So, I would love to say we didn't have to do a thing for our homestudy...but if I did, I would be lying.
Let's just say, my mother instilled a strong belief that your house must look picked up and cleaned whenever ANYONE came over, didn't matter who. You have clothes all over your floor and haven't vacuumed? Then I guess no friends will be coming over tonight. After spending half a day picking up my room...there was still always something that wasn't right. I've inherited this little trait. I don't know if it makes me proud or scared for my kid's future.
Anyway, the husband endured my wrath over the last 5 days and we both survived and now have a decently straightened and cleaned house. The best part...we can enjoy the holiday without thinking about cleaning!
This past Saturday we shampooed the carpets with a fancy rental cleaner and I think we both secretly enjoyed doing that. Sometimes cleaning isn't so bad...but, our dishwasher is broke so sometimes...IT'S HORRIBLE. Let's just say, neither of us care to do dishes.
Note to husband: Please work on dishwasher before first placement.
But, back to the story of getting ready for our homestudy. We swiffered pet hair, vacuumed and shampooed carpets, dusted, cleaned bathrooms with toothbrushes, still worked our 8 and 9 hours in full time jobs, finished laundry, swiffered pet hair again, mopped hardwoods, put away random items that were lying around, dishes, more dishes, made mashed potatoes for 30 people for office Thanksgiving pot luck (actually that wasn't for the homestudy but it meant we had to do more dishes...PLEASE FIX THE DISHWASHER SOON!)
And in between all that cleaning we talked about why we were doing this, what we hoped for and were scared of, and how our lives will change. Some of it my husband would've said was nagging because I really want him to talk in detail about his thoughts and feelings. He was unfortunately unavailable on Tuesday nights for our class and instead was given workbook packets to do...let's just say, he's yet to complete a full packet. But thankfully, he listens when I talk and he, to my surprise, absorbed almost all the details from my summaries of each class. So, I really just want to be sure he's as excited as I am to be doing this.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
I can not believe it!
Actually, I can...because time never seems to slow down and everything always comes and goes so quickly in life. It's not a shock to me anymore but it still makes me sad.
To close the door on this segment of the process is such a sweet sorrow. I have gained knowledge and shared laughs with our class...recently I've been saying that even if I never fostered, I'm 10x more prepared to parent now than I was before.
Tonight is our last class.
I will certainly miss this group, maybe not the late night meetings without food, but definitely what each meeting held- the education, the bond, and the joy. The joy of fostering is now on the horizon and that's the sweet part of all this. To think, by the end of the month, we will be waiting for a placement!
To close the door on this segment of the process is such a sweet sorrow. I have gained knowledge and shared laughs with our class...recently I've been saying that even if I never fostered, I'm 10x more prepared to parent now than I was before.
Tonight is our last class.
I will certainly miss this group, maybe not the late night meetings without food, but definitely what each meeting held- the education, the bond, and the joy. The joy of fostering is now on the horizon and that's the sweet part of all this. To think, by the end of the month, we will be waiting for a placement!
Monday, November 15, 2010
I've got a lot to learn!
It is really hard to buy anything right now - we don't know what age or sex our first child will be but I wanted to shop so bad for some inspiration! I ended up buying a few items that I thought were pretty flexible.
- The sippy cup is mostly for a toddler and because I wanted to be prepared in case a child came hungry/thirsty.
- The Owl toy is in honor of my favorite small business, Laughing Owl Press. www.laughingowlpress.com (you can buy on etsy www.etsy.com/shop/laughingowlpress)
- The blankets were just super cute and I needed some inspiration for color and design for the room.
- And last but not least, the towel was what I was in search of! I knew I wanted a hooded duck towel because what baby girl or boy wouldn't look cute wrapped up as a ducky. I almost returned it and I'll tell you why...
The towel said "full size" and it was all bundled up when I purchased it so I didn't think too much of it until I opened it...I expected this "FULL SIZE" towel(imagine the "full" size towel that I've been using for the past, oh I don't know, 20+ years) to cascade out so when the towel fell out and barely looked larger than a tea towel I immediately checked the package. Shoot, did I get the wrong thing. WHAT?! "Full Size" That's all there is to this towel?
I obviously have a lot to learn about the proportion of little ones!
...now I'm figuring I ought to apply this new lesson on proportion to everything!(Thank God I've gotten this lesson now, imagine how detrimental it could be if I stuck our child down in front of a dinner plate size proportion of chicken and potatoes and made them eat the whole thing?!)
- The sippy cup is mostly for a toddler and because I wanted to be prepared in case a child came hungry/thirsty.
- The Owl toy is in honor of my favorite small business, Laughing Owl Press. www.laughingowlpress.com (you can buy on etsy www.etsy.com/shop/laughingowlpress)
- The blankets were just super cute and I needed some inspiration for color and design for the room.
- And last but not least, the towel was what I was in search of! I knew I wanted a hooded duck towel because what baby girl or boy wouldn't look cute wrapped up as a ducky. I almost returned it and I'll tell you why...
The towel said "full size" and it was all bundled up when I purchased it so I didn't think too much of it until I opened it...I expected this "FULL SIZE" towel(imagine the "full" size towel that I've been using for the past, oh I don't know, 20+ years) to cascade out so when the towel fell out and barely looked larger than a tea towel I immediately checked the package. Shoot, did I get the wrong thing. WHAT?! "Full Size" That's all there is to this towel?
I obviously have a lot to learn about the proportion of little ones!
...now I'm figuring I ought to apply this new lesson on proportion to everything!(Thank God I've gotten this lesson now, imagine how detrimental it could be if I stuck our child down in front of a dinner plate size proportion of chicken and potatoes and made them eat the whole thing?!)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Panel Night
So, skipping a review of last weeks meeting (which I will eventually get back to) I can't wait to explain what panel night was like!
We hosted a panel of 7 people who are actively involved in the foster care system. First, a representative from the court spoke about the legal aspects and the decisions he has to make as a judge (like terminating parental rights). Then they went clockwise around the group- a foster parent of 0-5, a 17 year old child in foster care, her therapeutic foster mother, another foster mother, her adopted child, and a young lady who's mother fostered in their home during her college years.
Thankfully, for our benefit, the experiences were varied. It was inspiring because even given the varied experiences, the sentiment was the same across the board- You go into this for the children, but you end up feeling as blessed, rewarded, and loved by them as they do by you. Each of the three foster parents had a passion for it, you could sense it while they talked.
Each of them had placements that worked and some that didn't. But even given that, there was little negativity or hesitation about doing it. Each of them struggled at times with the birth parent connection because of how it related to the health and well-being of the child.
I got a good sense that the DSS offers more than adequate support and that they're as much cheerleaders for you as advocates for children.
I can honestly say that I can.not.wait. to do this. I have days of hesitation...but they don't relate to whether or not I have a passion for this, my hesitation is simply because we're planning to add children to our lives...and that's a HUGE step.
We hosted a panel of 7 people who are actively involved in the foster care system. First, a representative from the court spoke about the legal aspects and the decisions he has to make as a judge (like terminating parental rights). Then they went clockwise around the group- a foster parent of 0-5, a 17 year old child in foster care, her therapeutic foster mother, another foster mother, her adopted child, and a young lady who's mother fostered in their home during her college years.
Thankfully, for our benefit, the experiences were varied. It was inspiring because even given the varied experiences, the sentiment was the same across the board- You go into this for the children, but you end up feeling as blessed, rewarded, and loved by them as they do by you. Each of the three foster parents had a passion for it, you could sense it while they talked.
Each of them had placements that worked and some that didn't. But even given that, there was little negativity or hesitation about doing it. Each of them struggled at times with the birth parent connection because of how it related to the health and well-being of the child.
I got a good sense that the DSS offers more than adequate support and that they're as much cheerleaders for you as advocates for children.
I can honestly say that I can.not.wait. to do this. I have days of hesitation...but they don't relate to whether or not I have a passion for this, my hesitation is simply because we're planning to add children to our lives...and that's a HUGE step.
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