The Curl Report

Curly hair is serious business. I should know.  In order to properly chronicle the lovely head of hair on Little Olive, I'm creating The Curl Report.  I'll be using the most scientific of measurements to track and document the lovely little locks on her tiny head.

The Curl Report: Volume 1

Lone Rider Curl

Lone Rider 2.0. The lone curl has created a following of curls.

Feather Curls - they flock together.

Aqua Curls. When water is applied to the curls, they miniaturize into tiny aqua curls

The 1st Week

We've shared our home for one week with Little Olive.  It gives me goose bumps to think about God's  perfect timing. There have been people praying for her little life even before she was born. She's already found her way into our hearts and we just adore her.

Plus, she has the cutest piggies in the whole galaxy!  O.M.G. look at them. Scrumptious.

Being our first newborn, we've jotted down some new learnings.

Little Olive Toes

1) Too much milk consumption can result in a "milk coma"

2) Newborns squeak

3) Swaddling is the bomb

4) 4:00am seems different than I remember

5) Like my brother, newborns can fall asleep anywhere

6) They are portable

7) They fit in a Christmas stocking (don't worry, we did not hang said stocking above the fireplace with her in it)

8) Babies make even strangers smile

9) They also grunt

10) Newborn diapers are as big an an iPhone

11) Baby hiccups look violent

12) We never thought we'd be happy to see someone poop

13) Bottles remind me of Cheerios

14) People are generous. Within a week, this little girl who had nothing, has a full wardrobe, toys, blankets, baby carriers, diapers and lots people rooting for her.

15) My husband still makes me swoon (especially when he coos over a baby)

Nickname

We have a nickname for our newest! As you know, for their protection, we can't share too many details about the children in our home. That means we get to think of creative nicknames for our "Littles" in order to write about them on the blog.

We wanted a Thanksgiving themed name because she came to us just after Thanksgiving. And we are so thankful she's with us!
So we tried Pumpkin, Sweetie Pie, Turkey Leg, Cornucopia, but alas, no name stuck until.......

For as long as I can remember, one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is my mom's annual appetizers. Every year she makes an olive tray that I attack like there is no tomorrow. I LOVE the annual olive tray. It makes me so happy.

So we now have a  Little Olive.
The nickname stuck.

The Call: Round 2

Yup. It's a car seat carrier in a pack n play crib.

We've been waiting for the call exactly 2 weeks to the day, when my phone rang at 3:00pm today. By 4:15pm I was picking up a newborn little girl at the hospital.
We might have mentioned this before - but we have no idea what we are doing. We are novice parents, to say the least.  But God knew this and put very competent friends in our lives.

As I'm flying out the door to drive across town to the hospital, my amazing friend Amy K. calls and offers to run to the store for me.  Amy is a mother of 3 little girls and well versed in the ways of child rearing.  It then occurs to me that I will need a infant car seat in order to bring the little child home. Swift thinking Amy offers to run to Target, purchase the reputable infant car seat for me, and meet me across town in the hospital parking garage (Did we ever mention God has blessed us with the most amazing friends ever).

I pull up at the hospital and we rendezvous in the parking lot. Amy skillfully, and with great ease, installs the car seat into my car and then shows me the other items she purchased at the store for the new baby.  "You're going to need this," and she pulls out a sweet, warm little outfit for her. It never would have occurred to me that I needed to dress the child before we left the hospital. Then Amy pulls out a new swaddling blanket and fleece throw to cover her up with... Then I was off to the NICU to meet this new baby with infant carrier, outfit and appropriate blankets in tow.

Amy made me look good. All the nurses gave me compliments on bringing her a proper outfit and blankets for her first ride home. I smugly smiled as if I knew exactly what a newborn needs. After filling out a mountain of paperwork and getting a quick "how to care for a newborn" lesson from the RN, I drove home with a precious baby girl in my back seat. Nick met us in the driveway and carried the sleeping baby into the house. And for safety's sake, put the car seat in the pack n play. That's a good idea, right?
Again - we have no idea what we are doing. Other shout outs to go Saryn, Rachel, Sarah, Holly & TJ for dropping by tonight with baby wisdom and essential supplies. What would we do without this very generous and loving community in our lives?

Not a name for a baby... or an adult for that matter

We still don't have a pseudonym for her yet. We are still trying some out on her - but nothing has stuck yet. Nick keeps attempting to tell me that B-list celebrity names are great pseudonyms. I don't think any baby should be called Snooki or Joan Rivers... ever. No doubt her little personality will come out soon and a perfect name will emerge.

She's perfectly healthy and a great snuggler. She's currently sleeping and making those adorable little baby squeaks next to me in the living room (no worries, we eventually did take her out of the car carrier). She's pretty great and we are thankful to be the one's caring for her.

I think a baby sling or carrier is going to be key.
Parents, any brand suggestions?

A Guide to Waiting

While waiting for the "Call" I've been trying to keep myself busy and make the most of this precious time to get some things checked off my to-do list. Since we've chosen a life of waiting for these types of calls, I'm composing A Guide to Waiting. This way I will never again wonder aloud, "What shall I do until the children arrive?"  I will just go straight to my handy dandy guide for all the answers.

A Guide to Waiting: 1st draft
1) Make the drive to Wal-Mart & do some "middle of the day" shopping.

Zack Morris Timeout: While at Wal-Mart, I was first approached by a woman in the sock isle. She said she wants me to be a face model for her makeup parties. That sounds like code for drug parties to me. No thank you.
Then, in the pajama isle, I was approached by a man regarding his photography services. He must of heard I was an up-and-coming model who might need some portfolio shots. Watch out, I may have a new, face modeling career burgeoning.

2) Buy whole milk for the children. (Little Bird taught us there is no finer drink than whole milk)

3) Cook and freeze food for the upcoming holiday. Thanksgiving happens to be right around the corner, so I am going to cook and freeze as many items as I can before the kid-storm hits.

Before

After. There is a divider for regular & extra hot

This is my famous chipotle mac & cheese. That's right. I said famous. I tooted my own horn.

4) Get yearly Dr.'s appointments out of the way.
5) Sell pile of old books to Half Price Books. I took in 24 books and received a whopping $12.25 for them. woot!
6) Organize the garage. Brother and I hung the strollers on the garage wall. I'm so impressed.

7) Fix everything that is broken. i.e: the camera and vacuum

8) Eat out with friends. A lot.

9) Read

10) Schedule a hair appointment

Ombre Fall color? I think so.

11) Car maintenance. Just got not 1, but 2 oil changes and inspections. 

That's all I have for now...I'm sure I'll update the Waiting Guide as each day passes. 

Openings List: Round 2

We've taken a few weeks to grieve and prepare our hearts for the next kiddos. 

As of today, we are now back on the Openings List and waiting for the phone call for our next foster placement(s) from Child Protective Services. Our mobile phones are glued to us and our ringers are turned on high.

Quick Summary:

• We are officially licensed to care for two children between the ages of newborn to 5 years old. 
• Typically, after we get the call confirming children are going to be placed with us, they will arrive in our home that same day.
• It could be a few days or a few weeks before we get THE CALL.
• After we get children placed with us, we'll update everyone through our blog. So stay tuned.

Please pray. Pray hard. We believe God knows the names, faces, and stories of the children that will be placed with us. We need lots of grace as we head into this again.

Thank you for supporting us and the children who need our help (by "our" we mean the "royal our" -- i.e. You're in this with us. You might want to rethink your friendship with us).
We also want to thank everyone in advance for the kind emails, texts, and phone calls of support. Please know how much that support means to us, even if we can't respond to everyone right away.

humbly,

Nick & Jak

Early Retirement

We are making a few changes around here....again.
After much deliberation and soul searching, we made the decision for me to resign from my public relations job and be a full-time foster mom.
We strongly feel foster parenting is our focus right now and we know we are extremely fortunate and blessed to be able to make this choice for our family.

Upon my last week of work, in classic Nick style, he threw me a surprise retirement party!

There were balloons, a purple retirement crown, and my little brother drove 3 hours to surprise me.

 I'm going to be honest, retiring at 31 is as awesome as it sounds!

Orphan Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011

Why Love Orphans? from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

What is Orphan Sunday?
On Orphan Sunday, Christians across America and beyond celebrate the love of the God who
“places the lonely in families” and calls us to do the same. Ultimately, Orphan Sunday seeks to
makes the Gospel visible as God’s people explore and respond to His heart for the orphan in
adoption, foster care, and global orphan ministry.

To learn more check out www.orphansunday.org

I'm having an affair.

With a chair.

Since it's a bit quiet here on the home-front, I thought I would catch up on The Littles' Room design posting. 

Can you fall in love with a chair? Stupid question - obvi. 

If you've been following along, you've know about this ugly duckling. 

Goodwill Find!

Bolt of fabric or ramming rod?

With my faithful companion at my side, we found the perfect fabric and I called my favorite upholsterer. We needed a miracle.
I know what you're thinking? White? Isn't that a bit dangerous for a kid's room?
Yes, it is true. I have an obsession with the color white. And, yes. It is a dangerous choice. But I believe in the power of ScotchGard and the pull of beautiful design will always win over common sense. 

Behold, THE SWAN, in all her glory.

It's OK to stare. She's use to it.

The rocking chair is the center piece of the room and she is proud of it.

Stay tuned for the unveiling of the rest of The Littles' Room 

One week later

Little Bird,

You have been gone one week today.
It's been a hard week.
I hope you had a good week.I hope you've been happy and loved.
We've gone about our days; we wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed. We grieve in between the motions.
I see your car seat and toys and clothes. I think of you all the time.
I'm sad.  We're sad.
Little Bird, you taught us to be parents. For that we are forever grateful.
Even though we will probably never see you again, never know if you are safe or if you are well cared for - you will forever be apart of our story.
We are so lucky.
Thank you for flying into our lives. Thank you for captivating us.
We are learning to say goodbye. It's a new process for us.
We promise we will never stop praying for you.

We love you,
Us

Psalm 84:3

"The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself...at a place near your altar, O LORD of Heaven's Armies, my King and my God!"
Psalm 84:3

We miss you, Little Bird.

She's leaving

We received the much anticipated call this evening.  CPS will pick up Little Bird from our home at 8:30am tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and place her with relatives.  We don't know much beyond that. 

We've purchased a special little suitcase for her and packed her favorite toys, books and cutest clothes to send to her new home. 

She was in our home for 28 days and it was the best 28 days EVER!

Your continued prayers for her, her family and us would be greatly appreciated.  

All our love,

Nick and Jak

PS - Please forgive us if we go "off the grid" for a few days, as we are learning how to heal from this.

A little birdie flew into our lives

Our sweet Little Bird has been with us for 14 days. In that time we have learned a thing or two. I'm not saying we know everything - but we kinda do.

We have compiled a summary of astute observations that we noticed as we've "mastered" parenting.

1. You go through a large quantity of paper towels
2. You can justify lying "We don't have anymore cookies. You ate them all." (there are 10 more in the pantry.)
3. Your brain forgets everything in the home is now childproof and you do a lot of pulling and yelling at the cabinet doors.
4. Cheerios are like Gremlins. Every night they multiply and there are more of them in random places 
5. The level of hygiene decreases dramatically
6. Chuck E Cheese is the socioeconomic crossroads of America
7. You secretly hope the child wakes up so you can play 
8. You feel like a stand-up comedian trying out your new material in hopes of getting a laugh or two
9. Your lower back hurts - all the time
10. Belly buttons are hilarious
11. Baby finger nails are razor sharp (and especially painful in belly buttons and nostrils)
12. My husband does a killer Elmo impression
13. You will compromise safety and adjust your car rear-view mirror to get the perfect view of the child in your back seat
14. Food will end up on your clothes everyday... often without your knowledge
15. You will drink expired milk for two weeks because you are too exhausted to check the expiration date - even though you know it tastes funny. (Don't worry, the baby did not drink this spoiled milk. Just the adults)
16. Every morning, as you open your eyes, you question whether you've been drugged the night before
17. The washer will overheat any day now due to the significant increase of use
18. People are eager to help a child in need. It's been humbling.
19. I love my husband even more 
20. I adore every inch of this little 22lb human

Go time!

2 days later - just got the call. Should be here in an hour.
Please start praying for this child and her family. Pray healing. Pray for us.
More later...

Open for business

After 9 months of trainings, meetings, background checks and interviews, we are finally on the "open list" for accepting children from Child Protective Services.  That means we could get a phone call at anytime to place children in our home.

Quick Summary:

• We are officially licensed to care for two children between the ages of newborn - 5 years old. 
• In general, after we get the call confirming children are going to be placed with us, they will arrive in our home 2-5 hours later.
• It could be a few days or a few weeks before we get THE CALL.

After we get the placements, we'll update the blog so stay tuned.
Please pray. Pray hard. We believe God knows the names, faces and stories of the children that will be placed with us. We need lots of grace as we head into this.

Thank you for supporting us and the children who need our help.

Humbly,
Jak & Nick

Weekend fun

In an effort to get as prepared as we can, without knowing any gender or ages of the kids, we decided to grab a few items at the store. Most of our time was spent asking each other, "Will we need this?"

Exploring the isles of Babies R Us

Where are the non-Caucasian dolls located? Serious, what isle?

Our loot from our first shopping trip. Weak, I know.

And this is what $250 will get you. Wipes, hangers, a thermometer, car seat protector, sheets, laundry detergent, and sippy cups.

The Cheerful, Yellow Dresser

We needed a dresser that fit in the littles' room. As you know, we are going to be licensed for two children between the ages of newborn - 5 years. That could be a combo of a baby and a toddler, or two toddlers or a toddler and a kindergartner. And the kids will share a room. Optimizing space is key.

The dresser needs to work as storage for clothes and double as a changing table if some little babies are placed with us.

My sister battled it out at a Goodwill auction for us. She developed a bidding strategy and psyched out the other bidders to win this lovely dresser. As you can see from the photo, it has fantastic mid-century, tapered legs with brass feet.

Goodwill dresser

Sister, with the help of brother, delivered the dresser to our garage. Then we enlisted the family to help us refinish it. First they sanded the finish to rough it up a bit and take off the top layer of paint. Then they wiped it down with a wet cloth and painted the primmer on. (We did a couple coats of primer)

Once the primer was dry mom and sister painted the yellow.  Once the yellow was dry I wanted to add a shiny, lacquer like finished. My first attempt was with a clear spray lacquer. That turned out to be a complete waste of time because is was spotty and there was spray residue that I kept having to sand off.  I marched myself back up to the hardware store and bought a can of clear lacquer paint. I did a couple coats of that on the drawer faces and dresser. It turned out great.
Lesson learned - spray lacquer is no one's friend.

Mom painting those drawers

Sister working on the perfect sheen.

old legs, new legs

After researching the perfect height for a changing table according to Consumer Reports (between 36-44 inches), I decided we needed to boost the dresser up a few inches. With some internet stalking, I found this leg manufacturer and I purchased some taller legs and painted them the coordinating yellow. Then attached them to the finished dresser.

The old knobs had to go and so I found amazing white & black knobs that would tie into the room perfectly.  However, the screws were too long and the screws were attached to the knob. I couldn't go purchase new screws - so I had to bust out the Dremel. I donned the appropriate protective wear, attached the metal-cutting disks to the Dremel and went to town.

I mean business.

Sparks are flying.

You're toast, long screws.

Then we moved the dresser to the littles' room. Nick added a few nails to stabilize the dresser a bit.

Look at those babies!

TA DA!  Here's the final product in the kids' room. It's currently empty awaiting little clothes, socks and whatnot. I'm considering lining the drawers with a fun pattern. Any liner recommendations?

Here's the breakdown:

• Dresser: Goodwill
• Rotary sander: 80 grit and 200 grit disks
• Oil-based primer: oil based Zinsser Cover Stain
• Used both bristle brushes and small foam rollers for primer/paint. The roller was my favorite.
• Paint: Sherwin Williams color Cheerful
• Legs: Waddell Manufacturing
• Top coat: good ol' polyurethane 
• Dremel: #426 disks
• Knobs: Black and White Striped Knob, Anthropology (shout out to E who got me the hook up.)

Gift Card Shower

If you are reading this and you know some people getting ready to become foster parents (heck, even if they are already foster parents) throw them a Gift Card Shower.  It's a great idea and practical way to help them. Foster parents are in a unique position. They don't exactly know what the ages of the children that will be placed with them or the gender. It's hard to prepare for new kids when you don't know what to buy. You can't create a traditional registry because a car seat or high chair for one age is a totally different size for another age child. In addition, often times foster parents will send the child back home with all their new clothes and favorite toys -depleting the foster home's toy and clothes supply.

Solution? Gift Cards!!!

Community group ladies

Enter our church community group. Nick and I have "done life" with these couples for the last 6 years. We've been through pre-marital equipping classes, weddings, home purchases, babies and now fostering with these dear friends. They have prayed over and for us and are ready to battle along side us as we enter the fostering ministry. If you don't have a community group, stop right now and call your local church and ask them to put you in one. It will change your life and your view of the Christian community.

Remember this? They threw us a grew gift card shower and we were so humbled and blessed by the group of friends who turned out to support us.  Here are some pics of the swanky event.

People signed a framed mat with their wishes and prayers for the kids to hang in the littles' room.

Delicious cake. Cream cheese icing makes me weak in the knees.

Community group guys 

Unicorns

We have our stack of gift cards ready to be used when we get our first phone call for placements.
Our friends are the best!