We now have four kids, ages fifteen, five and a half, five, and two. The five and a half year old gets up early, even on weekends. The fifteen year old stays up late, and still wants to be tucked in. And the two year old doesn't nap. Hmm, no wonder I haven't been finding time to blog!
The two younger kids are a foster placement. It is not a pre-adoptive placement; they have a Plan A for reunification which is moving along smoothly right now, and each child has a separate Plan B if Plan A falls through (so we're praying hard for Plan A, as the kids are very bonded to each other). We've had them for a little over two months, and they will probably be back with their Plan A person within another two months (we are their second foster placement, hence the fast time frame).
It has been an adventure. I think it has been good for our two kids, although stressful for Esther. Daniel has surprised me by how well he's risen to the occasion. He has discovered within himself the ability to entertain himself and to wait for my attention, both things that have...ahem...not been his strong suit up until now! And he is a wonderful big brother to Little Guy. He entertains (as long as I don't ask him to do it too often!), changes dirty diapers without batting an eyelash, and is as good as I am at convincing little Mr. Stubborn to eat something that he normally likes but has decided to refuse for the meal. Little Guy thinks Daniel hangs the moon.
I had worried about Esther and Princess being so close in age, and whether that would cause more competition. I don't know that I would have said yes to this placement except that despite being so close in age, Esther is a grade older and so retains her pride of place. We are very fortunate in that Princess is not combative in the same way Esther is, so Esther can say something provocative and Princess will just move on without rising to the bait. We are also fortunate that they both enjoy playing in the same way, and can spend hours playing pretend or coloring together. We are not so fortunate in that Princess, understandably, has a great need for attention and sympathy that results in her reporting Every Single Incident to me, whether it's a boo-boo (possibly visible under a microscope but not to my naked eye) caused by Esther brushing up against her, or whether it's somebody saying or doing something that I once told them not to say or do. It drives Esther and Daniel nuts, which leads them to sharing unflattering opinions of Princess in loud, unkind voices, which leads to her feelings getting hurt, which leads to them getting even more disgusted with her...it's not pretty. I stop it as quickly as I can, but my two are like bulldogs when they're upset, and once Princess gets into a funk she can be stuck there for a while. Daniel is studying patience, and Esther is getting defensive less often as she realized that the constant tattling is more about Princess's need for attention than about her own wrong-doing or lack thereof. But sometimes when the tattling and sensitivity happens on top of lack of sleep or too many days of togetherness (think snow days and Spring Break), I wish I had the ability to send the three older kids to different states to cool off! And all three of the younger kids very much want my undivided attention and especially my physical affection, and get jealous of whichever other kid I'm holding or hugging or talking to. I think the hardest thing about having both Esther and Princess is that it's very difficult for me to get time alone with Esther, and she needs that. (I get time alone with Princess when Esther is in school.) However, the girls get along a (much) larger percentage of the time than they don't, and they are precious together when they are enjoying each other.
Well, the younger kids slept later this morning than I was expecting so I got to write more than I thought, but at least one of them is up now and I need to go do morning stuff. So long, solitude, it was nice having a few minutes with you! :-)
