Monthly Archives: February 2012

14 weeks

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Grae is so much fun and oh-so-happy!  He goos, gahs, oohs, and ahhs all the time.  His biggest “achievement” (well, in his eyes anyway) this week is discovering that his thumb is way more fun to suck on than his entire fist.  He is also learning how to play nicely with friends.  It is amazing to watch all eight of the babies interact.  They each have their own personalities that are already very apparent.  Grae is really enjoying the company of three babies specifically, and obviously doesn’t mesh so well with another. (He actually GROWLS, squints his eyes, and becomes agitated at the sight of said baby! Bahaha!)

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Graeson’s lovely BFF

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G and Miss B have bonded.  Miss B cries when Grae has to leave her side to get his diaper changed.  Graeson reaches out for her when they are sitting in the double stroller going for walks.  And you should hear him grunt when he sees her first thing in the morning. They have been best friends since they were in Mommies’ bellies and probably will continue to be friends for life.  🙂 I’m so happy Grae has such a great group of babies to hang out with while I’m at work.

G and B ❤

Nap time 🙂

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HE IS HERE!!

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HE IS HERE!! And, he is adorable beyond words.  For the sake of his privacy, I will be calling the little dude RJ.  He arrived around 4:30, with clothes!  AND, we really got spoiled this time- not only were his clothes NOT covered in lice and who knows what else- they were clean and folded nicely, and he came with a beautifully written letter from his previous foster parents about all the little things that we need to know so we can best care for him.  He seems happy and well adjusted- and full of life and personality.  After introducing him to all of our hairy, feathered, and scaly beasts (and showing him his new room and new toys), we headed to his new school where he will be attending Pre-K.  I wanted to introduce him to his teachers and show him his classroom before dropping him off there tomorrow morning.  He said, “Wow- this looks like FUN!”  I’m sure he’s going to make LOTS of friends in no time.  We then went to the grocery store and I let him pick out a bunch of goodies that he likes to eat.  He got cupcakes and chocolate milk, but also picked out salad, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and chicken breasts.  We came home, made dinner, took a bath, read a bedtime story and then he was OUT LIKE A LIGHT.  He’s  had a big day, who can blame him.

RJ

On a different note, I’d like to point out Mr. Green, the frog stuffed animal, in the picture above. He comes with a short, heart warming story.

It was our very first time being foster parents.  We had completed all of the requirements and classes, and we waited and waited to be contacted about having children placed in our home.  Finally, we were contacted a week before Christmas with three siblings needing a home.  We quickly snatched them up.  Before it had even dawned on us that we would need to do some serious Christmas shopping in an extremely short period of time, two ANGELS from my mom’s work asked if they could “adopt” the children and buy Christmas gifts for them.  The frog was given to our 5 year old boy, and he affectionately named him Mr. Green.  He was the little guy’s best buddy.  He couldn’t sleep without him and he kept all the bad dreams away.  When it was time for that little boy (who was wise beyond his years) to go back to live with his own family, he requested that Mr. Green stay here and keep all of the kids that come to live with us safe and happy. Ever since, we keep Mr. Green sitting on the bed in our guest room, and he is given to the youngest child in the sibling group that comes to live with us, and we retell his story with each new group of children.   THANK YOU SO MUCH CLARE AND ROSLYN- You have impacted so many kid’s lives with your kindness and generosity.

Also, I want to send a BIG THANK YOU out to everyone who left the wonderful, supportive messages.  You all truly inspire me and I cannot tell you just how much you warmed my heart.  I had a smile on my face all day, that just kept growing as I read each and every comment and email.  I needed to be reminded that there are great people out there after my day yesterday… and y’all definitely provided that for me.  Lots of love to you all!! XO

Foster care after Grae

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Graeson is now 3 months old and we have decided that we will continue to foster children in our home.  We are expecting our first “placement” (as the Department of Family and Child Services so affectionately refers to children in foster care) tomorrow afternoon.  I couldn’t be more excited to meet our four year old little boy.

That being said, I’m going to go ahead and get something off my chest.  Upon sharing this great news on Facebook, a very few people… unfortunately both family members and close friends… have made comments along the line of:  “You shouldn’t foster children while you have your own biological children in the home.”

Quite frankly, I couldn’t be more disgusted and disappointed in you.  Furthermore, you should be ashamed of yourselves.  And yes, I spoke with each of the lovely souls that I am referring to directly, but I’m so aggravated by the LACK OF HUMANITY and COMPASSION in this world, I have decided I am not finished RANTING.  So, please bare with me.

First of all- I’ll worry about “the welfare of my biological child”, THANK YOU.  I do not need parenting lessons and I do not want your advice or opinions unless I directly ask for them (which, I will do from time to time if you prove to be worthy of my respect.)

Second of all- Most, if not all, of the foster parents that I know have biological children in their homes.  If we took away all of these great, safe homes for children, what would happen to those poor babies?  Would you rather we regress to ORPHANAGES?!

Third, and most important- THE WELFARE OF OUR BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN? SERIOUSLY?!!!  LIKE WE ARE EXPOSING THEM TO DANGEROUS CRIMINALS??! Excuse me?!  We are talking about CHILDREN!  CHILDREN WHO DESERVE TO LAUGH AND PLAY and experience CHILDHOOD, some for the first time in their lives, as much as any one.

I obviously do not and will not be taking my eyes off of either child, biological or foster- so there will be no fear of either child being hurt… so for those of you who made these comments out of love for Grae, thanks for your concern, but please trust in our parenting and I beg you to educate yourselves and think before you speak.

Graeson (and any future biological children we may have) will learn compassion for others. He will learn to share with those who have nothing. He will know how important it is to volunteer and to help others. AND he will know that the world needs reform and he is the next generation.

Thanks for listening.

**Stepping off my soapbox now**

Our first day back

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Thank you so much for all the emails asking about Graeson’s first day at school and well wishes!  He did great- better than I could have ever hoped for.  He was completely content, and I got to spend about 4 hours of the 7 hour work day with him, showing him off to all of my colleagues. He was quite the hit.   We are both utterly exhausted- Grae’s exhaustion due to all the stimulation today, mine is probably more related to the fact that I didn’t sleep a wink last due to the stress of taking him to daycare.  I don’t know if I’m more proud of him or myself for making it through our first day back without tears.  😉

Pictures soon to come.

Thanks again for your thoughts today.

Love,

Andrea

Letters to Grae

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Dear Grae,

Today is my last day of maternity leave with you and I have so many mixed feelings flying around my head.  I feel guilty and sad that I am going back to work and we won’t be able to spend every single minute together anymore (well, at least for the next 13 weeks, then we have summer vacation to look forward to 🙂 ).  However, deep down, I believe that it is the right decision for both of us.

Someday, when you are grown and raised (and not a minute before), I want us to be real friends.  I want you to know me, the real me, the person I was before I had you, and the person who you have helped me become.  The second I found out I was pregnant with you, I wanted to quit my job and forget all my other interests, so I could devote ALL of my time and attention to you.  Last summer, when you were in my belly, I wanted to do nothing more than sit on the couch and wait to feel my belly move with your precious kicks.  Now, as my maternity leave is coming to an end, I want to do nothing but push the slow motion button, and spend every last second with you in my arms, cuddling in our special spot on the couch.

But, I’ve come to the realization that abandoning everything that makes me who I am is probably not completely healthy.

When you are an adult, I want you to know that I am not just your mom (which is by far the best, most important, proudest part of me), but also a real person. I hope that you will always need your Mommy, but if that’s ALL I am, I would be terrified you might eventually “grow out of” that.  As you grow, I want us to grow together.  I want us to explore each other’s passions, teach each other new things, and support each other while we achieve our dreams.

Today, we are singing lullabies and changing dirty diapers, tomorrow we will be conquering the world.

I love you,

Mommy