Foster Care-Related Blog Posts

Things were going pretty quietly.. well as quietly as they can be.. for quite some time, until last Wednesday, I was walking the kiddo to the park and got a phone call. OK honestly I wouldn't even have answered it except I thought it was my mom.. boy was I surprised! It was kiddo's social worker, and it was a big surprise. Basically kiddo's mom was going to court the next day to try to get the kids back. The way he told it made it really sound like it was gonna happen by Friday. This purty much made me useless until Thursday night after the court hearing. Is he staying? Is he going?

The Daily Telegraph newspaper in New South Wales, Australia has reported that a gay couple has had the ban on them becoming foster parents overturned and have been awarded $10000 compensation. The story appeared in the Daily Telegraph by Bruce McDougall.

[ More Australian Gay Parenting News available at http://gaydadsaustralia.blogspot.com ]

A GAY couple have won a landmark discrimination case after they were banned from becoming foster parents because they are homosexual.

we all grow up with favorite tales. Here are the one's we want to have in our nursery:

X-Love You Forever by Robert N Munsch
X-Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
x-No No Yes Yes (et al) by Leslie Patricelli
-How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (et al) by Jane Yolen
-Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
-The Cat In The Hat by Dr. Seuss
-The Butter Battle Book (et al) by Dr. Seuss
-Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
-Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr
-The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone
-The Very Hungry Caterpillar (et al) by Eric Carle

Ok, so just proof that I have found the corect partner for me, even if we aren't always perfect...

Laundry Room:

X---Clean
X---organize shelves
----paint OUT.

Kitchen:

go through pantry/fridge
X---make sure everything is fresh and organized.
X---wipe down interiors before replacing food.

go through cupboards
X---make sure lower cupboards all have child latches or "child safe" items (tupperware, plastics)
X---make sure upper cupboards are "organized"

X---clean off top of fridge.

Dining room:

X---Find new home for kareoke player.

Living Room:

X---Clean off Ent. Center
----put remaining christmas items away
X---wire control

Laundry Room:

x---Wash all side items (cr@p that has fallen beside washer/drier and failed to be picked up.)
x---sweep/bleach floor
----organize shelves
----paint OUT.
x---wipe down machines.

Kitchen:

go through pantry/fridge
----make sure everything is fresh and organized.
----wipe down interiors before replacing food.

go through cupboards
----make sure lower cupboards all have child latches or "child safe" items (tupperware, plastics)
----make sure upper cupboards are "organized"

----clean off top of fridge.

x---bleach floors

Dining room:

I can honestly say I haven't written a lot lately because things have finally mellowed out and become "normal" ... at least as normal as things get. Kiddo is finally in daycare, which was the first step towards normalization. At first he didn't like it, he cried a lot when he realized I was leaving him with other people, but I am told about 5 minutes after I left he was ok. They probably bribed him with food, it seems to work well for me ;-)

Well, it's time for "getting ready to get ready..." AKA clean your house your messy F*ckers.

Laundry Room:

x---Wash all side items (cr@p that has fallen beside washer/drier and failed to be picked up.)
x---sweep/bleach floor
----organize shelves
----paint OUT.
x---wipe down machines.

Kitchen:

go through pantry/fridge
----make sure everything is fresh and organized.
----wipe down interiors before replacing food.

go through cupboards
----make sure lower cupboards are have child latches or "child safe" items (tupperware, plastics)

You know what? I love when people make descisions for me. When people DECIDE - without talking to me/us that we are not capable of commiting to 20 ?%$#@ hours a month, justs because we are trying - note that I said trying not DOING - to BECOME foster parents. Yes, that's right, we have started the process to apply to be foster parents for ages three and under, and because of that, we can not be CASAs for children OVER AGE THREE. WHY????

Sigh... I don't know why, I just can't focus on getting pg this month. but if we don't get on it now-ish, we'll miss our opportunity. I guess I just feel tired about all else that's up. We're finishing our CASA (court appointed special advocate) training, and tomorrow we do our "first family meeting" for fostering which is exciting...
I know we really need to get on the ball, but... I dunno.

Well, we have started thinking about a change in plans. it may be better for me to carry. See, DW has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and it may get really bad from the pg hormones - bad enough to hospitalize her while she's pg and a little after :( So... We may wait and I will carry.

So the past week has seen a LOT of change.. all of it good change, a lot of growth from hectic to stabilization. He's had two more family visits, both went "well" as far as I know. Of course I really don't know much, I only see the aftermath, but what I have seen is a few minutes of crying and then he just promptly passes out on the drive home and is back to normal.

The past couple days have been purty good. Probably because they have been a whirlwind of activity, and I tend to be happiest when I am busy. Since I got my boy with nothing but the outfit he was wearing and a couple diapers, we spent the first half of the day shopping. We managed to get a few more outfits, a ton of diapers and baby wipes, and a bunch of age appropriate toys. One of the difficult things about foster care is that you have to be prepared for various ages. I have both a bed for the "big kids" and a crib for the "little kids," but toys I have more or less skimped on.

I got my first call on Tuesday for foster care, after being certified for a year and a half but being on the "do not call" list because I still needed to tie up some personal loose ends - primarily finishing college.