The single life

 

After our weekend long respite I am rethinking this whole parenting thing.  Maybe we aren't cut out to be parents.  Maybe we've enjoyed the single life a little too much.  We both love children, and enjoy being around them. After all we are the most popular Aunt and Uncle in the family.  But at the end of the day we enjoy our quiet time, and our time together.

Going from no children to one child is a huge adjustment. Add in the fact that most foster children have been neglected or abused in some manner it makes things a little nuts!

On Saturday we took the girls shopping, they each picked out an outfit and Pj's, we went to dinner, and then to a fun house for a few hours.  It seemed whatever we did was not enough.  Can we get a ice cream, can I get my nails done, can we do this or that.

I understand that's probably how life has been for them..Get what you can when you can, because you don’t know where your next meal is coming from let alone your next outfit.  It just breaks my heart. 

They don't know how to interact, they don't know how to play they just know how to survive.  It's heart breaking.

When it was time to take them back to their foster home, both girls said that they didn't want to go.  They wanted to stay  here with us.  As soon as we met up with their foster Mother little bit shouted "can we go to their house again."

I think doing respite as our fist placement might have been a bad idea.  It is such a hard adjustment for only a short period of time.

Until next time..

Welcome too..

 

Motherhood!  I was up half the night with Little bit (my nickname for our youngest FK).  She was crying on and off of ear pain, and was running a slight fever. After a few hours of on and off crying, she finally went to sleep!

When she woke this morning she was in a much better mood, and told me that her ear was no longer hurting.  About an hour after being up she was exhausted, and wanted to sleep.  She was tugging at her ear.  Within 20 minutes her fever had shot up again.

I called our worker to inform her of what was going on, and to ask for her insurance information.  I called the urgent care, only to find out they do not accept Medicaid.  My only choice was to sit in the ER.

Four hours later she was diagnosed with a severe ear infection, and bronchitis.  They doped her up with medication, and flipped a switch from within.  She was bouncing off the walls!!

Poor thing has been on and off all day.  Hopefully she will be feeling better by tomorrow as we have a few surprises in store!

Heart Broken

 

We picked up our respite children a few hours ago.  They were full of questions.  What did our house look like.  Did we have a bathroom?  What kind of food did we have? What were our cats names? Do we have our own children.  Do we have a TV? 

The oldest girl plays the Mother roll doing things for her little sister that a Mother would do.  She has a hard time letting go and just being a child.

The little one loves our house, and is ready to move in!!  She was so excited about "her bedroom", and about the cats.

I cannot imagine being in their shoes.  They no nothing about myself of Wayne.  They are sleeping in strange house with strange people, and really have no clue about where they belong. 

I gave them each a stuff animal to sleep with, and hugged them both good night.  I reassured them that I was in the room next door should they need anything in the middle of the night.

I hope they feel safe, and know that no harm will come to them while they are in our care.

Today's the day!

 

Today is the day we get the girls, I am excited but a little nervous as the same time.  There isnt much  I can't handle, but I am scared of the unknown.  There are so many rules, and regulations that must be followed.  Their every move is charted, their injuries must be recorded, as well as any medication.

Phone calls must be monitored, and they can't be out of my sight.

Check back later, to see how we survive our fist night as respite foster parents!

Respite

 

We are providing respite this week from Thursday until Sunday for two girls age 5 yrs, and 10 yrs old.  We are excited about having some little people in the house, and are open to the challenge.  These girls have only been in care for less than a month, so I am sure they are going to have some "issues"  with respite.

Placement

 

Wayne and I have had our foster care license since December of 2008.  We have had a few phone calls which in the end did not pan out.  Our latest phone call for was a three month old baby boy, who was born with a heart condition which required him to be g-tube fed, and breath via  tracheotomy

Below a copy of a post I wrote reading the baby

So it looks like we wont baby, despite the fact that we are more than willing, and able to care for him.  He is from a county six hours away from us.  They are trying to place him closer to accommodate visits with his birth Mother.

So the baby will stay in the hospital where he has been since birth. Unless they find someone in their county or come to their sense, and place him with us.

So his monthly visit with his birth Mom is worth leaving him alone in a hospital without a family. I am all for reunification, with the birth family, but at what cost?

I should have known better, I shouldn't have gotten so excited.

How is it that everyone else I know has 2-3 placements, and I cant even get a little one?  I am not asking for much. I mean this baby has a g-tube, a tracheostomy, and a heart condition.

Maybe I am putting too many emotions into this whole foster care thing, but its upsetting when we get a call.  They give you all this information.  You paint a picture of this little person in your head.  You open up your home,  you get excited, you make a mental list of everything you need

All for nothing..

Foster teens

 

 

University of Phoenix & NFPA - Partners in Education
The University of Phoenix has offered 50 scholarships to foster youth under the banner of the University's First Chance Scholarship program. 
There are only a few of the scholarships still available.
Don't miss out on reaching your educational goals, apply for one of these final scholarships 
TODAY!!!

Read more about the scholarship and download the application to take advantage of this opportunity by CLICKING HERE.

http://nfpaonline.org/content/?page=HOMEPAGE

Our foster care room

 

We have one crib in the room just now which turns into a toddler bed. We have another in the attic incase we get two young children. I love the bedding set!

The child's dresser, and mirror

A shelf to store keep sakes, and a night light below.

There is a table, and chair set for crafting, a big chair for reading books, or snuggling!

From the door way, you can see the crib, chalk board, table and chair set, and a few toys.

From the reading chair, you can see all of the toys.  A little over the top I know. 

Now we just need some wall decor, and a child!!

Foster care

 

I have decided to start a foster care blog separate from our family blog.  My hope is that someone out there maybe inspired by our journey into foster care, and decided to foster themselves.

My husband, and I had only been married two months, when we decided to look into becoming foster parents.  Fostering is something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl.  It took my husband some time to warm up to the idea. 

Below a post from out family blog written in Aug, of 2008.

 

Wayne, and I have decided to pursue becoming foster parents through a local private foster agency called Georgia safe. It is a long process, and it will most likely be 3-6 months before we receive a child.

We have decided to care for a child between the ages of 0-4 yrs old, who may or may not have mild developmental disabilities. We also stated that we would be willing to take a sibling group of two children if they are both under the age of 4.

So far we have filled out over thirty pages of paper work, submitted copies of every important ID, or paper pertaining to our life. Got a few things notarized, full medical physicals, and mailed everything to the agency.

Next weekend we will travel to Albany, GA. Which is just over an hour from Thomasville, to begin our IMPACT training. ( Initial Interest, Mutual Selection, Pre-Service Training, Assessment, Continuing Development, Teamwork)

After our weekend long training session we will submit finger prints so that the agency can run a background check,

Once our background checks come back clear (Wayne you better not have any hidden secretes!!), we will begin the home study process. I have heard that the home study is the hardest part of the process.

They tour your house, and asked details of your entire life. Questions about your parents, how you were raised, your views of discipline, why you want to be a foster parent etc.

Once the home study is complete all of our info is then submitted before a review board, and we are either approved or dined.

There are so many loving children who need a good home, someone to love them, someone to care about them. Someone to show them that they are important.

Can you imagine being five years old and diagnosed with cancer, not receiving the right treatments, because your parents are too high on drugs to notice.

Can you imagine being a baby born to a mother who has no place to live, no food to give you.

Can you imagine being a teenager fending for yourself because your parents are alcoholics, and spend all of the money on alcohol.

Can you imagine living without power,food, clothes, and shelter. That is some of the challenges these poor children are faced with

While I know we can't save the world, it feels good to know we can make a small difference.

I will keep you updated as we venture further into our foster care journey.

We received our license on December 5, 2008.