Wishful Thinking

For those of you who have followed my blog over the years,

you know that I have suffered from infertility. 

My blog has been a testament of my hopes and dreams

and over the years my coming to terms that maybe a baby 

just wasn't in the cards for us. 

Having children in our home through fostering has certainly

helped feel the void, but I've never given up hope.

We are still hoping - don't get too excited...

but I recently had a laparoscopic surgery to remove my endometriosis

which I have suffered with for the last 10 years.

Going into surgery my biggest fear was that they wouldn't find anything,

and that I was just weak and needed to buck up.

Well they actually found a lot!!!

What was suppose to be a quick recover took over a week,

with an estimated 3-6 month to a full recovery.

So where does that put us now?

Back in baby dreaming mode!!!

This is both exciting and tremendously scary for me. 

I'm terrified of re-entering that dark place that consumed me for over 2 years,

and that I fought so hard to dig my way out of. 

As an anxious person it's not easy to just 

"not think about it"

but I'm doing my best to concentrate on my recovery,

count my blessings that I may possibly be much healthier going forward,

and love on the kiddos who I'm blessed to have in my life now. 

  

So in the pursuit of wishful thinking

I am once again working on a baby nursery.

(Our nursery in our home in Portland)

Luckily this time around I'm not getting to entirely ahead of myself,

as this room is and will continue to be a room for our foster kiddos as well.

While the room across the hall is most defiantly for girls only,

I wanted this room to be gender neutral. 

I purchased an original vintage poster from the Disney classic

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too

to serve as the inspiration for the room.

This week we had a custom log loft and twin bed installed in the room

- created by Unique Western Woodworks of Eagle, Idaho.

Aaron of Unique Western Woodworks also designed and built 

our king four poster canopy bed for our new master bedroom.

Of coarse Miller dog had to be the first one to test out the new bed. 

We were hoping he wouldn't be able to jump up this high -

but no such luck. 

At-least our new life in a king size been allows everyone (dogs included)

to stretch out and get a good nights rest. 

So the plan now is to start painting, 

I want most of the walls to be a warm light honey color

with a tone on tone mural on the back wall of trees

inspired by the wonderful illustration by artist 

Kailey Lang of Ontario Canada.

She has such a charming website

and her work is so breathtaking!

She certainly has a bright future ahead of her!!!

The wall behind the crib will be blue with while polka dots.

I want all the bedding in the room to be white, with red gingham 

dust ruffles and pillow shams.

I can't wait to see the room all come together,

but there is a lot of work ahead of me.

I tend to be wishy washy about my style,

so I hope that this little inspiration board will keep me on track.

1. White Polka Dot on Blue (back wall of crib)

2. Warm Honey colored wall color for majority of the room

3. Log beds

 (image source) - Comfort Source - Montana Woodworks Glacier Country Bed 

4. Red Gingham Curtains

(image source) - Scotts of Stow 

5. Walt Disney, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too Poster

(image source) - Amazon.com

6. Red Gingham Pillows

(image source) - Lynne's This and That

7. Storage Inspiration

(image source) - Road Side Photographs 

8. Mural Inspiration

(image source) - Kailey Lang, Green Misty Forest 

9. Spring Garden Serenity Crib

(image source) - KooKoo Bear

Top image is a magazine clipping from an unknown source

I believe it's a 1970s Sears ad. 

PLEASE Keep up in your thoughts and prayers

that we are blessed with our own bundle of joy

SOON!!! 

The First Year - Foster Parenting

We have been foster parents for just over a year now and the adventures we've had,

the stories we could tell, and the memories we have made are far too numerous to count.

We have learned along the way to weather the bad days with humor,

lower our expectations without forfeiting our values,

and that every child has the ability to grow and thrive

despite what tragically sad stories brought them to our door step.

The biggest challenges:

When you tell someone you are a foster parent

typically the first thing you hear come out of their mouths is something to the affect 

"how do you let them go?" of coarse this is a concern, but I find that for me

what is more challenging than saying goodbye, is saying hello.

As foster parents we are given very little information

concerning why the child is being placed in care. 

It's not until months down the road that you really start piecing together what has 

really happened to your child. But none the less here you are with a frightened,

little stranger at your door who is typically beyond upset, 

angry, and in dire need of a good long bath. 

If you will, the first few minutes that child enters your home

 is like dancing with a comply stranger.

Do you come in close and two step side by side or turn up the volume and let them 

hash out their emotions on the dance floor? 

Many children don't even know what's taken place,

I have children in my home today, that even after months of being in our care

still don't comprehend why they can't go home, and/or what their parents did wrong. 

It's easy to feel like the bad guy,

and some children will NEVER see it otherwise

 no matter how much love you show them.

Not only are you a stranger but your STRANG!!!

It doesn't take long before you and your new arrival are 

butting heads. Sure you might have a honeymoon period,

but eventually your new kiddo will want things to be just like they

were before... at their home.

But this is your home,

and in your home there are rules, chores, homework time, bed time,

and many other limitations and expectations

all of which are typically foreign concepts

to your new kiddo.

Typically children are one extreme or the other,

either they are "advanced" for their age

as they assumed roles their parents were not attending to,

or their "behind" from lack of exposure

with little to no parental expectations. 

Guilt: Sometimes your wish you could send them back.

That sounds awful!! I hate to think it, and I especially

have a hard time not pushing the delete key and moving past this topic,

but you aren't going to "love" every child.

On occasion I've told my social workers,

"I love so and so, but I don't love having them in my home."

I sometimes wonder if I don't have a big enough heart,

or if I'm not really cut out for being a foster parent.

It's easy to start second guessing why your a foster care provider at all,

when a child in your home makes you miserable.

It's times like these when I have to remind myself that I'm not a professional,

I have no special training for dealing with extreme behaviors,

I have other children, and responsibilities in my life that take up energy,

and unfortunately in life we just don't mesh with everyone we encounter. 

So you do your best, you cope, you reach out, and you give yourself a break -

that's all you can do!!!

Eventually you say goodbye... and yes, it's not easy.

We've been lucky so far, 

that our children's reunifications have been positive experiences. 

I often tell people, "I am sentimental to let them go, not sad."

Of coarse it's hard to say goodbye when you've created a life with these kids,

but no matter how bad their parents screwed up

a child's love is unmistakably constant. 

I never try to replace a child's parent,

it's not my place to fill that role.

Do I sometimes wish that child could stay?

Absolutely!

Do I think they could have a better life in our home?

YES!

But do I believe that they would be most happy with us?

NO!

So sometimes you cry, and you may even need to rant and rave,

but generally you are happy to see your child transition back to were they really belong.

The biggest blessings:

Laughter - without a doubt it's the laughter that brings me the most joy!

When we sit at the kitchen table at dinner time and everyone is talking a mile a minute,

and I think to myself how empty and quite our lives would be

if we hadn't embarked on this incredible adventure. 

The Little Things - when so much of your day seems consumed with 

keeping the peace, drying tears, enforcing rules, and doing laundry, 

it's easy to feel completely defeated. 

But then someone comes along and uses their magic (polite) words without being asked,

or someone tells you they love you, while another does something so cute or funny that you forget

about everything else going on around you - well those things are MAGIC!

They get you through the day, the month, and before long you can't imagine life without all the noise, and tantrums, and dirty dishes.

Personal Growth - There is nothing more rewarding than learning something new, 

and many times it's something you didn't even think you wanted to learn.

It wouldn't be fair if I didn't expect myself to overcome 

my own fears, and shortcomings -

so we all work on personal goals both mentally and emotionally. 

 As foster parents we are asked each year during our relicensing 

to come up with a few goals for the upcoming year. 

It's important to evaluate and perceive our own shortcomings.

My goals for this year are: 

To learn new techniques for dealing with strong willed children 

- especially toddlers.

Work on developing and directing family discussions

- becoming a strong leader in my home when it comes to conflict resolution. 

And learning more about puberty and how to teach healthy and responsible 

personal hygiene.

Well I better sign off - I've left two toddlers to tend to themselves for the last past hours.

Who knows what disasters await me. 

Clips

Let's be honest, over the top headbands are so much fun

but how many of our little stinker keep them on their sweet little heads?

In the last year we have had 10 little girls come into our home,

and only a few of them can manage to keep a headband

 on for more than an hour or two. 

So it's no wonder that most of my headbands are purchased for special occasions,

like birthdays, Easter, and photo shoots. 

But on ordinary ol' days you and your little ones can 

happily sport some fun yoyo hair clips.

I'm currently making alligator and snap clips,

and very very soon I'll be introducing french clips too!

Example of a yoyo french clip I recently made

 for a very special customer. 

Snap clips are perfect for holding back bangs, adding a touch of bling,

and are the perfect size for baby girls.

While alligator clips are perfect for adding flare to pony tails and pig tails

and can be attached to an interchangeable elastic headband

for both babies and little girls. 

Check out the current selection of yoyo hair clips

now available in my shop

or feel free to contact me anytime for custom made accessories. 

Thanks to my Friend Cecilia for the sweet images of her darling little pumpkins,

I especially adore the mother daughter pictures! 

I'm Hosting a Giveaway!

I'm quite delighted to be hosting a very special Valentines Giveaway this year. 

Shabby Apple is an online boutique offering women's to little girl clothing and accessories

specially made for the modern girl, but with all the flare of our favorite vintage classics.

 Shabby Apple has generously offered my readers

 10% off all orders made in the next 30 days,

and one very lucky winner will receive their very own sunny yellow Lighthouse dress

that yours truly is modeling. 

In addition to the yellow version I'm wearing,

this cotton summer dress also comes in a very pretty hue of turquoise. 

The Set Sail collection at ShabbyApple.com 

is most defiantly my personal favorite. 

If one or two of the collections catch your fancy,

and you think you may want to make a purchase in the very near future...

please do not forget to use "ittybittybirdy10off" upon checkout.

Entry rules:

1st. entry - Like Shabby Apple on facebook

(come back and leave comment)

2nd. entry - Leave me a comment letting me know 

what Shabby Apple collection is your favorite.

3rd. entry - Like ittybittybirdy - yoyo creations on facebook

(come back and leave comment)

(p.s) I will also be giving away a $20 custom yoyo creation

on Valentines day to one of my Facebook followers

I will (randomly) pick a winner Valentines Day!

Best of luck!!!

Play Theater: DIY

I've been pondering quite a bit lately my responsibilities as a foster parent.

Because the children in my home are not my own, 

I sometimes let myself be anything but the perfect parent.

I put the kiddos in front of the television far more

 than I should like to think I would ever do with my own little pumpkins. 

I'm not proud of this, and I believe more than anything

that I'm fooling myself if I think 

one day I will wake up to my perfect dream life

and hence become the person I truly wish to be. 

If I'm going to be the type of parent that turns the tv off 

and instead tunes into what's going on in "my" kids lives

I've got to start now - before this rut gets too deep.

So for the last few weeks I've started to try doing at least one special thing 

with our kiddo's each day. 

We've been going to story time at the library, 

drawing in our sketchbooks together at the kitchen table, 

and this week I embarked on a little project of my own.

It started out as a puppet theater but I soon discovered my design 

had much more to offer. 

Beside a puppet theater, you can turn it around and enjoy your own 

personal show.

Or upside down

where little one's can hide and play inside

or up on a table 

you can give a show with plenty of room for props.

Actually the more I think about it, this is the perfect little theater for finger puppets,

or perhaps hang some paper and play with shadow puppets.

But I think the traditional hand puppets are my favorite,

but as you can see if I can think of all these other uses

a child'd imagination can surely find even more!

And so I think it's more appropriate to call my project

a play theater. 

If you think your kiddos 

would also like a play theater of their own

I've put together some step by step instructors 

What you will need:

3 square moving boxes

one twin sheet

glue gun, and lots of glue sticks

 kitchen scissors 

Trims (optional)

At this point your theater is pretty sturdy with 2 layers of cardboard

but once you start covering up the inside you will add a 3rd,

which is pretty dang important when you have little ones.

You could certainly get really fancy with your inside covers -

on the panels you could add batting and tufted buttons,

and your curtain swag could be much more elaborate if you chose. 

I kept mine rather simple, but added a bit of ruffly trim here and there to finish up some 

unpleasant looking seems

and then adorned the outside corners and center of the swag 

by making fabric flowers out of my remaining sheet fabric. 

So I guess my next project should be making puppets -

how I wish I had a working sewing machine. Sigh!