hollykaustin

Rollercoaster

So, on Tuesday we learned about a 16 year old who needs a home. Seth and I decided we were interested in taking a teen. I got excited about the prospect. Then Kiddo threw a holy fit yesterday about giving up her room and sharing with Tiny. I mean, a triggered trauma losing it kindContinue reading “Rollercoaster”

“How do you get kids caught up developmentally?”

I got a great question from a dear friend (a series of great questions actually) that I’ll answer in a series of posts. One of her questions was what we do to help kids catch up developmentally. The short answer? Believe it or not, just play with them. A lot. All our Littles have beenContinue reading ““How do you get kids caught up developmentally?””

Should We Take a Teenager?!

Our former homefinder (aka our case worker as foster parents) has now moved to a new position in adoptions. She called me out of the blue to ask if we’d be interested in taking a 16 year old girl who is freed for adoption. I’ve mentioned before that Seth and I originally planned to takeContinue reading “Should We Take a Teenager?!”

Tiny’s “Singing” Voice

My husband is tearing apart and rebuilding the upstairs bathroom, and the noise of his work is reverberating through the whole house. Tiny thinks that means she needs to sing louder than the drills and saws. Here’s her rendition of an original song.

“How do you cope when they go home?”

That’s a question we get pretty often and it’s a very, very good question. The short answer is that we cry, and we hurt, and we miss kids no matter how long they’re gone. I still miss the first kid we sent home with whom we have no contact – Gronckle. I think about hisContinue reading ““How do you cope when they go home?””

Covid Sucks

I can’t keep writing blog posts without talking about the elephant in the room: Covid-freaking-19. Ugh. It’s presented some unique challenges for us as foster parents and just plain as humans. For starters, it delayed my becoming an Attorney for the Child (AFC). After I resigned from my position as Of Counsel to my oldContinue reading “Covid Sucks”

K-Pop Hostage Situation

Driving with Tiny is like being held hostage by a minuscule K-pop terrorist. Coming home from a medical appointment in Rochester this evening, I got: “P-Pop Mama. P-Pop.” I really don’t like K-Pop so I tried a variety of music on her. Kendrick Lamar? “P-Pop Mama. P-Pop.” Kids favorites like The Wheels on the Bus?Continue reading “K-Pop Hostage Situation”

Work Life Balance as a Foster Parent

It’s 5:30 AM as I’m writing this. People keep asking me how I find the time to blog when I am a foster parent and work, and it is a tricky tricky thing just to foster parent and work full time at the same time, let alone blogging. For 15 years I worked at anContinue reading “Work Life Balance as a Foster Parent”

Foster Care and God

I feel like there are so many foster care blogs that are very religious, and a lot of people do enter foster parenting because they say they are Christian and “felt called by God” to foster or adopt kids. If you read my previous post about why I foster, you know God doesn’t really factorContinue reading “Foster Care and God”

“Are you going to adopt her?”

We get that question allllll the time about our foster kids and my answer is always “I don’t know.” Do we want to adopt? Yes, we’d love to adopt a child or two. But that may never happen and I have to find a way to make peace with that. One of the hardest thingsContinue reading ““Are you going to adopt her?””