Foster2Forever

Archives for October 2013

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It’s Chili Season in Texas

My 21-year-old son, Bubba, works the oddest hours and eats at weird times.  And he doesn’t eat much, many times just one meal a day. At 120 pounds, his 5’10” frame needs more food.  We began buying 6-packs of Wolf Brand Chili at Sam’s Club (for only $5.98), and Bubba eats it up! He just opens a can and heats it in the microwave. Easy, Peasy! The bonus is that Wolf Brand Chili has 32 grams of protein per can for Bubba.

Wolf Brand Chili is a Texas tradition – Texas football just isn’t right for me without Frito Pie, straight out of the bag! YUM! (Disclaimer: I am a born & bred Texan  — so a Coke is a soft drink, not a particular brand and Fritos are corn chips of any brand)

And with cooler fall weather, chili is just the perfect comfort food. You can eat chili straight up – or add a variety of toppings! I like Cheddar cheese and Fritos.

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Check out these cute printables for a chili bar by Amy Locurto.Chili-Party-Free-Printables-347x1024

Texas Chili Dinner Giveaway! (ended)Texas-Chili-Giveaway

One  reader will win a Wolf Brand Chili prize pack, valued at $100:  The pack includes:

  • Three varieties of Wolf Brand Chili (Wolf Brand Chili No Beans, Wolf Brand Chili Mild No Beans, and Wolf Brand Chili Hot No Beans)
  • Texas shaped bamboo cutting board
  • Texas apron {{very cute}}
  • 4 chili bowls
  • Set of coasters featuring the Wolf Brand Chili logo

To enter: Just leave a comment below telling me how you like to eat chili! (Facebook comments don’t count)
A winner will be randomly chosen.

Wolf Brand Chili is now thicker and heartier than ever, just the way that Texans like it! The new, thicker and heartier recipe can also be found every day on the shelves of your local grocery store.  This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Wolf Brand Chili.  For more information, visit the Wolf Brand Chili website or Wolf Brand Chili’s Facebook page.

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Our Family’s Best Halloween Costumes Through the Years

It’s hard to believe but I’ve been a mom for over five years now! My babies have grown into little boys. No longer can I just pick out Halloween costumes for my family.  My boys now are big thinkers with their own ideas for Halloween costumes.  And they now tell me what costumes they will be wearing for Halloween. Through the years, our family wore group Halloween costumes that were so much fun to put together.

Our family Halloween costumes through the years:

Long before Big Bang Theory debuted on the small screen, my sweet husband (then fiancée) and I were just a couple of nerds in love!

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A few years later, we were blessed with a very special baby elephant that joined John McCain and Sarah Palin on the campaign trail.

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When the foster “twin” girl to my Mickey Mouse moved a few days before Halloween, Mommy stepped in to fill Minnie’s ears.

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The next year, a new addition to our family made no place like home!

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And then, the Joker and Catwoman tried to foil Batman, the Caped Crusader, and Robin the Boy Wonder.

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But ahoy, matey, this crew of pirates tried to take over a Disney cruse ship last Halloween.

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Does your family dress in Halloween costumes? Which family Halloween costume is your favorite?

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You Must Be Crazy to Be a Foster Parent: 7 Tips to Keep Your Sanity

Foster parenting is not for the faint of heart!  The goal in foster care is ALWAYS reunification with birthfamily, if at all possible.

And sometimes it isn’t easy. Supporting reunification can be difficult, especially given some situations of dysfunctional, unstable families on the brink of collapse.

But what if your home is much more stable? Can a foster parent support reunification if they feel they can provide a much more stable environment for a child? How can a foster parent support reunification knowing that a foster child will be going back to a dysfunctional home? As a foster parent, how do you keep your feelings in check?foster-parenting-emotions-tips

7 Tips for Foster Parent Emotional Health

  1. Remind yourself constantly that reunification with birthfamily is #1 priority (even if your heart you is telling you that you’d be a better parent).
  2. Take it one day at a time and love your foster children (and their birth family) unselfishly.
  3. Show love to the birthfamily during the process. Remember Mother’s Day, birthdays, Christmas, etc.  Our birthmother received her very first Mother’s Day card ever (with her third child) from our 10-month-old foster baby.  She bragged and bragged in court about her Mother’s Day gift.
  4. Treat your foster children as your forever children, then when they leave, go ahead and grieve.
  5. Realize that you will feel all sorts of emotions during the process – grief, guilt, selfishness, etc. – it’s okay to have emotional attachments to the children you raise.
  6. Realize that some foster children will be with you only for a while, but there will eventually be a child that needs a forever home.
  7. Pray!  Pray for yourself, your foster children, their birthfamilies constantly throughout the process. Give it all up to the One who knows all and can take your emotional burdens so you don’t have to.  He already knows the plan for you and your child’s future!

Foster parents just have to find their own way through the emotional roller coaster of parenting these children from hard places. God has a little one already planned for you… it may be this child, or it may be another one.  But someday you will have the forever child that has been waiting for you all along!

What are your tips to keep a foster parent’s emotions in check?

I’m Clever

Sway