AdoptiveBlackMom discuss the first time they met their children after being selected as matches.  These meet and greets can last a few moments in a Chick-fil-A or several days requiring extensive travel and expense.  It isn’t until after this meeting that families truly commit to placement of the child. It’s another exciting and anxiety-provoking part of the adoption process. The ladies give some advice on lessons learned from adopting a toddler and a tween.   In the second segment of the show, ABM and Mimi take a quiz to see what kinds of moms they are. Turns out, they aren’t as uptight as they might have thought! In the Wine Down, ABM and Mimi recap Lenny Kravitz’s Stockholm oopsie” and the Meek Mills/Drake rap beef. Find show notes at addwaterandstirpodcast.com;  Tweet Us @AWASPod

On the 24th episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and Adoptive Black Mom look back in hindsight on their adoption experiences and provide insight into questions they wish they asked, situations they would have approached differently and experiences they would have appreciated more.  This is a great episode for those just beginning the foster care/adoption process In the Wine Down, Mimi and ABM discuss Rihanna, her new video for her song B*tch Better Have My Money and ALL the think pieces. Find show notes at www.addwaterandstirpodcast

On the 23rd episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and Adoptive Black Mom discuss applying attachment parenting principles to older child adoptions and what signs indicate attachment issues.  They also chat about Rachel Dolezal and what the (mis)appropriation of the word transracial means for the adoption community. In the Wine Down, Mimi and ABM discuss President Obama's new level of trill, their need for a new television show to watch together and plans to do a special episode dedicated to Orange is the New Black.  Find show notes at www.addwaterandstirpodcast.com.

    On the 22nd episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi, AdoptiveBlackMom and special guest Future Adopter discuss c. Adoptive parents may have an especially hard time with the loss of the fantasy child because it is easy to assume the fantasy would have been realized in their biological child.”  This podcast focuses on what we expected, what actually happened, and tips for Future Adopter as she gets her first placement.

  On the 21st episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and AdoptiveBlackMom shout out their favorite Black and Brown pop culture moms.

  On the 20th episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and AdoptiveBlackMom discuss how parental decisions and autonomy are viewed by good Samaritans and nosey neighbors.

  On the latest episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and AdoptiveBlackMom discuss the risks associated with adoption disruptions and dissolutions and the practice of adoptee rehoming. Lack of preparation and support to cope with behavioral issues lie at the heart of more broken families. 

  On this episode, the hosts Add Water and Stir, the ladies explore the Carefree Black Girls movement.  Launched on a Tumblr site, the movement initially simply focused on images of Black women being happy; the more complex evolution of #CarefreeBlackGirls advances a life for Black women that is unfettered and unbothered by critiques on their beauty, style, lifestyles, class or choices.  At least, that’s what AdoptiveBlackMom and ComplicatedMelodi’s Mimi wrestle with by the end of the discussion.  The Add Water hope to raise #CarefreeBlackGirls in both NaNa and Hope. 

  On this episode, the hosts of Add Water and Stir discuss a couple of recent parenting issues making national headlines. Mimi explored articles on being an older parent, “older” being defined as over 35. Older parents are thought to be be more emotionally and financially stable; but gosh are they tired and they worry about becoming a burden on their children.  ABM explored “Free Range Parenting” philosophy.  Is free range parenting really the opposite of helicopter parenting and how does it intersect with race and socio-economic privilege issues?  Throughout, they both chat about their parenting approaches in raising a toddler and a teen. 

  On Add Water and Stir’s 16th episode, Mimi and AdoptiveBlackMom talk about some of the challenges of parenting. Specifically they discuss the taboo of complaining about parenting struggles.  Parenting brings about so many changes: Routine change, friends and family relationship changes, work-life balance changes. It’s easy to love the change while still occasionally resenting it.  ABM and Mimi talk about their strategies for venting and pushing through the emotional reactions to the personal life changes brought about by parenting. @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater

  On the 15th episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and ABM wade into the discussion about amended birth certificates.  In some states, the birth certificate of the adopted child completely removes the names of the birth parents. This change can mean many things to everyone in the family and trigger all kinds of reactions.  The Add Water hosts explore this big paperwork issue and emotions attached to this important document.  @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater

  On the fourteenth episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and ABM decide to throw caution to the wind and just freestyle an episode!  They give updates on the teen and the toddler and dish on some articles of interest about parenting from across the web. Turns out that parents relish the opportunity to engage in the most rote daily activities; who knew going to grab a coffee could spark such excitement. All the excitement is counterbalanced with the need for thoughtfulness in teaching kids about race and the implications of color-blindness. As usual, ABM and Mimi dish during the  Wine Down the Real Housewives of Atlanta and Married at First Sight; they also kick around catching up on new show, Empire. @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater

  On the first episode of 2015, Mimi and ABM kick off the new year by discussing New Year’s vision boards and parenting resolutions.  ABM shares a bit about her vision board process and how she encouraged a reluctant Hope to develop a vision for the next year.  Mimi share some of her resolutions and walked the ladies through a list of breakable resolutions in hopes of encouraging us to all have reasonable expectations of ourselves and our families. Mimi and ABM also review the major motion picture Annie and chat about what they’re watching on TV these days.  @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater

  In this episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and ABM discuss common adoption and parenting taboos in an effort to reduce the stigma associated with both.  The hosts also note their trials and triumphs from the last year of parenting. @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater

  In this episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and ABM explore the #FliptheScript hashtag, designed to raise awareness of the voice of the adoptee in the adoption narrative.  The ladies discuss the danger of the singular adoption narrative, why adoptive parents and professionals may be resistant to a re-scripted adoption story and the role that power and privilege play in creating the need for a flipped script. The Wine Down examines the Real Housewives of Atlanta premier. @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater

  In this episode of Add Water and Stir, ABM and Mimi celebrate recording their 10th podcast! The hosts reminisce about their favorite moments on the show, their most meaningful blog posts and other adoption and parenting related bloggers who they read regularly.  The ABC show, Blackish, has been crowned the show of the Wine Down; Mimi and ABM discuss this decision and recent episodes. @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater

  On the ninth episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and ABM chat about creating new rituals and traditions for and with their kids. Establishing new traditions can be hard for families: negotiating in-law expectations, choosing which holidays to observe and double-backing to create memories for older kids who missed having certain experiences. The Wine Down is *still* without a rachet show to anchor, but show hosts chat about the Real Housewives franchise, Shondaland and Blackish.  @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater

  On the eighth episode of Add Water and Stir, Mimi and ABM discuss their perceived challenges in being Black, middle class, adoptive parents.  While their “bougie” scores are relatively low, each new mom chatted about her feelings in helping her child keep up with the Joneses in terms of education, activities, discipline and other social expectations.   Admitting that these may be First World problems, they note that this is when they consider the lessons in teaching social code switching the most.  The Wine Down is currently without a reality show (boo!), but ABM dishes and side eyes Aretha Franklin’s recent appearance on David Letterman. @mimicomplex @adoptiveblkmom #addwater