Search Results for: blog im a foster cat mom

What’s the Most Important Parenting Skill?

  Patience, forgiveness, empathy?  What is the most important parenting skill? Good parenting isn’t presented to us at baby showers or as a parting gift from hospital staff following 21 hours of labor.  So, how do you acquire the skills needed to raise decent human beings?  Moreover, what are the most important qualities needed to ensure your child is able to grow into a valuable member of society? Patience:  Wash, dry, fold, break up fights, chauffeur, shop, cook, clean, repeat… over and over again.  After years of this monotony it’s no wonder many parents find it challenging to be patient … Continue reading →

Happy Kids: Mission Impossible?

You’re familiar with the saying, “Happy wife, happy life,” but have you found the key to fostering that happiness? According to a new survey, happy kids beget happy moms/wives which beget happy husbands/dads. The equation seems simple enough until you factor in life’s discomforts, hardships and disappointments. I’d love for my child to be happy 24/7.  What parent wouldn’t?  After all, nothing makes most moms and dads happier than to see their children in high spirits. My own 8-year-old would love for her entire family to be happy every minute of every day and is visibly uncomfortable when that idealistic … Continue reading →

Golden Globes: Did Jodie Foster Come Out?

Last night’s Golden Globes was a great night of pretty dresses, good jokes, lots of drinks, and a few odd moments.  I have to lump Jodie Foster’s speech under the odd category. The actress (who I think is absolutely incredible at her craft) received the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award.  She walked on stage looking stunning – the blue dress was beautiful and matched her eye color perfectly.  She looked gorgeous and young, but reminded the crowd she was 50. The speech itself was rather scattered to me.  She seemed to ramble about her age … Continue reading →

Cat People vs. Dog People

I’ve already debunked the whole cats and dogs can never get along theory. What about whether you’re a cat person or a dog person, and what that says about your personality? I recently caught part of a NOVA documentary exploring that very thing, and I wish I’d seen more of it. The opening was full of cat people and dog people talking about the respective attributes of their favorite mammals, before examining what life is like at home for each of them. Although the concept was fascinating, I felt a little put out. What about me? I love dogs and … Continue reading →

Dog Days of Summer: Pets on Vacation

Pet owners face a unique situation when making our summer travel plans: we have to worry about our pets. Do we only go places where we can take our pets, or do we try to find care for them while we’re away? Website Pet Relocation released its third annual Summer Pet Travel Survey. They found that 70% of the people questioned plan to travel with their pets. If you want to take your animals along with you on vacation this summer, there are a few things you have to consider. Make sure you can bring your animal with you where … Continue reading →

Diary of a Work At Home Mom Part 14

There are times when it seems as though I get absolutely nothing accomplished. I am sure that I am not the first home-based professional parent to feel this way, nor will I be the last. At times like this I wonder, am I really that bad at managing time that I am not getting anything done or am I getting things done but not things that are readily quantifiable or things that society assigns a high level of importance to. Fortunately, I believe that the latter is the case because I do not sit on my bottom all day eating … Continue reading →

Reunification?

Our children all have the same biological mother, just different biological fathers. Our two sons were placed in foster care when George was 2 months and Steve was 2 years old. The biological mother had a reunification plan that she had to follow but she disappeared without completing the plan. When she was missing for about a year the state severed her parental rights on them. What the state did not know was when she disappeared she was leaving for a new guy. The new guy helped her create our little Rebecca. Rebecca was removed from her care directly after … Continue reading →

Reunification is Not an Option For Me

The day after our face to face with CPS and the biological mother to our kids I was feeling a little more hopeful that case worker would finally be thinking that reunification is out of the question. Why would they consider reunification to a mother who just married a guy out of the blue that is obviously abusing her? They wouldn’t right? So why is it that the case worker called and said they were adding the new husband to the reunification parenting plan? They were going to offer him counseling and parenting classes that were going to be mandatory … Continue reading →

I am Going to be a Mom

So we got the news last night that we were going to be parents of a three year old son and a 14 month old son. I can hardly believe it I was going to be a Mom!!! The excitement of seeing their pictures the next day made it impossible to sleep. When the email came from our case worker they sent it to my husband’s work. When he got the pictures he was so excited he could barely speak. He sent me the email and I opened it up to see my sons, they had big brown eyes and … Continue reading →

Visiting and Helping an Animal Shelter

We love animals. My daughter would like a dog, but I think that we are full at the moment. With fish, two pet rats, and four – ack! – cats, the ark is definitely not taking any more animals at the moment. She would also like to be a vet (and a sushi chef, and a doctor, and a …). She likes to pretend that she is rescuing animals. If you have a child who also loves animals, visiting or helping an animal shelter or rescue center is one way to encourage their interest. If you can visit the shelter … Continue reading →