The Peters Way

 Hey All,  My FS12, MR. R, has been here 2.5 weeks now, and my mind is just blown away not only by the support of my friends and family, but by how much my life has changed.  I knew starting this journey that things would not always be easy, but the amount I've learned about being an "adult" and "parent" in the last three weeks has just blown my mind.  Things I never understood until now... 1) How parents mix up their kids names...FS9, Mr. T, has been gone a week and yet I still manage to call Mr. R by his name. Heck, I was talking to a co-worker earlier this week and called Mr. R, by his caseworkers name. Jessica, my co-worker was so confused.  2) I never understood how frustrating it is for parents that boys leave pee on the toilet until now. If you follow this and you have any suggestions, send HELP!  3) Having to figure out consequences for actions. Don't ask me why, but somewhere along the way I think my brain just assumed when you became a parent you ...

      Today, my FS9 that I've had for since 1/12/21 (so 13days) left to go back home for what we will hope will be permanently. I've known from the get go, that Mr. T would be a short term placement, and yet it feels like he's here and gone so quickly. His mom did what she needed to do; his first court hearing was two days after he was taken, his mom did exactly what she needed to within the first five days after that, then he had two extended overnight stays (one for three days, one for two), and this morning I got an e-mail asking my opinion on it. I told his caseworker based off of what I knew, I didn't even fully understand why he was in foster care, and his CW agreed, and we decided as a team that he didn't have to wait until next weekend to go home and instead that he could go tonight. So at 8:25pm, I dropped him off at Del Taco to his mom, 20 minutes later I got a phone call saying he left his phone charger, so tomorrow I'll take it to his mom at work. An...

 I never set out to be a "Boy Mom;" but if I'm being honest deep down, I think I always kind of knew that I would end up boys along the way. That being said when I got the call for a 9y/o boy last Tuesday (1/12/21) I didn't hesitate, and then when less then 24hrs later I got the call for a 12y/o boy I again didn't hesitate.  Though from the beginning I've known that foster care is "temporary" some are more temporary then others. FS*9, Mr. T**, is honestly starting to feel more like a long term baby sitting gig before he goes home at the end of the month. Last weekend he spent with his family, I picked him up on Tuesday after school, and tomorrow (1/21) he is headed home for the weekend before I pick up on Monday after school. And hopefully if all goes well he will go home before the end of the month. FS12, Mr. R,  is not so temporary. Though I can't talk about his case, it is known at this time that he will be with me a while. Attached below is h...

 I recently became a licensed foster parent, and I even currently have my first two placements However, before I can talk about my journey as a foster parent, first we must discuss the journey I took to become a foster parent.  I've known since I was 10 years old that I wanted to have kids, and that someday I would eventually do foster care and potentially even adopt a child. My best friend in 3rd and 4th grade was the oldest of four and was a foster child. Meeting her changed my life. We went our separate ways in 5th grade as I went to private school and she stayed where she was, but reunited when we were teenagers as juniors in high school. At that time her foster mom had decided that "A*" wasn't good enough to have around, and chose to put her in a group home while adopting the three younger sisters. The foster mom's reasoning was that "A" was too troubled to be "Saved." I knew at that point that when I decided to foster that I would want to...