I take the toddlers to a weekly art class and last week they had a substitute teacher.  They were both pretty apprehensive about entering the room, so I turned my back and started making their name tags.  When I turned around, Grae and Jaydon were sitting in the front row together, listening and holding hands.

Grae and I have our best talks before nap time  and we talk often about the special role of being a big brother. We talk about how big brothers are protectors . We talk about how he will get to look out for his baby sister and hold her hand in new, scary situations.

To know that Grae was there, holding Jaydon’s hand in a big group of kids sets my heart on fire. He’s listening to those whispered conversations we share and he’s acting on it. I couldn’t be more proud.

A little drop of sunshine to brighten your cold, December days. 🙂

Maybe now that we got his pictures taken Mommy can get this child a haircut?  😉

I have a dozen half-finished blog posts sitting in my draft folder right now and haven’t published a single one- they are scattered and boring.

And, I think I know why.

Our life is ANYTHING but boring right now.

Actually, THE MIELKE HOUSE IS CHAOS THESE DAYS!

My every day life has transformed into a huge source of creativity.  I wake up thinking about things I want to accomplish. I go to bed thinking about the next day. It is hard work in the best way and I love it. I’m living and breathing my dream.  I get to spend every day with my children- we are making stuff and going places, and generally having a ball. My science consulting business has hit the ground running and I haven’t even had a chance to come up for air.  18 weeks pregnant, and, we are FOSTERING again!

Two weeks ago, we were blessed with a new little boy to love and cherish while he was in foster care. Little JayJay is two years old.  We picked this angel baby up from the burn unit from an Atlanta Hospital because he has  second and third degree burns from his knees to the bottoms of his feet.  I was instructed how to care for his wounds and change the dressings.  As the nurse unwrapped his legs, I got so dizzy and light headed, I had to hold myself up on his bed.  When the job was done, I walked out of the room and silently sobbed in the hallway.  How do these things happen to babies?  They say he was left unsupervised with a running bath…

But, with very little confidence, we have learned together. We overcame our fears. We have nursed this baby back to health and he’s even walking around our house now! I’ve never felt like I’ve accomplished something so great.

He has proven to be a fighter.  He’s strong. He knows what he wants and how to get it.  He is hilarious and dramatic and smart.  He was set to go back to live with his grandmother tomorrow, but we were told yesterday that this is now very unlikely.  His grandmother asked Dizzle and I to be JayJay’s Godparents.  She said that we are his guardian angels. 😉 How cool. She seems like she loves him to pieces, so we know if he does go home to her, he will be safe.

~   ~   ~

Tomorrow is Halloween! We have a full day of family fun planned, so we better get to bed.

Here’s to yet another scattered, random post. Thanks for hanging with me. 🙂

Most people think twice before asking strangers personal questions.  There is a line that typically isn’t crossed- nobody asks you how much money you make or questions if the man standing next to you is your husband.  But, for some reason, the rules of etiquette don’t seem to apply when it comes to children.

We brought Grae and RJ with us to our OB appointment this morning and we were asking them if they were excited to hear their baby sister or baby brother’s heartbeat for the first time.  The doctor (who was in the room for our entire conversation) turned around and blatently stated, “Well one of these children belong to you.”  Ummm, excuse me?  Did I just hear you correctly?  I was so shocked, I froze dead in my tracks.  Five minutes passed, and another Nurse Practitioner walked in.  Her first comment- I couldn’t make this up if I tried- was to address RJ:  “Well I know where he (Grae) gets his red hair, but WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?” My blood was (and still is) boiling.  The original doctor came back with a third, completely INSENSITIVE, comment that I think I blacked out.

I’ve been asked the million dollar question:  “Are they brothers?” too many times to count.  And, although even that offended me at first, I have perfected the answer:  “Well they aren’t sisters!” I say with a smile and a wink.

End of story.

But, not only were these two healthcare providers ignorant and insensitive, but they were relentless.  THREE COMMENTS- each more hurtful than the time before?

RJ’s spirit deflating before our eyes… four little ears listening intently- I said nothing.  I did nothing. Ian did nothing.  With tears in my eyes…  we did and said NOTHING.

After the appointment, Ian walked back to them to explain their mistake. I’ve called both of them and personally explained how it made him feel and what it did to us as a family.  I informed the office manager of the ignorance of her practitioners.  I’ve ensured that we will not be seeing either of these ladies again for the duration of my pregnancy.  But, is this the world that we live in?  Will RJ have to answer these questions for the rest of his life?  What do we tell him? How do we protect him?  He is as much our son as G… I never want him to question that.

I’m ashamed of myself for not having the perfect (OR ANY COMMENT FOR THAT MATTER) comment to shut them down dead in their tracks and I’m ashamed that people think they have the right to say whatever they want to in regards to a child.

Please don’t get me wrong- I LOVE talking about foster care and adoption-this has been the single most important and meaningful decision of our lives, how could I not want to share it?   I desperately want to help other people that want to bring children into their homes and share their love.  I love answering questions, but I cannot accept hurtful assumptions that make our son question his place in our family.

What should we have done?  How would you have handled this?

Our summer was full of exciting adventures and first time experiences.  As we are looking back, it seems one of us had a few more experiences than the rest.  One day we took a trip to Green Meadows Farm.  During our time there, Buttons the Cow was kind enough to show the boys exactly where the milk we drink every day comes from.  In an attempt to show Liam how warm her milk was, I playfully squirted some on his arm.  Little did we know, this playful squirt turned into a more serious discovery.  Got Milk?

EXHIBIT A

EXHIBIT B

In light of this new evidence, Liam was asked a simple question: Did you taste Button’s milk?

Without missing a beat, Liam coyly batted his eyelashes and said, “No…”

We quickly presented EXHIBIT B.  He immediately stopped batting his eyelashes and just as quickly as he had denied the allegations, he smiled and exclaimed, “IT WAS GOOD!”