Juliemarie, Britt, Heather - interesting discussion here. I never realized there was grant money either. A co-worker once adopted not once, but two times, from Kakakistan (sp??). She was a single mom, mortgaged her home, borrowed from her mom, etc. I could never figure out how she could even afford daycare for the two children. Even the airflights to go get the children was costly. But somehow, she made it work and she couldn't be happier. I'm now 48 and contemplating doing the Big Sister route and maybe, someday, that will lead to fostering....I feel like I have a lot to share and with so many needy children out there, maybe I can make this world a better place.

Juliemarie:

Here in Indiana we have the child care development fund (CCDF) that is the grant money for daycare. I am not sure if this is a nationwide name or not. But check and find out what the age is for special need adoptions. In Indiana special need means children 2 or older. These children have a stipend and daycare coverage until it's not needed or until they are 18. Be sure when you check into to ask specifically in your state what the qualifications would be...but it is available after a child is adopted. The daycare issue is the BIG issue for us. We ended paying about $530 a month when we got DFS#1...and it was a huge deal to get him on the grant money program...we are still working on it before I go back to school. I had a lady tell me before school was out that fostering would be a nice summer job for me and give me some income.....yes we do get a per diem....but we never ever MAKE money keeping these children. For us, it's about the kids..not the $$$$ (sadly not all foster parents are that way).

Joni I'll just toss this in for you....last stat that was reported was 518,000 children in foster care nationwide....and about 250,000 foster homes.....hmmmmmmm you do the math! (Can you tell this is something I'm really passionate about??)

You gals have been quite busy but i love the discussion.

Just a quick TO update, i'm doing good despite the fact that i just made some yummy pastries for my hubby and my mom (bro is taking it from fl to ny to my mom). I was not tempted at all even thought they look sooooo yummy. Just had my lite and some water and i'm good until dinner. Making the pastries kept me busy in the AM and after i get done here i'm starting laundry. Glad to hear everyone else is doing ok.

HeatherCP i thought about adoption but like Juliemarie said it just way too expensive. I never heard anything about grants. I always watch the show on TLC i believe about adoption and i always cry for the entire 1/2 hour. My issues with adoption besides money is that i dont know if the baby when grown will feel like we love our kids more, i mean i definately love the baby as my own but you never know. I thought about foster also being that i'm home and it wouldnt be so hard for me but i dont know if my kids would be ready for that because they are so young and i dont want to sound mean but some of the kids are not well behaved and i dont know if i would do more harm than good with my kids anyway. I think i would definately prefer adopting a baby. My hubby wants another child too and 3 is alot these days. I think it would be really great to adopt. You are doing a really good thing.

Just passing through the posts, not doing the challenge at this point.

JulieMarie - while adoption may be expensive, what about becoming a foster mother? Adoption can come from that as well, and the cost should be down because the child would already be with you.
Just my 2 cents... :)

ok TO day 2 ended badly...let's just say it involved me some goldfish pretzels and a poptart. But I am on for regular plan tomorrow!

LOL well jump back on tomorrow!!!

OK regular plan today! I am thinking engish muffin and some blueberries for breakfast. Let's make this a POP day!

YOU GO GIRL!!!! Thats the attitude i like to see. As for me i have this last day of take off and then I can have breakfast in the morning lol. Yesterday went really well and I was pleased. I forgot to WI this morning before I left the house so that I could have an idea of what it was gonna say at the COD but hey what can ya do when the memory starts to go lol.

Ok im off to have my first round of juice!!!

TO!!!TO!!!TO!!!TO!!!TO!!!TO!!!TO!!!TO!!!TO!!!TO!!! TO!!!TO!!!

Goodmorning girls. TO went well and i havent had BF yet but i'm prob going to have yogurt & a fruit.

Heather i'm so sorry last night didnt go as planned but POP day today, its a new day.

Britt goodluck today on your final day of TO. I wish i can forget to WI. I do it religiously at night and morning. When i stop thats when i'm satisfied with my weight but that wont be for a long time because even when i get to goal i'll be obsessed with staying at that weight.

This morning i weighed at home and it was the exact same # it was before i had a horrible week last week. I'm WI at COD today so we'll see what happens. I'm also doing lemon water tomorrow so it should all help the scale move downward.

Have a good POP day

GL at WI!!!!!!!!!!

Good morning ladies-

2nd day of TO went well-I'm down another .5 lb. So since-I didn't WI on Mon-I'm not exactly sure where I'm ending up. But whatever I did to myself this weekend is gone plus another 1lb from saturday's WI. I'm happy . . . . I'm thinking I won't change my ticker until after BOOST is over-so I can really tell how well it worked.

Sherry-I am considering fostering. I just need to look into it more. I'm mainly concerned with the cost of child care on my own (and I know I could probably get subsidized) and the thoughts in my head that it might be selfish to purposely become a single mother. However-these kids are already here and need a home. That makes it a little different than getting pregnant on my own. But I have a huge desire to carrry a child and give birth. So-there you go;)

ok lunch....
4 oz deli turkey, tortilla, with mustard, 4 oz yogurt, banana (YEAH MY FRIUTS ARE DONE FOR THE DAY) 12 baby carrots and water! I'm two meals down and two snacks and a meal to go!

Ok so I talked to my fav counselor at the COD today and she said that when i get back OP after TO that i might want to rework how i eat my meals. She said try getting my starches in during the day and eating a lighter meal at night only 1/2 protein and 2 veggies so i think im gonna give it a try and then save my last bar for at night im gonna work on it today and see what i can come up with and try it for the 21 day boost see how it goes.

OH and FYI i asked about the V-8 Fusion and she said yes that 8oz counts as 2 V and 1 F so thats kind of cool if you dont feel like eating a lot one day you can sub the drink and also the V-8 splash counts as 1 F for 8oz would have thought it would have been a V too but guess not.

Im getting ready to head home in a little bit and hit the treadmill and have lunch I think this is gonna be my new daily ME time and routine till i start back to school then IT will have to change.

I have company coming in Next Thursday and i know we are gonna be eating out a bit while she is here so im gonna have to extra good and make wise choices those days. Im trying to plan where we are going so I can plan out my food lol.

Ok im off for now but ill be back...

I have to laugh-just went to the bathroom and found a little surprise. I don't know why I can't count 28 days! :D Anyhoo-I'm stoked that the scale has gone down the last couple of days in spite of my cycle starting. Woo hoo! yay me!

Juliemarie, Debbie24 Just wanted to jump in and put in my 2 cents worth about the fostering/adoption discussion. (I'm new to the board, introduced myself over at roll call). We have been foster parents and adoptive parents and both are wonderful options. I was a single foster mother before I was married (23 years ago). We adopted our very first foster child, a special needs child who they said at 15 months was un-adoptable and might never walk or talk. Tracy will be 24 next week and not only can walk and talk she is working and living on her own! She still needs help with some things (she doesn't drive, reading is difficult for her) but she takes buses and manages quite well. I feel myself beginning to get on my soapbox and I didn't intend to. It just upsets me when I think of all the children in foster care who aren't even given a chance. CandlePrincess is right, Children are considered special needs for a variety of reasons not only for physical or mental handicaps. Siblings groups, children over 2, minority children, etc. are all considered "hard to adopt" thus are often elgible for adoption subsidy. Every state is different when it comes to foster care, but many will allow you to foster with the intent to adopt.
We fostered over 125 children (stopped because of a move overseas), from newborns to pregnant teens. Sometimes it wasn't easy, but it was always rewarding. I knew that at least for the time I had them, they were getting something positive in their lives and I have to believe that we were making a difference, even if it didn't always seem like it. We also have 2 biological sons, who were born while we were fostering. It was just an a way of life for them.
I encourage you to look into both fostering and adoption. You can always specify the age and type of child you can take care of. If you have young children you wouldn't want to care for an older agressive child, etc. Didn't mean to go on so long, but like CandlePrincess this is something I am passionate about.

Debbie