A Few Good Moms

A few weeks ago I had a bunch of neighborhood kids and some family friends over; we were going to roast marshmallows later. One of my neighbors brought her daughter H (6) over to play with Amélie my four year old and said: “I noticed C (8) is outside and we don’t want H playing with her, I don’t want any thing to rub off, so I’d rather Amélie come over to our house to play.” I must have given her the “you have just sprouted two heads” look, because she continued on explaining. “Well we tell H it is because of the age difference…you know…you have seen how she dresses…” ““First of all we have company, so it H wants to play she has to play here. Second, she is a child; she doesn’t buy her own clothes. Whether or not she picks them out, she doesn’t buy them.” I am still looking confused....

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Former Foster Youth

For A Child's H.E.A.R.T., Inc. is accepting profiles from former foster youth to appear as guests on a new internet radio talk show. Reply via their FB wall or e-mail at visions@forachildsheart.org (Please Repost :) http://www.forachildsheart.o...

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Funeral

I was on my way to the memorial service for a dear friend’s mother. When I realized that I was 45 minutes early and I was two miles form the house I lived in with my parents, and then with my father after my mother had left us. Having driven by that house exactly one time since I left thirty three years ago, I figured that with all the reflecting I have been doing, I would quickly drive by and maybe snap a quick picture. It is not that I am never in the area. My house now is just eight miles north and two and a half miles east. I don’t go look because the day my mother came and snuck us away from that house while my dad was at work; my life was...

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Tuna Awry

The other day Mad made tuna melts at a friend’s house. I do occasionally let the kids help me cook, but apparently not as much as I should. Ever since her fantastic tuna melt making experience she has wanted to repeat the magic in her own kitchen. Which I take to mean, she wants to watch ME make tuna melts and clean up, and so, I have been putting her off. I do know my kids. That child is relentless when she has an idea. She clutches it in her obsessive little brain, like a pit bull clutches a bone in it's jaws. She woke up this morning saying “Dad said I could make the tuna melts for lunch today” First of all it is 9:00 am, not lunch time in my mind. Second of all, if dad said you could, then you should make them tonight while I am at work and he can supervise and clean up. I’m just...

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The Runaway Who Didn't Run Anywhere

Reading The True Confesions of a Screwed Up Texan  reminded me of this one: I am 11 and in 6th grade. It’s about 6:00 in the afternoon, early for my mom to be home. I walk in to my own house, a town house to be exact to find 2 police officers standing in my dining room with my mom. (I am sure WTF was not my actually reaction at the time, but you can bet that was what I was thinking!) One officer asks “Are you Sunday Koffron?” “Well… yeah” He says “You have been reported as a runaway, you need to come with us” “I have been reported as a runaway? ....Ummm, but you ‘found’ me in my own home. That doesn’t even make any sense” “You...

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Amélie's Name Change

Not sure which is funnier, that my 4-year-old has decided to change her name to “Luna” or that she has her speech delayed 2-year-old sister’s complete buy in? “Amélie, time to come eat” “her name Unnna, NOT Am-mêlée, MOM!” ...

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concinado en horno microonadas

One of the amusing things about dyslexia is that it still takes me a few seconds to realize the “concinado en horno microonadas” are the microwave cooking instructions in Spanish, and that I don’t understand them because I don’t understand Spanish!...

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Roots and Wings -- What We Owe Children in Foster Care By Jeff Katz

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-katz/roots-and-wingswhat-weowe_b_691965.htmlReading this fantastic article I am reminded of one of my biggest annoyances with the foster care system: When a student fills out government financial aid forms their parents must provide their income and sign off on those forms. The government does this because they feel ones parents are still responsible for their children until they are 24 years old! Then how, I ask, can that same government drop their wards off on their collective heads at some street corner or homeless shelter and be absolved of all responsibility the day their kids turn ...

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Scratch and Stink

Laughing till I cry! Amélie holds up a sticker CoCo got at children’s and says “what does this say mommy?” “It says ‘scratch and sniff’ ”, as I am scratching and sniffing “I don’t smell anything” she takes it and scratches and sniffs it herself she says matter-of-factually “I smell something, it smells just like poop...!” “Um, how about you go wash your hands again baby?” I will say, I DID actually smell her hands, and they were fine, but it was that I thought of it that made me laugh so hard. Then trying to explain to Mad what was so funny, had us both dying…Amélie was NOT impressed with being laughed at…poop seems to be the new favorite word around here, thanks to CoCo. “No, YOU poop butt” (and were just happy she is using 4 word sentences…her speech therapy has proven to be WELL worth the...

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Did You Know?

Did you know: According to the book, Assessing the Long-Term Effects of Foster Care, as many as 40% of adults who were foster children are receiving welfare benefits or are in jail. Only about half graduate from high school, compared to 78% of the general public. Their homeless rate is at least four times that of the general population?We must raise the bar people, according to the stats I am a stunning success! I feel like I am a living comedy bit- when ever I am feeling over whelmed I can always say “at least I ain’t in jail!” and feel accomplished, that will not however, win me a cookie. Funny but not really....

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