First, I learned that I (as well as my amazing husband) can handle A LOT! Saturday was very trying, and tiring. We had Little Miss, and her mom forgot to send her last days worth of medicine. She was in ODD, RAD and ADHD mode ALL DAY! It tested my patience to the point that I felt like I was going to explode. I didn't though, neither did my husband, and I am proud of both of us.
The boys were a bit of a handful when Little Miss was here, but since she left, they've been much easier to handle.
Saturday, we went to a local kids museum. It was fun. We basically picked the rooms with only one entrance/exit and guarded the door as the kids ran free. My wonderful little sister was with us, and she helped out so much with keeping the kids engaged. Because of her helpfulness, she and my husband are currently at the local Fair enjoying rides, as I wait here with the boys for their parents to pick them up.
We took everyone to the fair earlier today and the boys did amazingly well. They were a bit overstimulated, and tired, but they handled their emotions well.
I want to meet "our girls". I am tired of waiting to see their little faces. We're "supposed" to meet this weekend. We were slated to provide respite for the two kids 11 and 16 we did respite for a few weeks back. We just don't want to do their respite though Wednesday-Sunday! It's too much for us to handle for that long with those two. We heard from our worker that they're supposed to be removed from their current home this coming week, so hopefully we can dodge that respite! If not, I am just going to have to tell them we can't. The 16 year old has no where to go during the day, and she CERTAINLY won't be staying alone at my house!
We will see what happens. I am ready for the boys to go home so that I can sleep! I also want to say for the record, I do miss Little Miss very much. Additionally, when I do use respite, I will actually call to check on my kids. These boys are adopted, and their parents haven't even called to check on them! I am a complete stranger that met them 48 hours ago.... it's just strange to me!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
What Was I Thinking!?!?
Well, we had a call today for an emergency respite. The other provider got sick, and they needed someone within a few hours and apparently everyone else was full. So of course we said yes, because we would hope someone would take our girls if we had already planned a weekend away.
So we have two little boys 3 and 4. They function on much lower levels than their ages. They're autistic and have limited verbal skills. Little Miss is here until tomorrow night and man will I hate to see her go. She is such a good girl, and I know I will be part of her life. Her mom and I have become close friends over this week. She is very excited for us to get our girls.
The plan is that we will be doing respite next weekend for our two girls. I can't wait to meet them! :)
I will fill you in as the weekend progresses and I have a moment to breathe.
Right now my husband is on a Walmart run for some weekend essentials.
Good times!
So we have two little boys 3 and 4. They function on much lower levels than their ages. They're autistic and have limited verbal skills. Little Miss is here until tomorrow night and man will I hate to see her go. She is such a good girl, and I know I will be part of her life. Her mom and I have become close friends over this week. She is very excited for us to get our girls.
The plan is that we will be doing respite next weekend for our two girls. I can't wait to meet them! :)
I will fill you in as the weekend progresses and I have a moment to breathe.
Right now my husband is on a Walmart run for some weekend essentials.
Good times!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Long Weekend!
Long in the sense of extended that is! We have had a great weekend. Little Miss made it through the fireworks last night but she was extremely tired! I was too.
Honestly, she has been a ton of fun, my four dogs on the other hand have been CRAZY! They've been up barking for the last two mornings around 5:00am. Normally, I take them out at about 6:15. It's hard enough having to get up and tend to them, but they wake her up, and then we're stuck tending to her well before her normal wake-up time.
I have a feeling we will be having nap time later today. She tends to melt down when she's tired, so I am sure I will know when it's time to nap.
Yesterday we went to the lake. We had a great time. Her fostermom warned me that she doesn't like men, and she was worried she wouldn't like my husband, but she LOVES him. She calls him dad and me mommy, it's weird because she's only been here a few days, but at the same time, she chose to call us that, so we're just leaving the names up to her.
Tomorrow I am back to work and she is off to daycare for the rest of the week. That will only leave us with about 3-4 hours in the afternoon before bed time, but we will enjoy every minute!
Honestly, she has been a ton of fun, my four dogs on the other hand have been CRAZY! They've been up barking for the last two mornings around 5:00am. Normally, I take them out at about 6:15. It's hard enough having to get up and tend to them, but they wake her up, and then we're stuck tending to her well before her normal wake-up time.
I have a feeling we will be having nap time later today. She tends to melt down when she's tired, so I am sure I will know when it's time to nap.
Yesterday we went to the lake. We had a great time. Her fostermom warned me that she doesn't like men, and she was worried she wouldn't like my husband, but she LOVES him. She calls him dad and me mommy, it's weird because she's only been here a few days, but at the same time, she chose to call us that, so we're just leaving the names up to her.
Tomorrow I am back to work and she is off to daycare for the rest of the week. That will only leave us with about 3-4 hours in the afternoon before bed time, but we will enjoy every minute!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Tons of Laughs!
The little girl we have for respite is just adorable! She is SO smart! She's in kindergarten (going to first) and she can read everything! We've had some great quotes already.
She called her mom while we were cutting one of the dogs hair and said, "We're cutting Gizmo's hair, well, I'm not the mom is!"
Then my husband had watered the plants out front and she thought it was raining, then she was confused why it would be raining in the front and not the back. She said, "The Dad tricked me!"
Then she asked if she could go outside with "the dad".
I am so happy she took to my husband so quickly. Her mom warned me that she normally does not like men at all.
This morning she was describing the family tree to me. She said, "my foster sister doesn't look like me, she has brown skin, I think she came from a foreign country, but I love her, she speaks 5 languages!"
We're cracking up at the funny things she comes up with! I am crossing my fingers our girls will be this funny.
She called her mom while we were cutting one of the dogs hair and said, "We're cutting Gizmo's hair, well, I'm not the mom is!"
Then my husband had watered the plants out front and she thought it was raining, then she was confused why it would be raining in the front and not the back. She said, "The Dad tricked me!"
Then she asked if she could go outside with "the dad".
I am so happy she took to my husband so quickly. Her mom warned me that she normally does not like men at all.
This morning she was describing the family tree to me. She said, "my foster sister doesn't look like me, she has brown skin, I think she came from a foreign country, but I love her, she speaks 5 languages!"
We're cracking up at the funny things she comes up with! I am crossing my fingers our girls will be this funny.
Friday, July 2, 2010
More Info Pouring In!
I am continuing to get more and more info on the girls. So they are almost 4 and 5. The four year old is apparently a HAND FULL! She has been thrown out of daycare. My FPC thinks most of her behavior issues are just from wanting attention, we will be in therapy none the less!
So we have a new tentative plan to have the girls in two weekends from now, and see how that goes. Our worker said if it goes well, she doesn't see a reason for them to return to their current foster home. The foster family wants them to be with us before school anyway because they will be in Pre-K and Kindergarten this fall.
So I am pretty much JUMPING WITH JOY! We have a long road ahead, I know! The nice thing though is that we are kid free, we don't have our own birthchildren to worry about too. We can focus 100% on these girls and their needs.
So we have a new tentative plan to have the girls in two weekends from now, and see how that goes. Our worker said if it goes well, she doesn't see a reason for them to return to their current foster home. The foster family wants them to be with us before school anyway because they will be in Pre-K and Kindergarten this fall.
So I am pretty much JUMPING WITH JOY! We have a long road ahead, I know! The nice thing though is that we are kid free, we don't have our own birthchildren to worry about too. We can focus 100% on these girls and their needs.
The Differences in Waiting!
It is so hard for me to believe that this time, one year ago, I was on my first round of Clomid to try and have a baby! When I look back on the last year, it is amazing to me what we've been through, and how fast my husband and I have moved through life!
In December 2009, my husband found out his company was closing, and he would be without a job come the new year. He found a new job, contract work, and they let him go once the work was done, and now he's at a whole new job. We almost moved, but thankfully it didn't come to that point.
In January 2010, we decided to stop the fertility treatments, we weren't getting anywhere and honestly, I just felt this pull towards fostering and adopting. We were done with waiting... waiting two weeks for a negative, waiting two+ more for a period, waiting waiting waiting!
Now here we are a year later, and we have another wait! This time though, we're so excited. We're waiting to meet two little girls that have NO IDEA we are dying to meet them. They have no idea that last night we talked about bedroom layouts, and what vacations we will take. They don't know us, and we don't know them, but as much as we're trying not to get our hopes up, we're already beginning to love them! My dreams were filled with what they look like, what their personalities are like. I realize that reality will hit me in the face once we meet them, and they will probably be a handful just by the nature of their life circumstances and them being so close in age. Right now though, I am just trying to stay positive and hoping that they will like us and be a good fit for our home.
So I will continue waiting, and after that wait ends, I know we will have to wait a little longer, but in the end, we very well may have two little girls that will be ours, and I can't think of anything better in this world to have to wait on.
In December 2009, my husband found out his company was closing, and he would be without a job come the new year. He found a new job, contract work, and they let him go once the work was done, and now he's at a whole new job. We almost moved, but thankfully it didn't come to that point.
In January 2010, we decided to stop the fertility treatments, we weren't getting anywhere and honestly, I just felt this pull towards fostering and adopting. We were done with waiting... waiting two weeks for a negative, waiting two+ more for a period, waiting waiting waiting!
Now here we are a year later, and we have another wait! This time though, we're so excited. We're waiting to meet two little girls that have NO IDEA we are dying to meet them. They have no idea that last night we talked about bedroom layouts, and what vacations we will take. They don't know us, and we don't know them, but as much as we're trying not to get our hopes up, we're already beginning to love them! My dreams were filled with what they look like, what their personalities are like. I realize that reality will hit me in the face once we meet them, and they will probably be a handful just by the nature of their life circumstances and them being so close in age. Right now though, I am just trying to stay positive and hoping that they will like us and be a good fit for our home.
So I will continue waiting, and after that wait ends, I know we will have to wait a little longer, but in the end, we very well may have two little girls that will be ours, and I can't think of anything better in this world to have to wait on.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
More About The Girls!
Well, I called my FPC today to see if she could write me a letter for my Human Resources Department at work. In order to take the week off as FMLA I need a letter stating that the week we have the girls for respite is a pre-adoptive trial where time for bonding is needed. My HR Dept. is flexible for the most part, but they need documentation at the same time to back up them, and protect my rights.
While I was on the phone I asked for some more details on the situation, I didn't want to keep her on the line too long though. Basically, as it stands, the girls are almost TPR'd. Their mom's rights are already TPR'd but Grandma petitioned for custody at the last hearing. Thankfully, the judge denied it. Now they have to wait to see if she will file an appeal or if they can move on in the process. Either way, my FPC said she is 99.9% confident Grandma WILL NOT get custody.
So I told my FPC that we're happy to take the girls even sooner if that works for them. She is going to have their Case Worker call me to see what we can work out. For now though, we will see them in about a month.
My husband is so funny though! Yesterday afternoon he, my sister, and I went to see "Grown Ups", it is HILARIOUS! During the movie he leaned over and said, "I Googled hair relaxers today". I thought it was really cute!
He called his mom last night, and she seems supportive. My in-laws live in Upstate (close-minded) New York. She voiced her natural concerns for the kids, but at the end of the day, she knows parents don't get much better than us. She also knows that there are not many African American families that foster in our area.
Thankfully, in the end, the people that need to worry most about the stares etc. are my husband and I, and I couldn't give a rats @$$ what other people think! As long as those girls are happy and healthy, THAT is what matters.
So I hopefully will get to meet them sooner than August 7th, but if not, I will be counting down the days until then!
While I was on the phone I asked for some more details on the situation, I didn't want to keep her on the line too long though. Basically, as it stands, the girls are almost TPR'd. Their mom's rights are already TPR'd but Grandma petitioned for custody at the last hearing. Thankfully, the judge denied it. Now they have to wait to see if she will file an appeal or if they can move on in the process. Either way, my FPC said she is 99.9% confident Grandma WILL NOT get custody.
So I told my FPC that we're happy to take the girls even sooner if that works for them. She is going to have their Case Worker call me to see what we can work out. For now though, we will see them in about a month.
My husband is so funny though! Yesterday afternoon he, my sister, and I went to see "Grown Ups", it is HILARIOUS! During the movie he leaned over and said, "I Googled hair relaxers today". I thought it was really cute!
He called his mom last night, and she seems supportive. My in-laws live in Upstate (close-minded) New York. She voiced her natural concerns for the kids, but at the end of the day, she knows parents don't get much better than us. She also knows that there are not many African American families that foster in our area.
Thankfully, in the end, the people that need to worry most about the stares etc. are my husband and I, and I couldn't give a rats @$$ what other people think! As long as those girls are happy and healthy, THAT is what matters.
So I hopefully will get to meet them sooner than August 7th, but if not, I will be counting down the days until then!
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