Life Goes On

Funny how it doesn't matter what is going on, life just keeps moving forward.  We have a lot happening and not much time to really sit down and process anything.

I have just a little over 2 months left of student teaching and I will be so glad to be finished!  I had no idea when I went back to school that it would be so difficult to manage home, kids, mom and school.  This semester has been the hardest simply because I am not home all day taking care of the usual mommy things.  I don't know how other moms work.  They must have superpowers.

News of the week...

John had a job interview for another VA training job.  I really hope that he gets it.  He really is going crazy being at home.  I knew that he would have problems with being at home once I was gone.  Staying at home sounds so easy, however, for someone who is used to working it is so hard.  He says that he feels like a duck without a pond and he is in search of his pond.

Michelle has been diagnosed with scoliosis.  This is a new area for me so I am researching.  Right now we are at the watch and see phase.  Anyone else out there dealing with this?

Larissa is now having seizures when she is awake.  She had one at home right in front of me and one at school. Thankfully I had talked to her teacher before it happened and she was watching for it.  Larissa is struggling.  She is failing school this semester.  I think that part of it is less mommy time but I also think that part of it is neurological in nature.  I have requested services for her since she went off of her IEP last year.  I wish that I had known that she would struggle so much this year or I would have had them keep her on it for one more year.  That process is limping along.  Sometimes I feel as though the year will be over before she gets any help.  I may have to homeschool her in the future.  She is just not able to cope with the demands of traditional school.

Anthony is struggling in school but not as much as Larissa.  He does have an IEP in place and gets extra help.  His biggest gift is the arts.  We went to the school last Thursday for an art show and his art teacher told me that there is an art program called Arts Arising.  Kids can start in the 3rd grade.  It is a summer art program and you have to test to be accepted into it.  Then she told me that she had sent the paperwork home for the test and since we didn't send it back Anthony wasn't considered.  The testing is on March 4th.  So I called the director of the program to see if there was any way that we could have Anthony tested.  We talked for a while and he agreed to let him test.   He said that only 1 in 5 of the student who tested were accepted.  I hope that Anthony is one of those kids.  He loves his art.

Foster kid is still here.  We are mean (according to him).  He really doesn't like consequences.  That is life.  Nine year old boys are hard!  It is quite possible that he will go to his grandmothers when they have court next Monday.  His GAL is coming for a visit tomorrow so maybe we will get some intel on the case.

My brother from Texas came for a visit.  We talked about mom and her unwillingness to work her physical therapy and how she has declined.  I decided that it was time to put her on the waiting list at a nursing home.  I did my research and talked to a lot of people and decided on a specific home.  We are on their waiting list which they said was 2-12 months long.  Big difference between 2 and 12 months but we are on their schedule.

Adoption worker was here today for the girls.  No new news.  TPR is next Wednesday then hopefully we can start to move forward again.  I told the girls SW the other day that she was like family now but that we would prefer that she stop visiting.  She agrees.

I finally got the girls on medicaid.  I called and said that I was their SW.  Then I emailed their SW to tell her how I got them enrolled.  She laughed and said that I should have done it long ago.  They asked all types of questions that the SW wouldn't have known.  This system is crazy.

I also got paperwork in the mail letting us know that Kassi is now covered by medicaid.  This is a relief!  We still haven't gotten back her adoption paperwork so she is still in limbo. We can't change her name at school without something to prove that we are her parents.  It is so frustrating.

Want pictures?  I have been so busy and haven't taken many!

Tasha is painting her furniture in preparation for her move.  She is leaving this week, I will miss her!

 



Still here

Well, I am still here.  Busy, busy and going crazy.

Our foster son is still with us.  DSS sent a request to the state asking that we have 6 children in the home under the age of 18.  After two phone calls asking us who was sleeping where, they allowed us to keep K.  OK, we figured that he would be very short term but I guess not.  I think that he will be leaving in 30 days at the merit hearing.  Apparently a grandmother has come forward and wants him, this happens occasionally just not often for us.



I started this post yesterday and a lot has happened in that time!  Can't really discuss it now.  I think that a lot of changes will be happening in the near future.  Please pray for our family.

DSS Called

On Thursday DSS called our house.  I thought that they were calling about our medicaid issue.  I was so wrong.  They called about a possible placement.  I told them that we couldn't take new kids because we were at the limit.  They said that since we just adopted our foster kid we could now take a placement since she is now ours.  I told her that we still had the kids from the other county, we are full.  She insisted, I argued, she insisted. Finally I said who are you trying to place.  An 8 year old boy and I called you because I knew you wouldn't say no.

Well, I said to send him and when you figure out that we are over limit then you can find someone who can take him.  It was us or a children's home.  So Thursday we received an 8 year old boy. 

Anthony is enjoying having another boy in the house.  We have talked about adopting a boy so I guess this gives us an opportunity to see how we do with more kids in the house.  The table is too small and when we go to church we will not fit in one car.  I can easily build a bigger table top but affording a bigger car will be our bigger challenge.

I expect that next week they will be able to find him a home.  It is just funny how you can get these calls when you know that you can't take them.  Our county is sending more kids to children's homes than they have done in the past.  I am not sure if it is because of less foster parents or more kids coming into care.  I used to keep up with that type of information but lately I haven't.  Oh, I have a major paper due on Monday and haven't started it so wish me luck on that one! Ugh.

In case you are curious.....5 pizza's fills up the crew.

Medical Insurance Nightmare

We are struggling to get our kids insured!  First Kassi, adopted in December.  Adoption is great, having the paperwork to prove it would be even greater!  We still don't have any paperwork showing that we adopted her.  Nothing.  She is no longer a foster child so is not served by DSS and yet we can't prove that she is ours to put her on our insurance.  She was born in another state and it adds another kink. 

We called our doctor and they said she wasn't on their medicaid.  Right when we completed the adoption medicaid changed all foster children into HMO's.  Our doctor doesn't take HMO medicaid so all the unadopted children have to move doctors.  We had hoped to get Kassi on Tricare so we wouldn't have to worry about it.  We had no idea that it would take this long since it didn't with Anthony and Larissa.

On Thursday my husband went up to DSS to ask about her medicaid to see which doctor she was transferred to.  They gave him a piece of paper to call medicaid himself.  He went home and called and they said that they couldn't talk to him, they had to talk to someone at DSS. 

Yesterday I went up to DSS after school and told them that I had to get this medicaid thing straight.  We were able to get a person from DSS to talk to medicaid.  Oh, she wasn't switched to a different doctor, she was totally taken off of medicaid.  She is not insured at all.  We can't get her on our insurance because we have no proof that we have adopted.  Medicaid said to fill out the form for Medicaid and bring it in.  They say that they will process it without the paperowrk.  Who wants to bet that when I take it back I will have another challenge?  Ugh, I bet that she isn't insured until March.

Then there are our two little ones.  Their SW gave us their new cards with a doctor name and a piece of paper that said that you have to call in to activate the card.  We called the number and they said that DSS has to do  it.  Naturally.  We have called the SW on numerous occasions and left voice mail messages.  No response which is actually unusual for her.  So, we can't get them to a doctor either.  Next week I will be calling the supervisor to get some action on this. 

There you have it.......our medical insurance nightmare. 

Later I will write about our interesting call from DSS..........

Neglected Blog

Why I have neglected this site........

Three weeks into student teaching with 12 more to go.  We may just survive this semester.  Mondays I get home around 8 pm since I go to class from school.  I don't see the little ones except for when I am walking out the door to head to my school.  Tuesday is dance for Larissa and Anthony and Thursday is dance for Emma.  Two assignments are due on Friday morning at 8 am when I am in class so they have to be done on Thursday.  Another assignment is due by Saturday at 10 am.  I have one big assignment due on Monday.  About every two weeks a big assignment is due. I almost forgot to apply for graduation.  That has to be turned in on Monday.  I will be in class so my dear husband has to do it for me.  One of those ooops moments!

Of course, I have my normal daughter, wife and mother duties as well.  The kids went a few days picking out their own outfits when I realized that I needed to make more time for laundry!

On a positive note, I made reservations for DisneyWorld this summer.  We will be there the first week of June.  It was supposed to be an adoption celebration but I am doubtful that all of our adoptions will be complete at that time.

Monday we meet with Larissa's Child Study team to determine how to help her.  She is really struggling.  Larissa and Anthony share some of the same learning disabilities thanks to genetics and mom making bad choices about drinking during her pregnancy.  The kids didn't chose to have these challenges, they are living with the results of their mom's choices.

Michelle is having a hard time making positive choices for herself.  She is having a boring weekend since she gave her teacher such a hard time all week.  She heard me on the phone with Disney this morning making reservations and asked me about it.  Disney is actually a sore subject for her, her last adoptive home promised to take her to DisneyWorld.  At least this will be a promise fulfilled.

I did take some time to complete a painting project....

http://felmelscreations.blogspot.com/

 

 

So, I am curious, what is everyone else up to and who is still reading my neglected blog?