Soooo Tired!!!

How can a round, short, cute 2 year old wear me out?? Very easily!!! That baby was so busy this weekend. He is cute as a button, picky eater, tantrum thrower, sweet, lovable little baby. His older brother played with my boys. We have an 8 yr old also. I love doing respite because you can really see the dynamics of your own family with the different ages of the children. I do think my first pick of babies and toddlers is right on. It's important for parents to know their limits, and to give much consideration to their own children. For my children, a younger toddler age child interacts well. A child the same age as my own children creates more adjustment. Could it work? Of course, with time. The 8 yr old we had would adjust fine, but my children would take longer. It's important to stick with your knowledge of your family dynamics. We would respite for these same boys again, they were so fun and really sweet kids. Now where does that leave me this Thanksgiving week??? Crazy, because I didn't do any of my Thanksgiving Day food shopping yet!!! So this week is nuts. But life is crazy anyway, right??

Respite, this weekend???

I don't know what to make of this. Today we had our final visit, our safety audit. Then 1 hour later, my agency lady calls and asks if we will do respite this weekend for an 8yr and 2yr old brothers. Of course we said YES! So different from a few days ago, when I was under the impression that it would be a few more months before we are even licensed. I'm so confused, but happy that we get to do respite. I think that is a great way for our kids to slowly adjust. This weekend we are going to stay indoors (the temps are low), watch movies, eat junk, and play. This is what my kids do on the weekends when it's cold, and it works for us! LOL! My spirits are up.

You have GOT to be Kidding Me!

I knew this road to parenting would be jumping through a lot of 'county' hoops. I was fine with that. We went to our 3 hr long classes 2x a week without complaint. We paid $80 for cpr and first aid certification, without complaint. I answered intrusive questions, subjected my children to questions and judgement by a 'stranger', again without complaint. Now that ALL of our end of the deal is complete, the paperwork is in, and the doctor appointments are all done --the social worker wants to 'claim' her 6 month grace period??? You have GOT to be kidding me!!!! Evidently, the social worker has 6 months from the date of your application (Oct 8, for us) to complete the 'homestudy'. She informed me of this yesterday, why was I not told of this? So I guess it was her way of reminding me that she is in control, not me. She did say that she would anticipate we would be licensed by the first of the year, but isn't promising anything. I really think she will have us licensed as soon as she can, but for her to point out that she has 6 months was putting me in my place (I felt). In my head I'm thinking that it could take several months before we are matched with a child (for foster or adoption). I really want to be licensed ASAP so that we can begin that waiting period. I should've known that I would get really aggravated at the way the system works. We love and take care of our children, and we want more. However, we are independent, and like to do our own thing. We take care of our responsibilities and expect others to do the same. This is where my conflict is going to be. The lack of control. The reminding us that we are not in control here. I must have lots to learn.

Fire Inspection Complete!

I am so relieved, our fire inspection is DONE! We have a safety inspection this Thurs, then that is IT!!!! We will be licensed by December I bet!!! This is a lot of work, not hard but time consuming. Already we have put so much into the foster system with zero reward. Which of course is part of it. We did say 'yes' to drug addicted babies. I was torn with that because my heart said 'yes' before my mind said, "hold on, this is serious". My biggest concern is long term cognitive issues and mental illness. We want to adopt, these children we are going to foster are our future children. So I have major cause for concern over what kinds of problems these babies are going to face in the future. I don't know, I'm trusting God. It's hard to 'checklist' your child. Our own biological children wouldn't pass many people's 'checklist' of a child. We are open, willing, and available. That is what God asks of us. I'm nervous, excited, and hopeful we will have a child soon.

Last Homestudy Visit--Done!

Well. sort of. We had the last visit from the social worker today, and she was unable to do the home safety inspection because we haven't had our fire inspection yet!! What?? She never mentioned one had to be done before the other!! Whateva! No biggie, our fire inspection is next week, she is coming next Thursday. Yippeee!!! Our (neg) TB test will be read tomorrow, and we are DONE!!!! I am so flippin' excited. The other big thing, we will need BEDS for next Thurs!! Should I put a CRIB up??? I don't know, what if we don't get a baby baby? The crib I picked out can convert to toddler....so maybe that will be okay? The baby room is really big, it has a queen bed, and I can easily fit a crib and toddler bed also (it's considered a bonus room). That will give us 3 beds for 3 different age levels. Should I do the crib? Like in good faith that I am going to get a baby??? I just don't want it to sit empty, I would be so sad. Maybe I should just buy it and set it in the room....hmmmm.....don't know what to do.
So after the inspections, then our paperwork goes to an office up north and we can get kids anytime after that!!!! So I'm guessing sometime early Dec....not too far from my Oct prediction (I was just crazy!).