Should we keep our Foster License?

Over the past three months my husband and I have had numerous conversations in regards to maintaining our Foster License. This has been one of those conversations that makes you feel like a dog chasing its tail. It seems as if all of our conversations end with, "well, lets talk about it again, later".  We do not currently have any Foster children in our home. So it is quite easy to say "lets be done".  On one hand you are ready to move on with life, because lets face it... When you are a foster parent your life changes in a way that is quite different than the normal "we just had a baby" life change. For example, you are tied down to your childs schedules. Your Foster child might have to leave your home five days a week for therapy visits, visits with their parents, attending parenting classes with their parents etc.   Of course there is always the vacation dilemma... They are not to leave the county. Yes, I said COUNTY... Most of the time for weekend getaways you just need a social workers approval, but if you are planning on going cross country Disneyworld or Lego Land, you will need the parents approval, if you don't get it, you can try to obtain approval from the Judge. If that doesn't work, your family minus the Foster child go on vacation, while they get shuffled to another Foster home while you are on vacation.

Then there is the struggle of what age children you want in your home. More of a struggle for us now that we have adopted children. Lets face it, Many kids in Foster Care have been exposed to some horrific things. The last thing you want is for your children to be exposed. It bothers me that I have to cast judgement on children I have never met, but for the safety of our own kids it is necessary. We have come to a conclusion on that, birth to age 3.

It has been nice for the past six months to maintain a bit of privacy. You definitely lose that as a Foster Parent. It feels like you constantly have somebody coming to do a well child visit, whether it is the Social Worker or the Guardian Ad Litem (advocate appointed by the court). If you do not transport your child to all of their appointments, then you have to deal with all of the different transport drivers. Each agency uses different drivers, so now you are exposing your home to all of the drivers. So, not only is your door constantly swinging open but to say that your phone rings non stop would not be an understatement.

Lets get real, what it all comes down to is emotional stability. Are we strong enough to allow kids in and out of our home? That is where we struggle. I am currently doing all of the continuing education to maintain our license.. The one thing we have discovered is that there is nothing worse than letting your license expire and then taking a placement. Like we did with Ademan. That was a lot of craziness!

At the end of the day we want to continue to help. There are many ways to help such as traditional Foster Care, after hours emergency placement, special needs placement, respite or receiving care. The one thing we have learned through all of this is ultimately those choices are made for us.

Sourdough Starter

A few months ago our neighbors invited us over for a waffle breakfast. Not a small task considering we are a traveling party of five, not including my father-n-law who went with us that morning. Being the incredible woman she is, she went above and beyond with fresh berries, homemade whip cream, chocolate pieces, and syrup. As if that was not enough she also had a platter of spicy sausage waiting on the table by 8:00 a.m. I was so impressed. That is the morning I discovered Sourdough starter. Where has this been all my life?! I am not a huge waffle lover. Do I feel the need to get one every time we are at a Brunch? Yes... but I realy don't know why, to me they are not worth it. BUT, a sourdough waffle is a divine creation all to itself.

She sent me home with my beginner starter. To say I wasn't intimidated would be a lie. Here are the rules.

•  store it in a glass or plastic container.
•  Only mix it with a wood spoon, or spatula coated in rubber. Get the drift? the starter cannot touch metal.
•  The starter can be stored on the kitchen counter if you know you will be using it in the near future. Otherwise, you can store it in the refrigerator. When brought out of the refrigerator make sure you let it sit for a day before you start adding to it.
•  You need to add flour and water every few days to "grow it". How much you ask? a handful. (Trust me I struggled with that one, a small handful or large handful? Doesn't matter it is all about consistency). Oh, and don't add while it is in the refrigerator, because that is when it is resting. Only when it is on the counter (and active) do you want to add to it
• Do NOT place anything but water or flour in there.
• If you develop mold, get rid of it and start over.

Trust me, I was pretty glazed over by this point! If they had not been so darn good, I would have probably nixed the whole idea of trying it myself. After the first week, I got the hang of it. It really is not difficult, and the cool thing is all of the possibilities for your starter. Waffles, Hotcakes, Bread, Doughnuts, Cookies, Chocolate Cake (I have been told it is delicious), and so much more.

The best part? When it comes time to make the waffles, all you do is add 2 tbsp. sugar, 4 tbsp. oil, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp baking soda to 2 cups of your starter. Mix and make! A pretty fancy breakfast mixed in under two minutes.

So needless to say we have been eating a lot of waffles. Our favorite so far is with whip cream and homemade strawberry preserves. Ok and maybe a side of bacon!

I did purchase from Amazon, this book which is full of recipes for your starter. It also tells you how to make a starter for those who don't know someone that they can take a half cup from. I can honestly say I don't think I will ever be without a starter again.