The real deal.

It's done, the paperwork that is....we can now foster children other than family members. This is awesome news! A is coming around more and more; he is still nervous about getting attached to a child that will eventually go home but our SWer told us that she will look out for us as best she can.
I have to tell you all this just b/c I couldn't believe it myself. We got our first call Thursday night. It was about 8:30pm., a placement SWer called (not Stacy) and asked if we could possibly take in a 6 month old Hispanic boy. It took all I had to say no. I had already told Stacy that we would not be ready for a child until our nieces went home. Which should be in the next couple months. Anyhoooo....I said no. How sad, right? I wonder where he is right now. I just know we are not ready, Greyson is only 13 months old and we only have one crib. I was so surprised I honestly could not think straight. As I sit here now and think about it, we could have used G's pack-n-play until we got everything together. But then I think, four kids? Too much for me to handle right now. I know our child is out there somewhere and he/she will find her way to us when the time is right!

New SWer, new info...

Stacy (new foster care SWer) called back yesterday. She was really nice and easy to talk with. She likes my ringback tone...which is "So what" by Pink. She sounds young and fun. She told me that there are a few docs we need to fill out but that is all. She said we could be approved to care for non-family member children in just a couple of weeks.
Then she goes "if you were already approved you could have a baby tomorrow." I was like "hold on"...hehehe! Really though she said that they are always looking for foster families. She asked me if we are interested in a boy or a girl. I really hadn't thought about it. The last I knew A wanted another son. Anyhow, I told her that we would not be ready until after our nieces go home which should be in May, June or July. Hey, the date seems to be getting pushed back all the time but that's another post.
I explained to her that A is very hesitant about all of this b/c of reunification. She said that since we want to foster/adopt, they will look out of us. She said there are only three SWers (including herself) that place children in homes. And she said that they know which children will be reunited with their BP's and which ones will mostly like not be. She also said if we feel uncomfortable with a situation we can always turn it down. I know there are no guarantees (I think of Lisa) but after talking with her I do feel better about it. She explained that very rarely TPR can take place in as little as three month but the average is anywhere from 6 mos. to a year. Oh and she said that totally cost will be about $200, which is for the birth certificate. I'm geeked!!! I'm praying this will eventually work out for us!

So I did it....

I called our SW, B at BCS to find out about possibly becoming foster parents to a child other than our nieces. I can't believe I took this step, I believe when we applied we were only licensed to take care of our nieces. I think B told us that we had to wait 6 months before we could amend our license to include non-family member children.
BTW, our SWer B is no longer working at BCS. This is the second time this has happened, I wonder if this is a trend. Do they have a high turn over rate? About three months after G was placed with us, our Adoption SW quit and we were transitioned to a new guy, C. The new guy C is cool but he is no Ken....Ok, so now that B the SW who helped us become licensed foster parents is no longer with BCS, I had to leave a msg with a new SW, S. We'll see if S calls me tomorrow. I really hope this works out b/c I can't imagine where we will get the money to adopt again. I think I'm ready for number two....if you have any helpful advice please post away!

Crackberry?

I'm so excited! I've been wanting a Blackberry Storm (a.k.a Crackberry) for a few months and I finally got one yesterday. I've been playing with it all night. I'm on my desktop right now but I stayed up until 2am last night trying to figure it. Finally A rolled over and told me to go to bed...hehehehe.
The only downside is that I don't think I can post on this site from it. If there are any Blackberry users and you know how to post to Blogger let me know.




So now, I can access the web whenever....wherever! Probably not a good thing, at least that's according to Andre.

Some of you may wonder how I could afford such a device. Well I put my LG Voyager on e*bay and got $200 for it. Can you believe that? I was surprised! I was also surprised that it sold for the 'buy now' price in about an 1hr. maybe less. So basically I only paid for the accessories...ie, car charger, pink skin and screen protectors.

My Voyager as seen on e*bay ~

So much going on...

I don't know where to start....let's see, T is now playing basketball. She is really good!

T is in the center with gray shorts on....




K just turned 7 yesterday, we had a small party for her. We also bought her a new bike, I'm super excited for all of us to go on bike rides soon.

Here is K with her new dress.



I just went out and bought a few Nikey workout outfits. I am determined to get in shape this spring. I gained about 10-12lbs this winter and trust me it's not in the right places...lol. I know this is a huge goal but I'm shooting for a six pack. I never had one, well unless you count when I was in junior high. I figure why not try to be in the best shape possible since I will never experience weight gain from a pregnancy. There is no reason I should have a one pack...as A calls it. BTW, don't get too mad, he said he loves my one pack...;)
Maybe for motivation I'll post belly shots....argh, ok um no. I'm not that brave. I'll take some now and post them if and when I get my six pack. What do you think? Is that fair????

I have a few new pics of G. He is such a cutie and every time he smiles my heart just melts!!

I'm getting the itch!!!

Where is spring??? I want to go outside so bad! This summer is going to be so much fun now that G is older. I can't wait to see him walk in the sand, grass, go for a swim and even go to the park. Last year he was so little but this year he will know what's going on.

I also think that I'm going to sign us up for swim classes at the Y. Anyone do this, is it helpful? We have a pool in our backyard so I want to be prepared for anything.

I'm excited that I bought a jogging stroller. It was pricey but it looks and feels very sturdy. Now I need to find a jogging mate. I have three friends with children G's age so hopefully someone will be up to it....lol.

Most importantly I forgot to tell you all that we received our Foster Parent License on the 13th. I'm so geeked about that! We can only foster our nieces right now but after 6 months we can foster anyone. I'm really starting to think this may be the route we use to adopt #2.

That's it for now.

Honest Scrap...

I'm a little late but I was tagged (1st time ever) by Eileen. I've been waiting for the right time to do this...


The rules of the award:
1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
2) Show the 7 winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap."
3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

1. I hate that I only had G for three months before my nieces came to live with us.

2. That we spent so much money on IVF.

3. I can never get pg by just having sex or making love (whatever you want to call it).

4. I wish that my little brother was here on earth. I know G would love him!

5. Even though we are raising 3 children right now, I feel like I'm not doing enough.

6. Sometimes I'm such an airhead.

7. I love spending money.

8. I love a great deal but there are definitely times/thing I will spend big money on.

9. I love Andre's body....from head to toe. Yes, he has pretty feet.

10. Sometimes I forget that G is adopted, it makes me wonder if I'm crazy.

I'm tagging these women...thanks for your honesty in sharing your stories and helping me to feel that I'm not alone in this journey:
Mandy, Lisa, Laura, Coleen, Tammy, Jocelyn, Maria