Foster Care Home Study...we are LICENSED!

We are licensed for two children birth to six years of ago! Finally!

We had our foster care home study and passed it with flying colors. I was SO nervous that I was making myself sick worrying about it and trying not clean like a mad woman. I had read and reread the rules and regulations. The lady who did the inspection was very nice and very courteous of our privacy. For some reason I thought she would go through all of our drawers, cabinets, etc. Thank goodness this wasn't the case.

So now we will be able to start having visits with our little guy. After the foster care worker left his foster mom called to congratulate us. I am still unsure how all of this will take place but my wishes are to gradually start having him in our home a little more each time he visits.

We have so much stuff to do to prepare for a toddler to be in our home. Our spare bedroom is fully furnished with adult furniture and is in no way toddler friendly. I use the dressers and closets for my stuff so I'm going to have to find a spot for all of my stuff in the master bedroom, this means Gary is going to have to clean out the walk-in closet for me. Guess this might be a good time to unload a bunch of clothing that I don't wear, time to downsize AGAIN!

We need to purchase car seats and all of the stuff that it takes to have small kids in your home...oh like a plastic cup and plate would be a great place to start. LOL

LOST: Weight Loss & Exercise Motivation, please return ASAP!

OMG I have officially fallen off the exercise wagon! Well I let me rephrase that I FELL off the wagon into a deep dark hole while on our honeymoon and have not found my way back yet. I don't know why I make this such a big thing in my life. Exercise makes me feel so much better about myself, it helps my clothes fit, fights PMS & SAD (Season Affective Disorder) and it makes me feel proud of myself. So why do I let something so good for me come and go? I don't stop permanently taking medications because I forget to take it on occassion. For me exercise and diet are an all or nothing deal! I have to learn to give myself permission to be happy working out three days per week.....it's a hell of a lot better than the ZERO times per week I have been doing! The thing is once I'm on the wagon I'm on, so my goal for this week is to work out 30 minutes TWO times before next Sunday!

WORKOUT GOAL for next week: Two 30 minute cardio sessions

Last Wednesday and Thursday I was in training for my new job at the American Red Cross in Wichita. I learned a lot but still have tons more to learn and don't think the learned will ever slow down in this job. I will keep updating as I learn more about the position.

My college classes are going well, passing everything...even algebra.

I really don't like waiting

Our foster care paperwork was sent to the state but a couple things were returned, somehow Gary didn't sign his fingerprints and another form was missing a signature, so we have them fixed and back in the mail. Our railings for our porch have been built and are in the process of being painted and will be installed soon. I have been bitching and whining about having to installing a handrail down the 3 stairs to the landing for our side door. Well we installed it last week and I LOVE it. I would have never thought it would be so nice...can't believe we lived without it for this long.

I still need to install more safety locks in the kitchen. The good ol' safety latches will not work for the foster care regulations. Anything with a "keep out the reach of children" must be kept under lock and key. Luckily I found these awesome magnetic locks that you do not have to drill into the cabinets to install. They are pricey but are super easy to install and can be switched off when not in use, like now when we have no kids in the house.

My new job as branch manager for the American Red Cross has been going good so far, it's just an adjustment getting back into the swing of things of managing my time. I work Monday 9-4, Wednesday 9-4 and Friday 9-3....I know very nice work hours. Actually I wish I could go to work at 8:00 a.m. but my office is inside of a bank and the lobby doesn't open until 9:00. I NEED to get back to the gym and what a perfect time to do it before I go to work in the mornings. Next week I will be in Wichita doing disaster training so that will be exciting.

My college classes are going fine so far, with the exception of algebra. I don't having to study my ass off just to keep up but that's what it's taking. We took a pop quiz this morning in class and I did very well so my perseverance might pay off. I really like the freedom of my other online classes.

Angels=Braxton & Hayley

My new princess Hayley. This is my brother's little girl.



My darling Braxton wearing his footed snowmen PJ's in mid August. They were his older brothers so he thought that was really neat. He is my sister's boy.

Posing for the camera

I suck at algebra

I totally suck at algebra! I'm not good at any kind of math and I have never been since my horrible teacher in 7th grade. This past week I have had SO much homework and have spent hours trying to Relearn all the stuff I must have purged from my hard drive (my brain). So far I have not been impressed with the instructor she hasn't used the board or overhead to teach us anything.

On the other hand my other three online classes, psychology, sociology and English started Monday. The first week is the intro week so there aren't any assignments. Hopefully I will get my books sometime this week, they are being shipped to me from the Ft. Riley campus. I like to read ahead just to get a little jump start so I don't feel totally clueless. Most of my classmates are Army soldiers stationed around the world. They use all the military lingo in our chat rooms so I have to ask Gary to decipher it for me, I swear the Army speaks an entire different language.

I kind of started my new job yesterday at the Red Cross. The Great Bend office is under the Wichita chapter so they are my bosses. Well everyone that knows anything about me starting is 1. having major medical issues, 2. death of father out of state, 3. very ill spouse, so I'm not even showing up on the radar. I figure when they all get back into the office and get my training planned they will let me know, until then I'm enjoying more time off!

Application submitted

Today our foster care application was submitted to the state of Kansas. Our foster care worker is hoping that the temporary license will be expedited because we are wanting to adopt Little Man out of foster care and his bio mom has already relinquished her rights. The bio dad's rights are currently in the process of being terminated. As soon as we get the temporary license we will be able to spend time with him and we can get to know each other.

Exciting phone call

Little Man's foster mom called to ask how our foster care licensing process is coming along and if we thought we would have our temporary license by Labor Day. Their family won tickets to a baseball game in Kansas City and if we had our temporary license Little Man could stay with us for the weekend. Unfortunately our paperwork has not even been submitted to the State yet because we are waiting on Gary to get back from National Guard annual training. This is what we are waiting for: fingerprints, Gary health assessment form signed, Gary copy of CPR/First Aid cards, copy of his drivers license and pay stub. It seems like such petty stuff but the agency makes sure every I is dotted and T is crossed. Hopefully Monday we will get our application to become foster parents sent to the state and then it takes about a month to get the temporary license. Once we have the temp license for our home we will be able to start providing respite care for Little Man. Meaning that if his foster family wants to go out of town or just wants a break he cam come to our home. His Foster Mom has never had one of her foster kids be adopted so this will be a new process for both of us.