Since our last failed visit, we weren't sure what to do next with the little seven year old boy living in shelter that we wanted to foster parent. "It's time to push him." Kathy, the shelter case manager, told us. I took a deep breath. It was the day after we drove the little boy… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: Batman
How to Homeschool Your Child With Special Needs While You Work From Home. (It Can Be Done!)
Our nine year old has special needs and my husband and I both work full time. We've been homeschooling since March. Here's what we learned. Like many families in the United States, we've been sheltering in place for over four months. My son was on spring break when his school shut down due to the… Continue reading How to Homeschool Your Child With Special Needs While You Work From Home. (It Can Be Done!)
Our Foster Parenting Journey: Another Failed Visit.
Most of the time, foster placements are just dropped off at your house. This wasn't your run of the mill foster placement. The little seven year old boy that was our potential foster placement was currently living at a children's shelter. He was severely traumatized, practically mute, and had special needs. To minimize the additional… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: Another Failed Visit.
Rehoming: Thoughts on Broken Adoptions
Before we get into broken adoptions (when a child is re-homed or placed back in the "system" after being adopted once), I have a standard 2020 disclaimer: It's been a while since I've posted. 'Cause 2020 reasons. You know, end of the world; apocalypse; pandemic; civil rights crisis; murder hornets; wildfires.... So this most recent… Continue reading Rehoming: Thoughts on Broken Adoptions
When Adoption is Your Plan A
When I became a foster and, ultimately, an adoptive parent, something mysterious happened. Rainbows started popping up in the comments section of my posts on social media and in my DMs. With the rainbows, came messages of hope, congratulations and often, solidarity. "We thought of adopting before we finally conceived." "My third IVF just failed.… Continue reading When Adoption is Your Plan A
Our Foster Parenting Journey: Apprehensive
After my panic in the car, we never discussed whether we could parent the quiet boy in the corner, again. It was almost as if it wasn't up for discussion. We could and we would. We were all in and would work to get him as comfortable as possible with the idea of moving him… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: Apprehensive
Tips for foster parents from a caseworker — Child Welfare Mom
As a caseworker, I like to work hand in hand with a foster family. It makes my job easier and provides more support to the child. Yet sometimes I cannot fathom what foster parents do, dont do, say, and/or how they act. So here are some of the things I would like to pass along […]… Continue reading Tips for foster parents from a caseworker — Child Welfare Mom
Our Foster Parenting Journey: “We Can Help This One”
Driving away from the shelter, we sat in silence. I didn't have words. A mild panic rose up from my stomach to my throat as my mind replayed images of the 7 year old boy crashing the small plastic animals together. I thought back to that Oprah episode I watched years ago with the young… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: “We Can Help This One”
Our Foster Parenting Journey: A reluctant dinner guest
Two days after meeting the shy, nearly mute boy in the corner, we returned to the shelter with a large cheese pizza in hand. It was a Monday night and I had left work early to make it to the shelter before they served dinner to the children at 5:30 p.m. The sun was setting… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: A reluctant dinner guest
Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Boy in the Corner
When Saturday rolled around, I was ready. When we met Marcus, I brought board games. But I had been told that this child was developmentally like a 3 or 4 year old. I googled and asked friends of kids that age, "what should I bring to meet a 7 year old who is mentally 3… Continue reading Our Foster Parenting Journey: The Boy in the Corner