Oh my gosh!!! I just found out that Munchkin is with friends of mine from foster training! Her new foster mom didn't realize that I was the one who'd had her originally. She's going to start keeping me updated and I even get to see her for her 1st birthday this weekend! You have no idea how relieved I am to know for sure that she's in a great home. :-)
Anyway... I just had to share.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
50-Yard Move & Munchkin Update
I get my keys to the bigger and better apartment today, and I'm so excited! :-) I've got to get in and baby proof tonight and tomorrow. My case manager is probably coming by tomorrow afternoon to do the health inspection (I no longer want to strangle her. I'm over it. :-) and the fire marshall is (hopefully) coming on Monday. I'm going to unpack like a mad woman this weekend so the place will be ready to go for a new placement when one comes up. Fortunately it's not as time-sensitive as it would have been if I'd still had Munchkin. She wouldn't have been allowed to move into the apartment until all of the inspections were completed.
I talked to my case manager yesterday, and Munchkin is doing really well in her new two-parent home. As much as I miss her, it makes me feel a lot better knowing that I made the right decision for her. I'm trying really hard not to let people's comments get to me. They weren't there. They don't know how impossible the situation was for one person to handle alone. I know they mean well when they say they wish I would have stuck it out for the six weeks that she's in the cast. I wish I could have too! But the reality of the situation was that I would have had to take six weeks of unpaid leave from work in order to care for her. We might have been happy to be together, but there are things like food and diapers that we would quickly run out of without an income. We would have been evicted for failure to pay rent too. How happy would she have been then?!? As heart-wrenching as it was to let her go, I know I made the right decision. I hope that people can respect that even if they think I was too hasty to give her up.
As far as the 50-yard move goes... I'm going to start hauling a few things over there tonight. My niece and nephew will be with me all day tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much I'll actually get done. They're 4-years-old. I think they'll be excited to help for a little while, but it's gonna get old fast. I'll put them to work while I can though! I'm not totally against child labor. :-) Maybe I'll wear them out and they'll take a nap in the afternoon so I can get some more work done. (Yeah, right.) The movers come Saturday morning to haul most of my stuff over there, and the cable guy comes Saturday evening. I can't survive without my DVR and the Internet! Besides, I have to be able to wow all of you with my witty sarcasm. :-)
So, it's gonna be a busy long weekend. But the two-story, two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with the enormous patio is going to be soooooo worth it! :-)
I talked to my case manager yesterday, and Munchkin is doing really well in her new two-parent home. As much as I miss her, it makes me feel a lot better knowing that I made the right decision for her. I'm trying really hard not to let people's comments get to me. They weren't there. They don't know how impossible the situation was for one person to handle alone. I know they mean well when they say they wish I would have stuck it out for the six weeks that she's in the cast. I wish I could have too! But the reality of the situation was that I would have had to take six weeks of unpaid leave from work in order to care for her. We might have been happy to be together, but there are things like food and diapers that we would quickly run out of without an income. We would have been evicted for failure to pay rent too. How happy would she have been then?!? As heart-wrenching as it was to let her go, I know I made the right decision. I hope that people can respect that even if they think I was too hasty to give her up.
As far as the 50-yard move goes... I'm going to start hauling a few things over there tonight. My niece and nephew will be with me all day tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much I'll actually get done. They're 4-years-old. I think they'll be excited to help for a little while, but it's gonna get old fast. I'll put them to work while I can though! I'm not totally against child labor. :-) Maybe I'll wear them out and they'll take a nap in the afternoon so I can get some more work done. (Yeah, right.) The movers come Saturday morning to haul most of my stuff over there, and the cable guy comes Saturday evening. I can't survive without my DVR and the Internet! Besides, I have to be able to wow all of you with my witty sarcasm. :-)
So, it's gonna be a busy long weekend. But the two-story, two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with the enormous patio is going to be soooooo worth it! :-)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Most Memorable Childhood Books
I just realized that I haven't done a Journal Jar question in a while. Here's a good one!
"What were some of the most memorable books you read as a child?"
Reading and books have always been a big part of my life. One of my favorite things to do as a child was to lay there every night while my mom read a chapter out of one of the Little House on the Praire books.
As I got older and began spending more time reading on my own, my mom let me have all of her old Trixie Belden books from when she was a girl. Those were the best! I'm dying to track down the complete collection somewhere so I can have it to pass down to my kids.
Then I graduated to the Nancy Drew Case Files. My best friend and I were hooked! She had a huge crush on Ned Nickerson, and I was always amazed at how the seasons seemed to change, but Nancy stayed the same age. :-)
I loved to read! In fact, I would hole up in my room for hours just so I could read a book in one sitting. My parents always used to joke that grounding me or sending me to my room wouldn't be punishment at all. They would threaten to ground me to the living room. :-)
There were quite a few other series that I liked, but Little House, Trixie Belden, and Nancy Drew Case Files were the big ones.
"What were some of the most memorable books you read as a child?"
Reading and books have always been a big part of my life. One of my favorite things to do as a child was to lay there every night while my mom read a chapter out of one of the Little House on the Praire books.
Then I graduated to the Nancy Drew Case Files. My best friend and I were hooked! She had a huge crush on Ned Nickerson, and I was always amazed at how the seasons seemed to change, but Nancy stayed the same age. :-)
I loved to read! In fact, I would hole up in my room for hours just so I could read a book in one sitting. My parents always used to joke that grounding me or sending me to my room wouldn't be punishment at all. They would threaten to ground me to the living room. :-)
There were quite a few other series that I liked, but Little House, Trixie Belden, and Nancy Drew Case Files were the big ones.
Feeling Better
I'm feeling much better today. I had one little meltdown last night when I was taking out the laundry and came across some of Munchkin's clothes, but I'm really doing a lot better. I miss her so much, but I know I did the right thing for her by letting her go to a two parent home.
I could definitely use some more positive foster care stories, so if you have any please send them my way! I'd also really like to get more foster parents' advice if you have any. I think I'm going to start doing "Foster Friday..." where I post a question or fostering topic and have other foster/adopt parents give their advice or relay their experiences. I think it might be a good place for other foster/adopt parents to go to get some help and it might help provide a little insight to non-foster parents as well.
I really do appreciate all of the encouragement! Thank you, everyone, for all of your support!
I could definitely use some more positive foster care stories, so if you have any please send them my way! I'd also really like to get more foster parents' advice if you have any. I think I'm going to start doing "Foster Friday..." where I post a question or fostering topic and have other foster/adopt parents give their advice or relay their experiences. I think it might be a good place for other foster/adopt parents to go to get some help and it might help provide a little insight to non-foster parents as well.
I really do appreciate all of the encouragement! Thank you, everyone, for all of your support!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
What a 1st Experience!
Wow... It's definitely been a crazy week and an INSANE first placement when it comes to fostering. We found a two-parent home for Baby on Sunday, so she's not with me anymore. :-( I have very mixed feelings about it. She was such a good little baby. So happy considering everything that she had to deal with. But she needed to be in a two-parent home. There was no way that a single, working mom could handle the amount of care and attention that she needs right now while she's in that body cast.
I've been super-emotional the past couple of days after having to let her go. I know I did the right thing for her, but I miss her so much already. I'm sad, I'm frustrated by the entire experience and dealings that I've had with my case manager, her case manager, her social worker, the Medicaid people, etc. ...and I'm just about ready to punch the next non-foster parent who tries to offer me advice!
I know people mean well, but really! How can you offer someone advice when you haven't even seen the baby and don't know a thing about the situation!?! I've had people telling me to be patient with her because she's scared, hurting, etc. First of all, I'm not stupid. I expected her to be upset and fussy, but she surprisingly wasn't. She took to me immediately and smiled from the get-go. She was a happy, tough little thing. The only time she ever really cried was at night when she was having really bad stomach pains and from not being able to breathe. The problem had absolutely nothing to do with her. The problem was that she needed more physical care and attention than one person could give her for the next 6 weeks while she was in a body cast! She needed a stay at home mom (not a single mom who has to work full time!).
I've endured comments from people telling me to "tough it out" for the next six weeks. Easy for them to say. They're able to go work (or they don't have to work because they are married and have backup)! They're probably able to sleep too. Poor Baby Girl had bad allergies on top of everything else, and couldn't sleep laying down. I had to sit up with her most of the night while she slept propped up in my arms. I'll bet they haven't been carrying around a baby in a body cast 24-7 either! And now that we found a better placement for her, I get to hear comments from people about how "convenient" it is that I can just "send her back" because she wasn't a "perfect" baby. That's ABSOLUTE CRAP!!! I thought she was a perfect baby! It was the match itself that wasn't good. I honestly think they just wanted to find a placement for her because she was being released from the hospital and it was late at night.
I'm in serious need of good foster care stories! If any of you have any, send them my way! I'm so discouraged by this whole situation, I'm starting to question if it's even something that I want to put myself through.
*** If you happen to be one of the people who tried to offer me advice, please don't take the rant too personally. I know you meant well. It's just been a long, physically and emotionally exhausting week, and unless you've been in a similar situation or actually spent some time with Munchkin and me during the week, I don't think anyone can really understand. For those of you who were there helping me out... THANK YOU!!! I couldn't have managed the week without you! :-) ***
I've been super-emotional the past couple of days after having to let her go. I know I did the right thing for her, but I miss her so much already. I'm sad, I'm frustrated by the entire experience and dealings that I've had with my case manager, her case manager, her social worker, the Medicaid people, etc. ...and I'm just about ready to punch the next non-foster parent who tries to offer me advice!
I know people mean well, but really! How can you offer someone advice when you haven't even seen the baby and don't know a thing about the situation!?! I've had people telling me to be patient with her because she's scared, hurting, etc. First of all, I'm not stupid. I expected her to be upset and fussy, but she surprisingly wasn't. She took to me immediately and smiled from the get-go. She was a happy, tough little thing. The only time she ever really cried was at night when she was having really bad stomach pains and from not being able to breathe. The problem had absolutely nothing to do with her. The problem was that she needed more physical care and attention than one person could give her for the next 6 weeks while she was in a body cast! She needed a stay at home mom (not a single mom who has to work full time!).
I've endured comments from people telling me to "tough it out" for the next six weeks. Easy for them to say. They're able to go work (or they don't have to work because they are married and have backup)! They're probably able to sleep too. Poor Baby Girl had bad allergies on top of everything else, and couldn't sleep laying down. I had to sit up with her most of the night while she slept propped up in my arms. I'll bet they haven't been carrying around a baby in a body cast 24-7 either! And now that we found a better placement for her, I get to hear comments from people about how "convenient" it is that I can just "send her back" because she wasn't a "perfect" baby. That's ABSOLUTE CRAP!!! I thought she was a perfect baby! It was the match itself that wasn't good. I honestly think they just wanted to find a placement for her because she was being released from the hospital and it was late at night.
I'm in serious need of good foster care stories! If any of you have any, send them my way! I'm so discouraged by this whole situation, I'm starting to question if it's even something that I want to put myself through.
*** If you happen to be one of the people who tried to offer me advice, please don't take the rant too personally. I know you meant well. It's just been a long, physically and emotionally exhausting week, and unless you've been in a similar situation or actually spent some time with Munchkin and me during the week, I don't think anyone can really understand. For those of you who were there helping me out... THANK YOU!!! I couldn't have managed the week without you! :-) ***
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