Doughnuts!

Liam loves doughnuts. When he first got here I told him I would make whatever he wanted for dinner. When his answer was "doughnuts" I needed to go into the explination of what appropriate DINNER food was. But when asked what he wants to eat for each and every meal the answer was doughnuts. Today We took him out for a doughnut at Krispy Kreme! He was the happoest kid on the planet! Meanwhile my two year old was running around singing "No Nuts. Yummy No Nuts" After school girl tyoe laughter I corrected his pronunciation hehehe.
He however after two bites of Nonuts said that he was done and wanted his berries. He picked up a small basket of raspberries at the farmers market while we were there. He LOVES berries of all types but like Mommy he likes raspberries the best ;)
tomorrow we are heading to Seattle. We are hitting the aquarium and some downtown touristy stuff.
I almost ended up with two more boys this weekend. A placement was needed for a 3 y/o and 1.5 y/o boy. I would have said yes. But DH suggested we take a break a bit since Baby is just settling into a schedule and we are still recovering from having eight boys here. So I said no. It broke my heart and I still want to know how they are and if they have a home. I hae caring so much sometimes. I do not know how, but I care so much for these kids I never met :(

Oh yeah

Baby is on WIC now. The birth-Mom had used the checks though so I have to wait until next month.
BUT That will help out a TON

six shots later

Well I took Baby and Liam to the doctor today. The doctor came into the room and said "you I remember these kids are new though." She asked about the last sibling group I had here. I told her about the progress they made nd that they had moved to a relatives. She was happy to hear they did so well.
Liam is tall and at the perfect weight. The doctor did ask if I was sure of his age lol. He is a tall boy!! He seems healthy but has some swollen lymph nodes. He got two shots and he is all ready for school.
Baby is 3 months old and weighs over 19 pounds! He is in general good health. The doctor was happy he was in a safe place. Baby is always smiles and coos. He grabs your heart quickly! Four shots and he was good to go.
Tomorow we have an therapist comes here for Liam.
Them I have the weekend with nothing to do! yeah! Well with the exception of laundry!

Adoption pressures

One last post before I go to bed. I have doctor appointments for Liam and Baby tomorrow morning.
Liam has told me that he would like us to adopt another child. He says that Baby is nice but he wants another child his age to play with.
My Little Man asks everytime I am on the phone with a CW "Did they offer us more kids? Are we finally getting a girl?" So he loves to be a big brother but he wants a sister now! What have we been offered?? BOYS! Only girls when we cannot take them. It figures.
So there are my adoption pressures. It all comes from our own children though haha.

Oh my oldest called us from CA today to see how things went with baby today. My oldest is amazing with little ones and loves Baby to bits. He wants him to stay and it is hard to get him to understand that no matter the wants he has the first priority is to reunify with bio-parent(s)

Meeting

I was 5 minutes late. Yes that is atypical of me so I felt terrible.
Mom and Dad were there. They were very happy to see baby.
They were very nice to me. I assured the Mom and Dad I was taking good care of him and he is well loved and does not hurt for arms to hold him or someone to smother him in kisses. The Mom said he looked really happy. The grandma gave me a hug and apologized for not bein able to care for him and thanked me for being there. Not much was resolved but the parents now have an outline as to what needs to be done. If they complete it , time will tell.
There is another meeting in a couple of weeks. A different type of meeting but same concept. Seems redundant to me but eh our tax dollars at work LOL
I can say that I am almost positive he will be here more than a month. But ask me in a month and I will let you know how that prediction worked out hehe

Oh and

I shout to the heavens thank you for my breasts!!! Now that you have chocked on whatever you were eating or drinking. I breastfed my boys. So I used what nature gave me to feed my babies. Now there is NOTHING wrong with formula feeding heck breastfeeding is not for everyone.
Obviously I cannot breastfeed my foster son. Two weeks of formula cost close to $100. OMG!!! And with all of that money can they put some toward research to make the stuff not smell so rancid? ::::Shudder:::::

Nerves

tomorrow is the FTDM thingie at a hotel conference room (that made me laugh and wonder "dang how many people are coming?!?!?!"). This is the first one of these I have been through. I want them to see Baby and say "Oh look how happy he is! Awww heck just keep him" But we all know that doesn't happen. I will probably hear how the parent(s) are going to be offered x,y, and z programs to help them or that the tribe is going to get him or whatever. I know parents need a chance to make things right but there comes a point where you have to ask how many children will go through the SAME thing with these parents? UGH Things suck simple as that.

On another note Baby is now a cloth diaper baby! he is so much more comfortable. The diapers he was dropped off were at least one size too small. So I will just send the Huggies along with him when he moves to the next family.

FTDM

Well Baby's meeting is on Wednesday. I am looking forward to it on one hand, just to know what the future may hold for the little man. On the other hand I Am not looking forward to being there with the bios since my last experience was quite mixed. As long as these bios do not harp on clothes I will be OK lol


Back to my drop off ot Frankie, Pierce and Lance. Meeting Dad was OK though he never made eye contact and stayed on the phone. Meeting Mom and Aunt. Well the low blows and snide comments got to me. The SW was in a meeting so left me in the room with the bios and the aunt. I was VERY uncomfortable and I said after about 10 minutes I had to leave. They were harping on me about clothes. The boys clothes. This wasn't theirs did you remember this or that? Then the comments between Mom and aunt that were entirely meant to hurt me. Aunt is an older carbon copy of Mom. I am glad to be rid of the family. The kids I will miss. The family I won't

I hope meeting Baby's bios go better. This state is pushing the fosters and bios meeting and communicating. Sort of a mentor program. They were happy that I was going to the meeting tomorrow.

Want a baby?

Move next door to me!!
Seriously I got a call today about an adoptive placement.... before you get excited, we said no. but it was 2 girls 2 y/o and 5 months UGH UGH UGH I need a live in nanny and another bedroom!

Baby's worker called me. He will be here about a month. Give or take. They have contacted the tribe and started the ICWA stuff. Mom isn't getting him back and grandma cannot take on another grandchild.
So there we are. It is much more laid back with the other three gone. I will have to blog about my experience meeting the bios. Talk about uncomfortable.

Poop!!

Only Moms who have had babies will understand how important poop is. Dang near an obsession!! lol
Baby pooped and almost stunk us out of the house. OH MY GOODNESS. He is lucky he is so cute because that stink was baaaaaaad. lol
He is much happier now whether it was becauce of the poop or because he is settling in I don't know.
I still haven't heard from his social worker. I have no clue what is going on with him or his case or how long he will be here, the family team decision making (FTDM) meeting when that will be, or any progress with the tribal route either.
Liam is much happier. I think the amount of kids was too much for him too. He snuggled up on the couch with me and we chatted.
he WILL be starting Kindergarten in the fall :) He may have a special ed component to it or an IEP but we will see. I am also waiting on the referral to UW for the FASD evaluation.

Well

having a little baby takes up a ton of your time. We are having (well I am) the hardest time with bedtimes. Last night was MUCH better. He slept two four hour stretches. But getting his TO sleep is a pain. I think he is used to sleeping IN bed with someone?? But because of 'privacy' I will never know. The babe is part Native American (Alaska native?). That will more than likely throw a wrench or at least a TON of red tape in any possible adoption. IF (HUGE IF) it goes there. But heck not having any contact with the social worker is a bit hard lol. I have nothing for him medical card, info, folder NADA i did get his birthdate and last name yesterday. Yeah I seem to always get these kids. A drop and go or here is the kid I will hope to get you more info soon. The only typical and by the book foster care placement was our ADOPTIVE placement LOL I can see where foster parent burnout comes from.

Tomorrow I say goodbye to my First three foster sons. It will be so hard. I am not looking forward to it on one hand. On the other, well eight children is too many! I love each and every one but with eight and the latest being a bity baby and us getting used to each other yeah NOT fun.

The news

I try not to watch it too much. First my oldest would obsess over the news and think everything he heard would happen to him or to the family etc. He is better about it now but I still hate to watch it sometimes because of the stories about kids. Much like this story which hits home because well not only am I a Mom but I have a child in my care around that age

http://www.kirotv.com/news/13529889/detail.html

Police: Lake Stevens Baby Dies After Pacifier Taped To Face

POSTED: 9:59 am PDT June 19, 2007
UPDATED: 2:41 pm PDT June 19, 2007

LAKE STEVENS, Wash. -- A woman has been arrested in the death of her 4-month-old son after telling authorities she had taped a pacifier to his face to keep the device in his mouth.

Bonnie M. Desmond, 20, of Lake Stevens, was arrested by police in this town east of Everett and booked into the Snohomish County jail Monday night for investigation of first-degree manslaughter, with bail set at $100,000, according to the jail Web site.

An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of death.

The woman called 911 about 11:30 a.m. Monday and said her baby was unconscious, but paramedics who rushed to the home she shares with her fiance found the little boy had been dead for hours, Fire District 8 Deputy Chief David Lingenfelter said.

The woman told police and medics that a half-hour earlier she found the infant dead and ripped the pacifier from his face, then called her fiance before notifying authorities, according to documents filed by prosecutors.

Prosecutors wrote that after the mother overheard detectives talking about sudden infant death syndrome, she indicated the pacifier had been taped to the child's mouth to keep the device from falling out.

She was arrested following an interview with detectives, police Cmdr. Dan Lorentzen said.

No other children live in the home, the fiance was not under investigation in the baby's death and both parents have been cooperating with the investigation, Lorentzen said.

Formula.

You know I am new to this whole formula thing. And bottles.... WHEN did they make so many choices?!?!?! There are nipple sizes? HA new to me!
And a side note. Formula STINKS! And no baby poop yet. But from what I have read it seems that formula babies are not as 'regular' as breastfed babes.

We made it....

through the night. It was a lot of trying different things to see what worked. Now tonight to see if what worked was actually right of if he was just exhausted and fell asleep haha.
Liams worker called. We are now considered his pre-adoptive family. If you could see my smile you would know how darn happy I am!! Grandpa called the worker so now he is aware of what is going on. He was not happy with the way it had happened at all. Then again no one is. But he is just concerned that Liam is happy. I called him this morning and left a message so he can get a hold of us. We are to determine what we feel is appropriate as far as visiting. For now we will start with phone calls and see how that goes.
Actually Liams worker had about 6 calls about Liam on her machine for when she came in this morning. Only one was from me. But the school, therapist (who is coming to our house for the appointments!), grandpa and the old family all left messages too. One popular kiddo haha.
Liam got sick last night and was so upset at himself because it was on the carpet. It took a lot of reassurance that I was NOT mad I was worried how he was and he kept asking if I were mad about the floor. Poor kiddo. You know it seems I get kids who are scared of making mistakes. They are all shocked when I say no one is perfect not even Moms and Dads

I wish

At times like this I wish I DID have contact with the last caregiver of my foster child! Here I am with a cute little three month old boy. But I know none of his routines. How does he like to be burped? How does he sleep? How often does he eat..... well you get the point. It is just like having a baby for the first time I guess haha
I cannot wait to see how long he will be here or what the darn situation is! I cannot imagine though what the family must go through not having the child with them. This situation is a bit different but still I was rocking this crying baby and I was wondering if the parents/relatives were thinking about him at that moment. I don't know it is hard to explain.
I may be updating a lot more if I am up all night with the baby so be ready haha

three hints

Small
adorable
and
that new baby smell

Of course a BOY! A beautiful chunky three month old boy!
We are not sure if he will be here long. but all of his other siblings are in care or adopted already.

Open

With Liam we will have an open adoption. The only contact he has though is with his grandfather. His grandfather has been the only stable force in this little guys 5 years on this earth. I am 100% willing to continue the contact with grandpa for as long as Grandpa is willing. Heck I simply see it as more extended family. Liam and I discussed inviting Grandpa to his birthday party (which is months away lol). I even discussed with his social worker (she brought it up) Changing Liams actual name. If any of his classmates were to find out his birth name he would be mercilessly teased for the rest of his school days. Anyway the SW and I discussed changing Liams middle name to his grandpa's name to give him that connection to his birth family. I think it is a perfect idea.

Weird thing I had a dream last night that Grandpa called. See Grandpa is out of town and has been out of town since before Liams last family kicked him out. Yes kicked him out. I see the way they did things and the motives as not noble or heck parental at all! Grandpa has no idea that his grandson is not in the place he thought he was safe and loved. I am not afraid Grandpa will want to take him from us. He has already been deemed 'not a suitable placement' for Liam. I guess I am afraid that because of this last family he will not like us or be slower to trust us. That make sense? Anyway I have had the urge to call him all day long. I do not want to until I talk to Liams worker though. Heck not even 100% positive he is home yet.
So Monday I will be making a call to the worker to see what is going on and if I should call or not.

On another note. The three boys Frankie, Pierce and Lance leave approx. mid week. DH and I have a running 'bet'. He says we will not make it to the weekend without a placement. I say two weeks.
My proud mama moment. Frankie won an award at school. It was for, courage! He really felt special and I think it is wonderful he was nominated for his classroom.

Something I forgot to mention

which is ironic considering it is about memory. Liam has been tagged with the "cannot remember anything" tag. As we are driving up to the DCFS building he asked if I was dropping him off there? Was he going to see Ms K? Was he going to live somewhere else? Would he get to see his birth mom and dad because it had been a long time. After I dropped the three boys off for their visit Liam and I went to buy army men. Which are impossible to find!!!! We talked about how he wasn't going to live with the old family and how he was staying with us. He said that he hopes so because he lived at X persons home, then with grandpa, then a persons home then the last home and then us. Naming each person in order! He has more in there. There is a lot to be uncovered with this little man.
I am now Mom to him, He gives hugs freely and always wants to be a part of anything I am doing. He is attaching well

More on our outing

Things went really well.
Here we are, Mom and Dad with seven boys in tow. When we walked and met someone new they started counting. I just smiled and said "Seven. Yes all boys" They we so darn well behaved. Seriously there were people there where there one child was being such a little brat. Yet here we come with our brood all saying their pleases and thank yous and excuse me's but having a wonderful time. They boxed with oversized gloves threw footballs and kicked soccer balls into this target thing. They ate ate and ate lol played on the playground and ran around. My bio boys the oldest two went on the alpine tower and the zip line swing. Not something I could give the OK for with foster kids....
Everyone commented on how great the kids were and how busy we must be. They asked if they were all ours. My answer is always "yes they are all mine" because each in their own way either by foster, by birth or (soon) adoption is MY child.
One lady said "are all of these boys yours by birth?" Ahh good question. Turns out she is also a foster mom ;) But to teens. But it figures she would know the 'right way' to ask.
The CO of my husbands ship said he was impressed with the kids and proud of us. His wife said she admired us. That is so odd. It was GREAT! But it felt weird to have someone say that you know?
I always get one of two reactions one is of appreciation the other is pity? Maybe distain? Not sure. These, negative reactions, are probably the ones who believe we do this "for the money" Which in itself is laughable. Probably the ones who have the visions of foster parents like the foster family in Antwone Fisher or something.
All in all it went spectacular and I am proud of ALL of my boys. Days like this make me want to go to places like amusement parks with them all.... then I come back to reality ;)

Liam

is sick. Poor kid. He is just so lathargic and well generally "feeling icky". The picnic went well today. But With Liam feeling bad he curled up on a bench with me or Dad and slept.
He is home now in bed snoozing away again. Poor thing I hope he feels better soon.
On another note my 8 y/o climbed a FIFTY foot tower today! He of course then Rappeled down :) I am a proud mama!!

Invading force.... or hoarde

Tomorrow DH's ship is having a picnic. My dh RSSVP'd for NINE. They thought it was a joke, or maybe an attempt at trying to win all of the door prizes but nah it is all our family. So we have to take two car... BUT I know the boys will have an absolute blast!
Everything from rockwalls, water balloon fights and bounce houses to a team building tower (rapelling zip lines tightropes etc) to of course food!
It will be quite interesting to show up with our crew! I hope to take a lot of pictures and all that good nonsene. I SOOO wih I could share them here!
So wish us luck that we get a big flat screen tv or better yet... a gift certificate for the commissary or a Costco Cash card would be a god send!! But hey I would be happy if all of my kid have a terrific day and behave the bet that little kid can. Hey I wonder if they will be giving away gameboy advance DS lite I have one little man that would be beside himself.

I make

him feel safe I think... Liam was in bed and came and said he sees vampires and scary things when he closes his eyes. The think of something happy trick didn't work so he came back. The compromise? He could sleep on the floor in my room. Within oh...2 minutes he was snoring away!

Is it odd

That the little ones (fosters) call me Mom? especially so quick. I understand I have three here calling me mom all the time. Maybe it is just trying to be part of the "crowd" or is it a need to have that Mom figure?

Relative search

It is the law that they make a relative search when there is a legally free child. Liam has had several relative searches. Each time one person stepped forward and expressed an interest and then faded away without any more that that. Since his last adoptive placement was disrupted, they, the state, had to preform another relative search. Today the CW heard back from the mystery relative who left a message Monday. She talked to them about Liams current living situation his possible issues with FASD. The relative then said that they were glad he was happy and that they will withdraw their interest!!!! They say he is a bit much for them,they are an older couple. Now we are just waiting for Liams grandfather to get home so we can meet him. he still has and will continue to have contact with Liam over the years. He is the only stable piece of Liams life sadly.

A 'relative'

I am worried now. some distant relative has now come forward again. He wants to talk to the social worker about Liam. OH MY GOSH!!! If someone who has "never met him" comes forward after how many relative searches???? and wants to take him in I think I will be sick.

The worker says she will tell this relative that he is in a home that WILL accept him and all of his difficulties and special needs. She does think that once the person hears about his problems they will say "no thanks".

You know on another note..... I was the ONLY one that has read his file that noticed his problems at birth?!?!?! The only one who saw those may be a leading contributor to his issues?

With the good

comes the bad as well.
Dh's Dad (FIL) has been in the hospital for about a month. He has gallbladder problems that went bad basically/
Yesterday he basically crashed and was rushed into emergency surgery. Last we heard he made it through but was still on a vent. Stressful crap.
DH and FIL do not have the best of relationships.... or even any real relationship in , what? almost 15-20 years? But It is still his dad. I know DH is hurting about the whole damn thing. And with the whole work thing he cannot get any time off to go to CO to see his dad. Last night he said he doubted that he could even get time off for a funeral! ugh

TAG

We're it!
We are the only family at the moment being considered to adopt Liam ;) I am STILL reading the file.
I do not see how people with children with more of a sorted past can cope with reading the information.
It is so hard to read that information and then look at this little boy you have who is happily playing Rescue Heroes and think of him going through those things. And you then wonder why??
So should we still be interested in adopting him after reading the record we are good to proceed with adoption. Like I said things are never slow moving here....

On a lighter note....
I made a promise to Liam. You know the ONE thing he wanted? Army men :) Not the big GI Joes or anything but simple little green army men. You don't think I am buying his affection by spending $2.00 on a bag of those little guys do you?? hahaha

forever

Yes it is true. We MAY be Liams forever family. The SW was happy with the way Liam was behaving and how happy he was. And before you wonder how I get Stepford children. He was NO angel haha but he was a typical boy and apparently I parent well or something hahaha.
I have his file to read. It is honestly about a foot thick.
Lord not light reading that is for sure.
However if we are still interested AFTER we read it we look like we are good to go. Who would have thought looking at a photolisting would actually lead to an adoption. WOW

Excitement

OK Liam has plenty of issues. But they are all totally workable. He seems happy here and is adjusting well.
Just knowing he is LEGALLY FREE is exciting to me. Knowing there IS a possiblity we could be his forever family.....
But I would hate to heat from his CW that the other family is interested in him and they are chosen or something like that. That would be one hell of a blow. tell me how is it that we bond to these kids so quick? I know there are kids I have met and don't really care for. It seems though that all of the children placed here have been a great fit.
Liam has a kindergarten pre-placement screening on Wednesday to see if he is actually ready to start school in the fall. To think the CW says they have "been trying" to accomplish this for months at his old house. Either the CW is exaggerating or the old home was REALLY dragging their feet.
Liam seems to do well with his letters and numbers etc. He knows his colors too. He interacts well with his peers too. So we will see if it is K in the fall for him or if he will be 'home schooled' for one more year.
You know too the CW said she wants a SAHM for his adoptive placement. DH said sort of a duh they (the kids) need that. Then we started discussing since that is a requirement for the adoption can that be considered as part of the adoption subsidy? Hmm Guess I should do some reading huh?

we venture

out today..... Some bad weather and an adjustment period has caused some at home time. So today I will take Liam and a couple of the other boys out for haircuts and get some milk (I still need that cow). We will see how he does. Liam has not had any sensory issues. No over stimulation or signs of under stimulation. But I would like to expose him to other situations to test how he will do.
I have been keeping a journal of observations about Liam. I will ask his social worker if she would like a copy of it when I see her on Tuesday. Does it seem strange I am keeping a journal? haha

Memory

Liam has some issues with retaining information. We know, well suspect it is from bio-moms lifestyle while pregnant and/or lack of interaction in the formative years.
He is doing well so far with constant remiders and our "eyes on me" approach (he has to make eye contact-though not constant while being talked to) He is also doing well when being asked to confirm what was said to him.
I think he would benefit from some labeling around the house. Marking the sock drawer with the picture of socks and the word for example.
However I cannot get them made the way I am envisioning them. UGH
I tried DLTK for a template but no such luck. That site is great for chore charts and reward tickets etc.

there comes a

point in your life when you smack yourself in the forehead for actually saying something outloud. When dh comes up with the online price quote for a FIFTEEN passenger van and I say "that is about the right size"...... Lordy we have a lot of kids. Logic being a 15 passenger van has more cargo space. I guess for groceries lol

one more thing....

I give this standard speech all the time. The speech is what our 'private' areas are and how we are not allowed to touch anyone elses and they cannot touch ours and if something like that happens they have to tell an adult immediately no matter what the 'offender' says/threatens. BUT that they are allowed to touch their own private area as long as they are in their private space or the bathroom but never in front of anyone. That is the trimmed down version lol
That is followed by nobody is allowed on anyone elses bed ever. This part normally goes over just fine. Until I got... "But you and dad sleep in one bed are you breaking the rules?" DOH!!!!!

Testing

Liam is testing his boundaries a lttle. What he doesn't realize is that I have been here befre. I have a child who tests us every day. I know the games buddy ;)

But really he is a good kid. Typical of a 5 year old....well he is about a year behind, so more like the behavor for a 3.5-4 year old but you know. Liam is TALL too as tall as the 7 year old here so he looks older and acts younger.
I am amazed at my 8 year old he is awesome with kids. He has tried to make him feel comfortable and all.

He has said he is not sure what he will call me yet. I told him my many names Gina Miss Gina, Mom, Mama, Mommy and he could pick any of those. He said he would have to think about it haha

It was hillarious. He is currently sleeping on the trundle bed which is basically a "drawer" that you pull out (OK so I am Miss obvious that is the defintion of a trundle right?hehe) but it is a twin bed. He looked at it when it was still under the beds and said, "If I sleep in that bed I will be squished!" hehe he was much happier when I showed him how it pulled out and that he does not have to sleep under the beds n a drawer :p

He is here

Little boy has arrived "Liam" is here and loves the dogs and all of his "new brothers". He loves the dogs too. I am sure there will be issues after this "honeymoon period". A disrupted adoptive placement is going to be hard. Poor kiddo. He will be so confused. Good news is he came with clthes and even his gameBoy! So no running out to get stuff for him. DH Will be home tomorrow. Hard to explain to Liam why dad isn't here now. He will fall into the routine soon enough

Hey for thse 'in the know' what are the chances if the family changes their mind and realizes they made a mistake that Liam will be placed back with them?

I must be crazy

seven boys here?? for two weeks though so not that long. Like I was telling the placement coordinator I must be destined to be the mother of boys ;) She did say she "owed me" and we are on the top of the list for a baby.
Frankie said that he hopes this new foster brother gets to be our forever son. Because he would be a lucky boy and we would be happy too together as a family.
My middle son said "Mom you are lucky that I am good at ths big brother thing because it looks like I am going to have to show another one the ropes" haha
DH has a family picninc day for his ship (He is in the Navy) I think he secretly loved saying "me, my wife and seven sons will be there" he did however threaten to buy a Greyhound bus to replace our family car!!!

Extension...........

GRANTED!!!!!!!!!!
Little Boy should be here by tomorrow!!

if anyone

says things in my life move slow they need to be slapped!!!
I got a call this afternoon Little Boy needs a placement. If they can grant an extension for us he will be here TOMORROW!! Things were going to be if we were picked the three foster boys would have laready moved and I would be free and clear to take on more children. But with his current placement ending so abruptly....well things change!
This does NOT mean we are picked to be his adoptive placement. UGH Craziness I tell you

TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are now down to one of two families consdered for little boy!!! I am downright giddy. I have been asked to come in and review his file too :) OMG! Keep those good wishes coming!!!

WOWWOWOW

Well we are on the short list for a little 5 y/o boy. He is darling he has a messed up name.... some people name thier kids odd stuff lol. But he will be placed this month. It is an ADOPTIVE placement :) could I smile any bigger?

I got

Well I ended up getting the dark cherry full over full bunk bed with twin trundle.
I may hae it and have it up before my oldest leaves for summer vacation. If not well..... The youngest will enjoy it ;)
I got a bed rail from freecycle so I will have that for the bottom bed when I put it up. That way the baby won't fall out of the bottom bunk. He is of course too young for the top bunk.

Speaking of summer break... I wonder if I can expand our license for when my oldest s gone durig the summer? Maybe respite care or something?

and

As I am thinking about it more. I am more open to fostering than I was orginally. eh how things chage so darn uickly

Support

tonght I went to my first foster parent support meetng. It happened to be a training that introduced a new program that will begin to be implimented this fall. A foster parent bioparent meeting and possibly a mentor program. This should be interesing if nothing else. It will of course only be done with the sfety of everyone involved in mind. Plus this meeting is included in my continued foster parent training hours! Bonus!

We all had to go around intrducing ourselves. I was the second one up to the plate. I stated my name and that I have been fostering for about 45 days and I have 6 boys at home. Would you believe I got a huge round of applause?!?!?! Both for being a foster mom and beng new and six boys hahaha

I met our placement coordinator. She has me on her list of 'open homes' for when the boys leave. She said do not expect much of a break unless I needed it (my opportunity to jump in if needed to say "Give me some down time").
I will keep you all up to date on future placements.

In a few weeks we will have 9 beds and 3 kids. Depending on the situation they will allow the twin trundles to be counted as beds. well wait include the toddler bed, crib and co-sleeper heck we are golden with 11 lol :P not that we would EVER fill every bed with a child.


I also enrolled for the free online foster parent training courses. I will knock out my hours before I am due to be relicensed with no problem!