jenny - I know how you feel, kind of. My dad is retired military & we always seemed to go overseas. I've never been to Japan, but all of my friends that went loved it. I hope you don't stress too much. It's a huge sacrifice(sp) for military families. My thoughts are with you.

carafre

Er...I know I'm kinda new here, but I'm asking anyone who prays to pray for me, lol. You know how I was stressing about the newness of being a SAHM? Well, our foster care agency came through with a placement. I've been home with one baby....tomorrow, we will add a 4 year old girl, a 2 year old girl and a 9 month old boy to the mix. Hubby and I talked long and hard about this (well, in the time they give you to make a decision) and he understands more now about how we have to work on the house and home and family stuff together.

I've worked with groups of children most of my life...so why am I so stressed?

-Cat

Jenny: Wow, Japan! My hubby was there when his dad was in the Marines, but he was only about a year old so he doesn't remember it! But he's got some cousins who are there right now (in the military) and they love it. Good luck.

Alisha: 3 hours in a doctor's office with a 3 year old? No wonder you were pulling your hair out! Good for you for sticking with the Taebo; I will be starting soon.

Cat: Good luck! Three more children, wow! Are they related to each other? If so I'm sure that makes it a little easier. You are very special for fostering children. I've always wanted to do it, but I've never really been settled down for long enough. Besides, I've got so many cats I probably would not be approved (and I got most of those cats from fostering them, lol!). Good luck and please give us daily updates! (if you have time, that is).

I'm still painting. My hubby fixed up some built-ins on either side of the fireplace, and now we're painting them. I know I'm saving money by painting myself (the truth is, I can't afford to hire someone anyway), but it's such a pain. But after it's all done, I'm so proud of myself that I did it and it looks nice. Kind of like our weight loss journey, wouldn't you say?

Okay, the little guy is running around getting into trouble (his new job is to transfer the cat's food from their food bowl into their water bowl). Talk to you later!

Cindy

Jenny - My cousin (who is in the Navy) and his family just came back from Japan after living there for about 2 years. When I spoke to his wife, she said that she loved it there which surprised me.

Cat - I will be praying for you. Working with children and then actually having a hand in raising them is two different things and that's probably why you are so scared. But I think what you and your husband are doing is absolutely great.


I'm very happy to report that the five pounds I gained over the holiday are officially gone. So I guess it was mostly water weight. I'm actually a half a pound below 291 right now (which is what my ticker said because I refused to put the gain on there). Woohoo!! My officialy weigh in is on Sunday so I'm glad to at least have a foregleam that there will be a loss, even if it isn't much.

Hi, All,

Sadly, my update is that the children couldn't stay with us. We also have cats - four - and no one cross referenced things...no one noticed that the children are all allergic to cats.

It was an awful day. The whole situation was just bad. There were other problems with the placement as well. I had specifically asked about food allergies and other allergies, medications and medical conditions, and I was told that the little boy had just gotten over RSV, and that was all.

That was not even close to all. The eldest is allergic to beef (?), all dairy, all nuts, cucumbers, etc. She has an epipen for peanuts, that allergy is very severe. She also has asthma, is on 4 medications and also have a nebulizer. Middle child had many delays..nothing we couldn't have handled, but no one came forth with that info. The little boy was still hacking like crazy, and all three were once we got them home, because of the cats. The little boy wasn't really old enough to know what was going on, but the girls were, and cried when I explained that we would have to take them back to the agency. It broke our hearts...the eldest, only four, askd if they could PLEASE stay, promised they'd be good....I can only imagine how hard this was for them. It was an awful day for us....but nothing compared to what these poor kids are going through.

I've cried a great deal today...and I did a little chocolate therapy this evening, but really, not much. I didn't really eat all day either, so it's more a bad choice of calorie source than anything else. Still, considering today, I just can't bring myself to be all that upset about it.

Thank you all for your kind words and well wishes....after this experience, and because of previous experiences, we've pretty much decided to wait several years before taking another placement. This is too uncertain, and not fair to our daughter. I dearly love the agency and the people there - it's not that they are bad...it's the idea that kids can have to be in this situation. So, I will continue to volunteer with our agency (I help sort/organize the clothing bank), but we have decided to take our name off the list for placements...at least for now.

A little sad, a little bruised from the day,
-Catinhat

Cat: I'm so sorry things didnt work out. You should really file a complaint w/ the head of the agency about the information that wasnt shared w/ you. That type of neglegence on the agency's part could very likely have ended up in the death of one of those children, (especially the one w/ all the food allergies). In order for a child to receive proper care, things like allergies, medications, and all medical conditions, MUST be known to the foster parents. I'll pray that they find a good family to place these precious children with.

cat - I'm so sorry to hear that you couldn't keep the kids. I know how heartbroken you must be. .

cat - I am also so very sorry. I can't imagine what you are going through or your family but my thoughts are with you guys.

carafre

(thought I posted earlier but I don't see it; I apologize if this is a dupe)

Cat: I'm so sorry to hear about the problem with the foster children. I hope you and your husband are doing okay tonight. I feel really bad for the children, because at that age they don't really understand and tend to think things are their fault. They would have been so lucky to stay with you, but it just wasn't meant to be. At least you are still helping kids by volunteering at the agency. And because you are working there, you can spread the word to other parents and help even more kids get homes. Good luck and keep up the great work, what you're doing is so very important. Besides, you're giving another kid a great home, that sweet little baby girl you've got.

Thanks, everyone...I moped a little bit this morning, but it was a warm, pretty day, so I took babykins out for a walk, got some fresh air and sunshine...even opened windows on the house to get some fresh air inside. It was a really gorgeous day, so I did my best to enjoy it. All in all, we had a pretty good day.

We had purchased little toddler beds and mattresses for the two older girls...I took them apart and re-packaged them...I'm going to return them some time this weekend. Eventually, I want one for the baby, but I think for now, it'd be better if I just get 'these' out of here.

Again, thank you so much for all the support. Our focus is on our little girl and loving her to pieces. Pretty good focus, no?

I got some really cool news today, too. Our baby's birth mom is wanting to go to Idaho to visit a friend, and asked if we would watch her daughter. She has a little girl that's just a little over a year old. I think it'll be great to see her again. The babies are both young, and won't really 'know' one another, but still, it'll be great! I also learned that my 5 year old nephew is coming to visit in a few months. So, it's going to be a bit busy around here - woo hoo!

-Catinhat

I haven't been able to get on here for a couple days and now its time to play catch up.

Cat-My heart was just breaking, reading through your posts. I am sooo sorry. I hope today is better for you. I just don't know what else to say.

Hi all to the rest of you. I went to my doctor appt yesterday and I weighed in 2 lbs. less than I did on Dec 6...so I guess that's good. Slow but sure.

I'll check in later when I have a bit more time. I need to clean the house some and then we may go to my mom's house and put up the rest of her shelves in her sewing room.

TTFN..

chris

Thanks, y'all, I am doing pretty good, actually. We had gotten the two older girls toddler beds and mattresses, and last night, I packed all that up. It kinda helped me have a bit of closure on the whole thing. Then, my best friend since 8th grade called today to see how it was all going - I hadn't called her yet to let her know what happened...so we talked too. She has adopted, and has done foster care, so she totally understood. It was really good to talk to her.

Today is warm, sunny, gorgeous. I took kitteninhat out on the deck and we played with some of her toys. The fresh air was wonderful. However, it got breezy and she got sleepy. I'm not sure what the weather will be like when she wakes, so I'm not sure if we'll get out with the stroller. Still, we had a truly lovely time.

I weighed this morning - it's Saturday, after all. I'm down six pounds!!!! I know why...I weighed last Saturday, then started my period on Sunday night, so that is some of it...and the last couple days, I have been busy and have been eating less. I've also been paying better attention to what I'm doing. Some little changes: if I'm going to have soda, it's not with a meal...no more using pop to wash down food, you know? I really can be a soda addict, so making this change probably cut my calories a good bit today. I've also been drinking a little more water (I still don't drink enough, but more is better than giving up!). I've been trying to have some protein at each meal too - and having some nuts, cheese or fruit for a snack instead of junk food. I do feel better physically, and these are changes I can live with long term.

So, time to sound dumb - how do change my diet tracker? When I went into the control panel, tried to edit signature, it seems I was just creating a new tracker - I only want to alter the one I have, to reflect the 6 pound loss. Any advice?

Thanks,
Catinhat