Foster2Forever

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Stinkiness, Boot Camp, and Friday Night Lights – and some Adoption News

I HEART OUR STRONG-WILLED PRESCHOOLER, STINKPOT…

Stinkpot concentrates on riding his tricycle – see that tongue!

  • Strong-willed is an understatement!
  • At 3 years old, thinks using the potty is for sissies
  • Hopeless fan of Houston Astros and Texas Rangers
  • Addicted to baseball, football, basketball, softball, tennis, soccer, hockey, wrestling, etc.
  • Loves attending church
  • Way too charming for his own good and juggles too many girlfriends to count
  • Likes to act silly
  • Independent – demanding to do things by himself
  • Future first round draft pick for the Houston Astros in 2025

He is such a blessing in our lives, but, wow!, what a challenge!

I HEART THE EVENTUAL ADOPTION OF OUR FOSTER BABY…
He is OURS!!! Not officially, of course, but we are now, over the largest hurdle of adopting our 1-year-old baby boy, Lil Bit — the birthmother has voluntarily signed relinquishment papers to terminate her parental rights!

A few weeks ago, we met with CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocate) and Lil Bit’s case worker to discuss continued contact with the birthfamily (mainly the great-aunt from my understanding). We just had to decide how much contact we would allow.

Last Monday, I received a desperate call from the case worker to meet with our attorney to draw up our agreement with the birthfamily. The next morning, I met with our attorney and discussed terms of the agreement.  He had some really great suggestions, and we decided the normal exchange of photos and updates would cause the least confusion to Lil Bit as he got older.

However, we kept coming back to the question: With whom would the contact be?
The birthmother – whose termination order the agreement would attach???
Or the great-aunt – who CASA is heavily promoting so that Lil Bit can keep his Mexican culture???

After discussing this in our meeting, we had no clue! Over $300 in attorney fees!

A week later, we still have no answer and we’re waiting on either the case worker or birthmother’s attorney to discuss with our attorney….


I DON’T HEART BEING BOOT CAMP DRILL SARGEANT….

Stinkpot was really a challenge last week! Hitting his teachers, his classmates, and toys.  I had to perform some boot camp strategy that is totally “not me”.  At one point, he had struck my last nerve and was being so stubborn while I was trying to care for a sick baby. I finally had enough that I yelled raised my voice to him to do it, NOWWWW!!!! Oy!  — so NOT ME!
(He has since been mocking me by telling Daddy that he wants something NOWWWW!!! – with his signature smirk, no less) But he did straighten up after that…

I HEART FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS…
Additionally, I used a football game as motivation to get him in line. It worked (mostly)!

For being a mostly good boy this week, we went to a high school football game together. 

Giving Stinkpot a kiss under the Friday night lights

We wanted to see my niece perform on the dance team for the first time; however, she performed to the other side…

My beautiful niece before her performance

Maybe next time…

I HEART FACES…
Here’s a photo that my father-in-law took of my hubby as he was learning to ride a tricycle.
I love the story this picture tells! You can see my mother-in-law, always the enthusiastic cheerleader, is so proud of her little boy as he concentrates so intently on completing this milestone.
(I am amazed at how much our adopted Stinkpot resembles his dad!)

Steve learns to ride a tricycle – circa 1961
    I entered this photo in this week’s I Heart Faces “Photojournalism” challenge –
    click the badge for more photos!

     

    Come back Wednesday to hear the next chapter of our love story…
    And on Friday to link up your funny stories with 2 Funny Friday!

    Miscellany Monday @ lowercase letters

    Mckmama- Not Me Monday

    Mommy and Me Monday at Really, Are You Serious?

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    Halloween Costume Contest – Wordless Wednesday

    Welcome to Wordless Wednesday!  In celebration of National Adoption Month, we are having a Halloween Costume Contest!  You can win 10 photo Christmas cards from Shutterfly!

    Just add your Halloween photos to the linky below. Contest winners will be announced on Monday!

    Don’t forget to enter to win a 8×8 hard-cover photo book from Shutterfly (worth $29.99)!

    Come back Friday for 2FunnyFriday – a meme to link your funny, cute, amusing stories and pictures that make us smile!

    Here’s our family at Halloween –

    Foster Dad proved his eternal love for me by wearing that get-up!
    Good Luck!

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    ADOPTION CELEBRATION!!! {Giveaways and Blog Hop}

    NOVEMBER IS NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH!!!
    Here at Foster2Forever, we are celebrating theadoptionof our Stinkpot and future adoption of our Lil Bit through our state’s foster care system.  You can join in the celebration in a number of ways.

    ADOPTION BLOG HOP
    For the entire month of November, you can join our Adoption Blog Hop with your adoption story. Whether it’s through foster care, a private agency or internationally – and join us even if your adoption journey isn’t complete.
    Go to our ADOPTION BLOG HOP page to join in the fun!

    Foster2Forever will also have our regular 2FUNNYFRIDAY meme for you to link up your cute stories, photos, or other things that make us smile.

    This month we will also have a WORDLESS WEDNESDAY linky, too! For this Wordless Wednesday, November 3rd, we will have a Halloween Costume Contest with prizes! So be sure and add your Halloween photos to our linky on Wednesday!

    SPECIAL GUEST WRITERS
    Foster2Forever is excited to have other adoptive families share in our celebration this month by sharing their stories. Join us on Tuesdays and Thursdays during November to hear their views on a number of adoption topics.

    BASIC BITS FOR BEGINNING BLOGGERS
    A few weeks ago, I attended Bloggy Boot Camp in Austin, Texas.  I was completely overwhelmed by the plethora of information to absorb and implement.  The most emphasized topic was to move to WordPress and have self-hosted dot com.  In other words, to be really successful and efficient, I need to implement a www.foster2forever.com using WordPress! No more dot blogspot.com or dot wordpress.com!

    I have a full-time career, manage a home, and have 3-year-old and 1-year-old boys – I can’t do all this at once! SO, next month, I will begin this project SLOWLY week-by-week with a goal to move Foster2Forever.blogspot.com to WordPress and become Foster2Forever.com in January.
    Please join me through this journey on Tuesdays beginning December 7th???

    GIVEAWAYS
    For National Adoption Month, Foster2Forever will have great giveaways throughout the month.

    Our first giveaway is a hard cover 8×8 photobook from Shutterfly! A $29.99 value!

    In order to enter, complete any of the following below and leave a separate comment below for each entry. Current subscribers and friends, don’t forget to enter!!!

    • Blog about National Adoption Month and this giveaway (3 entries) – leave the perma-link to your post!
    • Subscribe to the Foster2Forever newsletter (2 entries)
    • Like Foster2Forever on Facebook (2 entries)
    • Add the Foster2Forever button to your website (2 entries) – leave your web address
    • Add Foster2Forever to your blogroll (2 entries) – leave your web address
    • Join in our Blog Hops and Memes – Adoption, Wordless Wednesday, 2FunnyFriday (1 entry per hop)
    • Follow Foster2Forever through Google Friend Connect (1 entry)
    • Follow @Foster2Forever on Twitter (1 entry) – leave your Twitter handle
    • Tweet this:  Celebrate Adoption by entering to win a FREE photobook from @Shutterfly and @Foster2Forever #giveaway http://ow.ly/326sz (1 entry per tweet – once daily)
    • Follow @Shutterfly on Twitter (1 entry) – leave your Twitter handle 

    Enter by midnight on Saturday, November 13th. Winner will be announced on Monday, November 15th!
    Wishing y’all good luck!

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    BLOGGY AND MOMMY BOOT CAMPS!

    BLOGGY BOOT CAMP
    Yes, I was fortunate enough to attend the SITS Girls Bloggy Boot Camp this weekend.  What incredible speakers!

    Laurie Turk aka the Tip Junkie overwhelmed us all with all the incredible tools she uses to make the most of her time blogging.  Yesterday, I began writing a list of all the to-do’s and stopped at 20 – realizing that I had to compile a PLAN OF ACTION for this blog.  I will share the beginning of that list later this week!

    Jessica Gottlieb who goes by her real name spoke on privacy — very scary!!!

    Angela England the “Renaissance Woman” gave us a rundown of SEO – Search Engine Optimization – that had our heads spinning. How can someone find your blog on the ever-expanding internet?

    The discussion after lunch led by SITS Girl, Tiffany, and the hilarious Jessica Bern – was a real eye-opener for me about branding. I really didn’t think this applied to this website, but, yes, it can…more on that on a later post.

    Kerri Jackson Case of Damn You, Little Rock did an amusing presentation on writing and telling the truth.  Truth has consequences!

    The oh-so-cute Amy Locurto, yes, of I Heart Faces fame, spoke openly about taking great pictures.  We LOVED the background and dialog of those beautiful photos we admire.

    The most inspiring presentation was given by LaQuishe Wright on “How SEO Helped Channing Tatum Find Me!”  (Channing Tatum is that really hot actor from “Dear John“) Her blog is his official website – yikes!

    I HEART BLOGGERS WITH FACES
    I met so many bloggers on one day that I’m trying to remember everyone.  I didn’t take many pictures, but here’s a photo I took of Christina of Ramblings of a Closet Writer to remind us to perform our monthly breast exams and have a mammogram completed as recommended. (I actually had mine yesterday!)

    MOMMY BOOT CAMP
    I have taken off work a few days to put our 3-year-old, Stinkpot, through Mommy Boot Camp.  He has been totally out of control at the day care.

    In Mommy Boot Camp, if he didn’t say “Yes, Ma’am” when asked to do something (or pottied in his pants), he was put in the corner. Of course, he tried to move just 2 inches out of the corner, but I would move him back 2 inches each time.  Each time out was 2 minutes on the timer. He would get to “hold me” after the timer went off. After a few times, he finally got it and went to the corner himself.

    So I took him back to day care yesterday during my mammogram.  He did really well until about 11a.m. (he had 3 good hours) when he had a major meltdown.  I went into the day care and put him in the corner for 3 minutes, having to move him back 2 inches a few times.  He ate lunch, and we came home and took a 3 hour nap.


    The day care was utter chaos with 24 3-year-olds and only 2 teachers. We MUST find a day care or nanny with a smaller teacher-student ratio! The worst problem is that Stinkpot is not potty-trained. I ordered Potty Power DVD from Amazon, and I’m anxiously awaiting it’s arrival!

    GIVEAWAY WINNER
    With Bloggy and Mommy Boot Camps going on, I messed up and didn’t post a link-up for 2FunnyFriday for the Beauty Case giveaway. However, we did receive 10 comments and #5 was our winner! Congratulations to Annette from Kingwood!!!
    You can visit her blog Up in the Air to send your best wishes.

    Miscellany Monday @ lowercase letters

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    BEAUTY CASE GIVEAWAY!!!!

    Win this fabulous vanity trunk case filled with goodies from The Body Shop! This beauty case is sturdy and inside has many ways to hold your items steady while traveling…

    Includes:
    50 ml Total Energy Enlivening Body Gel
    60 ml Total Energy Exhilarating Body Wash
    60 ml Divide and Multiply Mascara
    50 ml Mango Body Butter
    20 ml Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream

    Bag size: L 9.5” x D 6.33” x H 7.5”

    In order to enter, all you have to do is link up your funny story, picture, joke, etc to our 2FunnyFriday blog carnival meme! Leave a comment below when you link up and include a contact email.

    Enter by midnight on Sunday, October 24th. Random drawing on October 25th!
    I look forward to your LOL posts!
    GOOD LUCK!

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    ADDICTIONS, ADOPTION AND THE BLOGOSPHERE…

    MY ADDICTION…
    Last week, I finally admitted to the world the intensity of my addiction.  Call it – a Freudian slip – or something…
    This week, as I was filling out a questionnaire for life insurance, aliens took over my body (or blame it on the 107 heat here in Texas), as I began checking YES down the page.
    YES – I have or currently use cocaine, marijuana, opiates, heroin, etc.
    YES – I have or currently are seeking treatment for alcoholism….
    Oops! I must be delirious from the heat.
    I completed a NEW form yesterday!

    ADOPTION…
    May be around the corner – This week, our 1-year-old foster baby’s birth mother will be voluntarily relinquishing her parental rights!!! Lil Bit will officially be available for adoption by the end of the month!!!

    Thanks for all your support, advice, prayers during this time.  Last month, I came to a peace about Lil Bit being our child – thanks for all your prayers!

    Now the next hurdle – and it’s a HUGE one – is his citizenship. You see, Lil Bit is a Mexican citizen. Who knows how long it will take to make this baby citizen of the United States???  I’ve already begun teaching him the Pledge of Allegiance – even though – the only word he says right now is, of course, Dada!
    This will probably turn into a type of international adoption before it’s over!

    AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE…
    I loved this post by Kristin at Adventures of a Betty Crocker Wanna Be writing about the day she received her special gift of her son, Cooper.

    Here is a really neat post at Grown in My Heart of 2 brothers separated by adoption reunited years later. Isn’t that such a great photo?

    And if you haven’t seen this post by Kristen at Rage Against the Minivan – Who doesn’t just love it when an adoption is finalized?

    Check out Wendi Aarons’ post on Fun Things to Do When the Heat Index is 107 Degrees!
    (I kind of like the idea of a snow cone bra.)

    Have a great week and come back tomorrow to hear a continuation of our love story!
    Don’t forget to link up your funny posts, pictures, stories, etc. on Friday!

    Hugs to y’all!

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    MISCELLANY MONDAY – Birthdays, Beaches, and Butts

    Miscellany Monday @ lowercase letters

    OUR FOSTER BABY TURNED ONE YEAR OLD….

    Lil Bit turned one year old this week!  To celebrate, on his birthday, we took he and Stinkpot to Chuck E. Cheese. And then on Saturday, we had a small family gathering at a local park so the kids could play on the splash pad.

    Lil Bit’s birthday cupcakes from Sam’s

    However, due to a massive 48-inch broken water main, the entire city was under a water ban…SO the splash pad was CLOSED. And it was 103 degrees on Saturday!! Oops!

    But the kids still had a good time playing on the playground anyway.

     OUR STRONG-WILLED PRESCHOOLER, STINKPOT…
    We’re thinking of sending Stinkpot to Dr. James Dobson’s house for a week so that he can rewrite his book The Strong-Willed Child. He is really earning his nickname this week:

    • He hit both of his teachers on Friday (they want to meet with us today – and this is daycare!)
    • Saturday morning, we had to send him to his room 3 times before he straightened up to go to the birthday party.
    • Bedtime is always HORRIBLE!
    • Naptime yesterday was worse – he finally crashed in the middle of the dining room floor at 5:30.
    • Last night, he called Aunt Rachel to go live with her.
    • “I don’t want to…” or “I want…” begins every sentence.

    Do they have boot camp for preschoolers? Or better yet, send me!

    I HEART BEACH FUN….

    This year, we did not go to the beach due to the BP oil spill! (Check out that link!)

    Look at Stinkpot’s concentration!

    Did it ruin your beach plans, too?

    Last year, we took a family vacation to Houston/Galveston. I was amazed at how Stinkpot knew exactly how to play in the sand – and he did so in the same spot for nearly 2 hours! That is unheard of for my 2-year-old!

    For the beach trip, I took my point-and-shoot camera so the pictures are, well, snapshots.

    Here’s a great realistic pic my hubby took of my flabby old-lady butt. OUCH!

    You can see why I’m doing the twohundredsquats program. 
    I just finished Week 2, but I’m going to repeat it since I’m really sore right now.

    Here’s another photo I took of Stinkpot…

    Straight out of camera

    But don’t you just love the magic of Photoshop?
    I can change that picture to THIS>>>

    Using Coffee Shop Sun Kissed

    I used a free Photoshop action developed by Coffee Shop Rita. You should check out her stuff!

      I entered this photo in this week’s I Heart Faces challenge – click the badge for more “Beach Fun” photos!

       

      Come back Wednesday to hear the next chapter of our love story…
      And on Friday to link up your funny stories with 2 Funny Friday!

      Y’all have a great week!

      I’m Clever

      Sway