I just turned around and my sweet little baby is 6!
She is so tall and grown up and she can do *math*. It doesn’t seem right. I keep begging her to stop growing and stay little, but she refuses.
Love that girl.
Today Might Just Be the Day...
What happens in the daily life of the family.. the drama of foster care, the adventures of parenting, & pictures to share with everyone!
By: Amandacomment
By: Amandacomment
Since the kids went to school this Fall, I have been a “lazy”-SAHM… What else can I call it? I have been staying at home sans kids… I guess I could call it heaven. And I have enjoyed it. I have felt like I had time to breathe. I have been able to shop for groceries *alone*. I have been able to get my house pretty clean and keep it up fairly well. I have cooked more meals.
But, it would be a lie if I said that I was competely content. Every few weeks I would look at jobs or look up career choices–I would even look at classes.
A couple weeks ago, I found a job that sounded like a good fit. So, I called and now I am a working woman. It’s not a “real” job. I will be watching a little guy here three days a week. I am very excited about getting to cuddle a baby and getting paid for it. I won’t be adding much to the household income, but I will be putting a little in the pot.
Did I mention I get to snuggle a baby?!?
By: Amandacomment
By: Amandacomment
So, the Bean lost tooth #3 at school yesterday.
And this morning she dropped major tears. The tooth fairy missed her tooth. That bitch! 😉 Whoops!
Then, after school, somehow kid #3 wound up at home *alone* rather than at running club with the rest of us…
Add those to the fact that I took kid #2 to the dentist yesterday & he had a cavity….
I think they’re taking my name off the “Mom of the Year” ballot.
Sigh.
(Hope you voted!)
By: Amandacomment
By: Amandacomment
By: Amandacomment
Today I pulled out my food processor. I know it was a wedding gift, but I will confess I don’t remember from who. I will also confess it has been since our newly-wed days that I have used it (no shock there, I am not much of a cook).
As I was using it I giggled to myself… I am guessing that whomever gave us the food processor would have never fathomed what I was using it for today–heck, if you told me back then what I would be using it for, I wouldn’t have believed you.
So, what was I doing??
Making laundry detergent…
I made my first batch about a month ago & it was nearly gone, so I whipped up more today.
It’s very easy to make, saves us some cash & I think our clothes still look & smell great.
Here’s what I use:
1 c. Washing soda
1 c. Borax
1 bar of Ivory soap
A few drops of whatever essential oils I have on hand
With the food processor, I just threw it all in there and pulverized it–took me about 5 minutes total.
Next up, I think I will try dishwashing detergent.
By: Amandacomment
My mom always made our costumes.. I always pictured myself doing the same. Then I had kids. How did she find time to sew with us under foot??
Well, now I have more time. For the second time ever, I made a costume for B. She tested it out at the zoo today…
What do you think??
By: Amandacomment
The kids went back to school yesterday (good!). But, I forgot to e-mail their teachers (bad). I was going to let them know about the loss so that they could keep me in the loop if any of the kids had any behaviors that were out of the ordinary. Well, with me forgetting, two of the kids brought it up on their own. Which, I think is a good thing. They seem to be able to talk about it. I think that shows that they’re going through the grieving process.
Through being a foster parent and training the PS-MAPP classes for so long, I learned a lot about grief. The kids that are in the system go through a tremendous amount of loss. They go through loss that is so jarring that many of them cannot recover completely. When you read about kids with attachment disorders, those are the kids who never got back to being a kid. I am grateful for what I learned. I think it makes me a better mom and a better person overall. But, as we’re going through this grieving process, I almost wish I didn’t know. Things have been going o.k. for B and his family. But, I am so incredibly worried about what lies ahead.
I think about the holidays and how they will have sadness attached to them from now on… I know that families go through this every.single.day. But, it still makes me sad for my kiddos. I don’t want them to have to think about who is missing. It’s just not fair (true and bad).
Sigh.
Anyhow, I do see some good. The other day the kids and I went to see D’s therapist and we really focused on Grandpa during the session. Afterwards, the therapist sat down with me one-on-one. She said that the reaction she’s seeing from the kids is typical (good) and that it will take them a long time to process everything. I am just so glad that we have her there as a resource. And I am so thankful for our friends and family who have been thinking/praying about and for us. We are not a religious family, but my theory is that a little bit of extra love is *never* a bad thing.
Please, go and hug on your loved ones just a little bit extra for us today!
By: Amandacomment
The other night we were all out to dinner–the family & a few Aunts & an old family friend. And B was entertaadults the adults. I wish I would have saved the picture she drew to scan. It was basically a circle with 4 lines sticking out from the bottom.
Then, she was having the adults guess what animal she drew. And, ya know, with the lack of detail, it was quite the challenge. So, she started to give clues.
—It starts with a K…
—It has four legs…
The guesses were flying, “Koala? Kangaroo? Kitty?”
We got one more clue, “It is white with black spots.”
Obviously…it was a kow 🙂