Giraffe

Moose was a giraffe today for Halloween and oh my goodness, he couldn't have been ANY cuter!!! Truly an adorable outfit we were given last year - little horns and ears...a teeny tiny tail that velcroes on the back - he did amazing in his outfit and didn't mind the hood portion either.  For some pictures, I sat him on a chair which he immediately starting falling over, I'd lean him back to middle then he'd start to fall over again. During one of the fall overs, he spit up and it landed on the ground...good timing lil guy!!! My favorite picture of today has that splat of spit up in the background - you can't really see it unless you know it's there and what it was.   It doesn't even phase me any more when we start walking somewhere and next thing I know, my hand/arm/shirt is decorated with warm white fluid.

Anyways, tomorrow's an assessment so I'm looking forward to what this therapist tells me.

Still haven't heard from the visitation worker to make up the visits before court. Surprised? No.

Super glad Halloween is over - so not my Holiday.
Anyways, loving my giraffe today - had sooooo much amazing snuggling/bonding/smiling/giggling time today!!! Love, love, love "my " boy!!! :)

Catch Up

Thursday = A new Visitation Worker picked up Moose - and get this - she was on time!!! Woot! Woot! Everything went well with his visit.

Friday = We went to a local pumpkin patch and took a ton of adorable pictures w/Moose in a super cute pumpkin sweatshirt.  We then headed to have dinner w/a friend (pizza) then walked to a new gelato place (oh my goodness - so good!)

Saturday = hung out, did chores, delivered cookie dough from a school fundraiser to my Grandma, went to church then the kids went to a big Halloween-themed event at church.

Sunday = a home day for "my" sweet boy who's been in a car seat multiple times a day while Shelby has a "date" with her respite worker and the big boys are going to a friend's football game.

Another Visitation Worker Vent & More

Last night went amazing at the presentation I did for the graduating class of foster parents. I found a volunteer who held Moose while I discussed the 7 blessings we've loved on for the past 2 years. As Moose and I were leaving a woman followed me out into the hallway to talk. She used to be a Social Worker. Now she's about to be a Foster Parent. She wanted to thank me. She could tell I love "my" babies and wanted to thank me for that. What?! OF COURSE I love Moose and my previous babies. How sad is that that I get "thanked" for caring about the foster babies in my care. :(

Today Moose had a visit with biomom scheduled. Visitation Worker was supposed to be over 9:20-9:30.  9:45 rolls around - She is supposed to have 15 minute grace period - and I called and left a message on her voicemail. 10:15 guess who comes strolling up to my front door? No apologies, no nothing. I was floored. A girlfriend had shown up a few minutes earlier and since no call, no show - we were about ready to leave. I asked if Biomom knew the visit's new time. Yes, she had been called. Ummm - ever think about informing me of the change in plans I thought but didn't ask. Anyways, I talked to worker about timing and what time she'd be back.

My girlfriend and I went out to lunch and were shopping at Family Christian Bookstore when my cell rang. It's Visitation Worker. "I'm in front of your house." SAY WHAT???!!!!  Biomom couldn't stay past 12. Did you think about calling me? Letting me know??? (of course I fumed in my head - I didn't say anything out loud.) So, my friend and I left and zipped home as fast as we could.

I asked Visitation Worker to - in the future - please call me when plans get changed.
Goodness gracious.
Lucky me - Moose has another visit tomorrow - I get to deal w/Visitation Worker AGAIN!!! ugh

Presentation

Moose and I are about to head out to talk to a graduating class of foster parents. This is the third time I've been asked to speak but the first time I'll have Moose with me.  I have 7 poster boards - 1 for each foster blessing we've been given the privilege of loving. I'm sure he will have everyone wrapped around his little finger with his adorable smile in no time. Hoping everything goes well since it will be during his bedtime but he took a late nap.

Tomorrow he has his first visit w/Biomom in two weeks.  His Visitation Worker still hasn't called me to set up any make up sessions. We have 3 weeks to make up six hours.

Anyways, off to talk to future foster mommies and daddies :)

Going to trial and lies

Moose's SW actually called me after she received the info from today's court hearing - was ecstatic that I didn't have to try to track her down later this afternoon. Biomom has a trial set for mid-November.

Moose has a referral to Neurology. The neurology dept. accidentally called Biomom. She told the SW about the phone call but wasn't able to give any information (name/phone number/etc.) After the SW visit with me, she had a lengthy conversation with Biomom about the reason for the Neurology referral. In court today, Biomom told the judge she knew nothing about a Neurology appt. Nice.

Moose has been on the crabby side lately. Don't know what's up with that. Today we had a WIC appt and swung by Sam's Club on our way home.  He's been extra spit uppy lately. Steve even told him earlier today that he should be called Mr. Up Chuck since he up chucks all over the place. Not often enough to be a concern but we all know what that particular noise is when he is about to spit up...it's usually when I am carrying him and then there's the lovely splat noise as some of it lands on the floor besides for Moose and I.

Ok, off to prepare for a presentation for tomorrow night. Hopefully my lil side kick will be puke free during the 15 minutes we'll be talking to a group of people ;)

"Doing Life"

We've just been busy "doing life" around here - Thursday and Friday were pretty much home days, Saturday was Shane's last football game and a birthday party for one of Shelby's best friends. He still wakes up early on the weekends. At 6 a.m., he woke up, I went to the crib, he smiled at me then laughed with joy to see me. Love this boy!!! :) Sunday was church. Last week I had warned the nursery workers that Moose sometimes spits up. They had one of his burp rags and put it to good use. Today, one volunteer held him for 20 minutes and was fine. She passed him off to someone else and he instantly spit up all over her. Oops!!! ;)  We've all taken turns loving on Moose this afternoon.  He's figured out how to munch on his toes. He smiles when he sees his bottle. He definitely loves being held and carried around. He gets tired of being on his belly and can't roll over to his back. He is much more vocal these days. It's been 5+ phenomenal weeks w/Moose and I honestly couldn't be more in love with this precious blessing of ours!!!

Cancelled again

Moose's Visitation Worker was supposed to be here between 9:20-9:30 to pick him up for a 10a.m. visit. 9:45 rolls around. I called to see if she was in her office since last week time "got away from her" and that visit wound up being cancelled. She called me a few minutes later. Apparently Biomom has the flu and had to go to the ER and the doctor told her she can't be around the baby for 3 days so his visits for this week are cancelled. Visitation Worker got busy talking to somebody and forgot to let us know. I don't know why I find it so frustrating that people are late and that people don't call in a timely manner. I really should be used to this by now. We've been around the block a time or two at this point. Still, I think it's rude. Anyways, once I heard her voice on the phone and guessed the reason for her call, he immediately fell asleep in my arms - I had been playing with him trying to keep him awake so he could fall asleep in her car vs. scream the entire way. Oh well, now on to rearrange my schedule since I thought - silly me - that I'd have 3 hours to do stuff w/o any kids.

Continuance Anyone?

Last night I heard from the regular social worker that there was a continuance which was expected. Apparently biomom is going to fight for Moose which is something she hasn't done in the past for her other kiddos. The difference? Moose is a boy.

Today the court investigator social worker called. I played dumb - is that bad?! And she told me more information, not much but after the next court date, next week, it will most likely go to trial then we will have a plan in place. Court SW asked if we wanted him moved since I asked her a timeline. I insisted NO - I was just trying to get a tentative timeline so we bantered back and forth jokingly that yes, I can buy Moose a costume, tentatively plan on him being with us for a Thanksgiving celebration but hold off on buying him a stocking and going hog wild on cute baby toys.  Yesterday's SW is already planning on looking for a fos-adopt home. Should be interesting to see truly how long we have Moose and where he ends up. Can't wait to see what God has in store for him :)

Court Date

Waiting to hear what happened in court today.

I've called both social workers and left messages.

I've talked to the Workers of the Day and no one will tell me what happened.

I'm not a patient person when it comes to this stuff. Is there a continuance?  Will Moose's case go to Adoptions?  Did Biomom's visits get cut down to once a month vs. 2 hours 2 times a week?

Would be nice to be kept in the loop.
I'm usually the last to know.

One Month With Moose

It's been 1 month with our phenomenal blue eyed happy baby boy.

Yesterday I met w/his SW, his visitation SW called to change the visitation schedule for next week, previous foster blessing's (J) visitation worker called needing me to call J's adoptive momma to schedule the final goodbye courtesy visit since his biodad has had his rights officially terminated and J's new momma and I had the best conversation.  :)

Today was really laid back. A friend's hubby came over to work on our computers. Moose and I had a lot of bonding time. Friends came over for a bit before dinner. It's just so nice to be a Friday night and all of us are home chilling out.

Tomorrow's Shane's football game and Shelby has a birthday party to go to. Good stuff.

Official SW Visit

Tomorrow we'll have had Moose for one month. His SW came over today for a visit, arriving almost 1/2 hour late. She didn't have much news to report or really any questions to ask. She honestly wanted to talk more about my three dogs than the baby. She meets Biomom tomorrow and will let me know what happens in court on Monday.

I'm still waiting for Visitation Worker to call me to squeeze in the 2nd visit for the week since she cancelled yesterday's visit. It's almost noon on Thursday. Friday Biomom has at least one appointment...time is running out. 

I liked today's worker but was honestly hoping for more...more information...more professionalism...more questions regarding the baby...just MORE.

No Show

Moose was scheduled for another visit w/Biomom today. Dee Dee - visitation worker - said she'd be here 9:20-9:30. I got the breast milk containers washed per biomom's request, packed the diaper bag w/everything Moose could possibly need, got his favorite toys and a soft blanket to snuggle on the way there, did my best to tweak his eating/nap schedule so he'd fall asleep on the way there, the house was relatively tidy, I made sure I wasn't wearing my normal "kick it" house clothes...9:20...9:25...9:30...9:35...eventually it's 9:50, Moose really needs a nap, no Dee Dee in sight so I called and left a message. Eventually she called back. Non apologetic. The morning got away from her. She called Biomom to see if she left right away if Biomom could still do the meeting. Nope, she had something to do after the visit was going to be over so Dee Dee will call me later w/a different day/time for this week. It's already Wednesday. Tomorrow is a SW visit...hmmm....anyways, Moose is happily sleeping and I'm trying to get things done I had thought I'd have 3 uninterrupted hours to do...oh well. More time to love on "my" phenomenal baby :)

Jail & Bites

Found out previous foster baby's biomom is incarcerated until July 2012. This reminds me I still need to finish my summaries of each of our foster blessings.

Found out current foster punkin's biodad is incarcerated until March 2012.

Moose had a 2 hour visit w/biomom today. He did well on the drive there. He did well during his visit according to DeeDee. He screamed the entire way home :(  Biomom said she saw flea bites on Moose. Yes we have pets but no, none of them have fleas. DeeDee asked her exactly where she saw the bites and biomom couldn't point any out to her.  She said she had the flu the other day. Still gave DeeDee breast milk. DeeDee verified she didn't give us any from the time she had the flu. She also made sure biomom was healthy before coming to today's visit. Biomom also talked to DeeDee about the appointment that was for Moose on the 6th. I knew there was an appointment and talked to the other SW about what the appt was for/where it was/etc. Biomom's thinking she gets to go with me on appointments like that. I'm still waiting for the official SW visit (this Thursday) to find out exactly what they want from me - let Biomom have more visits/let Biomom come to doctor appts...etc. Biomom asked for his binky back that she sent with him last month. I'm still assuming her rights will be terminated as they have been for the previous 5 children. The Court Investigator SW came over as DeeDee was leaving after bringing Moose home and they both talked about how much he looks like her. 

He has another visit tomorrow and we have the SW visit on Thursday - I can't wait to find out more information!!!

Love

Today was a rainy day, the big kids went off to school and "Moose" and I had such a great day. My favorite was when he took a 2 hour nap on my chest (the previous naps were in his crib) - he would smile in his sleep, wake up w/a cute grouchy expression still needing more sleep, fall back asleep, laugh in his dreams, play with his binky while snoozing, it was just yummy!!! Love this boy of "mine." Tomorrow is another 2 hour biomom visit and a SW visit after he returns home. Hoping for his sake, he doesn't cry the entire car ride there, for the majority of his visit and the whole way home.  Also hoping to get more sleep than we have for the previous few nights. We are a wee bit sleepy around here!!!

Long Day

• We left the house at 7:30 a.m.
• Shelby had the A.C.T. games from 8-11 (she won 2 ribbons and 2 medals)
• We went out to lunch w/Papa and Donna (who came to root on Shelby) at Denny's
• We went to Shane's football game 12:45-4 (he was co-captain today!!!)
• We went to Aldaberto's drive through to pick up dinner (delicious!!!)
• We were home from 5-6 (ahhh!!! - felt so good)
• We left for church and LOVED the sermon (Matthew 25:34-40 - need I say more???)
• Moose, Shelby and I got home around 8:30 p.m. and Shane and Daddy drove to Papa's house so they can hunt first thing in the morning

Moose was amazing throughout the entire day!! He is truly a one-of-a-kind baby - so good and funny and his personality is starting to become more obvious and he's getting more vocal - it's such a blessing to watch him thrive! :)

Moose's Family

A new SW called this morning to set up a time next week for her to come over. She told me he has 5 older siblings, all under the age of 5. The oldest 2 have a different father than the rest and that is who is raising them - their paternal family. The younger three have all been adopted by the same family who...it turns out...are interested in adopting Moose as well!!!! The SW I talked to today already has a call into THEIR SW to see if they are licensed/able to have 4 kids. The SW said, "Biomom sure is fertile, isn't she?"

He took the best nap he has taken in his crib in a long time. Maybe it has to do with the fact he had to be changed twice last night - diaper, outfit, everything - darn diapers I was trying out with him.  Anyways, I was able to be crazy productive which was awesome.

This afternoon, the 3 kids and I went to Wal Mart and Moose flirted w/the Wal Mart checkstand lady :)

Love "my" boy!!! <3

A fellow foster mom who has adopted several of her treasures informed me today there are 2 medically fragile baby boys who are still in the hospital because there are no homes w/vacancies...so very, very sad.

Laughter

Moose had a fantastic day today - very low key. It was sprinkling out so we took Shane to school (usually he walks/rides his bike or scooter) then the rest of the day, we hung out, played in almost every room for some variety, took more pictures (he is even smiling for the camera - love that!!), I'd so silly things and he's laugh at me. He loved it when the kids got home from school and was super animated w/Steve tonight too. Moose didn't want to nap well in his crib throughout the day so I'm hopeful he'll do better than usual sleeping tonight. E-mailed Shelby's old Physical Therapist to ask her what she knows about re-shaping of infant's heads and it was what I was expecting. Now if the neurology office could give me a call, we could get this show on the road...

News/Odds & Ends

1st visitation worker called Moose's biomom "angry, bitter, resentful" 2 weeks ago.
Today's social worker I spoke to on the phone just met with her this morning (biomom was supposed to have another visit w/Moose today but cancelled since she didn't have her calendar in front of her when she made this appointment with the social worker) and said biomom is really "mellow"

Biodad is in jail. Again. This time with no bail and no projected release date.

Moose laughed a lot today - so stinkin' adorable!!! We spent lots of time just snuggling, "chatting," loving, smiling and laughing.

12 days until the next court date. We've been praying God's will be done. We want Moose to have the happily ever after he so completely deserves.

Visitation Worker's Call

Moose had his first 2 hour visit w/Biomom for the week today. DeDe called me to change the time earlier this morning. She came to pick him up, was very sweet and outgoing and we talked for a few minutes. We then walked to her car and I loaded Moose into her car seat. I did a few things at home, ate dinner, then went to get my haircut. While getting a trim, my cell phone rang. It was DeDe. Moose wouldn't stop crying. She wanted me to give her suggestions on how to get him to stop sobbing. He RARELY ever cries. Truly. He is such a sweet, easy going, mellow, chilled out baby. He's only been w/us for 2 1/2 weeks. He wouldn't stop crying with his Biomom. That broke my heart. Deja vu over our last little guy but still, it hurts my heart and it truly surprises me how much babies respond to the people they were with when they were in a dangerous/scary situation. Whether they were 6 weeks old (like our last little guy) or 4 months, they know and remember. Anyways, he's home now and happy as can be - DeDe just dropped him off. We're headed to give the lil munchkin a bath.

5 Months Old Already

"Moose" is 5 months old today and he is such a love!!! He didn't sleep well AT ALL last night so of course took a huge nap on me earlier plus a few mini naps on his own in the crib. I bought a Moby Wrap from Craigslist a few weeks ago and really need to learn how to use it since I wind up carrying him around all over the place.  He really lights up with everybody is home from school/work and I love that he cares so much about all of us.  Shane got him to do some fantastic smiles for the camera yesterday and a friend who does professional photography will take pictures of him on the 11th - I can't wait!! Tomorrow, Shane has a doctor's appointment and Moose has a 2 hour visit with his biomom so I have a few errands I am going to run while he's gone (haircut, gas, library, etc.) Beyond that, I am head over heels in love with him, adore his sweet spirit and so very humbled and grateful God allowed us to be his temporary home. :)

2 weeks & counting

Our precious blue-eyed boy has been with us for just over 2 weeks and I simply adore him!! I love his cute self so much and can't imagine life without him. He is getting used to me loving on him which can be problematic when I actually do have to get chores done. He's become used to me being right there next to him on the floor or in my lap or in my arms - not that that's a bad thing by any stretch, it just means I have more to do at night after he's gone to sleep. He is super quick at rolling to his tummy as soon as you lay him on his back. He isn't a happy camper in the van unless you are at continuous freeway speeds which going to Shane's football game and to church was not - just lots of red lights which Moose wasn't too pleased about, poor guy!  He definitely is bonding to Shane and Shelby and loves them. He is doing really well with Steve too, surprisingly since all of our foster babies so far have always had a 5-10 minute maximum time limit they were willing to hang out w/Daddy for. A friend who's taken gorgeous pictures of other foster blessings of ours has agreed to take Moose's picture in the next couple weeks - I can't wait!!  I've been working on his 4 month sheet of all his appointments, visits, accomplishments, etc. and I need to download more pictures I've taken of him. In the past I've done multiple ways of documenting the baby's achievements and with the last long term baby we had, it honestly got a little crazy with having over 50 separate folders of pictures of him because we had him for so long.  I'll see how this way works, doing it a month at a time vs. a week. Anyways, love, love, love "my" boy and am so happy we get a relaxing day at home tomorrow - no screaming in the van for him!!