Today Might Just Be the Day...

What happens in the daily life of the family.. the drama of foster care, the adventures of parenting, & pictures to share with everyone!

A Husband Looks at 40

By: comment

Jimmy Buffett has ended more than a couple of his shows with the song, “A Pirate Looks at 40”. And I love that song.

Today, is a special day because the one I love most is looking at 40. In fact, he’s arrived at 40. I think he was having a little bit of a hard time with it (I’m sure my merciless teasing didn’t help). But, he seems to have come around now. And I think that he should be proud of where he is at this age.. he owns part of a business, has wonderful kids, a hot wife (ha!), good friends, his dream house…

I hope that he’s happy with where he is. I couldn’t be happier than I am right next to him at this point.

Happy Birthday, Baby-Baby!

Changes

By: 1 Comment

So, no giveaway yet.. Still in process.

Here is one of the posts I have been putting off. It’s also one of the things I have been putting off.

We are closing our foster license.

And I will be honest. I am not ready to. But, our family filled up quickly and we have our hands full. It’s a logical decision… But, I don’t think you can really apply logic to foster care.

So, I am a little sad about it.

For the last few years the title “Foster Mom” has been the badge I’ve worn. Not only are we as a family stopping fostering, but I am going to have to figure out a new identity. And a chapter in our family’s story is ending.

Sigh.

I have so many feelings about it, but it’s hard to put them into words.

So, I think I’ll end this and come back later to possibly address it, or maybe just to avoid it for a bit longer…

I was Running, Jenny

By: 2 Comments

O.K. I swear, I have been trying and trying and trying to post…
Right now I have my fingers crossed that I’m not typing this all just to perfect my mad skills… rather, I’m hoping that I’ll actually get a whole darn blog post out of it!
As promised, I wanted to share a little about my running (or jogging, but I feel better if I call it running… ). A couple months ago I started a program called Couch to 5k. Basically, it is a plan to take a couch potato (like myself) and get them in good enough shape to jog for 30 minutes straight or a 5k in theory. Now, maybe other beginning runners can run a 5k in 30 minutes, but I cannot. And I’m not sure I will ever be able to . But, I’m o.k. with that.
Anyhow, I started the program, but then I was really unfaithful to it. So, I kind of started skipping around. But, I kept the key concept of using intervals to build up. And I built up to the point that I can now jog over 30 minutes straight and in that time I make it about 2.75 miles (a 5k is 3.12 miles). Way back when I’d started couch to 5k, I’d had it in mind that I’d do a local run in April.
For the past 7 years, there’s been a 4.2 mile run held on and around ASU’s campus to support the Pat Tillman foundation. And that was the goal that I had in the back of my mind. But, I didn’t sign up right away… In fact, I waited until only a couple weeks before the run to sign up. But, I did it. And that’s the key for me. I actually went through and did it.
So on 4/16, I got up at the crack of dawn and Brian got the kids up at o’dark 30 as well and we were off. They dropped me off at 6:30, then headed to the Grandparent’s house where they left the little ones.. then the big boys and Brian headed back.
Being a beginning runner, I had made it a goal to finish the 4.2 miles in under an hour. So, out of 28 corrals, I was in corral 21. It was insane! The first runners left the gate at 7:00, my corral started right around 7:35 or so. Next year I *need* a buddy to do this run for me because an hour was a really long time to sit around and wait and wonder if I’d really make it! Anyhow… I started out at a jog and I made it a little over a mile before I walked.. And I was frustrated with myself. I know/knew that I should/could have run farther before stopping to walk. But, I never jog outside. All of my training had been on a treadmill at the gym. And I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that many people in one place, let alone jogged with that many people! It was sort of like doing a slalom course.. there were people all over the place who were walking or jogging at varrying paces and there were just so *many* people! Also, there was that whole hill factor. Ugh! Around mile 2 I was wondering what in the heck I was thinking.
I also was wondering about pace.
When we’d gone through the start, I hadn’t paid any attention, so I had no clue how long my first mile took. I was able to figure out the time on my second and third miles based on when I’d finished the first, but I was doubting myself the whole way. Even as I finished, I was beating myself up over the fact that I didn’t train enough before and I didn’t push msyelf hard enough that day.
But, needless to say, I did finish.
And, I beat my goal.
I finished in a little under 55 minutes.. that’s a 13 minute mile, or jogging right around 4.6 miles an hour.
That day I wasn’t happy with that time. But, then a couple days later I tried to replicate it on the treadmill and I couldn’t. So, now I’m pretty darn happy with that time. And I’m ready to take on the next challenge. I’ve started shopping for a half marathon or a 10k that sound like fun. I just wish I hadn’t started this all as we went into the beginning of summer as we’ll be in the 100’s here very shortly.
I will also add that my big boys came along that morning because they ran, too. There was a kids’ run that was .42 miles and ended the same place the adult event did–on the 42 yard like of Sun Devil Stadium. They did really well. And I was and am proud of them! We’ve been doing a weekly circuit class together since January and I love the fact that my boys are willing to go sweat with me!
******
Well, it looks like this post might actually be a success–just like my run! Although, I don’t want to jinx myself…
Should this really be working, look for more blogging very soon! I have a girl friend who’s doing a give away on here very soon!
Oh, and in addition to those other things that I said I’d be blogging about, I’ll also be begging to you all soon too! In addition to all of the jogging, we’re getting ready for a 5k walk that will take place this Fall, but we’ve already started to raise funds. Our team has a goal of $2k & I hope that you’ll help us get there!
Happy Easter-Eve!

Busy

By: comment

For real… ugh.
I have tried to post about 6 times now.
It’s just not happening for me tonight!
Soon I will blog about:
–a give away
–the race I ran last weekend
–changes in our family
–infertility and infertility awareness…

More vacation tales..

By: 1 Comment

Well, what else did we do? I can’t remember..

Sad, but true.

So, what *did* we do?!?

Oh, I remember. We sent the little Bean back to town with Aunt K and our oldest cousin stayed at the beach. The next day we went to the local Light House. It has something like 200 stairs leading to the top and we all marched up them. I tried to get a photo of Nana & Papa’s house from the top of the light house, but I wasn’t very successful.

The other thing that I was failing at that morning was staying healthy… Some of you know that I’ve been struggling with allerties and sinus infections and all sorts of junk this past year. What I haven’t had to deal with much up to this point was asthma. It turns out that me breathing and Florida don’t really mix all that well. So, I spent part of my time on the lighthouse grounds trying to get a hold of my allergist so that she could call in an Rx for me to pick up.

After the light house, we headed out to lunch. Now, typically, I woudln’t mention a meal alone… but this one was really cool. The restaurant was right next to a marina. And the fish and jellyfish and seagulls were all hanging out to entertain the kids. They also had gator on the menu!

Hmmm… What else?

The next day, we headed back to Aunt K’s. We took the kiddos bowling. And we gave everyone a nap.

That night the kids & Nana & I all stayed at a hotel a little closer to Disney World and a lot closer to the hotel.

And then we did a day at Disney World.

I love Disney!

I don’t have any photos of Disney right now, but I will post some eventually.

Then, we headed home very early the next day (too early for it to be bright!).

Some time in the middle, we watched the moon rise one night. I don’t know if I missed that in the first part of the story or no. But, I do know that it happened sometime in there. 🙂

Vacation…

By: 2 Comments

As I said, I’ve had some techinical issues. But, hopefully tonight will be the night to share the post that I started on the way home from our trip.

 

Adventures, adventures….

As always, the hardest part for me is getting the photos uploaded, but I know that I can share the tales of our trip quickly.

Actually, right now we’re all flying back home so I can type this up ahead of time.

So, where do I start?

Well, I guess I should really back up… with our move in December the older boys moved to a new school and a new school district. The new school runs on a modified year round schedule. Summer break is only a month, but they have an extra week off in the Fall and in the Spring. I thought that we should take advantage of the extra time and go somewhere this Spring.

I actually started out thinking that we’d drive to Florida to see parts of my family. Then Nana and Papa told me that they’d help pay for our flights so we booked the trip on Southwest instead.

Our flight out took us to Orlando with a stop in Milwaukee (go ahead and look at a map, I assure you that it wasn’t really “on the way”). We left Phoenix in the morning and landed in Orlando at night. The kids did really well. The only issue we had was that they were starving when we got to Orlando–they didn’t want to eat lunch when I offered it but that was the only chance they had. Thankfully, Aunt Katherine (my sister) found the golden arches and they had dinner of cheeseburgers at 10 o’clock at night.

We spent the first couple of days at my sister’s house… she has four kiddos as well… J age 8, A age 7, P age 3, and j age 1. Part of the reason that we took this trip is the fact that I’d never seen her little ones and she’d never met the Bean or V. It has been four years since the older 4 cousins had seen each other. They’d gotten along really well in the past and this time was no different.

The first day we were in town we took the crew to Bounce U. I used to take the older boys to Pump it Up before they were in school, but it’s been a long time so the bouncing was a treat. Then, that afternoon they all went swimming. It’s something else to have 7 kids swimming and playing together. I have to say that they all did well. There was only a little fighting and I don’t think that there were any tears! Oh, and I think that they also went to the park. We’re not even home yet and I’m already having a hard time remembering all of the things that we did.

The next day we played outside with bikes and basketballs in the morning. Then we went to McDonald’s–that doesn’t really sound like an outting, but anytime you go anywhere with that many kids, it’s an adventure. Honestly, I remembered this McDonald’s from our last trip though.. It has a play area that’s tall enough for me to walk in. I have to bend over, but I don’t have to crawl. I appreciate that as a mom!

That afternoon we did more swimming.

And that night we went to see the gators! We went to a restaurant called the Black Hammock. And they have several alligators that you can visit outside. They also had several parrots and other exotic birds. For an appetizer we all shared some gator bites. And, as the sign said, “it tastes like chicken”. Only I’d say a little gamier and a little more chewy… but, it was batter dipped and fried so everyone liked it! David liked it so much that he ordered it as a meal. Daniel was very excited to see fish and seafood on the menu and he and his Aunt split a pound of peal and eat shrimp. He would have liked it more if they didn’t have to be pealed.. And if there were about another pound or so on the plate! Desert was the best part though. After dinner, the owner of the restaurant brought out Max, the little 15 inch long gator that lives in the restaurant. He helped each kiddo hold Max for a picture. Beanie and P were both a little intimidated and just watched from the sides. But, j wanted to grab for that little guy. The owner flipped Max over and something about the way that gators are formed puts them out when they’re flipped over.. J was on the floor right next to Max and was already to have a new toy!

That night Nana and Papa came home from their latest adventure (they’ve been on 4 trips already this year!). So, when the littles got up the next day we loaded up to head to the beach. Nana and Papa have a condo that’s about an hour away from my sister’s place. It’s a short walk to the beach from their condo and they have several pools, golf and tennis all on the property.

We headed down to take advantage of that ocean! I’ve spent time on both coasts, but I guess I wasn’t old enough to really notice or care about the differences in the ocean until this trip.. (sad, but true!) The waves are pretty mellow in FL and the water is warmer (still cold though). The waves were perfect for the boys to boogie board on and not big enough to beat them up.

V loved playing in the sand and Bean had fun in the sand and running up to her ankles are so in the water.

Dave really loved the waves. He was doing really well, too… until that darn jelly fish! He came running out of the water crying and holding his leg. Honestly, this was the biggest reaction to an injury that I’ve ever seen from one of my kiddos ever. He was screaming and crying and slapping his legs. So, Nana and I took him to the fire department. We had a hard time finding anyone and Nana accidentally called 911–whoops! But, once they got him inside they finally got him to calm down. He’d been stung on both legs, one of them all the way up his thigh under his swim trunks. The fire fighters put bandages covered with vinegar on the stings and checked his vitals to make sure this wasn’t an allergic reaction, it was just a sting. I think that the combination of the unknown with the fatigue of travel had really done a number on the little dude. But, he was back to himself before we left the fire house.

I went back to the condo with him to give him some advil and clean him up a bit. After playing his video games for a bit, when the others came home, he was ready to go again.

That afternoon the little ones napped & so did I! And Papa took David out to play some tennis… and then Nana took David & Daniel out to play some golf. Oh, and no surprise here, we all went swimming, too!

So, the next day my sister’s family followed us down to the beach. They did some family photos, but there were a few communication errors. I thought we were doing photos of the cousins in matching shirts.. And we didn’t get that shot. I guess we’ll try again in another 4 years.. Ha! And all of the FL people wore khaki’s and white shirts. I haven’t owned a pair of khaki pants since they were required for a job–I don’t think I’ve voluntarily ever bought them! I do own a white shirt, but I didn’t pack it. So, if you see family photos that have one odd one out, that’s me.

After pictures, there was more playing on the beach.. And more jelly fish stings. This time we were prepared though! Nana brought vinegar with us. Immediate treatment and the knowledge that it wouldn’t last forever meant a *much* more minor freak out. After both of my big boys were stung we moved to the pool v. the ocean though. That afternoon we took 4 of the 8 to a kid’s fest in Port Orange. It was way fun! There was face painting and games and one booth let you make your own flower barrett for your hair. There was also lots and lots of candy and one booth even had free sno-cones! And there were free train rides. I think the only disappointment was the rides that we actually paid for, the one that Dan wanted to ride on wasn’t working and he had a hard time figuring out the bumper cars that he ended up on instead. One of the last booths that we went to was for a local water park. The kids played a game and all one a ticket good for either mini-golf or laser tag. And as we were chatting with the woman at the booth she told us that the following day was their first day of the season so it was only $10 to get in.

So, that decided our plans for the next day… the only problem was that one of K’s kiddos was sick the next morning. Her 7 year old was running a fever so she couldn’t go along. Uncle James stayed home with A and the baby. So, we had 4 adults with only 6 kids.. Now those are good odds. We ate a picnic on the way in and then were off to play! I’ve never taken my kids to a water park. One of the big reasons is that they have still been developing as swimmers. The other big reason is that the little ones want to do entirely different things than the big ones. But, with all of the extra people, it wasn’t an issue. There was a great play area for the little ones with four pint sized slides.

More to follow.. (at some point?!?)…

Bad, Bad Blogger!

By: comment

So, I’ve been slacking…

I’ve been having a few down days lately, so that’s partly to blame. And I’ve been having a little success with my crafts, so that too, gets some of the blame.

But, I am going to make it up to you… I actually have someone who’s going to give y’all discounts 🙂 Look for that post either tomorrow or Thursday!

Oh, and for a quick “us” update… B is working way too much, Spring training games on top of his already busy job. D had a new Transformer mask that changes his voice. Little d is still addicted to video games, but makes us laugh when we can get him to set down the DS. V is as handsome as ever and is enrolled in kindergarten for next year. And, the Bean..? Well, she’s full of attitude & kisses, odd combo, but she makes it work.

A Little Slow

By: comment

So, I wrote this a few months ago, but had some netbook isssues, so I haven’t been able to post. But, I think it still applies.

I’m feeling a little divided. Today my kids and I got into trouble with another mom. We were at a party doing some mini-golf. Now, my kids have never tried mini-golf before. And it was after *several* sodas and a bunch of cookies. So, they were a little all over the place. They were very excited and were definitely learning as we went. We came to a hole that required them to not only hit the ball straight up a hill, but also required that they time it so that the mouth of the house would be open. This would be a doable task for some kids. My kids are not in that catergory. So, we let them have at it… There were a couple golfers in front of us but we thought there was no way that they’d ever make it to where the other golfers were. Well, lo and behold, our little Bean made it.

As we move onto the next hole, the mom in front of us came and told us that her child has special needs and takes golf very seriously and that we basically needed to back off.

So, here’s where the division comes in.

I genuinely feel bad for that mom. I feel bad for a kiddo who can’t handle having his game of golf interrupted. (By the way, I feel like each time I type golf I should really type “golf” because is mini-golf really golf?) I am reading a book right now about a child with autism and the same situation is described.

I was also at a party with a ton of foster and adopted families. And there were a bunch of special needs kids and adults at the party with us. For the love of all, I flippin’ teach a class for parents who want to parent these very special individuals. I like to think that I *get* it.

So, that’s the other side. I get it. I know that kids have struggles. Every.single.kiddo has something that’s difficult. There are some who have a hard time with math, some who can’t balance (try riding a bike?!?), some who will have very crooked teeth, some who have vision issues, or hearing… The list could go on and on.

And I think as a parent, you have to make the choice how you’ll handle that. You can insulate your child. You can never take them to uncomfortable situations.. You can label them with their can’ts.

I am a little annoyed with the mom we encountered today. I don’t think that my kids were doing anything wrong. They were being kids. I understand that she wanted to protect her child. But, I feel like I should have protected mine by telling her to bugger off. J Well, I don’t know if I would have gone that far. But, I think that trying to build a bubble around a child is silly. If our kids don’t learn how to cope with the world as children, when will they learn? If we aren’t there to guide them and teach them and work with them when they are young, how will they grow?

When I describe the behaviors that my kids have I’m often told that they’re “typical foster” behaviors. And that is true. *But*, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have to work our way through them. My children cannot go through life saying, “I was a foster child, I don’t have to abide by your rules.” Well,I guess they could. I don’t think they’d succeed at much though. The fact is that I’m not raising foster kids. I’m raising tomorrow’s adults. Maybe that sounds grandiose, but it’s my job and I’m working my hardest at it.

So, to the grouchy lady, “By protecting your son from my kids, you’re really hindering his ability to grow. That’s your choice, he’s yours, but kindly don’t ruin our fun next time!”