April 2010
4 tags
Dial-N-Dash from Snap's Mom??
I received two calls this morning from a number I didn’t recognize and subsequently didn’t answer. I did a reverse-lookup and discovered that the call was from a women’s clinic down the street from Snap’s Mom’s rehab.
I’m so curious as to if it was her…but not curious enough to start answering calls I don’t recognize.
March 2010
2 tags
2 tags
No more hair rubber bands
Thank GOD I noticed a red mark around Jacket’s right wrist today and alerted the babysitter, Teasha before the visit. The mark is clearly from her habit of pulling tiny little hair rubber bands up on her hands. I actually now roll up her sleeves every night before putting her to bed to make sure she’s not wearing one and cutting off circulation.
Well, her mom noticed and declared...
2 tags
2 tags
re-certified
To my shock, my home has been “re-certified” meaning I’m good to go as a foster parent for another year. It was a relatively painless process. I signed papers saying I didn’t have any firearms or a swimming pool. I pointed out where my smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were.
The pleasant agency worker asked about my discipline methods. Last year I gave some long,...
1 tag
Oh no you don't
This morning Jacket shouted “Uh Oh!” and THEN dropped a handful of Cheerios on the floor. Thanks.
2 tags
"hector hector hector!"
Jacket has spent the day 1.) pointing at the ceiling shouting for balloons and 2.) yelling for Hector, her best friend in daycare.
2 tags
“What do you eat, like tofu?”
– Question I was asked at the Puerto Rican party last night despite cleaning my plate of every beef, pork and chicken product imaginable.
3 tags
2 tags
as if 3 meals aren't enough...
…her daycare staff has a new habit of giving Jacket either a bag of Doritos or cookies for the road after I strap her into the stroller.
2 tags
Lecture I may or may not have given in the...
Listen Jacket, crying is ok. You are sad that you have to walk down the stairs. I’m sad about it too. Maybe we’ll cry together. That would be appropriate. SCREAMING on the other hand is not. Screaming bloody murder suggests that I’m abusing you or that you’re demonic. Neither of which are true. And don’t even think about downgrading to that insidious...
2 tags
I wonder how crazy Jacket’s daycare would think I was if I just had a diapers.com delivery sent directly to them. It would be so much easier than lugging a pack every other week. Not sure they’d answer the door for the delivery man though….
Also not sure if I’ve articulated that her daycare is literally just someone’s apartment in the projects.
3 tags
Here’s a fun fact:
In 2002, I found both of my biological parents (I was adopted at birth) via the internet with only the name of the hospital that it turns out I wasn’t born at (Yes, I’m one of those insane “I didn’t know I was pregnant” babies), my parents’ ages, the town I was born in, and the name of the lawyer who arranged my private adoption...
1 tag
2 tags
3 tags
They say "relapse is part of recovery"
By the way, EVERY licensed professional I know in the field wants me to call and follow-up on Snap’s case. I’m supposed to ask “Could you just tell me what boundary I crossed so that I know for next time?” but I just can’t. First, no one will call me back. Second, it’ll just look like I’m creating trouble.
What’s so sad to me today is that if...
poor dora
If you put “Dora the Explorer” into Etsy- some fantastically strange items come up. For example, this and this and this.
2 tags
Wow, I'm a whole new professor
I just got a long, sappy email from one of my students about not being able to find a babysitter 2 hours before the midterm exam. Normally, I would reply with some sort of “Sorry, per the syllabus, there aren’t any make-ups”.
But now I’m a mom, sort of, and boy do I understand. I told her to bring her baby and we’ll find an empty classroom where she can take the...
1 tag
5:15am: Reciprocity Skills-check
Tenement Radiator: Clunk Pshht.
Jacket: GOOD MORNEEEEE!
Click click.
HIIIIIIII!
Clank bink bink.
GOOD MOOOORNEE!
Clop.
HOWRRRR OU?
BANG!
I'M FI, TANK OU! GOOD MORNEEEEE!
Clank.
WA, WA, WA, WA, DA (translation Dora) WA WA me EE II EE II OOOO!
GOOD MORNEEE?
BANG! BANG!
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
I I WA WA WANNA UP, PEEEEEESE!
Me: I'm happy to get you up, sweetheart.
2 tags
“It would actually be illegal for you to invite her Mom to the birthday party and...”
– a good friend in the field
1 tag
worth skipping Saturday night live for
Per the last post, I was thinking to myself ‘weren’t we supposed to have a proper team meeting by now? Like at a table? Maybe not in front of 10 other angry and rooting birth parents?’ It’s been 4 months- but then again who am I kidding? What would the outcome be of a meeting with Jacket’s Mom right now? “You can’t rationalize with irrational.” ...
2 tags
Because the foster care stipend doesn't cover...
Despite the Snap tragedy, I’ve been trying to focus on Jacket and her upcoming 2nd birthday. This reminds me of one of my best coping skills that I forgot to mention: PLANNING PARTIES. During the past 10 years in New York city, I’ve planned large rooftop BBQs, pub crawls, and a baby shower on a boat. Nonetheless, Jacket’s party had me stumped.
First off, it probably...
1 tag
3 tags
“If just one those case workers, lawyers, counselors or even a...”
– Me, defiantly talking to a friend. After an hour of crying.
3 tags
“Oh my god Rebecca, they told me at court that I’m not allowed to see you...”
– Snap’s Mom. (I told her that (1) we weren’t doing anything wrong and contrarily, we are a shining example of NYC’s “Family to Family” model but (2) she should do exactly as advised and when her ACS case is closed she’s welcome to contact me and I’ll still...
1 tag
3 tags
“Rebecca, it’s me, Snap’s Mom. Listen, I’m sorry I...”
– voicemail message from Snap’s Mom (10pm tonight)
1 tag
1 tag
“Listen, you have time. Don’t get your daughter’s birthdat cake...”
– Clerk at Whole Foods Bakery
1 tag
"You better roll-up your area rugs"
Remember when I blogged earlier in the week about my email to the foster agency medical director regarding the new blue stain in Jacket’s ear? Well, here’s her fantastic response,
“Oh she will notice and she will freak out. I’ll handle it as best I can. Thanks for the heads up.”
To which I replied, “From now on I’m only going to let Jacket play with...
Maybe I'm missing something?
If poverty is the greatest predictor that a child will end up in foster care,
and education is the great equalizer,
and the best predictor of college graduation is parental higher education level,
why not recruit more college-educated foster parents?
(…or at least make the foster parenting process more friendly for young professionals?)
"*May contain occasional explicit language"
Never in a million years would I expect to end up on a 15 year-old’s homeschooling blogroll in Michigan. God help me.
Maddy, I hope you have your parents’ permission to be on my blog!! ;)
1 tag
You can sustain yourself on popcorn meals and...
No pressure, Ashley… ;)
honestlyashley:
The most amazing tumblr found me yesterday. Foosterhood in NYC is a very genuine, honest story about a young foster mom and the kids she cares for. So amazing! Please go read it. It actually made me want to be a foster mom until I remembered that I ate popcorn for dinner last night and have worked 101 hours since last Saturday. Kids apparently...
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
1 tag
grocery shopping for the babysitters
Something that never occurred to me that I’d ever be doing, or should do.
Seeing as I eat out and order in so much, and Jacket’s diet is so wacky, I’ve got to go get some adult food for the fridge.
We’ve been awake for so long I just ate lunch at 8:35am.
1 tag
It's Koala Bear Friday
Jacket’s had an increase in tantrums during the past two days and she’s been more fussy than usual. Seeing as I’ve been very busy this week, not to mention emotionally maxed-out last week, I decided to take the day off from work and spend time with her at home doing nothing in particular. I’m so glad I did.
As I type this Jacket is sitting in my lap with each of her legs...
1 tag
