NoseInABook
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Posts posted by NoseInABook
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I wouldn't do it with a long trip coming up. Honestly, most of my kids had it click when they were almost 3. I might offer underwear younger but I don't expect mine to be potty trained until close to 3. My 4th is coming up on that and little does he know... he is going underwear only in two weeks. Mwahaaha.
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We have 5 kids and live pretty frugally. We do have room for extras and I'm not quite sure WHERE that comes from because our income isn't very large. We have no debt other than our mortgage, live in a low COL area, and drive ancient clunkers which allows us to make it. Our house is probably "too small" for 7 people but it works for us even though I daily lament the lack of another toilet... or two. ;)
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For us, baby four was very easy to add in. He meshed with us beautifully and it wasn't rocky in the least. Baby five wasn't hard either but that came with the extra that fostering vs biological babies does. Honestly, the third was the roughest for us and I'm not sure if it was because I suddenly didn't have enough hands to manage all of the kids at once or if it was because my other two were newly 15 months and 25 months when she was born.
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ROFL Too funny!!
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I wonder if it's the hijab or 4 kids mentioned in your siggie? I've heard of a lot of families with more than 2 kids having a hard time renting a place, especially a smaller one like you mentioned it was.
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We try to do a big picture and then plan one week at a time according to that big picture. It seems to be working pretty well for us and that way I don't over plan then get thrown off course by a new foster baby or some other big life event. I set aside 1.5 hours each Sunday evening to print off whatever needs to be copied/printed and write what needs to be done in the planner. I can't fly by the seat of my pants without ending up stressed and yelling at the kids in the morning. :bag
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*popcorn* Still reading Written In My Own Heart's Blood but I don't want to lose y'all!
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Generally the house is presentable but I'm in pajamas/lounge clothes. I always have to be prepared for someone to pop in at a moment's notice and I'm still often running for a bra. *shifty eyes*
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I'm 22% in and enjoying it! I was reading a few other books when it landed on my Kindle so it had to wait a bit.
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You can do most of that just reading in bed. *nods* See if your husband can drag a work table into the bedroom for the kids and supervise from there. I totally understand, I was on bedrest with all four bio babies for months on end. It's tough to parent from bed but it'll pass and the kids won't remember it a year later.
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Sweet, I just got The Golem and the Jinni. I won't start it for a bit but I kept coming back to it when you guys were talking about it so it landed on my wish list. Can't pass it up for $1.99!
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I'm a night owl for sure. I usually roll out of bed around 8am with the kids. Occasionally the older ones have been up for 30 minutes and are puttering around the house playing with some toys or reading books on the couch. I just can't force myself to be up earlier so I'm happy if my coffee is going and 5 kids are dressed/fed by 9am. I usually am in lounge clothes if we're at home but if we're going to leave, I'll take a quick shower and leave my hair to air dry as the kids are eating breakfast.
Bible study/quiet time comes at nap time. Exercise is squeezed in in the late afternoon/early evening and doesn't happen as much as it needs to. ;) Once the kids are in bed at 8pm, that's my 4 hours to be my introvert self.
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Mumto2, I'm glad you got your car back but that's bizarre that they took your sunglasses and random things.
I need to read more Neil Gaiman. I truly enjoyed American Gods and am loving watching my husband read it because he'll just randomly gasp or yelp when he makes connections. *laughs*
Finally finished The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks today. It was a good read. I also read Amanda Blake Soule's Handmade Home bringing me to 48 books finished so far this year. I feel like I'm lagging but c'est la vie! I'm going to focus on Written In My Own Heart's Blood instead of opening another book. I seem to do better when I focus on just one at a time which feels odd to me because I'm used to having stacks of books that I'm reading all at once.
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Yes, several times and I enjoy it. I try to hit different translations each year but sometimes that's just not possible. My favorite is the ESV but I really enjoyed going through The Message Bible too just to read it more in a story style.
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Ooh, thanks!
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My kids need 11-12 hours of sleep, depending on the kid. They are in bed at 8pm and that's 30 minutes later than our recent norm. The kids are up at 7:30/8am. If they don't get that sleep, they are howling wildebeests and I really regret it. ;)
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Art Prize! That takes place in a town about 45 minutes away from me. :) I didn't get to make it this past year. *pout* But I have many artist friends who were involved in it.
Still working through the same two books. I just want a day where I can sit and do nothing but read. Please? Not for me but I bought my eldest daughter her first chapter book and she was squealing thrilled this morning. She's 6.5 and has been ready but wasn't confident that she could do it though she's ripping through the easy readers. It's pure fluff but it's the first Nancy Clancy chapter book and she was in l-o-v-e with the Fancy Nancy readers. Can I just say there is quite possibly no greater joy that to see your children love reading too?
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Happy belated birthday, Stacia! I missed it in the last thread!
Oh man, looking at that tubing picture makes me want to go tubing RIGHT NOW. I'm definitely going at least once this summer.
As for reading, I haven't picked up a book today so I'm going to go snuggle up with Written In My Own Heart's Blood for a while before sleep.
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Mumto2, Oh my gosh, that's terrible. I'm so glad it was found! Both my mother and brother had their vehicles stolen in the past. Both were more common vehicles, my brother's was a total junker but the police said they are more likely to steal junkers because it doesn't look as suspicious? People are crazy.Robin, love the new avatar!Shukriyya, mmm, good coffee and chocolate? Toss in a book and life doesn't get any better.
I have a feeling I'm going to be reading The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks and Written In My Own Heart's Blood for-ev-er. ;) This baby is sweet but his presence makes it possible to read about three pages before crashing out! With all of the added appointments, there's no time during the day to sit and read either. Hopefully it'll calm down a little next week and I can use his visits to read. Found out today that he'll likely only be here for a few weeks until the courts can approve a relative which stinks for us but family is important if they're safe. -
Stacia, praying that you feel better soon!
I told myself I'd focus on Written In My Own Heart's Blood because the story is good. Then I'm like, "Just the prologue and one chapter of The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks..." Perhaps not the greatest choice but it definitely has sucked me in!
Here's hoping I'll continue to find reading opportunities because we just accepted the placement of a 3 month old foster son today. Small babies aren't always conducive to reading. ;) We'll see if he gets to stay, he has a relative who just expressed interest after he was placed here. If you're a praying person, please do pray for him because his story is heartbreaking.
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Man, now I'm craving chocolate after reading this. Has anyone tried Chocolove bars? I lived for Chocolove Cherries and Almonds in dark chocolate when I was nursing my dairy allergic baby.
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The agency did not want to find a new place and asked the judge to intervene because what many people are never told when they join the system here in Michigan is that once you have your license and judge can FORCE you to keep it open for up to two years if they have a child placed with you that they do not want to move. Now, they tell you that once you issue a letter they are required by law to move that child, but in reality they can appeal it to a judge.
Um, whoa Nelly. I am licensed in Michigan and I've never heard of that happening before. My jaw just hit the ground. Our private agency requires 30 days to find a new placement for the child if you issue a letter. I've never heard of any child being left in that placement for longer than that 30 day period so this blows my mind.
Thank you, Ewe Mama. It's tough to raise a baby from 5 weeks to 14 months of age then have to send them back to a really unfortunate situation. Even worse is that we're Mama/Daddy in his eyes and we're unable to see him now despite bio mom's reassurance that she would definitely let us see him after he was reunified. :( Fostering really stinks sometimes but I'd do it all over again for him and am awaiting a call for another so clearly, I think the kids are worth it.
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Oh man, what a day! I get migraines with the aura quite often so I feel for you.
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To see if the child fits with the family well. If the placement ends up not working well for the child or the parents, they need to know in order to find a more suitable adoptive home.
I can see why they do it but it takes for-ev-er to adopt from foster care which is frustrating. Here, it's bare minimum a year long process to adopt and you'll often have a year plus of flat out fostering before the adoption process starts rolling. Most people I know who have adopted from foster care have 2 years into the relationship before they're able to finalize. I personally would like the adoption process to go quicker if you've already been fostering the child but here there's only one person who approved the adoptions for the entire state. (This is all coming from the perspective of a foster parent who recently reunified a child with bio family after having him over a year.)
5 kids in a minivan on a roadtrip
in The Chat Board
Posted
I have two main tips. We pack in duffel bags because we can squish them in better than actual suitcases. This way they all fit in the trunk of the minivan. I also bought two cheap waste baskets at Target then filled them with snacks. One for the kids and one for the adults. We also used the adult one to hold kindles, phones, phone chargers, etc so we weren't losing them in the pile of STUFF between the driver's seat and passenger seat. I brought a wicker basket from home and filled it with books, doodle books, crayons, and paper. I won't ever do a trip again without baskets. It kept the stuff together and not all over my van/unable to find half of it.