Fostering The Love In Kansas

1,200 days... 28,800 hours... 1,728,000 minutes... That is how long Little Man has been in my life.  And my life has changed in more than 2 million ways. That's 1,200 days that his life has been in my hands and honestly, mine has been in his.  In those 1,200 days here is what I have learned about being a mom. 1. I am no longer calling myself his "foster" mom but rather just mom and that has been the most emotional change in my life.  I see myself as his mom, he is my son. 2.  The amount of times people have told me how much they are amazed of the changes in Little Man in even the last 6 months proves that we are doing something right, even when it's exhausting, repetitive, and doesn't seem to be working. 3. The village needs to get bigger. In order to provide more support to myself, Jay, and to Little Man, I need to ask for more help. I have done a disservice to Little Man and others by sheltering him and others from his differences and because of that...

Here is what I have learned from being a foster mom to TWO kids for 7 days: 1. While sibling rivalry is normal, it is exhausting to have to juggle the time that Little Man needs (and is demanding right now) and helping Mr. T feel comfortable in his new home. I know these two are going to get along wonderfully in the future but right now I have to remind Little Man we can't leave Mr. T at the zoo, he absolutely has to come home with us. 2. I was excited to get a young child  until I remembered diapers. I realized it will be another year of diapers with Mr. T and that's depressing. 3. My house was small with just me and Aspen but manageable. It got a bit smaller with Little Man but still manageable. Got a bit cramped anytime Manfriend came over but tolerable. NOW, with two kids, two dogs, a hedgehog, a tarantula, and manfriend (and kids)....this house is too small. 4. It is so much fun to see Little Man move into a caretaker role with Mr. T. He wants to push the...

Growth is normal in everything.  I know my knowledge grows constantly, along with my waistline and love of salty foods. With Little Man, the growth is hard to measure sometimes.  I see where he has grown physically. Growth is still growth That's 4 inches in 18 months.  So there is growth with him.  I see that physically. What can't be seen physically is the emotional and intellectual growth that I see in him all the time.  No exaggeration, it's daily.  His list of likes and dislikes grows.  His vocabulary is growing.  His attitude is growing. And just when I think we take some steps back in behaviors, he has a day where he opens doors for people, he says Please and Thank You, and he says he loves me every chance he gets.  This, by far, out weighs the days he is loud, out of control, and downright angry.  Those days I don't see the growth. I also know that my love for him grows by leaps and bounds daily.  I...