Of all the toys that we have..........

So our house basically looks like a toy store exploded. We finally regulated the ride on toys to the outside but there are still tons of toys for the kids to choose from. It was pouring down rain outside and the kids were going stir crazy. They had already spent time watching our back fence blow down and now it was time to move on to something else. Dab Dab slowly looked around. What to play with? Which do I choose? Should I pick the ball? What about the firetruck? No, wait! I've got it! I will dump out the laundrey in one of the netted laundry baskets and put that over my head and run around with it! Sugars went and dumped the other one out and did the same thing. Since Bunny couldn't find another one, he tried to take Sugars' laundry basket. Dab Dab was not going to have that. He could laundry basket-jack his sister, but no one else can! He made a run for Bunny and knocked him down. Then he went over to another regular basket and handed it to Bunny, kind of like "Use this instead but stay away from my sister". We went and found another netted basket just like the others had and gave that to Sugars. Before we knew what was happening, they were racing back and forth from the living room to the front door and back again with those things on their head. Of course, it was kind of hard for them to see out of them and sometimes they would crash into each other but that did not let that stop them. Oh well, I guess it is better than dog poo=)(read previous post)
TTFN

Respect the handicap, darn it!

So I recently had surgery on my achilles tendon. I basically go from my bed, to the potty, to my computer desk in my bedroom, to a chair out in the living room where I can hang with the kiddos. Well, whenever I go to hang out with the kiddos, their favorite activity lately has been to move my little knee walker, the only way I have to get around, out of my reach. They think that it is so cool to push Mommy's "bicycle" around the living room. How funny it is to hear Mommy yell that she has to use the bathroom and the scooter is no where within reach. Let's all have a jolly laugh as we watch Mommy hop around on one foot half way across the room as she tries desperately to retrieve her only means of transportation.
It's funny what passes for entertainment around here=)
TTFN

And a child shall lead them.......

So picture this, the kids are outside at the picnic table. Bunny keeps bringing pieces of grass to the other kids to "eat". They all sit down at the table and hold hands. The kids say a prayer. It is a cross between the "Now I lay me down to sleep" and the mealtime "God is great, God is good" prayer. They held hands and closed their little eyes and said their "Amens", just like we do during mealtimes and bedtimes. This should prove to you that you must watch your behavior around kids at all times. They not only copy anything negative you do(cussing, fighting, etc) but you also have the opportunity to show them positive things as well. This could be anything from saying prayers to giving kisses and hugs and teaching manners.
ttfn

Oh how we love the rain........or not!

So most of you know that I have been laid up this past weekend after having surgery on my Achilles tendon. I was pretty much bedridden all weekend with my mom and husband taking care of me and the kids. I can now get around okay, I just can't put any weight on it for awhile. So I hear it start to rain this morning and I heard my mom go "Bunny, no!" So I hobble on out in the living room to see what was going on. Bunny had made a dash through the doggy door and was outside in the pouring rain shaking his little fist in the air and yelling "No, no rain!" Not to be outdone, Sugars follows him out and is just absolutely tickled to run out on the grass and have the rain hit her in the face. She thought that it was the greatest thing ever. So my mom finally gets Bunny back into the house but, if anything, Sugars is moving further out because she is totally digging it. My mom has to go out into the yard to get her to go in while I am trying to keep Bunny from making a run for it again AND am trying to find the cover for the dog door so that we can cover it. Dab dab, in the meantime, it just calmly watching all of this take place from his place by the window.
Needless to say, these angels keep up on our toes (or toem in my case) but when you have kids this young in age, you are pretty much prepared for anything.
TTFN

Sugars---The tiny tornado!

Sugars had her appointment today to get evaluated to see if she would be in need of special services(speech therapy, etc) The appointment was at 11 so I decided to take her into work with me rather than get the boys all riled up at the sitter because I picked Sugars up and not them.
Needless to say, Sugars made her first and only trip to my place of employment. In a matter of 5 minutes, she managed to bump her head of the corner of the desk, twice, then she picked something up(we never did figure out what it was) and got it stuck in her mouth, emptied out the trash can in my office and emptied out my purse. Then when I insisted she put everything back, half of the contents of my purse ended up in the trash! She also kept dropping her bottle and spilling milk everywhere because it was apparently really funny to see the adults keep picking the bottle up for her. She also kept dropping pieces of pop tart on the floor and I would somehow always manage to step on it.
Of course, during all of this time, she is completely oblivious to the havoc she is causing. She is content to be her little old adorable self. Her personality and behavior is so much different than Bunny's when he was her age. She seems more aware of things, even if she cannot vocalize it.
Regarless of this little tornado, I am blessed to have her and can't wait to see what she does next!
TTFN

A slight miscalculation.......

So when I went to pick up the kids after work, I decided to stop by the carwash. I had finally gotten my fostermomma car magnets in and my van was too filthy to put them on. I figured I would get the car washed after I picked the kids up. They would think it was cool. Well, I was 2/3 right. Bunny kept yelling "It's raining". Sugars was too busy chewing on the window blind. Dab Dab however, was less than thrilled. He started crying and yelling "No rain! No Rain". Of course, by the time I realized he was terrified, I was stuck in the middle of the carwash with nowhere to go other than try to get to the back of the van and comfort him. He is screaming and Bunny keeps yelling, "It's okay! I'm here". Needless to say we probably will not be doing that for awhile.
TTFN

The Tale of Poo

Okay--so the kids are playing outside yesterday evening. There are two swings, a jungle gym and three slides for them to choose from. What toy do you think they chose? Yes! You guessed it. They headed straight to a small pile of dog poo. First Bunny bent down and said "Yuck!" Then Dab Dab kind of nudged it with his foot. Finally Sugars, who has a very sharp mind, saw that I was upset her brothers were playing with the Poo so she just went over and grabbed a big handful! Now I can watch all kinds of bloody movies and can change nasty diapers with the best of them but, I can honestly say that on this one, I wanted to yack! Not only was it poo but it was also "been out there all day and gotten rained on" poo. Gross just doesn't cover it. So Sugars came running toward me with her little chubby arms outstretched expecting a big poo infused hug. No, no sister girl. Not on your life! She was met instead with a wet washcloth and lots of antibacterial wipes.
I guess that will teach me to check the yard before I let them outside from now on. Lesson learned......
TTFN

Love at first sight?......Not really!

June 9, 2008

Love at first sight?......Not really!

The kids were cute. No doubt about that. They both had beautiful blue eyes and Sugars looked just like a Cabbage Patch doll. I was so excited to have these two new additions to our family. We got them on a Friday evening and then decided to take them to the pumpkin patch the next day. That is when reality set in. I did not have a double stroller at the time so we just put Sugars in the single stroller and let Dab Dab walk along with Bunny. It was a nightmare! Bunny went one way and Dab Dab went the other. Charles chased down one kid and I tried to chase down the other while dragging the stroller through dirt and gravel. Keeping up with three is a lot different than keeping up with one.

I soon realized that I will be 15 minutes late for everything! I went from having a laundry "day" to laundry "days". My car is covered in pop tart. My house looks like ToysRUs exploded. I have three big ride on toys that the kids love to drive around the island whenever I cook. There were days at the beginning where I wanted to rip my hair out.

One day, after I realized that I was going to be late for work for the 15th time that month, I finally decided that I just couldn't do it anymore. The boys were trying to see who could bite each other the hardest and Sugars had just dumped her bottle out on her lap. I decided that after work, I would call CPS and tell them that this was just too much for me. Then a strange thing happened. I went to get the kids out of the car and Dab Dab and Sugars were looking at me with their heads together when I opened the door. They were grinning and holding their arms out for me to pick them up. Something inside me just melted. Suddenly, I went from just being their full time caretaker to actually being their "mother". Yes, I know I am not their mother. I did not give birth to them. They actually have a mother who loves them very much. But I had finally made that connection.

I realized that it wasn't about me. It was about the kids. They needed me, and, I realized that I needed them too. Someday, they will go back to their other family. My heart will break. But I will comfort myself knowing that I helped them in a monumental way and hopefully, they will be better for it and remember me.

TTFN

Fostermomma blog--1st post-June 6, 2008

Web log June 6, 2008 First post!

Well, I finally got my website up and am starting to spread the word. I want to get as many people to at least think about fostering.

Most people know my story. I was laid off after 7 years with a company that I had put my heart and soul into. I didn't love my job anymore but I was comfortable there and basically "used to it". After I got laid off, I was at a loss as to what to do with myself. With the exception of maternity leave after I had Bunny, I had worked all of my adult life.

So, what to do? After a WHOLE lot of retail therapy, I started staying at home and watching lots of soaps and Ellen. No, not Oprah, Ellen. I am firmly convinced that Oprah is slowing trying to take over the world and I will certainly not help her do it! After I got bored with daytime TV, I started surfing the net. I came across the AdoptUSKids website. This basically had photo listings of children available for adoption. Something just hit me. Up until then, I had been struggling to figure out what do to with my life and what I would actually be good at. I consider myself a person of many talents and a master of none of them. I have wanted to be anything from a veterinarian to a truck driver to an event planner. I wasn't sure if I would actually be good at any of these things. But the one thing that I knew I was good at was being a mom. I had always said that if I couldn't ever have children, then I would foster or adopt. Well, I have had a biological child and I could still try for another one but I felt "called" to do this. I am fortunate enough to have a husband who is supportive and who loves kids as much as I do. So I became a fostermomma!

While we went through training, I left Bunny in childcare and started getting the house ready for our two girls ages 6 to 12. That was the age range and gender that we were prepared to foster. Bunny had his own room and I bought some bunk beds for the two girls to share a room. I had the house safety inspected and went, room by room cleaning as I went. The house was cleaner than it had ever been. The whole colony of dust bunnies that I evicted are considering a lawsuit.

We go licensed and I just knew that the phone would ring that very day. Days and weeks went by but no phone call for a placement. I kept bugging the intake director. "You are still on the list" she said. So I decided to open up the age range from 0-12. I figure that if we at least got a 5 year old she would be in kindergarten and I wouldn't have to worry about childcare. That day we got a call. They didn't have a 6-12 year old girl but they did have a 6 month old girl and her 17 month old brother. Would I be willing to take them?

Now understand, Bunny had just started a MDO where I was teaching as well. We were in school 4 days a week and the pay wasn't much. I didn't have alternative childcare set up for two little ones. I didn't have an extra bed to put in Bunny's room so that he and the new boy could share a room. I didn't have Bunny's old baby bed set up for a 6 month old and it would barely fit into the room with bunk beds.

So, what do you think my immediate answer was? HECK YES!

I called my mom and before you know it, we were on a journey of a lifetime!

Stay tuned for more.

Until then,

TTFN

up next....The first time, ever I saw there faces.........