Jacob's family day (the anniversary of his adoption) is in about two weeks. He is getting excited. We will be showing his photo montage of his last year and having a family dinner. Uncle Chuck and his girlfriend will be coming which is adding to the excitement. The photo montage is on DVD and the online version (edited to remove foster children) is almost done. I plan to post it around March 14.
Jacob is excited. A couple nights ago he stated, "Mom, I want my family day to be already!" I told him it was only a couple weeks away. He replied, "But I want it now. I want it to be already!" I remember having that same excitement and wishing I had him "already" two years ago as I worked on packing our bags to go meet him. It is hard to believe it has already been two years.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
New Daycare Arrangement and Research Study
While I deal with M's illness, I have some good news. I have been on the waiting list to get M into Jacob's daycare since August. Jacob is in a wonderful daycare with very skilled and caring teachers. He is learning a lot and loves it there (most of the time). I love it because they have a good academic program for the 3-4 year olds as well as educational field trips and fun themes. It is a smaller center where I know all of the teachers and the director. When a problem comes up, everyone is willing to discuss it with me and we work together to come up with a solution.
An example of the quality of care came last night. The daycare center has been chosen to participate in a research study on the effects of a certain reading program with children 2-3 years old. The daycare was one of a handful of centers chosen based on the quality of their educational program. The goal of the study is to increase the children's pre-reading skills and vocabulary.
The director stopped me yesterday to tell me that they finally had a spot for M. He has been first on the list for about 4 months now. He will begin at the new school the second week of March. I was able to transfer his funding today and already sent the paperwork in. I am very excited to have him start in just a couple of weeks.
An example of the quality of care came last night. The daycare center has been chosen to participate in a research study on the effects of a certain reading program with children 2-3 years old. The daycare was one of a handful of centers chosen based on the quality of their educational program. The goal of the study is to increase the children's pre-reading skills and vocabulary.
The director stopped me yesterday to tell me that they finally had a spot for M. He has been first on the list for about 4 months now. He will begin at the new school the second week of March. I was able to transfer his funding today and already sent the paperwork in. I am very excited to have him start in just a couple of weeks.
Illness and Frustration
M is sick again. He seems to get sick a lot. The social workers theorize that he may not have been exposed to a lot of germs before coming to me. For whatever reason, he seems prone to mild illness.
M got sick on Sunday briefly. It appeared to be better Sunday night. Monday morning I received a phone call that he had a fever. I left work early and took him to the doctor. He was diagnosed with another ear infection. I was somewhat relieved since he gets ear infections frequently and usually bounces right back.
M appaered to be better yesterday. He was cranky shortly after taking his medications in the morning but had a good day after that. I gave him another dose before bed and he was awake and sick again a couple hours later. He looked okay again this morning but became ill about two hours after taking the medication again.
Thankfully, my dad is able to take care of M today while I work. I plan to take him to the doctor this afternoon and only use a couple hours of sick leave. The doctors are guessing that he is having a side effect to the medication and will need a different antibiotic.
That is where the frustration comes in. I understand that M is sick. I just wish there was more I could do. I was just starting to make progress on saving up sick leave again. Now I will have to start again. M has taken this medication before without any issues so I don't completely understand why he is having problems now. I am glad that it will be an easy solution and probably not a virus. I just wish he could just feel better. It is hard to see him sick and not know the cause of it.
Hopefully, he will be feeling better tomorrow and this will just be a bad memory. A few extra loads of laundry (I've had to do 3 loads already) and some new medications will fix everything. For today I will just allow myself to be frustrated while feeling sorry for M and trying to make him feel better.
M got sick on Sunday briefly. It appeared to be better Sunday night. Monday morning I received a phone call that he had a fever. I left work early and took him to the doctor. He was diagnosed with another ear infection. I was somewhat relieved since he gets ear infections frequently and usually bounces right back.
M appaered to be better yesterday. He was cranky shortly after taking his medications in the morning but had a good day after that. I gave him another dose before bed and he was awake and sick again a couple hours later. He looked okay again this morning but became ill about two hours after taking the medication again.
Thankfully, my dad is able to take care of M today while I work. I plan to take him to the doctor this afternoon and only use a couple hours of sick leave. The doctors are guessing that he is having a side effect to the medication and will need a different antibiotic.
That is where the frustration comes in. I understand that M is sick. I just wish there was more I could do. I was just starting to make progress on saving up sick leave again. Now I will have to start again. M has taken this medication before without any issues so I don't completely understand why he is having problems now. I am glad that it will be an easy solution and probably not a virus. I just wish he could just feel better. It is hard to see him sick and not know the cause of it.
Hopefully, he will be feeling better tomorrow and this will just be a bad memory. A few extra loads of laundry (I've had to do 3 loads already) and some new medications will fix everything. For today I will just allow myself to be frustrated while feeling sorry for M and trying to make him feel better.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Watching The Circus
Unfortunately, most of my pictures from this weekend include pictures of foster children. Here is one of Jacob and his great friend Grace at the circus. Jacob loves spending time with Grace.
Weekend Recap
E spent the weekend at our house. It was great seeing her and a reminder of how important a stable family is. We all need a family and home we know will always be there for us. Unfortunately, not all children have this. E is one of those kids and I really hope she finds a permanent and loving home soon. It is always hard to say goodbye to her.
The weekend went well. We went to the children's museum (see previous post) on Thursday. Friday we saw the circus with a group of friends. The kids really enjoyed it. E kept asking to go back to the "popcorn show" again. Jacob was a little disappointed there wasn't a lion there this year but he did enjoy the tigers and clowns.
Jacob went to a friend's house for most of the day on Saturday. I took E and M shopping during the day. I found clearance coats for Jacob. They were $13 marked down from $65. They look really warm and had the next two sizes Jacob will need. I was also able to take advantage of some early sales and get some t-shirts and pants for Jacob and M.
I found some markers that only color on special paper for M. He has a very bad habit of hiding markers and coloring on walls, the dishwasher, books, toys and just about everything he can think of when no one is looking. I have even caught him hiding markers in his sleeves and trying to sneak them into his room. Hopefully, the new markers will discourage this since they don't work except on the paper. I hate making a rule he can't color but I really don't have much choice with traditional colors. He will wait patiently until I get distracted and then run to hide the markers. These markers will be much better than just banning coloring all together which is what I have done the past few weeks.
Jacob and E really enjoy going to church school so we went Saturday and Sunday. The kids had a blast. M wasn't feeling well on Sunday so my mom took Jacob and E to McDonald's for lunch. I took M home and put him down for a nap. He woke up feeling much better and back to his normal self. I love how quickly young children can get over mild illnesses.
I lost my cellphone somewhere during the day on Saturday. I searched everywhere and called it several times but it seems to have disappeared. I was able to renew my plan early and got a new pink blackberry pearl yesterday. It is the same phone as I lost but this year's model. It seems to get better reception and has a few new programs I am trying to learn.
Overall, the weekend was a hit. The kids had a great time together and I enjoyed spending time with them. I am anxious to get another foster child but also know it could be awhile. I am trying to work on patience and concentrate on loving the children in my home now.
The weekend went well. We went to the children's museum (see previous post) on Thursday. Friday we saw the circus with a group of friends. The kids really enjoyed it. E kept asking to go back to the "popcorn show" again. Jacob was a little disappointed there wasn't a lion there this year but he did enjoy the tigers and clowns.
Jacob went to a friend's house for most of the day on Saturday. I took E and M shopping during the day. I found clearance coats for Jacob. They were $13 marked down from $65. They look really warm and had the next two sizes Jacob will need. I was also able to take advantage of some early sales and get some t-shirts and pants for Jacob and M.
I found some markers that only color on special paper for M. He has a very bad habit of hiding markers and coloring on walls, the dishwasher, books, toys and just about everything he can think of when no one is looking. I have even caught him hiding markers in his sleeves and trying to sneak them into his room. Hopefully, the new markers will discourage this since they don't work except on the paper. I hate making a rule he can't color but I really don't have much choice with traditional colors. He will wait patiently until I get distracted and then run to hide the markers. These markers will be much better than just banning coloring all together which is what I have done the past few weeks.
Jacob and E really enjoy going to church school so we went Saturday and Sunday. The kids had a blast. M wasn't feeling well on Sunday so my mom took Jacob and E to McDonald's for lunch. I took M home and put him down for a nap. He woke up feeling much better and back to his normal self. I love how quickly young children can get over mild illnesses.
I lost my cellphone somewhere during the day on Saturday. I searched everywhere and called it several times but it seems to have disappeared. I was able to renew my plan early and got a new pink blackberry pearl yesterday. It is the same phone as I lost but this year's model. It seems to get better reception and has a few new programs I am trying to learn.
Overall, the weekend was a hit. The kids had a great time together and I enjoyed spending time with them. I am anxious to get another foster child but also know it could be awhile. I am trying to work on patience and concentrate on loving the children in my home now.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Jacob's Diet
Jacob must be growing again. Here is what he ate yesterday.
Breakfast:
2 1/2 bowls of cereal
Lunch:
1 cheeseburger
1 hamburger
3 chicken nuggets
some salad
milk
Dinner:
baked beans
corn
2 servings of pork loin
Snack at circus:
Most of a container of popcorn
Breakfast:
2 1/2 bowls of cereal
Lunch:
1 cheeseburger
1 hamburger
3 chicken nuggets
some salad
milk
Dinner:
baked beans
corn
2 servings of pork loin
Snack at circus:
Most of a container of popcorn
Looking For Good Books
I recently met a woman who is in her late 70s and fosters difficult children 0-10 years old. She will take the children that other foster homes do not want. Not only will she take them, she takes up to four at a time. I have no idea how she does. I struggle when I just have one child with behavioral issues.
I have been thinking about this woman and the skills she must have that I don't have. I have decided to try to read and educate myself on parenting some of our more difficult children. I just ordered a couple books online but am looking for suggestions. If you have a favorite parenting book, please leave a comment. I would love to add some tools and skills to my parenting tool box for future use.
I would also like some tips on handling difficult children. I am trying to be more positive with the kids. That seems to be working. I also stick to a fairly strict routine while still trying to allow the kids to just be kids. Leave a comment if you have some good parenting tips as well.
I have been thinking about this woman and the skills she must have that I don't have. I have decided to try to read and educate myself on parenting some of our more difficult children. I just ordered a couple books online but am looking for suggestions. If you have a favorite parenting book, please leave a comment. I would love to add some tools and skills to my parenting tool box for future use.
I would also like some tips on handling difficult children. I am trying to be more positive with the kids. That seems to be working. I also stick to a fairly strict routine while still trying to allow the kids to just be kids. Leave a comment if you have some good parenting tips as well.
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