Tacky or Ok?

So I mentioned in my last post that I had registered on Walmart for some items I still need but quite frankly can't really afford to get right now. My husband seems to think that it is tacky to do so.  It's not that I really expect people to buy us stuff, although I'm sure several people would like to help foster kids but aren't really ready to open their homes yet. I just thought, hey why not? It takes a village right?

Let me break down the financial side of foster care for you, because you often hear that people are in it for the money. The classes and home study are free. To pass the home study you have to have outlet covers, a large fire extinguisher, smoke alarms, baby gate for stairs, locked (not just child proofed) medicine and fire arms. We also had to purchase a door and lock for our pool. This is all at your own expense. So far so good right, I mean most of that stuff you probably have or should have anyways.

Now that your house is ready you have to prepare the space for the child. You receive your license based on the amount of available beds that you have. So if you want to have 2 kids then you need two beds to be licensed for that. We chose 2 kids ages 0-5, which means that us having a crib and a twin bed is fine. It also means that if we get a 4 and 5 year old that we will need to buy another t twin sized bed ASAP.

That is it, according to children's services you are ready to be placed with kids. Perfect right? Oh wait you chose an age group that requires a car seat...sorry that comes out of pocket. Let's see that is 2 kids times 2 cars so 4 car seats. You can wait to buy those until you get a placement but honestly car seat shopping for 4 car seats while kids are waiting to be picked up sounds like too much fun for this girl. Not to mention they range from $30-$150 for a decent one. I am a little high maintenance so I purchased a few things that the kids probably won't have when they come such as: toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby wash, baby lotion, wipes, matching bedding, plastic drawers for their clothes, sippy cups, baby spoons and forks, an extra set of sheets, and a few toys. I told you, high maintenance, right?

Now I know what you are thinking, "Don't you get paid for foster care?" Yes, you are right! If this is the child's first placement you get $150 to buy their clothes with. That's everything from shoes to undies to actual clothes. Now if they are temporarily in a group home before you get the call then they may have already used the money and you just get what is passed to you. I am a bargain  shopper so that terrifies me about how quickly it could be used on very little. Same thing if they are moved to you from another foster home. You also get around $200 to $300 a month depending on the type of placement. That is not paid upfront and typically takes about a month to start. Let me just say that doesn't go very far at all but obviously that isn't why we are doing this. 

I hope this doesn't come across as unhappy with the way it works or guilting people for help. I mean we did chose to go this route...well we didn't chose infertility but we chose obedience to the call to foster. We also know that as God calls He also provides. So that brings me to my question, "What do you think about a foster parent registering on a baby registry?" Please comment I would love to hear your thoughts on this whether you are a foster parent or not. I don't want to be tacky if this is socially unacceptable but it would be nice to have a little help.

Or Not

Today we heard back from the case worker about the girls. They have found a relative that can take them who should be approved soon. I am a little sad for me but mostly happy for them. I cannot imagine moving to a home where everyone not only looked different but also spoke a different language than I was used to. 

It was a good test run for us and I was able to add a question to my placement form. "Are they potty trained?" Which age alone is never an indicator. Luckily we didn't go crazy at Walmart last night. We simply bought more wipes, a pack of diapers and some toddler toothbrushes. So now we are back to waiting. I just feel bad that Jessi is expecting them to be at home tonight.


In other exciting news....I registered at Walmart :)

The Call

All the moments of the last month have led up to waiting for the phone to ring, and today it rings. It’s a placement for two girls ages 2 ½ and 3 ½. I fumble through my purse to get the form that has the questions I have prepared for this call. Honestly most of the questions are left unanswered in since this is their first placement. It doesn’t matter much anyways, they need me. I call my husband and pass the little bit of information I was given and we say yes.

I call the caseworker back to let her know that we will accept the placement but she says that there is an issue that she needs to work out first. We have completed all of the necessary things to get our license, however the licensing committee does not meet again until May 7^th to approve it. We are not yet licensed and technically cannot accept a placement. She told us not to worry because her supervisor mentioned us as a possibility for the girls knowing this was the case. The supervisor decides to send out our home-study to the appropriate people and they should have signatures tomorrow so we can receive our license a week early. We will be able to pick up the girls as soon as we have all of the appropriate signatures.

So that gives me a night to wrap my head around the changes that are coming to our family. Also, the case worker told us that we can go see the girls tonight and that makes me really happy. I think it will be a lot easier on them to meet us first before moving in. While I cannot give any details for their privacy I will say that there are no major issues of concern for me at this time other than their limited ability to speak English. I took several years of Spanish in school as well as lived in southern California so hopefully we will be able to meet in the middle somewhere.

Needless to say I am very excited, and scared, and a hundred other emotions all at once.

The Room

The day is soon approaching that we will be licensed and open for placements. We have completed our 27 hours of training, had three home study visits and have had a handful of Respite placements. I highly suggest doing Respite if you are considering adopting or fostering. One thing it taught us was that we want no more than two but would enjoy up to the age of 5. May 7th is rapidly approaching so now the question..."how do I set up a room for the unknown?"

Well if you are looking to me for an answer, I am sorry I have no idea, but I will tell you what I have done so far. Jessi decided to move to the bigger room downstairs and use the full size bed. That left me with a twin bed and the crib I purchased. My parents were kind enough to get the bedding for the crib and I just loved how friendly it was. (Plus gender neutral) 

Walmart rocks

So with bedding in hand I scoured the web for fun ideas and found the tissue puffs to fit the budget and cuteness factor. Here is my start of that project. 

Still need to add more.

I decided I loved the alphabet theme with the almost Dr Seuss 

feeling whimsy. I cannot tell you how long I searched for bedding to match. The problem is that most parents know their child's gender prior to moving them to a twin size bed so it is extremely limited. In the mean time I just used Jessi's bedding since she wasn't using it. 

Wouldn't you know that I had two boys during the short time and had to put a brown blanket over it.

So I finally found bedding that somewhat coordinated with my crib set. It wasn't exactly what I had in mind but the colors and animals matched so close and it was gender neutral so I bought it. Then I decided to take the plunge and paint the room bright green. I really wanted an inviting playful room.

Now all that is left is the wall art. I think above the twin bed I am going to do a modified version of this alphabet wall.

(Source unknown)

I also think I'll put a cork board to display their artwork. That is pretty much it for now. There are a million things I would love to get but it will come with time.

The funny thing is today when I was painting I started thinking about all that I wanted/needed for the room. I feel like a mom that is due in a matter of a couple weeks but this route is not as celebrated as pregnancy. Of course my family has been ultra supportive but to the rest of the world there is no celebration. Our gender reveal party is reduced to a call from a social worker asking if we will take a placement. There will be no work showers and likely no meals brought over for the first days. Decorating this nursery will likely be the closest I will come to most expectant moms.

As easy as it was to start to feel sorry for myself I didn't. Instead I was washed over by the joy of The Lord. I literally could not stop myself from crying as I finished painting. Here I am four years to the month of infertility and I am setting up a room for two blessings on their way. I don't need a parade, I don't even need someone to make me dinner. My God is always faithful and I am not letting the devil steal my happiness. 

Update: placed with 3 so bunk beds became a must

Toddler bed 

Kitchen set and toy box 

New bunk bed