"Sarah? ...

... I want to stay with you till I get to go back to my mom. Okay?"

The girl ...

... had to go back to her actual foster home yesterday, and the boy did not want to be alone much after that. He asked if we could do a living room camp out. Ten hours of floor-sleeping back pain and high-volume Futurama later, I'm glad boychild and the animals all enjoyed themselves!

"Hey, guys, wake up! I made ...

... 63 pancakes!"

Kicking off spirit week with boychild's jersey number in pancake form. And dad jokes because that's like 30+ percent of why I became a parent.

I have ...

... two children for the weekend and I dreamed I was teaching one of them to drive and I couldn't find the other one. In case you're wondering about my confidence level on this parenting gig.

Sister is ...

... visiting. I feel like I need reinforced for not eating the open but whole Twix bar of mysterious age that I just found under the couch cushion. I have two preteens in my house for the weekend and they are angry and sad. I mean, the Twix bar can't be THAT old. I've only been a mom for twelve days

Normally, when you've been a mom for twelve days, you have a twelve-day-old. I have two middle schoolers who want to know why I think it's justifiable to monitor cell phone use.

Yesterday ...

... was hard, but together we got through it.

Today, I got my first "bye" when I dropped him off at school in the morning -- a playful "'bye, fool!" as he bounded from the car, the first day since I've known him he didn't clamber out in stony silence.

And when he saw me from the football field tonight, I got a half-smile and a nod of acknowledgement.

Yesterday was hard. Tomorrow might be, too.

Today was good

That moment when ...

... you think the preteen is finally listening to what you have to say, only to glance over and find he's fallen asleep and has no idea you're talking. #FosterAnOlderChild #ItsLikeTalkingToYourselfOnlyTheyCostMoreAndHaveBetterHair