It’s been crazy around here the last couple of weeks without much respite. The Christmas season, while enjoyable, was a bit taxing this year with two new foster kids added to the roster. We always try to go small: a handful of small gifts that are more useful than pleasurable, but everyone trying to help out giving us presents for the foster kids, Christmas got bigger than it ever has been at our house. So while Christmas was enjoyable, as it wound down and into New Years, it was a bit of a relief.
That was until the 1.5 year old foster kid came down with RSV. Our daughter had RSV when she was a new born and it was scary business. We spent a few extra days in the hospital with her in the NICU and it was unpleasant to say the least. I was hoping that the foster kid was old enough to handle it on his own with a few breathing treatments at home: I was wrong. Wednesday night they sent us to the local hospital and held us hostage until Saturday night. What fun! Nothing like hanging out in a 12×12 room for three days. (It really made me think about how poorly I’d do in prison.)
We were discharged Saturday with instructions to administer breathing treatments every four hours. Yes, every four hours until our follow up visit a week later. Every four hours for a week. It also meant the wee one couldn’t go to day care or pre-school all week which meant homeschooling with a ‘Roid Rage baby running amok. It also meant sheer exhaustion. And to top it off, the Department of Family and Child Services was coming on Friday for their annual home-study. It doesn’t mean much, we have a safe home, but the anxiety of having someone come into your home and evaluate it something, not to mention all the cleaning that has to be done.
The home-study is done, the follow up visit took breathing treatments down to twice a day, and the super cold week didn’t kill all our cauliflower! It’s time to get back to normal – or at least some semblance of normal. The plan for today: get started on more firewood, and shoot a squirrel for home school – the eldest is studying skeletons. Not sure why, but I am giddy with excitement to wander off into the woods and start felling some trees.
Homesteads and Homeschools 
Wow, you have been really busy! Yay on being a foster parent. It’s the best, the hardest, the most frustrating and the most rewarding job to lay your hands to. It sounds like you were glad to get out and into the woods after your weeks of being house-bound.
LikeLike
Less house bound, more hospital room bound. Did/do you foster?
LikeLike
Yes, for a while when we were first married, 36 years ago. Loved it, but was so immature at the time. I had a hard time with the bureaucracy though, so little common sense. Very hard work, much record keeping, behavior training, counseling visits. Would have done it again, but life stuff intervened.
LikeLike
Aye, I hear that. My wife and I were talking and I think the bureaucracy probably drives a fair number of folks away…
LikeLiked by 1 person