Embarking the Insanity Train

Why is it that I have difficulty handling my schedule? I know I should get rid of some things...but what? Showering?

Here is what a normal weekday looks like...

7:00am Get Kids up, Breakfast
8:00am Seminary Drop-Off (20 minutes each way)
8:30am Foster Kids leave to visit a parent - Mom and Dad have different visitation days.
9:00am Start School w/ Christian
10:30am Seminary Pick-Up (20 minutes each way)
11:00am Start School w/ Marlayna
12:00pm Lunch
12:30pm Back to School
1:15pm Foster Kids arrive home
1:30pm Foster Kids go down for nap
3:00pm Finished with School - Foster Kids get up from Nap
3:15pm Snack Time
3:30pm Appointments - CPS Workers, Counseling, Doctors, Therapy, etc. (Almost every day there is something)
5:30pm Dinner
6:30pm Guitar Classes, Mutual, Scouts, etc.
8:30pm Foster Kids bedtime
10:30pm Mike gets home
Midnight - Bedtime for me if I'm lucky

There is not even time on here to bathe the kids every day. I have to try to wake them up earlier, which makes for very cranky kids, or bathe them only on the nights we do not have anything outside the home...like Monday and Thursday and Sunday. Thank goodness their parents feed them morning snack and lunch.

Fostering is a full-time job...and I don't mean taking care of the kids. I mean the extensive over scheduling! These kids have no down time. They never get to relax. No wonder foster kids have behavior problems. They can never be little kids. They have more appointments than a college student. I had to buy a planner just to keep track of all their meetings, visits with parents, counseling, therapy, doctor appointments, etc. I've decided that fostering is WAY underpaid. I make lass than $1 per hour, per kid to take care of all this stuff. So basically less than $2 an hour. I've been accused of doing this for money...well...you be the judge.

Christmas 2009 Pics

We are not all together often, but when we are I try to get a family picture. My husband refuses to get professional pictures and he hates how he looks in photos. Christian also dislikes having his picture taken. So, it is quite a bit of finagling to get these.

All of Us Together for Christmas 2009

 

Mike and Celeste

Our "True" Selves Shining Through

Catch-up and Christmas 2009

The Catch-Up

It has been WEEKS since I wrote on our blog. Life has been...well...very, very busy. Since becoming a foster family, we have been constantly sick. The children often arrive sick, have very poor immune systems, and therefore catch everything...bringing their illnesses home to us...getting us all  sick as they are toddlers and have no sense of germ containment. Since Jabber Jaw and Big Boy arrived we have had...

• Swine Flu
• Seasonal Flu
• Brochitis
• Sinus Infections
• Colds
  
• Stomach Flu
• ER visits for accidental injuries

It sometimes take up to 3 weeks for the illnesses to run through everyone. By the time we recover there is a new illness making it's way through the family.

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. Sam came home for a few days and spent Christmas with us. I had several times when I thought, "This could be the last time it is like this." Sam is an adult and may not come home for Christmas in the future, or she could bring a husband/family with her.

This year we decided to focus on homemade gifts. I wanted our family to put more thought and more of themselves into their gifts. Also, I hoped for each family member to be thankful for what they receive, rather than worry about getting what they want. It was met with mixed reactions at first. Nobody really wanted to spend the time making gifts. But, as time progressed, I saw each person take pleasure in making their gifts. On Christmas morning it was so fun to see each person anxiously await the look on each person's face as they opened the gifts made by them. We had a wide variety of gifts, as each person's talents came into bloom! I'm thankful that I stuck to my guns about the homemade gifts. At one point I almost gave into the complaining. I even had difficulty getting my gifts done since I was so sick with bronchitis, sinus infection, and then stomach flu during the weeks leading up to Christmas.

The main family gift that made a big hit was a Wii Fit Plus. Everyone has been using it and having a lot of fun. I have to say that some of it is really hard! I am very sore! I hope to post some pictures of Christmas soon!