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.
Sounds busy Celeste... I dont know how you do it all!!!
ReplyDeleteANd between getting paid for that, and for home schooling... sheesh... your raking it in arent you!!! snort snort....
Naw serisouly.. I think it is amazing what you guys are doing for those kids... not everyone would or could... even try.
I hope you guys have a wonderful, and warm new years!!! Big hugs to you!!!
You would have to be insane to take on the kind of emotional, physical, and financial burdens foster care brings without expecting some remuneration. It is a very demanding job when done correctly, and yes some do it only for money and work the system at the cost of innocent kids, but that is not why you are doing this! You are doing this to help kids, and help your family there is nothing wrong or dishonorable about that! Let them make claims, that is their problem! You keep helping your family and others!
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