It's Summer, It's HOT

And there is absolutely nothing to blog about.
This is going to be so RANDOM.
It's 120 degrees here. Impossible for the kids to go out and play til 9 pm. Then it's time for bed. The thought of going to the pool makes me want to pass out. The upstairs A/C can't even keep up with the heat, so it's usually 80 upstairs.
I broke a tooth now I have to go in for a crown today. Go MEeee! When I first broke the tooth and went in to have it looked at/crown cast (not to be mixed up with Casting Crowns)I had a bruise on the side of my face that looked like I was in a bar fight. and NO ONE even asked me about the bruise. I find that odd. Maybe why abused woman find it easy to "hide" such things. Nobody wants to mention it. I'd be like "Good Grief, what hap pend to you?"
The Boy's Guene pig died...he didn't care. He now wants a lizard. I don't think so.
Boy #1's transition is coming along. I wasn't so sure in the beginning, but I think this will be a good match.

This is our summer in a nut shell. How's yours?

Jackie Chan ? Bruce Lee ? Karate Kid ?

NOT that he does Karate! It IS Tae Kwon Do.
Just sayin' look at all those belts! And he's only 5.
Jackie consults him on almost all his movies.
A million dollars and five more belts to go, til he's a black belt.
Oh yeah!

A whole lot going on

Some good:
Boy #1 visited with his potential adoptive parent today. He ignored them for 2 hours. However, they seemed very nice, educated & willing. They have gone thru a private agency* to adopt thru &fostercare* I've never heard of that, but I guess it's not impossible. We shall see if &Dfacs& does the right thing with this *transition* (since he has been with us his whole life) vs. how they did things with Boy #2 a few months back. This is a good thing. We chose not to adopt* him for many reasons. so this is a good thing. He needs a home now, while he has no issues.

Some good/bad:
A new baby girl, henceforth called Whiny. Is very "parentified" according to SW*. I guess that means she talks like ummmmmm,grown up *thugs. As in, "I just took a dump in the toilet, you should flush it" or Or refers to her private*
parts in a most vulgar way. And then said "oh hell, I dropped my sippy cup". (and she's just 2)She also accidentally hurts herself and blames it on everybody else, doesn't matter if they're even in the room. It doesn't appear she's ever been told what to do (discipline) And while she talks to you, she does it in a whiny voice, which drives me up a wall. Oh, and her fav-o-rite hobby is tattling. He looked at me mean. That man (my husband) is opening that drawer. Boy#1 is eating his peas first. ALL-DAY-LONG.
Now what was good about this one? oh yes, she kinda keeps Bitsy busy.
So I'm sure I will have lots of blog fodder in the near future. Did I mention BMom* thinks she can run my life from rehab* too?
The Fun never stops at my place. ...No, really, fun passes us by, and just leaves the crazy.

This has the potential to be gross...

OK, here are the facts. I wanted a front load washer and dryer. I wanted them because 1) they look cool with all the buttons and shiny things & 2) I spend half my life doing laundry with all these kids & 3) they do bigger loads and save energy and water. All very good things.
I got my washer. I read in the instructions where it said to keep the door propped open to allow it to dry out,as some water is apt to stand in the drum causing a bad odor. (like mold,mildew,bacteria) double gross.
I have smelled a washer that has the mildew smell and didn't want my bright, shiny washer to smell like that. Not to mention the grossness of having bacteria, etc floating around in your supposedly clean clothes. And if I'm honest I have washed more than my fair share of bugs and snails lately because of the Boy's new hobby. I just don't want bug guts floating around in my washer. I'm a little picky that way.
But another fact is, I didn't know there was actually a product you could use to help clean and prevent residue build-up in my shiny washer.
It's Affresh Washer Cleaner from Whirlpool. You use it monthly. The oxygenated bubbling action tablets penetrates and dissolves unseen residue. It's more effective than cleaning with bleach alone.
I'm so glad to have a product I didn't even know I needed. And trust me I need it.
If you want to read more about the product you can go to:

http://www.affresh.com


While the opinions/snails are my own, I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of affresh and received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Some Vintage D

Want to see what I was like before *DfAcS* made me a bitter,sarcastic,snarky shell of a woman? NO? Who cares. REad it anyway. I used to be funny. LIKE really funny OK!

Thursday, August 16, 2007
I'm so healthy ...and, Oh,so cheap......

In our decision to adopt this boy of ours, we decided maybe this go round we would try to establish some"healthy" eating habits in him (it's too late for us) He's knocking on 2, and just recently had his first taste of sweet tea! Yep, I know, I'm a good mommy. Hey, that is good, you know. My 25 yr old was chugging coke out of a baby bottle at his age. But I've gone to nursing school since then & got ahold of some common sense along the long way.
Anyhow, we decided organic, hormone & antibiotic free milk would be a good start. So start it we did. It's expensive! But hey, the little guy is worth it, that and not having him antibiotic resistant, and having a beard in 5th grade. So I come across this great deal on www.wantnot.net , (go see her if you haven't. She has THE BEST cheap stuff SITE, you've ever seen.) A great deal from Amazon on Horizon organic milk in little sippy boxes, not found in your regular grocery store/walmart. Free shipping and everything. (by the way, one of the pluses is it doesn't have to be refrigerated)So like a good mommy, I go there and buy 2 CASES. (it was a good sale, free shipping and all) So they deliver it yesterday and I so happily put some in the fridge for him and then I'm all like, "DRINK, DRINK LITTLE BOY, IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!" AND HE DOES....alot.
sO I go visit wantnot today as usual, as you never know what good deals she'll have. and there on the screen she's apologizing for the "milk trouble" she'd caused because so many people had ordered. Apparently I am blind & stupid & can't read, because she said there on the box, it said " KEEP AT 80 F OR BELOW".People, I live on the surface of the sun right now! well kinda, it's been 102 for days here. If you don't factor in how hot it got to be in that UPS truck, while he ate his lunch in the air conditioning at Waffle HOuse! So was the Boy's milk clabbered or not??? Of course she said to call Amazon, and all would be well, and I did, and they did.
But now I sit here looking at 2 cases of very expensive milk and my only thought is,"Do you really think it would make him sick if he drank it? THAT is an awful lot of milk to throw out." Besides he drank some last night, before his blind mother knew of the big bold warning on the box.
Dang, I'm cheap.
BUT I DO NOT LET HIM DRINK COKE OUT OF A BABY BOTTLE

Why Does ANYTHING surprise me?

why why why??? do I continue to be surprised at anything that happens when it comes to *fostercare/dfacs*? Am I really that dense? (don't answer that)
At this point, I should not be surprised, should not lift an eyebrow, if a 1 ton giant purple people eater pulled up in a giant pink choo choo train and said aliens were here to pick up a child to take it back to it's mother on the planet EverywomansAgoodMom&drugFree. I should just hand the child to them, shut the door and go about my business.
So why does it surprise me when the anonymous person hired to transport a child to visit their parent, brings the child home from a visit and tells me "dfacs*" is going to start ^transitioning^ said child back to their parent in 4 days??? Should I be surprised? upset? mad? feeling left out of say, an important issue? All the above, except maybe surprised?
Because really, who am I? I am the glorified babysitter. Right? What need have I of these paltry details? Oh, you think I have a life? That some of these details might impact some insignificant plans I may have?
Or maybe I'm just P.O'd that someone who has nothing to do with the care & wellbeing of this child knows more than I do when it comes to knowing what's going on in this case. I mean with all the nonexistant communication that goes on between #SW* & ^fosterparent*
The purple people eater I can take. But dang, it takes 1 minute to send an email. 5 to make a call. I don't get it.

Is It Bad

that I just spent 3 hours trying to talk my nephew out of majoring in *SocialWork* for college?

REALLY !?

Honest to God, they admitted he fell through the cracks. Those have to be some pretty
huge cracks.
Ok. Now what are you going to do about it?
It's only been 2 1/2 YEARS.
So much for your expensive billboards/ads begging for *adoptive* parents*.
AND he's a baby! With ZERO issues.
How do I go back to NOT knowing about this world?

When he grows up

The Boy Wants to be:

A Pirate

A Rock Star (I have no idea where he even heard the word, but I'm sure I've got Disney channel to thank for it)

A Bug Scientist


And a Daddy, just like his Daddy.
I'm only slightly proud

Tylenol Changes All Moms Need To Know

What household with infants and children doesn't have Tylenol in the cabinet?
I know I have more than your average household's number of infants and toddlers at any given time. So I probably have more than few different bottles.
As a nurse I know the importance of using the right dosage/dispensers, ie..don't give children's Tylenol to infants. It has more acetaminophen in it. Needless to say not good for an infant. Never, ever use a a regular "eating" teaspoon/tablespoon to give medicine. But at one point in my life I didn't know some of these things. It can be confusing. Always be careful that any child isn't being "doubled up" on acetaminophen. Some couph syrups have it in them, and then we give Tylenol for fever.
Too much acetaminophen can cause some bad things to happen.
Starting as early as this fall, there will be one concentration of acetaminophen
for single ingredient Tylenol products for infants and children. They will continue to have specially dosed syringes for both infants and Children.

Here is a link to a site with some great information that will come in handy when the new Tylenol comes out.

http://www.tylenol.com/page.jhtml?id=tylenol/children/subfsafety_convenience.inc.





“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Tylenol and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

NO News Is Good News...........right?

Well actually when it comes to #@Dfacs* I guess that's not really true.
and I sit here to type this, I realize there is some news.
(I also realize I wish The Boy hadn't pried the letter I off the computer, it's really a very useful letter)
But in other news.......
Bitsy is still here. Her mother is working her *in-treatment plan. She visits her twice a week. Hopefully this will wake her up,get her off the hard stuff & they will teach her how to parent* sober. We shall see.
Boy #2 who has been here since he was 3 months old, is still in the all too familiar holding pattern/one month it to death til he's 2 1/2 plan. No real rush to find him a home. Which infuriates me to no end. They have no real explanation as to why they are in no big hurry to find him a home.And by the way, there is NO reason not to. This boy is so attached this going to be one huge mess. And really...do you think they care?
Speaking of attached. Remember Boy #1 who went to his *forever# home in December? I begged on bended knee for them to do the ^transition% correctly. And I was just the ignorant foster*parent* (they also didn't listen to the therapist they employed to help)They *transitioned crap-ally,(I just made that a word)as in little to none. Because of his age and time with us, it should have been done alot differently.
I find out he has developed a profound studder. It takes him five minutes to get out a single word and his behaviors have gone through the roof. As in *daycare is barely able to contain him. But I guarantee ##dfcs# does not or will not see that the way they ^transitioned^ has anything to do with it.
When will they realize these are lives, souls, human beings & they are playing *russian roulette with their lives?

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

You like my present?

A little Boy's dream game...DaGeDar

From the makers of Zhu Zhu pets comes DaGeDar !! Here is a sneak peek of what I am sure will be this Christmas' must have toy for boys. The Boy,who is king of anything that's round, was dancing around begging to have these "racing balls". I must admit they look pretty cool. I really like the tiger.
Of course all the begging in the world will not get him the racing balls, AKA DaGeDar. They won't be out until later this summer. I bet you can guess who will be
looking for DaGeDar the rest of the summer.

Diet......I hate diets

I am not a diet person. Once upon a time, I could think about dropping 10 pounds and do it. Well thanks to age and hormones (oh how I hate you) In my mind I'm still 25 & 105 lbs. NOT. At 4"11 there's no room for extra pounds. 5 lbs on me looks like 20. So I've been going to the gym 3 times a week for almost a year and the scale has not budged. Not even 1/2 a pound. So I had to actually think about the way I eat and the fact I can no longer eat like I'm 25. So that you don't think I'm 120 lbs and griping about it, ohhhhhhhh NO. I wish. Remember 4"11 & let's say a little over 150 lbs. Not pretty, not pretty at all. So the husband and I decided to go on the Dukan Diet together. (It's based on high protein intake) I'll save you the details. But there is interesting info on how the body burns protein vs carbs & sugar. I was very sceptical when the book said you could drop 2 lbs on the first day of all protein and up to 10 lbs after 5-7 days on the all protein portion.
Well it happened! Those scales had not moved in 2 years no matter what I'd done. It was 2 lbs the fist day on the diet and after 6 days I had lost 8 lbs and the husband 10 lbs.
We started the first phase without the book, because it wasn't out in the U.S yet. It's a French diet. So just being french means it has to work... right?
I must admit all protein gets a bit tedious, but when you see the scale keep going down, you know it's working.
We started phase 2 of the diet yesterday, which adds veggies. So now we will have have one day all protein, one day protein/veggies. All of these are unlimited all day.So it will be interesting to see how much I can loose in this phase of the diet. I stay in this phase for 110 days. It says I should reach my target weight of 115 by August! Then onto a maintenance phase with more foods added.
I just hope I have the will power for this. Because lets face it, almost all diets work, if you can stick to them.
If you're interested in seeing what this one is all about I found this info in the beginning and used it to get started: http://thedukandiet.info/the-dukan-diet-in-a-nutshell/#more-1313 I found this very helpful and find after getting the book it contains pretty much all the book does, except some recipes.

This is only my opinion. Not paid for or comped. Just wanting to let you in on my misery. Dukan has NO idea who I am or cares. However by the end of this, me and the chicken industry will be on a first name basis.

NO Interpretation Needed... I Think

The setting: A church pew next to 2 older ladies.

The conversation: Did you see Lizzie? She's fell off su-much I almost didn't regognize her. She never was what I'd call fat, she just weighed kinda heavy, you know.

I must admit I had seen Lizzie, and she had fell off quite abit.
As I was sitting there all I could think was, I AM soooo bloggin' this.
If you need this interpreted, too bad. This was pure unadulturated southern and true. There are no other way to put this conversation.

Do you see what I see?

Can you pick out WHICH is the 5 yr old, the 3 1/3 year old and which is the 2 year old?

The Boy

Is a Lego making genius.
I'm not sure how good the pay is over there at the Lego Think Tank. But for what I pay for Lego's, he should be pretty rich early in his career.

Hotter than a Cat on a Tin Roof

Things have been a little sideways here at the house of D.
Once upon a time I was the girl in the office that most women wanted to kill.
I was always cold, even in the summer I wore a sweater to work. I weighed a decent
number on the old scale and ate what I wanted. I had "good hair" and skin. I could remember a conversation that took place 6 months ago. I needed glasses, but HEY, I could see close up.
Well things have changed of late. Or Maybe I've just been in a bad mood for 40 years, I don't know. (name that movie!)
Now I seem to have the pleasure of hot flashes and I sweated (is that a word? spell check says no) for the first time (no lie) a couple of weeks ago. I don't sweat! I'm a southern girl, I don't sweat. Yuk.
Last year I put on, for arguments sake & my vanity let's say "a few pounds". And yes, it did change positions. How can that happen? I don't even want to know. Really I don't.
Good hair? good skin? I don't even remember it. Now I just have an oil slick on top of my head. Too much info? Too bad. Just keepin' it real for those who need to know. Which brings me to my memory. Most days I'm happy I remember to get out of bed and take The Boy to school. I won't tell you how many times my poor boy has gone to school without his snack box. A big no-no in the world of preschool.
And my vision. I can no longer see far away or close up. I think that is technically called Blind!
So this brings me to my original question I forgot to even pose up front.
Am I perimenopausal or have I just been in a bad mood for 40 years?
So I ask my trusty Gyn what I could do to keep from loosing my mind and he suggested hormone replacement when THE time comes. The more I investigated the HRT, the more I did not care for the side effects/upped cancer rate ect.
So I decided to try a natural alternative. Estroven.
I really had no clue what was going on when all the crazy started happening. 'Cause I was kinda young, you know :)
So you can go HERE
and find out some of symptoms/signs of perimenopause & menopause.
And go HERE for some of the different formulas Estroven has for different symptoms.
I've never been sorry I went the natural route vs the HRT. HERE is some more info and stories too if you're interested. And as always you can Like them on facebook for special offers & coupons. http://www.facebook.com/Estroven
Estroven really does help with all the craziness all us women must go through.





“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Estroven and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Stress

STRESS

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience,
raised a glass of water and asked, 'How heavy is this glass of water?

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, The absolute weight doesn't matter.
It depends on how long you try to hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem..
If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.
In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.

He continued,
And that's the way it is with stress management.
If we carry
our burdens all the time, sooner or later,
the burden will become increasingly heavy:
and we won't be able to carry on.

As with the glass of water,
you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again..
When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.
So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down: don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now,
let them down for a moment if you can.

So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while

The Greatest man I ever knew

The world lost a great man on Saturday.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pilotonline/obituary.aspx?n=jack-garrison&pid=149768458&fhid=11492

I had the privilege to know him, to work for him and call him my friend.
That sounds so little. I can't find the words for what he was to me.
He was a great man and wonderful doctor. Rarely shall the twain meet. I have only seen it once in my life.
His wisdom and knowledge were unsurpassed.
He taught me: If I'll lie for you, I'll lie to you.
and that there's another part to Great minds think alike...it is: or fools seldom deviate.
If it weren't for these patients that trust me, I'd be just a man with a piece of paper.
Every person no matter their lot in this world deserves respect. You don't know what they've been through.
People will treat you with respect, if you act like you deserve it.
I have never seen a man who had so much to brag about, be so humble in my life.
He would always say, "Mrs A, I'm the son of pig farmers, if I can do this, anybody can."
And he ALWAYS, but always called his "girls" Mrs. whatever their last name was. He respected us. We loved him. Other than my husband, I can honestly say I have never respected another human being so much.
There were times when I could have spit nails I was so mad at him. Appointments started at 9:00 am, I would be lucky if he got there by 11:00. An older gentleman would come in and say, "I know Jack's not here. I just went by his place and he was still mowing the lawn". And he would sit down and wait. All his patients waited. They knew when it was their turn he would spend an hour with them too, if they needed it. You see, he didn't just treat what they came in for that day. He KNEW them, their family, their jobs, their kids. And what was going on in their lives right then.
We would call Mrs. Garrison to "tell on him". Anything from being way too late to being gruff with us. She say,"now girls, give him a break. He was at the nursing home, at the hospital, had to go to some one's house (yes, he still made house calls til almost the end of his career).I'll talk to him when he gets home." I have no idea if she did "talk" to him, because he never said a word about us calling her and telling on him.
A patient was never,ever turned away because they couldn't pay right then or didn't have their co-pay up front. He would not stand for that.
I think about that every time I go to the Dr and the nice girl asks for my co-pay up front. Jack Garrison would have had somebodies head on a platter for that.
The man had a presence and deep voice that filled up a room. There was never any doubt when he was in the room.
I once called him a butt head! I do believe I may have been the only person who dared say that to his face. It is a fond memory :) He had a bad habit of throwing the days mail at my head every morning (afternoon) when he came into the office. I was always able to catch it. Except once. It hit me right in the head. Before I thought (trust me,BEFORE I thought) I said,"you butt head". He laughed so hard I thought he would choke. It's a laugh I hope I never forget. For many years my Christmas card was signed, Your favorite butt head. I loved that man.
Once after I thought he was particularly mean, I told him the M.D after his name, certainly did not mean medical Dr. It had to be MEAN DR. He made me go in the room of every patient that day and tell them what the M.D meant. He thought it was Hilarius.
Even after my husband received orders away from VA.Beach I could count on a call about every 6 months. Our calls started with "Is this Msssss A." (the Mrs & my last name was drawn waaaaaaay out) And I would say," Is this the meanest Dr in the world? He'd say "yes it is, so I guess we've both got the right people." I love that man. We'd exchange small talk for awhile, mostly family, me crying, because I couldn't find another Dr. like him to work for in the place. And all would be right with the world for a while longer. Last Christmas he called me on Christmas day, it was the best present.
He was also a man with the heart the size of,well, him. He was giant. He had nine kids. 3 home grown & 6 store bought. If you every see me use that terminology, that's pure Dr. Garrison. Blame him.
In our last conversation, he said, "Mrs A I'm proud of what you're doing down there". Meaning foster care & David. I got to tell him that greater men than me had gone on before me to show me the way. He cried. He had just lost his beloved wife Mary of nearly 60 years. He loved her with such devotion. They did not celebrate yearly anniversaries, but if I remember correctly monthly anniversaries. I can't count how many times that man would leave in the middle of the day to go to the card store to get an anniversary card. That my friends, is a great man. I often wondered how many cards she had from so many months of anniversaries.
After he retired I begged him teach at a medical school. I'm sure you already know this, but they don't teach doctors to be good human beings. What he had, I'm not so sure you could teach anyway. Either you got it or you don't. And now the insurance companies would just take it from you anyway. I know there isn't a CPT code for listening and caring.
I have a million Jack Garrison stories, but my eyes are so raw now I can barely keep them open.
I'll have to remember to tell you the billfold story. Right now my eyes & heart can't take anymore.

My Boy Is Growing UP

And I'm NOT very happy about it.
This is much too fast. He's only a baby. Those teeth just came in like...the other day!

If YOU don't know, I certainly don't

The Bmom of Boy #2 who has been with us since he was 3 months old finally called today out of the blue. I haven't heard from her since Christmas. When I had to make her take him for a visit.
Well, today it was as though no time at all had passed since her last visit. She just wanted to pop on over and pick him up for a visit. I told her I didn't think so, there was a court date she had missed and I was unsure how visits were to go.
Since it's supposed to go to TPR* (it's only been 2.5 yrs)I told her to call the S*W.
I called his new S*W to give her a heads up that bmom may call and to be ready.
After I explained to her the conversation I'd just had with mom, she actually said, "I don't know what to do, I'm new at this. I'm going to have to ask someone else and get back with you." I will insert here, that this is the 3nd new s*w he's had in the last 3 months.
Not one of them knows mom's history or even what's supposed to be going on in the case...after 2 1/2 years...Jimenyfriggincricket !

Better You Than Me

I called Boy #1 new mommy & daddy tonight because The Boy had been asking to see and play with Boy #1. When they answered the phone I could tell it may have been a little hectic around there, so I said I'd call later. New mom said "oh no, now is fine. I'm just putting together a crib, we just got a call for a 1 yr old and 3 day old sibling." .....and she said it ALL CALM LIKE....like it was no big deal. I'd forgotten when they adopted* Boy #1 they had to change their status to foster* to *adopt, leaving them open for *foster placements.
This was their first *foster placement and she believed them when they told her it was just over night. You see she works full time too. She was sure they would be there tomorrow to pick them up.
Bless Her Heart

Still Processing

I swear I won't beat this horse forever (Ali this means I promise not to talk about Orlando forever)
But I had a most interesting conversation with a friend who did not go to Orlando, so I felt it my duty to let her in on what she missed.
As we talked about the Greatness that was Orlando and the Awesomeness of meeting all the women I got to meet and what each and everyone of them brought to the table and or pool.
She said a most interesting thing.........If *DFACS* found out about what I or we had done they would have fits seven different ways from Sunday, and a couple not seen on a Saturday. (realizing that not all of the ladies were foster parents)But the ones who were..........goodlordhavemercy.........
They would NOT realize the therapy value or any kind of value in having something like I just experienced. It gave us hope,guidance,wisdom,love,how-to,how-not to, a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, understanding & no condemnation, and did I mention hope?
A coniption fit (from *dfacs*) to end them all would take place in every corner of the US. What my friend said was very true. This kind of thing would not be tolerated. God only knows what would happen if this kind of thing was allowed to go on!
They should be paying us to do this kind of thing, not a witch hunt* for those trying to just make it one more day.

Memory dump ........

Not because I will ever forget these women.
But because I don't want to forget the details.
I had the privilege to meet the most awesome women I have ever known. And I have known some pretty incredible,strong woman in my life time.

Where do I even start? I will pose the question that one of these women posed in the van from the airport on the way to our Amazing house: What mother in their right mind would ever allow their children to meet someone on line, (some of us have "known" each other for years thru our blogs)but still. Fly from all over the U.S and Canada to a place some have never been to and stay with complete stranger, in a house for 4 days? Many of us, dare I say most of us stepped out of our comfort zone. WAyyyyy out of our comfort zone, to be with other mothers just like ourselves.
Because you just don't find support for what we do in our daily lives in your next door neighbor.
Some things I never want to forget is:
A hot tub is a very therapeutic place
*10 were at the house where I stayed, but there were around 70 total!!
When there's 10 women in a house, dinner is cooked, cleaned up and messes are minimal.
No one notices or cares when you walk around in your jammies with no bra.
or your cellulite.
It is really work to understand what a ska ma-shal is saying to you. They have a language of their own, as well as being funny, & they give good advice when you can understand them...she can't help it, bless her heart.
I am sorely tempted to move to TX, so The Boy will have the most awesome 4th grade teacher, I've ever known. She Sooo came up with the best blog title I've heard of.
A local mom that I wish was my neighbor. A kinder, gentler heart I have never met.
A little CanadaGirl, who stole my heart with her knowledge & sweetness I will never forget. From this day foreword I never see a napkin again without a secret smile.
2 women from "a far off,snowy place" who are strong, who put their effort where their mouths are. I couldn't even comprehend raising the children one of them does and then dealing with the "work" part of their lives. Strong women.
The kinda close-by me-Mom that I've "known" for awhile- strong, beautiful,funny, wonderful and why can't she live closer?
The mom who is a Flower ;) lovely,graceful,wise,funny. Oh, why can't they live right in my neighborhood.
The musical instrument--full of wisdom and beauty, but will fight for everything her child needs...really fight.
Sitting and doing nothing is Therapy...good therapy.
Talking into the night about your story, their story, without judgement, without gasps, or "are you crazy" looks, are worth more than all the therapy I could afford. It is cleansing, it is.....more, more,more than I can put on paper.
It is truly something you have to experience to KNOW.
I will never forget this weekend or these incredible women I got to know.

You know you're a Foster*Parent

When you're doing something as mundane as watching the news and know it's only a matter of time before your phone will ring.
(It took an hour and a half)
Some days I wish I could go back to not knowing about this parallel universe we now live in.

We Sit We wait...the usual

After a FTM*familyteameeting, I found out more about the Bitsy situation.
Really, the bottom line is the Same Ole Stuff, different cast of characters.
Drugs/poverty/ignorance/pure old de nastiness & them seeing nothing wrong with any of it.
( I know I'm a little blunt at times, but it gets the point across)
Greatgrandma was there & upset that no one directed questions her way. She didn't seem to understand this was about mama getting baby back and all that entails. I guess she thought it would be about her getting the girl.
Bottom line...lots of work to do on everyone's part and Bitsy will be here til that happens and always that's anybody's guess.
Bitsy is super intelligent given her circumstances and loves going to daycare which is a learning center. Hopefully this will give a little boost in the right direction.
I'm sure there will be more Bitsy stories to come.

She Came in the Usual Way

You know..the call that comes at 2:00 in the morning.
(Why these people can't do their drugs&other-elicit-activities during business hours is beyond me)
After many phone calls & one for good measure just to make sure I couldn't come to the police*station to pick her up, she showed up on my door step. Just her, the SW* & a white teddy bear given to her at the station. She of course was dead asleep.And only had the dirty clothes on her back.
After the usual chitchat with the SW*, I find out every member of the family has a felony* wrap sheet except 85 yr oldGreatgrandma!Who wants her and went to the 24*hr court* hearing. Yes, I do believe every effort should be made to keep the kids with family, but 85? I do not want to be raising 3 yr olds when I'm 85...just for the record.
She is adorable and waaaaaaay tiny for her age, and shall henceforth be called BITSY. I put her on a scale because I could not believe a child her age (which is bordering on 3.5)weighed so little. By the way she is 19 lbs and wears 18 months! Can you comprehend it??

More tomorrow on the Bitsy-girl. The Boy is not feeling well. We're on week 2 of this virus-y thing.

Next TIme Try not to think

If you were at a Birthday party this weekend you could have overheard this conversation.
Me,The Boy & new tiny Girl, (that came @ 3:00AM Friday morning) Went to BOy #1's birthday party at his new forever* home. Needless to say no one knew us there other than the adoptive* parents.
We were introduced to a nice older lady in a reasonable manner. "D this is ms. blunder, an old neighbor. Ms. blunder this is D and her son The Boy. D was Boy #1's foster* mother before he came to us." minor chit-chat happened between us. the weather, the nasty virus' going around our neck of the woods, ect. New adoptive* mom came back in and more small talk occurred and then she mentioned that we too had adopted* a son after having raised & have older children like themselves.
Ms.blunder then said, "Oh my, when she said he was your son, I thought she meant "he was really your son, not *adopted"....chirp...chirp...dumb founded/confused look on my face. Had she not been an "older" woman...bless her heart...I would have been a little more snarky with her. All I could muster was,"He really is my son".
Bless her heart...
Up next, how new tiny girl came to us

Mommy questions

The Boy - Where do all these babies come from?

Mommy (professional question answer-er)- *DFAC* honey, now go play.

I'm sure that's what he meant, right? I didn't lie to him,now, did I?

This & That

Boy #1 has been in his adoptive*placement for about a month now. Unfortunately, my prediction of his honeymoon crash was about right on. I said Mid-January...I missed it by a few days. As I told the daycare worker, his personality isn't going to change just because he goes to live with someone else. He has reverted to his old hitting, biting,temper tantrums of yore.
Boy #2 who has been with us for over 2 yrs will hopefully be matched with a family soon. This one is really going to hurt, I think. He came to us at 3 months. We are all he knows. The SW* said she was going to tell Bm she had to come in & sign over her rights this week (this was BM's idea) I hope and pray for a good family for my boy. God knows he deserves it. I hope to God they will do this transition the way it is supposed to be done. We shall see. This time I will have "people" in the meeting who will (in theory) oversee that is done correctly. Again, we will see.
--------------------------------------------------
Now for THE Boy.
While driving home from taekwondo tonight he said, "mommy, I took a bite of an eraser today & it made my tummy not feel good." I said, why did you EAT an eraser?
He said I didn't EAT it, I just took a bite. Ok, well then, don't take any more bites of erasers. He said," That sounds like a good idea". That comes from a boy so picky an eater that eats a total of 4 things. Why on God's green earth would that boy take a bite of an eraser???!! Boys...I'll never understand them.

Girl Noises

The Boy is at the point where he doesn't want to go into public "girl" bathrooms.
Kinda makes it tricky when it's just me and him.
We happened to be at a place today that has "family bathrooms". So I took him in there. After we got in there, he said,"Is this a boy's bathroom?" I told a half lie and said "yes".
Then he said "well, you better not make any gwurl(girl) noises".
I'm not sure what gwurl noises are. So I just stood there.

* SNORT * SnOrT*

You've got to watch this all the way through.




I agree with everything she says.

A Spoiled Nation

It took snow in our little neck of the woods to show me what a spoiled nation we are. Oh, you can say and mean it,but do we really understand the extent of it until we HAVE to experience it?
I've been to and lived in other countries. So I do understand most of the time what a great & grand country we live in. I understand what we have is not free. I watched and lived 18 years while I watched my husband and other great men & women uphold our "right" to be spoiled.
OTHER nations appear to understand that "groceries",produce,milk, eggs, meat, ect,ect do not just materialize in the store. But not our nation.
Yesterday, between the ice melting & then refreezing the husband ventured out for milk, because after 4 days, we really had run out. At the store he found the produce section decimated, no bananas,carrots,
just a few bruised apples. The meat department bare. No beef or chicken. Only some small packs of pork. No orange juice in the coolers. Only the stuff no one drinks,like acia berry according to him.
Bread...gone. Milk...gone. I did get half & half for my coffee.
Today is not looking much better, either. The reason of course is because the transfer trucks are not able to make their deliveries either. But folks don't seem to understand that. On the news, people were blaming the "government"! REALLY? Is this how disconnected we are as to where our food comes from? It seems to me a little common sense goes a long way. Evidently their common sense froze with the roads.
We really do have an entitlement mentality as a nation. It is a frightening glimpse at how accustomed to abundance we are.

Yoomi for Ipad...get it, you - Me ?

Discovery Bay Games has come out with YOOMI, a game that is played with an extra accessory called the Duo. Yoomi is a simple game that can be played by up to six people that are given seven tokens each. It makes your Ipad into a family board game.
The iPad app gives each player a question asking about their choice between two things or activities such as “big bugs” or “small dogs” or “collect coins” or “collect stamps”. After the player puts in her choice under the hidden cover of the round Duo accessory, the other players place their bets on what they think her choice was by placing a token on one of the two trays on top of the Duo. The accessory then drops the tokens of the users that guessed correctly into a “bank”. The first player that gets rid of all their tokens wins.



It says ages 8+, but The Boy had no problems playing along with some prompting.
It's a fun addition to the Ipad, making the Ipad a no so solo adventure.
The best part is the nice people at Mom Select have given me one for YOU too. You can get the free Yoomi App from www.itunes.com/appstore.

*Just leave me a comment on what your favorite App is for your Ipad.
The Boy has more on ours than we do. But boy are they cool!
All comments must be left by Wed 1/12/11 @ noon.

It's snowing again

And this just ain't the norm 'round here.
All I can think of is Snow Cream. It was the biggest treat in the whole world when I was a little girl. It rarely snowed, so we rarely got it. If you're from the south I don't need to say anymore about Snow Cream. You KNOW.
God willing, the creek don't rise & Jesus don't come, I will be making Snow Cream tomorrow!
The Boy (if he'll eat it) will be in for a big treat...me too!

Conversations With A Boy

"Mommy, I've been watching you drive and now I know how to do it. I just need my legs to grow more and then I'll be able to drive."

**I now cover his head with a pillow case, so he can no longer watch me drive. I can't imagine what insurance will be for a teenage boy in 11 years.

**you know that's not true, that would be terrible parenting & cruel. I make him cover his eyes with his hands.

Added @ 10:15pm : he just came in and asked if he could go downstairs and build the Wall of Jerico. When I told him I didn't think the Play room was big enough for the Wall of Jerico, he said he'd only make a little one. It would take less time to march around it ...he wants to see how long it will take for it to fall down. I'm too old for this.

It just doesn't do THIS around here

That is snow, people. On Christmas day. The word around here is that hasn't happened since 1892! IF we get snow it's usually in late Jan. or Feb. and then it gently floats down and promptly melts. Just the way we like it.
With a sick Boy here, this snow did us no snowman making good. Hopefully it will all be gone in a few hours/days.

A Serious Public Service Announcement

How can "they", who ever they may be, do this........

There's a site called Spokeo.com that's a new online, USA phone book w/personalinformation: everything from pics you've posted on FB or web, your approx credit score, home value, income, age, etc. You can remove yourself by first searching for yourself on their site to find the URL of your page, Copy that the URL ,then going back to their home page, Go to the Privacy button on the bottom of their page to remove yourself.

Just what I need, one more way for Bp or crazy people to find me or know my personal stuff.

A New Man in my life

I've waited a few years for this man.
I know this is a bit late for Christmas, but I wanted to show him to you.
I can't bring myself to pack him away with the rest of Christmas. So he will just have to sit out all year long.
The Boy is enamored of him too. He loves to pick him up and just look at him. I do too, truth be told.
I've read Mari's blog for YEARS, OK, 2 or 3 years. She always shows her Husband's beautiful wood carvings and every year I fall in love with one of the Santas.
This year I finally got one. He's a beauty too.
My horrid picture taking pales compared to Mari's beautiful ones. You can click on the heading "A New Man" to see what gorgeous things her husband carves. And you'll find a wonderful blogger too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

This CHILD !

Comes up with some of the craziest things he wants to BE. Not pretend to be. But insists he has to BE whatever it is that comes to his mind.
This week, he had to BE a robot. He even sat down at the table and drew all the "things" he would need to become a robot. Unfortunately for Daddy, he's the one that has to implement these ideas the boy comes up with.
At this VERY moment, he is insisting he NEEDS to be a Tank. A real TANK. I'll post more of these ideas the Boy comes up with as soon as I can find all the pictures of
things that ping around in his brain.

What good does it do?

If you make the kids go to therapy (at tax payers expense)and FP* time/expense, because we are not compensated in anyway for therapy trips.
And only use their recommendations when it suits you?
That's exactly what happened in baby #1 case today.
I'm not even going to go into the hell that happened here on Friday. We'll call
it a total disrespectful breakdown of communications and leave it at that.
But today was a FTM^ where (in theory) they heard the therapist* recommendation on
transition*, then after she hung up from the conference call,told all parties that it was a load of BS, and they would proceed with what they intended to do. REALLY, THEY DID.
IF, big IF, we keep doing this, it will have to be with no emotion as to when, how or if it's in their best interest to be *transitioned. If they will not listen to the therapist's recommendations on *transition. My opinion has got less than a snowball's chance.
I keep asking myself how much worse can it get? Bad question...it always gets worse.

Too Much Thinking can drive you nuts

Cindy's last half of a sentence on her blog here made me stop for 30 minutes contemplating more things than I care to think about.
"What made me think I could make a difference?"
Boy #1 will be leaving tomorrow at 6:00pm. 48 Hours notice after 19 months of a long, hard road, just isn't enough time to process anything. We told him he would be leaving to live with so & so. He looked at me for a minute and said "OK" It's a bad time to be moving a *RAD child. First you'll have the all too wonderful honeymoon & then the all consuming idyllic Christmas. I can see a huge crash coming, ohhhhh mid January? When real life kinda kicks in. For both child & adoptive parent.
I have sat here and thought of Cindy's words for some time. Realistically, what difference have I made in his life or any of the lives of the children I take in and care for? This is not a oh poor me, nobody appreciates what I do moment. The question is real, to the gut, real. I offer a roof,bed, food & a hug and things to play with. Period.
To answer Cindy's question. I honest to God can not think of any difference I have made in their lives. Why do I advocate for these children & not even the policy makers follow their own rules. That my friends is the definition of beating your head against a wall.
So, do I settle for not making a difference in their lives. Parking a kid in my house, no emotions shown (because that is what they want) Or do I continue to beat myself up because I feel I have failed yet another child. I don't know if I can do either. But I also don't know if I can NOT open my house up to a child who needs a roof.
Too many things going through my head tonight. And I still have another one of these transitions to make soon enough...

Why am I surprised?

I was given 48 hours notice that baby #1 would be moved permanently to his new home.
With no regard to what the therapist says, or anything else.
Why this continues to surprise me, baffles me. I guess I always think, this time they'll do it right. And every single time they prove me wrong.
I have yelled the wrong doing from the roof top, so to speak, to no avail. I am now hoarse, no voice left with which to yell. If the ones making the rules, will not follow them...my hands are literally tied.
At the very least I know he's going to a good home.

How do you know...

That you go to McDonalds* too much?
When you pull up to Wal*greens prescription window and the 2 yr old yells, " Wanna Chee-burger!"
I have no idea where these kids get this stuff.

Answers, kinda (Updated)

JWG had some good questions, I thought I'd answer. Since frankly, around here, these things could go a million different ways.
The asked:
How long do you think they will be with you? Are they likely to find adoptive homes soon? How good is the agency involved at the transition process? Are they old enough to understand what is happening? So many questions.

Because the kids have been with me anywhere from their entire lives (25 months) to 18 months and their ages will be taken into consideration. I will make sure that the transition is slow with the one that has been with us his whole life. He will have a very a hard time with all this. We are all he has ever known and will not understand.They will start looking for a placement for this child within our county in the next few days is my guess.
The second child already has a placement in place and has been visiting them on a limited based for a couple months. That will be stepped up in the weeks to come. He will be with his new family in 3-6 six weeks is my guess.
The almost 3 year old "kinda" knows he will be going to live with the people he is visiting with. And it is not a problem for him. He loves them to death. They are wonderful people who love him alot. And it will help that we will still be apart of his life.
The child we've had all his life, well that's another story. He does not nor will not understand what will be happening to him. That is why I will fight for an extended transition for him. He is very attached and will not understand why he is leaving mommy & daddy. And because a family has not been identified as a placement, I can't say if we will be able to continue to be apart of his life.
All complicated & a delicate dance of who's the mommy now, where authority lies.
But I will make sure it works out well in the end. A smooth transition is 80% of my job.

Susan asked: Just wondering why you are not going to adopt the little guy you've had since birth?
Well, the simple answer is "I'm done". As far as we are concerned our family is finished. I don't feel either of these kids were meant to be ours. More practically, we can't afford any more children. My husband is nearing retirement we look foreward to some time when it is just us.(not gonna happen anytime soon since the Boy is only 5) I have been a mama since I was 17. I need a rest. sometimes I must admit I grow weary from all the demands put on me as a mother, a MeMe, wife, employee & foster mother. But God has been known to have a sense of humor. I never thought God would give me a son at age 40. So who knows what He has up his sleeve.

Wow

Mama #2 will voluntarily sign her rights over.
Nothing in this crazy world ever makes sence.
But now I know my boys will have good homes.

one down

One *TPR down...one more to go. Hopefully the judge will be in the same mood on friday.
These babies deserve the very best homes. Mom #1 just walked away, didn't show for court. Friday will be interesting.

Go Figure

Both of the Bmothers for my 2 little ones have dropped off the face of the earth.
One has been "working" her case*plan for 2 yrs and the other 20 months.
*poof* Gone. They could have saved us all alot of grief and done it along time ago. Not to mention they could have been in great adopt!ve homes long ago.
I'll never understand.

Too Cute

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

I used this site last year too.
The Boy loved it! It's free or you can buy a permanent link to it.
They will send you an email with the video link.

FIVE

Now!


Birthday #3

Birthday #1



Totally impossible
There's no way this boy can be 5 years old.
No way he can be this smart and this handsome.
Thank you Rebecca.

last years post: http://blakesmeme.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html

Happy Thanksgiving

Look Mommy

I'm a gross boy!

Episencial

Kinda sounds like a word you should know, but just can't remember.

It's not. It's a new line of organic baby skin care.

From body butter to bubble bath, each affordable product is made with all-natural and organic ingredients, designed to be gentle on young skin. Plus, the super cute recycled packaging features illustrations by Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar).
Beautifully packaged in recycled and sustainable materials which are both phthalate and BPA free.
This line includes a Playful Foaming Wash, Soothing Cream, Better Body Butter, Protective Face Balm and Sunny Sunscreen SPF 35 and a diaper rash cream.
All reports from the moms at the party say they love it. One little girl with eczema says it's the only thing that has made her skin feel better.
I know we sure love it here.

Want to find out more about it; www.episencial.com

Never go to bed

With a potato chip clip in your hair.
It makes for UGLY bed head!
Don't ask how the Boy fell asleep with chip clip in his hair or even how or why it got there....you'd never believe me.

I feel sick, really sick

Things are gonna change around here. Or should I say words.
I follow alot of *foster/adoption* blogs, like alot of you do.
But recently I've noticed they've just went away without explanation.
Tonight while following a few "do you know what happened to.."questions and links, I found the reason most of these blogs just turned the lights out.
They were found by *bfamlies* or *sW* or depts* ect. And deemed "irresponsible" or a danger, ect, ect. Had their kids taken away, license pulled & big law suits filed.
I realized after I followed info on one of the *blogs that not only were they in my *state, but county*.
I have very recently made my share of &Sw* MAD. So I will not push my luck.
I can't say if what they*thefostr*family were doing was right, wrong or otherwise. But what I will say, is I will not make the hunt theydfacs* seem to be on, any easier.
Yes, we have the freedom to speak our minds...never mind, I'm not even going to go there.
I just want to let you know, I know how to spell (some times) & how to use spell checker, but words may look a little funny around here and you will probably have to read between the lines, but you'll get the idea. I've tried to go back and fix the last year's posts because I've gotten pretty lazy with names/initials.
Some of the stories are horrifying. I don't know if this is a new "witch hunt" or not. Because the stories I found were from all over, not just around here.
Have any of your favorite blogs just "went away"?

It's that time of year again

I'm just going to say I'M SORRY & I couldn't help myself. OK?

Who can find a Boy cuter than this?

To counteract the bad...

NO, I'm not proud. Why do you ask?

Someone asked my opinion

But it didn't feel so good to give it.
Both my babies are at the point of *TPR or *reunification.
I knew I had to testify, I just didn't know what day. It turned out to be today.
I was drilled by 4 attys. I answered all the usual yes or no questions. Because, really, they don't want to know my opinion. I just raise the kids. So who am I?
But one atty asked my opinion on whether or not the baby should be returned to his mother or go to the prospective adoptive parent.(the child has been in care almost 2 yrs, long enough for her to get her stuff together) I was floored. In 6 years no one has EVER asked my opinion. I have a good rapore with the bmom, so I knew at that moment I would no longer be her confidant and she would be beyond angry at me. And she would have every right to do so.
But I was under oath. I have never told her I thought the child should be with her. I've told her to fight to the bitter end for her child, never give up. For nothing else than her own peace of mind. She has grown as a person alot in 20 months. But this baby doesn't have time to wait for her to grow up and be a decent parent. He needs a mother now. A home now.
Before I answered I asked the atty, "you are asking for my personal opinion, correct?" they said "yes". So I gave them my personal opinion.
The baby would be better off physically, emotionally, psychologically, ect with the adoptive parents. The look on bmom's face was complete devastation. For that I am very sorry. But she has no place to live, no job, no transportation. She's no closer to working a caseplan* than the day he came into care. I want even go into her choice of abusive men in her life.
I've always wanted "the powers that be" to HEAR what I have to say in the matter of these babies. Now I have seen the face of the ones that my opinion effects. It doesn't mean I'm sorry for what I believe is best for the babies, because in my book they come first. They loose something no matter what.
I guess what I'm trying to say is as a mother, I can't imagine hearing from somebody that they don't think I'm good enough to raise my own child.
I'm sorry she had to hear me say those things. Even if they are true.
Giving my opinion was more emotionally draining than I ever thought it would be.
I'm glad I'm not a judge.

squeeeeeky clean

Listerine Oral Care and Reach gave us the chance to take the Oral Care Challenge.

You see The Boy had recently decided that brushing his teeth just wasn't for him.
Have you ever tried to pry the mouth open of a child who didn't want their teeth brushed?
It's not pretty. And leads to both of you having a melt down.
Our challenge was to brush, floss and rinse every day, twice a day. I thought "yea, right". But I was desperate. I needed something, anything!
So they sent us cool Reach tooth brushes, a calendar with TEETH STICKERS, floss and rinse.
I had nothing to loose.
When he opened the box and saw the stickers and cool tooth brushes, The Boy wanted to start right then and there. Who knew a box of tooth brushes and some stickers would be all it took to get the kid to brush his teeth?
www.listerine.com or www.AmericasToothfairy.org will give you more information about the challenge.
I can tell you it's one of the best things we've ever done. The Boy can't wait to show you how "squeaky clean" his teeth are after using the cool tooth brush. THANK YOU Listerine & Reach!


“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of LISTERINE and REACH and received products to take the Oral Care Challenge. Mom Central also sent me a Global Giving gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

EDICATE 101

(BAD) EDICATE & MANNERS are one of my pet peeves.
Now I understand not knowing edicate for every single situation you may find yourself in. But come on, follow the lead of the other people around you. Very elementary. Right? Or maybe I'm just anal.
When sitting in a Do Jong (taekwondo school) it is quiet, very quiet, except for the teacher. Who is giving instruction. You know, the thing we PAY him so much to do.
But there is always ONE or maybe two annoying mothers in the do jong that drives me batty. I take a book to read, so as not to kill their offspring who are rude or may accidentally hit my baby.
Today THE LOUD WOMAN who wants you to hear her cell phone conversations almost drove me over the edge. She was talking soooo loud that when I stepped outside I could actually STILL hear her talking. Now I don't know this woman's name.BUT, I can tell you almost anything you want to know about her or her family or the wayward women in the church where she goes. In today's conversation, she was telling her friend Cindy she was not going to be buying her child a Christmas present because it's best to invest in experiences instead of "things". If you're interested she's taking him to his grandmother's house for Christmas, but not telling him til Christmas morning. She thinks he will love it. AND there's a family in the church that is taking their children trick or treating. I think their salvation was called into question a few times and the kids will be warped/possessed for life because of it.
She and her husband aren't getting along very well at the moment either. And homeschooling isn't working out well for her, but she's got to keep it up anyway.
There is a time and place for everything. If you talk really loud or wear your shoes on the taekwondo mat.
I will blog about how ignorant you are. I'm not paying all this money to listen to you talk at the top of your voice, while your rude children are keeping my boy from learning.
OK, rant over. Not like they'll ever see this. But I feel so much better :)

Teenagers...

I did respite for a teenager for 5 days, weeks, months? No really it was 5 days, but I tell you it seemed like weeks.
I've never had teenagers before (other than my own) ummmmmm, can I just say these teens have more issues than I care to deal with.
I don't think I'll be doing this again.
Bless those of you who do teen foster care. You are much braver than me.

Water, Water or Water

It seems pretty simple. Water is water is water
Not if you live in my neck of the woods. Our county water is NASTY.
I do not drink tap water or let the kids drink the tap water.
I'm so tired of trying to lug huge cases of bottles water into a buggy (cart, if you must)
lug it into the car, out of the car into the house. Then continue to pick the bottles off the floor 20 times a day because they are the baby's favorite play thing. Plus, all those bottles HAVE to junk up the land fills. I don't need that on my conscience too. I've often thought of getting a water filter system...forget it, I'd have to sell a kid.But I have been given the next best thing. A Water filtration pitcher from 3M.
filtering five times faster than traditional pitcher filters, the Filtrete Water Pitcher offers better tasting water in a matter of seconds. I don't have to stand there and stare at it for 45 minutes while it filters. Also, the filter lasts longer, filtering two and half times more water than traditional pitcher filters and lasting about three months. It filters 100 gals. of water on one filter!
I love this new pitcher filter. It makes the water better and drinkable.
you can find out more about them here:

http://www.filtrete.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/FiltreteUS/Filtrete/Resources/Clear-advantages/




“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Filtrete and received the water pitcher to facilitate my candid review. .”

I love the mountains

This one is just for Kellie, we found another cool mustache quarter machine.

Toy Story 3 ON ICE

Disney was kind enough to send us to Toy Story 3 On Ice.
And somebody had a good time.



Or was it these guys who had the better time?



They even had the cutest crafts ever to make. Mr Potato Head, made out of a real potato!



If you happen to be in the *Atl*nt* area and want to see one cute show, take a look here for the info.
Ticket Prices: Tickets start at $14 ($14, $22, $30, $35, $50 VIP and $75 Rinkside)Order at www.ticketmaster.com http://www.ticketmaster.com
or charge by phone, 800-745-3000
Show Times: Wed., Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.Thurs., Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m.Fri., Oct. 15, 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.Sat., Oct. 16, 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.Sun., Oct. 17, noon and 4 p.m.* *

Green Works Walk to School Challenge

The Boy and I decided to take the Walk to School Challenge.
I needed the exercise and The Boy needed a few life lessons. Neither of us were happy the first couple of days.
After the weather started acting like semi-fall instead of August in the south we both were happy.
We found lots of things to talk about. The huge monarch butterflies were a hit every morning. The ant hills made us late several days. Mommy did not help when she started taking plastic bags to dig up wild flowers to bring home and plant.
This was a great challenge and one will take back up in the spring. There's no telling what we will find then.


During the month of October, elementary and middle school students and their families can help their schools win one of five $5,000 grants – simply by walking or bicycling to school. Parents are invited to sign up online for the Walk to School Challenge at www.facebook.com/greenworks, and log their families' walking or bicycling trips on behalf of their school. The five schools with the highest levels of participation will be eligible to win a $5,000 grant. Frequent walkers and bicyclists can also earn individual prizes, ranging from green shoelaces to reusable water bottles.

The Walk to School Challenge comes during a time of increased attention to the sedentary lifestyles of both adults and children throughout America. Walking and bicycling to school provides an easy way for many families to take a step towards more physical activity in their everyday routine and a more natural lifestyle.

So lace up your sneakers and take in the sights and sounds during your walk to school. Make walking fun by counting steps with your child and point out the changing leaves or colorful flowers.


"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox Green Works and received a thank-you gift certificate."

October cool fact

An interesting fact about October 2010:
This October has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays, all in 1 month.
It happens once in 823 years.
Amazing.

For some things there just are no words...

If I blogged about the messed up stuff going on around here in the *#fostercare world... your head would pop off. How do I know this? Because mine has, several times. And tomorrow I'm going to try to make theirs pop off with what I have to say about the whole mess.

My Boy, Lunchables & sensory issues

My Boy is so perfect I rarely talk about the sensory issues he has. These have been
around since he was about 18 months old. He would not eat any foods that had certain textures. NO fruit or vegetable has passed his lips since about the age of 16 months.
No #3 baby foods because there were more than one food in it & the textures of it sent him in tail spends. It actually triggered a gag reflex, so that he would throw it up (TMI?)
We have spent the last 3 1/2 years trying to find foods that would work with the sensory issues he has. For years it's been mac & cheese, yogurt, cheese, milk, then we were able to add chicken nuggets about 2 years ago. Big victory. However they have to have no "crispy edges" or burned marks or specks on them of any kind. Then spaghetti, BUT the sauce can have NO specks of herbs in it. No "stuff" can be seen.He would eat pizza, but no sauce, try telling that to a pizza place, after 15 minutes of explaining,we still got the sauce, wanted or not. ~sigh~
That was the extent of his food eating repertoire.
Until about 6 weeks ago. We were in the Lunchable section when he saw the Pizza Lunchables. He asked if he could have a pizza he could make himself. I'm always up for anything he says he will eat. It usually falls flat, but we try. He picked pepperoni too. I was sceptical. We took them home, he wanted to fix them for his lunch. We had to warm them up, so the textures were more melted together. BUT, BUT,he ate them! All 3 that came in the package.(minus the sauce of course) We could not have been happier.
So needless to say we have a fridge full of pepperoni & plain cheese Lunchables.
This is really a huge step for some kids with sensory issues.
Who would have thought a convenience food/on the go food would help The Boy overcome
or at least help with sensory issues.
Thank you Mr/Mrs. Lunchable. We Love You!

Over the last few years, Lunchables has worked hard to improve their products by reducing overall sodium content, fat and calories by at least 20% throughout their product lines, and adding spring water and fruit to various lunches. Newly available options such as the Chicken and American Sub Sandwich as well as Chicken Strips, along with old favorites like the Deep Dish Cheese Pizza, now come with DOLE Mandarin Oranges. Lunchables provides improved lunch options with 100% white meat chicken, reduced-fat cheese and whole grain bread. And the already easy to go container now has many recyclable parts, making them a more environmentally friendly option.


"I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Lunchables and received the products necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate."