Fostering The Love In Kansas

So, here is what I have learned from being a foster mom to 2 boys for 2 weeks. 1. Honestly, I need to buy a dairy cow. The amount of milk I am going through is insane. 2. My attention is being pulled in many different directions and it's not just Little Man that is adjusting to this, my poor fat Aspen is struggling too. 3. What once was easy is now much much harder. I can no longer just pick up, with one kid, and go. It takes flow diagrams, bribery, and masters in packing to get these two out the door without me having to turn around because I forgot something. 4. Little Man is adjusting and learning to share....who am I kidding?!?! That's a lie. 5. I have never been more sleep depraved, dirty, and plain physically exhausted....but I am so incredibly fulfilled. Don't even get me started on diapers and why my house smells like poop and pee all the time now.

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...

Several months ago, Little Man was diagnosed with severe ADHD.  It's not a surprise, at all. Lately, his "quirkiness" is coming out.  I think he's feeling safe and can now "become" himself.  Which means, he starts to show his personality.  And I'm concerned. He is extremely high energy.  We all knew that from the beginning but it seems like it's getting almost manic.  He can't slow down fast enough to catch himself before he hurts himself or others, break things, or just generally get in trouble. What I hate is that I'm considering putting him on medication.  His school is working with him to keep him on track but they struggle, daily.  I struggle to keep him from spiraling to the point where he harms himself, me, other or just generally makes bad decisions. But at some point, I have to help him focus and slow down.  We used to take deep breathes (4 of them) and that was something I had hoped he would take on himself and...

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...

Here is what I have learned from being a foster mom for 575 days (roughly 19 months): Boys bring farts, boogers, and indescribable smells. And I wouldn't want it any other way. I've decided I'm a boy mom. I used to shy away from being called a mom because I didn't feel like a true mom. And while that still nags at the back of my mind, I am a mom to this boy who won't stop calling me mom! I don't remember a time where I wasn't thinking about Little Man. His smells (when he's clean he smells like maple syrup), the sound of his laugh, the way he walks, and the way he snuggles with me every morning. I have come to realize that I NEED to be a mother. I cannot be childless in the future. My overprotectiveness of Little Man MAY be a tad overbearing and I need to let him make mistakes. In other words, I need to learn to chill out on these kindergarten girls that think they know my kiddo and can boss him around.

I've been looking forward to this week.  Mostly because I signed Little Man up for camp at our local zoo.  The same zoo we go to almost every weekend in the summer and he's almost on first name basis with most of the staff because he's got some kind of power over people. I'm not sure they are ready for him, though. I mean, he won't be difficult(ish). It's just that he feels things need to be done in a certain timeframe, way, and with a certain attention to detail.  My biggest example is how he likes to tell me how I'm driving the wrong way to our destination like he's driven it a million times. But, I'm also afraid it won't keep his attention long enough and he'll get bored which also equals him getting in trouble.  I know they are prepared for kids and behaviors but I worry. Of course, this morning was like every other morning where I have to bribe, beg, and then finally physically remove him from bed...but the difference was that I ac...

So, I realized that most of my posts have been kind of downers and I don't really talk about the "normal" things...and when I say normal, I guess for me.  Because I've never had kids, nothing is "normal" but I tend to think the days he eats his own boogers and poops on his own are kinda normal. But the thing with Little Man is that while he is chronologically 6, he's closer to 4 mentally and socially.  But I believe he's catching up. So much so that I feel like I'm going through some terrible two's and three's...not to mention fournager years too.  He's sassy, he's opinionated, and he's LOUD. Part of it is because he's socially aware. He sees other kids acting out and saying things and gets bold.  If he had better control of his eyes, he would be constantly rolling them at me. As it is, he briefly shuts them, as though saying "mother, this pains me as to how dense you are"... And don't even get me sta...