A day at the beach!

J leading the way to the beach & carrying his beach toys!

Ummm.... not too sure about the water at first!

The Scopes guy trying to talk J into getting his picture taken...

Finally in the water.... It was cold though!

Working hard on his sand castle (and decorating it w/ sea shells)

We live 30 miles away from a pretty popular resort/beach town.... Every year they have a Sprin and Fall car 'cruise in'.... My hubby go down each time they have it.... Friday night J & I met my hubby down there after work and hung out. We grabbed a bite to eat with our good friends and looked at cars.... Yesterday, I decided since it was going to be nice but, not too hot to take J to the beach during the day.... He loved it and wanted to know if we could come back 'tomorrow'.... He wasn't too sure about the water at first but, then he loved it... We didn't venture out too far but, he had fun being in it! He played in the sand and just enjoyed the whole thing...

When we were done at the beach we met my hubby and watched more classic/muscle cars drive up and down the strip. J loved seeing all the 'race cars'.... J made friends with 2 boys who were sitting next to us and then some more of our friends came with their daughter and son and J became friends with them... They played so nice together! He wanted to see them again today but, we didn't get a chance..... It was a nice day!

While we were at the beach, one of those Scopes guys tried to get J to let him take his picture but, J didn't want too... When they guy came back by us J stopped him and let him take some pics.... I got a really cute one of J! I only wish I could show it on here b/c it is really adorable!

Today we just hung out at home getting things done and being lazy... We all had a late night last night and were pretty tired.....

Mother's Day 2010 (a little late.....)

Having fun w/ 'cousin' Rachel!

Climbing.... He likes to climb!

Climbing again!

Mother's Day gift from my Sister-in-law

This year for Mother's Day my In-laws, hubby, J and I took a day trip to PA to see my Brother-in-law and his family. It's a 3 hr drive each way and this was our first time traveling this type of distance with J. He did very well! We set him up in the back of our SUV with the DVD player, and toys....

My neice and nephew are teenagers so, he didn't really have anyone to play with but, my neice did go with us to a playground not too far from where they live and he got to play. It was a bit chilly out but, he loved having the playground to himself!

My Sister-in-law surprised me by giving me a gift similar to the one she gave my MIL. It's pictured above.... It was very sweet of her!

J slept most of the way back and overall it was a nice day... It was the first time since I have been in the family (almost 11 yrs now) that we have all spent Mother's Day together.... It was nice to be with everyone even for a little while!

Permanency Review Hearing......

Today my hubby and I attended our first 'Permanency Review Hearing' as foster parents.... It was interesting.... Due to confidentiality of course I can't disclose details but, what I can say is the Judge was a no nonsense type of guy.... He acknowledged us twice (we were the only ones for the 3 foster families in attendance) and thanked us for taking a 'troubled' child into our home.... It was nice to be 'recognized'..... It was also interesting watching and hearing everyone.... There were 3 lawyers-- One for the agency, One for the kids & One for bio parents. They all took turns 'grilling' the case worker who did quite well I thought. I learned our 'new' case worker has only been with the agency since Dec 09 and she told me this afternoon during our home visit that it was her first time really testifying....

So, the long and short of it is, we go back in 5 months and see what happens then.....

5 years ago today.....

This is what my sister and J gave me as an early Mother's Day gift today... Perfect!

5 years ago this week I made a choice.... I quit smoking. I wanted to quit smoking before we started TTC so that I would not be one of those ladies you see visably pregnant and smoking... I didn't want my child to learn that smoking is bad for you in school and question me why I still do it..... 5 years ago I made a choice that I needed to for me but, my motivation was for my future... The future I have not reached yet..... I do feel a lot better than when I was a smoker... I am not going to lie-- sometimes I think about starting again when things get stressful and I need a release.... But, then I think about how hard it was to stop (and I had help w/ medicine but, I still did it!) and how many times I *tried* to quit before then and failed.... Sometimes though, I *forget* I was a smoker.... Tonight I saw a commercial about quitting smoking and I *remembered* that I used to be there.... 5 years ago that was me struggling with my addiction... But, now 5 years later I am still smoke free!

Above is a picture of a Angel's Embrace Willow Tree figurine one like my sister gave me from her & J today as an early Mother's Day gift.... It was so sweet and perfect for my life right now..... Thank you K & J! I love you both so much!

They call me Spider.....

J investigating a family of Geese before our FC brunch

Trying to see how close he can really get!

They got tired of us following them all around so they jumped in the water and swam away!

Last Saturday was our Foster Parent Brunch our county hosted for us.... It was nice.... We did a simulation project that showed us some of the obstacles bio parents face and made us more aware of what they go through.... It was a very good excercise! J did well too... He got to see his older sister because her foster family was there too so that was a nice surprise for both of them.... It had been about 2 weeks since they had seen each other.... They gave each family a nice Foster Care month pin... I tried to take a pic so I could upload it but, it kept coming out fuzzy so, I decided not to post it... It is a pretty pretty medium/teal blue ribbon with a pin that says:

'Foster Care change a lifetime National Foster Care Month'

We also met some new foster families we had never met before and saw a couple friends that were in our class.... It was very nice overall!

Now onto the title of this entry.... Last night while I was cleaning up dinner my hubby went outside with J so he could play in his sandbox. I looked out the window and saw J standing outside the box talking away and my hubby was over by the garage.... I didn't open the window to see what they were discussing.... While I was reading J his books before bed, he told me his name was now 'Spider'.... I asked him if I had a new name too and he said 'Yes, you're name is 'Tato Head'... I asked if my hubby had a new name and he said 'Yes, he is 'Napkin'..... So, when my hubby came in to tell J good night we told him our new names.... Later after J was asleep my hubby and i were discussing our new names and he said 'I don't know why he is calling himself Spider, he was scared of them and barely played in his sandbox.....' We both had a laugh because J tries to act tough but, we found out what makes him not so tough!

We are still Spider, Tato Head & Napkin-- my name makes me think of a Ron White comedy skit.......

Mr. Sandman......

J enjoying his new sandbox!

Creating!

Our sand castle village!

Good night Mr. Turtle... We will be back tomorrow!

My hubby and I got J a sandbox today. We went with the Green Turtle. We told J about it this morning and went to get it tonight. J got to pick out the sand toys and boy was he excited! He got to play in it before bath time (good move b/c he needed the bath after playing in there!). We built some sand castle villages and were just creative! He loves it!

Tomorrow starts Foster Care Month. We are attending our counties Foster Parent Breakfast. I am looking forward to spending some time with some of our FC friends that we met in PRIDE classes. There are 2 couples in particular and we all have placements right now! I will try to post about it tomorrow night!

I am off to bed... It's been a long day and I am tired.

Our Baby Monkey......

I wanna go out!

Yeah! I have lots of room to run out here!

Brothers.....

I know I haven't been a foster parent long but, we had to make the hardest decision so far this past weekend.... T wouldn't sleep and after 2 rough nights we were very sleep deprived... I couldn't risk not getting sleep a third night and not being able to function at work..... On Saturday night it was so bad that I had to sit in the recliner all night holding him because everytime I would put him in the crib he woke up screaming.... We couldn't let him 'cry it out' because our rooms are very close together and we were afraid J would wake up and his issues are worse when he doesn't get his sleep..... He was very fussy and clingy in the day time too which caused some jealousy with J and made it hard to do much..... So, we called the on call number on Sunday and told them we couldn't keep him.... J is a challenge and having 2 little boys running us all day and not sleeping at night we didn't know what to do....

I was very sad (and still am) about making that decision but, the family that came to get him yesterday was familiar with him so, although it was a hard decision I felt maybe he would feel more comfortable with a family that knew him..... I miss him so much though.... I know it sounds silly but, even though he was only here a little while, I fell in love with him quickly... When he wasn't fussy or not sleeping he really was a cute and funny lil guy.... I hope we made the right choice.....

I posted some pics of him we took anyway.... He will always be our 'Baby Monkey'.....