My favorite part

Weekend mornings: baby
Cooing in bed, dog trying
To wrestle and Play

Missy making a
nest of pillows and watching
"shows" on the iPad.

Birthdays & other celebrations

We've been operating on radio silence for the past few weeks here at the blog, not because nothing's going on but rather, the opposite.

I've been overwhelmed by how much we are still actively engaged in getting the kids settled in. Particularly, Miss M.

Just this last week, we:
Met with Baby A's physical therapist
Approved a visit with the kids' Papa
Went school uniform shopping (Kindergarten for Miss M!!)
Went school supply shopping
Bought birthday presents
Ordered cake & sandwiches
Registered Miss M for school
Met her teacher
And scheduled an appointment for M's physiologist to come to the house.

Oh yeah, and spent Thursday morning at the Urgent Care, because both the kiddos have upper respiratory infections.

Which they did not get from me, although I've been sick too. First with strep then with ragweed allergies. And since I was not EVEN aware that baby's cant get strep, we spent 2.5 miserable hours at Urgent Care. (now taking pediatrician referrals, thanksverymuch).

So yeah. Been busy!

Then we had M & I's joint birthday party on Saturday at our neighborhood pool (rescheduled from late July, when I was in the throes of strep). And although we got to swim & had cake & presents & were surrounded by friends, family, etc., I had to laugh when a drought-ending thunderstorm rolled in & broke up the party (but only 30 minutes early)!

Crazy.
Wild.
Thrilling.
Exhausting.
Hilarious.

That's our world with Baby A & Miss M.

~~~~~~~~

We couldn't do it without help & support from our friends & family.

Thank you for all the hand me downs of clothes, of toys, of jumper roos, of pink shoes for a little girl you've never met.

Thank you for the words of wisdom, for the hugs of encouragement, for engaging with the worlds bossiest little girl, for smooching on that baby, & for understanding when I call in sick.

Honestly, these kids have made question my own sanity & reasons for EVER wanting kids of my own...BUT either way, I'm so amazed by this community of church friends, neighbors, in-laws, old college roommates, grad school drinking buddies, longtime friends & virtual strangers that are supporting us in this fosterhood journey.

You are awesome.
(Please don't stop!)

Bath time!

The last few weeks have really not been worth talking about: lots of gross illness, not limited to but including Strep, Hacking, Coughing & Vomiting, randomly assigned to various family members, including me.

I do have a Halloween post upcoming, but just wanted to share a moment if pure joy. They have been few and far between the past few weeks!
~~~~
I tell you what, Baby A sure loves taking a bath.

He loves splashing in the water, grinning at the baby reflected in the spout and tonight he was mesmerized for several minutes by the water slowly dripping from the spout.

So funny. So joyous.

I got caught up in watching him splash & shriek, lost in his cheerful spluttering and squawking.
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Here he is in his Dino towel!

Splashasorus Rex!

The Baby

This baby was supposed to be "really easy, really good". And he is, the majority of the time.

Except for when he's teething. Then he's a jerk who cries for no reason. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, but this week....it made me cry too.. Why? Because I have strep throat. Of course I do!

I actually postponed my 30th Birthday party this Saturday (we won't talk about the day itself), because of said illness. And have spent the past 4 days bemoaning my fate...and glaring at the baby for usurping my position as most pitiful person in the house. Dang baby.

Otherwise, yes, he's great- sweet, goofy, sleeps a lot, eats well, loves to swim and generally charms everyone.
We like him. We're keeping him. And his sister.

Yup. Permanent placement, ho!

Giggles

Uh-oh.

Lady M is growing on me.

I love the silly faces she makes.

I am charmed by her unbidden "thank-you's" for snacks & toys.

I adore her long glossy black hair.

I am amused by her bossiness.

I am impressed with her powers of observation & questions.

And I don't even mind her "sleepy sillies" and incessant giggling during story time, because it's just too cute.

Better enjoy her while I can.

Childcare

I have never had the distinct pleasure that is locating childcare until yesterday.

Lady M & Baby A's daycare faculty was located in Collinsville and after 2 days of driving 25 miles each way for drop-off & pick-up, I had to admit that it'd be a whole whole lot easier to find daycare slightly closer to home.

Unfortunately, because they weren't supposed to stay with us past the weekend, I don't have a DHS childcare co-pay card and no one would take them without one. Called close to 10 different daycares before I found one that a) took both infants & 4 year olds b) had openings for both c) would allow me to "backswipe" the card once Ingot it.

And although I really really hated to take the kids somewhere new, I just couldn't swing the drive (which caused me to be massively late to work on Monday- thank goodness for a understanding boss- hi L!).

But to be honest, as I dropped off the kids this morning, I was a little leery of the joint. There are kids swarming everywhere, the toys are well-worn, sign-in sheets are handwritten. Nothing wrong with any of that, but it's much different from the place they were at in Collinsville (teachers in scrubs, daily feeding/diapering chart for Baby, well lit and airy).

Hmm. We'll see.

I hope I don't have to get on the phones again; finding childcare is a nightmare.

Torn

Many of you no doubt laughed when I proclaimed our new placement "easy".
And the kids ARE pretty easy--Baby A is happy & busy, except for when he's hungry. Lady M is wonderfully lively & chatty, vocal about her likes & dislikes & demands things her way. But she is easy to redirect & frankly, easier than either of The Boys in terms of behavioral issues.

What is not easy about this placement are the circumstances. What was supposed to be a temporary respite visit has, due to health issues, turned into the kids needing a new foster family. And although we agreed to respite care, we felt enormous pressure (mostly from the foster parents, an assumption almost) to take the kids as a permanent placement.

And it's tempting.

And heart-breaking.

But it's not what we signed up for- in terms of some of the kids' issues & their situation (which I obviously can't disclose here).

So, we still have them. And will take them to daycare (in Collinsville), and will read them stories (2, in a rocking chair), go for walks & paint fingernails until their new "Momma & Daddy" can be found.