Pretty much any adult knows that in the workplace, WHO you work with can make all the difference. Some workers are good at their jobs, some aren’t. Some workers have good attitudes, and some do not. Some are encouraging, some are defeating. And so on. It’s that way in foster care, too. We took the… Read More New kids + new workers = better experience
It has been a long time since I posted, and with good reason. The boys are gone. We almost quit foster parenting. Some types of trauma can not be healed in a family foster home, and that is hard to admit when you are the foster home in question. Some types of trauma do not… Read More Yes, No, Maybe So
One of the preschoolers has hit a phase where he wants to negotiate everything. He wants more, he wants better, when given two choices he wants the unnamed third that exists only in his mind. Completely age appropriate, but of course we’re working on it, especially trying to get him to do his negotiation more… Read More My preschooler’s negotiation skills need work
I realized today just how long it has been since I have spent any time in my backyard – two months. Yep. That’s WAY TOO LONG. But what’s a mother to do? My priorities are just different at the moment. But I still miss it. I miss the smell of the grass. I miss the… Read More I miss my backyard
I used to read all those blog posts about “things you learn when you have boys“, and laugh. I enjoyed them, but surely children who do and say those things are the exception rather than the rule, right? HA! No. Here is my list of things I have actually heard come out of my mouth.… Read More Things I have actually had to say
Sometimes I just don’t know what to do. When a child’s behavior is unacceptable… do I allow natural consequences to happen? Do I assign a punishment for the behavior? Do I write it down to address with the counselor because the behavior is based in past trauma? Do I let it pass without comment because… Read More Foster parenting is complicated
A month ago, I was grieving the loss of one of my foster children. Our foster home was empty. But foster homes rarely stay empty for long! We have two new boys, brothers, both preschoolers. We’ve had them for a couple weeks now, and I have delayed posting about them. Nicknames haven’t come easily for… Read More Internet privacy vs internet support
The first month DC was with us, he couldn’t fall asleep. New place, new crib, new faces, it was all so unfamiliar to him that as soon as he relaxed enough that sleep was possible, all the strangeness rushed in and he’d wake up again, crying. I’d go to him, pat his back if that’s… Read More The end was like the beginning
I have heard this question, in all its forms, so many times. A child whose family can barely put food on the table wonders why she received a hat and scarf from Santa when her schoolmate received a most-coveted Rainbow Loom and dozens of packets of circlets. Another family wonders why Santa skips his house, not understanding… Read More Why does Santa treat different families differently?
I know that children, eventually, grow out of a need to know exactly where their mother is at all times of the day and night. Eventually. But mine aren’t there yet. It’s 3:13 in the morning, and I am just now able to leave their room without one of them shrieking. We don’t do “cry… Read More You have a child – you will never sleep again!
Ranting About Rectangles 